The Return of J.M. Dobies, Austin Classic Movies Examiner

I have revived my film column in an attempt to earn some extra loot. Since I get about a penny per page view, please visit early and often, and share these links via the social media. Thank you.

Weird Wednesday at Alamo Drafthouse: 'The Hellcats' (1968)

'Dirty O'Neil' a/k/a 'The Love Life of a Cop' (1974)

Diane McBain is completely insane in 'The Mini-Skirt Mob' (1968)

 

Dig this: 'The Todd Killings' (1971)

More, More, More J.M. Dobies, Austin Classic Movies Examiner

Stripper in love: 'A Cold Wind in August' (1961)

Teenage rebellion: 'Riot on Sunset Strip' (1967)

Bury my heart in Scottsdale: 'The Ransom' (1977)

 

Bad trip: 'Angel, Angel, Down We Go' a/k/a 'Cult of the Damned' (1969)

Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' at Violet Crown

Hit man Pitt: 'Killing Them Softly' (2012)

'Try and Get Me!' a/k/a 'The Sound of Fury' (1950)

Swampsquatch: 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' (1972)

In Sickness or in Hell: 'The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave' (1971)

To subscribe to the Austin Classic Movies Examiner, click HERE.

J.M. Dobies, Austin Classic Movies Examiner Facebook Page

TEEN A-GO-GO and The Ugly Beats Tonight at the Alamo

From the Alamo blog:

People Let’s Freak out! TEEN A-GO-GO this Monday w/ The Ugly Beats LIVE!

by George Bragdon

With very special LIVE performance by Austin’s own THE UGLY BEATS before the film!

Get a taste of what’s in store this Monday with this Mal Thursday’s Texas Tyme Machine podcast featuring guest DJ Melissa Kirkendall, director of TEEN-A-GO-GO!

Every meaningful change in rock music started with some teenagers, alone in their parents’ garage, banging away at three chords. This rampaging doc features original recordings, never-before-seen Super 8 movies, rare archival footage, photographs and interviews with musicians, fans and industry experts on early rock & roll.

TEEN A-GO-GO takes the viewer on an entertaining, nostalgic ride into the teen scenes of the mid-’60s and into the lives of the people who lived it. The British Invasion played an undeniable role on this uniquely American musical genre when on February 9, 1964 the Beatles premiered live on the Ed Sullivan Show. An estimated 73 million viewers (over 40% of the entire U.S. population) tuned in. Teens all across America were glued to their TV sets as they witnessed a true turning point in rock history. On February 10, 1964, it would seem that 10 million teens had something new to do. With their jaws still on the floor and inspiration stirring within, thousands of youngsters knew that their destiny lay in rock and roll and the A Go-Go Teen Scene was born.

Music Monday: TEEN A-GO-GO with The Ugly Beats live – Mon, April 11 at Alamo Ritz.

Mal Thursday's Texas Tyme Machine #8 featuring guest DJ Melissa Kirkendall

The Latest Celebrity Headlines from JM Dobies

More Celebrity Headlines from my new writing gig with The Dallas Examiner:

John Edwards: Love Child Baby Daddy

Brangelina, QT at L.A. Premiere of Inglourious Basterds

Stop the Presses! New pics of the back of Rob Pattinson's head!

"Oliver!" Star Claims He was Jacko's Sperm Donor

Are Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart totally doing it? Allegedly. Or not.

Ben Lyons, most hated movie critic in America - Fired!

Now I know I've sold out - I actually used the word "Brangelina."

Please subscribe to my column regardless of whether or not you care about this stuff: I get paid by the page view.

Thank you for your kind indulgence.

My New Gig: Celebrity Headlines Examiner

Longtime readers of the BLOG! know that my interest in popular culture leans toward the '60s and '70s rather than the vacuous anti-culture of today. For instance, on June 25th, I did not waste a minute mourning self-proclaimed King of Pop, junkie, and plastic surgery disaster Michael Jackson, instead paying tribute to Seeds frontman and Flower Power icon Sky Saxon.

