Friday, December 30, 2016

Films Viewed in 2016, the Final Entry: October, November, and December's New Coming of Age Stories


October



Honeytrap (Dir. Rebecca Johnson, 2016): In Brixton, London, fifteen-year-old Layla gets sucked into gang activity.



From Rotten Tomatoes: HONEYTRAP is the harrowing rite-of-passage drama inspired by a real-life crime of love, betrayal and murder in 2009. Featuring an international cast, the movie stars Jessica Sula (Skins, ABC Family's Recovery Road) Lucien Laviscount (Fox's Scream Queens), Naomi Ryan (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) and Ntonga Mwanza (LEAVE TO REMAIN). Girlhood and gang culture collide in HONEYTRAP as 15-year old Layla (Sula) contends with bullying at a new school by transforming herself inside and out. The teen's compulsive journey for love and acceptance soon becomes fatal in this cautionary tale based on headline news adapted by writer/director Rebecca Johnson.




The Confirmation (Dir. Bob Nelson, 2016): A divorced father (Clive Owen) and his eight-year-old son (Spencer Drever) spend a rather predictable weekend together, but when a valuable toolbox gets stolen, the search for the thieves will turn into a true family bonding.



Mark Dujsik from RogerEbert.com: “This is a smart, effective coming-of-age tale about a boy figuring out that there are gray areas to life's moral choices.” 

November





Morris From America (Dir. Chad Hartigan, 2016): The romantic and coming-of-age misadventures of a 13-year-old American living in Germany. 



From Rotten Tomatoes: Critics Consensus: Morris from America adds some novel narrative twists to its father-son story -- and gains added resonance thanks to a powerful performance from Craig Robinson.

December




Moonlight (Dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016): A timeless story of human self-discovery and connection, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.



From Rotten Tomatoes: Critics Consensus: Moonlight uses one man's story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema.


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