Change Your Image
al_duke
Reviews
The Wild Racers (1968)
Not great; not too bad either
This story about former NASCAR driver Joe Joe Quilico and his quest of making it big in European Grand Prix and Le Mans racing, and pursue a love life at the same time ought to evoke comparisons to two epic racing movies, Grand Prix and Le Mans. One good thing is the footage of exciting racing, which ought to please many fans of that era's Formula One and sports car prototype racing. It's interesting that we have a NASCAR driver making the switch to F1 (nowadays, it's the other way around-- Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Speed come to mind), and Fabian does a great job in his role as an American racer adjusting to life on the European racing circuit.
Now for the dislike. The editing! The Wild Racers makes use of too many quick cuts and the film's flow is generally "jerky" and the scenes cut too quickly into the next; it is not smooth at all, making it hard to follow the story at times. Compared to its contemporaries, Le Mans and Grand Prix-- the editing in those movies was much more tastefully done and served better in conveying a sense of emotion, or action, where it was needed. I never felt that I lost the storyline in those movies.
I agree with the other review that this story written by Max House is excellent. The storyline is great, no doubt-- but the execution simply didn't convey that, in my opinion. I still enjoyed the racing sequences, though. The Wild Racers could, and should, have been up there as one of the great racing movies of all time.
Kart Racer (2003)
Kart Racer is entertaining
The other day, this was on one of the TV networks. I had completely forgotten about this!! Soon, I recalled the characters, the racing sequences, the storyline of a troubled kid and his dad struggling to connect. The dad, Vic Davies (Randy Quaid), is a former kart racing champ and a top NASCAR mechanic, who wants to forget his racing past. He's an auto mechanic raising his son, Watts (Will Rothhaar) alone, after his wife had passed away. Watts hears about the local kart championship race, which he's dying to enter.
Watts has an intense rivalry with local "bad guy racer" Rodney Wells (Joe Dinicol). Rodney stops at nothing to make Watts look bad; and he and his crew are not above getting Watts arrested (more on that later). A little later, after more trouble, Watts sadly watches as Rodney and his dad buys the kart that he had set his eyes upon. At the same time, Watts develops a friendship (romance?) with Dahlia Stone (Amanda De Martinis), a graffiti artist who is probably as troubled as Watts himself. Could she help Watts to share his feelings and follow his heart?
In an effort to bond with Watts, Vic begins to train him in the fine art of kart racing, in which Watts proves to be a natural. With Vic's help and training, and a newly built kart, Watts enters the race. Watts meets his karting idol, champion racer Scott McKenna (David Gallagher), who it turns out, is very familiar with Vic's legendary karting past. During the race, Rodney plays dirty: he openly bumps and runs other drivers off the course. He runs Watts off the course, and Watts' engine is broken in the process.
During the rain delay, Vic and Watts ponder that may have to drop out, but then Scott saves the day by giving him a new engine. When the race resumes, Rodney tries one final time to take Watts out. He manages to take himself out (karma!). Scott pulls beside Watts and asks "How did you learn to drive like that?" "My dad taught me," Watts said. "He's the best of the best!" Our hero Watts then takes the win!
I don't really understand why Watts has never admitted to Vic, or to the cops, the main reason he keeps getting in trouble: his rivalry with Rodney. (Rodney's catchphrase: "the rules are there ain't no rules!") After all, Rodney was the one who ran Watts off into the pool at the beginning; and it was he and his crew, not Watts, that set off the sprinkler in the arcade bathroom! Later on, during the race, Rodney gains position by openly pushing others off the course. Why hasn't he been disqualified?
Also, the kart racing sequences during the race seemed a little bit exaggerated; I guess it's for the dramatic effect. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good story, with great kart racing action that kids (and kids at heart) would love. True, guys like Michael Schumacher, Jeff Gordon or Juan Pablo Montoya-- auto racing heroes who have cut their teeth on kart racing-- may not approve the racing portrayal. Who knows, maybe even racing pros like them may appreciate Kart Racer for what it is: pure entertainment.
True Heart (1999)
It was a good adventure story though...
I saw True Heart a couple of weekends ago, and I must say that it was a good adventure story with great music. However, it's quite heavy-handed in its message of nature conservation. Kirsten Dunst and Zachary Ty Bryan were quite good in this one, as Bonnie and Sam, two siblings who survive a plane crash deep in the woods of BC, Canada. They learn how to survive the hazards of the forest with the help of the native woodsman, Konanesta; in the process, the two learn about the spirits of the woods' creatures, and they also learn about themselves, and their relationships with each other and with their parents. The lead poacher was just plain evil personified, complete with a hook for a hand! We also see the big grizzly bear emerge as the great hero of the movie. (Now, I couldn't get past the grizzly bear being referred to as a "Kodiak"; a Kodiak is a subspecies of grizzly that lives in Alaska.) Which brings me to the portrayal of Konanesta; he acted like the stereotypical Native American one sees in movies in many ways, like being one with "Grandfather Nature"; however, Konanesta looked less like a typical "Indian brave" and more like Sean Connery with a long ponytail. I more than half expected him to talk to Sam and Bonnie in that classic voice saying something like "You are at one with all living things. Each man's thoughts and dreams are yours to know. You have power beyond imagination. Use it well, my friend." But I digress; True Heart was still a good family adventure.
Far and Away (1992)
Far and Away was okay.
