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Rocketman (2019)
Underappreciated
This film, and Taron Egerton, deserve more praise. His performance was brilliant and the bio musical concept, which could have been a disaster, was surprisingly effective. It is also a tribute to the long creative partnership of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, the brilliant lyricist and friend who has lived in Elton's shadow. Curiously, while the songs are used to tell Elton's story, the words come from Bernie's experiences.
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Everyone wants to tackle Henry the 8th
You probably could spend a week or more watching Henry the 8th films 24/7. This is one of the least historically accurate, but at least it isn't one of the worst. The book was better.
Kecksburg (2019)
One of the better local indie films
I work a lot in the Pittsburgh indie film scene. Local films range from abysmal to actually pretty decent and this was one of the latter. Pittsburgh has some outstanding talent that deserves more recognition. Many of them work as background in big films and TV series like Mindhunter, but get their chance to shine in independent films like this. The stars of Kecksburg are not local, but I saw faces I recognized like Steph Riker, Sonny Ziff, Jerry Pietrala, and more. While I wish they had cast locals in all the roles, the actors from LA and NY put in very strong performances. Maria Olsen is a horror icon and has a brief cameo as a doctor in an classic alien autopsy sequence. In case it isn't obvious from the trailer, there are aliens in Kecksburg, but the aliens aren't the bad guys. The director made a smart choice by not showing them too closely. We see just enough. The main man in black makes your skin crawl. He doesn't have many credits, so I am not sure if he is local, but I hope this gives his career a bump. As other people have stated, there were some weaknesses, but that is to be expected in this budget range. The biggest issue was the sound mix and that can always be fixed in post. I have no idea why they didn't do that before the screening. Most of the voices and some of the music sounded distorted. There were also some shots that just didn't seem to fit, like the crowd on the street when the fire truck goes by.
Really cool vehicles and locations. I give anyone credit who actually finishes a film. It is hard and lots of people dream, but don't follow through. That's where Cody Knotts is different. He keeps trying and every film is better than the last. Plus, he always packs the theater like no other local director I have ever seen. I hope to get to work on his next project!
Red Sparrow (2018)
Why is every Russian woman a ballerina?
They're not. At least in any real world. There's some decent acting and some hot scenes, but ultimately it was a mediocre film at best. At least the accents were better than average.
The Pretender (1996)
Solid series
It's a shame they tried to wrap it all up with a movie. This was a brilliantly written film with top notch actors and so many levels of story. Jarod is a cool character and Michael T. Weiss portrayed him to perfection. I don't understand why he didn't get more of a career from this.
Impromptu (1991)
Have loved this film for years
I saw this on TV years ago and kept trying to find it... for a long time, you couldn't get it anywhere. I was so thrilled when it was finally released on DVD and it was even better than I remembered. Brilliant, witty, and ultimately touching performances by great actors and a Brill cast of people you would never expect to see together. Big stars, indie favorites, Broadway legends... what could be better? And it is funny, romantic, and looks beautiful. An underrated masterpiece.
Spies in Crinoline (2009)
Interesting True Story
This film tells an interesting and little known true story from the American Civil War and mostly does so well. Parts of it are a little slow-paced, however, and the quality of both acting and costumes varies considerably among the characters. The film contains some striking visuals and a few very moving scenes along with some extended gory battle and medical sequences. The lead characters of Antonia, Laura, and Joseph are portrayed sensitively and all resemble their historical counterparts. Intercuts of stills and narration with the reenactor footage help to document the veracity of the story. The film is more a love story than an account of Civil War espionage.