Planet Terror
Intro
Robert Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' was originally released alongside Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' to make up the Grindhouse double feature, which was a tribute to the whole Grindhouse genre and their favourite B-movies.
The term 'Grindhouse' is an American ... Read review
When an experimental biological weapon turns the people of a small Texan town into flesh- ... more
eating zombies, it's up to a bunch of accidental warriors to make a stand. Led by Cherry Darling, a go-go dancer with legs like you wouldn't believe, and mysterious drifter, El Wray, the ragtag bunch of survivors fight their way through deformed madmen and a rouge military unit, leaving behind a trail of the dead and infected on their way to the last safe corner of PLANET TERROR.
Married doctors William and Dakota Block (Josh Brolin and Marley Shelton) find their ... more
graveyard shift inundated with townspeople ravaged by gangrenous sores and a suspiciously vacant look in their eyes. Among the wounded is Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), a go-go dancer whose leg was ripped off during a roadside attack, and El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), a mysterious drifter with a past. Cherry may be down on her luck, but she hasn't danced her last number...As the virus turns the invalids into enraged aggressors. Cherry and El Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night, hurtling towards a destiny that will leave millions infected, countless dead and a lucky few heading for the last safe corner of Planet Terror.
Grindhouse (Main Titles) Doc Block The Sickos You Belong To Me Go Go Not cry Cry Hospital ... more
Epidemic Useless Talent#32 His Prescription...Pain Cherry Darling The Grindhouse Blues El Wray Police Station Assault Dakota Zero To Fifty In Four Fury Road Helicopter Sicko Chopper The Ring In The Jacket Killer Legs Melting Member Too Drunk To F*ck Cherry's Dance Of Death Two Against The World
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Advantages: Brilliantly acted and directed, gore-filled fun-fest Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea
Planet Terror
== Intro ==
Robert Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' was originally released alongside Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' to make up the Grindhouse double feature, which was a tribute to the whole Grindhouse genre and their favourite B-movies.
The term 'Grindhouse' is an American term referring to a theatre that mainly showed exploitation films, which is a genre of film that relies on the exploitation of ... ...it in an exploitation sub-genre, Planet Terror features elements from the early zombie films and splatter films.
It was released in 2007, but was considered a flop, mainly due to a poorly considered release date on Easter weekend and poor advertising, but if you like this sort of film, you will love Planet Terror.
== Plot ==
In a rural town in Texas, go-go dancer Cherry (Rose McGowan) becomes disillusioned ... more
Planet Terror
Intro
Robert Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' was originally released alongside Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' to make up the Grindhouse double feature, which was a tribute to the whole Grindhouse genre and their favourite B-movies.The term 'Grindhouse' is an American term referring to a theatre that mainly showed exploitation films, which is a genre of film that relies on the exploitation of something (eg. a big star, special effects, sex, or violence) for it's success. To put it in an exploitation sub-genre, Planet Terror features elements from the early zombie films and splatter films.
It was released in 2007, but was considered a flop, mainly due to a poorly considered release date on Easter weekend and poor advertising, but if you like this sort of film, you will love Planet Terror.
Plot
In a rural town in Texas, go-go dancer Cherry (Rose McGowan) becomes disillusioned with her work, and attempts to try and use her various useless talents to find a new job. Whilst she contemplates her problems at the 'Bone Shack', the self-proclaimed best steakhouse in Texas belonging to a man called J.T, she meets former boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), and he manages to persuade her into taking a lift home with him.
Elsewhere, Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) is trying to escape from her controlling husband (Josh Brolin) who is also a doctor, and plans to run away with her son Tony (Rebel Rodriguez). She plans to make her escape later that day, and leaves for the hospital with her husband for one last time, although he is a bit suspicious.
In another unrelated incident, scientist and black-market dealer Abby (Naveen Andrews) faces a group of renegade military men led by Captain Muldoon (Bruce Willis) at an abandoned military base, and a shootout commences when they attempt to take Abby hostage. During the shootout, Abby shoots a container of an experimental, highly contagious, gaseous biological weapon, and releases the potent gas into the air. Unfortunately, the gas turns people into flesh-eating zombies.
As more and more people become contaminated with the deadly disease, and the hospitals fill with patients about to turn into zombies, it is up to Wray, Cherry, Dakota, the local police force, J.T, and a few other survivors to try and find an antidote to the disease, and keep their lives.
Acting
Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan plays the female lead and delivers a brilliant performance. The word 'bad-ass' could have been invented for the character of Cherry Darling, an ex-stripper who is forced to become a brutal fighter when the hordes of zombies attack.
She is very convincing in the role of a woman who is weary of the world, and wants to strike back. This is shown brilliantly when, after the loss of her leg, Cherry returns with a 'customization' that would leave any zombie running in fear.
4/5
Freddy Rodriguez
Freddy Rodriguez is pretty good as El Wray, the legendary fighter who falls for Cherry. He portrays a classic male action hero, a man who knows how to lead a team of fighters, 'never misses' with his bullets, but also knows how to take care of a woman.
