racerx70 Reviews

The Fat Spy (1966)

Bizarre look back at Cape Coral

[4/10 · 13 February 2010]

As a longtime resident of SW Florida, I had to watch this film after finding out it was filmed entirely in the city of Cape Coral, and showed parts of Cape Coral Gardens (known to local residents as The Rose Gardens - an abandoned water park that was a popular hangout for teens back in the late 70's/early 80's). The story is pretty incoherent, and as a previous reviewer put it, was basically a sales pitch for the city of Cape Coral. It looks like the majority of it was shot at the Cape Coral Yacht Club (the beach scenes anyway), with the remainder being Cape Coral Gardens (obvious sale pitch for the park at about 1 hour in), and the corner of Del Prado Boulevard and Cape Coral Parkway. Pretty low budget... The performances, as well as the music... just plain bizarre (though it was the '60's).

I rated this a "4" simply for the archival footage of the city I've known for 30 years. Of particular interest to local residents is a shot of the Iwo Jima statue - located originally at the entrance to Cape Coral Gardens, left abandoned when the park closed and long neglected for years... is the very same statue that now resides by Eco Park along Veteran's Memorial Parkway westbound from the Midpoint Bridge (one of the entrances to Cape Coral from the city of Fort Myers). And unbelievably...this film is available on DVD!

Hot Rod (1979 TV Movie)

"Get me the 9/16ths and the Vise Grips!"

[1/10 · 25 April 2006]

Dialog as banal as this makes several scenes more than a little cringe-worthy. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I saw this movie years ago as a rental and the guys I watched it with along with myself laughed quite a few times at some of the implausible things we saw, as well as the absolutely BAD dialog and cardboard cutout characters. As a matter of fact, we still use the "9/16ths" comment as part of our expressions at the track, mostly as a method of disrespect. Once things got to the dragstrip, however, "Hot Rod" was a bit more palatable. I enjoyed the rocket Funny Car making a pass down the track (rocket cars having been outlawed for nearly 20 years now), and some of the old school drag cars really gave a look into the late 70's drag scene. Being a drag racer myself, I appreciate the history. The story is standard TV movie fare (this was an ABC Friday Night Movie after all), and even after saying this, I still went and bought a copy on VHS. Should it be on DVD? Considering the dreck that's already on DVD ("reality" shows and the like), I'd vote for a DVD release. File this one as "so bad it's good".

King of the Mountain (1981)

One of my favorites...a forgotten gem

[10/10 · 7 April 2006]

I first saw this movie back in 1981 and it struck a chord with me, being I was a successful street racer at the time. Steve's modified Porsche Speedster was one of the coolest looking cars of its time (big fender flares were in, but most cars looked cartoonish with them), and Cal's Corvette "rat racer" is still cool today. Some of the extras in the Mulholland scenes were actual racers themselves, and that helped to give an authentic feel to what street racing was actually like back in the late '70's/early '80's. There are some elements that aren't racing related ( the subplot of Buddy's music career, for example) that could be considered ponderous moments, but the racing sequences more than made up for them. The dynamic of the three friends (Steve, Buddy and Roger) sharing a common house worked, showing the differences in each character's personality. Steve (Harry Hamlin) in particular was my favorite... comfortable enough around his friends, quiet and reserved in normal social situations, but not really "alive" unless he was in his car racing. There's Buddy, loyal friend to the core, and budding musician. And Roger, former racer himself that feels he's outgrown Mulholland and now wants more out of life. Then there's Cal (Dennis Hopper), who was the previous top dog until he had a bad accident, never really recovering from it. Still, he wants to be back on top, no matter what or who stands in his way... I'm lucky enough to have this long out of print film on VHS, and would love nothing more than to see it on DVD. This is a film no true gearhead or fan of the "car film" genre should be without. Check it out if you get the chance.

Captiva Island (1995)

So bad it's ......well, still bad!

[1/10 · 6 March 2006]

I must preface the fact that the director of this turkey is known by our family, but after seeing it... I'm glad I saw a pre-release copy on VHS, as I would have demanded a refund. The sole saving grace of this film is the beautiful "stock" footage of Southwest Florida that plays during the opening credits..truly masterful stuff (Biffar had a lot of practice at that, being in local TV production for years), but the acting is truly cringe-worthy at times. Ernie Borgnine is one of my favorite character actors, but from the looks of things, he really mailed in his performance. Arte Johnson? I won't even go there... The impression I got was of a high-school film project, albeit with a larger budget. This movie was being filmed around the same time that "Just Cause" was being filmed in our area, and the latter is a much better film, in my opinion. "Captiva" (original title) is a family friendly story and film, but go in with low expectations and you may be surprised.

Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

"We're not talking Category 6.... we're talking Category 7!"

