April 6th, 2007 by Brent
There are a lot of bad movies out there. Movies with ludicrous plots that try and take themselves too seriously and ultimately suck any fun out of the flick. However, there are some bad films, with equally ridiculous material, that embrace the lunacy and run with it. Grindhouse is one of those films. It's a three hour double feature that is crazy, bloody, sexy, funny, and a whole lot of fun.
After opening with an awesome faux trailer for the film Machete, Planet Terror kicks things off when a virus infects a small country town and a majority of the residents are transformed into zombies. A small group of people, led by the sheriff with the help of Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) and her ex-boyfriend El Wray fight off the zombies and look to find the cause of the outbreak.
Director Robert Rodriguez uses this opportunity to exploit some of his craziest (and most disgusting) ideas including Cherry Darling's machine gun leg that has been featured in the commercials. Filled with the many cliches and characters often found in similar style horror flicks, Rodriquez creates many hilarious and over the top moments that would cause you to roll your eyes in any other film. Yet, here it works.
After Planet Terror we are shown some more faux trailers for films similar in style to exploitation films of the past. The trailers are Werewolf Women of the SS, Don't, and Thanksgiving. All of them are hilarious, entertaining, and at times disturbing.
The second film in the double feature is Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. A much slower paced and more character driven film then Planet Terror, Death Proof tells the story of Stuntman Mike, an ex stuntman who terrorizes some local ladies in a small town. He offers them a ride home and informs them that his car is "death proof", allowing him to slam into a brick wall and walk away just for the experience of it all. Unfortunately for the girls, he fails to mention that to experience the advantage of it being "death proof", you really need to be sitting in the drivers seat.
As I mentioned above, Death Proof is much slower then Planet Terror. Like many of Tarantino's films, there are scenes that consist of characters discussing various subjects for an extended length of time. I could see some people becoming bored by it, especially after sitting through the action packed Planet Terror, but it really kicks into gear toward the end and offers an awesome car chase sequence.
While the performances in Planet Terror were good and fit the mood of the B-movie, Death Proof has some really outstanding performances. All the ladies in the film were great, but New Zealand stunt woman Zoe Bell (Stunt Double for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill) really caught my attention. She performs her own stunts in the film and the fact that it is really her added to the excitement of the chase scenes. Kurt Russell also steals the show as Stuntman Mike.
Not everyone is going to enjoy it though and some of the content is going to be too silly, too disturbing, or too violent for some. But I think Grindhouse is great because it isn't trying to be serious, it's trying to entertain, shock, and surprise you. And it does this very well. I laughed out loud while watching Planet Terror and Death Proof made me wish for a return to real car chase scenes, using real cars, not just CGI.
Grindhouse reminded me why I love to go to the movies. It was pure fun and I can't wait to experience it again.
| Quick Review | |
|---|---|
| Plot/Storyline Planet Terror's plot is simple, but provides some crazy action and humor. Death Proof's killer stuntman was silly, but unique. I liked it. |
8.5 |
| Acting/Characters Over the top characters in Planet Terror and some outstanding performances in Death Proof. Kurt Russell is excellent as Stuntman Mike. |
9 |
| Visuals/Sound A filter is applied to both films to give them an older look, so it's not super clean, but the style and sound are simply awesome. |
8.5 |
| Replay I can't wait to see it again and I look forward to the release on DVD. |
9 |
| Overall Rating: | 9 |
| All scores are out of 10. Overall score is not an average. | |
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments will be moderated and obnoxious or inappropriate comments will be removed.
You are not logged in. Login to leave a comment.
Brent's Latest Reviews