The other night, Lindsey and I took a break from our mounting amounts of homework to see the double feature Tarantino/Rodriguez flick(s) Grindhouse. I was originally reluctant to see such a film after learning that it was 3 hours long, but decided to go in hopes that it was something fun and different.
As you may or may not have heard, Grindhouse consists of two features Planet Terror (Rodrigues) and Death Proof (Tarantino). Before Planet Terror starts, a set of fake movie trailers play which let you know that this isn't the 21st century anymore. To push the feel of 70's grindhouse b-movies, both of the films have added film graininess, along with skipping audio, missing scenes, pops, and other film aging effects. It really feels like you stepped into another era of film making, thanks to these tricks.
Planet Terror plot sounds like any old campy b-movie. Military experiment gone wrong, mutants/zombies attacking a small town, a rag-tag group of survivors, so much gore that its unbelievable, and so on. What Rodriguez brings to the plate is the ability of the film to laugh at itself and its genre. Every line delivered is over the top, every action sequence is filled with impossible moments that make you think, "hey, wait! that could never happen!) But thats where the fun is, the movie is so over the top with action, gore, sex, and camp, that it just begs to be laughed at.
Death Proof is slightly different, but its still pure Tarantino. The story is more of along the lines of a pure car chase/action/revenge movie of the '70's, but still over the top with the action. My only gripe of the night was with this movie. Along with a Tarantino style, you get his style of dialogue. This is where the Grindhouse gets long. If you took out half of the talking out of Death Proof, you wouldn't miss it. Much like Pulp Fiction, the dialogue is off topic and is solely there to help flesh out the characters. Once those scenes end, the film picks up speed (bad pun) and keeps you at the edge of your seat for the rest of the ride.Grindhouse is a rare breed of film; unashamed to laugh at itself, gore for the fun of it, action for the fun of it, campy-ness for authenticity...its all there. This has to be some of the most fun I've had at a movie theater. My mouth hung open during some of the fake movie trailers due to the absurdity of some of the ideas. (The horror/slasher flick preview, Thanksgiving, was my favorite. "White meat, dark meat...all will be carved...") Because of the nature and style of the films, it most likely wont transition well over to DVD. Seeing it in the theater gives it the full effect. Go see it before its too late! Trust me on this, you won't be disappointed.
5/5 stars
