To Live

Title: Ikiru
Year: 1952 (Japan), 1956 (US)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa & Hideo Oguni
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori
Music: Fumio Hayasaka
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a man learns to live when he finds out he's dying
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for dialog, pacing and cinematography) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

I wouldn't want to watch it again, but it was good. It's very long and feels longer. Looks like it was shot in the 20's. The dialog is okay, but nothing notable - possibly something lost in translation. The score's not used much, but there's a lot of great on-screen music.

Manhattan

Title: Manhattan
Year: 1979
Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep
Music: George Gershwin
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Hemingway); currently #231 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a divorced middle-aged man dates a 17-year-old
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for pacing, special effects/design and music) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

It's watchable. The worst Woody Allen movie I've seen, though. It kind of comes across as an elaborate scheme by Woody to justify himself to the audience. And I never want to hear the phrase "You know?" again.

A Christmas Story

Title: A Christmas Story
Year: 1983
Director: Bob Clark
Writers: Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown & Bob Clark, based on a novel by Shepherd
Starring: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Ian Petrella
Music: Paul Zaza , Carl Zittrer
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a boy's Christmas in the 40's
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008; on television any number of times
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, cinematography and music) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

I appreciated it as an adult a lot more than when I'd seen it as a kid. I'd always thought it was kind of dumb, but no, it's actually clever and funny. It might be "family friendly," but it is definitely not a children's movie.

The Grapes of Wrath

Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Year: 1940
Director: John Ford
Writer: Nunnally Johnson, based on John Steinbeck's novel
Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
Music: Alfred Newman ("musical director")
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Darwell); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Fonda), Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound; currently #153 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a family of Oakies migrate from the dust bowl to California
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and dialog) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

Surprisingly engaging.  The only real problem I had with it is that certain characters have a tendency to monologue. They don't even bother pretending that it's part of a conversation; they just make speeches. Otherwise, it's very well done.

A Night at the Opera

Title: A Night at the Opera
Year: 1935
Director: Sam Wood
Writers: George S. Kaufman & Morrie Ryskind
Starring: The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico & Harpo Marx), Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones
Music: Herbert Stothart
Synopsis: the Marx Brothers help Chico's opera-singing friend make it in New York
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (on VHS from the library)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (points off for concept, story, characters, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 2.6/4 (Good).

Very funny. Harpo's still funnier than the other two, but this time around they're all hilarious. My favorite bit:
(link)

Duck Soup

Title: Duck Soup
Year: 1933
Director: Leo McCarey
Writers: Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby (story), Arthur Sheekman & Nat Perrin (dialog)
Starring: The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico & Zeppo), Margaret Dumont
Music: John Leipold
Distinctions: currently #193 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: Groucho is a dictator, and Chico and Harpo are enemy spies
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), December 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, dialog, pacing and subjective rating) c. 2.3/4 (Okay).

Funny, but not great-comedies-of-all-time funny. It doesn't help that most of the good gags have been stolen and improved hundreds of times. Harpo is fantastic, but otherwise the performances were disappointing.

The Venture Bros.: Season Three

Title: The Venture Bros.: Season Three
Year: 2008
Creator: Christopher McCulloch
Director: Christopher McCulloch
Writers: Christopher McCulloch (9 episodes), Doc Hammer (8)
Starring: James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Christopher McCulloch, Doc Hammer
Music: J.G. Thirlwell
Synopsis: the Monarch deals with being assigned arch-nemesis to people other than Dr. Venture
Episodes: 13
Network: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.0/4 (Good).

Funny, but nowhere near has hilarious as the first two seasons. There's a lot of focus on secondary characters, losing some of the dynamic the main cast had.

The Venture Bros.: Season Two

Title: The Venture Bros.: Season Two
Year: 2006
Creator: Christopher McCulloch
Director: Christopher McCulloch
Writers: Christopher McCulloch (9 episodes), Doc Hammer (8), Ben Edlund (2)
Starring: James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Christopher McCulloch, Doc Hammer
Music: J.G. Thirlwell
Synopsis: Dr. Venture's nemesis, the Monarch, escapes from prison and tries to win back his girlfriend
Episodes: 13
Network: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), July 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

That was fun. Better than season one. Also: When does Daniel like a deus ex machina ending? When the deus in question is David Bowie!

