OldBoy

Thought since it was coming up this weekend that we could share our inner most reviews of what is sure to be at least an interesting time.

As much as I am looking forward to it, i have been fretting over the longer movies of late. "Zodiac" was really good, but i get a little edgy because i don't have so much time to give to a 3 hour movie.

but, i will hopefully catch it this weekend and look forward to it.

OldBoy

so far so good at 'Rotten Tomatoes'...85% with a ratio of 11 to 2. early of course and i expect it to drop.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grindhouse/

ShaunoftheDead

Does anyone know when this will be reviewed at DVD Talk?

RichC2

89% on rottentomatoes, 16:2. I anticpate a decline shortly.

I'm amazed at how conflicted the critics are, some like Planet Terror and hate Death Proof, some vise versa, some like the entire thing. Really is something for everyone.

And hell remember, just because you paid to see both movies doesn't mean you have to stay for both :P

From MetaCritic.com (All are positive reviews):

Village Voice Score: 100
By: Nathan Lee
This monumentally pointless movie is best summarized by a line from Planet Terror: "At some point in your life, you find a use for every useless talent you have." Rodriguez, Tarantino, and Co. aim for nothing more noble than to freak the funk, and it's about godd--- time. Go wasted, go stoned, go without your parents' permission. In paying homage to an obsolete form of movie culture, Grindhouse delivers a dropkick to ours.

Rolling Stone Score: 88
By: Peter Travers
By stooping low without selling out, this babes-and-bullets tour de force gets you high on movies again.

Premiere Score: 88
By: Glenn Kenny
As much as I enjoyed much of it, I hope Grindhouse doesn't start any trends. Exploitation cinema is combustible stuff that only highly trained professionals should be permitted to play with.

Variety Score: 80
By: Todd McCarthy
Planet Terror delivers only momentary kicks...while Tarantino's Death Proof is a juicy, delicious treat, its pleasures stem much less from the play with genre conventions than from great dialogue and electric performances.

The Hollywood Reporter Score: 70
By: Kirk Honeycutt
If you were keeping score, it would be Quentin Tarantino 1, Robert Rodriguez 0.

Christie L. (From the Associated Press) and Richard Roeper gave it two thumbs up. Roeper loved Tarantino's bit, Christie loved Rodriguez's but thought Tarantinos was boring... with a good pay off.

kaze0

Does anyone have a midnight showing of this by them? I'm so pissed I just realized that all of the 12:00 showings on moviephone were really 12pm :/ I had even taken Friday off so I wouldnt have to worry about sleep.

outcastja

Yeah, I'm worried about that too. Usually midnight showings are posted at least a week in advance, but here in SoCal there are no theaters that have a midnight showing posted up. One theater already has Spiderman midnight showing up but no Grindhouse

Seantn

I think it's since the movie is around 3 hours....none of the theater people want to have to hang around until after 3am waiting for everyone to leave.

kaze0

LOTR had midnight showings. I guess they don't think Grindhouse is gonna be that big :/

Kudama

They would if the theaters let their employees drink beer and watch the movie with everybody else. It's a party! Then: free taxi service for everybody.

(I dream a lot.)

JayDerek

i was really, really hoping for a midnight showing here (Madison,WI) because i know that people that'd come would enjoy the hell out of it and it'd be a great crowd.

oh well...

OldBoy

i am amazed thus far..the score at RT keeps going up. Now 90% with 19 to 2 ratio.

i'm glad the reviewers so far are taking this movie for what it is and not delving deeper...leave your brain at the door, unadulterated schlocky fun!!!

TomOpus

Couple more positive reviews: RT is now 92% 21/2

JPRaup

I just saw it at a preview screening.

Lets get this outta the way first, trailers were all great. Very enjoyable.

