Grindhouse (R) ****

Oh, baby! They're back and better than ever! Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have fashioned a double-barreled, action-packed spectacle in tribute to that trashiest of genres: The double-feature exploitation film. You know the genre: Where the gore is unfiltered, the sex is rampant, and the action is unbelievable.

In “Planet Terror,” Rodriguez casts a wide assortment of characters in a town overrun by zombies. He has a one-legged stripper (Rose McGowan), an ex-marine with pitch-perfect aiming (Freddy Rodríguez, no relation), a cook with a super-secret recipe (Jeff Fahey), his sheriff brother (Michael Biehn), the sheriff’s two deputies (Tom Savini and Carlos Gallardo), a doctor with a “prescription for pain” (Josh Brolin), the doctor’s wife with a pack of anesthetics she calls “her friends” (Marley Shelton), a hitchhiker (Stacy “Fergie“ Ferguson), a chemical weapons scientist (Naveen Andrews), and a colonel who’s smuggling said chemical weapons (Bruce Willis). Wow, what a mouthful. Of particular note, McGowan and Rodriquez have great chemistry, and it is great to see veterans like Biehn and Fahey back on the silver screen. Oh, yeah, you know how McGowan gets a gun for a leg? Well, let’s just say it is makes for one of the most kick-ass physically handicapped heroes in movie history!

In “Death Proof,” Kurt Russell is Stuntman Mike, a veteran stuntman from the days before movies went CG. He trails two groups of ladies: one group consisting of Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and Rose McGowan (Again!); the other consisting of Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Zoe Bell. Stuntman Mike bides his time, waits for the perfect moment, and then BAM: Rams his pitch-black car, complete with a skull & cross bone hood into the girls’ cars! The two groups of ladies are surprising well defined characters, which is no surprise from Tarantino, who gave plum roles and dialogue to women like Pam Grier and Uma Thurman. But what is a surprise is how he uses the conversations between the girls to fatten up the audience before Stuntman Mike and his “Death Proof” car strike. The movie plays like a slick remix of Steven Spielberg’s “Duel.”

Even the trailers are the stuff of delightful exploitation fun: In the beginning, we get Rodriguez’s "Machete," about a hit man (Danny Trejo) getting revenge on his double-crossing employer by shooting up stuff and sleeping with the employer’s wife and daughter! In between the main films, we get “Werewolf Women of the SS,” an obscure ode to the really bizarre Grindhouse films directed by Rob Zombie, and “Thanksgiving,” an overt and hilarious parody of slasher films set during holidays like “Halloween” and “April Fools Day.” There’s even one by “Shaun of the Dead” director Edgar Wright that is so funny and clever, I wouldn’t even dare tell you the title.

Now, a lot of critics have already taken a stand on which is the better film. Some say “Planet Terror,” a lot more say “Death Proof,” but for me, they both work great, but for different reasons.

“Planet Terror” works because the film is about a diverse mix of people, each with their own personal trials and tribulations, who get thrown into the mix together when zombies start tearing the city loose. Oh, yeah, it also helps that the action, from a zombie heading towards Doc Block with a motorized saw to El Wray taking out zombies with his sniper-gun and switch blade knifes, is as crazy and unbelievable as it gets!

“Death Proof” works because it is largely a character study about two groups of women who just happened to be chased by a murdering psychopath. If the women were just caricatures, this film would have totally imploded. Oh, yeah, the action in this film is lean, direct, and uncomplicated. What you see on the screen isn’t digitally created; it is made with old school movie magic. You know, the kind where you had to be clever and careful about what is put on the screen and not rely on a computer to dial in an action sequence.

If “Planet Terror” is a buffet, then “Death Proof” is a lean, mean steak. Both go great with soda and popcorn.