Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, a word about this childish boycott. "Grindhouse" gave us two brilliant genre films for the price of one in the theaters. It was a once in a lifetime experience for most of us and a chance to see the two most bada$* directors in Hollywood give us 3+ hours of hardcore horror/exploitation entertainment including the funniest faux-trailers you're likely to ever see (or not see if you missed it). And it bombed. Big time. Why? Because lazy America said it'd wait for the DVD because both films together were too long and they lost the chance to support a truly brilliant idea and show that we are sick and tired of cardboard cutout PG-13 teen horror and bad remakes of beloved cult classics. They went to see "Disturbia" instead. "Grindhouse" was what true horror fans -hell, what all true film fanatics- have been dying for and shame on all of you who missed it. So the studio took a loss for taking a chance on this idea and as a result, they've split the two films up with extra scenes that were cut for time and are giving us these two films as we haven't yet seen them, each in double-disc editions packed with extras. Awesome, right? Weeeeeellllll, now the same whiners who stiffed the films in the theaters are angry they missed out and want both films on one DVD (as if there'd even be room) for a discount price. Sorry, but it don't work that way. The theatrical cut was packaged as just that, an experience for the theaters simulating the double-feature drive-in days of old. Even if that experience would translate to DVD, why would the company re-release it in the same form that already failed miserably? The bottom line is this: we now have another chance to show that THIS is what we as horror fans want to see and the only way to do that is to buy these great-looking DVDs. The notion that making the films bomb yet again on DVD is going to lead to some super-duper deluxe theatrical edition must have been conceived in the mind of a five year old on crack. If we don't support these editions, these films will die and the studio will waste no more money on this failed project or any like it in the future. This is basic business sense. Support true horror and other genre films and boycott crappy remakes and bloated sequels *cough*Spiderman3*cough* instead. YOu know you'll double-dip on those. "Death Proof" was Quentin Tarantino's half of the "Grindhouse" experience. It's a film of stunning originality that switches gears between genres seamlessly and, in true Tarantino fashion, pays tribute to it's influences all the way going so far as to name the films it strives to emulate. "Planet Terror", Robert Rodriguez's zombie-heavy gorefest that served as the other half of "Grindhouse", captured the spirit of exploitation cinema by being over-the-top and silly, but "Death Proof" pays homage to it while building a more subtle, character-driven masterpiece. Kurt Russell plays an old stunt driver with a car built so that the driver can not be killed no matter how bad he crashes (death proof, see?). Well, the guy is a bit of a misogynistic bastard (and a wuss at that) and he gets his jollies by murdering young, beautiful women, possibly as a way of getting back at a world that doesn't share his enthusiasm for -or even a vague awareness of- the carphilic genre films that make up his very existence. His weapon of choice? His stunt car, of course. They crash, he lives, they die. There is an amazing scene where a crash with a car full of girls is replayed over-and-over, each repeat focusing on a different girl and her particular gory demise. Unbelievable. The girls are all well fleshed-out as characters with lives and personalities of their own and you just don't know who will live and die. You cheer when they live, you gasp (and then cheer at the way it was filmed) when they die; a win-win situation. Rose McGownan is indeed the grindhouse queen as she co-stars in both films and steals the show in every scene she appears in. Real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell makes her acting debut and proves an impossibly endearing on-screen presence who shall henceforth be known as Spiderwoman to me after her incredible stuntwork here. Rosario Dawson charms as always and the rest of the cast is beyond solid as well. The last twenty minutes of "Death Proof" are among the greatest of any film I've ever seen. Edge of your seat barely begins to describe the chase sequences and the finale had me literally applauding in the theater as I laughed myself silly. You will not see the ending coming unless you've see or heard about it already. The rest of the film is splattered with homages and references to classic drive-in fare, humorous and profane dialogue, horror cliches (horny + stoned + female = splat!), and more QT goodness. This extended cut features the infamous "reel missing" scene featuring a very sexy lapdance and more of the film's awesome music. There is also a black-and-white sequence where Russell and Dawson indulge in Tarantino's creepy foot fetish and a hilarious convenience store scene which stars the almost undrinkable "Big Red" soda in damn near every shot. I laughed harder every time the camera focused on the offending soft drink. The special features are impressive; the highlight for me was watching goretastic horror director Eli Roth plead with Kurt Russell in-between takes where Roth's character had to diss the horror legend. Buy this film, buy "Planet Terror" (there is a $5 off coupon for it included here if that helps), and wave your copies at the moron down the street who's boycotting because this is brilliant filmmaking and denying yourself this kind of entertainment over sour grapes is self-punishment. "Hey Ladies..... THAT was fun!"