“Fruitvale Station” All Story and No Movie
Aug 3rd
“All Story, No Movie”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Fruitvale Station is based on a true story about a tragedy that occurred in 2009 in the San Francisco Bay area.
The title is the name of the station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, or BART, where the event took place.
In fact, the movie opens with actual footage from the event, and then it goes into a couple of flashbacks in an attempt to fill out the story and show why it was such a tragedy.
The first flashback goes to the morning of New Year’s Eve, and we meet Oscar Julius Grant III, a young man 22 years old who is in bed with his girlfriend Sophina.
Oscar tells Sophina, “All I want is you and T, forever.”
“T” is their daughter, Tatiana, who is four years old.
December 31 is also the birthday of Oscar’s mother, Wanda, played by Octavia Spencer. So, Oscar calls Wanda and makes arrangements for Wanda’s birthday party that evening, which will be attended by family and friends, and we watch Oscar throughout the day taking care of the arrangements.
He goes to the supermarket where his brother works to get the food and where Oscar also helps out a customer arrange a fish fry she is hosting by having her talk to Oscar’s grandmother, who gives the customer advice.
Oscar also talks to his sister, Chantay, and promises to let her have $300 so Chantay can pay her rent that month, even though from what we have seem so far, we wonder if Oscar even has that amount of money to give to Chantay.
Then we go into another flashback to a year earlier when Oscar is in prison on drug-related charges, and his mother comes to visit him. Oscar gets into an argument with another prisoner, and it upsets his mother so much that she says that she won’t visit him anymore.
This flashback gives more background on Oscar and introduces a character who will play a part in the event that is the story that makes up the movie.
Then we are back to the events of the day on New Year’s Eve, and we see more of Oscar’s day leading up to the tragedy, which is preceded by going into San Francisco to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Fruitvale Station is all story and no movie.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
O’Meara Ford’s Golden Oldies Classic Car Show 2013: Saturday, August 17, 2013 from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M.
Jul 29th
On Saturday, August 17, 2013 from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. O’meara Ford Presents the 11th Annual Golden Oldies Car Classic to benefit Mental Health America of Colorado. The Van Jeffries Mobile Rock & Roll will be on site and lots of cool classic cars! Plus Prize’s and Giveaways, Good Family Fun and Free Dash Plaques and T-Shirts for the first 100 entries call Tom at 303-254-5045. I-25 and 104th, in Northglenn, Colorado.
Find out more and join O’meara on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/158218897685083/
Fruitvale Station – Movie Trailer
Jul 29th
Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler’s FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn’t been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year’s Day. Oscar’s life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area – and the entire nation – to its very core.
