The Andromeda Strain (1971) re-watch
Saw this ages ago, so didn't quite remember every detail except for the town that was infected with "something" and what it did to the people of that town. Well, I'm glad I watched again as it was quite a bit more than that. A space satellite returns to earth with an alien virus that kills everyone in a small desert town except for an old man and an infant. Three leading scientists and a doctor are sent below ground to a giant science facility to try to make sure the virus will not spread, to figure out why the two survivors lived, and what made the victims' bodies end up in the shape they did, among many questions.
The scientists also have their own problems that could put everything at risk. You'd think a movie where scientists are testing theories below ground would be a dull experience but it's not the case at all. It's very fascinating and the personalities of the four experts are diverse and their differences make for entertaining interplay. They are played by Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson and Kate Reid, who, as the lone female scientist, is keeping a secret that almost jeopardizes the whole endeavor. Reid is quite often hilarious with her sarcastic remarks and complaints and takes the acting honors. Despite the fact that scientific-type movies tend to bore me, this film never did. There is a down-to-the-wire time count, the end game of which I won't reveal but it makes everything all the more tense. Very much recommended.
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Disappointing but still watchable take on the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. As someone who has read the Bible several times over and is a Christian, I came to this movie from that viewpoint. Writers Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine, and Steven Zallian, and director Ridley Scott make wholesale changes that make no sense to me. They have Moses (Christian Bale) encountering God, who is portrayed as a young, ill-tempered boy??? According to Scripture, whether you be Christian or Jewish, Moses could not even look upon the face of God, hence the reason for the burning bush. Here, they do have the burning bush, but then the little boy just tramps out and starts his relationship with Moses, which amounts to a lot of arguing between the two. Moses didn't second-guess God, so this makes no sense. In this film, Moses also doesn't receive word from God that plagues are going to be visited upon Egypt so that Moses can warn Egypt and say, "Let my people go." Moses and his brother Aaron directly had a hand in this, laying down Moses' shepherd's staff, with the plagues showing up immediately. Here, the God/child just tells Moses "Wait and see," and the plagues come without giving Egypt a chance (Pharaoh would refuse anyway, but the omission of Pharaoh telling Moses "no" removes any tension and also removes the chance after chance that God gave Egypt before releasing plagues upon them). In Scott's film, things just happen, yes, by God's hand, but without Moses' involvement. Moses, in Scripture, played a
major part in all these happenings---here he's just reduced to a witness for most of the film. Plus, there are several huge action set-pieces that are added out of the blue, seemingly to satiate the hunger of action lovers (of which I'm one, but even I knew that half of Pharaoh's army falling off a cliff in their chariots was made up for no good reason).
Then we have the cast. I will say that almost everyone did a fine job of acting in this, albeit using the usual British that a lot of these epics employ. That's why one of my favorite actresses, Sigourney Weaver, really stands out poorly when she doesn't even try to employ an accent and uses her everyday New York voice in a dramatic scene that is so jarring it made me laugh out loud. In the final tally, this is a watchable movie, with an over-reliance on action and yes, explosions! Still, I didn't hate it.
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
Not bad film noir with Anne Baxter as a recently jilted woman who goes on a date with a pushy Raymond Burr, whose character gets her drunk and tries to have his way with her. When he ends up dead (no spoiler, any description of the movie will tell you that), she is filled with guilt and uncertainty: did she kill him? She has no memory of the deed. A newspaperman, played by Richard Conte, puts a column in his paper, offering to help her if she'll come to him and tell her story. Which is difficult for her, as her memory is muddled and she doesn't know who to trust. Anne Sothern lends fine support as one of Baxter's roommates who tries to help her out, and Nat 'King' Cole has a nice moment singing the title song. You'll know from the get-go who most likely did the killing but it's still entertaining getting to that point.
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The film has legitimate atmosphere, WONDERFUL sets, a great cast, appropriate use of CGI, and has a great premise. Though I think the plot unfolded just a little too slowly for me. I would have preferred to have certain elements of the plot gotten to a little quicker, but ultimately it still a great movie. It was certainly a film worth while to see in the theater. 
