Heat

Title: Heat
Year: 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Distinctions: currently #134 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 171 minutes
Synopsis: a team of expert thieves tries not to get caught
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), today
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for concept and special effects/design) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

Slow and very, very long. The score is terrible.  Pacino's performance is terrible.  The characters are uninteresting, and most are undeveloped.  There are a few okay scenes, but nothing spectacular - certainly nothing to justify sitting through this movie.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Title: Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Year: 1973
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writers: John William Corrington & Joyce Hooper Corrington; story by Paul Dehn; characters by Pierre Boulle
Starring: Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden
Music: Leonard Rosenman
Length: 93 minutes
Synopsis: There's been a world-obliterating war since the last movie, and now the ape survivors and human survivors must.... Battle! For the planet! Of the apes!
How I saw it: online (streaming from Netflix), November 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story, cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

Meh. You've got to give it some props for being ripped of as The Road Warrior, but otherwise there's not much here. This is the fifth Apes movie, and each installment of the franchise is progressively worse. By this point, they just don't seem to care anymore. Most of the apes' mouths don't even move when they talk.  I give it as high a score as I do because I'm biased toward bad, campy sci-fi.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Year: 1984 / 1985
Network: ITV
Creator: John Hawkesworth (developer)
Directors: Alan Grint (season 1, 2 episodes; season 2, 2 episodes), Paul Annett (s1, 2; s2, 1), John Bruce (s1, 2; s2, 1), David Carson (s1, 1; s2, 1), Ken Grieve (s2, 1)
Writers: Jeremy Paul (season 1, 2 episodes), Derek Marlowe (s2, 2), John Hawkesworth (s2, 2), Alexander Baron (s1, 1), Anthony Skene (s1, 1), Alan Plater (s1, 1), Alfred Shaughnessy (s1, 1), Paul Finney (s1, 1), Bill Craig (s2, 1), Richard Harris (s2, 1); based on stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
Starring: Jeremy Brett, David Burke
Music: Patrick Gowers
Episodes: 13, at c. 52 minutes (2 seasons of 7 and 6 episodes)
Synopsis: a private investigator solves mysteries
How I saw it: on video (some rented on VHS from the library, some from Netflix), over the past few weeks
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, dialog and cinematography) c. 3.3/4 (Very good).

I don't like period dramas, and I'm not particularly a fan of mysteries, but these shows are delightful. The adaptations aren't always great, and there are a few bad episodes (especially the last one - what was supposed to be an epic finale was just dull). Characters have a tendency to tell their stories in a manner that seems like they're reading passages of the book. But most of the stories are engaging, or if they're not the characters make up for it. Burke's Watson is likable and relatable, and Brett's Holmes is a lot of fun - sort of Hannibal Lecter (minus the killing/eating people) crossed with Doctor Who. I'm no longer looking forward to the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie, as I'm convinced you couldn't do better with the character than Brett did.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Title: A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Year: 1969
Director: Bill Melendez
Writer: Charles M. Schulz
Starring: Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, Andy Pforsich, Sally Dryer
Music: Vince Guaraldi
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Song Score (1971)
Length: 86 minutes
Synopsis: Charlie Brown goes to the national spelling bee
How I saw it: on TV, November 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for concept, story, cinematography and acting) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

Bizarre movie, with great music. The animation is interesting at times. The acting is appalling.

Revolt

Title: Ran
Year: 1985
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni & Masato Ide, based on a play by William Shakespeare
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada
Music: Tôru Takemitsu
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Costume Design; Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration; currently #136 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 160 minutes
Synopsis: King Lear set in feudal Japan
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for pacing and acting) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

The story is great, of course, although it moves far too slowly. I give it a reluctant point for cinematography because it's a very pretty movie; the cinematography isn't so great however where it comes to telling the story (beyond setting the tone). For most of the movie he insists on staying on a wide shot, which makes it (1) feel more like watching a play than a movie (arguably a good thing) and (2) difficult in places to tell which character is saying which line.

King Lear

Title: King Lear
Year: 1983
Network: Channel 4
Director: Michael Elliott
Writer: William Shakespeare
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely, Anna Calder-Marshall, Leo McKern, Dorothy Tutin, John Hurt, Diana Rigg
Music: Gordon Crosse
Length: 158 minutes
Synopsis: an elderly king gives up his kingdom and goes mad
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), November 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 3.0/4 (Good).

Wow, almost three hours of Shakespeare and I never got bored. The acting is exceptional. The production quality is very, very British Television.

Quantum of Solace

Title: Quantum of Solace
Year: 2008
Director: Marc Forster
Writer: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton
Music: David Arnold
Length: 106 minutes
Synopsis: James Bond, kicking ass
How I saw it: in the theater, November 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for story and cinematography) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

Fun, senseless action. The plot doesn't really work if you think about it for a second. The only thing that's resolved at the end is that the bad guy gets killed - which could have been accomplished just as easily at the start. But at least (unlike Casino Royale) it has the basic structure of a movie with a story. Now they just need to make one that has both (1) a beginning, middle and end, and (2) a plot that makes sense. Tricky stuff.

Rocky II

Title: Rocky II
Year: 1979
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Music: Bill Conti
Length: 119 minutes
Synopsis: after his successful fight, Rocky can't get his career to work
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), December 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, cinematography and music) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

It is crazy, having grown up in the early 90's and late 80's (and thinking Sylvester Stallone was just a big guy who can't talk, that sh** like Rambo III or Demolition Man were representative of his contribution to cinema), to be discovering now that all that time he was secretly an extremely competent filmmaker.

Innerspace

Title: Innerspace
Year: 1987
Director: Joe Dante
Writers: Jeffrey Boam & Chip Proser
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Visual Effects
Length: 120 minutes
Synopsis: Fantastic Voyage rip-off
How I saw it: on video (rented on VHS from the library); many times as a kid
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for concept and special effects/design) c. 1.7/4 (Eh).

I seem to remember thinking this was a fun movie when I was ten. It's not.

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

Title: Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Year: 2003 (direct-to-video)
Director: Curt Geda & Tim Maltby
Writer: Michael Reaves; story by Alan Burnett; characters by Bob Kane
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Hector Elizondo, Elisa Gabrielli, Kevin Michael Richardson, Kelly Ripa, Kyra Sedgwick
Music: Lolita Ritmanis
Length: 75 minutes
Synopsis: a female vigilante impersonates Batman
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 1/10 (gets 1 point for subjective rating) c. 1.4/4 (Bad).

Ugh. I enjoyed it well enough, but it is completely unremarkable and unmemorable. Typical Saturday Morning cartoon fare, which is pretty bad for the DCAU.

