Welcome to the latest edition of Review Roundup, regretfully a little later than usual as I was a tad busy over the Easter weekend. Following the relatively slow rate of movie watching in January and February (as detailed in the previous edition), I am pleased to say that March was a jam-packed month! I aimed to watch at least one film a day, and ended up exceeding that amount with a grand total of 33 films. Despite this, I didn't get much writing done about most of these, but looking back on the month, there are still a couple reviews that deserve sharing, some of which have a certain commonality you may notice.
THROWBACK: Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 1939) - reviewed 04/03/2026
"Love what Wyler does with space here; I’ve only seen a few of his films but if there’s anything I tend to fixate on, it’s the settings he constructs and what meaning is derived from such, think the vast expanses of the American frontier used to demonstrate myopic nature of traditional Western conflicts in The Big Country, or the sprawling urban landscape of Rome that becomes a site for a close connection to form between the unlikely pair in Roman Holiday. Elements of both those films can be observed here, particularly the scope of the moors connoting a sense of freeness and fulfilment when depicted alongside the interiors that comparatively signify confinement and emptiness. There’s something very [The] Magnificent Ambersons about the latter too, a certain gloomy and haunted quality within the lavish buildings that one would expect to be luxurious and comfortable. With some lovely deep focus and long takes capturing all of the above, this is a gorgeously and richly constructed piece on the whole. It certainly might have gone down a bit better if the narrative didn’t so firmly opt for rather plain romantic melodrama in executing this story; while I’ve not read the original Wuthering Heights novel, from what I gather it sounds like, for its time, a very nuanced meditation on class as well as race in some respects, and I would not be surprised to learn that this softens a lot of the sharp edges at hand to fit a more Hollywood happy mould. But, I suppose that’s par for the course when it comes to this era of cinema, if there was to be an adaptation made in the current day and age that featured the exact same sensibilities, I would most certainly be less forgiving..." 7/10
THROWBACK: Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, 2011) - reviewed 05/03/2026
"If you asked me to name any filmmakers I actively don’t like, Andrea Arnold would be one of the first to come to mind. I’ve never really got on with her aggressive attempts at social realism both in terms of how they’re formally put together as well as what defeatist conclusions they often arrive at, so I’m never inclined to check out a film of hers. I was however intrigued by her take on Wuthering Heights as, from what I heard beforehand, it sounded like an approach that realised many complications that the original novel only ever alluded to, fittingly so for an adaptation arriving in the 21st century, far removed from the simpler Hollywood days of William Wyler’s version. Having seen the film, it is just that in some ways, most notably by openly exploring the sense of otherness surrounding Heathcliff and in turn focusing on presenting the central relationship as something not necessarily romantic, which I appreciated. Despite being portrayed by a non-white actor, I wouldn’t say the film is too interested in saying anything specifically about race as a subject beyond utilising its basic feature of distinguishing Heathcliff from the rest of the cast, but it has a firm enough presence in the text to not feel insignificant. I think that’s probably the best thing I can say here, as otherwise this is mostly let down by a lot of the usual Arnold-isms; I can see how this story aligns with her usual thematic interests, but her style only partially does it justice. The dreariness about the setting is rather stellar and the lighting is often moody, but the excessive emphasis on grittiness and inelegance as we’ve seen from Arnold before is more exhausting than it is incisive, with an over abundance of extreme close-ups alongside nauseating handheld footage, much of which is disorientating in the least desirable ways, and frankly jarring editing with all too many unmotivated cuts. That said, while these things may have made the viewing experience less than ideal, that’s not to say they devalue the film as an object overall. It’s generally sound with the tone Arnold is taking here and it is refreshing as a take on Wuthering Heights compared to past adaptations such as the 1939 film. I haven’t seen Emerald Fennell’s new interpretation of the story, but from what I gather, it seems like a regression in terms of respecting the material and its nuance on taking it to the screen, something that may have been forgivable in the classical Hollywood years but is rather hard to justify in today’s world. That sentiment only rings more true when you have Arnold’s version out there fifteen years prior; for all its flaws, it does broadly operate as a modern approach to complex classical literature ought to." 6/10
NEW: GOAT (Tyree Dillihay, 2026) - reviewed 07/03/2026
