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Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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2007 – R – 192 min. (Planet Terror – 105 min.; Deathproof – 75 min.)
Director: Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror segment), Quentin Tarintino (Deathproof segment)
Primary Cast: (Planet Terror segment) Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Rose McGowan, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews, Fergie, Michael Biehn; (Deathproof segment) Kurt Russel, Rosario Dawson, Vaness Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Marley Shelton, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth, Winstead, Zoe Bell, Omar Doom
Stars *** 1/2 (of 5) (Planet Terror / Deathproof segments separately: **** (of 5) each)
Popcorn *** (of 5)
Film Type(s): Drama, Tribute, Horror, Action
Synopsis: A double feature done in the style of many ‘70s era independent and low-budget thrillers from Directors Rodriguez and Tarintino. First, in “Terror Planet”, Rodrigquez shows us a group of people that have survived the terrorist release of a Zombie gas into the air by an insane General (Willis). Among the survivors are a tow truck driver with a mysterious past (Rodriguez), his Ex-Girlfriend Cherry Darling (McGowan), a doctor (Shelton) hiding something from her husband before he gets infected, and the former Al Queda turned businessman that designed the gas (Andrews). Can they save the world before it’s too late? And do they have enough ammo to do it? Next, Tarintino shows us in “Deathproof” just how sturdy cars are. Smart serial killer Stuntman Mike (Russel) has targeted his next victims of his tricked out stuntcar; but what happens when they fight back? Also featured are phony “previews” that appear before and between the segments, that are often as outrageous as the segments themselves.
Review: This is a tribute by ‘70’s ‘nostalgia’ Directors Tarintino and Rodriguez to the low budget, exploitation pictures of the 1970’s that featured bad language, nudity, and violence (often in the form of “Hee Ya!” Kung Fu and gun crazy heroes), complete with rough cuts, bad previews, missing reels, and bad sound throughout. The ‘gimmick’ for this film is that it is in fact a double feature, with Tarintino and Rodriguez serving as Director and Cinematographer for each segment (and Scoring in Rodriguez’s case), collaborating on producing and writing with the Weinsteins also serving as Producers. Rodriguez’s “Terror Planet” segment comes first, basically a Sci-Fi Zombie movie that would do George Romero proud, complete with gun / Kung Fu expert now mechanic ‘El Ray’(a hammy Freddy Rodriguez) that “never misses” and his Ex-Girlfriend and Go-Go dancer Cherry Darling (insert pun here) (played by a game Rose McGowan), who gets her leg eaten off by the zombies and replaces it with a gun. The actors in the villain roles have the most fun here, though, with Bruce Willis as a zombie-gas-infected General that did a unique service in the military and “Lost”s Naveen Andrews as an Al-Queda mad Scientist with a…unique fetish. Then comes Tarintino’s “Deathproof” segment that has all of the machismo elements of Tarintino’s past highlights but with a female twist. In fact, the only male in his segment with more than five lines is Kurt Russel as Stuntman Mike, which channels his Snake character from Escape From New York if he were a serial killer. He uses his rigged stunt car to kill his victims. First he targets radio DJ Jungle Julie (played by Sidney Poitier’s youngest daughter Sydney Tamiia) and her friends. Then he targets a second group of women that are Stuntwomen led by Rosario Dawson, though not before the ‘girls’ have a women’s point-of-view discussion not unlike the men’s point-of-view discussion in Reservoir Dogs, complete with sex and old film references about car movie, Vanishing Point versus Pretty In Pink. Not only that, but Tarintino tops it off with one of the best nail-biting car chases ever put to film. It’s only a shame that it comes buried at the end of the third hour of the film. The primary downside to this film is the overlength, which will serve as a deterent for those that enjoy this genre, as brevity is usually rewarded. This means that the film will likely see better success when, as planned, each segment is released on DVD separately. The “Previews” before and between features are a highlight, allowing cameos and guest Directors to come in. Among others, we see “previews” for the crazy Mexican assassin “Machete” ‘starring’ Rodriguez regulars Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin and “Fu Manchu” with Nicholas Cage. Guest Directors also come in for ‘Previews’, like Rob Zombie’s kitschy “Werewolf Women of the S.S.”, Edgar Wright’s take on bad ‘70’s previews with “Don’t!”, and Eli Roth’s hilarious Halloween spoof “Thanksgiving” (“No Leftovers!”)
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