josephcondon Reviews

Billy Joel - A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (1987 Video)

Joel Fans, Do Yourself a Favor and Watch This

[9/10 · 6 March 2024]

I'm baffled at any online reviews that are downgrading this film due to there not being "enough music". First off, that was not the point of the documentary at all. Heck, read the description and you can gather that. That being said, there still is a ton of music in this one. This documentary mostly focuses on the time Billy Joel and his family (Christy Brinkley and daughter Alexa) spent in Russia, at a time when it was sort of frowned upon. The documentary provides a lot of insight into the time and it's really quite inspiring to see what he accomplished while over. In the end, it was about so much more than the music; but the music was the ultimate vessel. If you are a fan of Billy Joel or even remotely respect his work, I highly recommend giving this one a view. You won't be disappointed.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Long Yes, But Boring? Not At All

[9/10 · 15 December 2023]

I'm baffled at so many reviews complaining about this one being slow moving and boring. Both my wife and I were scared to jump into it after reading some of these. By the end of the film, we both looked at each other and said, "wow, that was really good". So is it long? Yes. Could it be shorter? Sure, but so much of that dialogue was necessary for character building. It's am important story and I think Scorsese did it justice. Both DiCaprio and DeNiro were amazing as always, but Lily Gladstone was brilliant. Leo and Lily should both get an Oscar for this one. Please watch it, it's definitely long but definitely not boring.