Flight of the Conchords: Season Two

Flight of the Conchords: Season Two, 2009. A New Zealand band fail to make it in New York.

Created by James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, & Bret McKenzie. Directed by Bobin (6 episodes), Taika Waititi (2), Troy Miller (1), & Michel Gondry (1). Written by Bobin (6 episodes), Clement (6), McKenzie (6), Duncan Sarkies (1), Iain Morris (1), Damon Beesley (1), Paul Simms (1), & Waititi (1). Starring Clement & McKenzie, with Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, & Arj Barker.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: Boring. The best of this season is about even with the worst of the first season. C

GPA: 2.0/4

Creature Comforts America

Creature Comforts America [tv series], 2007. Animals share their opinions on various topics.

Created by Nick Park. Directed by Merlin Crossingham, Dave Osmand, & Richard Goleszowski. Starring "The Great American Public."

Concept: A
Story: F
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: It's a letdown compared with the British version, but it's still a cute show. B

GPA: 2.5/4

Movie Crazy

Movie Crazy, 1932. An accident-prone boy goes to Hollywood.

Directed by Clyde Bruckman. Written by Vincent Lawrence; story by Agnes Christine Johnston, John Grey, & Felix Adler. Starring Harold Lloyd, & Constance Cummings, with Kenneth Thomson, Louise Closser Hale, & Spencer Charters.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: D
Enjoyment: The gags are funny, and the love story is sweet. The production is a little rough around the edges, but it's an enjoyable movie. B

GPA: 2.2/4

Star Trek: Voyager: Season Six

Star Trek: Voyager: Season Six, 1999-2000. A spaceship stranded on the other side of the galaxy continues to make its way home.

Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, & Jeri Taylor. Directed by Mike Vejar (5 episodes), David Livingston (4), Terry Windell (4), Allan Kroeker (3), John Bruno (2), Winrich Kolbe (2), Roxann Dawson (1), Robert Picardo (1), Gabrielle Beaumont (1), Les Landau (1), Allison Liddi (1), & LeVar Burton (1). Written by Joe Menosky (8 episodes), Brannon Braga (6), Bryan Fuller (6), Michael Taylor (6), Robert Doherty (4), Kenneth Biller (3), Robin Burger (3), Raf Green (3), Berman (2), Ronald D. Moore (2), Mike Sussman (2), Bill Vallely (1), Juliann deLayne (1), André Bormanis (1), Mike Wollaeger (1), Jessica Scott (1), David Zabel (1), Scott Miller (1), Gannon Kenney (1), Andrew Shepard Price (1), Mark Gaberman (1), Ronald Wilkerson (1), Paul Brown (1), Dianna Gitto (1), Bruno (1), & Picardo (1). Starring Kate Mulgrew, with Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Jeri Ryan, & Garrett Wang.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: They've improved on the high quality of season five. There are only one or two low points, and the high points make for a (new) couple of my favorite Star Trek episodes. Now if only Janeway could get some decent development; they haven't done anything really interesting with her since season two. A

GPA: 2.6/4

The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013. A young stockbroker starts a company to swindle investors.

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by Terence Winter, based on a book by Jordan Belfort. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, with Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, & Rob Reiner.

Concept: Scarface without the violence. D
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Everything about this makes for a movie I should have hated. In fact, I had a lot of fun. You never know what you're going to get with Scorsese. B

GPA: 2.9/4

Survivor: Season 24

Survivor: Season 24, 2012. A reality game on a South Pacific island.

Created by Charlie Parsons. Starring Jeff Probst.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: n/a
Music: C
Enjoyment: The first half of the season is dominated by an asshole who was thoroughly unpleasant to watch. The second half was a good game, but there still wasn't really anyone to root for. C

GPA: 2.1/4

Feet First

Feet First, 1930. A shoe salesman pretends to be a wealthy businessman.

Directed by Clyde Bruckman. Written by Felix Adler, Lex Neal, & Paul Girard Smith; story by John Grey, Alfred A. Cohn, & Bruckman. Starring Harold Lloyd, with Barbara Kent, Robert McWade, & Lillian Leighton.

Concept: D
Story: F
Characters: F
Dialog: D
Pacing: D
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: D
Music: It's hurt badly by the ironic silence you usually get in early talkies. A score might have made it watchable. D
Enjoyment: By far the worst Harold Lloyd movie I've seen (and I've seen most of them). 70% of the movie is badly-written farce, which is painful to watch. The physical comedy diversions might have been good, but the cringe-inducing plot doesn't allow Harold to get any sympathy. No sympathy for the comic = no comedy. D

GPA: 1.0/4

Speedy

Speedy, 1928. A man goes to Coney Island, drives a taxi, and races a horse-drawn trolley.

Directed by Ted Wilde. Written by John Grey, Lex Neal, & Howard Emmett Rogers. Starring Harold Lloyd, with Ann Christy, Bert Woodruff, & Brooks Benedict.

