Director Grade Averages

Stanley Kubrick
The Killing, A-
Paths of Glory, A+
Spartacus, C+
Lolita, B
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, A+
2001: A Space Odyssey, A+
A Clockwork Orange, A-
Barry Lyndon, A
The Shining, B+
Full Metal Jacket, B+
Eyes Wide Shut, A-

overall grade: A-



Roman Polanski
Knife in the Water, B+
Repulsion, A-
Cul-de-sac, A-
The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck, B
Rosemary's Baby, A+
Macbeth, B+
Chinatown, A+
The Tenant, B-
Tess, A
Pirates, F
Frantic, B
Bitter Moon, C+
Death & the Maiden, A-
The Ninth Gate, C+
The Pianist, A

overall grade: B+

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Frank Capra

It Happened One Night A
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town A+
You Can't Take it With You B+
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington A+
Meet John Doe B
Arsenic and Old Lace A+
It's a Wonderful Life A+

Overall Grade : A

__________________

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."- Groucho Marx

JOHN CARPENTER: B
Ghosts Of Mars (2001) D-
Vampires (1998) C
Escape From L.A. (1996) C-
Village of the Damned (1995) C
In The Mouth Of Madness (1995) -
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) B-
They Live (1988) B+
Prince of Darkness (1987) B
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) A+
Starman (1984) B
Christine (1983) C
The Thing (1982) A+
Escape from New York (1981) A+
The Fog (1980) B+
Halloween (1978) C
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) A-
Dark Star (1974) D-

I'm one of the few that really likes this flick. Thanks for participating.

__________________
"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

It's been a while since I've seen it (2, 3 years maybe). I should probably watch it again; I'd bet a pretty penny that my opinion would probably be different.

QUENTIN TARANTINO: B
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) B
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) C+
Jackie Brown (1997) B+
Pulp Fiction (1994) B+
Reservoir Dogs (1995) B+


SAM RAIMI: B
Spider-Man 2 (2004) B+
Spider-Man (2002) B+
The Gift (2000) B
For Love of the Game (1999) B-
A Simple Plan (1998) A-
The Quick And The Dead (1995) B-
Army Of Darkness (1993) A
Darkman (1990) B
Evil Dead II (1987) A+
Crimewave (1985) B-
The Evil Dead (1981) B-

M. Night Shyamamlan

• Wide Awake (1998): C
• The Sixth Sense (1999): A-
• Unbreakable (2000): B-
• Signs (2002): C
• The Village (2004): C

OVERALL GRADE: C+



_____________________

The Farrelly Brothers

• Dumb and Dumber (1994): B
• Kingpin (1996):B+
• There's Something About Mary (1998): A-
• Me, Myself & Irene (2000): C
• Shallow Hal (2002): D+
• Stuck on You (2003): C

OVERALL GRADE: C+

Probably my favourite director at the moment;

Ridley Scott



Blade Runner A+
Alien A
Legend A
Black Rain B
Thelma & Louise B
G.I. Jane D
Gladiator B
Hannibal B
Matchstick Men C+

__________________
instrumental rock band that I am in.

Robert Rodriguez

• El Mariachi (1992): B
• Desperado (1995):B
• From Dusk til Dawn (1996): B-
• The Faculty (1998): C-
• Spy Kids Trilogy (2001-03): C-
• Once Upon A Time in Mexico (2003): C-

OVERALL GRADE: C

Ridley Scott
The Duellists, B+
Alien, A
BladeRunner, A+
Legend, C+
Someone to Watch Over Me, C+
Black Rain, C
Thelma & Louise, A-
1492: Conquest of Paradise, D-
White Squall, B+
G.I. Jane, C-
Gladiator, C-
Hannibal, D+
Black Hawk Down, B-
Matchstick Men, C-

overall grade: C+



Tony Scott
The Hunger, B-
Top Gun, C-
Beverly Hills Cop II, C
Revenge, F
Days of Thunder, D
The Last Boy Scout, C+
True Romance, B-
Crimson Tide, C+
The Fan, D-
Enemy of the State, B-
Spy Game, C+
Man on Fire, C

overall grade: C-



Roger Donaldson
The Bounty, B
No Way Out, B-
Cocktail, F
Cadillac Man, C-
White Sands, B-
The Getaway, B
Species, C-
Dante's Peak, D+
Thirteen Days, B-
The Recruit, D

overall grade: C



Peter Hyams
Capricorn One, C+
Hanover Street, C
Outland, B-
The Star Chamber, C
2010: The Year We Make Contact, C+
Running Scared, B
The Presidio, C-
Narrow Margin, B-
Stay Tuned, F
Timecop, D+
Sudden Death, D-
The Relic, C-
End of Days, D-
The Musketeer, D

overall grade: C-



John Badham
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, B-
Saturday Night Fever, B-
Dracula (1979), C-
Whose Life Is It Anyway?, C+
Blue Thunder, B-
WarGames, B
American Flyers, B-
Short Circuit, C
Stakeout, B-
Bird on a Wire, F
The Hard Way, C-
Point of No Return, D-
Another Stakeout, F
Drop Zone, D
Nick of Time, C-
"The Jack Bull", C-

overall grade: C-



Robert Benton
Bad Company (1972), B-
The Late Show, C+
Kramer vs. Kramer, A-
Still of the Night, D+
Places in the Heart, B-
Nadine, D
Billy Bathgate, D+
Nobody's Fool, B+
Twilight, B+
The Human Stain, B

overall grade: B-

James Cameron

• Piranha Part 2: The Spawning (1981): D+
• the Terminator (1984):B
• Aliens (1986): B+
• The Abyss (1989): A-
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991): A-
• True Lies (1994): B+
• Titanic (1997): B+

