The Day the Earth Stood Still

Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1951

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Robert Wise

Cast: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray

Plot outline: An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets (IMDb).

“Klaatu Barada Nikto”

The story (**** The movie was a brilliantly simple allegory for a world that just started the Cold War, and came out of the ravages of World War II scarred and scared. But it was more than that--it was a landmark in American cinema, the first truly significant offering in science fiction they gave the world, with a score by Bernard Herrmann that created the sound of science fiction for years to come with its use of the Theramin, whose otherworldly tone fit right in with a genre that could only exist with the existence of such an other world.)

How the story unfolds (****)

The characters (***)

The dialogue (****)

The acting (***)

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA, Canada

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith

Plot outline: A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction movie about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 This new version of the enduring Robert Wise's Cold War classic of the same name is at least on paper contemporary)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Klaatu does not see much to convince him that mankind is worth saving, except for a contrived scene with a fellow alien who has been living amongst for the last seventy years. Despite his less than glowing report on mankind, he report at the end of it all that he loves humans and perhaps they are redeemable after all, but he never explains why.)

The characters (**1/2)

The dialogue (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2 Reeves is asked to muster up his now trademark cold blank stare; an increasingly emaciated Connelly conjures up her big-eyed compassionate stare, and; Bates is perpetually pompous and angry. Only Jaden Smith portraying Connelly's step-son, really exercises his acting chops, but even his performance soon becomes an annoyance. And the robot GORT--looking like a giant Oscar statue, so relevant to the original concept, is relegated to a minor supporting role as a violence suppressor.)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Hurt Locker

Movie Review: The Hurt Locker (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

Plot outline: Three members of the Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad battle insurgents and each other as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad-in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike (IMDb).

The story (*** Story-wise, there’s not much to this--they get called to a bomb, they diffuse the bomb, they move onto the next bomb--repeat until tour of duty ends. It does feel like there’s something missing from the film--we witness the present-day camaraderie of the characters, but have very little sense of who they really are, what really motivates them.)

How the story unfolds (***)

The characters (*** The film’s main failing is a lack of real character development--but maybe that’s the point--it’s a slice of life, very specific to the time and place)

The dialogue (***)

The acting (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

White Man's Burden

Movie Review: White Man's Burden (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1995

Country of Origin: France, USA

Director: Desmond Nakano

Cast: John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, Kelly Lynch

Plot outline: The story takes place in alternative America where the blacks are members of social elite, and whites are inhabitants of inner city ghettos (IMDb).

The story (*** What if the balance of racial power in America were reversed?)

How the story unfolds (** The excessive simplicity ultimately undermines both the movie's statement and its dramatic impact. The most unsettling thing about the movie is not that it tells the truth about the racial situation in America--it doesn't--but that it relies on blithe stereotyping.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2 Travolta and Belafonte are charismatic actors, and it's interesting watching them play off each other. But they are hemmed in by the requirements of the movie's race gimmick.)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Watcher in the Woods

Movie Review: The Watcher in the Woods (** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1980

Country of Origin: USA, UK

Director: John Hough

Cast: Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, Carroll Baker

Plot outline: When an American family moves into a beautiful old English house in a wooded area, strange, paranormal things happen. One daughter sees, and the other daughter hears, the voice of a teenage girl who mysteriously disappeared during a total solar eclipse decades before (IMDb).

The story (**)

How the story unfolds (** The atmosphere is pretty good. The movie’s failing is in the ending. You get the sense that while the filmmakers had a good storyline they never quite figured out how to resolve it.)

The characters (** Bette Davis still had incredible presence, and spit her lines out in that inimitable style that could have intimidated Clint Eastwood. It did not, however, phase Lynn-Holly Johnson in the slightest. She wambles on obliviously, leaving only questions as to whether her hair, voice, or facial expressions are most absurd, disproportionate, or inappropriate, in her wake.)

The acting (**)

Overall rating ** out of 4 stars

Night Passage

Movie Review: Night Passage (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1957

Country of Origin: USA

Director: James Neilson

Cast: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea

Plot outline: A disgraced railroad employee tries to prove himself by guarding the company's payroll against outlaws (IMDb).

The story (** the movie was underwhelming, telling a tale that hardly mattered)

How the story unfolds (** the plot was slight and the story lacked intensity; it flatly tells the familiar tale about two brothers, one bad, one good)

The characters (**1/2 Stewart wasn't crazy about the script, but remained aboard because his part called for an accordion player and he wanted to show off his ability in an instrument he loves playing)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Harder They Fall

Movie Review: The Harder They Fall (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1956

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Mark Robson

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger

Plot outline: Ex-sportswriter Eddie Willis hypes a naïve Argentinean boxer for a shady boxing promoter Nick Benko (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (*** the script keeps things moving quickly and does a great job showing just how the boxing underworld builds up fighters, while at the same time delivering a human drama accessible to non-boxing fans)

The characters (***)

The dialogue (***)

The acting (*** Bogart retains the undeniable charisma that made him a star; Steiger injects just enough showman into the part to be credible, but avoids overdoing it)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Carmen Jones

Movie Review: Carmen Jones (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1954

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Otto Preminger

Cast: Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge

Plot outline: A sultry factory worker seduces a young soldier then dumps him for another man (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2 While Harry Belafonte just moped around for the most part, Dorothy Dandridge displayed that fire and grit that very few actresses have been able to muster on camera. Marilyn Monroe is a very good example of a similar talent, as were the earlier Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert. Each of these ladies had that “it” that would cause a suitor to walk over hot coals for them and could bring that personal magnetism to their screen performance. )

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Two for the Road

Movie Review: Two for the Road (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1967

Country of Origin: UK

Director: Stanley Donen

Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney

Plot outline: A married couple's relationship rises and falls during a series of European trips (IMDb).

The story (***1/2 it delightfully catches not only the exuberance of the mid-1960s but also the pains of growing old and maintaining the flame of love; by the end of the movie, love remains precious, if not supreme)

How the story unfolds (***1/2 the script skillfully negotiates the tightrope between frothy romantic comedy and melodramatic marriage--this is not the bitter pill of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" but the bittersweet maturing relationship between two very vibrant and strong personalities)

The characters (***)

The dialogue (***)

The acting (*** Hepburn and Finney's performance may well be the finest of their careers)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

The Man from Laramie

Movie Review: The Man from Laramie (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1955

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Anthony Mann

Cast: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Cathy O'Donnell

Plot outline: A wandering cowboy gets caught in the rivalry between an aging rancher's sons (IMDb).

The story (*** It has layer upon layer of storyline with themes such as revenge, fatherly love, deceit and treachery all covered with equal aplomb. Adding to the mix is a slight undertone of romance which adds another layer to the storyline without encroaching on the main themes.)

How the story unfolds (***)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

The Blue Dahlia

Movie Review: The Blue Dahlia (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1946

Country of Origin: USA

Director: George Marshall

Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix

Plot outline: A war hero fights to prove he didn't kill his cheating wife (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (*** The script is considerably weakened by capitulating to Navy Department objections to having war hero Bendix be the killer. The plot is changed, and the surprise murderer seems forced onto the script even though the conclusion is resolved satisfactorily. It would have been more interesting for Bendix, so brutalized by the war, to be the killer. Nevertheless this atmospheric film noir rings true as a well-acted and exciting thriller, that is crisply scripted and filled with sharp dialogue)

The characters (***)

The dialogue (***)

The acting (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars