Tell me! Grindhouse

[thebitterguy]

Well, apparently the film (which I enjoyed very, very much, as did my wife, thank you) has done... poorly. We're talking Serenity numbers.

Naturally, blame-game playing and second guessing (and attempting to split the film in two on a trial basis) have started.

I honestly lack the wisdom of, say toddalcott who also posed the same question, but I'm generally lazy, so I'm gonna post it in a poll. Yay me!

[Poll #973710]

Comments

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I clicked the benefit-of-the-doubt answer, but I wish there had been a button for "I saw it, and suffered through the first 90 minutes to really enjoy the last 90 minutes".

[thebitterguy]

You know, that doesn't surprise me. I liked them both for different reasons.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

The first was a fun and light-hearted celebration of a genre that I'm not all that enamoured with. That's cool.

The second was a deep and thoughtful celebration of a genre that I'm slightly more enamoured with, so I appreciated the craft more. I generally far more like what Tarantino does with his sources, than I like the sources, if you see what I mean.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I liked the first half much more, for precisely the reasons you mention below - I'm an fan of zombie flicks, so I appreciated Planet Terror more.

[barkman.livejournal.com]

It's not playing at a theatre near me.

[thebitterguy]

Oh, that's unfortunate.

[barkman.livejournal.com]

According to the Galaxy site, 6 theatres within 100km of Orillia - all in Toronto. going to the movies is expensive enough without tossing in a trip to the Big city.

[thebitterguy]

Ouch. Hey, make a trip of out! Day out to see a film. That's always fun.

[newnumber6.livejournal.com]

I'm one of those people'll who'll, for various reasons, almost never go see a movie in the theatres - the last I did that for was Serenity. I have to _really_ want to see a movie for that, and Grindhouse just didn't qualify.

Beyond that, although there were scenes that looked cool, I was only kind of half interested in one of the two movies, and the other one (the Kurt Russell one), though I've heard some people say it's the better, the plot just didn't appeal to me at all.

[thebitterguy]

They're both very enjoyable, for different reasons. I guess I'm still fond of Tarantino's rambling conversations.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

I loved the first NIGHT OF TEH CREEPS/ DAY OF THE DEAD/ NIGHT OF TEH COMET + cool trailers half up to the end of the DEATH PROOF credit sequence. Then I waited for about 45 mins for Quentin to stop showing me that he keeps writing the same movie over and over and over again and casting himself in it so he can schmooze with someone-more-famous-than-him's better-looking son-or-daughter. Then the first group of chicks are confronted by Stuntman Bob and we actually have a movie again for about 20 mins. Then we're treated to more of Quentin masterbating himself to his own job, the hot women working in it, and the sound of his own voice, coming ventriloquist-dummy-like from four women seated around a table. Then the chicks go to the farm to see the Vanishing Point roadster and its a FANTASTIC movie.

So I saw it, but I was disappointed.

death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[spatch]

Yes, the Tarantino dialogue dragged DEATH PROOF down nearly from the start, though the final chase sequence was absolutely incredible.

QT's explanation was that he wanted to emulate the kind of cheap flicks where they had to pad out 15 minutes of the exciting stuff with 60 minutes of anything else, and I can almost see the incredible chase being the "reward" for enduring Tarantino-Brand Feminist dialogue ("You go, girl! Oh, you're such a slut!") but honestly, just because it was done before doesn't mean it should be done again.

I have also read that somewhere along the line Harvey Weinstein said that, if they were going to split the movies up and release them separately, he wanted to "add in" the "missing reels." Dear lord, talk about missing the point entirely. The joke ship sailed and he's still on the docks!

Additionally: A 3-hour R-rated movie will have less daily showings, and make far less per screen, than an 80-minute G/PG-rated CGI feature. While it doesn't completely explain the "Serenity numbers" (ouch) it does put a little extra light on things. I enjoy blaming circumstances more than I enjoy blaming people, anyway.

