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Moonlight (2016)  

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I really enjoyed this. I think other people here summed it up better than I can, but it was a beautiful film. It was shot so very, very well.

I give it an A. I liked Janelle Monae the most I think, but I've been crushing on her pretty hard lately so that might've influenced my opinion a bit.

Edited by AABATTERY
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It's amazing how quietly and in a mostly understated intimate manner (thanks to the music and cinematography) interspeced by short outbursts of physical and emotional intensity, Jenkins meditates on and unpacks so much themes ranging from masculinity and its rancid pervasiveness, how black men perceive themselves and think they got to conform to a certain model ascribed to them from birth and the ensuing struggle when you fail to conform to the standard, being a gay black man among an homophobic environment, social determinism, alienation, filiation...painting an impressionist picture in small brushes to render the feeling of loneliness and isolation of Chiron from his childhood up to his adulthood focused on three passagi of his existence defining him.

 

The ensemble portraying Chiron is amazing how they carry in their respective performance the character's sensitivity complimenting each other from stage to stage, they really convey the character's traits all the way through even when Rhodes appears on screen, you still believe he is that shy guy from the previous parts all grown up hiding himself behind the muscular facade, that tough guy armor he built because the only time he allowed himself to be naked emotionally, he got severely hurt and broken hearted in the process so he had to shy away from his natural self, having trouble to reconcile who he is deep inside fearing being seen as a weakling. They all harbor that melancholic stare in the abyss, trapped in inner silence, battling the expression of their genuine feelings on the verge of crying and sullen demeanor, trying to find love and be at ease with.his identity.

 

In that regard, the sequence when adults Chiron and Kevin confronts the internalization of a decade of inner turmoil, resentment, regret and repressed love rings true in its tender pay-off.

 

A+.

 

 

Edited by dashrendar44
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A very good movie, with great performances, I got to be honest though, I did not connect with it like I thought I would, and had a couple issues with the why it was filmed/told. maybe I need to watch it again but for now I'd give it a B+ 

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I have two fundamental issues with it. First, the three-act structure that covers two decades while only focusing on very small and particular periods of time allows certain characters and small events that occur during these periods to be appropriately impactful and linger in memory, but in the process forces the script to rely on some wildly convenient coincidences - the bullying incident in the second part is the biggest offender, - and the movie's insistence on either catching up with the same supporting characters in the flesh or namedropping them if they aren't around (Juan's name comes up at least twice within the span of a few minutes in the second part, as does Teresa's name in the third part) makes the film's world feel inauthentically tiny, as if Chiron lived for two formative decades and by the end of that time there was still no one important to him other than the same four people he already had in his life before he was even a teen. 

 

Which leads me to the second issue - Chiron himself is the least interesting major character out of everyone here, which is especially a shame considering what a rare film protagonist he is as a gay black man. The decision to have him be perpetually bottled-up and wary makes sense on paper considering who he is, but in execution it's not dramatically interesting since it robs him of visible personality and depth, with him just ending up the same wounded little kid inside a tough, ripped dude's body. He's more a concept than a character. Not only does the movie not convey what his other significant traits or interests are, it's damn near impossible to even imagine what he's doing when the camera isn't on. Don't really get either the praise for the three actors portraying Chiron, considering the role doesn't really demand any subtlety or complexity from them all together, or the Boyhood comparisons, since that film is much more about the small inconsequential moments and idle activities whereas this goes out of its way structuring itself around significant events in the protagonist's life. 

 

Major things I loved with no reservations: the cinematography and André Holland's performance, which combine to make the third act the best one (plus the writing is at its most relaxed and least clumsy in the diner scene). Ali and Monae are a pleasure to watch as well. That's about it. 

Edited by Jake Gittes
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On 03/02/2017 at 5:46 PM, dashrendar44 said:

It's amazing how quietly and in a mostly understated intimate manner (thanks to the music and cinematography) interspeced by short outbursts of physical and emotional intensity, Jenkins meditates on and unpacks so much themes ranging from masculinity and its rancid pervasiveness, how black men perceive themselves and think they got to conform to a certain model ascribed to them from birth and the ensuing struggle when you fail to conform to the standard, being a gay black man among an homophobic environment, social determinism, alienation, filiation...painting an impressionist picture in small brushes to render the feeling of loneliness and isolation of Chiron from his childhood up to his adulthood focused on three passagi of his existence defining him.

 

The ensemble portraying Chiron is amazing how they carry in their respective performance the character's sensitivity complimenting each other from stage to stage, they really convey the character's traits all the way through even when Rhodes appears on screen, you still believe he is that shy guy from the previous parts all grown up hiding himself behind the muscular facade, that tough guy armor he built because the only time he allowed himself to be naked emotionally, he got severely hurt and broken hearted in the process so he had to shy away from his natural self, having trouble to reconcile who he is deep inside fearing being seen as a weakling. They all harbor that melancholic stare in the abyss, trapped in inner silence, battling the expression of their genuine feelings on the verge of crying and sullen demeanor, trying to find love and be at ease with.his identity.

 

In that regard, the sequence when adults Chiron and Kevin confronts the internalization of a decade of inner turmoil, resentment, regret and repressed love rings true in its tender pay-off.

 

A+.

 

 

 

Image result for mk ultra project

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It was good, well made, I liked it, but I didn't think there was anything special about it.

 

Each time we jumped over to a new "age" I felt like the movie restarted, and just when you get sucked in and invested, boom you jump in time again. I also thought the 3rd act was clearly the worst, it didn't pull all 3 stories together enough for me. 

 

The mom subplot seemed like I've seen it 1000x and it was just being over dramatic to be dramatic, didn't think she deserved to get an oscar nom. And I'm still confused on how everyone knows this little kid is gay!? Like the moms yelling at Mahershala Ali are you gonna tell him whats different about him? And I'm like this dude just picked up a quiet kid, he's 9, how do he know he's gay? hows does the audience? 

 

B (84/5)

 

 

Edited by Jay Hollywood
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The main character of this film (Little, Chiron, and Black) is defined by his lack of character.  It's a film that portrays a young man who hasn't been given the opportunity to fully gain self-actualization.  As a result, this film isn't so much about him, but rather about all the dynamics prohibiting him from coming into his own as a man.  This is ultimately where the film's flaws begin.

 

The film touches on a variety of dynamics (mom is addicted to crack, sexual orientation, bullying, etc.) but fails to do so in a way that feels unique.  On their own, these themes can be powerful if given the proper weight and attention.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel that here.  It kind of feels like a collage of issues that don't mesh well together.

 

This is one of those few viewings which could have benefited from a longer running time.  I enjoyed the splitting of life into three distinct stages, but I don't think enough time was given for each period to truly gain power.  It feels episodic and even somewhat familiar at times.  In the end I feel the dynamics are handled with far too much simplicity.

 

It's well-made and undeniably well-acted, but, subjectively speaking, I'll be damned if it doesn't fully achieve what it sets out to do.

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It's a beautiful and very emotional movie. The cast was stellar outside of Naomie Harris who kind of goes big and doesn't fit in with the rest of the performances or the tone of the movie. I'm not sure where I stand in the "Chiron is the least interesting character" criticism. It's a solid argument but I feel this film like Boyhood who also got similar criticism about Ellar Coltrane are like this by design. They kind of want the audience to watch the movie through Chiron's eyes instead of watching him and what makes him tick.

 

A-

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Put a crack whore drug addicted black woman in an "Oscar film" in 2016 and it's best supporting actress.  Why wasn't this kind of performance nominated in every other film we've seen it in?  This, along with the Artist are the two worst best picture winners perhaps of all time.  Add Shakespeare in Love as well....and Ordinary People and Annie Hall and....oh fuck it...the academy sucks at picking best picture winners.

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On 2/27/2017 at 0:25 AM, filmlover said:

Congratulations on being named Best Picture of 2016. :D This actually might be my favorite Best Picture winner of this decade so far.

Not quite as good as Spotlight for me, but certainly think time will treat it better in my mind than Birdman or Argo

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5 hours ago, baumer said:

Put a crack whore drug addicted black woman in an "Oscar film" in 2016 and it's best supporting actress.  Why wasn't this kind of performance nominated in every other film we've seen it in?  This, along with the Artist are the two worst best picture winners perhaps of all time.  Add Shakespeare in Love as well....and Ordinary People and Annie Hall and....oh fuck it...the academy sucks at picking best picture winners.

 

I liked Shakespeare in Love! and Baumer you must not have seen Crash, or The Broadway Melody.

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