Death Proof

Hump Day! Yeah this week has been slipping by. Sinuses have been delightful. So I thought we would do some Tarantino from the double feature, Grindhouse. The Plant Terror segment was directed by Robert Rodriguez.   The term Grindhouse establishes marque or drive-ins exploitation films using vulgar language, sexual themes and extreme depictions of violence. The criteria biker flicks, slasher horror films and English Dubbed Martial Arts films. So with that, howzabout Kurt Russell as a villain, lovely ladies lives on the line and near indestructible car. This is Death Proof.

Girls' road trip!

Our story opens with the usual seventies style font for title cards, musical score piping through and confirming Tarantino's foot fetish. Oh sorry, did folks not know about that?

Three friends hit a bar in Texas to celebrate disk jockey "Jungle" Julia Lucai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier of Veronica Mars, Blues, Knight Rider, Kendra, Chicago P.D.and Carter), Shanna (Jordan Ladd of Embrace of the Vampire, Never Been Kissed, The Specials, Cabin Fever, Madhouse, Hostel: Part II and Robot Chicken)and Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito of 24, Spider-Man 2, Man of the House, Shadowboxer, CSI: NY, Graceland and NCIS: New Orleans) for two reasons, Jungle gets top slot and it's her birthday. The girls are hanging, gabbing and a bit of boy talk. Julia states on a radio announcement that her friend, "Butterfly" will give a free lap dance to the contestant that buys her a drink and quotes a passage from Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Some chicks are just demanding that way.

This is not a time period piece unless smartphones learned time travel. Arlene swears she saw the guy prior but our boy Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell of The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Love, American Style, Superdad, Elvis and Used Cars) got her a drink and managed a recite pretty damn well. He earned his lap dance, one would conclude.

I'm so not blowing Kurt Russell....again.

The girls' party starts petering out and one of their friends Pam (Rose McGowan of Scream, Phantoms, Jawbreaker, Ready to Rumble, Charmed, Planet Terror and Nip/Tuck) needs a lift and Stuntman Mike is more than able to oblige.. His ride is unique. 100% Death Proof. That would make a decent sales pitch for a used car lot, right? He neglected to mention, you have to be on his side of the car. He peels out, finds Julia and party and smashes in them in such a fashion, it looks like the girls plowed right into him.

With his alcohol levels practically nil and the girls' higher than a Georgia pine, Mike is written off as the victim but Sheriff McGraw (Earl Parks of Arizona Heat, Twin Peaks, Sorceress, From Dusk Til Dawn, 13 Moons, Kill Bill: Vol.1, The Librarians, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, One Night with You and Red State) swears otherwise. With no hard evidence, he reluctantly let's Mike scram.

That'll buff right out.

14 months later, Mike is back to his old tricks again as he spots three good looking girls, Abernathy (Rosario Dawson of Josie and the Pussycats, The Rundown, Alexander, Sin City, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Defenders), Kim (Tracie Thoms of Wonderfalls, Descent, Cold Case, Safe House, Looper and Raze) and Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead of Passions, Wolf Lake, Sky High, Scott Pilgrim vs.the World, Live Free or Die Hard and Fargo)

at a convenience store, snapping pics of them. Probably wanking in his car as well. Mike's kind of a scumbag as you may have figured out.

If Kurt's world is black &white, it just got a little cooler.

The girls are picking up a friend of theirs, Zoe Bell. (Zoe Bell of Billy Elliot, Angel of Death, Gamer, Whip It, Bitch Slap, Fallout: New Vegas, Raze and Mercenaries) Stuntwoman extraordinaire, buddy and race car junkie. She tells the girls she wants to test drive a 1970 Challenger, the same make and model of the 1971 flick, Richard C. Sarafian's Vanishing Point starring Barry Newman and Cleavon Little. The owner is reluctant until Abernathy tells the owner that Lee is in porn and will be staying behind while they test drive the car.

THANKS Abernathy!!

Will Stuntman Mike make another crack up? Will the girls be victimized? Will I keep the spoilers to a minimum?

And now a few film facts!!! Yeah hold your applause, those that are fleeing. Okay,

a)  The jukebox that is seen in the bar is actually our director, Quentin Tarantino's own personal jukebox that was trucked in and the list of albums are made by his discretion.

b) Stuntman Mike's rides are a 1969 Dodge Charger and a 1970 Chevy Nova.

c) Zoe Bell being a stunt double for Uma Thurman in the Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 was expecting to be an extra but in fact was surprised when Tarantino gave her the lead heroine role instead. How do you break that news? With a blown up pic of her on the cover of your film. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Lastly, d) This film is presented in chronological order and zero flashbacks!!! DOES NOT COMPUTE!!

On the ego killing front, this movie came out in 2007, which ages Kurt Russell at 56 and STILL his arms look like spun steel. Sorry, sorry. Just trying to bulk up. Hey we got a Wilhelm scream addition.

We also have characters from the zombie horror, Robert Rodriguez Planet Terror making appearances as this was events happening leading up to their film. The scratchy effect of the daily footage, cigarette burns and jump cuts are all on purpose to give a next to no budget exploitation flick and homage to the 70s. They actually used razor blades to scrape the footage rather than that cheesy digital overlay effect in post production. Yeah I can do that effect too, so I can appreciate the extra effort that went into this.

With Zoe doing her own stunts, I would be piss scared if anything happened to her but hey I am glad I didn't have to make that call. From lighting and music cues, it reminds me of Friday the 13^th meets Race with the Devil. Simple story, good looking cast and some quality tunes. Dark story it may be, impressive nonetheless.

Cruisin' and jammin' to tunes.  Dear God I'm old.