I could give a shit about Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears - I'm more into Tuesday Weld and Mimsy Farmer.

That said, I just got a gig writing celebrity news for the Dallas Examiner. I get paid by the page view, and given America's obsession with celebrities, I should get some decent traffic and make some coin.

I used to do a humor/parody column called "Celebrity Spin," where I'd take actual gossip items and inject them with comedy collagen through gross exaggeration and absurd, made-up quotes. I can't make stuff up for this column, but I'll try to make my headlines "grabbers," inject a little snarky irony, and keep the items entertaining.

So far, I've posted three items this week:

Oversharing Ashton unapologetic about exposing overexposed Demi

NFL star Plaxico Burress indicted for shooting himself

Nic Cage, Screech in tax trouble

I was once a promising writer/editor for serious news outlets, but now I write about Demi Moore's ass (and also her butt)...

So, even if you don't care about celebrities, please subscribe to my RSS feed, because I need the money...

The Best of BLOG!: The Glory Stompers

Originally posted 2 November 2007

Act One: Contains Spoilers

If it's one thing I can't stand, it's a movie review that gives away the entire plot. That said, the beauty of 1968's The Glory Stompers is not in the tale, but in the telling. Notably, in the dialogue, and in the wild, over-the-top performance of Dennis Hopper.

Hopper's portrayal of Chino, leader of outlaw biker gang the Black Souls, is a performance that informed every performance that followed, from Billy in Easy Rider to the Harlequin in Apocalypse Now to Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. It's a blueprint for a style of acting best characterized as "Hopperese"

Our story begins with a star-crossed couple whose relationship engenders the drama that is about to unfold. Darryl (Jody McCrea) is a member in good standing of The Glory Stompers motorcycle club and Chris (Chris Noel of Wild, Wild Winter) is his long-suffering girlfriend.

Darryl and Chris are having issues. "I want to be more than just a Stompers girl," Chris laments. As far as she's concerned, the Stompers are just a bunch of "over-age juvenile delinquents."

Darryl tries to explain, "Chris, you don't understand, they're my friends. They're like family."

"Some family."

Darryl tries to hip her on the upside of the biker lifestyle: "Don't you see? They're free. No hassles, no nine to fives..."

But she remains unmoved.

Enter the Black Souls. Hopper and company glide in on their two-wheel ponies to disrupt the proceedings. Following a cryptic hand signal from their fearless leader, the Black Souls crash the Stompers' party. Hopper, as Chino, wastes no time in menacing the female lead.

"Leave me alone," She pleads.

"Hey, baby, like I just want to, you know, dance with you, baby."

Darryl intevenes. "Leave her alone."

Chino replies, "Hey, man, you just had to tell me she was taken, man. You don't have to get physical with me."

"I don't want you to touch her again."

Chino can't believe this clod, who played "Bonehead" in many a beach party picture, is playing the tough guy. "This cat is obviously suicidal, man."

When Darryl and Chris split the scene for a little private time, the Black Souls follow at a discreet distance. Just when Chris is starting to see things Darryl's way, the Black Souls break up their romantic rendezvous with biker-type mayhem and lashings of the good old ultra-violence. After "Magoo" puts a large dent in Darryl's skull with a tire iron, it looks like the Black Souls' fun and games have taken a detour that leads straight to the gas chamber. "It's murder, baby," surmises Chino. But he's a man with a plan, as we soon discover.

Leaving Darryl for dead, the gang heads south, taking the girl with them. Making camp for the night, Chino explains it all for the benefit of his blonde-haired captive: "Here's the situation, baby. Like we accidentally snuffed out your old man. Now the only way out for me and my people is to either snuff you out, or to sell you, to some high-class Mexican friends of ours. Now, being good people, we decided to sell you."

But before the Black Souls go down to Mexico, they're going to blow off some steam at the love-in.

Act Two: Trouble at the Love-In

As the Black Souls prepare to make the scene at the love-in, Chino has to deal with his jealous girlfriend, and the rest of the Black Souls, who, with the exception of his brother "Clean-Cut," want to gang-rape their captive. Even "Mouth," the joker of the bunch, played semi-convincingly by Casey Kasem, of American Top 40 infamy, wants a piece of the action.