The Venture Bros.: Season One

Title: The Venture Bros.: Season One
Year: 2003-2004
Creator: Christopher McCulloch
Director: Christopher McCulloch
Writers: Christopher McCulloch (8 episodes), Doc Hammer (8), Ben Edlund (1)
Starring: James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Christopher McCulloch, Doc Hammer
Music: J.G. Thirlwell
Synopsis: a former "boy adventurer" turned super-scientist, his two idiot sons and their bodyguard have various adventures
Episodes: 13
Network: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
How I saw it: on tv; on video (rented from Netflix) October 2007
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

Mostly clever, character-driven humor.  Very unlike the typical funny-because-it's-so-stupid Adult Swim show.

3:10 to Yuma

Title: 3:10 to Yuma
Year: 2007
Director: James Mangold
Writers: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt & Derek Haas, based on the story by Elmore Leonard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains, Gretchen Mol
Music: Marco Beltrami
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Score and Best Sound; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a farmer helps escort a prisoner to earn the money to save his farm
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented from Netflix), most recently April 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.3/4 (Very good).

Not one of my favorites, but I could watch it once a year or so and still get pulled in. The story's not very believable, despite apparent efforts at realism, but that's okay, it's a Western.

Hot Fuzz

Title: Hot Fuzz
Year: 2007
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Music: David Arnold
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a London cop is transferred to a small town, where he uncovers a conspiracy
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for concept, story, cinematography and music) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

So completely dumb it's fun. Half the fun is that the movie doesn't know what sort of movie it is, which is kind of awkward, and relies on taking you by surprise. There aren't many actual jokes, especially compared with Shaun of the Dead. I don't think I could watch it a second time.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Title: A Streetcar Named Desire
Year: 1951
Director: Elia Kazan
Writer: Oscar Saul & Tennessee Williams, based on Williams' play
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Music: Alex North
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Actress (Leigh), Best Supporting Actor (Malden), Best Supporting Actress (Hunter) and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (black-and-white); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Brando), Best Cinematography (black-and-white), Best Score, Best Costume Design (black-and-white) and Best Sound; currently #209 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a crazy lady moves in with her sister and brother-in-law
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (gets points for story, characters, pacing, special effects/design and music) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

I was very disappointed. I expected to like it. The acting other than Leigh's is great. She is unclear, melodramatic and irritating (granted, the character is supposed to be melodramatic and irritating, but that's no excuse). Somebody shut that woman up. Brando: slap her!

Infernal Affairs

Title: Mou gaan dou
Year: 2002 (Hong Kong), 2004 (US)
Directors: Wai-keung Lau & Alan Mak
Writers: Alan Mak & Felix Chong
Starring: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Music: Kwong Wing Chan
Distinctions: currently #245 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: the police and a gang both have moles from each other, and both know it
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for characters, dialog, pacing, and music) c. 2.4/4 (Okay).

A neat idea. When it's good, it's good, and when it's bad, it's funny. The whole thing is way too damn fast. And yet the director still felt the need to include occasional black and white recaps, as if you'd forgotten what happened twenty minutes ago. The characters develop, and they're sufficiently deep for the story, but they're not really interesting. The music is unintentionally hilarious. It was remade as Scorsese's The Departed, which I haven't seen yet; it'll be interesting to see what a (usually) good filmmaker can do with this concept.

Young Frankenstein

Title: Young Frankenstein
Year: 1974
Director: Mel Brooks
Writer: Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks, based on (but not really) a novel by Mary Shelley
Starring: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr
Music: John Morris
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: spoof of the classic Frankenstein movie
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented on DVD), most recently April 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, characters and pacing) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

Funny enough to be worth watching. Everyone in it is very good, and the classic bits are great, but there's not really enough material for an entire film.

Snatch

Title: Snatch.
Year: 2000
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Alan Ford, Robbie Gee, Stephen Graham, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Serbedzija, Jason Statham
Music: John Murphy
Distinctions: currently #155 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: various unsavory types are all after a large stolen diamond
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), two days ago
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.5/4 (Very good)

This basically has the same plot as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (which I didn't like), but this time around it's much better. Tighter writing, more entertaining characters, a better cast...  It's kind of like Ritchie made Lock, and thought, "wait, I can do that better," and did.

MythBusters: Collection 3

Title: MythBusters: Collection 3
Year: 2003-2005
Creator: Peter Rees
Directors: Peter Rees (5 episodes), Alice Dallow (2), Andrew Farrell (1), ? (4)
Starring: Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage
Synopsis: a couple special effects guys and various cohorts test whether various urban legends are possible
Episodes: 12, from the first, second and third seasons
Network: Discovery Channel
How I saw it: online (streaming from Netflix), over the past few days
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story [n/a], cinematography, acting [n/a] and music) c. 2.4/4 (Okay).

