Kyle's Grindhouse review

[sarahbot]

First, wow! You got that review in FAST!

Second, I have to disagree with you. I loved this movie, much more than I thought I would. Granted, I'm not really familiar with this breed of movies, so I think I was seeing the movie without your background. And there really is this hinge feeling in "Death Proof." OK, OK, we're curious about what the Ship's Mast is, quit yakking about it already and show us! And Rosario Dawson was criminally underused.

About the characters in Planet Terror: yes, most of them are sorta two-dimensional. But I think they work with it. I wanted to see more of Cherry and Wray, and Marley Shelton's character was flat but cool enough to work it. I think that's really what I came away with: yes, this movie isn't groundbreaking or deep. But it's so very cool it gets away with it. (With the exception of Cherry's gun-leg. From the coverage it got, I was expecting it to show up way earlier.)

"Don't!" was undoubtedly the best trailer. (Directed by Edgar Wright! Yessss!) But "Thanksgiving" is going to probably give me nightmares. That was disgusting.

And I stayed til the end of the credits. There's no point in doing so, except for the brief humour I got out of this:
Quentin Tarantino's chef - [some guy I didn't bother to remember the name of]
Robert Rodriguez's chef - Robert Rodriguez

Basically, I got swept up in the distinct awesomeness of Grindhouse, but I can see how others might not.

[eatmyshorts]

Ditto, sarahbot. I'm just waiting for a positive review to be written now. What's with all the hate on tarantino on this website? Reservoir Dogs deserves at least ONE positivie review!

I thought planet terror wasn't anything special but it was amazingly fun to watch and the girl with the gun leg is my dream woman, and death proof had some dull moments but it was very entertaining., especially the kurt russel moments.

[TheLuckyOne]

eatmyshorts said:

Reservoir Dogs deserves at least ONE positivie review!

Mine was largely positive... I think it's a good movie, it's just overly hyped to the point where letdown is almost inevitable. If you can get past that and just treat it as a movie, not THE movie, it's entertaining.

But I doubt I'll be seeing Grindhouse, so someone else will have to come through with a positive review for that one. Lissa, maybe.

-D

[kylerexpop]

i can easily see how this could be entertaining for others.

but for me, and for everyone i've talked to, it just never makes it over the hump from "vaguely interesting schlock" to "actual entertainment."

often, even if i don't like a movie, i can at least see what the intention was and chalk up my own displeasure to personal taste. but with 'grindhouse,' pretty much everything just seems misguided and uninvolving. i honestly don't see what a lot of the various threads were supposed to lead up to, and i don't think the "missing reels" would have filled in anything to make it all cohesive.

i liked that 'thanksgiving' trailer the first time i saw it, when it was a full-length feature film called 'my bloody valentine.' nice one, roth!

[sarahbot]

Skip this if you haven't seen the movie. Minor spoilers ahead.

captainkyle said:

i don't think the "missing reels" would have filled in anything to make it all cohesive.

That's the point. It's a shame the missing reel gag is being mentioned so often, because it would have been funnier if I hadn't known about it. But the thing is, the real grindhouse flicks often had missing reels. So where would be the best place to put a missing reel gag in Planet Terror and Death Proof? Well, in Planet Terror it's funny because a) it cuts out just as you're about to see Rose McGowan's chest, and b) wait, the barbecue's on fire? How did everyone get there? The emphasis isn't on story and cohesion, it's on omgwtfbbq! (Literally, in this case.)

And in Death Proof, it's just a gag again. They've been stringing you along for half an hour or more that Butterfly's going to give a lap dance. She finally agrees, and bam! missing reel.

While other parts of Grindhouse may be more homage (like the constant references to Vanishing Point in the second half of Death Proof), this is a section that's just plain parody. I agree that it is weird at times: QT & RR aren't always clear as to when they are paying homage, parodying or just plain refilming the original grindhouse movies.

[Al]

I enjoyed it mightily, but stepped out during the Thanksgiving trailer. Knowing it was Eli Roth, and have previously vowed to never again waste a second of my life on anything he directed, it just seemed best for all involved. Otherwise, I would have spent all of Death Proof ranting and raving about how utterly vile Cabin Fever was and how I want my eight bucks back.

[TheLuckyOne]

sarahbot said:

Skip this if you haven't seen the movie. Minor spoilers ahead.

And in Death Proof, it's just a gag again. They've been stringing you along for half an hour or more that Butterfly's going to give a lap dance. She finally agrees, and bam! missing reel.

See, that's why "missing reels" will never catch on in real life... because that would be the worst thing ever.

*Step inside, walk this way, you and me babe...*
"Oh baby, this'll be the best money you ever spent. Just sit down right there and let Candi do her thi-"
SKKRRRT!!!
*...sugar on me, yeah! Sugar me!*
"Thanks, hon. That'll be thirty bucks."
".....WHAT?!"

-D

[eatmyshorts]

Yeah Drew, you're review WAS largely positive, now that i re-read it. I guess i'm just one of the guys who thinks it's "the best movie ever" and i talk about it a lot...luckily when i watched RD i knew nothing about it and only heard from a few people that it was good. Pulp Fiction on the other hand I have heard a million good things about and have yet to see it. I hope it doesn't disappoint.