Blackbird

source: Blackbird

This movie definitely tells the struggles of young black boys trying to cope with who they are. The music in the movie is also very fantastic which is one of the main reason why i watched it. My only problem... was the token white boy really necessary? I mean come on... they definitely could have found plenty of handsome black boys to play his roll.

The struggle the main character has with his sexuality is so real. I felt it, his pain, his confusion, his agony. Sure, some of the acting could've been better in parts but overall I think this ensemble pulled it off. Far better than it's rating. Give this Indy film a chance.

Bri-li-ant! I am so happy to see this movie! I am not very surprised to see it got only 5.5 as I learned not to take seriously IMDb's ratings. Indeed, a lot of people who rate on IMDb seem to love action movies with a lot of special effects. I almost never watch these kind of movies. Also people are so conditioned to watch a certain kind of screening, they're not used to diversity. The kind of grain, the kind of music, the kind of angle, all these things are quite the same in box-office movies. But here you have something different, something real. I love in this movie how there are so many moments without music, where you can be with the people as they think as they feel. I love that there was no brighty shiny filter on this movie, so when you see people in their home, it feels like you see your own home, when you see an hospital entrance, it feels like you're seeing an hospital entrance from where you really live. I love that Isaiah is back to say once again that he was not against T R Knight and to show that in this business it's really better to be White than Black, because when you are White you can get away with saying worse things than what a Black person might say. I love that Mo'nique is such a phenomenal actress who made me feel really that she lost someone and couldn't get on with life without that someone and I love that she respects herself so much that she did this indie movie rather than sell her soul to the business. I love that this movie talked about the great John Cassavetes. That man did some of the movies I love the most. Maybe those I respect the most as real deep intelligent films. I sobbed so much during that film and at the end of it I was a mess! I did not love the beginning titles. I did not love the sun shadows as mom and son were singing together. But that is what is genius with a true movie. It's not perfect. It does not have to be perfect. Because the looks are less important than the message. And the message here is BIG. I really encourage you to see this movie, get past average commercial movies. This movie dares. This movie touches. This movie knows what Love IS.

Oh dear...what a mess this is. A case of a good enough cast let down by a truly inept script. This film is all over the place. Appalling character development (or lack of it), coupled with an overdose of melodrama and dialogue that is truly cringe-worthy, lead to an embarrassment of a film. With so few films speaking with a black voice, let alone a Gay one, expectations were high for ' Blackbird' but this hysterical nonsense just leaves the viewer wondering WTF???! This film has the feel of a film-school graduate's first effort, which is not a criticism if they come up with the goods, as many do,...but not in this case. There's way too many concepts fighting each other for space here- religious fundamentalism, homophobia, mental health issues, abortion, family dysfunction, missing child syndrome, coming out and more. There's promise enough to hope for a better effort next time. Until then, this one is a bird that will never fly...regardless of its colour.

It is low budget movie....so what! The actors portraying the teens were great. I would have liked them to be fleshed out more...but so what! The story line of youth coming into their own is probably playing out in millions of homes across the world. The writing was start/sad/witty/funny. I would have liked to see more about the young couple and their struggles. The sex scenes were not just obligatory, they were well produced/directed. Did I say it was low budget....SO WHAT! I can't find the soundtrack to this movie...the first song should be on my Ipod...Period... If there is a soundtrack please release it somewhere....Period

How in all of hell did this get only a 5!? I absolutely loved this film! loved the characters, the REAL sense of feeling, everything. Just like others the rating put me off a bit but i still decided to watch, and I will never regret doing so. It was heart warming, heart breaking, kept you in place as you watched everything unravel in a fantastic string of events that led to an ending that confuses your heart and emotions in the best way possible. I have no doubt that if anyone were to ask me to recommend a movie to get there heart working and there emotions running high this would be my first pick. I know many wouldn't look twice at it because of the gay theme to it but that shouldn't deter you from watching something so well produced.

