Mubi Monday: Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

One of those films I had heard about over the years, but without knowing what it was REALLY about, Two-Lane Blacktop is, it turns out, a film that takes some archetypes and uses them to explore life as a petrol-head. I'm not going to try to explore the extra layers here, but I think it's worth mentioning that there's definitely a bit more to it than JUST people driving in fast cars.

James Taylor and Dennis Wilson play The Driver and The Mechanic, two men who are travelling across America, racing other drivers along the way. They pick up The Girl (Laurie Bird) on their travels, and end up making a big wager with the driver of a fine G. T. O (Warren Oates). The winner will have an extra car, but it soon becomes clear that the race is actually secondary to the appreciation of the vehicles they are driving.

Tonally akin to something that crosses the work of Walter Hill and Richard Linklater, Two-Lane Blacktop is very simple, in so many ways, and yet also impressively insightful into the mindset of those who view the car as the means of freedom to go wherever they like, without knowing where they may want to be going.

The script, by Rudy Wurlitzer (credited as Rudolph Wurlitzer) and Will Corry, is deceptively slight, stitching together a number of driving encounters (Harry Dean Stanton stands out, despite his short amount of screentime) and allowing time for the meandering conversations of the main characters to form a kind of passive philosophy.

Director Monte Hellman excels at keeping things focused where they should be, either on the characters or on the road ahead. The more sedate in-car moments are well-shot, and you really get a sense of speed when anyone puts their foot down harder on the pedal. Much like any long car journey, you get a mix of exciting thrills and more common "downtime", although those hoping for some kind of stunt-filled racing flick will be sorely disappointed.

Taylor and Wilson aren't all that memorable, essentially establishing themselves to anyone else in relation to the cars, but Bird does well with a role that could have easily been irritating, and Oates is exceptional, an older driver who isn't quite on the same wavelength as the younger men, but certainly has an idea of the experience that they keep seeking while driving along.

Exploring one of the modern mythical elements of America, the freedom of the open highway (all countries have roads to drive along, but there's something . . . extra about those that cut across the USA), Two-Lane Blacktop wonders if it is all it is cracked up to be, and may even leave you wondering if the chance to experience it, in such a pure way, was ever really there.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Trapped Ashes (2006)

An anthology horror movie with some considerable talent both in front of the camera and behind it, Trapped Ashes may not become a firm favourite, but it's good enough for a one-time watch.

Written by Dennis Bartok, the different sections are directed by Joe Dante, Ken Russell, Monte Hellman, Sean S. Cunningham, and John Gaeta. If that selection of names isn't enough to get you excited then consider the fact that the cast includes Henry Gibson, John Saxon, and a fleeting cameo from Dick Miller. Okay, the rest of the cast maybe isn't full of actors on the same level as those guys, but there are certainly enough fan-pleasing moments sprinkled throughout the runtime.

The wraparound story, directed by Joe Dante, concerns a bunch of people - Lara Harris, Scott Lowell, Rachel Veltri, Jayce Bartok, John Saxon and Michele-Barbara Pelletier - who are on a tour of a Hollywood movie studio. The tour guide (Gibson) relents when they ask him if they can enter a famous House Of Horror, but once everyone is inside they soon realise that they can't find their way out again. The tour guide reminds everyone that this was actually the plot of a movie, and that people ended up telling stories of their scariest moments until they could find their way out again. Which leads to people telling stories of their scariest moments.

Story one is "The Girl With The Golden Breasts" and it's a typical slice of lunacy from Ken Russell. Rachel Veltri stars as the titular (stop sniggering) girl. More comical than any of the other tales, this is a fun way to get the ball rolling, but also feels out of place when viewed alongside the segments that come along after it.

Story two is "Jibaku", a strange tale of seduction and evil starring Lara Harris and Scott Lowell as a married couple who end up going through a difficult time, to put it mildly, when Harris gets mixed up with a dangerous spirit. Director Sean S. Cunningham employs some impressive imagery here, but the story is never that engrossing, and ultimately falls a bit flat.

Story three is a cracker, entitled "Stanley's Girlfriend", and I don't want to mention anything that might spoil the pleasant surprise it provides. Amelia Cooke is the very appealing girl at the centre of events, Tahmoh Panikett and Tygh Runyan both do well in their roles, and John Saxon is his usual great self. The direction from Monte Hellman here is solid, servicing material that is aiming for a mix of creepiness and regret.

Last, we get "My Twin, The Worm", starring Matreya Fedor. Directed by John Gaeta, this is a tale with no surprises, and makes for a bit of a weak final story, I'm afraid.

Then it's time to finish up the wraparound with a final sequence that most viewers, especially fans of anthology horrors, will have been predicting from the beginning. That doesn't mean that it's unenjoyable. It's just unoriginal.

Writer Dennis Bartok obviously has a love for traditional horror and traditional Hollywood, as a number of the tales riff on aspects of "the golden age", but he just doesn't take the time to craft and polish everything to compensate for the weaker aspects, the unoriginality and poor special effects. The cast and directors don't do too badly, but they're hampered by the script, either by the central story ideas or the general stale air that hangs over most of the material (possibly intentional, considering the wraparound).

But I had still enjoyed this movie, and I'd watch it again. That doesn't mean that it's great. It just means that I'm easily pleased, but I know that some other horror fans in a good mood might also have some fun with this one.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trapped-Ashes-DVD-John-Saxon/dp/B0042QWX3A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391168904&sr=8-1&keywords=trapped+ashes

Remember, every copy of my book sold gets a few pounds in my pocket, and gets you a good read (if I say so myself).

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989)

It turns out that Ricky Caldwell, the killer in Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 isn't dead. Nope, he's just been in a coma for some time, allowing him to change into Bill Moseley (taking over the role from Eric Freeman) and establish a psychic connection with a blind girl named Laura (Samantha Scully). Laura is about to head to her grandmother's place for the holidays (with her brother, played by Eric DaRe, and his girlfriend, played by Laura Harring), which also seems to be the cue for Ricky to get up and start killing people again. And we all know who he's aiming for.

Directed by Monte Hellman, this is laughable stuff from start to finish. The script, by Carlos Laszlo, makes no effort to shoehorn any logic into the proceedings, which means that everything simply develops from the ridiculous into the more ridiculous.

Whether it's the fact that this killer moves even slower than any other onscreen killer that I can think of, the whole cast of characters being so hard to care for, or even the scene when someone stops to give a lift to a man hitch-hiking, despite the fact that his brain is visible through the liquid-filled jar contraption sitting at the top of his skull . . . . . . . this film provides plenty of unintentional (?) laughs.

Moseley is given nothing to do, besides shuffle around very slowly and kill people occasionally. Scully is required to act blind and throw out sneering comments every other minute, which she does. Eric DaRe is fine, but I was much happier with any scene that featured Laura Harring (billed here as Laura Herring), simply because I have a big crush on her. Robert Culp is a cop trying to get to Caldwell before he kills again, and Richard Beymer is the doctor who may have accidentally created the link between the killer and his target.

Not quite as bad as the movie that preceded it, but it comes close. Thankfully, if you watch it in the right frame of mind then you will find plenty to enjoy. Just not in the way that the creators intended.

3/10

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Deadly-Better-Initiation-Toymaker/dp/B002P8LKCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386762884&sr=8-1&keywords=silent+night+deadly+night+3