Grindhouse

[emperor26]

Any opinion on this movie that came out this week?

To me, it looks okay, but since I have to do an important work for school, I might check it out when it comes on DVD.

[Sparky]

There is absolutely nothing inside me that screams COOL!!! at the image of a hot chick with a machine gun for a leg. So I have zero interest in this thing.

[Partymember]

yeah. Tarentino just manages to piss me off, i hate his flicks.

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

For those of you who really don't like Tarantino, I recommend you try watching Jackie Brown...I feel it's a great Tarantino movie for people who don't normally like him. I mean, it's slow and talky, and not for everybody, but what I like about it is that it was just a disciplined, accomplished book adaptation, with very little of the stylistic idiosyncracies and quirks that I think irritate a lot of people about all of his other films. For me, it was the film that proved that Tarantino was actually a talented and versatile director, rather than a self-indulging film geek with a camera, which is what I think a lot of his critics had him pegged as.

As for Grindhouse, Tarantino-haters should bear in mind that it's actually two movies back-to-back, and the first one, Planet Terror, is actually directed by Robert Rodriguez (of Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Desperado, Sin City and uh, Spy Kids fame). If you're a a Rodriguez fan, maybe you can go and see the movie then leave after Planet Terror is over. :P

Personally, I think that most of the nostalgia factor of this project would be diluted by my total lack of exposure to 70s grindhouse cinema, but I do think it's conceptually pretty gutsy to release an exploitation double-feature in the middle of 2007. I think it would be worth my money to go just for that experience...shame I'm going to miss it, really...

[Jabberwocky]

HAHAHAHA, I heard about this, but I haven't actually seen a preview or anything for it.

COUP DE VENT!

[Partymember]

I've seen some just plain wierd stuff from the 70's. John Waters comes to mind, but ol' Quentin annoys me.

I'll give Jackie Brown a shot if i see it on, though.

[emperor26]

What's wrong with Quentin Tarintino?

He may have made a few flicks, but some of them, including Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, are great.

Seriously, what's so bad about Tarintino?

[derangedperson]

(THERE'S SPOILERS IN THEM THAR POST!)

I think everyone's problem with Tarantino is that either his films are too talky and profane for most, or the fact that the guy looks and talks like a coked-up autistic in his interviews. I love dialogue in films, so I've never had any problems with QT.

Coincidentally, I just saw Grindhouse today, and it was a HOOT. Easily the most fun I've had at the movies since I saw Shaun Of The Dead. It's worth it to see Rosario Dawson and two other girls kick the crap out of Kurt Russell.

[Partymember]

meh, his flicks are just too over-the-top ridiculous for my tastes.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Coincidentally, I just saw Grindhouse today, and it was a HOOT. Easily the most fun I've had at the movies since I saw Shaun Of The Dead. It's worth it to see Rosario Dawson and two other girls kick the crap out of Kurt Russell.

You might want to watch what you say because even though I too have seen the movie, I think you just give away a spoiler right there.

[Dark "DC" Chaos]

Having seen this movie, let me give you my review:

Planet Terror: I'd describe it as a zombie movie on steroids; it's filled with enough blood and gore to easily make anyone under the age of 13 get reminded of what they had for dinner last night. (But if you fit into that category, aren't you breaking the rules?) Fortunately, a lot of it is laughable gore, and things get a bit steamy, which is just as funny when you see what happens as a result: The reel "melts" and gets replaced just when a sex scene is about to begin, and resumes the film right after the scene's over; I laughed hard at that. And it all wraps up nicely at the end. For me, this is easily the better film of the two.
Death Proof: If I knew what I was in for when this movie began, I would've left the theater right when it began. It has the problem a lot of Tarantino movies have: too much idle talk, not enough action. Seriously, 45-55 minutes of talk about how this person misses their boyfriend, or that person almost fell in a ditch, etc. and only 15 minutes of any actual action? How about you make me feel less sympathetic for Kurt Russel's character instead of showing me a bunch of talking heads? At the end, I felt bad for his character, and angry at the girls. Bad job, Quentin. Bad job. You get a D-.

[Voxxyn]

What did you think of the mock trailers?

[Mr. Marshmallow]

What did you think of the mock trailers?

I thought the mock trailers were awesome. They were short, but funny, demented, and by far the most innovate and amusing part of the film. It was such a great idea and they really came out looking good if you ask me.

The funniest one was easily "Don't" but my favorite one was definitely Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving". It was extremely gore and extremely stupid at the same time, with an awesome grainy look to it, looking just like an old slasher movie.

Like it came right out of the age of "Friday the 13th" films. Btw, for those interested in this, Robert Rodriguez was originally going to have Machete be apart of the Planet terror portion of the film but ran out of available air time.

So, Rodriguez is going to actually make the Machete movie into a direct to DVD film.

[kaytea]

There is absolutely nothing inside me that screams COOL!!! at the image of a hot chick with a machine gun for a leg. So I have zero interest in this thing.

same here >_>

[AerostarMonk]

I had zero faith in this movie based on previews. But I really love Kurt Russell and I heard Edgar Wright did a little something in this picture. So yesterday I go to see it and to my surprise, I loved it. It was just too much fun.

Anyway, there is no reason why this movie should've been beaten by Are We Done Yet? I mean come on! Blades of Glory, I can understand, but by a mediocre sequel to a mediocre comedy, both remakes of films no one remembers? Ouch!

[scary_dream]

There is absolutely nothing inside me that screams COOL!!! at the image of a hot chick with a machine gun for a leg. So I have zero interest in this thing.

8D There is in me, but I love over-the-top stuff like that anyhow, so it's understandable for you to not have any interest in it.

I personally really like QT. Yeah, his recent movies CAN be over-the-top at times, but once again, I like that kind of cinema. It's like watching a campy moving comic book. That's where the fun of it comes from. If we all went to the movies to see a realistic, talky story every single time, we'd all be bored as hell.

Even "talkier" flicks such as Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction still have the cocky attitude of his recent films, so they're still fun to watch.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Sadly, the god awful "Are we done yet?" had more going for it as far as "advantages" opposed to Grind house. Grind house is rated R, which already sets a limited audience bar, R rated movies usually don't rank in big bucks because of the rating.

Second, much like how "King Kong" lost to "Narnia" last year, Grind house is 3 hours long and that kills any replay value because people aren't usually thrilled to go see a 3 hour movie more then once, sometimes it's that kind of running time that makes people not want to go see it.

Plus, both "Narnia" and "Are we done yet?" are kids films, mostly anyway. The humor is geared towards younger audiences, which is an easy dollar making scheme right there. Kids drag their parents to the movies all the time and that alone has a powerful attraction factor because your not only paying for kids, but the adults who get roped into seeing it as well.

Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) made the "Don't" fake trailer in the film. Fellow fake trailer maker Eli Roth popped up in "Death proof" also. That was actually my favorite of the 2 fims, Tarantino's film. But I do admit, at times the talking got really dragged out of hand.

The first set of girls I didn't mind their conversations, they really helped set up some key elements in the movie. But the second set of girls REALLY drolled on and on for me. Plus, the key part is supposed to be Kurt Russell, since he is the car serial killer here.

I think the movie seriously under used him which is a shame because he was magnificent in this film. Russell has like never played a bad guy and he just kicked ass here, I really think he deserved more air time because he gave a great performance as Stuntman Mike.

[AerostarMonk]

I want Don't as a full blown motion picture. Complete with Will Arnett doing the narration as he did in the trailer. "If you're thinking........of going...........into the basement..............DON'T!" For some reason that was just too hilarious.

[derangedperson]

The funniest one was easily "Don't" but my favorite one was definitely Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving". It was extremely gore and extremely stupid at the same time, with an awesome grainy look to it, looking just like an old slasher movie.

"It's blood."
"Son of a b*tch!"
8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D

[GrimTheLost]

I loved this movie, I am going to take my GF on a date to see this movie. Machete= best trailer in the movie!

[Jetbaby]

Saw Grindhouse yesterday and thought it was a hysterical send-up of the 70's exploitation genre. Planet Terror was by turns horrifying and hilarious; IMHO, Fergie had the best cameo, ever!

