1959 Movies
Ben-HurDir: William Wyler Stars: Charleton Heston 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I avoided this film for the longest time. How could I get excited about a 4 hour epic, starring Charleton "Soylent Green" Heston, that couldn't possibly live up to all of its accolades? Well...I was wrong. Ben-Hur is an astonishing film. That chariot race is one of the best action sequences in the history of cinema...exciting and dangerous to a level I never though imaginable from a film made in the 1950s. Also, Heston can actually ACT!!! I was so surprised. The plot of Ben-Hur is not that different from Gladiator, but also has all of the Christ encounters, that never felt forced or cheesy. When/if they ever make a Charleton Heston biopic...Patrick Wilson BETTER play him, because as I sat through this film, the entire time, I thought it was Wilson on screen. It's a perfect match. A DVD |
House on Haunted HillDir: William Castle Stars: Vincent Price This is my first foray into Vincent Price, other than as the inventor in Edward Scissorhands. He has a magnetic, oily presence that was so great I wanted more and more. The movie itself is pretty simple, with 5 strangers offered $10,000 to spend the night in a "Haunted House" but its actually never boring. It tries to have it both ways when all is said and done, and that kind of confused me...but Price and the one scare involving the blind caretaker, are worth the price of admission. B |
L'il AbnerDir: Melvin Frank Stars: Stubby Kaye, Leslie Parrish, Peter Palmer Of course, I have a special place in my heart for this film since I portrayed Abner Yokum in high school, but this musical is not made very well. Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam is the exception...but no one is a good actor in it, even though they are supposed to be comic-strip characters, they are still bad. Also, the production design is atrocious...whereby the sets and costumes are no better than what I was a part of back in 1998. C+ |
Plan 9 From Outer SpaceDir: Edward D Wood Jr Stars: Bela Lugosi, Vampira, Tor Johnson Sure, this is considered one of the "worst" movies ever made, and sure, my appreciation for it hinges a lot on the Tim Burton biopic Ed Wood, but I can't deny that I enjoy this nonsense. To watch the hammy acting, the shoestring budget sets, the covering of the face of an actor so you can think he is Bela Lugosi, the cardboard headstones that fall over in the cemetery...I love it all. Reviewing movies is subjective to the reviewer...and if you LIKE a movie that is objectively bad...you have to review it positively. B DVD |
Sleeping BeautyDir: Clyde Geronimi This is an iconic Disney princess movie...and I like it better than Snow White and Cinderella...and that probably hinges on the villain, Maleficent. Just like the Bond movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe...the success of the movie often hinges a lot on the quality of the villain...and Maleficent is outstanding. Add that to the archetype Princess/Prince love story...and you have a magical piece of cinema. A- DVD |
Some Like it HotDir: Billy Wilder Stars: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die A screwball comedy if there ever was one. Two musicians witness a mob hit, dress as women, head to florida as part of an all-girl band, one falls for Marilyn Monroe, the other catches the eye of a billionaire. Often with these early zany comedies...I can't stand the pacing. As if the filmmakers are so in love with their screenplay that the actors spew it as fast as possible...and this movie had that in the first half. Then it seems to mature and it became wonderful. Monroe just oozes sexuality in every look and every like. Curtis is the better actor, but Lemmon is by far the funnier. The twists and turns and subversiveness going on is a lot of fun...some of the most fun you can have, especially with a 50-year-old comedy. B+ |