Zombies, Hot Chicks w/ Machine Guns, Cars, Explosions? YEEAHHH!!!!
Written: Apr 09 '07 (Updated Aug 23 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Direction, Script, Trailers, Look, Performances, Music, Cars, Guns, Explosions, the Whole Shebang!!
Cons: None!!!!
The Bottom Line: GRINDHOUSE is an in-your-face, balls-to-the-wall type of film from Tarantino & Rodriguez.
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| thevoid99's Full Review: Grindhouse |
Since their emergence at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez would become the faces that would help change American independent cinema. With their respective debuts Reservoir Dogs and El Mariachi, Tarantino and Rodriguez would bring new excitement to filmgoers. The two young directors often turn to each other for help and support. In 1995, both directors contributed a segment to the anthology film Four Rooms while Tarantino made appearances in two of Rodriguez's films Desperado and From Dusk Til' Dawn which Tarantino wrote the script for. In 2003, Rodriguez was paid a dollar to contribute score work for the second part of Kill Bill and Tarantino was paid a dollar two years later to film a scene for Rodriguez's Sin City. 15 years after their breakthroughs, the two renegades decided to work together again to pay tribute to the 70s exploitation films they loved.
Tarantino, who is an avid film buff, had always loved a specific type of exploitations films known for their sensationalism and their excessive use of sex, violence, and gore. They're called Grindhouse films that were often B-movies that often shown as double features in drive-ins or theaters in the 1970s. Often, those films had different types of genres from biker films, zombie pictures, horror, cannibals, and all sorts of stuff. By the 1980s with the advent of home video, the Grindhouse genre faded. Yet in recent years, the film have gained a comeback while horror directors like Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, and Edgar Wright have put elements of exploitation genres into their films. Now, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez decided to team up to create their own Grindhouse double feature that is simply entitled Grindhouse.
Grindhouse is a double-feature written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez that brings back the wild, violent, sexy exploitation films of the 1970s. Each director has contributed a segment of their own. First is Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a zombie film about a doctor, a one-legged dancer, and a hitman battle against zombies terrorizing their town. The second is Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof about an aging stunt car driving stalking women and killing them until another group of women featuring a makeup artist and stuntwomen fight back. True to the duo's violent style that has been prominent in many of their features, Grindhouse is truly the kind of movie they wanted to make.
With an all-star cast that includes Kurt Russell, Bruce Willis, Michael Biehn, Rose McGowan, Marley Shelton, Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danny Trejo, Nicky Katt, Tom Savini, Michael Parks, Jeff Fahey, Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Jordan Ladd, Vanessa Ferlito, and Eli Roth. Grindhouse is one hell of a motherf*cking movie that will f*ck the sh*t out of everyone who loves good ol' 70s exploitation.
Planet Terror
It's a typical day in Austin when a go-go dancer named Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) is dancing at a club. Her real aspirations is to become a stand-up comedian. She meets her ex-boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) at a barbeque shack owned by J.T. Hague(Jeff Fahey) as he asks for his jacket back that she is wearing. Meanwhile at an army base, a scientist named Abby is called upon by Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) to try and cure an infection he and his troops are getting. The infection spreads as Abby attempts an escape. At another part of town, Dr. William Block (Josh Brolin) and his fellow doctor wife, Dr. Dakota McGraw Block (Marley Shelton) are going through marital troubles as Dakota is hoping to leave with her girlfriend Tammy (Stacy Ferguson). Unfortunately, Tammy's car goes through troubles as she encounters zombies as do Wray and Cherry which her right leg was torn off.
When Cherry is sent to the hospital by Wray, he is interviewed by Sheriff Hague (Michael Biehn) as Wray is sent to jail. When Dr. Block notices an infection in a patient (Nicky Katt), things start to go wrong as the infection suddenly spreads. When Hague and his fellow troopers Tolo (Tom Savini) and Carlos (Carlos Gallardo) notices a group of infected people coming to their station. All hell breaks loose as the Sheriff, Tolo, Wray, and a group of troopers are trying to escape to J.T.'s place as Wray grabs Cherry out of the hospital. After Dr. Block finally tells his wife about the knowledge of her affair, he attempts to kill but only locks her out. Dakota escapes but is dosed with some drugs that makes her joints limp. She finally makes it to her son Tony (Rebel Rodriguez) after a fight with the twin babysitters (Electra and Elise Allevan). Hoping to reach her estranged father Earl McGraw (Michael Parks), she learns that her husband has been infected as she, Tony, and her father escape to J.T.'s barbeque shack.
With the survivors as the shack, the whole gang tries to make an escape from the zombies but are captured by Muldoon and his troops for quarantine. With Abby in the quarantine, Cherry and Dakota are captured by a crazy soldier named Earl (Quentin Tarantino) as Abby knows how to make the antidote while he and Wray learn about the infection. Wray and Abby make their escape while Cherry and Dakota battle it out with a few troopers as Cherry gets a machine-gun for a new leg as the entire gang battle it out with zombies.
Death Proof
It's another day of partying in Austin where three women including New Yorker Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd), and local radio disc jockey Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) are going out for a big party. Arlene notices that they're being watched by a man in a black car. The girls go to another bar where Julia talks about what she said about Arlene in her program about giving free lap dances. The party rages on with Warren (Quentin Tarantino), Omar (Michael Bacall), and Dov (Eli Roth) as Julia waits for her pot-dealer Lanna Franks (Monica Staggs) for a real party. Watching them is an old childhood enemy of Julia named Pam (Rose McGowan) who notices sitting in the bar nearby eating nacho is a man named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell). She asks Mike for a ride later on as the party rages on while Mike looks on making the girls uncomfortable.
The party winds down as Arlene, Shanna, Julia, and Lanna leave with Pam going with Mike in his black, 1971 Chevy Nova SS which he uses for his stunt work. Pam later realizes she gets in more than she bargained for. After a horrific crash that Mike survives while being cleared of all charges by Earl McGraw and his son Edgar (James Parks). Mike moves to Tennessee where he decides to stalk another group of women. This time, it's two stuntwomen in Zoe (Zoe Bell), Kim (Tracie Thoms), makeup artist Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), and actress Lee Montgomery (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Taking a break from their work on a film, the four women talk about all of the Hollywood gossip and men where the young, naive Lee talks about a man who looks like former pro wrestler the Rock. The reason for their trip in Tennessee is because Zoe has found a car that she's been looking for. A 1970 white Dodge Challenger, the same car in the 1970s cult-classic film Vanishing Point that neither Lee or Abernathy has ever heard of.
The car is found as Zoe wants to take it for a test drive and play a stunt game with Kim. Abernathy convinces the car's seller Jasper (Jonathan Loughran) for a test in exchange for some time with a sleepy Lee. Abernathy joins Zoe and Kim to see the stunt game when they were interrupted by Mike in his 1969 Dodge Charger Death Proof car. What Mike doesn't know is that he has messed with the wrong group of ladies.
Trailers:
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Machete stars Danny Trejo in the title role as a Mexican hitman who is hired to kill a politician only to be set up by a crime boss (Jeff Fahey). Machete decides to get revenge with help from a priest (Cheech Marin) as the boss realizes he messed with the wrong men. Directed by Rob Zombie, Werewolf Women of the S.S. is a World War II film about a group of Nazi scientists trying to create an army of superwomen when everything goes wrong. Starring Udo Kier, Sheri Moon Zombie, Sybil Danning, Bill Mosley, and Nicholas Cage hamming it up as Fu Manchu. Directed by Edgar Wright, Don't is a British horror film of the 1970s starring Jason Issacs, Matthew McFayden, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Emily Booth, and Stuart Wilson about a haunted house that scares everyone. Finally, there’s Eli Roth's Thanksgiving with Jordan Ladd, Michael Biehn, and Jay Hernandez about a cannibal plot to kill people for a cannibal Thanksgiving. All of these films will be coming soon.
Since this is a tribute to the grindhouse movies of the 1970s, one would think that a movie like Grindhouse would have something profound to say to its audience. Naaaahh... In many ways, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror is essentially an old-school zombie movie with loads of references to John Carpenter with its cheesy, synthesizer music in some parts to its campy dialogue. Even the character of El Wray is a caricature of the heroes Kurt Russell played in his work with John Carpenter. Overall, Planet Terror never bores its audience with its suspense, action, and sexual innuendo. It just plays it straight with its array of gore, machine guns, explosions, everything. It works overall. Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof is a part tribute to slasher films as well as car chase films of the 1970s, notably Vanishing Point. Now some audiences might be put off in some of the film's heavy, dialogue-driven conversations that comes in between the action sequences. Yet, those who know Tarantino is fully aware that his knack for fun dialogue is always done in great fun and are a joy to listen to.
The cinematic style of both films feature broken, scratchy film work that is done intentionally along with messed up sounds, dubs, and whatnot. Even in both films, there's scenes that are missing yet, I'm sure both directors will put them on the DVD. Both directors really just go for hard knocks in their style. Though Rodriguez did use visual effects for McGowan's leg and for some of the stunt work. Tarantino is more traditional in just using real stunts and real cars. Both Kurt Russell and Tracie Thoms drive the cars they are using in their battle. In truth, both directors plus Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, and Edgar Wright know what to expect from their audience. Nothing really overly intellectual. Something that everyone can enjoy. You want laughs. You got it. You want mindless sex and violence. That's there. You want cool stunts, gore, and everything you need in a f*cking good motherf*cking movie Then you f*cking it Why? BECAUSE THIS IS MOTHERF*CKING GRINDHOUSE B*TCH!!!!!
Both Tarantino and Rodriguez do their own cinematography where Tarantino's exterior shots are very wide open to convey the sunny side of Tennessee and Austin while the interior sequences are wonderfully colorful. Rodriguez's photography is more stylized with its darker colors to add to the film's genre style. Tarantino's longtime editor Sally Menke plays up to the film's unique energy in the car sequences while slowing it down for the conversation sequences with its longshots. Rodriguez and co-editor Ethan Maniquis also brings energy and style to the more fast-paced Planet Terror with some great and intentionally messy editing. Set decorator Jeanette Scott does some wonderful work in utilizing the locations while creating fantastic sets for both films. Costume designer Nina Proctor also does excellent work in creating the diverse costumes for the characters.
