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Fred Spoils The Movie

Grindhouse is what we get when big name directors can get big name actors to join in and pay respect to this bit of cinematic history.

By Fred Richardson

By Fred Richardson

Planet Terror and Death Proof are the new movies by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino packaged together with fake trailers and released as if they were a double feature from the glory days of exploitation cinema.

It’s called Grindhouse, a term that originated from one of the other uses of the theaters which catered to this kind of film: burlesque shows (a.k.a. the old “bump and grind”). In the 60’s, filmmakers and studios began to defy the draconian Hays Code that restricted sex, violence and certain social themes in movies.

By 1967-8, the code was abandoned and replaced with the rating system we have now. Along with mature and artistic explorations of adult themes and subjects, the door was opened to low budget shock and schlock. Can’t afford name actors? Just show lots of skin, blood and spectacle.

Planet Terror springs to life after Rodriguez’s opening fake trailer for the possibly soon-to-be made movie Machete. The feature is bloody. It’s sick. It’s silly. It’s incredible. It’s the most fun I’ve had sitting in a theater in god knows how long. It’s a zombie conspiracy, Sci-fright love story apocalyptic action movie.

There’s no sense to the plot, no regard for realism, and no end of cliché. It’s a Bmovie and it would be a failure if it tried to be anything else. The cameos by name actors are spice added to perfect casting in the main roles.

But I won’t spoil the pleasure you get from recognizing everyone on your own. It’s kind of like seeing the Pixies covering Hey Jude and having Tom Waits walk on stage during the first chorus.

After the first of our double features we get some wonderful fake trailers by Eli Roth, Edgar Wright, and Rob Zombie.

They’re all great fun and make you want to see the movies they advertise even if they probably wouldn’t be able to sustain their premises. It feels like going to the movies in the 70’s.

Then comes Death Proof bringing all the fun to a screeching halt. Quentin Tarantino manages to do something new with his usual realistic dialog between people.

He bores us to tears. In Tarantino’s other work, people sit in cars, bars and diners and talk just like people in cars, bars, and diners really do. But usually they’re hitmen, thieves, drug dealers, or other unusual people in unusual situations. But the characters in the beginning of Death Proof are just regular folks hanging out and not being all that interesting.

Maybe it’s just that the previous 90 minutes dazzle us with it’s over-the-top action comedy and gore, but it should have been taken into consideration that a bunch of talking might just put us to sleep.

We do get a nice little wake-up with some automotive mayhem before another long talking scene with some new characters. About halfway through this seemingly too long scene something turns around and we get interested in what’s going on again.

The always lovable Rosario Dawson has a lot to do with this turnaround. Also notable is stuntwoman Zoe Bell playing stuntwoman Zoe Bell. She was Uma Thurman’s double in the Kill Bill movies and does a great job playing what one assumes is a stylized version of herself. I hope she continues to get real acting roles in the future.

Soon we get into the real purpose of Death Proof which is cars and stunts and chases. Kurt Russell does some nice realistic stuff here that I won’t go into cause again, the surprise is fun in and of itself.

Death Proof does manage to entertain us in the end, but if you don’t like car chases, and you don’t have a massive crush on Rosario Dawson, you can leave the theater after the fake trailers.

Also : The Host Columbia Gets Slightly Cooler! April 13-18 sees the Columbia opening of the insanely great Korean monster movie The Host.

Taking the real dumping of a large amount of formaldehyde into the Han river in 2000 by an American mortician working for the U.S. military as it’s opening, we get to see how it feels to be the stereotyped bad guy in a movie for a change.

After a couple of ominous flash-forwards, we get to our “hero” Park Gang-du and his family. Meeting them all is fun but not too lengthy before our monster appears in all his CG glory. At $10 million it’s a big budget Korean movie, but to jaded American eyes some the effects may look a little off. However, the compelling design, movement and character of the creature wins through.

Suspense is ruined by knowledge so I can’t say much about the plot. I will say that the cinematography is better than most every American movie I’ve seen in the last 10 years.

There are moments in the movie that are slapsticky but they somehow manage to enhance the more horrific moments. The heroes have real heart and endure some of the most painful moments of their lives with strength and courage.

The fact that we’re getting this movie in Columbia at all is a happy surprise to me and although I own an import DVD of the Korean release, I will go see it at the Nick to encourage more movies of this nature to hit our town.

If you love good monster movies, if you love good foreign films that don’t fit the normal “art house” mold, if you want to see these genre pictures closer to the theatrical release than the DVD release, the go to the Nickelodeon and see The Host! Bring your friends! Bring your pets! Bring your friend’s pets! And, don’t forget to dust your embalming supplies.