THE SHOOTING PARTY: I really didn’t want to dislike this movie. It seemed like that would be the result of cynicism–the thing where people try to get on top of a movie, to prevent it from hurting them.

But this thing is so heavyhanded! I mean, it is just WORLD WAR I IS COMING GENTLEMEN MAKE YOUR TIME! the entire way through, from the opening voiceover to the final title cards. There are some affecting moments (and some embarrassing ones, e.g. “God save the British Empire!”) and some funny bits (I liked the costume party). But overall, the entire movie could’ve been replaced by a title card reading, “ENGLAND, 1913,” and no insight would have been lost.