Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Hated upon release, I long held a soft-spot for the gonzo B-Grade horror flick “Maximum Overdrive,” written and directed by Stephen King (his only directed film). And it’s partially inspired by “Overdrive” magazine, a truck-centered pub I worked at for five years. I first saw this film at, what, 13? Maybe. Those Green Goblin eyes sold me back then. I digress. Apologies. The story: An alien comet passes near Earth, turning machines into live creatures with a thirst for human blood. At a redneck Wilmington, N.C., truck stop, it’s the big rigs that go mad and kill. Among the heroes: Emilio Esteves as an ex-con turned grill boy, and Pat Hingle as his NRA-loving prick boss. The Green Goblin eyes belong to a tractor trailer with the face of the Spider-Man villain on its cab. None of it makes sense, the blood is comically thick, and the jokes are corny, but this is a drive-in lark fueled by King’s then cocaine appetite. Yes, diesel fuels the trucks, but coke fuels the master. And likely much of the cast. Watch it as a comedy and AC/DC jam. B+

The Way (2011)

Emilio Estevez is a quiet and introspective writer and director of the self-funded “The Way,” a family drama starring real-life pop Martin Sheen (ne Ramon Estevez) as a grieving father coming out of his all-for-capitalism shell. It deals with fathers/sons and religious values, and not cheekily so. Sheen is Tom Avery, an aging eye doctor who receives a call while on the golf course: His son (Estevez) has died while walking the famed trail Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James. Tom goes to Europe to collect the body and return home. But, alone and openly weeping in his hotel, he decides to finish the son’s journey, one he openly mocked to the son’s face. So, yes, Tom will have his own awakening. His eyes (did you miss that symbolism?) will open. I wish we knew more of Daniel’s intent (why that trail, why not hike in Chile?), but the film is about Tom’s character, and stopping to see sunsets and going to church. Even if you don’t believe. Sheen is stoic in this quiet thoughtful tale. (He is just as stoic in person, I saw this screen in his presence at Virginia Tech. Amazing man.) P.S. I want to see Estevez cut as wildly loose behind the camera as he did on camera in “Young Guns.” That would be a freakin' blast. B+