Grindhouse - New Tarantino/Rodriguez film announced.. (1 Viewer)

[AaronMan]

You simply can't please everybody. I can almost guarantee you if Death Proof was first, some people would be saying, "Death Proof was great, but Planet Terror was just all action and no character development and was just stupid."

Both were awesome in my opinion. I got to see two freaking movies for six bucks! What more can I ask for?

Its ironic though, because it reminds me of a lot of people's reaction to From Dusk Till Dawn when it came out. Many people loved the first half, which was more dialogue and character driven, similar to a Tarantino film. As opposed to the second half, which was all action and mayhem, like a Rodriguez film. Of course, I loved every minute of it.

 

[George_W_K]

Saw this last night and I loved Planet Terror and the movie trailers. I guess I didn't get Deathproof though, because I didn't like it for the most part. It just wasn't a fun movie. I did like the ending, but by the time it got there, I didn't give a crap and didn't feel like there was any kind of payoff. Kurt Russell was great though. Maybe this will be one of those movies where I like it better on the second viewing.

 

[Doug Miller]

Is that really a surprise though? I remember seeing the trailer initially and telling my wife "You have GOT to see this trailer." She looked at me, straight faced and totally serious, "What makes you think I would want to see that? Seriously." I was quiet for a minute and realized that violence, swearing, gore, and tits... good movie for me, bad for my wife.

Doug

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Saw this last night and thought it was fun - kinda wears you down after 3+ hours, but entertaining.

Question: how in the world did this get an "R" rating? I know the violence was intended to be cartoony and jokey, but it was so extreme that I'm shocked the MPAA let it through without an "NC-17"...

 

[RickER]

You must be living my life! That is exactly what happened when i showed the preview to my woman. I still need to see this flick, and i only see 2 or 3 movies a year in the theater.

 

[Patrick Sun]

But that was about it.

 

[Jordan_E]

Stick a fork in this one...
Barely over $11.5 million and 4th place.

 

[Brent M]

Wow, what a disappointing box office total. It's truly a sad state of affairs when a 3 hour double-feature put together by real filmmakers finishes behind sewage like "Are We Done Yet". It just shows the general public is comprised of complete idiots.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I stayed through the credits, nothing happened. ??

One thing that bugged me about this was that neither QT or RR film exploited the first element that they always spit out when they list the various exploitable elements, sex and nudity. PT started to have a sex scene but then did the missing reel gag, and DP did the same thing but didn't even start. It was the trailers that were the only ones that exploited that element, and some to the extreme. With all those ladies in both films, not even a boob made an appearance.

Maybe it was intentional? Or they only wanted to stick with violence and gore?

 

[TravisR]

that happen right after 'The End' pops up.

 

[WillG]

Yeah, but I'm not sure I'm all that surprised. It's seems to be one of these films that people either don't get, so they don't go to see it. Are daunted by a 3+ hour double feature, so they don't go to see it.

I'm not going to pretend that it was the greatest thing I ever saw, but it certainly was entertaining and interesting. Certianly more deserving than 4th place at the box office. "Blades of Glory" is obviously a bona fide hit, not much you do about that. But it is dissapointing when something at least interesting and innovative is underappreciated in favor of churned out dreck like "Are We Done Yet"

By the way, I'm not sure how accurate this is, but Kurt Russell was on the Opie & Anthony show last week and said that the DVD release is going to be each film separately, as in one DVD release for Planet Terror and another release for Death Proof. On one hand, perhaps each film could be further fleshed out on their own releases, but I would definately want the full theatrical version as well. Anyone have any other detail on this?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Since QT is a big comic book geek, I'll share this:

At my mid-day screening of Friday, members from Gaijin Studios (Brian Stelfreeze and Cully Hamner) happened to be there as well. They liked PT more than DP as well. I know of them since they are local (their studio space is actually pretty close to my office) and I see them regularly at the local comic conventions for the past decade.

 

[BrandonL]

A lot of people in the theater stayed through the credits last night and nothing happened at the end. It started to show some burning film and then the lights came up and the theater music turned on. My friends couldnt stop saying Thanksgiving in that voice. Too funny.

