North by Northwest

The Top 63 Marathon, part 32



Data
Title: North by Northwest
Year: 1959
Length: 131 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Music: Bernard Herrmann
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (color) and Best Editing; currently #35 on the IMDb's Top 250



My reaction
Synopsis: an ad agent is mistaken for a secret agent
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Indifferent.
Story: Indifferent.  Ridiculous, predictable and plot-holey.
Characters: Indifferent.
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Good.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Indifferent.
Acting: Indifferent.
Music: Great.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). I was entertained. But if it weren't for Hitchcock's visuals, Herrmann's not-John-Adams score, and the general absence of cars flipping end-over-end through the air, it would be indistinguishable from every mediocre action movie from the 80's and 90's.
Objective Rating: 2.7/4 (Good).

Red Dwarf: Series Two

Data
Title: Red Dwarf: Series Two
Year: 1988
Network: BBC
Episodes: 6, at c. 30 minutes each
Creators: Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Director: Ed Bye
Writers: Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Starring: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules
Music: Howard Goodall

My reaction
Synopsis: The Odd Couple in space
How I saw it: on tv and online several times, most recently over the past few days (streaming from Netflix)
Concept: Indifferent.
Story: Indifferent.
Characters: Indifferent.
Dialog: Indifferent.
Pacing: Good.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Indifferent.
Acting: Indifferent.
Music: Bad.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay). Like the first series, the none of the jokes are funny except for Cat - but this time around, all the good Cat gags had been used already.
Objective Rating: 2.0/4 (Indifferent).

Newsies

Data
Title: Newsies
Year: 1992
Length: 121 minutes
Director: Kenny Ortega
Writers: Bob Tzudiker & Noni White
Starring: Christian Bale, David Moscow, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall
Music: Alan Menken & Jack Feldman (songs); J.A.C. Redford (score)

My reaction
Synopsis: newsies go on strike, and sing and dance about it
How I saw it: on video, too many times; most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Concept: Terrible. It's a cheerful, catchy Disney musical... about child labor.
Story: Bad.
Characters: Bad.
Dialog: Bad.
Pacing: Bad.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Indifferent.
Acting: Indifferent.
Music: Terrible.
Subjective Rating: 1/10 (Eew get it away). I hate this movie. I hate it so much.
Objective Rating: 1.0/4 (Bad).

The Other Guys

Data
Title: The Other Guys
Year: 2010
Length: 107 minutes
Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Adam McKay & Chris Henchy
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton
Music: Jon Brion (and non-original music)

My reaction
Synopsis: loser cops try to become heroes
How I saw it: in the theater, two days ago
Concept: Bad.
Story: Terrible. How good any particular bit of this movie is is inversely proportional to how much it has to do with the story.
Characters: Indifferent.
Dialog: Good. Great when it's funny, terrible when it's not.
Pacing: Bad.
Cinematography: Bad.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Good. I really hope Michael Keaton is making a comeback.
Music: Bad.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). Uneven, but mostly hilarious. The good bits are as great as anything you'd expect to see in a Will Ferrell movie. But a lot of it is just dumb; there are large portions of the movie where they're not even trying to be funny.
Objective Rating: 1.8/4 (Eh).

Citizen Kane

The Top 63 Marathon, part 31



Data
Title: Citizen Kane
Year: 1941
Length: 119 minutes
Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz & Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane, William Alland, George Coulouris
Music: Bernard Herrmann
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Original Screenplay; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Welles), Best Score (dramatic), Best Cinematography (black-and-white), Best Art Direction/Interior Decoration (black-and-white), Best Editing and Best Sound Recording; currently #36 on the IMDb's Top 250



My reaction
Synopsis: the life of a newspaper tycoon who can't love
How I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Concept: Bad.
Story: Indifferent.
Characters: Good. Kane is horribly unlikable and unsympathetic, but he's also convincing and thoroughly realized.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Good. Not as boring as I remembered it being.
Cinematography: Great. The only good thing to come out of the recent 3D nonsense is the accidental revival of this movie's "universal focus."
Special effects/design: Great.
Acting: Good.
Music: Great.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay). It's nice to look at, but I just don't know why I'm supposed to care about this guy.
Objective Rating: 3.0/4 (Good).

The Professional

The Top 63 Marathon, part 30



Data
Title: Léon
Year: 1994
Length: 110 minutes
Director: Luc Besson
Writer: Luc Besson
Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman
Music: Eric Serra (and non-original music)
Distinctions: currently #34 on the IMDb's Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: an orphaned girl moves in with a hit man
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Bad. Shouldn't this star Tom Selleck?
Story: Indifferent.
Characters: Great. Léon is the most lovable murderer ever.
Dialog: Bad. My wife tells me this isn't meant to be a comedy.
Pacing: Good.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Bad.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). I just don't know what to make of this movie. I'm pretty sure it's good, and I'm definitely sure it's not great, but beyond that I'm baffled.
Objective Rating: 2.4/4 (Okay).