Fruitvale Station

Writer/director Ryan Coogler has made one of the year's best films with his bold feature-directing debut. It tells the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), the man shot to death by a cop on New Year's Eve 2008 while riding the BART. Coogler could've made a justifiably angry film, screaming in the face of a justice system that cost this young man his life and his daughter a father. What he has made is something far more important, effective and nuanced. He has made a movie that fleshes out Grant so that he's more than those few minutes captured on frantic people's phones. It's a movie that concentrates on the life taken, the people he loved, and the lives that were to be lived together that were taken away. It's a crushing, heartbreaking viewing experience anchored by a brilliant performance from Jordan. I expect this movie will get some notices come awards season. It's the kind of movie that makes a mark on you, an important film about something that should've never happened, and a movie everyone should see.