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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:31:06 PDT

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Grindhouse: Death Proof
Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's double-feature Grindhouse movies, Planet Terror and Death Proof, will be released on separate DVDs, so today's release is just the Tarantino-helmed Death Proof. As a movie, Death Proof is difficult to categorize. It's sort of tribute to stunt-people, and much the way that Kill Bill took the martial arts movie and Tarantinofied it, Death Proof gathers inspiration from car-chase films and horror flicks to invent what feels like an entirely new genre.

The story follows a serial killer who uses his car as a killing machine, but he soon chooses the wrong pack of badass ladies to terrorize on the road. Check out my review for more of my thoughts on both of the Grindhouse features.

The Death Proof "extended and unrated" DVD includes several extra features, including the "missing reel" of Vanessa Ferlito's unseen lap-dance sequence, "Finding Quentin's Gals" featurette, "The Guys of Death Proof" featurette, and "Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike" featurette.

One more interesting new release today, so

read more "Family Guy" - Volume 5 Well, "Family Guy" fans, if the Stewie-and-Brian Emmys "performance" made you crazy to watch more of the cartoon Rhode Island family, today's your lucky day. Volume 5 of the Fox series promises more of what fans have come to expect: bumbling Peter saying things nobody should be saying, Lois trying to put up with him, Brian the dog offering the voice of reason, everyone hating on Meg and underestimating Chris, and of course, Stewie madly planning to rule the world and off his mother. This three-disc set includes many special features, such as a ton of deleted scenes, commentary options, a featurette called "Drawing Peter" and a "Freakin' Sweet Promo."

Robert Rodriguez's Future Project: The Jetsons?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:21:18 PDT

Where does a director with Grindhouse and Spy Kids on his resume go next? Possibly to the future! At least, the future as envisioned by a 1960s cartoon. According to Hollywood Reporter, Rodriguez is in talks to direct a live-action version of the "The Jetsons" for Warner Bros.

At the same time, the director - whose highly entertaining Planet Terror was the far better half of Grindhouse - is also considering another TV-inspired project. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

At the same time, the helmer has met with Will Ferrell and Universal execs for helming duties on "Land of the Lost," based on the 1970s Sid and Marty Krofft fantasy TV series to which Ferrell is attached to star.

While no offers have been made, sources say "Jetsons" has the edge because its script, whose latest draft is by Adam Goldberg ("Fanboys"), is further along.

At first, it seemed pretty odd that Rodriguez would follow Grindhouse (not to mention Sin City and Once Upon a Time in Mexico) with a movie based on a cartoon. But then I remembered Spy Kids, which I haven't seen but I hear is excellent, so

read more In fact, the more I get to know his work, I'm increasingly impressed by Rodriguez's versatility as a director. With Sin City, Rodriguez crafted a very creative method for adapting a graphic novel, and though "The Jetsons" is a cartoon, I could see him coming up with a very cool look for that movie, too. Unfortunately, the very first thing that came to mind when I heard this news was the absolutely dreadful big-screen version of The Flintstones that came out in 1994. Man, was that movie bad. I just hope that whomever ends up directing "The Jetsons" movie remembers what happened to "The Flintstones." Source and Source

Why Did Grindhouse Tank?

PopSugar — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 06:17:30 PDT

First, we hear that Rose McGowan had an illicit love affair with her Grindhouse director Robert Rodriguez - then, the movie has a poor showing at the box office. Coincidence? Well, it's hard to know for sure, but we want to know - why do you think Grindhouse tanked?

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Link Time! 4/12

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:45:30 PDT

I told you it was a genre! Best Week Ever points us to the Will Ferrell movie formula generator.
Popwatch ponders Lewis Black's Comedy Central pilot "The Root of All Evil."
Give Me My Remote shares the exciting news that my favorite part of the "Grey's Anatomy" gag reel is back on YouTube. Watch fast!
Take it from Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Daily: Lollapalooza is going to rule.
The Movie Blog mulls the rumor that Quentin Tarantino stole the idea for Grindhouse.
TV Squad hears about the possible plot for next season of "24" (spoilerphobes, beware).
Defamer gives a nod to Lloyd on "Entourage" as a role model to abused Hollywood assistants.
Pay tribute to Kurt Vonnegut in song on Idolator.
The TV Addict tells you how to get hooked on "Drive" - in just four minutes.
Cinematical reports that Halle Berry will not be playing Catwoman in the Justice League movie, because, the actress says, "I'm not a masochist."
Buddy TV hears what Haley had to say as she left "American Idol."
Merry Swankster finds the Arcade Fire album for sale in a strange spot.
Popcandy tells us how to put your face on Sanjaya's, so you can be inexplicably famous for a few minutes, too.
Bravo's Andy Cohen reveals fans' suggested send-off phrases for "Shear Genius." My fave? "This is where we part."

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Grindhouse Tanks

PopSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:36:07 PDT

Rosario Dawson looked happy while leaving a club in West Hollywood this weekend, but it probably wasn't due to Grindhouse's box office ratings. The highly anticipated double feature couldn't compete with Will Ferrell & Disney (or even Ice Cube) and came in at #4 for the weekend, grossing $11.6 million. I guess the masses didn't want to spend their holiday weekend watching sex, gore, and women with machine guns for legs.

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Grindhouse Loses the Box Office Race

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:19 PDT

Mediocrity topped curiosity at the box-office this weekend, with two tepidly reviewed holdovers - Blades of Glory and Disney's Meet the Robinsons - landing in the No. 1 and 2 spots with $23 million and $17 million in ticket sales, respectively. Both movies beat out Grindhouse, the groundbreaking double feature directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, which earned just $11 million.

