Fargo

Title: Fargo
Year: 1996
Director: Joel Coen
Writer: Joel & Ethan Coen
Starring: William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand
Music: Carter Burwell
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (McDormand); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Macy), Best Cinematography and Best Editing; currently #124 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 98 minutes
Synopsis: an idiot arranges to have his wife kidnapped
How I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently (rented from Netflix) yesterday
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.6/4 (Great).

Good movie. It deserves its status as a "classic," but no more so than just about any other Coen Brothers movie. The score is great. The cinematography isn't bad; I'm just taking that point off because there aren't many images that stand out as memorable. IMDb's trivia informs me that this is not in fact based on a true story (as the opening caption insists). Strangely, I think if I had known that before, I would have enjoyed the movie more.

Away We Go

Title: Away We Go
Year: 2009
Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida
Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph
Music: Alexi Murdoch (and non-original music)
Length: 98 minutes
Synopsis: an expectant couple searches for a place to live
How I saw it: in the theater, yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.5/4 (Very good)

Wow, a movie about an ordinary couple that behaves like real people! It's certainly not a perfect movie - Maya Rudolph's not a great actress, and the jokes (while they made me laugh (and aren't the focus of the movie)) probably wouldn't stand up to repeated viewings. But it's entertaining and pleasant, with an emotional impact. And having young characters who love each other (and consistently act like it) is extremely refreshing. Bonus point for tying for my prestigious Anti-Cynicism Award with The Cosby Show.

The Fall

Title: The Fall
Year: 2006
Director: Tarsem Singh
Writer: Dan Gilroy, Nico Soultanakis & Tarsem Singh, based on a film written by Valeri Petrov
Starring: Catinca Untaru, Lee Pace
Music: Krishna Levy (and Beethoven)
Length: 117 minutes
Synopsis: a suicidal 1920's stuntman tells a story to an Indian girl
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.6/4 (Great)

It has a Baron Munchausen-y feel that made me really expect to and want to love it. It's pretty and interesting and well-made, but it just didn't do much for me.

The Wizard of Oz

Title: The Wizard of Oz
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Writers: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf, based on the novel by L. Frank Baum
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
Music: Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg (songs); Herbert Stothart (score)
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Score and Best Song ("Over the Rainbow"); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Cinematography (color), Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects; currently #125 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 101 minutes
Synopsis: a fight to the death over a sparkly pair of heels :P
How I saw it: many times on video and TV, most recently (rented from Netflix) yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.4/4 (Very good).

I don't really care for the songs (I do not like showtunes), but I have to admit they're good.  I find it strangely difficult to judge what I think of the movie. It's just so familiar, it's like deciding what I think of blue as the color of the sky.  Is there anybody out there who somehow managed to see it for the first time as an adult?

Rocky IV

Title: Rocky IV
Year: 1985
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Music: Vince DiCola (and loads of pop music)
Length: 91 minutes
Synopsis: Rocky vs. a Soviet
How I saw it: on video (rented on DVD), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad).
Objective Rating: 2/10 (gets points for special effects/design and acting) c. 1.6/4 (Eh).

Bad, but with some snarking value. About 20 (of 91) minutes are made up of footage from the previous three films. Most of the rest is corny cliches.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Year: 2009
Director: David Yates
Writer: Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent
Music: Nicholas Hooper
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography
Length: 153 minutes
Synopsis: the headmaster of the school for wizards uses a celebrity student to get information about an evil wizard from a teacher
How I saw it: in the theater, today
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for pacing and cinematography) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

It kept my interest. Good movie, but it felt like it was constantly just missing what it could have been; for instance, the climax took place off screen. There are a lot of scenes which seem like they should be a big deal - and fans of the books would have been upset if they were left out - such as the attack on the Weasley residence, which have no real connection to anything else in the movie. [edit: Wait, that scene wasn't actually in the book, so why did they add it? To demonstrate how Death Eater attacks don't result in anyone getting hurt?] The narrative is hurt a lot by being tied down to the established format of being told primarily from Harry's perspective; the potentially much more interesting story is about Snape and Malfoy, both of whom have disproportionately small roles.

Bolt

Title: Bolt
Year: 2008
Directors: Byron Howard & Chris Williams
Writers: Dan Fogelman & Chris Williams
Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton
Music: John Powell
Distinctions: Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature
Length: 96 minutes
Synopsis: a dog actor thinks he is really his superhero character
How I saw it: on video (DVD), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay)
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for story) c. 3/4 (Good)

It's a fun movie. A lot of the gags are stolen, but the performances are very funny. The story is painfully formulaic.

The Muppet Show: Season Two

Title: The Muppet Show: Season Two
Year: 1977-1978
Network: ITV
Creator: Jim Henson
Directors: Peter Harris (12 episodes), Philip Casson (12)
Writers: Jerry Juhl, Joseph A. Bailey, Jim Henson & Don Hinkley
Starring: Don Knotts, Zero Mostel, Milton Berle, Rich Little, Judy Collins, Nancy Walker, Edgar Bergen, Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, Rudolf Nureyev, Elton John, Lou Rawls, Cleo Laine, Julie Andrews, Jaye P. Morgan, Peter Sellers, Petula Clark, Bob Hope, Teresa Brewer, John Cleese, Cloris Leachman (1 episode each)
With: The Muppets (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold)
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).

