In the case of our focus today, Green Book, we were treated to Ster Kinekor’s annual Oscar themed evening with this year’s offering not disappointing (as usual) and included a great spectacle all summed up perfectly with the screening of the movie. We sure do feel special during these types of evenings and this year wasn’t any different.

Anyway, enough of that and onto the business at hand and what you came here for. Green Book is one of those unassuming movies with the title thereof also not inspiring too much excitement. But in Mahershala Ali the movie definitely has an actor who can get many to sit up and notice, that’s exactly what happened to us. When you go further and dig deeper into it, including watching the trailer then you see why it has the makings of a special movie. Factor in all the Oscar attention it has then it becomes clear that this is worth checking out.

Cast – Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali & Linda Cardellini

Director – Peter Farrelly

Genre – Drama/Comedy-drama

Running Time – 2h 10m

When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighbourhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger-as well as unexpected humanity and humour-they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.

A charming and heart-warming offering, Green book is one movie that’s hard not to like. Very simple in its approach with an equally fairly easy story-line that is full of rich anecdotes to take coming in the form of friendship, respect, humility and humour. Its also based on a true story that highlights the harsh realities centred around extreme racism and how its effects and practice just didn’t make sense…in more ways than one we could actually say that it still doesn’t today.

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali drive the story throughout with numerous ups and downs experienced in their partnership which later develops into a great friendship. It’s clear why it’s one of the front runners at this year’s Oscars. We’ve already talked about Ali who delivers an impeccable performance in his role as the legendary Dr. Don Shirley but the most surprising performance came from Viggo Mortensen who came through with a much stronger performance, you cannot help but like his character as Tony Lip…a tough Italian who is as authentic as they come, grew up in the streets of The Bronx (New York) and doesn’t comprise who he is for anyone.

Green Book is a great movie that doesn’t seek to force anything. It instead tells a simple story full of great lessons and performances mainly driven by two outstanding actors. It definitely is one of our faves this year already and will no doubt last long in the memory. Heart-warming, humorous and just plain likeable, Green Book gets an 8 out of 10 rating from us. It officially hits Nouveau cinemas nationwide on the 14^th February, do yourself a favour and go see it!

Our thanks to Ster Kinekor for the great #OskarBuzz themed evening.  

Definitely not for the faint hearted, Moonlight includes several uncomfortable moments that form part of what makes it special. The moment I got the invite to check out it out, I couldn’t help but be excited mainly because I had already heard and seen so many great things about it, some even claiming that it was one of the best movies of 2016.

Receiving universal acclaim upon its release, critics regard Moonlight as one of the best films of 2016, with the praise stemming from the acting, direction, screenplay, cinematography, subject matter and score. To date the film has won Best Motion Picture – Drama at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated in five other categories. It doesn’t end there as its also received eight Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Quite impressive, right?

So, what’s it based on?

Moonlight is a tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

The above all sounds too simplistic, in a way it is, however that doesn’t mean that the content across all three chapters in the story follow suit, far from it in fact. The performances rendered across most if not all the cast members are very powerful with both Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali standing out particularly and doing what they do best. Harris especially staking a strong claim for many individual honours solely based on her brilliant portrayal of a single mother battling with drug addiction.

Not the usual thing I would go to the movies to especially watch, however with the current #OscarBuzz Ster-Kinekor currently has going, with that current way of thinking, one would be missing out on a whole host of great movies that also include the much-anticipated Fences amongst others.

Cast – Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris & Mahershala Ali

Director – Barry Jenkins

Genre – Drama film

Running Time – 1h 51 minutes

I’m glad I did take the chance and watched Moonlight, yes it’s a bit uncomfortable in parts and is different from what we’re accustomed to seeing these days but what it does prove is that great storytelling still exists and always wins. It’s not perfect but it’s brave and quite raw in what it does, that’s why it gets a 3.5 out of 5 rating from me.

*Special thanks as always to Ster-Kinekor for the invite.