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

[Jon Martin]

Although, don't forget, at 3 hours and 11 minutes, it is twice the length of most other films, and didn't have as many showings.

I don't think anyone was expecting it to be first at the box office.

 

[eric tengren]

I have to say , was very disappointed with the whole thing.The point should have been to make two great little exploitation flicks and then add all the little touches, I think they started with the gags and worked backwards. Planet terror was a nod to Cronenberg, Romero, and Carpenters early films with none of the subtext that makes them classics it was just a series of zombie /infection stuff we've seen a million times. it was too much of a wink to the camera. the trailers were great, kentucky fried movie style. Death proof had lame dialog that seemed to go on forever, but has an entertaining car chase sequence. otherwise I recommend renting it and not seeing it at the movies. I think Rob Zombie got this right with The Devil's Rejects, or movies like The Descent ,Wolf Creek ,or bubba Ho Tep these are grindhouse movies that are not self conscious, and therefore do not take you out of the story. I really wanted to love this flick.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Anyone else think Tracie Thoms looks just like 355 from "Y The Last Man" (a Vertigo comic)?

 

[Matthew Marino]

I definitely agree about the order of the films. I had a good time with Planet Terror but the last 30 minutes of Death Proof is really a hard act to follow. Planet Terror's cheap gags would just seem weak in comparison. As they have it now it works very well.

Those box office numbers are almost depressing. Are We Done Yet is actually going to make more money than Grindhouse?

 

[TravisR]

I'm not overly surprised by those numbers (though I thought it would make a little more) because it's a movie that was made for an extremely small audience. And since I'm not either of the Weinstein brothers, I guess don't really care that much because the movie was a great time.

I think Mary Shelton's character had 'Kill Bill' written at the bottom of her To Do List in PT. I think Misirlou (from the opening credits of Pulp Fiction) was listed on the jukebox but it's a very fast pan up in DP. And of course, Michael Parks making more appearances as Earl McGraw.

I don't know why but I found QT's off camera line reading of "Stuntman Mike" to be very funny (when Rose McGowan is talking to Kurt Russell about his name in DP). It sounded like it needed to be dubbed but I loved that they left it in there.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Let me clarify, I didn't have a problem with the order and loved the payoff of DP, however, I could see why people walked out during the first half of DP never to see the payoff. That first part of DP is playing after watching another movie for almost 2 hours. The audience is already tired and having something like 30-40 minutes of dialogue, a lot of audiences won't be so forgiving. Having it play first, with the ending the audience would have been jacked going into the second film. Since PT never really lets up, has a lot of great comedy and action, they wouldn't be iching to get out by the time hour 3 rolls around.

It's not so much about which film is better, it is the pacing of both as a whole.

Loved the reaction of the audience to Thanksgiving.

 

[Blake Siefken]

I was surprised to see the trailer for "Hobo With A Shotgun" before the actual movie started. It wasn't a part of the movie, but mixed in with real trailers for real films. The Die Hard trailer actually came after the Hobo trailer. I didn't think Rodriguez would put it with the movie because he never said they would.

Did they have the "Hobo With A Shotgun" trailer attached to the print in other places?

 

[Brent M]

I know most people, including myself, find AICN to be a sespool of douschebaggery, but anyone who wants a real good laugh should definitely read this review of Grindhouse that was posted over there:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32030

It's not very often that I actually laugh out loud while reading a movie review, but I gotta hand it to this guy. He had me rolling.

 

[Robert Anthony]

That's Patton Oswalt writing as "neill cumpston" so it's no wonder he made you laugh. Patton's a really funny guy. His Blade 2 review is probably one of the funniest things I've ever read on the internet.

 

[Brett_M]

I saw Grindhouse yesterday in a 3/4 full "little" theater (300 seater) at the multiplex.

I loved the flick from top to bottom. I am seeing it again on Monday. The highlights: PT was funnier than I expected. Rose McGowan is incendiary. Kurt Russell was fantastic in DP. My favorite part is the first time he breaks the fourth wall. I grinned from ear to ear. Zoe Bell was the biggest surprise. Loved her. Great ending, too. "Don't" was my favorite fake trailer.

The lowlights: "Werewolf Women of the SS" had the best title and the worst execution of the premise. It was too self-aware. Other than that, GH was a home run for me.

Some overall comments:

1. A bunch of teenagers left after Planet Terror and the three fakes trailers. I don't know if they didn't realize there was a second feature or if the dialogue-heavy DP confused them.

2. The audience was really into it -- laughing, cheering, clapping. It was the most fun I've had in a theater in a long time.

3. The theater I usually go to had it showing only three times on one screen. I couldn't believe it. I saw it somewhere else and it was only showing on two screens.

4. After it was over, there was a guy handing out CinemaScore cards. I gave it an "A."

5. I think GH could easily turn into a franchise. Big-name AND new directors on moderate budgets with short production schedules churning out mindless, fun genre flicks every year.

 

[Nkosi]

I love AICN! I really do.

But with respects to Grindhouse I loved every last second of it. The two features, the fake trailers, everything. Loved it all! Can't wait to see it again! It really rocks if you see it with a great movie crowd.

 

[DavidPla]

I haven't seen the film yet, but comments elsewhere I've read say that "Planet Terror" is great but "Death Proof" stops the film dead. That people actually left before it was over. I don't know how accurate that is.

 

[TravisR]

I wouldn't say that Death Proof stops the movie but after the off the wall craziness of Planet Terror, it couldn't help but slow it down. They're two very different movies though- one is a parody of low budget horror movies and the other is a real low budget action movie with alot of very Tarantino dialogue.

 

[Malcolm R]

Likely true, but it should finish ahead of "Firehouse Dog."

 

[Doug Miller]

I read some interview, QT and Rodriguez were joking that maybe the lost reels will be found, but they'll be in some foreign language. That would be hilarious.

I really enjoyed it. I took a quick leak during the round table discussion (probably when anyone that pissed did). I liked both movies, they were very contrasting, which was good. The initial crash from DP was awesome! (Won't spoil it by saying any more.)

The previews were great, I liked Thanksgiving a lot, but my favorite was DON'T! I half expected them to tagline it: "If you're thinking of seeing this movie... DON'T!" Would have been better than what they did.

Good movies, good time.

Doug

Oh, and is there any catchier tune than "Chick Habit" by April March? It's catchier than Cobra Starships Snakes On A Plane song!

 

[Kirk Tsai]

This was a lot of fun. Of the fake trailers, I liked Machete the most. My stomach was hurting from laughing so much. I agree that "Warewolf" didn't live up to its title, but the cameo was hilarious. My crowd was definitely in on the joke, as many laughs were during the fake trailers.

I thought Death Proof was the stronger entry, but I feel like its "missing reel" was a miscalculation. The missing reel worked in Planet Terror because (a) we already saw some skin, probably more than the average R movie, (b) the movie could or could not have a sex scene, and (c) the burning film print was another gag. Up to that point in Death Proof, however, there was no real sign that Russell was a nutso, or that it was a car chase movie. Instead, we had two conversations scenes building up to the lap dance, almost making it the center of the movie. Maybe Tarantino felt the way Russell baited her into giving the dance was the payoff, but I didn't feel that way.

There were a couple other lose ends in the first half of Death Proof too that seemed to lack the payoff. The text messagining, for example, didn't seem to do much. Sometimes Tarantino writes scenes to build character, or to give us an earful (e.g. the two guys trying to get into the ladies' pants), but without a payoff, the messaging just seemed kind of unnecessary.

Once the big crash occurs, I think the second half of Death Proof is noticeably stronger, including the conversation scenes. The car chase is sensational, especially what Zoe Bell does. The film also ends on a perfect note; many people in my theater clapped.

For those who liked Zoe Bell, I recommend the documentary "Double Dare." It's about her transition to America, and you get to see how she has the Tarantino connection. It's also a pretty interesting look into the stunt man/woman world.

 

[ChrisMatson]

I caught Grindhouse yesterday and had a great time.
My wife, not so much.

I thought DP was the better half, though both were fun. I would equate this to Snakes on a Plane--not high art, but good fun.

 

[Todd_B]

Saw this film at the Kentucky Theater in downtown Lexington w/some friends last night and we all loved it. Good time at the theater..

Also, in other good news, it appears that we'll get to see Machete after all

Todd B

 

[Chad R]

Then, they missed the best part. The set-up is too long and in the same dire need of editing and restraint most Tarrantino movies never get -- but the payoff is the best part of both films.

And stay through the credits.

 

[Jason Hughes]

So when does Thanksgiving come out? Can't wait.