Planet Terror - Movie Review

Attractive! Don't ya think?!

Planet Terror, the film that made us all want to have an assault rifle for a leg. But if it came with the territory that is featured in this film, I'd have to decline.

When a deadly agent hits the atmosphere and turns ordinary people into zombies, small groups find their own paths which is filled with surprises and come together at a local Texas barbecue restaurant to fight off the zombies. Their goal is all the same: survive this zombie apocalypse and find refuge somewhere.

I have seen a few Robert Rodriguez movies and I'm aware of his style and this film fits right in. I'm not going to lie to you, this film does have a lot of corny one liners and over the top action, but it surprisingly works like it does in some of his other films. The film starts off pretty good, and yes I'm talking about the opening credits scene. Then from there it starts building suspense immediately and that is a strong point of the film. Throughout the film we don't see the zombies attack until about end of the second act while the characters deal with their own problems which again is a strong point.

The dialogue is strong, the script is well made and gives a good ole zombie film that the audience will eat up and enjoy. The tone of the film is suspense, more suspense, and then an all out action thriller. It is more of an action zombie film than a horror zombie film; so don't going expect their to be creaky noises and character's investigating and then a zombie coming out and giving them a bite in the neck Resident Evil style. The score in the film was very good and played a role in building the suspense in the film.

< In summary, I really think this is a well made movie. I loved to see some of the big names that made appearances in this film: Bruce Willis, Michael Beihn, Naveen Andrews (in the midst of his Lost days). Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino coming together and to make this double feature motion picture was great for the industry. They have been friends since From Dusk Til Dawn and it is nice to seem them collaborate. Even though I think that Quentin's Death Proof has the slight upper hand based on the deep dialogue and the performance of Kurt Russell. It's all relative, but both movies are good and I recommend both of them. It's not a bad choice to sit down and watch them like they were meant to be: a double feature

7 out of 10
Worth a watch

For my good buddy Dan the Man's Death Proof movie review, the second half of Grindhouse, please click here. Be sure to visit his page http://dtmmr.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Death Proof - Movie Review

In this Tarantino film, a typical serial killer a gets a twist; with a heavy dose of pure Detroit muscle. And bringing those two things together can only impress, correct? I sure think so.

Don't let Stuntman Mike drive ya home!

Death Proof is the 2007 Quentin Tarantino film starring Kurt Russell who plays Stuntman Mike, a Hollywood stuntman who follows around groups of girls and then kills them; though not with his bare hands, but with his car via collision... in which he survives. This is the second half of the Grindhouse Double Feature with the first half being Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez.

We all know what we are going to get with Tarantino; very developed characters engaging in some very exquisite dialogue. We expect nothing less at this point in Tarantino's career and of course he brings it again and dominates it again. This film has some of the best dialogue I've ever heard. Quentin has always been knocked to never have female leads or at least key female characters. Well he struck that criticism down with Jackie Brown and later with the Kill Bill movies, and also does it again with this film but in an unique way. Both of those movies had female leads, strong ones I may add, surrounded with mostly male supporting cast. In Death Proof, Quentin has a male lead filled with a whole slew of females and makes the male the antagonist, which I think is brilliant because you can easily catch yourself in a situation where you actually might want to root for him instead of the girls he is stalking.

Another thing that impresses me is that Quentin is also the cinematographer of this film and you get to see what Quentin wants you to see and throws in some great subtleties as well. He has great techniques and uses some pretty awesome shots during this film, mainly when Stuntman Mike is on screen. The best use of the camera is in the second half of the movie when the second group of girls are eating lunch. Quentin panned the very long scene and had you feel like you were actually apart of the conversation. He does a great job as the director of photographer. What makes the dialogue in this movie stand out is that for the first time in a Quentin movie we are listening to a group of girls gossip and tell stories when we are used to in movies like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction when we are observing mostly male characters. I knew Quentin was good with dialogue, but seeing write these realistic conversations that these female characters have is truly a pleasure.

I'd hate to find myself in that position!

When it comes to the pace of the film, it tends to be between slow and moderate. But when you become engulfed in the dialogue, the speed of the film will not be an issue for the viewer. The tone of the film starts off very easy going, but when Stuntman Mike comes to the screen the tone suddenly moves to mysterious and scary. When the second half of the film begins, the second group of gals, we already we know what to expect to the mysterious tone is still with us and then the final act of the movie, the unbelievably exciting and tense car chase scene puts us to the edge of our seats and delivers us to a spectacular finish. When top car chase sequences come to mind, the end of this movie will be in the debate for greatest ever.

At the end of the day this film is very underrated and with the masterpieces the Quentin has made, this one will unfortunately will be left at the waist side. It is your typical Quentin film with few twists and turns from his tradition, but all in all you will get what he has given you in every film he's made and that is an action pact thrill ride with a satisfying ending.

8 out of 10.
A must see.

For my good buddy Dan the Man's Planet Terror movie review, the first half of Grindhouse, please click here. Be sure to visit his page http://dtmmr.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.