Favorite of the Favorites: Romans, Rebels, and Ridiculous Fun

Welcome back to Meet Me In The Lobby, where each month I spotlight the films that climbed their way into my personal hall of fame. These are the favorites of April 2025, movies that stuck with me, whether through grand spectacle, unforgettable characters, or just the right amount of camp. 

This month’s top honor goes to a cinematic colossus I was lucky enough to see at the TCM Classic Film Festival, showcased on the largest screen at the TCL Chinese Theatre: Ben-Hur. 

 Here are the four favorites from April: 

 Ben-Hur (1959) 

The Dark Knight (2008) 

Seven Beauties (1975) 

Vegas in Space (1991) 

You can stream Ben-Hur on Max, The Dark Knight on Hulu, Seven Beauties on Kanopy, and Vegas in Space on Prime Video. The lineup is eclectic, but each film earns its place. 

 Now, let’s talk Ben-Hur. 

Seeing Ben-Hur in a packed historic theater, larger than life in every sense, was unforgettable. From the moment the overture began, the music wrapped around the audience like a curtain being pulled open. It’s the kind of score that doesn’t just accompany a film; it tells you you’re about to witness something monumental. 

The story is vast, but never loses its emotional core. Betrayal, endurance, revenge, and redemption are all woven together with a kind of epic sincerity that few films today even attempt. And yes, the chariot race lives up to the legend, and then some. The chariot sequence is everything cinema should be: thrilling, physical, and impossible to look away from. You feel the tension in every turn, the danger in every collision. The dust kicked up by the horses, the whip cracks, the close calls, they don’t feel like stunts. They feel like survival. The scale of the arena, the energy of the crowd, the pounding hooves, it’s all so immersive, it’s hard to believe it was done without CGI. Watching it on such a massive screen, I felt like I was right there in the chaos. 

Visually, Ben-Hur is stunning. The color palette is rich and painterly; deep reds, golds, desert browns, and the piercing blues of the sea and sky. Every frame feels intentional, like it was lit with reverence. The use of color gives the film a timeless quality. It doesn’t look aged, it looks iconic. The texture of the film, the contrast, the warmth of the costumes against the stone walls, all of it comes together to make the world feel full.

The performances are strong throughout, with Charlton Heston leading the charge with both physical presence and emotional weight. But what stood out most to me was how the film integrates the figure of Jesus, not through spectacle, but through quiet, reverent imagery. His presence is felt more than seen, and when he does appear, the moments are powerful without being overstated. Ben-Hur is one of those rare films that delivers on every level: story, sound, performance, and scope. It’s a classic not because it’s old, but because it still moves you. 

And let’s be honest, Ben-Hur trotted so that Gladiator could gallop. 

 See you next time, 

✌ Kelsey Faamausili