Bloodsucking Freaks

Release Year: 1976

Director: Joel M. Reed

Review: 'Bloodsucking Freaks' takes exploitation to a whole new level.  The movie is about an S&M theatre owner who puts on gruesome torture shows for paying audiences.  The audience believes that what they are watching is trickery and applaud appreciatively of the bloodbath.  Unbeknownst to them, the theatre owner is a lunatic who enslaves women and exploits them for his show.  Desperate to be taken seriously he kidnaps a famous dancer to star in his newest disturbing production.  While watching this film I got the eerie feeling that I was supposed to be reveling in the grotesque, sexually infused brutality unfolding.  The basic pattern for any given scene was the following: Woman is degraded. Woman is sexually abused. Woman is tortured. Woman screams for several minutes. Woman dies. Evil guy laughs hysterically.  It all gets tied together with a disturbingly cheery little-person who carries out the awful deeds.  This is the bottom of the barrel of filmmaking and not something I'm willing to give any credit to.  It's not that I was shocked or disturbed by what I saw, I just didn't care.  At some point while watching this, you have to ask yourself if you are any different than the people in the torture show audience blindly consuming the deranged smut put in front of them.  Degradation and mutilation is not something I take pleasure in watching even if its just fantasy.
Rating: 1/5

Rocky

Release Year: 1976

Director: John G. Avildsen

Review: One of the great underdog stories, 'Rocky' is an enduring classic.  Rocky is an everyman.  Just an average guy who has a good heart, but perhaps made a few mistakes, just trying to get by in life.  Like so many people he has a talent but because of circumstances never capitalized on them and missed his shot.  Many people can identify with this character, and hence when Rocky is given that chance to show that he is worth something it is so easy to root for him.  Although it is an effective and moving film, I did have some problems with it.  Rocky's love interest Adrian goes through a transformation that is a bit over the top.  She goes from an overly shy, unattractive, borderline mentally challenged pet store clerk to an engaging, beautiful, woman seemingly overnight.  Apparently she just needed to lose the glasses and get a new dress.   Perhaps this transformation would have been more believable had more time been spent on it, but like so many potentially interesting points, it was glossed over.  I would have liked to spend more time with the build up of Rocky's fame.  It is said that he has went from a nobody to nationally known, but this is never felt.  I guess can't fault the movie too much for not shoving more montages in, and I doenjoy the movie as it is.  Everyone likes rooting for the underdog, and 'Rocky' perhaps pulls that concept off the best.
Rating: 4/5

Taxi Driver

Review: One of my favorite movies, Taxi Driver is a compelling character study of Travis Bickle, played brilliantly by Robert DeNiro, who is an insomniac taxi driver who works the seedy sections of New York City at night. Travis is a complex character who seems to be caught up in his own world. He claims to be a Vietnam War vet, but whether or not this is true is never certain. Much of what Travis says and does is a lie, feeding his distorted view of reality. Travis doesn't connect with the society surrounding him and he describes himself as "God's lonely man". There is a strong presence of duality throughout the film. The two women in which he interacts with represents the two spectrums of Travis, an angelic political campain worker and a corrupted prostitute. What is right and wrong is blurred throughout this film and it is perfectly portrayed in the final act culminating in one of the most memorable climaxes in film. This is a true classic. A powerful character analysis that is hard to forget.
Rating: 5/5

Network

Release Year: 1976
Review: Although it was released over 30 years ago the messages that Network preaches are as prudent today as they were when it first came out. The movie is a non-stop barrage on the hypocrisy of television and the apathy of its viewers. I had a hard time figuring out if this movie was a masterpiece or just a very good film. Unfortunately I'd probably have to place it more toward the latter category. While the film demonstrates some of the most poignantly written tirades ever in film, this is all that supports the film. While taken individually the speeches are powerful and moving, the continuous current of angry banter eventually erodes the effect until the dialog becomes silly and pompous. None the less, Network is a timeless piece of cinema and should be required viewing.
Rating: 5/5