Scarecrow-88

(2013-05-19 02:10:42)

Death Proof

Yep, Death Proof is dialogue-heavy, with certain emphasis, camera-wise,on feet and ass. Not that I have a problem with feet and ass, but aftera while I was growing tired of hearing and seeing girlfriends chatter,drink, smoke, and eat. Mundane activities like smoking cigarettes,downing shots of liquor, ranting on about sleeping with dudes, going onand one about their lives for seemingly limitless amounts of time. AndI agree with this critique some Internet user mentioned regarding howTarantino lives vicariously through the girls with the dialogue.I remember feeling so disgusted, it's funny really in retrospect, athow DP makes Kurt Russell's serial killer/stalking predator a realbitch..I also remember another Interner user proclaim, kudos to him,that Stuntman Mike isn't Snake Plisskin. And, that couldn't be moreaccurate. Mike gets his jollies killing pretty young things with hisvehicle, the muscle car which substitutes what he is lacking physicallyand psychologically in the sexual department. You know, back to the whole point about the "Tarantino talkingvicariously through the girls", even though it's recognized that whenthe actress' characters talk we know it's the writer/director's voice,those involved really take to the dialogue and seem to embrace what isbeing said throughout the movie. Of course, there are plenty of "fcks"and "shts", but the girls involved seem to be having quite a lot of funwith QT's script as written. I'm open and honest in my worthless user comments I write for genremovies on this site, and I admit that a movie can often win me overwith specifics even if the entire whole does little for me(well,dialogue wise, and, to be honest, these kinds of girls, even as writtenby QT, do nothing for me personally). The showstopping car crash wherethe first segments girls get obliterated through a nightmarish head oncollision with Stuntman Mike certainly had me out of seat, applaudingsuch efforts for how it is presented in several different angles(QTshows each girls' fate, such as one girl being thrown out of the car,the tire of Mike's car driving right across one victim's face, and theultimate "shazaam", a leg pulled clean off a girl landing with a flopon the deserted highway!). All was forgiven when QT gobsmacked us withthat beauty of grisly destruction as far as I was concerned.Then QT segues into a second set of girls(except, I was a bit morelenient since one of the group was the foxy and fine Mary ElizabethWinstead in a cheerleader uniform)and hear comes more endlessly talkybanter, in their car and inside a diner(included in the film's soloeffort, excluded from it's original Grindhouse origin, there's also alengthly sequence where three of the girls, before picking up Zoe Bell,stop at a gas station). Then, QT extends the olive branch to us who were dying for somethingother than chit-chat for minutes and minutes on end between theprinciples, and stages one of the most breathtaking action stunt setpieces I've ever seen. This, a loving ode to those awesome 70's carrace movies, will forever cement Bell's cult status with us genre nerdsforever. Hanging for dear life on the hood of a 1970 White DodgeCharger as Stuntman Mike rams the car repeatedly, authentic anddangerous, Bell immortalizes herself in the hearts of action junkiesforever..we heart you Zoe, you have contributed to our ever-growingdesire to see the seemingly impossible presented right before our eyesin all your glory. When I mentioned that I'm open and honest when writing my meaninglessuser comments, I make mention that if a director can drop a few bombson me, I can be forgiving; I'm easy prey, I guess. You can bore me totears with the words and activities of girls as the camera adores themfrom various body parts(feet and ass), but if the director has a way ofgrabbing my collar, shaking me out of my daze, with somethingworthwhile, I can be brought into the fold.And, bottom line, QT can turn Russell into a bitch, whining and crying,but being the KR fanatic that I am(and there are many of us out there),I was able to find a way to remain calm this go-around(I admit, I wasfuming in the theater)and giggle at what transpires.Despite being such a crazy fan of exploitation movies, QT's moviesaren't misogynistic..if anything, his movies empower women, and theirstrength is quite on display, full of attitude and guts, who can dishout just as much as the men across from them.

FullFrontalMessiah

(2013-05-18 13:58:18)

Tarentino fails as what should have been easy for him to succeed in

Tarentino has always made it known his appreciation for 60's and 70's Bmovie cinema and so one would think that Death Proof would be thebetter of the 2 Grindhouse films. After seeing Death Proof, thathypothesis has been proved false.To be blunt, Death Proof is dull. I am a Tarentino fan and I understandthat the dialogue in his films is one of his trademarks. However, DeathProof does not bring those same comedic conversations on pop culturelike we saw in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Instead we get 2 groupsof girls talking about nothing. No, i don't mean Seinfeld nothing. Imean nothing to the point where I had to fast forward 15 minutes eachtime to find Kurt Russel, the only highlight of the movie.The car chase/crash scenes are good enough to make you want to stopthrough the fast forwarding of probably some of the most boringconversations in recent cinema history. There is no CGI and insteadTarentino gives us the throwback feel that should have been therethroughout the whole movie.The movie would not have been so bad if the dialogue of both sets ofgirls was cut in half, the scenes in the bar which seemed likeTarentino used as an excuse to insert a lot of rare, retro music hadbeen left to a minimum, and we got to see more of Kurt Russel'sinteresting Stunt Man Mike character.

magicman-14

(2013-05-14 16:44:35)

Action with edge 70's style.

"Death Proof", is a fantastic action movie that is even better if youare a fan of the genre, which, in this case, is the classic chase film.What Quentin has done here, is to create the quintessential chasemovie. In this film, as with others in the genre, the dialog sequencestakes a back seat to the action. An almost too slow pace is used toprime the audience for the action sequences which are way over the top.The cars sound and feel real. You are really in the action. The dialoghere is much more enjoyable than other entries in this genre owing toQuentin's singular style. The casting is very good with excellentperformances across the board. Kurt Russell gives a performance herethat is one of his best. If you are not familiar with chase movies Irecommend, "Vanishing Point", "Two-Lane Black Top", and, "The Getaway."

chipura alabalik

(2013-05-14 05:11:25)

this movie got all volleys!!!

Tarantino, again, playing tricks with us. he simply, shows his righthand and asks what's in it, we, again, host our minds with some long-funny dialogs, mostly between females who don't seem like protagonists,but actually this is a film about exploitation of them (or what theysymbolized-weakening the frontiers of self-confident, unindependentwomen who can defend them self and exist, survive and win in men's holywoods?), which does like those grind house movies, but death proofreally makes fun of grind houses, and also Tarantino does notunderestimate them, in a way, respects and as he does, he desires us tohave fun for a little, indeed. (it seems they had lots) Whatever,cinematographically well drawn, and jumps you up to the space ofdirty-cheap mouth,one-sided hot characters making party inhonkytonkylike bars with jukebox, or running cars on dustycrossroads... of course brutal terror being showed off in doses.Tarantino is a passionate for all in cinema and welcomes us to hisworld of wonders and keeps going to surprise, trick, conflict andwhatever...:)

Jakob Gambit

(2013-05-13 15:37:01)

Tarantino's masterpiece

First of all: What a fantastic an complete movie. I'll start with theactors. Kurt Russell is the one of the most ironic characters ever. Hisironic mirror to Snake Plissken Secondly: the girls. Perky, cool, sexy.Their dialogs are pure magic but they are true also. Style: The Movieis separated in two parts. Little movies at theirself. First the parodyof the classical slasher movie, secondly the homage to classical 70'scar movies. To support his homage to the trash cinema Tarantino usesintentional mistakes by using bad light and fore the trash cinematypical cuts. But what takes the movie so close to perfection? It's themusic, the allusions and the ending. A grown up man plays around withhis boy fantasy's. Absolutely great. Watch it. For everyone who doesnot like it. No problem, but i hope there will not be anyone. No CGI,simply vodka with sugar-free red-bull and an Italian vogue.