The Muppet Show: Season One

Title: The Muppet Show: Season One
Year: 1976-1977
Network: ITV
Creator: Jim Henson
Directors: Peter Harris
Writers: Jack Burns (24 episodes), Jim Henson (24), Jerry Juhl (24), Marc London (22)
Starring: Juliet Prowse, Connie Stevens, Joel Grey, Ruth Buzzi, Rita Moreno, Jim Nabors, Florence Henderson, Paul Williams, Charles Aznavour, Harvey Korman, Lena Horne, Peter Ustinov, Bruce Forsyth, Sandy Duncan, Candice Bergen, Avery Schreiber, Ben Vereen, Phyllis Diller, Vincent Price, Valerie Harper, Twiggy, Ethel Merman, Kaye Ballard, Mummenschanz (1 episode each)
With: The Muppets (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Eren Ozker, John Lovelady, Fran Brill, Peter Friedman, Cynthia Adler)
Music: Sam Pottle (theme)/Jack Parnell
Episodes: 24 at c. 25 minutes
Synopsis: The Muppets put on a weekly variety show
How I saw it: on video several times (have on DVD), most recently over the past few weeks
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for story and cinematography) c. 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good).

Some of the characters aren't developed yet for most of this season, and things in general are a bit more rough than they should be, and the guest stars have a tendency to be not so spectacular. On the other hand, this season probably has the best weird musical sketches in it (such as "Mahna Mahna") since they had built up a repertoire in the preceding decade or so.

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Kung Fu Panda

Title: Kung Fu Panda
Year: 2008
Directors: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Writers: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger; story by Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim
Music: John Powell, Hans Zimmer
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature
Length: 92 minutes
Synopsis: a slobbish panda is inexplicably chosen as a kung fu warrior/savior
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for story) c. 3.1/4 (Very good)

Cute movie. You're not really missing much if you don't see it, but it's fun.

Get Smart

Title: Get Smart
Year: 2008
Director: Peter Segal
Writers: Tom J. Astle & Matt Ember, based on characters by Mel Brooks & Buck Henry
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin
Music: Trevor Rabin
Length: 110 minutes
Synopsis: a remake of a spoof of an adaptation of an espionage action/thriller
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 1/10 (gets 1 point for dialog) c. 1.8/4 (Eh).

Almost all of the jokes were in the trailers; the rest of the movie is filled up with action movie cliches (sometimes in parody, but mostly just poorly imitating - I'm not sure they're aware that there's a difference). Carell isn't particularly funny, Anne Hathaway isn't charismatic, and The "Dwayne" Rock had almost no role.

Arrested Development

Title: Arrested Development
Year: 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006
Network: Fox
Creator: Mitchell Hurwitz
Directors: Joe Russo (season 1, 7 episodes; season 2, 3 episodes), Paul Feig (s1, 2; s2, 3; s3, 2), Anthony Russo (s1, 3; s2, 2), Lee Shallat Chemel (s1, 3; s2, 2), Jay Chandrasekhar (s1, 4), Greg Mottola (s1, 3), John Fortenberry (s1, 1; s3, 2), Peter Lauer (s2, 2; s3, 1), Robert Berlinger (s3, 3), Lev L. Spiro (s3, 2), Patty Jenkins (s2, 1), Jeff Melman (s2, 1), Jason Bateman (s2, 1), Andrew Fleming (s2, 1), Danny Leiner (s2, 1), Chuck Martin (s2, 1), John Amodeo (s3, 1), Arlene Sanford (s3, 1), Rebecca Asher (s3, 1)
Writers: Mitchell Hurwitz (season 1, 8 episodes; season 2, 6 episodes; season 3, 5 episodes), Jim Vallely (s1, 5; s2, 5; s3, 5), Richard Rosenstock (s1, 5; s2, 2), Barbara Feldman (s1, 2; s2, 5), Chuck Martin (s1, 3; s2, 4), John Levenstein (s1, 5; s2, 1), Brad Copeland (s1, 3; s2, 3), Abraham Higginbotham (s1, 2; s2, 3), Richard Day (s3, 4), Chuck Tatham (s3, 3), Courtney Lilly (s1, 1; s2, 1), Ron Weiner (s3, 2), Lisa Parsons (s2, 1), Tom Saunders (s3, 1), Jake Farrow (s3, 1), Sam Laybourne (s3, 1), Karey Dornetto (s3, 1), Dean Lorey (s3, 1)
Starring: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Ron Howard
Music: David Schwartz
Episodes: 53, at c. 22 minutes (3 seasons of 22, 18 and 13 episodes)
Synopsis: the head of a wealthy family is arrested
How I saw it: some episodes on TV; on video (rented from Netflix), September 2007 (season 1), November 2008 (2) and January 2009 (3)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for concept) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

Hilarious. Normally I hate this sort of show, where unsympathetic characters act like jerks, but in this case it just works somehow.  Season three is significantly worse than the other two (although it's still funny); it's probably for the best that it was canceled while it was still good.

Tropic Thunder

Title: Tropic Thunder
Year: 2008
Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux & Etan Cohen
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Downey)
Length: 107 minutes
Synopsis: actors filming a Vietnam movie get lost in the jungle
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for pacing) c. 3.3/4 (Very good)

I don't understand why reactions to this movie were so extreme (both positive and negative). It's just a typical dumb Ben Stiller movie. Robert Downey Junior is very funny, and Tom Cruise in a bald cap is worth seeing a movie for, but mostly it's just filler.

The Ruby in the Smoke

Title: The Ruby in the Smoke
Year: 2006
Network: BBC
Director: Brian Percival
Writer: Adrian Hodges, based on the novel by Philip Pullman
Starring: Billie Piper, Matt Smith, Julie Walters, JJ Feild, Hayley Atwell
Music: Martin Phipps
Length: 95 minutes
Synopsis: someone is out to kill a recently orphaned woman
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for dialog, pacing and acting) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

The mark of a great mystery story is when it's solved by the main character saying, "Oh, I remember what happened now." F*** you, Phillip Pullman. I didn't expect to like this movie, though. We just rented it because Matt Smith (eventually to be the 11th Doctor) is in it and I wanted to see how Doctor-y he is. Can't really say, though; the director of this crap movie managed to never quite let you see his actors' performances.

North

Title: North
Year: 1994
Director: Rob Reiner
Writers: Alan Zweibel & Andrew Scheinman, based on Zweibel's novel
Starring: Elijah Wood, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bruce Willis, Jon Lovitz
Music: Marc Shaiman
Length: 87 minutes
Synopsis: a boy looks for new parents
How I saw it: on video (have on VHS for some inexplicable reason), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible).
Objective Rating: 0/10 c. 0.7/4 (Very bad).

