The Pale Blue Eye - 3/5

This movie initially promises to provide a break from the dour mystery genre with a bit of a more lighthearted tone than its peers, but a few scenes make up for the rest of the film. Including Edgar Allen Poe as a main character is an interesting choice, and capitalizes only on certain aspects of the tone of some of his stories and poems while largely ignoring historical accuracy and any potential literary poetic value. The mystery solution is mostly fine, but leaves a few unanswered questions along with a sense of unfinished narrative.

Closest comparison: It’s like Antlers by way of The Raven (2012).

Setting: Military Drama
Plot: Dour Mystery
Tone: Psychological Tragedy

Henry V (1989) - 4/5

This is the definitive version of Shakespeare’s play, brought to life by the inimitable Kenneth Branagh. If you already like The Bard you’ll love it, but even those unfamiliar with his works may find themselves enjoying the antiquated dialogue and some historical aspects of the plot. Then ending, though, features an abrupt change of tone which is a strange directoral choice.

Closest comparison: It’s Shakespeare by Kenneth Branagh. What more do you want?

Setting: War
Plot: Political
Tone: Stage Play

The Prestige - 5/5

What Shayamalan did for plot twists in cinema Nolan did for mind-bending narratives, and here he brings that treatment to the late 19th century illusionist genre. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman bring a profound subtlety to their characters that make repeat viewings of this film very rewarding. The intricately compelling of the plot is riveting to the point that it eclipses outstanding performances from Andy Serkis and the late great David Bowie.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Illusionist (2006) by way of Memento.

Setting: Mystery
Plot: Rivalry Tragedy
Tone: Thriller

Ford v Ferrari - 3/5

This movie is too long. It’s well executed on a technical level, of course, fine acting and cinematography etc., but it has more corporate jockeying than actual racing and the conflict is too straightforward to bear that out. There are lots of gratuitous shots of racecars and it ends up doing for cars what Top Gun did for fighter jets. Some of the humor is mean-spirited Schadenfreude, with a few short scenes are completely shoehorned in and not only break the flow of the movie but are strange diversions for the characters. On the whole it manages to hold audience attention as a perfectly serviceable historical drama about racecar drivers.

Closest comparison: It’s like Top Gun by way of Hidden Figures.

Setting: Racing Drama
Plot: Sports Drama
Tone: Corporate Drama

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (Netflix) - 4/5

This is what Disney’s The Jungle Book (2016) should have been: much more thoughtully constructed, more emotive facial animation on the animals, and an all-around more engaging story. The voice acting is so good I couldn’t tell who anyone was (except Cate Blanchett), and was astonished to see the cast list in the end credits. In Disney’s version Mowgli looks like he has never been outisde before and timidly walks around fallen logs. In this version Mowgli is running on all fours and diving off treebranches. This is a microcosm of the difference in quality between these two movies. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a bit darker than its Disney counterpart, and even though it’s still a family-weight film some parts may be frightening to young children.

Closest comparison: It’s a better version of Disney’s The Jungle Book (2016)