‘Need for Speed’ is a 2014 movie based on a gaming franchise of the same name. If you’re a fan of the popular video game, this is your film. Directed by Scott Waugh and starring Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, and Rami Malek, it’s a product of Disney Studios and DreamWorks. Michael Keaton makes an appearance, as does Dakota Johnson. Aaron Paul stars as Tobey.
The action-thriller is based on a street racing maverick named Tobey who gets thrown in jail for no reason. He knows the reason, he knows who framed him, and revenge themes take shotgun throughout the film. If watching hypercars race wildly in fast-action suspense is your kind of thing, ‘Need for Speed’ delivers. Featured is a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, a McLaren P1, and a GTA Spano, to start. But can you believe a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport and a Koenigsegg also feature in the same flick?
The Cars That Ate Paris
Deadpan comedy, 'The Cars That Ate Paris', is a classic B-movie from 1974. The absurdist plot finds townsmen plotting car accidents on unsuspecting travelers after an economic downturn besieged the town of Paris, Australia. Scrap parts becomes the most lucrative business in Paris. Plotting against random drivers, the townsmen convert the local dirt road into a hellish path that heads straight into a ravine. Enter, a twist of horror. Following the crash, parts are scavenged and resold or repurposed.
'The Cars that Ate Paris' is a surreal sci-fi, horror-suspense that predates the scavenger economy of 'Mad Max'. One of its unforgettable creations is a VW Bug covered in sharpened steel spikes.
Hell or High Water
'Hell or High Water' premiered at Cannes in 2016 and hit the big screen in August of that year. The film received four Oscar nominations. Movie studio Film 44 brought the neo-Western drama-suspense directed by Englishman David Mackenzie to theaters. 'Hell or High Water' stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, and Dale Dickey.
Critics loved it. Vulture magazine wrote, "Hell or High Water" is a rare humanist Western: Finality is the true villain.” A masterful score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis leads the mood. It takes place in Texas, where a pair of bank-robbing brothers (Pine and Foster) stalk small-scale banks for quick cash. For a Western, it’s dialogue-heavy, and the commentary of its final scene outdoes any Western in the genre, according to Vulture. And, of course, there is a car in the picture. The brothers use a 1987 Chevy Camaro as their get-away vehicle. Plenty of other vintage cars co-star.
Collateral
'Collateral' is a 2004 neo-noir crime thriller starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. A cab driver named Max (Foxx) becomes a hostage in the middle of a contract killing orchestrated by Vincent (Cruise). Directed by Michael Mann, Collateral co-stars Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, and Bruce McGill, plus Jada Pinkett Smith as Annie, a Los Angeles attorney.
In essence, Max is bargaining for his life (and others on the killer’s list) with a would-be assassin. He tells stories to extend people’s lives by distracting the murderer as they drive. His task becomes even more vital when he finds out that his pretty friend Annie, the one he gave a cab ride to earlier and shared a conversation with during the opening scene, is on the hitman's list. Besides the Los Angeles cab, featured in many scenes, there’s a 2003 BMW and a 2000 BMW X5 that feature finely.
The Last American Hero
Jeff Bridges and Valerie Perrine star in this 1973 NASCAR movie based on the true story of Junior Johnson. 'The Last American Hero' is one tough dude. Junior Johnson (Bridges) is a Southern boy who drove moonshine runs through North Carolinian backroads. He trained as a ruthless demolition derby driver and dominated as a stock car racer. He and his Mustang raced to the top of the professional stock car circuit. Junior Johnson became one of NASCAR’s first celebrity drivers.
The story is based on two articles by Tom Wolfe. And, with Junior Johnson on board as a technical adviser for the film, the end product is an authentically told story brought to the big screen by director Lamont Johnson.