Netflix Friday - Volume 6

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.

Action: Deepwater Horizon (2016)
A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history.

Drama: Moonlight (2016)
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood.

Comedy: Easy A (2010)
Clean-cut high school student Olive (Emma Stone) relies on the school’s rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

Animation: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
A hapless young Viking (Jay Baruchel) who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Romance: Clueless (1995)
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school’s pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.

Horror: Krampus (2015)
A boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.

Science Fiction: Pacific Rim (2013)
As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.

Crime: Wind River (2017)
A veteran hunter (Jeremy Renner) helps an FBI-agent (Elizabeth Olsen) investigate the murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation.

Thriller: Captain Phillips
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Documentary: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (2020)
Survivors worldwide reveal the manipulation and emotional scars suffered at the hands of wealthy convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Their stories expose a sex trafficking ring of powerful enablers leading up to his 2019 arrest.

Family: The BFG
An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant (Mark Rylance) who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.

10s Movie Review - Moonlight

Director: Barry Jenkins
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Edson Jean, Jharrel Jerome, André Holland, Shariff Earp, Patrick Decile, Herveline Moncion, Duan Sanderson, Alex R. Hibbert, Herman ‘Caheei McGloun, Kamal Ani-Bellow, Keomi Givens, Eddie Blanchard, Rudi Goblen

Description: A chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young, African-American, gay man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.

Review: The 2017 edition of the Academy Awards was filled with diversity, thank goodness. With bigger productions like “Fences” and “Hidden Figures”, to smaller films like “Loving” and “Moonlight”. With eight nominations, “Moonlight” was the most popular choice and it won the best picture award. And although the film doesn’t avoid clichés, the way the story is told is anything but ordinary.
Chiron is an introvert boy, living in a bad neighborhood in Miami, tortured with a pretty tough life. His mother is a drug addict and he is the constant mark of bullies. Director Barry Jenkins introduced Chiron in three chapters in his life, that had a certain turning point: as a kid with the nickname ‘Little’, as teenager and as an adult. Every chapter defines his identity, formed by his surroundings, but also his own hopes and fears.
In the first chapter, Chiron meets drug dealer Juan, who eventually becomes a father figure for him. It’s a bit ironic that the man who’s selling drugs to his mother, becomes an important man in Chiron’s life. Chiron is constantly struggling between the hate for his mother and the love for his surrogate father.
In chapter two, Juan is out of the picture. He passed away, his mother is still addicted and in school teen Chiron is still an outsider only his friendship with Kevin keeps him going. Especially when the two admit their feeling for each other. Unfortunately they age is marked by aggression and early manhood and the duo is dramatically parted.
When Chiron is an adult, he is not the weak boy he used to be. He has become a man of the street, a drug dealer. Despite ,or maybe thanks to, his childhood he follow into Juan’s footsteps. As if he was meant to be there. His mother is sober and waiting for a way to restore her relationship with her son. And when he meets Kevin again, he sees that his life didn’t go the way he was hoping for.
The ingredients of Chiron’s life – drugs, violence, sexuality – don’t sound like anything new. But Barry Jenkins reuses these elements and creates and audiovisual experience that will stay in your mind. It’s the way Chiron’s story is told, the style Jenkins used with color and sound.
While the three chapters about the same character are one story, it almost feels like three separate stories all carried by great performers. Each actor gave his own turn to Chiron, which makes his character feel more realistic.
The actors portraying Chiron get great support from Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, who respectively play Juan and Chiron’s mom. Two of the people with a big influence on Chiron’s life.
“Moonlight” is a well-deserved Academy Award winner (even though I preferred “La La Land” that year).

Rating: 4,5 / 5