The better half goes solo

Many people criticize Quentin Tarantino for borrowing ideas and spicing them up for a new generation while tipping his hat to the past. Sure, "Reservoir Dogs" felt a bit like Ringo Lam's "City of Fire," and yeah, "Jackie Brown" is based on an Elmore Leonard book, and OK, "Kill Bill" practically sprays its influences on the walls. "Death Proof," most directly influenced by the likes of "Vanishing Point" and a host of obscure slasher films, is further proof why those people should give it a rest. Tarantino continues to spin his influences into gold, nabbing old genres off the dust-coated shelf and making them relevant and exciting again. \nAlways one to bring iconic actors back to the forefront, Tarantino injects life and humor into Kurt Russell for the first time since "Tombstone." His Stuntman Mike starts out menacing with a twisted sense of perversion (especially in a re-instated black-and-white sequence), but his devolution into a whining, emotional mess near the conclusion of "Death Proof" is a sight to behold. The rest of Tarantino's cast, with the exception of a poor acting turn by director Eli Roth, is excellent. Long dialogue passages work perfectly, with actresses such as Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Ferlito injecting their own personalities into the proceedings, and stuntwoman Zoe Bell (as herself) is a breath of fresh air. \nThe real cause for celebration here for Tarantino fans is the 20-plus minutes of extra footage included in this edition. There's the extended black-and-white sequence outside a convenience store, as well as added dialogue between Sheriff Earl McGraw and his son and the missing (and pretty damn hot) lap-dance sequence between Ferlito and Russell. All in all, it's a more effective and comprehensive cut than the theatrical one, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead being able to flesh out (quite literally) her role as the cheerleader-uniformed Lee, and Tarantino freer with his own editing choices. \n"Grindhouse" failed notoriously at the box office last April, and in some ways the decision to split the experience in two for its initial DVD release smacks of a shameless ploy at getting the studio's money back. There are still some amusing bonus features here, such as a tribute to Tarantino's longtime editor Sally Menke and a slightly in-depth look at the real stunt drivers behind the wheel of the film's mind-blowing vehicular sequences. It should, however, be obvious to anyone that there will be a comprehensive "Grindhouse" edition sometime in the future. Here's to hoping it doesn't take as long to materialize as the "Whole Bloody Affair" edition of "Kill Bill" that we've been hearing about since 2004.