Stagecoach

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 28 of 100



Stagecoach, 1939. A stagecoach rides through Indian country.

Directed by John Ford. Written by Dudley Nichols; story by Ernest Haycox. Starring Claire Trevor & John Wayne, with Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, George Bancroft, Donald Meek, & Berton Churchill.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: Entertaining. Although, most of the movie is build-up, and I found the payoff a little disappointing. All that fuss about the Indians attacking, and when they finally show up they don't do much more than fall off their horses. B

GPA: 3.0/4

Revenge of the Sith

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 27 of 100



Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, 2005. War distracts from political machinations... in space!

Written & directed by George Lucas. Starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, & Hayden Christensen, with Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, & Frank Oz.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: There's some terrible CG, if you're expecting a live-action movie. If you don't mind that it's a cartoon, it often looks pretty great. B
Acting: D
Music: B
Enjoyment: Perfectly okay. A lot of the action is fun. It has its share of cringe-inducing awful scenes, but nowhere near what the other two prequels have. C

GPA: 2.3/4

Under the Skin

Under the Skin, 2014. Something posing as human lures men to their doom.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer. Written by Walter Campbell & Glazer, based on a book by Michel Faber. Starring Scarlett Johansson.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Visually, very cool. And a lot of stuff is interestingly disturbing. The whole point seems to be the development of the character, and she remains too alien the entire time to get anything from that aspect. You don't ever get a sense of what she's thinking until two or three scenes later, and you never have anything like an understanding of the character. As far as the science fiction goes, it's as absent as possible. It's kind of like a Tarkovsky film, except not boring. Which I guess I kind of like, apparently? At it's worst, it's at least fascinating. B

GPA: 2.9/4

The Twilight Zone: "Nightmare as a Child"

The Twilight Zone: "Nightmare as a Child" (episode 29 of 36 from season one), 1960. A woman with repressed memories meets an unusual child.

Written & created by Rod Serling. Directed by Alvin Ganzer. Starring Janice Rule, Shepperd Strudwick, & Terry Burnham.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: No real shortcomings, and well executed. And there's some suspense in wondering how dark they'll get in a 1960 TV show. B

GPA: 2.7/4

Only Lovers Left Alive

Only Lovers Left Alive, 2013. A mopey vampire is mopey.

Written & directed by Jim Jarmusch. Starring Tilda Swinton & Tom Hiddleston, with Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, & Jeffrey Wright.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: A
Pacing: Slow in a way that would have been great if there was a story. C
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: Lots of style. Almost no story or character development. It's memorable, and rewarding, and the sort of movie that's far more enjoyable to think about than it is to watch. My wife described it as "a warm blanket." I'm not so sure about the "warm" part, but it is something you can be enveloped in. B

GPA: 2.8/4

The Twilight Zone: "A Nice Place to Visit"

The Twilight Zone: "A Nice Place to Visit" (episode 28 of 36 from season one), 1960. A petty criminal is introduced to the afterlife.

Created by Rod Serling. Directed by John Brahm. Written by Charles Beaumont. Starring Larry Blyden & Sebastian Cabot.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Predictable but fun. B

GPA: 3.0/4

Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, 2002. Political machinations lead to war... in space!.

Directed by George Lucas. Written by Lucas & Jonathan Hales; story by Lucas. Starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, & Hayden Christensen, with Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, & Ian McDiarmid.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: F
Dialog: F
Pacing: D
Cinematography: D
Special effects/design: Lots of terrible CG, but the design is nice, and the sound is great. C
Acting: D
Music: B
Enjoyment: Anakin Skywalker is almost as bad as Jar Jar Binks. But at least Jar Jar wasn't meant to be taken seriously. It does have some redeeming value, though. The Kamino scenes, for instance, are actually pretty good. D

