Movie Notes "GRINDHOUSE!"

what can I say?
It was silly, stupid, bad, funny, sometimes really bad (QT's cameos), and yet I had a good time. It was like going back in time. Not that I actually got see those kinds of movies, but I grew up in a small town with four theatres, two showed the latest "Hollywood" films, one was a Spanish theatre, where I saw Mexican wrestler films and Cantinflas' films and the other was what we call today the second run/dollar theater where there was a double feature every week. What I remember about grindhouse type films from the late seventies were the previews, though not as wild as those featured with Planet Terror and Death Proof, I do have a clear memory for the double feature of Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. I also remember being terrified of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre trailer and wishing I could actually watch the karate films that were previewed. Alas I was sheltered as a child, had it not been for the invention of VHS tape, I would have remained a cinematic innocent. Oh the depravity of living in a small town with nothing to do but go to the local video store every weekend where I could rent all the films that I never got to see as a kid.

Of the two films I did like Death Proof more, the car chase scenes did it for me, Zoe Bell was amazing, but during the first half of the film I was so begging for the inane dialogue to end it was boring as hell. Oh, and thank God Quentin was only really in this film for a brief cameo. He pretty much ruined Planet Terror for me, I wish he would stay the hell away from the front of the camera. This film was nothing special, other than to see Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn again that was cool. But even the soundtrack was lame, just the same old shit. The fake trailers were fantastic. I loved that they were actually directed by Rob Zombie and Eli Roth, though I liked "Werewolf Women of the SS" the most.

I was checking out lists of "grindhouse' films on line the other day and I was surprised that I actually have some of these titles at home like: Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS, Sex and Fury, Vampyros Lesbos, Dawn of the Dead, The Streetfighter and nine other Sonny Chiba films, and films that I actually got to see in a theatre like Zombie by Lucio Fulci.

Everyone has been adding their two cents about why this failed at the box office, and frankly I wasn't that suprised because of the weekend they chose to release it puzzled me no end, what the hell were they thinking? A three hour film during easter weekend, yeah the weather was bad here, but it was wet-cold-stay-at-home weather. So we saw it later during the week, and I watched as a group of people down from us got up to leave after the first film was over, like they had no idea that they paid for more. They are going to be released again sepratley? Yeah, like I'm really going to pay to see them agian. No way I got screwed when I bought Sin City right away and then felt ripped off when another dvd was released later. I'm not giving those two more money than I have too.