Something to watch tonight: Thursday 14 March

Grindhouse (Rodriguez/Tarantino, 2007)

One of my irregular shoutouts to physical media today, as a regular edition of Grindhouse hits stores in Aotearoa.

I reviewed the special limited* version (with a funky lenticular cover) for RNZ back in November last year:

Putting all that aside, these films are a lot of fun. Planet Terror (Rodriguez’s contribution to the double feature) is about a small Texan town that is overcome by disease ravaged citizens, pustuled creatures, exposed to an alien toxin determined to infest everyone they come into contact with. A few dedicated survivors – immune to the virus – attempt to fight their way to sanctuary.

Rose McGowan as go-go dancer Cherry Darling loses a leg in an early skirmish but ends up with a machine gun transplant! Josh Brolin is an infectious diseases doctor at the local hospital but turns out to be a nasty piece of work himself. And Bruce Willis plays an army lieutenant called Muldoon – that name will never not be funny to me – who is determined to weaponise the virus for the government.

Planet Terror is very silly, action-packed, has great practical effects.

Refer a friend

Tarantino’s Death Proof has all of the strengths and weaknesses of any film from that director. If you are a fan, you’ll love it but if his extended verbiage gets on your nerves elsewhere, then it will do so here. And, it’s still strikingly common how anti-misogynist films by male directors will still be shot through with the male gaze. It’s as if they can’t help themselves.

*Let’s be honest, all physical media is a limited edition nowadays. You can buy this 4-disc package of Grindhouse from JB Hi-Fi in New Zealand or direct from Via Vision in Australia.