I think most of us were disappointed in both the movies we watched tonight. The only thing they had in common was people sitting on vehicles, like knights on horses, holding a pole of some sort as a lance. Death Proof is the other half of the Grindhouse movie. This is the longer unrated version that was released in Europe. Planet Terror, the other half of Grindhouse was also released as a seperate film in Europe. Some web site said that Europeans weren't used to double bills. It appeared that some Americans weren't used to double bills any more either. So many walked out after the first film that theaters posted people to tell them that there was another film.
Death Proof sure took along time to get going. We move around with some girls as they get their evening on. It's yakkin' and drivin' and drinkin' at some Austin, Texas waterin' holes. The girls meet up with Stuntman Mike played by Kurt Russell. Turns out he's a crazy mother. He kills the first batch of girls with a head on collision. Michael Parks shows up to do some explaining. He's playing Earl McGraw, a Texan Ranger, who has appeared in many of the Tarantino/Rodrigeuz films. It's a nasty world in their universe. Earl tells another Ranger that he thinks Mike did this on purpose but he can't prove it. Fourteen months later Stuntman Mike's up to his old tricks again. That took an hour and there was only one car crash.
Most of us were thinking that all of this is taking way too long. We hear these girls go on and on, but nothing is happening. If this was an exploitation film, something would have been happening. We discussing this, out loud. Stuntman Mike has two big driving scenes. In a good exploitation film there would be 3 or 4 before the big car chase at the end. In DP that big chase is the 2nd action scene and it comes at about the 90 minute mark in this 113 minute movie. There was a 127 minute version at Cannes. I can't even imagine. I just watched Point Blank with Lee Marvin, and that movie wraps up in 92 minutes and it moves with ramming speed right into your brain. I am sure Tarantino would have admired John Boorman's 1967 film quite a bit. It's a mixture of hard boiled and European art film. Lee Marvin is the kind of character he'd want to write about, although he doesn't talk enough. Q likes his chatter. Stuntman Mike gets some good lines to say and about 30 minutes into the film he has a great scene. One of my favorites in the movie. But it's not enough, especially when Mike becomes a big pussy after getting shot. He cries and runs away. The tables are turned and the girls take off after Mike. I like Tarantino movies for the most part. I find I don't watch them over very often. Jackie Brown more than the others. I doubt I will watch this very often. I would watch Planet Terror more often.
I am sure I will never see GeGeGe No Kitaro again. It a 2007 Japanese film about Yokai monsters that's based on a manga from 1959. I might like the comic better, this is too much a little kid movie. The Yokai are traditional spirit monsters from Japanese folk lore. We've had several movies with this subject matter in the last couple of years. Kitaro is a human looking Yokai who tries to keep the bad Yokai from bothering the humans. That's him with the hair over his eye. In the manga he's missing an eye but here he's just stylish. The girl in the red outfit is Cat Girl. She's cute, we all liked her. There are some other goofy characters like the fox guys and Ratman. I enjoyed the 60's Yokai movies much more. I'll rewatch those.
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