Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Biopic (21)
May 16, 2026American Gangster (2007)
Ridley Scott's 2007 Frank Lucas biopic. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in parallel protagonist tracks. Vietnam-Harlem heroin connection.
May 18, 2026American Made (2017)
2017 Doug Liman crime biopic with Tom Cruise as TWA pilot Barry Seal, drug runner and CIA asset in the 1980s.
May 19, 2026Awakenings (1990)
Penny Marshall's 1990 Oliver Sacks biopic. Robin Williams as the doctor, De Niro as encephalitic patient. L-Dopa breakthrough.
May 16, 2026Black Mass (2015)
Scott Cooper's 2015 Whitey Bulger biopic. Johnny Depp's strongest dramatic performance since the 1990s. FBI corruption as central subject.
May 19, 2026Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Bryan Singer's 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic. Rami Malek won Best Actor. Queen's Live Aid recreation. Historical compression.
May 17, 2026Bronson (2008)
Refn's 2008 British prison biopic. Tom Hardy as Charles Bronson. Theatrical address-to-camera framing, real-time violence sequences. The film that announced Hardy.
May 19, 2026Capote (2005)
Bennett Miller's 2005 Truman Capote biopic. Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor. In Cold Blood research period in Kansas.
May 18, 2026Domino (2005)
2005 Tony Scott action with Keira Knightley as real-life model turned bounty hunter Domino Harvey. Hyperkinetic style.
May 19, 2026Gandhi (1982)
Richard Attenborough's 1982 Gandhi biopic. Ben Kingsley breakthrough. Won eight Academy Awards. Three-hour epic of nonviolent resistance.
May 18, 2026Gotti (2018)
2018 Kevin Connolly biopic with Travolta as Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Notorious zero-percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
May 18, 2026JFK (1991)
1991 Oliver Stone conspiracy drama with Kevin Costner as New Orleans DA Jim Garrison prosecuting Clay Shaw for the Kennedy assassination.
May 18, 2026Kill the Irishman (2011)
2011 Jonathan Hensleigh crime biopic with Ray Stevenson as 1970s Cleveland mob enforcer Danny Greene. Christopher Walken supports.
May 19, 2026Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan's 2023 Manhattan Project biopic. Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer. Won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.
May 19, 2026Reds (1981)
Warren Beatty's 1981 John Reed biopic. American journalist who covered the Russian Revolution. Beatty directed, produced, starred, co-wrote.
May 19, 2026Schindler’s List (1993)
Spielberg's 1993 Holocaust drama. Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, Fiennes as Goeth. Black and white with the red coat. Won Best Picture.
May 19, 2026Something the Lord Made (2004)
Joseph Sargent's 2004 HBO film. Alan Rickman as Dr. Alfred Blalock, Mos Def as Vivien Thomas. Pediatric heart surgery pioneers.
May 19, 2026The Last Emperor (1987)
Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 Pu Yi biopic. First Western film granted Forbidden City access. Won nine Academy Awards.
May 19, 2026The Social Network (2010)
David Fincher's 2010 Facebook origin drama. Aaron Sorkin screenplay. Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, Garfield as Saverin.
May 19, 2026The Theory of Everything (2014)
James Marsh's 2014 Stephen Hawking biopic. Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor. Hawking's first marriage perspective.
May 19, 2026Walk the Line (2005)
James Mangold's 2005 Johnny Cash biopic. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Cash and June Carter. Witherspoon won Best Actress.
May 19, 2026Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Morgan Neville's 2018 Fred Rogers doc. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and the man behind it. Made viewers cry in theaters.