Star Trek: "Bem"

Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "Bem," 1974 (the second episode of six from season two). A visiting diplomat joins and sabotages a mission.

Created by Gene Roddenberry. Directed by Hal Sutherland. Written by David Gerrold. Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy & James Doohan.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). The potentially interesting science fiction element is promptly ignored almost as soon as it's introduced. Meanwhile, we're supposed to care about the development of a character that would be annoying even if he were in a show with decent character writing. But at least there are no crimes against logic.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.9/4 (Eh)

Doctor Who #95: The Sun Makers

[note: My blog has gotten bloated with cast and crew details, and it's been taking up way too much of my time to post. I don't even remember why I include all that stuff. So: format change.]



Doctor Who: "The Sun Makers," 1977 (the fourth story of six from season fifteen). An evil corporation has enslaved the human race on Pluto. Directed by Pennant Roberts. Written by Robert Holmes. Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson & Richard Leech.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good). It's great to see Leela finally kick some ass. She gets to go into full on action hero mode.
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Cartoonish fun. One of the better of the classic series. It's a relief, after watching so many bad Doctor Who episodes in a row, to see a really good one. I was starting to forget why I liked the show. You don't need a budget to make a great TV show - but you do need a writer.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

Doctor Who #60: Day of the Daleks

Data
Title: Doctor Who: "Day of the Daleks"
Year: 1972
Network: BBC
Episodes: 4, at 25 minutes each; the first story (of five) from season nine
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Paul Bernard
Writer: Louis Marks
Starring: Jon Pertwee
With: Nicholas Courtney, Katy Manning, Aubrey Woods, Anna Barry, Jimmy Winston, Scott Fredericks, Wilfred Carter
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Dudley Simpson
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: time travelers from a dystopian future want to change history

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad)
Acting: 1/4 (Bad)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). It could have been a really good story, but the execution is terrible. The "action" is unintentionally funny, the villain can't act, and the Daleks have no business being there at all.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.9/4 (Eh)

Hudson Hawk

Data
Title: Hudson Hawk
Year: 1991
Length: 100 minutes
Director: Michael Lehmann
Writers: Steven E. de Souza & Daniel Waters; story by Bruce Willis & Robert Kraft
Starring: Bruce Willis
With: Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, Richard E. Grant, Sandra Bernhard, Donald Burton, Don Harvey, David Caruso, Andrew Bryniarski, Lorraine Toussaint
Music: Michael Kamen, Robert Kraft (and non-original music)
Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
Editing: Chris Lebenzon, Michael Tronick
I saw it: on video and TV several times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a burglar works unwillingly for weird international conspirators

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 0/4 (Terrible)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 1/4 (Bad)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). I don't know why I like this movie. Of all the things one might do with this movie (such as throwing things at it, or hunting down and destroying every copy), liking it is one of the last things you'd expect.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.4/4 (Bad)

Doctor Who #58: Colony in Space

Data
Title: Doctor Who: "Colony in Space"
Year: 1971
Network: BBC
Episodes: 6, at 25 minutes each; the fourth story (of five) from season eight
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Michael E. Briant
Writer: Malcolm Hulke
Starring: Jon Pertwee
With: Katy Manning, Roger Delgado, Nicholas Pennell, John Ringham, Roy Skelton, Helen Worth, Bernard Kay, Morris Perry, Tony Caunter, Nicholas Courtney
Music: Ron Grainer (theme); Dudley Simpson
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), a few days ago
Synopsis: poor colonists and a mining corporation want the same planet

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad). Terrible effects, mediocre design.
Acting: 1/4 (Bad)
Music: 0/4 (Terrible)
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible, 0/4). Sloppy and unimaginative. There is no redeeming value, except for the fact that it is associated with a usually good show. It's not nearly as bad as the worst Doctor Who stories, though (and that is a testament to just how bad Doctor Who can get).
Objective Rating (Average): 1.0/4 (Bad)

"Small Fry"

Data
Title: "Small Fry"
Year: 2011
Length: 7 minutes
Director: Angus MacLane
Writer: Josh Cooley
Starring: Tim Allen
With: Tom Hanks, Jane Lynch, Teddy Newton
Music: John Powell
I saw it: in the theater, a couple days ago
Synopsis: a fun meal toy swaps places with Buzz Lightyear

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 3/4 (Good). It's getting ridiculous how many characters there are in the Toy Story world. A 7 minute cartoon should not be loaded with celebrity cameos. Most of the new characters are very funny, though.
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). One expects more from Pixar. It's cute and entertaining, but, for Pixar, it's only just a step above a DVD bonus feature.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

The Muppets

Data
Title: The Muppets
Year: 2011
Length: 98 minutes
Director: James Bobin
Writers: Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller, based on characters by Jim Henson
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Peter Linz
With: Chris Cooper, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel
Music: Christophe Beck (score); Bret McKenzie and many others (songs)
Cinematography: Don Burgess
Editing: James M. Thomas
I saw it: in the theater, a couple days ago
Synopsis: three fans reunite the Muppets

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). Charming and hilarious. Not surprisingly, it often feels like a Muppet episode of Flight of the Conchords. But that's okay - that's a good fit for the Muppets. It's loaded with nostalgia and references to The Muppet Show, so much so that much of the movie might go completely over the head of a non-fan. And the character development is more mature than it's been in any of the earlier Muppet movies. The children in the theater where we saw it were clearly bored. But screw them, the Muppets were always meant to be for adults, and now they finally are. I'm impressed that Disney let the film-makers make their own movie; apart from a couple (very brief) out-of-place cameos by child stars, there's not any overt sign of this being a Heavily Marketed Product.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good)

[update: re-watched 11/24/2013]

Muppets from Space

Data
Title: Muppets from Space
Year: 1999
Length: 87 minutes
Director: Tim Hill
Writers: Jerry Juhl, Joey Mazzarino & Ken Kaufman
Starring: Dave Goelz
With: Steve Whitmire, Bill Barretta, Jerry Nelson, Brian Henson, Kevin Clash, Frank Oz, Jeffrey Tambor
Music: Jamshied Sharifi (and non-original music)
Cinematography: Alan Caso
Editing: Richard Pearson, Michael A. Stevenson
I saw it: in the theater (1999), on video several times (have on DVD)
Synopsis: space aliens contact Gonzo

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Goofy. Easily the funniest of the 1990s Muppet movies.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.9/4 (Good)

Muppet Treasure Island

Data
Title: Muppet Treasure Island
Year: 1996
Length: 99 minutes
Director: Brian Henson
Writers: Jerry Juhl, Kirk R. Thatcher & James V. Hart, based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
Starring: Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop
With: Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta, Frank Oz, Billy Connolly, Jennifer Saunders
Music: Hans Zimmer (score); Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songs)
Cinematography: John Fenner
Editing: Michael Jablow
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a boy has a map to pirate treasure

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent). Treasure Island should make a great movie (although it never has), but it's a terrible fit for the Muppets. It's dark, suspenseful, morally ambiguous, and extremely bloody - not a setting for zany musical anitcs.
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent). It's never quite acting, but Tim Curry's performance is a lot of fun.
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Nothing really works. Since it's not taken seriously, the plot's pretty much just a backdrop, and too Disney-fied to have been good anyway. The humor is rarely funny (although there are a handful of delightful bits). The musical numbers are all tedious crap. On the other hand, there's Tim Curry playing one of the most iconic villains ever and clearly loving every second of it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.1/4 (Okay)

Joe Versus the Volcano

Data
Title: Joe Versus the Volcano
Year: 1990
Length: 102 minutes
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Writer: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan
With: Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Dan Hedaya, Barry McGovern, Amanda Plummer, Ossie Davis
Music: Georges Delerue (and non-original music)
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Editing: Richard Halsey, Kenneth Wannberg
I saw it: on video several times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a terminally ill man is hired to jump into a volcano

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great). The special effects are cartoonish, and everything looks like a sound stage (despite being filmed on location), but that's all part of the whimsy. Embrace the whimsy.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). Wonderfully absurd. I don't understand why there isn't more love for this movie. Maybe because everyone who watches it expects a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.1/4 3.2/4 (Very good)

Star Trek: "The Pirates of Orion"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Pirates of Orion"
Year: 1974
Network: NBC
Episode: the first (of six) from season two; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Howard Weinstein
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: pirates steal medicine Spock needs to live

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). It's simple, lacking anything even remotely clever. But that can make for a better episode than when they try harder and end up with something that doesn't make sense.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

Time Bandits

Data
Title: Time Bandits
Year: 1981
Length: 116 minutes
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writers: Michael Palin & Terry Gilliam
Starring: Craig Warnock
With: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, Tiny Ross
Music: Mike Moran
Cinematography: Peter Biziou
Editing: Julian Doyle
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a boy gets caught up with time-traveling criminals

