Just got back from an advanced showing in town. What an amazing night.
Seriously, this film was easily the most utterly satisfying movie experience I've had in a good year. Planet Terror was WAY better than I expected. Probably Rodriguez' (Spell that right?) best film to date. It has an AMAZING title sequence too. (Rose McGowen fans will know what I'm talking about). And speaking of Rose, she is utterly GORGEOUS in this film, and she kicks uncountable ass in it.
Death Proof was a bit of a disappointment, given Tarantino's extremely high caliber back catalogue. This was definitely more Kill Bill than Pulp Fiction, and definitely unlike anything he's ever done before. There's a ton of dialogue, but only half of it is really captivating. Nowhere near as memorable or interesting as anything in Pulp Fiction. But Death Proof has two things Pulp Fiction didn't have: mindblowing car chases, and Kurt Russell. Honestly, Russell has crafted another legendary role here that you really have to see to believe. Stuntman Mike makes this film what it is. The enormous cast of gorgeous women doesn't hurt either.
I have to say though that my favorite part of Grindhouse is the foux movie trailers. Machete is being made into a full movie. Once you see the trailer, you'll know why. It looks insane. Of the other three trailers, Thanksgiving was easily the most shocking, and in itself was probably the most bloody and disgusting thing I've seen in a long time. If you get squeemish from Goodfella's, the Thanksgiving trailer alone will make you hurl all over the floor (although Planet Terror will asure that long before Thanksgiving comes on
). The other two trailers are both hilarious, especially Werewolf Women of the SS. When a certain actor makes a surprise cameo in this trailer, I nearly laughed so hard I shit myself. It's amazing. I loved it.
Overall I have to give Grandhouse a 10/10. The movies themselves aren't amazing. Death Proof is probably the weakest Tarantino flick yet on its own. But you have to experience this as a whole cohesive project. It achieves what it sets out to do and FAR surpasses all expectations. It's easily the most entertaining 3+ hours I've spend in a theatre in a looooong time.