Welcome to the latest installment of Flickchart Road Trip, in which I’m starting in Los Angeles and “driving” across country, watching one movie from each state and posting about it once a week. The new movie I watch will go up against five movies from that state I’ve already seen, chosen from five distinct spots on my own Flickchart. Although I won’t tell you where the new movie actually lands in my chart (I don’t like to add new movies until I’ve had a month to think about them), I’ll let you know how it fared among the five I’ve chosen. Thanks for riding shotgun!

Interstate 10 has taken me out of Arizona and into New Mexico. As much as I think it would be fun to ride the 10 all the way to Jacksonville, Florida, I’ve decided to meet up with I-25 north into Albuquerque, so I can catch I-40 east through the Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma. Besides, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to jump on the classic American freeway of the southwest, the old Route 66, which runs alongside Route 40. Albuquerque is also a place I’ve been on business a couple times, so I know it reasonably well. (It’s too bad I can’t be here in October, when the renowned Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place, and hot air balloons fill the sky.) I had to stop for gas just outside Albuquerque, and some sketchy bald guy calling himself Heisenberg tried to sell me some weird blue rocks. Sensing it was a bad idea, I passed.

I’m staying in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino just outside Albuquerque because, well, I like blackjack. I hit Burning Paradise Video in Albuquerque and picked up the DVD of Ace in the Hole (1951, Billy Wilder). It’s a  movie that has been championed recently on a couple movie podcasts, and its Flickchart global ranking of 190 definitely had me intrigued. Plus, it’s the great Billy Wilder in one of his most controversial projects.

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