I've seen the thrilling Kill Bill films numerous times and I loved them so much I wanted all the characters to have their own spin-off films. The Grindhouse films had the opposite effect; I just didn't care that much. I didn't hate them, I just wasn't that interested. After 30 minutes the gimmick got old and I was struck by the fact they spent about 60 million making two "bad low-budget films." There's a saying in the theatre, "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." Audiences are smarter than they get credit for and I think the box office failure of these films is owed to the fact that people figured out, early on, that the movies are basically a satirical tribute to bad films; not a great selling point. I did not hate, I repeat, I did not hate these films but they did leave me cold and can't imagine wanting to see them again.
On a side note: Richard Roeper from Ebert and Roeper called Grindhouse the "most anticipated movie of the year.' They said the same thing about Snakes on a Plane. So here's my question, if these movies are so "anticipated" why do the anticipators not show up opening weekend? Wild Hogs and 300 are the biggest hits of the year so far and I don't think ANYBODY anticipated that! In fact, I know not one person who has actually seen Wild Hogs.
1 comment:
I love GRINDHOUSE and good schlock movies.
I love schlock that's intentionally funny and camped-up well. I even love schlock that's accidentally funny, as a result of incompetent filmmaking.
I guess mediocrity is the only schlock I don't like.
I thought Tarantino's DEATH PROOF was mediocre at times — certainly the girls' dialogue around the bar and cafe tables was Tarantino at his most indulgent EVER. Tedious.
But the final car chase sequence made up for it. I had so much fun. I love the deliberate projection flaws: the way Tarantino and Rodriguez recreated bad splices, scratches, bad trailers and slides; exposure of film countdowns and color test portraits.
In fact, my favorite parts of the entire show was the fake trailers directed by other famous directors like Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, etc. in retro-style.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nbSKnL4WFJM
"DON'T!" by the SHAUN OF THE DEAD guys was my favorite LOL.
But I can see why these things that amuse me don't do it for most moviegoers.
GRINDHOUSE isn't Tarantino's or Rodriguez's best film by far. But it's a real treat for those of us who love celebrating horror, nostalgia, b-rated schlock and bad filmmaking/camp.
I guess that makes GRINDHOUSE more of an inside joke, not accessible. Especially in the face of good, PG-rated comedies like BLADES OF GLORY and MEET THE ROBINSONS that more people can go to.
I was still shocked that GRINDHOUSE flopped, though. KILL BILL and ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO debuted over $20 million.
RE: "MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES OF THE YEAR"
There certainly is a huge disconnect between critics, movie fanatics and film snobs (the types of people I surround myself with) and general moviegoers.
I can honestly say that I hugely anticipated 300, as Frank Miller has a very unique, innovative, visual style I can't get enough of. I really liked SIN CITY, plus I have a thing for Greeks, Greek history and mythology; especially if they're scantily clad ;).
But I, like the film snobs and fanboys, are a fringe: an unusually informed, idiosyncratic bundle of blogging nerds with different enthusiasm, experience and expectations of movies than casual Americans looking for something to do this weekend.
Fanboys and film snobs will always be abnormal. That's the beauty and tragedy.
BTW my friends saw WILD HOGS but I gave it a miss. it's now on my list to watch, only because it became a hit. I hear it sucks ...
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