Machete

The physical effects work best in Machete, especially the thick workman frame of Danny Trejo. Trejo's Machete is a silent, scowling, granite lump. He meanders swiftly and violently through a burgeoning class war, trapped between sympathetic revolutionaries and crooked politicians as they quibble and posture about border crossing. Trejo is the movie, a GWAR fan's sketch of Charles Bronson, his face an all-points bulletin for lines and lumps; expression carved onto a brick. Elsewhere, find yet more evidence that the inherent falseness of computer generated destruction actually denies the kind of bratty glee it's supposed to induce. If a puppet or appliance rig is mangled during a stunt there's an immediate physical sense that you're watching something being broken. Paint it all in with CG, and the gag stalls on the brain signal that recognises its artifice. We know Machete isn't running real flunkies through, but we'd prefer he was ruining something that has physical space and weight, rather than miming yet another kill-thrust for a MacBook pick-up.

"I used to be like you..."

Jason Eisener's Hobo with a Shotgun continues to wow. This latest ad cues audience for the next great society eats itself flick. Shotgun's transcended it's cheapy nasty fauk shill origins in a way that Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse stablemate Machete still hasn't really managed. Previously we had a 70s grunged up revenger, chronicling the equaliser skirmishes of a potato headed gurner. Now? We've got Rutger Hauer giving extinction speeches to infants while the montage splices in mob motivated future shock, with a pulsing electronica beat. Disaster Year's booking fucking tickets.

Red Band to the Rescue!

I'd hate to be the kind of guy who couldn't rustle up any kind of enthusiasm for a niche genre film unless it was wading knee-deep in atrocity, but y'know, I'm exactly that guy. After a couple of flat artless trails, how did Machete do it? Gore! Lots of it! The most inventive use of a goon's intestinal tract since Riki-Oh certainly helped too.

Lucha vs. Trejo

Disaster Year still can't help but be disappointed that Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Machete has shed its Grindhouse imprint scratch and damage. However! The idea of a prowling, luchador hitman hot on Danny Trejo's trail goes some way to making up for it. More of that masked gentleman please!

Mexican't?

Ain't It Cool News broke this a few days ago, the first legitimate trailer for the forthcoming Machete feature. The bones of this trail are much the same as the phoney shill that appeared in Grindhouse - Danny Trejo is hired to assassinate a politician, and is betrayed by his WASP taskmaster. Unfortunately, since the property is now destined to be a legitimate theatrical release, the idea of a Machete film has shifted conceptually. An actual audience must be accounted for! Hence, this new ad is filled out with B plot eye catches, various stunt cast nudges, and a slightly more sympathetic portrayal of women.

The advertised Machete has transformed from something nakedly exploitative into something mindful of focus groups and test audiences. The Grindhouse clip sold a one-note mangler, brimming with extermination violence and three-in-a-hot-tub sexuality. This promises a multi-lead action ramble with a cursory nod to America's wonky immigration policies. Gone too are the scratchy Grindhouse post-production imperfections. Celluloid no longer seethes and mutates while Trejo is tearing his enemies apart, instead this has the glassy digital shimmer of any modern TV cheapy.

UPDATE: Robert Rodriguez has since gone on record to state that this ad was produced as a satirical comment on Arizona's recent dabble in racial profiling, and does not represent the actual form of Machete. Disaster Year been duped!

WILL BRUTALISE 4 FOODZ

Dreams do come true! Witness here a collage of inserts and test shots - the first available footage of the Hobo With A Shotgun feature, starring Rutger Hauer as the titular derelict. This on-the-noser is the bastard offspring of a contest to get your trail attached to the Canadian print of the Tarantino / Rodriguez double A-side Grindhouse, Jason Eisener et al won the day with a cheapy nasty about a roaming vigilante bum. Machete gets all the press, but this was the Grindhouse trailer buff Disaster Year was most looking forward to. Not much to go on here, but a grungy 70s vibe is firmly in place. I haven't seen smoke gags look that oily in a good long time. This brief tease is pushing all the right buttons: future-shock lawless, Enzo Castellari's John Carpenter cash-ins, even a whiff of Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet. Head over to the film's website for a daily trickle.

Hobo With A Shotgun

An oldy this, but it's always worth clicking on through to the original youtube link and leaving a big fat full-marks 5 star rating in the vain hope a feature proper turns up one day. Do it! For the uninitiated, Hobo With A Shotgun is the winning entry of Robert Rodriguez's South by Southwest Grindhouse Trailer Contest. Creators Jason Eisener, Rob Cotterill and John Davies' outstanding achievements in the field of excellence were rewarded with an attach to Canadian prints of the Rodriguez / Tarantino double-header Grindhouse. Hobo served as yet another please-make-it fake trail, and arguably stole the whole fucking show. Hobo has the air of a low-rent urban threat take on They Live, crossed with Death Wish aping splatter gruel like The Exterminator, seasoned with an infuriated WWF announcer scream-demanding you go watch NOW NOW NOW!