QOTD: Big Screen Wheels?

Any gearhead with a pulse and an internet connection knows the eighth (yes, eighth) installation of the never-ending Fast & Furious franchise is set to be foisted upon us next Friday. Fun challenge: sneak a fifth of Smirnoff into the theatre and down a shot every time someone says the word “family.” Please make sure to take a cab home.

Nevertheless, here’s an easy question not asked to date in this QOTD series: what’s your favorite car movie?

There’s no shortage of them, to be sure. Hollywood produced racing flicks ranging from Days of Thunder — deploying in-race footage and an entertaining, loosely grounded plot — to the flaming dumpster fire that was Sly Stallone’s Driven. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ron Howard’s film Rush did a splendid job of depicting the rivalry between F1 stars James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season, a time when the cars were little more than rolling coffins filled with gasoline.

The British documentary about Ayrton Senna, depicting his life and death, relies mostly on archival footage and not-oft-seen home video clips provided by the Senna family. Absent of formal commentary, the biopic allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the Brazilian driver’s tumultuous F1 career. It very nearly shows as a live-action drama and not a posthumous tribute.

Kids movies count too: Cars is a movie that, even as an adult, I won’t turn off if it happens to be on the screen when I walk into a room. (Only the first Cars movie, though; the abomination that was Cars 2 gets zapped off our television quicker than Jimmie Johnson racks up championships). Decidedly non-kid movies like the new Mad Max and The Car are suitable fodder for poker night out in the garage. While some movies have great car chase scenes (Ronin springs to mind), they’re not strictly car flicks but still check the boxes for a suitably octane-charged night at the movies.

For your choice, make sure to stick with celluloid featuring enough car action to make your popcorn taste like 10W-30.