Chino sorts out his minions first by kicking Magoo's ass, then telling the gang, "You see this little doll here? She ain't no mama, man. She ain't no mama. Now, if any of you dudes want to hassle, just turn it on. Just turn it on!"

Since they're are no takers, Chino puts Clean-Cut in charge of guarding Chris, and heads down to the love-in with the rest of the gang.

Meanwhile, Darryl has arisen from his braining at the hands of the Black Souls, in a scene laden with Christian symbolism. He hits the road in search of his chick, enlisting the aid of Smiley, a former Stomper, played by a bloated Jock Mahoney (Tarzan's Three Challenges). Smiley hips him to the probable whereabouts of Chris and the Black Souls, and Darryl roars off to get revenge, and salvage his relationship.

At the love-in, Chino and his pals cut loose with the other swingers, including hippie chicks in body paint, and even a few Glory Stompers, unaware of the plight of their brother Darryl and his biker babe.

Darryl gets to the party a little after dawn the following morning, missing the Black Souls by an hour or so. He assembles a small posse, and rides off to give Chino his comeuppance.

Act Three: Rumble at Spahn Ranch

The final act of our drama follows the tried-and-true formula of many a Western, as the lovingly photographed California highways become a collision course where the good guys meet the bad guys in the final showdown. Not wanting to completely ruin the movie for you, o loyal readers, I will just provide a few highlights:

Chino's biker mama attempts to make up with her man after she's earned his disapproval by trying to stick a blade into the kidnapee, prompting Chino to ask her, "What are ya, knife-happy?"

She snuggles next to her man as he blows a joint, offering up her lush charms. Chino gives her the brush, telling her, "Hey, baby, I just want to get loaded."

"Chino, get loaded later."

"Get loaded later? What does that mean?" A brilliant retort, not to mention Hopper's personal credo for much of the next two decades.

In the final reel, the body count is three, all of 'em Black Souls, natch, and two of 'em Black Soul on Black Soul crimes.

This is my favorite biker movie of all time, getting the edge over The Wild Angels and even Easy Rider, which was more than just a genre film, anyway. Extra points are scored by The Glory Stompers fuzz-guitar soundtrack, performed by none other than Davie Allan and the Arrows.

The film was released on videocassette in the late '80s, but I nominate it for a deluxe DVD reissue, with commentary by Hopper, who actually directed much of the movie, and maybe Casey Kasem.

The Nightcrawlers: Cracking the Egg DVD

I have copies of the Nightcrawlers documentary, Cracking the Egg, on DVD for sale at The Florida Rocks Again! Online Superstore. $19.99 plus $5.98 shipping Proceeds go directly to the filmmaker, Kelly Rouse (daughter of the Nightcrawlers' Robbie Rouse).

Keith Moon Was Here

About ten years ago, filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Straight to Hell) was commissioned to write a screenplay based on the life of Keith Moon, the Who's legendary drummer and destroyer of hotel rooms.

From AlexCox.com: "Co-written by me and Tod [Davies] for American and London-based producers. The life of Keith Moon, whose antagonist we decided should be Peter Sellers. Sellers first appears as a giant spider, then as himself, then as Harry Nilsson, in whose London apartment rock stars invariably die. Supporting cast includes the other members of The Who, The Beatles, and Steve McQueen. Of all the scripts the two of us wrote together, this is the best."

In an interview with the Austin Decider, Cox describes why the film wasn't made:

"I think Roger Daltrey was the executive producer, and so maybe it didn’t fit his recollection of events or vision of the story [Daltrey is also portrayed as a bit of a wanker in the script] ...I think that the people who wanted to make the film were expecting more of a mainstream biopic — which is really hard, to make a guy like that sympathetic. I mean, the guy’s a serial wife beater, you know? It’s really hard to make a guy like that conventionally sympathetic."

