slightlymad22
continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in his filmography in order, I come to Cannonball aka CarquakePlot In A Paragraph: Based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organised by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. Does that plus sound familiar?? Of course it does, it's also the plot to "Cannonball Run" the Burt Reynolds movie which was considerably more successful than this one.This must been a frustrating time for Sly, as he had decent parts in "Capone" and "Death Race 2000" before a non speaking part in "Farewell My Lovely" whilst here he has one scene with Martin Scorsese and another character, where they sit eating Kentucky Fried Chicken and he is is uncredited in a movie where 'reporter at finish line gets a credit'.Thankfully this was the last time this happened, as he struck gold with his next movie. A little movie about a boxer from Philadelphia.
Woodyanders
Following hot on the scorching asphalt skid-marks of the impish "The Gumball Rally," Paul Bartel's characteristically deadpan, quirky, slyly subversive cross country road race car picture presents a blithely apocalyptic vision that's akin to the anarchic world views shown in the equally madcap "Freebie and the Bean," the truly twisted "The Mad Bomber," and the totally gaga "The Candy Snatchers": All those noisy, tire-yelping, rubber-shredding, metal-bending automobile mishaps featured herein play a crucial role in Bartel's merrily askew and jaundiced presentation of a world in constant uproar, where any sense of balance, tranquility and equilibrium gets messily disrupted on a frequent nerve-frying basis (a savage gas station fisticuffs scuffle and the wildly chaotic mondo destructo Jersey Turnpike massive car pile-up sequence in particular really hammer this point home).Among the race's contestants are David Carradine as stolid, tight-lipped, nerves-of-pure-brass ex-con champ Coy "Cannonball" Buckman, future "Hill Street Blues" regular Veronica Hammel as Buckman's loyal, fretful, karate-chopping police lady gal pal, Archie Hahn as Buckman's trustworthy, but feeble-minded mechanic Zippo, a gloriously crazed Bill McKinney as Buckman's chortling, maniacal, pistol-packing nutso rival Cade Redman (note the disconcertingly similar first and last names, a chilling blurring of the fine line between good and evil), Robert Carradine and the beauteous Belinda Balaski as a sweet, starry-eyed California surfer couple, a hilariously goofy Gerrit Graham as a pathetic no-talent aspiring country-and-western singer/songwriter, Mary Woronov in customary venomous b**chy and aggressive sexually ambiguous full-throttle nasty mode, Stanley Clay as a jive-talking hipster soul bro, and a repellently arrogant James Keach as a stuck-up, condescending German driver who meets a fiery untimely end. Among the folks watching the race from the sidelines are Dick Miller as Buckman's shady gambler brother, Bartel as a singing, piano-playing, Cole Porter-loving Mob capo, Martin Scorsese and Sylvestor Stallone as gangster flunkies, Joe Dante and Allen Arkush as geeky car buffs, Robert Altman film regular David Arkin as a timid grocery store counterman, Jonathan Kaplan as a gas station attendant, the eternally vacuous Louisa Moritz in one of her standard bubble-brained blonde bimbo parts, Patrick Wright as the rich guy who sponsors the race, and even legendary B-movie pioneer Roger Corman as an uptight district attorney (!).The strangely dark, fatalistic tone, rampant amorality, intensely ugly dialogue ("What the god**mn hell are you trying to to do, you f**got moron!?"), assorted foul play tactics the race's participants gleefully engage in, the useless, ineffective cops, opportunistic a**hole media, Tak Fujimoto's madly darting, hyperactive, vertigo-inducing cinematography, the crooked, string-pulling, game-rigging dirty double deals perpetuated by the mob-backed race officials, the general unpleasantness of the mostly mean and despicable characters (even Carradine's morally ambivalent "hero" isn't very likable or appealing), the loose, ramshackle narrative structure, a creepy opening credits nightmare sequence, and especially the murderously ferocious pandemonium on the open freeways cars getting trashed and blowing up real good smash 'em up vehicular carnage create a sense of deliriously out-of-control non-stop bedlam that's as profoundly discomfiting as it is utterly exhilarating. The disgustingly safe and sanitized "Cannonball Run" junkers ain't got nothing on this delightfully diabolical and severely bent gearhead treat.
movieman_kev
David Carradine takes part in an illegal anything goes cross-country race from California to New York. Paul Bartel's second attempt at the race movie, while good isn't as fun as his previous "Death Race 2000". It's still fun in parts, but lacks the pacing and memorable characters (except for Carradine and the always watchable Dick Miller) My Grade: C+ DVD Extras: Interviews with David Carradine, Mary Woronov, and Roger Corman; Poster and Stills gallery; 3 TV spots; and Theatrical Trailer 1 Easter Egg: Highlight a hidden car in the Extras menu for a Carquake/ the giant spider invasion combo trailer
