Them! (1954)
Them! has the distinction of being the first of the "giant bug" movies that became popular in the late 50's and throughout the 60's. So popular were these "gargantuan insect" pictures, young people started to dress and style their hair like the "mammoth-sized creepy crawlies" they'd encountered at the cinema, hence the beehive hairdo, the praying mantis slacks, and the dung beetle bowler. Boys in their late teens were known to sport "caterpillar-staches" on their upper lips in the Springtime.
Them! is not only an exciting science fiction thriller about mutant ants, it is also a lesson in nuclear responsibility. As kooky old Dr. Medford ominously intones at the film's end, "When Man entered the atomic age, he opened a door into a new world. What we'll eventually find in that new world, nobody can predict."
My grade: B+
My tagline: "In New Mexico, the ants step on you!
A word on the film's poster: None of that happens. No monster ants crash through any skyscrapers or clamp scantily-clad vixens in their pincers. Sgt Ben Peterson almost gets chomped in half, but no ladies. There is however a whole buttload of fire in the movie.
The Killing (1956)
This Stanley Kubrick-directed crime caper from 1956 was first recommended to me by a girlfriend who had just seen it in a college film class. Believing my knowledge of cinema to be far superior to her's, I blew her recommendation off with a simple, "I'll check it out when I have time. Let's make out." Oh, boy, was I ever wrong. Why make out with a hot college chick, when you could sit down and watch a quality film noir all by yourself? I've always been a Kubrick fan, so there's really no excuse for waiting this long to watch The Killing. The dialogue is pitch perfect, the performances are fantastic, specifically that of Marie Windsor as Sherry Peatty, the conniving wife of George, one of the five schemers behind an epic racetrack heist, and the film's finale is both devastating and unforgettable.
My grade: A
On the Waterfront (1954)
Also from '54, but oddly enough, no giant insects. On the Waterfront is an indisputable classic. They don't make actors like Brando, Malden, and Cobb any more. The story is simple: Terry Malloy (Brando), a former boxer, takes on the mob-run longshoreman's union in his New Jersey town, with the support of a local priest (Malden), his dead buddy's sister (Eva Marie Saint), and literally nobody else. On the Waterfront is an amazing picture and its got the Academy Awards to prove it, including a Best Actor for Brando and Best Picture. You're probably already familiar with Brando's big moment in the back seat of his brother's car ("I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am..."). Now familiarize yourself with the whole film.
Also from '54, but oddly enough, no giant insects. On the Waterfront is an indisputable classic. They don't make actors like Brando, Malden, and Cobb any more. The story is simple: Terry Malloy (Brando), a former boxer, takes on the mob-run longshoreman's union in his New Jersey town, with the support of a local priest (Malden), his dead buddy's sister (Eva Marie Saint), and literally nobody else. On the Waterfront is an amazing picture and its got the Academy Awards to prove it, including a Best Actor for Brando and Best Picture. You're probably already familiar with Brando's big moment in the back seat of his brother's car ("I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am..."). Now familiarize yourself with the whole film.
My grade: A
Lingering question: Did that kid really murder every single one of Terry's pigeons? That's messed up! I mean, that's some serial killer shit, man!
Metropolis (1927)
In the weird, futuristic city of Metropolis, the privileged, floppy-haired, puffy golf pants-clad son of a wealthy industrialist, has his world of pleasure gardens and whimsical fountains rocked when he comes face to face with the lowly, underground workers who keep the city functioning. Moved by their plight and smitten with their religious leader, the beautiful Maria, Freder Fredersen (no, really) joins with them to make a better tomorrow. While this is going on, Freder's father and a local mad scientist with the unfortunate name of Dr. Rotwang, plot the downfall of Metropolis's working class, using a humanoid robot they've made up to look like Maria, to convince the rabble to destroy the machines that govern their hellish underground existence. Features probably the most abrupt ending in cinema history, but what are you gonna do? It's a classic of German Expressionism. Give it a break!
My grade: B
At the movies with Phyllis and Larry: Whenever I go to the movies with my folks, I get to observe their adorable trailer rating ritual. If they enjoy a particular coming attraction, they will look at one another with thumbs pointed to the sky. If a trailer does not tickle their respective fancies however, their thumbs are turned downward and often one or both of them will make a frowny face. The amazing thing is that they always seem to agree. Years ago, I took them to a small theater in Charlotte to see Spellbound. I don't remember all of the coming attractions, but I do recall seeing the trailer for a revival of Metropolis. I was pretty excited. I hadn't seen it yet, but I'd wanted to for a long time. At the conclusion of the trailer, my father and mother looked at one another and...GASP...both of their thumbs were pointed at the sticky, popcorn-strewn floor. "Dad," I whisper-screamed, "Metropolis is a classic!" "Eh," he shrugged and turned his attention back to the screen. (They both enjoyed Spellbound, by the way.)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Kathryn Bigelow's Academy Award-winning film is intensity in its purest form and if you are lucky enough to have a home theater system like mine, well, it's like you are right there in the thick of the Iraq War, defusing IEDs with Jeremy Renner and friends. And that's about as involved in all of that as I ever plan to be. Devastatingly raw, starkly poignant, yet wholly entertaining, The Hurt Locker is one of the finest films about the Iraq War to come out in a long time. But, seriously, you gotta watch with surround sound and a subwoofer pounding in one corner of the room. I spent a good deal of the movie crouched behind a makeshift bunker comprised of couch pillows, fearing for my life.
My grade: A
