Sunday, June 4, 2017

Junesploitation Day 4: Cars!

If you're going to race with the devil, you've got to be fast as Hell!

78 comments:

  1. The Car (1977)

    This one really reminds you of what a dangerous weapon a car can be in the wrong hands. Or no hands. Like a demon possessed car. That's bad.

    Definitely a blatant Jaws knock off, but I liked this one! I think what really impressed me about it is how much real and serious weight death had. It really matters when the Car kills someone. There is one very serious death towards the end that really hit me hard. I honestly wish it didn't happen, but I can't deny that it raised the stakes. The characters were pretty great as well. James Brolin was a badass and a great guy, and Kathleen Lloyd was cute and spunky.

    Best dialogue:
    "Do you think it's normal for a 13 year old boy to imagine his teacher naked?"
    "Absolutely."

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    1. Beaten! :-P

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    2. I tried to get a copy of this but it did not arrive in time. I look forward to catching up with this

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    3. Trying to beat J. M for first comment becomes a staple of Junesploitain each year! Well not me as I kind of think it might be unfair due to time difference. We're not on even keel buddy :)

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    4. Lindsay, it would definitely also work for Cops day!

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  2. Robert Stevenson's THE LOVE BUG (1968, 108 min.) on DVD.

    DING! DING! DING! WINNAH, WINNAH! :-)

    Most Junesploitation! flicks tend to be low-budget labors of love by passionate filmmakers/actors. But you know what's an adequate substitute for passion? A shitload of money, which is what Disney spent in '68 to convince the world that a VW Beetle could be a sentient being and speed demon. You will believe during the studio-set scenes (including some cool matte paintings of foggy San Francisco at night) that selfish race car driver Jim (Dean Jones) could insult and hurt Herbie (nicknamed after co-star Buddy Hackett's nightclub act) to the point the latter would attempt to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Try explaining car suicide to your seven-year-old niece while her mother shoots daggers at you for exposing her kid to this 'G' rated Disney flick. :-D

    "The Love Bug" earns its Junesploitation! spot during the many California racing scenes in which stuntmen, drivers and filmmakers without CG assistance sell the illusion that a Beetle could outrun racing beasts, skip on water like a stone and/or come in first AND third place during a race. Since it's all played for laughs it's easy to tolerate the sped-up film and editing tricks, which don't take away from the parade of 60's car porn (racing models from Porsche, Bentley, Rolls Royce, etc.) that somehow end up eating Herbie's dust. David Tomlinson ("Mary Poppins") steals the movie as Thorndyke, a cheating bastard of an antagonist who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Beetle (MUSTACHE-TWIRLING-SPLOITATION!). Even within its kid-entertaining fantasy, "The Love Bug" never loses sight of the human element during the races to give the predictable outcomes a healthy dose of pathos and laughs (two words: Irish coffee :-P ). Highly recommended.

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  3. Flatbed Annie & Sweetiepie: Lady Truckers 1979

    Annie Potts and Kim Darby. Janine from Ghostbusters teaching Lane Meyer's mom from Better Off Dead how to drive 18-wheelers. Yeah it's a little slow paced at times and there isn't that much action. It does have some lowriders though, plus Harry Dean Stanton, and Darby and Potts are charming as hell. It's also free on Amazon Prime which doesn't hurt.

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    1. Bonus movie: Death Proof (2007)

      Until this point I had only ever watched Death Proof as a part of Grindhouse so this is my first viewing of the extended version. The extra stuff doesn't really make the movie better or worse of course, but I'd been in the mood to revisit this anyway and it fits in well with the theme for my Junesploitation picks. Plus it has Patrick's girlfriend Zoƫ Bell in it which also makes me want to slot Angel of Death into a Free Space later as well.

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  4. Race With The Devil (1975)

    "If you're going to race with the devil, you've got to be as fast as Hell!"

    snap.

    Peter Fonda and Hot Lips! Whats not to love?.
    Good suspense build through out, with a solid car chase third act. Still not sure why they made such a point of establishing Fonda as a dirt bike champion when it didnt play into the final chase. But its hard to complain when you get an RV shotgun shoot out.

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    1. Probably a not to Peter's "Easy Rider" screen persona.

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    2. NOD! A nod to Peter Fonda's "ER" biker character. Oh, it's too early. :-)

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    3. Love this one. Came in a pack with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, which I also highly recommend

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  5. Crash (1996)

    So racism is bad right? As I write this, I realise it's a terrible joke.

    This is a movie I am still trying to process even after hours after I watched it.