Ozzy2000

(2013-05-13 05:31:02)

Such is Grindhouse

Quentin Tarantino brings us another stylistic film with heaps ofgratuitous violence and sexual explicitness. Burnt out Kurt Russelplays burnt out psychopathic stuntman Mike who fancies himself as a bitof a ladies man and enjoys confronting women who are sexuallyextrovert. The only trouble is he follows it all up with brutalviolence.Tarantino continues his highly applauded and celebrated one-dimensionalstyle of explicit body mutilation and subtle misogyny in this film.All petrol heads , Bikers and strip club regulars will enjoy this.There is also a those who believe Tarantino films are an over-ratedjoke and therefore have great comedic value and I am one of those. Itsso bad its good.The production values in this film are pretty cheap but a bottle ofJack Daniels should compensate for that.Don't forget to hire "Planet Terror" which is apparently the matchingfilm for this one and then throw another prawn on the barbecue.

(2013-05-05 03:39:23)

Tarantino once again pays a brilliant homage

This review is from: Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD) Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, the second film that played after Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror as part of the original theatrical Grindhouse feature, is a brilliant homage and twisted trip to say the least. Kurt Russell (in a role originally slated for Mickey Rourke) plays the psychotic Stuntman Mike, who doesn't kill his victims with a gun or a knife like a typical serial killer would, but instead he uses his souped up muscle car to stalk and murder his prey, and he does it quite well. All goes great for Mike until he comes across the wrong group of girls (including Rosario Dawson and stuntwoman Zoe Bell in her acting debut) who strike back in a big way. While Death Proof is pure Tarantino all the way (the dialogue is top notch and instantly memorable), it's the car crash and chase scenes that are what's worth noting the most. With some incredible stunt work at his disposal, Tarantino crafts the trashy homage he set out to do, and he does it perfectly. Also featuring Rose McGowan, Jordan Ladd, Hostel director Eli Roth, and the incredibly hot Vanessa Ferlito. On a side note, you'll no doubt notice that the negative reviews here are due to the fact that Death Proof and Planet Terror are not being released together on DVD as they were in theaters. It's a crying shame that this has happened, because this isn't what Tarantino or Rodriguez wanted. The whole point of Grindhouse was getting two movies for the price of one, and the fake trailers sprinkled before and in between (directed by Roth, Rob Zombie, Rodriguez, and Edgar Wright) are nowhere in sight. Whether you purchase them both seperately is up to you, but it's inevitable that further down the line both films will be packaged together with the trailers included.

(2013-05-04 16:01:18)