Re: death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

60 mins of anything but what Quentin gave us would have been a Helluva lot better than what we got. I don't need to see stuff that was fresh 10 or 15 years ago in PULP FICTION or FOXY BROWN again - he's already got that money from me. And yes, I know that going back to older tropes was the point of teh whole thing, but you didn't see Rodriguez digging up the dialogue from his old movies to pad out PLANET TERROR. I was also pissed off that Quentin stole the "Reel Missing" gag that played better in the first half, and even then, botched the joke (that must have been a 45 min lapdance, doncha think?).

That chase scene and the Ship's Mast stunt will go down in history as being the best and most invigorating chase scene in the past *30 years* of movie history, but that doesn't make up for what he put in front of it. Not to me, anyway.

Rodriguez tho, no matter how shakey some of his other work has been lately (I'm looking at YOU "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and everything since then to "Planet Terror") managed to not only set up the gag for his part of GRINDHOUSE, but actually pull it off - and he gives good NIGHT OF THE CREEPS.

Oh, and MACHETE! is in pre-production to be released next summer.

Re: death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[thebitterguy]

What's he done since OUATIM? Other than Spy Kids 3 and Sin City?

Ohhhhhh... You didn't like Sin City?

Re: death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

SHARK GIRL AND LAVA BOY - I like kid's films and this one was lame as well.

I was spoiled by the comic a good 8 years before that movie came out. As much as it was a noble effort and that I truly enjoyed all of the MARV stuff in the SIN CITY adaptation, after that I thought the comic was a lot, lot better.

Re: death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

Sorry, Shark BOY and Lava GIRL.

Hitting that time in the afternoon when I need something for my bloodsugar...

Re: death proof needed a few more [REEL MISSING]

[thebitterguy]

explain the "Serenity numbers" (ouch)

That's just my shorthand for "movies I liked that no one else did".

[thebitterguy]

Oddly enough, I read the Pervert's review in the Star that day, and he said explicitly that Death Proof was the slower of the two films by a long shot. I think he also may have mentioned the odd timing.

But, going into it knowing that, I enjoyed it. I still liked the Tarantino Dialogue.

Plus, hey, Zoe Bell makes up for a lot of faults.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

I like Zoe Bell, I just hate it when non-actors play themselves in a movie where they're expected to act, and then everyone in the picture acts like... Ok, wait - I got it now.

Let's put it this way - Zoe Bell is a great stunt lady, but Quentin made her into his personal DEATH PROOF Mary Sue.

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I think the big problem was timing the release. It'll probably do very well on video.

[thebitterguy]

I just hope it doesn't hurt the odds of us getting a Machete release. I want a Danny Trejo feature.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

Machete! is in pre-production as we speak.

Hopefully El Ray and Rose will be back.

[waiwode.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed both ... but I do agree with some of the critics and wish that Tarantino would try doing something other than his endless glorification of All Things 1970s that really weren't all that glorious to begin with.

I appreciate the homage ... but how many homages to the 1970's do we need?

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement.

I'll actually quote something from Ebert's review of one of Tarantino's excavations -- a film T. dusted off and put back into theaters called Switchblade Sisters:

...What made the Pam Grier [blaxploitation] pictures stand out was Grier's own charisma; she was an authentic movie star, and even [director Jack] Hill's sleazy production values and slapdash photography and editing couldn't conceal her talent

The problem with``Switchblade Sisters'' is that no one on screen is any better than the talent behind the camera. The movie is badly acted, written and directed, and while I was watching it I realized that in some unexplained but happy way, the basic level of cinematic talent has improved in the past two decades. Few new directors today could make a film this bad. Low budgets have nothing to do with it. Consider Robert Rodriguez (whose ``El Mariachi'' cost$8,000), Matty Rich (``Straight Out of Brooklyn,'' $24,000) and Edward Burns(``The Brothers McMullen,'' $28,000). Despite their budgets, they are born filmmakers who know where to put a camera, how to write a script, how to cast and direct actors, and how to move things along. By contrast, ``Switchblade Sisters'' is a series of tableaus in which stiff actors are grouped in awkwardly composed shots to say things like ``Freeze, greaseball!''

