04-06-2007, 09:01 PM
Feature 1: Planet Terror
Who needs another zombie movie? I mean, zombies have been done to death. It's like the ultimate in-joke, where the director rounds up all his friends and they get to appear in the film, staggering mindlessly about and looking about as menacing as the Mummy. Here's a clue if you run into zombies: Walk away from them.
But Rodriquez is a major directorial talent. He breathes so much new life into the zombie genre that this feature hits on all 8 cylinders from start to end. This is a wonderfully enjoyable 95 minutes, with good plot, deft pacing, great characters, emotional engagement, and lots of high camp scenes and even some very inspirational.
I loved this feature.
Intermission Previews: I couldn't stop laughing. I was still laughing long after they ended. This has needed to be done for a long time ...
Feature 2: Death Proof
One of Tarantino's great strengths is his use of uniquely strange dialogs or monologs in his movies. One of his great weaknesses is his use of long boring dialogs or monologs in his movies. Sometimes he's on, sometimes he's way off. He doesn't seem to have a very good filter. Likewise his pacing can be very uneven.
The first three quarters of this movie is a talkathon. Oddly, even though it slowed the plot to a snail's pace, I found it bearable and even engaging. I felt the women's banter was quite believable. But lady cranefly disagrees, saying that it represents what men think women talk about. I dunno. I've found myself alone with lots of women on many occasions in my life -- we're not talking harems, okay? Just social gatherings. And I always zoned out very quickly because, well, the subject matter seemed very gossipy and of little interest to me. So the Lady and I have a minor disagreement on this point.
But like I said, I found it engaging -- perhaps because I was in an incredibly passive mood, having just finished two insane back-to-back deadlines at work. So a slower pace was even appreciated.
But then came the car chase. Yes, the f***ing car chase. I suppose one could say the film was hitting on all 8 cylinders but in all the wrong ways. And at this point I I should excuse myself from further reviewing this feature because, well, that's what it is -- a car-chase movie. Tarantino wanted to make the 3rd best car chase in film history. Some people think he succeeded. I think he failed miserably. I won't go into the specifics, except to wince at the sheer illogic of the thing.
It was great to see Zoe Bell cast as one of the main characters (she was Xena's stunt double, likewise for Uma in Kill Bill, and lots of other stuff). Though she lacks the Hollywood glamour, I felt she did a very good job and hope she gets to appear in other roles.
As for Kurt Russell, he's at his best. He can be mesmerizing on screen, and I wonder if he's been long underrated.
All in all, I really enjoyed this outing, and while Death Proof did have its moments, Rodriquez' Planet Terror totally kicked butt and stands as a minor masterpiece.
--cranefly
Who needs another zombie movie? I mean, zombies have been done to death. It's like the ultimate in-joke, where the director rounds up all his friends and they get to appear in the film, staggering mindlessly about and looking about as menacing as the Mummy. Here's a clue if you run into zombies: Walk away from them.
But Rodriquez is a major directorial talent. He breathes so much new life into the zombie genre that this feature hits on all 8 cylinders from start to end. This is a wonderfully enjoyable 95 minutes, with good plot, deft pacing, great characters, emotional engagement, and lots of high camp scenes and even some very inspirational.
I loved this feature.
Intermission Previews: I couldn't stop laughing. I was still laughing long after they ended. This has needed to be done for a long time ...
Feature 2: Death Proof
One of Tarantino's great strengths is his use of uniquely strange dialogs or monologs in his movies. One of his great weaknesses is his use of long boring dialogs or monologs in his movies. Sometimes he's on, sometimes he's way off. He doesn't seem to have a very good filter. Likewise his pacing can be very uneven.
The first three quarters of this movie is a talkathon. Oddly, even though it slowed the plot to a snail's pace, I found it bearable and even engaging. I felt the women's banter was quite believable. But lady cranefly disagrees, saying that it represents what men think women talk about. I dunno. I've found myself alone with lots of women on many occasions in my life -- we're not talking harems, okay? Just social gatherings. And I always zoned out very quickly because, well, the subject matter seemed very gossipy and of little interest to me. So the Lady and I have a minor disagreement on this point.
But like I said, I found it engaging -- perhaps because I was in an incredibly passive mood, having just finished two insane back-to-back deadlines at work. So a slower pace was even appreciated.
But then came the car chase. Yes, the f***ing car chase. I suppose one could say the film was hitting on all 8 cylinders but in all the wrong ways. And at this point I I should excuse myself from further reviewing this feature because, well, that's what it is -- a car-chase movie. Tarantino wanted to make the 3rd best car chase in film history. Some people think he succeeded. I think he failed miserably. I won't go into the specifics, except to wince at the sheer illogic of the thing.
It was great to see Zoe Bell cast as one of the main characters (she was Xena's stunt double, likewise for Uma in Kill Bill, and lots of other stuff). Though she lacks the Hollywood glamour, I felt she did a very good job and hope she gets to appear in other roles.
As for Kurt Russell, he's at his best. He can be mesmerizing on screen, and I wonder if he's been long underrated.
All in all, I really enjoyed this outing, and while Death Proof did have its moments, Rodriquez' Planet Terror totally kicked butt and stands as a minor masterpiece.
--cranefly
I'm nobody's pony.
![[Image: th-DP96R1.jpg]](http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0462322/th-DP96R1.jpg)