On The Road Again

Not that this film needs another review, but I suppose I'll put in my two cents for s%*ts and giggles. But before I get into anything, I'd just like to point out that this movie solidly confirms what we'd all suspected since Pulp Fiction, and that is that Tarantino most certainly has a foot fetish. There are so many shots of feet in this film that you almost(almost) think that the project had started out as a foot fetish porn film that Tarantino might have wanted to do on the side. With all that aside, the general consensus on Death Proof is that it's a colossal bore. There are quite a few defenders of the film as well, maybe even moreso than those who didn't like it. Are people tiring of Tarantino's style or did Tarantino's style just not work this time around? I'm somewhere in the middle. I didn't think this was the abysmal failure it's made out to be, nor do I think it's a very good Tarantino film. I also don't think it's all that great an homage to grindhouse cinema. Grindhouse films of the 70 were cheap, exploitative, sometimes shocking or groundbreaking, fun, trashy entertainment. Fast food kinda movies. Now in Death Proof Tarantino basically made a Tarantino film with a few grindhouse dashes here and there(the music from Dario Argento's Bird With The Crystal Plumage plays while Kurt Russell is photographing his next potential victims like the killer in Argento's film did. The scene is also shot in the same style. A nice touch). Fine. After all, it is his movie. By now everyone knows the major criticism of this movie is the constant dialogue and little action. Personally, I have no problem with movies that take their time getting to where they're going. Many of the best directors do take their time. Tarantino himself has made this work for him before. After all, this is the guy who can take an 80 minute premise and stretch it out to absurd lengths, but manage to keep things interesting. In the case of Death Proof, it's simply the story of a vehicular serial killer that finally tangles with the wrong carload of potential victims and has the tables turned on him. I expected alot of dialogue in this film. Tarantino himself can't keep his mouth shut, so why should his characters? My problem didn't come from the dialogue, my problem was that I didn't like a single character in this movie. Tarantino seemed to find the most irritating and grating women on the planet and stuck them all here. The few males weren't much better in their small roles(one of them being Tarantino's new bosom buddy, Eli Roth). I certainly don't get off on real life serial killers, but the great thing about the film world is that you can feel guiltless for rooting for the bad guy. Killers can be cool in the movies. I was rooting for Kurt Russell all the way in the hopes that he would put an end to these annoying women. Speaking of Russell, he's clearly the best actor of the bunch and puts on a good performance. Personally I didn't like his on a dime turn from macho killer to whining wuss. People also felt this didn't fit as the second feature on a double bill. Well, I have no problem with that either coz old grindhouse double features would usually include two films quite different from one another. On the positive side, I really admire what Tarantino and Rodriguez were trying to accomplish with the Grindhouse project. It's a great idea and a pity it wasn't a success. I do feel that Death proof has it's moments, and not just the fleeting violent ones either. With so many reviews already, I can't add much more to the pile. All I can say is that I'm glad I saw it and I appreciate the effort even if I wasn't totally thrilled with the results. In the end I can only suggest that if a person really wants the "grindhouse" experience, just rent a "grindhouse" movie. I'd suggest Death Race 2000 if you dig this kinda vehicle carnage.

(2013-05-02 07:17:24)

It's going to be a wild ride!.

Death Proof was definitely an homage or tribute to all those low budget exploitation films from the 70's so the film was not meant to be taken to seriously its just great fun. This along with Planet Terror were both great and can be watched back to back just like it was a grindhouse double feature infact thats what Quetin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez had in mind when they released them both in theaters but the only problem was that it didn't work and failed at the box office which I don't understand why since both films weren't that bad maybe audiences thought it was too silly or violent, Death Proof was great however it wasn't as over the top and gory like Planet Terror but it still had that demented and retro look to it like it was shot in the 70's, even the soundtrack had obscure 70's music which is typical from Tarantino. The characters in the film were mostly female and they had long conversations while sometimes the dialogue seemed abit pointless especially during the second half where the girls were chatting in the diner but still the rest of the film was great and very interesting, Kurt Russel as the psychotic killer called Stuntman Mike was great and it was brilliantly performed by him he was sort of charming but also crazy his character clearly has issues with women he uses his car as a killing machine which is a virtually indestructible vehicle as you'll see in the horrific and brilliant car crash scene the car was also 100% death proof but the only problem is you have to be sitting in the driver's seat as Stuntman Mike says. Rose McGowen also stars as the naive blond girl that takes a ride with Stunman Mike and obviously gets killed, being a huge Quentin Tarantino fan I must admit that it wasn't his best film however the film was still fun to watch and had some memorable death scenes and one long and terrific car chase towards the last half of the film that was nicely shot and was very exhilarating, Tarantino obviously has a vast knowledge of this type of cinema as he references some obscure 70's films which I've haven't even heard of but I have seen some of these films like The Vanishing Point and The Car. This and Planet Terror in my opinion weren't masterpieces but they were really good and enjoyable films and I would probably say that they were some of the best films I've seen in 2007 so I highly recommend this film and two thumbs up!.

watkinstodd

(2013-05-02 00:09:38)

