Race (2016)

Directed by Stephen Hopkins
Written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse
Starring Stephen James, Jason Sedeikis, Shanice Banton and Jeremy Irons

With a not-so-subtle double meaning in the title, "Race" tells the story of Jesse Owens and his journey to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin as he faced racial adversity and pressure from his community to put his dreams to the side and boycott the Olympics under Hitler's regime.

Upon entering the theatre, I knew for sure I would be in for an inspiring movie about the great Olympian's life. We all know the story of Jesse Owens. It is one of the greatest sports moments in the history of not just America, but the entire World. It's very safe to say most people who go in to this movie know what they're getting into.

There isn't much about this film that makes it different from any other sports or civil rights movement film. It follows the same formula that all of those great movies do. The acting is decent, but nothing spectacular. And the same can be said about everything else in this film. What it does do is bring up the conversation that so many people avoid. And that is racial equality, or lack there of.

While Germany in 1936 was in no doubt a much worse state than the U.S., at least as far as racial inequality goes, the parallels the film made between the two countries really show the problems America ignored for so long. And while things have certainly gotten better, this film shows that the word "better" does not mean "fixed".

The one aspect of the film I did not expect, or even know about was the German citizens who accepted and supported Jesse Owens. Of course they were few and far between, but it gave insight into the German political tyranny that some of them saw, but feared for their lives if they spoke up. It showed how the mix of German citizens really was, rather than the archetypal "good German".

The film was decent and had great pacing and running sequences. It did a wonderful job at building tension even in scenes in which I knew the outcome. But overall, it's a movie that will most likely be forgotten with the exception of the random mentions brought up in discussions about it's subject. 

My Rating: 6/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: Selma

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"Selma"

Directed by Ava DuVernay

Written by Paul Webb

Starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth

Based on Martin Luther King's campaign to secure voting rights for black citizens, "Selma" focus' on the organization of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 and the violent attack by State Police Officer's that became known as "Bloody Sunday".

The story of Selma, Alabama is an incredible one. And while this movie captures the events that happened and the people involved, at times it fails to capture any emotion.  Presented more like a History Channel exclusive documentary (Pre-Pawn Stars and the decline of the network), I felt like this was more an imagining of a High School text book than a movie.

There is controversy surrounding this movie, because Al Sharpton believes that David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay deserved nominations. And while he is right about Oyelowo (although every actor nominated for Best Leading Actor deserves it and Oyelowo was just an unfortunate snub due to lack of space) he is wrong about DuVernay.

"I have an opinion on everything because I became a minister at the age of 9

which means I'm an expert in everything including film making, the way the

Academy Award nominees are chosen (Angry White Guy in an Office picking

anyone who isn't of color) and of course, quilting."

-Al Sharpton… Probably

In fact, there are only two weaknesses to this movie. Oprah Winfrey, who should have no part in acting in movies and Ava DuVernay. Her directing made a potentially beautiful, emotional film about the civil rights movement, into a flat, reserved story that was hard to connect with. The common misconception among filmmakers who make films based on actual events is the assumption that the audience will be emotional for the sake that it is a historical occurrence. 

The shining light in this film are the performances of a few actors, primarily David Oyelowo's portrayal of the late Dr. King. His speeches are stirring and inspirational as they were when spoken by MLK himself. He, along with the song "Glory" (nominated for Best Original Song), provide the only emotional foundation of this film. 

And despite what others would say, I believe other films deserved the Best Picture nomination before this one did. It may seem contradicting for me to say this now, but this movie is worth seeing. I just think calling it one of the eight best pictures is a bit of a stretch.

Perhaps it's because of the events that occurred on this bridge,

but Edmund Pettus just sounds like a name of a racist.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Imitation Game

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"The Imitation Game"
Directed by Morten Tyldum
Written by Graham Moore (Screenplay) and Andrew Hodges (Novel)
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong

Based on the true story of Alan Turing and the invention of his machine that would break the enigma code that the German's used in WWII. The machine is widely considered to have helped a great deal in defeating the Nazi's by breaking their code.

Truly an incredible story of a world wide hero, this film has another, more humanitarian message. Alan Turing was openly homosexual and was for lack of a better word, betrayed by the country he worked for and saved with his life's work.

Accused of indecency for being homosexual and a teacher, Turing was given a choice. To be given hormones that would affect his health and chemically castrate him, or jail, where he would surely be beaten, raped and possibly killed for being homosexual.

Impeccably acted, scored, directed and written, "The Imitation Game" is a strong contender in this years Oscars. It is also, arguably one of the most important films nominated this year for it's civil rights subplot. It brings awareness to how poorly this man was treated. A man who saved millions of lives by breaking the German code and shortening the war significantly, chemically castrated and driven into a depression leading to his suicide for the inconsequential fact of his sexual orientation. It is truly a powerful film.

My Rating: 9/10