Film Review - Death Proof

It’s been 6 1/2 months since my rant about Grindhouse being split into separate movies.

I was pissed off that US audiences were so fucking thick as to leave before the second movie and/or not go to the movie at all.

I have been converted.

Death Proof has been split off and extended by 24 minutes by the man, Tarantino and he has turned his movie into a freaking masterpiece of cinema.

I wanted to see this movie early on, and thanks to TJ’s rollicking review of it (and no thanks to Margaret’s bullshit 1/2 a star) I made sure I toddled along to see it at the late session on Tight-arse Tuesday. Unfortunately there were only about 10 people in the cinema, so there would be little Whooping and Yahooing (although I made my own noises. Just ask Steve).

It’s hard to describe QT’s films. But I like, “Visually scrumptious”. Even the crackling imagery and sound of the opening scenes; The authentic skipping of scenes; The cinematography of filming 2 cars in a deadly pursuit down a country road. This film pushes my buttons all over the place.

The casting of 8 very hot women also helps.

The sight of Vanessa Ferlito’s arse gyrating in front of the jukebox was just about enough to make me squirm.

This is very much a girly movie, but not in your traditional chick flick sense, unless you’re a chick that likes car chases. Lots of female dialogue (and I mean LOTS) makes this movie a little talky, but then again that is the trademark of Tarantino.

He manages to fling the user into the world he is portraying in such a way that you believe it is genuine.

Realistically, this movie is not for everyone and I am of course a biased Quentin fanatic, so pretty much he could sneeze snot onto the screen and I’d go see it and applaud it, but seriously, it’s FUN. It’s what movies should be.

It’s also very different. You won’t see anything else at the cinema that looks like this any time soon (perhaps, except for the other half of the the Grind House, Planet Terror).

I have not mentioned another big feature of this film.

The stunts. A cunning array of stunts if you will. One of the stars of the movie is a girl called Zoe Bell. Who? I hear you saying. Well, she’s a stuntwoman. (Zoe the Stuntwoman. Hehehe) She’s stunted for Lucy Lawless in Xena, Uma in Kill Bill as well as in Catwoman, Alias and Poseidon.

Now Quentin got her to ‘act’ in this movie and I am the first to admit that her acting skills leave a lot to be desired, especially alongside Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, and her thick Kiwi accent stands out like a sore thumb, but it’s the stunts that leave you breathless. She, of course, does her own stunt work and this stuff is amazing. No CGI here. It’s real, and it’s terrifying.

I could gush and gush, but I just loved it, so there.

See it, groove to the awesome soundtrack, yell your support for the girls at the end of the film and come out of the cinema with your heart racing and sweat dripping from your armpits.

4 1/2 1970 Camaro’s