Grindhouse

Title: Grindhouse [theatrical double feature version]
Year: 2007
Directors: Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino, with Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright and Eli Roth
Writers: Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino, with Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Jeff Rendell and Eli Roth
Starring: (see below)
Music: Robert Rodriguez and others; mostly non-original music
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a collection of 70's-style B-movies and fake trailers
How I saw it: online (streaming from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (points off for story, characters, dialog, cinematography and acting) c. 2.4/4 (Okay).

It's interesting how much better these movies are in context. They're significantly shorter (which is a huge help for Death Proof, which is just painful in the DVD version), but I'm not sure that's what does it. Some of the best bits from the longer versions aren't even in this version, while some of the worst bits are. Just the fact that they're stuck together in a single, ridiculous experience makes all the difference. Watching the movies seperately, as if they were real movies, kind of defeats the purpose.

Title: Planet Terror [DVD version]
Year: 2007
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writer: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Rebel Rodriguez, Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews
Music: Robert Rodriguez
Synopsis: military experiment-induced zomie invasion
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented from Netflix), most recently May 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (points off for story, characters, dialog, cinematography and acting) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

Title: Death Proof [DVD version]
Year: 2007
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Rose McGowan, Jordan Ladd, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Music: various (basically, a mix tape that's better than the movie)
Synopsis: a stuntman kills girls with his car
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented from Netflix), most recently May 2008
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for concept, special effects/design and music) c. 1.7/4 (Eh).