Spotlight

[Steve Williams]

It must be the final 6 weeks of the year as finally some good films have been released. My wife and I saw it last night to a packed theater with overwhelming audience applause at the end. It seems that most every film made this year is either a biopic or a memorable piece of history. Such was the case with Spotlight

If you are a groomed Catholic this might not be the film for you as the plot is summarized quite well here by www.MRQE.com where BTW the film achieved a score of 87 which is very high for any film.....

Under the direction of new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), the Boston Globe's elite investigative team, Spotlight, is tasked with delving into decades worth of child abuse claims against the Catholic Church. Lead by Walter "Robby" Robinson (Michael Keaton) the journalists begin to uncover a massive network of sexual abuse and willful ignorance perpetrated by the Church within the city of Boston. Facing political opposition and resistance from the far-reaching influence of the Church, the reporters undertake an explosive expo

The movie had me from start to finish without a single watch look as the film is that good. Not the movie of the year for me at least but enough to have me spellbound for the entire 128 minute run time

An excellent cast of characters

Spotlight (2015) Movie Reviews

Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup, Brian d'Arcy James, Maureen Keiller
Director: Tom McCarthy
Rating: R

It's really good to see Michael Keaton not only get roles to play again but also find himself in the lead role. Stanley Tucci for me is a superb actor who is like a chameleon because he literally becomes the person he portrays

This film should not be missed. The quoted statistics was that of the 1500 priests in the Boston parish 6% of them (90) were engaged in child abuse and pedophilia. The character portrayed by Stanley Tucci is very much involved in representing the victims of the child abuse in court cases against the church

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

This and Trumbo are 2 movies on my watch list. Thanks for the review Steve!

 

[LenWhite]

Great cast - can't wait to see it released to Blu-ray 97%-RT; 93 metascore. Without seeing it yet I have to believe this is going to be an award nominee given the critical acclaim and release period.

 

[Steve Williams]

Great cast - can't wait to see it released to Blu-ray 97%-RT; 93 metascore. Without seeing it yet I have to believe this is going to be an award nominee given the critical acclaim and release period.

the movie was mesmerizing. Terrific yes and worthy of many nominations. I'm just not prepared to say Best Movie of 2015 as there are several more being released before the end of the year

 

[NorthStar]

This seems like a very serious film; much more intelligent with a real story to learn from. We need more of that stuff; I'll make it my priority to see it eventually. And the reality is that this kind of stuff is always happening everywhere.

And what do we do? I'll have to see the movie. ...I need a break from Ultra-man, Ant-man, Speedo-man, Terminator, Ultron, and the rest of the gang from the galaxy. ...And fall down to earth, reality.

Thx for this, it's the first time I've heard about; that opens our consciousness in the right direction. ...Nice to see Michael Keaton again, after 'Birdman'. ...And the rest of the cast.

 

[jazdoc]

We saw this today. Very good. Mark Ruffalo was a little over earnest but Michael Keaton was excellent

 

[LL21]

...It's really good to see Michael Keaton not only get roles to play again but also find himself in the lead role. Stanley Tucci for me is a superb actor who is like a chameleon because he literally becomes the person he portrays...

Agree on Stanley Tucci...i think about his role as a compassionate, insightful and brilliant Jewish scientist in Captain America who escaped the Nazis and compare that with his role as an exasperated, stressed-out and fast-talking movie producer in American Sweethearts. Great screen presence and yes just becomes the person he portrays...and yet also (and very impressively) manages to keep 'screen charisma' with his characters. Some actors disappear into a role...but you dont necessarily like/care about the persona...i always recall being interested in the personas portrayed by Stanley Tucci.

 

[still-one]

Just returned from seeing Spotlight. As others have noted this is very good movie yet one that is not easy to feel good about during or afterwards. Tucci and Keaton were excellent whereas Ruffalo seemed to overact a bit. I'm glad I saw it but I doubt I will watch it again. Movies like Spotlight are the darlings when Oscar time is neigh. Not sure I put it in the top five for the year.

 

[KeithR]

finally saw Spotlight- tremendous film. will have no doubt it gets a best picture nom and could win up against the Martian. as Steve says, you were really glued to the screen for two hours- despite the movie taking place in a news room.

can't wait to see the Revenant, but that kind of film never wins. same with Hateful Eight. Joy is getting mediocre critical acclaim. hope Straight Outta Compton gets a nomination as deserved.

