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 Spotlight 

What grade would you give this film?
A 74%  74%  [ 14 ]
B 26%  26%  [ 5 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 19

 Spotlight 
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Post Spotlight
Spotlight

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Spotlight is a 2015 American drama film directed by Thomas McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. It is about The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative unit in the United States, and their coverage of the Massachusetts Catholic sex abuse scandal, for which The Globe won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d'Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup.

Spotlight was shown in the Out of Competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, as well as at the Telluride Film Festival and the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on November 6, 2015, by Open Road Films.


Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:12 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Riveting, angering and thought-provoking - and perfectly cast from top to bottom. This is really an ensemble piece through and through and everyone gets basically an equal amount to do, but I thought Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams were the standouts here. A


Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:19 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
Pretty good although had I seen this before it got Oscar buzz I wouldn't have even thought twice about it being in the awards conversation. If this is the frontrunner then welp.


Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:13 am
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Sbil

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Post Re: Spotlight
The best movie of the year, and one of uncommon intelligence and depth. Somehow dramatic without being melodramatic, horrifying without being grotesque, and ultimately even hopeful without being schmaltzy. Spotlight is plotted and designed to near perfection, briskly telling its story in a way that envelopes the audience in the dogged journalistic pursuit. The entire cast is superb from top to bottom; no one strikes a bum note, and I'm hesitant to even call anyone in the cast a standout because these roles/characters don't call for it. This is what SAG Ensemble awards were made for. I need to digest some more, but this is easily one of my favorite films of the last few years. A


Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:45 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
For Hollywood it's bad to fuck kids unless your last name is Allen, Singer, Salva or Polanski.

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Thu Nov 26, 2015 12:38 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Very engaging film and human elements such as the victims testimonies, Ruffalo's outburst and overall performance and Keaton's culpability, brought the film to another level than the cold procedural it could have been. I mostly found it to be a good story.

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Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:29 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
Spotlight is a solid and straightforward, if rather unspectacular film dramatizing a seminal Boston Globe investigation of sexual deviancy and institutional secrecy in the Catholic Church. The film, a type of jubilant ode to old-fashioned print journalism, is most comfortable with procedure, finding a certain energy and magic in scenes of inquiring telephone calls and searching through untidy cases of archived legal documents. The experience would be far more resonant, however, if there were more scenes featuring the priests' victims (the few present are fascinating and poignant) and a stronger sense of Boston's cultural identity and how it was impacted by the 2002 revelation of malfeasance on the part of the archdiocese. There is a superficiality to the film's handling of the complicated and painful subject of child molestation, as if the characters' Idealized Journalism is unfolding in a vacuum rather than in a real city and community contending with real demons. Also, while every member of the A-list ensemble (including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams) delivers a fine performance in line with their pro status, they are given neither the screen time nor the depth on the page required to truly distinguish themselves.

B

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Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:36 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
I just saw this. It's a very fine film, very matter of fact and to the point. It kept me pretty absorbed throughout, and the cast truly elevates the screenplay into something very smart and effective. They all worked very well together. A-/B+


On a side note, this must have been one of the most frustrating movie experiences of my life. There were people in the audience audibly gasping/reacting at random parts of the film as if they'd never heard about any of this before. And that really took me out of the movie sometimes. Ugh.

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 11:33 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
My favorite part about this was that, other than Ruffalo's one outburst, there's no "acting" acting going on in this film. Everybody felt like a real person, which is so rare in the Bait genre. This added the needed realism to make the interviews with the victims so powerful, but also not too uncomfortable to watch since nobody was fake crying and yelling "How could they do this to me!!!!"


Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:37 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
My favorite part about this was that, other than Ruffalo's one outburst, there's no "acting" acting going on in this film. Everybody felt like a real person, which is so rare in the Bait genre. This added the needed realism to make the interviews with the victims so powerful, but also not too uncomfortable to watch since nobody was fake crying and yelling "How could they do this to me!!!!"


Exactly, I agree. And that is probably the reason why the film is not doing as well here as elsewhere because people apparently cannot appreciate this quiet sort of acting. The ensemble in this is fucking astounding and the screenplay is one of the best this year. The film itself is not the best, but it is high up there.

