The Master

The Master, 2012. A violent ex-sailor befriends a cult leader.

Written & directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Concept: 1/4 (Bad)
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). I have no idea what Anderson was trying to do with this story. I wonder if he even had any idea himself.
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent). Potentially great characters, wasted in a story that doesn't do anything interesting with them.
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 4/4 (Great)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 4/4 (Great)
Subjective Rating: 3/10 (Bad, 1/4). It doesn't really matter that this movie has crazy-great acting and cinematography. It basically amounts to a lot of interesting-looking people, sitting around in pretty photographs for 2½ hours. I had low expectations (thanks to the reviews - critics apparently didn't get anything more out of it than I did), but never would have suspected that a Paul Thomas Anderson movie could be this boring.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)