Grindhouse
Ghost Rider didn't do it for me. Neither did 300. And I can't say Pirates of the Caribbean did it. Not even my beloved Superman Returns accomplished it.
Grind House is the most fun I have had at the movies since, well probably Sin City and Batman Begins!
It is three and a half hours of bad ass fun.
Did I say fun?
It's Bruce Willis, Nick Cage, and Kurt "Snake Plisken" Russell (don't know who Snake is? Shame on you. Go watch Escape from New York).
And it's my new goddess Rose McGowan in a short skirt, boobs out and a machine gun for a leg!
Now that my friends is bad ass.
We're talking bad ass, bubbling, puss-oozing zombies, werewolf Nazis, hot chicks with needles strapped to their legs, and Kurt Russell as a serial killer!
That is bad bad ass.
Okay, so for those of you who aren't sure what the hell I'm talking about, let me start at the beginning.
Grindhouse is a double feature feature that harkens back to the days movie theaters showed double features and cartoons before the movies. Now we get Coke spots, but once upon a time there was a Bugs Bunny cartoon before a movie. Those were fun times to go to the movies. In Philly, there was the all night movie held at the Uptown Theater and one of the old Sam Erics downtown. You could see movies like Super Man Chu and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (which they reference in Grind House).
We all know Quentin Tarantino grew up watching those kinds of movies as did Robert Rodriguez. So they got together and made a love letter to all of those films.
GrindHouse the title actually refers to the studios that used to grind out these low budget movies weekend after weekend. The film would be scratched, sometimes the reel would be missing and the film would jump. It was great!
So what we have here, are two movies Planet Terror from Robert Rodriguez and Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino.
Planet Terror is an ode to every B movie zombie movie ever made. It stars Rose McGowan as stripper Cherry Darling and Freddy Rodriguez as Elray a macho action figure, now tow truck driver. After a mysterious gas is released by scientist Naveen Andrews (Lost) and general Bruce Willis (uncredited) townspeople including Josh Brolin and Fergie (god her boobs are stars in their own right) who is ripped apart in Fergalicious fashion by the zombies.
What is sheer brilliance is how a reel goes missing at a really good point (I won't spoil it) and comes back after some exposition about Rodriguez's character. What Robert Rodriguez has done is completely gotten rid of the second act sag. We know Freddy's character because we've seen him a bizillion times. But that's okay here...
After more delicious gore, Rose McGowan officially becomes action figurine(make one of her Seth McFarland) when Rodrgiuez straps what's left of her leg (zombies chewed it off) with an automatic machine gun.
And that's pretty much Planet Terror. Gory, gross, action-packed and brilliant.
After some inspiring trailers (again I won't spoil it for you) by Rob Zombie(The Devil's Rejects) and Eli Roth (Hostil) comes Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.
This is the best Tarantino movie for me since Kill Bill Vol. 1.
Starring Kurt "Snake Plisken" Russell and Rosario Dawson, this is a movie that harkens back to Death Race 2000, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Duel. It's a killer road movie. Kurt is a stunt man turned serial killer. And Rosario Dawson and her girls are his prey. Honestly after a ride like Planet Terror, you're pumped for more action. QT slows it down. Waaaaaaaay down.
I would say the first half hour is spent with our first victims hanging in a bar. It's very dialogue heavy (classic QT dialogue) but it does allow us to get to know the characters...especially Kurt Russell's character, Stunt Man Mike.
QT does a little "Psycho" on us, allowing us to think that these four very hot ladies (Rose McGowan again) are the stars. But he goes the Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock route and plays the McGuffin. If you don't know what McGuffin means, go to the movie and then you will!
Once, Tarantino gets them on the road, Death Proof roars to life. Then (almost frustratingly) slows it down again. Waaaaay down. Enter our new victims a group of movie folks (two stuntwomen, an actress and a make-up artist played by Rosario Dawson). After breaking stereotypical slasher structure by allowing us to get to know these chicks, it roars back into a high-octane thriller. Fucking awesome. And on top of that, Stunt Man Mike falls in love with them!
Look I'm trying not to get into too much detail (and I could cause I love this movie). But quite frankly, I guarantee you won't have a better time at the movies this Easter Weekend than packing up some jelly beans and going to see this clever, gross thriller.
I'm heading back!
FIVE BALL POINT PENS