Wow. I had expected this to be a bad movie that's enjoyable for all the wrong reasons (I mean, come on, Bruce Willis in a bunny suit). No, it's just flat out terrible. What could so many famous and (otherwise) talented people have been thinking?

Tremors

Title: Tremors
Year: 1990
Director: Ron Underwood
Writers: S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock; story by Wilson, Maddock & Ron Underwood
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter
Music: Ernest Troost
Length: 96 minutes
Synopsis: underground monsters attack an isolated town
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, pacing, special effects/design and subjective rating) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

I believe this is what they refer to as "an action-packed romp." Surprisingly entertaining for a corny B monster movie.

Annie Hall

Title: Annie Hall
Year: 1977
Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton
Music: (very little) non-original music
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (Keaton); Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Allen); currently #136 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 93 minutes
Synopsis: a neurotic comic recalls a past relationship
How I saw it: on video twice, most recently (rented from Netflix) yesterday
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.3/4 (Very good).

Well-made and pleasant. I don't know about beating Star Wars for Best Picture, but as far as Woody Allen movies go, it's up there. Far from my favorite (I prefer my comedies sillier (not to imply that this isn't funny)), but certainly the most Woody-ish of his classics.

The Powerpuff Girls: Season Two

Title: The Powerpuff Girls: Season Two
Year: 1999-2000
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Craig McCracken
Directors: Craig McCracken (13 episodes), John McIntyre (8), Randy Myers (7), Genndy Tartakovsky (5)
Writers: Chris Savino (5 episodes), Cindy Morrow (3), Lynne Naylor (3), Charlie Bean (3), Paul Rudish (2), Dave Smith (2), Clay Morrow (2), Genndy Tartakovsky (1), Lou Romano (1), Don Shank (1), Chris Reccardi (1), Kevin Kaliher (1)
Starring: Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Tom Kane
Music: James L. Venable (theme song)
Episodes: 13, at c. 22 minutes, with two cartoons each
Synopsis: three preschool-aged girls are superheros
How I saw it: on TV; on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.3/4 (Very good).

Pretty much the same quality as the first season, although with slightly fewer episodes that stand out as great.

The Powerpuff Girls: Season One

Title: The Powerpuff Girls: Season One
Year: 1998-1999
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Craig McCracken
Directors: Craig McCracken (13 episodes), Genndy Tartakovsky (13), John McIntyre (5)
Writers: Cindy Morrow (3 episodes), Chris Savino (3), Don Shank (3), Dave Smith (3), Kevin Kaliher (2), Mike Stern (2), Paul Rudish (2), John McIntyre (2), Clay Morrow (2), Craig McCracken (1), Dan Krall (1), Robert Renzetti (1), Genndy Tartakovsky (1)
Starring: Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Tom Kane
Music: James L. Venable (theme song)
Episodes: 13, at c. 22 minutes, usually with two cartoons each
Synopsis: three preschool-aged girls are superheros
How I saw it: on TV; on video (used to have on DVD), July 2007
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good).

Hilariously adorable. Or is it adorably hilarious? The production values are nowhere near as good as later stuff from McCracken or Tartakovsky, but it's usually too much fun to really notice.

Burn After Reading

Title: Burn After Reading
Year: 2008
Directors: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Writers: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Starring: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins
Music: Carter Burwell
Length: 96 minutes
Synopsis: two idiots try to sell files belonging to a former CIA officer
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.7/4 (Great)

A typical Coen Brothers comedy - by which I mean it's slightly bizarre with character-based humor, an intricate story, and it's completely unlike every other Coen Brothers movie.

The Dead Pool

Title: The Dead Pool
Year: 1988
Director: Buddy Van Horn
Writer: Steve Sharon; story by Sharon, Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw; characters by Harry Julian Fink & Rita M. Fink
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, Evan C. Kim, David Hunt
Music: Lalo Schifrin
Length: 91 minutes
Synopsis: Dirty Harry is on a list of celebrities who are being killed.
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 1/10 (gets 1 point for acting) c. 1.6/4 (Eh).

Pretty boring for the most part, but almost worth watching for the absurd RC car chase.

Sudden Impact

Title: Sudden Impact
Year: 1983
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Joseph Stinson; story by Charles B. Pierce & Earl E. Smith; characters by Harry Julian Fink & Rita M. Fink
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke
Music: Lalo Schifrin
Length: 117 minutes
Synopsis: Dirty Harry with a dog vs. a rape victim
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), November 2008
Subjective Rating: 1/10 (Eew get it away).
Objective Rating: 0/10 c. 0.7/4 (Very bad).

What were they thinking? Serious contender for the worst movie I've ever seen. MST3K caliber. Even Clint was bad...

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Year: 2008
Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, based on the book by C.S. Lewis
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
Length: 150 minutes
Synopsis: the four children from Earth go to battle in Narnia
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for characters, dialog and acting) c. 1.9/4 (Eh).

Blechh. The fantasy equivalent of Michael Bay movie.

Macbeth

Title: A Performance of Macbeth
Year: 1979
Network: ITV
Director: Philip Casson
Writer: William Shakespeare, "conceived for television" by Trevor Nunn
Starring: Ian McKellen, Judi Dench
Music: Guy Woolfenden
Length: 145 minutes
Synopsis: a Scottish nobleman's wife urges him to kill for power
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for cinematography, special effects/design, music and subjective rating) c. 2.6/4 (Good).

No ghost. No demonic apparitions. No battle. No decapitation. What is this sh**? They're saying all the lines, but I'll be damned if this is the same play I read.

Coraline

Title: Coraline
Year: 2009
Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Henry Selick, based on the book by Neil Gaiman
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane
Music: Bruno Coulais (and They Might Be Giants)
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: a girl is tempted to stay in a magical "other" world
How I saw it: in the theater, February 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.7/4 (Great)

We saw it in 3D, which was pretty but not worth the inflated ticket prices (not to mention the more obvious down-sides to seeing a "children's movie" in the theater). Fun movie, though. Pixar quality.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Title: Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Year: 2008
Directors: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Writers: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn
Music: George S. Clinton
Length: 107 minutes
Synopsis: Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (gets points for characters, dialog, pacing, acting and subjective rating) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

Not actually funny, except for some of the Neil Patrick Harris bits. But it's mildly entertaining anyway.

The Deer Hunter

Title: The Deer Hunter
Year: 1978
Director: Michael Cimino
Writer: Deric Washburn; story by Michael Cimino, Washburn, Louis Garfinkle & Quinn K. Redeker
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep
Music: Stanley Myers (and non-original music)
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Walken), Best Editing and Best Sound; Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (De Niro), Best Supporting Actress (Streep) and Best Cinematography; currently #137 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 182 minutes
Synopsis: a group of friends, before and after fighting in Vietnam
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, characters, dialog and acting) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

Unbelievably boring. There's only about fifteen or twenty minutes in the whole film that have any interest. The audio and video quality are often worse than a home video. I'm shocked that a movie so critically acclaimed could be so poorly made.