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 4/4 (Great)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). Hmm. I don't seem to have anything to say about this except for Sweet Jesus I love this movie.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great)

Thor

Data
Title: Thor
Year: 2011
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz & Don Payne; story by J. Michael Straczynski & Mark Protosevich; based on a comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman
With: Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Dallas, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo
Music: Patrick Doyle
Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Editing: Paul Rubell
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a Norse god from outer space is exiled to Earth

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent). Good with banter, bad otherwise.
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Good design. The effects are good in places, and bad in others.
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). There's a section in the middle, for about 20 minutes, when it's a comedy. That part's kind of awesome. The rest is pretty dumb, but could have been a lot worse.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.0/4 (Indifferent)

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Data
Title: The Muppet Christmas Carol
Year: 1992
Length: 85 minutes (theatrical cut)
Director: Brian Henson
Writer: Jerry Juhl, based on a novel by Charles Dickens
Starring: Michael Caine
With: Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, Jessica Fox, Steven Mackintosh, Meredith Braun, Robin Weaver, Raymond Coulthard
Music: Miles Goodman (score); Paul Williams (songs)
Cinematography: John Fenner
Editing: Michael Jablow
I saw it: on video many times, most recently today (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a wealthy, uncaring man is haunted by Christmas Muppets

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 4/4 (Great)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). It's a great balancing act of the classic story with Muppet silliness. The humor is never great, but it's always at least pleasant. Meanwhile, the serious bits manage to be as effective as any other film of the story, despite the pretense of not taking things seriously.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.2/4 (Very good)

(updated from a previous post - original is here)

They All Laughed

Audrey Hepburn Marathon, part 13 of 13



Data
Title: They All Laughed
Year: 1981
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writer: Peter Bogdanovich & Blaine Novak
Starring: Ben Gazzara, John Ritter
With: Audrey "Why Do I Have Top Billing" Hepburn, Patti Hansen, Dorothy Stratten, Blaine Novak, Linda MacEwen, George Morfogen, Colleen Camp, Sean H. Ferrer
Music: mostly non-original music
Cinematography: Robby Müller
Editing: William C. Carruth, Scott Vickrey
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: private detectives hit on women

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent) It tries too hard (and fails) to have the feel of a golden era Hollywood film.
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent). Points off for bad sound mixing.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent). It's all very good music, but the movie would have been much more watchable without it. It's like someone's messing with a radio while you're trying to watch the movie.
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). John Ritter is funny sometimes, and some of the rest of the cast have a strange charm. It's all very pointless and meandering.

Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Data
Title: The Muppets Take Manhattan
Year: 1984
Length: 94 minutes
Director: Frank Oz
Writers: Frank Oz, Tom Patchett & Jay Tarses; story by Patchett & Tarses
Starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
With: Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Juliana Donald, Lonny Price, Louis Zorich
Music: Ralph Burns (score); Jeff Moss (songs)
Cinematography: Robert Paynter
Editing: Evan A. Lottman
Oscars: nominated for Best Song Score
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: the Muppets try to open a musical on Broadway

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). Frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and things. The plot is dumb and cliche, but never in a way that stops the movie from working.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.9/4 3.0/4 (Good)

The Great Muppet Caper

Data
Title: The Great Muppet Caper
Year: 1981
Length: 95 minutes
Director: Jim Henson
Writers: Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Jerry Juhl & Jack Rose
Starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
With: Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg
Music: Joe Raposo
Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Editing: Ralph Kemplen
Oscars: nominated for Best Song ("The First Time It Happens")
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: incompetent journalists try to catch a jewel thief

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good). Most of the songs are very good, but a couple are horribly tedious.
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). The worst of the original Muppet trilogy, but that's not much of an insult. The identical twins jokes and the John Cleese bit are enough to make up for the several un-Muppet-y musical numbers.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.8/4 2.9/4 (Good)

Robin and Marian

Audrey Hepburn Marathon, part 12 of 13



Data
Title: Robin and Marian
Year: 1976
Length: 106 minutes
Director: Richard Lester
Writer: James Goldman
Starring: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn
With: Robert Shaw, Richard Harris, Nicol Williamson, Denholm Elliott, Kenneth Haigh, Ronnie Barker, Ian Holm
Music: John Barry
Cinematography: David Watkin
Editing: John Victor-Smith
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: Robin Hood, twenty years later

