The Wolverine

The Wolverine, the latest film from director James Mangold has to be one of the smartest super hero movies to come down the pipe in a long, long time. Don't get me wrong, there is still some stupid sprinkled in for good measure, but for the most part it is a smart, well crafted super hero movie. It has a lot of heart and a competent story line, and it's because of those two very important key elements that I give The Wolverine three buckets of Killer Korn.










For those that know me, they know that I am not really a fan of actors. I could really care less who is in front of the camera 8 times out of 10, there are a few exceptions I'll grant you but what gets my butt in a seat more times than not is the person behind the camera. The person behind the camera, if they know what they're doing can make bad casting seem like genius. A competent director can and usually does earn my trust, not the first time out though. No, that trust is hard to earn, but a director who brings me consistency is a director whose career I will definitely follow. James Mangold is such a director. I can forgive and look past his Cop Land with Sylvester Stallone. It was his second movie, he was young, shit happens. It's what he did after that movie that impressed me. His follow up film was Girl, Interrupted. That film earned Angelina Jolie her Academy Award and put Winona Ryder on the map, that was when I first took notice of him. His next three films ran the gamut of styles and each one was a good film. After Girl, he did Kate & Leopold, the rom com with Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan, then there was the engaging thriller Identity that starred Ray Liotta and John Cusack, and then his amazing Oscar nominated movie Walk The Line, the biopic on Johnny Cash which won Reese Witherspoon her Academy award. If you can make a kid from the Bronx watch a movie on Johnny Cash and and have him find it interesting, you've done a pretty damn good job. My favorite Mangold film though was his remake of 3:10 to Yuma, a western that starred Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. A gritty, violent, and at times charming movie, 3:10 hooked me and to me, that is a list of films that screams consistent.

I say all that to say that he was pretty much one of the few directors that could get me interested in seeing another stand alone Wolverine movie after the last Wolverine debacle. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, directed by the decent Gavin Hood, was just offensive and insulting to fans everywhere who loved Logan/Wolverine. After that movie I felt that if they were just going to do a film that was a quick cash grab, they wouldn't get the chance to grab anymore of MY cash. Then I heard word of another Wolverine movie, this time with Mangold directing and I perked up. I wasn't sure if he had the chops to do a superhero movie but I knew he was a talented storyteller so I checked it out based on James Mangold and no other reason. I'm glad I did. The Wolverine is a story of Logan who is summoned to Japan by a man he saved when America dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. Hugh Jackman, again working with Mangold accepts the offer extended to him from one of the wealthiest men in Japan, Yashida, played by Hal Yamanouchi. Yashida wants to say thank you and goodbye to Logan, he also wants to give Logan a gift, he wants to turn him mortal. As Logan considers the offer Yashida dies and leaves his entire fortune and company not to his son Shingen, played by the talented Hiroyuki Sanada but to his very lovely granddaughter Mariko, played by Tao Okamoto. The story then gets predictable, but there are a few pleasant surprises, one comes in the form of Yukio, played by the feisty Rila Fukushima. She's Logan's "bodyguard" which of course is cute.

The other surprises come in the form of Viper, played by the amazonian Svetlana Khodchenkova, who if you slapped a brunette wig on her, could definitely play Wonder Woman. Viper is vicious in this movie and she does something no one else has ever been able to do and that's weaken Logan to the point where he doesn't heal immediately. The other surprise is Famke Jansen, my original pick for Wonder Woman by the way, who reprises her role as Jean Grey. She visits Logan in his sleep and subtly tortures him about his killing her in the third (and worst) installment of the X-Men movies X-Men: Last Stand, directed by the INcompetent Brett Ratner. Unlike in Iron Man 3 where Tony Stark is an anxiety riddled mess, Logan is only confronted with his demons when he is asleep, which by the way is something NO one in The Avengers ever did, sleep or eat for that matter. It was nice to see a hero actually do something humans need to do. We also see a hero walk into a restroom, novel.

The Wolverine isn't going to alter the superhero genre in any way, but what it has done is it has put Wolverine back on it's tracks. Though the fighting sequence on top of the bullet train was amazing. The cinematography by Ross Emery was the perfect blend of campy and straightforward. When he puts you in Logan's shoes, it's artistically well done though much of the shooting was done in Australia, the production design and the cinematography did a very good job making you believe it was Japan. The score by Marco Beltrami was exquisite. Using traditional Japanese instruments throughout the score was a very nice touch. It wasn't over the top and held the right emotion content to help the story along. I highly recommend The Wolverine, just don't go in expecting to be blown away, but just know that it is WAY better than the last Wolverine picture. I'll see you at the theater.

