DVD Collectors Online

Two-Lane Blacktop, a review by Jon

TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971)
4 out of 5



James Taylor (Driver) and Dennis Wilson (Mechanic) are driving across America in a souped up Chevvy, drag racing for money. Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker, played by Laurie Bird, and get into a race for "pinks" with Warren Oates in his G.T.O.

Time for change of pace. So far this marathon has featured people driving for a reason, but the early 1970s American cinema was defined by several classic movies that were more about the road than the journey. Aimless quests for freedom matched only by aimless filmmaking in some cases, started by Easy Rider in 1969. That's a film I found hard to really like, but I do admire it and it's importance can't be undervalued.

Two-Lane Blacktop is in some ways, Easy Rider in cars, though the characters have more interest in their vehicles than Fonda and Hopper who were more interested in drugs. It certainly shares it's laidback, cool vibe. Or is that lazy and comatose? Depends on your point of view, but Two-Lane is definitely better without compromising the idyllic idea of freedom.

The script is so lean the characters don't have names. Driver and Mechanic as they are credited, are also played by singers who can't act. That sounds like a criticism, but it's just an observation, because their manner was ideal and they weren't tasked with any sort of development. This is a film about mood and, I felt, a melancholic nostalgia for a time that surely couldn't last. The very final shot is as memorable and poetic as any.

The story, such as it is, follows the two as they drive across America challenging other drivers and entering competitions in drag racing to earn money. Get a proper job, you might say! But that's kind of the point. They pick up a hitchhiker... well, actually she just gets in the car when they stop for food. Then they get in and ignore her and carry on the journey. They say nothing for miles! Which pretty much tells you the whole style of things just kind of happening without argument or commentary. An urban natural order perhaps.

They keep tussling with the driver of a G.T.O. and finally make a bet for the cars on who can get to Washington first. That might sound like a plot, but trust me, it isn't! You have to see it to see why. Warren Oates plays an incredible character in a very poignant role as "G.T.O.". He's a show-off seemingly trying to fit in and be hip who annoyed me at first, but he gives the film a purpose and some much needed dialogue and by the end, he's a heartbreaking figure. For a film that seems so light, his part is brilliantly written. He picks up a string of hitchhikers (each one a comedy moment in their own right, especially Harry Dean Stanton) and gives each one a different story. One he tells the story to twice, so used as he is to lying. He reminded me a little of Leonard in Memento; it's impossible to know how long he has been out on the road or why. It gives the film a mysterious sad quality.

That character and the commitment to the mood make for a powerful screenplay, while Monte Hellman's direction is similarly restrained. There's plenty of driving of course and plenty of talk about cars, but very few stunts unless you count track shots at drag races. There is one highlight when they spin off the road to avoid an accident, but this isn't a pure petrol head experience. They do sound great though!

It's very hard to commit and say whether this film, like might be said about Easy Rider, is monumental work of art or a pointless exercise in boredom. It's wide open to interpretation. I loved it. G.T.O. made sense of the whole lot for me and made it a very memorable experience and I look forward to seeing it again. If you fancy challenging your conceptions about what makes a good film, give it a shot. It's a little bit of French New Wave played out on the American highways!

The Criterion DVD is superb. If you enjoy the film (big "if" possibly!) the interviews and features expand on it brilliantly. Nice feature about tracking down and restoring the Chevy too. Comes with a "book". Wasn't sure what to do with that; certainly wouldn't fit in the DVD player...

The Car's the star: Custom Chevy versus Ford Pontiac G.T.O.


Trailer

(From Car Movie Marathon on August 20th, 2008)

Them!, a review by GSyren

Title	Them! (8-717774-231128)
Director	Gordon Douglas
Actors	James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens
Produced	1954 in United States
Runtime	89 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	None
Overview	Nuclear tests in the desert result in the growth of gigantic mutant ants who menace cities in the American south-west as a team of investigators and the army search for a way to control their spread in this Cold War-era monster film.
My thoughts	If you want to enjoy any giant bug movie (or in fact any giant anything), you have to be able to overlook the scientific impossibility of the thing. You can't scale up an ant 100 times and have it work. There's a reason why elephants are built like elephants and not like ants. But if you accept that it's just fantasy, it can still be quite exciting. Them! is in fact one of the best of the mutated bug movies. It has a good script, good cinematography, good acting. The big ant puppets look a little bit dodgy and move a little to awkwardly to be really scary, but I've seen a lot worse monsters. This year marks the 60th anniversary for this movie. It would be nice if Warner would release it on blu-ray with some interesting special features, but I guess that's just a pipe dream. I like this film a lot. Highly recommended!
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on February 11th, 2014)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Ctrl+Alt+Del: The Animated Series: Season One (2007/Canada) Wikipedia (United States) Length: 62 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Prepare to enter a dazzling world of video games and humor as the first season of Ctrl+Alt+Del: The Animated Series comes to DVD. Using the inspiring and groundbreaking new technology called "Animatrionic Comic-o-motion 2D", we are able to breathe life into previously stationary characters for the first time ever!

Join Apathy Award winner Ethan, along with Golden Snow Globe nominees Lucas and Lilah and an all-star ensemble cast for action, adventure and laughs!

Ctrl+Alt+Del
1.01 This means war (2006-02-01)
Writer: Tim Buckley (Writer)
Director: Ryan Sohmer
Cast: Eric Hunt ( (voice)), Dan Dunlap ( (voice)), Jessica Wachsman ( (voice)), Chris Parson ( (voice)), Dave Mitchell ( (voice))

A web animation series based on a web comic. The creator did this as a kind of an experiment. For an amateur production it was really fun.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 2nd, 2011)