FINALLY got around to seeing Fruitvale.
Just like Llewyn Davis, it totally held up under the weight of my lofty expectations.
Octavia Spencer and Michael were incredible. That kid has charisma exuding from his ******* pores, man. It was my takeaway from his supporting role in Chronicle, and that was when I knew what was coming for him. He is going to take over every scene he is ever in with that kind of ability. If he isn't the next big thing, there are only two reasons why: choosing poor roles, or because he's black. Plain and simple.
Everything felt organic in that kind of raw, realistic sense that most of you guys know I live for when it comes to movies. It could have done without the dog scene that Ryan Coogler admittedly creatively included, but even that felt plausible as his personality began to unfold. It all played so well, emotionally, and flowed just as nicely. Really, it was an excellent character study. The tragic injustice was almost secondary behind that, but once you get to those last 15 minutes, there's almost no way that you won't start to see red.
I thought the inclusion of the actual footage right out of the gate was paramount. I read after that Coogler was originally dead set against not using anything from the viral videos, but he ultimately felt like it was his responsibility to present to the world who may not be familiar with the case. I loved that he used it first, rather than at the end. Very powerful.
I still have a ton to see, but as of right now, Fruitvale and Llewyn Davis are the two best films I have seen from 2013.
Speaking of Michael, how about this? He, Christoph Waltz, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Casey Affleck in a movie called Triple Nine slated for 2015.
A group of gang members and a corrupt cop plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.
The writer (Matt Cook) has essentially nothing to his name, but the director is Lawless' John Hillcoat. If there's one thing everyone can agree on about Lawless, it is that it was one beautifully-shot film.
Really excited for that.