if you can convince people what you're doing is real and it's also bigger than life -- that's exciting.

Some classics, some mediocre feh, and a new contender for the finest film I've ever seen.

¡Three Amigos! (1986) - "Three actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing."
I watched it because: I was in the mood for something silly, mindless, and preferably that I had seen before.
story: 2/5--see silly and mindless, above
visuals: 3/5--fun to watch
acting: 4/5--standout: Steve Martin is clever and funny here, managing (for the most part) to curb his tendency to overact in comedy roles
intangibles: 3/5--this should be a tired, ridiculous farce, but it's still enough to pass some time.
overall: 3/5

The Wizard of Oz (1939) - "Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well."
I watched it because: it's a classic, of course. #3 on AFI’s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals, #6 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (original list 1998), #10 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – 10th Ann. Ed. (2007), and #26 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers (2006).
story: 3.5/5
visuals: 4.5/5--still enthralling, even after all this time
acting: 3/5
intangibles: 3.5/5--it's a movie about kindness and care. There's something incredibly appealing about that, right now and always.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Music, Original Song
• Best Music, Original Score
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture
• Best Cinematography, Color
• Best Art Direction
• Best Effects, Special Effects
overall: 3.625/5

Hoosiers (1986) - "A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship."
I watched it because: my dad recommended it. Turns out to be one of those movies that a lot of people hold very dear.
story: 4.5/5
visuals: 3.5/5
acting: 4.5/5--standouts: Gene Hackman (Norman Dale) and David Neidorf (Everett Flatch)
intangibles: 4/5
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Supporting Actor--Dennis Hopper
• Best Music, Original Score
overall: 4.125/5

The Odd Couple (1968) - "Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day."
I watched it because: it's a classic - #17 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs (2000).
story: 2/5
visuals: 3.5/5
acting: 3/5--standout: Walter Matthau
intangibles: 1.5/5--I found this movie incredibly sad and annoying. It is entirely based on blatantly psychoanalytic references. After 4 years living near the University of Michigan, I've had plenty enough of that shit.
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Film Editing
• Best Writing, Based on Material from Another Medium
overall: 2.5/5

Live Free or Die Hard (2007) - "John McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington D.C."
I watched it because: it's the 4th in the series (and a box set), I've quite enjoyed the first three, and I was looking for some engaging action when I got back into my exercise regimen.
story: 2.5/5--stretching the outer boundaries of silly unbelievable ridiculous imagination
visuals: 4.5/5--this series is so well done. There are none of the cheesy effects of other films from the era.
acting: 3.5/5--standouts: Bruce Willis, of course, is outstanding as John McClane. I also liked Mary Elizabeth Winstead as his daughter Lucy, and as usual I thought McClane's straight-man--in this case, Cliff Curtis as Deputy Director Bowman--is the unsung yet scene-stealing role of the show.
intangibles: 3/5--it has its doofy moments, but this is a worthy entry in the canon.
overall: 3.375/5

Hud (1963) - "Honest and hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant and egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash."
I watched it because: I had heard the name but had not seen the film, didn't know anything about it, and when it was recommended on Amazon Prime, I thought it was time to figure out what the fuss was about.
story: 4.5/5--brilliant
visuals: 5/5--phenomenally lit and shot. This movie is a class in so many ways, and visually it is completely extraordinary.
acting: 5/5--absolutely nothing out of place, nothing extra, nothing missing. I think this could be the best movie I've seen. It's definitely the finest "Western" ever made, in my opinion.
intangibles: 4.5/5--the interplay between Paul Newman and Patricia Neal is dark, dangerous, and sexy as Hell.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Actress--Neal
• Best Supporting Actor--Melvyn Douglas
• Best Cinematography, B&W
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor--Newman
• Best Director
• Best Writing, Based on Material from Another Medium
• Best Art Direction--Set Decoration, B&W
overall: 4.75/5

Arbitrage (2012) - "A troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help."
I watched it because: it was recommended on Amazon Prime, I like Richard Gere pretty well, and--however disagreeable it is to admit--I hadn't known what the word meant, so I decided to watch and learn. (FYI, if you're impatient, this is what it means.)
story: 3/5
visuals: 4/5
acting: 2.5/5--standouts: Nate Parker (Jimmy) and Tim Roth (Det. Bryer)
intangibles: 2/5--it's a "telling" movie, not a "showing" movie, which makes it hard to watch. The actress playing the girlfriend is profoundly unskilled (but has a fantastic body). And has anyone else noticed that Gere has extremely small eyes? Once you see that, it's hard to unsee it.
overall: 2.875/5

[the title quotation is by Gene Hackman]