“Spotlight”
Starring
Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy
James and Stanley Tucci, "Spotlight" tells the riveting true story of
the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city of
Boston. And what was the story? It was the incredible kept secret and crisis involving
one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions – The Catholic Church
and Faith.
With
the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters we watch as they delved
cautiously but with dogged determination from one allegation to multiple allegations
of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. The movie tells the year-long
investigation of uncovering the shocking decades of systematic cover-up at the
highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment,
touching off a wave of revelations around the world.
CONCLUSION: Spotlight
is clearly one of the best films for 2015 and I have no doubt that it will be
nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and possibly several
Best Supporting Actor Nominations, with special note to Mark Ruffalo and
Michael Keaton.
The
strength of this film is its ensemble of fine actors working as a team
together in the highest form of acting collaboration,
as no one actor has a singular leading role in this unique film. And while there is no
real crescendo moment in “Spotlight” it is very reminiscent of the procedural
style found in the 1976 Best Picture nominated film “All the President's Men”. The true story of the President Nixon White House and the array of operatives working there who were involved in the scandal of covering up the Watergate break in and the Washington Post reporters who broke the story starring actors Dustin Hoffman
and Robert Redford.
Just like its predecessor, “Spotlight” takes us down a path we already know where we
are headed in regards to its conclusion. But as was the case in 1976 and now with "Spotlight" what is really fascinating to see as film viewers is what good journalistic
investigation looks under the cinematic microscope, as well as what personal human commitment looks like to getting to the unquestioning
result that they are all tirelessly working to achieve - THE TRUTH.
4
Stars
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“Brooklyn”
"Brooklyn"
tells the profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish
immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of
America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home and her
adoring sister for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of
homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the
intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her
past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist
within.
CONCLUSION: Based
on a novel of the same name, “Brooklyn” is well acted and has a quiet beauty
that is easy to become enchanted with its old style exactness to its direction
which makes it appropriate for the time period it is portraying. It also has a lot more humor in it that was a
pleasant surprise, especially involving discussions of the seemingly antiquated
social mores and customs involving males and female relationships
i.e. touching each other and the overall matters and awkwardness of tentative
romance.
Eventually
the film does turn from its classic romantic style into something weightier involving
issues of marriage and culture that seemingly holds true even by today standards.
And while it never offers up any real dramatic surprises to its story it does
work on the level of telling a story about love, family, culture, intimate
relationships with an abundance of old style wit, charm, poignancy, tenderness and nostalgia
as any film in recent memory.
“Brooklyn”
works well in the finest sense of just solid movie making and therefore I
believe will be nominated for Best Picture, as well as a strong possibility of
securing a Best Director nomination for John Crowley and a Best Actress nomination
for Saoirse Ronan and her beautiful performance of the love torn “Eilis”.
“Brooklyn”
is an elegant film with dream like qualities to its story that everyone can relate
to with a superb direction that makes it a real pleasant joy to have experienced.
4
Stars
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