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.
Historical (14)
May 19, 2026A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Fred Zinnemann's 1966 Thomas More biopic. Paul Scofield won Best Actor. Won Best Picture. Robert Bolt's play adaptation.
May 19, 2026Apollo 11 (2019)
Todd Douglas Miller's 2019 archival doc. Newly discovered 65mm footage of 1969 moon landing. No narration. Real-time tension.
May 19, 2026Becket (1964)
Peter Glenville's 1964 Anouilh play adaptation. Burton as Becket, O'Toole as Henry II. Their friendship-to-rivalry through theatrical dialogue.
May 19, 2026Braveheart (1995)
Mel Gibson's 1995 William Wallace biopic. Won Best Picture. Historical accuracy abandoned for emotional impact. Freedom.
May 19, 2026El Cid (1961)
Anthony Mann's 1961 Spanish reconquista epic. Charlton Heston as Rodrigo Diaz, Sophia Loren. Dead Cid strapped to horse climax.
May 19, 2026Gandhi (1982)
Richard Attenborough's 1982 Gandhi biopic. Ben Kingsley breakthrough. Won eight Academy Awards. Three-hour epic of nonviolent resistance.
May 19, 2026Henry V (1989)
Kenneth Branagh's 1989 directorial debut. Mud and blood Agincourt rather than Olivier's pageantry. Once more unto the breach.
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, 2026Spartacus (1960)
Stanley Kubrick's 1960 Roman epic. Kirk Douglas as the slave revolt leader. Broke the Hollywood blacklist through Dalton Trumbo credit.
May 19, 2026The Last Duel (2021)
Ridley Scott's 2021 fourteenth-century rape trial drama. Damon, Driver, Affleck, Comer. Three Rashomon perspectives.
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 15, 2026Ulysses (1954) — Review
Ulysses is one of the more interesting Italian-American historical epic co-productions of the early 1950s and one of Kirk Douglas's substantial European film performances. Mario Camerini directed. The film was released in October 1954 in Italy and August 1955 in the United States. It grossed...