Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: They don't call them that for nothing.
Directed by: John Hough
Written by: Leigh Chapman, Antonio Santean
Actors include: Peter Fonda, Vic Morrow, Susan George
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Length: 93 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
A rather low brow take on the 'ole Bonnie and Clyde idea, but it's an entertaining action packed flick that was pretty fun to watch. Larry (Peter Fonda) is a cool dude who happens to have hooked up with an obnoxious pain in the ass girl named Mary (Susan George desperately trying to sound cheap and American). Larry's partner in crime Deke although not mentioned in the title is the mechanic and sort of the brains behind their crime operation I'd say. Deke and Larry rob a grocery store with one heck of an elaborate scheme and of course Mary comes along for the ride though they do try to ditch her several times (who wouldn't). The Cops are another element, they are continually in car chases and well let's just say a ton of cruisers get completely destroyed! This even has a car vs. helicopter chase, who wouldn't love that? Pretty exciting film with tons of memorable scenes, this should appeal to most drive-in '70s fans.

Availability:  On DVD

Wild At Heart (1990)

3.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: David Lynch
Written by: Barry Gifford, David Lynch
Actors Include: Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Crime
Length:  124 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Hmm well this had some extreme bads and some extreme goods but it was the extreme violence that pleased me the most. I guess I'll start with my complaints which include: horrible metal interludes (what were they thinking?), it's trying too hard to be weird to the point of being obnoxious at times (like the chipmunk voiced people), too much sex (the movie was too long, they screw like bunnies, I get it, I don't need to see them screwing over and over again) and it some aspects don't make much sense. On the pro side, again the violence is cool, some of the characters although bizarre are quite entertaining and although the movie sometimes annoyed me, it was compelling in a way. The story is about Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) a young crazy couple who are wildly in love but often on the wrong side of the law. Lula's Mother hates Sailor so much she hires a hit out on him, but instead of killing him Sailor manages to kill the hitman landing him in jail. A little while later when he gets out the movie continues with a strange road trip with Lula where they screw and screw and try to live the good life. Of course not everything is wonderful and well things kinda get messed up along the way. Still it was somewhat satisfying and I liked most of it, not the best Lynch movie by far but a reasonable one at least.

Availability:  On DVD

Badlands (1973)

5 / 5
Tagline:  In 1959 a lot of people were killing time. Kit and Holly were killing people.
Directed by:  Terrence Malick
Written by:  Terrence Malick
Actors include:  Sissy Spacek, Martin Sheen, Warren Oates
Genre:  Crime, Drama, Action
Length:  94 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review: 

Now this was a great movie, I never realized how much Natural Born Killers had ripped off this film and cheapened it...shocking!  Anyhow, this film actually feels real and surreal all at the same time, but that's a testament to the wonderful acting of Sissy Spacek as a poor lonely girl, and to Martin Sheen, the James Dean type who fell for her.  At first it's innocent, however Holly's (Spacek) father finds out and things get far more dangerous.  After Kit (Sheen) shoots her father, Holly decides she'd rather be with Kit than alone so the two head off on a crime spree.  At first it's almost like a fantasy, they go to live in the beautiful woods and have nothing but one another to pass the time.  As time goes on, they are discovered and must travel on.  It's one hell of a journey, it's a romance, it's violent, it's beautiful and poetic and yet dark and disturbed.  The story is actually based around a killing spree from the '50s by Charles Starkweather while his adolescent girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate followed him on his spree.  She claims she came home to find her family killed by Starkweather and yet the two lived on in the murder house for seven days before going on a vicious crime spree.  This is a fascinating movie, very picturesque, very action packed...I think just about anyone should find something here that they love.

Availability:  On DVD

Boxcar Bertha (1972)

4 / 5
Tagline:  Bertha Loved Lovin'...But There Was More Money in ROBBIN' TRAINS!
Directed by:  Martin Scorsese
Written by:  Ben L. Reitman, Joyce Hooper Corrington
Actors include:  Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Bernie Casey
Genre:  Crime, Drama, Action
Length:  92 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
Pretty neat little tale that was apparently taken from the diaries of a woman named "Boxcar" Bertha Thompson. Barbara Hershey plays our freespirited title character who after losing a family member during the Depression rides the rails to adventure. She meets a fellow named Bill Shelly who is a union leader who is railing against the railroad. Together they rob people and trains in order to collect money to distribute to the poor. It's very reminiscent of the Bonnie & Clyde story in several ways though I wouldn't call it a copy cat. I was really surprised at the exploitative nature of the film considering it is a Scorsese, but since he's working with Corman maybe that is where the excess comes in. No matter why it's there, it's a very fun movie and it has violence, nudity and it's pretty exciting throughout. The cinematography was quite lovely and the movie is well made, I'm a little surprised that I hadn't heard more about this one until relatively recently.

Availability:  On DVD

Bonnie And Clyde (1967)

5 / 5
Tagline:  They're young... they're in love... and they kill people.
Directed by:  Arthur Penn
Written by:  David Newman, Robert Benton
Actors include:  Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, Michael J. Pollard
Genre:  Crime, Drama, Action
Length:  112 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review: 

Pretty darned great glimpse into the lives of Bonnie & Clyde though I should mention I've never really studied either.  I have no idea how factual this film is nor did I really care as it's purely entertaining and it felt real regardless.  That is of course largely because Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty did such an amazing job in their roles (well everyone did really).  The film starts out innocently enough with Clyde meeting Bonnie and wisking her away to a life of excitement and crime.  It almost feels like kids daring each other and wanting to impress one another so things get extremely carried away.  On that note if you like violence, this should definitely please your pallet, it's shockingly bloody (especially for 1967).  I was actually really surprised how much of this film was copied for both Badlands and Natural Born Killers.  The cinematography and style were impressive as well, they really helped propell this from a great film to an amazing one.  The film is thrilling, fast paced and always entertaining a definite classic deserving of it's reputation.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD