Shameless Pile of Stuff

Jupiter Ascending
Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Dune Entertainment, Anarchos Productions, USA, Australia, 2015.

Let's watch the much-bashed scifi flick from the Wachovskis.

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a pessimistic cleaner (the 20th century equivalent of being a swine-herder) whose Russian father (James D'Arcy) was killed by mobsters. The stars promised her great future but it did not happen and she hates her life. Elsewhere in the Universe aristocratic Abrasax-family is harvesting planets (kind of Rapture). They happen to own also Earth but the inheritance causes a family strife.

Jupiter Jones

Balem Abrasax

Titus Abrasax

Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) sends space bounty hunters to kill Jupiter but rollerskating space-werewolf fallen angel Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) saves her. Caine's old friend Stinger Apini (Sean Bean or Bee-an, pun intended) helps also. Jupiter hears that she is of royal family and the real inheritor of Earth. The bad news is that the grand destiny of humankind is to be component of Ultimate Intergalactic Anti-Aging Wrinkle Lotion^TM. Claiming the inheritance is difficult as Jupiter must face the most paralyzing force of the Universe: The Bureaucrats. (This segment gives also justification for cameo of bureaucratic scifi veteran Terry Gilliam). Jupiter meets also Kalique Abrasax (Tuppence Middleton) and Titus Abrasax (Douglas Booth) who has a serious mother complex.

Caine Wise

Space Luchadores!

Cool spaceships

Usual route of betrayals, love and difficult decisions follows. Visually the movie looks great. The Wachowskis have always been taking influences from anime, mythology and often from big scifi operas. "Matrix" meets "Dune" with some "Stargate" and "Mass Effect" thrown in. There is a well detailed world, ambitious ideas and the costumes are très chic. There are plenty of genetically altered aliens, the grey, reptilians, elephant-man named Nesh (Ganesha anyone?) and space luchadores. Sadly after the start the premise starts to collapse under its own weight an George Lucas Syndrome kicks in. There is just too much stuff that is just quickly brushed aside. Also the interesting ideas and ewferences to mythic, esoteric and occult sources would have needed a deeper approach than the scratch-of-the-surface style Hollywood handling.

Reptilian

Elephant guy Nesh

One big flaw is that the overstuffed story does not have room for making the characters interesting enough. Jupiter is mainly a passenger in the story and not as interesting character as she could be. She turns very quickly from downtrodden cleaning lady to a space princess whom naughty lord wants to marry. It is up to Caine and Stinger to keep up the action. Sadly the movie does not feel fun or unique enough in the surge of big budget scifi spectacles. The flop at box office shows that even visionary filmmakers like Wachowskis to distinguish themselves nowadays.

It is not bad but it should have been much better. Watch it at least for the gorgeous visual effects, mythical sounding names (and a cyborg lawyer named Bob) and cool morphing space fighters.

Rating:

Average

Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Christina Cole, Nicholas A. Newman, Ramon Tikaram, Ariyon Bakare, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Frog Stone, David Ajala, Doona Bae, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Edward Hogg, Tim Pigott-Smith, James D'Arcy, Jeremy Swift, Kick Gurry, Larissa Kouznetsova, Demetri Theodorou, Lieve Carchon, Oleg Nasobin, Emily Warren, Vanessa Kirby, Spencer Wilding, Andy Ahrens, Charlotte Beaumont, Georgia Winters, Elsa Mollien, Sean Baker, Bryony Hannah, Sarah Campbell, Jiggy Bhore, Samuel Barnett, Claire Benedict, Peter Yapp, John Locke, Grant Stimpson, Sarah Crowden, Terry Gilliam, Rupert Frazer, Katherine Cunningham, Luke Neal, Simon Dutton, Neil Fingleton, Derek Lea, Joe Walking, Michela Meazza, Cliff Fleming, Hazel D'Jan

Directors: The Wachowskis

Abraxas - Guardian of the Universe (a.k.a Abraxas - Guardian of the Galaxy a.k.a Zombie 9, Zombies in space)
Phoenix Entertainment Group, Rose & Ruby Productions, USA, Canada, 1990.

This movie is published as a part of Sci-fi Invasion 50 movie pack box published by Mill Creek Entertainment.

Abraxas (wrestler, actor, Governor and conspiracy theorist Jesse Ventura) is an 11000 year old celibate (yes, it is essential information for the plot) intergalactic cop i.e Finder who is sent to stop his former partner gone renegade Secundus (Sven-Ole Thorsen). Nasty Secundus has travelled to Earth to gain ultimate power. Secundus asks the first woman he sees: "Are you a birthing member of the human species?" He then impregnates her by touching her belly. "I really do need your body!" he declares. Sonia's (Marjorie Bransfield) child will be Comator (or something) who can solve Anti-Life Equation and allow access to Anti-Life Universe making him a god.

Abraxas

Secundus

Sonia

Abraxas arrests Secundus and sends him to intergalactic penal colony. Abraxas is then ordered to kill Sonia but he refuses. Sonia has difficult time with her family as she does not know who the father is. Five years later Sonia is living with her mute son Tommy (Francis Mitchell) in a small town. It is unknown if Tommy is a pinball wizard. Secundus escapes jail and Abraxas is sent to find and terminate Comator. The wormhole travelling goes wrong and Abraxas and Secundus lose their weapons except for their Answer Boxes. Answer Box has VD (Vibrational Detection) and it can destroy the persons who do not have the solution of Anti-Life Equation. The Finders were taught to avoid VD(!)

Tommy

Johnny

Effects of Vibrational Detection

Spot James Belushi as the school Principal (he probably agreed to the cameo to support the film of his fiancee Marjorie Bransfield). Tommy is bullied in school for being mute and the Principal wants to kick Tommy out of the school. Sonia suggests that the Principal should tell the bullies to stop bullying. The Principal seems surprised and agrees to try that!

The Principal

Meanwhile local cop Johnny (David Mitchell) is flirting with Sonia. Secundus is looking for Sonia and murders some innocent bystanders. Abraxas and the cops arrive to the crime scene and try to save a hostage. Tommy uses psionic skills to humiliate bullies. Tommy and Sonia go to the movies while their friend Betty (Lee Anne Simms) and her kid are watching their house. Secundus attacks them but Abraxas saves them. Secundus stabs him with a lamp(!). Sonia returns home and recognizes Abraxas as the man who did not kill him years before. Secundus continues the search in the strip club. "I'm looking for a man. A wo-man!"

Abraxas, Tommy and Sonia go to hide with Sonia's friend Maxie (Al Timmer). Abraxas tells more about himself and Sonia falls in love. Secundus has a nice breakfast and goes to search for Tommy. Chases and random explosions ensue.

Romantic scene

Jesse Ventura looks particularly wooden in this low-budget scifi. Sven-Ole Thorsen mumbles with thick accent like Ahnuld in his better days. Hilariously wooden but absurd dialogue with deadpan delivery, out of place romantic saxophone music, randomly changing seasons and effects that would have looked old even in the 1980s. At times if feels like Z-grade "Terminator" with random stuff blowing up but has also some surprisingly sympathetic drama with struggles of single-mother Sonia. Hey, it is even a kind of Christmas movie!

Director Damian Lee appears as one of Abraxas' bosses.

Rating:

So bad it is good

Starring: Jesse Ventura, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Damian Lee, Jerry Levitan, Marjorie Bransfield, Ken Quinn, Marilyn Lightstone, Moses Znaimer, Robert Nasmith, Kris Michaels, Layne Coleman, Francis Mitchell, Sonja Belliveau, James Belushi, Erica Heenan, John Blackwood, Rae Johnson, Adrian Burnett, David Mitchell, Al Timmer, Michael Copeman, Michael Scherer, Kathy Tapin, Zion Forest Lee, Tyrell Janos, Jason Turnpenny, Lee Anne Simms, Johnny Askwith, Johanna Householder, Sarah James, Leo Armoffe, Alex Ruge, Ellen Dubin, Kate Healey, Christine Wilson

Director: Damian Lee

Moving Violations

SLM Production Group, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, USA, 1985.

