I'll admit, there was stuff here I hadn't seen before: "Grindhouse"

True, that doesn't automatically earn a movie a thumbs-up. And there's plenty to not like in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature homage to poorly-made B-movie thrillers of the '70s. Still, any production that gives a good-looking woman a machine gun leg is worth watching. (And to think Dame Judi Dench turned down that role.)

We'll cover each movie in a bit, but first, a word about the fake trailers. Only one, for "Machete," was included when "Grindhouse" ran on HBO recently. But I tracked down the other three online. All warrant a look and can be found in various YouTube clips. Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the S.S." is the weakest, while Rodriguez's "Machete" and Edgar Wright's "Don't" are the best. I could describe each trailer for you, but better you see them yourself. It's worth it.

Now ... our feature presentations.

Death Proof

Now that I think of it, I may have watched these out of order from when "Grindhouse" was in theaters. Couldn't watch both in one sitting. Dude, that's more than three hours.

Our story here centers around a former stuntman who menaces women in a car that supposedly is "death proof." (That's right ... hence the title.) We first meet Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) in Texas, then catch up with him later in Tennessee. Both locales also include foursomes of women who talk a lot ... and a lot ... and a lot. They also think they're pretty damn cool, too, which gets annoying pretty fast.

Tarantino includes all sorts of bad movie stuff -- not bad-plot but bad-film, i.e. random jump cuts, scratchy frames, bad camera angles. While that's interesting for a while, I found myself wondering, "When is something going to happen?" I mean, there's a lot of talking and not much else by these four women in Texas before we meet Stuntman Mike. Even then, it takes time before we see what his car is all about. And then that's over quickly, and we're in Tennessee, where another four women are blabbering.

True, there ends up being a money car chase -- actually, two chases -- to bring it all home. It's pretty impressive, and not quite like anything Tarantino has done before. But "Death Proof" unfortunately had lost steam by that point, even with QT's obligatory hipster movie references ("Zatoichi," "Vanishing Point"). Yes, we get it ... you know a lot about movies. Dork.

Planet Terror

Rodriguez's effort, on the other hand, isn't boring at all, and I'd say that even if Rose McGowan hadn't kicked things off with a go-go dance. Yowza.

We learn soon afterward bad things are afoot in this Texas town -- namely some nasty gas that will melt your face off and turn you into some kind of zombie. As we wait for this fun to spread, we meet other townspeople: a married doctor couple with marital problems (Josh Brolin and Marley Shelton), a BBQ owner (Jeff Fahey, funny), a busty woman passing through (Fergie from Black Eyed Peas), the sheriff (Reese from "The Terminator"), a scientist (Sayid from "Lost"), a military guy (David Addison from "Moonlighting") and some kind of rebel (Rico from "Six Feet Under," actually convincing as a badass). That's a lot of people, but it doesn't take long for everyone to find each other at some point.

Before he became Mr. Spy Kids, Rodriguez covered similar bloody ground in "From Dusk Till Dawn." That's not a good movie, but it's fun. Same goes here, although I'd say "Planet Terror" is actually OK. Put it this way: I was ticked when Rodriguez pulled the "missing reel" stunt, cutting out a key revelation about one of the characters. Yeah, I was paying attention! And not just to the bang-bang, blood-blood.

But yes, this is more about mayhem, and the chance to see McGowan -- whom I've dug since "The Doom Generation" back in 1995 -- shake her thing while missing a leg. No, it's not hot, but it is something to see her end up with a machine gun down there. How she fired it, especially while leaping through the air, I don't know. I mean, an AK-47, sure. But an M-16 with a grenade launcher? No way.