What is there to say about Tarantino and Rodriguez except that they make some of the best dang movies ever! Grindhouse is a double feature made of Planet Terror and Death Proof, two of the best movies ever made, in my opinion.

With nothing but blasts of good gory fun and catchy lines, and talk scenes, Grindhouse is a force to be reckoned with. These movies are spectacular examples of what "bloody horror", "intense thriller" and "tongue-in-cheek comedy" really are. Along with an excellent cast, these movies have amazing qualities that only true horror lovers would admire. Whether it's a machine gun-legged go go dancer, to a tricky plotting stuntman, you just have to absolutely love Grindhouse.

As soon as I started watching Deathproof on DVD, I have to admit I thought it was boring and overrated. I watched it a few more times and I loved it more and more. You really get to appreciate all the girls and their great personalities, and find the movie more enticing and fun with every second.

Now when I first watched Planet Terror... I fell head over heels for it IMMEDIATELY. Planet Terror was just so fantastically entertaining. You get great hilarity with both films, and Planet Terror gives cheesy action like never before. No matter if Grindhouse did bad at the box office just 'cause lazy people wouldn't get there sorry butts in there to see a marvelous four hour film and they wanted to see other stupid excuses for movies that were in theatres at the same time, Grindhouse is another astonishing piece of work from the masters Tarantino and Rodriguez.

So remember, that you can only catch these stunning movies at, the Grindhouse.

Planet Terror - 10/10, Death Proof - 10/10

Films like Pulp Fiction are one of a kind, literally. No one can duplicate the success of Pulp Fiction. Many have tried, none have succeeded. The problem with this is that Quentin Taratnino made such an auspiciously brilliant debut with Reservoir Dogs and then Pulp Fiction, that he would have a very difficult time matching the brilliance of those two films. But who would have thought he would drop so far down on the directing evolutionary chain? Jackie Brown was just okay, but Kill Bill and now his Death Proof segment of Grindhouse is so embarrassingly bad that I think Tarantino has officially lost what made him such an ingénue. This is a sad statement as no one, with the exception of maybe Spielberg, exploded onto the scene the way Taratino did. But I'm not sure if anyone has burned out the way he has either. His films are gimmicks now. They are not really true movies, but rather they rely on cheap ideas that try to show us what a genius Tarantino is. He perpetually tries to show us how much of a film geek he is and while making films that only he could love, he forgets that most of us don't give a you-know-what about how much he knows about film. All we want is a movie that we can embrace. A movie that has a story, not just a bunch of uninteresting characters sitting around calling each other bitches and then spouting off more inside Hollywood stuff that Tarantino must of had a ball with writing and then chuckling to himself as he writes things in his scripts that only he would understand. This isn't a film for Quentin, it should be made for all of us. And it's not. And this is where he has failed. I know many many people adored Kill Bill. I'm not one of the loonies that did. It was more of an ego fest from Quentin. A subliminal flipping of the bird to all of us. Quentin makes movies for himself, not for us. And if this continues, he won't be working for much longer. He got away with it in Kill Bill because the movie was split in two. If it was one film, people would have walked out of it also.

Grindhouse, as everyone knows now, is two films made in the tradition of old 70's films that apparently had little quality to them. They were just violent films with little or no film expertise exhibited by the director. In this homage to those crappy films, you have Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez making two films in the same vein. Robert's film is pretty decent as we are treated to zombies coming to kill people and then you have the gorgeous Rose McGowan getting a machine gun for a leg. This episode is at least blatantly tongue in cheek. It has a likable cast that includes Michael Biehn and Jeff Fahey. This zombie flick is action packed and humorous. And as much as I'd like to go on praising this portion of the film, it's hard to remember the good things after you watch Deathproof. The film has two great scenes. Both of them involve Kurt Russell trying to kill people with his car. But once you get past that, what you are left with is a rip off of Reservoir Dogs and more inept dialogue that goes on for 20 minutes at a time and the conversation adds up to a big fat nothing. I could really care less about Pete Townsend leaving the Who to join some silly sounding band. Or how Daryl Hannah's stand in screwed one of the girls love interest. None of the dialogue fits in this movie the way it did in Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction. It's sound for the sake of sound.

I get the feeling watching Quentin's recent films that he really doesn't give a damn about what his fans want. He makes films to amuse himself. And good for him I guess. If you can get paid insane amounts of money to basically go to a playground and play tag on the jungle jim all day long, then you have the perfect life. But if you are here to make movies that people want you to make, and you end up disappointing them because of your ego, then every criticism bestowed upon you is deserved. And don't be surprised if he starts to lose some of the support he has in Hollywood right now? You think two crappy films in a row can't do you in? Check out M. Night Shyamalan who also stopped making movies for an audience but more for himself. Check to see what his next movie has for a budget and how short of a leash he is on. QT could be heading down the same path to nowhere.