4/5
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton is decent as the loving mother and not-so-loving wife Dakota. She manages to pull off the 'determined strong-willed lady' quite well, although there's nothing special about her performance.3/5
Other performances
There are lots of good performances in this film from quite an impressive cast. Josh Brolin is particularly brilliant as Dr Block, for which he gets a 5/5. Bruce Willis is equally impressive as Muldoon, and he is another 5/5.
Jeff Fahey's scenes are always enjoyable as J.T, and he deserves a 4/5. And strangely, Naveen Andrews, who plays the absurdly posh English scientist with a strange obsession for collecting his victims testicles in a bag, is also brilliant, and gets 5/5.
There are no bad performances in this film, perhaps because it's a deliberately cheap thriller and doesn't require too much ability, but the concept of the film just wouldn't work without this standard of acting.
Directing
It was a bold move by Tarantino and Rodriguez to try and reproduce a genre of film that only had a small following in the first place, and if you go by general opinion, they failed. But I'd urge you not to avoid this film just by reputation, as I did at first, and to give it a shot.I was pleasantly surprised when I started watching, and the simplistic thrill-a-minute style of the film captivated me. Rodriguez uses deliberately over-the-top special effects, obscene amounts of blood and gore, and comedy, to good effect, and the finished film is a great piece of work.
Before the film even starts, their is a trailer for the fake film 'Machete', which adds to the Grindhouse feel of the film with what could have been a brilliant film itself if they'd chosen to make it. Watch the trailer on Youtube to get the feel of the genre, and if you enjoy it, you should definitely watch Planet Terror.
To further show that this is indeed meant to be a remake of the Grindhouse film genre, Rodriguez edits his shots to make them look old and worn, as if the film had been scratched. The film also stops for a 'missing reel' which, if the reel had ever been made, would have missed about 10 minutes of footage. These little touches just add to the whole feel of the film.
On the whole, the film is superbly directed. There is a great, tense, soundtrack throughout the film, which works fantastically with the film. He gets the best out of his actors, and the plot of the film works perfectly with the way it is brought to life through the directing and editing.
== Conclusion == I would definitely recommend this film to anyone over the age of 18. If you're looking for a film that you can watch and enjoy without having to take seriously, then Planet Terror is the one for you.
It's much more than your average zombie thriller, but it also contains all the elements that make the zombie films so successful and popular. But unlike those horror favorites, this is superbly acted, well directed, and funny, as well as having a number of well-implemented twists to keep you guessing. A great film, just not for the faint-hearted!
Advantages: Coolness to it, entertaining. Disadvantages: Story maybe slightly too simple, if you don't get the idea behind the Grindhouse style film.
This film has a really simple story, as it should do, being based on Grindhouse movies. The bottom line of the story is that a chemical is released into the air, turning people everywhere into zombies. Our man El Wray has to sort things out with typically bloody results. Now I'll just mention here that I'm not really the biggest fan of zombie style films, they tend to be quite boring. Films like "The Hills have Eyes" (okay it's not really a zombie ... ...Resident Evil films are entertaining for a little while and definitely watchable, but certainly nothing to write home about. At first glance this really does seem like one of that style of films, zombies are here lets shoot them, and that's pretty much all there is to the story. The thing that saved this film in my opinion is the directing, the fact that there essentially isn't a story really doesn't matter. It's certainly highly entertaining and ...
Tsportmat 08.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Planet Terror (DVD)
Advantages: Some laughs Disadvantages: Might put you off a Marguerita
Planet Terror is a spoof movie in the guise of the zombie flesh eating horror flick. It is a kind of tribute by Director Robert Rodriguez to all his favourite B-movies. The story is told of a small town whose inhabitants become infected by an experimental bio-nerve gas after it is accidentally released at a remote US military base in Texas. Those exposed to it become flesh eating, mutating zombies like creatures. The infection is further passed on ... ...style B-movie with grainy pictures. Planet Terror was originally released as part of a Grindhouse double feature along with Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. I've not seen the other film so I can't compare. I'm sure some of you will enjoy watching this gory joke fest, but for me it went on a bit too long and they kind of over did it with the pizza special effects and fountains of tomato sauce. ...
Zmugzy 25.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Planet Terror (DVD)
Advantages: It works as a post-modern parody in places. Disadvantages: It doesn't know what it wants to be and is hard to review as a result.
