Contraband, Half Nelson, The Driver

I recently watched these three.  Eclectic mix, I know…

Contraband: Sometimes I’m just in the mood for trash cinema.  And this is pure grindhouse trash cinema… Fulci made it between “Zombie” and
“Gates of Hell.”  Very slow opening 20 minutes but then lots of gore, nudity and nonsense.  Pretty brutal as well…when the lead’s wife is
kidnapped and anally raped.  You want a better revenge climax after that…that unfortunately Fulci doesn’t deliver.  I honestly scanned
alot of it… blasphemy to Fulci fans, I know..sorry.  But all in all, good example of late seventies, early eighties Italian exploitation.

Half Nelson:  This may be one of the most overrated films I’ve seen in awhile.  I don’t mean to be a hater..it’s just that this film is so
full of coincidences, heavy-handed drama, forced political stances and unrealistic drug scenes..that I can’t believe it got so much
attention.  I’m sorry but that is not how someone reacts to crack. Gosling is acting like he’s on heroin.  Crack doesn’t knock you out
like that.  I used to be a big fan of hand-held verite look but this seemed so forced…it was like watching an episode of Rescue Me.
Still worth watching but tremendously overrated.

The Driver:  Walter Hill’s 2nd feature…made before “the Warriors.”  EXCELLENT chase scenes..some of the best ever…  the great thing about these chase scenes from that era is that the audience can tell what is going on.  And you can tell that the stunt drivers are seriously at risk of losing their lives.  The plot is so-so.  The dialogue..especially the banter between Bruce Dern and Matt Clark is so over-the-top machismo… it takes itself so seriously that it works for the most part.

The Detective: A friend of yours told me where to find you in the middle of the day.
The Driver: I don’t have any friends.
The Detective: That’s right. No friends. No steady job. No girlfriend. You live real cheap, you never ask any questions… boy, you got it down real tight. So tight that there’s no room for anything else. And that’s a real sad song. Only trouble is, eh, sad songs ain’t sellin’ this year.

Notice that the characters don’t have names in this movie, and are all addressed by their occupation; e.g. “the Driver”.

See this film if you’re a fan of other Walter Hill films! Oh, and Isabelle Adjani is 23 and the hottest thing you’ve ever seen in this film.