Audience becomes victim

Though I've always been curious to see the imagination of Tanantino ineach of his releases, I've wondered if he could re-invent himself as heprogressed through his career. With Death Proof, it has all come to ascreeching halt as Quentin seems to be so self-absorbed into hishistorical film references and seeming ability to turn the most mundanedialog into gold that he has forgotten that he has an audience outthere in which he needs to communicate his message.I will not go deep into plot, because there is none, and has beenexplained in previous reviews. The films premise is rather delicious,as we have the makings of a great villain in Kurt Russell, and a plotin a simple package - he is out for blood and it seems anybody canbecome the victim - especially if you happen to be a smack-talking,bitchy gal.After we have heard this endless drivel between the first set ofcharacters, we almost see Kurt Russell as our savior - like a GrimReaper out to do the work that we wouldn't do ourselves - to take thesehorrible people off the screen so we can get back to our business. Italmost makes the viewer feel guilty to look at Stuntman Mike as the"hero" for a moment - because these four gals were devoid of any typeof sympathy. But it gets worse, as we realize that this horror moviehas introduced a new group of "villians" that we have to put up for(are you kidding me?) the last half of the film. Tarantino has createdhis least likable, least interesting characters I've seen in a while.If it was his goal to make us root for Stuntman Mike, then it's a new,but twisted play on the audience. To turn the most interesting (andactually more sympathetic character than most of the women) into adriveling whining baby was pathetic, and lame.The only thing worse than the overlong, dull, non-plot driven dialog,is the fact that we see Tarantino speaking directly through thecharacters. This self-absorption should never EVER come through thecharacters. They should have their own life, and never have thosedirector trademarks interfering with the storytelling. A wink from timeto time is nice (as when Hitchcock did his brief cameos, or showed hishand fetishes from time to time - but never interfered with the story).The action sequence (and it's build up - as the stunt gals talk aboutthe "telephone pole") were quite nice, once we got past the mundanedialog. But a 10 minute sequence does not make a film, unfortunately.Hopefully Quentin's next outing will remember that telling the story ismore important than self indulgent showcasing.

(2013-05-01 13:01:57)

Avoid the DVD

This review is from: Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD) What a waste of money, and another cheap attempt at the movie industry to get people to buy multiple versions of the same movie. A total rip off that it doesn't include the trailers. They could have easily split them up and put some on each DVD release. No, of course they just want everyone to buy another version of the movie when they release the inevitable double feature version.Even with that, this movie I just couldn't stand. Who is it supposed to appeal to ? No wonder it was such a bomb at the box office. One hand you have extremely long dialogue scenes where Tarentino just rehashes his former movies. It's like he's trying to recreate the Resevoir Dogs dinner scene with female models. Then after this tedious mess we get the crazy car chases and what not. I think if the movie was cut down to a 30 minute short it might have been bareable.OK we get it, it's supposed to be a 70's B movie. Wow you're so artisitic. Give me a break, it's just way too obvious with all the grain lines. I can do the same thing on Windows Movie Maker. This movie just screams look at me I'm so clever, and it resulted in me hating everything about it.

mattie2493

(2013-04-30 15:34:29)

Cool chase, love it gore, way sexy lappy. Double watch.

Not a 10, but a solid flick people, start to finish. No plot synopsiscoming here, just a totally watchable/rentable movie. It was well done.Hot tail, timely Tarantino gore, simple but captivating story, fivefingered salute to the lap dance, deep and well placed sound track,fast paced bad ass car chase, surprising what the hell you doingaction. Not going to ramble on, not Siskel and Groper here, not a haterlate night amateur columnist bringing down the averages, not a hardcore Tarantoni fan, but I've seen a lot of movies and I think I justsaw a good flick. I liked it. Those reviewing less than 5 stars hadfive on the remote. Looking forward to Planet Terror.

MJWalker

(2013-04-26 05:51:06)

Russ Meyer On Speed

I saw it last night. Imagine three tablespoons of Russ Meyers 'Fasterpussy cat Kill Kill!' a little squeeze of John Carpenter's 'Escape FromNew York' a giant glob of the 'Reservoir Dogs' ultra cool banter (QTreclaims his crown as the king of blah blah, after it slipped - in myopinion - with KB II) and a double dose of Paul Bartel's 'Death Race2000'. Add two barrels of blood and dismembered limbs and blend at180mph... If you like fast talking hard-as-nails busty babes who could drink youunder the table and talk a monk out of his underwear (if only to bitehis cock off), whilst drop kicking Germaine Greer into orbit... thenthis may be the hard on for you...There's a lot of bar room banter but it's typically colourful and oftensurprisingly inventive, this being QT's trademark. But for those of youwho don't actually read newspapers, preferring to look at the pictures,don't worry, when the action comes, it's well worth the wait. I didn't care for Planet Terror, but I really loved this. I think youwill too...

(2013-04-25 13:50:47)

QUENTIN TARANTINO, OPUS 6

**** 2007. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino who takes an inventory of all possible symbols dealing with the relation cars/women. You have to like cinema and be a movie buff to really appreciate this film. I just have to see it again. Right now.

(2013-04-16 13:15:11)

Great movie, but won't buy it

Saw this in the theater. Loved it. After reading it is split up and the trailers are gone, won't buy it. Whoever is responsible for this decision is stupid. I looked forward to seeing this again in its original form on DVD and this is what they do. I'm not interested in the extra scenes. I'm interested in seeing this the way it was in the theater, i.e. two movies, fake trailers. I don't know why this flopped in theaters because it was great in its original format, but I hope these dual DVD releases sans fake trailers fail miserably. This was a bad, bad decision. I'm very disappointed.

ma-cortes

(2013-04-16 03:18:55)

Two separate sets of voluptuous girls are pursued by a former Hollywood stuntman

City of Austin, Texas , a group of beautiful women named Julia Lucai(Sydney Tamiia Poitier), Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd)and Lanna Frank (Monica Staggs) get together in a bar to drink when arestalked by a scarred stuntman named Mike (Kurt Russell) .They meet thatgives a ride to Pam (Rose McGowan) and the events go wrong . The othergroup of girls (Zoe Bell , Rosario Dawson , Tracie Thoms , MaryElizabeth Winstead) is in Tenessee ; both of them are connected only bythe fact that they cruise their cars and are pursued at diverse timesby the former Hollywood stunt Stuntman , Motor Madman Mike who uses his"death proof" cars (they are a 1970 Chevy Nova and a 1969 DodgeCharger) to carry out his killer schemes .This action movie contains thrills , chills , interminable dialogs ,talky and tacky scenes , including spectacular car races ; howeverresulting to be pretty boring . As the dialog is as silly and wanderingas you'd expect from Quentin but lacks much of the intelligence andfreshness of former films as ¨Reservoir dogs¨ or ¨Pulp Fiction¨ .¨Death proof¨ belong as one half of a double by Tarantino and RobertRodriguez that was conceived , mounted and filmed to imitate the 1970's¨Grindhouse¨ from which the project took its title . In fact , therestaurant on the cup is the same Mexican restaurant (Acuna Boys) thatis advertised during the transition between Planet Terror and DeathProof in the original Grindhouse. The highlights of the movie are thecar races , crashes , chases and Zoe Bell does all her own stunts shewas the stunt double for Uma Thurman in the "Kill Bill" series, whichwas also directed by Quentin Tarantino . Good cinematography by thesame Tarantino , though the film was physically scratched to achieveits dirty look, rather than digitally scratch the film footage . Thepicture is pretty violent , thrilling and plenty of profanities , as inthe extended cut of the film, the word 'fuck' is used 148 times , itreached Europe alone with 27 minutes added to the original running time. The motion picture was regularly directed by Tarantino , it seems tobe all the fun and wit appears to have been had behind the camera .It's his only movie that takes place completely in chronological orderand was a commercial failure in the USA , lacking the sparkle andintensity of earlier times . Rating : Average , 4,5 , only forTarantino's hardcore fans .

hall895

(2013-03-31 23:21:35)

