Hollywood High - Part II

Hollywood High Part II (1981) is not really a sequel to Hollywood High. The film earns its title only by the tenuous logic that the story involves some characters who are supposedly Hollywood High seniors, but seem to be 20-somethings. The cover art is completely misleading, showing large- breasted cheerleaders and muscle cars, neither of which are to be found in the film. Further, the description on the back of the box is not accurate.

Here's what it is really about:

Three couples are inseparable, and seem to have the exact same class schedules. They go to the beach, taunt a cop, and party at the home of one of the girls, as her parents are away for three weeks. The lack of supervision is a plus when you want to drink beer, smoke weed, and get laid, and the swimming pool and Jacuzzi make it easier to show breasts. While we are on the subject of breasts, these include two each from April May, Donna Lynn and Camille Warner as the three girls in the group, and full frontal from Alisa Ann Hull, as the goody-goody in the class, whom they photograph screwing the married cop who is after them.

Were this a decent transfer, if anyone in the cast was anyone important, or if they managed special features, I might call it a very low C because of the copious nudity, justifying the grade within the "tittie film" genre. But as it is, it is a D- at best.

Rarely is an IMDB score within .4 of what I believe to be the correct appraisal, but this is the rare exception. IMDb's readers have generously elevated this to 1.4.

April May

Donna Lynn

Camille Warner

Alisa Ann Hull

Group Shots

Into the Night

The Time Machine is in 1985 for Into The Night. Michelle Pfeiffer looks terrific as she strolls around naked.

 

 

Strip Search

This film begins in a classroom with a professor asking his students if it was acceptable to give up your rights for 1 day if the government could guarantee that it could get rid of terrorism. He then proceeds to ask the same question, but extending the time period from 1 day to 10 years.

The director then examines two identical situations differing only in their location. The first scenario is of an American woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) being hooded, and then abducted by Chinese security forces and then taken to an unknown location where she is asked some uncomfortable questions. The second scenario is of the same thing happening to an Arab man being hooded and abducted and taken to an FBI building where he's questioned. This film is effective in asking the viewer whether the US wishes to fight any war in a manner similar to how Communist China (with no supposed civil freedoms) fights a War on Terror. Additionally, the viewer is asked whether civil liberties which have taken many decades of struggle to obtain and keep are so worthless that they can be discarded for any period of time. One of the most ironic parts of the movie is that the quote by Thomash Jefferson "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." is used by the Arab suspect in his political science thesis and then the FBI agent questioning him asks whether the use of this statement is a call to violent dissent.

While the movie shows how the behavior in these interrogations is in violation of the Geneva Convention, there are, in between, 3 clips of various US presidents talking about freedom and democracy provided by their nation to their own citizens and also to the world.