Death Proof

Terribly restrained and, mainly in the first half, boring. It was real torture sitting through the first group of girls and, until stuntman Mike (the great Kurt Russell) comes on set, nothing happens. And normally Tarantino knows how to create an atmosphere. The mysterious music and the shot of the car hidden in the darkness is much more powerful than the car revving. A change comes with the nice conversation between father (sheriff) and his first-born son (deputy), which is definitely the best of all the dialog scenes (in terms of screenplay). The second group of girls has clearly more charisma (headed by Rosario Dawson) and more fun. The icing on the cake is the final car chase which is absolute genius and breathtaking. That’s why it’s a shame that the self-centered screenwriter Tarantino has to spoil all of director Tarantino’s good work. But maybe after this kick in the ass Mr. T. will pull himself together and start work on Inglourious Basterds, because it really is high time. (09/05/2007)

The girls are hot (maybe too hot) and anyone who only looks at their mouths the entire time might get bored eventually. They talk about nothing and that's why most people brush off the dialogue as a weakness. But anyone who's been eyeing Warren's bar, where there are a lot of posters, a cool jukebox, and good drinks being poured, will understand that Quentin has got things figured out pretty damn well. Every now and then the girls drop a suspiciously familiar line from another film and everyone with half a brain realizes that someone here has studied the history of (not only) trash pretty damn well. Although the pulp aesthetic is quite foreign to me, I enjoyed this delightful ride with Quentin as much as Stuntman Mike enjoyed his car. (10/14/2007)

One of Quentin's most personal opuses, an amazingly entertaining homage to the trash cinema of Russ Mayer et al., with great sound and cinematography. It’s not very captivating in the dialogues and doesn’t form an entirely consistent whole, but every detail is a reflection of almost supernatural cinephile love and creativity (when we get bored with the conversation at the round table, we can at least enjoy the variable single take shot). A superb Russell, sexy babes and a car chase that will take your breath away. Brilliantly executed, culminating in perhaps Quentin's funniest transition to the final credits – I would love to know where that guy finds those outrageously catchy songs. (04/03/2019)

Some clever director's whim, a traditionally listenable soundtrack and occasionally nice cameos. That's all Tarantino gave me and this desperate spectacle made me so angry. Two completely identical parties of overdressed silly kittens with annoying dialogues, making even the conversations from worse of the director's scripts seem like genius. And on top of that, a main villain who disappears for long minutes, resulting in one unsexy dance and one tired car chase. The video rental weirdo has run out of ideas and becomes just a weirdo again, who enjoys watching somewhat strange movies. I don't blame him, but in that case, he shouldn't boast about any "the best" labels. More than a decade later, undoubtedly the worst Tarantino movie, fortunately meaning rock bottom, from which the only way was up, fortunately several floors up. (03/14/2008)

As a full-fledged film it’s essentially useless, and that was not expected from Tarantino. Grindhouse excels exactly in what it should, to pay perfect homage to all possible B-movie genres and older films. You can expect amazing gimmicks (old picture, sound distortion, Kurt winking at the camera), which, mixed with quality ingredients (an excellently insane plot and stylish execution), create a decently entertaining appetizer primarily designed for hardcore fans of the director. For a regular viewer, it is still a bit unusual, even considering the fact that, from this director, are somehow expecting something to jump at you from the screen. (02/10/2008)