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REVIEWS
A double creature feature Brilliant directors raise up a dead genre in Grindhouse Rachel Alger Assistant Editor
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eave it to Quentin Tarentino (Pulp Fiction) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) to bring back exploitation films to the mass audiences of America… and hold nothing back in doing so. Consisting of two 90 minute films, Tarentino’s Death Proof and Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, and five fake trailers, directed by Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) amongst others, Grindhouse brings back the dead genre of exploitation films, popularized in the 1960s due to their ability to be cheaply made and quickly placed into theatres, plus their usual dosage of gory violence and no lack of female nudity. Grindhouse kicks off with Planet Terror, a zombie flick centered around Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), a stripper with dreams of stand-up comedy, which will become a useful career switch due to the fact that one of her legs becomes gnawed off by a zombie and replaced with a machine gun after a crazed Bruce Willis and his government officials spread a deadly disease all over town turning it’s inhabitants into zombie-like creatures. Naturally, chaos ensues. As in most of his films, Rodriguez does most of the film’s grunt-work himself, acting as editor, composer and cinematographer amongst any other posi-
tion he can get his hands on, so it gets almost comical to see how he tries to top his gore segments in every scene, while still making it watchable, yet witty and humorous. If this were any other horror flick, the gratuitous violence would be unmatchable and stomach turning, but somehow, he
turns the gore and violence into a neatly-wrapped package worthy of being held up to preeminent zombie films like Dawn of the Dead and my personal favorite, Night of the Living Dead. Although Planet Terror puts up an amazingly good show and is easily able to keep an audi-
ence’s eyes locked on the screen, it’s Tarentino’s Death Proof that truly dominates the double feature. Tarentino can do no wrong. This is the man who brought us cinematic perfection and bliss in the Kill Bill franchise, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, and his Death Proof only proves even further that he is one of the greatest writer/directors of all time, especially since his entire car chase scene was filmed with NO digital imaging. Death Proof follows a group of co-eds, including Rosario Dawson and The Devil Wears Prada’s Tracie Thoms, who go looking for a good time and wind up in a game of cat and mouse with a serial killer named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), whose idea of fun is to hunt down vulnerable young women on deserted back roads. But unlike most of Mike’s hopeless victims, these girls aren’t going down without a fight, or a good car chase scene. Tarentino takes time to develop the essence behind each of his characters, turning them into more than one dimensional eye candy. It pays off as he has been a major Hollywood player since the early ’90s, and with Death Proof, he only further proves that. RODRIGUEZ & TARENTINO PRESENT their 1960s flashback piece, Grindhouse.
Ferrell creates Glorious amusement Figure skating comedy creates laughs for audiences Amber Briscoe Copy Editor
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hazz: “Night is a very dark time for me. Jimmy: It’s dark for everyone, idiot! Chazz: Not for people who live in Alaska. Or people with night-vision goggles.” This is the kind of blissful stupid humor you hear in Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder and Will Arnett. Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy Mac Elroy (Heder) play two figure skaters who compete in men’s single skating competitions. At the end of the finals, while being awarded their medals at the world championships, the two suddenly break out into a hilarious fight where they humiliate the figure-skating genre and themselves. After a court confrontation, the judge declares the two banned from men’s single skating competitions for life. (Darren MacElroy: “Wow! That’s a long time”). The two desperately try to find jobs
but find that their once famous lifestyles have been shattered. Now that they are not on the ice, they have no respect. After Jimmy has a confrontation with his stalker Hector, (Hector: “I just wanna cut off your skin and wear it to my
birthday”), he finds that there is a loophole to their problem. The answer is partner figure skating. Darren Mac Elroy, a figure skating coach, soon gathers the
two so they may put aside their differences and have a chance to win the gold. In the mean time, the champions of partner figure skating, Fairchild Van Waldenberg and Stranz Van Waldenberg, (who are actually married in
real life) soon become aware of their new competition and start to plot against them. Using guilt to bribe their little sister Katie to spy on the pair, she soon becomes
caught up in the unlikely pair’s life, finding a better family with them than with her own. With lots of sexual references, a twist of romance, an ending that will leave you saying “eww”and great performances, the film will surely keep you mocking and repeating q u o t e s . Although the film does not keep you bent over and crying from constant laughter, Ferrell’s corny jokes (most including profanity) will keep everyone laughing, and the costumes will keep a goofy smile on everyone’s face the entire movie. Grade: BFIRE AND ICE Will Ferrell and John Heder skate their way to Olympic gold as the first men’s skating pair in Blades of Glory
05.07
Girl band lacks Life
Tired lyrics and radio Disney fan base kill Everlife Cheslyne Snowden Feature Editor
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he Spice Girls are broken up; The Donnas are phased out, so why are girl bands still trying to make it? Does pop/rock take a “new” form with girl band Everlife? Not really, with pop vocals, old guitar riffs and average lyrics, it’s hard to notice them through the haze of bands just like them. Sorry, but if you get your “big break” on radio Disney, it’s hard to say if you’ll have staying power. The only artists who succeeded with that tactic are Hilary Duff, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Everlife, is a girl band comprised of three sisters. They had a slow start in 2004 in the Christian rock circuit. The only difference between their music then and now is that they aren’t singing religious based music. It sounds like early Avril, but not catchy, cool or Canadian. Having your start on Disney does not promise you success. Lyrics like “Don’t let anybody tell you who you are. It’s okay to let go, you’re that shooting star. Remember all you wished for. Believe it will be true. You will never find yourself anywhere else, find yourself in you,” from “Find Yourself in You” definitely appeal to the preteen crowd who thought High School Musical was hardcore. What girl at the age of sixteen wants to hear
FEMME FATAL Wannabe punk rockers Everlife leave much to be desired on their sophomore disc, Everlife . CourtesyPhoto/TheHotwire
that she’s a “shooting star?” Exactly. Everlife should stick to kid channels because MTV and VH1 will laugh at their sorry attempt to make music. If you LOVED the movie High School Musical, Jump In or recognize any of those names, you’ll LOVE this wannabe punk girl band Everlife! If not, then don’t waste your time or money on their newest flop. Walk away from the store and pretend that they never existed. Grade: D