Movies
Silent romance that shares the same lead as Sunrise (Janet Gaynor), no doubt the most infamous romantic film of the silent era. 7th Heaven isn't quite on the same level, the war intermezzo detracts from the core and things get a little too sentimental and religious, but it's still better than many of the talkies that would pop up in the next decade. The plot isn't too original and the war scenes in the second half feel like conscious filler to pad the runtime. I would've preferred a shorter film with a serious portion of the melodrama cut out, but the romance is pretty solid and there are a few memorable moments scattered throughout. Not too bad.Read all
A noir that leans heavily into its dramatic undercurrents. It's still presented as a noir, the often squarish and forced acting included, which isn't the best combo for a film that tries to have an emotional core. The introduction was promising, things went downhill quickly after that. I haven't seen too many classics lately, and I'm starting to feel the withdrawal, but then noirs were never my favorite classics to begin with (possibly only trumped by westerns). Borzage made an effort to give the film some extra polish, but it just didn't do much for me, as nothing stuck.Read all