GPA: 1.4/4

Star Trek: Voyager: Season Seven

Star Trek: Voyager: Season Seven, 2000-2001. 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 (6 episodes), Allan Kroeker (5), Terry Windell (4), David Livingston (3), LeVar Burton (3), Winrich Kolbe (2), Robert Duncan McNeill (1), Peter Lauritson (1), & Roxann Dawson (1). Written by Kenneth Biller (12 episodes), Mike Sussman (7), Robert Doherty (7), Brannon Braga (5), Michael Taylor (5), Bryan Fuller (5), Raf Green (5), James Kahn (4), Phyllis Strong (4), André Bormanis (3), Rick Berman (2), Joe Menosky (1), Carleton Eastlake (1), Mark Haskell Smith (1), Eric Morris (1), Robert Lederman (1), Dave Long (1), Jack Monaco (1), Larry Nemecek (1), J. Kelley Burke (1), Andrew Shepard Price (1), & Mark Gaberman (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: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: There's a lot of mediocrity, and expectations were pretty high, given the past two seasons' quality and the fact that the impending end of the series should make big things happen (it never did) - so I'm reluctant to say it was good. But it has its moments, and at its worst it's still watchable. B

GPA: 2.4/4

The Cosby Show: Season One

The Cosby Show: Season One, 1984-1985. The day-to-day life of a large, wealthy family.

Created by Ed. Weinberger, Michael Leeson, & Bill Cosby. Directed by Jay Sandrich. Written by John Markus (9 episodes), Earl Pomerantz (3), Matt Williams (3), Jerry Ross (2), Elliot Shoenman (2), Matt Robinson (2), Carmen Finestra (2), Weinberger (1), Leeson (1), Michael Loman (1), Karyl Geld Miller (1), Korby Siamis (1), Winifred Hervey (1), & Emily Tracy (1). Starring Cosby, with Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, & Keshia Knight Pulliam.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: B
Enjoyment: The best season of the best sit-com of all time. Not that I've watched a lot of sit-coms, but I'm still confident that nothing else comes close. A+

GPA: 3.2/4

[update of a previous post - original is here]

Divergent

Divergent, 2014. A dystopian society maintains order by eliminating people who don't conform.

Directed by Neil Burger. Written by Evan Daugherty & Vanessa Taylor, based on a book by Veronica Roth. Starring Shailene Woodley, with Theo James & Kate Winslet.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: Painless. There's nothing good in it that isn't shamelessly stolen from Hunger Games, and there's nothing original in it that isn't nonsense. But they made a pretty okay movie, considering what they had to work with. C

GPA: 2.2/4

The Phantom Menace

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 26 of 100



Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, 1999. Political machinations lead to war... in space!

Written & directed by George Lucas. Starring Liam Neeson, with Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, & Jake Lloyd.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: D
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: Terrible effects, but great sound. D
Acting: D
Music: B
Enjoyment: Grating. I hadn't seen it since it was originally released, so I didn't remember just how bad it is. I thought maybe it was judged harshly because of the high expectations. No. It's just awful. Depressingly bad. F

GPA: 1.5/4

The Twilight Zone: "The Big Tall Wish"

The Twilight Zone: "The Big Tall Wish" (episode 27 of 36 from season one), 1960. A boy makes a wish on behalf of his boxer friend.

Created & written by Rod Serling. Directed by Ron Winston. Starring Ivan Dixon, with Stephen Perry.

Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: D
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Not my favorite, but if I had to pick one episode of The Twilight Zone that demonstrates what it can be at it's best, I'd likely pick this one. A

GPA: 2.9/4

The Raid

Serbuan maut, 2012. A SWAT team raids a gangster's apartment building.

Written & directed by Gareth Evans. Starring Iko Uwais, with Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, & Ray Sahetapy.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: D
Enjoyment: 90 minutes of brutal fighting, and 10 minutes of plot. It is what it is. C

GPA: 2.0/4

The Twilight Zone: "Execution"

The Twilight Zone: "Execution" (episode 26 of 36 from season one), 1960. An old west outlaw is transported to present day New York.

Created & written by Rod Serling, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson. Directed by David Orrick McDearmon. Starring Albert Salmi, with Russell Johnson & Than Wyenn.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: A fun idea, and the story never becomes predictable. There's so much more that could have been done with it, though, if they weren't limited to 25 minutes. B

GPA: 3.1/4

Noah

Noah, 2014. Noah saves the animals from the end of the world.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Written by Aronofsky & Ari Handel. Starring Russell Crowe, with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, & Douglas Booth.

