The War of the Worlds (1953)

Directed by Byron Haskin
Written by Barré Lyndon, based on the novel by H.G. Wells
Starring Gene Barry, Sylvia Van Buren, Sandro Giglio and Lewis Martin

After a suspicious object lands just outside of Los Angeles, all of the citizens of nearby towns flock to go see what they believe to be a meteorite. But they soon discover that the object that crash landed in the hills is intact an alien spaceship. One of many sent to destroy life on Earth.

Undeniably way ahead of it's time, the 1953 adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic is certainly not as intense as it's 2005 counterpart. But it is a brilliant example of the ingenuity and creativity of it's generations filmmakers. Back before computers became the answer to all film making problems, miniature sets, props and special effects had to be imagined using limited resources.

While the film itself is not terribly horrifying and the performances were given at a time when very few people knew the difference between stage acting and film acting, it is definitely one of those movies that are impressive merely for it's age. To see how things were done before the age of Hundreds of millions of dollar budgets.

"I got no strings on me… oh wait"

I doubt many other types of people would enjoy this film. This is a true film buffs movie. I personally didn't watch it for the story. I've read and seen that story in a version specifically made so that Tom Cruise could run. This was exclusively out of interest into how they would pull it off. And from that standpoint, it was quite impressive.

My Rating: 6/10

Adaptation (2002)

Directed by Spike Jonze
Written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman (Fictionally), based on the book "The Orchid Thief" (sort of, kind of, not really) by Susan Orlean
Starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and Brian Cox

A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean for the screen.

A satire of just how wrong film adaptations of beloved novels can be, Charlie Kaufman took his real-life struggles of adapting Susan Orlean's book and did what any good screenwriter would do when writing an adaptation and made it nothing like it's printed counterpart. Making himself the main character, Kaufman took a story that wasn't even in his own genre and put his imaginative twist on it.

The genius and ingenuity of his writing made for a fun film in which we got to see into his psyche. Or probably not. There really is no telling after this script. Regardless, the journey he takes us on is one that all film lovers will appreciate.

Backed by great writing, the A-list cast gave remarkable performances that earned Chris Cooper an Academy Award (although, I believe it to be a "sorry for snubbing you for 'American Beauty' award). It even earned Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep Academy Award nominations for their roles.

A film that I can't imagine anyone other than Spike Jonze to direct. The quirkiness and ingenuity of Kaufman's writing is complimented by Jonze's style and proves to be a perfect followup to "Being John Malkovich".

I really haven't seen another film like this. It is so different and extraordinarily wild that I really can't compare it to any other work. It's just one of those movies that can't be defined other than by a few meaningless words that don't delve into what it really is. You just have to see it.

My Rating: 8/10