Gratuitous Sex, Gratuitous Violence

Went to see Machete this weekend... I love the films of Robert Rodriguez, as absurd and over the top as they may be (Once Upon a Time in Mexico is one of my all time favorites). He works in the grindhouse genre, as does it well... well, the gore part is certainly prolific, anyway (about a dozen beheadings in the first 3 minutes). I enjoy the tongue in cheek, the in jokes, the music (Rodriguez and his band do much of it), the special effects (again, mostly by Rodriguez). He's a complete and very good film maker if you can handle the genre. Like his bud Tarentino, grindhouse and references from past movies is their forte.

And what's DeNiro doing in this movie? Along with Steven Segal, Cheech Marin, and other notables... oh, Don Johnson as the evil vigilante!, Rodriguez gets all kinds of top line actors involved in his movies...and looks like a great cinematic time was had by all.

Speaking of DeNiro, what a great role. The Tea Party folks should hire him. Playing a politician, his anti immigration speeches are dead spot on, if that's your point of view. Segal, looking pudgy at this point in his career, actually delivers his best performance in some time. I've never liked his films, but he pulls off the bad guy role perfectly. And Cheech, gotta love him... this time as the padre consoling his bro... "I absolve you of all your sins, now get the fuck out of here!" Then there's Lindsy Lohan... well, she's got a great bod, if nothing else. Hell, the image of her in a nun's habit plugging DeNiro will stay in my mind for a long time.


And, lots of sex... naked bodies everywhere... and the resurrection of Michelle Rodriguez as She (Che) at the end sent my testosterone levels through the stratosphere!

Finally, Danny Trejo, Rodriguez' big, ugly Mexican heavy in other films, gets the lead role. Not much delicate dialog to deliver, but his style is perfect... "Machete don't text..." "Why do I want to be a normal person when I'm already a myth?"... Simple, great lines.


In an era of endless blow 'em up action movies, mostly crap, Rodriguez stands apart as a master of the art... exploiting pretense, rather than falling victim to it. But, warning, grindhouse is not for the faint of heart.