Red 2

Red 2, the latest movie from director Dean Parisot is an unexciting movie with with very little thrills and truly boring action. In other words, it's vapid. There is no need for thought on the audiences part at all and where the first Red was somewhat charming, this movie is just ridiculous. I hope this is the last one they make of these because Red 3 will most assuredly be worse than Red 2 and that's why I give it a half a bucket of Killer Korn.











I didn't see Red in the theaters, there I said it. I didn't see it mainly because I thought it was a dumb looking movie, so please do not ask me why I saw Red 2. I have no answers and I am so filled with shame that I contemplated seppeku, so save that question. The original Red was directed by Robert Schwentke. He probably would have directed the sequel, but he was off making that horrible R.I.P.D. movie, so the producers went out and hired TV director Dean Parisot. The last feature length film Dean did was the critically panned Fun With Dick and Jane with Jim Carrey back in 2005. Since then he's directed nothing but TV. It was like he was banished to the minor leagues for Dick and Jane. Well someone needed a director and gave him a call to see if he was interested in getting back into the big leagues, to direct a movie with Bruce Willis who plays Frank, John Malkovich who plays Marvin, Helen Mirren who plays Victoria, and Mary-Louise Parker who plays Sarah. My only guess is he jumped at the chance.    

Never mind how bad the script is or how stupid the story is, right Dean? Hey, the next time someone comes calling and wants you to direct their movie, take a look at the script first and resist that temptation to just say yes. I say that because I don't know how anyone who read this script, written by Jon and Erich Hoeber thought this sounded like a solid story and one that would surely entertain. It seems because of that, the producers brought in bigger talent to help cover up the stench. Sir Anthony Hopkins has been added to the cast this time around. He plays mad scientist and creator of red mercury, Doctor Edward Bailey. Neal McDonough plays operative and psycho patriot, Jack Horton. Byung-hun Lee, fresh off his G.I Joe fame plays Han Cho Bai, the world's deadliest contract killer. And the cherry on this bland sundae is Catherine Zeta Jones who plays Katja, Frank's Russian counterpart and one time fling.

All this talent is wasted however because the story is complete garbage. Marvin approaches Frank at a Costco and tells him they're coming for him and that they need to go. Frank tells Marvin that he's retired and happy and wants to keep it that way. After a funeral, Frank is approached by some guys with badges and a three letter acronym (take your pick there), and he's taken into custody. There Frank encounters a horde of gunmen all with automatic weapons and explosives and escapes virtually unharmed. Then MI6 gets involved and they also want Frank dead, so they hire Victoria to do the job, she calls Frank to let him know what's up. All the governments want information on Night Shade and they think Frank has it. Frank and Marvin find out what it is from some guy named The Frog, played by David Thewlis (who is probably wishing there was another Harry Potter film in the works). The find out that they need to see Doctor Bailey who has been on I.C.E., which means Incarcerated, Cannot Execute, for thirty something years by MI6.

This movie is flat out stupid, boring, and devoid of any thrills. It might as well been put on TV since the violence is extremely tame. The main problem with it is you know this merry band of misfits WILL succeed. No matter what happens, no matter how bad things look (and they never look bad) you know there is no failure in their future and that's what keeps this movie from ever getting off the ground. There's nothing nail biting about this movie which makes it "ho-hum". If they killed Frank or Marvin, if the bad guy get's away with Night Shade, if Sarah got killed which would send Frank into a dark place and have him come out shooting, this would have been a far better movie but none of that happens. The bad guys die, the good guys win, and the world is saved....ho-hum, seen that a million times. Call me when you have something new.

The production budget for Red 2 was $84 million dollars, add to that the marketing budget and this was a $100 million dollar movie. As of this moment, it has only made $25 million at the box office. So there is hope that there won't be a Red 3, which is a good thing because the story lines are weak and the characters are old and tired. The producers have just about squeezed all the could have out of this franchise, it's time to let it go and move on. I don't think I need to tell you to skip this movie, looks like you already have so you are learning grasshopper :) I'll see you at the theater.

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives, the latest film from Nicholas Winding Refn is a movie that is really hard to describe. It's almost like Nicholas was working through some serious familial issues with this film, while gorging himself on the works of David Lynch. I still don't know what to make of this stylish, yet almost silent film. Because of that I give Only God Forgives two buckets of Killer Korn.













