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GRINDHOUSE:
It is no secret that Tarantino and Rodriguez managed to build exciting careers on recreating classic movie moments burnt onto their psyches, but adding their vision and flair onto it to create something new, fresh and wildly entertaining. With their Grindhouse project they resurrected the classic ‘70s / ‘80s era of crummy theatres screening back to back cheap exploitation movies. So, they each made a movie to be combined as a double feature, Death Proof and Planet Terror, and got some extra directors to make fake trailers linking them up (including Rob “House of 1000 Corpses” Zombie, Edgar “Shaun Of The Dead” Wright, and Eli “Hostel” Roth).
DEATH PROOF got the Best Screenplay spot at the South African X FEST Film Festival,
the only South African spot to screen an official double feature version of Death Proof and Planet Terror on the big screen.


DEATH PROOF

With Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Zoe Bell, Vanessa Ferlito, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

The charging-muscle-cars-on-asphalt flicks get a full throttle homage in the shape of Stuntman Mike, a demented old-school stuntman who pursues and kills girls with his death proof stunt car, by ripping right through the vehicle. A Tarantino staple is the protracted conversation scene (building up to the mayhem) – ostensibly about crap, but nonetheless engaging and entertaining. You get it here in spades. The car crash sequence is spectacularly graphic, each of the vehicle occupants’ demise shown in succession. But, when staking out another set of mobile females, Stuntman Mike gets more than he bargained for when he fucks with the wrong gang of girls (including Zoe Bell, who was Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill). Russell is great as Mike and the ensemble of women is a feast, with the array of shorts and gratuitous butt and leg shots never far off. The car scenes are wild and action packed, the seventies soundtrack adding to the mood, and even some glitches, film scratches, missing frames, jump edits and fake missing reels are added in for that messed-up Grindhouse feel. Tarantino’s foot fetish is again out in full force, this time abundantly displayed with girls’ bare feet up on dashboards, out car windows and in the rain on porch railings (with Shannon Hazlett doing foot doubling). References to his previous movies are all over the place.

This is a total blast, but hopefully the Grindhouse imitation won’t get aped in return, rehashed to become a lame rip-off of a parody. Or become a stylistic excuse for amateur filmmaking - if that happens, you may as well pick up the wide selection of tacky authentic Grindhouse flicks. Yet, the difference here with Tarantino and Rodriguez’ is, none of the films to which they’re paying homage was ever this well made.

The single disc South African DVD release is not devoid of extras and offer up several featurettes, including a look at the legendary stunt drivers, the cars, stunt lady Zoë Bell, as well as a piece on Kurt Russell’s stuntman Mike character. Tarantino’s long-time editor Sally Menke gets a fun tribute and you also get served a full version of Mary Elisabeth Winstead singing Baby, It’s You.
No, sadly there are no fake trailers included.

5 / A
- Paul Blom


1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C


click below for Planet Terror




never let a review decide for you, but for those who need a rating, see the Flamedrop scale below
6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multi-Viewing Potential

B: Could Enjoy A 2nd Look

C: Once Should Suffice



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