am I fast, or is Sweden just a very small place?

Another spoiler alert, and another Godawful terrible dumbass movie, with four good ones. Can't win every time, I guess?

Cavalcade (1933) - "A portrayal of the triumphs and tragedies of two English families, the upper-crust Marryots and the working-class Bridges', from 1899 to 1933."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because:
IMDB: 5.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 64% Audience: 26%

notable quote: "Something seems to have gone out of all of us and I ... I'm not sure that I like what's left."
story: a slice of life for two parallel families—upper and working class—in the first third of the 20th century
visuals: spectacular! The sets must have cost a mint. Regardless of the rest of the film, it is worth seeing just for that aspect.
costumes, hair & makeup: terrific, to show the passage of time
acting: Diana Wynyard (Jane Marryot) is amazing. She was one of the heralded stage actresses of the day, and has that ability to play large without descending into caricature. 

intangibles: I had mediocre expectations for the film, but it held my attention from start to finish.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Picture

• Best Director—Frank Lloyd

• Best Art Direction
Academy Award nominee: Best Actress—Wynyard
overall: recommended

A Time to Kill (1996) - "In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I hadn't seen it, and liked the last Grisham film that I saw
IMDB: 7.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 67% Audience: 85%

notable quote: "If you was on that jury, what would it take to convince you to set me free? That's how you save my ass. That's how you save us both."
story: it aspires to be a sort of modern-day To Kill a Mockingbird. If it is successful, it is more because of the actors than the writing.
visuals: well shot
costumes, hair & makeup: very good
acting: Matthew McConaughey (Jake Tyler Brigance) is terrific, a believable mix of bold and foolish. Samuel L. Jackson (Carl Lee Hailey) is the perfect fit for his role. And yet again, Donald Sutherland (Lucien Wilbanks) kind of stole the show for me. 

intangibles: the law is not bad, if not entirely right - and the entertainment is great
overall: recommended

Big Red (1962) - "A wealthy sportsman's decision to hire a backwoods orphan to exercise a champion Irish Setter has unexpected consequences."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's a live-action French-Canadian Disney film
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 46%

story: orphaned kid is hired on by a kind of snooty guy who owns a bunch of dogs (and a lot of other things) to care for one of the dogs. The ramifications of that relationship are bigger than anyone expects.
visuals: extraordinary; it makes me want to visit Montreal!
costumes, hair & makeup: just right to place the film in the late 1950s in the country around Québec
acting: Gilles Payant is marvelous as the young Rene Dumont, and Émile Genest charming and engaging as the farm manager Emile Fornet

intangibles: this is nothing like I thought it would be, and I really liked it
overall: recommended

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) - "After his mistress runs over a young teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight and attracts the interest of a down and out reporter."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I think I saw it at the theater when it first came out, on a very early date with the guy who I would later marry. I was pretty sure I hated it...
IMDB: 5.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 16% Audience: 26%

notable quote: "If you're going to live in a whorehouse, there's only one thing you can do: be the best damned whore around."
story: Tom Hanks plays a mealy-mouthed bond salesman who's married to a size 4 passive-aggressive nutcase with whom he has a daughter named "Campbell." He's also got a mistress - played by the abominable Melanie Griffith - who has all the class you could fit in a thimble. The two are headed out for an evening together and take a wrong turn, culminating in the hit-and-run of a Black guy. A reporter, played by scenery-chewing Bruce Willis, catches the scent of the story and events spiral out of control.
costumes, hair & makeup: late 80s-style flashy, with big hair and shoulder pads (male and female), skinny ties and gel
acting: paper-dolls have more depth. Remember when Tom Hanks was primarily known for that sitcom about two guys living in a women's-only apartment building? That was fucking Shakespeare compared to this.

intangibles: dreadful
overall: not recommended

The Quick and the Dead (1995) - "A female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death."
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: it's been recommended for a while and I was in a Western mood
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 59% Audience: 53%

notable quote: "'I need a woman.'

'You need a bath.'"
story: revenge.
visuals: spectacular
costumes, hair & makeup: exemplary
acting: hit or miss. Russell Crowe (Cort), Gene Hackman (John Herod) and Sharon Stone (Ellen) are quite good.

intangibles: I liked it. Would definitely watch again.
overall: recommended

[the title quotation is from The Quick and the Dead]