What a disaster: Maybe they ought to leave it the way it is—a kind of shrine to all the bullshit in the world

THE TOWERING INFERNO

1974

Directed by John Guillermin and Irwin Allen

Written by Stirling Silliphant (based on the novels The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson)

Spoiler alert: moderate

Cardboard Science: A real piece of the sky

THE BLOB

Very close to being a flawless version of itself, the only thing that separates The Blob from perfection are a smattering of screenwriting hiccups, a reluctance to completely demonstrate its awesome monster's gross lethality onscreen, and (of course) the production's well-known lack of money.  But let's not be overly critical: the thing is exceptional, and has surely earned its enduring reputation as perhaps the best of its particular breed of B-movie.

1958

Directed by Irving S. Yeaworth Jr.

Written by Theodore Simonson, Kay Linaker, and Irvine H. Millgate

With Steve McQueen (Steve Andrews), Aneta Corsaut (Jane Martin), Earl Rowe (Lt. Dave), and John Benson (Sgt. Jim)

Spoiler alert: severe