The best tasting trash in the galaxy

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2007)

Now, I expected to enjoy this movie, and everything I heard about it had me ready for some fantastically kitsch entertainment... but I have to be honest and say...
WOW, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it THAT much!
Rodriguez and Tarantino have managed to recreate the experience quite well, almost to the point where it's surreal. Everything down to the "Prevue" and "Feature Presentation" screens really give it a trashy-somewhat-70s vibe (which actually makes the use of cellphones in the movies feel a little awkward) that brings you right into the mindset you need to be in to watch a kick butt zombie movie followed by a car-racing thriller. And I don't know what people are talking about when they complain about Tarantino's dialog... everything in this movie is well-paced, and how can dialog about "Vanishing Point" be considered pretentious? In fact, the different ways in which Rodriguez and Tarantino use the "degraded film" effect shows Tarantino's own fun with himself: the biggest jump cuts involve jumps in the dialog editing, causing several lines to be repeated awkwardly during "reel transistions." It's a fitting production of a particular director's own approach to film-making.
Which is one of the reasons this movie succeeds at being so fun. Even through all the degraded imagery, one can tell that Rodriguez and Tarantino know what they're doing, and do what they want, and love what they do. Sometimes the higher budget shines through the pseudokitsch, which especially happens during Rodriguez's segments, but still there's a recognition of the importance of the original "quality" of these types of films and the reason why they are so endearing despite their lesser budgets and construction.
This event is not to be missed, really. It's fun, it's trashy, it's hilarious, it's bloody-good, and, oh, it's fun. Even after three hours of this stuff I didn't feel like I had enough, so after I went home I dragged out my b-movie collection and kept right on watching. Never have I watched a movie before where afterward I found myself hoping they make an almost endless array of followups. I know I'd pay money to see "Werewolf Women of the SS."
I do have one complaint, and it's a minor one: Tarantino does need to realize that his screen presence isn't nearly as interesting as his name entails. His presence in both features was distracting and at times somewhat obnoxious. I had a lot more fun with everyone else hamming it up when he wasn't around.
--PolarisDiB