A throwback to the cheaply produced exploitation films of the 1970's and early 80's, Robert Rodriguez's masterfully crafted Planet Terror offers up a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek approach to the horror genre in his half of the Grindhouse double-feature (with Quentin Tarantino).

With absurd, and often hilarious, plot twists, this melodrama is about a chemical agent that infects a rural Texas community and turns its citizens, as well as the military in possession of the chemical, into mutated cannibals. (Rodriguez, in the supplementary footage and in the director's commentary, refers to the infected as "sickos" rather than zombies.) Drawing from the premise of virtually every zombie film throughout history, an eclectic group of people in the community band together to fend off the mutated horde of gut-munchers only in Planet Terror this group is very eclectic!

Among the oddball gang, is Cherry Darling, a one-legged ex-go go dancer J.T., a scruffy, barbeque-sauce obsessed cook Dakota Block, an anesthesiologist who's hands have been thoroughly anesthetized Two psychotic, babysitting twins and the enigmatic sharpshooter, El Wray.

I have to admit that Planet Terror is a film that definitely took me by surprise. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant, with its replication of the low-key lighting arrangements and shot compositions used in most exploitation films, but it is the special details (added digitally), like the ever-present film scratches, dust, registration & weave, and hairs in the camera's gate, that sold it for me. Kudos to Rodriguez for his driving John Carpenter-esque synthesized film score as well. It is those kind of attention to details that change Planet Terror from just a movie to a full-blown experience.

Planet Terror is definitely not for the squeamish! Thanks to special effects gurus Greg Nicotero & Howard Berger, the film is a delightfully bloody romp guaranteed to make even the most hardened of gorehounds cringe! (In my opinion, some of their best visual work to date.)

I highly recommend Planet Terror for anyone who grew up on the original grindhouse films of the 70's & 80's, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, or even John Carpenter's The Thing.

PLANET TERROR: <<

Reviewed by. James Kline

Here is a little seizure inducing picture collection I whipped up with approximately 700 images from Ffffound.com.

Above is the fan film Batman Madman, directed by James Kline. I have a hand in helping with this short film (associate producer) and a small speaking role. I believe the whole thing turned out OK for only costing $380.

Click on the link above that says "Batman Madman" to watch a slightly better and bigger version and to download the film. (Don't forget, you can also click the full screen button to watch it on every inch of your screen.)

Just watched "We are the Strange" and just like the title says, it is strange. Not going to say anything about it other than I heard about it in Wired magazine, it is bizarre and is available from Netflix.

• The Most Controversial Films of All Time [FilmSite.org]

• The Nine Worst Movies of 2007 [DoubleViking.com]

• 15 Must-Have Dark Comedies [DoubleViking.com]

• The 10 Best Movies of 2007 [Slate]

• Top 10 Life-Affirming Movie Moments [CNN]

• Top 10 Coolest Movie Posters of All Time [Alternative Reel]

• 14 truly great actors in films that truly suck [Filxster]

• M.I.A -- Kala
• Dan Deacon -- Spiderman of the Rings
• Spoon -- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• Animal Collective -- Strawberry Jam
• Bright Eyes -- Cassadaga
• Dizzee Rascal -- Maths + English
• Burial -- Untrue
• Beastie Boys -- The Mix-Up
• Venetian Snares -- My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)
• The Darjeeling Limited -- Motion Picture Soundtrack

"But for an accident of birth, you might be as they are." Director Tod Browning delves into the depraved world of sideshow circus freaks to reveal that they have more humanity than the average asshole walking the streets. Favorite freak: Prince Randian, "the living torso" (pictured above). Runner-up: Johnny Eck, "the half-boy." Freaks was based on the short story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins. Believe it or not, this masterpiece only runs for a total of 64 minutes! Also released as Forbidden Love, The Monster Show and Nature's Mistakes. Sample Dialogue: "We accept you, one of us! Gooble gobble! Gooble gobble!"