Traffic cop Deputy Halik (James Keach) gets a promotion. He and Deputy Virginia Morris (Lisa Hart Carroll) send several drivers back to traffic school. Happy-go-lucky lorry driver Dana Cannon (John Murray, brother of Bill), hypochondriac bowler Joan Pudillo (Wendie Jo Sperber), gorehound Wink Barnes (Ned Eisenberg), puppeteer Scott Greeber (Brian Backer), half-blind granny Loretta Houk (Nedra Volz), cute rocket scientist Amy Hopkins (Jennifer Tilly), daddy's boy Jeff Roth (Willard E. Pugh), single parent Spencer Popadophalos (Ben Mittleman), and several others.

Dana

Halik & Morris

Judge Henderson

Judge Nedra Henderson (Sally Kellerman) and Halik play it dirty as they plan to confiscate and sell the students' cars. Only way to save their cars is to try to pass the driving test. Easier said than done as the game is rigged against them. At least they can do some pranks while trying to expose the corrupt cops.

Scott Greeber

Mrs. Houk

Amy Hopkins

Written by the makers of "Police Academy" the humour is quite similar. So if you liked PA films you will like this also, if not don't bother. John Murray is not quite Steve Guttenberg, but will do. Similarly he acts as the glue keeping the goofy group together while challenging the authorities. Halik & Morris are basically Harris & Proctor. Surely most of the humour is quite low brow but considering most of the present day comedies... it feels still funny. It is good old 1980s slapstick, amusing gags and some 1980s nostalgia.

Stephanie (Nadine Van der Velde)

Ouch

Don Cheadle as drive-in employee

Don Cheadle appears in small role. Also David Hyde Pearce is listed in the credits but I couldn't spot him. Also the credits list a character named Raoul Bienveneda (Victor Campos) and there seems to be some side plot regarding him but it is completely missing from the DVD (mine was Italian edition published by Koch Media). Maybe someone wiser than me can tell if there are different cuts of this film?

Doc Williams (Fred Willard) and Joan

Rating:

Good

Starring: John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, James Keach, Brian Backer, Ned Eisenberg, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber, Nedra Volz, Fred Willard, Lisa Hart Carroll, Nadine Van der Velde, Ben Mittleman, Victor Campos, Willard E. Pugh, Sally Kellerman, Joe Alfasa, Elizabeth Arlen, Billy Beck, Chuck Bergansky, Anne Betancourt, Mitch Brown, Don Cheadle, Darlene Chehardy, William Forward, Kymberly Herrin, Vince Howard, Jim Hudson, Alvin Ing, Neal Israel, Bob Israel, Freeman King, John Lykes, Danny Mauna, Mark Mauna, Michael McManus, R.A. Mihailoff, Jamie Masada, Tom McFadden, Greg Norberg, Jimmy Ortega, Dedee Pfeiffer, Karen Philipp, David Hyde Pierce, Casey Sander, Robert Saurman, Jess Sofer, Jophery C. Brown, Brent Chalem, Robert Conrad, Michael DeBartolo, Helen Kelly, Randall Rutledge, Tom Tangen, Chris Tashima

Director: Neal Israel

Mad Max: Fury Road
Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller Productions, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, South Africa, Australia, USA, 2015.

Several years after nuclear war and the collapse of civilization Max (Tom Hardy) is haunted by all the lives he could not save. He is abducted and forced to become a blood donor for army of despotic ruler Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Joe oppresses the people who have to worship him as a god. Joe's most trusted warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) steals something from Joe, so Joe sends his army after her. Max is taken along as a living blood bag.

Max

Imperator Furiosa

Immortan Joe

Max manages to escape and reluctantly allies with Furiosa and her cargo. Joe's allies the Bullet Farmers and the Gas Towners join the chase. Trip through hellish landscape can start. The odds are against Max and Furiosa but sometimes allies can come from surprising people.

Compared to the original trilogy there are some differences in the timeline as in the first movie Max was somewhere between 20 and 30, and it is implicated that over twenty years have passed since the apocalypse so Max should be middle-aged now. Now he looks quite young for his age. Also the fate of some characters is left on the cutting table (the deleted scenes extras reveal some of the mysteries).

Doomsday rally

Miller takes the elements of one of the most influential post-apocalyptic action films "Mad Max: The Road Warrior" and makes it even more insane. Mutant freak bad guys, crazy acrobatic henchmen and badass vehicles. Couple of the vehicles seem to be inspired by spiked VW Beetle from "The Cars that ate Paris." There are war drummers and a blind dude playing electric guitar. And biker grannies. The CGI-enhanced action scenes use refreshing amount of real vehicles and stunts. The action scenes look epic and fill most of the film's duration, this is like "Hard Boiled" of car chase movies.

Nux

Spiked Beetle

After the energetic start there comes tranquil moments crucial to character development and the Mad Max Universe. Beneath all the craziness lies an inspirational story with even some touching scenes. The heroes are all in someway damaged or abused and have lost their humanity and reason to live, just trying to stay alive. In the beginning Max is an hunted animal caring nothing else than surviving. Furiosa is chasing dream that proves to be false. It is interesting to see how the trust between Max and Furiosa rises through their mutual actions after a rough start. Strong emotions are expressed with minimal dialogue. Unlikely alliances form and War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult) rises from fanatical foot soldier to tragic heroic figure. At first Nux is brainwashed by Joe and he seeks only heroic death on the Fury Road. In the end Max finds a temporary reason to help others to avoid the path he has chosen for himself and his demons of his past seem to accept the decision. Furiosa finds a more realistic dream and Nux finds a real reason to fight for. Furiosa goes straight in the pantheon of great action-film female heroes.

In the era of generic looking action epics, newest Mad Max is an insanely energetic action film that has not sacrifized the quirky Australian style of the prequels.

My ranking of the Mad Max movies:

Road Warrior
Fury Road
Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max

Rating:

Very good

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, John Howard, Richard Carter, Iota, Angus Sampson, Jennifer Hagan, Megan Gale, Melissa Jaffer, Melita Jurisic, Gillian Jones, Joy Smithers, Antoinette Kellermann, Christina Koch, Jon Iles, Quentin Kenihan, Coco Jack Gillies, Chris Patton, Stephen Dunlevy, Richard Norton, Vincent Roxburgh, John Walton, Ben Smith-Petersen, Russ McCarroll, Judd Wild, Elizabeth Cunico, Greg van Borssum, Robert Jones, Sebastian Dickins, Darren Mitchell, Crusoe Kurddal, Shyan Tonga, Cass Cumerford, Albert Lee, Riley Paton, Ripley Voeten, Macyn Van Borssum, Hunter Stratton Boland, Nathan Jenkins, Fletcher Gill, Whiley Toll, Ferdinand Hengombe, Gadaffi Davsab, Noddy Alfred, Jackson Hengombe, Christian Fane, Callum Gallagher, Abel Hofflin, Lee Perry

Director: George Miller

200 M.P.H. a.k.a Fast Drive
The Asylum, USA, 2011.

Tom Merchant (Tommy Nash) gets a job as manager and gets a cool sports car. He and his little brother Rick (Jaz Martin, British actor who has appeared in "Emmerdale") are also street racers. Rival racer and gangsta Kayce (Darren Anthony Thomas) challenges Tom. Tom accepts so that he can pay Rick's tuition fees if he wins. Tom crashes his car and dies. Kayce bribes the cops so he can't be accused. Rick wants revenge. Together with his friends Kelly (Hennely Jimenez), Albert (Jared Kahn) and Phong (Zedrick Restauro) he builds a custom MX-5 car that he plans to use to beat Kayce.

Rick and Tom

Kayce

Phong and Albert

Officer Flynn (Paul Logan, TR-4 from "The Terminators") is not tolerant to illegal street racers. Well, at lest others than Kayce, as he is a dirty cop. Latino thug Domingo Juarez (Mack-b) helps Rick to add a nitro booster to the car but things do not go as planned.

Kelly

Claudia

Flynn

As a curiosity Rick's girlfriend Claudia (AnnaMaria Demara) is a stripper and so is his mother Debbie (Janet Tracy Keijser). They even work in the same bar. Now is that awkward or what? Their presence gives a reason to add some dull drama.

Rick and Tom with their rides

Debbie

This is The Asylum piggybacking "Fast and the Furious" series but with zero budget making a formulaic movie without the spectacularity of the big budget action films or the charismatic actors. The racing scenes in the beginning and the end are acceptable for the low budget but the CGI-effects are rubbish. Except for some rare cases the acting feels as if the actors are reading their lines from the paper. Also the same driving scenes are copy-pasted over and over again.

CGI is laughable

This is not really recommendable even for the most hardcore car fanatics, except for purpose of racing movie drinking game. In IMDB car enthusiasts chewed the film apart for inaccuracies in car specs. As a bonus I present here Car Movie Bingo for your delight:

Still it is mind boggling how similar the plot of this film is to "Need for Speed" (2014).

Rating:

Bad

Starring: Jaz Martin, Hennely Jimenez, AnnaMaria Demara, Darren Anthony Thomas, Zedrick Restauro, Jared Kahn, Paul Logan, Janet Tracy Keijser,Tommy Nash, Sam Aaron, Cleo Berry, Mack-b, Pason, Sean Cory Cooper, Meredith Thomas, Michael Gaglio, Jadarrel Belser, Damien Collins, Joe Dioletto, Leslie Gamero, David Dustin Kenyon, Justin Kleiman, Brian Koger, Omar Nazel, Patrick O'Keefe, Josue Zeta Rojas, Brandon Thomas, Chris Trouble Delfosse

Director: Cole S. McKay

Need for Speed
DreamWorks SKG, Reliance Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Bandito Brothers, USA, UK, France, Philippines, 2014.

Based on the "Need For Speed" racing video game series.

I feel the need...the need for speed!

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a rising racer but struggling with money troubles. He earns extra bucks in illegal street races. Rich boy Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) hires Tobey and his mechanics to build a Ford Mustang Shelby. Mr. Ingram's (Stevie Ray Dallimore) buying agent Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) wants Tobey to show if the car is really as fast as Tobey says it is. However Dino is annoyed that Tobey is better driver than he, so he challenges Tobey.

Tobey Marshall

Dino Brewster

Mr. Ingram and Julia Maddon

In the following race with Koenigsegg Agera super cars Dino pushes Tobey's friend Little Pete (Harrison Gilbertson) off the road and Pete dies. Dino escapes and Tobey goes to jail for two years. Meanwhile Dino also steals Tobey's girlfriend Anita (Dakota Johnson). Tobey wants revenge and also to clear his name.

Anita

Ford Mustang Shelby

Monarch

Mystical millionaire Monarch (Michael Keaton), who is kind of homage to the DJ from "Vanishing Point", is arranging De Leon Race for the best street racers. Tobey makes a deal with Mr. Ingram so he can borrow the Mustang. But he needs also an invitation to the race, so he must gain attention and drive across the USA in 45 hours while evading cops. Julia comes along. First their cooperation has a rough start, but not surprisingly they begin to like each other. Tobey's pals pilot Benny Jackson (Scott Mescudi a.k.a Kid Cudi) and mechanics Finn (Rami Malek) and Joe (Ramon Rodriguez) work as their support team.

Benny 'Maverick' Jackson

Finn and Joe

Guys playing Need for Speed (What else?)

Then Tobey hits the pedal to the metal until the foot almost goes through the car floor.

Cockpit views give video game style appearance

The plot goes roughly the video game career mode: in the first races older muscle cars are used, later the cars get more powerful and expensive. Although the story is basically the plot of "200 M.P.H." on steroids the racing scenes and crazy stunts make it worthwhile. Absurd plot and video game logic will deter those looking for intelligent entertainment but as a popcorn racing movie it works well. There is a bit cheesy drama and hit-or-miss jokes, but the main point is the exciting driving scenes with expensive supercars. Also Aaron Paul's and Imogen Poots' acting saves a lot. It is also a decent video game movie.

Rating:

Good

Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez, Harrison Gilbertson, Dakota Johnson, Stevie Ray Dallimore, Michael Keaton, Alan Pflueger, Brian L. Keaulana, Logan Holladay, Carmela Zumbado, Jalil Jay Lynch, Nick Chinlund, Chad Randall, Buddy Joe Hooker, Rich Rutherford, Tony Brakohiapa, Brent Fletcher, Paul Dallenbach, Kanin Howell, Michael Rose, Beth Waugh, E. Roger Mitchell, Antoni Corone, Frank Brennan, Tara Jones, Han Soto, Jill Jane Clements, Rick Shuster, John Gatins, Kerry Gatins, Adora Dei, Charles Black, Tierre Turner, Michael C. Smith, Tim Gilbert, Mike Massa, John Meier, Thomas Rosales Jr., Jacki Hill, Chloe Warren, Chelsea Small
Director: Scott Waugh

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co., USA, 1974.

Between 1974-1989 indie car movie legend H.B. Halicki 'The Car Crash King' starred, directed and produced a bunch of car movies known for wild stunts and numerous crashes.

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace (H.B. Halicki) has a garage side business. However his real business is selling stolen cars making them seem legal using seal numbers salvaged from scrapped cars. Pace makes a deal with a crime lord: he must steal 48 cars in couple of days. His co-worker Eugene Chase (Jerry Daugirda) must postpone his honeymoon because of the job. The gang and Pace's girlfriend Pumpkin (Marion Busia) then start the job with one condition: all of the cars must have insurance. The list contains variety of cars including limousines, truck, Rolls-Royces and exotic cars.

Maindrian Pace

Eugene Chase

Pumpkin

Most of the thefts go relatively easy, but acquiring 1973 Ford Mustang codenamed 'Eleanor' causes troubles. Also one car comes with bags of heroin in the trunk. Getting rid of it strains the partnership of Maindrian and Eugene. Sgt. Hawkins (H.B.'s dad John Halicki) comes to visit the garage just as the guys are trying to get rid of the drugs.

Atlee Jackson (George Cole)

'Test-driving' a Manta

Sgt. Hawkins (John Halicki) visits the garage

When Pace goes to steal Eleanor a crazy 40 minute chase begins. Rubber burns and 93 cars are wrecked.

"Gone in 60 Seconds" utilized real police and firemen as supporting actors and many of the actors were Halicki's relatives or friends. Also then-Mayor of Carson Sak Yamamoto appears as himself.

The outlaw style filming caused some ruckus as many bystanders did not know about the film project. At times is a very rough film and there was no official script, but it is clearly inspired and inventive low budget grindhouse film-making. The characters are paper-thin but no one watches these films for Oscar-winning performances or great for plot. The vintage cars and final chase are the reason to watch the film. Also it is a relic of the era when movies used real stunts and effects instead aid of computers. The hairstyles and cityscapes are preserved in this time capsule of 1970s California. Car carnage is made a bit more serious towards the end with injured people being pulled from the car wrecks.

