Truck Turner (1974) – Pursuit Of The Pimpmobile

Big black baldy bail bondsman bounty hunter Truck Turner busts heads in this gloriously fun 70’s smasher starring that Hot Buttered Soul Love Machine himself Isaac Hayes. Not only does he get to trash a whole array of pimps and dealers, he gets to take on the soundtrack duties, adding the funk grooves to the proceedings. Nothing sounds better than watching crazy clothed pimps and hoes and wrecking ball car chases accompanied to the sound of wah wah guitar, dirty basslines, horn stabs and funky as hell drum breaks.

Johnny Handsome (1989) – Revenge Has A New Face

Mickey Rourke plays criminal minded John ‘Johnny Handsome‘ Sedley and manages to channel the spirit of Eric Stoltz portrayal of Rocky Dennis until he meets Dr Fisher (Forest Whitaker) for some experimental cosmetic surgery giving Johnny the chance to change his face. Turning him into Bruce Willis with hair whilst sprouting the vocal style of Marlon Brando.

Tagline – Revenge has a new face

Nightfall (1956) and Aldo Ray Recommends?

Sergeant Montana in Men In War

This is the second film I’ve seen with Aldo Ray in the last few months and I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of him before. The first was Men In War (1957) with Robert Ryan.  He played a Sergeant called Montana who was looking after a battle worn, shell shocked officer known only as The Colonel. Aldo Ray’s performance really stood out in film, he came across as a strong willed maverick but also filled with passion and kindness as he cared for his Colonel. Intrigued to see more from Aldo I stumbled upon Nightfall.

Tagline – THE BLACK BAG…with $350,000 in loot! THE BLACK DRESS…with a beautiful pick-up girl inside! THE BLACK NIGHT…made for lovers…and killers!

Michael Caine Funk Attack Soundtrack Mix

Michael Caine, Roy Budd, Trailers and Soundtracks. What’s not to like? This is an extract from a radio show podcast I did in August 2011.

The Exterminating Angel (1962) – Sacrificial Lamb Satire

When it comes to movie titles, The Exterminating Angel is pretty spectacular. Being that I only read a small synopsis for the plot I had imagined it would be in the vein of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There None” and that the exterminating angel was a description of some femme fatale who was unleashing her wrath on the unexpecting party guests. Haha how wrong could I have been!

Being There (1979) – Peter Sellers Gardening Guru

Being There is one of those movies that digs about in your brain, popping up throughout the day nagging at you to decipher what it was all about. Could it be that deep, did it have so many undercurrent takes on life, metaphors of differing scales on the human condition .. I don’t know to be honest but man did I absolutely adored this film.

What’s Been Watched This Month – April 2017

I do like a list. Here’s what has been watched in April 2017.

The Lineup (1958) – Psychos & Innocent Drug Trafficking Noir

Director Don Siegel is a legend who dropped incredible movies on us from all angles. With so many starring that man Clint Eastwood it’s no wonder they feature high on my teenage watch list.  From Coogan’s Bluff to the iconic Dirty Harry. Then there’s The Beguiled to the delightful Two Mules for Sister Sara and the awesome Charlie Varrick (what no Clint?) to name a few.

Wake in Fright (1971) – The Greatest Australian Film?

Another month, another bonkers film to add to the list, Wake in Fright from 1971 is essential watching. Marooned in a small town resembling some kind of maddening limbo land, a possible stop off for hell itself . But to be honest this could be just an ordinary Australian outback town going about its everyday life for all that I know.

Think Walkabout meets all of Crocodile Dundee’s mates, add a gazillion gallons of booze and crank that unbearable blistering heat up to maximum overdrive, blast in mountains of dry hot dust and you get a slight picture of what to expect. Who needs water when the beer flows like white rapids at the bottom of a waterfall.

Hard Times (1975) – Bronson Smashes

Working my way through director Walter Hill‘s back catalogue brings me to his debut film, the Charles Bronson smasher from 1975, Hard Times. With The Warriors being by far my most watched film of his I’ve found out this guy has a real knack for making good honest action films for the boys. The next two on the tick off list are Streets Of Fire (1984) and Johnny Handsome (1989). Plus I’m looking forward to re-watching The Driver as I haven’t seen it for donkey years and can’t remember the plot. That would bring me to seeing all his 70’s and 80’s film’s. Also toying with the idea of watching Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) and Wild Bill (1995), any good? Have you seen either of those two?