Movies – Page 3 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Max’s Drive-In Movie – Dr. No

I have a different relationship with James Bond than some. I didn’t watch them as a kid but I started to watch them in my late 20s. I finally found out what all the fuss was about. I do remember seeing parts of Moonraker when it came out but it just didn’t pique my interest at 12. I recently read a review of From Russia With Love from princecranoir and would recommend everyone reading. That one may be my favorite James Bond film but this one holds a special place for me as well. My favorite always changes when I do a Bond marathon at home. I did a post a while back about my favorite Bond films…and Dr No was at the top…so it does change.

Dr. No was a commercial success, paving the way for numerous sequels and establishing the template for future Bond films. Sean Connery’s portrayal of Bond became iconic, and the film is credited with launching the spy genre in cinema. We will still be watching this in 2062.

Dr. No was the first Bond film I ever watched all the way through. Released in 1962, it introduced the world to James Bond, a suave, sophisticated British secret agent with a license to kill. Based on Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name, the film marked the first installment of one of the most successful and enduring franchises in cinematic history. Dr. No laid the foundation that would define Bond for decades—high-stakes espionage, glamorous locations, and, of course, iconic villains. There were really no gadgets in this one…that would come in the next film.

It was based on Ian Fleming’s 6th book about the Spy but the first one was adapted into a movie. Sean Connery is James Bond to me and there was no better way of kicking off a franchise than this. The film looks great in its vivid color and scenery. The bulk of the film was filmed in Jamaica in early 1962.

There is no better use of a Sunday afternoon than to spend it with James Bond and the absolutely stunning Ursula Andress. When she walked out of the water on Crab Key, it was close to everything magically turning to color in The Wizard of Oz… She was the first of many Bond girls to follow and you could not find a better first one. I was humming Under the Mango Tree for days after I saw it.

JFK, an avid Ian Fleming fan, even hosted a private screening of “Dr. No” at the White House. Legend has it he remarked, “I wish I had James Bond on my staff.” Who wouldn’t? If you haven’t seen this film, treat yourself and immerse yourself in Bond’s world; and for those who have, a rewatch is always a pleasure.

Plot (Spoilers)

The movie starts with Bond, played by Sean Connery, being sent to Jamaica to figure out why a fellow British agent went missing. Pretty mysterious, right?

When Bond gets to Jamaica, things get tense. He teams up with some local allies, like a fisherman named Quarrel and CIA agent Felix Leiter. They help him uncover clues, which eventually lead to a creepy, secretive island called Crab Key. This is where Dr. No, the villain, is hiding. He’s a super smart but evil scientist who works for a dangerous organization called SPECTRE. His plan? To mess with American space missions using some kind of high-tech radio beam. Bond realizes he needs to stop him before things get out of hand.

Bond’s adventure takes him into Dr. No’s hidden lair, where he also meets Honey Ryder (played by Ursula Andress), a woman who’s just out collecting shells but gets tangled in Bond’s mission. Together, they navigate the dangers of the island, avoiding Dr. No’s guards and traps.

In typical Bond fashion, he manages to outsmart Dr. No, destroy his base, and save the day. The movie ends with a big explosion as Bond and Honey escape. It’s classic spy action, with all the charm, gadgets, and danger you’d expect from a Bond film!

Quotes

Dr. No: The Americans are fools. I offered my services; they refused. So did the East. Now they can both pay for their mistake.
James Bond: World domination. The same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they’re Napoleon. Or God.

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[Honey describes how she killed the man who had hurt her]
Honey Ryder: I put a black widow spider underneath his mosquito net… a female, they’re the worst. It took him a whole week to die.
[Bond looks shocked]
Honey Ryder: Did I do wrong?
James Bond: Well, it wouldn’t do to make a habit of it.

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[explaining why she believes the legend about Crab Key’s fire-breathing dragon]
Honey Ryder: How well do you know about animals? Did you ever see a mongoose dance? Or, a scorpion with sunstroke sting itself to death? Or, a praying mantis eat her husband after making love?
James Bond: I hate to admit it, but, I haven’t.
Honey Ryder: Well, I have.

Original Trailer

Max’s Drive-In Movies – Late Night With The Devil

Usually, I only review older movies but this one is right up powerpop.blog’s alley! It’s a 2023 film set in the year 1977. They have the 1970s down…one of the best time-period movies I’ve seen as far as getting the era right. The audience in the movie could have been off a film clip of the Johnny Carson era Tonight Show. This movie marries nostalgia with horror quite nicely. It’s almost like The Exorcist meets Johnny Carson. It will make you uneasy and you have to pay attention because there are a few subplots you can miss if not. Some of it is based on the reception of the 1980 book Michelle Remembers by Canadian Lawrence Pazder. That book helped cause the “Satanic Panic” around that time on talk shows and the public.

It’s about a talk show host Jack Delroy who was a popular DJ in Chicago who got a chance to host a late-night talk show that was going against Johnny Carson. He signed a 5 year deal in 1972 and now in 1977 it’s running out. A year after the tragic death of Jack’s wife, ratings have plummeted. It’s a “found footage” movie and the footage being a master tape that was never shown again. Desperate to turn it around, Jack plans a Halloween special like no other, unaware he is about to unleash evil on late-night television.

On Halloween night 1977, Jack is set to host a special live episode featuring an array of guests, including a renowned paranormal expert with a single name, Christou. However, what starts as exploring the supernatural quickly devolves into chaos when a series of unexplained events unfold.

You get to know Jack’s past and about his wife that just passed away from lung cancer. Jack was part of a secret club called The Grove (a reference to the Bohemian Club) that many celebrities and elites joined. That info plays a big part of this movie. Did Jack essentially sacrifice his wife to be popular? It asks the question…what are you prepared to give up for success?

