comment #1

Mike Schaefer says ...

It's been interesting reading the reviews: they're almost evenly split between those who say Rodriguez's half is "better", and the QT's-is-way-superior crowd.

comment #2

christian says ...

i was gonna go last night to see it at the new beverly, but an 11 pm show on thursday isn't quite the perfect opening. i'd rather see it at the new bev tonight, but i'll settle on that shithole for blackberry cellphone whores, the grove. it'll be just like 42nd street except the rats are the actual audience...

i'll be too wasted to care anyway.

comment #3

christian says ...

btw, the la times poster for GRINDHOUSE is not the cool double-feature type, it's this positively lame Bad Poster 101 with images and the rather dull, misleading tag: EXPERIENCE THE PHENOMENON...

comment #4

Craig Kennedy says ...

On a whim I took a shot at New Beverly last night, but I underestimated people's enthusiasm. I thought showing up an hour and a half before the box office was to open would be plenty of time to get in. I was wrong. This city is always fashionably late unless it's something I want to do.

comment #5

christian says ...

one thing i love about la is that film geeks represent.

comment #6

Craig Kennedy says ...

The strange thing is that as I was leaving for the theater I noticed there was also a 10:00pm showing at the Chinese. I was sort of hoping the swankier digs would draw off some of the crowds.

comment #7

christian says ...

my friends went to the chinese because they're PUSSIES and CAN'T HANDLE THE NEW BEVERLY.

sorry. just gearin' up fer tonight...

comment #8

Craig Kennedy says ...

The only good thing about the Grove is a burrito en mole beforehand at Loteria in the farmer's market. It also amuses me they make the poor bastards who work there dress up like bellhops. Or are they organ grinder's monkeys? I'm never sure. Anyway, it makes me feel better about my own stupid job.

comment #9

tholl-yung says ...

Chick flick. Damn you, now I have to go see it.

Everything at the Loteria is really good. I never noticed the costumes.

comment #10

christian says ...

the loteria is amazing....

comment #11

Craig Kennedy says ...

Costumes at The Grove I mean...in case my poorly structured scrawling wasn't clear.

comment #12

tholl-yung says ...

Oh yes, the bellhops. Black Book is a chick flick. She's oblivious and spontaneous and fun and heroic. I love how the movie justifies her falling in love with the Nazi.

comment #13

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Just got back. I had more pure fun than at any movie I can remember. Honestly I enjoyed both of them about equally; Tarantino's is more faithful in a sense to a true '70's low budget car chase affair, lots of talk, much less action than people are used to these days. The Vanishing Point references--and the car itself--took me back. My folks took me to see that movie about three times.

No zombie movie ever looked like Planet Terror though.

The crowd was energized from moment one. I can tell you, though, it was mostly forty-something guys like me. No idea how it will play to the younger crowd.

comment #14

D.Z. says ...

cjKennedy: As much as The Grove blows, at least I can see shows at a matinee price, which is more than I can say for the Arclight.

comment #15

Craig Kennedy says ...

The Grove's adult weekend matinee price is $9.75. Add a $1 for ordering your tickets online and you're only 25 cents shy of the Arclight weekday price with reserved seating and no extra charge for online ordering. $14 during the prime weekend hours is pushing it a bit, but matinee prices attract matinee people: Toddler laden families too cheap to hire babysitters and old people that need to keep asking each other what just happened in their outside voice.

comment #16

Craig Kennedy says ...

If I'm going to do a matinee, I'll go to AMC before noon for $6.

comment #17

CambridgeCat says ...

Saw the first show today. It took DEATH PROOF too long to get going, and PLANET TERROR went on way too long. Both were verrrrry indulgent and -- ultimately -- tiresome, IMO. I'm almost afraid Tarrantino has entered buyer beware stage.

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

cJ: That's why you don't order on-line, and why you wait until the weekdays, when tixx are $8. The AMCs are out of the way, so you end up wasting more money through gas.

comment #19

jeffmcm says ...

In Los Angeles there are AMC theaters in Burbank, Culver City, and Santa Monica. None of those are significantly 'out of the way' unless you live someplace that is itself out of the way.

comment #20

Craig Kennedy says ...

cjKennedy: The sky is blue.
D.Z.: No it's not.

cjKennedy: An object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
D.Z.: No it doesn't.

cjKennedy: Blowjobs rule.
D.Z.: Handies are better.

comment #21

D.Z. says ...

jeff: I live in WeHo, which should theoretically make me close, but the traffic and (lack of) parking significantly add up to the time getting to those places.

comment #22

jeffmcm says ...

The Burbank mall has plentiful free parking, the Century City . If you have time during the day to see a matinee, you're not dealing with a lot of traffic.

(when stubborn contrarians clash with stubborn contrarians)

comment #23

Craig Kennedy says ...

It's like trying to force equally polarized ends of two magnets together.

comment #24

christian says ...

i paid fucking 13.75 for GRINDHOUSE at the grove. i expect an obnoxious audience and in this case, i'll be fine. but this is a good deal for the cash.

comment #25

Craig Kennedy says ...

