A Thunder Matt Movie Minute

Grindhouse: An uneven but entertaining 3 hour opus to blood, guts, fast women and fast cars. The first half, Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' is a hyper-active zombie film and is pretty much what you would expect from a film with a heroine that sports a machine gun for a leg. The film is scratched up (purposely) to the point of distraction and the one liners are cheesy, but if you only see one gross-out zombie film starring Sayid from Lost that features melting penises, this should be the one.

Tarantino's contribution, 'Death Proof', is a complete 180 in tone and pace. It is basically Kurt Russell (who is brilliant as Stuntman Mike) murdering women with his 'death proof' car. Sounds like the plot to every Disney film you've ever seen huh? Of course, being a Tarantino film, we are subjected to a 45 minute stretch of the women 'bantering' aimlessly about pop culture (sounds like some of my posts, eh?). This would be fine if the characters doing the talking were interesting or had something interesting to say. This is not the case. But make sure you take your extended bathroom break towards the beginning of the gabfest, because QT makes up for all the jibber jabber with one of the coolest car chase scenes ever put to film, finishing with a crowd pleasing climax.

Overall it is worth seeing, especially for the fake trailers that play (The fake trailer for 'Thanksgiving' is particularly classic) but this one may be better served on DVD, where you can watch each film separately, Mystery Science Theatre style.
Thunder Matt Rating: 3 Thunderbolts out of 5

Blades of Glory: Will Ferrell has never met a script for a sports comedy he didn't like. You could certainly do worse than this sometimes inspired Jon Heder vehicle. Jon Heder huh? Isn't every character he plays basically a variation of Napolean Dynamite? Yes. Yes they are. Some very funny sight gags and good supporting turns by Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and Jenna Fischer. Really your enjoyment of the film depends on if you find the standard issue Will Ferrell 'pompous ass' character funny or not. If the mere thought of him playing a sex-addicted, alcoholic ex-figure skater makes you giggle, you'll like the movie. If instead, the mere thought of this movie has you waxing poetic about the merits of a Annie Hall...well then you should probably watch Annie Hall. As sports comedies go, this one is far more believable and almost as funny as Rocky V.
Thunder Matt Rating: 3 Thunderbolts out of 5

Reign Over Me: Another 3 star review. This is much better than some of Sandler's other dramatic turns like the woeful Punch Drunk Love and mediocre Spanglish. Reign is a bit scatterbrained, but ultimately a very watchable film, thanks to the always great Don Cheadle. A stellar soundtrack and some surprisingly funny moments given the subject matter. Adam Sandler's Dylan-esque hairdo and an out-of-place and painfully awkward courtroom scene towards the end probably kept me from giving this 3.5 stars.
Thunder Matt Rating: 3 Thunderbolts out of 5