Grindhouse Part 1: Death Proof
March 28th 2008 05:29
This report is long overdue.
I have been meaning to see the Grindhouse double billing since I heard about it a year or so ago. It was planned to be released in Austalia in April 2007 however this was canned due to poor box office takings in the US. So, as a result, us lowly Ozlanders miss out on yet again another promising flick in the theatres.
The Tarantino side of the double-feature, Death Proof, was later scheduled to premiere in late '07 but in a very limited run. I unfortunately managed to miss out on this screening due to various reasons, mainly involving me being a poor film student (I'm keeping it real and living the cliche, go me).
So it was a highlight of my otherwise ordinary day to finally get my hands on Grindhouse, Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's nod to the Grindhouse features of yesteryear.
Ephraim Katz, a film buff with enough free time to write an encyclopedia all about it, sums the genre up as such:
Films made with little or no attention to quality or artistic merit but with an eye to a quick profit, usually via high-pressure sales and promotion techniques emphasizing some sensational aspect of the product
In all honesty, I've never seen a grindhouse film before (this must change) so this was going to be an interesting journey for me. All I really knew about this method of filmmaking was that it featured as many taboo topics as possible (forbidden sex, wanton violence, drug use, nudity, freaks, gore, monsters, destruction, rebellion and mayhem anyone?). Being a sucker for all of the above, I started the film.
It concerns the story of Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russel), a stuntdriver with a massive grudge against pretty ladies. He meets them in bars and at road stops and kills them later on with his car, him walking away (hence the title of the film). This is pretty much the basic gist of the film. The cast is incredibly top notch: Sydney Poitier, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell, Rose McGowan, Vanessa Ferlito (amongst others) and they performed all that was asked of them: look hot and wear skimpy clothing. For this I cannot bag them out considering the film is meant to be played out in this style.
Like all of Tarantino's films it is dialogue-heavy but Death Proof feels more like a Tarantino tribute to himself more than anything. At times I felt overpowered from the huge amount of talking that was going on that for the most part did not evolve into anything. There was his usual trademarks of self-referential material and certain camera angles but he really divulged into his foot fetish with this one. Never before have I seen so many closeups on sets of feet. I don't understand it but then again I'm not Tarantino. Besides all of this, he IS the king of dialogue (apart from a certain K Smith).
It was a fun experience and the car chase was fucking incredible (edge of your seat kinda stuff). How one storyboards that is beyond me (in terms of keeping it interesting). When the film finally ended however I felt a sense of disappointment - I wanted and expected more. I felt somewhat let down by a film helmed by the biggest geek of all - Tarantino - but I cannot dismiss this film entirely. It is all about the ride and it is fun. The perfect film to play when having a few mates over.
6/10.
| 155 |
| Vote |
Comment by Harry
Sydney Diary
Personals
Brisbane Diarystar
Zoo Parent
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
I loved the stunts and mean ol' Kurt Russell. And Rosario Dawson!