MEN IN BLACK (1997)

"We're not hosting an intergalactic kegger."

One fine evening, NYPD officer Will Smith is out chasing some busta all over the place.  Jumping off a bridge, hardcore parkouring off a Central Park wall, climbing and running all over the Guggenheim Museum...but then, when he corners the busta, the dude has sideways eyelids!  That shit ain't right.  Ends up the dude is an alien from outer space and Will Smith soon finds himself to be the newest recruit of the super secretive Men in Black agency.  Which seems like a very sexist name for an agency, but whatever.  The job of the MIB is to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial threats and to regulate the aliens that are currently already here.

Old timer agent Tommy Lee Jones is tasked to show Will Smith the ropes.  Their first case is to track down a large illegal alien insect who recently landed in upstate New York and ate the insides of farmer Vincent D'Onofrio and is now walking around in his skin.  That's just nasty and kinda awesome, cause D'Onofrio does an amazing job of looking creepy as fook!  Ends up, insect D'Onofrio is looking for a small but powerful energy device called "The Galaxy" and will stop at nothing to find it.  Even if it means blowing up the entire planet.  Yikes!

MEN IN BLACK is an entertaining time-waster.  Good acting, interesting story that could have been a little bit darker, solid supporting cast, zero tension, dated special effects that still look okay, a cute dog, a cute cat, some not so cute roaches, an extremely depressing bit of dialogue, a Misfits t-shirt and, for whatever reason, the 98 minute runtime seems to go by very fast!  I honestly thought there was like another 20 minutes or so coming when the movie just...ended.  Recommended.

Part 2 - Men in Black II (2002)
Part 3 - Men in Black 3 (2012)
Part 4 - Men in Black: International (2019)

MOONLIGHT (2016)

"At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you gonna be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you."

One fateful day, drug dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali) is out on the street checking in with one of his sellers.  As he's walking back to his car, he sees a group a young boys chasing a smaller lone boy.  They say some extremely hateful stuff as they run by.  Most people wouldn't think too much of it, but Juan follows the boys and finds the lone boy, Chiron Harris, hiding in an old boarded up crackhouse.  He takes Chiron under his wing.  That doesn't turn out too well, but it does set into motion a safe place for Chiron to go when things get too bad at home or at school.  Which seems to be most of the time.

I don't want to get too much into the story of MOONLIGHT since the story itself and the way the story is presented is one of the many, many great things about this film.  Honestly, the best thing I can recommend, is don't read up on the movie...just watch it.  Put your goddamn phone down and pay attention to the film.  Think about the story, put yourself in Chiron's (and/or any of the other characters) shoes and then, afterward, simply reflect on it.  It's an extremely rewarding experience.  MOONLIGHT is one of those rare films that opens up so many different thoughts in your head.  I cannot identify with Chiron physically, but some of his mental scars really, really hit home with me.  As painful as it was to acknowledge and think about, just knowing that there's a beautifully made movie that reflects some of my own internal issues was very comforting.

Highly recommended. MOONLIGHT is one of the best films that I've seen in a very long time.