The Bible ...In the Beginning (1966)

An adaptation of the Book of Genesis, beginning with the void (prior the creation of the Earth) and ending with the story of Abraham. After well-groomed Adam and Eve discover shame things take a major dive. The utterly ridiculous Noah section is extra embarrassing for the film's director because he stars as the beardy boat-builder; it's John Huston, who provides the voice of God, too. The majority of the first half is wretched stuff. Things get a little better thereafter, and there's even a few scenes that have some merit (the Tower of Babel, Sodom, etc) but overall it's a disaster of... er... epic proportions. Further adaptations were planned but, mercifully, none were made.

2 renamings out of 5

The Sentinel (1977)

Michael Winner’s technique can be as subtle as a sledgehammer meeting a grapefruit, but I find a lot of his stuff watchable, nevertheless. Sentinel is technically a horror film, but it’s the kind of sinister horror that builds slowly from a foundation of regular drama, not unlike Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973), two films from which it borrows heavily.
It’s the story of a female model that moves into a NY apartment complex and quickly discovers that her neighbours are an oddball bunch. Shortly after that strange things begin to happen in the night.
A lot of it failed to catch hold of me, but there are two scenes that I’ll never forget: an uninhibited Beverly D'Angelo and a very chilling finale.

3½ abandoned hopes out of 5