Robin Hood

Robin Hood, 1973. Robin Hood annoys Prince John.

Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. Written by Larry Clemmons & Ken Anderson, with Vance Gerry, Frank Thomas, Eric Cleworth, Julius Svendsen & David Michener. Starring Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov & Terry-Thomas.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Cute animals, Roger Miller, and a likable hero - that's all I need. A

GPA: 3.2/4

"Ye Olden Days"

"Ye Olden Days" (short), 1933. Mickey rescues Princess Minnie from an arranged marriage.

Directed by Burt Gillett. Starring Pinto Colvig, Walt Disney & Marcellite Garner.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: D
Enjoyment: Fairly whimsical - not bad for a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Unfortunately, most of the dialog is sung and the music is pretty awful. C

GPA: 2.1/4

Before Midnight

Before Midnight, 2013. The Before Sunrise couple have a fight.

Directed by Richard Linklater. Written by Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, based on characters by Linklater & Kim Krizan. Starring Hawke & Delpy.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: A
Music: C
Enjoyment: Why do critics never fail to love movies about bitter people being bitter? I'm sorry, but festering resentments are just not interesting. C

GPA: 2.1/4

Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013. A 1960's folksinger isn't going anywhere.

Written & directed by Ethan & Joel Coen. Starring Oscar Isaac.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: B
Dialog: Strangely unremarkable for the Coens. B
Pacing: D
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: I'm reluctant to say I liked this. It's boring and plotless and lacking anything that I responded strongly to. But apart from the lack of a story, everything's done very well, and the music's good enough to make it worth watching (and possibly re-watching). B

GPA: 2.7/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"

The Twilight Zone: "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" (episode 4 of 36 from season one), 1959. A former movie star wants to live in the past.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Starring Ida Lupino & Martin Balsam.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Well, I guess they can't all be winners. C

GPA: 2.4/4

The Twilight Zone: "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"

The Twilight Zone: "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" (episode 3 of 36 from season one), 1959. An alcoholic former gunslinger is forced back into fame.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Allen Reisner. Starring Dan Duryea.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: The Twilight Zone take on character study? The fantasy twisty plot stuff is nice enough, but it's more the character and performance (neither great - just solid) that make this episode good. B

GPA: 3.1/4

For a Few Dollars More

Per qualche dollaro in più, 1965. Two bounty hunters are after the same bandit.

Directed by Sergio Leone. Written by Luciano Vincenzoni & Leone; story by Fulvio Morsella & Leone. Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef & Gian Maria Volonté.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: It's distinctly not as good as the other "Dollars" movies. It has the elements that make the other two into The Best Westerns Ever, but not used as well. If I'd only ever seen this one, it would blow me away. As it is, even after seeing it several times, it still manages to be a little disappointing. A

GPA: 3.2/4

(update of a previous post - original is here)

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Insurrection, 1998. There's a conspiracy to steal somebody's planet.

Directed by Jonathan Frakes. Written by Michael Piller; story by Rick Berman & Piller, based on a TV show by Gene Roddenberry. Starring Patrick Stewart & F. Murray Abraham.

Concept: B
Story: F
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: D
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: D
Acting: B
Music: D
Enjoyment: Here's a tip: if you're producing a movie, and the plot is largely built around bad cliches from 1970's TV shows (such as digging people out of cave-ins), maybe you shouldn't be writing the movie yourself. Just a thought. D

GPA: 1.4/4

Girl Shy

Girl Shy, 1924. A stutterer writes a bad book, meets a girl, and steals a series of vehicles.

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor. Written by Taylor, Ted Wilde & Tim Whelan, with Thomas J. Gray. Starring Harold Lloyd.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: The antics portion of the movie, as usual, is pretty good. The rest I could do without. C

GPA: 2.1/4

(update of a previous post - original is here)

The Twilight Zone: "One for the Angels"

The Twilight Zone: "One for the Angels" (episode 2 of 36 from season one), 1959. An old man makes a deal with Death.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Robert Parrish. Starring Ed Wynn & Murray Hamilton.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Cute. I'm a sucker for folktales, and Death-as-a-character is always fun. B

GPA: 2.9/4

A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven), 1946. A mix-up in the afterlife gives a man a chance to appeal his death.

Written & directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Starring David Niven & Kim Hunter.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: A lot of the charm is in novelty, so I'm not sure how well it would hold up to repeated viewings. For now, I like it. A

GPA: 3.3/4

The Twilight Zone: "Where Is Everybody?"

The Twilight Zone: "Where Is Everybody?" (episode 1 of 36 from season one), 1959. An amnesiac explores an empty town.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Robert Stevens. Starring Earl Holliman.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: The ending isn't particularly good, but the rest of the episode more than makes up for it.  I've been putting off watching The Twilight Zone for way too long; so far, it's everything I'd hoped it would be. A

GPA: 3.2/4

the first hour of Dead Poets Society

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 16 of 100

Dead Poets Society, 1989. Prep school boys are inspired by their new English teacher.