Note that Rodriguez himself was one of the people cited as someone who could take a tiny budget and do something magic with it. How much did Grindhouse cost, anyway? A heck of a lot more than Switchblade Sisters, is my guess.

[thebitterguy]

I wonder if Ebert will get to do a Grindhosue review. I'd have liked to have read that.

[mollpeartree.livejournal.com]

I've become a penny-pincher about going to the movie show these days. This movie is pretty much guaranteed to be shown on the big screen by the student film group on the campus where I work in a couple of months, so I'll wait and see it then.

[normanrafferty.livejournal.com]

Various explanations have been offered for Grindhouse's underwhelming box-office performance, but it's entirely possible that audiences have been inundated with glorified B-movies for so long that the prospect of souped-up drive-in fare doesn't hold much novelty.

--Nathan Rabin , The AV Club</> (http://www.avclub.com/content/cinema/redline)

[lowercaseem.livejournal.com]

I missed out on seeing it because I wasn't feeling well enough on the night I'd planned and then, when I checked the listings for the weekend, the k-hole cinemas stopped showing it.

[thebitterguy]

That's unfortunate. Do they still have the Rep theatre next to the Burger King at Priness & Division? It seems like their kind of show.

[lowercaseem.livejournal.com]

Nah. The Princess Court Cinema became the Princess Court Theatre (as in Playhouse) and then became the Time to Laugh Comedy Club. It's been the club for about five years and was the Theatre for about three or four years before then.

The Screening Room (above Send in the Clowns near where GrabbaJabba used to be) does not list it as something they'll be playing.

When I searched for it, the closest cinema was in Ottawa.

[thebitterguy]

Fuckberries. The town has just fallen apart since I left.

[bobmungovan.livejournal.com]

Like newnumber6, I just don't go out to see movies anymore. I'm also only mildly interested in the first place, so I would have waited until it hit HBO/Sho/Encore, even waiting past the DVD release.

[easyalchemy.livejournal.com]

Though it seemed great in theory, I figured it was one of those films that I would not enjoy in practise. I think Tarantino is hugely overrated, and actually a terrible filmmaker with a strong sense for 'cool' lines and catchy soundtracks. I like Rodriguez, generally, but didn't feel like paying $10 to enjoy half of my evening.

I think, in terms of the kind of genres Tarantino like to work with, I'd rather see the earlier/original versions because then the open mysoginy is in the past, not the present.
I also dislike hipsters, and Tarantino is their king.

[thebitterguy]

Don't you taint Q with the hipster brush. He is lord of the geeks. Hell, he returns Harry Knowles phone calls.

[terminal-pariah.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time there were three girls, and they loved to talk. They would talk and talk and talk, and then talk some more. One day they talked so much that you seriously considered leaving the theatre early. Then a retired stunt man killed them. The end.

(seriously, Tarantino just phoned in Death Proof. No grindhouse moviegoer would sit through that dialogue.)

[thebitterguy]

You know, I don't know what, but I didn't mind the characters and their interactions. I loved the last trio, of course.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I looooooooved Planet Terror. I sat through Death Proof.

But you knew that.

[thebitterguy]

Some day you will appreciate the glory that is Zoe Bell.

Some day.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I liked Zoe Bell very much. And her talents would come in handy if she wanted to take a ride with you and the missus in Supercar.

[stop-no-dont.livejournal.com]

I dug both of them, and the Death Proof soundtrack is damn good listening on its' own. There's been plenty of good points listed here, but I can tell you from my own observation, the film just wasn't promoted worth a damn. I work for a radio company and nobody had even heard of it. That stunned me.

[thebitterguy]

Did they release the soundtracks separately? Or is there a big Grindhouse OST?

[stop-no-dont.livejournal.com]

I've only seen this on iTunes, but each film is listed separately. Planet Terror is more of a score, while Death Proof is a full soundtrack.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I did not see it, because I am extremely squeamish, and frankly a wuss :p

[thebitterguy]

That's why you need a big strapping fella to hid behind at the scary bits.

[crashing-angel.livejournal.com]

I did not see it because...
I'm poor and I saw TMNT instead.