Network (1976)

In pursuit of higher ratings an unscrupulous TV network mercilessly exploits the increasingly unstable mindset of ageing news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch), while his closest friend Max Schumacher (William Holden) can do little but watch, partly because Max has personal issues of his own to deal with.
The savagely satirical media-whoring parts of the film are well-scripted, but it's when it explores human relationships that it really hit the mark for me - the scene between Max and his wife is a perfect example of what I mean. In many ways, the politics of fragile people eclipses the politics of financial profits.

3½ corporate manoeuvres out of 5

The Towering Inferno (1974)

Previously it was a watery death that an ensemble star cast had to run from, now it's a fiery one. They're opposing elements, but the end result is a similar kind of disaster movie, again produced by Irwin Allen (Dir. John Guillermin).
With a story adapted from two different novels (The Tower by R.M. Stern; The Glass Inferno by T.N. Scortia and F.M. Robinson), the script doesn't rush to the big event, but nor does it dally. An epic establishing scene effectively gets us to where the (hot) shit goes down. Thereafter the two male leads, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, are cleverly kept apart for the longest time but are dependent on each other's skills at crucial moments throughout.
The villains of the piece are hobnobbing rich folks who feel that their life is somehow worth more than that of the average Joe.

3½ corners cut out of 5

Damien: Omen II (1978)

Damien is thirteen, on the precipice of maturity. It's time for him to put away childish things and look menacing in uniform.
The film exists solely because the first one made a profit. The plot is stretched to fit 107 minutes when in reality it could be told in just one paragraph. Damien’s awakening lacks drama. The diabolical intervention is predictable and boring. The deaths are comical. It fails to capture the uneasy feelings that the original had. Although, it makes a kind of sense that the Antichrist would be educated at an American military school.

2½ days of the Jackal out of 5