I recently had a late-night eBay shopping spree in which I bought blu-ray versions of several Leone Westerns. This has lead to me listening to commentary tracks in which Yojimbo’s status as source material for Fistful of Dollars gets mentioned over and over. I think Fistful is a better, tighter movie but this holds up very well too. For such a legendary action movie, there is comparatively little action. The sword fights are little bit of an afterthought and we never get to see that giant guy wield his hammer!
The movie opens with a young photographer witnessing and photographing a mob-style killing. Then, in one of the stupidest moves I have ever seen an on-screen character make, he tries to blackmail the mob boss in-person. The rest of the movie has a gloved killer offing everyone who comes in contact with the photos until he finally reaches our hero. If one can overlook that head-scratchingly bad choice at the start of the film, this is a mildly entertaining crime thriller with a few memorable characters.
Umberto Lenzi directs this post-Baker giallo about a group of tourists in Barcelona who are killed off one-by-one by an eyeball pilfering maniac. There are so many red herrings that it becomes obvious that the least suspected character is probably the real killer. Also, as the body count increases the sightseeing continues as though nothing is happening. It’s all very silly and quite derivative of other gialli (it literally steals the gimmick from Torso) but at least it sorta-kinda makes sense. Excellent Nicolai score and a few visually interesting set pieces like the funhouse killing keep this one watchable until the end.
This is an epic Indian film from the director of RRR. The first part is better than the second but bear in my mind that after six hours it all starts to meld together. I think this is mostly an excuse to film Lord of the Rings massive battle scenes with increasingly ridiculous battle tactics. In reality, the second movie (which is mostly telling the backstory of the hero’s father) could have been told as a ten minute flashback.
Uberto Lenzi’s poliziotteschi about a small-time criminal who decides to kidnap an heiress and ends up killing just about every person he meets. Throughout he’s pursued by a hard-nosed police inspector played nicely by Henry Silva. The first half of the film is gritty, brutal, and has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it kinda drops the ball with the character development. Tomas Milian kills a guy in the first three minutes but then there’s no story arc beyond this first sadistic turn. Yet still, it is entertaining to watch and I wasn’t bored for a second.
I have finally submitted myself to the precursor to Escape from the Bronx. It’s a more enjoyable than the sequel and but still feels cheap and incomplete. At least the costume design is more interesting. You can see that they a really trying hard to imitate The Warriors aesthetic but instead of Baseball Furies there are ice hockey thugs on roller skates. The lead actor still has that weird lanky body shape and gait. I could stop trying to analyze just what was wrong with it (with little success).
A Eurocrime thriller about a fellow who gets wrapped up in a jewelry robbery. I’m not sure if he was a cop or just a random dude. The film makes little effort to explain anything. The important part is that it is filmed in Greece and they apparently got permission to film the last act on some old ruins on Rhodes. The action is boring and the scenery is dusty and dull.
This is a terrible Poliziotteschi about a ruthless cop who has been kicked off the force but is determined to take down a blackmail ring. Everything about this movie oozes tacky 70s style. The action scenes are just poorly staged fist fights and an opening car chase with tiny crap European cars. The only redeeming part of the film is the opening montage of our “hero” engaging in all sorts of Death Wish style police brutality.
It’s a Predator sequel that doesn’t suck! The plot mirrors the first movie but the setting has been shifted to the 1700s with Native American protagonists. I almost wish it was not a Predator movie because much of the surprise is lost as we in the audience all know how predators work. The setting an time period are what really make this fun but I don’t think, as many have suggested, that they need to make more sequels during different eras. Quit while you are ahead.