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). What is that ending? What is that even?
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great). Hooray for historical accuracy and realism!
Acting: 3/4 (Good). Connery is surprisingly entertaining. Richard Harris is great. Middle-Aged Audrey seems out of place, like she's not aware of her age or how to use it.
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). It has a lot of strong parts, but doesn't work particularly well overall.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

Contagion

Data
Title: Contagion
Year: 2011
Length: 106 minutes
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Matt Damon
With: Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Jacoby-Heron, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston, Griffin Kane, Sanaa Lathan, Demetri Martin, Elliott Gould, Chin Han, John Hawkes
Music: Cliff Martinez
Cinematography: Steven Soderbergh
Editing: Stephen Mirrione
I saw it: in the theater, yesterday
Synopsis: a deadly virus spreads around the world

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad).
Characters: 1/4 (Bad). They could have been a lot worse, considering how little time is given to any character. That said, it would have been a much worse movie if any more time had been spent with any of these characters.
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Novel, but forgettable. There's no reason to care about anything in it, unless you're the sort to be scared by the plausibility.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)

The Muppet Movie

Data
Title: The Muppet Movie
Year: 1979
Length: 95 minutes
Director: James Frawley
Writers: Jack Burns & Jerry Juhl
Starring: Jim Henson
With: Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton
Music: Paul Williams (score); Williams & Kenny Ascher (songs)
Cinematography: Isidore Mankofsky
Editing: Christopher Greenbury
Oscars: nominated for Best Adapted Score and Best Song ("Rainbow Connection")
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a frog makes friends on his cross-country trip to Hollywood

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great). It might not contain the most compelling of character developments, but I can't not give full points for the Muppets.
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great). Kind of like the character category, it's not really fair to give 4/4 since the bulk of the design work was done for the TV show, not for the movie. Oh well.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). My favorite movie.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great)

The Tree of Life

Data
Title: The Tree of Life
Year: 2011
Length: 139 minutes
Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Starring: Hunter McCracken
With: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan
Music: Alexandre Desplat (mostly non-original music)
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Editing: Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: the childhood formation of a man's personal relation to God

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). Not that kind of movie.
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 4/4 (Great)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great). I could have done without the CG dinosaurs, though.
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Most of it is crazy great, but the ending ruined it for me. What better way to follow up an awe-inspiring death of the universe than with 15 minutes of people hugging on a beach? Bah.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.0/4 (Good)

Star Trek: The Animated Series: Season One (wrap-up)

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: Season One
Year: 1973-1974
etc: see individual episode posts (linked below)

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good). The concept of the show as a whole is good, although the episode-by-episode concepts only average out to about 2.4/4.
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). Rounded up from an average of about 1.6/4.
Characters: 1/4 (Bad). Average: about 1.4/4.
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent). Average: about 1.8/4.
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent). Average: about 2.2/4.
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent). Average: 2.0/4.
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Average: about 3.2/4.
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent). Average: about 1.7/4.
Music: 4/4 (Great). Average: about 3.9/4.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Average: about 5.9/10. The few great episodes are balanced out and then some by half-assed Saturday Morning crap.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

The episodes
sorted by subjective rating (objective rating in parentheses)
9/10
- "Beyond the Farthest Star" (3.0/4)
8/10
- "One of Our Planets Is Missing" (2.9/4)
7/10
- "The Survivor" (2.6/4)
- "The Time Trap" (2.7/4)
- "Yesteryear" (2.6/4)
- "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (2.6/4)
- "The Lorelei Signal" (2.2/4)
6/10
- "The Eye of the Beholder" (2.5/4)
- "The Slaver Weapon" (2.4/4)
- "The Terratin Incident" (2.3/4)
- "The Infinite Vulcan" (2.0/4)
5/10
- "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" (1.8/4)
4/10
- "Once Upon a Planet" (1.8/4)
- "Mudd's Passion" (1.9/4)
- "The Ambergris Element" (1.8/4)
2/10
- "Jihad" (1.0/4)

Star Trek: "The Jihad"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Jihad"
Year: 1974
Network: NBC
Episode: the last (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Stephen Kandel
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy
With: Majel Barrett, James Doohan, David Gerrold
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a couple days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: Kirk and Spock explore Planet Plot Hole with a handful of weirdos