Unfortunately the original Country style music has been replaced with some generic sounding thriller score in the DVD-editions. These kind of car chase films must have Country music! What is worse the removed songs affect also the overall mood of the movie, ruining at least one scene that was meant to be kind of romantic.

Rating:

Good

Starring: H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, James McIntyre, George Cole, Ronald Halicki, Markos Kotsikos, Butch Stockton, Phil Woods, J.C. Agajanian Jr., Christopher J.C. Agajanian, Gary Bettenhausen, Edward Booker, Anthony Cole, Mark Cole, Michael Cole, Billy Englehart, Jonathan E. Fricke, Parnelli Jones, Hal McClain, Don Simmons, Ron Simmons, Sak Yamamoto, Edward Abrahms, Wally Burr, Maureen Coddington, Cheryl Dunn, Monica Englander, Emily Fladland, Frank Halicki, John Halicki, Nancy Halicki, Rudy Halicki, Edward Havens, Philip Kachaturian, Mel Kenyon, Gary Patterson, Jack Popejoy, Dennis Stouffer, Jack Vacek, Bud Wackeen, Bunny Walsh, Taylor Webb, Jeff Winkless, Terence H. Winkless, Christine Wright

Director: H.B. Halicki

It has been a while since the last update on acquisitions. This time the focus is bit more on music.

First some animated movies:

Bionicle Mask of Light (Lego), Justice League animation episodes: Paradise Lost, Justice on Trial, Balto, Balto 2 Wolf Quest, Balto 3 Wings of Change, Winnie the Pooh: Share Your World, Winnie the Pooh:A Great Day of Discovery, A Very Merry Pooh Year, Flipper & Lopaka 1, Willy the Sparrow, Tabaluka episodes

Tintin et les oranges bleues, Tintin et le mystère de la Toison d'Or, Tintin et le lac aux requins,

Mill Creek: Giant 600 Cartoon Collection, 150 Cartoon Classics (Both had enough exclusive material to be justified. And the 150 cartoon box was cheap as soap)

10 Sci-Fi Movies (Being, Virus, Creator, Prototype, Def-Con 4, Sci-Fighters, Cyborg Cop, Cyborg Cop 2, TC 2000, Antibody), 10 Great Films Sci-Fi (Circuitry Man 2, Spontaneous Combustion, Blue Tornado, Def-Con 4, Invasion Earth, Project Shadowchaser III,Cyborg Cop, Cyborg Cop 2, Sleep Stalker, Moon 44), Cyborg Cop 3

Ed Wood Coffret (10 Ed Wood movies, note: this edition has non-removable French subtitles), Three Tamil movies starring Jayam Ravi: Daas, M Kumaram, Jayam, Action 1: Expert, Expect No Mercy, Death Ring, Gladiator, Gipsy Kings In Concert, Alice in Wonderland, A Good Man in Africa, Princess of Thieves, El bosque animado, Gui Si,

Mamma Mu och Kråkan

Music CDs:

Synthesizer music (I had several of the Synthesizer Greatest on C-Cassettes, now updating those to CDs): Synthesizer Greatest The Classical Masterpieces, Synthesizer Greatest 1-5 (Starinc), 25 Greatest Synthesizer Hits (Gino Marinello), Synthesizer Spectacular Vol. 2 (Starinc)

Pop from 1980s-90s:

Jason Donovan: Ten Good Reasons, Kylie Minoque: Kylie, Rick Astley: Whenever You Need Somebody, Andy Kim: Baby I Love You Greatest Hits,Vanilla Ice: To The Extreme, Lighthouse Family: Postcards from Heaven, Seal: Best 1991-2004, Maxi Priest: Bonafide, Inner Circle: Reggae Dancer, Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet, Scarlet: Naked, Paula Abdul: Spellbound, Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits, Anita Ward: Ring My Bell, Simply Red: Stars

TV and movie related music:

John McCook sings Bold and Beautiful Love Songs, Beautiful Dreams (Bold and Beautiful CD), Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me, The X-Files The Album, South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut, Xanadu, So I Married An Axe Murderer

More Soundtracks and various:

Beverly Hills Cop III, Twilight Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Twilight The Score, Disturbed: Indestructible, Annie: Anniemal, Suzi Quattro Original Hits, Pitbull: Planet Pit, My Country Vol. 1.

Rock and Metal:

Cardiant: Purge, Einherjer: Dragons Of The North, Graveworm: Scource Of Malice, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow: Children of The Dark Waters, Children Of Bodom: Relentless, Reckless Forever, The Sounds: Living In America, Von Hertzen Brothers: Stars Aligned, Apocalyptica: Worlds Collide, Kent: B-Sidor 95-00, Matchbox 20: Yourself Or Someone Like You

This is getting quite long, so I'll save the rest for some future post: here are still couple of cool items

Snow White 50th Anniversary Happy Dwarf plush

Godzilla toy (13" Imperial Toho Co. 1985)

The Junkman a.k.a Gone in Sixty Seconds 2: The Junkman a.k.a Gone in 60 Seconds II a.k.a Firebird Tornado

H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co., USA, 1982.

This one is included in Mill Creek Entertainment's Fast as Hell 3 Movie Collection.

Harlan B. Hollis 'The Junkman' (H.B. 'Toby' Halicki) is wealthy junkyard owner and a movie auteur. His hit movies including forthcoming "Gone in 60 Seconds" (talk about meta-levels!) has caused much jealousy. His public relations manager Michael Fox (Christopher Stone) hires hitman Frank Spyros (Koti Sotiropulos) to kill him. Michael tries to boost the public interest in the film by killing Harlan

Harlan B. Hollis

Michael Fox and Susan Clark

Kelly Hollis

Filming the final scenes of the film, Harlan also plans for his daughter Kelly's (Kelly Busia) birthday party and PR-gig at James Dean Festival. Harlan goes driving leisurely to the festival in his Cadillac Eldorado. Spyros gathers a team of assassins. Spyros, Magnum (Dave Logue), Blackbird (Rita Rickard) and Cover Two (Tony Ostermeier) start chasing Harlan with cars and biplanes. The cops go after the assassins with poor results and lots of crashes ensue. It seems that no one can keep their cars on the road.

Magnum

Blackbird

Cover Two

Frank Spyros

There is also a side plot about reporter Susan Clark (Susan Shaw) and her crew who get lost on the country roads. Harlan frames his own death and gets saved by Susan's team. The middle-part of the film slows a bit when Harlan tries to find out who wants him dead.

Leggy officer

Susan, Jack (Jack Vacek) and Bruce (Bruce (Bruce Cameron)

Now that is a badass gun

The story is kind of H.B. Halicki's semi-autobiography to the point that is often feels like a big inside joke. The car collection, ranch and the offices were Halicki's real properties as the car repair business and success of "Gone in 60 Seconds" made him a millionaire. All of the vehicles and toys in the film were Halicki's own, even the police cars. He sure had lots of cool stuff. Again Halicki's relatives, real cops and film crew members are used as extras. Basically he cast everyone he knew. Sheriff George Whiting and country singer Hoyt Axton appear as themselves. Firemen got some real practice putting out the burning cars. Jack Vacek (known for "Double Nickels" ) has a small role as member of Susan Clark's crew.

Part of Halicki's toy collection

The production values are better than in "Gone in 60 Seconds" (there is even a Goodyear blimp!) but some of the grindhouse charm has been lost. Cool stunts include lots of car crashes, explosions and car jumping over airplane. In addition to good stunts and action scenes there is very little plot and it is not a "good" movie in artistic sense. Watch it for big cars, early 1980s atmosphere and stunt show thrills. There is also lots of good old lowbrow comedy and a hillbilly (Ronald Halicki) who is taking his prize pig Farah to the country fair. And an old lady (Emily Fladland) whose new car is trashed. The end credits are weird and cool with pretty model girls and highlights from the movie.

