Better Living Thru Blogging!

Wow. Quentin Tarantino delivered an “expletive-laden” speech at the Cannes Film Festival. Ummm…QT using foul language? Gosh, didn’t see that coming at all.

Mind you, I’m not a huge fan of foul language in everyday speech. There is a time & a place for it. And QT is a expert at knowing when and where in his movies.

Finally - FINALLY - saw “Planet Terror!” It’s one half of the Rodriguez/Tarantino “Grindhouse” double-feature. Sadly, I wasn’t able to see it in the theatre when it was released last year, but now I can report that it is AWESOME. Now keep in mind that I don’t generally like (a) zombie movies or (b) splatter movies — but after discovering the awesomeness of “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” a couple of years ago, and ranking “Kill Bill” as my favorite movie, it was perhaps inevitable that I think “Planet Terror” was incredible.

To clarify: until this evening, there were only two “zombie” movies that I enjoyed. The first is the hilarious “Return Of The Living Dead” from 1985, which transcends the genre due primarily to the humor and the story involving a “Breakfast Club”-assortment of older teens. The second is “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn,” which is unlike any movie I’ve ever seen: the dichotomy between the first half and the second half, the delightful splatter, the strong performances - it is simply great.

And now comes “Planet Terror,” which doesn’t waste any time bogged down in character development or gratuitous sentimentality. This is pretty much a non-stop gore-fest, loaded with subtle humor, and featuring the “grindhouse” atmosphere that Rodriguez and Tarantino were aiming for. It also featured a remarkable performance by Rose McGowan as a go-go dancer named Cherry Darling who lists her useless talents (by number), and also provides some dead-pan laughs. And “El Wray” was portrayed by the Freddy Rodriguez, the junior mortician from “Six Feet Under,” and he was surprisingly convincing as a semi-legendary fighter, shootist, and knife-guy.

Lots of other great stuff, too, including a Bruce Willis near-cameo, a BBQ chef always in search of the perfect ingredients, QT as a sadist who is falling apart in a critical place, and of course the wonderful Michael Parks, again portraying a Texas lawman. Oh, and if you enjoyed seeing Beatrix Kiddo squash Elle Driver’s eye, there is a similar scene in “Planet Terror” that will give you a chuckle.

If you like QT and/or Rodriguez, I don’t see how you can not like this movie. If you’re the least bit squeamish, however, you should either skip it, or prepare to spend most of the movie with your hands over your eyes.

Next week: “Death Proof!”

Back in December 2005 I finally discovered the semi-cult favorite “From Dusk Till Dawn” and was greatly impressed:

I watched “From Dusk Till Dawn” last week for the first time, and was absolutely amazed. See, that’s the thing about Tarantino…until I saw “Pulp Fiction,” it never even occurred to me that I might enjoy a film about a washed-up boxer, drug-using overdosers, and wise-talking hit men. And until I saw “Jackie Brown,” it never even crossed my mind that a movie about a simple robbery, international smuggling, and small-time hoodlums might be right up my alley. And of course, until I saw the “Kill Bill” movies, I never would have imagined that I would love a martial-artsy, samurai-wielding, Yakuza-loving, blood-drenched action flick.

And so for several years, I avoided “From Dusk Till Dawn” because, well, I’ve never once enjoyed a vampire movie. Vampire movies, along with their related werewolf, mummy, and Frankenstein-monster movies, weren’t all that appealing to me. Of course, exceptions were made for large monsters, such as Godzilla. But in general, vampires suck - pun intended. And don’t get me started on the whole Ann Rice crap and sub-culture of wannabe-real vampires.
Anyway. Once I sat down and watched “From Dusk Till Dawn,” I again became a True Believer in All Things Tarantino.

The scene when Tarantino (as the actor) turned into a vampire and was snuffed by his loving brother - you just know that QT had been living for that moment his whole life. And yes, I know that Rodriguez directed FDTD, but it has QT all over it, so it’s also considered a QT flick.

So now, two years later and having watched it several more times, how do I feel about it? Even better. It’s a movie that really does get better with each viewing, as you notice more details and appreciate the dialogue even more and gape at the visuals. Great movie for Halloween season: gory, scary, and funny.
Having said that…I can understand that there are probably many people who hated this movie, or simply refused to see it. Which is why one film critic, when assigning stars to it, gave it two separate ratings:

For the squeamish and/or feminists: *
For schlock horror fans and Tarantino freaks: *****