Dare I risk the throngs of tourists and flirt with the possibility of receiving a beating from a deranged Wookie by going to the Chinese this evening?

comment #26

Chris Willman says ...

I also went early to the New Beverly last night and quickly turned around when I saw a line much longer than the place could possibly hold. So I went to the 10:00 at the Chinese--also packed--and who should be walking down the sidewalk in front but QT, flashing the peace side to the cheering throngs. We didn't get a personal introduction at the Chinese, though.

Nobody asked, but I loved both halves equally, much as I'd been prepped to believe the Rodriguez part was only passable. Easiest three-hour-plus sit I've ever had at the movies.

comment #27

rocco says ...

Where the fuck are these theaters you guys keep mentioning? I can't find them in my Yahoo Local!. Can someone give me directions from midtown?

Just ribbing fellas. I once spent a year in LA and didn't get a chance to visit any of the landmark theaters...I think it was a Sunday...

...oh god, who am I kidding...a year in LA one Sunday? I live in Philadelphia...you win.

comment #28

Craig Kennedy says ...

Don't let your lack of intimate knowledge of LA geography (I felt like I need a travel agent just to go buy milk at the grocery store when I first moved here this place is so friggin' spread out) keep you from mocking DZ's bizarre theater comfort zone Delbomber.

comment #29

Craptastic says ...

Pffft... you multiplex whores. Just go to the fucking VISTA. Best place to see a movie in L.A.

comment #30

Craig Kennedy says ...

Hey great idea. I didn't know it was playing there.

comment #31

Craptastic says ...

5 bucks first show... 8 all day after.

The crowd I was just in was cheering throughout and SCREAMING at the end. It was like being at a rock concert for film geeks.

comment #32

rocco says ...

sorry cj, I appreciate your sincerity...afraid my Philadelphia/NY/LA/WC Fields amalgam fell flat...in an ironic twist on my joke about my (and all) NYer geocentrism, I assumed "midtown" would be taken as Manhattan.

Theaters out there sure sound like an entirely different experience...not sure if you've ever seen a movie on the east coast, but it's not much different than being with a crowd as I would imagine they might act while watching paint dry...for the second time...after having watched the first coat dry...after watching the primer...no cheering, no talking to the screen (not necessarily a bad thing)...silence occasionally pierced by a mobile or, depending on which theater, a baby crying...a smattering of claps at the end, maybe...probably not much different than watching movies in Hickenlooper's mother's basement...

comment #33

christian says ...

the crowd at the grove liked it, applauded the end of PLANET TERROR and the final moments of DEATH PROOF.

my SPOILER review u ask? i liked it, the whole theater feeling. i enjoyed PT a lot, but felt both movies should have been an hour. the trailers were cool, DON'T easily the best but i was surprised at how perfect THANKSGIVING was.

DP has a great russell performance (anybody note his BIG TROUBLE shirt hanging in the bar?) but i disliked ALL of the "girls" and felt the writing there to be a notch above THE OC. there's no reason for the endless talking as the actresses aren't all that and the forced laughing dialogue didn't represent good or bad grindhouse.

the moment where they leave their cheerleader pal to the cliched and badly ADR'd hick was disturbing not funny. the car chase was cool, not at all the best in history, not even the the third best, but at least real. great ending. but there should have been a nice wrap up moment.

it's a fun experience. and cool that a new generation will get a feel for the older movies.

comment #34

frankbooth says ...

The mostly-twenty-something audience at The Bridge was VERY enthusiastic, but it was a midnight show, so they probably don't represent the general public. They cheered Michael Biehn, the first "missing reel" gag and the final scene of Death Proof.

The showing was preceded by real trailers, including one for the Pam Grier women's-prison flick QT is seen watching in Planet Terror. That really gave the movie some context.

I liked PT better than I expected to. The plot made no sense at all, which is typical for RR, but it was high-energy fun with a few moments of real wit. Maybe this is what Sin City looked like to those who enjoyed it. (I prefer my light entertainment without an over-emphasis on kiddie-rape. Call me squeamish.)

Rose McGowan has completely lost the curves and baby-fat from her Doom Generation days. She's botoxed and collagened and looks like one of those female androids the Japanese like to build.
Too bad.

A couple of points I haven't seen mentioned: I noticed an undercurrent of misogyny in PT. Both major female characters end up maimed and another is casually, brutally killed outright after being set up as a major character. The women eventually come out on top, but there's a sadistic tone to the scenes that involve them being crippled and humiliated that suggests a certain glee on the part of the director. Quite a few if the male characters suffer gruesome fates, but they aren't shown falling down or trying to function with floppy, useless hands. Anybody else notice this or think this is a legitimate point?

On the other hand, it's also interesting that the party who's guilty of cheating in the relationship is depicted as the victim; the cuckolded spouse is the bad guy. Hmm. I guess by now I should expect a confused point of view from Rodriguez.

Still, I though it was his most enjoyable work since Desperado.