I saw Far and Away last year, for the first time in years. The first half of the film follows the angles of "poor boy falls in love with the rich girl", and the "forbidden relationship" that causes the "poor boy and rich girl" to flee the "old country." The second half is the story of the struggles of the young couple trying to settle in a new land. Yes, it's a little bit dramatic at times, and it has the foundations of a good, well-told story, but only when played right without being over the top. Nicole Kidman did a lovely job, and she made the role of Shannon her own; she was really believable. Thomas Gibson's portrayal of Stephen, the main antagonist, was just brilliant. He excellently played that kind of "bad guy" viewers really just love to hate! The cinematography was beautiful, as was the sweeping views of the Land Rush. Ron Howard did a great job in showing the audience an epic drama.
On the downside, I could not get over the film's end conflict: Joseph (Tom Cruise) was supposed to die, right? He fights Stephen in a big showdown, falls and gets trampled by horses, and he hits his head hard on a rock, which looked like it should have been fatal. Joseph fades out, and Shannon weeps. Yet, he miraculously springs back to life because Shannon tells Joseph that she loves him? What? That ending is over the top, and a little too absurdly overdone for my tastes. Another thing, although it's minor: the name of Nicole Kidman's character. The name "Shannon" just sounds a little too modern for the 1890's, sort of like having a girl being named "Courtney" in a movie set in the Civil War. Finally, I tried very hard, but still could not get past Joseph's accent. That was a huge minus for me; to me, Joseph sounded more like Forrest Gump than a poor Irish lad. Sorry Tom, you were much more believable as Maverick on Top Gun! Nonetheless, it was still a good film that's worth watching.
High Velocity (1976)
So much more than a D-grade Rambo
So, I'm watching this movie one afternoon on a day off. It's High Velocity, starring Ben Gazzara and Paul Winfield, as, I guess, former Special Forces operatives Cliff Baumgartner and Watson, respectively. They are soon contacted by Martel, played very slimily by Alejandro Rey, a sneaky executive of an unnamed "global corporation." The mission, should Baumgartner and Watson choose to accept: to rescue from captivity, the terribly loudmouthed, high-powered stereotypically American executive, Mr. Anderson, loudly played by Keenan Wynn (love that handlebar mustache of his, connected to some gigantic sidewhiskers! Gotta love the 70's!). Mr. Anderson was kidnapped from the polo grounds by a group of guerrillas, "the Gang of 45," led by Habagat, portrayed by Joonee Gamboa.
The Gang of 45 are not holding Anderson for ransom, but are doing so to make a political statement against corporate greed and imperialism. During the course of the film, we see the differences between rich and poor, from the beginning scenes at the polo grounds to all the scenes showing gritty city life, contrasted with the wealth and power of this unnamed "global corporation." Also, the stereotypical "ugly American" Mr. Anderson doesn't garner any sympathy from the viewer. Later, it is shown that Martel is sneakier than thought: he's also sleeping around with Mr. Anderson's trophy wife, played by Britt Eckland, and he's about to stab the mercs in the back big time!
It turns out that Martel plotted this whole thing simply to get Mr. Anderson out of the way and have Mrs. Anderson all to himself. Martel must ultimately take out anyone "who knows too much" —including Baumgartner and Watson! On the acting, I felt that Gazzara and Winfield played their parts of ex-Special Forces soldiers turned mercs quite well; both looked like they worked well together. Meanwhile, Rey was so sneaky and slimy here, I couldn't believe he's the same guy in the Flying Nun series!
I could easily have dismissed this as low-budget "Rambo wannabee" trash; if anything, what saved High Velocity from becoming a D-grade "commando" flick is the underlying social commentary about wealth and poverty. For me personally, because High Velocity was filmed in the Philippines during the 70's, I feel as if I am transported to the Philippines my parents knew. It's not exactly the Philippines I saw when I visited there ten years ago, but it's still the country I recognize.
A Man Called Sarge (1990)
How have I missed this one?
I saw this the other day on ThisTV; how did I never see this? I knew from the outset that this was going to be a comedy, one of those crazy (some might say "stupid") comedies at that. I knew that I was going to like it. I was right, and this movie was crazy funny! It was just the thing to lift me after a long day! Gary Kroeger played a great "American hero" type as Sarge, and Marc Singer as General von Kraut was so awesomely over the top! Don't expect any kind of historical accuracy, for A Man Called Sarge doesn't even pretend to be an accurate portrayal of the North African campaign during "World War Eye-Eye". Still, if you like movies with crazy non PC humor, like Airplane!, the Police Academy series, or more recent ones like Not Another Teen Movie, the Scary Movies, Epic Movie or Meet the Spartans, you will definitely not be disappointed!
Un ponte per l'inferno (1986)
"I may be crazy, but I can smell a stinker..."
--As spoken by Lieutenant Rogers. That was the one line in "Bridge To Hell" that stuck out in this no-budget WWII action flick. I watched it one day when I was off on one of the movie channels, whose theme of the day was World War II action flicks. It was very cheesy, and the storyline was very loose, the characters all seemed like they came straight out of a comic book; and it had scenes that went nowhere. However, I found the Yugoslavian setting and the plot device of Yugoslav partisan activity during the war years very interesting, which is not something often seen by US audiences. Then again, knowing Umberto Lenzi's work, I sort of knew what to expect. So if you are looking for historical accuracy, technical accuracy, great casting and acting, and a great storyline, look elsewhere; but if you just want cartoonish combat action and lots of explosions, with the added bonus of seeing some lovely Bosnian scenery, you've come to the right place!