Grindhouse

Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror was a nice, silly, implausible zombie flick. Not for the squeamish, but entertaining. I'm definitely conflicted about QT's Death Proof. It was really two different kinds of films: the first half is basically your classic slasher/snuff style film with lots of interesting, beautiful young women being made into victims of meaningless violence. It did have the advantage of being set in a number of Austin locales, but frankly it felt like most of QT's work: icky but somehow captivating. The second half is a female revenge movie starring a cadre of awesome stunt women. About the only connection with the first half is that you are supposed to have no sympathy for the psycho male victim when these girls go after him. Still, the characters are interesting, the action is intense, and it's nice to not see women forced into the role of helpless victim. Some commenters have said it seemed a feminist film, but I wouldn't go that far: "Girl power" not equal "lethal force"

Both directors make extensive use of 'fake splices' and missing reels so they don't have to worry about continuity. They even have a bit of fun with it. Chock full of the usual A list friends of Robert & Quentin, and the fake trailers are a hoot. Again, lots of gross for gross sake, but amusing if you like that sort of thing. The Thanksgiving horror film trailer is a funny take on the string of Halloween films. Thumbs up for Planet Terror and the trailers, mixed for Death Proof, but skip it unless you can enjoy graphic violence and/or stunts.

Update: Thinking about it more, I'd say Death Proof is not particularly 'feminist', but is certainly pro handgun and pro self-defense. The women who get killed are helpless. The women who don't die are armed and physically capable.

(no subject)

The PBS series on America at a Crossroads is not easy to endure, but it's important to understand what is happening in our name. The Operation Homecoming show is particularly powerful. These stories are just amazingly moving.

One of the interviewees said something that really struck me. He said "I think there is a false notion that we all ought to recover from everything: divorce, a broken home, war [...] There are some things you shouldn't heal from [...] There is something to be said for not healing and remembering." I know he was referring to his experiences in Iraq, but I recall feeling something very similar years ago. It isn't "healthy" to feel that way, but it is perhaps very human to value a memory so highly that we won't let it fade even though it continues to bring us pain. I often wonder if that choice is in reality noble or selfish. I do know that once you make such a choice, it is hard to turn away from that path.

(no subject)

I guess The Onion people were at my grandmother's funeral: Euology Filled With Pro-Christian Propaganda