REPO MAN — SHOCKTOBER!

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Punk heart still beating.

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Alex Cox caught lightening in a bottle in 1984 with a snarly little L.A.-set independent movie that became a cult classic thanks to the success of its soundtrack (featuring Iggy Pop).

This kooky time-capsule political satire uses LA's hardcore punk scene for its churning dystopic social milieu that our 18-year-old Otto (Emilio Estevez) traverses while getting sucked into becoming a repo man. 

Reaganomics hangs in the smoggy air like a bad fart.

Harry Dean Stanton plays Bud, Otto's father-figure who schools Otto in the code of the repo man as they scout repos in the less glamorous neighborhoods of LA.

"A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations."
"Repo man is always intense."

Such dialogue seems written in stone, especially when the film's theme-carrier, Miller (Tracey Walter) busts out with philosophical gems like, "The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."

 What did he just say?

Now you've got me thinking.

Otto eats generic food at his parents house. His tweet tweet arf arf folks have given their life savings away to a televangelist. So much for college.

Otto's future looks bleak unless he can repo a certain 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu with a $20,000 reward, and a Neutron bomb-related MacGuffin in the trunk, a nice hat-tip to the plot-driver in the 1955 Cold War thriller "Kiss Me Deadly."

Endlessly watchable, "Repo Man" stands up as an inspired artistic expression amid dark social and political repression.

Here's a great excuse to kick it.

Rated R. 92 mins.

BLAZE

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Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does. This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel. Punk heart still beating.

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Director Ethan Hawke does justice to the memory of Texas Outlaw Blues singer/songwriter Blaze Foley in this transfixing biopic.

Co-written with Blaze Foley's widow Sybil Rosen, Ethan Hawke employs a satisfying elliptical story form. The method proves especially practical in keeping the complex narrative grounded in the poetry and integrity of Blaze Foley's gentle demeanor and keen philosophies. 

Ben Foley's heartfelt songs take center stage.

Ben Dickey is a revelation in the role of Blaze; this is not your run-of-the-mill biopic performance. Damn this actor/musician is good — really fuckin' good.

Charlie Sexton brings illuminating thematic and character ballast as singer/songwriter Townes Van Sandt, in a portrayal that is wry as it is weathered.

Still, the role proves to be a thankless task in light of the grave-robbing that Van Sandt committed in order to get the pawn ticket out of Blaze Foley's jacket pocket that Van Sandt could redeem for Foley's last guitar.

Classy.

Sybil Rosen seems to take direct aim at Townes Van Sandt as being a class-A asshole who contributed to Foley's failed music career. Backstabber? Seems like.

The deep love connection between Blaze and his actress girlfriend Sybil (Alia Shawkat) gives this impressive film its emotional core.

The roots of American social themes and attitudes run through "Blaze" like a twisting river.

The life of a troubadour is always a difficult one. Blaze Foley proves up to the challenge.

Damn, this is a great movie.

Rated R. 129 mins.

THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN

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Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel. Punk heart still beating.

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Cannes, France — Julien Temple, the director of the notable Sex Pistols documentary "Filth and the Fury," proves the right man to make a documentary about the Clash's late frontman.

From Joe Strummer's (a.k.a. John Mellors) unsettled childhood as the son of a diplomat, and brother to a boy who committed suicide, through his teenage days spent as a bohemian squatter in London, and on to his life with the Clash (and later the Mascaleros, Temple brings Joe Strummer's life full-circle.

Martin Scorsese, Bono, Johnny Depp, John Cusack, and Mick Jones are among those interviewed to share their memories of one of the most influential singer/songwriters of the Punk movement.

The cumulative effect of this great documentary is to give viewers a strong sense of Strummer's uncompromising humanitarian ideals, his warm personality, and his musically adroit everyman vision of civilization. 

You'll laugh, you'll cheer, you'll shed a tear, and perhaps wonder where the next Joe Strummer will come from. You don't have to be a fan of Punk Rock, or even The Clash, to take away deeply held personal values that can inspire the viewer to make adjustments in his or her daily life. 

Indeed, "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten" is intellectually satisfying as it is entertaining. Cheers Joe. 

This is the shit.

Not Rated. 125 mins.