North by Northwest - When I was watching the blu-ray special features, it included a personally filmed "Guided Tour with Alfred Hitchcock" across America. With his "road map of film clips," it was a neat and inventive way to promote the film rather than your typical movie trailer. Anyways, this story is the classic wrong man mixed up in the wrong situation. Carey Grant is a "Don Draper" mistakenly confused as CIA attempting to stop the smuggling of secret information out of the country. Although Carey Grant is drugged behind the wheel, chased by a crop duster, and almost thrown off Mount Rushmore, he maintains his witty charm and gains access to the beautiful Eva Marie Saint. Filled with lots of suspense, North by Northwest definitely makes way for the ultimate cross-country action-adventure thrillers of today.
Hell on Wheels - When this show first premiered a year or so ago, I predicted Westerns would be the new zombie flick. Even though this trend hasn't really taken off (we'll have to see the influence of Django Unchained), this show is still pretty awesome. The show is comprised of lots of little storylines, but the main focus is on Cullen Bohannon - A southern man who lost his entire family in the Civil War. This season, Bohannon must regain status of foreman on the first transcontinental railroad while battling Indians led by the evil (and creepy) Swede. With the grittiness expected from someone in the old west times, Bohannon is a character we can truly root for. He has the rough exterior and resourcefulness of a Clint Eastwood character, but has a soft spot for Lily Bell whose husband was killed by Indians while surveying the railway last season (Lily is played by Dominique McElligott, a blonde who I find on par with Yvonne Strahovski ). His relationship with the freed black slave Elam Ferguson (played by Common) is quite interesting and has a lot of parallel with Tarantino's Django and Dr. King Schultz.
Paul - Whenever you see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost paired together, you assume Edgar Wright is helming the project. However, this is a rare case where he isn't. Directed by Greg Mottola, this wacky film is a nerdy road trip across America. With tons of pop culture and comic con puns, this film is tied together by an alien who likes to get high (and voiced by Seth Rogan). This isn't the funniest movie I've ever seen, but there were quite a few scenes that made me laugh out loud. The funniest character by far is the one played by Kristen Whig, a newly corrupted ultra conservative Christian.
Lost Highway - Granted I've only seen this movie once, Lost Highway makes no sense to me. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but in typical David Lynch fashion, this is just a mind f*ck of a movie. A story exists, but its hidden between a sequence of crazy images: Videotapes, jazz clubs, death by electric chair, Robert Blake's pale face, and even porn being projected onto a mansion wall. To summarize this movie in one sentence (which is a challenge), here's what I'd say: Through twists and turns involving murder, crime, and sex, two men's lives are supernaturally intertwined by a beautiful pair of twins. If not to watch this film again for a better understanding of the story, it's worth a re-watch just to see the voluptuous beauty of Patricia Arquette who hasn't looked this good since her role as Alabama in True Romance. Accompanied with eerie sounds (similar to the ambient noise from Paranormal Activity) and a unique soundtrack, David Lynch's crazy sensibilities is truly a journey spanning the Lost Highway spanning across America.
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