Not really sure what to make of this

How to judge this movie? Obviously Quentin Tarantino was trying to dosomething rather different here. And yes, this movie certainly isdifferent. But should we give the movie credit for being different evenif the whole thing seems a little disappointing? If you set out to makean homage to B-movies does that mean you should be spared criticismwhen your movie at times has the feel of a really bad B-movie? I reallywanted to like this movie. But after watching it I'm still not sure ifI did. I didn't hate it but I certainly didn't love it either. It's amovie that has a lot going for it but it is also a movie with plenty ofobvious flaws as well. I can certainly call this movie interesting, I'mjust not sure I can call it good.For everything that's different about Death Proof in the end it isstill a Quentin Tarantino movie with everything that entails. And maybethat's why this is somewhat disappointing. It's a movie with so many ofthe Tarantino trademarks we've come to know. But rather than presentinga fresh, exciting film it too often seems like Tarantino is just doingan imitation of himself. And not a particularly good imitation either.The sharp, witty Tarantino dialogue we've come to know and love issorely missing here. Yes, he still has his characters sit around andtalk. But in this movie they're talking about nothing. So much of thismovie is absolutely pointless dialogue. Not sharp, not witty, notinteresting. The whole first half of the movie consists of boringcharacters sitting around talking about boring things. The movie justkeeps plodding along and nothing ever happens. Then after a brief joltof action we spend the second half of the movie with some new, slightlyless boring characters talking about boring things. And then there'sanother action sequence and the movie's over. And you may well be leftshaking your head wondering what exactly was this all about?So now I've made it sound as if this is a really bad movie but I don'tthink it is. It's not as good as I may have hoped but in the end Ithink I liked it just enough to give it a very begrudgingrecommendation. You know Tarantino can do better. But he did createsomething rather unique here and he deserves some credit for that. Andfor all that's bad about the movie there are plenty of good things tobalance things out. The soundtrack, as you'd expect from Tarantino, isbrilliant with a number of obscure songs which fit the movie perfectly.There's a car chase scene which is simply terrific. There are a coupleof standout performances in the cast, most notably Kurt Russell as themenacing Stuntman Mike whose actions are at the center of what littleactual story this movie has. Whenever Russell is on the screen thismovie has some life. Too bad we spend so much time with a collection ofblabbering, boring women and never really get to know who the heckStuntman Mike is and what drives him to do the things he does. As forthose women the most memorable performance comes from Zoe Bell, who'snot even really an actress but rather a stuntwoman who here is playingherself. Bell's got spunk and energy and personality which is more thancan be said for some of the other women we see. Rosario Dawson andTracie Thoms are OK and Rose McGowan has a few nice moments but theother female leads are truly unremarkable. That doesn't necessarilymean they give bad performances, the blame really should go toTarantino for giving them a script which provides them with nothing todo. In the end this is a movie which is reasonably decent but willleave you wanting more.Oh, and Quentin? One last thing. Enough already with the feet.Seriously.

James Alex Neve

(2013-03-31 05:20:41)

It's a bit of a mess, but like all car crashes, you can't help but stare at it.

Clunky editing, grainy filming, laughable stories, ultra-violence andexploitation in the guise of feminism and blacksploitation. Not themost appealing of conventions when it comes to the modern cinemaaudience. Perhaps this explains, to a certain extent, why the olddrive-in formula of watching back-to-back trashy hardcore exploitationfilms was lost on American audiences. Grindhouse took a paltry $4.2million on its opening weekend and has thus far failed to make backeven half the double movie's budget. This despite most critics who wentto see it having nothing but praise for Tarantino and chums. Butapparently only seeing the numbers, Quentin and co-director RobertRodriguez decided it would be best to split their respective storiesapart, and release them as two movies in the UK, flying in the face ofGrindhouse logic.The first of these films, is Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's homage tothe likes of producer Roger Corman's Deathrace 2000 and director JackHill's Switchblade Sisters (1975), with Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mikehaving an unhealthy obsession with crashing into cars driven by youngladies. An appropriately stupid premise tailor-made for a grindhousemarket. Why then does the film seem so incidental when attempting torecreate the vibe of a Corman-style trash fest? The long and shortanswer is that this isn't really a grindhouse film. It is a Tarantinofilm with the ghosts of so many bad old movies hovering over it. Yesyou get the grainy film footage, and the purposefully poor editing thatraise the chuckles they crave. But that quickly fades away, andTarantino very quickly moves into familiarly talkative territory akinto hit men talking about European hamburgers or bank robbers musingabout the veracity of Madonna's hit single "Like A Virgin". Althoughthis is not entirely a bad thing, it is not inherently valid for thistype of material. Tarantino can't help but overload his scenes withmeaningless meandering, almost as if he has reached the point ofaimless directorial swaggery. One scene, for instance, involves one ofthe girls buying a magazine at a gas station. A simple interaction thatgoes on forever it would seem, failing to tell us anything about thecharacters or indeed the plot. At least Pulp Fiction had meaning behindthe mundanity of its own inhabitants. I did often wonder if much ofthis was down to Tarantino having to bulk up his film after splittingit from Planet Terror. It has the veneer of a movie in desperate needof a good editor, much in the same way that Kill Bill vol. 2 needed agood spit shine. And then we have the actual car scenes. Well barringthe ultra-violent central car crash that splits the film's two femalegroups, and the climactic car chase (expertly executed) Death Proof isnothing more than a girls gone hiking film. Again, blame the editing,for an awful lot of this movie creates a hugely diverting story ofgirls pontificating the kind of popular interests that only Tarantinowould make them do, such as a love for the film Vanishing Point orDave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch. Is it stylish? Absolutely. NoTarantino film could ever bore you aesthetically, or indeed talk you todeath with insipid dialogue. Even if it is uneven and ponderous,listening to these characters waffle on about nothing in particular isstill executed smoothly and embodies that Tarantino air of coolness.Maybe the inevitable release of Grandhouse as a whole will win over myheart more. It's a bit of a mess, but like all car crashes, you can'thelp but stare at it.

totally-8

(2013-03-13 19:27:53)

even Tarantino fans will fall asleep

the only possible way anyone can like this film is if they have alreadydecided they are going to like it before they go in because:- they think Tarantino deserves special treatment as a 'cult' figure -they think everything he does is clever and interesting before theyeven buy the ticket.I have never bothered my rear reviewing a movie before but this wasjust the most dull and badly put together thing I have ever seen. youget scenes of about twenty minutes of utterly dull characters justtalking sitting around a table. and if anyone you know raves about it - find them out by asking them toquote the best dialogue. There isn't ANY and I bet they have forgottenit all five minutes after leaving the theatre. Tarantino is a magpie who 'borrows' from other films constantly. He'snot an innovator he's a copying machine with a good PR.

(2013-03-13 10:34:43)

Probably should have been the 1st half of Grindhouse anyway

QT may have fallen out of favor with the aging hipsters and youngsters with attitudes but this is DEATH PROOF that he is still ticking despite all the bandwagon haters. He has seen more movies than you, he does have a great eye and ear for capturing old actors and tunes and making them shine, and his dialogue often makes us feel like we aren't just watching a storyline being driven. That is especially the case here, the first 1 hour and 10 mins or so is flawless homage, beautiful girls, great tunes, weed, Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike and Michael Parks in an amazing sheriff cameo. Very entertaining and self indulgent but perfect in setting that bar in the rain ambiance. Then the second hour where for some reason he drops the entire GRINDHOUSE look after a B/W scene. I don't know why he didn't leave the grimy film effect throughout the entire thing they are in the same time period and it is off putting somewhat. If he meant to draw a line between the two halves he suceeded, but the girls aren't as fun to watch until the big finale and it doesn't fly by like the first hour. I suppose the two halves represent the male/female fantasy viewpoint, and maybe Kurt Russell is really just daydreaming until he runs into the girls in the second half. Whatever the case the soulful Death Proof would probably bill better as the first half of the intended GRINDHOUSE drive-in experience with Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Machete trailer as finale.