Pride Month Movie - Day Nineteen: Moonlight

Moonlight (2016)

Directed by Barry Jenkins

Screenplay by Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney

Based on the play, "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Stars: Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex R. Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Jaden Piner, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monáe, and Patrick Decile

There was a time that I tried watching this movie and stopped because I was in one of those moods. Those moods where I knew it the first five minutes that I was not gonna like. I stuck with it and my opinion never changed.

The movie is separated into three moments of Chiron's life. One when he was ten befriending a drug dealer, Juan (Ali) as his mother, Paula (Harris) becomes addicted to crack. Then as a teenager, he is confronted of possibly being gay. Finally, him in his mid 20s trying to come to terms about being gay.

It bugged me that the Chiron had his head down through the whole movie. Say something! It was mopey Chiron throughout the two hours of this movie. It annoyed. Why was the movie getting so much praise and awards? Nothing happens.

Being a queer man of color, I did not relate to much in the movie. I understand that it's not a perfect exact journey to everyone. I did not see themes that were supposed to happen onscreen with blackness or masculinity. 

I see the same stereotypes that make it more palatable for commercial audiences; drug dealers, crack addicts, being "hood." I don't see the hype for it at all.

Rating: 2/10

Skyfall

Skyfall (2012)

Directed by Sam Mendes

Screenplay by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan

Based on characters created by Ian Fleming

Stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Rory Kinnear, Ola Rapace and Albert Finney

After I was throughly disappointed with the "movie" that was Quantum of Solace, I have all but given up hope of the James Bond franchise. Hearing the troubles with MGM delaying the film, it seems like the final nail on the coffin. Now, we have Skyfall that falls on the 50th anniversary of the franchise. This film hearkens back to the past films with a touch of class.

During an assistant in Turkey, 007 (Craig) pursues an assassin, Patrice (Rapace) that has taken an highly sensitive hard drive that contains the identities of MI-6 agents embedded terrorist organizations around the world. In an unlikely moment, his shadow Eve (Harris) accidentally shoots Bond and let the bad  guy get away. Bond is presumed dead. An unknown force is coming after MI-6, but this person is particularly after M (Dench).

I'm familiar with the Bond films. This movie felt like a Bond film. The intrigue, the seductions, the thrills, the suspense, the gadgets; it had all of that. Hearing about the plot of the film beforehand, I knew where the story was going to go, but I did not expect it to go with it did. My analytical brain was trying to figure out where will happen next. Some things I predicted came true and some things didn't. I'm glad that the film went to its roots like in Casino Royale.

The major thing bothered me about the movie was the callbacks to the previous films. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. It felt like deja vu. It understood that it is the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, but my head was getting dizzy by those moments.

My Rating