Double Feature

So the hubs and I went to see Grindhouse this weekend here in Austin and it was a very intense experience. As many of you already know, this movie is a double feature released in the style of the old X-rated/B-movie drive-in flicks of yore. It features an exorbitant amount of blood and guts (almost too much to bare) that can make you want to vomit in your seats. I don't suggest buying concessions at this one. You won't eat them.

Having said that, these movies did provide lots of over-the-top action sequences and cleverly cheesy plot lines that make the whole experience worth while. There are also a few fake B-movie previews before each movie starts that are hilarious; such as Werewolf Women of the S.S. (Rob Zombie), Machete (R. Rodriguez), Thanksgiving (Eli Roth), and Don't (Edgar Wright). After all the gore from the first film, these little previews really help lighten the mood

The first film, Planet Terror, is written and directed by Robert Rodriguez; Texan director of Sin City and Desparado and stars Rose McGowan, Bruce Willis, and Naveen Andrews (Lost). In my opinion, Planet Terror is the lesser of the two films here. However, it does keep more in line with the whole B-movie idea. It takes place in a small town where doctors suddenly realize that their patients are rapidly becoming infected with a virus that turns everyone into sore-popping zombies who go on a killing rampage and feast on human flesh. After a horrible car wreck, go-go dancer Cherry (Rose McGowan) sports a prosthetic, machine-gun leg that her boyfriend makes for her and leads a gang of survivors out of town. This leg comes in handy for shooting zombies and saving the day. (Don't look for an explanation on how she pulls the trigger to this contraption).

This movie is fun from the second half on. The first half is so excruciatingly gory and disgusting that I really wanted to vomit. However, a lot of people seemed to think it looked so fake and campy that it didn't bother them (which maybe it did, but still...). Whatever the case, it's at least worth sitting through this film to get the Tarentino flick.

After another set of fun, fake previews you finally get the wonderfully directed Quentin Tarentino film, Death Proof, starring Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, and Zoe Bell. Keeping true to his usual style, Death Proof is a revenge flick that is riddled with witty Tarentino dialogue and interesting camera angles. Apparently Tarentino built this story around a stunt woman he met on a shoot named Zoe Bell, who plays herself in the film (you'll know this New Zealander by her crazy, hood riding shenanigans). Tarentino was so blown away by how ballsy and talented this woman was that he decided to make a movie to show off her skills.

The first half of Death Proof follows a group of four young women around Austin, Texas (where it also premiered) as they go out for a night on the town. Along the way they "run into" a creepy, yet charming man named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who drives a very foreboding old sports car. One of the girls gets a rude awakening when he gives her a ride home in his "death proof" vehicle, to which there is a slight catch; you have to be in the driver's seat to be "death proof." The other girls do not end up having a good night either. The second half of the film takes place in Tennessee and follows four other women, two of whom happen to be stunt women. Chaos ensues when Stuntman Mike pursues these girls as they take a sports car on a stunt-filled joy ride along an old dirt road. I won't give too much away, but this movie was awesome! Filled with car chase action and "Hell Yeah" moments.

Both directors managed to make these films without the use of CGI. Instead they chose the old-fashioned method of fake blood, latex, actual car crashes, and explosions. This actually made it seem more real to me. I can always spot CGI and, in my eyes, this was much more realistic. The car chase scene in Death Proof was amazing, especially knowing that Zoe Bell did her own stunts. The blood and guts in Planet Terror seemed super real and gross to me, despite the fact that some thought it was fake and funny. I barely got through that one. It was fun, however, to see the actors cruising the streets of Austin in Death Proof and picking out local hot spots that we frequent all the time. Go Austin!!

So, if you're up for gratuitous gore and violence, I highly recommend going to see Grindhouse this weekend. If you go, though, DON'T leave after the first film. It will be well worth your time to stay and watch Death Proof. You won't regret it.

I've decided to rate this double feature with my own unique rating system: Eight toes up for Grindhouse (or eight bloody heads rolling)! Heheh. Go see it for yourselves, folks! It's great fun.

CayceAquaSheep

PS) By the way, my husband and I met 8 years ago today!