Personally, I thought Death Proof was a better segment, in terms of building suspense and tension. Admittedly, it's not the non-stop roller coaster ride that Planet Terror was - there were times when the dialogue got really excessive. But every time Kurt Russell was on screen, I was rivited. It was really interesting to see this charismatic-yet-psychotic antagonist both work his mojo and blow his cool.

Last but not least, the trailers were ridiculously funny. Glad to see other schlock auteurs (Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie) contributing to the fun.

[scary_dream]

I really wish those were real trailers... Heh, I'd SO pay to see Thanksgiving and Don't!

I expected to like Planet Terror more, but I ended up liking Death Proof. They were both awesome, but as Jetbaby said, it was fun to see the different sides of Kurt Russell's character, even the "screaming like a little girl" side 8D The talking in it didn't bother me SO bad, especially because afterwards the movie rewards you for it with one of the most suspenseful scenes in the whole movie. It was worth sitting through, because I mean, it could have been worse... the conversations could have been REALLY unnatural-feeling and downright painful to watch. The only thing I got tired of was the build-up to the game Ship's Mast - it got a little old hearing them argue about it.

I also like that QT had cameos in both of the films. :D

One reason I also think this movie did worse than Are We Done Yet? in addition to Mr. M's "Rated R" explanation is think of when the movies opened: Two days before Easter. Families come together on holidays and bring the kids along as well of course, so it's only natural that if they're going to see a movie, it's going to have to be a family-oriented one. Had it been on a non-holiday weekend, the outcome would have been a little better, I imagine.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

It was fun to see the different sides of Kurt Russell's character, even the "screaming like a little girl" side 8D The talking in it didn't bother me SO bad, especially because afterwards the movie rewards you for it with one of the most suspenseful scenes in the whole movie. It was worth sitting through, because I mean, it could have been worse... the conversations could have been REALLY unnatural-feeling and downright painful to watch.

The conversations weren't exactly bad, the second group with Rosario Dawson and Zoe actually helped built up the whole "land on your feet" thing for those who have seen it. But it's just it dragged on too long, too much was being dragged over the place.

Any information be it good or bad can become tiresome if you pour it on too thickly. And funny thing you mention the "little girl" bit because that kind of disappointed me. Kurt Russell was awesome as this psychopath, but I felt the breakdown to crying and saying "I'm sorry" was really out of character.

It took away his homicidal bad ass image and just made it unrealistic, I mean I've never heard of a killer actually breaking down in apology unless he's in jail or confession or something. And I especially found it out of place because he was doing it to a bunch of GIRLS, the same people he targets daily.

It's obvious he hates women and doesn't give a damn what he does to them, so to me, actually admitting an apology to a bunch of rowdy girls (who actually are probably going to have a hard time explaining this to the cops) looks really weird for the character that was established with him.

[Jetbaby]

Any information be it good or bad can become tiresome if you pour it on too thickly. And funny thing you mention the "little girl" bit because that kind of disappointed me. Kurt Russell was awesome as this psychopath, but I felt the breakdown to crying and saying "I'm sorry" was really out of character.

It took away his homicidal bad ass image and just made it unrealistic, I mean I've never heard of a killer actually breaking down in apology unless he's in jail or confession or something. And I especially found it out of place because he was doing it to a bunch of GIRLS, the same people he targets daily.

It's obvious he hates women and doesn't give a damn what he does to them, so to me, actually admitting an apology to a bunch of rowdy girls (who actually are probably going to have a hard time explaining this to the cops) looks really weird for the character that was established with him.

Actually, I thought his crumbling was rather in-keeping with his character. Here's why: this is a murderer who kills not with his own hands, but with his car - which implies that he's not one who likes the intense 'intimacy', if you will, of killing his victim up close and personal. Instead, he hides himself behind a ton of steel and lets that do the killing for him. Also, it's not as if he blatantly kills his victim so that it's obvious it's a murder - he hides the motive behind the false pretense that the killings were as a result of an accident. In my mind, these facts set him up as a coward. Also, he kills women, not men, because in his mind he always has the upper hand with them. This also sets him up as a bully. And, as we know, most bullies are cowards at heart.

