Grindhouse

[Updated below.]

I enjoyed Grindhouse, even though it was a major bomb. Sure, it was a shamelessly self-indulgent film, but what else can we expect from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino? They are unabashed fanboys more interested in creating a celluloid sandbox to play in rather than creating movies with the widest across the board appeal.

Rodriguez's half, "Planet Terror", was about a ragtag bunch headed by a machinegun legged former club dancer (just how does she pull the trigger on that gun, anyway?) fighting off a zombie horde. It wasn't as bad as it was panned to be, although his mishmash treatment of the schlock genre was so over the top it was more funny than scary.

Tarantino's half was "Death Proof", about a former stuntman who terrorizes women with his menacing car. It wasn't his greatest; I thought it suffered from bad ensemble acting and self-conscious dialogue, but the car chase scenes were heart pounding and the ending deeply satisfying.

The mock movie trailers -- "Machete", "Don't", "Thanksgiving" and "Werewolf Women of the SS" -- were just as outrageous as the two main features and were giggle, eyeroll and/or gag-inducing depending on your point of view.

Tongue in cheek sexploitation gorefest aside, Grindhouse was actually an ode to women which is one reason why I enjoyed it. But mostly, I enjoyed it for the low budget B-movie kind of silly fun that it was, albeit with cool pop culture references and killer soundtracks worth checking out.

Update:

Rotten Tomatoes reports that Danny Trejo said yes to a full length feature Machete.

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