Ten (1979)

Ten (1979)

Orion etc.

October 5, 1979

Comedy

DVD
C-

I of course had heard of this movie since the time but never tried to watch it before.  Bumped up a notch for casting, but the main character is pretty unsympathetic, his stalking aside.  Blake Edwards wrote and directed.

Star! (1968)

Star! (1968)

20th Century Fox

October 22, 1968

Historical Comedy, Musical

DVD
C-

The music isn't that memorable and the structure is choppy, so even Andrews's charisma can go only so far.  Robert Wise directed, in the midst of a busy career, including the superior Sound of Music.

The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music

20th Century Fox

April 1, 1965

Historical Drama, Musical, Romance

DVD
B-

I watched this often as a child (it's where I first heard of pink lemonade) and a few times as an adult.  The songs (well, the famous ones) remain catchy and the movie doesn't drag as much as some three-hour movies do.  But, well, I've never fallen in love with the film.  And this time I'm going to say it's because of Christopher Plummer.  I don't know if it's his acting, or the direction, or the writing, but I just don't buy his character, especially his dramatic turns, like changing his whole personality in the course of one song.  That said, the kids are pretty good and Julie Andrews is marvelous, and there's the scenery and set design.  So, yeah, B- and I'll probably watch it a couple more times before I die.

This is based on the book by the real Maria Von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, and directed by the prolific Robert Wise.

The Princess Diaries

The Princess Diaries

Disney

August 3, 2001

Children's, Comedy

DVD
C

I saw this at the time, with very mixed feelings, and later read many of the books in the Meg Cabot series, with a different set of mixed feelings.  This time, I gave the movie a C after half an hour, because I just felt it's a good premise with a mostly flat execution.  Garry Marshall directed, because he likes makeover plots.