Concept: I can see how it isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I love what they're trying to do with this movie - taking the grand, mythological aspects of the bible (rather than the lessons the stories were meant to teach) as a starting point for high fantasy, the way Tolkien used European mythologies. A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: D
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: Post-apocalyptic science fiction alongside pseudo-stop-motion storybook elements. The animals look kind of crappy, but they're actually a pretty small part of the movie. A
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: Pretty damn cool. If anyone was going to love this movie, it was me. But it's too long, and drags a lot. B

GPA: 3.0/4

Intolerance

from my 100 Popular Movies Marathon, part 25 of 100



Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages, 1916. Babylon is attacked by Persia, Jesus is crucified, the Huguenots are massacred, and the modern-day working class are oppressed.

Written & directed by D.W. Griffith. Starring Mae Marsh, Constance Talmadge, & Margery Wilson, with Elmer Clifton, Miriam Cooper, Josephine Crowell, Howard Gaye, Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Vera Lewis, Tully Marshall, Seena Owen, Alfred Paget, Eugene Pallette, & Maxfield Stanley.

Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: C
Music: n/a (Netflix sent us a crappy edition, which necessitated watching with the sound off. )
Enjoyment: It could have been a lot worse. It's clearly a very important movie. I didn't get anything out of it, though, other than historical appreciation. C

GPA: 2.3/4

The Twilight Zone: "People Are Alike All Over"

The Twilight Zone: "People Are Alike All Over" (episode 25 of 36 from season one), 1960. A frightened astronaut meets the people of Mars.

Created & written by Rod Serling, based on a story by Paul W. Fairman. Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Starring Roddy McDowall.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Pretty good episode. It's not until near the end that it becomes clear where the story is going, so there's some suspense. B

GPA: 2.8/4

Synecdoche, New York

Synecdoche, New York, 2008. An unhappy theater director stages a replica of his life in a warehouse.

Written & directed by Charlie Kaufman. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, with Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, & Tom Noonan.

Concept: B
Story: A
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: I found myself checking the time more and more often as the movie goes on, but I wouldn't change anything. It's never boring, and in the end you feel like you've lived through these years. B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A
Enjoyment: Strange on a level that's strange relative to other Charlie Kaufman movies. Usually when a movie is described as having "dream logic," it's code for saying they do whatever arbitrary, surreal nonsense seemed like a good idea at the time. But with this movie, it actually does use dream logic. I don't always know what's literally going on, but still at any point I could pause it and explain what's happening, and why. A

GPA: 3.8/4

[update of a previous post - original is here]

The Twilight Zone: "Long Live Walter Jameson"

The Twilight Zone: "Long Live Walter Jameson" (episode 24 of 36 from season one), 1960. A history professor knows his subject a little too well.

Created by Rod Serling. Directed by Anton Leader. Written by Charles Beaumont. Starring Kevin McCarthy & Edgar Stehli.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: They clearly spent the entire budget on the makeup effect. B
Acting: C
Music: B
Enjoyment: It's a pretty good story, although the execution is rougher than I expect from this show. B

GPA: 2.6/4

Away We Go

Away We Go, 2009. An expectant couple searches for a place to live.

Directed by Sam Mendes. Written by Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida. Starring John Krasinski & Maya Rudolph, with Carmen Ejogo, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Messina, Melanie Lynskey, & Paul Schneider.

Concept: People Who Love Each Other: The Movie. B
Story: B
Characters: The secondary characters are too absurd, but the leads make up for it. A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: Often great. B
Music: B
Enjoyment: I thought it was great the first time I saw it, and the second time around I got a lot more out of it. (Maybe I was expecting a comedy the first time, given the cast, and held the lack of belly laughs against it.) Seeing real love portrayed in a movie is a rare and powerful thing. A+

GPA: 3.5/4

[update of previous post - original is here]