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.
Need for Speed
'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?
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 Cannonball Run
In 1981, 'The Cannonball Run' was a wildly popular movie at the box office. And why not? It’s got a fantastic cast, and it was directed by Hal Needham, former stuntman and movie maker. 'The Cannonball Run' is a coast-to-coast street contest, racing from Connecticut to California. It’s known as America’s illegal Grand Prix, and anything goes. Dodging the law and sprinting to the finish line, plenty of fun is packed into this road adventure.
The American comedy starred Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, and featured appearances by Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Some of the vehicles racing the Run are a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 manned by Seymour (Moore) and a Chevy Chevelle Laguna with Terry (Bradshaw) and Mel (Tillis) behind the wheel. The most implausible, a 1978 Dodge Sportsman ambulance, is driven by the film’s stars playing Victor and J.J.
Repo Man
Everyone is after the Orange Crush-colored ’64 Chevy Malibu in 'Repo Man', but one team is paid to track it down. Emilio Estevez plays Otto, a repo man in-training, as it were, by the quirky Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a longtime repo man showing the rookie how to play the game. Car repossession is a dangerous gig. Most people don’t want to lose their vehicles, some of those people are 6’10” and aggressive. After the Feds put a bounty on the car, every other repo man in the LA area is after the vehicle too. It seems aliens may be involved with that Chevy, and the CIA is on a mad search to find it.
The film received rave reviews from critics. It’s a distinctly LA film that hits home with Bud’s running commentary. Filmed mostly on location, 'Repo Man' is an unconventional film that took spectacular risks that paid off spectacularly. The organic and original comedy hits spot on with a continuous string of hilarious surprises.