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.
Rome (6)
May 15, 2026Ben-Hur (1959) — Review
Ben-Hur is one of the great American historical epics and the production that established the commercial and creative ceiling for biblical-era cinema. William Wyler directed. The film was released in November 1959. It grossed approximately one hundred forty-six million dollars in its initial...
May 15, 2026Cleopatra (1934 / 1945 / 1963 / 1999 / 2023) — Contrast Review
Cleopatra VII Philopator has been one of the most extensively dramatized historical figures in screen cinema history. The last active pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt from 51 BCE until her death in 30 BCE. Her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, her political maneuvering...
May 15, 2026Gladiator (2000)
Gladiator is the film that revived the Hollywood epic. Seen it four times. The 9 rating is honest evaluation. Ridley Scott directing. Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus. Connie Nielsen as Lucilla. Oliver Reed as Proximo. Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius. Djimon...
May 15, 2026I, Claudius (BBC, 1976) — Review
I, Claudius is one of the greatest television productions ever made. The BBC series ran twelve episodes in 1976 and adapted Robert Graves's novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God. The production budget was approximately three hundred thousand pounds, which was modest even by 1976 BBC standards....
May 15, 2026Rome (HBO, 2005-2007) — Review
Rome is one of the best television productions ever made. The HBO series ran two seasons from 2005 to 2007 and was canceled because the budget was unsustainable. The two seasons that exist comprise twenty-two episodes of historical drama operating at levels no prestige television series before or...
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.