These are episodes that weren't good enough to make the cut for the first collection, so they're not quite as good (and there are notably fewer fireballs and explosions). Also, three of the episodes are pilots, which are of particularly worse quality than the rest of the show. Still fun, though.

MythBusters: Collection 2

Title: MythBusters: Collection 2
Year: 2006, 2007
Creator: Peter Rees
Directors: Alice Dallow (6 episodes), Tabitha Lentle (4), ? (7)
Starring: Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage
Synopsis: a couple special effects guys and various cohorts test whether various urban legends are possible
Episodes: 13, from the fourth and fifth seasons
Network: Discovery Channel
How I saw it: online (streaming from Netflix), a few weeks ago
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story [n/a], cinematography, acting [n/a] and music) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

The show seems to get much better with time, so these episodes are even more fun than the first collection.

MythBusters: Collection 1

Title: MythBusters: Collection 1
Year: 2003, 2005
Creator: Peter Rees
Directors: Peter Rees (2 episodes), Andrew Farrell (2), ? (9)
Starring: Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage
Synopsis: a couple special effects guys and various cohorts test whether various urban legends are possible
Episodes: 13, from the first and third seasons
Network: Discovery Channel
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), October 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story [n/a], cinematography, acting [n/a] and music) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

Blowing things up in the name of science. Loads of fun, but it's frustrating that it's not released as complete seasons.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Title: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Year: 1962
Director: John Ford
Writers: James Warner Bellah & Willis Goldbeck, based on the story by Dorothy M. Johnson
Starring: John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin
Music: Cyril J. Mockridge
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design (black-and-white); currently #248 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a politician tells the story of how his career started as "the man who shot" a famous outlaw
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, dialog and cinematography) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

Not bad. Jimmy Stewart in a John Wayne movie is enough for me, especially since Wayne has a relatively small part. The music was ripped off by John Williams as the Superman theme. The movie slows down a lot near the end, but for the most part it kept my interest.

The 400 Blows

Title: Les Quatre cents coups
Year: 1959
Director: François Truffaut
Writers: François Truffaut & Marcel Moussy
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay
Music: Jean Constantin
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Story and Screenplay; currently #249 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a French kid with a tendency to run away gets himself in trouble
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for characters, dialog, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.3/4 (Okay).

Boring. The music is good, but completely inappropriate for the style of the movie. My impression of Truffaut: "Just point ze camera at zem. What do I care what it looks like, I am French!" I just don't get the whole French New Wave business. Good fiction has a strong narrative, period.

His Girl Friday

Title: His Girl Friday
Year: 1940
Director: Howard Hawks
Writer: Charles Lederer, based on a play by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
Music: Sidney Cutner & Felix Mills
Distinctions: currently #221 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a girl wants to leave the newspaper business to get married, but when the opportunity to exploit a condemned man and humiliate her fiance arises, she naturally can't resist
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 1/10 (gets a pity point for special effects/design) c. 1.4/4 (Bad).

It made me a little upset, physically. Every character falls under two categories: assh***s and victims. There are a few very funny lines, but for the most part it's awkward stage writing. They never stop talking, so maybe the funny lines are coincidence -- sort of the monkeys with typewriters effect. Everyone reads their lines as fast as humanly possible. You have to pause it every few minutes to breath. I've yet to see Cary Grant do anything I would call acting, but here he is at his worst.

The Kid

Title: The Kid
Year: 1921
Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Carl Miller, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan
Music: Charles Chaplin
Distinctions: currently #187 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: an orphan ends up in the care of The Tramp
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (points off for characters, pacing, cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

Not bad for 1921. And I actually kind of like how they skip over necessary plot points with the words "Everything works out," or something to that effect. It's a bit slow in general. The surreal allegorical dream sequence around the part of the movie that should be the climax is. . . an unexpected choice. Most of the supporting cast is terrible, but Chaplin's great of course, and oddly the kid (about 5 or 6 years old) is good too.

