As my appetite for junk is almost if not equal to my appetite for art, I continue to look forward to each Tarantino film as it appears. Quentin is, perhaps, the ultimate junk film junkie and whatsmore he is proud of it. After I saw his explosive debut with RESEVOIR DOGS I fully expected Tarantino to follow a similar course to Martin Scorsese and balance his movies between the sacred and the profane. I really did expect a serious movie somewhere down the line but it seems that isn't the course his river is going to run. Tarantino isn't so much paying homage to the action and exploitation movies he loves as recreating them with a 21st century sensibility. Although I really don't like watching the man himself I have to say that I do think of him as a "good" director - certainly he knows what he wants to do and, more importantly I think, knows why he wants to do it and, unlike many directors today, he can articulate those things because he has a solid grounding in and knowledge of film history. He doesn't feel that the films he loves - or his own films - a guilty pleasures, rather he celebrates them. DEATH PROOF is far from his best film and it drags somewhat in the middle when Kurt Russell (a wonderful performance) is off screen for too long, but it is wonderfully un-PC fun. I won't even begin to give away what plot there is except to say that it comes as no surprise that QT intends to remake Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL, KILL! Grab a few beers and get some pals around to watch it with you. This might be bubblegum for the eyes but its got plenty of flavour. Rating *** Wednesday, 29 July 2009
DEATH PROOF (2007)
As my appetite for junk is almost if not equal to my appetite for art, I continue to look forward to each Tarantino film as it appears. Quentin is, perhaps, the ultimate junk film junkie and whatsmore he is proud of it. After I saw his explosive debut with RESEVOIR DOGS I fully expected Tarantino to follow a similar course to Martin Scorsese and balance his movies between the sacred and the profane. I really did expect a serious movie somewhere down the line but it seems that isn't the course his river is going to run. Tarantino isn't so much paying homage to the action and exploitation movies he loves as recreating them with a 21st century sensibility. Although I really don't like watching the man himself I have to say that I do think of him as a "good" director - certainly he knows what he wants to do and, more importantly I think, knows why he wants to do it and, unlike many directors today, he can articulate those things because he has a solid grounding in and knowledge of film history. He doesn't feel that the films he loves - or his own films - a guilty pleasures, rather he celebrates them. DEATH PROOF is far from his best film and it drags somewhat in the middle when Kurt Russell (a wonderful performance) is off screen for too long, but it is wonderfully un-PC fun. I won't even begin to give away what plot there is except to say that it comes as no surprise that QT intends to remake Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL, KILL! Grab a few beers and get some pals around to watch it with you. This might be bubblegum for the eyes but its got plenty of flavour. Rating *** 
" Now that was fun"
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2 comments:
I too enjoy Tarantino's work and, while DEATH PROOF is my least favourite of his films, I still found it a lot of fun. Kurt Russell's performance alone is worth the price of admission. The second half of the film does loose steam badly. However, the ending makes up for it -- as do the spectacular non-cgi car stuntwork.
I've now seen both version of Death Proof, both as a stand alone and as a part of Grindhouse in the cinema. I think the meta-text of it with its' references to Vanishing Point, Two Lane Black Top, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry et al were missed by a lot of viewers but nonetheless, it was much more fun than a lot of shaky-cam quick cut action flicks that are being produced these days. There's a crazy joy to watching an unabashed exploitation movie done well, and I think this one fills that bill.
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