...and it kicked off Sunday. Until May 1 the New Beverly Cinema will host Quentin Tarantino'sGrindhouse Movie Festival. Practically every day will feature a double (sometimes triple) feature of the grittiest exploitation hits from the '70s. That's over 50 titillating titles, most from QT's private collection. Tarantino has said he would love to be at every screening personally, if he wasn't cutting his feature with Robert Rodriguez, their highly anticipated Grindhouse.

For those of us too young or too old to remember, the Grindhouse cinema was slang for movie houses dedicated to showing the most hardcore exploitation genres. From biker babes to axe murderers; from kung-fu masters to vigilante pimps - the tickets were cheap and the films usually shown on double bills. This was the only place some studios could get away with releasing such despicable titles. Hollywood Boulevard was once littered with these movie houses and the fantastically sleazy one-sheets. Tarantino has taken it upon himself to recreate that magic at an old movie house and even deck it out with the original paraphernalia. There will be rare lobby cards and other memorabilia throughout the festival. Prepare to rub elbows with every film sicko in town including, possibly, Tarantino's.

Find the full line-up & guide at Dennis Cazillo's blog.

My personal picks:

Tonight - Tuesday Mar. 6
7:30pm
The Mack & The Chinese Mack - Blaxploitation at its highest artform with Richard mother-fuckin' Pryor and its kung-fu counterpart.

Sunday Mar 11 - 3:45; 7:30pm
Monday & Tuesday Mar 12, 13 - 7:30pm
Rolling Thunder - Tarantino's namesake for his early production company - A revenge tale Paul Schrader wrote between Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.


Friday & Saturday Mar 23, 24 - 7:30pm
Coonskin - The controversial blaxploitation animated spoof leads a cartoon triple bill.


Sunday Mar 25 - 5:15; 9:20pm
Monday & Tuesday Mar 26, 27 - 9:20pm
Revenge of The Cheerleaders - David Hasselhoff plays a character named Boner. That's all you need to know.


Thursday April 5 - TBA
Grindhouse sneak preview





Sunday Apr 29 - 3:55; 7:30pm
Monday Apr 30 - 7:30pm
Tuesday May 1 - 7:30pm
A Bruce Lee tribute wraps up the festival with a rarely seen documentary The Real Bruce Lee & Lee Lives Within.

Labels: events, film