Imagine a classic Grindhouse movie version of a James Bond movie made by filmmakers high on a combination of bad Mexican grass, LSD, animal tranquilizers, jimson weed, and mescal so cheap it comes with a plastic worm. Imagine them doing a really, really good job of it.
Part of the reason for this, of course, is that the filmmaker in question (to my knowledge) doesn't imbibe in any of the mindchemicals listed above…he's just good, and like Quentin Tarantino a B movie buff. Part of reason is the relationship that this filmmaker builds with the actors he's worked with in the past , which is so close and so mutually-respectful that all he has to do is call them and ask whether they can spare a couple of days to act in one of his low-budget, *literally* made-at-home productions, and they not only say "Yes," they offer to pay their own airfare to Austin for the privilege. The filmmaker in question is Robert Rodriguez, and the cast he's assembled for his latest low-budget epic is in itself kinda epic: Danny Trejo, Mel Gibson, Demian Bichir, Amber Heard (the reputedly soon-to-be Mrs. Johnny Depp), Michelle Rodriguez, Sofía Vergara, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Walton Goggins, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Hudgens, Jessica Alba, Cheech Marin, and Elon Musk. Yes, Elon Musk. To truly appreciate "Machete Kills," you probably have to be able to appreciate B movies as an artform, and be immune to gratuitous sex and violence. You probably also may have to have followed Robert Rodriguez' previous movies. He's a kind of Texas wunderkind, having made his first, career-starting movie "El Mariachi" for $7,000, and then having parlayed it into a career as one of the most consistently well-reviewed *and* money-making directors in history. And he's got a wonderful sense of humor. The character of Machete came from a trailer he shot for a movie that never existed, attached as a "preview" in the style of the old Grindhouse movies to the film he made with Quentin Tarantino, "Grindhouse." That trailer received more positive fan feedback than the movie did, so Rodriguez took this as a sign from God and made a whole movie out of it, "Machete." That film attracted enough of a following and cleared enough of a profit that he has made a sequel, "Machete Kills." If he stays true to form, this latest sequel won't be the last…I've included the next trailer at the end below. "Machete Kills" is so over the top in so many ways that I can't describe it. It's also not terribly reality-based, so if you need that in a movie you're shit outa luck. I thought it was a real hoot, but if you believe some here, you already know how low-vibe and depraved I am and that I can't be trusted, so caveat fuckin' emptor, muthafuckahs. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it. Original Machete trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Loq9OkHURw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Loq9OkHURw Trailer for Machete Kills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1WwOQowlg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1WwOQowlg Faux (but maybe not) trailer for Machete Kills Again…In Space: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or6u4Wqig5Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or6u4Wqig5Y
