Movie #: 241
Movie Title: Grease
Year Released: 1978
Director: Randal Kleiser
Notable Cast: Jon Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Short Description: Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #95
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/7/2013
What I Liked: I thought Olivia Newton-John was a fantastic singer, especially during the song “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. I was particularly fond of the songs “You’re the One That I Want”, “Greased Lightnin’”, and “Summer Nights”. It was kind of humorous watching Travolta’s character Danny try-out for the different sports and how his attempts ended up.
What I Disliked: Consequences were not learned by characters: Frenchy drops out of high school and then is welcomed back with open arms, Rizzo has unprotected sex but doesn’t end up pregnant, and Danny is a jerk to Sandy but gets the girl in the end. Other than Kenickie I found Danny’s friends to be super annoying. The songs “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee” and “We Go Together” were absolutely terrible. I honestly didn’t think Travolta was all that good as Danny and I only thought of him as a really poor man’s Fonzie.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: Too much annoyance with songs and characters keeps this movie from a better score
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Movie #242: The Last Picture Show
Movie #: 242
Movie Title: The Last Picture Show
Year Released: 1971
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Notable Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman
Short Description: A group of 1950’s high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town that is slowly dying, both economically and culturally. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #95
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/31/2013
What I Liked: Overall I thought the movie was well acted and the characters’ stories were well developed. In particular I was fascinated watching a young Jeff Bridges as I’ve always meant to see his movies but haven’t had the chance. I got a kick out of how the times have changed and how back in the day offering cigarettes and alcohol to high schoolers was ok, the gym teacher hitting slackers and calling them piss-ants was not frowned upon, and parents inquired about their high schoolers sex lives with almost a hint of jealousy rather than anger or disappointment.
What I Disliked: Promiscuous boob. With the amount of sleeping around a cheating that was going on throughout the movie, especially with Cybill Shephard’s character Jacy Farrow, you’d think was I was watching a very old softcore porn movie but with an actual story to it. I kept waiting for Sonny Crawford, played by Timothy Bottoms, to get caught sleeping with his gym teacher/coach’s wife but that never happened. It wasn’t explained why Sonny stayed after graduating when his best friend and crush/girlfriend/wife/estranged wife both left their dying town.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I really didn’t love it or hate it; it was just ok.
Movie Title: The Last Picture Show
Year Released: 1971
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Notable Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman
Short Description: A group of 1950’s high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town that is slowly dying, both economically and culturally. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #95
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/31/2013
What I Liked: Overall I thought the movie was well acted and the characters’ stories were well developed. In particular I was fascinated watching a young Jeff Bridges as I’ve always meant to see his movies but haven’t had the chance. I got a kick out of how the times have changed and how back in the day offering cigarettes and alcohol to high schoolers was ok, the gym teacher hitting slackers and calling them piss-ants was not frowned upon, and parents inquired about their high schoolers sex lives with almost a hint of jealousy rather than anger or disappointment.
What I Disliked: Promiscuous boob. With the amount of sleeping around a cheating that was going on throughout the movie, especially with Cybill Shephard’s character Jacy Farrow, you’d think was I was watching a very old softcore porn movie but with an actual story to it. I kept waiting for Sonny Crawford, played by Timothy Bottoms, to get caught sleeping with his gym teacher/coach’s wife but that never happened. It wasn’t explained why Sonny stayed after graduating when his best friend and crush/girlfriend/wife/estranged wife both left their dying town.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I really didn’t love it or hate it; it was just ok.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Movie #243: Do the Right Thing
Movie #: 243
Movie Title: Do the Right Thing
Year Released: 1989
Director: Spike Lee
Notable Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turtutto, Samuel L. Jackson
Short Description: On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #96
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/30/2013
What I Liked: Some of the characters were interesting and well acted, such as Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis, and Sal, played by Danny Aiello. Although both were in small roles, it was cool to see a movie from early in the career of Samuel L. Jackson and Martin Lawrence. The movie had a good message to it in the end about working and living together or we’ll all end up killing each other.
What I Disliked: The message I mentioned in my likes was buried in a movie that made no sense. I’m not sure if this is Spike Lee’s typical style of direction but jumping between characters and their random daily happenings made it hard follow and develop an interest with most characters. In general I found scenes and some characters to be very annoying or pointless to the overall message. The randomness and droning on about topics sort of reminded me of how I felt about the movie Clerks, which is not a movie I particularly enjoyed.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: There was very little I liked in this movie because of how randomly the movie jumped around between characters and scenes and how annoying and/or pointless some characters were.