    The more I watch David Cronenburg the more he is coming one of my favourite directors. I say this with more Cronenburg movies to see, but I love how he takes an idea and takes it to the enth degree . People who are sexually aroused by car crashes, mixing sex, death, machanics, pain and yeah it goes so many ways there. Leg Wound.

    For me, this feels like the most dangrous Cronenburg movie I have seen so far. And this had more to do with the fact this is a movie that has Peak James Spader, Rosanna Arquette and Holly Hunter, and this amount of beautiful hotness in this context made me incrediably uncomfortable. It is a movie I will be processing for a while.

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    1. Us Canadians may have Justin Beiber, Celine Dion, and ketchup chips, but Cronenberg will always be Canada's golden jewel.

      He really is Canada's sweetheart.

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    2. NoMeansNo were/are Canada's finest band.

      Viva la Cronenberg. Long live the new flesh.

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    3. "Justin Beiber, Celine Dion, and ketchup chips"...one of these things is not like the others.

      I'm still processing Crash after watching it last Junesploitation, but I really liked it.

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  6. White Lightning (1973, dir. Joseph Sargent)

    Took a little head start on tomorrow...

    Maybe I wasn't in the right mood today, but this romp about bootleggers and a corrupt small-town sheriff didn't really strike my fancy. Burt is pretty great and the car chases are exciting, but the story didn't grab me at all.

    On the plus side, I'm a big fan of the Kill Bill soundtrack albums, and now I know where this track is originally from.

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    1. Bonus: The Twilight Zone S1E16: The Hitch-Hiker (1960, dir. Alvin Ganzer)

      A young woman is driving cross-county heading west and keeps seeing the same mysterious man hitchhiking by the side of the road over and over again. A reliably eerie tale from Rod Serling.

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  7. Xtro 1982

    Its the best Junesplotation movie ever and there are cars in it

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    1. Oh, come on now! :-D Why don't you rename the site 'Xtro This Movie' and/or change the background to a pic from the movie for the rest of the month while you're at it? ;-)

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    2. Yeah, Dennis is putting himself in danger of becoming the Fthismovie equivalent of Ray J. Johnson.

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    3. If I did not put a mention it now and then you would all miss me? I hope...
      XthisMovie.net is kinda catchy too though it sounds like a porn site, great idea JM, I love it,
      Much love back at ya all on Xtrosploatation month, I mean Junesploatation
      Enjoy

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    4. Wait, does that have cars? Oh snap it counts!

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  8. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

    Awsome car chase movie with Peter Fonda and Susan George. You get to hear the police chief tell a helicopter driver "I want them stopped and I don't give a good god damn if you crash right into them". Good for any car chase movie lovers.

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  9. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

    HB Palicki dreamed of filming the world’s longest car chase, and succeeded. In my mind’s eye I imagine him realizing to his dismay that there needed to be some kind of “movie” that justified the 40-minute chase. The first 15 minutes of the film is mostly B-roll, with the actors reading the script as a voiceover. As a result, much of the film is needlessly confusing. It doesn’t help that many of the male leads have a bushy mustache and massive muttonchop sideburns, so it’s hard to tell which is which. The exception is Palicki himself, except when he disguises himself with – a big bushy mustache and massive muttonchop sideburns. Of course, the real star of the movie is “Eleanor,” a 1971 Mustang Sportsroof (represented in the film as being a 1973 model). Poor Eleanor gets the snot beaten out of her over the course of the climactic chase, only to be unceremoniously dumped by Palicki at the very end. Men!

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    1. that 45 minutes car chase is fascinating to watch. it's only an excuse to show awesome car stunts. you remove any of the 'speaking' part and you get the same feeling out of the picture. and i love the ending

      neverthless, i was very happy when i got the blu-ray

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  10. Duel (1971, dir. Steven Spielberg) on YouTube Movies

    A masterpiece of storytelling. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

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    1. Great choice Zach! I think it says a lot when I can visualise just love some of the shots of that film just by reading the title :)

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  11. WHEELS OF FIRE (1985)
    Low budget foreign Mad Max rip-off. The plot got away from me real quick, so I have no idea who these characters are or why they’re all fighting. The good news is this movie’s pretty much all fast-paced action, with fighting or car chases in nearly every scene. The cherry on top is the beautifully bad dubbing, resulting line after line of unintentionally hilarious dialogue. It’s a #junesploitation miracle!

    HERBIE FULLY LOADED (2005)
    Inoffensive Disney fluff. Herbie (a.k.a. The Love Bug) is saved from the scrapyard and enters the world of stock car racing. It’s a glimpse of the movie star Lindsay Lohan could have been if not for her, uh, personal troubles. Turning Herbie’s headlights into CGI animated eyes was a misstep, a case of filmmakers worried we won’t “get it.” Still, the movie’s so good-natured and well-meaning it won me over.

    THE AMBULANCE (1990)
    Look at this cast: Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Red Buttons, Meghan Gallagher and Stan “The Man” Lee! There’s this mysterious ambulance running around NYC kidnapping people. Roberts’ love interest is abducted by the ambulance and he investigates. Stan Lee plays himself. With all the comic book talk, outrageous early ‘90s fashion, and a goofball sci-fi/horror plot, I’m surprised this isn’t a more well-known cult flick.

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  12. Christine (1983) first time

    Directed with Carpenter's usual confidence, but it's likely his worst entry of the 80s. It makes a very strange decision to sideline the main character for the entire second act with a casual catastrophic neck injury. But, good christ, what a fuckin' car.

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    1. I wouldn't say 'worst'. I'd say 'least awesome'

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    2. Way to keep the tank half full Daniel!

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    3. I really like Christine! Here is me and the awesome Albert Muller ranting about why :)
      http://www.outsidetheframe.co.uk/?p=804

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    4. Worse only in the sense that something has to be the worst, bearing in mind that I've never seen Starman. And I do like it more than Escape from New York (don't tell Patrick or JB). It's all relative.

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    5. Starman is a great movie, worth watching.

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  13. Repo Man (1984, dir. Alex Cox)

    What the hell did I just watch? Repo Man is funny, bizarre, and the reason why I love movies. I have no words.

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    1. Bonus: The Twilight Zone S2E14: The Whole Truth (1961, dir. James Sheldon)

      These outright comedy episodes aren't really prime Twilight Zone. And it doesn't help that it's one of the few episodes shot on video.

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  14. Nobody watching Maximum Overdrive?! Btw 118 days til dracu-doug

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  15. Ronin (1998)

    At one point, while having a bullet removed from his side, Robert De Niro mentions that he once removed a guy's appendix with a grapefruit spoon. Now I kind of want to see that movie. That being said, this was a good one, full of intrigue, cool characters/dialogue, and one hell of a car chase.

    Normally I tend to mentally check out during car chases, but this one is kinetic and exciting and very well staged. I particularly like how long it goes on before Stellan Skarsgaard decides to put on his seat belt. This was a bit of a cheat for today (it's not really about the cars) but I'm glad I revisited it, it's a fun movie with plenty of macho swagger to spare. Well worth a look.

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  16. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

    Mad Max meets the Wicker Man? Yes please.

    I was genuinely surprised by how good this movie was. Each performance was solid, the characters were interesting, and the story was so batshit that I was having a lot of fun. The movie also goes to some seriously dark places which I was shocked by. The opening scene, which starts out as a happy go lucky commercial for cigarettes and gum that ends in a horrific car accident, let's you know you're in for a wild ride.

    Apparently the producers weren't able to convince Corman to release this in the States and it's a shame this movie didn't get a wider audience. I would put this up there with Death Race 2000 (although it is a very different vibe) in terms of killer car movies.

    Apparently there was a musical theatre production of this in 1992 as well? Wow.

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  17. The Wraith (1986)

    Take a Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor add pre-Tiger Blood Charlie Sheen seeking out revenge on a gang of car thieves, Randy Quaid being serious, Clint Howard's funky hair, a killer '80s soundtrack and you have The Wraith. Thought it was the perfect choice with all the street racing battles. When Clint Howard shouts "You lose the race, you lose your car!", you know some serious business is about to go down. Not the greatest car movie ever made, but it's worth checking out for any '80s fan. Can't forget to mention there are two characters named Skank and Gutterboy. If that doesn't draw you in then I don't know what will.

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  18. Used Cars (1980)

    Where have you been all my life? (Kisses DVD)

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  19. Smokey and the Bandit (1977):

    Couldn't find Vanishing Point streaming anywhere, so I decided to start Burtsploitation early. This is one I've seen in clips and absorbed through pop culture osmosis without ever actually having sat through beginning to end.

    As Sterling Archer would say: "WOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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  20. The Transporter (2002, dir. Louis Leterrier & Corey Yuen)

    Great fight scenes, exciting car chases, non-stop action, The Stath and a hot girl. What more could you ask from an action movie?

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  21. Pit Stop (1969) first view

    Wow, what a treat. I've been wanting to watch this since Doug recommended it with a hearty "if you like figure 8 racing, this movie is for you".