Ben-Hur

Title: Ben-Hur
Year: 1959
Director: William Wyler
Writer: Karl Tunberg, based on the novel by Lew Wallace
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith
Music: Miklós Rózsa
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Griffith), Best Cinematography (color), Best Score, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (color), Best Costume Design (color), Best Special Effects, Best Editing and Best Sound; Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay; currently #138 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 212 minutes
Synopsis: a Hebrew prince and his family are imprisoned by the Romans on false charges
How I saw it: online (streaming from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, characters, cinematography and music) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

Pretty tedious. You could cut it down to two hours without losing anything. There are a number of lengthy segments which do nothing but show off armies of extras. The climax is about a half hour before the end of the movie.

The Incredible Hulk

Title: The Incredible Hulk
Year: 2008
Director: Louis Leterrier
Writer: Zak Penn
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson
Music: Craig Armstrong
Length: 112 minutes
Synopsis: super-soldier experiment gone wrong on the run
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for dialog and acting) c. 1.7/4 (Eh).

Bah. From what little I know about the Hulk, I've never understood how you could possibly make an interesting story with the character. The first fifteen or twenty minutes of this movie hint at some possibilities, but they're quickly abandoned for the typical over-produced, CG-happy "action" I've come to expect from Marvel movies. I haven't seen the earlier Ang Lee movie, and if it's actually worse than this one, I guess that makes me very lucky.

The Sixth Sense

Title: The Sixth Sense
Year: 1999
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Music: James Newton Howard
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Osment), Best Supporting Actress (Collette) and Best Editing; currently #139 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 107 minutes
Synopsis: after being shot by a former patient, a child psychologist tries to help a new kid with a similar problem
How I saw it: on video a few times, most recently yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.7/4 (Great).

Extremely well-made and constantly engrossing. I give it a 7 instead of an 8 simply because it's depressing. This is how to do a story with a twist ending: make the whole movie so compelling that it doesn't need the twist. The music is cliched, but it also evokes exactly the right emotional response. Too bad Shyamalan didn't have any more movies in him.

Watchmen

Title: Watchmen
Year: 2009
Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: David Hayter & Alex Tse, based on the graphic novel by Dave Gibbons & Alan Moore
Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson
Music: Tyler Bates (and non-original music)
Length: 162 minutes
Synopsis: retired superheros are being mysteriously attacked
How I saw it: in the theater, March 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.6/4 (Great)

A very entertaining movie. The important characters are just as fleshed out (possibly even more so thanks to the acting) as in the book. If you're familiar with the book, it's a nearly perfect adaptation - up until the point in the end where its balls fall off. If you're not familiar with the book, you'll likely not even notice any problems. For someone with no patients for Snyder's ridiculous slow-motion fetish, the extended sex scene and some of the extended action scenes are extremely tedious relative to the character-focused scenes (but this is nit-picking - the movie felt like it was only about two hours long).

Platoon

Title: Platoon
Year: 1986
Director: Oliver Stone
Writer: Oliver Stone
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger
Music: Georges Delerue (and non-original music)
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Sound; Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Dafoe), Best Supporting Actor (Berenger) and Best Cinematography; currently #141 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 120 minutes
Synopsis: a soldier's time in Vietnam
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for special effects/design, acting and music) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

More of a political statement than a movie. There's no story - just a bunch of terrible things happen. There seems to be an attempt at a story; the voice-over at the end outlines character development that might have happened during the course of the movie, but I guess most of it must have taken place off screen or something.

Justice League: Seasons Three & Four

Title: Justice League Unlimited: Seasons One & Two
Year: 2004-2005
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Bruce W. Timm & Paul Dini
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos (13 episodes), Dan Riba (13)
Writers: Dwayne McDuffie (11 episodes), J.M. DeMatteis (5), Robert Goodman (4), Stan Berkowitz (1), Henry Gilroy (1), Paul Dini (1), Andrew Kreisberg (1), Warren Ellis (1), Jim Steranko (1), Darwyn Cooke (1), Gail Simone (1), Bruce Timm (1)
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Maria Canals-Barrera, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, George Newbern, Michael Rosenbaum
Music: Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion
Episodes: 26 (13 per season), at c. 20 minutes
Synopsis: the Justice League grows powerful enough to frighten the government
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and music) c. 3.1/4 3.2/4 (Very good).

Why weren't there cartoons like this when I was a kid? This stuff stands up to the best comic book movies.

Justice League: Season Two

Title: Justice League: Season Two
Year: 2003-2004
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Bruce W. Timm & Paul Dini
Directors: Butch Lukic (15 episodes), Dan Riba (13)
Writers: Stan Berkowitz (10 episodes), Dwayne McDuffie (9), Rich Fogel (5), Bruce Timm (2), Keith Damron (2), Joseph Kuhr (2), Paul Dini (1)
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Maria Canals-Barrera, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, George Newbern, Michael Rosenbaum
Music: Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion
Episodes: 26, at c. 20 minutes
Synopsis: seven superheros save the world every week
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), November 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for cinematography, acting and music) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

So very much better than season 1. It's hard to believe they're the same show.

Justice League: Season One

Title: Justice League: Season One
Year: 2001-2002
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Bruce W. Timm & Paul Dini
Directors: Dan Riba (16 episodes), Butch Lukic (16)
Writers: Stan Berkowitz (11 episodes), Rich Fogel (3), Kevin Hopps (2), Joseph Kuhr (2), Dwayne McDuffie (2), Andrew Kreisberg (2), Keith Damron (2), Len Uhley (2)
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Maria Canals-Barrera, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, George Newbern, Michael Rosenbaum
Music: Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion
Episodes: 26, at c. 20 minutes
Synopsis: seven superheros save the world every week
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), August 2008
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (points off for story, dialog, cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

The handful of great episodes could get a 9 or 10 out of 10. Other episodes are barely watchable. It's a shame that a show that went on to be great in later seasons started out so very mediocre.

The Wages of Fear

Title: Le salaire de la peur
Year: 1953 (France), 1955 (US)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Writers: Henri-Georges Clouzot & Jérôme Géronimi, based on the novel by Georges Arnaud
Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot
Music: Georges Auric
Distinctions: currently #143 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 148 minutes
Synopsis: 300 miles of disrepaired roads in two trucks full of volatile explosives
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for pacing, cinematography and music) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

Very effective suspense. The plot doesn't get started until about an hour into the movie, but once it gets going it's great. The characters aren't likable, but given their situation you can't help sympathizing with them.