It all starts with Christou picks an audience member and accurately tells her about her son who killed himself. After that, a skeptical but nasty guest named Carmichael the Conjurer starts to say how all supernatural and unusual events are not real. He offered Christou $100,000 to prove he was not a con man. He books an interview with a parapsychologist and the subject of her recent book, a young teenager who was the sole survivor of a Satanic church’s mass suicide. Naturally, all hell breaks loose when paranormal activity begins wreaking havoc during the show.

The plot blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural, with the audience left questioning what’s real as Jack faces his worst fears live on air. The tension mounts as the show’s studio audience becomes unsettled, mirroring Jack’s descent into madness. The film’s use of practical effects and atmospheric cinematography sells what is happening.

Horror movies… the one thing that bothers me about most of them are the endings. This one has an ending with a twist. My only complaint…being the 1970s lover I am…I wish they would have used the same kind of film look the Tonight Show had but the set was great. At the end of the movie you will also hear a song by Flo and Eddie called Keep It Warm.

David Dastmalchian did a great job as Jack Delroy.

Max’s Drive-In Movie -Jaws

Da-Dum, Da-Dum, Da-Dum…

June 20, 1975, was not only the opening of this movie but it turned into a huge pop culture event of the 1970s. It’s a movie known around the world. There were T-shirts, novelty songs, and hype…but the movie lived up to it and then some.

Why was it so great? For me, I would say that Spielberg kept it simple. Jaws is based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley, which was inspired by a series of shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey in 1916. Benchley’s book tells the story of a great white shark terrorizing a small coastal town, and the efforts of three men to hunt it down.

The acting in this was excellent to me. The one that I always pick out is Robert Shaw as the character Quint. He makes himself known quickly by the fingernails down the chalkboard tactic. Shaw made that character real to me. My favorite scene was him telling the story of delivering the atomic bomb, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and the shark attacks that happened. His performance is probably the main reason for Jaws being one of my favorite films of all time. The speech is based on a real event. The USS Indianapolis sank in 1945, resulting in the greatest loss of life due to shark attacks in history.

Spielberg wanted Lee Marvin for Quint and Jon Voight for Hooper. Spielberg got it right for this film. Roy Scheider as Martin and newcomer Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper were great. It’s the realism that Shaw added that pushed this over.

Spielberg’s use of tension, combined with John Williams’ score proved that a horror thriller could achieve both critical and commercial success. The film won three Academy Awards (for editing, score, and sound) and remains highly regarded by critics. But perhaps its greatest legacy is even today, many people feel some fear whenever they step into the ocean.

John Williams…The man is renowned for his film scores. Along with Jaws and barely scratching the surface…he also did Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Harry Potter, and Jurassic Park, just to name a few.

The movies Duel and Jaws were Spielberg’s first two big movies. They share a common thread. Duel features a large diesel truck that is much like Jaws on dry land. Both movies work well.

PLOT

It’s a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose primary business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. It doesn’t sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several local business people. Brody backs down to his regret of that weekend. A predator kills a young boy. The dead boy’s mother puts out a bounty on the shark, and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fishermen hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon, Quint, Brody, and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are hunting the Great White shark at sea. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they will need a bigger boat.

QUOTES

Quint: [Quint first scratches the chalk board to get everyone’s attention] Y’all know me. Know how I earn a livin’. I’ll catch this bird for you, but it ain’t gonna be easy. Bad fish. Not like going down the pond chasin’ bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you whole. Little shakin’, little tenderizin’, an’ down you go. And we gotta do it quick, that’ll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin’ basis. But it’s not gonna be pleasant. I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I’ll find him for three, but I’ll catch him, and kill him, for ten. But you’ve gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter. I don’t want no volunteers, I don’t want no mates, there’s just too many captains on this island. $10,000 for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.

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Ellen Brody: Martin hates boats. Martin hates water. Martin… Martin sits in his car when we go on the ferry to the mainland. I guess it’s a childhood thing. It’s a… there’s a clinical name for it isn’t there?
Brody: Drowning.

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Brody: You’re gonna need a bigger boat.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – An American Werewolf In London

Most of the time a comedy-horror doesn’t work but in this 1981 film, it works perfectly. I always come back to this movie. It’s not a parody…but a horror movie that happens to have funny moments. When the movie came out on VHS I bought it. It was also the first movie I bought on DVD. It has aged very well.

If you like horror movies you should like this. I would not recommend the sequel An American Werewolf in Paris…that one doesn’t stack up against the original. This one does have violence, blood, and gore and it’s very effective. The scene in the pub is worth watching the movie. I’ve never felt as uncomfortable for two people in a movie when David and Jack walked into that pub.

Two Americans (David and Jack) are traveling through Europe. They go to a pub (The Slaughtered Lamb) and it’s strongly hinted for them to stick to the main roads on their way out by the unfriendly locals…well guess what? They don’t and soon Jack is ripped to shreds and David is badly scratched by a werewolf. David wakes up in a hospital with Nurse Alex Price taking care of him. That is the nurse I would want.

David starts having horrific nightmares. In the hospital, Jack reappears to David as a decomposing corpse. He keeps telling David that he should kill himself because David will turn into a werewolf and kill others. David goes home with Alex and Jack keeps reappearing and eventually, David does turn into a werewolf.

John Landis had just finished The Blues Brothers and Animal House when he directed this. In two years he would hit again with Trading Places. Rick Baker did the special effects for this movie. The transformation is great and the wolf is perfect. It is the best transformation scene I’ve ever seen. The effects worked very well for me because it felt real.

The music is great. Bad Moon Rising, Blue Moon, and Moondance are featured. Supposedly Max Landis, John’s son is planning to remake this movie. Personally, I don’t think it needs it. It’s hard to remake a classic.

Plot IMDB

Two American college students are on a walking tour of Britain and are attacked by a werewolf. One is killed, the other is mauled. The werewolf is killed but reverts to its human form, and the local townspeople are unwilling to acknowledge its existence. The surviving student begins to have nightmares of hunting on four feet at first but then finds that his friend and other recent victims appear to him, demanding that he commit suicide to release them from their curse, being trapped between worlds because of their unnatural deaths.

