REVIEW: Fruitvale Station

MOVIE
Fruitvale Station

CAST
Michael B. Jordan,
Melonie Diaz

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 12, 2013 (NY/LA)
July 26, 2013 (WIDE)

DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 24 minutes





STARS
****









REVIEW:

Death is tragic, regardless of the age.  However, one's death could be more tragic than the other depending on the situation.  Oscar Grant, played ferociously by Michael B. Jordan in the new film "Fruitvale Station," was shot in the back by a police officer in the early hours of New Year's Day in 2009 over a misunderstanding and sadly didn't survive.  Since then, there have been many rallies and foundations created to honor the memory of the 22 year old father/boyfriend/son.  Unlike most films based on tragic events, "Fruitvale Station" depicts the last 24 hours of Grant's life, letting the audience get to know him as a person before he meets his fatal demise.  The result is an 84 minute emotional and captivating film that features some of the best performances of 2013 thus far, as well as a stellar directorial debut from Ryan Coogler.

Michael B. Jordan's performance is something of a revelation here.  Throughout this movie, the audience gets to know this character who, like the two main leads in "Romeo & Juliet," unknowingly is about to meet his demise.  Aside from two heartbreakingly desperate moments on his part, Jordan's portrayal of Oscar makes him come off as a really likable character.  Oscar is a loving husband, devoted father, and someone who is just trying to do right for his family.  So when the big climax comes to a start when Oscar and his friends hop on the BART, you kind of have this feeling inside hoping that Oscar's gonna make it, despite knowing that he isn't.  Nevertheless, Michael B. Jordan is incredible in this movie and definitely deserves all of the praise he's been getting.

Melonie Diaz plays Oscar's loyal yet frustrated girlfriend/mother of his daughter, Sophina, and her performance is also great in the film.  Diaz's portrayal of Sophina is a complex one, because her character is difficult to enjoy because of how restricting and cold she can be to Oscar.  However, there are also several moments with her where she just simply breaks down and metaphorically shows that even the strongest of walls can easily come tumbling down.  Octavia Spencer does a great job as well as Oscar's mother.  There's a scene in the movie where Octavia's character Wanda has to let her son go despite loving him so.  Of all of the film's characters, she's probably the strongest of them all, despite breaking down at the end to the news of Oscar's death.  Jordan, Diaz, and Spencer give amazing performances, and definitely will be remembered by the year's end.

I give strong props to Ryan Coogler for bringing this sad and moving story to the big screen.  This is a movie that deserves to be seen and should be considered a wake-up call for the world.  Sure, there are shootings every day, with one of the more notable ones recently being of Trayvon Martin, but rarely are we ever able to get to know these victims on a personal level and weep when they meet their demise.  Michael B. Jordan is stellar in this movie, as are Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer.  Coogler's script and direction tell this story with the eye of a professional filmmaker and lets us in to Grant's tragic yet beautiful life.  It's awful how this man lost his life and left behind a girlfriend and a daughter, and the ending to this movie sums that up with perfection.  "Fruitvale Station" is possibly the most powerful and effective of 2013 thus far, and is a must-see for moviegoers everywhere.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

August: Osage County

12 Years A Slave

Captain Phillips

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Black Nativity

Lee Daniels' The Butler

REVIEW: Lee Daniels' The Butler

MOVIE
Lee Daniels' The Butler

CAST
Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
August 16, 2013

DIRECTOR
Lee Daniels

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 12 minutes








STARS
****









REVIEW:

Nobody was closer, yet more distant from American politics than Cecil Gaines.  Gaines, who in reality was known as Eugene Allen, served eight Presidents, from Truman to Reagan, from 1952 to 1986.  Between all of that time in The White House, times were changing for African Americans, along with the rest of America.  In "Lee Daniels' The Butler," audiences experience The White House from Cecil's perspective, and through that we get a fantastic movie.  Lee Daniels, the director of the critically lauded "Precious," gives us a story that, while sometimes a little slow, flows and is always engaging.  "The Butler" is combines the racism of "The Help" and the chronological storytelling method "Forrest Gump to make a well acted, well-written, surprisingly funny, and moving biopic that is definitely something that deserves to be seen.

Forest Whitaker gives an emotionally powerful performance as Cecil Gaines.  Throughout this film, the audience sees the terms of eight presidents from Cecil's eyes and how that affects his personal life at home.  There are plenty of scenes featuring Whitaker just giving it all he has and just further proving that he's one of the finest actors in Hollywood.  Oprah Winfrey also turns in a powerful performance as Cecil's alcoholic yet supporting wife Gloria.  Her performance isn't as superb as Whitaker, but she is very believable in the film and there are one or two scenes where it shows how talented Oprah as an actress is.  Both performances though are great and the actors shine brightly in the scenes that they share together.

Of the entire supporting cast of actors, ranging from Cuba Gooding Jr. to Robin Williams, the only one worth talking about is David Oyelowo as Cecil and Gloria's first born son Louis.  His performance in this movie is something that shows off how talented an actor can be if he's given the right director and the right script to work with.  The other films he's been in, including "Jack Reacher," didn't give him the right material to work off of, thus ruining the overall performance.  Don't get me wrong, all of the performances in the film are great, it's just that, other than the three actors I have mentioned, the supporting cast has very little screen time.  In fact, all of the presidents in the film have about 5 minutes of screen time each, giving us very little time to appreciate the performances overall.  Everyone in the film is really good, but it's only Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and David Oyelowo who truly shine and give stellar performances.

From the trailer of this film, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" looked like nothing more than cookie-cutter "Oscar bait," meaning that everything looked hammered in and was made only to get awards.  Luckily, Lee Daniels had something else up his sleeve and made a movie that is emotional, moving, and a lot funnier than you'd expect.  Every performance is great, particularly Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and David Oyelowo, despite most of them not lasting more than five minutes.  The direction from Lee Daniels clearly shows the eye of a true filmmaker and further proves why he was nominated for Best Director back in 2010. 

The script from Danny Strong, who wrote the Sarah Palin HBO movie "Game Change," is very sharp and has some solid jokes placed in throughout.  People may complain at how fast the film goes through the significant moments that occurred during Cecil's 32 year presence at the White House, but the thing about that is that the film was about Cecil and his family, not about everything around him.  That's why I threw out the "Forrest Gump" reference earlier: this movie focuses on one main character and the changing world around him from his perspective.  Overall, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" is a all around fantastic depiction of one man, who happened to work in The White House, and his experiences as the times were changing.  The trailers didn't even do this film proper justice.

MINI-REVIEW: Red 2

MOVIE
Red 2

CAST
Bruce Willis, John Malkovich

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 19, 2013

DIRECTOR
Dean Parisot

STUDIO
Summit Entertainment
(Lionsgate)

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 56 minutes







STARS
***







REVIEW:

Back in 2010, I was lucky enough to be one of the first to see, and love, the film "Red."  For those who have been reading my stuff since then, you may remember that I had "Red" in my top 10 of that year as well.  So it might not come as so much of a surprise that I was pretty excited to see "Red 2" from the moment it was announced.  After seeing the film, I'm going to be perfectly honest: it was a fun movie.  It might have had its flaws, including a somewhat weak villain and a lack of humor that the first one had, but I enjoyed myself and had a good time.  It might not be as great as the first "Red" was, but this sequel could have been a lot worse.

Everyone did a good job in the film.  Aside from Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and other returning cast members giving solid performances, newcomers Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Byung Hun Lee are perform very well and turn in solid performances as well.  The story, while predictable for the most part, is enjoyable and helps get past the dialogue, which is sadly not up to par with the first film's script.  "Red 2" isn't the sequel that I personally would have wanted after the awesomeness that was the first movie, but then again, it could have been a lot worse.  Having said that, I would still give my money to see a third "Red" film if it potentially gets made.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Prisoners

Saving Mr. Banks

Rush

Captain Phillips

Ender's Game

The Counselor

Escape Plan

REWIND REVIEW: Trance

MOVIE
Trance

CAST
James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 5, 2013

DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle

STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 41 minutes





STARS
****







REVIEW:

"Trance" is, without a single doubt, the single most mesmerizing film I've seen in all of 2013 so far.  This film comes from the vision of master director Danny Boyle of "127 Hours" and "Slumdog Millionaire," and all you need to know about the story of this film is that it's about a man using the power of hypnotism to reclaim a memory that will help him find a stolen painting.  Saying anything else, or even recommending you to watch the trailers, ESPECIALLY the Red Band trailer, is a crime to the first-time viewing of this film for someone.  Like "Inception," "Trance" is like a movie's way of giving the brain a mental puzzle.  This film will keep you guessing and guessing until it finally ends, in which you just sit back and try to take it all in.

Atop from its engaging guessing game of a story, the script is top-notch, the acting is stellar, and the visual effects, particularly one shot that is sadly spoiled in the film's red band trailer, are a marvel to behold.  "Trance" overall is smart, polarizing, engaging, brutal, and downright brilliant.  Some may feel differently than I did, but honestly, this is just an experience that deserves to be had, especially those who are either fans of "Inception" or of Danny Boyle's previous work.  Be warned, though, this is completely different than stories involving gameshows, love, or hands caught in boulders.

REWIND REVIEW: Side Effects

MOVIE
Side Effects

CAST
Jude Law, Rooney Mara

RATING
R

RELEASE
February 8, 2013

DIRECTOR
Steven Soderbergh

STUDIO
Open Road Films

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 46 minutes







STARS
****







REVIEW:

What a fascinating film this is.  "Side Effects" comes from the mind of writer Scott Z. Burns and the eye of acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh.  In short, the story of this film revolves around a woman and her psychiatrist whose lives change when a new drug called "Ablixa" comes into their lives.  That's all that can really be said without giving anything away.  In short, this movie is fantastic.  Every scene is more compelling than the last, which is a pretty hard feat to accomplish.  All of the acting, particularly from Jude Law and Rooney Mara, is top notch and of caliber.  There are twists and turns around every corner that just keep you guessing until the end.  Why this film was released in February is a mystery to me, because, had this film been released in April or May, it might have had a stronger awards consideration, particularly from the performances and Scott Z. Burns' script.  Overall, "Side Effects" is an engaging, thrilling, and entertaining medical thriller that is definitely worth your time.