Planet Terror: The quintessential "grindhouse" movie. Jam packed with blood and guts and some of the grossest scenes I have EVER witnessed in a movie. The dialogue was perfect for a grindhouse movie. All the performances were good and it was all around a great movie. 9/10

Death Proof: Awful. I am a huge Tarantino fanboy so don't get me wrong. How someone can write Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction then such a pile of shit as this movie is beyond me. There was a solid hour of the most meaningless, pointless words I have ever heard anyone consecutively say. It is some of the worst writing I ever witnessed in a movie. That being said the car scenes were filmed great and it was the only redeeming quality of the movie. I am disappointed beyond belief. 3/10

Planet Terror, Deathproof and Trailers: 7/10

MovieExchange

I'm in agreement with Jordan. The trailers were great, Planet Terror was a hillarious cheese fest, but for the most part Death Proof was a festering steaming pile of shite. WAY too much talking. Now that wouldn't be bad if it were good dialogue, but that wasn't the case here. It wasn't even good cheese movie dialogue, it was just boring. It remained boring until the chase scene at the end.

Maybe if they had run Death Proof first, it would have been better.... but having it run after the over-the-top Planet Terror was like setting it up to fail.

JPRaup

What was the song when the "coming previews" titles where shown. It's used in Danger Doom song "Old School" with Talib Kweli from the album "The Mouse and the Mask".

darkside

Wow, every review I have read and everyone I talk to says the exact same thing. Grindhouse starts out great and goes to shit once Death Proof starts.

I wonder if its worth going just to see Planet Terror and leave after the trailers.

Supermallet

I'm sorry, I still have trouble accepting that an original Rodriguez script is better than an original Tarantino script, especially when the Tarantino piece has Kurt Russell. Still, we'll see this weekend, I suppose.

JPRaup

I'm not sure, I would have been so pissed if they showed Death Proof first. Planet Terror would have made up for it by leaps and bounds, but I think I would nitpick everything about Planet Terror after watching the godawful Death Proof. It would have been a worse experience.

also I would like to add that Kurt Russell did a very nice job in his performance, I just wish he was in it for more than a measly 20 fucking minutes. Those goddamn girls, I wanted to line them up and personally kill them.

JPRaup

I agree, I never in my life ever thought I could ever imagine this. Tonight it came true.

JPRaup

I wish I had. Maybe its worth it just too see how bad it really is though.

I tried so hard to enjoy Death Proof, I really did. The title scene was great, then it just took a shit on the ground for the next hour. It was literally like watching a trainwreck. Let me rephrase that, at least a trainwreck is exciting. I JUST came back from the movie and I can't remember a single idea or phrase that was talked about in that period of time without thinking really hard.

MovieExchange

It certainly was in this case. Of course I'll be the first to admit that I have never understood the fuss over Tarantino in the first place. Very juvenile with a tendancy to borrow a little too liberally from other people's works. That being said, I went in with an open mind towards the film.

Despite my numerous criticisms of Tarantino, one thing I've never been able to say was that his films were boring... until tonight, that is.

I don't know how many people in the audience tonight were Tarantino fans, but you could tell that they were just not in to this film until the end.

JPRaup

I'm not sure, In my theater people clapped at the end, but not for Planet Terror. They even laughed at parts of Death Proof. It was insane. A funny thing, I saw a lady that had to be over 80 walking out right before Death Proof, how she sat through Planet Terror is beyond me. Some of the most obscene things I have seen in a movie.

MovieExchange

Oh there were some chuckles here and there for Death Proof, but Planet Terror had a more consistent positive reaction.

As for the endings... well, I can't make my point without spoiling the ending of Death Proof, so that will have to wait.

RichC2

Seriously, I've never seen more varied reviews for a movie, the number of conflicting "Rodriguez's is GREAT, Tarantino's is AWFUL" and "Rodriguez's was lame, Tarantino's was amazing" is incredible.

Mondo Kane

Shit. I'm sensing a Kill Bill Deja Vu with this.

Vol-1
Edge-of-your-seat, breakneck thriller
Vol-2
Talk,talk,talk,talk

Planet Terror (And the trailers)
Edge-of-your-seat, breakneck thriller
Death Proof
Talk,talk,talk,talk

Even the biggest low-blow I've come across so far is David Walker's review here which says to wait for the DVD(!)
Well, I'm still a devoted fan (To the directors and this genre) and I'm definetly seeing this in the theaters (I'll be out of town this weekend so I'll come back with reactions by Sunday night) but I'm taking the negative feedback as a precaution and am still hoping for at least a satisfactory (But not overwhelming) Friday night viewing.
There.
Expectations have been lowered a wee bit. Now I'm hoping for a better-than expected outcome.