Crazy Good Fun!

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2008)

I was not alive for the height of exploitation films. After viewing Grindhouse, I sure wish I was. Robert Rodriuguez (From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) have already combined to form some excellent films, but this time, they really outdid themselves. As the film's poster will tell you, Quentin and Robert deliver 2 1/2 hours of pure dynamite! And, with a little help from their friends, they have managed to pull off an excellent double feature, which leaves you heading over to Blockbuster to pick more grindhouse flicks.
First up is Rodriguez's Planet Terror, which features a go-go dancer named Cherry (Rose McGowan) teaming up with others, including her ex-boyfriend El Ray (Freddy Rodriguez), to stop vicious man-eating zombies from taking over the world. This film is typical Rodriguez: A 2 hour complation of sex and violence, but intelligently put together. Since this is supposed to be a Grindhouse flick, the violence and sex is really high. Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin, Naveen Andrews, Michael Bihen, and Jeff Fahey co-star. Fans will love cameos by Tarantino, Stacy Ferguson (better known as Fergie), and Bruce Willis. It's fun to see Bihen back in a badass role, bringing us back to the days where he was making us applaud in The Terminator and Aliens. Be warned, though. If you're not the type of film-goer with an imagination, you're gonna hate this film.
Next up is the superior half of Grindhouse, Tarantino's Death Proof. Kurt Russell, also badass once more, stars as a psycho stuntman, who stalks and kills young women with his vintage cars. Among his prey are a group of Texas girls (Vannessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Tamilla Potheier, and McGowan) and a group of Hollywood startlets (Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Bell). Filmgoers who want nothing with buckets of blood violence in every minute of the film need not apply. Yes, Death Proof is violent, but Tarantino works his classic magic in this segment. The infamous diner scene that introduced Reservoir Dogs is basically recreated by one group of girls. The characters constantly talk pop culture, another Tarantino charm. Bell, who is really a stuntwoman in real life, acts quite well, keeping mind that she's not really an actor. The film ends with a 20 minute car chase that belongs with the great ones like Vanishing Point. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge Tarantino fan, but Death Proof really beats out Planet Terror.
In between the two films, fake grindhouse trailers are inserted. Rodriguez opens with Machete, a film about a Mexican vigilante, before his segment. In between the films, Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz) presents Don't, a nod to British horror films. Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects) presents Werewolf Women of the SS (title pretty much explains it all). And Eli Roth (Hostel) gives us Thanksgiving, a parody of slasher flicks. The trailers are very funny and very entertaining. Guys like Nicolas Cage, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Will Arnett, and Simon Pegg stop by to say hello during the trailer as well. Also, in the two films, Michael Parks returns to reprise his awesome character of Texas Ranger Earl McGraw. His son, James, also reprises the role of his son.
So, in closing, your grindhouse experience won't end when this movie's over. You'll be so tempted to see what the real thing was like, this film basically just started it.