dan aykroyd
Keith Garlington
Posts about dan aykroyd written by Keith Garlington
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Yet another “Fast and Furious” movie hits the big screen this week. I’ve always been indifferent to this franchise, at least until the last movie “Fast Five”. It got away from the illegal street car scene and gave us a more appealing full-blown action picture. It’s a franchise known for the crazy things it does with its cars. So in light of that I thought I would focus this week’s Phenomenal 5 on some of the biggest car crashes in the movies. Now obviously filmmakers have loved to do all sorts of damage to cars, trucks, semis, etc. so there’s no way I could call this the definitive list. But in the cinematic world of vehicular destruction these five movie car crashes stand out as phenomenal.

#5 – “CASINO ROYALE

In 2006 Martin Campbell’s “Casino Royale” turned me into a James Bond fan. There is so much I love about this movie – the fresh cast, the new grittier and realistic feel. But there’s also a lot of 007 traditionalism which I love. One of those things is Bond’s love for sweet cars which leads to its inclusion on this list. Why Bond thought he could have a nice, romantic dinner with his girl Vesper is beyond me. She ends up being kidnapped by the deliciously evil Mads Mikkelsen. Bond hops into his gorgeous Aston Martin and pursues. Flying through the darkness at high speeds, Bond doesn’t notice Vesper’s tied up in the middle of the road until the last second. He makes a sharp turn, loses control of his car, and it flips and flips and flips. This may not be the most eye-catching movie crash scene, but it brings tears to my eyes every time I see that beautiful car being destroyed. *sniff, sniff*

#4 – “THE MATRIX RELOADED”

The Wachowski’s caught the attention of a lot of people in 1999 with their science-fiction mindbender “The Matrix”. It was followed by the 2003 sequel “The Matrix Reloaded”, a film best described as three insanely good action scenes threaded together by loads of boring, coma-inducing blabber. One of the great action scenes features a frenetic freeway chase where a horde of agents pursue Trinity, Morpheus, and the key maker. This long, mind-blowing sequence features cars, motorcycles, SUVs, and semis, all being blown up, flipped, and rolled in ways you would never imagine. It may be a bit of a cheat to include this entire sequence, but there’s just too many phenomenal car crashes within it to single out just one.

#3 – “THE ROAD WARRIOR”

The second installment of the Mad Max series was “The Road Warrior” and it’s still my favorite. This Australian post-apocalyptic action series put Mel Gibson on the map and featured some insane vehicular mayhem. The self-serving Max redeems himself by taking a band of murderous marauders on a merry chase along the barren wasteland. Along the way cars flip, roll, and explode but there’s one particular crash that’s especially vicious. At the end of this great chase Max finds his tanker truck steaming towards a head-on collision with the evil Humongous. Lord H has no chance whatsoever and when his tricked out metal machine meets the huge plow blade on Max’s truck at a ridiculously high speed, well let’s just say you could sweep up what’s left of him and his ride with a broom and dustpan.

#2 – “PLAYTIME”

There have been a wide variety of car crashes over the years but none have made me laugh as hard as the huge pileup in Jacques Tati’s “Playtime” from 1967. This was Tati’s final film featuring his beloved Mr. Hulot character and probably the director’s most ambitious. Nestled within this unusual film is a hilarious car wreck which all starts with a little yellow sports car speeding through an intersection. This sets off a chain reaction of funky little cars bumping into each other, sliding across the pavement, and spinning in circles. The following scene of everyone getting out and simultaneously stretching their stiff limbs is a great topper. It’s hard to describe this so that it sounds as funny as it is. Just look it up on YouTube. It’s well worth a watch.

