I film

1/3 (at most) of each episode dives shallowly into timeless movies of the decade. 1/3 focuses on movies that have political undertones and slants it towards our political enviornment of the last few years. Finally, any movie that fills the emptiness of the current new social movements.

This series brings you down after every episode.

I expected explanations and how Kurosawa and other foreign directors influenced Hollywood movies but we mostly got list of movies from that era which we already knew. Movies that were significant for black culture were the only thing that were explained well. No Kurosawa no Fellini no Goddard no Ozu no Bergman and Tarkovsky... I loved when Edgar Wright and PTA were talking but that's about it.

As with most of the CNN-produced mini-series in this ilk, if you are watching for deep, original revelations about the subject matter then you might be a little disappointed. That isn't the way that CNN operates. Instead, this is more like people sitting around talking about their favorite movies, completely with incredibly high production value graphics and clips.

Basically covering a decade per episode (the 1930s-50s are sort of smooshed together in one), "The Movies" looks at the trends of each ten-year span through a variety of lenses. The "big ones" are always covered, but perspectives are also given each episode on women, minority, and independent-led films. As such, it leads to a pretty well-rounded discussion for such a surface-level show.

Of course, as I said, there are really no "deep dives" here. This is meant to capture the eye of casual, all-age viewers sitting around on a Sunday night, not jump-start huge philosophical or in-depth discussions.

So, your enjoyment of "The Movies" will likely depend on what you are looking for. If you don't mind--like me--just sitting back and watches clips & brief commentary on your favorite flicks, you'll burn through this in no time! If you want more nuanced content, you may want to look elsewhere.

I can't believe David Lynch was not mentioned once during the nineties episode. Since all the movies in the documentary are American anyway, why isn't this great artist being recognized at all?

And by the way... There are so many great films from the rest of the world as well, but this documentary only focuses on classical Hollywood.

Apart from that, nothing new or shocking is revealed. These are mostly just actors and directors saying they like a movie, one of them actually said it in the form of 'this movie is one of the best' which is the type of comments you often see on the internet that I find ridiculous. I believe this should always be rephrased as 'I find this movie one of the best'. It's all subjective no?

The purpose of series seems be to remind. Films, actors, directors. And , nothing more. It is enough, for me. Because it is a resurrection of memories, moments, emotions. Sure, it could be better. But my gratitude for the idea and, at the first sigh, simplistic craft, is round. Because it is a good way to discover reactions , testimonies and impressions of actors and directors . So, just good serie.