Mean Pete was raised on redneck action flicks like the old Burt Reynolds Gator McCluskey movies and the Peter Fonda movies FIGHTING MAD, RACE WITH THE DEVIL (co-starring Warren Oates and Loretta Switt as well as the babe from DARK SHADOWS, Lara Parker ) and other 70's action classics like BREAKOUT (Charles Bronson), WHITE LINE FEVER (Jan Michael Vincent pre-MacGyver horse hokey!) JACKSON COUNTY JAIL (Tommy Lee Jones and Yvette Mimieux) and the only movie Jethro ever starred in--not to mention directed!--MACON COUNTY LINE (with a theme song by Mean Pete's favorite country singer Bobbie Gentry).
There are tons of others, but Mean Pete's been roasting chicken and drinking PBR's and boxed wine, so that's all he can come up with for now. And he's still reeling from watching Amber Herd beating the crap out of a religious fanatic in a speeding motorhome... God, she's good. And I don't think she's just pretending to be a redneck princess, either!
Nicolas Cage is sort of what you'd get if you crossed Charles Bronson with Amy Winehouse--a jaded action hero for these modern existential, hedonistic times... And Amber Herd is the new Sally Field--though please don't tell her I said that. The girl can do some damage...
Anyway, you understand where my sensibilities lie. I always thought CITIZEN KANE was a little chatty and THE SEARCHERS--well, I hate to say it, but put it up against THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, and it lags a bit. (Plus, there are no babes!)
So, if you're like me, you'll thoroughly enjoy DRIVE ANGRY, which is a throwback to all those great action flicks of the 60's and 70's that Mean Pete grew up on and which probably influenced his writing nearly as much as Luke Short, Mickey Spillane, Jonah Hex, Jaws--the novel with the girl swimming nekkid on the cover--and Leo Tolstoy.
If you haven't yet seen DRIVE ANGRY, and you like those great action classics--gidyup, pards! You're in for a treat!
Mean Pete
Saw this one in 3-D in the theater. Loved every minute. Even my wife liked it, and she doesn't usually go for this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteYo Pete. Check out this live performance by the lovely miss Gentry, Very different from the recorded track.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaRacIzZSPo
I'm headin' out for a drive of my own --- not the angry kind, just to see some country --- and now you've settled my evening for me, Mean Pete. I'll be hittin' a Redbox on the way home and checkin' this baby out!
ReplyDeleteBill, I can't believe I didn't see this on the big screen!
ReplyDeleteCharles, Thanks for the great link! I wonder what she's doing these day. I heard she's part owner of the Phoenix suns...
Wayne, great day for a drive. And a great night for Drive Angry!
Mean Pete