Doctor Who #125: Snakedance

Data
Title: Doctor Who: “Snakedance”
Year: 1983
Network: BBC
Episodes: 4, at 25 minutes each; the second story (of six) from season twenty
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Fiona Cumming
Writer: Christopher Bailey
Starring: Peter Davison
With: Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, John Carson, Colette O'Neil, Preston Lockwood, Martin Clunes, Jonathon Morris, Brian Miller
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Peter Howell
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a thought-creature plots its return to reality

My reaction
Concept: Minus a point or two for being a sequel to "Kinda."
Story: At least it's basically coherent this time.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, ). A simpler, more accessible version of "Kinda." What was bad there is bad here, but not quite as much. And what was good there is good here, but not quite as much.
Objective Rating (Average):

Dan in Real Life

Lynn’s Druthers Marathon, part 25

Data
Title: Dan in Real Life
Year: 2007
Length: 98 minutes
Director: Peter Hedges
Writers: Pierce Gardner & Peter Hedges
Starring: Steve Carell
With: Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Norbert Leo Butz, Amy Ryan, Jessica Hecht, Frank Wood, Emily Blunt
Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
Music: Sondre Lerche
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a widower obsesses over his brother's girlfriend

My reaction
Concept: I understand we watched this because there are pancakes on the poster. That is a bad way to select a movie.
Story:
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting: Who casts Dane Cook in a movie?  Who does that?  And as a character that should be sympathetic!  It's kind of distracting if you spend half the movie wanting to sucker punch one of the actors.
Music:
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad, ). Awkwardness that's just horrible to watch, with no reward for your pain. And so many cliches.
Objective Rating (Average):

Doctor Who #74: Planet of the Spiders

Data
Title: Doctor Who: “Planet of the Spiders”
Year: 1974
Network: BBC
Episodes: 6, at 25 minutes each; the last story (of five) from season eleven
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Barry Letts
Writer: Robert Sloman
Starring: Jon Pertwee
With: Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin, John Levene, John Dearth, Kevin Lindsay, John Kane
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Dudley Simpson
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), over the past few days
Synopsis: spiders from space use Buddhists to invade Earth

My reaction
Concept: I was promised giant spiders. These spiders are enormous at best. If you're going to have over-sized bugs, make them giant, people!
Story: Not bad, considering how much of it is nonsense and plot-holed.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing: Most of it is good, but the second episode is almost entirely a chase scene - which is bad, since on a 1970s BBC budget, "chase scene" should read "following scene."
Cinematography:
Special effects/design: Design is meh. Special effects are terrible.
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, ). Very badly made, but mostly entertaining. You can tell they were at least trying hard to make it exciting.
Objective Rating (Average):

What the Daisy Said

Data
Title: "What the Daisy Said"
Year: 1910
Length: 13 minutes
Director: D.W. Griffith
Writer: Stanner E.V. Taylor
Starring: Mary Pickford, Joseph Graybill
With: Gertrude Robinson, Verner Clarges
Cinematography: G.W. Bitzer
Music: Maria Newman
I saw it: on video (Daddy-Long-Legs bonus feature), a few days ago
Synopsis: a gypsy puts the moves on some farm girls

My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters:
Dialog: Titles are only introductions to scenes, never dialog (which is badly needed)
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad, ). Yet another silent waste of time.
Objective Rating (Average):

Daddy-Long-Legs

Data
Title: Daddy-Long-Legs
Year: 1919
Length: 85 minutes
Director: Marshall Neilan
Writer: Agnes Christine Johnston, based on a play by Jean Webster
Starring: Mary Pickford
With: Milla Davenport, Percy Haswell, Fay Lemport, Mahlon Hamilton, Lillian Langdon, Betty Bouton, Audrey Chapman, Marshall Neilan, Carrie Clark Ward
Cinematography: Charles Rosher
Music: Maria Newman
I saw it: on video (rented from Greencine), a few days ago
Synopsis: the young life of an orphan girl

My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh, ). My first Mary Pickford movie, and I don't see what all the fuss was about. Nothing here has held up to time. My wife's response: "Well... I guess that was a movie."
Objective Rating (Average):