Wonder Woman

Title: Wonder Woman
Year: 2009 (direct-to-video)
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Writer: Michael Jelenic; story by Jelenic & Gail Simone; characters by William M. Marston
Starring: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Marg Helgenberger, Oliver Platt, Virginia Madsen
Music: Christopher Drake
Length: 74 minutes
Synopsis: Wonder Woman leaves her island to save the world from Ares
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 1/10 (gets a point for acting) c. 1.4/4 (Bad).

Blah. It had some nice touches here and there, but mostly it was just kind of lame.

Batman: Gotham Knight

Title: Batman: Gatham Knight
Year: 2008 (direct-to-video)
Directors: Yasuhiro Aoki, Yuichiro Hayashi, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, Jong-Sik Nam, Shoujirou Nishimi
Writers: Josh Olson, Greg Rucka, Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg, David S. Goyer; stories by Goldberg; character by Bob Kane
Starring: Kevin Conroy
Music: Christopher Drake, Robert J. Kral, Kevin Manthei
Length: 75 minutes
Synopsis: a collection of Anime Batman shorts
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), July 2008
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for cinematography and special effects/design) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

Crazy disappointing. And it takes a lot of suck for me to not like Batman. Although perhaps my judgement is skewed as I was expecting greatness.

Justice League: The New Frontier

Title: Justice League: The New Frontier
Year: 2008 (direct-to-video)
Director: Dave Bullock
Writer: Stan Berkowitz, based on the graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke
Starring: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeremy Sisto
Music: Kevin Manthei
Length: 75 minutes
Synopsis: the formation of the Justice League in the 1950's
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for dialog and cinematography) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

Much better than most of the crap that passes for super hero movies.  The dialog is corny, but it's the sort of comic book world where it should be a little corny.

Superman: Doomsday

Title: Superman: Doomsday
Year: 2007 (direct-to-video)
Directors: Lauren Montgomery, Bruce W. Timm & Brandon Vietti
Writers: Duane Capizzi & Bruce W. Timm
Starring: Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, James Marsters
Music: Robert J. Kral
Length: 78 minutes
Synopsis: Superman is killed
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), October 2007
Subjective Rating: 7/10
Objective Rating: n/a (too long since I've seen it)

What  I wrote after watching it:
Superman dies after 15 minutes of fighting. This is significantly less believable than dying after 11 comic books worth of fighting. It's just like, wait, why is he dead already? Dudes with kryptonite have given him worse beatings than that. If they got rid of some tedious love story crap and added in ten more minutes of fight, it might have worked. Otherwise, good movie. Better than the 90's animated series.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Title: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Year: 2003
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Writers: John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris; story by Brancato, Ferris & Tedi Sarafian; based on characters by James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken
Music: Marco Beltrami
Length: 109 minutes
Synopsis: yet another time-travelling Terminator tries to kill John Connor
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for pacing, special effects/design and subjective rating) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

Predictable, filled with plot holes, corny dialog... but the other two Terminator movies had two out of three of those faults. It's not really all that bad. There's a fifteen- or twenty-minute action sequence near the beginning that's fun and solidly put together. It's worth watching if you like that sort of thing.

Lost: Season Four

Title: Lost: Season Four
Year: 2008
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender (6 episodes), Stephen Williams (5), Eric Laneuville (1), Stephen Semel (1), Paul Edwards (1)
Writers: Damon Lindelof (5 episodes), Carlton Cuse (5), Drew Goddard (3), Brian K. Vaughan (3), Edward Kitsis (3), Adam Horowitz (3), Elizabeth Sarnoff (3), Greggory Nations (1), Christina M. Kim (1), Kyle Pennington (1)
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Jeremy Davies, Emilie de Ravin, Michael Emerson, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Ken Leung, Evangeline Lilly, Rebecca Mader, Elizabeth Mitchell, Terry O’Quinn, Harold Perrineau
Music: Michael Giacchino
Episodes: 14, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: Survivors vs. The Boat
How I saw it: a few episodes streaming online, February 2008; on video (rented from Netflix), over the past couple weeks
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for pacing) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

This was the first time the DVD of the previous season came out early enough for us to be caught up in time to watch the show as it aired. Unfortunately, we grew bored after about three episodes and stopped watching. Nothing really seemed to be happening, and the cliff-hangers were completely dumb. It didn't help that two of the best characters were killed off in season three. I had thought I would give up on the show, but eventually curiosity and my obsessive-compulsive nature (I started the show, so I have to finish it!) got the best of me and we rented it. I'm glad we did. Those first episodes were just as bad or worse as I remembered, but it picks up eventually. A lot happens in the last few episodes, and the finale is pretty crazy.

Lost: Season Three

Title: Lost: Season Three
Year: 2006-2007
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender (7 episodes), Stephen Williams (7), Paul Edwards (2), Eric Laneuville (2), Tucker Gates (1), Paris Barclay (1), Karen Gaviola (1), Fred Toye (1), Bobby Roth (1)
Writers: Damon Lindelof (8 episodes), Carlton Cuse (8), Drew Goddard (5), Edward Kitsis (5), Adam Horowitz (5), Jeff Pinkner (4), Elizabeth Sarnoff (4), Christina M. Kim (2), J.J. Abrams (1), Alison Schapker (1), Monica Breen (1), Jordan Rosenberg (1), Brian K. Vaughan (1)
Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Emilie de Ravin, Michael Emerson, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn
Music: Michael Giacchino
Episodes: 23, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: Survivors vs. Others
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), December 2007
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great).

A lot is answered and explained, leaving most of the remaining "mysteries" fairly concrete and specific. The heroes appear to be at least somewhat in control of things for once. I've yet to watch any of season five, but I'd guess this will have been the show's peak.

Lost: Season Two

Title: Lost: Season Two
Year: 2005-2006
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender (7 episodes), Stephen Williams (7), Eric Laneuville (2), Paul Edwards (2), Alan Taylor (1), Adam Davidson (1), Matt Earl Beesley (1), Roxann Dawson (1), Karen Gaviola (1), Deran Sarafian (1)
Writers: Damon Lindelof (9 episodes), Carlton Cuse (8), Steven Maeda (4), Leonard Dick (4), Edward Kitsis (4), Adam Horowitz (4), Elizabeth Sarnoff (4), Christina M. Kim (3), Javier Grillo-Marxuach (2), Craig Wright (2), Dawn Lambertsen-Kelly (1), Matt Ragghianti (1)
Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Watros
Music: Michael Giacchino
Episodes: 24, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: Walt is held by the "others," a second group of survivors is found, and a Locke pushes a button
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), September 2006
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.6/4 (Great).

Slightly better than the first season.  Enough questions are answered that when loads of new inexplicable things happen, you're able to trust they will be explained eventually, which makes it all the more exciting.

Lost: Season One

Title: Lost: Season One
Year: 2004-2005
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender (8 episodes), Tucker Gates (3), J.J. Abrams (2), Kevin Hooks (2), Greg Yaitanes (2), Stephen Williams (2), Michael Zinberg (1), Marita Grabiak (1), Rod Holcomb (1), Daniel Attias (1), Robert Mandel (1), David Grossman (1)
Writers: Damon Lindelof (10 episodes), Javier Grillo-Marxuach (5), Carlton Cuse (5), David Fury (4), J.J. Abrams (2), Jeffrey Lieber (2), Jennifer Johnson (2), Leonard Dick (2), Christian Taylor (1), Paul Dini (1), Lynne E. Litt (1), Drew Goddard (1), Brent Fletcher (1), Janet Tamaro (1), Edward Kitsis (1), Adam Horowitz (1)
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Ian Somerhalder
Music: Michael Giacchino
Episodes: 25, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: an airliner crashes on a mysterious island
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), November 2005
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for pacing) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

My reaction at the time was that it's very well done, but I didn't think it lived up to the obsession people had with it. Too many mysteries were unanswered and seemed unanswerable, so I didn't expect the plot to get anywhere for a few years at least (oh how wrong I was...). It was very refreshing to have a network show with good production values that wasn't about doctors, lawyers or government agencies. That's not so rare anymore, but still I've yet to see one since Lost that's actually any good (although to be fair I don't watch much recent television).

The Night of the Hunter

As of this post, we're caught up on The List.  That is, I've made a post for all of the movies watched so far as part of my project of watching all of the IMDb's Top 250.

Title: The Night of the Hunter
Year: 1955
Director: Charles Laughton
Writer: James Agee, based on the novel by Davis Grubb
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce
Music: Walter Schumann
Distinctions: currently #159 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 92 minutes
Synopsis: a mad "preacher" is after money that two kids have hidden
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

A very strange film for the time - in a good way. It's interesting how it plays with expectations and repeatedly defies its genre, without ever being unsatisfying.

Love's a Bitch

Title: Amores perros
Year: 2000 (Mexico), 2001 (US)
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film; currently #163 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 154 minutes
Synopsis: three different stories concerning love and dogs
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for dialog, cinematography, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

More of a three part miniseries than a movie. Unlike most movies that do this multiple-stories-because-we-can't-be-bothered-to-make-one-story-good-enough-to-make-a-movie b.s., the stories actually are dependent on each other in crucial ways. But there is no unifying climax; they just each do their own thing, and that's it. Only one character in the whole movie is even remotely interesting. And it doesn't help that the supposed-to-be-very-serious turning point for that character is funny. The music is a mess. For the first hour there's no music. Then out of nowhere, it's loaded with bad Mexican pop music. For the last hour or two, it has what sounds like the score from Mighty Max.

Into the Wild

Title: Into the Wild
Year: 2007
Director: Sean Penn
Writer: Sean Penn, based on the book by Jon Krakauer
Starring: Emile Hirsch
Music: Eddie Vedder
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook) and Best Editing; currently #142 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 148 minutes
Synopsis: an angsty privileged kid ditches his family to live as a tramp
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for characters, special effects/design and acting) c. 1.9/4 (Eh).

Bah. An idiot behaves like an idiot, and philosophizes like a stoner. For two and a half hours. While his sister reads a book to the audience. The music is terrible (it put Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" in my head). The acting is excellent.

The Graduate

Title: The Graduate
Year: 1967
Director: Mike Nichols
Writers: Calder Willingham & Buck Henry, based on the novel by Charles Webb
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross
Music: Paul Simon, Dave Grusin
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Director; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Hoffman), Best Actress (Bancroft), Best Supporting Actress (Ross) and Best Cinematography; currently #157 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 105 minutes
Synopsis: guy has an affair with his parents' friend
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for pacing and cinematography) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

It's a good movie, but it's kind of painful how unrelatable everyone is. Are the musical interludes really necessary? The cinematography is interesting; I don't think it's any good, but it's interesting.

Finding Nemo

Title: Finding Nemo
Year: 2003
Directors: Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich
Writers: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson & David Reynolds
Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould
Music: Thomas Newman
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Animated Feature; Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Score and Best Sound Editing; currently #161 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: a fish swims through the ocean to find his son
How I saw it: in the theater, 2003; on video a number of times (have on DVD), most recently March 2009
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for concept) c. 3.6/4 (Great).

I would go on about how good it is, but whatever, you've seen it.

Brief Encounter

Title: Brief Encounter
Year: 1945
Director: David Lean
Writer: Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean & Ronald Neame, based on a play by Noel Coward
Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard
Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Johnson) (1947); currently #167 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 86 minutes
Synopsis: an ordinary mother/housewife imagines telling her husband about a man she fell in love with
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 9/10 (One of my favorites)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.7/4 (Great)

The depth and realism of the characters in this movie is remarkable. Take the scene where she lies to her husband - something you see on just about every episode of every bad sitcom, not to mention almost every "romantic" movie ever made; this movie is probably the only time it's felt as gut-wrenching as it should. I don't care for Rachmaninoff, but they used the music cleverly: what's on the radio while she's "telling" the story is the flashback's score.

Trainspotting

Title: Trainspotting
Year: 1996
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: John Hodge, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald
Music: non-original music
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay; currently #169 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 94 minutes
Synopsis: a low-life is on and off of drugs
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), March 2009
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for concept, story, characters and subjective rating) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

As far as I can tell, the point of this movie is to make you feel vaguely sick to your stomach. I don't get it.

Star Trek

Title: Star Trek
Year: 2009
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, based on the TV show by Gene Roddenberry
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban
Music: Michael Giacchino
Length: 126 minutes
Synopsis: a time-traveling Romulan has a vendetta against Spock
How I saw it: in the theater, today
Subjective Rating: 7/10
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for story and cinematography)

Fun and fast paced. There's some nice comic relief, and loads of geek-pleasing moments. The action scenes are a mess. The plot isn't very interesting, mostly just getting the characters re-introduced - which is fun for a fan, since it's extremely well cast (especially Karl Urban's Bones) and the characters and dialog are well-written - but there's still not much plot. It's not a science fiction movie, and it's not a submarine movie like previous good action versions of Star Trek have been. In place of those elements, there's standard loud, fast-moving-camera dumb action. They've got the characters down right, now they just need to put them in a movie.