Directed by Peter Weir. Written by Tom Schulman. Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard & Ethan Hawke.

(estimated ratings, as I didn't finish the movie)
Enjoyment: I've seen this before, many years ago, so I knew it was going to be Cliche Theater, joyless (despite a theme which is contrary to joylessness), and a collection of many of my bad movie pet peeves. What I hadn't remembered is just how boring it is on top of all that. D
(Estimated) GPA: 1.9/4

Survivor: Season 22

Survivor: Season 22, 2011. A reality game in the Nicaraguan rain forest.

Created by Charlie Parsons. Starring Jeff Probst.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: n/a
Music: C
Enjoyment: Only one or two people know what they're doing, and everyone else seems to be complete idiots, which makes for a pretty boring and frustrating game to watch. I've only seen two seasons of this show so far, but I'd be surprised if this isn't one of the worst of the series. C

GPA: 1.8/4

Before Sunset

Before Sunset, 2004. The Before Sunrise couple reunite nine years later.

Directed by Richard Linklater. Written by Linklater, Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy; characters and story by Linklater & Kim Krizan. Starring Hawke & Delpy.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: There are a couple of great scenes near the end (and, to be fair, the way this movie works, a "couple" of scenes constitutes about a third of the movie). But the quality of the dialog and acting in some of the "now let me blather on about my Richard Linklater thoughts" scenes is so much worse, it's surprising they're made by the same people. C

GPA: 2.4/4

White Christmas

White Christmas, 1954. Broadway producers put on a show to save their buddy's ski lodge.

Directed by Michael Curtiz. Written by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama & Melvin Frank. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney & Vera-Ellen.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: There are a couple of great songs, but most of them are filler. B
Enjoyment: The sad excuse for a script exists purely to hang musical numbers on, and the musical numbers aren't that great. C

GPA: 1.9/4

An Adventure in Space and Time

An Adventure in Space and Time (tv movie), 2013. Behind the scenes of the beginning of Doctor Who.

Directed by Terry McDonough. Written by Mark Gatiss. Starring David Bradley & Jessica Raine.

Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: It's not by any means compelling drama, but there's not much to complain about, either. It's reasonably entertaining for someone who's a fan of Doctor Who and/or mid-century modern style. C

GPA: 2.5/4

Doctor Who: "The Time of the Doctor"

Doctor Who: "The Time of the Doctor" (tv special), 2013. The Doctor vs... everybody? I don't even know.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Jamie Payne. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith & Jenna Coleman.

Concept: D
Story: F
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: F
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: Hands down, the worst Doctor Who episode since the 90's Fox TV movie. In fact, now that I think about it, there's arguably more to like in that than in this. The only part that's any fun is the few seconds of Capaldi at the end, and that's just because of curiosity. D

GPA: 1.4/4

Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor"

Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor" (tv special), 2013. Three Doctors are thrown together to help one of them make a decision.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Nick Hurran. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, Jenna Coleman & Billie Piper.

Concept: Okay, now can we all just forget about the Time War nonsense and move on already? C
Story: D
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Seeing Smith and Tennant side by side, it becomes painfully clear that the problems with the 11th Doctor aren't entirely due to Moffat's writing. Largely due to it, but not entirely. So... I guess that bodes well for series eight? I can hope. B

GPA: 2.4/4

Best of My 2013

The best titles in each of my ratings categories, of everything I saw for the first time since last year's year-end list:

Concept
1. "La Jetée" (short), 1962
2. Tabletop (season one), 2012-2013
3. Gravity, 2013

Story
1. Breaking Bad: Season Four, 2011
2. Training Day, 2001
3. Blood Simple, 1985

Characters
1. Breaking Bad (seasons 2+), 2009-2013
2. Frances Ha, 2013
3. Training Day, 2001

Dialog
1. Nebraska, 2013
2. Django Unchained, 2012
3. Wreck-It Ralph, 2012

Pacing
1. Gravity, 2013
2. The Grey, 2012
3. Captain Phillips, 2013

Cinematography
1. Black Narcissus, 1947
2. The Master, 2012
3. Gravity, 2013

Special Effects/Design
1. Oblivion, 2013
2. Gravity, 2013
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984

Acting
1. Captain Phillips, 2013
2. The Master, 2012
3. Before Sunrise, 1995

Music
1. Shall We Dance, 1937
2. Match Point, 2005
3. Star Trek into Darkness, 2013

Enjoyment (my favorite titles)
1. Django Unchained, 2012 (A+)
2. Tabletop (season one), 2012-2013 (A+)
3. Monsters University, 2013 (A+)
4. Breaking Bad (seasons 2+), 2009-2013 (A)
5. Top Hat, 1935 (A)

GPA (the best titles)
1. Django Unchained, 2012 (3.8/4)
2. Captain Phillips, 2013 (3.7/4)
3. Training Day, 2001 (3.5/4)
4. Catching Fire, 2013 (3.4/4)
5. "La Jetée" (short), 1962 (3.4/4)