Here's the screenplay for Keith Moon Was Here, which, despite a few anachronisms and other minor inaccuracies, would have made a great film, especially with someone like Colin Farrell in the part (and not Mike Myers, who was long rumored to be playing Moon):

http://www.alexcox.com/pdfs/MOON_1.pdf

"The Oliver Reed Film Festival" Blog

The Oliver Reed Film Festival at OllieFilms.blogspot.com

As anyone familiar with me or the BLOG! can easily tell, I'm a big fan of the late British film actor Oliver Reed, who is a cult hero in the UK, but relatively obscure in the states. My wife is mystified by my fascination with the "creepy" Reed, is "creeped out" by his films, and thinks I'm "gay" for "some dead actor."

But then, one must consider the fact that she doesn't drink.

In the ten years since his death in a Maltese pub, Reed's legend has grown, making him an icon of the ladmags, due largely to his alcohol-fueled misbehavior on British chat shows in the twilight of his career. Whether he was busking "Wild One" or snogging lesbian feminist Kate Millet and telling her, "I've had more fights in pubs than you've had hot dinners," the self-proclaimed "Mr. England" was always good for a laugh.

So I dig Ollie on two levels: first and foremost, for the films, and secondly as a negative role model. If I'm having a pint or two, I find myself channeling my inner Oliver Reed, but not to the point of getting into head-butting contests or anything like that.

Over the years, I've written a number of pieces about Ollie's movies, so now all of my essays, old and new, are being collected in The Oliver Reed Film Film Festival at OllieFilms.blogspot.com, a new blog that focuses on the filmography, the actor more than the drinker. Well, actually, in Oliver's case, the two are more or less inseparable.

If you dig the essays and want to see the films, please visit The Oliver Reed Store for DVDs of Ollie's Greatest Hits.

For your listening pleasure, check out The Mal Thursday Show #6, a tribute to The Girl-Getters (a/k/a The System), with cool sound clips and the rockin' sounds of various British and American beat groups.

David Carradine (1936-2009)

David Carradine died in an apparent suicide yesterday. I am a fan of his work, particularly his '70s heyday, when he made Bound for Glory, The Long Riders, and Death Race 2000, and starred as Kwai Chang Cain in the TV series "Kung Fu." Having read a couple of his memoirs, Endless Highway and The Kill Bill Diary, I kind of feel like I knew the guy.

I have a particular fondness for his film Americana, a labor of love based on Henry Morton Robinson's novel The Perfect Round, filmed in 1973 and finally completed in 1982. Carradine directed and played the lead, opposite Barbara Hershey, his wife at the time. I later reviewed it for Viewpoints.com, and you can read that review HERE.

In his writings, Carradine came off as a proud man, a seeker, an optimist, and a bit of a horndog. Not the kind of a dude who'd hang himself in a Bangkok hotel room.

He's the only one who knows and he isn't talking.

S. Darko

Here's an expanded version of a review of S. Darko on which I collaborated with my wife Evie, who is an administrator/newsgatherer for the Twilighters Anonymous site (she got a screener of the movie because it features Jackson Rathbone, one of the teenage vampires in the Twilight films):

S. Darko is sort of the cinematic equivalent of a red-headed stepchild, the direct-to-video sequel to the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko, writer/director Richard Kelly’s visionary tale of high school, time travel, and alternate universes. Kelly had nothing to do with this belated follow-up to a film which really didn’t set itself up for a sequel in any way, shape, or form.

