| Critic |
Review |
Quote |
Analysis |
This Week's Verdict |
A O Scott,
New York Times |
Grindhouse |
"Young people who see this movie — in the spirit of the thing, they should ideally sneak in during school hours — might do well to seek out a forty-five-year-old underemployed bachelor with a large DVD and comic book collection who can help them parse the basics ('What's a reel, Uncle Quentin?') and the more advanced material as well." |
It had to be said — if you came of age in the '80s, you are not young anymore. If anybody was wondering what an aging Generation X-er who was born nostalgic would look like, here you have it. Earlier this week Uncle Quentin could be heard on NPR whining about the impossibility of getting high in a movie theatre these days.
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Nathan Lee,
The Village Voice |
Grindhouse |
"In Planet Terror, a deliciously repellent zombie apocalypse (of love), Rodriguez busts his nut in every direction, showering the screen with icky globs of glorious nonsense." |
The prize for Way Too Graphic Over-Share of the week goes to this review. Keep your brain in your pants, Lee. |
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Armond White,
The New York Press |
Grindhouse |
"Q.T.'s women are a repulsive bunch of lip-flapping magpies. The first victimized group includes a black radio DJ named Jungle Julia — a racist taunt purposely doubled by casting Sydney Tamiia Poitier (daughter of the legendary Civil Rights-era actor) in a role best described as Samuel L. Jackson with tits. In the second group, Tracie Thoms plays a gun-toting black Hollywood gear-head whose constant 'Nigga, please!' expostulations urge-on her clique of female avengers. Q.T. miscalculates his pandering to feminist hipsters, because all characters are so foul-mouthed, bad-tempered, dishonest and obnoxious that they're unsympathetic." |
Oh Quentin, oh Armond, why must you make it so easy? I saved reading Armond White's Grindhouse review for last because I knew his take-down of professional fetishist Tarantino's work would be special. And it was.
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Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com |
Grindhouse |
"Contemporary audiences have become spoiled by movies that make sense, have great acting, and feature nudity only when absolutely necessary." |
Is that so? Let's review some movies currently playing at your friendly local multiplex shall we now? 300, The Shooter, Black Book. Other than this questionable opening, the review is spot on and full of lovely blood-spattering boobalicious detail. |
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Kenneth Turan,
The LA Times |
The Hoax |
"The Hoax is also something of a rebirth for director Hallström, who has broken free of the earnestness of films like Chocolat and The Cider House Rules and returned to the affinity for raffish outsiders that marked his early My Life as a Dog and What's Eating Gilbert Grape." |
Too much has been said in other reviews about Lasse Hallström finally finding his groove with The Hoax. A sincere thank-you is due to Kenneth Turan for remembering that Hallström's career did not start with Cider House Rules. |
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