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Reviews
Elvis (2022)
Austin Butler
I liked the movie, but the dancing by Butler was especially striking. He really captured (and maybe even outdid) the character. It's one of those movies you can watch over and over, lots of good stuff buried within.
I liked the movie, but the dancing by Butler was especially striking. He really captured (and maybe even outdid) the character. It's one of those movies you can watch over and over, lots of good stuff buried within.
I liked the movie, but the dancing by Butler was especially striking. He really captured (and maybe even outdid) the character. It's one of those movies you can watch over and over, lots of good stuff buried within.
Respect (2021)
Good Movie, Incredible Performance by Hudson
Definitely a good movie, some fantastic scenes, a real tribute, but the thing that stuck with me is Hudson's performance. I mean, what a performance. You know you have a great show when you come away thinking the actress is as good as the star. Aretha would have been more than proud.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Sharp.
A really good movie bolstered by dialogue that is the trademark razor sharp wit coming from the bladed pen of Aaron Sorkin. It's the kind of movie where you'll need to watch it a couple of times: once to appreciate the plot line and journey of the stars, and catch maybe half the jokes, and then a second (or possibly third) time where you can relax knowing the plot and focus instead on extracting all of the humor and detail the movie packs in.
Fatale (2020)
Next Step
The character to build on is Hilary Swank. We can get on board with her moral compass. The other characters are a little too cardboard-cut-out for my tastes. But we want to see more of that femme fatale get stuff done.
PREQUEL.
Matchstick Men (2003)
Cage in OCD Pharmacy Scene
This is one of the greatest snippets of acting of all time.
I Care a Lot (2020)
Fantastic Movie + More
As a lawyer who has litigated against the probate system, and paid a steep price for doing so, the movie does a brilliant job of advancing the national conversation. For years, questions have lingered: is this all just caring professionals doing their job in difficult circumstances or is it the grift that it facially looks like. The movie answers question that in the first two seconds and provides derivative answers, such as how they think, how they do it, how they appear to be legitimate, who exactly is in the circle of misconduct. Apart from the entertainment value, it actually advances society's understanding of the reality of modern elder care in this country.
It seems the movie is getting a lot of criticism, but I still think its first half -- where it was believable -- is important. Messr. Blakeson should continue his referendum on the probate system by making Britney's movie, if at all possible.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Great movie, with one standout performance
I've been a student of this movie for years, and after it all, one thought is my most prominent takeaway. It's a great movie, but the Oscar goes to Amy Ryan. Her character is brilliantly authentic.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Brilliant in every way.
Amidst so much recent mediocrity in a world gone crazy, Gambit is a relief desperately needed, smart, down-to-earth, mesmerizing, incredible acting, beautifully set, a music list that brings you back, an almost constant storm of human flaws colliding with human ingenuity.
It's also a truly hilarious movie. The comedy can be subtle, but I found myself on multiple occasions bursting out in laughter at the delicate, cutting edge wit sprinkled in at the perfect time, and of course, who can stop watching in the middle of a series that incites so much raw emotional energy.
In what is apparently a long and illustrious career of good works, Messr. Frank has outdone himself with this masterpiece.
Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson - American Crime Story (2016)
Unbelievably Good
What the Bonfire of the Vanities was to the literary world, The People v. OJ Simpson is -- and a lot more -- to the legal one. As a 25th year lawyer, I watch with scrutiny and unique interest all of the interesting legal flicks. And there have been some great ones: The Paper Chase, The Verdict, A Civil Action, Erin Brockovich, Primal Fear, Michael Clayton and others. These and others adeptly capture the plight and drama of the legal world and certain cases, revealing its best and worst features in a very touching and human way.
But nothing compares to Travolta's OJ. Forget trial of the century; OJ was the trial to mark world history. Start with a real case that will never be matched in terms of its sheer star power, display of raw human appetite, and nuclear collision of political, social, legal and economic superpowers (and superegos). Practically any movie with this much real life content to build on would be great.
But the OJ production/script/research team went even farther than that by capturing the beautiful, tragic and comical moments during the case when the biggest egos get shattered, the worst luck strikes the best people, where the dumbest of events change human history, all of it beautifully contextualized during a story that provides a true education in the tactics of some of the nation's most skilled trial lawyers.
And on top of all that, the acting is first class all the way.
While the aforementioned handful of other law movies are brilliant, and themselves historical in their own right, OJ sits in its own extra galactic league of next level filmography.
Billions (2016)
Episode of Sunday 4/30/17
Simply one of the most creative, ingenious plots I've ever seen in a single TV episode, ever. There is at present so little remaining space in the field of original television programming, to anyone who comes up with something uniquely fresh, one must applaud. To the renown writers: you have truly outdone yourselves. Well done!
American Crime Story (2016)
Fred Goldman's Response to the Show
From various news sources, Fred Goldman was asked to respond to the show, its actors and its production. He responded critically stating that the show did not focus on the victims, he was not consulted, and the actors playing on OJ's team should be ashamed. While he owns the right to express such criticism, perhaps Mr. Goldman can take some solace in larger lessons about his son's role in the case.
Clearly, OJ's defense team won that case based on appeals to vindicate systematic racism within LAPD, given the revelations from Mark Fuhrman and the unhealed wounds from the Rodney King beating and trial. But it is only with so powerful a force that the otherwise dispositive evidence of OJ's guilt in that case could be offset and overcome. Thus, Ron (and Nicole) are fairly viewed as tragic but real sacrifices for the greater cause of combatting racism. Put another way, how much reputational harm, loss of prestige and subsequent reform did LAPD have to undergo after the OJ fiasco, given that it singularly lost the most high profile case of the 20th century – and saw Ron and Nicole's murders publicly, shockingly and painfully unvindicated – because of necessary political compensation for LAPD's history of wrongs against minorities.
Few people can claim that they taxed the forces of racism so heavily. By participating in the show – which by all accounts was brilliantly done – all actors, producers and other individuals deserve praise for keeping alive the memory of how expensive racism can be.
Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown are the murdered currency by which those lessons are perpetuated through time, by public reminders like the TV show in question. For the family of the victims, while the pain of loss and injustice can never be erased and perhaps not even mitigated, the perception that Ron died needlessly can be offset by the reality that the price his death exacted against the forces of racism was as steep and as glorious as anyone could dream.
Benjamin Pavone, Esq. Civil Rights Attorney