Where's the Tarantino we know and love?
Added 2/11/2010
Death Proof and the Grindhouse Double-Feature are of course Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez's tribute to the junk films that used to be played in exploitation theaters through the 60s and 70s. For once Tarantino actually decides that he's going to stick to one cinematic style from beginning to end of the film. Tarantino decides that with Death Proof he will PERFECTLY imitate the feel of these trash movies. Boy does Tarantino succeed at doing just that. In fact he does it so well that it becomes the movie's central problem! I know it sounds contradictory for me to complain about his lack of directorial focus only to instantly complain about how he sticks to a single style during Death Proof. Just hear me out before you come to any conclusions.
The frames are damaged, full of grain, becoming dead on imitations of junk films both visually and thematically. Both Tarantino's Death Proof and Robert Rodriquez's Planet Terror (the other feature from Grindhouse) use this style...One key difference. Planet Terror is so over the top that it becomes a BLAST; not a perfect or even a good film, but certainly deserving of a 7/10 star rating simply for its entertainment value. Death Proof on the other hand is very down to earth in its premise and without many exaggerated stylistic choices just becomes what it set out to be: a trashy, boring film.
As a story it is generic (as it should be) following a group of girls stalked by a man named "Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell) who drives a "death proof" retired stunt car. He stalks them, kills them with his car, then skips state to repeat the process elsewhere. He is a fun character speaking in a pleasant Southern drawl, passing himself off as a nice guy. Too bad he has little screen time compared to our three female protagonists who are boring as can be. I kept checking the clock wondering how long it would take these bimbos to become street pizza! After a bar sequence that seems to go on forever (where I have to admit, Tarantino's cameo as the manager is the second most entertaining aspect of this film right after Kurt Russell)
I have to admit the stunts in this film really are remarkable. Stuntman Mike isn't joking about his set of wheels given that all the chases in this film are for real. When he talks about what a shame it is to have lost the old time values of using real cars and stuntmen over CGI crashes it really shows. Nothing can top the thrill of seeing real vehicles getting, smashed, slammed, and creating mayhem. No computer program can compare to live action.
After a thrilling stunt where Stuntman Mike kills a group of girls through a straight on collision (while Tarantino delivers the promised Grindhouse style gore) we are greeted to a cameo from by the cops from Kill Bill before moving on to the second act. This is where things really begin to fall apart. For the most part the second half seems a poor excuse to show off Tarantino's lead Kill Bill stuntwoman Zoë Bell's skill as she hangs for dear life on the hood of a car during a chase.
Like Kill Bill, Vol.2 the second half of this film is so different than the first that it seems to be something entirely different. Stuntman Mike who is an intimidating, soft-spoken stalker in the first half suddenly becomes an obnoxious over actor. Now I have no problem, because Kurt Russell hamming it up certainly was amusing for awhile, but it was very out of place given how calm his character was during the first half of the film. Over the top or serious Tarantino, you have to choose one or the other and stick with it!
Speaking of the acting it really is a wonder as Tarantino, to preserve the concept of this being a junk film intentionally baits the cast to do stupid, amateur stunts such as looking directly into the camera for entire scenes at a time, breaking the fourth wall, and just being general hams. Nothing can be much funnier than a truly awful movie, but the film actually had to be completely unaware of how bad it is. Death Proof it is clearly intentional, and though this might be amusing when a viewer first notices these quirks, the gag soon loses charm and just becomes annoying. When you see bad films you want to see a bad film. You don't want to see an obviously smart director and actors being led to intentionally look bad. They aren't over the top (until the final ten minutes or so of the movie) so they're just boring.
Another problem is the script. Tarantino is not a great director on a visual level seeing as most of the time he replicates the styles of great directors. What has always set Tarantino apart as an artist is his engaging dialogue. That's where Grindhouse is a disappointment of colossal proportions. There is very little action in Death Proof, which is good seeing as Tarantino isn't that good with action scenes, but the dialogue in the film is just...boring. It's as real as it gets. No, seriously: the dialogue in this film is as entertaining as stalking an actual troop of girls. Only good dialogue comes from Kurt Russell during the first half, but then Tarantino butchers the appeal of that character in the second act. If you're not enjoying the dialogue of a Tarantino film it means something is going horribly wrong.
So congratulations to Mister Tarantino for successfully making the junk film he set out to make. No doubt this was an entertaining thing for him as a director, but as an audience member I was often bored with this film. The action is fun, but the final car chase goes on for far too long, but worse is that Tarantino's dialogue in Death Proof is just bland. There is nothing really working for this film. It could have been far better if Tarantino had made this a more exaggerated homage because as it is it's no different than the bad films it tries to poke fun at. Planet Terror managed to give that bad movie feel while taking its premise to such absurdity that it was hard not to be entertained by it. Death Proof on the other hand is so serious about being "bad" that it becomes just that.
My Rating: 5½/10 Stars
My Verdict: While possessing some of Quentin Tarantino's strengths, Death Proof ultimately succeeds in becoming EXACTLY what it set out to homage and parody; due to knowing that was Tarantino's intention Death Proof ultimately loses the fun of an actual bad movie. As a viewer I can only hope that from this point on Tarantino can try to focus more on creating his own (very successful, mind you) genre of films. I'd like to see him make an actual full-fledged western in the style of Sergio Leone - maybe even con Clint Eastwood to cameo, but he needs to steer away from making "intentionally bad films". Leave trash to the trash directors because fake-trash just doesn't have the same appeal.