Since Donnie got obliterated by a falling jet engine at the end of that film, the sequel focuses on his little sister Samantha, played by Daveigh Chase, reprising her role from the original film. Chase is probably best known for playing Rhonda on “Big Love” and also voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stich. She certainly has grown up since her days in Sparkle Motion. She is a fine young actress, but can’t do much with lines like “Remember the future…”

The film is set in 1995, seven years after Donnie’s death. The plot, such as it is, involves Samantha and her friend Corey going on a road trip to escape the boredom of their lives, only to get stuck in a one-horse town in the Utah desert. There they encounter sly hipster Randy, played by Ed Westwick (Chuck on “Gossip Girl”,) and shy bookworm Jeremy, played by Jackson Rathbone of Twilight fame. Rathbone’s performance, which ranges from winningly boyish to manically aggressive, is a highlight of the film, as is John Hawkes’s portrayal of a creepy motel manager. Hawkes is always good, whether he's playing Starr in "Deadwood," Kenny's brother in "Eastbound and Down," or the convenience store clerk in From Dusk Till Dawn. There’s also a guy named Iraq Jack, played in full-on loony mode by James Lafferty, and a strange, scar-faced woman played by Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls, “Saved by the Bell”).

Director Chris Fisher and screenwriter Nathan Atkins do get some of the details right, borrowing liberally from the source material without ultimately adding much to the mythology. Hardcore fans of the original will no doubt find fault with S. Darko’s deviations from the formula, while those who haven’t seen the original will find themselves scratching their heads, and wondering just what the hell is going on.

Paramount Theatre's Summer 2009 Film Classics

Paramount Theatre's Summer 2009 Film Classics series kicks off this weekend with Casablanca and From Here to Eternity, and continues all summer long with a nice program featuring new prints, restored foreign classics, 70mm spectaculars, and more. Programs generally include a killer double feature and a classic Warner Brothers cartoon.

Other highlights include Buster Keaton's The General with musical acccompaniment by Guy Forsyth (May 28), a tribute to Paul Newman (July 5-12), and "Saluting the '70s" (July 14-22).

For more information, go to austintheatre.org.

Attack of the Giant Leeches

When I was in Florida last week, I got to watch old episodes of my movie series Surreal Cinema on Channel 22 in St. Augustine. The 11:00 slot on Friday night was the steamy, depraved low-budget swamp horror, Attack of the Giant Leeches. Here’s the script for that episode, later adapted into a movie review on Viewpoints.com.

JM Dobies here, a/k/a TV’s Michael West, serving up another heapin’ helping of celluloid slop cooked up in a bubblin' black cauldron forged from used motorcycle parts, pawnshop shotguns, and melted down pieces of movie projectors salvaged from closed-down drive-ins and condemned all-night grindhouses. The posters for this movie promised "crawling horror" and "massive blood sucking monsters" and asked, "What was the terrible power of the demons of the swamp"? For the answer to that and many other loaded questions, I submite for your approval Attack of the Giant Leeches from 1959, directed by Bernard L. Kowalski.

This movie is set in the swamps of Florida, even though it was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, with the LA County Arboretum and Botanical Garden filling in for the Everglades. And since it was made by a bunch of Hollywood city slickers, the stereotypes fly thick and fast: you got your gator-poachin', shine-drinkin' no-count, your round-heeled, backwoods tramp married to a profusely sweating fat slob, and of course, your beefy, brawny, and brain-dead swamp stud who's a-carryin' on with Jezebel behind the fat man's back. You can call 'em cliches if you wants to, but I calls 'em what they is: Leech food. Giant Leech food. Now speaking of them pesky giant leeches, they rank among the hokiest monsters in the history of monster movies, looking nothing like leeches and basically resembling what they are: guys in glad bags with big old octopus tentacles on 'em. Keep an eye out for the scuba tanks on their backs. It'll only add to the enjoyment as you withstand the puckered, sucking maelstrom that is Attack of the Giant Leeches.

In case you're wondering where you've seen the guy who plays moonshine-swillin' otter hunter Lem Hunter, I'm a gonna tell ya. It's none other than George Cisar, who you may remember from his performance as travelling salesman Joe Flake, another guy with a fondness for demon alcohol, in the all-time classic Billy the Kid vs. Dracula. You may also recognize him from his recurring role as Cyrus Tankersley on the TV series Mayberry R.F.D., which was essentially The Andy Griffith Show without Andy Griffith or Don Knotts. In other words, pretty much useless, although it did have some nice bits with Goober. There you have it, in a nutshell, the highlights of the career of George Cisar, whose character Lem Sawyer is the first person to encounter the Giant Leeches of the title.