ETA, 11/18/09: post updated/replaced here

Dog Day Afternoon

Title: Dog Day Afternoon
Year: 1975
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Frank Pierson, based on an article by P.F. Kluge & Thomas Moore
Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon
Music: none (except for an Elton John song over the opening credits)
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Original Screenplay; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Pacino), Best Supporting Actor (Sarandon) and Best Editing; currently #164 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 125 minutes
Synopsis: inept bank robbers end up taking hostages
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 9/10
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.9/4 (Great)

Continuously suspenseful, but also a lot of fun. Al Pacino plays a likable character for once, which is nice. Sidney Lumet is, apparently, awesome.

Stand by Me

Title: Stand by Me
Year: 1986
Director: Rob Reiner
Writers: Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans, based on a novella by Stephen King
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland
Music: Jack Nitzsche (and non-original music)
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay; currently #162 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 89 minutes
Synopsis: four friends hike for a day to find a dead body
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and cinematography) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

Well-made as far as story-telling goes. The acting is surprisingly good, too; it's hard to believe that these kids are directed by the same guy who made North.

The Gold Rush

Title: The Gold Rush
Year: 1925
Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite, Georgia Hale
Music: Charles Chaplin (possibly?)
Distinctions: currently #158 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: c. 82 minutes
Synopsis: The Tramp goes prospecting in Alaska
How I saw it: the original silent version, on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, pacing and cinematography) c. 2.8/4 (Good).

It's not really much of a movie, but it's great as a collection of footage of gags and impressive mime acts.

Gandhi

Title: Gandhi
Year: 1982
Director: Richard Attenborough
Writer: John Briley
Starring: Ben Kingsley
Music: Ravi Shankar
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Kingsley), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Costume Design and Best Editing; Oscar nominations for Best Score, Best Makeup and Best Sound; currently #165 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: Gandhi's political life
Length: 188 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and story) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

If you're going to make a biopic about Gandhi, this is certainly the best movie you could possibly make. I just do not care for biopics.

The Wild Bunch

Title: The Wild Bunch
Year: 1969
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Writers: Walon Green & Sam Peckinpah; story by Green & Roy N. Sickner
Starring: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien
Music: Jerry Fielding
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Score; currently #171 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a group of bandits steals US guns for a Mexican general
Length: 145 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for story, pacing and music) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

Large parts of it are great, but a lot is boring, too. It's worth sitting through to get to the good parts, but I don't see why people love it.

The Princess Bride

Title: The Princess Bride
Year: 1987
Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman, based on his book
Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Peter Falk, Fred Savage
Music: Mark Knopfler
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Song ("Storybook Love"); currently #176 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a grandfather reads a fairlytale/adventure book to his sick grandson
Length: 98 minutes
How I saw it: on video countless times (have on DVD), most recently February 2009
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites)
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 3.1/4 3.2/4 (Very good).

Swashbuckling fantasy adventure and hilarious comedy, simultaneously. Probably my second favorite movie.

Gone with the Wind

Title: Gone with the Wind
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Writer: Sidney Howard, based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland
Music: Max Steiner
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Leigh), Best Supporting Actress (McDaniel), Best Cinematography (color), Best Art Direction and Best Editing; honorary Oscar (for use of color); Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Gable), Best Supporting Actress (Havilland), Best Score, Best Special Effects and Best Sound Recording; currently #167 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a young, wealthy Southerner during and after the Civil War
Length: 238 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and dialog) c. 3.0/4 (Good).

It's the sort of movie I'm almost guaranteed to hate, but I didn't. For about 90 minutes in the middle there, I was actually getting into it. I have to admit, unlike every single other "epic" drama, there is actually four hours of material here. The visuals are great; they knew how to colorize a sound stage back then.

V for Vendetta

Title: V for Vendetta
Year: 2005
Director: James McTeigue
Writers: Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski, based on the book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt
Music: Dario Marianelli
Distinctions: currently #172 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a masked terrorist attacks a dystopian government
Length: 132 minutes
How I saw it: in the theater, 2005; on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 3/10 (gets points for pacing, special effects/design and acting) c. 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

I guess it's entertaining, so long as you don't think too hard. There are major plot holes, and a lot of corny moments. The climactic action scene is hilariously bad. There are some great secondary characters, but the two leads hardly even make sense. Portman's acting stinks, but everyone else in the movie is great.

The Incredibles

Title: The Incredibles
Year: 2004
Director: Brad Bird
Writer: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing; Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing; currently #181 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a super-powered family comes out of hiding
Length: 115 minutes
How I saw it: in the theater, 2004; on video a number of times (have on DVD), most recently February 2009
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.9/4 (Great).

A geeky adventure story with strong, likable characters. Giacchino's score is lots of fun.

Scarface

Title: Scarface
Year: 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Oliver Stone
Starring: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer
Music: Giorgio Moroder
Distinctions: currently #171 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: an immigrant coke-dealer gets rich
Length: 170 minutes
How I saw it: on video twice (rented from Netflix), most recently February 2009
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, dialog, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 1.8/4 (Eh).

Why the hell is that a classic? Every single character is a complete assh*** - usually an obnoxious one. Pacino plays his part as if it were a comedy routine (never mind that The Godfather includes some of the best acting ever put on film; I am still confused that he continued to be taken seriously after this movie). There's an 80's Rock Montage Sequence. There are maybe three scenes in three hours that are any good at all (the opening scene interrogation where it still seems like there might be an interesting character in the movie, the bit with the chainsaw, and the shoot-out finale); highlights of the rest of the film include: "Tony shops for a new car," "Tony talks to his banker," and, of course, "Tony Takes a Bath." The one positive is that visually, it doesn't just look like crap - it consistently looks like a deliberate, particular kind of crap.

The Thing

Title: The Thing
Year: 1982
Director: John Carpenter
Writer: Bill Lancaster; story by John W. Campbell Jr.
Starring: Kurt Russell
Music: Ennio Morricone
Distinctions: currently #173 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a shape-shifting monster in Antarctica
Length: 109 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for characters, dialog and cinematography) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

Occasionally unintentionally funny, but I don't care, I liked it. You have to heckle this sort of movie, anyway. It seemed like the special effects were good, when they could be bothered to light things well enough to see what's going on.

Shadow of a Doubt

Title: Shadow of a Doubt
Year: 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson & Alma Reville; story by Gordon McDonell
Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Story; currently #179 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a girl suspects her uncle might be a murderer
Length: 108 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.7/4 (Great)

Easily the best Alfred Hitchcock movie I've seen so far. I didn't think the ending is very satisfying, but everything else is great. The score is completely wrong (a 1930's style action/adventure score for a psychological suspense film), but in a way that works beautifully.

The Lion King

Title: The Lion King
Year: 1994
Directors: Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff
Writers: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts & Linda Woolverton; story by about twenty-six people
Starring: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
Music: Elton John & Tim Rice (songs), Hans Zimmer (score)
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Score and Best Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"); Oscar Nominations for two more songs ("Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata"); currently #169 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: musical power struggle between anthropomorphic royalty
Length: 89 minutes
How I saw it: on video a number of times (have on VHS), most recently January 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 5/10 (gets points for concept, story, pacing, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

Watching it for the first time since I was a kid, for the first five minutes or so I was thinking, "Okay, this is a lot better than I remember it." The animation is great. The plot is Shakespearean and a folktale at the same time. Then they have the first musical number, and I want to smash the cassette a little. But still, I'm thinking, "Okay, this isn't too bad for an animated broadway musical." ...then Matthew Broderick shows up. Man, that guy is worse than Keanu Reeves.

The Battle of Algiers

Title: La battaglia di Algeri
Year: 1966 (Italy), 1967 (US)
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Writers: Gillo Pontecorvo & Franco Solinas
Starring: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin
Music: Ennio Morricone, Gillo Pontecorvo
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film (1967); Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (1969); currently #190 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: the Algerian revolution in the late 1950's, shot documentary style
Length: 121 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story, characters, dialog and subjective rating) c. 2.5/4 (Okay).

Morricone's score makes it all bearable. The trouble with shooting this movie documentary style is that it doesn't have any content that wouldn't be in an actual documentary (such as, say, characters). And I'm sure it would make a very interesting documentary. But... all this stuff that it feels like I'm learning is just a fictionalized version of things. So I'm not getting any storytelling out of this, and I'm not getting any edumacating out of it... What am I supposed to get out of it?

Kill Bill

Titles: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 / Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Year: 2003 / 2004
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino, based on a character by Tarantino and Uma Thurman
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba / Thurman, David Carradine, Chia Hui Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Perla Haney-Jardine
Music: RZA / Robert Rodriguez (mostly non-original music)
Distinctions: currently #139 on IMDb's Top 250 / currently #223 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a professional assassin hunts down the people who tried to kill her
Length: 111 minutes / 136 minutes
How I saw it: in the theater, 2003 & 2004; on video many times (have on DVD), most recently yesterday
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for dialog) c. 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great).

The ultimate action movie(s). Of course the dialog is terrible - but in a good way. I'm not particularly a fan of Tarantino, or of kung fu movies, or of samurai movies, but somehow the combination of the three is one of my all time favorites.

Groundhog Day

Title: Groundhog Day
Year: 1993
Director: Harold Ramis
Writers: Danny Rubin & Harold Ramis
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell
Music: George Fenton
Distinctions: currently #174 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a man is stuck re-living the same day
Length: 101 minutes
How I saw it: on video many times, most recently January 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10 9/10
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and music)

Who doesn't love this movie?

Harvey

Title: Harvey
Year: 1950
Director: Henry Koster
Writer: Mary Chase & Oscar Brodney, based on Chase's play
Starring: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake
Music: Frank Skinner
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Hull); Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Stewart); currently #177 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a friendly alcoholic has an invisible rabbit friend
Length: 104 minutes
How I saw it: on video twice (rented from Netflix), most recently January 2009
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for cinematography and special effects/design) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

Here's another one where I disagree with myself the second time around. The first time I saw it I was annoyed by the stage play farce aspects, but they are hardly noticeable when you go into it knowing Elwood P. Dowd and expecting his implacable calm. And I seemed to think the acting was terrible the first time around, but it's perfectly fine; some actors are bad, but most are good, and of course Stewart is great. Cute movie.

Children of Men

Title: Children of Men
Year: 2006
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, based on the novel by P.D. James
Starring: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey
Music: John Tavener
Distinctions: currently #187 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: people try to survive in a dystopian near future
Length: 109 minutes
How I saw it: on video twice (rented from Netflix), most recently January 2009
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for characters) c. 3.5/4 (Very good).

Best. Cinematography. Ever. An amazing movie in almost every respect. The first time I saw it, it felt like there wasn't much story arc, and it ended up seeming slow, although I didn't feel that way at all the second time.

The Hustler

Title: The Hustler
Year: 1961
Director: Robert Rossen
Writers: Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen, based on the novel by Walter Tevis
Starring: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott
Music: Kenyon Hopkins
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Cinematography (black-and-white) and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (black-and-white); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Newman), Best Actress (Laurie), Best Supporting Actor (Gleason), Best Supporting Actor (Scott); currently #182 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a pool shark is bad at gambling and has relationship troubles
Length: 134 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for story, pacing, special effects/design and subjective rating) c. 3.0/4 (Good).

Very pretty looking movie, with a great score and great acting (especially from Gleason), but mind-numbingly boring. It feels like two or three different movies mashed together. The "sets" (read "locations") and costumes etc. are great, but the sound is a garbled mess.

Nights of Cabiria

Title: Le notti di Cabiria
Year: 1957
Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli & Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the novel by Maria Molinari
Starring: Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi
Music: Nino Rota
Distinctions: Oscar for best foreign language film; currently #143 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a prostitute copes with being low-class
Length: 117 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for concept, story, pacing and subjective rating) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

Masina's performance and character are entertaining, but it's a pretty slow movie. There's not much of a plot, and what little there is doesn't really get started until over half way though.

The Terminator

Title: The Terminator
Year: 1984
Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd, with William Wisher Jr., based on material by Harlan Ellison
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Music: Brad Fiedel
Distinctions: currently #184 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: an unstoppable killer robot from the future
Length: 107 minutes
How I saw it: on video twice, most recently January 2009; on television a few times
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 4/10 (gets points for concept, story, pacing and subjective rating) c. 2.2/4 (Okay).

It may be painfully corny in places (okay, most of the movie), but the idea of being relentlessly attacked by [the remains of] a demented robot is enough to get me to re-watch it every few years. Terrible dialog ("Talk to me." "Okay, here's my backstory..."). Very dated special effects. One of the worst scores of all time. But the concept is f***ing brilliant.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Title: Letters from Iwo Jima
Year: 2006
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Iris Yamashita; story by Yamashita and Paul Haggis; based on a book by Tadamichi Kuribayashi & Tsuyoko Yoshido
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya
Music: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Sound Editing; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay; currently #199 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: the battle of Iwo Jima, from the Japanese point of view
Length: 141 minutes
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), January 2009
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 2.6/4 (Good).

The shape of it is a great way to do a war movie -- building up to a huge battle for the first half of the movie, followed by mayhem. I didn't like how they handle the character-related stuff very much, though - although the characters themselves are good. Visually, it's usually too dark to see who we're looking at. And the beach appears to be stormed by a cartoon army.