Post by Argonaut on Jan 11, 2008 11:56:20 GMT -8
Planet Terror (2007)
imdb.com/title/tt1077258/
Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino decided to make a double-bill in the style of the old "grindhouse" flicks. I've never even heard of the term before, but Tarantino is a huge fan of these movies, so he showed Rodriguez a ton of them in preparation for the making of Grindhouse. Tarantino is a really great director, even if Pulp Fiction is the only movie of his I really really like. The second half of Grindhouse, Death Proof, is directed by him. I haven't seen it, but it's pretty unanimous that it is the lesser one, while Planet Terror is almost universally enjoyed. Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez, is the half that I have seen.
Overall I really enjoyed Planet Terror. It is really really well done and I am just impressed that something like this would be made today with the amount of respect for its inspirations.
There are many things I like about Planet Terror. Here are some.
1. Michael Biehn. Michael Biehn is an awesome genre actor whom Hollywood has ruthlessly neglected, and Rodriguez must have the same respect for the guy. Biehn of course played Hicks in Aliens and Kyle Reese in Terminator. Both James Cameron projects. Biehn also played a psychotic Navy Seal villain in The Abyss, another James Cameron movie. Needless to say, it is freaking awesome that he is in this movie, cuz he hasn't been in anything big in several years. His character rules and I wish we'd see more of him nowadays. He's still an awesome actor.
2. Bruce Willis. Willis has a small, but really entertaining role in this movie.
3. El Wray. El Wray is the centerpiece of the best scenes in Planet Terror. Freddy Rodriguez plays a character with incredible skills and a foggy past. His skills are put to spectacular use in a scene where he goes into a hospital to get his girlfriend out. The Sheriff, Michael Biehn, won't let him have a gun, so El Wray grabs a couple of butterfly knives and runs through the hospital slicing up zombies. It's pretty sweet.
4. The missing reel. In both Grindhouse movies, Tarantino wanted to have a scene where a reel is supposed to be missing. Then the audience can go, NOOOOOOO as it cuts out and then when the film comes back you wonder how the hell you got to the point you're at. Major plot revelations occur during this missing reel of course and the audience goes DAMNIT WHAT HAPPENED? This could have been frustrating, but it is so funny really the way it's done it just adds to the charm of the movie.
5. Music track lifted right from John Carpenter's Escape From New York soundtrack. This was something that only a die-hard John Carpenter fan would notice, and I think it's really cool that they put it in there.
There's a lot more stuff to like about the movie, so I won't go on and on. Like I've said, overall I really enjoyed this wild, crazy, violent movie, but I do have a couple problems with it. It is a fun movie, but towards the end the novelty of it starts to wear off a bit and you start to want an ending soon. I'm just impressed that Rodriguez made it fun as long as he did. It's a tribute to how good of a filmmaker he's become. Anyways, the last few minutes start to get a little ridiculous. I mean this movie is way over the top before that, but there's some things that happen in the last few minutes that just felt out of place for some reason.
Despite some of my negativity, this is a really fun film that's well worth a watch for genre fans, cuz they're the ones bound to get it the most. Oh yeah, the Tarantino cameo is incredibly disgusting, but pretty funny. That's one of the strengths of the movie is making you laugh at some of the most disgusting stuff ever.
4 out of 5 stars.
imdb.com/title/tt1077258/
Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino decided to make a double-bill in the style of the old "grindhouse" flicks. I've never even heard of the term before, but Tarantino is a huge fan of these movies, so he showed Rodriguez a ton of them in preparation for the making of Grindhouse. Tarantino is a really great director, even if Pulp Fiction is the only movie of his I really really like. The second half of Grindhouse, Death Proof, is directed by him. I haven't seen it, but it's pretty unanimous that it is the lesser one, while Planet Terror is almost universally enjoyed. Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez, is the half that I have seen.
Overall I really enjoyed Planet Terror. It is really really well done and I am just impressed that something like this would be made today with the amount of respect for its inspirations.
There are many things I like about Planet Terror. Here are some.
1. Michael Biehn. Michael Biehn is an awesome genre actor whom Hollywood has ruthlessly neglected, and Rodriguez must have the same respect for the guy. Biehn of course played Hicks in Aliens and Kyle Reese in Terminator. Both James Cameron projects. Biehn also played a psychotic Navy Seal villain in The Abyss, another James Cameron movie. Needless to say, it is freaking awesome that he is in this movie, cuz he hasn't been in anything big in several years. His character rules and I wish we'd see more of him nowadays. He's still an awesome actor.
2. Bruce Willis. Willis has a small, but really entertaining role in this movie.
3. El Wray. El Wray is the centerpiece of the best scenes in Planet Terror. Freddy Rodriguez plays a character with incredible skills and a foggy past. His skills are put to spectacular use in a scene where he goes into a hospital to get his girlfriend out. The Sheriff, Michael Biehn, won't let him have a gun, so El Wray grabs a couple of butterfly knives and runs through the hospital slicing up zombies. It's pretty sweet.
4. The missing reel. In both Grindhouse movies, Tarantino wanted to have a scene where a reel is supposed to be missing. Then the audience can go, NOOOOOOO as it cuts out and then when the film comes back you wonder how the hell you got to the point you're at. Major plot revelations occur during this missing reel of course and the audience goes DAMNIT WHAT HAPPENED? This could have been frustrating, but it is so funny really the way it's done it just adds to the charm of the movie.
5. Music track lifted right from John Carpenter's Escape From New York soundtrack. This was something that only a die-hard John Carpenter fan would notice, and I think it's really cool that they put it in there.
There's a lot more stuff to like about the movie, so I won't go on and on. Like I've said, overall I really enjoyed this wild, crazy, violent movie, but I do have a couple problems with it. It is a fun movie, but towards the end the novelty of it starts to wear off a bit and you start to want an ending soon. I'm just impressed that Rodriguez made it fun as long as he did. It's a tribute to how good of a filmmaker he's become. Anyways, the last few minutes start to get a little ridiculous. I mean this movie is way over the top before that, but there's some things that happen in the last few minutes that just felt out of place for some reason.
Despite some of my negativity, this is a really fun film that's well worth a watch for genre fans, cuz they're the ones bound to get it the most. Oh yeah, the Tarantino cameo is incredibly disgusting, but pretty funny. That's one of the strengths of the movie is making you laugh at some of the most disgusting stuff ever.
4 out of 5 stars.