Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.5
Ugh… this is everything wrong with biopics. Nothing new, and an runtime fit for a miniseries. I loved every bit of the music, and it has its moments, but this one ultimately falls flat in that it plays it safe at every turn, blending into its genre in a way that should be offensive to fans of the king of pop. The man deserves a much more interesting biopic!
7.5
Exactly what you expect – a heartfelt, carefully crafted homage to the man, the myth, the legend… The behind the scenes scenes were my favorite, seeing the more human side of Elvis. Him goofing around with the band was hilarious. There was a reason he was the king…
7.1
They’re not lying, it stops once they hit their stride… which I found to be an odd choice. Nonetheless, this documentary includes some really sweet moments with the members of the band reminiscing and seeing/hearing some things for the first time since living the moments. The music is of course amazing, but the story seemed to just kind of stop. It’s solid, but I’d still rather watch one of their concert films or listen to one of their soundboard bootlegs.
8.1
In a word – haunting.
The ethical dilemmas at play, the best and worst of humanity on display… chilling. Even knowing the end result, I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire runtime. I can’t imagine being in this situation and having to make some of these calls, let alone being this embedded in the horrifying action. So many things we’ve become numb to are brought to the forefront and you are forced to confront a lot during this tight hour and a half. Extremely well done period piece on one of the most “wait, what?” stories in sports history. “Oh yeah, it wasn’t just Mark Spitz setting the medal record that year!”
8.2
This was flat out amazing. Bravo to Seth Rogen, of all people. And his wonderful wife Lauren Miller Rogen. Dementia/Alzheimer’s is such a terrible disease for all involved. This film nails the tone and weight and execution here, delivering a perfectly balanced, incredibly impactful film. Short, sweet, to the point, and highly recommended as well worth your time from this movie reviewer (and former Nurse’s Aide who cared for many who suffered from Dementia/Alzheimer’s).
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 