Harriet Tubman. What a legendary American. We all studied her in elementary school and then again in high school. We know that she was born into slavery, escaped, and was an integral leader in the Underground Railroad that helped free slaves before the United States Civil War. Cynthia Erivo (Widows, Bad Times at the El Royale) pours her heart and soul into the title role and makes Kasi Lemmons’ (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me) Harriet a must-see for anyone over twelve. It is the first time Tubman’s story has been captured in biopic form. This film is so well told that it won’t need to be retold (in big production film form) for a long time. It’s one of the best history lessons you could hope to have on another person. It’s brutally honest. It doesn’t drag its feet. It’s entertaining. It brings to the big screen a real-life American hero who deserves all the fame and glory she is due. Harriet is a 2019 big, big win.
Category Archives: Based on a True Story
Fighting With My Family (2019)
Based on the true story of WWE wrestler Paige, Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family follows a tried and true formula of rags to riches story. While it only offers a little in terms of something we haven’t seen hundreds of thousands of times in the theater, it does provide us with a new avenue: that of a World Wrestling Entertainment superstar. Starring Saraya (Florence Pugh – A Good Person, Don’t Worry Darling) as Paige, this movie tells her story and the story of her entire working-class English town, where they own an inviting wrestling gym and run an independent wrestling league.
Gold (2017)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyer’s Club, Mud) stars as a balding, crooked-toothed, potbellied Nevada gold prospector in a movie that, without his acting talent, would have been completely sifted through the Hollywood stream of consciousness. Instead, while flawed, Stephen Gaghan’s (Syriana, Abandon) Gold is a watchable experience that takes audiences on a wild goose chase along with most of its stars. It ultimately makes the destination an endpoint and the journey worthwhile.
Rocketman (2019)
Dexter Fletcher’s (Sunshine on Leith, Eddie the Eagle) Rocketman will be compared to 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody. So, I will get that comparison out of the way early. And it’s pretty easy. There is no real comparison. Bohemian Rhapsody was a sound accomplishment in acting, directing, sound mixing, sound editing, cinematography, and more. It created a new audience of music lovers of the band Queen. It reacquainted fans of the band with the music and, for many, reminded them of why they loved the music, the band, and the man (Freddy Mercury) who provided the vocals for all of their songs.
Borg Vs. McEnroe (2018)
The 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Championship Match was among the greatest tennis matches ever. It featured the number one player in the world (Sweden’s Bjorn Borg) seeking his fifth street title in the most famous tournament in the sport against the upstart American John McEnroe, who had quickly climbed to be the number two player in the world. Young director Janus Metz captures the history of both men and their rivalry up to this point in their careers while centering on this all-important match.