"It’s interesting to me that GOAT doesn’t seem to have made much of a splash in the animation community. When I first heard about this film, I fully expected it to be the next piece of mainstream animated output that would have a chokehold on the ‘animation is cinema’ crowd for a year or so, but, despite aesthetically having all the usual flashy Spider-Verse-coded sensibilities that people can’t seem to get enough of, it nonetheless feels like it’s managed to go under the radar. Now, I don’t want to act like I was ahead of the curve or anything, but in my review of KPop Demon Hunters from last year, I did mention how I was becoming a bit bored of this style / tone in modern animation and that, for me, such was no longer enough to make up for familiar tropes and half-baked narratives as they may once have been able to, and judging by the reception of GOAT, it looks as though others may be catching up with that sentiment. I did enjoy this a fair bit as there’s plenty of fun to be had with the dynamic game-oriented sequences and colourful characterisation, both of which delightfully take advantage of what possibilities come with having a cast of varied animal characters, but it is otherwise a lot of the usual sports film shenanigans and more often than not feels like it’s quite flippantly rushing between the various plot points. There’s a lot of Space Jam about this, not only in featuring kinetic set pieces based around basketball (or some equivalent), but also in just how fast paced and excessively efficient it was in constructing its rather loose narrative. I can imagine this having gone down really well and been a big hit had it come out around 2021, but in the current climate, much of what it has to offer can easily be seen elsewhere, and on a much greater level of quality too. Still, it’s decent enough for what it is, and the fact that it hasn’t sparked a further wave of aggressive incuriosity among so-called animation enthusiasts means I can’t get too annoyed." 6/10
THROWBACK: Emily (Frances O'Connor, 2022) - reviewed 09/03/2026
"Yep, we’re now tapping into Emily Brontë lore instead of seeing whatever that new object is, although I might have already reached at a point where I’m exhausted on this topic as this was really quite dull. It’s funny how across the three films I’ve watched we can observe the gradual worsening of film form over time, from the endlessly gorgeous classical Hollywood days, to the unorthodox yet still intriguing grittiness of the late 2000s / early 2010s, and finally all the way to the tepid standards of the present. My god this was one of the most visually uninspired pieces I’ve seen in a long time; as much as I’m not a fan of what Arnold achieved on the whole in 2011’s Wuthering Heights, at least there was a sufficient amount of depth and heft in each shot as well as moodiness about how everything was lit and coloured, meanwhile everything here is so shallow and washed out and behaves so conventionally that it’s devoid of anything remotely expressive. At times it’s definitely striving for a sense of monotony, but that’s no excuse for putting no effort into how things are constructed themselves. There’s even instances where it borders on amateurish? One scene sees Emily and her brother sat talking in a windy field, with mostly a shot-reverse-shot approach to their conversation, and I ended up being fixated on Emily’s hair throughout because of how it varied so drastically between shots, in one being rather static and composed but in the other having various bits covering her face due to the wind. I’ll always appreciate on-location shooting but maybe be a little more inventive with your cinematography so you don’t run into these egregious continuity issues. Speaking of Emily, I really had trouble buying Emma Mackey in the role. I do like her as an actress and she does well conveying the necessary feistiness and frustration in a subdued manner here, but like, is it just me or does she not look quite right? I’m not talking some sort of ‘iPhone face’ matter that others bring up these days, it’s more just a weird case that she doesn’t really look that British? That seems very peculiar to say, especially after how brilliant and convincing she was in the decidedly British Sex Education, but in this period context something felt off about her appearance. When she started speaking French that felt like a more believable voice to be coming out of her, so maybe she wasn’t quite right for the part. Beyond her performance, I don’t think the film really does much of note with Emily Brontë as a character, the most I can say being that it prides itself in depicting situations in her life that resemble scenes in Wuthering Heights, and, to the film’s credit, rarely in a way that aggressively beats the audience over the head with the parallels in question (though I’m not an expert on the source material so there might’ve been a lot of perfunctory / forced references that went over my head). At times I was reminded of 2019’s Little Women, which adapted a familiar novel in a distinct way that allowed for incisive allusions to the original author Louisa May Alcott to be realised based on her protagonist, but to say this didn’t come close to being as effective would be an understatement. Overall quite the load of nothing here, I still haven’t seen it but at least Fennell’s Wuthering Heights seems like it has the potential to be enjoyable and memorable in how awful it may be, this meanwhile really is just nothing. Maybe if you’re familiar with Brontë as a historical figure this might be a somewhat curious object for how it strays from the truth / employs elements of her literature into her life, but if you’re outside of that sector like I am there’s not a lot to write home about, definitely not on the positive end of things." 5/10
NEW: The Testament of Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold, 2025) - reviewed 12/03/2026