Movie Title: Do the Right Thing
Year Released: 1989
Director: Spike Lee
Notable Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turtutto, Samuel L. Jackson
Short Description: On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #96
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/30/2013
What I Liked: Some of the characters were interesting and well acted, such as Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis, and Sal, played by Danny Aiello. Although both were in small roles, it was cool to see a movie from early in the career of Samuel L. Jackson and Martin Lawrence. The movie had a good message to it in the end about working and living together or we’ll all end up killing each other.
What I Disliked: The message I mentioned in my likes was buried in a movie that made no sense. I’m not sure if this is Spike Lee’s typical style of direction but jumping between characters and their random daily happenings made it hard follow and develop an interest with most characters. In general I found scenes and some characters to be very annoying or pointless to the overall message. The randomness and droning on about topics sort of reminded me of how I felt about the movie Clerks, which is not a movie I particularly enjoyed.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: There was very little I liked in this movie because of how randomly the movie jumped around between characters and scenes and how annoying and/or pointless some characters were.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Movie #244: The Untouchables
Movie #: 244
Movie Title: The Untouchables
Year Released: 1987
Director: Brian De Palma
Notable Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia
Short Description: Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #96
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Kevin Costner played his part well as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and Robert De Niro made a good Al Capone. The shootouts seemed to me to have a Quentin Tarantin feel to them, and while I don’t normally care for his style, I appreciated it in this movie. It’s always fun taking like Sean Connery when watching a movie with him in it. I was surprised to see that while Agent Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, was an accountant in the government and considered the weak man the team, he was still a badass in a gun fight.
What I Disliked: Considering this was a movie about taking down Al Capone I was disappointed that he appeared maybe three times in the first hour and only for a couple of minutes each time. The death of Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery, was excessively overdramatic. Even if it was historically accurate, I don’t understand using men on horses to charge a contraband exchange when the smugglers are in cars.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Good action and, as far as I’m aware, and accurate story but not enough Al Capone early in the movie.
Movie Title: The Untouchables
Year Released: 1987
Director: Brian De Palma
Notable Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia
Short Description: Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #96
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Kevin Costner played his part well as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and Robert De Niro made a good Al Capone. The shootouts seemed to me to have a Quentin Tarantin feel to them, and while I don’t normally care for his style, I appreciated it in this movie. It’s always fun taking like Sean Connery when watching a movie with him in it. I was surprised to see that while Agent Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, was an accountant in the government and considered the weak man the team, he was still a badass in a gun fight.
What I Disliked: Considering this was a movie about taking down Al Capone I was disappointed that he appeared maybe three times in the first hour and only for a couple of minutes each time. The death of Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery, was excessively overdramatic. Even if it was historically accurate, I don’t understand using men on horses to charge a contraband exchange when the smugglers are in cars.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Good action and, as far as I’m aware, and accurate story but not enough Al Capone early in the movie.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Movie #245: Shadow of a Doubt
Movie #: 245
Movie Title: Shadow of a Doubt
Year Released: 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Hume Cronyn
Short Description: A young woman discovers her visiting “Uncle Charlie” may not be the man he seems to be. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #97
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Teresa Wright was hot as a 24-year-old in 1943. I know that’s very deep analysis, but that’s all I’ve got.
What I Disliked: Hitchcock’s style is too boring for me. All I was thinking was get to the point. I know he’s famous for being the master of suspense but I didn’t see it. The acting was terrible, especially in the two young children. The dynamic between Charlie, played by Teresa Wright, and her Uncle Charlie, played by Joseph Cotton, was creepy in the first half of the movie. The way they looked at and touched each other sort of gave off an incestual tone.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: It’s bad when the only good thing I have to say is that the lead actress was good looking 70 years ago.
Movie Title: Shadow of a Doubt
Year Released: 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Hume Cronyn
Short Description: A young woman discovers her visiting “Uncle Charlie” may not be the man he seems to be. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #97
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Teresa Wright was hot as a 24-year-old in 1943. I know that’s very deep analysis, but that’s all I’ve got.
What I Disliked: Hitchcock’s style is too boring for me. All I was thinking was get to the point. I know he’s famous for being the master of suspense but I didn’t see it. The acting was terrible, especially in the two young children. The dynamic between Charlie, played by Teresa Wright, and her Uncle Charlie, played by Joseph Cotton, was creepy in the first half of the movie. The way they looked at and touched each other sort of gave off an incestual tone.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: It’s bad when the only good thing I have to say is that the lead actress was good looking 70 years ago.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Movie #246: Shaun of the Dead
Movie #: 246
Movie Title: Shaun of the Dead
Year Released: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Notable Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Short Description: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #97
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Simon Pegg is a much better actor than I’ve given him credit for. I saw this movie once before and because I didn’t like it then I don’t think I gave Pegg a fair chance. The tavern scene where the humans beat a zombie with pool sticks in tune with the song Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen is humorous. David, the annoying guy in the group, dies a pretty gruesome death.
What I Disliked: Zombie movies tend to be mostly the same in my opinion so I’m not a huge fan of the sub-genre. I know it was because of the subtle humor but the zombies standing around instead of running after the humans or passing on easy chances when they are standing next to non-moving humans contradicts all other zombie movies. David didn’t get killed off fast enough.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: It’s not my favorite zombie movie but not the worst I’ve seen either and honestly much better than the first time I watched it.
Movie Title: Shaun of the Dead
Year Released: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Notable Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Short Description: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #97
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Simon Pegg is a much better actor than I’ve given him credit for. I saw this movie once before and because I didn’t like it then I don’t think I gave Pegg a fair chance. The tavern scene where the humans beat a zombie with pool sticks in tune with the song Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen is humorous. David, the annoying guy in the group, dies a pretty gruesome death.
What I Disliked: Zombie movies tend to be mostly the same in my opinion so I’m not a huge fan of the sub-genre. I know it was because of the subtle humor but the zombies standing around instead of running after the humans or passing on easy chances when they are standing next to non-moving humans contradicts all other zombie movies. David didn’t get killed off fast enough.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: It’s not my favorite zombie movie but not the worst I’ve seen either and honestly much better than the first time I watched it.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Movie #247: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Movie #: 247
Movie Title: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Year Released: 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Notable Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
Short Description: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #98
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/23/2013
What I Liked: I got a huge laugh out of the part in the movie where James Cagney, as George M. Cohan, was in costume as an old man and had Joan Leslie, as Mary, totally convinced. While I’m not a fan of tap dancing, I do recognize it takes skill to do it and James Cagney was impressive in his dancing scenes. Also, when I saw that Cagney was in the movie that pleasantly reminded me of a quote from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie where Michelangelo does a fairly accurate impersonation of Cagney’s voice.
What I Disliked: This is only the fifth movie of 251 and I was already willing to quit my goal after 20 minutes of watching just so I’d be able to turn the movie off. The disconnect between what was entertainment 70 years ago and what entertainment is today is very apparent in the bad songs and dancing from back in the day. I don’t blame the movie for the bad songs and dancing; instead, I blame the people who lived in the early 1900s for thinking those songs and dances were good. The movie is just the unfortunate medium that’s used to present the bad songs and dancing.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: If not for the few parts I liked involving James Cagney, this would have been completely unwatchable and gotten a 1 of out 5.
Movie Title: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Year Released: 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Notable Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
Short Description: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #98
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/23/2013
What I Liked: I got a huge laugh out of the part in the movie where James Cagney, as George M. Cohan, was in costume as an old man and had Joan Leslie, as Mary, totally convinced. While I’m not a fan of tap dancing, I do recognize it takes skill to do it and James Cagney was impressive in his dancing scenes. Also, when I saw that Cagney was in the movie that pleasantly reminded me of a quote from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie where Michelangelo does a fairly accurate impersonation of Cagney’s voice.
What I Disliked: This is only the fifth movie of 251 and I was already willing to quit my goal after 20 minutes of watching just so I’d be able to turn the movie off. The disconnect between what was entertainment 70 years ago and what entertainment is today is very apparent in the bad songs and dancing from back in the day. I don’t blame the movie for the bad songs and dancing; instead, I blame the people who lived in the early 1900s for thinking those songs and dances were good. The movie is just the unfortunate medium that’s used to present the bad songs and dancing.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: If not for the few parts I liked involving James Cagney, this would have been completely unwatchable and gotten a 1 of out 5.
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