This movie is flat out bizarre. I mean it's OUT there. Writer/director Nicholas Winding Refn immerses us into the underworld of Bangkok. It's dark, brutal, unforgiving, and deadly. Watching this movie at times reminded me of when I first saw David Lynch's masterpiece Blue Velvet. The way he used sound in that movie was a revelation to me. I thought to myself while watching Only God Forgives, Nicholas must really love David Lynch's work, to so blatantly rip him off like this. The only thing that didn't smack of Lynch was the bloody violence, and it was bloody. The original cut of this movie was so violent and bloody that the film received an NC-17 rating. After seeing this cut, I can't even imagine how vicious the original version must have been.

Nicholas brings back Ryan Gosling for this movie. This is the second time these two men have worked together, the first was in the 2011 thriller Drive. All those hoping for some kind of Drive sequel, save your money because this film is so NOT it. In fact I don't recall seeing anyone get in or use a car of any sort in this film, except to use its headlights. Ryan plays Julian, an American living in Bangkok who owns a Muay-Thai boxing gym to both look like a respectable businessman, and to use as a cover for his illegal dealings. He's a big time drug smuggler/dealer and he runs his operations with the assistance of his older brother Billy, played by Tom Burke, who is dealing with some serious demons. Billy goes out one night and is looking to get some action, its just the kind of action he's looking for is even too sick for Bangkok pimps and hookers. Billy wants to rape a 14 year old girl, and even tries to convince someone to bring his daughter to him for a hefty payday. The man obviously balks.

Billy get's his hands on a 16 year old instead, he rapes her and beats her to death. The top cop Chang, played with a quiet menace by Vithaya Pansringarm allows the farther of the murdered girl to have his way with Billy. From that moment on, this movie descends into some kind of mystical revenge trip, almost with no dialogue. Julian's mother Crystal, played by the amazingly talented Kristen Scott Thomas (who you would not even recognize at first) arrives to bring her "first born sons corpse" home. While there though, the matriarch of this drug empire wants the man who killed her son murdered as well as Chang for what he did to one of her henchmen.

What happens after that, I have no words for. Let's just say it's violent, and bloody, and sometimes damn uncomfortable to watch. It's made easier to watch thanks to the amazing look of the film. It's a dark film but the colors are so vibrant and electric, the shots are so well thought out and captured that cinematographer Larry Smith deserves high praise. That however pales in comparison to the amazing score put together by Cliff Martinez. It is off the charts good and after his score for Nicholas' Drive, I can see why Nicholas wanted to work with him again. The music is dark and brooding at times, and hilarious the next. The piece Cliff put together for the fight scene was...breathtakingly stirring. The movie, not so much. The only real character you get to know anything about is Crystal who seems to be listed straight from the show Mob Wives or Desperate Housewives of New Jersey. Outside of her, everyone is a mystery, like clouds passing overhead, they're wisps of people, nothing solid or tangible. I don't know about recommending this film. If you you're a fan of Nicholas, or for that matter David Lynch, then check out Only God Forgives. If you're not, do yourself a favor and see something else. I'll see you at the theater.    

R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D., the latest film from talented director Robert Schwentke is while at times charming, feels like an over the top rip off of Ghostbusters and MIB. It has it's moments but they are too few and far between to truly be likable. I will admit though that I was surprised to see Kevin Bacon play such a prominent role in this movie. Without him this film would have really stunk and because of that, I give R.I.P.D. a bucket and a half of Killer Korn.





Admittedly I haven't seen many of Robert Schwentke's films. To my defense though, Robert doesn't really have an extensive resume. I didn't see Red until it was on cable, but I did see the horrid Flightplan with Jodi Foster back in 2005, and I did see The Time Travelers Wife with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams back in 2009, but that was only because I read that magical novel. Time Traveler is a far better film that Flightplan, so I thought maybe Robert is improving in his skills as a story teller which boded well for the ridiculous premise of R.I.P.D. Dead cops becoming afterlife cops, making sure the dead don't bother the living world and go where they are supposed to go. Eh, alright. Let's just say I wasn't sold on the story line but decided to give this movie a chance. Why did I do that? You ever ignore that little voice in your head that is contrary to what you're about to do, but speaks to how you really feel about doing it? Like when it says "don't marry that guy, he's no good for you", or "why are you out on a date with this girl, you know you'd rather be home playing Madden". That voice? I completely ignored mine here, completely.

R.I.P.D. stars Ryan Reynolds as Nick, a Boston police officer, and Jeff Bridges as Roy, a lawman from the 1800's or there about. There's also Mary-Louise Parker (who seems to love working with Robert) as Proctor, Kevin Bacon as Hayes, Nick's one time partner, and Stephanie Szostak who plays Julia, Nick's wife. The movie opens up with Nick burying something he shouldn't have in his possession, in his back yard under of all things, an orange tree. It wasn't there before so of course Julia notices it. After some playful banter between the two that seems to set Nick right, he tells his partner Hayes that he's out, he won't rat his partner out to the higher ups but he can't be involved in anything illegal anymore. Hayes seemingly goes along with it, but you already know where I'm going with this, right? That's another issues with this movie, it's so damn predictable that you can see the next fifteen moves coming a mile away.

Nick is killed, heads to purgatory where he is to await judgement on his soul. That never happens because his skills as an officer resonate with the R.I.P.D. aka the Rest In Peace Department. There he meets Proctor and she offers him a deal that would allow him to return to Boston which of course Nick is all for. He meets his new partner, Ray and off they go. I found Jeff's portrayal as Ray grating and annoying at times but what can you do, that's Jeff Bridges, the Oscar award winner. I'd be surprised if he didn't run roughshod over Robert during filming. Hayes is looking for what Nick buried, since Nick told him he buried it, and his wife all too willingly indicates that the orange tree in the backyard is new. Hayes digs up the priceless artifacts, thanks Julia, and promises not to besmirch Nick's reputation with the B.P.D.

The artifacts are actually gold pieces that when assembled with other pieces that have been scattered all around the globe, reverses the pull on souls headed to purgatory, and instead sends them back to earth. That of course would have a cataclysmic effect on the living world so Nick and Ray, who were suspended, are back on the case and they do everything they can to keep Hayes and his dead-o's from wrecking the earth. I don't know who greenlit this movie but that person I am sure is currently looking for new employment. R.I.P.D. cost $130 million dollars to make and if this movie breaks even, it will be a miracle. Now when I said this movie was a ripoff mixture of Ghostbusters and MIB, I meant it. Even the music by Christophe Beck sounds like what Danny Elfman did for the MIB series. The cinematography was impressive though, I have to give Alwin H. Kuchler his due, there was some impressive shots in this movie. Sadly that wasn't enough to convince me that staying home and playing Madden wouldn't have been a more enjoyable evening. Skip R.I.P.D., see Ghostbusters or any of the MIB series instead because they are far superior movies, (well maybe not the second MIB movie), and I'll see you at the theater.

Big Words

Big Words, the first full length feature film from writer/director Neil Drumming is a walk down memory lane for all of us self proclaimed "hip hop heads" from the early 90's. If you were a hip hop head back then, then the characters in this film will seem uncannily familiar to you, they did to me. Because this movie looked like a page out of my life (which is both good and bad), I give Big Words two and a half buckets of Killer Korn.





Okay, straight talk no chaser, I used to do a little MC'ing back in the day. In the early 90's a friend of mine and I would travel all the way to Brooklyn, and spend all weekend with our producer laying down tracks, refining our lyrics, and crafting songs. We would hit the little mom and pop record stores looking for those classic or rare discs that had the right drum beat, the right bass line, the right horn blast, or the right melody and we would spend a King's ransom on those records, bring them to Brooklyn and get to work. No I will not tell you my stage name, just know it has to do with my being magical with the words. Anyway, Big Words brought all of those memories flooding back to me so vividly it was scary. The three main characters in this movie are guys I knew personally.

There is John, aka Big Words played by the very talented Dorian Missick, James, aka JV Da Mack played by the fantastic Gbenga Akinnagbe, and Terrance/Malik, aka DJ Malik The Cut Mystic played by the hilarious Darien Sills-Evans. Back in the early 90's, the golden age of hip hop, these three men made up the group DLP which stood for Down Low Poets. The name of the group brought about some of the most hilarious moments in the movie. Down Low back then didn't mean what it means today and there was a great defense of the name from John to Annie, played by Yaya Alifia. DLP was signed to Sonshine Records by Ike Shine, but nothing came out of their hard work but hurt feelings, heartbreak, and some jail time.

The son of Ike, Ben Shine played by Zachary Booth works at the same book publishing firm James now works at. James, a publicist asks about Ben's book he currently working on. Ben states he scrapped that and instead wants to write a memoir about his dad and his involvement in the golden era of hip hop. Ben pulls out a flyer of DLP and lays it on James' desk, much to his surprise. From that point on, this movie is full of surprises and predictability. The movie takes place back in 2008 on the night President Obama first gets elected and NONE of these men vote. In fact, neither one of them even seem to care about the election until the end of the movie. You find out what tore the group apart and you see, however tragically that these three men will never be able to salvage their friendships.

They may not find hope and redemption in each other, but they do find it in their personal relationships. Malik has a conniption every time he hears a certain song, that just happens to be the most popular of the day. He swears that the beat in the song is one he originally crafted and he wants EVERYBODY to know it. His girlfriend Bree, played by one of the most fiercest female MC's to ever grab the mic, Jean Grae talks him down off the ledge in the end and sets him in the direction he needs to head in. John and James also have similar moments with their significant others and the movie ends on a somewhat uplifting note. Big Words has that feel of someone just learning their way in the craft of film making, but Neil Drumming definitely has a future ahead of him. There is no soundtrack, the music is a hodgepodge of hip hop beats and song mixes. The cinematography won't wow you, but the look of the film is well put together. I would definitely recommend Big Words to those "hip hop heads" from back in the day and for the heads of today's version of hip hop, those kids need to learn the music's history. I'll see you at the theater.

Stuck In Love

Stuck In Love, the first film from writer/director Josh Boone is a movie that on the surface looks like a cute romcom, but underneath that veneer is a movie rife with heart. There aren't a lot of surprises here, if you seen one movie that deals with teenage angst, then you've pretty much seen them all. Stuck In Love however does add a different dimension, middle aged angst and that is a movie you don't normally see everyday, because of that I give Stuck In Love three buckets of Killer Korn.





To be honest with you, I saw Stuck In Love because I needed something light. With the recent acquittal of a certain individual down in Florida, and after seeing Fruitvale Station, I needed some lighthearted fare (and not to mention some AC). I thought Stuck In Love would fit that bill perfectly. I wasn't in the mood for another bout of Pacific Rim and there was nothing else out there that I pretty much haven't seen already so Stuck In Love won out. Written and directed by first time director Josh Boone, Stuck is a story about a fractured family, both structurally and emotionally. It stars Greg Kinnear (look how far Talk Soup has brought him) and he plays writer William Borgens, a man quite literally, stuck in love. He's in a veritable holding pattern for his ex wife Erica, played by Jennifer Connelly, who has moved on with her life and remarried, though William is sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Erica will return to him. He even goes so far as to set a place for her at the table on Thanksgiving.

Erica and William have two children. Rusty, played by Nat Wolff is the youngest, a seventeen year old who idolizes Stephen King and Samantha, played by Lily Collins is a twenty something year old, college kid who is getting her first book published. Oh, did I mention that she hates Stephen King? Let the sibling rivalry begin. William is a moderately successful writer and he not so subtlety pushes his kids into becoming writers themselves, but while Samantha throws herself at guys for quick flings and shies away from any real connection, Rusty is like a neutered pet. He's in love with a classmate, Kate played by Liana Liberato who's into all sorts of damaging things but sees Rusty as a lifeboat and latches on. Rusty is open and sharing, a dreamer and romantic, and has a pretty good relationship with his mother. Sam on the other hand despises her mother, hides behind walls, and keeps almost everyone except her dad at arms distance. Even with her dad though, she's secretive and cautious. It's not until Lou, played by Logan Lerman enters her life that her walls begin to crack.

William has taken to stalking his ex, going so far as to spy on her and her new husband from right outside their house, an idea that was done with far more creativity and warmth in Crazy, Stupid Love with Steve Carell. Sam hates the fact that her dad can't seem to move on like her mother apparently has, yet she does know her dad is sleeping with  their married neighbor from down the beach, Tricia who's hilariously played by Kristen Bell. Erica can't deal not being in her daughters life in some way, feels she may have made a mistake in leaving William, and even admits that to him at one point. William then divulges a huge secret to Sam and explains why he hasn't moved on with his life. Sam finally understands and tries to make amends with everyone, even Rusty in the coolest way ever.

Stuck In Love is a good movie, it's very well balanced. It has just the right amount of schmaltz and the right amount of heart. At times it takes itself too seriously but those moments don't last all that long. There are some truly endearing moments that will make you smile, and some that will almost bring a tear to your eye, and there are those moments that will make you laugh out loud as you recall being in similar circumstances. The film was shot nicely by cinematographer Tim Orr. There was nothing in the story line that called for any great camera angles or amazing shots, Stuck is pretty much a straight ahead film that was meant to be shot in a pedestrian manner. The music in the film was nice, the moment where Lou shares his favorite song with Sam was timeless. The score though, like the cinematography was pedestrian. There was nothing special or gripping about it, it fit nicely into it's space and it went well with the images. If you need to see something that doesn't require a lot of thought, if you need something light, and you've already seen the popcorn flicks then check out Stuck In Love, it'll make you smile. I'll see you at the theater.

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station, the first feature length film by writer/director Ryan Coogler isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. What it is though is a beautifully woven tapestry of a young mans last day on earth. It is a serious, emotional film with huge heart, and it's one I think everyone should see. Technically Ryan's technique needs work but he does such a magnificent job of taking us on a journey that I give Fruitvale Station three and a half buckets of Killer Korn.






I know I am not the first person to say this, but if Michael B. Jordan get's the right opportunities, gets the right breaks, and gets lucky, he could be HUGE! I'm talking Walk of Fame and have a sandwich or a street named after him HUGE. Seriously, Michael is incredibly talented and imminently believable as Oscar Grant III. He runs through the gamut of every emotion in this movie so naturally it was like he was born to play this role. Fruitvale Station is a tapestry of the last day of Oscar's life and all those he came in contact with, how this flawed man with a lack of impulse control and anger issues is trying to turn his life around. Oscar isn't a saint, but he's no devil either. What he is is a devoted father, boyfriend, and son to the three most important women in his life. He's a good friend to his boys, a fierce fighter, and a compassionate soul. He sounds like someone I would have liked to have known.

Directoy Ryan Coogler starts Fruitvale off with Oscar being shot at Fruitvale Station by the transit police. The footage is taken from cell phones that filmed the entire incident, the quality is poor but you know what's going on, and the suddenness of the shooting is quite shocking. From there, we are transported back to that morning and a tender moment between Oscar and his girlfriend Sophina played by the incredibly talented Melonie Diaz. From that moment you are immediately shown Oscars devotion to Sophina, but you are also shown that Oscar makes mistakes, especially the one where he cheated on Sophina with another girl. Oscar is trying to put that in the past but Sophina is having a hard time letting it go. The very next moment, you are shown just how much of a devoted father Oscar is to his daughter Tatiana, played by the adorable Ariana Neal who can't sleep.

Oscar wants to be a hard working man who wants to take care of his family, but made a few mistakes along the way which has made that almost impossible for him to do. It's New Years Eve and it's his mothers birthday. Oscars mother Wanda is played by the Oscar Award winning actress Octavia Spencer. Oscar, Sophina, and Tatiana go by to celebrate the day with her. It's after everyone finishes off Grandma Bonnie's world famous seafood gumbo is finished, and Oscar and his mother are doing the dishes where she tells him that he should take the train into San Francisco to watch the fireworks. She ultimately convinces him by telling him there will be far less traffic on the train than the streets. It's a decision that comes back to truly haunt her.

Oscar meets up with his friends, late as usual and they head to San Fran on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). The night goes well until they begin to head home, and though you know what's coming, at times it's hard to watch. The interaction between Oscar and his friends and the antagonistic white cops takes you further down the path where the beginning cell phone video ultimately leads you too. The movie ends in such a powerful way that it's almost hard to take, what's hard to stomach though was the information given at the end of the movie.The cop that shot Oscar was sentenced to only two years behind bars and only does eleven months for the murder of Oscar Grant. There is very little music in this movie, but that's because the movie really didn't need any. Not a scene in Fruitvale Station needed any emotional enhancement, but Ludwig Goransson will get credit for the score. The cinematography by Rachel Morrison looked like it was done by someone fresh out of film school. There were some amazing shots here and there, but overall Rachel needs to improve her skills.

This movie comes at a time in our lives where the world is hurting due to a lack of justice for a young man from Florida. His name can be added to the same list as Michael Stewart, Sean Bell, Eleanor Bumpers, Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant III and so many others whose names we do not know. Fruitvale Station is a wonderful work of art, and though it may be hard to watch at times, it's absolutely worth going to see. I'll see you at the theater.