REPO MAN (1984)

I must have missed something.  I've seen this film three times now over the course of a few decades and each time it goes right over my head.  Hollywood-ized "punk" Emilio Estevez gets fired from his grocery store job and eventually falls in with a car repossession company.  Some minor adventures happen (repossessing cars, getting shot at, getting maced, convenience store shoot-out, banging a cute chick in the backseat of a car, vomiting, etc.), but the main story line is about a 1964 Chevy Malibu with a $20,000 reward on it.  Every two-bit repo man in LA is looking for it!  What the hell could be so special about it that it has such a high bounty?

And that's about it.  Is there some kind of satire or social/political statement that I'm missing?  Who knows.  As it is though, the authentic LA street scenery was the most interesting thing going on.  The story is so-so, but it doesn't go anywhere.  The acting is good.  I especially liked Harry Dean Stanton.  The "punk" aspect is barely even touched out other than a few people having mohawks and couple of punk songs playing in the background.  Other than that, REPO MAN is kind of a bore.  Zero nudity, bland dialogue, unsatisfying ending, low budget distractions, hit or miss pacing, no violence.

I don't dislike REPO MAN, it's just not my bag.  I did notice a few things that were influential in later films, video games, etc., so for that, at least, it's kinda cool.

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)

I remember reading Stephen King's short story "Trucks" (feature in the Night Shift collection) many years ago and it only being about actual large vehicles (18-wheelers, bulldozers, etc.) coming to life and crushing people.  This movie though, adapted to the screen and directed by King himself, has all kinds of different machines coming alive.  Everything from a foul-mouthed ATM to a gas pump and a soda-shooting Coke machine.

Like in the short story, the main action takes place as a secluded truck stop along the side of a now deserted highway.  Fry cook Emilio Estevez's crappy day gets even crappier when an electric carver attacks a co-worker and then some trucks start running people down.  Eventually survivors start gathering at the truck stop for safety and are put to work (by a bulldozer and a military machine gun vehicle) pumping gas into a long line of thirsty trucks.  Throughout all this there's a few various events shown, like a steamroller running down a kid, a drawbridge going berserk and an ATM machine telling Stephen King he's an asshole.

As a horror movie, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE is a total failure, but as entertainment it's not too bad.  The idea of machines coming to life is compelling and the characters are interesting.  A little blood, zero gore, zero nudity, 80's clothing, AC/DC music, explosions, cheap gas, an alright pace that kinda runs out of steam towards the end.  With a bigger budget, tighter script and a more experienced director MO might have been awesome, but as it is it's still a fun time-waster.

I A-B Repeated this dude yelling "What the fuck's going on in here?!" until tears were streaming down my handsome cheeks.