The director, Bernard L. Kowalski, made his bones making such Grade Z flicks as Hot Car Girl, Night of the Blood Beast, Krakatoa, East of Java, and Women in Chains, but it was in television that he made his fortune. In addition to directing episodes of such shows as Richard Diamond, Private Eye, Columbo, Wild Wild West, and Baywatch Nights, he also had a piece of the action on the hit series Baretta and Mission: Impossible, so he presumably cashed in bigtime when the latter became a massive movie franchise. For Bernie's sake, let's hope he held on to his piece of that show.

The script for Attack of the Giant Leeches was written by tough guy character actor Leo Gordon, who started out as an actual tough guy, doing a stretch in San Quentin for armed robbery, before going on to play one on screen. As an actor, he appeared in such freaky flicks as Lure of the Swamp, Kitten with a Whip, and I Hate Your Guts. In addition to his brilliant screenplay for Attack of the Giant Leeches, Gordon also wrote the Corman quickies The Wasp Woman, The Cry Baby Killer, and The Terror, on which he collaborated with Jack Hill, the mad maestro behind Spider Baby.

Our hero, the poacher-hatin' game warden Steve Benton, is played by Ken Clark, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Stewpot in the 1958 musical South Pacific. But that movie was the exception rather than the rule when it came to Clark's resume: more typical were his roles in 12 to the Moon, On the Threshold of Space, and the junk he made in Italy during the '60s, including Hercules Against the Mongols, Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness, and Hercules Meets GenghisS Khan in Hell, as well as the barrel-scraping James Bond knock-offs Operation Istanbul and Mission Bloody Mary, in which he portrayed Dick Malloy, agent 077. The same pattern repeats itself with the rest of the cast.

Yvette Vickers, who plays the no-good cheatin' Liz Walker, also appeared in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Juvenile Jungle, and Reform School Girl. Bruno VeSota, who plays her clueless husband Dave, was also in Creature of the Walking Dead, Daddy-O, The Choppers, Hell’s Angels on Wheels, and The Wild World of Batwoman. VeSota was also something of a triple threat, having written and directed 1954's The Female Jungle, one of Jayne Mansfield's earliest films, as well as directing Invasion of the Star Creatures and The Brain Eaters.

Released in 1959, Attack of the Giant Leeches somehow lost out to Ben Hur for Best Picture at the Oscars that year. Actually, it did get a Golden Globe as Bruno VeSota won for Best Suicide by a fat guy in a supporting role in a monster movie. In his acceptance speech, Bruno thanked Roger Corman, the Hollywood Foreign Press, his agent, his mom, and, last but not least, the Giant Leeches.

Surreal Cinema Easter Marathon

A big thanks to my man Derrek Dembeck at WQXT Channel 22 in St. Augustine for running seven episodes from my two-year run as host of Surreal Cinema over Easter Weekend, starting with a double bill of The Monitors and Attack of the Giant Leeches on Friday night and leading up to an Easter Sunday marathon of The Black Room, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott & Costello Go to Mars, and Spider Baby.

I hadn't seen the show since I blew town, and it was a gas to dig it once again while visiting the Oldest City.

Roll it, Clyde!

Nightcrawlers Documentary at 2009 Florida Film Festival

Cracking the Egg, Kelly Rouse's boss documentary about the legendary Daytona Beach garage band The Nightcrawlers (of which her dad Robbie was a member) will be screened Friday April 3rd at the 2009 Florida Film Festival.

If you can't make it to Orlando for the screening, you can get the DVD from The Florida Rocks Again! Online Superstore.

Harold and Maude

Cult film connoisseur that I am, it amazes me that I had never seen Harold and Maude until last night. Directed by Hal Ashby from a script by Colin Higgins (based on his master's thesis), and starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in the title roles, this much-beloved film somehow escaped me for the last 38 years. I'd seen bits of it on cable, but never the whole thing.

I loved it. Made me cry, damn it.