"Musical expression is catharsis, and so is the faith to which those at the centre of this picture are committed. A naturally forged connection between the two here aptly lays the foundation for a striking, thoughtful piece of musical cinema. Exhausting at times, yet consistently audacious and never afraid to shy away from the extreme facets of which it is composed, always letting the overarching theatricality and heightened modes of expression about its unique depiction have all the necessary time to flourish. Definitely one of the most distinct musical voices to emerge in recent years, wholly visual and behaving free of any rigid adherence to convention for the most part, in turn only enhanced by how incisive the form proves to be alongside the subject matter. A darker, more twisted side of American heritage on display through the genre here, but one that is equally as intriguing and perhaps made more compelling by the means through which it is presented. I would want to see more films like this." 8/10
THROWBACK: Louisiana Story (Robert Flaherty, 1948) - reviewed 19/03/2026
"Flaherty being the exception to the classical Hollywood rule. It’s refreshing to see a filmmaker who, on the advent of film sound, didn’t let innovation affect the dynamics of their formalism in terms of how significant the image is. So much of this is carried by the visuals, with very little dialogue and the soundscape at large generally just complementing the picture, but crucially not completing it. This feels like it could theoretically function just fine as a silent picture, which is what should be the case for any film in my opinion. Dialogue and other sound features aren’t inherently bad elements, but an over-reliance on them and their co-existence with the image results in lesser filmmaking as I take it. Not bad, but lesser. In addition, Flaherty doesn’t let the newfound focus on efficiency detract from his pacing and construction, as he allows the landscapes he captures to have all the breathing room they deserve as he did in his pseudo-documentaries of the 1920s. Plot is not prioritised, atmosphere is, and even if a certain aimlessness weighs Louisiana Story down, there’s plenty to be in awe of at every turn. The bayou space is well defined, with both its scope as well as its finer details coming across effectively, and the juxtaposition between the natural beauty of such and the imposing mechanical machinery is also compelling. The time spent emphasising the facets of each, such as the sprawling ecosystem of the former and the endless array of moving parts in the latter make for a consistently engaging setting. Even on looking to the narrative at hand, what I deduced was a somewhat autobiographical quality on Flaherty’s behalf; our protagonist spends much time in the natural world and is initially intimidated by the onset of industrialisation, but after facing various obstacles as a result of their perhaps outdated means of perseverance, and on witnessing the destructive capabilities of those making their mark on his familiar territory, ultimately finds that cooperation with such and a combination of old and new is key to an enduring industry. While there are definitely pro-capitalist undertones here that can be fairly criticised within the film’s particular context, what it represents in a broader sense (which I find applicable to the film world) is quite intriguing and rich on considering the director and their filmmaking style alongside the time in which it has existed. Lots to think about here, I liked this quite a bit." 7/10
THROWBACK: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966) - reviewed 26/03/2026
"[The Dollars Trilogy] is the template for how any series of films ought to operate. Every piece stands perfectly on its own, but when combined into a single entity, becomes even more satisfying. I love how things develop across the three films, the scope of the settings, the levels of trust we can place in characters, and the extremity of the violence. We go from a contained story of a mysterious man entering a small town and manipulating both sides of a localised conflict for his own gain, to following a pair of suspicious bounty hunters as they undergo more elaborate measures to benefit themselves across a more expansive array of locations, all the way to a complicated trio whose loyalties are constantly changing as they navigate far-reaching distances amid a nationwide conflict, crucially trying to stay out of such given what threat it poses to their petty, selfish desires. The corruption and moral ambiguity about these figures of the Old West is more richly explored with each new entry, and while I wasn’t completely keen on A Fistful of Dollars due to its relatively simple nature, I now appreciate that being completely by design when framed against its successors. As the trilogy progresses, Leone’s formalism and set pieces get bigger and better too, with broader wide angles juxtaposed against even tighter close-ups, and assembled with consistently unpredictable zooms and cuts. Just comparing the climactic showdowns places his increasing brilliance into perspective. And all throughout, [Clint] Eastwood is the most charismatic and badass screen presence, and [Ennio] Morricone is as bombastic and flavourful as can be with his striking musical cues and leitmotifs. I’m so glad to finally have checked all three of these out and enjoyed them all very much, especially considering I haven’t always been partial to a Western and am still gradually becoming more interested in them and their mechanics. It’s no wonder as to why this is regarded as one of the best trilogies out there." 8/10
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