As far as the apology's concerned, it's not as if he shuffled up to them between classes and mumbled "Sorry for the trying to kill you and stuff." The apology comes only after he's been shot, chased and rammed repeatedly by the girls until he can't escape. He has completely lost control of the situation, and when faced with this role reversal and the very real possibility that he's going to die, he takes the coward's route and tries to apologize.

So in that respect, yeah - I think Stuntman Mike's meltdown was, while unexpected, a fitting response to the situation, given his character. Of course, this is just one person's opinion - your mileage may vary. :D

[Mr. Marshmallow]

The thing is though, killing women does not make you a coward, it's an obsession or a purpose for them. Killing women doesn't make you weak, 90% of Jason's victims are women and he kills them through the act of sex most of the time. Granted he kills men, Jason's majority of kills come from women.

Also, the using the car actually does strike me as a cowardly act, it's actually quite a brilliant one. Just as the ads say, Stuntman Mike is a serial killer, the only difference is he uses a car instead of say a chainsaw or a machete. It's his weapon of choice and the smart thing about what he does is using the car.

Accidents happen all the time, he has a guranteed get out of jail free car with this method of killing. Plus, he wasn't drinking any booze that night and the girls he were following did drink booze and probably drugs (I can't remember if they did). I don't buy the whole "upper hand" belief for Stuntman Mike's motives.

Because in truth, there was never a motive established. Mike's reason for killing women is never stated and being a psychopath, it's impossible to tell why. I could easily speculate he kills them because he's been scorned by women, or thinks they have ego problems, it's too speculative.

I also don't think he's hiding behind his car, every killer kills people in different ways and does different things with his/her victims once there done. The really funny thing about Stuntman Mike that struck me was that he didn't seem completely 100% obsessed with killing the second set of girls.

After their little game (prior to being shot) Mike seemed happy with the fun he had and was planning on leaving, he didn't swerve back and try and ram them, even when they chased him, I think he was really done with them. His desire to kill wasn't anywhere near as heavily implied as was the first time.

I also think the ending kind of left two very odd questions behind. 1: what are they gonna do with the Vanishing point car now, give it back to the guy they stole it from all banged up? and 2: the fact they beat Stuntman Mike to death is NOT going to go over too well with the cops.

Even though we know he tried to kill them, they still killed someone who was unable to defend himself. I know this is just end of the movie afterwards jibber jabber but it is something I am curious about.

[scary_dream]

Yeah I agree, I mean, I know killing him in the heat of the moment felt right for them probably, but they'll have a rough time with that one and the cops. Maybe it's to allude to an unhappy ending for EVERYONE, even though the girls were triumphant with him, they still get thrown in prison for aggrivated assault.

The way I understood his sissy-ness at the end was that it was supposed to be ironic. Here we have a cool, collected, suave psychopath, and then BAM, whoa, he's not exactly who you thought he was. Serial killers are glorified a lot in movies as unshakable beings, but I learned in my forensics class that almost all of them (in real life) have some kind of weakness that just makes them break down and the result is either intense rage or absolutely losing it.

I know it was never STATED in the movie that he wanted the upper hand as a motive, but maybe his breaking point was the loss of control in a situation. Yeah, he felt comfortable in his car as he was losing control on the ROAD, but he always had his seatbelt on. He didn't have time to put it back on after the girls shot at him and before they came back, so during the whole chase, he didn't have a seatbelt on.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I know it was never STATED in the movie that he wanted the upper hand as a motive, but maybe his breaking point was the loss of control in a situation.

That to me was the best explanation I could come up with. Being a creature of habit myself, I know how it feels getting used to something and then having someone suddenly come in and try to throw things off balance.

My guess is Mike has been doing this for quite a while and I don't think anyone has ever fought back. Ironic thing is, he was attacking fellow Hollywood people. The girls were actresses and even Zoe herself was a stunt woman.

So maybe it's a kind of professional skill level that explained how they managed to turn the tide. But back to Stuntman Mike, I really feel that he never in his life ever expierenced someone fighting back against him before.

