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Reviews
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Uplifting and fun
The two critical elements of a musical is it's singing and dancing, and Singin' in the Rain does both perfectly. With memorable songs such as 'Good Morning' and 'Fit as a Fiddle' and without a single step out of place, Singin' in the Rain can easily be considered one of the greatest musicals ever.
The problem with most musicals is that they can come off too corny, maybe because they try too hard or simply because of bad screen writing. Singin' in the Rain is, admittedly a little corny, but surprisingly engaging. The story, the characters, the song and dance, it all works quite well and leaves the viewers wanting to see what happens next.
Singin' in the rain is a delightfully charming film and is good for a couple of laughs every time you watch it.
Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca
A Beloved American classic, Casablanca is well-renowned in the cinema world. Starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine and his love interest, Ilsa Lund Laszio as Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca is a romance drama story taking place in Casablanca during the start of WWII. Rick runs a nightclub and also sells tickets of transit, allowing refugees to escape from the Nazis, when one day his former love interest Ilsa and well known rebel Victor Lazio (Paul Henried) enters his club, bringing back past emotions and rekindling their love.
Aside from it's excellent story, Casablanca is also excellently made. Its dialog, despite being over 70 years old, remains fresh. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's acting is outstanding. The Photography is is perfect, every shadow and every light is expertly placed. Casablanca is one of Hollywood's finer moments to be sure.
Psycho (1960)
A Hitchcock Masterpiece
Psycho is the thriller film to compare all other horror/thrillers. It has literally everything you could possibly look for in a thriller. Suspense, a phenomenal soundtrack, glorious cinematography, shocking twists, it has it all.
Each scene in Psycho was created masterfully, from the into graphic to the ending dramatic monologue. To name a few aspects, the cop scene portrayed Hitchcock's fear of cops excellently, the shower scene terrified, and still terrifies it's viewers, and the iconic violins in the musical scores are simply flawless.
Psycho is a cinema classic. Anyone who (somehow) hasn't seen Psycho should watch it immediately. Even if you don't enjoy horror films, Psycho is still worth seeing simply because it is a flawless film.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Horribly Dated
Imagine a drama that focused on a controversial topic. Now imagine it's over forty years old and the controversial topic is not even remotely an issue.
Guess who's coming to dinner is about inter-racial marriage and how it was weird for old people. The soundtrack is nothing of interest, the drama only stems from the inter-racial aspect, and the dialog comes off a bit preachy (especially at the end). It just doesn't work when it's so common, in fact it's almost comical how out of date it is.
Some of the scenes are also painfully dated. Between the delivery boy and the malt shop, it's hardly relate-able. Who thought dialog about boysenberry ice cream was a good idea in the first place?
On the other hand, it does have Spencer Tracy, and it provided a strong message towards inter-racial marriage. Perhaps I'm a tad cynical, but watching it in the modern age, it's simply too dated to have any affect.
The Graduate (1967)
The sounds of silence
I've always been a fan of comedies, and The Graduate is no exception. With its unique comedic sense, starting off strong with the awkward and shy Ben Braddock being seduced by the middle-aged Mrs. Robinson, The Graduate will surely bring laughter to viewers of all kinds (despite it's 60's focus). It's only real fault is that it isn't exactly believable at times, but it's to be expected from a comedy.
Besides it's excellent comedic appeal, the soundtrack, The Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, is not only a phenomenal choice due to being a good song, but also fits the story perfectly.
The Graduate is good for anyone who can appreciate a good movie or could use a good laugh. If there's any testament to the quality of this film, it's the quantity of parodies it has. Its wedding scene is one of the more parodied scenes, and for good reason. The Graduate is both genuine and original, with no reason not to watch it.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Do the right thing?
The first thing worth noting about Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" is that the film revolves entirely around a message it presents. It's less of a movie you watch and more of something you experience.
"Do the Right Thing" centers around a pizza delivery boy in a (nearly) all black neighborhood during the hottest day in Brooklyn history and the choice he makes in the last section of the movie. Building up to the end, the neighborhood is filled with unique characters with distinct personalities and how they live their everyday lives. "Do the Right Thing" is uplifting, practically a comedy, during the first half of it. Ultimately the racial tensions escalates and the film has a dramatic shift in tone.
Without giving anything away, Spike Lee presents a bitterly harsh reminder of the racial tensions of the time. It leaves the audience wondering if the right thing was done, or what the right thing to do even was. "Do the Right Thing" is a great film with great cultural significance and is certainly worth watching.
Scarface (1932)
It's good for what it is
Scarface, among other things, is a gangster flick that takes place during the prohibition era and is loosely based on Al Capone. It focuses on being as gritty and as lifelike as possible, given the time it was made this was quite a feat having various censorship codes to hurdle over. I was quite surprised to see some of the shootouts and drive-byes in Scarface, not because they were particularly graphic or stunning, but simply because it was allowed in a movie made in 1932. Scarface follows Tony Camonte, a hostile gangster willing to murder his way to the top, as he murders his way to the top. Along the blood path we find his love interest, his sister whom Tony cares deeply for, and an assortment of gangsters and policemen. All the elements needed for a good mobster film. The problem with Scarface is that it isn't very engaging. The isn't really any effort put in for you to like Tony Camonte or some of the other characters , with the exception of Cesca. It's a gritty film capitalizing on the drama and action of the gangsters of the time, but it isn't as well developed as say, Godfather. Given how it was made and Scarface's censor hurdles, it's still quite a good film. It wouldn't be the first gangster/mobster film I'd see if given a choice (even picking the remake over the original), but Scarface is still worth watching.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Simply Phenomenal
Before My Man Godfrey, I hardly even knew what a screwball comedy was, what it does, or if they're even enjoyable. What My Man Godfrey did, was educate me. It taught me exactly what a perfect screwball comedy is, and more importantly, that screwball comedies are FANTASTIC. My Man Godfrey is everything to make a superb screwball film. It has over-the-top everything and satire/comedy at its core. The character personalities are drastically different from each other and still well developed. The rich Bullocks, always at the peak of insanity with William Powell as Godfrey, the lovable "hobo" turned butler down on his luck, to bring them all together. The dialog is perfect, almost every line is a joke in some form, but at the same time it isn't overbearing. It isn't shoved down your throat like any of the Scary Movies or anything coming out of comedy central these days, it's natural comedy, not forced. There isn't a single aspect of this film that seems out of place, ironic, considering it's the epitome of chaotic and abnormal behavior. Everything in My Man Godfrey is well assembled and clean. Good shots, great actors, and superb dialog all work together to make My Man Godfrey simply phenomenal.
Stagecoach (1939)
The start of all westerns
Stagecoach, compared to any amount of western films would seem almost bland and stereotypical. All of the characters are exactly what you'd expect, a lead female without fault, a kind-hearted prostitute, a greedy banker, and John Wayne being John Wayne. It takes place in the wild west and there's a constant threat of attacking native Americans. There's guns and saloons. It's all very... generic. However, Stagecoach gets credit where credit is due, as it is THE western film to base all western films on and because it helped make John Wayne become a success. The story consists of three parts, a buildup, and action packed climax, and a wrap-up ending. Without going into plot details, the buildup focuses entirely on character development. At the time, this would be great, no one has seen these character tropes before. Now it almost seems excessive. I found myself bored for a good portion of the intro simply because the film establishes well defined character tropes for half the film. After making it through the character build-up phase the film picks up quite a bit and is over all quite enjoyable. Also John Wayne never said 'Pilgrim", which was a little disappointing.
The Circus (1928)
A classic in slapstick comedy
Charlie Chaplin. That should be enough of a reason for you to consider this film. He was a genius when it came to silent film comedies, he knew his limitations and worked around them to make great films. The Circus is a prime example of a Charlie Chaplin film. All of the scenes were written with the aspect of it being silent in mind. You can still understand the content and dialog, even when it isn't written on a card for viewers. It also was shot quite well and used certain techniques to add to the humor. Speeding up some scene helped add to the calamity of some scenes for example. The humor is still rich, despite being an older silent film, and the story is still somewhat relevant and relate-able. Despite The Circus being about 80 years old, it's still a great movie to watch.
Frankenstein (1931)
Good movie, but...
All around, Frankenstein was a good movie. Well made and with no real faults in filming, it's definitely earned its status as a classic. As far as a film goes, it's certainly respectable. The problem for me is that I thought it was boring. It didn't meet up to the hype, and not just the overall hype of it being "Frankenstein". In the very beginning of the film a man hyped the movie up before it even started, saying that it might even horrify those who watch it. With only one scene involving the girl, the movie was hardly horrifying, and even that scene was lackluster compared to any movie under the "Horror" genre. Five out of ten for being well made, but I wouldn't give it any more simply because it bored me.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Better than I thought it'd be
A movie barely anyone has ever heard of? Usually that means it probably isn't that great, but I thought this film was pretty good. My first impression was that it was going to be boring and tedious, but it's well made with no real bad scenes. Not to mention that it's an action film that actually has some suspense in it. There are some parts in the story where you might feel aren't the most realistic. The main protagonist appears to be a bit too trusting, despite everything that happened to him. It isn't very relate-able to modern society, but it is a nice representation of the time it was made. I wouldn't call it perfect, but it's definitely worth watching.