Roman Holiday

Title: Roman Holiday
Year: 1953
Director: William Wyler
Writers: Dalton Trumbo & John Dighton
Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
Music: Georges Auric
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Story, Best Actress (Hepburn) and Best Costume Design (black-and-white); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Albert), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (black-and-white), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (black-and-white), Best Editing; currently #235 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a journalist entertains a runaway Princess while trying to keep her unaware that he knows who she is
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, cinematography and music) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

Good movie. The story sounded terrible, but was in fact hilarious and kind of cute. Audrey Hepburn is adorable, of course. I didn't think Gregory Peck would be much of a comedic actor, but it turns out he's very funny. One of the best comedies I saw in 2008.

The Searchers

Title: The Searchers
Year: 1956
Director: John Ford
Writer: Frank S. Nugent, based on the novel by Alan Le May
Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Henry Brandon
Music: Max Steiner
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a racist spends years hunting down the Indians who kidnapped his niece and killed her family
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented from Netflix), most recently March 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for characters and cinematography) c. 1.8/4 (Eh).

An uninteresting story, and it doesn't really make sense if you think too hard. It tries to be something more than just a John-Wayne-is-a-tough-guy-in-the-Old-West action movie, but doesn't really succeed. The cinematography is actually quite good, when they're shooting on location. The scenes shot on a sound stage look hilariously bad. The first time I watched this, I wrote: "We hadn't seen a John Wayne movie before, and we probably won't see one again." (Untrue, unfortunately.) I just do not understand that man. He is a parody of himself.

Hero

Title: Ying xiong
Year: 2002 (China), 2004 (US)
Director: Yimou Zhang
Writer: Feng Li, Bin Wang & Yimou Zhang
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Daoming Chen, Donnie Yen
Music: Tan Dun
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a warrior tells a king the story of how he defeated the king's enemies
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for characters and dialog) c. 3.0/4 (Good).

Fun and pretty. The first 2/3 or so of the movie are great -- complex, but with a folktale type structure. Then the tension diffuses and is replaced by patriotism. It balances out to positive, though. The characters are corny, although Li's character and the King (Daoming Chen) are cool in an action movie way. This was my first Jet Li movie; I was a little surprised to find that he's a good actor. The music, the look of the movie and the cinematography all rip of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but I'm okay with that since this movie's infinitely more entertaining (and in the music's case, it's Tan Dun ripping off himself).

Hate

Title: La Haine
Year: 1995
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Writer: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui
Music: Assassin
Distinctions: formerly on IMDB's Top 250
Synopsis: 24 hours in the lives of a Jew, African and Arab from the Paris projects, the day after a riot sparked by police brutality
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.4/4 (Very good).

Nice movie. The story's remarkably good and, surprisingly, fun. Within ten minutes you feel like you know these guys, and they form a great dynamic together. I'm not sure why it's shot in black and white (kind of like a ghetto version of Clerks :P).

Persona

Title: Persona
Year: 1966 (Sweden), 1967 (US)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann
Music: Lars Johan Werle
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a nurse looks after a voluntarily mute actress
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for pacing and acting) c. 1.6/4 (Eh).

Surreal, pretentious angst. The characters are remarkably uninteresting for a movie that, as far as I can tell, spent the entire time developing two characters. You have to be a crazy-as-f*** nihilist Scandinavian for any of the dialog to make sense. And it looks like it was shot by a bad film student. Maybe that's because Bergman is what bad student films are trying to look like, but it still looks like a bad student film. At least it was only 85 minutes.

Ratatouille

Title: Ratatouille
Year: 2007
Directors: Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava
Writers: Brad Bird & Jim Capobianco, story by Jan Pinkava & Brad Bird
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film; Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, Best Sound and Best Sound Editing; currently #154 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a rat poses as a chef by controlling a human like a puppet
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented from Netflix), most recently today
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and story) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

I'm a fan of Pixar in general, but this one in particular just doesn't do anything for me. I mean, it's not as bad as Cars by a long shot, and it's a lot better than just about any non-Pixar animated film from the last thirty years. But... idunno. There's something about the story that rubs me the wrong way; the best I can do to pin it down is to say it felt sit-com-ish. But it's funny and fast paced and kind of cute, and the animation is all kinds of good, so whatever.