Concept: C
Story: There are two unrelated stories forced together for no apparent reason, one of which has no resolution. D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: It's nice, after seeing so many silent comedies set in Los Angeles, to have one shot in New York. It's novel, it's much more photogenic, and they take good advantage of it. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard and unremarkable Harold Lloyd movie. C

GPA: 2.1/4

The Kid Brother

The Kid Brother, 1927. The runt of the family proves himself by saving the day.

Directed by Ted Wilde & J.A. Howe. Written by John Grey, Lex Neal, & Howard J. Green; story by Grey, Wilde, & Thomas J. Crizer. Starring Harold Lloyd, with Jobyna Ralston, Walter James, Leo Willis, Olin Francis, & Constantine Romanoff.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: There are some nice moments. Most sequences go on too long. It's played as melodrama as often as comedy. C

GPA: 2.0/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Purple Testament"

The Twilight Zone: "The Purple Testament" (episode 19 of 36 from season one), 1960. A soldier can see when people are going to die.

Created & written by Rod Serling. Directed by Richard L. Bare. Starring Dick York & William Reynolds.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: They introduce the concept, and then everything just comes to a halt. I guess someone staring at people was supposed to be enough to carry the rest of the episode? C

GPA: 2.1/4

Dodgeball

Dodgeball, 2004. A group of misfits forms a dodgeball team.

Written & directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Starring Vince Vaughn, with Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Joel David Moore, Chris Williams, & Alan Tudyk.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: At least there's a pirate? D
Dialog: D
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: D
Music: D
Enjoyment: Sometimes it's funny. More often it's not. Even if all the jokes worked, it would still be a stupid movie. D

GPA: 1.3/4

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014. A hotel concierge has trouble with an inheritance.

Written & directed by Wes Anderson. Story by Anderson, & Hugo Guinness. Starring Ralph Fiennes, & Tony Revolori, with F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Edward Norton, & Saoirse Ronan.

Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Similar in style to Moonrise Kingdom, and even more cartoonishly fast-paced. Wes Anderson is having a lot of fun lately, and I'm having a lot of fun going along for the ride. A+

GPA: 3.7/4

Angel: Season One

Angel: Season One, 1999-2000. A vampire has a detective agency.

Created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. Directed by James A. Contner (4 episodes), Bruce Seth Green (2), David Straiton (2), Greenwalt (2), Whedon (1), Vern Gillum (1), Scott McGinnis (1), David Grossman (1), Tucker Gates (1), Winrich Kolbe (1), David Semel (1), R.D. Price (1), Nick Marck (1), Regis B. Kimble (1), Michael Lange (1), & Thomas J. Wright (1). Written by Greenwalt (7 episodes), Tim Minear (5), Jeannine Renshaw (4), Whedon (3), Howard Gordon (3), David Fury (2), Tracey Stern (2), Douglas Petrie (1), Jane Espenson (1), Marti Noxon (1), Jim Kouf (1), & Garry Campbell (1). Starring David Boreanaz, with Charisma Carpenter, Glenn Quinn, & Alexis Denisof.

Concept: A spin-off from Buffy? Good idea. Giving a character that's already lingered too long after exhausting his character arc his own series? Not so good. Making a TV show about a sad person who mopes a lot? Um, no. D
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: D
Enjoyment: A silly premise, spun off of a silly show, about a Very Serious character, taking itself Very Seriously. In the brief moments when it lets itself have fun, it's kind of nice. 95% of the time, it's extremely boring. They should have written out this Angel character and made the show about Phantom Denis. D

GPA: 1.7/4

The Muppet Show: Season One

The Muppet Show: Season One, 1976-1977. The Muppets put on a weekly variety show.

Created by Jim Henson. Directed by Peter Harris. Written by Jack Burns, Henson, Jerry Juhl, & Marc London. Starring various guest stars, with Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Eren Ozker, & John Lovelady.

Concept: A
Story: D
Characters: A
Dialog: B
Pacing: A
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Most of the guest stars are not so great, the production is on the rough side, and the writing is rarely anything more than a series of very bad puns. But they make up for any shortcomings with pure, unadulterated weirdness. And bucketloads of charm. A+

GPA: 3.4/4

[update of a previous post - original is here]

the first two hours of The Birth of a Nation

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 23 of 100



The Birth of a Nation, 1915. A white-supremacist perspective of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Directed by D.W. Griffith. Written by Griffith, & Frank E. Woods, based books by Thomas F. Dixon Jr. Starring Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, & George Siegmann.

(estimated ratings, as I didn't finish the movie)
Enjoyment: The first 90 minutes are an okay movie. Hateful, yes, but not much more so than most films from the first half of the century that happen to touch on racial issues. And the big battle sequence is impressive even by today's standards. But then the second half starts, and suddenly the movie is nothing but racist propaganda. I couldn't take more than a half hour of it, and I feel sorry for everyone who's ever watched more than that. F
(Estimated) GPA: 1.6/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Last Flight"

The Twilight Zone: "The Last Flight" (episode 18 of 36 from season one), 1960. A WWI fighter lands in 1959.

Created by Rod Serling. Directed by William F. Claxton. Written by Richard Matheson. Starring Kenneth Haigh, with Alexander Scourby & Simon Scott.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: There's an unfortunate failed attempt at character drama. Otherwise, it's pretty interesting. B

GPA: 2.6/4

Philomena

Philomena, 2013. A cynical journalist helps a woman find her long lost son.

Directed by Stephen Frears. Written by Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope, based on a book by Martin Sixsmith. Starring Judi Dench & Coogan, with Sophie Kennedy Clark.

Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: A
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: A
Music: C
Enjoyment: Not at all bad for what it is. Harmlessly pleasant, with a great performance to make it worthwhile. B

GPA: 2.5/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Fever"

The Twilight Zone: "The Fever" (episode 17 of 36 from season one), 1960. A man hears a slot machine calling him.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Robert Florey. Starring Everett Sloane & Vivi Janiss.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Easily the worst episode so far. Not exactly bad, just a dumb idea. C

GPA: 2.0/4

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 22 of 100



Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1936. A small-town eccentric inherits a fortune.

Directed by Frank Capra. Written by Robert Riskin, based on a story by Clarence Budington Kelland. Starring Gary Cooper & Jean Arthur, with George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille & Raymond Walburn.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: Funny and sweet. Cooper and Arthur are both fun to watch. B

GPA: 2.6/4

The Invisible Man

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 21 of 100



The Invisible Man, 1933. A man turns himself invisible and gets murdery.

Directed by James Whale. Written by R.C. Sherriff, based on a book by H.G. Wells. Starring Claude Rains, with Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan & Henry Travers.

Concept: B
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: D
Music: It's not used during most of the film, but I didn't really notice the absence. What's there is good. B
Enjoyment: There's a lot of cleverness dealing realistically with the questions of what can an invisible man get away with, and how can you catch him. And some bad humor that's so unexpected it's funny. But without those pesky details of characters or acting or anything else that makes you care about a movie, it feels like it's about twice as long as it is. C

GPA: 2.0/4

Back to the Future Part III

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 20 of 100



Back to the Future Part III, 1990. Time travelers try to get home from the old west.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Written by Bob Gale; story by Zemeckis & Gale. Starring Michael J. Fox & Christopher Lloyd, with Mary Steenburgen & Thomas F. Wilson.

Concept: B
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: Bad effects, good design. C
Acting: Almost every line is yelled. BECAUSE IT'S EXCITING! D
Music: C
Enjoyment: Part II tried and failed to recapture what the original had going. Part III doesn't even bother. They probably meant it to be the climactic action-packed third act of the trilogy, except that the action scenes are unambitious, even if you're only comparing it to other Back to the Future movies. Comedy is almost nonexistent. C

GPA: 1.9/4

For Heaven's Sake

For Heaven's Sake, 1926. A rich man accidentally founds a mission, then corrals some gangsters.

Directed by Sam Taylor. Written by Ted Wilde, John Grey & Clyde Bruckman, with Ralph Spence. Starring Harold Lloyd, with Jobyna Ralston, Noah Young, Jim Mason & Paul Weigel.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: B
Enjoyment: Nice little movie - a lot funnier than Lloyd usually is, largely because other (unnamed) comics steal the show. And it's short, too. B

GPA: 2.2/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Hitch-Hiker"

The Twilight Zone: "The Hitch-Hiker" (episode 16 of 36 from season one), 1960. A woman driving across the country sees the same hitch-hiker everywhere.

Created by Rod Serling. Directed by Alvin Ganzer. Written by Serling, based on a radio play by Lucille Fletcher. Starring Inger Stevens, with Adam Williams & Leonard Strong.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: One of the best episodes so far. It's a little slow in places, but a lot of the scenes are very effectively creepy. A

GPA: 2.9/4

The Twilight Zone: "I Shot an Arrow into the Air"

The Twilight Zone: "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" (episode 15 of 36 from season one), 1960. A spaceship crashes, and the crew turns on each other.

Created by Rod Serling. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Written by Serling, based on a story by Madelon Champion. Starring Dewey Martin & Edward Binns, with Ted Otis.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: We never do find out why one of them is a sociopath. Or why all of them are so much dumber than the audience. C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: It's extremely well done, apart from the little detail of giving away the "twist" ending early in the episode and more-or-less rendering the entire thing pointless. But even knowing where it's going, it's still entertaining to watch it play out. B

GPA: 2.9/4

Rush

Rush, 2013. Two formula 1 drivers are assholes.

Directed by Ron Howard. Written by Peter Morgan. Starring Chris Hemsworth & Daniel Brühl, with Olivia Wilde & Alexandra Maria Lara.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: F
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: D
Enjoyment: Some of the races are exciting. Everything else is crap. Crap that thinks it's profound - typical Ron Howard. C

GPA: 1.5/4

12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave, 2013. A man is kidnapped and enslaved.

Directed by Steve McQueen. Written by John Ridley, based on a book by Solomon Northup. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, with Adepero Oduye, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o & Brad Pitt.

Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: They're exactly what they need to be. B
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: B
Enjoyment: With movies like this, about atrocities and horrors, it's usually the case that the more well made they are, the worse the experience of watching them is. This is somehow an exception. It's strongly affecting and emotionally draining. But I never once wished I wasn't seeing it. B

GPA: 3.4/4