The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 0/5

 

 
PROS –
1) Grand set designs and props.

 

 
CONS –
1) A filthy, vulgar, and pukeworthy movie with an inconsequential sci-fi story.
2) I can’t even take this bizarre movie seriously as a musical as the songs are also terrible.
3) For a niche LGBT enthusiast audience, this movie can be appealing but for the rest of the audience, it a 100 minutes long headache.

 

 
QUOTE –
Dr. Frank-N-Furter: It’s not easy having a good time! Even smiling makes my face ache!

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 

 
PROS –
1) Another great story of greed. A paranoid man with disoriented conscience led to the disaster of a perfect gold-rush adventure.
2) John Huston’s tight screenplay and direction. While Bogart is the leading man, the highlight will be Walter Huston natural acting as the wise old man leading the pack.
3) Humphrey Bogart played the central character of an insecure tramp. His character of Fred C. Dobbs is a classic example of an over-suspicious man going nuts in isolation.
4) A somewhat fulfilling climax for Howard & Curtin.

 
CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Howard: I know what gold does to men’s souls.

His Girl Friday (1940)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) A single day story of a ruthless newspaper divorced couple where the ex-husband uses every dirty trick in the book to get rid of ex-wife’s soon-to-be-husband and get her back working on the big story.
2) Dialogues are spoken so fast it’s difficult to catch up and process it at the same time. Howard Hawks’ 1940 wonder can’t find it’s a match even in 2020.
3) Rosalind Russell’s performance as Hildy overshadows every other actor. It’s difficult to imagine to find such a strong, ambitious, and cold-hearted female character in a 1940 movie.
4) This is less of a rom-com and more of black-comedy diving into the vulturous world of print media at the expense of human tragedy and politicians leaving no stone unturned for getting re-elected.
5) Joe Pettibone‘s first scene was one of the most hilarious scenes of the movie.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Walter Burns: Hey, Duffy, listen. Is there any way we can stop the 4:00 train to Albany from leaving town?
Duffy : We might dynamite it.
Walter Burns: Could we?

Waiting… (2005)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) It’s a great workplace hang-out movie. An entire day with the Shenaniganz restaurant staff.
2) A hidden gem like many Mike Judge movies. It belongs to the league of Office Space (1999), Clerks (1994), etc.
3) It’s a fun watch with relatable characters and clever jokes.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Monty: You know, we should probably feel guilty, but she broke the cardinal rule: Don’t fuck with people that handle your food.

The Goonies (1985)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 

 
PROS –
1) Pirate treasure, a secret map, a lost ship of a one-eyed dead pirate, booby traps, a “Ma Barker” kind of criminal gang and a group of mischievous kids hell-bent for an adventure. An ultimate adventure movie written by Steven Spielberg.
2) The delightful & memorable cast of young actors.

 
CONS –
1) No doubt the movie is influential but it targets a certain age group. This movie is supposed to be watched at a certain age.

 

 
QUOTE –
Andy: I can’t tell… if it’s an “A sharp” or if it’s a “B flat”!
Mikey: Heh, if you hit the wrong note, we’ll all “B flat!”

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 5/5

 
PROS –
1) A landmark movie in the horror-comedy genre.
2) Undead Jack‘s make-up is overwhelmingly impressive.
3) The iconic Werewolf transformation scene. It’s the best Werewolf transformation I’ve seen in any movie.
4) Cannot find a better use of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” song.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Jack: Have you tried talking to a corpse? It’s boring.

The Twilight Zone (2019) (Season 1)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 
PROS –
1) “The Comedian” – Best episode of the season. Tracy Morgan’s cameo was spot-on.
2) “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” – a story with a climactic plot-twist.
3) “The Blue Scorpion” – entertaining story of a legendary gun.

 

 

CONS –
1) “Replay”, “The Wunderkind”, “Point of Origin” – These 3 episodes are simply propaganda stories of Trump-era USA exploring issues of Black Lives Matter, US Presidential Election 2016, and Trump’s immigration reforms.
2) “A Traveler”, “Six Degrees of Freedom”, “Not All Men” – forgettable stories no one can make head nor tail of.
3) “Blurryman” – the finale tried to milk the iconic “Time Enough at Last” but to no avail.

 

 

QUOTE –
Narrator: Society is a fragile ecosystem. Razzle and dazzle people with the right lies and eventually they’ll go blind to the madness right in front of their faces.

Coming to America (1988)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

PROS –
1) It’s a seriously made rom-com about a Prince coming to America to find true love.
2) Great production value creating the lifestyle of the Kingdom of Zamunda.
3) There is no way one can tell Eddie Murphy & Arsenio Hall played the barbers and several other characters in the movie. The make-up is top-notch.
4) The Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis argument.

 

 

CONS –
1) The director chose not to go for a full-blown comedy. The plot is predictable and by stressing more on the romantic aspect, the director wasted a good opportunity.

 

 

QUOTE –
Lisa: Do you think I overreacted?
Akeem: The first reaction is often correct.

Silver Blaze (1977)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 
PROS –
1) Christopher Plummer’s debut as the legendary detective.

 

CONS –
1) A forgettable adaptation of “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”.
2) 30 minutes run time can by no means give proper justice to the story. There is neither any depth in writing nor there is any character development.

 

 
QUOTE –
Inspector Gregory: Is there any other point to which you wish to draw my attention?
Sherlock Holmes: To the curious incident of the dog when the horse was led out from the stable.
Inspector Gregory: But the dog did nothing when the horse was led out from the stable.
Sherlock Holmes: That was the curious incident.

Master of the World (1961)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) A true steampunk sci-fi story from Jules Verne.
2) Robur – a great gentleman villain with noble intentions but an evil method. In fact by the end of the movie he doesn’t even appear as the bad guy. His grand plan of world peace at any cost reflects his grand character.
3) The audiences will be awed with the amazing airship Albatross with Victorian sci-fi gadgets.
4) Decent special effects for a 1961 movie.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Robur: I am a man unto myself, Mr. Prudent, who has declared war against war! That is my purpose, sir!