Ben Hur (1959) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: John 3:16.

Starring: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Jack Hawkins, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe, Hugh Griffith

Best of: The absolute definition of "epic." The chariot scene is, of course, fantastic. Epic plot, epic themes, epic personalities...a whole lot of fun.

Worst of: I actually liked all the Jesus stuff, but I'd listen to an argument about it being corny.

Notable: No one died during the chariot scene...that's just a hard to kill urban legend.

Gigi (1958) - 3 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A rich, parisian jerk pursues an underage girl while onlookers sing.

Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan, Maurice Chevalier

Best of: Despite being a musical, it's mostly entertainaing in a cute sort of way.

Worst of: It's still a musical. Plus, I'm pretty sure the main romantic relationship is built around pedophilia.

I'd have liked it better if: the opening number weren't called "Thank Heaven for little girls." No, really...it is.

Also nominated: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: a platoon of british soldiers refuse to give up their dignity while on work detail in a Japanese POW camp in WWII.

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa

Best of: Alec Guinness is phenomenal and his character's plot line is gripping.

Worst of: A bit overlong and not entirely realistic.

Notable: Screenwriters Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman were on the blacklist of people with accused Communist ties at the time the film was made, and went uncredited. The sole writing credit, and therefore the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, went to Pierre Boulle, who wrote the original French novel but did not speak English.

Also nominated: 12 Angry Men.

Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - 3 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A very precise, upperclass Englishman makes a wager with several friends that he can travel around the circumference of the earth in 80 days.

Starring: David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton

Best of: More a typical summer blockbuster than a typical oscar winner, it offers quite a lot of lavish, light-hearted fun. The opening sequence offers a 1956 commentary on the "shrinking world" theme of the 1872 novel (including a discussion of how man may even travel to the moon some day). This is rather fun to watch given how incredibly much the world has shrunk again since 1956.

Worst of: An Indian princess is played by the very obviously non-Indian Shirley MacLaine.

Notable: The filmed used more animals and more costumes than any previous film.

Also Nominated: The Ten Commandments, The King and I.

Marty (1955) - 2 stars

One sentence plot summary: Lonely man goes on a date with lonely woman.

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair

Best of: Ernest Borgnine plays shy and self conscious well.

Worst of: So small scale and low key that it almost disappears. Ultimately, very forgettable.

I'd have liked it better if: it had a plot.

On the Waterfront (1954) - 5 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A powerful union boss uses strong armed, violent tactics to retain control of a New York shipyard.

Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger

Best of: Marlon Brando is just brilliant.

Worst of: Leonard Bernstein's hectic score distracts from the on screen action at times.

Notable: Frank Sinatra was originally offered the leading role.

From Here to Eternity (1953) - 4 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An unpopular soldier falls in love while serving on an Hawaii army base in the days leading up to Pearl Harbor.

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra

Best of: Strong leading performances all around and a surprising supporting role from Frank Sinatra. Also, Donna Reed was pretty darn hot.

Worst of: The Pearl Harbor attack, though not key to the plot, is still underplayed.

Notable: It has long been rumored that the "horse head" scene in The Godfather was taken from similar mob tactics to help Sinatra land his role.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) - 2 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: We follow a traveling circus from town to town as various performers fall in and out of love with each other.

Starring: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart

Best of: It has its truly entertaining moments...mostly asurrounding its too often ignored central storyline. Also, the awesomely cheesy special effects during the train wreck scene.

Worst of: I'm not convinced Charlton Heston could act. It fills maybe an hour of its considerable length with slow, needless shots of circus performances. The movie pulls off what I previously thought impossible and offers a bland Jimmy Stewart performance. It took covering his face in full clown make-up the entire time, but they pulled it off. Also, the awesomely cheesy special effects during the train wreck scene.

I would have liked it better if: it hadn't pushed the "show must go on" theme quite so hard in the end. Really...no one is putting on a circus show hours after a disaster cripples or kills half the performers.

An American in Paris (1951) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An artist, a singer and a pianist break into spontaneous song and dance numbers around Paris; the Parisians seem to find this surprisingly normal.

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron

Best of: Gene Kelly...man, is he fun to watch dance.

Worst of: I'll never be able to fully embrace the musical genre...get on with the plot already, people. It gets saved, however, by the fact that it is more of a dancical than a musical.

Notable: The 17 minute dance sequence that ends the film cost $500,000 and took an entire month to film.

Also Nominated: A Streetcar Named Desire

All About Eve (1950) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: An aging actress finds a new rival in a scheming superfan.

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Marilyn Monroe

Best of: Great script. Strong performances all around...especially from Betty Davis.

Worst of: I know of very, very few 140 minute films that wouldn't be better if they were 120 minutes.

Notable: In her first film appearance, Marilyn Monroe steals her short scene.

Also nominated: Sunset Boulevard