Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994)

A now 73 year old Charles Bronson returns as Paul Kersey, now back in New York and living under a fake name courtesy of the Witness Protection Program, he's teaching architecture at a university (seems like a place he might run into old colleagues, but what the hay) and dating Lesley-Anne Down whose 33 years his junior and has a 12ish year old daughter. Down is a well known fashion designer whose ex husband Michael Parks is a sadistic mobster who still has his hands in her business. Parks, not knowing who Bronson really is, makes the mistake of killing Lesley-Anne, and as this is a Death Wish movie you know what happens next. Bronson is long in the tooth, but I'd be lying if I said some of those revenge deaths weren't fun to watch. This film comes close to rivaling 'Death Wish 3' in terms of ridiculousness and camp, but if you see just one Death Wish movie it should still be number 3. 'Death Wish 5' is still better then it should be. *1/2

The Living Idol (1957)

 Part rather slow and abstract horror movie, and part travelog, 'The Living Idol' boasts some gorgeous color photography of 1950's Mexico, both urban and the jungle. The plot concerns Liliane Montevecchi, the daughter of a Mexican archeological worker whose father is killed under unusual circumstances. Following his death Liliane is taken in by James Robertson Justice, a European archeologist whose lived in Mexico for decades, and his native wife Sara Garcia, both of whom she's known her whole life. 

Liliane's dads (accidental?) death occurs during the visit of a family friend, Yankee photo journalist Steve Forrest, who Liliane has been in love with since she was eight. Liliane makes this known to Steve, but Steve thinks she's too young (I think her character is supposed to be around 18). Steve leaves to cover the Korean War and says they'll talk about it when he gets back. 

It is several years before Steve makes it back to Mexico, Liliane is now a college student and James is teaching at the university. In the interim James has becoming increasing obsessed with an Aztec legend about a fearsome Jaguar God who demands human sacrifice. Steve determines that James may not be so sane anymore and that Liliane might be in danger. 

This movie is beautiful to look at, top notch cinematography, lovely locations and people, I just wish they'd done more with the story, it  lacks the heft to properly compliment the visuals. **1/2

 

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022)

The Gen Z children of rich parents decide to wait out a hurricane in Pete Davidsons dad's mansion (I guess this is supposed to be Florida) and have a party.  Amandla Sternberg, recently out of rehab, arrives unexpectedly with her new (and decidedly not rich) girlfriend Maria Bakalova. So Maria is the audience surrogate character, she quickly notices tensions within the friend group and mostly tries to keep a low profile. 

To pass the time the group decides to play a 'guess the murderer' party game called 'bodies, bodies, bodies', but then the actual dead bodies of group members start to turn up and the friends quickly find themselves turning on each other, and trying to determine who the real murder is. I hesitate to say more then that concerning the plot, it took a bit to get going but I really enjoyed this movie, it surprised me. ***

High Treason (1929)

British sci-fi film was released in talkie and silent versions, I saw the talkie version. Set in the future year of 1940, 'High Treason' posits a future where the Western World is divided chiefly between two federated states, 'The United States of Europe' compressing that continent, Africa, Britain and its Common Wealth; and the Empire of the Atlantic States, comprising North and South America save for the Dominion of Canada. So the boarder between Canada and the old United States is the most tense in the world, there are skirmishes there, chiefly related to rum running because apparently America is still under prohibition. We see these reported on the television news. 

A prominent peace advocate, as this movie was made at a time when prominent peace advocates were a thing, tries to hold Europe back from the brink of war, but then there is a terrorist attack on the Chunnel (yes this film predicted the Chunnel) and war seams inevitable. The peace advocate, whose daughter is dating a higher up in the European military (I made the decision not to bother with the names of the characters and the obscure actors who played them), may need to commit some titular 'High Treason' to stop it. 

He does commitment that treason, but owns it and consents to his execution, taking one for the geo political team. It's dry, but its short (95 minutes for the talkie), and there is some decent model work for the time. A curio. *1/2 

Breezy (1973)

 In the film 'Licorice Pizza' - which is set in 1973 - a plot element involves the making of a thinly veiled version of 'Breezy' called 'Rainbow'. In addition, having now watched 'Breezy' I can better see a number of aspects of that film embedded in the later films DNA, including an age gap romance and a similar California setting. 