My reaction
Concept: 0/4 (Terrible)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad)
Acting: 1/4 (Bad)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent). It's the exact same music used in every other episode of the series, and yet somehow it's crappy here, while it was great everywhere else.
Subjective Rating: 2/10 (Terrible, 0/4). It's not as painful as "The Omega Glory," but it's a runner-up for the Worst Thing In The Star Trek Franchise prize.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.0/4 (Bad)

Firefly

Data
Title: Firefly: The Complete Series
Year: 2002
Network: Fox
Episodes: 14; 1 at about 90 minutes, 13 at about 45 minutes
Creator: Joss Whedon
Directors: Joss Whedon (3 episodes), Vern Gillum (2), Tim Minear (2), James A. Contner (1), Vondie Curtis-Hall (1), Marita Grabiak (1), Michael Grossman (1), Allan Kroeker (1), David Solomon (1), Thomas J. Wright (1)
Writers: Joss Whedon (5 episodes), Tim Minear (4), Ben Edlund (2), Jose Molina (2), Cheryl Cain (1), Jane Espenson (1), Drew Z. Greenberg (1), Brett Matthews (1)
Starring: Nathan Fillion
With: Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Richard Brooks, Michael Fairman, Christina Hendricks, Mark Sheppard
Music: Greg Edmonson
Cinematography: David Boyd
Editing: Sunny Hodge, Lisa Lassek, John Peter Bernardo
I saw it: on video many times, most recently over the past week (have on DVD)
Synopsis: space cowboys on the run from the law

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 4/4 (Great). Of course, it doesn't have an ending (apart from the crappy movie, Serenity), but I'm fine with that - it doesn't really need one.
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). So much fun to watch.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great)

Wait until Dark

Audrey Hepburn Marathon, part 11 of 13



Data
Title: Wait until Dark
Year: 1967
Length: 108 minutes
Director: Terence Young
Writer: Robert Carrington & Jane-Howard Carrington, based on a play by Frederick Knott
Starring: Audrey Hepburn
With: Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Jack Weston, Samantha Jones, Julie Herrod
Music: Henry Mancini
Cinematography: Charles Lang
Editing: Gene Milford
Oscars: nominated for Best Actress (Hepburn)
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), a few days ago
Synopsis: a murderer hires con men to rob a blind woman

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 4/4 (Great)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good). Hepburn and Arkin are excellent. The rest of the cast is mediocre.
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). Scary and exciting. It got under my skin.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.3/4 (Very good)

Star Trek: "The Eye of the Beholder"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Eye of the Beholder"
Year: 1974
Network: NBC
Episode: the fifteenth (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: David P. Harmon
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: Majel Barrett, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: alien snuffle-monsters keep humans in a zoo

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good). "The Cage" minus the god-like powers.
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Unoriginal, but otherwise it doesn't have any glaring faults.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.5/4 (Okay)

Sesame Street: Old School, Volume One

Data
Title: Sesame Street: Old School, Volume One
Years: 1969-1974
Network: PBS
Episodes: five (the first episode of each of the first five seasons), at about 1 hour each, plus about 2 hours of other sketches
Creator: Joan Ganz Cooney
Writers: Jeff Moss, Bruce Hart, Carol Hart, Jerry Juhl, Emily Perl Kaplin, Bob Oskner, Ray Sipherd, Norman Stiles, Jon Stone, Dan Wilcox
With: The Muppets (Fran Brill, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz), Northern J. Calloway, Emilio Delgado, Will Lee, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Harold Miller, Matt Robinson
Music: Joe Raposo, Jeffrey Moss, Bruce Hart, Jon Stone
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently over the past week (have on DVD)
Synopsis: some people and monsters really love the alphabet

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). Hey, don't get me wrong. I love the alphabet as much as the next guy. But let's be honest, it doesn't make for much of a narrative.
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent). Good from the Muppets, bad from the humans.
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). It's annoying that it's only three discs - more than 600 episodes cut down to less than seven hours. But, whatever.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.8/4 2.9/4 (Good)

Star Trek: "The Slaver Weapon"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Slaver Weapon"
Year: 1973
Network: NBC
Episode: the fourteenth (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Larry Niven, based on his story
Starring: Leonard Nimoy
With: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a couple days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: rogue aliens have an ancient weapon that they don't know how to use

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad). "Wait, hold on, let me explain things for ten minutes."
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). It would have been a good episode, if it was an episode of a different show. Niven forces his own universe into the Star Trek universe, and it doesn't fit. There's just too much history and mythology to explain that has no connection to anything in the show.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

