The Day the Earth Stood Still

One line review: The anti-war / anti-violence message of the movie has either been lost to time, or is lost on me.

Movie Title: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Actors: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin, Drew Pearson, Frank Conroy, Edith Evanson, Tyler McVey

Director: Robert Wise

Year: 1951

Genre: Drama

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% – Socially minded yet entertaining, The Day the Earth Stood Still imparts its moral of peace and understanding without didacticism.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I always hate it when I watch a highly rated movie, only to either find myself not impressed or simply bored. I can’t fault this movie for it’s acting or production. Even it’s special effects (for the time) are fairly good. However, I found myself completely uninterested in the great dark secret that the space man was bringing, and overall cared little for the outcome of any of the characters. I feel that this movie is simply one that either can’t be appreciated in this time frame, or simply can’t be appreciated by me. I just found it dull and pointless.

Star Trek I – IV

One line review: The first four Star Trek movies are a fantastic representation of Star Trek, combining the exploration, the action, and the cheesiness of the series.

Movie Title: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, Grace Lee Whitney, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Jeff McBride, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalban, Phil Morris, Scott McGinnis, Robin Curtis, Robert Hooks, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks, Mark Lenard

Director: Robert Wise, Nicholas Meyer, Leonard Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry

Year: 1979 / 1982 / 1984 / 1986

Genre: Action / SciFi

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes:

Star Wars: 50% – More of an event than a movie…more flash than content.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan: 90% – Considered by many fans to be the best of the Star Trek movies, Khan features a strong plot, increased tension, and a sharp supporting performance from Ricardo Montalban.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: 76% – TThough it may be short on dazzling special effects, The Search for Spock is still a strong Star Trek installment, thanks to affecting performances by its iconic cast.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: 84% - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is perhaps the lightest and most purely enjoyable entry of the long-running series, emphasizing the eccentricities of the Enterprise‘s crew.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I decided to stop at the first four Star Trek movie, partially because the Angry Video Game Nerd reflected on Star Trek II, III, and IV as the closest thing that the Star Trek series has to a trilogy. It certainly does a fantastic job of representing the Star Trek series. The first movie capturing exploration, the second and third representing more of the action side, and the fourth representing the cheesy and silly plots. I believe Wrath of Khan is my favorite of the movies, mostly because the entire film seems better written, better acted, and an absolutely fantastic film.

Lethal Weapon

One line review: A film that works great as a buddy comedy, but hits far too many action cliches as the plot unfolds.

Movie Title: Lethal Weapon

Actors: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Jackie Swanson, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith

Director: Richard Donner

Year: 1987

Genre: Action

Method of Viewing: TV

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: Family

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% – The most successful installment in a phenomenally successful series, Lethal Weapon helped redefine action movies for the 1980s and 1990s.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This movie started as an absolutely fantastic buddy comedy with one of the best pairings I’ve ever seen. However, as the plot began to unfold, the overused tricks and plot holes began to show.As the movie wore on, I began to forget how much I loved the buddy cop beginning, and instead just became more and more annoyed as the plot became absolutely ridiculous. I wish this movie simply had more interaction between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover than an actual overriding plot. Perhaps if I had watched this movie in the 80s, I wouldn’t have been annoyed at the cliches.

The Goonies

One line review: A fantastic tale that is only entertaining for children.

Movie Title: The Goonies

Actors: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi

Director: Richard Donner

Year: 1985

Genre: Comedy / Adventure

Method of Viewing: TV

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 64% – The Goonies is a smooth mixture of the usual ingredients from Steven Spielberg action movies, made special because of the high-energy performances of the kids who have the adventures.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This movie works only as a movie for young children (despite the random cursing thrown in). Kids will be thrilled by the constant challenges and adventures the Goonies go through, however there is little else to be enjoyed. It’s actually quite disappointing, since so many of the great children’s movies that I’ve watched seem to have at least something for adults to enjoy. However, this movie barely has a central plot, and instead simply has a series of crazy, scary, and fantastic events. Still, I can strongly recommend this movie for any child, they’ll absolutely be entertained from start to finish.

Robocop

One line review:A collection of one liners and action scenes that ends up as a pretty good movie.