Grindhouse is a massive failure because Quentin's ego is about the size of Texas now. And as the cook says in Planet Terror, "best damn one in Texas," you can apply that same idiom for Quentin, but with a slight variation.

"Biggest ego in Hollywood!" One of the biggest disappointments of the year, maybe of all time.

3/10 Planet Terror- 6/10 Death Proof- 2/10

When I first heard about Grindhouse, I was pretty excited. I have enjoyed practically everything Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have ever done, so the idea of such a nostalgic homage as Grindhouse really peaked my interest. I was really hyped for the movie, and managed to snag free passes to an advanced screening, and was it ever worth it.

Grindhouse consists of two very different films. The first, Planet Terror, is directed by Rodriguez and is a horror movie about zombies. The second, Death Proof, is directed by Tarantino and is a thriller about a crazed killer who murders women with his car.

Just knowing these two simple plot lines is enough. They are two stand alone films, and they are just as awesome as I thought they would be. This is the closest to a true homage that either director has ever done, and it works amazingly on screen. I was never a big on watching real grindhouse-style films, but these two films are exactly what I would expect them to be like. Just watching the films together was an experience that is simply unmatchable.

I was not expecting anything more than an obscene amount of violence, but the films were a lot more than that. Despite some missing reels, both films have just enough story to actually make them work as conventional films. As said previously, they could easily stand alone away from each other, and still be just as good (but probably not as awesome as they are back-to-back). Having part of the films missing really does not even matter, they work that well without them, and have all the trademark carvings of a Rodriguez or Tarantino film. Planet Terror drags on a bit near the finale, but that seems only because Rodriguez tried to pack in a lot more story to offset the action than the premise really set out for it too. Death Proof is loaded with dialogue, but it comes off brisk and so much faster paced. But all the same, both stay very much in tone with their particular genre.

The missing reels are only a complement to the fact that both of the film's actual picture quality is intentionally absolutely terrible. The films (more so Planet Terror) are scratched up and tarnished to the point where some scenes are practically unwatchable. You just stop seeing the action on screen, and only notice how beat up the print is. It looks old and worn out. And it works wonderfully, and makes the experience all the more authentic. The DVDs will not look anywhere near as stylistically worn as the films do here. Watching these films in perfect quality would just ruin the true homage-style the pair were going for.

The violence in both is another key element to the true impact of both films. Both are quite obscenely violent, and just become downright disgusting in a lot of sequences. They set out to push the limits of conventional 2007 era violence, and they more than do that. People are decapitated, ripped limb from limb, and just shot left, right and center. These people are destroyed beyond all comprehension, and just when you think they have done enough, it just keeps coming. Gorehounds will be in heaven, and those who have trouble looking at more than the slightest hint of blood may need to sit this one out. It gets to the point of being sick and twisted, but it works beautifully in the films, and they just would not be the same without it. The makeup artists put in a lot of work here, and it shows in how graphically violent the films are.

But by pushing it to the limits, the films also become darkly hilarious. It is not just the dialogue that will give you a chuckle, it is the effects and the action happening on screen. In some places, it just becomes so downright ridiculous that you cannot do anything but laugh. A lot of what happens is downright vile and inhumane, but it is done with such style and wit, that it just cannot be anything but hilarious. Every obscene and violent action done in previous Rodriguez and Tarantino movies is more than topped here, and fans will be hard set on not wanting some more by the time Death Proof concludes.

The faux trailers are also a nice touch, and in a way, push the boundaries of violence and hilarity even more so. I do not want to ruin any of them, but I just could not stop laughing. They are absolutely perfect, and they connect the films even more than they are already (not to mention the old-school ratings and preview reels). Rodriguez's Machete trailer that opens Grindhouse is amazing, and sets the tone for everything that follows. They only further how dedicated the filmmakers were to their original visions, and make the film all the more authentic.

The acting is campy, cheesy and right on the mark. Everyone is at their best, no matter how small their role, and no one feels like they are wrong for their part. Rose McGowan is a particular stand-out in both films, delivering every line and action to the highest degree possible. Kurt Russell is another stand-out, playing a character that is so evil that he exhales cool with every breath. And Freddy Rodriguez more than proves that he has what it takes to be a leading man. I did not like one particular character's sudden change half way through their film, but it works for the most part anyway.

There is nothing more I can say but that you need to see this film. It may be imperfect and a bit longish, but it is the closest thing to a brilliant homage that any filmmaker or audience has ever seen. It is everything that anyone could have hoped for and more.

9.5/10.