‘Taxi Driver’ is legendarily Robert De Niro’s breakout film and the start of his long and dear collaboration with Martin Scorsese. De Niro’s role as the slightly whacked Vietnam vet, Travis Bickle, earned him his first Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, and Cybill Shepherd starred in the 1976 neo-noir psych thriller. Most memorable, arguably, is De Niro’s enduring line, “You talkin’ to me?”
Travis Bickle’s 1974 checkered taxicab is the leading car in this film. Taking a ride in the back of his mind is a creepy and sordid affair. The action gets heated when Bickle’s vigilante tendencies find him rescuing a young girl from a life of prostitution. He gets himself in a world of trouble, but he’s hailed as a hero for his efforts.
Christine
The car is not the good guy in this 1983 movie. Instead, the car is 'Christine', a demonically possessed self-driving murderer. What do you expect? It’s Steven King’s brainchild. His main character from the novel Christine is a cherry red 1958 Plymouth Fury, and she comes to life in this horror movie by director John Carpenter.
Since the car is possessed by Satan, it possesses its driver as well. In this lifetime, her driver is Arnie (Keith Gordon). He’s a scrawny teen boy who doesn’t know what he is getting into once he buys Christine. Everything goes okay until the red Plymouth Fury gets jealous of his new girlfriend. It’s full-blown horror from then on out. Christine is 3,500 pounds of indestructible steel. As a bonus detail, Kevin Bacon was cast to play Arnie, but he went with 'Footloose' instead.
Dukes of Hazzard
The Duke boys’ 1969 orange Dodge Charger racer is truly the star of this movie. Let us introduce you to General Lee. It’s even got a special horn that honks in tune to “Dixieland.” The actual stars are Johnny Knoxville as Luke and Seann William Scott as Bo. Daisy is brought to us by Jessica Simpson. It’s just like the old 1980s sitcom you may have loved as a kid, flash forward to the 21st century.
In 2005, 'Dukes of Hazzard' rounded out the summer with its theatrical release. You’re not going to believe it, but critics hated it. It hit just 14% on the Tomatometer. Apparently, there was no audience reaction worth posting on Rotten Tomatoes. One of its best reviews comes from the Chicago Reader, who calls it, “Good, stupid fun.” But if you like a movie with gratuitous, exploitative, crude sexual content, then it may be your flick.
Locke
A juiced-up BMW moves the story of 'Locke' down the road, along with its main character. Behind the wheel is Tom Hardy playing Ivan Locke. He is supposed to go home for dinner with his family, but when he gets a call from his wife wondering when he’ll return from work, he says, “I need you to hold it together.” Obviously, she asks what happened. All she hears back is, “I’ll fix it, and it’ll all go back to normal.” He doesn’t come home that night nor return to work the next day.
Even though a car shines front and center, this 2014 film is less about wild car chase action and more about delving into the deeper passageways of Locke’s complicated consciousness. Have no fear, the dramatic dialogue—a lot of monologue—doesn’t leave you high and dry, a bit of humor is waiting at every turn. 'Locke' is a mystery-suspense drama that will have you reaching to grab the wheel.
John Wick: Chapter Two
Following up on 'John Wick', the sequel, 'John Wick: Chapter Two' is an action-flick extraordinaire. Keanu Reeves leads as a former assassin who must come out of a happily married retirement while they are still newlyweds. Reeves dominates the action star role with finesse, reminding us why we watch suspense thrillers. The humor is spot on. Directed by Chad Stahelski, the 2017 flick 'John Wick: Chapter Two' also stars Common, Laurence Fishburne, Ricardo Scamarcio and Ruby Rose.
For those of us who are car freaks, what is even more exciting than Wick’s assassin impulses are the cars he drives. Prominently featured is a Mach 1 Mustang. Other classics include a 1970 Chevelle SS 454 and a 1969 Mustang Boss 429 that was stolen from the ruthless Wick. (You can bet he wants it back!) He employs his Chevelle for the task. Stay tuned for one of the best ever car scenes. It took about eight takes, but the jump and drift out of the narrow warehouse opening was worth destroying one of the film production Mustangs.