Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is based on the true story of Oscar Grant III. I am embarrassed to say that I did not remember this story until my manager brought up wanting to see the movie. I was living in California when this incident occurred in 2009. I heard here and there about a white cop shooting a young African American but that's all I remembered.

As so many horrible things do in our society, as soon as the next horrific thing happened, I forgot about this story. But, as soon as I saw the preview for the movie I knew I had to see it. I knew it was an Indie film, and if you haven't learned already, I love watching Indie films. According to Wikipedia.org this movie was filmed in 20 days which is incredible. I am unsure whether or not that fact is accurate, but if it is, wow.

I have done a great deal of research about the true facts of this movie and what actually happened. When it comes to true stories I like to find out just how much is actually truth. The underlying point to this story is that justice needs to be served. Oscar Grant was not a "stand up citizen," he had many problems which are documented all over the wonderful world wide web. He sold drugs, went to jail, cheated on his girlfriend (mother of his daughter), and was unable to retain his job. Some of these things are depicted in the movie, there is an added scene which appears to be added to make you feel a sense of connection to the character in a positive manner. But despite who Oscar Grant was or the mistakes (big and small) he made, what happened was unacceptable.

In the movie and through interviews from those who recorded the incident on their phones it appears that Oscar was involved in a scuffle. A fight, is what the police called it, but someone who witnessed it said it seemed to be no more than two guys wrestling. Despite what the fight was or wasn't, cops showed up on the scene. It all lead to Oscar being forced to the ground by a couple cops, face down on the ground, unarmed, a cop pulls his gun and shoots Oscar in the back. This is the fatal shot that (eventually) ended Oscar's life. The officer was charged with manslaughter.

This is a personal side note based on my research, but the officer was given 2 years including time already served, which is LESS than the minimum for manslaughter. However, the officer was let out after 11 months served. To me that is absolutely unacceptable. This is where the justice system failed. I think this movie is completely worth renting. Not only because it is a real life story but because it may cause us to look at the discrepancies within our justice system.

Mud

Pay close attention, are you focused in? Great, now the important news. Matthew McConaughey has lost it. I have known this for awhile but kept my opinions to myself, for the most part, because the majority seem to find him incredibly irresistible. Now, while I don't disagree that he is pretty to look at, his acting has been mediocre typically.

This is one of those movies, one of those movies you want to be good but instead, it is just mediocre. The two boys who are in the movie did an amazing job. I don't think it is their fault I didn't love the movie, because I really enjoyed watching them.

I'm honestly not sure what to say about this movie that for the majority you can't get from watching the trailer. I thought the trailer was interesting and that's why I rented the movie, but I felt like I could have taken away the main concepts from just the trailer. I hate that. It is by far one of my biggest pet peeves, I want a trailer to give me just enough that I want to see the movie, but once I see it I don't want to feel like I should have just stuck with the trailer. I'm rambling at this point.

Realistically the only reason I rented this movie was to see Reese Witherspoon because I adore her. This is one film RottenTomatoes.com and I will always disagree on, they rated it very highly, I however would say skip it. My apologies, Reese, I so wanted to like this movie.

Spring Breakers

Oh my gosh! I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to watch this movie. I guess my thinking consisted of, "Hey, I like James Franco and it would be interesting to see Vanessa Hudgens do something outside of High School Musical."

The sad reality would appear that she was so desperate to escape that stereotype she decided to take part in this horrific film. Words truly cannot express how awful this movie was.

I had high hopes for Ashley Benson of Pretty Little Liars, but will never look at her the same either after this movie. My suggestion would overwhelmingly be, skip this movie! I wish I had even one good thing to say about this movie but I don't. So, I'll keep this review short and (bitter)sweet.

On this movie, I'm going to have to take a hard pass.

Jesus Henry Christ

I feel like an explanation is necessary before I even say my thoughts on the movie. I was really bored one day and decided to peruse Netflix Instant. That being said, this movie title - for obvious reasons - has caught my attention on several occasions. So, boredom combined with instant movies, an odd title, oh and Toni Colette led me to this movie.

As you would expect with a movie with such an interesting title, it was an interesting movie. Collette is a feminist mother who has chosen to have a child on her own but her son. The boy is at this pivotal age, but in an awkward situation. He is smothered by his mother and wants to find out who his father is which leads to the rest of the movie.

It is a strange movie and there are definitely parts where I was so sad for this boy and the daughter of the man who is also the boy's father. It is an interesting intersection between the lives of these people who happen to live so close to each other. It's honestly hard for me to explain this movie at this point.

There are several things that stick out for me in this movie, one of which I won't specify because if you watch it's a funny part, but it happens between the boy and girl when he goes to tell her she's his sister. And the second part made me hate sticky notes and then love them again!

Anyways, if you are up for a corky, odd, eccentric movie I would say go ahead and check it out... If you are not a fan of indie films... skip it.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Oscar season has just passed us by and anyone who pays attention to these festivities knows that this young lady was the talk of the town. Initially I was drawn in by how adorable the young girl is but she really packs the double punch with being cute and quite the actress.

This is a sad movie, there are no ands, ifs, or buts about it. The young girl known throughout the movie as Hushpuppy does not know her mom who left when she was just a baby. Her father is an alcoholic who is suffering from an illness and does not really care for his daughter.

The movie takes place in what is known as The Bathtub. The imagery in the movie brings to mind the wreckage that was left from Hurricane Katrina and you see these people just trying to survive in what is left of their homes.

There are two scenes in particular that stuck out to me, the first is a scene where the young girls of the town are in a strip club and a woman who is assumed to be her mother (I think) picks her up and dances with her. Hushpuppy describes how this is her favorite thing and that she has only been held twice in her whole life. It is in that moment that you are further invested into the film. The final scene, which I don't want to ruin for those that will see it, is also one of the best scenes.

I cannot say that I am sad I didn't see this in the theater, but it is definitely worth renting.

The Air I Breathe

Apparently a reoccurring theme in the movies I've been watching is when multiple characters stories all end up intersecting by the end of the film. The story here focuses on four emotions that all humans feel: love, pleasure, sadness, and joy. If the director would not have labeled the emotions throughout the movie, I would have missed the point. My favorite part of this movie was the end. Partly because it was over but also because of what happens with Sarah Michelle Gellar's character. Out of all of the stories the two stories that I liked best were those of Gellar and Bacon.

Something I do often with my friends and family is describe a movie by explaining whether I would pay full price in the theater, see it in a dollar theater, rent it, or skip it. For me, this film fell into the skip it category, but for some I could understand why they would rent it.

I believe my initial interest in this movie was the fact that Emile Hirsch is in it. However, while he did a good job his contribution to the movie was minimal and could almost border on unnecessary.