"Homage to Eadweard Muybridge"

"Homage to Eadweard Muybridge" (short), 1994. Samples of Muybridge's nude series photography.

"By" David Hanson, from photography by Eadweard Muybridge.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). No story intended.
Characters: n/a
Dialog: n/a
Pacing: 0/4 (Terrible). Hanson either couldn't figure out how film works, didn't have the equipment to edit properly, or is an idiot. I'd go with the latter, because why would you put your name on this "film" otherwise. He shows the images in rapid succession, as if to make little films out of Muybridge's photography, but they move at half the speed they should. So bizarre and awkward.
Cinematography: n/a
Special effects/design: 0/4 (Terrible). I don't know if this is Hanson's fault, or the Image DVD people's fault, but the video quality is incredibly horrible - we're talking postage-stamp-size jpgs, shot with VHS camcorder quality.
Acting: n/a
Music: 3/4 (Good). Actually really good.  What the hell.
Subjective Rating: 1/10 (Eew get it away, 0/4). A better synopsis for this than I gave above would be: "Some guy with an hour on his hands and access to a highschool's AV equipment takes a giant crap on some great works of art. Also, boobs."
Objective Rating (Average): 1.0/4 (Bad)

"Kitty Kornered"

"Kitty Kornered" (short), 1946. Porky Pig tries to put his cats out for the night.

Written & directed by Robert Clampett. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). There are loads of wonderful moments. It's too frantic and chaotic for its own good, though, with nothing to anchor it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.5/4 (Okay)

Samurai Jack: Season Three

Samurai Jack: Season Three, 2002-2003. An ancient samurai wanders the Earth in the distant future.

Created by Genndy Tartakovsky. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (13 episodes), Randy Myers (7), Robert Alvarez (6) & Chris Savino (1). Written by Aaron Springer (3), Bryan Andrews (3), Brian Larsen (3), Genndy Tartakovsky (3), Don Shank (3), Erik Wiese (2), Charlie Bean (2), Paul Rudish (2) & Chris Mitchell (1). Starring Phil LaMarr & Mako.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 4/4 (Great)
Cinematography: 4/4 (Great)
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). It's a bit rocky getting started, but eventually gets around to a few of my favorite episodes of the series.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.4/4 3.5/4 (Very good)

"Baby Bottleneck"

"Baby Bottleneck" (short), 1946. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck run the baby factory.

Directed by Robert Clampett. Written by Warren Foster. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Always amusing, but uneven. Once it finally gets to the part with Porky and Daffy, it's loads of fun. Unfortunately, the first third or so of the cartoon consists of set-up and a few less-than-amazing gags.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

Senna

From my 2011 Leftovers Marathon, part 7 of 14.



Senna, 2011. The career of a Formula 1 driver.

Directed by Asif Kapadia. Written by Manish Pandey.

Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). It's a perfectly good story, but not good enough to make a documentary out of - at least, not a documentary that I'd like.
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: n/a. Except for titles, entirely archive footage.
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: n/a
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Never boring, but I was underwhelmed. Ayrton Senna and his nemesis Alain Prost are interesting, but I found them both extremely unlikable - which would have been irrelevant, except that the filmmakers so obviously idolize Senna. My wife complains that after watching it, she still knows nothing about Formula 1. I'm not sure about that, but we agree that the movie is, contrary to every review I've read, for people who already care about racing.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

"Winsor McCay and His Moving Comics"

"Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics" (short), 1911. A cartoonist undertakes to make a film of moving drawings.

Directed by Winsor McCay & J. Stuart Blackton. Written by and starring McCay.

Concept: 4/4 (Great). Kind of a big deal.
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 0/4 (Terrible)
Dialog: n/a
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Hard to judge. They hadn't worked out any of the tricks of animation (apart from the basic flip-book concept); the result is a strange combination of impressive and awkward.
Acting: 1/4 (Bad)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). Like most of these early films, it's of purely historical interest. In this case, there is plenty of historical interest indeed. Very fascinating.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.0/4 (Indifferent)

"Book Revue"

"Book Revue" (short), 1946. Characters come out of books and magazines and sing.

Directed by Robert Clampett. Written by Warren Foster. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 0/4 (Terrible)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible)
Characters: 1/4 (Bad)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). There's very little apart from pop culture references, most of which are lost to time. However, the few bits that aren't pop culture references (and some bits that are but are so obscure that I didn't know they were) are wonderful. Relentlessly, aggressively zany.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.0/4 (Indifferent)

Project Nim

From my 2011 Leftovers Marathon, part 6 of 14.



Project Nim, 2011. The life of a chimpanzee raised as a human.

Directed by James Marsh. Based on a book by Elizabeth Hess.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: n/a
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Fascinating, and made with apparent objectivity. It's a powerful and sad story, but ultimately not as much of a downer of a movie as it might have been.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.0/4

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises, 2012. A big crazy guy gets himself a nuclear bomb.

Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by Jonathan & Christopher Nolan; story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, based on characters by Bob Kane. Starring Christian Bale & Tom Hardy.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). Why do we need to have hours of convoluted twists and mystery when the entire plot is Bad Guy Has A Bomb. If you're going to stretch that out, why not do it by, oh, I don't know, adding some content?  Instead of acting like someone in Gotham City having a bomb is somehow a big deal? This is Gotham City we're talking about. The one potentially good twist, which they save for near the end, is mostly just frustrating because saving it for so late means that a potentially great character is wasted.
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent). I understand that Bruce Wayne has never been the most emotionally stable person in the world, but damn, what were they thinking? It's like the first couple acts of the movie exist purely for the purpose of making us not give a fuck about him.
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent). The entire series has had its fair share of wincing moments when it comes to dialog. This one goes overboard.
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent). I expect I would feel worse about the pacing on a re-watch, knowing that so little of the enormous amounts of set-up is necessary.
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Great effects, of course.
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent). Silly Voices Theater.
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). I can't think of a single moment in the entire movie that provoked a "This is awesome!" response. For a Batman movie, coming from me, that is pretty bad. Although, if I hadn't seen the first two movies, I probably would have thought this one was great. But it doesn't manage to do anything that Nolan hasn't already done much better. And it's a shining example of why comic book movies shouldn't try to imitate The Dark Knight. Comic book characters are simple and naturally campy. If you take them seriously, but don't have a brilliantly intelligent script that warrants being taken seriously, the result will be... not so good. If Christopher Nolan himself can only get it right 2/3 times, the Zack Snyders and Marc Webbs of the world are doomed to failure.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

"The Great Train Robbery"

"The Great Train Robbery" (short), 1903. A train is robbed.

Directed by Edwin S. Porter. Written by Scott Marble & Porter. Starring Gilbert M. Anderson & Justus D. Barnes.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 0/4 (Terrible). No characters.
Dialog: n/a
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent). The sets look terrible, in a charming way.
Acting: 0/4 (Terrible). A shining moment for the Playing With a Little Kid school of death scenes.
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 5/10 (Indifferent, 2/4). It's particularly fascinating from a film history perspective. It has very little to offer beyond that, although it is painless to watch.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.7/4 (Eh)

"Hare Conditioned"

"Hare Conditioned" (short), 1945. Bugs Bunny vs. a department store manager.

Directed by Chuck Jones. Written by Tedd Pierce. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent). The trouble with watching my Looney Tunes box set in chronological order is I'm really starting to miss Tex Avery's character animation.
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). This is a different Bugs than I'm used to (he's not too smart, and focuses more on defying physics than outwitting the bad guy), and I can't say I like it. It would have been a better cartoon if they'd used a different character (Daffy would make sense), but still wouldn't have been anything noteworthy.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)

Predator

Predator, 1987. An alien hunts soldiers in the jungle.

Directed by John McTiernan. Written by Jim & John Thomas. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger & Carl Weathers.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 0/4 (Terrible)
Dialog: 0/4 (Terrible)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). The Predator itself is great. Everything else is kind of meh.
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). Half awesome science fiction (which is great), and half terrible 80s action movie (which is also great). Arnold just has a way of making this kind of stuff work. Even in a scene that consists of nothing but shots of guys waving giant guns interspersed with shots of people dying or buildings blowing up (or, more often, people blowing up), you just kind of go with it. He transforms corny into iconic.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

From my 2011 Leftovers Marathon, part 5 of 14.



Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, 2011. Four secret agents hunt down a would-be nuclear terrorist.

Directed by Brad Bird. Written by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec, based on a TV show by Bruce Geller. Starring Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg & Jeremy Renner.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 0/4 (Terrible)
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). There's some truly great action. And some not-so-great action. It's often not entirely clear why everything is happening, but that's probably just as well. I expect that if we had a chance to think about the plot, it would make about as much sense as the climax: a lengthy, brutal fist fight between an old man and a guy that can take out a room full of badasses without breaking a sweat.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.1/4 (Okay)

"Stage Door Cartoon"

"Stage Door Cartoon" (short), 1944. Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny onto a vaudeville stage.

Directed by Friz Freleng. Written by Michael Maltese. Starring Mel Blanc & Arthur Q. Bryan.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Entertaining, but unoriginal and not particularly well done.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)

Casino Royale

Casino Royale, 2006. James Bond kicks ass and plays cards.

Directed by Martin Campbell. Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis, based on a book by Ian Fleming. Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green & Mads Mikkelsen.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). The first part (James Bond Kicks Ass) is all kinds of amazing. The second part (James Bond Plays Cards) slows down a lot, but is still good. The third part (James Bond Doesn't Know the Movie Isn't Over Yet) is pretty bad. Even the action scene at the end is a sloppy mess.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.8/4 (Good)

(update of a previous post - original is here)

"Duck Soup to Nuts"

"Duck Soup to Nuts" (short), 1944. Porky Pig hunts Daffy Duck.

Directed by Friz Freleng. Written by Tedd Pierce. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Funny. I'm much more familiar with the Daffy of the 50s than I am with the early screwball Daffy, and I like this version of him quite a bit (although a glance at his Wikipedia page tells me that this particular cartoon is probably very derivative - which I'm finding is often the case with Friz Freleng cartoons). It's nice to be able to root for a loony.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

Doctor Who #89: The Face of Evil

Doctor Who: "The Face of Evil," 1977 (the fourth story of six from season fourteen). Descendants of interplanetary explorers worship and obey a mysterious voice on the other end of a transceiver.

Directed by Pennant Roberts. Written by Chris Boucher. Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson & David Garfield.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). Lots of the usual escaping-and-getting-recaptured-then-running-through-endless-corridors filler. If it was shorter by an episode or two, it would have been great.
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent). Very good for Doctor Who, though.
Acting: 3/4 (Good). Garfield actually manages to upstage Tom Baker.
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). It's an unusual story for the era, and it's fun to see them doing something slightly different.  Also, Leela is awesome.  I wish the current show would have the balls to give the Doctor a genuinely new companion instead of just the latest variation on Pretty But Spunky 21st Century Earth Girl.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (tv series), 1981. A boring Englishman is rescued from the destruction of the Earth.

Directed by Alan J.W. Bell. Written by Douglas Adams, based on his radio series. Starring Peter Jones, Simon Jones & David Dixon.

Concept: 4/4 (Great). It's a great concept for a TV series, although it is a terrible concept for an early 80s BBC TV series. Shows today hardly have the budget necessary to make this work on screen.
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good). It was great dialog for the radio show. Unfortunately, they didn't bother doing any adapting for television.
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 1/4 (Bad)
Special effects/design: 0/4 (Terrible)
Acting: 0/4 (Terrible)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad, 1/4). They had some of the best comedy material ever written, and yet they still managed to make an awful show out of it. Probably the worst comedic timing I have ever seen.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.8/4 (Eh)

"Little Red Riding Rabbit"

"Little Red Riding Rabbit" (short), 1944. Little Red Riding Hood goes to grandma's house with a basket of Bugs Bunny.

Directed by Friz Freleng. Written by Michael Maltese. Starring Mel Blanc.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Not particularly remarkable, but solidly funny. Everything about it works well.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.7/4 (Good)

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters, 1984. Paranormal scientists start a ghost-catching business.

Directed by Ivan Reitman. Written by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis. Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis & Rick Moranis.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). There are lots of great ideas, and great lines. I wish the story had better focus, though, and less forced conflict.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.7/4 (Good)

Jane Eyre

From my 2011 Leftovers Marathon, part 4 of 14.



Jane Eyre, 2011. A mysterious man puts moves on his ward's governess.

Directed by Cary Fukunaga. Written by Moira Buffini, based on a book by Charlotte Brontë. Starring Mia Wasikowska & Michael Fassbender.

Concept: 1/4 (Bad). Oh, a 19th-Century love story. That's been filmed about 20 times already. Why do I care?
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent). So damn melodramatic.
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 4/4 (Great)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good). There's a hint of great performances, probably botched by the director and/or editor.
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). Very pretty, but dull. I expect I would have liked it less if I had had any familiarity with Jane Eyre before watching it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.7/4 (Good)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, 1991. Captain Kirk is framed for the assassination of the Klingon leader.

Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Written by Meyer & Denny Martin Flinn; story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal; based on a TV show by Gene Roddenberry. Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Kim Cattrall & Christopher Plummer.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). It's entertaining and not entirely unintelligent. The ending is pretty lame, though.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.5/4 (Okay)

The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods, 2012. Five young people go to a remote cabin in a spooky woods and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Directed by Drew Goddard. Written by Joss Whedon & Goddard. Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins & Bradley Whitford.

Concept: 4/4 (Great). An accurate synopsis would ruin the movie. It's awesome, though, and I'm not a horror fan.
Story: 3/4 (Good). Considering how clever the idea is, it's surprising how much of the plot is predictable. It's still an excellent story, though.
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good). Often funny, but very Whedon-y.
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). I'm sure they had a blast making this stuff. A lot of the effects aren't very good, though.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). Lots of fun.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.0/4 (Good)

"A Corny Concerto"

"A Corny Concerto" (short), 1943. In a Fantasia spoof, Porky Pig hunts Bugs Bunny, and a mother swan tries to protect her young.

Directed by Robert Clampett. Written by Frank Tashlin. Starring Arthur Q. Bryan.

Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent)
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: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). The comedic timing is great. The character animation, especially of Bugs, is delightful. But I really do not care for Fantasia, and you can only have so much fun watching a parody of something you don't like. Also, 70 years later, the things-happening-in-time-to-a-Strauss-waltz gag has gotten old.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four, 1990-1991. A giant space ship flies around the galaxy, ostensibly exploring but usually running errands.

Created by Gene Roddenberry. Directed by Cliff Bole (5 episodes), Les Landau (5), Jonathan Frakes (2), Chip Chalmers (2), Winrich Kolbe (2), Rob Bowman (1), Gabrielle Beaumont (1), Robert Scheerer (1), Corey Allen (1), Robert Wiemer (1), Tom Benko (1), Robert Legato (1), Marvin V. Rush (1), David Livingston (1) & Patrick Stewart (1). Written by Ronald D. Moore (6 episodes), Jeri Taylor (5), Joe Menosky (5), Michael Piller (2), Brannon Braga (2), Rick Berman (1), John Whelpley (1), Ralph Phillips (1), Lee Sheldon (1), Thomas Perry (1), Jo Perry (1), Drew Deighan (1), J. Larry Carroll (1), David Bennett Carren (1), Kacey Arnold-Ince (1), Hilary J. Bader (1), Alan J. Adler (1), Vanessa Greene (1), Harold Apter (1), Stuart Charno (1), Sara Charno (1), Cy Chermak (1), Philip LaZebnik (1), William Douglas Lansford (1), Bruce D. Arthurs (1), Dennis Russell Bailey (1), David Bischoff (1), Marc Scott Zicree (1), Maurice Hurley (1), Thomas Kartozian (1), Pamela Douglas (1), Shari Goodhartz (1), Timothy DeHaas (1), Ira Steven Behr (1), Randee Russell (1), Peter Allan Fields (1), Ted Roberts (1), Michel Horvat (1), René Echevarria (1) & Ken Schafer (1). Starring Patrick Stewart & Jonathan Frakes.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good). Development of the main characters is taken more seriously this season, for better or worse.
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 3/4 (Good). Lots of great performances are sprinkled throughout, and the acting's never particularly bad. Mostly just good, though.
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Probably the best season of TNG. It doesn't have any of my favorite episodes, but it has a number of very good ones, and the writing maintains a consistently Perfectly Okay level. There's not a lot in the way of science fiction. Sometimes they don't bother with it at all; more often there'll be some sort of half-hearted sci-fi plot that's really just a backdrop for the character stuff. That's a shame, but at the same time it means the writers are far less likely to get out of their depth.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

"The Hare-Brained Hypnotist"

"The Hare-Brained Hypnotist" (short), 1942. Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd use hypnosis on each other.

Directed by Friz Freleng. Written by Michael Maltese. Starring Mel Blanc & Arthur Q. Bryan.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). A couple good gags and no major faults. Unremarkable.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

From my 2011 Leftovers Marathon, part 3 of 14.



Cave of Forgotten Dreams, 2011. A film crew gets access to ancient cave paintings.

Written by, directed by & starring Werner Herzog.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent). It's great that this footage was made and released, but it's not really suited to a feature film.
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). No story.
Characters: 1/4 (Bad). Not that kind of movie (although Herzog does have a way of bringing out his subjects' weirdness).
Dialog: 1/4 (Bad)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent). It might not have been possible to do better under the circumstances, but I was decidedly unimpressed by the photography. It probably doesn't help that we saw in on video (therefor in 2D), and recently watched Planet Earth.
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). We get a brief glimpse of a computer-generated 3D map of the cave, created by "laser scans," which is pretty cool. It's very frustrating that they didn't do more with that.
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). I highly recommend it to see the cave, which is awesome. Sadly, it's not much of a movie. About half cave footage, and half Werner Herzog being all Werner Herzog-y.
Objective Rating (Average): 1.9/4 (Eh)