Quotes

Dart Player: Go. Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors.
David: Yeah. Thank you.
Chess Player: Beware the moon, lads.

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Gerald Bringsley: [accusing David of his murder] Whereas I am a victim of your carnivorous lunar activities.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – Cujo

It’s getting near Halloween so I’m going to feature some more horror movies in the next two weeks…that’s my excuse anyway. I will start by saying that this is not the best Stephen King adaptation by any stretch but it’s entertaining. I think it’s thrilling and I like the director’s pacing in this one. Plus…the ability to make a Saint Bernard look convincingly menacing takes a lot of work. Also, check out a movie reviewer… my friend Bernie from Reelybernie. He is one of the best movie reviewers on WP and he is doing a Halloween series now.

As some of you know, I have had three Saint Bernards, so I like any movie with them, even if it’s evil. Cujo is not really evil; he has rabies and it’s a frightening thought. They are very strong dogs, they can pull thousands of pounds so if one was rabid you would be…to put it mildly in bad trouble. I have played wrestle each one and I couldn’t imagine if they were being serious. I watched this movie again with Martha, my current Saint, right beside me which was cool because she is the spitting image of Cujo with her marks.

Our first Saint was 175lbs with no fat on her. I did see her in action though one time. A German Shepard was coming at my wife from across the street, our dog knocked down our metal gate and ended up body-slamming the Shepard to the ground. It got up and never came back. She also wandered out on the road one day after getting out of the house. She was hit by a church bus…I thought she was dead but she got back up and barked at the bus. We did take her to a vet and she had some bruising but that was it. They are tough dogs but the most lovable lugs you would ever meet.

This 1983 movie starts with a big fun Saint Bernard chasing a rabbit…he sticks his big nose down a rabbit hole and is bitten by a bat. Cue the slow descent into a rabid madness. I’ve never read this book before but in the movie, nothing supernatural happens which is strange for a Stephen King adaptation. I’ve read where the book does have some supernatural events in it but not many. The movie just concentrates on the story.

At first, Cujo is just a regular, lovable dog who belongs to a mechanic named Joe Camber, his son, and his wife. But after the bat bite, Cujo starts acting strange and becomes more aggressive as the rabies takes over. You could tell that Joe Camber was not father or husband of the year material. His wife and son planned on a trip to her sister’s home. The movie didn’t say but I think they were leaving and never coming back.

Meanwhile, we meet the main characters, Donna Trenton (played by Dee Wallace), her husband Vic, and their young son Tad. Donna is having some personal troubles because she’s having an affair, and her marriage is falling apart. Vic, her husband, has to leave town for work, leaving Donna and Tad on their own. Dee Wallace was fantastic in this role. The critics were mixed but most gave her high marks for this movie.

One day, Donna and Tad drive out to Joe Camber’s farm to get their car fixed, but when they arrive, they discover that Cujo is no longer the friendly dog he once was. My favorite scene is where Camber’s son Brent calls for Cujo before he and his mom leave for her sister’s house…Cujo comes out of the fog growling and foaming but recognizes Brent (his owner) and slowly walks away. No one else gets that lucky.

They are now stuck at the farm and Cujo is now rabid and bloodthirsty and he quickly attacks them. Donna and Tad end up trapped in their broken-down car, with Cujo circling around them, ready to pounce. The heat inside the car is unbearable, and they can’t escape because the dog is waiting for them.

Dee Wallace was fantastic in this film. The movie got mixed reviews but Wallace was singled out by most as doing a great job. Lewis Teague directed this movie and I have to give him credit. He didn’t try to rush it, he slowly built the tension up and it paid off at the end.

Despite the film’s portrayal of Cujo as a terrifying dog, the Saint Bernard dogs used on set were friendly and often wagged their tails during scenes where they were supposed to be menacing. To overcome this, the filmmakers had to tie down the dogs’ tails until they finished with the scene.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – High Noon

When I see Gary Cooper I think of one person…and that is Lou Gehrig because he did a great job portraying him in Pride of the Yankees. Gary Cooper plays Sheriff Will Kane in this western on his wedding day. Grace Kelly plays his Quaker’s new wife and she is stunning. Katy Jurado is also great in the role of Helen Ramírez, a beautiful and successful woman.

There are other excellent Westerns like The Unforgiven, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, The Eastwood Trilogy, The Searchers, and Tombstone…this is right up there with them. It’s very uncluttered and doesn’t have 20 plotlines going on at once…it’s simple but exciting. I’ve watched this movie around 5 times and I always find something I didn’t before.

The Killer Frank Miller is due on the noon train and his first order of business is to kill Kaine, a man who Kane helped send to prison five years ago and swore blood vengeance at the time. The three members of his gang are waiting at the depot. Miller escaped hanging, got a long sentence, and some idiots on the parole board turned him loose.

Cooper is a man’s man in this one…a badass but a laid-back one. He refuses to run away from a fight despite having no help from the town members who say he once saved the town. He visits the bar and The church and gets nothing. He takes them on himself.

The 40s and 50s had some great character actors. One in this movie I always have liked…Thomas Mitchell, was in some Capra films, including It’s A Wonderful Life. You have other actors that you have heard of. Harry Morgan of Dragnet and M*A*S*H. Future movie stars Lloyd Bridges and Lon Chaney Jr.

Give this one a watch…it’s only 85 minutes long and Cooper just oozes goodness in many roles including this one. He is not an anti-hero but a man who stands for what is right no matter the cost. This film explores the best and worst of mankind.