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Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:37 am
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Sbil

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Post Re: Spotlight
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
My favorite part about this was that, other than Ruffalo's one outburst, there's no "acting" acting going on in this film. Everybody felt like a real person, which is so rare in the Bait genre. This added the needed realism to make the interviews with the victims so powerful, but also not too uncomfortable to watch since nobody was fake crying and yelling "How could they do this to me!!!!"


Exactly, I agree. And that is probably the reason why the film is not doing as well here as elsewhere because people apparently cannot appreciate this quiet sort of acting. The ensemble in this is fucking astounding and the screenplay is one of the best this year. The film itself is not the best, but it is high up there.


I completely agree. This ensemble was pitch perfect, with nary a weak link or misstep to be found. It will richly deserve the SAG Ensemble award it will win.


Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:20 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
Eh. The idea of Keaton and McAdams delivering Law & Order performances representing the height of Subtle Acting Artistry is a tad absurd to me.

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Fri Dec 18, 2015 5:03 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Or maybe you are simply wrong. I'd prefer to side with the New York Film Critics Circle on this than with you.

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Sat Dec 19, 2015 10:11 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Fine, Mr. Fancy Pants. ;) Now go translate another ComingSoon.net article into German.

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Sat Dec 19, 2015 10:59 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
I actually far prefer darkhorizons.

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Sat Dec 19, 2015 11:01 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
It's good, but I don't get the hype. Outside of the very solid ensemble cast I didn't find much else to love about it, but David's review pretty much sums it up. I do think the characters needed a bit more depth in order for you to really connect with them and more scenes with the actual molestation victims could have been powerful stuff.


Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:53 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
I really enjoyed Spotlight. I know of the scandals, of course, but not the details, and seeing it unfold on-screen, stage by stage, hurdle by hurdle, is so very gripping, and it's buoyed by great performances from Mark Rufallo, Stanley Tucci, and Liev Schrieber. Keaton and the rest were fine too, but not a patch on the three standouts. I appreciated the cinematography too. A-

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Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:36 am
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Sbil

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Post Re: Spotlight
My favorite Best Picture winner since The Departed, probably.


Mon Feb 29, 2016 2:20 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
1. Spotlight
2. Argo
3. The Artist
4. 12 Years A Slave
5. The King's Speech
6. Birdman

That's a pretty weak list. Spotlight fits in with the pretty good, not a classic trend. Except Birdman.


Mon Feb 29, 2016 2:33 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
Don't know how to feel about this BP. It's a great film, but the definition of one that will forever only be cared about because it won Best Picture. Like in 2040 when film fans are looking at all the Best Pictures they should try and see, this is probably the one from this era they watch last

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Mon Feb 29, 2016 3:11 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
Solid movie, but not truly exceptional in any way beyond the fact that it has an interesting true story to tell. Everything from the acting to the colors to the direction to the cinematography feels subdued, like they wanted Oscars so badly they were afraid to try anything interesting that might turn off voters. Rachel McAdams gives the best performance, while Ruffalo is actually quite bad and annoying in his role. I'm sure this film will be forgotten before next year's Oscars. It's entertaining, but Room was better.

B-


Last edited by zwackerm on Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:33 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
zwackerm wrote:
Solid movie, but not truly exceptional in any way beyond the fact that it has an interesting true story to tell. Everything from the acting to the colors to the direction to the cinematography feels subdued, like they wanted Oscars so badly they were afraid to try anything interesting that might turn off voters. Rachel McAdams gives the best performance, while Ruffalo is actually quite bad and annoying in his role. I'm sure this film will be forgotten before next year's Oscars. It's entertaining, but Room was better.

B


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Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:03 pm
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Post Re: Spotlight
Finally watched this. Great film, excellent performances around, especially Ruffalo and wish McAddams had more to do. The story is fascinating from start to finish. An expertly made film really, which I could easily have watched for longer, and that would also be it's only point of critique. Many stones were turned and I'd appreciated more closure to a lot of ties. But the film nails it on all areas, tonally it reeled me in, nice throwback early 2000's setting, score was perfect. One of 2015's best.

A


Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:54 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
And damn, this thread is short for a Best Picture winner.


Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:56 am
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Post Re: Spotlight
I guess it is like we always say, when everyone agrees that something is good, where is the potential for debate?

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