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Revenge, Girl Power and Great Music
Added 2/5/2010
This is simply the best revenge movie ever. And, with all due respect to Tarantino's other incredible films, this may have the best dialogue of all, except for Inglorious Besterds. On top of that, the soundtrack is one every filmmaker should envy. So imagine improving "Thelma and Louise", with a modern day Mad Max played by Kurt Russell going up against a modern day version of "Little Women" crossed with "Charlie's Angels" without the Charlie and focus on surface sex appeal. Then you might be able to comprehend just how blanking good this movie is. Thank you Tarantino.
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Starts off a bit slow, but ends brilliantly! A must have for anyone who loves Tarantino, guys who love typical guy things, and for girls with an edge.
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XLNT QT Flick
Added 1/6/2010
First off, I skimmed the 1-star reviews to see what all the bitching was about- it seems people are complaining about the two movies (Planet Terror and Deathproof) being split off into separate releases, and the subsequent loss of the fake trailers from the original double feature theatrical release. Boohoo! Hey, if you were a filmmaker, you'd split a double feature in half for the dvd release too- you make more money that way- and it is show 'business', right?
So a 1-star movie that attacks the dvd release's format and doesn't address the film itself is useless.
"Deathproof" is an outstanding movie and another excellent entry into Quentin T's body of work. Interesting and quirky characters, dialogue and relationships that draw you in and make you curious- and when Rose McGowan's character gets in Stuntman Mike's car for a ride home, it is a deliberate 'don't go in the basement!' moment worthy of the goriest slasher flick. The car chase sequences are some of the best you'll ever see on screen, as 3 girls in a 1970 Dodge Challenger hunt down Stuntman Mike with maniacal joy.
Great movie, great fun, one of my favorites.
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enjoyed this movie
Added 12/24/2009
Yes there is not much plot here but overall it is a good movie. Enjoyed the dialogue between the girls in the first and second parts. Enjoyed seeing the revenge in the end. Not for everyone but Tarantino fans will not be disappointed.
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Secret Sauce...
Added 3/12/2010
PLANET TERROR is a grand tribute to all things drive-in, 70s, and exploitive! Chemically-generated zombies begin slaughtering and eating their way through humanity. It's up to a tow-truck driver (Freddy Rodriguez), a sheriff (Michael Beihn from THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, and THE ABYSS), a go-go dancer (Rose Mcgowan from DEVIL IN THE FLESH), and a small band of survivors to battle the flesh-rending horde, as well as a military outfit headed by an eeevil Bruce Willis! Of course, Ms. Mcgowan is the stand-out w/ her amputated-limb-turned-instrument-of-death! She thwacks, stabs, and guns down all opposition w/ her trusty "dis-ability"! Robert Rodriguez (FROM DUSK TIL DAWN, SIN CITY) just keeps getting better at this stuff...
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Fun romp through homage to zombie-fest flicks offers chuckles rather than screams
Added 2/1/2010
Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico") and Quentin Tarantino (do I need to list references?) have famously teamed up on a number of projects ("Desperado," "Sin City"). While these two cinemaphiles always appear to have a blast making their movies, the "Grindhouse" project may be the paragon of their mad-cap filmmaking self-indulgence.
"Grindhouse" was a double-feature in which RR and QT each provided a flick designed to be a homage to the low-budget horror/exploitation films of the 60s and 70s. "Planet Terror" is RR's entry, although QT makes quite an impression in an extended cameo as a deranged military nutcase. QT's half was "Death Proof," which I won't review here, but it's definitely of a piece with "Planet Terror."
Zombie films are seemingly as popular now as ever, so RR's spoof/tribute is timely. The flick opens with a hilarious mock trailer for "Machete," an X-rated revenge flick. The film quality of the trailer is terrible - RR fakes wear-and-tear on the film and includes skips and flaws in the soundtrack as a tribute to the grindhouse experience. This works fine in the trailer, but as it continues into the feature film, it gets more than a little annoying after 60 minutes.
"Planet Terror" opens up with a zombie outbreak in Texas, thanks to military hijinx led by Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) for reasons unknown. Soon zombies are tearing across the countryside, rending the innocent and not-so-innocent limb from limb. Unfortunately, "Planet Terror" is aiming more for humor and gross-outs rather than genuine scares, so be prepared to wince rather than cringe. Some of the jokes really work, such as several close-ups of the "humps" of Black Eyed Peas singer/ornament Fergie, just before the zombies tear her humps apart. There's also a clever "Missing Reel," alert, with apologies from theater management, just when a love scene between stripper Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) and Wray (Freddie Rodgriguez) gets its most "exploitative."
Ultimately, this is not a good horror movie in that it will not create any genuine terror, a la the original "Halloween," "Nightmare on Elm Street," or even "Dawn of the Dead." But it must be said that there are two types of horror movies, and this is the second type - the kind that goes for dark humor, ridiculiously-sensational death scenes, and blood by the barrelful. That kind of horror movie doesn't appeal to me all that much, truth be told, but if that's your game I expect "Planet Terror" will find its way to the top of your DVD stack pretty quickly.
For what it is, I cannot imagine a movie doing a better job of hitting its target than "Planet Terror." It is a tribute to bad taste and bad movies - and for what it is, almost as much fun as RR and QT had making it.
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Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Added 1/21/2010
After an experimental bio-nerve gas is accidentally released at a remote U.S. military base in Texas, those exposed to the gas turn into flesh-eating, mutating zombies out to kill. An assortment of various people who include stripper Cherry, her shady mechanic ex-boyfriend Wray, a strong-willed doctor, the local sheriff, and an assortment of various people must join forces to survive the night as the so-called "sickos" threaten to take over the whole town and the world. A good time: that is all Planet Terror has to offer, no more, no less. And those seeking sheer entertainment, albeit deliverers with gusto.
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