"Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

Harvey, 1950. Three Stars.

I've wanted to see this movie ever since hearing Weird Al's "Harvey The Wonder Hamster" when Alapalooza came out in 1993. I grew up with Weird Al's song-based hilarity (even though Al TV always managed to escape my youngster radar, I don't know how!!). But Alapalooza, along with the film Jurassic Park*, went hand-in-hand in creating my pre-teen, 5th-grade world, so as weird as it sounds, it was kind of a seminal part of my life. Explains a lot, eh? :D

Somehow, Harvey the Wonder Hamster got me hipped to this movie Harvey. I knew it wasn't hamster-related, but maybe the grown-ups in my life were like "Oh yeah, Harvey. He's an invisible 6-foot rabbit." Anyways, this Weird Al song had somehow led me to knowledge about this movie starring a guy who had an invisible giant rabbit friend. And I thought it sounded great, so I wanted to see it.

Last week I was flipping through the TV guide and I saw that it was on HBO. So I set up a DVR recording for it and watched it. It got four stars so, because of that and because I had heard about it for over half of my life, I thought this movie was gonna be killer. And, I liked it. I wasn't head-over-heels about it, but it was very well-done, and pretty enjoyable. I think it has a really nice and unique point-of-view, and maybe it was, like, super-duper uproarious back in it's day. But, I liked it and I'm really happy that I saw it. If you get a chance to see it, I recommend checking it out.

Everyone in this was great, especially Jimmy Stewart. Also I really liked the script lettering used in the beginning credits.

I didn't know this: it was based on Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and I was glad to see that she co-wrote the screen play. I'd love to see this on stage. This movie adaptation felt like a movie and was pretty open, rather than just feeling like something that was created for stage, so it'd be interesting to see how it's played out in its original state on stage.

I found out that Harvey was re-done for TV in 1972. It seems like the only real notable thing about it was that it was Madeline Kahn's TV debut (and third film). I love her!! Also Jimmy Stewart continued to play Elwood P. Dowd on stage (and in this '72 re-do). I guess if you're awesome at something, stick to it.

"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it. "

*I was in a public school academic enrichment program in 5th grade, you Quincy kids will remember it as "E.L.C." That's right, I was a "labbie"!! (And to this day I still get shit from people like TIM about it, haha!) One day a week me and a few other kids in my class would take a bus to another school and meet up with other kids and learn rad stuff. Like how to use computers, paint watercolor landscapes, do word problems (they sucked but they were way less sucky than doing regular math problems), and do calligraphy... Basically a bunch of interesting and creative things that most public schools usually aren't able to offer. It also taught us responsibilities by giving us responsibilities around the classroom (but apparently didn't teach me how to use a thesaurus to not use the same word twice in a sentence, ha!). And we did a few big projects, like we learned how to write giant multi-paged reports! And I did mine on my young love: basketball! With a diorama of offensive and defensive positions! And I wrote letters to my favorite basketball-related peeps about basketball, and Jim Calhoun wrote back to me! And so did Red Auerbach, on official Celtics stationery! So cool! ANYWAYS, for one of our projects we were split in to groups and had to figure out how to solve the world over-population problem if it ever happened. The group with the best solution got to go see Jurassic Park. My group's underwater biodome KICKED ASS and we won!! So, not only was Jurassic Park a flippin' cool-ass movie, but I got to see it for free as a result of an academic achievement. And that's one of the reasons Jurassic Park means a lot to me. And also we got pizza after the movie. I love pizza! Double score!!!!

"Well, there was a lot of crying, so, I believe everybody had a good time." -OR- "She thought I was wonderful. She was the first woman I ever fooled."

Heaven Can Wait, 1943. Three and a Half Stars.

I found myself looking through the TV guide for movies, as I so often do, and came across this one: A playboy recollects his life to the gatekeeper of Hades. And it was from the 40's. Sounded interesting, so I set up a recording for it.

I don't really have much to say, except, it was pretty good! Well at least I enjoyed it! It wasn't as "naughty" as I expected, but that's fine: The story told is from the Victorian era, so there was a big importance in "preserving decency" and "the family honor" and all that. So I thought it was fitting that Van Cleve's "affairs" were only alluded to.