OVERALL GRADE: B

Jim Cameron
The Terminator, B+
Aliens, B+
The Abyss, D+
Terminator 2: Judgmement Day, C
True Lies, B-
Titanic, C-

overall grade: C+



Sam Raimi
The Evil Dead, B-
Crimewave, F
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, B
Darkman, C-
Army of Darkness, C+
The Quick & the Dead, D+
A Simple Plan, A-
For Love of the Game, D
The Gift, D+
Spider-Man, C+
Spider-Man 2, C+

overall grade: C



Peter Jackson
Bad Taste, D
Meet the Feebles, D-
Dead Alive, C-
Heavenly Creatures, A-
"Forgotten Silver", B+
The Frighteners, C-
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, A
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, B+
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, A-

overall grade: B-



Kevin Smith
Clerks, B-
Mallrats, C-
Chasing Amy, C+
Dogma, B
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, C
Jersey Girl, C-

overall grade: C+

You just blew my mind.

The Abyss has a terrible screenplay. But then, so does Titanic, and everybody loves that piece of crap. You could use both in a class for how not to write a screenplay. But people love 'em, so what do I know?

Would you mind elaborating what makes it a bad script? I'm not schooled in the art of recognizing things like that. Keep in mind that I haven’t seen The Abyss for a great number of years, but I remember liking it well enough, but I also liked Titanic…but what do I know?

I too would like some clarification as to what exactly makes the Abyss such a poor script? Not that I don't think it has it's faults (largely in pacing and momentum), but I'm curious as to what you (Holden) think makes it such a dud?

__________________
Horror's Not Dead
Latest Movie Review(s): Too lazy to keep this up to date. New reviews every week.

Ugh.

It is a screenplay with about three different movies in it. Any one of them, if developed, might have made for a decent film, or a more talented visonary may have even found a way to meld the disperate elements seemlessly. As is, with the plotlines jumping haphazzardly from one strand and tone to another, The Abyss is a mess. The dialogue, though not quite on the level of trashiness evident in Titanic, is cardboard and might just as well have been written by a twelve-year-old boy (and not an especially talented one at that) in his own hand-made comic book. It's also about as deep as a bucket. Techinically, like T2, it is really something to behold. But after the "wow" wears off from the special effects, what is left is a hollow and poorly written script.

The making-of documentary about the filming of The Abyss is interesting and very much worth seeing. But the actual film itself is cheeseball corn that doesn't even have the courage to stick up for itself as such. Cameron's True Lies is such a fun ride specifically because it has no pretentions of any kind. The Abyss and T2 are both sunk by their heavy-handed yet extremely basic philosophizing. When compared to Sci-Fi classics such as BladeRunner and 2001: A Space Odyssey, Cameron's Abyss and Terminator 2 fall way, way short of being even close to the same class. Thus the appropriately low grades. T2 has some fun action sequences that set a standard for their day, but when the writer/director attempts to also graft larger social commentary and philosophy into the story, he has to suffer the penalty when they ring so very hollow.

I have no reservations about my grades. They weren't given in haste. Jimmy Cameron earned them.

No one asked you to change your opinion...I was just curious why. I need to see it again now that I have a more discerning eye, I suppose. I do know what you're saying in regards to hollow dialogue though. There are a number of pretty popular films nowadays that have the most retarded dialogue in them…it’s embarrassing. Not that I’m a freakin’ Einstein when it comes to my speech, but c’mon…my dog has more wit than some of the character’s out there.

David Fincher
Alien3, 6/10
Se7en, 9/10
The Game, 5/10
Fight Club, 7/10
Panic Room, 4/10

overall grade: 6/10



Ridley Scott
The Duellists, 8/10
Alien, 9/10
Blade Runner, 8/10
Legend, 5/10 (long time since I saw it...)
Black Rain, 6/10
Thelma & Louise, 8/10
G.I. Jane, 4/10
Gladiator, 7/10
Hannibal, 4/10
Black Hawk Down, 6/10

overall grade: 7/10

__________________
The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

Walter Hill
Hard Times, A-
The Driver, C+
The Warriors, B-
The Long Riders, B+
Southern Comfort, B
48 Hrs., B
Streets of Fire, B-
Brewster's Millions, C-
Crossroads, B-
Extreme Prejudice, C+
Red Heat, D+
Johnny Handsome, B-
Another 48 Hrs., C
Trespass, C-
Geronimo: An American Legend, C
Wild Bill, C-
Last Man Standing, D
Supernova, F
Undisputed, D+

overall grade: C



Stuart Rosenberg
Cool Hand Luke, A
The April Fools, B-
WUSA, C+
Pocket Money, C
The Laughing Policeman, B-
The Drowning Pool, B+
Voyage of the Damned, C+
The Amityville Horror, D+
Love and Bullets, C-
Brubaker, C+
The Pope of Greenwich Village, B
Let's Get Harry, D+
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, C+

overall grade: C+