Synecdoche, New York

Title: Synecdoche, New York
Year: 2008
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Tom Noonan, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emily Watson
Music: Jon Brion
Synopsis: a lonely, frightened theater director living in a dream world uses a genius grant to stage a replica of his life in a warehouse
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.8/4 (Great)

The quality of work that went into this - the acting, the music, the writing, the million fascinating details in every frame - is excellent.  I still didn't love it, although I can't quite say why; it's a very good movie.  Usually when a movie is described as having "dream logic," I'm ready to turn it off and do something else.  Probably because that's typically used as code for doing whatever random, surreal nonsense seemed like a good idea at the time.  But with this movie, it actually did use dream logic.  I didn't always know what was literally going on, but still at any point I could have paused it and explained what was going on, and why.  So, it's strange on a level that's strange relative to other Charlie Kaufman movies - all new levels of bizarre - without ever alienating an impatient veiwer who expects movies to make clear sense (me).

Come and See

Title: Idi i smotri
Year: 1985 (Russia), 1987 (US)
Director: Elem Klimov
Writers: Ales Adamovich & Elem Klimov
Starring: Aleksei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova
Music: Oleg Yanchenko
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a young boy in the Soviet army tries to survive WWII
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, story and characters) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

It's 2001: A Space Odyssey for people who wish that movie had Nazi war horrors in place of the science fiction and optimism. I took points off for concept and story, but that's not really fair. If there were more of a story, it would have been a very different movie than what they were going for. It's excruciatingly slow at places, but very effectively so. The cinematography and music are both brilliant. As for the special effects, we suspect they actually blew stuff up to get the shots of stuff blowing up, etc. I wouldn't want to watch it again, but it certainly keeps your attention and leaves an impression.

Once

Title: Once
Year: 2006
Director: John Carney
Writer: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Music: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Distinctions: Oscar for best original song; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: guy and girl meet and record an album together
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for story, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.3/4 (Okay).

Ugh. Okay, the script was refreshing in a number of ways, and the directing and acting were both very good. But that stuff doesn't really count for all that much, since this movie is basically a 90-minute music video. And the music is badly performed* and largely plagiarized. It's that last point that really gets me, especially since they won an Oscar for "You Really Got a Hold on Me" with new words -- I guess no one in the academy has heard of the Beatles. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ripping off old music. Most of my favorite songwriters do it on a regular basis. But this isn't deliberately taking something and using it; this is the This Tune Just Came To Me school of songwriting.  As a musician, that kind of ignorant bullsh** pisses me off.

*Although, the acting is good, and you could argue that these characters probably shouldn't be great performers, but instead should be bursting with angst and soulless emotion, which they are.

In Cold Blood

Title: In Cold Blood
Year: 1967
Director: Richard Brooks
Writer: Richard Brooks, based on the novel by Truman Capote
Starring: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson
Music: Quincy Jones
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Score; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: the aftermath for two men who murder a family during a robbery
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and music) c. 3.3/4 (Very good).

Great movie. It's a bit long, but it pulls you in. The violence -- there's very little of it, and it's off screen, totally PG-13 -- is startlingly stronger than any modern movie I can think of. There's a lot of focus on the cinematography being dramatic and atmospheric (Jim Jarmusch probably loves it), but it ends up obscuring things too much. The music is overbearing and inappropriate. One of these days I have to see Capote.

Shaun of the Dead

Title: Shaun of the Dead
Year: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost
Music: Dan Mudford, Pete Woodhead
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: relationship troubles during a zombie attack
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for characters, cinematography and music) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

For a while I had avoided watching this because the trailer led me to believe it is a spoof of zombie movies. In fact, it's just a comedy that happens to take place during a zombie apocalypse. Hard to explain the difference if you haven't seen it. The zombie bits are just as scary/suspenseful as any other zombie movie, and the comedy bits are very funny. It seems strange that it was on the top 250 list, though.

The Road

Title: La Strada
Year: 1954 (Italy), 1956 (US)
Director: Federico Fellini
Writer: Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli & Ennio Flaiano
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart
Music: Nino Rota
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (1957); Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (1957); currently #215 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a girl is sold to a traveling performer
How I saw it: on video (rented form Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for dialog, cinematography and subjective rating) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

Kind of boring. Not my sort of thing, but well done. If you dig literary analysis and tragic characters, go for it. The music is great (as you might expect from Rota). The main character's (Masina's) acting is so bad it's good; very memorable.

