Tarantino, Rodriguez team for film

Pure entertainment infused into a three hour block of cinema... rarely do we see films as stimulating as Grindhouse. The movie, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, consists of two superbly self-indulgent films slammed into one.

Both filmmakers use film history not merely as a stepping off point in their films, but as a palette with which to form their films. In this highly-directed attempt to reprise a dead cinematic form, both Rodriguez and Tarantino craft a double feature of "grindhouse" pictures, a term that is a throwback to old, dilapidated theatres from the '70s that used to play sets of fantastically violent B-movies as double features.

Also present in this movie are three faux grindhouse trailers separating the two films, Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" and Tarantino's "Death Proof." Rodriguez's comes first in the set, preluded by a trailer crafted by Rodriguez himself.

His film centers on an epidemic of zombies created by the release of a militarized chemical. And of course, tons of blood are spewed everywhere as the zombies chew the remaining humans to pieces and burst their festering pustules all over the non-infected to convert them to the semi-dead side.

Rodriguez utilizes many of the actors he has used in the past, yet adds to the mix with Rose McGowan, who captivates in every scene, with two legs or one.

Rodriguez shoots his action and acting way over-the-top, succeeding in every possible way in exploiting the ludicrous plot devices and character back stories that were used heavily in the original exploitation B-movies.

Most prevalent in his film is the infusion of humor that pokes great fun at the original devices of the older films while throwing in new ones to augment the others.

Often, in these exploitation films, the theatre projectionists would piece the films together poorly, often leaving out entire reels (20-30 min. segments) of the films.

Both "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" have missing reels, and both, especially "Planet Terror," use this device to facilitate and bypass the flimsy plot and character development.

"Planet Terror"has a jump in action from the characters settling into a semi-comforting safe house to the safe house ablaze- a convenient way to dodge some explanations, plot-wise.

Surprisingly, Tarantino acts in Rodriguez's film in a scene that is bound to have any guy clutching sourly at his manly apparatus.

Tarantino's "Death Proof" is clearly more of a traditional throwback to the grindhouse pictures with a lower budget and simpler stunts.

Yet the film works no less effectively. He spins the plot around Kurt Russell's character: a madman, Stuntman Mike, who picks women to torture or kill in his "death proof" stunt car.

As usual, Tarantino works heavily with his unique brand of dialogue, which sometimes misses and dwindles into nothingness, but most of the time survives and thrives.

Again, Rose McGowan is present, albeit in a smaller role, yet she still shines in her brief appearance.

"Death Proof" has a dynamic plot shift halfway through, changing its focus from one group of girls terrorized by Kurt Russell onto another.

And the latter subplot is where the film rockets into greatness.

Tarantino uses stuntwoman Zoe Bell, who has previously done stunts for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, as herself to craft one of the greatest chase sequences ever shot.

Tarantino chose to do the film operation (as the director of photography) on this film and it is very apparent why.

During the lengthy dialogue scenes, he attempts to shift his camera operation away from the ordinary shot-reverse-shot norm and go for a slowly drifting camera coupled with unique camera positioning outside of moving cars and away from eyelevel.

The chase sequence, with Kurt Russell chasing the car full of women and then vice versa, has the camera zooming around to every possible vantage point while Zoe Bell clutches the front of her car, which is zipping along at extremely high speeds. Kurt Russell rams their car while Bell clings onto the hood of the car using only her bare hands.

It is simply amazing.

"Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" are separated by three faux trailers made by Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), and Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel).

All three infuse their own styles on the template of B-horror movies, with Rob Zombie displaying his pension for bizarre creatures, Wright showcasing his unbelievably funny writing and Roth happily lapping around in his love of gore.

Each has its shining moment: Zombie has Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu, with a three-foot-long mustache and a serious anger problem; Wright's entire concept and execution of his trailer "Don't" makes it stand as the best of the three; and Roth's concludes with an unknown figure humping a stuffed turkey for "Thanksgiving."

Both feature-length films approach this concept film from very different angles, giving us two fantastically fun explorations into a place in film history that many of us were unable to go.

And this truly is an entirely unique film experience that I would suggest to anyone with a hard stomach and a love of film.