Death Proof

Second feature at the drive in with {[Planet Terror}}. Whatever else you say, Tarantino is one of the best ever at writing dialogue. His ear is unerring for the rhythms of speech, and for the startling reversal, and the new take on the old situation. This film basically breaks down into 4 parts: A long scene in a bar with several women and a lot of conversation; a short violent scene to set up the rest of the movie and establish the bad guy; another long conversation with 4 women; and a long car chase. The conversations work best. This was inspired by car-chase movies like Vanishing Point, Duel, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and maybe Thelma and Louise. The most fascinating thing about it, which I learned later, is that the character of Zoe, the one who is strapped to the hood of a 1970 Dodge Challenger (the same car used in Vanishing Point, which the characters refer to), is playing herself, Zoe Bell, one of the premier stuntwomen in the business, and she really is out there on that hood, she’s her own stunt double. But all in all, this is a dud, though not nearly the mega-dud that the first one is.