tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post5003096151274567880..comments2024-03-28T02:21:05.851-07:00Comments on VINYL IS HEAVY: Grindhouse: Did you just hit a boat?!Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-8323928020772898132007-04-19T20:19:00.000-07:002007-04-19T20:19:00.000-07:00RWK, while your pee reference maybe be apropos for...RWK, while your pee reference maybe be apropos for making his audience have to sit in seats and hold bladders full of urine (it's own form of torture), as an injoke for the back end of a 3 1/2 hrs movie marathon, don't forget Quentin Tarantino uses "I got to pee/piss" in all his films, every single one (maybe there are valid analyses for why.)<BR/><BR/>Your analysis for both QT and RR is spot on for their movie contributions to "Grindhouse."<BR/><BR/>I have been browsing the internet for serious critical analyses for "Death Proof." I am quite pleased to know that there are several people (bloggers) who have given this little gem of a film the serious thoughts it deserves. There is indeed a lot going on in this movie for the senses and the mind. Thank you for thoughtful writing. I an just an average film fan (my collection of DVDs is about 60 films that I really like, yes "Raging Bull" is included).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-46003644861713027362007-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:002007-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:00I don't know what you're talking about with Planet...I don't know what you're talking about with Planet Terror, it's like you watched a completely different movie. Rodriguez flubs the missing reel while Tarantino nails it? Please, it's the same joke, and in the context of OT it's hilarious.<BR/><BR/>I don't think the girls killed Stuntman Mike. I think the whole second half was a flashback to when Mike picked up his serial killer perversion.<BR/><BR/>I dug both halves a lot. Planet Terror for its pomo camp and Death Proof for its true time machine trip back to when exploitation films bothered to develop characters before letting the thrills take over. The combination of the two is essential.Sean Gilmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124894627028920508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-26445663073053945412007-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:002007-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00GS - Thanks for stopping by and saying hi. Glad to...GS - Thanks for stopping by and saying hi. Glad to share.<BR/><BR/>And I, too, have a soft spot for Rodriguez's ethos -- but his films are just about all bad.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-71253213132018176532007-04-10T20:58:00.000-07:002007-04-10T20:58:00.000-07:00This is my first visit here. I like that the firs...This is my first visit here. I like that the first image is of Tarkovsky. The second being Biggie, I hereby award you a high-contrast award. Anyway, nice writing. Looking forward to seeing this one myself. I'm forever sympathetic to Rodriguez after reading his book, so I'll be curious how my thoughts compare to yours on this one.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03850735279185470499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-37218330654194359292007-04-10T07:11:00.000-07:002007-04-10T07:11:00.000-07:00Hee hee, yeah, The End is pretty off the hook. Abr...Hee hee, yeah, The End is pretty off the hook. Abrupt, which I thought was kind of funny more than anything else, but do you think Tarantino had alterior motives? It's interesting how each audience member must react differently to a conclusion like that. For me, I had a good cackle and got up and finally took that pee I'd been meaning to take. And while I was peeing I was thinking, "That movie took too long." <BR/><BR/>But I like your read into THE END --I had forgotten to consider the moral implications of what these women are doing to Stuntman Mike. What's more is to consider whether or not Tarentino considers the morality in this conclusion? You almost get the feeling he just likes watching these sexy chicks kick the shit out of this sleazy dude. Perhaps it's the only way he can "Get rid of his goo", as suggested by his own script. <BR/><BR/>I suppose in the end, it's as if the filmmaker's intentions don't matter. There are so many different reactions people can have with this medium...or with any work of art for that matter. The ending that I get a mild chuckle over is the ending that convinces the next man to consider justice and ethics, is the ending that gives the guy in the back row a boner...and all three conclusions are legit! <BR/><BR/>The diamond blings from many angles.Leile Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01025772776851448499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-48422269466430808742007-04-09T19:02:00.000-07:002007-04-09T19:02:00.000-07:00LO: "I had a hard time with both features."That's ...LO: "I had a hard time with both features."