The fictional Tony Soprano : Let me tell ya something. Nowadays, everybody’s gotta go to shrinks, and counselors, and go on “Sally Jessy Raphael” and talk about their problems. What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. That was an American. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – North Dallas Forty

This 1979 sports movie was based on the 1973 novel of the same name by former NFL Dallas Cowboys player Peter Gent. The film offers a gritty and realistic look at pro football. It hits on the physical and emotional toll, corruption, and the commercialization of the game. You get a glimpse into 1970s football with the players, coaches, groupies, and owners. It’s listed as a comedy but it’s more a drama.

I saw this movie in the early nineties and liked it immediately. It has a very realistic feel. I’m a Nick Nolte fan and he was his normal grumpy self in this. You don’t have to be a fan to watch this movie. Seldom has the corruptive nature of professional sports been on display than here. Pro football comes across as supremely exploitative of players, with owners reflecting in the glory. The MLB was basically the same at the time as well.

It really gives an insight into what happened behind the scenes in football and it’s not pretty. Nolte plays an aging talented wide receiver who loves the game and has left himself on fields throughout the league. He hurts constantly but management is more worried about what he does in his own time than on the field. He loves the game but not the business. The movie was not allowed to use real NFL football names. In this movie…the Cowboys are the Bulls.

Players were treated terribly by coaches, managers, and owners. They were not paid well unless they were a star player. Now they pay the players so much they take good care of them but during this era, everyone was expendable except stars and this movie shows that better than most.

Mac Davis played Seth Maxwell who was modeled after quarterback Don Meredith. Nick Nolte played Phillip Elliot who was wide receiver and author Peter Gent. The other players resemble Gent’s Cowboys of the late sixties down to the Tom Landry type of head coach. John Matuszak, a real NFL football player was in this movie as well.

After reading multiple books on the 1970s Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers…this movie is very true to form for those years. In the end, the movie leaves you wanting more.

Plot

It’s a sports drama film based on Peter Gent’s semi-autobiographical novel. The story revolves around Phil Elliott (played by Nick Nolte), a veteran wide receiver for a fictional professional football team, the North Dallas Bulls. The movie explores the brutal realities behind professional football, including the physical pain, drug use, and pressure players endure to stay on the field.

Phil is disillusioned with the sport’s business-like nature, the corruption within the team, and the manipulation by management and coaches. His relationships with teammates, including his best friend Seth Maxwell (played by Mac Davis), highlight the personal cost of sacrificing health and integrity for success. As Phil struggles to maintain his individuality and cope with the harsh demands, he faces a moral dilemma about whether to keep playing or walk away from the game.

The film provides a gritty and realistic portrayal of the darker side of professional sports, contrasting the glamorous public image of football with the physical and emotional toll it takes on the players.

Quotes

Maxwell: You had better learn how to play the game, and I don’t mean just the game of football.

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Coach Johnson: Douglas! The reason we drafted you was because they said you were fast and smart. At this point, I’d be delighted if you’d be at least one of those things!

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Devil Rides Out …..(Hammer Horror)

The two horror movie studios that were great in the sixties and seventies were Hammer and Amicus. They shared two actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee who appeared in many films of both studios. The difference between the two studios was that Amicus was mostly set in modern times and many were anthology films. Hammer was the best known out of the two and they were usually set in a certain time period (this movie was set in the 1920s)…but not always.

Place the speaker on your window and hold your date close for this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. A very eerie film with some creepy characters. It was nice to see Christopher Lee in a hero role. Horror, fantasy, and a nifty bit of time travel.

Back in 1975, we moved to another town for a short while. It was a town named Dickson and we actually lived near the city. That was the only time in my young life that I lived within walking distance of a city unless I was visiting my dad. My sister would take me to a movie theater there (sigh…not a drive-in) in a small shopping mall to see movies. They would sometimes show a double feature…and I remember some of the Hammer films shown as the first feature. I would hide my eyes watching these classic horror movies.

Hammer Horror films from the ’60s and ’70s are great popcorn horror films. It was directed by Terence Fisher and produced by Hammer Film Productions, known for their gothic horror films. This 1968 movie is based on Dennis Wheatley’s 1934 novel of the same name. It’s one of Hammer’s more famous supernatural thrillers and features themes of black magic, satanism, and occult rituals.

This one is thrilling and exciting and they dive straight into the satanic rituals starring the great Christopher Lee. Lee puts his fangs away in this movie and plays the sane figure trying to save his friends from the satanic faction that is fighting to get who they can. These movies have an atmosphere that is almost impossible to duplicate now. The film stock, the acting, and the great sets.

The film is considered one of the most authentic portrayals of occultism in popular cinema in the 1960s. It deals with black magic rituals, demonic summoning, and protective spells. Someone did their homework with this movie. The movie was a success at the time but not a blockbuster. It has gained a huge loyal following as well as the other Hammer films.

Plot

The story is set in the 1920s and follows Duke de Richleau (played by Christopher Lee) as he discovers that his friend’s son, Simon Aron, is involved with a satanic cult. Richleau must battle the cult leader, Mocata (played by Charles Gray), to save Simon and a young woman named Tanith, who is also under the cult’s influence. Using his knowledge of the occult, Richleau protects his friends from Mocata’s supernatural powers and attempts to thwart the cult’s plans, which include summoning the devil himself.

Quotes

Duc de Richleau: I’d rather see you dead than meddling with Black Magic!

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Rex Van Ryn: You’ve got nothing to worry about.
Tanith Carlisle: I’ve got everything to worry about.

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Duc de Richleau: [rising] I tell you, these people are devil worshippers.
Rex Van Ryn: That’s ridiculous.
Duc de Richleau: These are facts, Rex, not superstition. The final proof was in the hamper. They were about to practice the age-old sacrifice to their infernal master: the slaughter of the black cockerel and the white hen.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Birds

I watched this 1963 movie growing up and it scared the hell out of me. For a while when I passed a tree full of birds…I always did a second take. Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense and the movie works today. Tippi Hedren (Melanie), Rod Taylor (Mitch), Jessica Tandy (Mitch’s mom Lydia), and Suzanne Pleshette (Annie) starred in this movie.