Pig farmer (Ronald Halicki)

Chevrolet Citation Lady (Emily Fladland)

These ladies should have appeared more in the film

This movie held the Guinness Record for most wrecked vehicles (over 250) in a movie for over twenty years before being topped by "Matrix Revolutions" and later "Transformers 3". The wrecked Ford Mustang from "Gone in 60 Seconds" appears also in this film.

Unfortunately also this film has been butchered in DVD-editions, bad words and some humour is toned down and Country music is replaced with generic synthesizer score. Especially the new music in the ending party scene is atrocious.

Rating:

Good (as a stunt show style fun)

Starring: H.B. Halicki, Christopher Stone, Susan Shaw, Lang Jeffries, Bruce Cameron, Jack Vacek, Dan Grimaldi, Kelly Busia, Richard L. Muse, Freddy Cannon, Sharon McCreedy, Lynda Day George, Dennis Stouffer, Judi Gibbs, Brian LaBonge, Hoyt Axton, George Barris, The Belmonts, Phil Boroff, Donald Cadoo, Lilyan Chauvin, Maureen Coddington, Roger Etienne, Aubrey Finn, Emily Fladland, Gayle Gannes, Ed Gomez, John Halicki, Ronald Halicki, Gerson Horn, Tracy Hutchinson, Gary Jensen, Warner E. Leighton, Morgan Lofting, Dave Logue, Vern Mathison, Tom McMullen, Nick Nickolary, Tony Ostermeier, Rita Rickard, Bernie Schwartz, Jewel Shepard, Kopi Sotiropulos, E. Tripke, Bob Urhausen, George Whiting, Lewis Wilson, Ronn Wright, Debra Zullo
Director: H.B. Halicki

Deadline Auto Theft
H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co., USA, 1983.

This one is included in Mill Creek Entertainment's Fast as Hell 3 Movie Collection.

Insurance inspector/ car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B. 'Toby' Halicki) is back. He steals Judi Gibbs' boy friend Carl's (Dan Grimaldi) car. Unfortunately Judi happens to be daughter of Police Captain Gibbs (Hoyt Axton) and a chase follows culminating in the L.A. River Flood Control Channel. Again the cops have it difficult to keep their cars on the road. Captain Gibbs declares war on Maindrian.

Maindrian steals Bricklin SV-1

Captain Gibbs

Judi Gibbs and Carl (Dan Grimaldi)

The rest of the story is mainly repeat of "Gone In 60 Seconds" with some new scenes with Captain Gibbs. Maindrian and his gang have to steal over 40 cars in couple of days for a South-American drug lord. Stealing Ford Mustang codenamed Eleanor results to the final chase.

Boat accident

L.A. Channel chase

Eleanor

This is mainly a Godrey Ho style cut&paste rip-off of Halicki's own previous films, using very little new footage. Basically it looks like the "Gone In 60 Seconds" film that was being filmed in "The Junkman." Probably those who haven't seen other Halicki's films may enjoy it more but I fast forwarded many parts I had already seen (roughly twenty minutes of the film are new material). After jumping the shark in "The Junkman" Halicki uses a disappointingly lazy method to make "Deadline Auto Theft."

Funniest moments came when trying to spot the characters from the previous films. Jack Vacek and Bruce Cameron appear as lazy flood channel maintenance workers Merle and Farley. "The Junkman's" assassin Blackbird (Rita Rickard) is now cast as a policewoman. Also the other assassins appear in small new roles. Sgt. Hawkins (John Halicki) form the original "60 Seconds" is now given a female partner Dupree (Maureen Coddington). Kelly Busia appears as Real Estate Girl.

Hawkins and Dupree

Real Estate Girl (Kelly Busia)

Rating:

Bad

Starring: H.B. Halicki, Hoyt Axton, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, George Cole, Lang Jeffries, Dan Grimaldi, Judi Gibbs, Pat Hartigan, Butch Stockton, Phil Woods, James McIntyre, Ronald Halicki, Markos Kotsikos, Maureen Coddington, John Halicki, Jack Vacek, Bruce Cameron, Sharon McCreedy, Hal McClain, Jonathan E. Fricke, Sak Yamamoto, J.C. Agajanian Jr., Garland Brown, Dennis Stouffer, George Barris, Edward Booker, Kelly Busia, Anthony Cole, Mark Cole, Michael Cole, Joe Halicki, Rudy Halicki, John Olsen, Tony Ostermeier, William Pounds, Cindy Reynolds, Don Simmons, Ron Simmons, Thomas Syslo, Clay Wright, Frank Zeigon, Edward Abrahms, Wally Burr, Emily Fladland, Philip Kachaturian, Jack Popejoy, Bud Wackeen, Bunny Walsh, Terence H. Winkless, Christine Wright, Chip Giannettino, Phil Boroff, Christopher Stone, Freddy Canon, Richard L. Muse, Lynda Day George, Rita Rickard, Susan Shaw, Bud Wacen, Christine White, Edward Havens

Director: H.B. Halicki

Gone In 60 Seconds II

H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co., USA, 1989.

This one is included in Mill Creek Entertainment's Fast as Hell 3 Movie Collection.

This is a very short review about H.B. 'Toby' Halicki's last and unfinished film.

Car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B. 'Toby' Halicki) returns and steals a truck. While escaping cops, he wrecks dozens of cars. Then he nicks an experimental Slicer vehicle. Slicer is a wedge-shaper car that can throw off any obstacle on its way. Maindrian uses the car and destroys about half of the police cars in Los Angeles.

Maindrian Pace is back

Truck car-nage!

Slicer in action

H.B. Halicki's final film was left unfinished. He was killed doing a stunt with a water tower when a falling power pole tragically hit him. Only 33 minutes of the movie was filmed. Halicki bought 400 cars for the movie in attempt to break the Guinness World Record of most destroyed vehicles in a movie. The filmed material shows a respectable amount of car-nage but very little more. There are couple of characters that are meant to be comical and lots of extras give high five to Slicer. Without any knowledge of the plot it is unknown if it would have been a hit ultimate chase movie or more of a gimmick film that would have gotten repetitive with bad acting and too many crash scenes. We will never know.

Comical character

The fatal water tower

Rating: Not applicable

Starring: H.B. Halicki, ?

Director: H.B. Halicki

Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)
Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, USA, 2000.

Car thief Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in deep deep trouble. He fails his job for crime lord Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). His big brother Randall 'Memphis' Raines (Nicolas Cage) is a retired car thief. Memphis agrees to steal 50 cars to save his brother. The job is not easy especially when Detective Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) is trying to stop the crime wave. Memphis gets his old crew together. He job is not easy especially when Detective Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) is trying to stop the crime wave. Memphis gets his old crew together: od dog Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall), driving instructor Donny Astricky (Chi McBride), mute brawler Sphinx (Vinnie Jones) and mechanic Sara 'Sway' Wayland (Angelina Jolie with blonde hair). Also friends of Kip help.

Kip Raines

Randall 'Memphis' Raines

Raymond Calitri

The gang plans to steal the cars during one night to avoid getting caught. Shelby GT 500 'Eleanor' is a car that Memphis has always had bad luck with. Now the involment of cops and rival car thieves gives extra challenge.

