2008 Woodie Awards
First 'Grindhouse' film does the job
Matt Woodward
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Quentin Tarantino brings his trademark vision for bombastic action into "Death Proof," his contribution to the horror movie double feature now in theaters titled "Grindhouse." Kurt Russell and the bevy of beauties Tarantino cast highlight this flick.
Stuntman Mike (Russell) has modified his car to be completely 100 percent death proof -- but only if you're sitting in the driver's seat. This is how he kills people, making nice with them in the bar or something, then tracking them down and killing them. He first goes after radio host Jungle Julia (Sydney Poitier) and her friends, after soliciting a lap dance from one. After succeeding, he tries his luck with movie makeup artist Abby (Rosario Dawson) and her two stuntwomen companions, Zoe (Zoe Bell) and Kim (Tracie Thomas), who actually give Mike a run for his money.
Tarantino has always been strong on dialogue. He's great at mixing wonderful, almost lyrical dialogue with intense drama and action. They're conversations you wish you could be smart enough to hold with your friends. The opening of "Reservoir Dogs" around the table at the diner is fantastic, for example, and the Superman monologue in "Kill Bill, Vol. 2" shows how he can slow down the action but still keep you interested. Unfortunately, he slows it down right away with "Death Proof," offering up an overly long car ride scene (for which he's famous) with mostly pointless dialogue. About halfway through the scene, I got tired and let my mind wander. It didn't come back till a full introduction of Mike was made nearly 15 minutes later.
That's out of character for Tarantino. He's usually right on the money and can keep his scenes nice and tight. But I guess after 15 years and six movies, he's allowed to falter a bit, but it's just hard watching such an admirable and capable filmmaker skip a beat.
Once he gets to the action, the first attack on Jungle Julia and her cohorts, the movie really picks up the pace. Seeing Russell playing such an insanely demonic character is interesting, after his recent string of good guy roles. And he handles the villain role with an ease that makes it seem like a perfect fit. He breathes a certain life into the role of Mike that makes me wonder why he wasn't the first pick (casting rumors state he was the last resort).
Stuntman Mike (Russell) has modified his car to be completely 100 percent death proof -- but only if you're sitting in the driver's seat. This is how he kills people, making nice with them in the bar or something, then tracking them down and killing them. He first goes after radio host Jungle Julia (Sydney Poitier) and her friends, after soliciting a lap dance from one. After succeeding, he tries his luck with movie makeup artist Abby (Rosario Dawson) and her two stuntwomen companions, Zoe (Zoe Bell) and Kim (Tracie Thomas), who actually give Mike a run for his money.
Tarantino has always been strong on dialogue. He's great at mixing wonderful, almost lyrical dialogue with intense drama and action. They're conversations you wish you could be smart enough to hold with your friends. The opening of "Reservoir Dogs" around the table at the diner is fantastic, for example, and the Superman monologue in "Kill Bill, Vol. 2" shows how he can slow down the action but still keep you interested. Unfortunately, he slows it down right away with "Death Proof," offering up an overly long car ride scene (for which he's famous) with mostly pointless dialogue. About halfway through the scene, I got tired and let my mind wander. It didn't come back till a full introduction of Mike was made nearly 15 minutes later.
That's out of character for Tarantino. He's usually right on the money and can keep his scenes nice and tight. But I guess after 15 years and six movies, he's allowed to falter a bit, but it's just hard watching such an admirable and capable filmmaker skip a beat.
Once he gets to the action, the first attack on Jungle Julia and her cohorts, the movie really picks up the pace. Seeing Russell playing such an insanely demonic character is interesting, after his recent string of good guy roles. And he handles the villain role with an ease that makes it seem like a perfect fit. He breathes a certain life into the role of Mike that makes me wonder why he wasn't the first pick (casting rumors state he was the last resort).
Be the first to comment on this story