Like The Shining…it’s a movie where you can find deeper meanings or just sit back and enjoy a great film. There is a lot of ambiguity in this movie…everything is not spelled out for you. Why are the birds so angry? Why are they attacking people?

Hitchcock built suspense probably better than anyone. I’ll use this one scene for an example. In one scene you see Tippi Hedren waiting outside of the school. You hear the kids singing a song. She looks around and there are some Monkey Bars and you see one bird landing on them. She sits down on a bench and smokes. After a few drags she looks around and there are 3 birds on the bars…repeat this a few times and more and more birds are on them. Then the bars are full of Birds and this is when she gets concerned and asks Pleshette’s character to evacuate the school as birds start dive-bombing the kids. It goes from 0 to 100 in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

That scene set up the action in the cafe that followed soon after… when all hell broke loose in the town of Bodega Bay. No one really believed Hedren’s character Melanie when she told people about the birds attacking. That is until it started to happen outside and they all saw what was going on. This was after the kids from the school were attacked while running toward their homes.

Hitchcock used silence and stillness in scenes better than anyone else not named Buster Keaton. His scenes would draw out the tension and then he would strike. Sometimes he didn’t strike and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The direction and the acting were great obviously. This movie is 61 years old this year and it still works.

Pleshette’s character Annie was an ex-girlfriend of Mitch and the dynamic between her and Melanie was fantastic. I also have to mention Lydia, Mitch’s possessive mom, who has a fear of being abandoned. You see the bond between her and Melanie grow as the film goes on.

Most of those birds were real and sometimes tied to Hedren by thread. Many of the cast had some injuries while making this movie.

The Plot from IMDB

Melanie Daniels is the modern rich socialite, part of the jet-set who always gets what she wants. When lawyer Mitch Brenner sees her in a pet shop, he plays something of a practical joke on her, and she decides to return the favor. She drives about an hour north of San Francisco to Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends the weekends with his mother Lydia and younger sister Cathy. Soon after her arrival, however, the birds in the area begin to act strangely. A seagull attacks Melanie as she is crossing the bay in a small boat, and then, Lydia finds her neighbor dead, obviously the victim of a bird attack. Soon, birds in the hundreds and thousands are attacking anyone they find out of doors. There is no explanation as to why this might be happening, and as the birds continue their vicious attacks, survival becomes the priority.

Quotes

Boy in Diner: Are the birds gonna eat us, Mommy?

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Cathy Brenner: [crying] When we got back from taking Michele home, we – we heard the explosion and went – went outside to see what it was. All – all at once the the birds were everywhere. All at once, she pushed me inside – and they covered her. Annie! She pushed me inside!

Animal Trainer Ray Berwick: “We had about 12 or 13 crew members in the hospital in one day from bites and scratches,” he said. “The seagulls would deliberately go for your eyes. I got bitten in the eye region at least three times, and Tippi got a pretty nasty gash when one of the birds hit her right above the eye.”

Max’s Drive-In Movie – Frankenstein 1931

This one was released way before Drive-In Movies but yes it was shown as the second feature at many drive-ins in the day…and probably still is!

I loved this movie as a kid. This one along with The Wolfman, Dracula, and the original King Kong. I went to school the next day saying “It’s Alive It’s Alive It’s Alive!” This movie was directed by James Whale and produced by Universal Pictures, is one of the most iconic films in the horror genre and a cornerstone of early Hollywood cinema. Based loosely on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.

I always considered it one of the most iconic films ever made. The story moves fast and there are no slow moments. They said all they needed to say in this movie with an hour and eleven minute run time. Jack Pierce, a legendary makeup artist, created the Monster’s look, which included the now-iconic flat head, heavy brow, bolts in the neck, and large boots. This visual representation of the Monster is what we remember now when Frankenstein gets mentioned in pop culture.

The big guy in this movie is film legend Boris Karloff. This is the film he is best remembered for and the sequels. The role was originally offered to Bela Lugosi but he declined it. Karloff also was in The Mummy in 1932. Frankenstein was frightening and a big reason was his eyes. They were menacing along with his slow movements.

The monster could be gentle but Dr Frankenstein’s assistant Fritz (better known as Igor later on) accidentally drops the normal brain and the brain that the doctor used was an abnormal one. After the monster is alive, Fritz can’t help himself and tortures the poor guy with a torch…big mistake by the late Fritz.

I never had much sympathy for Dracula but for Frankenstein I do. He never asked to be born or reborn. The scene with the little girl showed that the monster had a good side but was also heartbreaking. She showed him flowers and how flowers floated in water. He really enjoyed that but he didn’t know any better and threw the girl in to see her float…she didn’t. After the girl, the village chases the monster down.

Making a human being from spare parts… I’m reminded of a quote from Jurassic Park… Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

Plot IMDB

Henry Frankenstein is a brilliant scientist who has been conducting experiments on the re-animation of lifeless bodies. He has conducted experiments on small animals and is now ready to create life in a man he has assembled from body parts he has been collecting from various sites such as graveyards or the gallows. His fiancée Elizabeth and friend Victor Moritz are worried about his health as he spends far too many hours in his laboratory on his experiments. He’s successful and the creature he’s made come to life is gentle but clearly afraid of fire. Henry’s father, Baron Frankenstein, brings his son to his senses, and Henry agrees that the monster should be humanely destroyed. Before they can do so, however, the monster escapes, and in its innocence, it kills a little girl. The villagers rise up intent on destroying the murderous creature.

Quotes

Henry Frankenstein: Look! It’s moving. It’s alive. It’s alive… It’s alive, it’s moving, it’s alive, it’s alive, it’s alive, it’s alive, IT’S ALIVE!
Victor Moritz: Henry – In the name of God!
Henry Frankenstein: Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – Gone In Sixty Seconds (1974)

I won’t only review classic movies or cult movies…sometimes car chase movies will get in here. This movie is special to me because parked in the lobby of the Nashville Theater I saw this movie in… was Eleanor the car that was actually in the movie. I got to touch it and it was like touching gold to a 7-year-old. I remember watching the trailer and my aunt taking me to see it. My mom would not have approved of me seeing this movie but my rebellious aunt took my sister and me to see it.

