Just an awesome experience

Rating: Null/10 (7 April 2007)

Grindhouse(2007)
Starring: Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling(Planet Terror)/Pam(Death Proof) Freddy Rodriguez as El Wray(Planet Terror) Josh Brolin as Doc Block(Planet Terror) Marley Shelton as Dakota(Planet Terror/Death Proof) Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike(Death Proof) Rosario Dawson as Abernathy(Death Proof) Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lee(Death Proof) Zoe Bell as Zoe(Death Proof)
Plot: A double feature. In Planet Terror, a gas causes a zombie uprising, and only a few people can stop the threat of Armageddon. In Death Proof, an insane stunt driver uses his car to kill his victims. Also featuring four faux trailers: "Machete" by Robert Rodriguez, "Werewolf Women of the SS" by Rob Zombie, "Don't" by Edgar Wright, and "Thanskgiving" by Eli Roth.
This one will be long and hard to follow, so bear with me.
I know exactly what this movie is paying homage to. As a horror fan, I've spent plenty a time grabbing cheap video rentals of poorly made movies(whether they be slashers or exploitation) and this movie was a huge throwback to not just those types of movies in the horror genre, but in all genres. The poorly made low-budget movies that many people used to watch. So I was excited from the overall idea, not to mention that one of them was a zombie movie. Then the trailers came out and you could definitely see the love for these types of movies that was presented. So I was very excited as I sat down in my seat awaiting this double feature.
First of all(although they are in-between the two) let's talk about the trailers. Machete appears first. I've heard rumors this is already in development as it's own movie. It was a fairly decent trailer but nothing compared to the others. They all could easily be made into their own movies. Werewolf Women of the SS had Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu(in all his over-acting glory!). Don't was a clever play on all the "Don't" style horror films of the day, like "Don't Go Into The Basement" or "Don't Go Into the Woods". Thanksgiving was the crown jewel of the whole set, playing on not only the slasher genre in general, but especially the holiday-themed ones. Lastly, and I don't know how they did it, but it looked like it was straight out of the 80's.
Now onto the movies. First, Planet Terror. This was the best of the two, I'll go ahead and say that. It was an exciting zombie movie, with lots of action, comedy(which was intentional, but back then it would have of course been unintentional), and gore for the masses. I'm talking cringe-worthy gore. Some parts were just *gross*. You can't really complain about the acting, because I think it was meant to be bad. The whole thing was meant to be made with tongue planted firmly in cheek. But Rose McGowan looked like a star here, as she was scorchingly hot(even with a machine gun leg) and Freddy Rodriguez more than pulled his own weight as El Wray. The entire supporting cast was awesome. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see Tom Savini as well. It always pleases me when I see him getting work. He's not exactly an actor, just really cool and very well-known in the horror genre.
Death Proof was next, and in my mind they should have reversed the order. With Death Proof being the weaker of the two, and being more dialogue-driven than Planet Terror, I felt if it were placed first the audience wouldn't have felt as left down. Because Planet Terror is action packed, where Death Proof can get a little tiresome. There was just way too much talking. Some of it was plot details that didn't matter, some of it was character development. A big thing that left me frustrated(SPOILER!) was building up a group of characters and then killing them off, before introducing a completely new set of characters. Besides my problems, Kurt Russell shines here as the crazy Stuntman Mike, and it's hopefully a role that will get resurrect his career. He over-acts a bit, but I really think that was intentional. Tarantino does okay with this one, and a reversal in order would have helped, but Death Proof was not as good as PT.
In general, the movie has lots of little touches that I liked. The film grain, cigarette burns, and even MISSING REELS. I won't say where, but it's just AWESOME when they happen. The people in the audience booed, but for the right reasons..they were in on the joke. Even the subtle things like the coming attractions graphic, the ads for food, the primitive style logos for Dimension Films, and the panther warning us that his movie is restricted. All of the little touches helped.
Grindhouse was an awesome movie going experience. Even with it's weak moments I was still captivated by the movie and it felt like an event. I will recommend seeing this one in theaters, however, not just because it's really good, but it's not going to be the same viewing experience if you wait for DVD. It's one of those movies that HAS to be seen on the big screen. As of right now, this is my pick for best movie of the year.
Planet Terror Rating: **** of ***** Death Proof Rating: **1/2 of ***** Grindhouse Rating: ***** of *****
My rating aren't average together for the whole movie, keep that in mind. I rated each individual movie, then the Grindhouse as a whole(including the experience and trailers)