I even loved the Cat Stevens soundtrack, and I stopped listening to Cat Stevens sometime around 1977, when I turned my back on singer-songwriters in favor of punkish and/or laddish sounds. Seeing the film makes me want to put together my own version of a soundtrack album, as one was never released (most of the songs can be found on Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon, or whatever the hell that record was called).

So, if you've never seen the film, I urge you to do so. If you have, then you might want to check out the original screenplay and Colin Higgins's novelization thereof.

Also, when I did a search to find out whether or not that was Tom Skerrit playing the motorcycle cop (it was, under the pseudonym M. Borman), I came across Whitney Matheson's "Pop Candy" piece about the film from a few years back.

"Harold, everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much."

Words to live by. God knows I have...

What Is Poverty?

Leonard Cohen is starting his tour in Austin

And I can't even think of going

The New York Dolls are playing South By Southwest

And a badge is out of the budget

The Alamo beckons, with a free screening

Of The Amazing Mr. No-Legs

But I still can't afford it

Right now I'm working at a loss

Living in the land of negative cash flow

It's 85 degrees ands not even March

AC's out of the question

The future's next week, baby

Get on with it

Top Ten Car Movies

For the full review, visit Viewpoints.com.

Since the automobile and motion pictures were invented right around the same time, cars and movies have had a long-standing relationship. While there have been movies that have featured cool cars (American Graffiti, Munster Go Home) and great car chases (Bullit, The French Connection, The Seven Ups), I have limited this list of my Top Ten Car Movies to only those films where cars are the main subject matter.

10. Cars (2006): Here's one for the kiddies that's enjoyable for all ages. Another gem from the geniuses at Pixar, all about a hot-shot racing car named Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, who learns the inevitable life lesson. Other voices are provided by Paul Newman, Michael Keaton, Richard Petty, Cheech Marin, and Larry the Cable Guy. Disney Home Video.

9. Duel (1971): Steven Spielberg's film of Richard Matheson's creepy short story about a man (Dennis Weaver) stalked by a killer 18-wheeler. A lot better than it sounds, it was originally produced as a made-for-television movie, but was released theatrically overseas. Universal Home Entertainment.

8. Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988): Francis Ford Coppola directed this true story about Preston Tucker, played with gusto by Jeff Bridges, an automotive genius whose revolutionary automobiles were way ahead of their time. Unfortunately, the dream of the title is crushed by the Big Three automakers (now reaping the whirlwind, by the way) and the US government. Paramount Home Video.

7. Le Mans (1971): Steve McQueen plays Michael Delaney, who competes in the gruelling, 24 hour race through the French countryside. Almost documentary-like in its approach, the film features some mind-blowing footage from the actual race, and a laconic performance from the iconic McQueen. Paramount Home Video.

6. Grand Prix (1966): James Garner stars as a world-weary race car driver who attempts to make a comeback after falling from grace. John Frankenheimer captures the feel of being behind the wheel of a formula one racer travelling at over 160 miles an hour with some way-ahead-of-its-time camera techniques, and also captures a bygone era when drivers lived hard and drove harder. While the soap opera elements tend to slow things down a bit, the driving sequences more than make up for it. With Yves Montand, Eva Marie Saint, Toshiro Mifune, and French chanteuse Francoise Hardy. Originally presented in Cinerama. MGM Home Video.


5. Death Race 2000 (1975): Director Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul) helmed this futuristic exploitation satire about a cross country race where drivers score points for running down as many people as possible. David Carradine stars as champion death racer "Frankenstein," with Sylvester Stallione as his nemesis Machine Gun Joe, the lovely Simone Griffith as his love interest, and the Real Don Steele as the play-by-play announcer. Continuing an unfortunate theme, this one was also the subject of a lesser remake, starring Jason Statham, in 2008.