This is not the best-acted film but the spirit of it is awesome. It was made on a low budget of $150,000 but made 40 million at the box office. It was written, directed, produced, and starring H.B. “Toby” Halicki. It became famous for its car chases and destruction scenes, especially the lengthy, chaotic chase near the film’s conclusion.

There is a 40-minute car chase in this movie. Any mistakes stayed in and they added to the action. In one scene Eleanor hits a telephone pole and the pole falls on Eleanor and it wasn’t planned…they just keep going which adds to the realism. During the filming of the final chase, Eleanor sustained over 90 accidents and collisions. Halicki, who performed most of his own stunts, was injured multiple times.

There was a remake in 2000 with Nicolas Cage (who I like) and Angelina Jolie but NO…the original was so much better. Why was it better Max? Because the crashes and everything was real. The wrecks were real and there was nothing faked. Some of the actors were actual cops and some thieves were real in this movie as well. Halicki wanted everything to feel as real as possible, so there were no special effects or green screens for the action scenes. All the stunts were performed live, which added to the film’s authenticity.

With the exception of a few extras, the bulk of the bystanders/members of the public in the movie are real people just going about their business who had no idea that a film was being made. This caused several incidents where people assumed a real police pursuit was in progress, with many trying to help the accident “victims”. This was guerilla filmmaking at it’s best.

I’ll give you a quick plot line. The movie follows a group of car thieves led by insurance investigator Maindrian Pace (played by Halicki) as they attempt to steal 48 high-end cars in five days. The plot itself is secondary to the car action.

This is not Gone With The Wind by any stretch of the imagination but if you want to see some very cool muscle and sports cars… this is the movie for you. He showed you exactly how to steal cars in the 70s and get away with it. The first half of the movie can drag at times but it sets you up for the last 40 minutes of that chase.

I will watch this movie every couple of years and I get caught up in the chase and how they switched Vin numbers, and motors, and hid what they were doing.

The FULL Movie

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Shining

Jack Nicholson on Stanley Kubrick: Everyone pretty much acknowledges that he’s the man and I still feel that underates him.

This movie keeps you coming back. If you ask 15 people on what the movie meant…you would get 15 different answers. The movie is so much more than the quoted lines like REDRUM and Here’s Johnny! Every time I watch it I get something different out of it. This won’t be the last Kubrick movie I feature on here.

In 2016 or so…we saw this movie on the big screen on Halloween and it changed the movie completely for me. It made me appreciate it more than I did and that is saying a lot. The film drips with ambiguity. The Shining has to be one of the most dissected movies ever filmed. The cast was absolutely perfect. I also connect to the movie in different ways. It was released in 1980 and they filmed it in 1978 and 1979 and the hotel reminds me of that time so well.

Stanley Kubrick directed this movie and we see Jack Torrance slowly go insane and the drama builds throughout. There are no wasted scenes in The Shining…each scene has a purpose and it’s not wasted. The scenes are hard to explain. There is an open space of silence in many of them so you focus on what’s going on. The bathroom scene with Jack and Grady is careful and deliberate. Nothing else matters in the story except right now in each scene.

Stephen King wrote the book but did not like Kubrick’s interpretation of it. Usually 9/10 times I’m a book guy…on this movie/book, I’m not. I liked Stanley’s vision for the movie over the book. Kubrick didn’t explain everything to you and it’s stronger because of that. You also get isolation, madness, and the supernatural, leaving viewers with many questions about the true nature of the Overlook Hotel.

I have read complaints about Nicholson’s performance being too far over the top. I totally enjoyed his performance and I think Shelley Duvall is seriously underrated in this movie. I can’t imagine what she went through…she had to stay on edge and hysterical through half the movie. Danny Lloyd (5 years and turned 6 through filming) was great as Danny in the film. Kubrick kept Lloyd very reserved in the right spots and he doesn’t overact like some child actors do. The additional character actors fit their roles perfectly. Who would have thought Scatman Crothers would be cast in a movie like this? He was great at his role as was Philip Stone as Delbert Grady and Joe Turkel as Lloyd the Bartender.

Now the music…it makes it. Very few films I’ve seen where the music flows with the dialog. In one scene featuring Jack and Danny sitting on a bed…the orchestration goes up with a question and falls with an answer. The atmospheric synthesizer they used in this movie and A Clockwork Orange adds to the movie greatly. When you are watching the film you feel isolated like Jack, Wendy, and Danny and the music again adds to that.

The two scenes that still scare me when I see it in the movie? A simple scene really but when Wendy finds Jack’s novel she finds out what he’s been typing on a typewriter for a very long time. It sends chills up me when I see that. What a perfect way to show someone has gone insane without saying any dialogue.

The other one is when Danny is riding his Big Wheel or Trike down the hallways and you hear the wheels changing from carpet to hardwood floors…what will be around the next corner? Then the twins appear…that gives me the creeps…forever and ever and ever.

I’ve read a lot of Shining theories and all are all different. There are so many theories like… There were no ghosts at all, it was all in Jack’s head and what happened is what he wrote, it was all in Wendy’s head, the Hotel is really hell, it’s a reminder of the Holocaust, and even down to viewing the film forward and then backward. I think most (there are plenty more) of these are too far out there but that shows you what Kubrick built into this film…you WANT to watch it again and again. I watched it twice before writing this.

Plot IMDB

A psychological horror film centered around the Torrance family: Jack (Jack Nicholson), his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd). The story follows them as they move into the isolated Overlook Hotel for the winter, where Jack takes a job as the hotel’s caretaker. The hotel’s eerie history, which includes murder and supernatural occurrences, begins to affect Jack, who is struggling with writer’s block and a history of alcoholism. Meanwhile, Danny, who has psychic abilities called “the shining,” starts experiencing terrifying visions of the hotel’s past, including the ghostly Grady twins and a river of blood flowing from an elevator.

