Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Genre: Action, Comedies, Adventure, Car Chase

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field

My Rating: 4/5

Classic 70's muscle cars in action. Highway patrolmen and the protagonist (Burt Reynolds) on a high speed chase across five southern states of USA. It cannot get better than this.

This movie is a lighthearted comedy with high octane car chases. It is about two guys accepting a bet to move banned alcohol alcohol from Texas to Georgia in a truck in a short period of time. Burt Reynolds drives his car to act as a diversion to the cops from getting to the truck. On the way from Texas, he offers a lift to a runaway bride who was supposed to marry a Sheriff's son. The rest of the movie is about the comic high speed chase involving the Bandit and the Sheriff and the various state patrolmen.

It looks like public do not halt for a cop's car with a siren turned on those days. Burt Reynolds gets all the help he can from the public by making them block the cop's cars or delay them by communicating through his transmitter.You also get to see the America of the 70's with the entire movie having been shot on the freeway, local highways and the diners.

National Treasure (2004)

Genre: Adventure, Treasure Hunt

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The name says it all. Nicolas Cage stars as a treasure hunter from a line of family who spent their lives in search of a huge treasure supposedly hidden by the founding fathers of America only to be criticized for lack of evidence of its existence.

Nicolas Cage, being a historian naturally shows interest in finding the treasure and starts with the clue told by his grandfather. Cage stumbles upon clue after clue, one such clue  leading him to the much protected "Declaration of Independence" signed three centuries ago by the founding fathers. He ends up stealing it from the Museum only to find another clue leading to the treasure. The rest of the film is about how he eventually finds the treasure deciphering the carefully laid out clues by the freemasons all the while avoiding trouble from a wealthy businessman who is also after the treasure.

Being a history fanatic, i loved the way the movie mixes fiction with US history.