Here are two movies that fall into that must see category. They may not be blockbusters but they are both much better than most movies released so far in 2020!
First up we have the classic chick flick: The Switchblade Sisters. The story basically amounts to this: An all girl gang named The Dagger Deb’s has a run in with a new girl named Maggie (Nail) in town at a greasy burger joint. She is a take no shit pretty girl that sparks a friendship with the gang’s leader Lace (Lee) and quickly becomes a member. When Lace’s former right hand woman Patch begins to feel threatened that Maggie’s role in the gang may be a bit more important than hers and she instigates a shit storm of jealousy. The rest of the girls begin to question whether their loyalty should stay with Lace or with the highly motivated Maggie.
This movie has it all – girl prison riots, gang warfare, a shootout in a roller rink, nudity, hilarious dialogue, and a decent amount of action. What more can you ask for from a story about a group of tough inner-city hood rats that carry switchblades and rumble harder than the guy gangs in their neighborhood?
Written and directed by Jack Hill, the man who brought the world Pam Grier and classics such as Coffy and Foxy Brown, The Switchblade Sisters, AKA The Jezebels, is exploitation classic that people love to hate. It’s one of those movies that are so bad it’s so good. Quentin Tarantino re released this under his now defunct Rolling Thunder Distribution Company back in 1995 with a ton of special features, commentary, and the intent to show the world a movie that deserves much more exposure than it received.
So, when your girl asks you what the movie is about on a chick flick night tell her, “It’s a story about friendship between two girls and their struggle to live a better way of life. A sort of love story and a tale of hardships.”
Here is the trailer below:
Next up is a movie that I have seen a billion times, Death Race 2000! The film revolves around the Transcontinental Road Race This is an annual cross country no holds barred demolition derby where violence is the nature of the game. With checkpoints throughout the country, the drivers must make it from New York City to Los Angeles alive. But being the fastest driver to complete the race doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be the winner. Each driver can also accumulate points along the way by running down as many pedestrians as possible!
The scoring system is as follows: Male adults are worth twenty points while male teenagers are worth forty. Toddlers and infants rack up quite a bit more “cheddar” at a sweet seventy points. If the pedestrian is a female they will add an additional ten points in whichever age bracket she falls in. Senior citizens, regardless of their gender, are valued the most at one hundred points!
Yes, I am not bullshitting here, this is a real movie! And please, do not confuse it with that silly jail remake that came out years back and spawned a bunch of bad sequels. It surprises me that this is not as popular of a film as it should be. What guy wouldn’t like a movie like this? When I first saw Death Race 2000 I couldn’t believe my eyes. The whole idea of running down humans in a nationwide competition just blew me away, especially for a movie released in 1975. With video games of today like the Grand Theft Auto series it isn’t such an uncommon thing, but for the seventies this movie really pushed the envelope. Apparently, the films producer Roger Corman toned down the script a few notches and added a bit of humor to the film because it was originally way too brutal.
The characters in the movie are also kick ass. David Carradine plays Frankenstein: Clad in a sort of weirdo leather bondage outfit (Sort of like Everett McGill, the father in The People Under the Stairs) he is supposedly too physically repulsive underneath due to a number of horrible car accidents. Frankenstein has been rebuilt to perfection by some of the worlds best doctors and his only goal is to win. Another stand out character is “Machine Gun” Joe Viterbo (Played by Sly Stallone), a mob guy with machine guns mounted right to the hoof of his car and an outrageously violent temper. The other drivers of the race also all have distinct gimmicks and personalities such as a cowgirl Calamity Jane (Played by Mary Woronov), Nero The Hero (Martin Kove who played John Kreese in The Karate Kid), and of course the ridiculous female Nazi driver Matilda the Hun (Roberta Collins). The icing on the cake is that it was directed by the late great Paul Bartel!
Death Race 2000 is considerably one of the most underrated cult classics of all time. It’s sarcasm for killing in our nation’s future is so nonchalant, it’s like murder has become second nature and not just a national sport. Some pedestrians are honored to get killed in the Death Race and sacrifice their lives so their favorite driver can score more points. Ladies and gentlemen, that some serious dedication! When I tell people about this movie, sometimes I swear they think I am making it up. Ditch those Fast and Furious movies, this is real action!