Grindhouse getting trumped by Blades of Glory doesn't surprise me; after all, it's easier for hordes of movie-going teens to flock to a PG-13 flick than two hard-core R movie. What's tragic is that Grindhouse didn't even manage to win the race against the new Ice Cube movie, Are We Done Yet?, which sounds fairly dreadful. What movies did you guys see this weekend?

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Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:00:55 PDT

The Cure's Robert Smith collaborating with Ashlee Simpson? Weird.
Do you like "Dog the Bounty Hunter"? If so, tell me why, and while you're at it, vote for your favorite FX show.
If you love good movies, go see The Hoax or Grindhouse this weekend. If you crave crappy editing and boredom, go see The Reaping.
Do you have the sass to recast "Designing Women" with modern-day actors?
Plush bears, Norwegian soldiers, and great music come together - finally! - in Of Montreal's music video.
TV networks are spring cleaning some lame shows (like "Wedding Bells") and have declared their love for certain others (like "30 Rock"!) by giving them more seasons.
Is Jessica Alba becoming a legitimate actress? Perhaps there is more than meets The Eye.
"The Hills" are alive with the sound of another season of spoiled, pretentious rich kids.

Grindhouse: A Clever Experiment That Succeeds

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:47:32 PDT

Should you spend three hours of your life indulging two directors’ fanboy fantasies with a parade of gross-out humor, awkward pacing, bad acting, and obscure movie references?

Yes, you absolutely should.

As you've probably heard by now, Grindhouse is actually two movies in one: Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. But it's also an ambitious attempt to recreate an obsolete experience - seeing a double-feature at a '70s B-movie parlor, complete with trailers, missing film reels, scratched frames, and the freedom to applaud ass-kicking moments and "ew" over icky ones.

In this regard, collaborators and comrades Rodriguez and Tarantino are entirely successful, and it's highly entertaining to watch how they pull it off, so

I know a lot of you are approaching Grindhouse with total disinterest, but the intentionally over-the-top movie is actually quite thought-provoking. Each director interprets the challenge differently, which makes the film pairing that much more captivating.

The first movie, Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is pure homage - a zombie movie with a modern-day terrorism twist - and, in my opinion, the more successful of the two. It has all the trappings of a B-movie, including choppy editing, a pointless plot, even B-list actors, including Freddy Rodriguez as a vigilante and Rose McGowan as a go-go dancer on a mission. The acting is at once terrible and brilliant - Stacy Ferguson (aka "Fergie") couldn't act her way out of a backseat, and for that reason, she is expertly cast as a troubled motorist.

The problem with actual bad movies is that they have the potential to be really boring. What's impressive about Planet Terror is that it feels authentic without actually being bad. Much the way John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China was both campy and entertaining, Rodriguez manages to make tired B-movie tropes - cliched dialog, blood and guts that might have been purchased at Spencer Gifts - feel surprisingly novel.

But while Planet's influences are obvious, Tarantino’s contribution, a sort of tribute to stunt-people called Death Proof, is harder to get your head around. Much the way that Kill Bill took the martial arts movie and Tarantinofied it, Death Proof gathers inspiration from car-chase films and horror flicks to invent what feels like an entirely new genre.

Oddly, Death Proof also plays like two movies in one, and like Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, the action unfolds in what looks like a fictional era, blending a '70s aesthetic with modern conveniences like cell phones. Set and shot in Austin, TX - in what feels like an excuse for Tarantino to namecheck lots of local restaurants - the first half follows a group of freewheeling gals on a night out, and though it turns out to be a horror movie, it forgoes the dramatic tension that normally imbues horror movies, so the format feels entirely unfamiliar.

The same thing could be said for part two, which follows another group of girls only tangentially related to the first group. Working on location for a movie, these women - including Kill Bill stunt-woman Zoe Bell, playing herself - morph the movie from horror film into women's revenge flick in a way that's entirely unexpected and also quite jarring.

It would be an impressive trick, but in my opinion, Tarantino doesn't quite pull it off. Rather than work in his favor, the odd pacing makes the disparate plots feel unfinished. At the same time, the trademark Tarantino banter in cars and diners feels watered down compared to some of the genius scenes in Reservoir Dogs and other Tarantino movies. However, I will say that Death Proof feels unlike anything I've ever seen on the big screen - and also like one of those cases where I should wait to see the director's cut.

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Will You See Grindhouse?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 05:33:43 PDT

Grindhouse, the new double-feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, is probably one of the most buzzed-about movies so far this year. But the violent B-movie homage isn't for everyone. Stay tuned for my review, and until then, tell me: Do you think you'll see it?

Grindhouse Coming to a Theater Near You

PopSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:11:46 PDT

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double-feature of sex, violence, and gross-out humor, Grindhouse, premiered in LA last night. The film was reportedly so offensive that scenes had to be cut to avoid a NC 17 rating, but the trailer shows us that it will still be a stomach churner. Eva kept it casual while out to support her friends, but obviously was fine to let the other girls shine. Rose McGowan is always up for that task and worked her black hair magic on the red carpet. We're not sure we have the stomach for this one, but we're always happy to see glammed up stars.

For more pics including Rosario Dawson, Robert Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, Kobe Bryant and more just read more

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Images include Carla Gugino, Common, Eva Mendes, Freddy Rodriguez, Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant, Kurt Russell, Quentin Tarantino, Natasha Lyonne, Naveen Andrews, Barbara Hershey, Robert Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Rosario Dawson & Rose McGowan. Source