Grindhouse

"Grindhouse" is unlike anything you've ever seen in the theater. Yet, that will be exactly why most of you stay away from it. This is a true double feature which also includes its own made up "Previews" and other fillers. With a running time of three hours, the producers have now split this into two individual movies, allowing you to choose which of the features you want to see. One is definitely worth it while the other is probably even weaker without its lead in.

Up first is "Planet Terror", brought to you by Robert Rodriguez with the help of Quentin Tarantino. Shot on grainy film, giving it the feel of a cheap movie from the 1970s, "Terror" is nonstop fun as infected zombies take over an entire town. Trying to escape are a handful of locals with issues of their own. There's a part of the story involving a military operation that went wrong, thus infecting people, but that is really not relevant. What is important is watching how the survivors keep living while the zombie victims continue to have their brains eaten. This story is so far out there that by the time that Rose McGowan's character gets a machine gun for a leg, that step just seems natural. While it looks cheaply done on the screen, the special effects are over the top.

Then, after some more filler and hilarious "Previews" comes Tarantino's "Death Proof". This one had greater potential, and does well for the first half hour. After that, the movie literally and figuratively hits a wall. We watch Kurt Russell flirt with a group of women at an Austin bar on a rainy night. While the girls are initially wary of him, they let him in on their conversation as the tequila keeps flowing. What they don't know is that Russell is a former stunt man who enjoys running people off the road in an attempt to murder them. Here, the crash is shot from every angle and shown multiple times. After that, we move forward to his next victims in a similar setup. Unfortunately, this entire storyline goes absolutely nowhere for what felt like hours. There was a point where I thought I was in the wrong theater, yet I hadn't moved from my seat. The final chase is fun, but it took far too long to get to it.

Overall, Tarantino fans will not be disappointed, while the average movie-goer will be very confused. Don't check out "Grindhouse" without doing some background reading about it first. As an homage to past grindhouse movies, the film is a success. As a piece of entertainment, "Planet Terror" succeeds while "Death Proof" fails. Neither will be in theaters long, so maybe wait until the DVD. I give "Planet Terror" an A but "Death Proof" gets only a D+.

"Grindhouse" is rated R with a running time of 191 minutes.