Roland Castlebeck

Sara 'Sway' Wayland

Sphinx

H.B. Halicki's original "Gone in 60 Seconds" (1974) did not have a great script but the low budget, amateur actors and casting average Joe's and Jane's as extras gave it authenticity. The new big studio version can not compete with that. The remake film tries to make the drama more serious. It tries to give a better justification for the 50 car heist. Therefore it takes a long time before it gets to the main thing: the chasing scenes but the chase scenes are not so great either. Ironically the original relied on overly long car chase with minimal plot, this one feels that is has too much plot and too few car chases. Interestingly there is some homage to the original, a scene where they accidentally steal a car full of drugs and a chase in L.A. flood channels à la "The Junkman." Nicolas Cage repeats his patented weird manouvres creating some (unintended?) laughs that work better than the other attempts at humour. Otherwise the film is standard forgettable Hollywood heist thriller.

Weeeeiiiirrrddd

Shelby GT 500 'Eleanor'

Rating:

Average

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, T.J. Cross, William Lee Scott, Scott Caan, James Duval, Will Patton, Delroy Lindo, Timothy Olyphant, Chi McBride, Robert Duvall, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones, Grace Zabriskie, Michael Owen, Jaime Bergman, Holiday Hadley, Harry Van Gorkum, Frances Fisher, Grace Una, Jesse Corti, Stephen Shellen, Alexandra Balahoutis, Rainbow Borden, Vic Manni, Sanjay, Doria Anselmo, Lois Hall, Dean Rader-Duval, C.J. Picerni, Kevin Weisman, Anthony Boswell, Billy Devlin, Bodhi Elfman, Arye Gross, Greg Collins, Cosimo Fusco, Eddie Mui, Joseph Patrick Kelly, Scott Burkholder, Margaret Kontra Palmer, Charlene Bloom, Kevin West, Billy 'Sly' Williams, Alex Walters, Lombardo Boyar, Angela Tassoni, Scott Rosenberg, Steve Danton, Tyler Patton, Carmen Argenziano, Dan Hildebrand, King Alexander, Nick Meaney, Michael Peña, Juan Pina, Tim DeZarn, John Carroll Lynch, Douglas Bennett, Bob Sattler, Dan Andreiu, David 'Shark' Fralick, Cecily Gambrell, Michael Gerald, Trevor Goddard, Brad William Henke, Ken Jenkins, Brian McNamara, George Meyers, Master P, Bob Pepper, Drew Renkewitz, Vincent Terzian
Director: Dominic Sena

Genevieve

J. Arthur Rank Organisation, La Société des Films Sirius, United Kingdom, 1953.

Alan McKim (John Gregson) wants to participate in London to Brington veteran car run using his car Darracq 1904 'Genevieve.' His wife Wendy (Dinah Sheridan) is not very interested. Their friend Ambrose Claverhouse (Kenneth More) and participates with his new girlfriend Rosalind Peters (Kay Kendall). Despite a great deal of hours spent on repairs the cars barely hold together without breaking so all kind of comical mishaps happen along the way.

Alan

Genevieve

Wendy

Alan's and Ambrose's initially jovial chit chat evolves into humiliation contest and they plan to race to London to see who's the boss. The ladies must put up with their bragging men. Alan becomes jealous about Wendy and a slight marriage crisis looms when Alan places a bet worth all of their savings. Let the best driver win!

Ambrose and Rosalind

The car is stuck

Hawling like brooligans?

Henry Cornelius had only a brief career as a director and his most famous comedies must be "Passport to Pimlico" and "Genevieve.""Genevieve" is a classic 1950s British comedy from the bygone era with jovial British characters speaking in classic British manner (jolly good, old sport!) and slow cars driving through England's countryside. The actors make nice performances with the men obsessed with their cars and the ladies trying to cope with it. Some of the highlights are the McKim's spending a night in a terrible hotel and Rosalind showing her trumpet playing skills in a bar. The carefree world and gently mischievous comedy of "Genevieve" remind of "Last of the Summer Wine" series and not only because of the harmonica soundtrack. This must be one of the few movie with street racing 1904 model cars.

Street racing 1904 style!

Rating:

Very good

Starring: Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen, Reginald Beckwith, Arthur Wontner, Joyce Grenfell, Leslie Mitchell, Michael Balfour, Joe E. Carr, Lesley Dudley, Stanley Escane, Fred Griffiths, Charles Lamb, Aileen Lewis, Arthur Lovegrove, Edward Malin, Edie Martin, Michael Medwin, Harold Siddons, Christopher Warbey, Patrick Westwood

Director: Henry Cornelius

Thunder Road
D.R.M. Productions, USA, 1958.

Lucas Doolin (Robert Mitchum) is a Korean War veteran who makes his living smuggling whisky with his cousin Jed (Mitchell Ryan). It is a family business as his Papa (Trevor Bardette) distills the moonshine. Luke's little brother Robin (Robert's real life son James Mitchum) is a mechanic and wants to become a moonshine runner also. The cops are always after Luke but there are also worse problems. Gangster Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon) wants to recruit the free moonshiners to his gang killing everyone who opposes. Lucas declares war on them. Treasury agent Barrett (Gene Barry) tries to turn Lucas into a snitch against Kogan - unsuccessfully. The world is changing and Luke does not like the Yankees meddling with the Southern way of life.

Lucas Doolin

Papa

Robin

Luke has a romance with singer Francie (Keely Smith) but also local girl Roxy (Sandra Knight) adores him. When the cops start a campaign to destroy the distilleries, Luke decides to make one final run. But Kogan has set a trap for him. Either Kogan or the cops will get Luke. Luke's friends try to stop Luke but for him it is freedom or death!

Carl Kogan

Francie

Roxy and Jed

This is the prototype for the moonshine smuggling chase movies and it gained cult reputation in drive-in theatres. Robert Mitchum wrote the story and also produced it with director Arthur Ripley. Mitchum also wrote and sung the theme song. Originally the role of Robin was written for Elvis Presley, but his manager demanded too much money. This is notably different from the 1970s moonshine films, as this is a serious and noirish crime story. The 1970s moonshining films were more or less comical with jestful smugglers playing tricks on stupid cops. The disappearance of old American way of life has almost "Easy Rider" style tone. Robert Mitchum is very cool in this, and the chase scenes look good for their age."The X-Files" actor Jerry Hardin has a small role in this as unlucky smuggler Niles Penland.

Jerry Hardin as Niles Penland

Rating:

Very good

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Gene Barry, Jacques Aubuchon, Keely Smith, Trevor Bardette, Sandra Knight, James Mitchum, Peter Breck, Charles Elledge, Jerry Hardin , Charles Hendrix, Betsy Holt, Peter Hornsby, Francis Koon, Christopher Mitchum, Jack Perry, Robert Porterfield, Mitchell Ryan, Randy Sparks, Dale Van Sickel

Director: Arthur Ripley

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Academy Pictures Corporation, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, USA, 1974.

Based on the novel "The Chase" by Richard Unekis.

Sociopathic driver Larry (Peter Fonda) and drunk mechanic Deke (Adam Roarke) are two small time crooks planning to build a career in Nascar-racing. They decide to fund the effort by robbing a supermarket. They kidnap the shopkeeper's (Roddy McDowall) family and demand ransom. There's a bump on the road when Larry's one-night stand Mary (Susan George) forces herself into Larry's car. The trio sets on the road escaping police in 68' Chevy.

Larry and Mary

Deke

Larry's Chevy

The Police Captain Franklin (Vic Morrow) decides to catch the trio despite clashing with the police chief. Hotshot cop Hank (Eugene Daniels) gets a souped up police car and sets out to stop the outlaw trio. “Remember Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road? I’m gonna powder his face!” says Crazy Larry.

Franklin

Hank

Stunt work is good

This is quite good outlaws on the road style chase film that is only let down a bit by the downer ending. Despite the humoristic dialogue the overall tone is more serious than in the later redneck chase movies and more in the vein of "Bonnie and Clyde" of "Vanishing Point." The real car stunts look good, there is a cool helicopter vs car race near the end. The characters are all quite terrible people, including the cops. In the 1970s style the characters are rebels and constantly arguing with each other resulting to entertaining dialogue. Perhaps the most sympathetic characters are Deke and Mary, as Mary's romantic interest changes near the end.