4. Pit Stop a/k/a The Winner (1969): "Flesh Against Steel! Raw Guts for Glory!" Writer/director Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Coffy) scores with this story of a drag racer named Rick Bowman, played by Dick Davalos (best known for playing James Dean's brother in East of Eden), who is recruited to drive in "figure eight" races, a totally insane (and real) form of car racing. This film is highly underrated, having been consigned to the bottom half of double bills when it was released, due to the fact that black & white films had gone out of fashion, but deserves a greater reputation, as it is one of the best films of its kind. Hill filmed the mayhem up close and personal, capturing many real crashes, and gets some fine performances out of his cast, which also includes veteran character actor Brian Donlevy, Ellen Burstyn (here billed as Ellen McRae), and Spider Baby vets Beverly Washburn and Sid Haig (outstanding as Bowman's mentally unhinged rival). The DVD ediion from Anchor Bay is now out of print, but can be had easily enough.

3. Vanishing Point (1971): Barry Newman is Kowalski, who takes a job delivering a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. He bets that he can make the delivery in 15 hours or less, which inevitably leads to unwanted attention from Johnny Law. A spectacular chase, and much vehicular mayhem, ensues. Co-starring Cleavon Little as Super Soul, a blind radio personality with a police scanner who helps him avoid the heat, and mythologizes him for his listeners as "The Last Free Man on Earth." Directed by Richard C. Sarafian, and remade (very, very badly) in 1997. Available on DVD from Fox Entertainment.

2. Gone in Sixty Seconds (1974): Written, produced, directed by, and starring H.B. Halicki, this automotive orgy boasted "93 cars destroyed in the most incredible chase ever filmed." A drive-in classic and an example of true independent cinema: Halicki even distributed the film himself. Sadly, he was killed in 1989 while filming the sequel when a stunt went horribly wrong. Highly superior to the big budget remake of a few year back starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie, but unfortunately the DVD release of the original is marred by a re-recorded soundtrack.

1. Two Lane Blacktop (1971): Director Monte Hellman's existential road movie stars musicians James Taylor as The Driver and Dennis Wilson as The Mechanic, who make their living drag racing in their primer-grey '55 Chevy. Into their insular world comes The Girl (Laurie Bird), who hitches a ride with them, and G.T.O. (the great Warren Oates), who challenges them to a cross-country race for pink slips. One of the greatest films of the '70s, featuring incredible widescreen cinematography, and a great script from Rudolph Wurlitzer (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Candy Mountain). With Harry Dean Stanton. Available on DVD from the Criterion Collection.

Happy Birthday, Ollie!

Today is Oliver Reed's birthday. He would have been 71 years old, had he not died ten years ago in that pub in Malta.

One of my pipe dreams is to own a taproom/microbrewery and call it's Ollie's Pub. Given that a good bar is basically recession-proof, maybe that's not such a bad idea...

Cheers, Ollie!

Two for the Revolutionary Road

In the middle of a particularly bad day at work, I made a command decision to take a few hours of paid time off to cut my losses for the day and take in a movie. I decided to see a matinee of Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes's film adaptation of the Richard Yates novel. Set in the mid-'50s, it tells the story of the Wheelers, who meet as young bohos in Greenwich Village, marry, and find themselves stuck in a rut seven years later. Frank (DiCaprio) has a deadening job at Knox Business Machines, where he spends his days in a cubicle doing meaningless tasks; April (Winslet) decides that they should move to Paris and rediscover their purpose in life.

And that's when things begin to unravel.

While I was watching the movie, I was reminded of another film, 1967's Two for the Road, directed by Stanley Donen, written by Frederick Raphael (Darling, Eyes Wide Shut), and starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. I had just seen it again on the Fox Movie Channel a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed it immensely (my wife, on the other hand, hated it).

While both films deal with marital difficulties, and contain many parallels, they reach entirely different conclusions. While I won't give away the ending of Revolutionary Road, I will say that Two for the Road is ultimately much more an affirmation of marriage. The love between Mark and Joanna Wallace, unlike Frank and April Wheeler's, ultimately keeps them together, because they need each other and genuinely care for one another, despite all the fights and tit-for-tat infidelities.

I recommend both films highly, although Two for the Road is definitely the better date movie for marrieds; Revolutionary Road is best seen without your spouse.