Cromwell (1970)
A good but historically very inaccurate film about the English civil war and the execution of Charles I. Richard Harris chews the scenery as Cromwell like he's going to starve. Alec McGuiness plays the king masterfully and the soundtrack's quite something to behold but do not for one second mistake this for anything other than the broadest of broad strokes of a historical account.
Zodiac (2007)
David Fincher's best film to date and it's sad that he has not managed to make something as gripping as this in the last 13 years.
Se7en (1995)
By comparison, I find the trope of the serial murderer with an artistic vision/religious purpose to be less compelling and while the ending puts all the pieces into place, the film just kind of...ends with a voice-over narration. The murders are quite brutal (though some are a bit implausible,
in particular) and Morgan Freeman's acting is excellent. Brad Pitt's character was more obnoxious this time around than I remember and while it makes sense for the film, it's no less annoying.
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Overall, I feel like there's something questionable about
and ultimately the film seems to be about her learning to be more forgiving of the terrible behaviour of the men in her life (
). However, the film admittedly also is about self-realisation and confrontation of one's own flaws. I do not know how this would be received nowadays. There were a number of scenes where I was not sure whether the film was endorsing the terrible behaviour or commenting on it. However, the dialogue exchanges are witty and the strong writing leads to fun clashes of personalities. However, the film does feel like it belongs in a different time.
Wuthering Heights (1939)
Not the most faithful adaptation from what I hear but I have not read the source material and found the film compelling on its own terms. It's quite fascinating how flawed the two main characters are and how they themselves stand in the way of their own happiness and what they obviously desire. There is one scene in particular that involves a pair of dirty hands that would not get much appreciation nowadays I would say, nor would the character to whom said hands belong get much sympathy for what happens in that moment of anger. Alas, the British class system again plays its cruel tricks on these tormented characters but they themselves, their inability to communicate honestly and bad circumstances seal their fate. Olivier is particularly strong as Heathcliff and it will be difficult to look at another adaptation of this story and not compare other actors to him. It's also quite impressive how they made California look like fog-ridden England.
Last edited by
Batfan175 on November 30th, 2020, 5:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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