This must have been a shattering event for him, because his whole life seemed to be fractured all of the sudden, because something like this probably never happened to him before.

I also have read about serial killers and some get into their fantasies so deeply, that once their little "fun and games" happy land gets shattered by a sudden change, they just can't function anymore and totally lose it.

It's just like Norman Bates in "Psycho". Seeing his mother cheating on his father then killing both, his mind just couldn't take it. And about the ending:

The funny thing is though that the "heat of the moment" thing probably wouldn't fly with the police because the girls killed Stuntman Mike while he was unarmed. He was trapped, in his car, no gun, no knife, unable to move or defend himself and they savagely beat him to death.

Now I'm NOT saying he didn't deserve it, I'm just saying is that from what I recall of the law, killing isn't gonna fly unless you felt your life was in danger and anyone who saw the movie knows that Mike was NO threat to the girls at the end. I know he had it coming it's just that if I was a cop and I saw or found out about this, you'd find it close to impossible not to arrest the girls.

[scary_dream]

The funny thing is though that the "heat of the moment" thing probably wouldn't fly with the police because the girls killed Stuntman Mike while he was unarmed. He was trapped, in his car, no gun, no knife, unable to move or defend himself and they savagely beat him to death.

Now I'm NOT saying he didn't deserve it, I'm just saying is that from what I recall of the law, killing isn't gonna fly unless you felt your life was in danger and anyone who saw the movie knows that Mike was NO threat to the girls at the end. I know he had it coming it's just that if I was a cop and I saw or found out about this, you'd find it close to impossible not to arrest the girls.

Yeah, that's what I meant by alluding to an unhappy ending for everyone, you just said it better ;). Of course the cops wouldn't buy that "it just seemed right at the time", even if he did or didn't deserve it, so like you said:

It'd be close to impossible to not arrest them. I made a mistake earlier as well, since they killed him, it wouldn't JUST be assault charges, it'd be voluntary manslaughter. Ouch... still, hella prison time for them.

[Nathander]

Before giving my thoughts on the film, I'll first put down my two cents for the current discussion..

My personal belief is that, while Mike dies, the girls do not kill him. Rather, "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" are interconnected in their events, and Mike almost certainly dies during the infection outbreak in the hospital in "Planet Terror". Let me give my reasons for this.

1) It's common for the story in a Tarantino film to be told chronologically out of order. Personally, I believe that the second half of the film is technically a flashback to events a while back; not the start of Mike's sociopathic rampage, but still happening before he kills Jungle Julia, Shauna, Butterfly, Pam, and the other woman who was driving the car the first three were in. The last shot of the film, after stating "The End" is of Abernathy delivering an axe kick to Mike's noise. In the first half of the film, there's a scene where Mike is talking to Julia's cliche on the porch of the bar they were at. During this scene, Mike draws back in pain for no apparent reason, motioning his hand towards his nose. My belief is that this is the injury delivered by Abernathy's kick acting up.

As for whether Zoe, Abernathy, and the other girl whose name escapes me at the moment went to jail, it's unlikely as I doubt either side brought this to the police's attention. Zoe's group, leaving him for dead, wouldn't want to press charges for that obvious reason. Mike, meanwhile, wouldn't have pressed charges out of pure common sense, knowing that since he's most likely killed before and been indicted in cases similar to this, it would be stupid to draw attention to it without it being a necessity, as it was when he supposedly had to talk with McGraw after killing Julia and her friends.

2) Early in "Planet Terror" when Dakota's friend/lover Tammy is driving her car, the station she is listening to states "In Loving Memory of Jungle Julia". This would imply that the events of "Planet Terror" occur right after Julia's murder, which was perpetrated by Mike. This would also imply that Mike was still in the hospital during the outbreak, meaning he would've been killed then.

3) The fact that Dakota is the doctor taking care of Mike, and that McGraw is involved (including Earl McGraw's interactions with Dakota, refusing to recognize her as his daughter and referring to her only as "Doctor Block") again imply that "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" are connected. However, the connection of Earl McGraw can be taken with a bit of salt, as Sheriff McGraw appears in many other films by Tarantino and Rodriguez. Dakota, however, is only in the two films comprising Grindhouse.

While this is what I believe, it really depends on the idea that "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" are connected to one another, which is not necessarily the case. However, seeing as how closely Tarantino and Rodriguez collaborated on it, it's not hard to imagine.

Really, this was just a long winded way of saying "I think they kicked the crap out of Mike, but didn't kill him." :gooblab:

Now that that's out of the way, time to talk about my impressions of it.

I loved it. I loved loved loved loved it. I think they were a great throw back to the exploitation and splatter films of the 70s, and the presentation of it (grainy picture, missing reels, ect.), as well as the "fake" previews (more on those later) were wonderful. There are also very few movies that make me go "I want that film's soundtrack". This was one of them, if just for the song at the end of the film and the piece playing at the beginning of "Planet Terror".

While I liked both films, I think the better of them was "Death Proof", which was a surprise. Not because I don't like Tarantino, but because I fully expected to like "Planet Terror" more, due to my love of both cheesy films and zombie films. While I think Rodriguez did incredibly well with it, and it seemed more like a cheap film out of the 70s to me then "Death Proof", there were moments were I actually felt it went to far, the main one being when Tony ends up accidentally shooting himself in the head. However, I thought that the majority of it was great, and I loved Bruce Willis as the psychotic/possibly sympathy-inducing marine leader (can't remember his rank, unfortunately). Really, it helped with my craving of bizarre action films and zombie flicks.

"Death Proof", however, was the better film. I think that it was due to the fact that it seemed to more closely echo Tarantino's usual style then "Planet Terror" did Rodriguez's style. However, I think that Rodriguez actually did create a nearly genuine modern day "Grindhouse" film, while Tarantino really....well, created a Tarantino film that somewhat echoed back to Grindhouse films, but no where near as much as Rodriguez's. And, in many ways, I was perfectly fine with that.:) Also, the talking back and forth between the girls really didn't bother me that much, as nearly-pointless blather can be a keypoint of Tarantino's films, which is one of the things I love about the man, to tell the truth. 8D Really, many of the conversations brought to mind the conversations from Reservoir Dogs, if just for the fact that Reservoir Dogs had more "pointless blather" conversations than most of Tarantino's later work.

I also think it was a good idea to put "Planet Terror" first and "Death Proof" last because, dare I say it, "Death Proof" kind of gave me a better feeling at the end then "Planet Terror". While "Planet Terror" gives you a large sense of hope, there's no real victory, not yet at least. "Death Proof", however, in my mind does end in a sort of note of victory.

Also, about the fake trailers.....Rodriguez has actually confirmed that one of them, Machete (which was actually the trailer he himself presented for the film), will be made into a direct-to-DVD film he intends to see brought out by the time "Grindhouse" hits DVDs. Whether or not any of the others will be brought ought is up in the air, but of them, I'd personally like to see Don't and Werewolf Women of the SS brought out. I'd like to see "Don't" simply for the fact that it would be done by the "Shaun of the Dead" guys, and "Werewolf Women of the SS" just to see Nicholas Cage in the role of Fu Manchu.

And I'll shut up now. :gooblab:

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Mcgraw has been in plenty of films before and acting similar to how did in "Death proof". I honestly don't buy the fact the movies are connected since that defeats the whole purpose of a "double feature", two movies back to back.

If it was a single story or at least supposed to be, you would have had some indication from an outside source, director, or party to suggest this. The points you listed all seem a bit stretched to tie up without having your head hurt. Seeing Dr. Block in there was the only indication I ever picked up about this.

If there is anything at all. Anyways, as far as the conversations thing, "Reservoir Dogs" at least had INTERESTING things to talk about. Basically Tarantino's film was loaded with gabby girl talk, and it wasn't stuff that grabbed your attention. Most of it was jabbering about "juicy gossip" stories and not really helpful info.

Zoe's whole "cat" thing was the only thing I found relevant to the discussions. "Reservoir Dogs" on the other hand all carried conversations that gave us an idea of the characters personalities, which was more interesting considering the fact we knew nothing about these guys, not even their real names.

