Blow Out

This interesting but simple murder mystery from 1981 stars John Travolta as a movie sound tech who inadvertently records the perceived accidental death of a politician in a car wreck. Using his sound/film knowledge, he pieces together a conspiracy involving a slew of ‘low-lives’, including a cartoonishly creepy John Lithgow. Travolta is decent as the main character but Nancy Allen, whom I normally like, is an idiotic bimbo/love interest who grated my nerves every time she opened her mouth. And Brian DePalma uses his signature ‘camera as a character’ style of filming and editing to pretty good effect. Not his best but certainly not his worst. I think Mission to Mars may get THAT title.  March 18 at 5:32pm