Le Samouraï

Title: Le Samouraï
Year: 1967 (France), 1972 (US)
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Writer: Jean-Pierre Melville & Georges Pellegrin, based on a novel by Joan McLeod
Starring: Alain Delon, François Périer
Music: François de Roubaix
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a criminal evades the law and his employers
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, cinematography, special effects/design, and music) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

Honestly, I hardly remember this movie. (The above ratings are copied from my old blog.) So I guess all I can really say is that it's not memorable. Here's what I wrote after watching it:

Very boring. It has the makings of a film noir crime/detective story, but there's no suspense, mystery or excitement of any kind. There's also no character development, although judging from the out-of-nowhere ending, there was probably supposed to be. The DVD bonus features lead me to believe that what's supposedly great about this movie is that it was filmed on location. That's great, French people.

The Killing

Title: The Killing
Year: 1956
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, with dialogue by Jim Thompson; based on a novel by Lionel White
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Ted de Corsia, Joe Sawyer
Music: Gerald Fried
Distinctions: currently #155 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a small group robs a racetrack
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for characters, acting and special effects/design) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

There wasn't a real problem with the "special effects/design," it just wasn't exceptional. The "problems" with the characters aren't serious, either. It's a very short movie with a large ensemble, and the characters are as strong as they need to be. The acting is the biggest problem. Sterling Hayden kind of stinks, and a lot of the supporting cast is worse, although a few people (like Elisha Cook as "George") are great. A couple details regarding the tone: There's a comically dispassionate narrator with a radio announcer voice, giving you straight facts like the time of day of the following scene. There's often no music during a scene; instead it stings or quickly fades in/out at the transitions. It's a somewhat strange movie (although it feels perfectly natural while you're watching it). On the one hand, it's a classic pulp crime story in the style of the 30's and 40's. On the other hand, it's an obvious influence for people like Tarantino (especially for Reservoir Dogs).

The Bourne Identity

Title: The Bourne Identity
Year: 2002
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: Tony Gilroy & W. Blake Herron, based on the novel by Robert Ludlum
Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox
Music: John Powell
Synopsis: a CIA assassin wakes up with no memory of who he is and tries not to get killed by his superiors
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story, characters, cinematography and music) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

Entertaining. The action is good. The story starts out promising, but eventually fizzles out into formulaic nonsense. It's worth watching, but I expected a lot more.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Year: 2003
Director: Gore Verbinski
Writer: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio; story by Elliott, Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce
Music: Klaus Badelt
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Depp), Best Makeup, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: um... pirates
How I saw it: probably in the theater (can't remember), on video several times (have on DVD), most recently February 2008
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.0/4 (Good) 3.1/4 (Very good).

This is one of those movies where I tend to forget how good it is (I suppose my memory of it gets obscured by its terrible ending and crappy sequels), and then when I rewatch it I'm startled by how much fun I'm having. The plot is clever, the action is loads of fun in a cartoonish way, and every other line coming out of Johnny Depp's mouth is hilarious (and, by this point, iconic).

Sweet Smell of Success

Title: Sweet Smell of Success
Year: 1957
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Writer: Clifford Odets & Ernest Lehman, based on the novella by Ernest Lehman
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Distinctions: currently #224 on the IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a slime-ball newspaper gossip-monger schemes to control his sister's life
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for story, dialog, pacing and music) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

A character-driven story in which the characters are not even remotely likable. There's depth to them, and they are not meant to be likable, but I need to relate to somebody or something if I'm going to give a crap about the movie. The plot is okay, with lots of twists and turns and intrigue. They had a lot of fun with the dialog ("I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic."), although the delivery is typical classic Hollywood shoot-the-lines-out-as-fast-as-possible. Overall it just struck me as unexceptional film-making.

Harold and Maude

Title: Harold and Maude
Year: 1971
Director: Hal Ashby
Writer: Colin Higgins
Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles
Music: Cat Stevens
Distinctions: currently #248 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: whimsically morbid boy falls in love with a batty, hippie old lady
How I saw it: on video, twice (rented), most recently March 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.4/4 (Very good).

Cute movie. Pleasant and funny. We originally saw it about five years ago, and it's good for watching every five years or so. Dramatically, the acting is notably lacking in places, but as far as the comedy goes, the performances are good. And of course it has one of the best soundtracks ever.

