America isn't ready for the real me

Four (very different) good ones.

L.A. Confidential (1997) - "As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen—one straight-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy—investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from friends of my parents
I watched it because: several people have recommended it to me
IMDB: 8.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 99% Audience: 94%

notable quote: "Are you asking me for a date, or an appointment?"
story: there's a lot going on here...
visuals: sumptuous
costumes, hair & makeup: spectacular
acting: I liked Russell Crowe as Bud White and James Cromwell as Captain Dudley Smith

intangibles: a great amount of intricate detail is packed into 138 minutes, and twice as much talking as the average modern script. It's a bit exhausting.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Supporting Actress—Kim Basinger (Lynn Bracken)

• Best Writing, Screenplay based on material previously published
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Director

• Best Cinematography

• Best Art Direction—Set Decoration

• Best Sound

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Dramatic Score

overall: recommended

Road to Perdition (2002) - "A mob enforcer's son witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from friends of my parents
I watched it because: I'd wanted to see it since it came out 
IMDB: 7.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 81% Audience: 86%

notable quote: "You're a big baby who doesn't know his thumb from his dick."
story: Capone-era gangsters sort out who's in charge and who's expendable.
visuals: gorgeously dark, ominous, and scary. It looks like the graphic novel adaptation that it is.
costumes, hair & makeup: fantastic and evocative
acting: I'm not usually a fan of child actors, but Tyler Hoechlin (Michael Sullivan, Jr.) was terrific. Palpably scared, trying to appear older than he was, and mired in grief and confusion. It is a wonderful performance.

intangibles: I didn't think I'd like it as well as I did. This is the absolute best way to be proven wrong about a movie! It's ominous, sad, uplifting, creepy, sweet, and smart.
Academy Award winner: Best Cinematography
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Supporting Actor—Paul Newman (John Rooney)

• Best Art Direction—Set Decoration

• Best Sound

• Best Sound Editing

• Best Music, Original Score
overall: recommended

Lorna Doone (2000) - "Against a backdrop of political and religious upheaval, a farmer falls in love with the 'queen' of the notorious Doone clam—a family [upon which he has sworn vengeance]."
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I'm not familiar with R.D. Blackmore's work
IMDB: 6.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 67%

notable quote: "Why wish for something that can only cause me pain?"
story: boy meets girl...
costumes, hair & makeup: these are some remarkably clean 17th century folk. Even the murky bad guys look freshly scrubbed, especially their hair.
acting: nothing extraordinary, but they didn't have much to work with. I mean, the story itself is probably fine, but the screenplay has them wandering pointlessly through fields to indicate happy lovey-dovey time. Uhm, there's probably more to it than that?  

intangibles: it's oddly charming and watchable, despite the peculiarities noted above
overall: recommended

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) - "Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline."
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I like war movies, John Wayne, and the Marine Corps
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 80%

notable quote: "If you're nervous, count your toes."
story: hard-ass sergeant takes on some grass-green recruits and some mouthy vets and prepares them for battles on Tarawa and Iwo Jima.
visuals: chillingly real—including actual footage from the war
acting: John Agar is good as Pfc. Peter Conway, the skeptic who figures it out just in time

intangibles: this is one of my John Wayne World War II favorites.
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor—Wayne (Sgt. John M. Stryker)

• Best Writing, Motion Picture Story

• Best Film Editing

• Best Sound Recording
overall: recommended

[the title quotation is from L.A. Confidential]