cd213 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2007 what is Grindhouse exactly anyways? the commercials on TV made it look like a garbage movie with a really lame gag about a woman with a gun on her foot. Had never heard of it before the commercials, and it looked like shit. I'd imagine everyone else felt the same way. I've been waiting for this film to come out for over a year now since I first heard about it. It was the second best film I saw this year behind Hot Fuzz. Grindhouse is an homage to the films of the 70's and 80's that played exclusivly at theaters all over the country. They were the films that were "anti-Hollywood." At that time Hollywood had a code of how movies were to be made and these movies that later came to be known as "grindhouse" movies were grainy, sex-filled, violence-filled adrenaline rides. Some of the more famous ones were The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left. and Bloodfeast. The most popular area to house these films was 42nd Street in Manhattan. Anyone could get into these films as long as they had the money to. You would all kinds of seedy people to come out to these films. The advent of the VHS was actually part of the downfall of the grindhouse since these seedy people could find the movies they wanted and bring them to the privacy of their own home. Hoor films, over-the-top action, sexploytation were just a few of the popular genres. Planet Terror was a play on the horror films and Death Proof was a play on the action films. The movie as a whole was an amzing piece of cinema. As two seperate films, they would have done pretty well. Not enough people in this day and age understand what a gindhouse is and were probably turned away. The film was well put together as it really had the look and feel of an old grindhouse film. I was not alive when they were popular, but I have seen a number of the films from then, and thismovie captured the feel exactly. Even the faux trailers were well done. I especially loved Don't from Edgar Wright since it played on a popular fad from Hollywood at the time. In the 70's and 80's Hollywood would take a popular horror film from Europe and bring it over to America and give it a different name that had nothing to do with the movie itself. Very well done and funny if youknow what the joke is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2007 I guess I didn't get the joke about Don't since I thought it was easily the worst of the trailers. One aspect of this that I think caused the movies to go over the head of the prospective audience is that Grindhouse isn't a commonly known term. When I think of this sort of fare, I think of Drive In movies. Grindhouses were a distinctly urban deal, as noted the 42nd St. area in NYC, or the area of L.A. where Tarantino saw movies. I'd venture to say most of America experienced these movies at the local Drive In. The closest thing to a grindhouse I can remember in my area was the theater that used to be at Oxmoor Mall, which ironically enough is a fairly upscale place. But Oxmoor's theater was the place that showed all sorts of cheesy Cannon movies back in the 1980s, mostly produced by Golan/Globus. Death Wish sequels, Stallone's lesser works like Cobra and Over the Top, the Allen Quartermain movies, Ninja movies, Chuck Norris. That said, they used to show actual 1st run stuff too (Splash, Turner and Hooch, etc.) so I dunno if it was exactly a grindhouse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cd213 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2007 If anyone can pick up a copy of Rue Morge magazine there is a 12 page article on Grindhouse and there is a very good history of what a grindhouse is. It is a great, fast read. You can really learn a lot from reading it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2007 We finally saw "300" on Easter. I don't think that the girlfriend liked it as much as I did. Seeing Grindhouse either this weekend or next weekend. I was waiting for the crowds to die down, but I assumed that it would pull in more money than it did. I'm surprised. Rodriguez has directed some great flicks (El Mariachi, Desperado, Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City) and from the sound of this, he does a great job. Tarantino is slightly overrated, but I heard his interview on O&A last week and his enthusiasm for the project rubbed off on me for some reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted April 10, 2007 Yeah, but Nutty Professor was entertaining, to a degree, and had the raunchy Klump family, which is at least a NEW IDEA, to build a sequel around. Did they deserve a 2nd movie? Probably not, but at least there were some funny jokes around it that everyone got, so what the hell. Ice Cube impresses girl and kids make stupid faces. Hey, let's do it again! It is a family film for kids and something for adults to laugh at along the way while their kids are watching. it isn't for your adult ass to watch alone. This is no different than any live action film disney does. What exactly were parents supposed to take their kids to see? Grindhouse or 300? I find most family comedys to be stupid and non funny, but its not for me so I don't bitch abou it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