#1 – “THE BLUES BROTHERS”

When I thought of doing this list the insanely over-the-top cop car pileup in the 1980 musical comedy “The Blues Brothers” was the first to come to mind. Aykroyd and Belushi drive their ragged ride to the “honorable” Richard J. Daley Center but not before leading a ton of Chicago’s finest on a high speed chase through the city streets. Through tunnels, under bridges, and hitting speeds of 120 mph, the chase tears through the town. That is until a quick left turn leaves a police car pileup unlike anything you’ve seen. Totally nuts but loads of fun. The Blues Brothers is remembered for a lot of things – the hilarious script, the great songs. But I’ll never be able to think of this film and not recall this phenomenal scene! If you haven’t seen it, hop to it.

So there are my five phenomenal movie car crashes. With so many great ones to choose from, I can’t wait to see your favorites. Please take time to comment and share your picks!

A few weeks ago I decided to do a Phenomenal 5 centered around the movies of 1987. The choice of the year was completely random but it was a fun list to do. So staying in the 80’s, I’ve decided to look at 5 phenomenal movies from 1980. Over the next several months I plan on sprinkling in several of these lists that look at the best movies the years had to offer. So let’s get started. Naturally, when you’re dealing with an entire year’s worth of movies there are plenty to choose from. Therefore it would be pretty crazy to call this the definitive list. But there’s no doubting that these 5 movies from 1980 are absolutely phenomenal.

#5 – “FRIDAY THE 13TH”

Over time the “Friday the 13th” series became more of a cinematic joke. To be fair, it has been loved by its large number of fans and completely brushed aside by others. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the series was launched by a pretty solid first movie that set the table for Jason Vorhees and his appetite for killing brain-dead teenagers as well as a whole genre of rather mindless slasher flicks. But in the original it’s all about his mother and this first film probably features more genuine scares than the other movies combined. It’s not a flawless movie by any stretch but it is a significant movie for horror fans.

#4 – “THE BLUES BROTHERS”

When I first saw John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues I was just a kid. But I remember thinking they were both hilarious and extremely cool. “The Blues Brothers” is one part comedy, one part musical, and one part amazing, blow you away, car chase. The brothers are trying hard to save the orphanage they grew up in from being closed down. Their “mission from God” puts them at odds with neo-nazis, a crazed bazooka-wielding Carrie Fisher, and every single Illinois law enforcement officer in the state. The result is a wonderful and wild ride that’s still fun today.

#3 – “AIRPLANE!”

“Airplane!” remains to this day one of my favorite comedies of all time. It’s absurd, brash, and over-the-top and I love it. The hilarious cast makes this nutty material work, none better than Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges. “Airplane!” is a steady barrage of corny jokes and gags and the movie never (and I do mean never) takes itself seriously. This parody of the big-budget disaster pictures is still funny today and I can’t name a modern comedy that comes anywhere close to delivering the laughs of this true comedy classic.

#2 – “THE SHINING”

While I’m not a big Stanley Kubrick fan, he knocks it out of the park with the chilling horror thriller “The Shining”. Jack Nicholson shines as the caretaker of a creepy hotel with a very disturbing history. He and his family are trapped in the hotel after a huge snowstorm and soon the supernatural presence sensed by his ESP endowed son makes itself known. “The Shining” features so many memorable scenes and it’s still as spooky as when I first saw it. This is one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King novel and even though it was met with very mixed reviews at first, it’s now considered a horror classic.

#1 – “THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”

Call me a fanboy, I don’t care. But for my money, “The Empire Strikes Back” is one of the greatest sequels in cinema history. Yes, I’m a huge Star Wars fan so my judgement may be tainted, but this film blew me away when it first hit the theaters in 1980. In fact, I was only 9 years old but I still remember seeing it on the big screen and being amazed by the special effects and deeply wounded by the sad and up-in-the-air ending. But there is a great story that unfolds as the movie progresses and for me this was the film that really gave the series a sense of weighty importance. I’ve seen this movie so many times and if I’m surfing the channels and see it on TV, I’m probably going to stop and watch it again. It’s that good.

There ya go – 5 phenomenal movies from the year 1980. What did I miss. Hey, even if you weren’t born then you’ve probably seen several that I didn’t mention. Please take time to share your thoughts.