An Affair to Remember (1957)

4/5

Leo McCarey's An Affair to Remember is a surprisingly affecting and powerful tale of true love and bad timing. Nickie Ferrante (Grant) is a notorious playboy Lothario, who is finally settling down and marrying the heiress of a fortune (Patterson). Terry McKay (Kerr) is a professional night club singer, and also currently engaged (Denning). They meet on a transatlantic ocean liner and, of course, fall in love. Once they realize this, unfortunately, the boat is about to dock, and they promise each other that they will meet again in 6 months at the Empire State Building and marry each other then. But things do not quite work out as planned.

The first half of the movie was, I'll be honest, forgettably straightforward. Nothing really stood out, except one scene where they visit Nickie's grandmother (Nesbitt), and I almost stopped watching the movie halfway through. I'm glad I did not give up, however, as the second half is uniquely fascinating and tragically beautiful. The scenes where they break off their respective engagements is ferociously brutal, heart-rending, and touching. What perfect filmmaking, where Kerr walks out onto the balcony and you see the bay door reflecting an image of the Empire State Building by her side. And the final scene brings you to the breaking point--you cannot help but feel with all your heart when you watch it. It is overflowing with regret, with mercy, with pride, and with so much human imperfection as to make your whole body tingle with emotion. Despite any issues I have with the first half of the movie (and all the cheesy singing), I can't help but remember all the good things it delivers on. For any romantic out there, you need to watch this film.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050105/

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

2/5

Creature from the Black Lagoon is about a group of marine scientists in the Amazon who find a fossilized claw and try to dig out the rest of the prehistoric amphibious humanoid creature. During their expedition, they discover that the species did not die out 15 million years ago as they suspected; there is a lone survivor in the lagoon that starts to harass and kill them. It is unclear if the monster is trying to protect his habitat against the intruders, or if it is simply a violent, horny fish-man that enjoys killing men and capturing women. Many people love these classic Universal monster movies, extolling their ability to go against expectations by showing that the monster is capable of love and beauty. Unfortunately, this message was perfected 20 years prior in King Kong and is frankly not that novel or profound anymore.

The acting was expectedly hammy, with equally bland characters to match. The men are manly and fight over the woman, whose only job is to scream when she turns around at the last second and sees the creature approach. The creature is actually pretty spooky, shot in a way that emphasizes the good costuming and makeup. The underwater shots are surprisingly impressive as well. They are as impressive as the above-water shots are unimpressive, which is to say: very. The blaring trumpet that serves as the creature's musical theme/motif, on the other hand, was just repetitive and annoying. Don't bother with this film unless you already know you're the kind who will like it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046876/