Visual effects supervisor Ryan Tuphole does some great work in creating some of the digital effects for the Planet Terror segment while makeup artists Rob Hinderton, Meredith Johns, and Darylin Nagy do great work on the gory look of the zombies. Sound designers Paula Fairfield and Carl Murray add to the film's tense, energetic atmosphere with some great sound work. For the score of Planet Terror, the film is dominated by snarling saxophone and guitar work from Robert Rodriguez along with cheesy, John Carpenter-like score music along with Graeme Revell's traditional, orchestral score. The music in Quentin Tarantino's is more of a soundtrack featuring 60s and 70s rock music plus a cut from legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone.
Finally, there's the cast and what a hell of a cast. Featuring fun cameos from Tarantino (in both segments), Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon Zombie, Sybil Danning, Udo Kier, Jason Issacs, Jay Hernandez, Eli Roth (also in the Death Proof segment), and Nicholas Cage in the trailers are fun to watch. From the Planet Terror segment, the small appearances from legendary horror film icon Tom Savini, El Mariachi's Carlos Gallardo, singer Stacy Ferguson, Julio Oscar Mechoso as Romey, Nicky Katt, and Michael Parks (also in Death Proof with son James) are a lot of fun to watch. Playing the Crazy Babysitter Twins (who also appear in Death Proof) are Electra and Elise Allevan (Rodriguez's nieces) are fun to watch along with Rodriguez's son Rebel as the Block's son. Bruce Willis makes a great appearance as Lt. Muldoon who reveals what he's done for his country. Lost's Naveen Andrews is great as the scientist Abby who carries a mean knife. Noted character actors Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn give two of some of the best performances as brothers fighting zombies with Fahey as a cook and Biehn as a sheriff. The two have great one liners and even make appearances in different trailers, they deserve more work.
Josh Brolin is wonderful as the villainous Dr. Block who later becomes a zombie wanting to kill his wife for her affairs. Marley Shelton is fun and sexy as the syringe-shooting Dakota Block who is one woman not to be messed with. In a role that is definitely inspired by Kurt Russell, Freddy Rodriguez gives a star-making performance as El Wray. Rodriguez steals nearly every scene he's in whether he's doing back flips, twirling guns, or anything. Rodriguez is the man!!! Finally, there's Rose McGowan returning to the cinema after a few years on TV for Charmed. McGowan is great and sexy as the back-talking, funny Cherry Darling who loses her leg and tries to find her way to fight back. Then when she gets that machine gun as a new leg, she really owns the film. It's a great, comeback performance from Rose McGowan who also does great work as Pam in the Death Proof segment.
In Death Proof, the small appearances from Michael Bacall, Monica Staggs, and Jonathan Loughran from Kill Bill are fun to watch. Jordan Ladd is great as the partying Shanna, Vanessa Ferlito as the New Yorker Arlene, and Sydney Tamiia Poitier is fun as the b*tchy Jungle Julia. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is good and cute as the cheerleading-wearing actress Lee who is the naive group of the bunch with Dawson, Bell, and Thoms who doesn't understand about the films of the past. Tracie Thoms is a lot of fun as the car-driving Kim with real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell is fun as herself. Rosario Dawson is great as the cautious turned angry Abernathy who uses her charm and wit to get the car.
Finally, there's Kurt Russell in what has to be an Oscar-worthy performance as Stuntman Mike. Russell starts off being laid back and cool but once he's in that car, he's a total bad*ss. Wait, there's two more characters I missed. The cars. Playing Death Proof are the 1971 Chevy Nova SS and the 1969 Dodge Charger where as one, they're both bad*ss looking cars that can destroy anyone. The other car, making his comeback after a 35-year sabbatical is the old-school 1970 white Dodge Challenger from the cult film Vanishing Point. That's a f*cking beauty.
If anyone wants to see a movie where a family can sit down, enjoy themselves, and bask in the mediocrity of most family films. GET THE F*CK OUT OF THIS F*CKING THEATER!!!! Grindhouse isn't for those pathetic audiences. Grindhouse is made for those who want to see mindless sex and violence, gore, bruises, zombies, cars, and all of that sh*t!!! While fans are still waiting for Quentin Tarantino to work on his upcoming World War II project Inglorious Bastards, this is a nice stop-gap film. Still, this is an overall work for both Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez while being accompanied by some supercool trailers. In the end, for anyone who wants to escape and have a load of fun for more than three hours. GO F*CKING SEE GRINDHOUSE B*TCH!
Quentin Tarantino Films: Reservoir Dogs - Pulp Fiction - Jackie Brown - (Kill Bill I & II) - Inglourious Basterds
Robert Rodriguez Films: From Dusk Til' Dawn - Sin City
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Die-hard Fans Only
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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thevoid99
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Member: Steven Flores
Location: Smyrna, Georgia
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