Movie Title: Robocop

Actors: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Jesse D. Goins, Del Zamora, Calvin Jung, Rick Lieberman, Lee de Broux

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Year: 1987

Genre: Action

Method of Viewing: TV

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% – While over-the-top and gory, Robocop is also a surprisingly smart sci-fi flick that uses ultraviolence to disguise its satire of American culture.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This movie is considered one of the greatest of all time, completely forgiven for it’s silly plot due to it’s fun nature and over the top violence. I spent this movie either laughing with the movie, laughing at the movie, or being amazed at just how much violence was going on. As long as you’re in a good mood, you can at least enjoy this movie. The movie more or less knows that it can be over the top with the violence, while still keeping the audience entertained. I still believe the movie is overrated, but I had a good time.

Serenity

One line review: A SciFi action thriller that only makes the absence of Firefly that much more painful.

Movie Title: Serenity

Actors: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Krumholtz

Director: Serenity

Year: 2005

Genre: Action / SciFi

Method of Viewing: Netflix Instant Watch

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: Friends in #Jazzmess

Rotten Tomatoes: 81% – Snappy dialogue and goofy characters make this Wild Wild West soap opera in space fun and adventurous.

My rating: *** – A Great Movie

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I only actually watched Firefly in the last 6 months or so, and while I loved the series I didn’t seem to have the same level of love as others. Perhaps because I didn’t watch it when Fox was canceling it, or I didn’t follow the build up to this film. However, now that I’ve finally seen the finale of Firefly, I still can’t seem to find the absolute love that others had. It was a fantastic and fun movie to watch, but it didn’t really end the series so much as make me wish the movies or episodes could continue.

Pulp Fiction

One line review: A strange mix of cool one-liners, unusual situations, and strangely dull scenes

Movie Title: Pulp Fiction

Actors: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Eric Stoltz, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Phil LaMarr, Maria de Medeiros, Rosanna Arquette, Peter Greene, Uma Thurman, Duane Whitaker

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Year: 1994

Genre: Drama

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% – What makes the film such wicked fun is the way Tarantino delivers the familiar with a twist. He continually prepares us for one thing and then delivers another.

My rating: *** – A great movie

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): Just like Predator seemed to be loved more for it’s over the top action and strange one-liners than for the entire movie, this movie is full of one-liners that I never knew the source for. The setting, the characters, and the winding storyline all help to make this a very enjoyable movie to watch. However, I feel this movie indulges itself far too much in all of this long, pointless dialog. When I think of this movie, I don’t think of a funny one-liner, I think of Samuel L. Jackson prattling on for 30 minutes with a gun in his hand.

Young Frankenstein

One line review: A shotgun humor style that doesn’t always hit

Movie Title: Young Frankenstein

Actors: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars

Director: Mel Brooks

Year: 1974

Genre: Comedy / SciFi

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% – Made with obvious affection for the original, Young Frankenstein is a riotously silly spoof featuring a fantastic performance by Gene Wilder.

My rating: *** – A Great Movie, but not worthy of it’s Legendary status.

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): Young Frankenstein is a movie that keeps hitting with one joke after another, whether it be a pun, silly moment, running gag, ridiculous looking visual, what have you. The problem with this method of comedy is that it’s hit and miss. When it hits, it’s hilarious and feels like one of the best movies of all time. When it misses, it feels like it’s trying too hard. Perhaps giving this movie only three stars is just a personal opinion, or maybe this movie is showing it’s age, but I really feel that this movie is not worthy of it’s Legendary status.

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

One line review: FETUS!

Movie Title: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Actors: Keri Duella, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Douglas Rain

Director: Stanley Kubrik

Year: 1968

Genre: Drama

Method of Viewing: Netflix Online

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No one

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% – One of the most influential of all sci-fi films — and one of the most controversial — Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the ingenuity — and folly — of mankind.

My rating:  ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least):

Every warning you’ve heard about this movie is true. It’s long, it’s very slow paced, and the true plot of 2001 is difficult to figure out without someone explaining it to you. While there are tons of beautiful shots of space and unique perspective shots, those beautiful shots also drag the movie’s pacing down. This movie is the granddaddy of all SciFi, and thus has earned itself respect. On top of that, it’s a movie that has an incredibly powerful message from beginning to end. Unfortunately I needed someone to explain that message, as I was clueless from beginning to end.