patrick-cawley

After a promising start, this flick took a nosedive and hit bottom soon afterwards. I was going to give it just one star but in fairness, there was some decent acting especially by Elisabeth Moss but the overall story was meh and plain rubbish. It's a shame because the idea was good, just never followed through on that promise. The choice of music was decent until let down by a terrible X-rated anti-police song, with hideous and hateful lyrics.

There's something about this indie flick that appeals to me, maybe it's my longing for the good old days when I lived in London and use to know characters just like the ones presented here, off the wall, funny and in your face with a sense of the devil may care attitude. I also get the humour, which helps. But there's also a freshness about the whole approach, the very good acting, especially by the young rising star Tommy O'Neill, the directing, etc. The swearing is a bit strong but then again I've heard worse growing up in North London. I am giving this 10 stars because I appreciate the brilliant effort from the cast and crew and wish them all well going forward.

Where to start? Well, this was a surprise for me and a mighty good one at that. To be honest, I had never heard of Brandon Burlsworth before (I am from Ireland and don't follow American football that much) but after watching this film and doing some follow-up research I now know his story is an amazing and inspiring one and then some.

Hats off to all involved, great acting, especially by Chris Severio as Brandon Burlsworth, but the other actors really played their parts convincingly too.

I loved this for other reasons also, the powerful message that for those who never give up opportunities will come. Just a quick mention for actor Neal McDonough who played the part of Brandon's brother amazingly. He did a superb job; the last time I saw him was in the excellent TV series, Band of Brothers. Such a terrific actor who deserves more recognition for what he does.

What's more, it is a great family film and proof it doesn't have to be all about graphic images, profanity, and innuendo. Well done to the production crew for making a movie with such an important uplifting message in an age where others seem only concerned with pushing their agenda.

I urge everyone to see this because, as I said in the heading, "Every now and again something special comes along." This is one of those moments.