#09 - I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE [1978]

I always thought Halloween or Friday the 13th started the trend of "slasher films" that polluted the box office throughout the late '70s and '80s—that is until I watched this extremely low-budget flick about a writer who travels to a cabin in the woods, gets brutally raped by a bunch of hillbillies and then exacts her revenge using a series of rather creative methods—including hanging and castration. Also known as Day of the Woman. Sample Dialogue: "You know, sometimes I look at these gorgeous-looking chicks, I mean the ones that look like real knockouts, sexy and all . . . and I wonder . . . I wonder if they gotta take a shit, too."

#08 - EL TOPO [1970]

Alejandro Jodorowsky's totally bizarre, surrealistic masterpiece follows a gunfighter, El Topo (The Mole), as he makes his way through the desert and encounters one absurd situation after another in his search of enlightenment. One of the only films I'm aware of that has an armless, legless dwarf in the cast. Apparently, El Topo was one of John Lennon's favorite films. David Lynch was also a big fan (see Eraserhead entry below). Jodorowsky once claimed, "I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs." Sample Dialogue: "Too much perfection is a mistake."

#07 - AUDITION [1999]

The friend of a lonely widower sets up a phony audition for a nonexistent film so the poor guy can find a new wife. He gets more than he bargained for - to say the least! Directed by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, the film starts out as a traditional romantic drama but gradually devolves into a disturbingly graphic horror flick - definitely not for all tastes! Sample Dialogue: "Words create lies. Pain can be trusted."

#06 - A CLOCKWORK ORANGE [1971]

Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his "droogs" go out on the town to partake in a little of the old "ultra-violence." Director Stanley Kubrick brings Anthony Burgess' classic novel to life with this disturbing look at a future populated by teenage gangs. Look for McDowell's stirring rendition of "Singin' in the Rain." Here's what Kubrick said to counter the negative reaction voiced against the film's violence: "Sanitized violence in movies has been accepted for years. What seems to upset everybody now is the showing of the consequences of violence." Sample Dialogue: "What we were after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultraviolence."

#05 - THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT [1972]

The Last House on the Left would make a great double feature with I Spit on Your Grave for the truly depraved movie fan of the over-the-top, sadistic, revenge-fantasy flick. Believe it or not, the film was reportedly inspired by Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1961! The Last House on the Left was directed by Wes Craven, who would go on to direct The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Sample Dialogue: "We don't wanna off someone first night out. I mean, it'd be a shame to get this floor all messed up with blood."

#04 - HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER [1986]

Based loosely on the life of convicted murderer Henry Lee Lucas, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer follows roaming serial killer, Henry, and his demented buddy Otis, as they go on a random killing spree. Not a good movie to rent on a first date! Sample Dialogue: "If you shoot someone in the head with a .45 every time you kill somebody, it becomes like your fingerprint, see? But if you strangle one, stab another, and one you cut up and one you don't, then the police don't know what to do."

#03 - SALO OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM [1975]

Based on the infamous book, The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade, Salo contains its fair share of disturbing imagery and graphic violence, including rape, torture and murder. For this reason, it is still banned in some countries even to this day - good luck finding a copy! Director Pier Paolo Pasolini was brutally murdered shortly after the film's release. Sample Dialogue: "We fascists are the only true anarchists."

#02 - IRREVERSIBLE [2002]

"Time destroys everything . . ." Extremely disturbing French film directed by Gaspar Noé, Irreversible features a revenge plot told in reverse chronological order (similar to Memento) - punctuated by extreme violence and a brutally graphic rape scene that runs approximately nine minutes. Sample Dialogue: "Vengeance is a human right."

#01 - ERASERHEAD [1977]

It took David Lynch, a former art student, five years to make Eraserhead, a curious blend of Kafkesque horror and Orwellian nightmare. Jack Nance portrays total loser Henry Spencer (a couple of years ago, I read that Nance was murdered during a fight at a donut shop). After viewing this film, you'll know who served as the inspiration for fight promoter Don King's unique hairstyle. Lynch once revealed in an interview that he had a chocolate shake at Bob's Big Boy at 2:30 PM every day for seven years: "Two-thirty is Bob's time . . . I can think there and draw on napkins and have my shake. Sometimes I have a cup of coffee and sometimes I have a small Coke. They both go great with shakes." Sample Dialogue: "In Heaven, everything is fine. In Heaven, everything is fine. You've got your good things. And I've got mine."

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