'Breezy' was the third film directed by Clint Eastwood, after 'Play Misty For Me' and 'High Planes Drifter', in fact characters in this film go to see 'High Planes Drifter' in a theater. 'Breezy' is a character study/ romance film in which an imbittered, divorced, real estate agent played by a 55 year old William Holden, slowly, and against his better judgment, falls in love with a free spirted 17 year old who goes by "Breezy" and is played by a very lovely 20 year old Kay Lenz.

The film somewhat lessens the ick factor of the pairing by making "Breezy" not a run away, but rather an orphan who finished school early then set out on her own. She's the manic-pixie-dream-girl type, very charming, and she's the one who actively pursues Holden, picking him like a stray cat might pick an owner. 

While Kay Lenz is beguiling (side note: Eastwood started in a film called 'The Beguiled' two years before making this movie), it's Holden who makes the film work. I read one reviewer point out the honesty in his performance and I'd second that, you believe him, the positive changes Breezy's presence brings out in him seem real and earned. The whole film has a understated quality that keeps it from feeling excessively exploitive, even as it makes sure to show off Kay Lenz's body. Without going into them I also wanted to mention the film has a number of good side characters and side plots, these provide counter point to the main narrative and provide further emotional shading and backstory for the leads. 

This is one of those films I didn't plan on finishing, just wanted to get a taste of it given the 'Licorice Pizza' connection. However, the movie reeled me in, and was surprisingly emotionally affective. To those who can get past the premise, I recommend. ***

 

The Final Conflict aka The Omen III (1981)

 The last entry in the feature film 'Omen Trilogy' is a disappointment even compared to its middling predecessors. Damien is now a grown up played by Sam Neill, whose mostly waisted in this. 32 years of age and heading his family conglomerate, he takes a step back from day to operations to assume his father's old post as the US Ambassador to Great Britian (a vacancy having been conveniently opened up for this job via the forces of darkness). The forces of light are back too, mostly monks and priests, they have relocated the sacred daggers which are the only instruments capable of killing the Anit-Christ. Several assassination attempts fail. 

There are also story points concerning the impending second coming of Christ, but in a break with prevailing doctrine apparently Jesus is coming back as an infinite again (so he can grow up to face a sixty-something Anti-Christ?)  But Jesus won't have to be the one to end the Anti-Christ's reign, which will prove to be short and low key, as he is to be felled by a single mother that he recently started dating. This film lacks the scale which would seem to go with such a cosmic story, there's a few decent set pieces, but its mostly people talking in rooms and Damien raging in front of a crucifix which he keeps just to rage in front of. This was silly, rather cheap looking, and really bad. *

Damien: Omen II (1978)

 'Damien: Omen II' is of course a sequel to the 1976 film 'The Omen', a film that is considered a classic but that I thought was middling. I think this was middling as well, but in some ways, I found it more interesting than its predecessor, in part because the first film has worked its way into the collective consciousness, so I felt like I'd kind of seen it even before I saw it. 

This movie follows a young pubescent Damien coming to the realization that he is to be the Anti-Christ, something that he is legitimately upset about at first, but which he comes to embrace. Damien also learns of a conspiracy of people dedicated to helping him, including an instructor at his military school and the number 2 official at his uncle's multi-national conglomerate. 

After his parent's deaths in the first movie Damien is taken in by his father's brother. We learn that the Thorne family run a multinational conglomerate, and that while Gregoy Peck was able to use his privileges to have a prominent diplomatic career, his brother William Holden took over the family business. Holden seems a decant enough guy, but when approached by representatives of a 'conspiracy of light' dedicated to stopping Damien, he just refuses to see his nephew's evilness (despite all the people around him that conveniently wind-up dead) until it might be, and in fact is, too late. 

Some interesting ideas here, but similar themes are tackled more interestingly in other films from around the same time, such as 'The Fury' (1978) and 'The Visitor' (1979). The movie also fails to take advantage of a plot twist they seemed to be setting up, in which Holden's wife Lee Grant knew that Damien was to be the Anti-Christ the whole time. **