Release:
2007 Written and Directed by: Robert Rodriguez (Planet
Terror segment), Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof segment) Additional segments written and/or directed by:
Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright and Jeff Rendell
Starring:
Rose McGowan as Cherry Freddy Rodriquez as Wray Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Jungle Julia Plus: Many, many more
The 70s. The men were macho and tough, the woman sexy and
deadly. Television flashed images of Charlie’s
Angels, The Bionic Woman and Starsky
and Hutch. Sideburns, tank tops, sassy women and men brimming
with over-the-top masculinity. Those were the days…
Rodriguez and Tarantino seem to think so too. Grindhouse,
the latest offering by this movie-making duo, is more than a movie.
Well, it is two movies actually along with the 70s movie-going
experience of previews, trailers and subliminal messages to cause trips
to the concessions stand, but it was more than
that also. Grindhouse is a tribute. A tribute to a
time when going to the movies was an adventure. Men were men, women
were dangerous and women’s liberation was in full swing. The
weak shall perish, the strong shall survive and women can be sassy and
hot while still kicking your ass.
Grindhouse is a double-feature in one. The first
film, Planet Terror (Directed by Rodriguez), is
what we here at BHM would call a “not a
zombie, zombie movie”. There are freaky folks wandering
around town feasting on living human flesh…they
aren’t the risen dead but merely mortals infected by an
experimental government biological warfare virus.
The real story, though, is Cherry (Rose McGowan). She is a go-go dancer
(don’t call her a stripper) that once had big dreams, but is
now defeated and spends her nights dancing for strange men before
bursting into tears. There are other back stories also, including the
bi-curious doctor with an abusive husband, a secret-society assassin
living as a lowly tow truck operator and the creator of the best
barbeque in Texas. The virus-infected flesh-eaters bring this motley
crew together to make a stand for humanity and personal power. Whew.
Planet
Terror is extremely fun with great gore, tons of action and
lots of things blowing up…and a stripper chick with a
kick-ass gun for a leg. Yes friends, all this, and zombies (kind of)
too can be yours in Planet Terror.
The second feature is Death Proof, written and
directed by Quinton Tarrantino. What a rush!
Four female friends go about their lives as pseudo-celebrities in a
small town somewhere in America. They are celebrities because Julia,
the statuesque ebony goddess of the quad, is also the popular radio
D.J. known as Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier). As the women go
about a typical day they notice a strange hot rod that seems to be
following them around…notable because of the skull and cross
bones on the hood.
Later that evening the “duo times two” are hanging
out at the local watering hole when they meet the owner of that crazy
car – Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell). Mike is charming
(although old enough to be their father) and appears harmless. Too bad
they didn’t re-think that.
Without giving too much away I can tell you that Mike is a very (very,
very) bad guy who, in addition to Jungle Julia and friends, stalks
another female foursome with terrorizing results. Like all good films
where sexy independent women are victimized, Mike gets his just
deserts. Nuff said.
The short bits prior to and between the features are worth the price of
admission by themselves. Previews of films like Machete
(Latin Assassin) and Werewolf Women of the SS
(Inflicted Nazi chicks with their breasts hanging out) are intermixed
with Laugh-In type psychedelic screensavers
bearing messages to entice you to buy popcorn and “enjoy
life, see movies more often”.
I
hate to say it, but I remember when such messages were normal
movie-going fare. At least the subliminal snack-directives were done in
an obvious-enough way to allow the audience actually see the mind
control that movie theaters had over all of us.
Grindhouse is not fine cinema. It is, however,
highly entertaining whether you remember the era being parodied or not.
Although Grindhouse is long (191 minutes) there was
not a single instant that the film dragged or lost my interest. In
fact, I had to use the men’s room for the last 90 minutes of
the film, but I held it to avoid missing anything.
Grindhouse is immature, gory, has gratuitous nudity
and little redeeming social value, but since when are those factors
necessary criteria for an incredible movie experience? A wise man once
said “cold girls in tube tops make great cinema”,
after all. I suggest that, in spite of the dreadful lack of political
correctness or inherent cultural value, you go see Grindhouse anyway.
Questions
or comments about Grindhouse? Contact us!
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to the concessions stand, but it was more than
that also. Grindhouse is a tribute. A tribute to a
time when going to the movies was an adventure. Men were men, women
were dangerous and women’s liberation was in full swing. The
weak shall perish, the strong shall survive and women can be sassy and
hot while still kicking your ass.
The real story, though, is Cherry (Rose McGowan). She is a go-go dancer
(don’t call her a stripper) that once had big dreams, but is
now defeated and spends her nights dancing for strange men before
bursting into tears. There are other back stories also, including the
bi-curious doctor with an abusive husband, a secret-society assassin
living as a lowly tow truck operator and the creator of the best
barbeque in Texas. The virus-infected flesh-eaters bring this motley
crew together to make a stand for humanity and personal power. Whew.
Four female friends go about their lives as pseudo-celebrities in a
small town somewhere in America. They are celebrities because Julia,
the statuesque ebony goddess of the quad, is also the popular radio
D.J. known as Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier). As the women go
about a typical day they notice a strange hot rod that seems to be
following them around…notable because of the skull and cross
bones on the hood.
Without giving too much away I can tell you that Mike is a very (very,
very) bad guy who, in addition to Jungle Julia and friends, stalks
another female foursome with terrorizing results. Like all good films
where sexy independent women are victimized, Mike gets his just
deserts. Nuff said.
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