As time passes, Jack descends into madness, influenced by the hotel’s malevolent forces. He becomes increasingly violent and erratic, eventually attempting to murder his family. The film culminates in a tense chase through the hotel’s hedge maze

Quotes:

Wendy Torrance: Well, I’m very confused, and I just need time to think things over!
Jack Torrance: You’ve had your whole fucking life to think things over, what good’s a few minutes more gonna do you now?

__________________________________________

Lloyd: Women: can’t live with them, can’t live without them.
Jack Torrance: Words of wisdom, Lloyd my man. Words of wisdom.

___________________________________________

Jack Torrance: Hi, Lloyd. Been away. Now, I’m back.
Lloyd: Good evening, Mr. Torrence. It’s good to see you.
Jack Torrance: It’s good to be back, Lloyd.
Lloyd: What’ll it be, sir?
Jack Torrance: Hair of the dog that bit me.
Lloyd: Bourbon on the rocks.
Jack Torrance: That’ll do ‘er!

I remember this trailer back in 1980…it’s one of the best trailers I’ve seen of any movie. Modern trailer makers should study this one.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I love Spaghetti Westerns and this is one of the very best. Let’s see…great writing, great acting, and great music. The Good (Clint Eastwood – Blondie), The Bad (Lee Van Cleef -Angel Eyes or Sentenza), and The Ugly (Eli Wallach – Tuco) is a classic movie with a great film score by Ennio Morricone.

While I was re-watching the movie my son Bailey came in and asked me…so you are watching the best movie ever again? Where do I begin with this movie? I like the story and the atmosphere draws me in for repeat viewings. In 1964 Sergio Leone started his trilogy of westerns starring Clint Eastwood. It’s sometimes called the Dollars Trilogy. A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For A Few More Dollars More (1965), and finally this one…The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966).

This is not your typical John Wayne-style Hollywood western…although I love a lot of his movies. Funny, in the early 2000’s I never thought much about Westerns or really liked them…but this one changed my mind about the entire genre…it’s that good.

This film has an epic scope and therefore covers a lot of ground. There is not a dull spot in this film. From the beginning, we are guessing and it all leads up to one of the very best suspenseful endings ever filmed. As much of an Eastwood fan as I am…Eli Wallach grabbed my attention before anyone did. His character is such a wild card. I can’t say enough about his acting in this. He IS Tuco. All three leads were fantastic.

What exactly is a Spaghetti Western? I was asked this before when I would talk about them to different people about Westerns. I think the biggest difference between a regular Western and these would be the realism and the grittiness of the Spaghetti Western. Also with regular Westerns, you have good vs evil…Spaghetti Westerns often feature the in-between anti-heroes, huge stark landscapes, and a more cynical tone. But that is just my opinion.

These films were primarily made in Italy (hence the term “Spaghetti”) during the 1960s and 1970s. They were often directed by Italian filmmakers like Sergio Leone and featured international casts, including American actors.

There is one more thing I would like to say about the movie. On top of everything else…the cinematography is some of the best I’ve ever seen. You also have Eastwood in probably his most iconic role. Out of all of the movies I’ve featured…I have probably watched this one the most.

My favorite scene was the last bit between Blondie and Tuco.

Plot from IMDB

During the American Civil War, three men set off to find $200,000.00 in buried gold coins. Tuco and Blondie have known each other for some time now, having used the reward on Tuco’s head as a way of earning money. They come across a dying man, Bill Carson, who tells them of a treasure in gold coins. By chance, he reveals the name of the cemetery and the name of the grave where the gold is buried. Now rivals, the two men have good reason to keep each other alive. The third man, Angel Eyes, hears of the gold stash from someone he’s been hired to kill. All he knows is to look for someone named Bill Carson. The three ultimately meet in a showdown that takes place amid a major battle between Confederate and Union forces.

Quotes:

Blondie: You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

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[Tuco is in a bubble bath. The One Armed Man enters the room]
One Armed Man: I’ve been looking for you for 8 months. Whenever I should have had a gun in my right hand, I thought of you. Now I find you in exactly the position that suits me. I had lots of time to learn to shoot with my left.
[Tuco kills him with the gun he has hidden in the foam]
Tuco: When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.

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Tuco: I’m very happy you are working with me! And we’re together again.
[pause]
Tuco: I get dressed, I kill him and be right back.
Blondie: Listen, I forgot to mention… He’s not alone. There’s five of ’em.
Tuco: Five?
Blondie: Yeah, five of ’em.
Tuco: So, that’s why you came to Tuco.
[pause]
Tuco: It doesn’t matter, I’ll kill them all

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – Enter The Dragon

I remember black velvet paintings in the 1970s. Two of the biggest subjects of those paintings were Elvis Presley and Bruce Lee and at one time I had a Bruce Lee painting. Lee was one of my non-musical and non-baseball childhood heroes. This guy was the MAN. Bruce Lee was Rambo, Rocky, and the Terminator rolled into one…but with one difference…he was real. He also had a coolness about him.

After watching his movies when I was young I also purchased some nunchucks when I was a teenager and konked my noggin enough times to realize I was no Bruce Lee. Lee was the first actor to bridge East and West. He understood how to speak to both audiences no one else ever had. Enter the Dragon was the first film co-produced in Hong Kong and Hollywood. Bruce greatly influenced the action movie genre from the 70s to now.

Bruce would run into nut cases at times. Some ~~person~~ idiot would call him out and want to challenge him to a fight while he would be walking down the street and Bruce would have to defend himself while teaching the person a lesson. Imagine being the dolt who saw Bruce Lee and thought it would be a good idea to fight him. A boxer who sparred with him said “Body of a lightweight with a hit stronger than a heavyweight.”

