Monster

Monster is a terrific film: a strong, absorbing, beautifully performed and crafted social drama that, unfortunately, proves even timelier today than when it was shot in 2017.

If Monster occasionally shows its YA roots with flashes of simplicity, it also tells a lean, propulsive story with style and grace.

It’s solid, well-acted, thought-provoking fare, if rarely rising to the level of inspired.

Ultimately, though, the movie feels most notable for the cast assembled, from Harrison -- who subsequently starred in "Waves" and "Luce," and is again very good here -- to smallish roles for Jerome (an Emmy winner for "When They See Us") as a witness and Washington ("Tenet" and "BlacKkKlansman") as James' partner in crime.

Mandler’s background before shooting his narrative feature debut was in music videos and commercials, but the ADD-style filmmaking he uses for Monster suggests he’s not ready to fully command a two-hour movie.

In telling the story of the after-school life of a young, Black, and talented creative living in Harlem attempting to find his vision, the film feels like a missed opportunity to shine a light on lives scarcely seen in cinema.

It's underdeveloped and underwhelming, with clunky pacing and choppy scene transitions. What could've been a thoughtful, engrossing story unfortunately fails in every way imaginable.

Es un buen drama legal con una historia bien narrada y la actuación de Kelvin Harrison Jr. es buena; la recomiendo.

Cheesy in-your-face plot with the most predictable ending. Only a few video music directors successfully made the jump to feature film, and Anthony Mandler is not one of them. The director tries to bring some of the elements of his work in music, with the editing being the most obvious of it, and it kind of works, especially during some courtroom scenes; but there are pretty obnoxious moments that feel like the music video of whatever song's in the background. Did Radha Blank co-write this? If so, she improved tons with 'The 40-Year-Old Version.'

Had the right tools, the right cast, but you had to give the script to some woke SJW rats. Hollywood, the people rejected wokeness, stop trying to cram it down their throats.