A Town Called Panic

Lynn’s Druthers Marathon, part 16

Data
Title: Panique au village
Year: 2009
Length: 75 minutes
Directors: Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar
Writers: Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar
Starring: Stéphane Aubier, Bruce Ellison, Vincent Patar
Music: various pop songs (probably mostly original)
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a cowboy, Indian and horse have adventures, animated with little plastic toys

My reaction
Concept:
Story: It starts out very strong, but eventually a conventional and uninteresting story takes over and wrecks it. (It's a story about fish monsters stealing walls from a horse, and it manages to be conventional and uninteresting.)
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing: The bizarre and awkward pacing is a large part of what makes this movie work, so I can't fault it too much.
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, ). About fifteen minutes into the movie, I remarked that it is possibly the best thing ever made. If it had kept up like it was going at that point, or if it had just wrapped itself up and been a short film, it very likely would have been one of my favoritest movies ever. Sadly, the characters soon leave their village behind to go on an inappropriately cinematic quest, and the storytelling leaves its charm behind. By the end, this movie that had been so perfect and hilarious and completely unique is reduced to being the Belgian equivalent of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Objective Rating (Average):

MASH: Season Three

Lynn’s Druthers Marathon, part 15



Data
Title: MASH: Season Three
Year: 1974-1975
Network: CBS
Episodes: 24, at 25 minutes each
Creators: Richard Hooker (novel); Larry Gelbart (developer)
Directors: Hy Averback (11 episodes), Don Weis (4), Gene Reynolds (4), Larry Gelbart (2), Alan Alda (1), William Jurgensen (1), Lee Philips (1)
Writers: Larry Gelbart (8 episodes), Jim Fritzell (6), Everett Greenbaum (6), Laurence Marks (6), Simon Muntner (3), Sid Dorfman (2), Linda Bloodworth (2), Mary Kay Place (2), Gary Markowitz (1), John W. Regier (1), John D. Hess (1), Robert Klane (1), Arthur Julian (1)
Starring: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Gary Burghoff
Music: Johnny Mandel (theme); Lionel Newman (music supervisor)
I saw it: on video (have on DVD), over the past few weeks
Synopsis: hijinks in an army hospital

My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, ). The first couple seasons are pure sitcom (relatively intelligent, socially conscious sitcom, but still sitcom in tone). But right from the start of season three, the show is suddenly taking its subject matter seriously - still comedy the vast majority of the time, but not afraid to go a long time without laughs when it's called for. (Not that anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for 35 years doesn't know that MASH is like that, but I was surprised to see how abrupt the change was.)
Objective Rating (Average):

Star Trek: "Metamorphosis"

Data
Title: Star Trek: “Metamorphosis”
Year: 1967
Network: NBC
Episode: the ninth (of twenty-six) from season two; 50 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Ralph Senensky
Writer: Gene L. Coon
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Glenn Corbett, Elinor Donahue
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); George Duning
I saw it: on video and TV several times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a man stranded on a distant planet is looked after by an energy being

My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design: Beautiful sets.
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, ). Might have been great, but it's badly marred by some hilarious sexism. It reminds me a lot of The Twilight Zone.
Objective Rating (Average):

The Producers

Lynn’s Druthers Marathon, part 14



Data
Title: The Producers
Year: 1968
Length: 88 minutes
Director: Mel Brooks
Writer: Mel Brooks
Starring: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder
Music: John Morris (score); Mel Brooks, Norman Blagman & Herbert Hartig (songs)
Oscars: won for Best Original Screenplay, nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Wilder)
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), a couple days ago
Synopsis: a Broadway producer tries to rip off investors

My reaction
Concept:
Story: It's at its best when it's absurd and unpredictable, and once the story gets going, it could hardly be more predictable, plot-wise.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, ). There's one epic scene, that makes up most of the first act, which is all kinds of crazy hilarious. The rest of the movie is nice, and often funny, and unexceptional.
Objective Rating (Average):

Star Trek: "I, Mudd"

Data
Title: Star Trek: “I, Mudd”
Year: 1967
Network: NBC
Episode: the eighth (of twenty-six) from season two; 50 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Marc Daniels
Writer: Stephen Kandel
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Roger C. Carmel, Richard Tatro, Alyce Andrece, Rhae Andrece, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Samuel Matlovsky
I saw it: on video and TV several times, most recently a few days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a planet of robots kidnap the Enterprise crew

My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, ). Terrible science fiction (and all recycled from previous episodes), but fairly entertaining comedy.
Objective Rating (Average):