Work was finally over and I was staring down the barrel of a 3 day weekend. My girlfriend was on her way to my house, but she was still 3 hours away (an arrangement that may lead to me watching the Drew Barrymore film "Going the Distance"). I had sacked down on the couch and started flipping through the new Entertainment Weekly when I got to Owen Gleiberman's review of Robert Rodriguez's new film Machete. Now normally I am not a huge fan of Mr. Gleiberman's reviews, and I have become less and less of a fan of Mr Rodriguez's movies. However the review was generally positive and I loved the Grindhouse experience from a few years back that spawned the Machete trailers as well as 3 other trailers.
I knew that I still had a couple of hours to burn before my lady got here so I quick checked the show times on my phone and realized that if I left at that moment I could barely make it there in time. I hate being late for a show. I tried to do an post via text but there was some technical difficulty.
Once the show started I quickly remembered why I was drawn to the Grindhouse double feature. These glorified "B movies" are a throwback to a simpler time in cinema history. The early 70's. Where any guy with a camera, a few thousand dollars and the drive to create could make a film that stood a decent chance to be seen by at least a small audience. In many ways this period in time is very reflective of our current situation. The internet, YouTube, and other instant media sources have generated a pathway for artists to get their works seen.
Within the opening 10 minutes at least 3 people had their heads lopped off by a machete (of course), there was a naked woman, and Steven Seagal with a samurai sword. Unfortunately the movie got bogged down in it's anti-immigration legislation message and lost it's innocence and naivety. It was no longer a "make it on the fly" fun production. The cast is stellar, but unfortunately they weren't given much to do. At one point Lindsey Lohan was dressed up like a nun. Instead of commenting on that he assumed the absurdity of it alone would provide enough ironly to sufice. It didn't. Steven Segal, Don Johnson, Robert De Niro, and Cheech Marin all make up a wonderful second string of players.
One thing I will say for Robert Rodriguez is that he did provide the two female characters strong roles that they took advantage. Overall this film was a disapointment to me, but it was still worth the last minute rip to the theater. Now I only have to look forward to the Rob Zombie "Werewolf Women of the SS" feature, and a long weekend with my special lady!
I would give Machete 3/5 stars. For more check out the trailer on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8rslIZV85U
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