Barry Lyndon

Title: Barry Lyndon
Year: 1975
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee
Music: The Chieftains, and various classical music adapted by Leonard Rosenman
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Song Score and/or Adaptation (Rosenman), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration and Best Costume Design; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay; currently #246 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: the life and rise to nobility of an 18th-Century Irishman
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, cinematography, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

So very boring. There's one good scene -- the final duel -- which is really good. The rest of the movie is three hours of How Not to Adapt a Novel to the Screen 101. (Chapter One: How Much of the Book Can the Narrator Read Before People Leave the Theater?) I'm inclined to think that a competently-written script could have saved this movie, based on how well the climax worked. As it is, I suspect they didn't even have a script, but just shot straight out of the novel. Also, there's a lot of Irish military music played by the Chieftains. Ugh.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God

Title: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes
Year: 1972 (Germany), 1977 (US)
Director: Werner Herzog
Writer: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo
Music: Popol Vuh
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a mad conquistador takes over a failed expedition and sets out to conquer South America single handed by floating down the Amazon
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2008
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for the concept, characters, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

Extremely boring. And very German. You would think, given the concept, that this would be a lot of fun, but no. Despite all of that potential, there's somehow not enough material for a feature film, and not much particularly memorable/interesting happens. Just the swarm of monkeys.* I'm generous giving it a point for characters. The title character is good, but there is remarkably little development of supporting characters considering how much time they had to do so. The "effects/design" are amazing; I assume they must have filmed on the real location. None-the-less, the look of the film is completely unimpressive. There was a lot to work with visually, but they didn't take advantage of it. The acting was the only real saving grace. One look at Kinski and you pretty much know his whole character.

*In the end, everyone decides that the world is a fever-induced hallucination and nothing matters, whilst, and at the same time, they are over-run by a swarm of monkeys. That's not really a spoiler. The hope that there will some day be a swarm of monkeys, far from spoiling anything, will be all you have to hold on to while enduring this movie.

My Neighbor Totoro

A little over a year ago I started a certain ginormous "project." I'm watching (and, therefor, my wife is watching) everything on the Internet Movie Database's list of the Top 250 movies. Or at least all of them that are readily available on video. So far, we're up to around the mid-150's.

My first priority when it comes to choosing which movies to post about, is to post about movies I've just seen. My second priority, at least for a while, is getting this blog caught up on The List. So, starting with the bottom (or, rather, what was on the bottom at the time I started watching The List):

Title: Tonari no Totoro
Year: 1988 (Japan), 1993 (US)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: (English version) Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly; (Japanese version) Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a magical forest spirit helps two little girls whose mother is ill
How I saw it: on video, a number of times (have on DVD)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for pacing and music) c. 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good).

One of my favorite movies. It's very fun, and emotionally strong for a children's movie. The acting by the animators is exceptional. The pacing gets a little slow sometimes, at least after having seen it five or six times. I imagine if I'd only seen it once the suspense would more than compensate. The incidental music is good, but it has a (delightfully) obnoxious theme song which I just have to take off points for.

Rain Man

Title: Rain Man
Year: 1988
Director: Barry Levinson
Writers: Ronald Bass & Barry Morrow
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
Music: Hans Zimmer
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay & Best Actor (Hoffman); Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration and Best Editing
Synopsis: a money-obsessed jackass takes his autistic brother on a roadtrip
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented on VHS from the library) as well as a few times when I was ~10
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for pacing and music) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

It feels a lot longer than it is, but even as an overly-long movie it's never quite boring. And the music is terrible. But otherwise, it's a great movie, the sort that can really effect you. I kept thinking about it for a while after watching it.

One thing that struck me re-watching this that I didn't notice as a kid is occasional shots that give you a sort of alien sense of the world, especially the snap-shots that run over the credits. They somehow twist ordinary and easily-identifiable images to look like abstract shapes. Also, I don't think my 10-year-old-self had any idea that this was such a sad movie.

The Muppet Movie

This is my favorite movie of all time, so it seemed a good place to start this blog.

Title: The Muppet Movie
Year: 1979
Director: James Frawley
Writer: Jack Burns & Jerry Juhl
Starring: The Muppets (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz), Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton
Music: Paul Williams
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Song ("Rainbow Connection") and Best Song Score
Synopsis: Kermit the Frog travels to Hollywood to become rich and famous, and gathers a crowd of weird friends along the way
How I saw it: on video, countless times (have on DVD)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.6/4 (Great)

I could watch it at least once a month and never get bored. I don't think Frawley's direction is what anyone would call great film-making. But he always gets it exactly right where it counts, particularly with regards to the storytelling and the comedic timing. I'm not going to pretend it's a perfect movie, but looking purely at the enjoyability and entertainment value, I don't think any movie could do better. Basically, if you don't like The Muppet Movie, don't bother reading this blog, because this is What I Like.