DuracellEnergizer said:
Tower of London (1962)
Though I love B&W cinematography, I feel that Roger Corman's films look best when shot in colour; there's just so much he can do visually with a full palette of bright, bold colour to work with. As a consequence, this movie is pretty drab compared to his later, better films.
Still, there is Vincent Price as Richard III. While not his best performance, he still breathes plenty of hammy life into this picture, elevating it above what it would have been without his presence.
8/10
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
If it hadn't been for Glenda Farrell's performance and the fact that the film was shot in two-colour Technicolor, I probably would have found Mystery of the Wax Museum plainly average. As it is, though, Farrell steals every scene she's in, and I just love the look of two-colour Technicolor.
7/10
Tower of London (1939)
I expected to like this movie more than I did. Unfortunately, I didn't.
I found the story hard to follow in the first half of the film, and Boris Karloff -- who is the only reason why I wanted to watch the movie in the first place -- didn't have very much screentime, leaving me disinterested in pretty much the rest of the proceedings. And that ending -- I don't think I've ever seen an anticlimax that anticlimactic before in my life.
6/10
ToL works better in the '39 version because Rathbone gorges on scenery and Vincent has arguably a better time in the smaller role. The Corman film somehow drags more than this.
MOTWM is 500,000 times the film House of Wax could ever be. The remake only has VP as a positive, and Atwill outshines even Vincent because the character was far better written. Better performances, better atmosphere, better direction, tighter plot, less unnecessary exposition, 30's charm.
Now if only WB would actually restore the original two-strip colors from LD.
FanFiltration said:
Everything or Nothing (2012) 8/10
If you have seen all of the Bond film DVD extras, then there is really nothing new here information wise.
Indeed and it's far too short. No one ever discusses that Connery's concerns began over money and were never resolved. Nor do they get very much candid material as they should do. Nor do they adequately discuss the 70's breaking of the partnership, nor the eventual loss of creative team members. The best moments were with Lazenby and especially Dalton, who perfectly summed up his entire tenure in one soundbite.