Rating:

Good

Starring: Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, Kenneth Tobey, Eugene Daniels, Lynn Borden, Janear Hines, Elizabeth James, Adrianne Herman, T.J. Castronovo, James W. Gavin, Al Rossi, Ben Niems, George Westcott, Tom O'Neill, Edna MacAfee, Don Coughlin, Sonny Dukes, Beau Gentry, Robert Hirschfeld, Bill Catching, Jody Carlson, Tom Howard Jr., Craig Kelly, Larry Luttrell, Gary McLarty, Bob Minor, Jerry Summers, Dick Warlock, Ted White, Jerry Wills, Al Wyatt Jr., Vic Morrow, Roddy McDowall, Al Wyatt Sr.

Director: John Hough

Le Mans
Cinema Center Films, Solar Productions, USA, France, 1971.

American Porsche-driver Michael Delaney (Steve McQueen) returns to 24 Hours of Le Mans race year after the fatal accident that took his friend's life. Michael's worst rival is Ferrari-driver Erich Stahler (Siegfried Rauch). Lisa (Elga Andersen), widow of the dead driver is also watching the race.

Michael Delaney

Lisa

The race is exhausting and dangerous. Lisa's new boyfriend is injured in a crash. Michael explains to Lisa why it is important for men to drive fast.

Michael drives a Porsche

Presented with minimal plot the movie's enjoyability depends on the visual look and realistic racing. There is no dialogue for the first half hour. The cinematography is great and looks like French art house cinema. Fast cutting enhances the excitement of dramatic racing scenes. With real footage it is also a pseudo-documentary about the famous racing event. Racing car enthusiast Steve McQueen did most of his racing scenes for this film. However the production was troubled and it flopped. Due the realistic view on motorsports it has later gained a cult reputation.

Rating:

Very good

Starring: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Fred Haltiner, Luc Merenda, Christopher Waite, Louise Edlind, Angelo Infanti, Jean-Claude Bercq, Michele Scalera, Gino Cassani, Alfred Bell, Carlo Cecchi, Richard Rüdiger, Hal Hamilton, Jonathan Williams, Peter Parten, Conrad Pringle, Erich Glavitza, Peter Huber, Jocelyne Jeanssen, Karine Lafabrie, Anne Libert, Jacques Mayar, Alan Rossett, Nathalie Vernier
Director: Lee H. Katzin

Rush (2013)

Exclusive Media Group, Cross Creek Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Revolution Films, Working Title Films, Double Negative UK, Germany, USA, 2013.

Based on true events.

In the 1970s racing was a modern gladiator sport with numerous casualties. James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is a British playboy racer who likes sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is his complete opposite, a pedantic Austrian who likes to keep things in control. Both of them are rebels and furious behind the wheel. Both of them enter the Formula One class in their own style and they become bitter rivals.

James Hunt

Niki Lauda

Meeting his future wife Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara) makes Niki a bit more relaxed. Hunt is stressed because he must find new team and sponsors. The 1976 season is bloody battle between the two. Hunt's broken marriage with Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde) makes him a dangerous opponent to Lauda. Niki suffers severe burns in near fatal accident in notoriously dangerous Nürburgring. Despite his injuries the will to win pulls him back to the racing tracks. Although they are rivals there grows a mutual respect between Lauda and Hunt.

Marlene

Suzy Miller

Niki after the accident

This is an epic and emotional sports drama with rivalry and chivalry. Interestingly the story contrasts the Hunt as a near suicidal risk-taker who lives every day like his last and knows that he may die in a crash while Lauda considers the worth of the risks even more when he has gained something more important than the victory to lose. Both of the main actors make perfect roles, Hemsworth uses his impish charm and Brühl shows some dry humour.

Possibly this is the best film made about Formula One- racing. Watch it even if you are not interested in racing.

Rating:

Excellent

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino, David Calder, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Mangan, Christian McKay, Alistair Petrie, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Colin Stinton, Jamie de Courcey, Augusto Dallara, Ilario Calvo, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Riotta, Martin Savage, Jamie Sives, Simon Taylor, Robert Christopher Austin, Tom Wlaschiha, Cristian Solimeno, James Norton, Joséphine de La Baume, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Julien Vialon, Douglas Reith, Polly Furnival, Brooke Johnston, Hannah Britland, Lisa McAllister, Hans-Eckart Eckhardt, Vanessa Zachos, Xavier Laurent, Val Jobara, Zack Niizato, Akira Koieyama, Klaus D. Mund, Folker Banik, Andreas Engelmann, Jochen Kolenda, Christopher Wolert, Roger Nevares, Vanda Dadras, Raffaello Degruttola, Luca Zizzari, Alastair Caldwell, Alan Bayer, Joe Ferrara, Bob Constanduros, Christian Feist, Marco Canadea, Eiji Mihara, Demetri Goritsas, Jay Simpson, Philippe Spall, Erich Redman, Marcello Walton, Masashi Fujimoto, Rob Cavazos, Paolo Barone, Francesco Fronte, Morris Minelli, Luca Naddeo, Marco Napoli, Christian Stelluti, Scott Hopkins, Matthew Watkinson, Anthony Wolfe, Jeremy Wolfe, Mark Postgate

Director: Ron Howard

Street Racer (2008)

The Asylum, USA, 2008.

Street racer Johnny Wayne (Clint Browning, who appeared in "The Terminators") spends 5 years in prison after a fatal accident. Naughty Parole Officer Briggs (Michael Crider) gives Johnny a chance to race with profits split 70:30. Well not reallya chance but more like "Or else" type offer. During daytime Johnny works in Red's (Robert Pike Daniel) garage with coworker Steve (Dustin Fitzsimons, who appeared in "Sunday School Musical"). Old and grumpy Red is the funniest character in the movie and he looks a bit like Donald Trump.

Johnny Wayne

Briggs

Robert Pike Daniel Donald Trump lookalikes

On evenings Johnny does community service in local clinic and meets crippled kid Danny (Connor Clayton), her sister Kelly (Dorothy Drury) and physiotherapist Teddy (Jennifer Dorogi who played warrior woman Katya in "Dragonquest"). Romance with Kelly gets complicated as Johnny caused the accident where Danny was crippled. Forced to race Johnny borrows Red's BMW and gets fired (You're fired!) when Red finds out. Luckily he already won pimped up minivan, so he does not need Red's car for the next race. Unfortunately the race was good but the car was bad, so soon Johnny is without a car again. So he crawls back to Red for help.

Danny

Kelly

Teddy

After hearing about Johnny's troubles, Red begins to coach Johnny using Go-karts. He also gives Johnny a new car. Nice car for a do it yourself- project. May be in the need of some optional extras such as wheels and engine. Briggs threatens to hurt Kelly if Johnny fails to race. He must win his old rival Mickey (Jason Ellefson) to be the Street Racing Champion.

Weird car choice for racing

Mickey

The Asylum attempts to piggyback "Speed Racer" and "Fast & The Furious" without the fun parts. Painful acting and tedious dialogue are the worst defects of the movie. The budget is extremely low, any of the cars in the final race probably cost more than the film's budget. Most of the dull racing scenes are done on the same road strip somewhere in desert. Luckily there are only few of them. However the drama is slightly better than expected (but not much). With better dialogue, better racing scenes and better acting it could have been better. Now it feels like lost potential as the plot at least attempts to imitate mainstream drama cinema. Hey, at least it's better than 200 M.P.H.!