What can I say?  The best TV show ever made, in its stride.

Doctor Who #11-12: The Rescue/The Romans

Title: Doctor Who: "The Rescue" / "The Romans"
Year: 1965
Network: BBC
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Christopher Barry
Writers: David Whitaker / Dennis Spooner
Starring: William Hartnell, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, Maureen O'Brien
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Tristram Cary / Raymond Jones
Episodes: 6, at 25 minutes; 2 stories (1 of 2 episodes and 1 of 4 episodes), from season 2
Synopsis: the Doctor, Ian and Barbara rescue a girl from an alien planet, then the four of them vacation in ancient Rome
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), over the past couple days
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

A great couple of episodes. Tight, clever writing.  Someone interviewed for the DVD featurette claimed that "The Romans" was the best episode of classic Doctor Who (or maybe it was just of 1960's Doctor Who). While it's not a personal favorite of mine (I'll take science fiction over historical drama any day), I'd say that's a completely reasonable claim.

Doctor Who #142: Timelash

Title: Doctor Who: “Timelash“
Year: 1985
Network: BBC
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Pennant Roberts
Writer: Glen McCoy
Starring: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Elizabeth Parker
Episodes: 2, at 45 minutes; the 5th story (of 6) from season 22
Synopsis: an alien planet has a dictator, and they force the Doctor's involvement by kidnapping Peri
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), April 2008
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible).
Objective Rating: 0/10 c. 0.6/4 (Very bad).

Terrible Doctor Who is better than no Doctor Who, on principle.  But this is pretty universally terrible. Even the DVD featurette talks about how unforgivably bad this episode is.

Princess Mononoke

Title: Mononoke-hime
Year: 1997 (Japan), 1999 (US)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: (English version) Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver; (Japanese version) Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Distinctions: currently #128 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 134 minutes
Synopsis: a boy cursed by a demon gets caught up in a war between humans and gods
How I saw it: on video twice (rented on DVD), c. 2003 (English version) and yesterday (Japanese version)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for music) c. 3.2/4 (Very good).

It's hard to say why I'm only giving it a 7. There isn't anything wrong with it that I can pin down (other than the music, which isn't really all that bad). It's a very entertaining, extremely well-made movie. But for whatever reason, I just don't feel the need to single it out as "great."  I would probably feel differently if I were more of an animation buff. Incidentally, I highly recommend seeing the Japanese version over the English.

Doctor Who #156: Battlefield

Title: Doctor Who: “Battlefield“
Year: 1989
Network: BBC
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Michael Kerrigan
Writer: Ben Aaronovitch
Starring: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Nicholas Courtney
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Keff McCulloch
Episodes: 4, at 25 minutes; the first story (of 4) from season 26
Synopsis: figures from Arthurian legend invade from a parallel universe, and recognize the Doctor as Merlin
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), a few days ago
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 6/10 (points off for dialog, cinematography, special effects/design and music) c. 2.1/4 (Okay).

Good for late 80's Doctor Who. Reasonably well-written, but the music and visuals are awful. Like Aaronovitch's other story ("Remembrance of the Daleks"), it has a lot that's probably significantly more fun for a fan than for a casual viewer.

Frost/Nixon

Title: Frost/Nixon
Year: 2008
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Peter Morgan, based on his play
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen
Music: Hans Zimmer
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Langella) and Best Editing
Length: 122 minutes
Synopsis: a British talk show host interviews the ex-president
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 3.7/4 (Great)

I expected it to be good, but I didn't expect to like it. As a rule, I don't care for biopics or based-on-a-true-story movies, and I don't care for politics. And I can't say I've ever really liked a Ron Howard movie before. So I'm not sure why I rented it, but I'm glad I did; it was a really great movie. It seems strange to say, but it felt like an action movie more than a drama - there's a hero and a villain and a series of escalating showdowns. Very effective suspense, even though the end is spoiled by the trailer (and by history, I suppose, but my high school history classes weren't nearly so thorough). I was surprised to see that Zimmer did the score; it sounded unmistakably like Thomas Newman.

Doctor Who #91: The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Title: Doctor Who: “The Talons of Weng-Chiang“
Year: 1977
Network: BBC
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: David Maloney
Writer: Robert Holmes
Starring: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Dudley Simpson
Episodes: 6, at 25 minutes; the last story (of 6) from season 14
Synopsis: a sinister stage magician has a mysterious master
How I saw it: on video a couple times (rented from Netflix), most recently a few months ago
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for pacing, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 2.7/4 (Good).

It's a few episodes too long, and the white guy with taped eyes playing an Asian makes it somewhat painful to watch (I would expect that sort of thing form the 40's or 50's, but 1977?). On the positive side, it has some delightful secondary characters, a robot with a pig brain, rodents of unusual size, and some explosions.