I also thought it was weird that the Arclight Cinema in LA wasnt showing the movie. Since I have seen Tarantino watching movies there before.

 

[Rich Romero]

Saw it last night. Loved Planet Terror. Did anyone else catch the homages to Return of the Living Dead, ZOMBIE, and Dawn of the Dead? Incredibly entertaining movie. Also loved all the fake trailers. Death Proof was just garbage. Dialogue scene after dialogue scene, and nothing remotely interesting ever was said. The 4th friend who was just left with the guy who sold them the car? What happened to her? What about the guys trying to get into the girls pants? Tarantino just wasted about an hour of screentime with absolutely nothing happening. Absolute garbage.

 

[TravisR]

The soundtracks and (I think) the scripts are sold separately too. It seems like the only place they're treating Grindhouse as one 'thing' is in the theater.

 

[EricSchulz]

I'm hoping to go see it this week...I doubt that it's something I would buy and since Netflix won't have it available to rent my only choice is seeing it in a theater...

 

[AaronMan]

Why would Netflix have it in stock? Its only been in theaters for three days.

 

[Nathan V]

Rockin' good stuff, a fantastic time at the movies. The violence is convivial and fun, unlike the empty nastiness of the current horror wave. It's a good replication of the 70s theatre experience, although (wisely, IMO) they stick with gore and avoid exploitation of women. Like most of Tarantino's pictures, this is a women's empowerment movie all the way (I mean both films).

Rodriguez's segment is loud, brash, fluid, and very funny without being condescending or repulsive (incidentally, 2 good watchwords for identifying tarantino copiers). The scratches and burn marks are great, as as is the old film stock in Death Proof.

Tarantino's segment is unsurprisingly the more accomplished of the two, focusing mostly on several lengthy, truly beautiful dialogue scenes. Adrenaline junkies won't like it, but film people will. His handle for distinct voices and conversation rhythms is justifiably legendary. We don't watch a progression of events; we spend time with the characters. We hang out. Unlike his legion of copiers, he likes his characters. It's a very different experience from Planet Terror, and the beginning third of DP, which is exclusively conversation, is a good breather from all the mayhem beforehand. Tarantino doesn't even try to outdo Robert with pyrotechnics and blood; he outstrips him with his own very different talent of writing, which, as the years progress, has only gotten better.

This isn't to discount his handle on action, as evidenced by the car chase, which maintains a terrific tension and good spacial dynamics. He also frames the girls as if they were greek gods, making full use of the size of the frame and basically making them look like bronze statues. As always, the music is great, feet are everywhere, and, admirably, he refrains from flashy cutting and lets the material shine on its own. The rotating table conversation, at once similar and very different from the Resevoir Dogs cafe scene, is far and away my favorite scene in the film. It's filmed in a single, very long take, with the camera framing and reframing the actors to constantly keep our eyes moving to either edge of the screen, and the way the conversation evolves and redirects itself is falling-down great- at once hyper-real and totally unreal, as only Quentin can.

Oddly, Grindhouse is kind of similar to Kill Bill in structure- a first half of stupendous action, and a second half of great, great dialogue. Go in with this expectation, and you won't be disappointed.

This is a one of a kind experience that needs to be seen in theaters with a crowd. The missing reel stuff, the scratches, the intermission trailers and that disgusting burrito ad are not going to have the same impact on dvd. Especially the experience of sitting in the theatres watching the normal green-band previews, immediately followed by imagery of Danny Trejo and a a priest eviscerating caucasian businessmen.

In all, the second great film of the year. Not to be missed.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Don Solosan]

"Tarantino just wasted about an hour of screentime with absolutely nothing happening. Absolute garbage."

Yes. He doesn't seem to really understand the exploitation concept, or he thinks he's too cool to stick to it. Too bad.

 

[Rich Romero]

To add to my statement: He wasted time on characters that either left the screen and we never saw it again, or characters that went through NO change, and we really cared little about. Honestly, the dialogue was complete dreck. Hip for the sake of being hip, but it wasn't hip, it sucked. Chase scenes went on forever and ever just like the dialogue scenes. This coming from a huge Tarantino fan.