    This movie has a ton of racing. Also a ton of scenes of guys working on cars. And some party scenes. All with a pretty kick ass blues/rock musical score. There's a thin plot squeezed in there to, but not so much to distract from the racing action. 5 out of 5 engine Reeves!

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    1. Engine revs. Also, Sig Haig steals the show, as far as acting goes.

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  22. Gator (1976, dir. Burt Reynolds) on Amazon Prime

    Like Rob DiChristino I got a head start on Burtsploitation! this evening. This one's known for the motorboat chase but there's just enough vehicular stunt work peppering the proceedings to satisfy today's theme. Burt directs the heck out of his debut feature, never allowing a single tone to dominate the proceedings - shit gets real real fast in the last 20 minutes. With some tighter editing this could have been a bona fide classic. Its a good, fun, and confident first film as it stands.

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  23. Need for Speed (2014) (First Time Viewing):
    I got what I wanted: real stunts. There are lots of real driving and flying stunts that are pretty cool. It also hilariously shows innocent bystanders getting into horrible accidents as a result of the racing. What I didn't want was 2 hours and 10 minutes of runtime. Cut this sucker down to 80 minutes tops and we'd be talking. I'd say watch it, but fast forward any time you don't see a car or Michael Keaton. #MyInboxIsWhiteHot

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    1. i kinda like that one too. i taught i was the only one i the world who tolerated it.

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    2. I dug it a lot. I thought it was a totally fun action flick. I never understood why everyone hated it so much.

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    3. Best video game-based movie ever? Yes. That's not high praise.

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  24. The Wraith (1986)

    Hell, with this score and soundtrack I'll pretty much watch anything.

    Luckily the film is also pretty fun! I'd say it's biggest misstep is Charlie Sheen, who is set up as the protagonist, really doesn't have much screentime. Hard to connect to him as our hero when we hardly spend any time with him. Still, I thought Randy Quiad killed it in a serious role, and Sherilyn Fenn is two tons of adorable.

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  25. Drive (2011)
    2011 in theaters I was bored to tears and Drive did not work or resonate for at me.

    Today, 6 years later, the film is mesmerizing and incredible. I'm finding that happen a lot lately with movies as they age. Or as I age.
    Either my growing maturity helps me appreciate elements that I couldn't see in my younger days OR my standards are lowering, OR my cynical nature is fading away. Either way I'm having more fun at the movies.

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  26. Genevieve 1953: Wacko! Jolly charming venture. This film is very plummy but quite racy considering it was 1953, with the implications of sex before marriage and a lot of obvious preludes to would - be sex scenes, which makes this fit more into Junesploitation than some might think when they first hear the accents haha.

    The film is not anything special really, but it is a bit of a lark :)-
    Dinah Sheridan however, is really something, wow. She is gorgeous. I don't think I would be preoccupied with cars if I was married to her, but some people have the strangest priorities! I am surprised I didn't know her as it seems just like the type of actress my grandparents would talk about, a British WW2 sweetheart. She is very charming and definitely makes this more fun.

    Overall, a happily spent 1 hour and 11 minutes.

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  27. Fender Bender (2016)

    Less car centric than I was anticipating but I liked this one quite a bit (although there is a pretty awesome car kill). A serial killer finds victims by crashing into their car and exchanging insurance info, short and sweet. The movie feels like a VHS you'd randomly pluck from the shelf at Adams blockbuster, it was co-produced by ChillerTV and Shout Factory so that's probably what they were going for. The killer has a classic costume, a needlessly weird weapon, and a neat car. Our protagonist is sadly a little underdeveloped but gets some awesome moments to shine. The soundtrack is pretty solid as well with some sweet sweet synth music. The movie is reminiscing of classic slashers but doesn't rely too much on nostalgia which is nice, some of the camera work in the film we're really unique and interesting too.

    All that being said I thought the ending was garbage, the movie had a chance to finish strong and continued on a little too long. Still it was a pleasant surprise!

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  28. Death Proof (2007)

    I gotta say, I didn't really like this one. In fact I didn't like it. I don't want to yuck anybody's yum, so I won't dwell too much on what I didn't like, but I thought the first half went on for too long, and even in the second half, there seemed to be long chunks of nothing happening. However, when there WAS stuff happening, it was So good and I had SO much fun, that I'm glad I watched it. The Zoe Bell and Co are hysterical and Kurt Russel is suitably creepy. Worth one watch for me.

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  29. The Wraith (1986)

    Well, I got Junesploitation and HDTGM homework outta the way at the same time. So, not a TOTAL waste of time.

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  30. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

    Classic noir, hard-boiled detective, damsels in distress, slightly ridiculous dialogue? Loved it, and there are some beautiful cars in it.

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  31. Dead End Drive-In (1986)

    Ozploitation! Ok, I'm in love. What a badass movie! In a future time of economic crisis and total government control, two young lovers visit a drive in where they learn the police are stealing people's car parts and keeping the owners prisoner there. It's a badass fun exploitation action/thriller, but it also has so much fascinating (and on the nose) political commentary on big government, racism, border control, and a whole lot else. It feels like a giant middle figure and I loved it! The actors are all terrific too.

    I also found it funny that one of the movies playing on the drive in screen is Turkey Shoot... the only other ozploitation film I've seen. Hey, same director!

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  32. Vanishing Point (1972) (UK cut)

    Great movie - more "artistic" than I was expecting, weaving the driver's story in with flashbacks throughout the car chase that basically rubs the duration of the movie. A lot of really good car action too. Glad to have finally watched this classic.

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  33. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

    "148 people live in the township of Paris and every one of them is a murderer"

    Bruce Spence should be in more movies. As soon as he turns up you know you're in the sweet Ozploitation zone.
    He doesnt have much to do here (he rarely does), but I would watch his movies all day.
    Besides Bruce, there's cars with spikes impaling people (person) and its trying to say something about families and psychological trauma.
    Solid

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  34. Vanishing Point (1971)
    Guess he dozed off at the wheel.




    I'm done.

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  35. The Wraith (1986)

    Sherilyn Fenn

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  36. T-Bird Gang (1959, dir. Richard Harbinger)
    Fun J.D. picture masquerading as a gangster picture, and misrepresented by its advertising as a racing picture. An incredibly low-level organized crime group (it's like six guys, and they rob houses and gas stations,) kill a guy's night watchman dad in a botched robbery, and he infiltrates their gang undercover to get revenge. The only justification for the title is that the gang's boss drives a white T-Bird. It's a stunningly representative piece of '50s crime filmmaking, and I can see it's fingerprints all over all the faux-Tarantino crime flicks of the '90s.

    Super Hybrid (2010, dir. Eric Valette)
    A long time ago, Chaybee sold this one to me hard. It didn't disappoint! Surprisingly competent for something in its budget range, and a pretty friggin' crazy concept once it gets fully revealed. Oded Fehr is terrible at playing a dick, however, and the lead actress looks like Conan O'Brien crossed with Moby. I'd say it's at about the same exact level of quality as The Relic. :) I didn't recognize him by name, but I was surprised that this was directed by the same French-Canadian dude who directed Malefique and the One Missed Call remake.

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  37. Dead End Drive-In (1986)

    Australia looks rough

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  38. The Road Warrior (1981)

    First time watch. No one needs to hear my opinion on this. I'm more a Fury Road guy.

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  39. Duel (1971)

    This movie is fantastic. So well shot. Great tension, suspense, and dread is made purely through visual storytelling and very little dialogue. Such a simple concept executed perfectly. I had seen bits of this as a kid in the 80's and have always wanted to revisit it. So glad I did. Get a copy of the blu-ray, turn the lights off and the sound way up.

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  40. The Hearse (1980, dir. George Bowers)

    This is the second Crown International production I've seen in the last 10 days that's actually pretty good. I guess a few did sneak through. (I say this as someone with a lot of affection for Crown.) Trish Van Devere is a woman who inherits her dead aunt's home, only to learn that her aunt was a devil worshipper and that she is now being haunted by the spirit of the hearse that carried her body. The movie doesn't make a ton of sense, but there's some cool creepy atmosphere. I'm not a big ghost movie guy, but I thought a lot of this movie was effective. It's also surprisingly classy for a Crown movie.

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  42. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
    The first half of Gone in 60 Seconds is nothing special, it's basically a bunch of vignettes of cars being stolen. Not much chasing, not much crashing, just some dialogue and random car theft.
    What you are here for is what this movie was made for, the 40 minute final car chase.
    It's still awesome to this day. What the final forty of this film accomplishes will never be recreated. Movies just cannot be made like this anymore.

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    1. Have you seen the first 40 minutes of Halicki's "The Junkman" on YouTube? It's a pretty good attempt by the same guy who made "GI60S" to top himself. When you own the car shop, the cars, the camera gear and you're your own stunt driver life was good for this guy. Worth a look. ;-)

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    2. I have seen it. My GI60S DVD has "The Junkman" as a special feature.

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  43. The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift (2006)

    Why are they letting this 30 year old Peyton Manning looking mfer wander around a Japanese HS?

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