Rodriguez delivers, Tarantino annoys

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2008)

The idea of a 70s era double feature with fake trailers was an inspired idea.
Machete was my favorite trailer, followed by Thanksgiving, then Don't (Where did they find that Roddy MacDowell look alike, doing a Hell House impression?).
Movie wise--Planet Terror was amusing, clever, just the type of inventive energy I expected from something like Slither, but didn't get.
It was disgusting, offensive, but you had to admire it for not holding back, and I laughed out loud a few times.
Great to see Jeff Fahey again--he stole the show along with Josh Brolin. I almost didn't recognize Michael Biehn! Death Proof on the other hand--I just couldn't stand it. It didn't even feel like an old movie. Rodriguez put a huge amount of effort into his, Tarantino, evidently did not(though he was good in the Planet Terror cameo).
One odd thing about the whole project was how they tried to make the film look old(not so much in Death Proof) even though people are using modern technology. I would have preferred more of a retro consistency.
The only aspect of Grindhouse that made me think of the 70s was the title credits for Death Proof and bits of the Machete and Don't trailers. Otherwise, Planet Terror seemed more like early to mid 80s in terms of subject matter and feel.
It was nice to see that cartoon panther cub morphing into the Restricted sign. Haven't seen it in ages.
I give it a 7 for Planet Terror and a couple of the trailers, but Death Proof gets a 0.