Grindhouse Disappoints

After sitting through over 3 hours worth of Grindhouse I left wishing that Tarantino had not bothered to include Rodriguez's Planet Terror for the first half of the movie. The highlight of Planet Terror was Fergie getting eaten, cue the "she tastes Fergilicious" jokes now, and it was a lame rehash of From Dusk till Dawn, which was also directed by Rodriguez but at least starred George Clooney and Salma Hayek.

As for Tarantino's Death Proof, I very much enjoyed it. It was just too bad that after sitting through 1.5 hours of crap I was in no mood to watch another movie. Thankfully, Tarantino delivered a great film with some witty dialogue and action reminiscent of Pulp Fiction. Tracie Thoms is fabulous as the female version of Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction.

From Salon.com:

It was a chivalrous gesture, but an unnecessary one. "Grindhouse" -- which consists of two full-length movies, one by Rodriguez and one by Tarantino, as well as several faux trailers by guest directors -- is a grand collage of drooling zombies, bounteous breasts, spurting blood and careering cars, a rambunctious and unapologetically disreputable entertainment as well as a comprehensive catalog of B-movie references. It's also recklessly joyous and deeply affectionate, a celebration not just of an all-but-lost approach to moviemaking but of the nearly lost experience of communal moviegoing.

Some other reviews:

Death Proof is, in many ways, an amazing approximation of the old exploitation films, but with an unmistakable QT vibe. Rodriguez, on the other hand, directs his half as the fever dream of someone who has only been told about exploitation movies.

Too bad Tarantino didn't do the zombie pic, too.

~BT