Moonlight (2016)

It's difficult to put into words what exactly is so incredible about Moonlight. To just say it's timely and important is to totally miss the point. It is a very rewarding albeit challenging experience. The movie is so powerful and personal and yet simultaneously restrained. In movies about a rough childhood, you expect screaming matches at every turn, but it's not that kind of movie. Barry Jenkins has so much control over the pacing of the story that these three small snapshots of Chiron's life become an epic tale of life. An epic that is not extraordinary, but rather authentic and raw. It is so powerful because it is realistic. Mahershala Ali shows us the drug dealer character, but he overcomes the stereotype by being vulnerable. He takes us past the tough guy persona and puts a human dimension to his character. Even if you have not lived Chiron's life, you are made to understand it and contemplate identity and intersectionality in a way that most people never do. The audience is given a lot of time to think and simmer. The moments of silence are plentiful. Tense and deliberate, they are the things that don't need to be said out loud that we simply read through context that are really heart wrenching. It is something that I think surely gets lost in the Italian subtitles, that were woefully inadequate. They did not catch the subtlety of the language, nor the slang nor cadence. I could imagine the hack job they did dubbing the film.

The three actors that play Chiron and the three actors that play Kevin are all excellent. The progression of their characters is impactful. Kevin is played with such charm. And Chiron, again, is just so restrained. Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris are Oscar nominated, deservedly so. I think it's also worth pointing out Janelle Monae, who has had an excellent year out of her element, or rather in her new element. In addition to singing and performing, she is now a bona fide actress.

The camerawork is beautiful. The first thing I noticed was the strong depth of field. In the very first scene, the characters look almost hyper real standing against the blurry background. And the camera revolves around them in a single take. The scene in the ocean, accompanied by the intensely searing violin, is striking. The camera dips in and out of the water as the waves lap over it. It is a visceral experience. The music throughout the film is really well chosen.  I don't know what it was but the instrumentation in all of the songs chosen fit each scene perfectly.

Spectre (2015)

Sure, it was never going to live up to the glory of Skyfall, but Spectre fell far short. This is James Bond and we have come to expect certain things from 007--that is action sequences. And for a two and a half hour movie, they are too few and far between. And in such a long movie, they travel to a lot of different locations, more than necessary (Mexico, London, Rome, Tangiers, Tokyo, and middle-of-nowhere). There is more story than action. Action movies have gotten more story heavy lately and I can appreciate that, but I don't think the film did a very good job at explaining things. We are given so little to go on and the leads that he follows seem to arise out of nowhere. I also thought the dialogue was quite lacking. There is some lame dialogue and some uncharacteristically funny lines (Bond doesn't do funny). And that very last scene was wholly unnecessary. The film does attempt to tie all of the Craig films together (it kind of inexplicably tries to) and then ties up the Craig films period. I think it would be appropriate for him to end on that note and let someone else don the suit.

Southpaw (2015)

Southpaw is kind of like Raging Bull, but not quite as good.  It features the champion, self-destructive brutish boxer who inadvertently pushes his family away. Jake Gyllenhaal undergoes a total transformation, highly committed to his role.  He looks like a bloody mess spiraling out of control in and out of the ring.  Forest Whitaker makes an excellent trainer, but is kind of stereotypical in his role.  All movie boxing trainers are kind of similar.  But who really surprised me was 50 Cent, who plays the manager.  50 Cent is not just a rapper--his acting was pretty convincing.  But in reality, he was playing a businessman and 50 Cent has been doing business for decades.  And 50 Cent was discovered by Eminem, who produced the soundtrack.  And you can hear his influence throughout the movie.