Most of em anyway. Now as far as the continued private discussion, and by private I mean referring to spoiler material of course:

I believe Stuntman Mike is dead because this honestly seemed WAY too much of a good thing for the girls to let go. They nearly died being chased off the road by him, and then went to all the trouble of getting killed on the highway to run him off the road, trap him, then beat the living piss out of him.

Considering their attitudes, I hardly think they would go to all that trouble without killing him. The "Planet Terror" mix movie theory aside, there's still alot of left over bits of evidence though that would easily lead the cops to the girls. 1- the original owner of the car is gonna eventually report it missing.

2- Even if he doesn't and they bring it back, no way in hell he won't call the cops about the damage on the car. 3- there gonna have to go back because they left Lee back there. 4- About 20 different people saw their little runaround on the road and caused god knows how many crashes.

No way no one wouldn't report what they saw or at least a description. And finally 5- assuming he is dead from that beating and they didn't destroy or hide the body, someone will eventually find it and report it. And if they do report it, the cops are gonna be able to pick up traces of finger prints.

They smashed his face in 50 times and jammed a boot in his eye, that's gonna leave a trail. I normally wouldn't talk so much about after the movie material but it's only cause this film ended on such a open hole that I feel the need to. I also highly doubt if Mike survived, he'd fear talking about this to the cops.

We all know Mike can't get touched by the police because if he did, he wouldn't have been released for this previous little "stunt". He can easily kill whoever he wants with a stunt car and never be suspected because it's an accident far as people are concerned, that's the beauty of his little design.

That car gives him an automatic excuse for his actions from the law, only thing that would stop him is eye witnesses and as you know, he doesn't leave any.

[Nathander]

I mentioned that McGraw had been in several other movies before. I never debated that point. And, as I've said, I'm not attempting to say the theory I gave is fact: it's merely the way I think it could have worked in, due to the clues they give and Tarantino's own tendency to mess with the chronological order of his films.

And yes, there was a difference between the blather in Reservoir Dogs and Death Proof. While I'm not denying a lot of the talk in RD was at least somewhat relevant to the characters, there were a few conversations that didn't reveal anything. I'm also willing to let the conversations in "Death Proof" go since they were the kind of conversations you'd hear in 70s horror films like "Friday the 13th", where they'd just talk and talk about absolutely nothing.

As for the current point:

Personally, even if they did kill Mike, I kind of think the girls would have gotten away with it. They all appear fairly intelligent, despite Zoe's recklessness. Let's say that, after they kill Mike, they hide (possibly destroy/burn?) the body and leave the car. We also don't know if the Challenger was fully totalled, so while it's beaten to crap, it may still be functional. Let's go with the theory that it is functional. They take the car back up to the redneck and Lee. Most likely, they know they won't get away with this, so they pay for the car. Later, let's assume that the ditch/destroy the car. Therefore, all the evidence that remains of the crime is Mike's car.

Also, aside from this, while people saw the chase, we're never shown that they saw the "finale" of the episode where the girls beat the hell out of Mike. Therefore, they have no actual eye witnesses to what the girls look like. Without this, the only thing they'd have to go on would be the appearance of the car, and without the car they could have no chance of really identifying the culprits. While they could trace the car back to the original owner, they'd have to first have the license plates, something I kind of doubt any of the other drivers got a good look at.

Also, I still stand by the fact that I think Mike, if he were to survive, would be hesitant to speak to the cops. Again, as you've said, it would take the testimony of eye witnesses to work against him, which he never leaves. Unfortunately, this time he did. If he did survive and brings the charge against the girls, the girls could testify that he had been the aggressor. While the girls would still look bad for what they did, Mike would probably be worse off because (assuming the movie is in chronological order) he would have already been involved in the suspicious automobile-involved deaeth of five women previously. That being the case, I doubt the police wouldn't take some form of investigation into Mike.

Honestly, though, I do believe your theory holds more ground then mine. I'm simply stating that my initial interpretation of the events in the movie were that there was some form of interconnection, and the tendency of Tarantino and Rodriguez to mess with viewers minds.