Star Trek: "The Ambergris Element"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Ambergris Element"
Year: 1973
Network: NBC
Episode: the thirteenth (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Margaret Armen
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a couple days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: Kirk and Spock are turned into merfolk

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh, 2/4). Crap.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.8/4 (Eh)

Labyrinth

Data
Title: Labyrinth
Year: 1986
Length: 101 minutes
Director: Jim Henson
Writer: Terry Jones; story by Dennis Lee & Jim Henson
Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly
With: Brian Henson, Ron Mueck, David Shaughnessy, Percy Edwards, Timothy Bateson, Michael Hordern, Denise Bryer (voices); Shari Weiser, Rob Mills, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Kevin Clash, Karen Prell, Frank Oz (performers)
Music: Trevor Jones (score); David Bowie (songs)
Cinematography: Alex Thomson
Editing: John Grover
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a teenager must rescue her baby brother from a fantasy world

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). When I was a kid, whenever we'd rent movies from the library, this was the only one I ever wanted to get.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.4/4 3.5/4 (Very good)

Dawn of the Dead

Data
Title: Dawn of the Dead
Year: 1978 (Italy); 1979 (US)
Length: 126 minutes
Director: George A. Romero
Writer: George A. Romero
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Music: Dario Argento & The Goblins
Cinematography: Michael Gornick
Editing: George A. Romero
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: zombie apocalypse survivors camp out in a mall

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). Doesn't really have an ending - some people die, some don't, and that's it.
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good). It's much too long and drags a lot in a few places, but the majority of the movie is excellently paced.
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 1/4 (Bad)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). It's no Night of the Living Dead, but it's engrossing and fun. More an action movie than horror.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)

Mad Men: Season Two

Data
Title: Mad Men: Season Two
Year: 2008
Network: AMC
Episodes: 13, at about 47 minutes each
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Directors: Andrew Bernstein (3 episodes), Tim Hunter (2), Lesli Linka Glatter (2), Phil Abraham (2), Jennifer Getzinger (1), Alan Taylor (1), Michael Uppendahl (1), Matthew Weiner (1)
Writers: Matthew Weiner (11 episodes), André Jacquemetton (3), Maria Jacquemetton (3), Robin Veith (3), Lisa Albert (2), Rick Cleveland (1), Jane Anderson (1), Marti Noxon (1), Kater Gordon (1)
Starring: Jon Hamm
With: Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, John Slattery, Robert Morse, Mark Moses
Music: David Carbonara (and non-original music)
Cinematography: Chris Manley
Editing: Malcolm Jamieson, Cindy Mollo, Christopher Nelson, Tom Wilson
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), over the past month
Synopsis: people in a 1960 advertising office drink a lot and have a lot of sex

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad). A sprawling, aimless mess.
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). In the first season, I didn't care about the story, but at least there was a story to not care about. This feels more like an enormous epilogue to season one than a series of its own.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.5/4 (Okay)

Star Trek: "The Time Trap"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Time Trap"
Year: 1973
Network: NBC
Episodes: the twelfth (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Joyce Perry
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a few days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: many ships are trapped in an utopian pocket universe

My reaction
Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). It starts out very strong; at first I expected it to be one of the best episodes of the series. Sadly, it turns into an unmistakably made-for-children story about cooperation.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.7/4 (Good)

Star Trek: "The Terratin Incident"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "The Terratin Incident"
Year: 1973
Network: NBC
Episodes: the eleventh (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Paul Schneider
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, James Doohan
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a few days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: the incredible shrinking starship crew

My reaction
Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). There's some well-thought-out pseudo science, which is nice, but it doesn't extend far enough into finding a solution to the problem. Besides that, the ending of the episode feels somehow forced and awkward.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

Star Trek: "Mudd's Passion"

Data
Title: Star Trek [The Animated Series]: "Mudd's Passion"
Year: 1973
Network: NBC
Episodes: the tenth (of sixteen) from season one; 24 minutes
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Hal Sutherland
Writer: Stephen Kandel
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
With: Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, James Doohan, Roger C. Carmel
Music: Alexander Courage (theme); Ray Ellis, Norm Prescott
I saw it: on video a couple times, most recently a few days ago (have on DVD)
Synopsis: a fugitive with a love potion tries to escape

My reaction
Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh, 2/4). A dull episode, in which every character behaves like an idiot.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.9/4 (Eh)