I don't think he deserved Martha though, but at least he wasn't a completely selfish person that he was before he met her...

I really liked "His Excellency" and the "waiting room" to Hell. I can't help being fascinated by the extravagant sets mostly found in this period of films.

Also, someone cross-stitched the credits at the beginning... Or someone painted them to look cross-stitched. Either way, a lot of talent and time went in to that!

This movie is based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. I'd like to check it out some time. It's too bad this movie didn't keep the Birthday title; the story was strongly focused on the passage of Van Cleve's birthdays in order to mark the events of his life, so it makes much more sense than "Heaven Can Wait" (which was an entirely different play that inspired a movie in the 40's and it's remakes/re-imaginings in the 70's and 00's).

"Very sexy stuff. Very very sexy."

Tha Manchurian Candidate, 1962. Three and a Half Stars.

Such a cool movie!! I like it so much! Though I think the content of this movie could benefit even more from a richer and more complex structure, I still really dug the straight-forwardness of the way the story was told.

Looking forward to watching the remake, and reading the novel!

Janet Leigh? Very cute.

Laurence Hardy? Great wacko.

Frank Sinatra? Liked this bastard!

Angela Lansbury? So cool.

"Go ahead. Laugh. Laugh, and you won't hear us coming."

Pressure Point, 1962. Four Stars.

Awesome movie. Everything about it is brilliant. The acting, the story, the interaction with The Doctor and The Patient, and even the sad ending of The Patient. Yeah it's a movie about race, which when the movie came out was so taboo (heck it still is for some people!), but one of the most interesting aspects of this movie is the way the audience is led into The Patient's life and his history that ended him up where he is today. I looooooved the way the flashbacks were treated, almost like little plays going on in the same room as the characters. Everything about this movie was right-on.

Also, you can't beat the tagline: "FILMED IN BLACK, IN WHITE, IN RAGE!"

"You either surf or you fight."

Apocalypse Now: Redux, 1979. Three and a Half Stars.

Wow, what a long, epic movie!! I didn't realize it at the time though. I stayed up late watching it, but, I didn't even realize it. It was so engrossing. This movie rules. If you've seen this, and I'm sure most of you have, then you probably agree that nothing more needs to be said. Unless, you DO have more to say, then feel free to leave a comment.

Hey now I know where the following quotes come from!
"The horror... the horror."
"Charlie don't surf."

"We know now we can't beat their machines. We've got to beat THEM."

War of the Worlds, 1953. Three Stars.

Good fun, including all the 50's sci-fi ridiculousness! The RGB alien lenses were great. I don't know what else to say about this movie. Everyone's probably seen it already, right? It's better than the Tom Cruise version, where everyone in Boston is miraculously safe. Go Beacon Hill!!

I only now get that Dr. Clayton Forrester from MST3K was named after the main character in this movie! That's awesome!

"What would you call this place? Fun-o-rama?"

The Haunting, 1963. Three and a Half Stars.

My friend Tim M. let me borrow this. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it nearly as much as he does.

I'm still not sure if I like it as much as he does, but, I really like it! The first thing that got my attention was the title graphic. The effect was used at the end too. Nice!

Also, another thing I thought was cool was to see bits of Boston, MA in the 60's. Cool signage. Though that only counts if they actually shot on location.

And I like the whole thing with the statue.

This movie does a good job of being scary through sounds, music, lighting, and good old-fashioned suspense. I love suspense! The character Eleanor ("Nell") was a little bit annoying because she was such a push-over. But it was rad how the house accepted her as a substitute for Mrs. Markway. Even though Mrs. Markway's skepticism was also very annoying, and it almost got her killed!

The relationship between Nell and Theo was confusing. Theo was all hot-and-cold; I just thought she was constantly annoyed with Nell but was still trying to be friends with her. But I recently read somewhere that the actress that played Theo was, like, interested in playing this role, which is a role of a woman attracted to another woman. So, maybe that's the 60's way of showing that you're a hot lady who's hot for a flighty pushover chick?

This movie is pretty spooky and very enjoyable. You should see it!

