Crack in the World (1965)
Director: Andrew Marton
Goofy 60s sci-fi with an amazing premise. After a series of underground Atomic bomb test, the crust of the earth has weakened and any further explosion would split the planet in two. So, of course, Dana Andrews and his crew decide to detonate another one to reach some magma underneath (totally worth it). The rest of the film is absolute nonsense and drivel. Fake science jargon that isn’t intelligent nor interesting, but loved seeing an older Dana Andrews soaking up screentime and being compelling as ever. It’s mostly shot with boardroom interiors and tells its story on taped up graphics. However, we do get some Atomic explosive sequences that are beautiful in a dystopia sense. Take this film as a unserious sci-fi and you’ll have a much better time.
Review: ☆☆½ (69)
Verdict: partial weirdness
Son of Kong (1933)
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
adore the stop-motion animated sequences and despise basically any human character moments. Contrived plot points lead to bizarre visual sequences. The script is an afterthought and without the animation, there’s nothing of substance here. Still, the animation is novel, as the action is uncanny valley, but interesting enough to look at to stay engaged. Otherwise, the film is a mess and a boring one at that.
Rating: ☆☆ (49)
Verdict: not weird
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Director: Victor Fleming
Spencer Tracy anchors a misaligned horror story about the essence of human nature. It takes good natured people and test them to extract the evil from within them. The premise allows for an intriguing lead performance as two contrasting personalities bouncing off the good natured (Lana Turner) and the more provocative (Ingrid Bergman). Lined with a great cast, this Fleming feature barely finds enough momentum and lift off the ground. As much as I love Tracy normally, him playing needlessly cruel and suspicious doesn’t work as well. The film shines when he’s Dr. Jekyll but loses itself when he morphs into Hyde. The makeup is undeserved and it’s remarkable how dumb the actors need to play certain scenes to make the premise of two characters work. The story is better served with a different director, not afraid to take the training wheels off and let these actors explore all facets of the characters.
Unfortunately, this version pales in comparison to the 1931 version. Spencer Tracy was a risk that didn’t necessarily pan out for this film. He’s still an all-time great, but we’ve found his limit.
Rating: ☆☆☆ (74)
Verdict: not weird
Weird Cinema 