Grind-Time Players
The UFscoops Film School presents: High praise for the cast of "Grindhouse"!
First, the "Planet Terror" players:
Rose McGowan ..... Chris Rock once said it's the duty of every daddy to make sure his daughter doesn't wind up on the pole. I say the one exception should be for Rose McGowan. Her opening go-go routine will be worth the price of the DVD purchase -- and the eternal praise for whomever invented the "pause" button.
Freddy Rodriguez ..... Almost as interesting as his work on "Six Feet Under"; way ahead of his freaky half-bulked walk-on character in "Lady in the Water".
Naveen Andrews ..... Doesn't look as though he did as much heavy lifting here as he does as Sayid on "Lost," but at least he doesn't have to deliver one of the numerous "Let's break camp here for the night" lines.
Bruce Willis ..... Considering how many times he's taken down terrorists as "Die Hard's" John McClane, it makes sense that he'd admit to taking down the particular bad guy he mentions in this script.
Marley Shelton ..... Oh, if only they had an Oscar category for Sexiest Smeared Mascara.
Michael Biehn ..... His strongest work since his stint as James Cameron's good luck charm as Kyle Reese in the original "Terminator", Cpl. Hicks in "Aliens" and Lt. Coffey in "The Abyss."
Fergie ..... Single-handedly donated at least 20 percent of the film's cleavage quotient; plus it sure looked as though the zomines considered her Fergilicious.
Tom Savini ..... It's not a classic horror movie until you've had a cameo by the legendary FX guru Tom Savini.
Quentin Tarantino ..... Hmmmm -- methinks we saw way too much of him in "Planet Terror" as the soldier who was a sicko (both literally and figuratively); but his "Death Proof" bartender didn't get a chance to shine.
Speaking of "Death Proof":
Blonde Rose McGowan ..... Not bad, but I'll take the brunette version. Blonde version looks as though she's auditioning for a turn as Roller Girl. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Rosario Dawson ..... Hey, in the past year she's starred in a Kevin Smith movie and a Q.T. movie. As if we'd say anything bad about her under any circumstances.
Tracie Thoms ..... Could it be possible that a woman with relatively little film work under her belt could pull of being the female version of a Samuel L. Jackson character? It appears as though Tarantino thinks so.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead ..... Yellow cheerleader uniform aside, is anyone else worried about what happened to her after she was left alone with Jasper?
Kurt Russell ..... One of my fist blog entries visited the question: How is it possible that Kurt Russell is treated like an A-list movie star even though other than the A-minus "Miracle" he's pretty much never carried an A-level movie? But just like so many of his B-movie classic turns, Stuntman Mike is another cult role he was born to play.
And in the preview trailers:
Danny Trejo ..... As Machete, Terjo is one sharp mofo.
Cheech Marin ..... If Cheech is supposed to be a priest, I don't want to know what communion is.
Nicolas Cage ..... It's funny to type the words "And featuring Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu." Seeing the realized idea on the big screen, well I'm not sure. I'd wait until the real "Werewolf Women of the SS" hits the multiplex before weighing in definitively on that.