Bob Wall who appeared in some of Bruce Lee’s movies said this.

One day, while filming Enter the Dragon, an extra taunted Bruce Lee and challenged him to fight. The extra told Bruce he was just an actor, not a martial arts expert… The whole thing went won like this. This kid was good. He was no punk. He was strong and fast, and he was really trying to punch Bruce’s brains in. But Bruce just methodically took him apart.

I mean Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn’t touch him…Then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass into the wall and swept him, he proceeded to drop his knee into his opponent’s chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him in the face repeatedly.

This 1973 movie was Bruce Lee’s final completed film before his death. The movie contributed to martial arts’s global popularity and helped make Bruce Lee’s legacy. I also want to include John Saxon in this. I’ve always been a fan of Saxon in whatever movie he was in. He plays a character named Roper in this flick. Saxon was also a student of Bruce Lee.

The movie’s plot is about a British intelligence agent named Braithwaite to participate in a martial arts tournament organized by the mysterious and reclusive crime lord named Han. Han is suspected of being involved in illegal activities such as prostitution, and human and drug trafficking, and the tournament is a cover for these operations. Lee’s mission is to gather evidence against Han and bring down his criminal empire.

It’s a good story movie with plenty of action scenes. I’ve seen some martial arts movies that dump the story and just go for action. This one is not like that…quality writing and acting throughout the film. It influenced many of the action films that came later. The film keeps the action, drama, and some comedy flowing. It’s worth it to see Bruce Lee with his almost balletic moves.

While filming Bruce in fight scenes Bruce had to slow down his movements so the camera would catch it. His training methods were legendary and some say he was the fastest human they had ever seen.

Before this, Bruce had problems finding acting jobs after the TV series The Green Hornet. He became a private instructor to the stars such as Steve McQueen, John Saxon, and more. He moved to Hong Kong in 1971 and made three Asian movies, Fists of Fury, The Chinese Connection, and Return the Dragon.

The next movie was a joint production between Hong Kong and US production companies. The movie was Enter the Dragon and it was Bruce’s breakthrough movie. Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died six days before the film’s Hong Kong release.

Quotes:

Lee: Teacher?
Shaolin Abbott: I see your talents have gone beyond the mere physical level. Your skills are now at the point of spiritual insight. I have several questions. What is the highest technique you hope to achieve ?
Lee: To have no technique.
Shaolin Abbott: Very good. What are your thoughts when facing an opponent?
Lee: There is no opponent.
Shaolin Abbott: And why is that ?
Lee: Because the word “I” does not exist.
Shaolin Abbott: So, continue…
Lee: A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Bruce created a jambalaya of martial arts, adding and discarding moves that were less effective. No wasted movements I took it to heart, I dedicated myself to preparation by maintaining complete focus during basketball practice and my training with Bruce. As a result, I became stronger, faster and a much more intense player. Bruce was an innovator and caused martial arts to move forward. … The skyhook is the embodiment of an efficient shot that requires minimal movement but sudden speed.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – Superfly

When the idea of the drive-in movie posts came up…this was one of the first ones I thought of. You get a glimpse of the 1970s drug dealing life in New York. I will eventually hit some other eras rather than just the early to mid-seventies.

I saw this movie at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville in 2018. It was like being in a time warp and back in 1972. This movie has some padding and some wooden acting (but there is a reason) but you can tell where Quentin Tarantino was inspired. I’ve always liked the movie and seeing it on the big screen made it that much better. I do think Tarantino’s Jackie Brown was hugely influenced by this movie.

They filmed Superfly on the cheap with some real criminals in the movie to add authenticity. The character “KC” was a pimp in real life and the famous car from the movie is, in fact, KC’s car. The car is no longer with us…it was seized by the IRS when KC got into trouble.

“Fat Freddie”(Charles McGregor) in real life was a reformed criminal. He helped the realism and went on to appear in more blaxploitation films in the 1970s. He also ended up going to schools and counseling children on the dangers of a life in crime.

I had some sympathy for the lead character Youngblood Priest played by Ron O’Neal. He lived well financially but knew he was living on borrowed time. He was a cocaine dealer who knew the walls were closing in. He wanted out but was in a cycle that was almost impossible to break. He needed a great plan to get out of it. It reminds me of mafia members wanting out but are trapped.

The highlight of the movie, of course, is the music. Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack is great. Curtis does appear in the movie playing in a bar. The movie’s budget was under 500,000 but grossed over 30 million at the box office. The film was shot in only 19 days! This led to some creative choices, like using a car’s headlights for lighting in certain scenes. The film was celebrated but also condemned by civil rights groups who said it glorified drug dealers. I didn’t see that as much. Yeah, Priest had a lot of money but at what cost?

One quote got a laugh from the 2018 audience…and it was because of the mention of an eight-track. You’re gunna give all this up? Eight Track Stereo, color T.V. in every room, and can snort a half a piece of dope everyday?! That’s the American Dream.” I’m glad they didn’t clean the film up too much. It had some grainy elements and it fit the atmosphere perfectly. It’s not a great, great movie but the story is good with a nice twist… and it did make a cultural impact.

Quotes:

Georgia (Priest’s Girlfriend): Look maybe you should get out now, now before something really bad happens. I could be happy with a plain life, a poor one if only you were.

Youngblood Priest: Look what would I do? With my record I can’t even work civil service or join the damn army. If I quit now, then I took all this chance for nothing and I go back to being nothing. Working some jive job for chump change day after day. Well if that’s all I’m supposed to do then they gonna have to kill me ’cause that ain’t enough.

From IMDB

The plot revolves around Youngblood Priest, an African-American cocaine dealer in New York City who is looking to make one last big score before getting out of the drug business for good. The film is a defining example of the blaxploitation genre and became iconic for its gritty portrayal of the urban drug trade and its anti-hero protagonist.

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