It is hard to describe how I feel about this movie. The acting was interesting, I won't say it was good, because parts were literally cringe worthy. But, it wasn't that bad either. The first hour of the movie is slow, but I quite enjoyed that, watching him struggle with his sexuality, trying to find peace between his very religious mother, his own religious belief, his problems, his friend's problems... etc. etc. etc. The last... 20 minutes or so almost killed me, I couldn't believe what they did. They decided to end the movie by stuffing as much as they could as quickly as they could in 20 minutes... like "omg you have psychic abilities? omg she's dead, omg she's back, omg he's dead to?? What did you just say about the future? Wait… That was a dream? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!!!" At the end everyone is happy, and everything goes back to being normal.... but WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED! Really bad ending. at the end everyone is happy, and everything goes back to being normal.... but WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED! really bad ending.

There are a few scenes that are definitely a tear jerker! Not only was the acting very good, but the humor in it leveled the sad parts. I will not tell you details about the movie because I highly recommend you to watch it. If you like chocolate shawty's then Torrey is definitely a chocolate drop and his body is on point. This film tells a great message that folks today are definitely dealing with. Mo'Nique is such an underrated actress. She's really good when given the opportunity to showcase it. This film, much like Precious, really shows her serious side, although we do love her funny side, there's always more than one side to a person.

Blackbird pulls at the heartstrings with a touching story of a young high school student struggling with his sexuality against the backdrop of small town Mississippi. To make matters worse our main character is being raised in a deeply religious household and his baby sister has been missing for several years. As you can image, this has caused a huge rift in his family that threatens to tear it apart forever. Young Randy, played by newcomer Julian Walker, must be strong for both himself and his mom (Mo'Nique); the latter of which is on the verge of a major breakdown. Randy's father, portrayed by Isaiah Washington, would like to be there for his wife and son, but it appears both parties have given up on the father for reasons which aren't really clear. Randy would very much like to help his family cope through these tough times; however, before he can do this, he must first learn to help himself. This starts by learning and accepting who he, himself, really is. In the opening scene I must admit I wasn't very impressed with Walker's acting but as the story progressed I began to see why writer/director Patrik-Ian Polk was charmed by the unknown actor. Walker ended up doing a fine job and seems like a natural. I think a lot of the reasons why I liked this film so much is because I see so much of myself in Randy. I, too, grew up in a devout Christian household struggling with my sexuality. I didn't have a missing baby sister or an openly gay best friend named Efrem (Gary L. Gary), but the struggle, confusion, and secret, sinful pleasure was all there. And that's what makes Blackbird so special – it's a real life story from the perspective of so many young boys and girls across the country that have secretly struggled (and still struggle) with their sexuality. Even in today's progressive society this can still be a taboo and scary issue – when it shouldn't even be an issue at all. Luckily for Randy – he eventually does figure it out and accept who he is. However, one of his high school buddies, Todd (and secret crush) shows up in a dream and foretells the future. He'll have some ups and downs along the way, but nothing he experiences, no matter how great, will ever take away from this coming-of-age period in his life where he figured it all out (his sexuality). And I know this feeling too: Nostalgia! This is what Blackbird captures so well. That said, I did have a few issues with the film – hence the reason it's not receiving a perfect 10 rating… First up, while Mo'Nique once again shows she's not just a loud-mouth comedian, her role was too close of a rehash of the crazy, abusive mother she played in Precious; maybe this time with a sprinkle of Piper Laurie's overly- religious Margaret White from the original Carrie. To her credit, Mo'Nique did own her part in Blackbird, though I just knew at any moment she would breakout with, "you sit there and you judge me, and you write them notes on your notepad…" Lord! There lies the problem. We've seen enough of Mary in Precious. Can we leave her in that movie? And this next one is just my personal gripe, but - no way in hell if I were Randy could I have been battling gay feelings/dreams and had an openly gay friend as fine as Efrem who obviously had the hots for me. This movie never would have been made because I would have figured it out (with Efrem's help) a long time ago...