<BR/><BR/>That's a great way to start thinking (and writing) about anything. It shows you're trying to work through why you had a hard time. However, you may have a totally different kind of "hard time" with either segment. For instance, it's hard for me to stomach something as bloatedly banal as <I>Planet Terror</I> in a very banal, dismissive way. Whereas my difficulty with the Tarantino film is that boredom, and why can't we just listen? I actually had a fun time dropping in and listening. I also like the ending of <I>Kill Bill 2</I>, in fact I like the whole movie a lot more than the first one, because it's so antithetical to us as movie goers, with the ultimate confrontation deferred and deferred and deferred and deferred and then it's supposed to happen and it's delayed a few more times. And its quite literal heartbreak is really poignant, I think, because it's so awkward a resolution. The dude knows how to wrap up a story, if you want to call his movies stories, as such. (I'm not sure they're really stories, though, as expressed above, in the essay.) I have my doubts as to whether or not Tarantino knows how rich his films are but there's fuckton of shit going on, even in something as flawed and bloated as <I>Kill Bill</I> or as meager as <I>Reservoir Dogs</I>, which I fear hasn't aged well with me. Anyways, I guess I'm saying I like the slow build up as a means to lay the framework of why there even IS a chase sequence, let alone why she's on the fucking hood, as a part of the car almost, for half of it. Then, that frightening ending is so damned complex I'm having trouble expressing all that's going on in it -- there's the climax, fists up; there's the fact that they're now no better than Stuntman Mike at the end of the first half, they're killers, too; there's the words "THE END" coming out of Mike's dead body; there's that boot to the face, too, as a final punctuation, furthering the horror inside the celebration; there's a lot. More will be written a lot better than that, with actual claims to defend and back up.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-81191305937690391182007-04-09T15:47:00.000-07:002007-04-09T15:47:00.000-07:00LO - I think it's boring on purpose, to heighten t...LO - I think it's boring on purpose, to heighten the action, but that said, I could live in his dialogue and smile a lot. Also, they's bootifull.<BR/><BR/>Trevor - It's a lazy laugh, tho. I could have told you that it would be jumping back into the middle of action with the way that shit was set up. Plus, the kick in the balls (boner?) that QT pulls off is pretty genius: that denial is maddening and hilarious. Sure, you sense it coming, too, what with the sound track fuckups and repeated frames leading up throughout, and all that sexy talk right up to the cut, but it works beyond the punchline, unlike the Rodriguez stunt, which is only a gag and nothing more. It is a kind of good visual pun, though, as we just watched the film burn up and then we cut to a house burning, but it's still a lazy move that can't rival anything in <I>Death Proof</I>.<BR/><BR/>Also, Zoe Bell did a lot of work on my palms, my brain, my, uh, ... I like her. A lot.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-74592730150363857402007-04-09T07:41:00.000-07:002007-04-09T07:41:00.000-07:00I'm curious why you thought RR flubbed his missing...I'm curious why you thought RR flubbed his missing reel but QT got it right. Was it RR's combo with the "burn" of the previous "reel"? I thought cutting to the burning restaurant after the film "resumed" was hilarious, and so did the rest of the theater I was in.<BR/><BR/>Zoe Bell's stunts on that car hood made my palms sweat more than they have in a long time.TJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13088461995698326658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-25615504322824167942007-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:002007-04-09T07:29:00.000-07:00I had a hard time with both features. While the Ro...I had a hard time with both features. While the Rodriguez half was bad for all of the reasons you mentioned, it at least held my attention with the boiling-face infectees and the splattering and the Tom Savini cameos.<BR/><BR/>The Tarantino half, however, I found to be tediously boring for the most part (a la "Kill Bill 2"). The dialogue, which is what you want to be dope in a Tarantino film which relies so heavily on words, was just so blah. <BR/><BR/>The characters are just kinda sexy and annoying, I thought, and I kind of relished watching the climax to the first story. These are the kind of chicks I wouldn't want to hang out with for more than ten minutes, let alone pay money to watch them sit around and blab about nothing onscreen.<BR/><BR/>The chase scene in the second half was definitely cool. But it took sooo long to build up to it, how they keep being like "Omigosh are we really gonna go through with this dangerous activity", "I dunno I'm having second thoughts", and twenty minutes more of that. If he wants such a big buildup to the admittedly dope climax, he's got to keep us interested with some endearing characters and dialogue. Otherwise I'm just hoping they die and get it over with.<BR/><BR/>Just my take. Nice piece though, playa...Leile Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01025772776851448499noreply@blogger.com