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April 04, 2007
Grindhouse
I got a pass to a preview screening tonight of Grindhouse. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but what it is is a 3+ hour smorgasbord of violence, mixed with a little gruesome violence, mixed with a bit of head-turning gore, then a little more of same, then some more violence, and a handful of unredeemable characters.
OK, I guess I kind of knew what to expect.
And I absolutely loved it.
It's two movies in one (with some Tarantino/Rodriguez "previews" and "commercials" interspersed). The first one, "Planet Terror", directed by Robert Rodriguez, is an almost Short Cuts-like collage of different lives in a small West Texas town. There's the go-go dancer going straight (Rose McGowan, obligatorily pictured here), the mysterious drifter (Freddy Rodriguez), the harried doctor (Marley Shelton), the BBQ chef, and the cop. Oh, and the scientist (Lost's Naveen Andrews) who was partially responsible for the massive zombie plague that's about to descend on all of the above.
There's an awesome cameo (I won't give it away, but if you're a Tarantino fan, you probably have an educated guess), and some horrible horrible scenes of zombie mutilations and melting skin. And of course, the brilliant idea of attaching weaponry to Rose's severed leg. It's cool.
The second half is Tarantino's "Death Proof". Four girlfriends in Austin have one of those Tarantino rambling conversations at a bar, then meet Kurt Russell. He's Stuntman Mike, who had an unremarkable Hollywood career, but spends his middle years stalking groups of girlfriends and massacring them on the highway (his car, specially built for stunts, is the "death proof" conveyance of the title.)
I'm not a huge fan of car chases, in general, but this one is fantastic. I don't want to say too much, but I'm dying to. I don't see a lot of free movies, but this is one I'll happily pay to see again.
(Also, there was a preview for 1408, which stars Sam Jackson and is based on the only Stephen King story that legitimately terrified me. Pretty good chance I'll be plunking down $9 when that comes out too.)
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Comments
so, uh, that sounds like i should have gone,then.
or at least it sounds much more fun than staying at the store until 930, which is what i did instead.
*sigh*
Posted by: kari | April 5, 2007 03:09 PM
I'll reitirate: I wanna go see it again.
Posted by: michael | April 5, 2007 03:31 PM