[5/10 · 7 November 2005]

Dialog such as this turns what CBS was hoping to be a grand spectacle of disaster into a comedy of disastrous proportions. This is filled with numerous technical errors that speaking as a weather hobbiest, can give non-informed people the wrong impression of the true power of nature. Take for example a TV weatherman reporting a "Category 5 Hurricane with gusts up to 150MPH". 150 MPH windspeed is considered to be Category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale and gusts of 150 MPH would indicate sustained winds of around 135 MPH. Category 5 winds start at 156 MPH (sustained) and go up from there. Hurricane Wilma, for example, had sustained winds of 175 MPH with gusts over 200. FYI, there is NO Category 6 or F6 classifications for storms for good reason. 5 is considered top of the scale, period. But CBS (or any of Big Media) won't let the facts get in the way of some good sensationalism. The rest of the story consists of standard disaster film clichés. I'll likely watch the conclusion, as this is like watching a train wreck... you just can't turn away. Rated 5 out of 10 for the unintentional laughs and for Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie the "twister chaser") :-)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997)

A unique telling...

[10/10 · 14 September 2005]

I caught this on ABC back in 1997 and thoroughly enjoyed it for what is was... another version of Jules Verne's classic story. Yes, there were liberties taken (Nemo having a daughter for example), but then again, the Disney version (another one of my favorites), is thought of as the most accurate telling (it isn't). Michael Caine is well cast as Captain Nemo, bringing a quiet dignity to the role. Another reviewer had said he looked tired and sleepy, but it looks more to me like he was playing Nemo with a weariness of hiding from the world and a profound sense of loneliness (of having somewhat of an intellectual equal to speak with, etc.), which explains his warmth toward the young Arronax. Patrick Dempsey and the rest of the cast are good as well, with Bryan Brown making a very UNlikeable Ned Land. You understand his motivation, however. Considering this was made for TV, the effects are surprisingly good, but some of the set pieces are obvious. Some political correctness rears its ugly head, but for the most part it's not that bad. The score by Mark Snow (of X Files fame) is superb and gives this a more film like feel, rather than a TV mini-series. I was lucky enough to score a copy of this on VHS (long out of print and VERY hard to find), and would love to see it released on DVD in the US market. The Richard Crenna version from the same year has been, why not this one? In all, if you find this anywhere, give it a look...

(Edit 5-1-06) FINALLY, it IS out on DVD! The transfer is spectacular in quality, and anybody contemplating purchasing it should do so, now!

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Good, but not great...

[7/10 · 19 May 2005]

After just seeing it 25 minutes ago, I was actually left feeling kind of cold. This is similar to how I felt after seeing Ep's I and II. Ep III is by far the most action packed of the series, was visually beautiful, but it just missed the mark. I am an unabashed fan of Star Wars, but at the same time not a raid fan-boy type either. I have seen the entire series in the theater, being fortunate enough to have seen the original 27 times in its initial run. This isn't to bash the prequels as a lot find fashionable, but they just don't stack up to the originals. The dialog in the last two movies (II and III) in particular is painful to endure at time. Did Lucas "save Star Wars"? That's truly a loaded question, and from my perspective, it was a nice attempt, but...

There was a lot of anticipation in the crowd (theater about 3/4 full), and lots of hoots, hollering and applause during the 20th Century Fox fanfare, but as the closing credits rolled, only about 5 or 6 people applauded, and the "buzz" was mixed walking out. You'll see a lot of "best movie ever" posts and some "totally overrated" ones too..somewhere in the middle, the truth lies. I'll wait for Magnoliafan's version. :-)

Sahara (2005)

A FUN time to be had...

[10/10 · 17 April 2005]

First off, let me say I've been a fan of Clive Cussler's books since the 1970's and was hoping the mistake of Raise the Titanic wouldn't be repeated. I'm happy to say that fear has been put to rest. Sahara is a breath of fresh air in a VERY stale Hollywood that seems to be on a remake bent as of late. Some will compare this to Raiders/Indiana Jones, and call it a remake of sorts, but it's not really a "remake" as it's capturing the spirit of adventure on a grand scale. The Indy Jones series did the same thing with the serials of years past, and a lot of people who have not read the books probably wouldn't know that Dirk Pitt dates back to before Raiders (the early 1970's to be exact). In any event, enjoy this for what it is, an excellent popcorn flick that has the potential to be the next "franchise".

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Pop some corn and enjoy the ride

[14 June 2003]

After reading some of the comments, I thought I'd give my opinion, as I'm a 39 year old former street racer (have 11 years of total license revocation to prove it),and active drag racer (NHRA Super Street and Super Comp licensed) and can give some perspective.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW**

Technical Stuff: First off, I noticed Singleton tried to give a more "reality based" feel to this movie (the "warp drive" effect of nitrous notwithstanding), as the speedometers showed speeds between 80 and 120 MPH, as opposed to the 160+ MPH shots in the first film (sorry ricer fans, but those cars are NOT that fast in streetable form). That, and the references to the Hemi Challenger and the Yenko Camaro being near impossible to beat (in a drag race yes, the advantage to the import cars would be in the cornering department). I also enjoyed the PROPER terminology used when referring to nitrous oxide ("nitrous", "spray"), and NOT the poser slang term "NOS or NAWS" (say that around real racers, and you're pegged as a "duck" as in a clueless sitting duck).

As to the acting, well... it looked as if Walker and Gibson actually enjoyed making the movie (look when they fight, and you'll see Paul Walker laughing), and to anybody who says "the acting stinks, and terrible plot, etc, etc.." I'll say tell you to relax, and as some other have said, check your brain at the door and ENJOY a fun summer popcorn flick. I'll quote another fun summer film from a LONG time ago (Hooper), "It's only a movie for God's sake!"