"Hi, Big Brother. How's Your Ass?"

The Omega Man, 1971. Three Stars.

To recap: I had watched The Last Man on Earth (click here for my review!), and now I have just seen The Omega Man. Next on my Netflix list is I Am Legend. Then, to finish my completist's journey, I will read the novel!

I liked The Omega Man, though I happened to enjoy The Last Man on Earth a little more, I'm not sure why. I think I was a little confused by Robert Neville's "humorous" monologues, they just seemed a little forced to me. I tried to keep the particular decade in mind while I was watching this, which helped in general.

My favorite scene is when he's in the movie theatre watching a movie about Woodstock. Very adorable and poignant!

I appreciate that this virus was spread by bio weapons, but I happen to like the mysteriousness of it's origins in The Last Man on Earth better. The "mutants" were cool though, I liked that they were actually pretty human and could speak and think and stuff!

"I Am a Man... THE LAST MAN."

The Last Man on Earth, 1964. Three Stars.

I really want to see I Am Legend, but first I want to see the previous versions of this story and how it all adds up to and compares to the, well, current "remake" (Isn't this supposed to be an awesome, more accurate telling of the novel, as opposed to the previous movies? So, is it actually a "remake"?). So the plan is to watch The Last Man on Earth, then Omega Man, then I Am Legend. Then read the novel I Am Legend (click on the link; I am hoping to get my mitts on that fabulous old copy!!).

Effective use of narration; I like narrated movies, and this was especially great, because... he had no one to talk to! He was The Last Man! So how else would you know what he was thinking? And it was great that the story started when the shit had been hitting the fan for three years, then explained things in flashbacks (I like non-linear storytelling). The acting was pretty terrible, and the sound / dubbing was pretty annoying. But it is what it is, and I quite enjoy what it is.

It's cool that the vampires are also like zombies and that it's caused by a virus. It's like the best of the coolest kind of well-known horror monsters.

The lady that he meets up on the hill, Ruth, first reminded me of that annoying little boy in Six-String Samurai. I am so glad that she actually speaks fluently!

I watched the Special Feature on this DVD: It's a little sad that the guy who wrote this book, Richard Matheson, was so disappointed by the movie that he used a fake name in the credits. But this means that I have so much to look forward to for the other movies, and I can't wait to read the novel!

P.S. The reason I watched Panic in Year Zero! (see preceding post) in the first place was because it was also included with the DVD of The Last Man on Earth that I rented. Double Feature of Terror!!!

"They Came from the Hills, No Radiation Sickness." "Yep, Five More Good Ones."

Panic in Year Zero!, 1962. Three Stars.

I am crazy for sci-fi movies, and I am especially mad for apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic themes. I totally dug this movie!

Firstly, I love the use of Agency Open in the title screen! (I'm a graphic designer, and I am really into typefaces, and I currently have a crush on Agency, and particularly Agency Open!!). And I love the jazzy music used in the movie. The story line was interesting to me (of course), even though the execution wasn't the best. I like watching old sci-fi movies to see how the concepts and themes that are around today first originated, so I don't care if technology, special effects, script-writing abilities, acting talent, or visualization in general back then wasn't so hot. It's still cool!

The acting in this isn't very stellar. The character of the teenage girl, Karen, is tragically underwritten (but I like that she refers to the end of the civilization is "a drag," haha!), and the father character, Harry, is almost annoyingly excitable. I only realized that Frankie Avalon was in the movie once the credits rolled. The only thing I remember him in is Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special! I grew up in the 80's. My fam still gets together to watch is at least once a year, it rules!

So, I still enjoyed this movie. I might even watch it again at some point in my life. Very worth it for peeps who like the end-of-the-world genre to check it out.

An important thing I almost forgot to mention: The title of this movie is so cool!! Even though in the movie, the governments of the world seem to arbitrarily call their situation "Year Zero." But they probably realized how cool "Year Zero" sounds, and who can blame them for having similar logic as me, haha! Fun fact: Since watching this movie earlier today, I've had "Panic in Detroit" by David Bowie stuck in my head... Because the song and movie have almost the same titles and because I'm a nerd like that.