 

[Steve Williams]

finally saw Spotlight- tremendous film. will have no doubt it gets a best picture nom and could win up against the Martian. as Steve says, you were really glued to the screen for two hours- despite the movie taking place in a news room.

can't wait to see the Revenant, but that kind of film never wins. same with Hateful Eight. Joy is getting mediocre critical acclaim. hope Straight Outta Compton gets a nomination as deserved.

Carol and The Big Short are high on the list as well

I don't expect The Martian to be nominated for much of anything let alone win

 

[KeithR]

Carol and The Big Short are high on the list as well

I don't expect The Martian to be nominated for much of anything let alone win

Don't underestimate the Academy wanting to reward Ridley Scott - he's never won as director. I too wasn't as impressed with the Martian as others (really enjoyed the first half, second half was a little over the top), but I expect it to get nominated - I mean, with 10 movies after all these days it should be there.

Let me know how Carol and Big Short are - I'm not terribly excited about either. I lived through the Big Short, haha.

 

[NorthStar]

Rotten Tomatoes:

• The Martian ... 93%
• Bridge of Spies ... 91%

_________

Other (fun) mentions:

- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Hateful Eight

_________

* The Revenant

 

[Steve Williams]

For me The Martian was only so-so. Plus as far as I know The Martian was snubbed by Golden Globes by leaving Matt Damon out

 

[WLVCA]

I finally saw this movie today. Had to drive all the way across town to get to the last movie theater where it was playing.

I was raised Catholic, was an altar boy and had 12 years of Catholic education so it had a big impact on me, very disturbing. Its not a movie I really wanted to watch but my wife pushed me ( she is not Catholic ) and I am glad that I did finally see it.

I never saw or heard about any behavior like this but I do remember one priest I always thought was a little creepy. Never liked him very much and avoided him. The priests and nuns certainly had tremedous influence and power, especially over children. Do have to say that the vast majority of priests and nuns I encountered were always positive influences on me. Like any other group of people, some had their idiosyncracies.

It was a very good movie but it was difficult to see how the Catholic Church covered up and enabled these horrible crimes.

 

[NorthStar]

I think a lot of members here were raised in a Catholic atmosphere. And they have read some stories about it over the years and still today.

It's a delicate subject, it's a movie, and it has disturbing facts.

We tend to trust people who are supposed to help and protect...so it hurts when they are committing crimes against us...terrible crimes...that mark many for life.

Films like that are very important; they first made us aware, then we can start to act and react more vocally to stop all those atrocities.
...Like also that Netflix documentary Making a Murderer.

I didn't see 'Spotlight' yet, only read about it and watch some tube videos and docs.

Films I believe can affect us deeply, in particular the ones based on actual events that happened. ...And still happening.
I'm like anyone else; I like to be entertained by a good science fiction film, and a good comedy to laugh, and a nice romance to feel my heart, and a good drama to let few tears out...I also enjoy few comedy/horror genres, and action movies with Bruce Willis and Jason Statham and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
I also like documentaries...Baraka, Samsara, The Art of Flight, Pina, ...

The older I get I become more aware of my influences and how they change me. And when I see what bad influences people have from films like the one from this thread, and others from real life facts...they are more marking than the fictive ones, like westerns, comedies, sci-fi flicks; because they are real and affect us all on all other things we do, we see, and we live every day.

Do you guys, WVLCA and you Steve, feel similar in some ways?

* Entertainment is an escape. Real life is for some the thing to escape, not the beauty of our planet with the nice mountains, jungles, forests, lakes, rivers, oceans, etc., but the sad things happening everywhere inside our very weak human race. Priests raping children is one of the worst crime against humanity...it screw them real good for generations and generations. And we're from one of them past generation. The disease spreads more widely than what we can ever imagine, through all the years...I am totally certain.

Priests, cops, elected government officials, lawyers, judges, ...they all have important roles. So it's even more important that they assume their roles competently with full integrity.

Just my opinion...and looking directly into my own eyes.

 

[WLVCA]

In my family there were nine children (good Catholic family!). I am the oldest.

Rather than being the same, there are great differences among us. Four are not religious, me included. Four are hard core Catholics (Knights of Columbus types). One falls into the fundamentalist category. The four boys who married Catholic women remained Catholic.

Same home, same influences - at least until age 18 or so. Much different perspectives and outcomes.

 

[BobShermanEsq]

This and Trumbo are 2 movies on my watch list. Thanks for the review Steve!

Both were excellent IMO.