Okay, so actual movies then:
This Island Earth (1955) - this might be the single most token-plot-for-effects movie I've seen so far, since that literally describes the whole thing. However, it is nice to see an effort to create something of an alien conflict with serviceable effects. But I wouldn't honestly recommend seeing this, just skip to the effects bits at the end and call it a day. Or yell at it, maybe. Woof?
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) - and then there is this busybody of a movie, where a yellowed start is the lead in for a black & white movie that is bristling with activity, has fun engagements between characters and a compelling arc to make the whole come together. Probably the best among all of these 1950's movies that I've watched, probably because this is a straight disaster movie and not a monster movie, and the disaster itself isn't really the story, as it should be. Highly recommended.
The Thing From Another World (1951) - back to the monster pit it is, with ATTACK OF THE GIANT BLOODDRINKING CARROT FROM OUTER SPACE!! (
actual quote from John Carpenter). This is the first of many other alien monster movies of the time (that I'm now done with), but is on a much higher level than most of the others. Characters make sense, exposition serves a purpose, and the thing is a guy in a suit. The discovery stage stands out as being the most significant addition to cinema language though, and one shot where the thing stands in a doorway. The movie kind of loses itself at the end though, when it has to delay the climax a bit for running time, but what's really worth mentioning is that this movie has a lot of characters in it, yet you never lose track of those that matter or not. The body count, however, is somewhat embarrassingly low compared to Carpenter's far more aggressive -oh boy- adaptation of the short story "Who goes there". Worth watching for being a classic genre-starter, but the Carpenter edition is just on a even higher, different level compared to this one.
First Men In The Moon (1964) - the UN has brought men to the moon! (wait, the UN? Yeah) You brace yourself for another space monster movie, aaand....then it actually turns out to be an HG Wells story, partially played up a bit to keep things engaging. Featuring the same lead actor of The Day The Earth Caught Fire, the acting is fun and fits the story quite well. Even the stop-motion effects, usually a sore spot on a movie, have a fitting place here and serve their purpose. Interesting thing to note: this movie has sun mirrors to enhance incoming sunlight, something that is currently being played in the second season of The Expanse, except at a far, far, far greater distance from Earth than the moon is. You can tell the hand of Nigel Kneale on this one quite well, and it's quite an entertaining movie. Recommended to sci-fi fans, but perhaps not any random person.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) - for another classic that essentially itself became the stock footage on any "are UFOs real????!??" show on the Discovery Channel (or: how can we pretend to be of interest when we ain't got shit), this is a surprisingly hollow movie since it's basically just mutual annihilation propaganda for the sake of promoting the then fledgling UN, even if unintentional. However, it does feature a fun performance of Klaatu, a future Evil Dead: Army of Darkness reference, the first Cylon, and said robot walking through a bunch of chairs. For those familiar with the classic ROTOR, this might suddenly trigger an 'oh shit this where that came from' moment. Ah, the delightful arrogance of thinking your movie is on the same level as a permanent classic,
for all of humanity to laugh at. Now there's a movie that you really cannot remake without ruining it. Also this movie, which already got a remake that we promptly all forgot about, but that's because The Day The Earth Stood Still is a fine movie as is, and really can't be remade outside of the fears of its age. Btw, did you know there is remake of The Fog? And pretty much every Carpenter and Verhoeven movie? Did we all forget? Are we all Thor 2? Okay, got that one in, on to the next film.
Rewatch: VAAAAAAAAN HEEEELSING (2004). Or: Jackman's other wolfman that is about to throw down, make shit look easy, and take on every other Universal Monster Movie monster except the Mummy because Sommers already made that one. So what you get is schlock that really works hard to earn its keep. Every filmmaking trick in the book is used to get as much as was humanly possible at the time, and it's really the only fun remake of all those monster movies outside of Sommers's Mummy. Personally I never disliked The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen either, but apparently the audiences were already tired of monster movies by that time. Or maybe the SW prequels drained everything dry. Or Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead remake that came out in the same year as Van Helsing and made everything zombies. I don't know. It did relatively poorly (300 on 165 budget) in its run, but it really deserved better. At least we can take solace in the knowledge that history will treat it kindly compared to the rest of them.
and finally, among first watches:
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) - lost & found: manliness, body, dignity. Not necessarily in that order. An effect bound movie after the setup first half, it's quite impressive for its time with the lead actor in different sizes and giant props and sets made for relatively few shots. Also clearly featuring the new camera technology of the zoom lens, as it used first in a now comical way to just show off the lens. It's used later for more appropriate dramatic effect. Furthermore, the ending may have lost a bit of impact with time, but still stands as great. Worth watching as a movie enthusiast, but I'm sure it would be somewhat wasted on younger, casual audiences.
See y'all on the next batch.