Change Your Image
richard_rossi
Reviews
Man of God (2021)
Every saint was once a sinner, and every sinner can become a saint.
A beautiful work of art with strong performances and great visuals about Saint Nektarios of Aegina by talented director, Yelena Popovic. It captures the man who lived in a skin of real flesh and the battles he faced on his way to holiness. Every saint was once a sinner, and every sinner can become a saint. He faced the hatred of men and spiritual warfare. Sometimes the greater the anointing, the greater the accusation. A great performance by Mickey Rourke as a paralyzed man who receives miraculous grace. A must-see!
All Is Lost (2013)
I hope Redford gets Oscar nomination
Redford is great and this film shows how such a simple idea with one actor can work. As a filmmaker, it was interesting to see how a dialogue-free movie can work visually with a story that reminded me of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." For me, the story was a metaphor or allegory for life and our struggles. Cinematography was good, shot on the Arri Alexa, one of the hot cameras at the moment. The lack of dialogue and having only one actor made it a meditation for me on the visual elements. I hope Redford gets Oscar nomination. I'm inspired that a veteran like Redford had confidence in Chandor to go on this experimental film journey together.
Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories (2013)
The film was made as Roberto lived
I want to thank you for your support of our labor of love to honor my childhood hero Roberto Clemente. On behalf of the volunteer cast and crew, we're grateful & couldn't have finished this film without your encouragement. Thanks to you buying this DVD, we had funds to screen the film for free admission last week at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago where there have been murders by shooting, and we're able to pay for the mandated security to show this school the type of man Roberto Clemente was. Our outreach efforts have cost us, we haven't made money on these events. We are doing it in the spirit of humanitarian service Roberto Clemente showed us. Recently, a young gang-member headed for a life of crime just watched our film. His eye got misty, & he vowed to do something with purpose to help others & make the world better. This movie makes a difference. Also last week I visited an elementary school in Pasadena. The teacher showed the film and we were able to inspire the students to see what a true hero is. One 5th grade girl was crying during the presentation & wrote me a note. I learned from the teacher that both her parents were killed. The teacher thanked me & said it's so important how the film gives kids hope.
As writer-director, I created a hybrid of a documentary-drama. Some of the 21 stories have a documentary feel with some real news elements, but most of the movie is dramatized with actors. That being said, the movie isn't a documented history as if we replayed an exact video of everything that happened in Clemente's life. As a dramatist, I sometimes chose to use composite characters (blending two or more people into one.) For example, I knew as a boy growing up in Pittsburgh that Roberto had another manager briefly before Danny Murtaugh, but I knowingly used just one manager in the film, the Murtaugh character, because he led the Bucs to both World Series. Dramatically condensing into fewer characters can strengthen story-telling rather than having one manager briefly then switching. Murtaugh is played by the incomparably gifted character actor Charles Hoyes. The movie isn't an exact documentary history, it's a dramatization inspired by history that takes poetic license. Even in our real life, we don't remember things exactly the same. Our memories of youth and childhood are different from others recalling the same events. My goal as the writer-director was to communicate my love and the emotion my hero Roberto Clemente evoked in me as a boy. I can confidently tell you it is very close to historically accurate and most viewers tell us they learned things they didn't know about the Great One.
I want to thank all of our cast & crew. I'm proud of our actors and everything they gave. Jamie Nieto, our leading man, drove every weekend 2 1/2 hours from San Diego to shoot for a year, while simultaneously training for the Olympics. That's one example of the many donations of sweat & tears. Sacrifice and volunteer effort brought this first feature dramatic film on Clemente's life to pass.
Recently, a nurse named Stephanie Clark, who donated sacrificially to help the film get made said something interesting. "I think it was meant to be that this film was made from those laying down their lives and time in service, inspired by Clemente," Stephanie said. "It wasn't the major studios with millions of dollars, big name actors, and a marketing machine to make money for their Hollywood coffers. The film was made as Roberto lived, by people wanting to give. Few can lay down their life & die for others like Roberto did, or Christ did, but the cast and crew laid down a portion of their lives, their time and talent."
We try to answer each email from so many of you who have seen the heart and been moved by our movie. If we haven't been able to thank you individually, we are grateful and I hope my review here once again expresses our gratitude for the compassion, grace, and understanding you have shown us in our long journey to accomplish this goal.
I'm giving the film 9 stars out of 10 as a way of saying I'm not so presumptive to give it a 10 and say it was perfect, but we did our best with what we had & I give it a 9 to honor the work of our team. To our volunteer cast and crew: you did a stellar job. I'm very proud of you and the fact we did it together. Jamie, Marilinda, Charles, Isaac & the rest of the actors you gave me such great performances and to the post team led by Mary Chin, the DPs Jimmy and Jeff, thanks again for your sacrifice. This labor of love has caught fire coast to coast, because people are drawn to love. Love overcomes the nay-sayers and the fears, and as Roberto has shown, there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for your friends. Thanks again for your support.
Eternally grateful,
Richard Rossi Writer-Director, Hollywood, California
L.A. Superheroes (2013)
Yelena Popovic Shines
Yelena Popovic shines in this character-driven indie about the underbelly of the Hollywood dream. We sympathize with her plight to survive in Los Angeles another day, and her temptation to get a green card from mobsters. Her husband Alexandros Potter does DP duties well. This is a film for those who like acting, realistic portrayal of relationships, and for those in the arts as a profession there is much that resonates with the universal longing for expression as it meets challenges to survive. Alexander Zisiades provides some nice comic touches and humanity as the one true friend to Yelena's character Helena who has to deal with narcissists on every side, including a disloyal, shallow boyfriend who runs when the heat is on, and a talent manager who takes her money and claims to be a psychic. The rest of the supporting cast does well filling out the feds and the bad guys.
Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher (2005)
Honest, a portrayal of grace working through a wounded healer
This is a great film, showing how Lonnie ministered in signs and wonders, and was a catalyst to both the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard movements. Sadly, much of the good Lonnie did was dismissed by religious people because of how Lonnie died. Kudos to David for this wonderful documentary. As one effected by Lonnie's work, I am very grateful for this film. Like my film on Aimee McPherson, David compassionately explores how an anointed person is still human, and is too often exploited and used by others for their spiritual gifts. This film effected me, spiritually and emotionally, and I hope David makes more films.
Glen or Glenda (1953)
ed wood's confession
amazing film. i like "plan 9" and "bride of the monster" better because of the eclectic cast of sci-fi wood stock company like vampira, tor johnson, etc "glen or glenda" is an incredible sharing of wood's darkest secret (although he tried to veil it slightly by using the name "danny davis" in the credits.) ed wood is so unique there is no way he could have worked within a studio system, the film is too surrealistic and personal i disagree with a lot of the easy slams at the film (such as the oft-repeated, "the stock footage of buffalo has no sense, bela's dialogue is unrelated") that's the point of surrealism!!! buffalos represent the herd instinct, the capacity to judge (matthew 7:7), and they are an symbol similar to the traffic image. ed wood uses symbols for example, . in "plan 9," he uses symbolic special effects like the fake model saucers on a string that represent the better special effect he would have if he had the budget. lugosi's "rambling" dialogue is from a nursery rhyme about strict gender images and roles, the subject of the film. ed wood wrote and directed seven features, which is more than 90% of his detractors can say and that is why in the low budget digital indie world here in LA, ed is a beloved, (albeit, eccentric) patron saint to those of us making films without a huge budget.