Go-go dancer Cherry Darling is reeling from a broken heart but has more to think about when she loses her leg in a roadside attack. Before she knows it, her small-town world is inundated with flesh-eating zombies and her missing limb is replaced by a machine gun, thanks to her former love Wray. Together they lead a group of ragtag survivors (including a sheriff, a doctor, a pair of babysitting twins and a mad scientist) in a bid to halt the apocalypse…
... ...brought us the likes of "Spy Kids", "Desperado" and "Sin City". But his latest is a film that is part parody and part homage to the kinds of films that inspired him. It's a cheap-looking splatter pic that recalls the worst of straight-to-video brainless action flicks of the 80s, but intended for the fleapit cinemas of the late 70s. It's hard to quantify because it does a beautiful job of aping the style and look of the original movies. But in order ...
afy9mab 01.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Planet Terror (DVD)
Advantages: Scary, funny, action, all merged into one Disadvantages: -
As we know the movie is a part of the Grindhouse. A collaboration between Rodriguez and Tarantino. the only thing that i can say is those names sell. Want same proof? Check out how many great stars take parts in the movie. How is that possible? here are the answers: Plot virus breakout, then everyone turns into a zombie. Some survivor traps in the middle of small town and trying to survive. And the fun begin.... ( i don't wanna be a spoiler here, ... ...about the movies is the plot is so usual, there are nothing new. BUT, with so many cool action, funny dialog, great character, its all merged into one glorious movie. Character As i say before there are lot of greats stars in the movie. And i personally think they've done a great job Cinematography This is cool. It really focus on character faces. Giving it so much tense effect. The lightning is different, just like you watch a old B-movies. Special ...
mvic 27.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Planet Terror (DVD)
Advantages: Very gory Disadvantages: The "warped film" look can get annoying
Ok, this is Robert Rodriguez's take on a bad zombie movie. And its certainly very bad for all the wrong reasons. I'm not sure if this film is supposed to look old but I assume the poor looking "film" stock is deliberate. It's got a pretty impressive cast, Micheal Biehn (Terminator & Aliens), Tom Savini (several Romero films), Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews (Lost), Jeff Fahey (Lawnmower Man). Heck they even got Rose McGowen from Charmed and pop star ... ...it it makes no apologies either. I do have a question, is the guy that Tom Savini shoots in the hospital car park (when Biehn says "Damn It!") Comedian Billy Connelly in an uncredited cameo? Rose McGowen is pretty hard to take seriously in this. Even when she swears it's not very convincing, It's like she's saying those words for the first time. The gratuitous love scene is VERY badly placed and a really bad idea.
The whole "missing reel" idea? ...
atytyut2434 27.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Planet Terror (DVD)
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the group of soldiers from turning into mindless zombies - and the only cure against the gas is the uninfected group of people fighting to stay alive.
'PlanetTerror' is the most entertaining horror-comedy I have ever seen, and although Rodriguez directed it, there is that so-very-noticeable Tarantino touch to it.
The movie resembles an old film, complete with snowy bits, missing frames, and at one point, a message on the screen stating that a reel is missing! Watching it brings back memories of old drive-in movies, and the old 8mm reels under projectors that used to get stuck and burn a frame. The entire creation is so incredibly imaginative, so brilliantly shot and directed that although the storyline is a bit daft, the viewer just can't get enough.
The acting is beautifully executed with billboard names such as Bruce Willis ...
Advantages: Brilliantly made Disadvantages: The previews will make you want to watch them too!
This film is much better than its compatriot movie death proof (which i liked), it is fantastically well made, and just gives the impression that a great director was given money and told to make a film for fun.
It will never win oscars for best film, are any accolades like that, but any real film lover will enjoy this film, how it was made and the rediculous story line. You cant help but smile as you watch it.
PlanetTerror stars Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, and others, amongst which, you may know Naveen Andrews and Bruce Willis. I dont want to tell you about the plot as i think it might put you off, because on paper it sounds a bit strange. Basically, a biological weapon, designed to wipe out everything within a land mass is released, and gets into the general public, and what follows is a group ...
Death Proof is a film that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Quentin Tarantino, Elizabeth Avellan, Erica Steinberg and Robert Rodriguez produced it.
Initially released as a shorter version in cinemas as part of the 'Grindhouse' double-bill with Robert Rodriguez's PlanetTerror in 2007, this longer version was re-edited and released individually on DVD. Apparently, the DVD version has an extra 30 minutes of footage. I didn't get to see the cinema version but I think that leaving anything out of this could have been dangerous, especially the action scenes.
The film begins by introducing us to a group of friends; Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier), Shanna (Jordan Ladd), Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito) who are going drinking to celebrate a birthday. At the bar, Jungle Julia reveals that she announced on her radio show that a man ...
dandadda 06.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Death Proof
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Interactive menu
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Professional reviews
Review
A kick-ass zombie movie (Sunday Sport, 28/01/2008)
DVD Description
Director Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) pays homage to his favourite B-movies with PLANET TERROR, an old-fashioned zombie film that's infused with enough gore and giggles to please even Peter Jackson (BAD TASTE). Rose McGowan (CHARMED) plays Cherry, a go-go dancer whose night is interrupted by a vicious zombie attack that leaves her missing a leg. Her ex-boyfriend, Wray (Freddy Rodriguez, SIX FEET UNDER), takes charge, fashioning her a new leg from a machine gun and killing zombies along the way. PLANET TERROR plays as a pleasing ode to the horror and exploitation films that once played in grimy grindhouses across the country. Rodriguez splashes plenty of blood, guts, and gore across the screen, while also taking the plot into some wonderfully bizarre territory. PLANET TERROR was originally released as part of the GRINDHOUSE double feature with Quentin Tarantino's DEATH PROOF.
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