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.
World War II (8)
May 17, 2026Casablanca (1942)
Curtiz's 1942 wartime romance. Bogart, Bergman, Henreid. The most quoted American film ever made. Holds every position it took during shooting.
May 17, 2026Come and See (1985)
Klimov's 1985 Soviet WWII drama. A teenage boy joins partisans in Nazi-occupied Belarus. Among the most devastating war films ever made.
May 17, 2026Das Boot (1981)
Petersen's 1981 German U-boat drama. Three-hour theatrical, six-hour director's cut, miniseries. The submarine claustrophobia film all later sub films measure against.
May 17, 2026Downfall (2004)
Hirschbiegel's 2004 German WWII drama. Bruno Ganz as Hitler in the bunker's last ten days. The film YouTube remix culture turned into meme footage.
May 19, 2026Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan's 2023 Manhattan Project biopic. Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer. Won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.
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, 2026Stalag 17 (1953)
Billy Wilder's 1953 WWII POW camp drama. William Holden won Best Actor. Source for Hogan's Heroes. The German camp informer.
May 19, 2026The English Patient (1996)
Anthony Minghella's 1996 wartime romance epic. Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas. Won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture.