4.Fruitvale Station (2013): Police brutality and racially-fueled murders of unarmed people of color-particularly black men-are disgustingly common practices here in the United States of America. Not too many of the people who have been unjustly killed by the people who swore an oath to protect them get to have their stories shared with the masses, but Ryan Coogler was brave enough to shine a light on this heinous behavior from law enforcement by bringing the tale of Oscar Grant-who was murdered by two BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officers in Oakland, California on New Year's Eve 2009-to the big screen with his potent directorial debut Fruitvale Station. Fruitvale Station focuses on getting to know Grant (Michael B. Jordan in an apporoatiely nuanced turn) his family and how he was trying to right the wrongs he had committed in the past during what ended up being the last day of life, which makes his death even more devastating and maddening. Underneath all of the political posturing that inevitably emerges every time an incident like this occurs, it gets lost that the actions of these trigger-happy cops means that someone is growing up without a son, father, brother or friend, and that attention to the person behind the headline is what made Fruitvale Station such a revelatory film.
3.Whiplash (2014): How can a drama about the relationship between a young music conservatory student (Miles Teller) and his jazz drumming professor (J.K. Simmons) turn into something that boasts the tension of a thriller? Simple: Make the professor a hot-tempered madman who is obsessed with achieving perfection and treat every performance like its the difference between living and dying. Every mistake is magnified and every triumph is felt, which in turns allows every moment of this impeccably-acted/directed character study to be nothing short of riveting.
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