Tarantino/Rodriguez Film "Grindhouse" Released April 6

Quentin Tarantino has always liked experimentation, and now he's conducting another experiment with writer/director colleague Robert Rodriguez for a project called "Grindhouse," which is a two-plus-hour double feature with scary psychos and scary aliens. And probably some scary alien psychos.

In old "Pulp Fiction" interviews, Quentin Tarantino used to say he "wanted to see what would happen if." To Tarantino, characters are a bit like lab rats. What if the getaway car doesn't start? What if everything simply goes wrong? Hopefully, Tarantino's portion of "Grindhouse" will be full of "what ifs" as well, although that's kind of hard to do in a slasher. Robert Rodriguez's portion actually has me a bit more interested at this point, even though he is responsible for "Spy Kids."

Personally, I hate slashers. They're boring. There's only so much blood and gore you can look at without going, "Eh." But since they're more popular than Motown these days, and since Quentin Tarantino has been responsible for some truly wonderful cinematic experiences, and you can never tell what to expect from Robert Rodriguez, I'll tell you everything I know about "Grindhouse."

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez each have 60 minutes to do their thing. Tarantino's thing is the slasher part of "Grindhouse," and will be titled "Death Proof," which sounds like a really interesting day in Geometry class. No doubt high school kids all over the country will be making jokes about it for the rest of the school year. If high school kids are still clever enough to recognize a double entendre when they see one, that is. I doubt there will be any geometry, however-just a psycho with a car. Apparently, it's going to be a slasher film without any actual slashing. Is that groundbreaking?

Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" offering is called "Planet Terror" and is going to "explore" an alien world "eerily similar to ours." That one actually sounds sort of interesting. I wonder if there is going to be slashing, and if "Planet Terror" is the actual name of the other world Rodriguez is taking us to. If so, its leader needs to take a crash course in PR. He's not going to get any tourists with a name like that.

I'm betting the name of the double feature is the most clever part-makes it sound like the next stop after a slaughterhouse, and slaughterhouses are loads of fun. I'm also betting that Quentin Tarantino is the one who thought of the title. A grindhouse sounds like a place with a lot of free-moving sharp objects and crazy types who see too much blood in a day's time. But no. A grindhouse is actually an old movie theater relegated to pumping out B-movies. Clever, huh? I like it. Shows a little tongue-in-cheekiness. Nothing like a good joke about death and gore.

Quentin Tarantino's half of "Grindhouse," "Death Proof," features Kurt Russell and Sydney Tamiia Poitier, as well as Rose McGowan and Omar Doom. You can go far with a name like Omar Doom. Are we sure this guy's not a fictional character who just THINKS he's an actor? "Planet Terror" also features Rose McGowan and Freddy Rodriguez. The rest of the lineup is as follows: Zoe Bel, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Marley Shelton, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Bacall, Eli Roth, Josh Brolin, Naveen Andrews, Michael Biehn, Stacy Ferguson, Jeff Fahey and Michael Parks.

"Grindhouse" is neither writer/director's debut. These guys have been working together and apart for years. Robert Rodriguez is known for masterminding the film "Desperado," starring Antonio Banderas, and for his collaboration with Tarantino on "From Dusk Till Dawn." Rodriguez went on to co-produce two sequels. He also collaborated with Kevin Williamson on "The Faculty." Robert Rodriguez also directed "Sin City," and is responsible for the "Spy Kids" series, as well as for "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl." According to Wikipedia, the concept credit for that one goes to Rodriguez's 7-year-old, who actually gets his name on the screen for his contribution.

Quentin Tarantino, as you probably know, is responsible for "Pulp Fiction," and has one of the most complicated filmographies you've ever seen. If you want to see his pre-"Grindhouse" titles you will have to decide whether you are interested in Quentin Tarantino the director, the actor, the producer, the writer...you get the picture. There is no part of filmmaking that this creator, sometimes called simply "Q," hasn't delved into. He's even been "miscellaneous crew."

As for "Grindhouse," the project was written AND directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, by the way. Control freaks. It is being released by Dimension Films (The Weinstein Company) under the horror genre, as if you hadn't figured that out by now. It is 185 minutes long. It is rated R for blood and guts, language, sexuality, nudity and drug use. Looks like it's a wide release on April 6. Go forth and enjoy. Looks like this one's a real popcorn muncher. Remember, though: Large drinks are not a good idea at horror movies. Know why? You're going to be too chicken to get up and go to the bathroom. Consider yourself warned.