Rating:

Average (for a Asylum film)

Starring: Clint Browning, Dorothy Drury, Robert Pike Daniel, Jason Ellefson, Dustin Fitzsimons, Michael Crider, Connor Clayton, Jack Goldenberg, T.J. Zale Jr., Reggie Jernigan, Sinead McCafferty, Jennifer Dorogi, Nino Zagaroli, Benjamin Brugger, McKenna Dimond, Joel Estridge, Napoleon Calles, Michael Aleksanyan, Cody Benton, Martin D. Alcaraz, Eric Wang, Juan Navarro Jr., Michael Calles, Moso Balyan, Miguel Estrada, Brian Brinkman, Jose Ceaner, Jose Garcia, Carlos Frye, Jonny A., Oscar Elendez, Armando Cerros, Manuel Gonzalez, Sammy Piazza, Rudy Orozco, Rie Nasu, Christopher Manirong, Javier Alvarez, Steve Armas, Jaime Sanchez, Samuel Frausto, Michael Clacy, Arturo Arias, Thuy Pham, Alex Castillo, Luis Ramirez, Gregory Paul Smith

Director: Teo Konuralp

Fast & Furious 6 a.k.a Furious 6 a.k.a Fast Six

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Original Film, One Race Productions, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Universal Studios, F & F VI Productions A.I.E., Etalon Film, USA, 2013.

Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) raise a family so Brian's and Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel) days as outlaw drivers seem to be over. Meanwhile Agents Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) and Riley Hicks (Gina Carano) are tracking stolen superweapon parts. To catch crime boss Shaw (Luke Evans) Hobbs asks help from Dominic. Surpise! Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) who was presumed dead in "Fast & Furious" is alive but has lost his memory and she works for Shaw. Dominic gathers his old crew (Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang and Gal Gadot) and Hobbs offers them pardon from their past crimes if they catch Shaw.

Dominic and Elena (Elsa Pataky)

Brian and Mia have a family now

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Gina Carano

Hobbs & Riley

Meanwhile Shaw escapes cops with a car that works similarly as Slicer in H.B. Halicki's unfinished "Gone in 60 Seconds II." Now that was an unexpected and nice salute to Halicki!

Flip Car is basically a bareboned version of Slicer

Bad girl Vegh (Clara Paget) shows how to drive it

Toretti and his friends must do some detective work to stay on the heels of Shaw. Also Toretti must find a way to make Letty remember who she really is. But Shaw can not be stopped without sacrifices...

Han, Tej and Gisele

Letty and Shaw

Fast and Furious gang battles their evil twins (this is actually lampshaded in the movie). Toretto's gang leans toward family values while Shaw considers his crew members replaceable. All of Dominic's crew members have grown to have an integral part in the team. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Han (Sung Kang) are a bit more comedic characters while Brian, Gisele (Gal Gadot who went on to perform Wonder Woman in Marvel movies) and Riley do some agent action and the drama and heavy action come from Dominic and Hobbs. Also Brazilian cop Elena (Elsa Pataky) from "Fast Five" has a role in the story. However the team dynamics for the future sequels is at risk as many of the characters are killed and also because of actor Paul Walker's death. However it feels that the ending lacks the emotional punch it should have.

Wild tank on the loose

Superman Vin Diesel

The FF franchise seems to be getting better with each sequel. The series has always been uneven but at least in has avoided sinking into the direct-to-video hell. There is now less street racing and more Bond-style action and absurdly over the top stunts. Yeah, tank causes havoc in the highway, Vin Diesel can fly and in the end hulking dudes punch the stuffing out of each other. As a cartoon style action blockbuster it is entertaining flick and there is little to complain about (forget about the longest runway in the world!)

Hobbs has a wrestling match with Klaus (Kim Kold)

Singer Rita Ora has a cameo role as a grid girl.

Rating:

Good

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Gina Carano, Clara Paget, Kim Kold, Joe Taslim, Samuel M. Stewart, Benjamin Davies, Matthew Stirling, David Ajala, Thure Lindhardt, Shea Whigham, Andrei Zayats, John Ortiz, Jason Thorpe, Huggy Leaver, Alexander Vegh, Stephen Marcus, Magda Rodriguez, Andy Pointon, Victor Gardener, Sol de la Barreda, Françoise Philippart de Foy, Elvira Tricás, Carolina Pozo, Estrella Lorenzo, Jhony Meñdez, Revil Beat, Sarah Yan Li, Lizandro León, Sonia Hernández Fumero, Pilar Mayo

Director: Justin Lin

Fast & Furious 7 a.k.a Furious 7 a.k.a Furious Seven a.k.a Fast Seven

Universal Pictures, MRC, China Film Co., Original Film, One Race Films, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Québec Production Services Tax Credit, Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media Abu Dhabi Film Commission, USA, Japan, 2015.

The movie starts where the previous part ended. Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still amnesiac and Dominic (Vin Diesel) is trying to help her remember. Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are trying to adjust to peaceful family life. Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) and Elena (Elsa Pataky) are busting criminals. Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) are probably just enjoying their vacation.

Letty & Dominic

Peaceful life comes to an abrupt end when Han (Sung Kang) is murdered by rogue agent Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). This connects the plotline to the events in "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." Deckard is brother of the villain in the previous film. He also destroys a hospital, injures Hobbs and blows up Dominic's house. Busy guy.

Deckard Shaw

Dominic's family and friends are in danger. Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) offers to help Dominic and his friends if they save hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanue) and find the ultimate hacking tool God's Eye. She was captured by evil warlord Jakande (Djimon Hounsou). Also the God's Eye is hidden in a secure place so Dominic and his team travel around the world fighting bad guys and performing incredible stunts.

Mr. Nobody

Ramsey

Jakande

Although Paul Walker died before the film was completed, it was completed using digital technology and using Paul's brothers as stunt doubles. The film looks seamless as it is impossible to say which scenes have the real Paul Walker. What was missing from the previous part was the possibility to make the ending feel more emotional, after all Dominic's team suffered there some devastating losses. "FF7" is not afraid to have an emotional ending making it a proper goodbye to Paul Walker.

Dominic's team is back

Fast & Furious badassery reaches a new level. Parachuting cars. Bus full of miniguns and a crazy stunt involving the same bus. The Rock stays most of the time in the background before saving the day in the end. Jason Statham steals the scenes he's in by performing an indestructible evil version of the tough guys he usually performs. Kurt Russell seems to have fun. Martial artist Tony Jaa (known for "Ong Bak"- trilogy) appears as minor antagonist Kiet. Also WWE star Ronda Rousey has a match against Michelle Rodriguez.

Director James Wan is known for his horror movies and for producing "Saw" sequels so for him this was an unusual production. Although I'm not the biggest fan of his style, his visual tricks seem to work here better than in his horror productions. He manages to direct damn entertaining testosterone-fueled Hollywood action that raises the par for the (inevitable) sequels.

Dude where is my flying car?

Kiet

The Rock cosplays Heavy from "Team Fortress"

Singer Iggy Azalea has a cameo as a racer girl.

Rating:

Very good

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Lucas Black, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Gal Gadot, John Brotherton, Luke Evans, Tony Jaa, Djimon Hounsou, Noel Gugliemi, Ali Fazal, Sung Kang, Ronda Rousey, Miller Kimsey, Charlie Kimsey, Eden Estrella, Gentry White, Iggy Azalea, Jon Lee Brody, Levy Tran, Anna Colwell, Viktor Hernandez, Steve Coulter, Robert Pralgo, Antwan Mills, J.J. Phillips, Jorge Ferragut, Sara Sohn, Benjamin Blankenship, D.J. Hapa, Faheem Najm, Brian Mahoney, Brittney Alger, Romeo Santos, Jocelin Donahue, Stephanie Langston, Jorge-Luis Pallo

Director: James Wan

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