Month: December 2007

Every time I watch a documentary these days, I go in expecting two things:

1) It’ll lean politically left.
2) There will be a bunch of people whining on camera.

Who Killed the Electric Car? fulfilled both of my expectations.

The movie tells the story of GM’s failed EV1 in the 90s. Never heard of it? It was the first electric car by a major automobile manufacturer and was only sold in Saturn dealerships in California and Arizona. I vaguely remember it, but it was neat to learn a little more about the car and its short life.

The problem is that this movie portrays the car as the savior of mankind and how the evil, ignorant men in power killed our one chance of salvation. I got the feeling the car should have been named JC1. More tears were shed over the death of this car than the actual number of them produced.

To be fair, the movie puts the blame on a number of different “suspects.” There’s Big Oil, GM, consumer ignorance, and the CA government. Bush wasn’t even in office when GM killed the project, but he gets blamed, too. The best quote to describe the EV1’s demise is “death by a thousand cuts” and the film does a good job of describing each of those.

Also, the film never really talks about the problems the car had. It said a typical charge would last about 60 miles, but it didn’t say at what speed. It also didn’t say how long it would take to charge, only “typically overnight.” It also didn’t describe how much horsepower it had, nor its safety rating. Electric cars are awesome, but there are some big technological hurdles to conquer before they are viable. With gas prices rising and technology getting better, I bet we see an EV2 on the market in the next 5 years.

So should you rent this? It did have some interesting points to make, especially since I don’t remember the car all that well. If you can handle a bunch of people whining about a crappy car, then go for it. Otherwise, just start reading Popular Mechanics for the next innovation in alternative fuels.

Like I mentioned in the Planet Terror review, Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino’s yang in the Grindhouse movies (Note to self: stop talking about Tarantino’s yang). But unlike Planet Terror, this one is not a horror movie. Sure, there’s lots of gore and violence, but it’s not horror.

Rose McGowan makes an appearance has a blonde with two normal (boring) legs, but Kurt Russell stars as the obligatory creepy guy. He stalks women and laughs like a creepy guy and even demonstrates a creepy way to eat nachos. But he’s got a personality and a cool name (I won’t spoil it) that makes ya want to have a few beers with him. All in all, he’s awesome. Some critics say this is Kurt’s best role ever. That’s saying a lot when you’ve got Snake Plissken on your resume.

Like Rodriguez, Tarantino plays around with the Grindhouse Special Effects(tm). Instead of having the film skip and melt, he plays with the edits. Back in the old days (or maybe they still do it), an editor would cut the different takes and piece them back together into one continuous reel. Now imagine if those cuts weren’t exact and missed a few frames that should have been left on the floor. That would get real annoying if it happened a lot, but Tarantino is a genius and everything works to perfection.

The one thing that everyone will tell you about this movie is the car chase. Fact, it’s the best car chase in movie history, even beating out The Blues Brothers (/dwight schrute). Yeah, it’s that good.

So as you may have guessed, you need to watch both Grindhouse movies. Invite some friends over, let them in if they bring beer, and have an outstanding evening. Which one is best? Well, that’s what the drunken arguments at midnight are for.

OK, first off, look at the poster for this movie. Is your first thought, “Holy Crap! I need to see this!!!”? [Notice the proper use of British punctuation.] If that thought is the furthest thing from your mind, stop reading and go back to watching Martha Stewart. You are way too intellectual for this movie. And by “intellectual” I mean “boring.” For the rest of you, continue reading what you already know.

Planet Terror is Robert Rodriguez’s ying to Tarantino’s yang in their Grindhouse movie. Because the majority of the movie-seeing public is boring, the movie tanked in the box-office. To help recoup some money, they cleaved Grindhouse in two like you would a zombie. I missed it in the theater, so I have no idea if anything is different, but I heard rumors that the DVD versions are a bit longer. I consider that a win in my book.

In order to describe the greatness of Planet Terror, I have to discuss The Greatest Movie Ever Made, a.k.a. Army of Darkness. That movie was (is) brilliant because of its B-movie horror flick, cheesy goodness. And Bruce Campbell. Planet Terror doesn’t give us Bruce Campbell, but gives us Rose McGowan with an M-16 for a leg. She’s basically how I’d picture Bruce Campbell if he started injecting estrogen. It’s not a bad second, really.

Rodriguez styles up the movie to make it look like you’re watching in a real Grindhouse. The reels skip off track, colors bleed, and the film even melts at an (in)appropriate time. Any more authentic and you’d have to mix bubble gum in your cat’s litter box and spread it over your living room.

So, if you are a fan of Robert Rodriguez, cheesy horror flicks, or ever wondered how Bruce Campbell would look with breasts, you owe it to yourself to watch this one. As for me, I’m waiting for the HD version so it can sit right next to the HD DVD of Army of Darkness.