Fruitvale Station (2013)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The first must-see film of the year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

For the entire time you're watching, this movie feels real. That's both the allure and the anxiety focal point. Every step of the way, I could feel the final blow coming, I could feel the anxiety building in my heartbeat and the tension mounting in my shoulders. When they arrived at the train station in reference, I held my breath. I knew what was coming, but no amount of anticipation made me ready.Michael B. Jordan excels as an actor in this role. As for the actual script content, I have no commentary. This movie is more of a memorial than a script, and Ryan Coogler is an amazing director finally coming into his own with the recent release of Black Panther. His directorial skills shine in Fruitvale as well.

Fruitvale StationI got a recommendation to watch this movie. It's about a young man and the events leading up to a certain moment. The beginning part of the movie shows you the real footage that the film is based off of. You can tell that Hollywood picked up a lot of the dialogue and aspects that were second hand.Michael B. Jordan, the young actor who did Fantastic Four and Creed, plays Oscar and cements himself in my library of noteworthy up-and- coming actors. He carries the burden of his life through each scene he's in and is deep down a good person who is left with precious little alternatives.The most recognizable actor in the film is Octavia Spencer, who plays Oscar's mother. Her character is a tad stereotypical but believable. She has a wonderful scene with Michael B. Jordan that she displays her range of emotions.Ryan Coogler is the writer/director for this and Creed. He really plays with plenty of foreshadowing and ominous warnings that only amplify the feeling uneasiness. Also his use of shaky camera isn't over used but makes the film feel more like an experience than a witness. There should be note that how he changed Oscar's character from the real story made it more emotional to watch. He plays with your own expectations in the film. At a few moments he makes you feel it's going in one direction and then swings it the other direction.Verdict: This film made my eyes get watery. That's a hard thing to do and a film hasn't done that since The Last Samurai. I was shaken for a good eighteen minutes. If my wife had seen the film she'd be a mess. Everyone should see this film.

In an American film industry of recycled ideas, sequels and nostalgic masturbation over things men liked as kids (comic book movies, toy movies, etc), I have to give this a 7 for its importance, its freshness and its premise of looking at the man's life from several angles in 20-24 hours. Where I have to lower it to 7: some of the acting is mediocre at best, but that may very well stem from the main problem. That problem is the writing, which is sophomoric in the irony with which it portrays everything the main character does that day. Everything is seen through a lens of "but he dies later!" in a forced or melodramatic way, such that it's hard to see the story as a true portrait.

This film I know hit theaters a while back and became a big deal during the Trayvon Martin trial that had happened, but even without that this film works. Watching this film a while after the event took place has really showed what Ryan Coogler can do as a director. I had no idea this was based on a true story and yet even despite that this film works so well for me. Even without knowing the ending the movie still sets the tone right of what it is like to live in a black neighborhood filled with police everywhere on the streets and black men being gunned down all the time. It really makes the impact the film desires to give much more inspiring and powerful as well as we see what leads up to the event taking place and how the event as a whole ends up going down either way. Just seeing what our main character does in his daily life is very compelling and intriguing to me. It makes you grow attached to him. It also doesn't run away from his flaws and shows he isn't a perfect character who does the right thing all the time, but it doesn't make the events that happen to him any less wrong or immoral. Ryan Coogler is great and deserves a lot of praise for this film. He has down a great job directing it.