"It's a no-brainer."

To celebrate the holy weekend, I saw Grindhouse. This was a superfun movie-going experience, and I loved just about everything about it.

Remember last year when there was a debate in a comment thread (scroll down about 1/3 of the way on the linked page for the fun comments) on my blog regarding the merits of film study, especially as it relates to Quentin Tarantino? Remember how I was told I was empty and trendy? Ahh, good times. Anyway, Grindhouse helps cement my praise for Tarantino and what he is doing with film. More on that in a bit . . .

The first film, Planet Terror, is definitely the gorier, more schlocky, more B-movie of the two films. It is a non-stop extravaganza of exploding heads, disgusting zombies, machine gun legs, and cheesy dialogue.

Robert Rodriguez has incorporated scratched up film, missing scenes (to hilariously plot-jumbling effect), and intentionally poor production values into this extremely fun tribute to the horror films of the 70s. Rodriguez also scored the film, and the music adds such a layer of entertainment that at one point I think I clapped at the score. What a nerd I am.

In between the two films, of course, are the amazing fake trailers. I won't reveal too much, but they are brilliantly bad.

Tarantino's film, Death Proof, is much, much different. It starts off very slowly, with a lot of Tarantinoesque dialogue, which is entertaining, but a bit jarring after the nonstop action of the previous feature. I found myself wondering what he was doing. Kurt Russell is great as Stuntman Mike, who kills women with his car. But unlike the comic violence of the first film, the first big car accident that happens here is anything but fun. It is gruesome and harsh and sad.

But Tarantino does nothing unintentionally. I started to love how he was playing with audience expectations. I could write a whole essay about his conscious decision to stop using the scratched-up film technique that he uses at the beginning of the film (and that Rodriguez uses throughout). The movie evolves into less and less of a B-movie. Even with a supposed formula movie, Tarantino does the unexpected.

But then, the last 20 minutes happen. This may be the most fun 20 minutes I have seen on film in a long time. And the final shot brilliantly returns to the B-movie cheese.

Grindhouse is excellent.