On to Death Proof:

Very long build-up, but when the violence finally occurred, it shocked the rowdy audience into silence. Rodriguez played his gore for gross-out laughs, but QT wasn't fooling around, and the crowd wasn't expecting the sudden shift, even though he's famous for this kind of thing.

Russell did a great job. Someone (was it Mr. Welles?) said that his transition from barfly to psycho didn't make sense, but I couldn't agree less. Mike is clearly a nutcase from the moment we see him. The rage and insecurity are right there bubbling to the surface. I read somewhere that Mickey Rourke was supposed to have played this character. Rourke would have been creepy without trying; with Russell, I can see him working. Still, a very nice job.

Beihn, Russell, Fahey, Savini...when did everybody get so friggin' OLD? It's vaguely disturbing. It means we're all gonna die.
"Don't" had the best punchline ever.

Something else I've been wondering about: what's with QT's prudish streak? The only breasts in the entire movie are in the trailers, and I can't actually recall seeing nudity in any of his films, with the possible exclusion of the Pulp Fiction shower scene. Not that his films necessarily need it, but isn't this odd coming from someone who embraces the trashy b-movie aesthetic? His heroes certainly weren't shy when is came to delivering this kind of exploitation.
Is he at heart a feminist who would feel guilty asking his actresses to show some skin?

comment #35

The Movie Man says ...

I think the shock of GRINDHOUSE is how good PLANET TERROR is at what its supposed to be, its a blast. PT, along with SIN CITY, and the trailer for MACHETE, shows that Rodriguez seems to be finally becoming the genre party boy he's fashioned himself to be. PT really is a knock out.

The first half of DEATH PROOF is superb, but I think Tarantino's ego gets in his way in the second half. I've read the reviews that have praised his toying with genres and the three act structure, and compared him to DePalma, etc, but, imho, what it comes down to is that QT has monkeyed with the typical structure and come up with something that is inferior to that structure (not true of PULP FICTION).

The second group of girl's dialogue basically feels like we've hit reset on the film (I know that's the point) only without the terrific low key dread of the first half. SPOILER-I like the idea of the girls turning out to be more ruthless than Mike is, but Tarantino plays that for a joke, and I think that was my biggest rub with DP, I wanted the stakes to be higher. Even the KILL BILLs have emotional current, and DP, while very well crafted, and better than the endless 130 page script, is flawed.

Overall GRINDHOUSE with the two movies, the trailers, etc. is a blast, and I have a hard time feeling that too many pop films this year are going to equal in sheer pleasure.

comment #36

christian says ...

and i have to say that josh brolin was channeling nick nolte in a zombie film. he was the actor who "got it" the most indeed. it's always great to see savini. he looked good to me getting tored up.

comment #37

Gaydos says ...

Anybody see any g.h. boxoffice projections for this weekend?

comment #38

The Movie Man says ...

Good call Christian, Brolin rocked it, and the Nolte comparison is apt. I think the entire cast nails it, and it was nice seeing 80s boys Fahey and Biehn together.

comment #39

frankbooth says ...

SPOILERS

MM,

I agree about Death Proof. I was fidgety during some of the leisurely dialogue scenes, and I don't imagine they'll play very well during repeat viewings. And yeah, the ending goes on too long after the tables are turned. The tension just dissipates. Maybe QT figured we'd be reveling in the payback, and to be fair, the audience ate it up. But I wanted another twist or reversal. A neutered bay guy is not scary.

Still, it's only a day later, and Death Proof is vivid in my head, while Planet Terror is already blurring into a smudge of splatter and gunfire.

And Christian, I had the exact same thought about Brolin. The Nolte resemblance was eerie.

comment #40

corey3rd says ...

I was bored the first hour of death proof - minus the wreck moment. Stuntman Mike didn't make complete sense since his two pack of women he stalks don't have a runnng thread. Does he hang around movie sets, gets pissed off that he can't land a gig on the stunt crew and then take it out on the woman? And why doesn't he have crappy little photos of him on the set? I knew a guy who did body double work and he always travelled with his pics to show off his career. The chase was good - better than Bullitt?

Quentin proves he's the worst actor in the industry. He's so bad in Planet Terror. Tom Savini is Oscar-worthy compared to QT's lame impersonation of Marjoe Gortmer 's Earthquake nutso Guardsman. And QT sucks as the bar owner in his film. The guy is more wooden than Rose's pegleg. He needs to learn how to do a Hitchcock cameo.

comment #41

christian says ...

i actually didn't mind qt in this, except for his self-referencing dialogue in DP which is a miscalculation. and savini is good.

comment #42

frankbooth says ...

This thread is ancient history by now, but seriously -- no one has a single comment on the lack of nudity (an exploitation staple) in Tarantino's films, or on Rodriguez's attitudes towards women? Never thought I'd see a shortage of opinions on this site.

Okay, back to the hit-and-run snark attacks.

comment #43

D.Z. says ...

frank: I agree that the lack of nudity was a cop-out and Rodriguez comes off as a pig at times in Planet Terror. Is it any wonder his wife left him?

comment #44

frankbooth says ...

Who are you and what did you do with D.Z.?