Precious DVD

Gabourey Sidibe, a first-time actress with no previous acting experience, walks into an open casting call for a film based on a book she'd never read before, and on the sheer strength of her personality and intuitiveness about the character which she is reading for...she lands the leading role, Precious Jones, in one of the most powerful and talked about films of 2009! That in itself sounds like a treatment for a screenplay, but it's all too real and a star was truly found in this huge untapped talent. But she shares this breakthrough performance with another amazing performance which alot of people didn't see coming... The damaged, sick, and downright evil character who is Precious' mother, Mary Jones, played with scarry intensity and zeal by comedienne / actress / talk show host MONIQUE!! WOW!!---She scared the crap out of alot of people with her absolutely despicable potrayal of a character who has been so kicked in the head and wounded by life that she has become a warped monstrous shell of a human being! Her Golden Globe, SAG & Brit wins as well as her Oscar nom for best supporting actress is well deserved and many expect her to win the Oscar on March 7, 2010. Gabourey Sidibe, despite turning in a great performance and being nominated in all of the same awards, did score a win at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards for best actress in a dramatic role. I must say that this film wouldn't have flown as high as it did without the stellar & soulful direction of Lee Daniels, the supporting cast, or the production power players that are Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey! This movie was so heart-wrenchingly raw and filled with such emotional angst that there were times that I found myself clinching up in my seat or covering my eyes or mouth in disbelief at the harrowing abuse and circumstances which Precious has to endure at the hands of her mother, her father, and just life in general! I found myself asking why do some people have to go through such things in this life, and yet they go on with their heads held up as best they can! It also made me appreciate the fact that though many of us have had struggles in this life, there is always somebody else's story who comes along to make us say "Well, my god!--At least I didn't have it THAT bad!!--I should be thankful!" This story would just be too painful, too deep, too unbearable to watch, if it weren't for the levity of the supporting cast, mainly Lenny Kravitz's portryal of a compassionate (and hot!) male nurse, and of course the teacher at the school for wayward girls that Precious has to attend, played beautifully by actress Paula Patton. What else can I say, other than this is a very special film which may be too strong for some people, but I think it's brilliant and worth having in your collection in the same way that movies like "The Color Purple", "Bastard Out Of Carolina" and others are. Read more

On the cover of the Blu-Ray disc, it shows a heavy, African-American girl walking, and behind her, the hint of a butterfly just starting to come into focus. No image sums up this moving, challenging film better, for as you watch it, you are seeing a person go from larva to stunning butterfly over the course of two hard, painful, and ultimately, joyfilled hours. Precious, based o the novel "Push" by Sapphire, is the story of a forgotten segment of our society, a young, inner-city black girl, living a life of hell. Sexually abused by her father, physically and emotionally abused by her mother, Precious finds the strength to get up from her bed and face her bleak life, mostly by a fiery imagination. When she is discovered to be pregnant for a second time, Precious is expelled from her school and is offered a spot in an alternative school. The teacher at the school, Ms. Rain, does something amazing: she sees Precious. That act alone begins to crack the protective cocoon that Precious has built around herself to survive. Not enough can be said about Gabourey Sidibe, who takes Precious, fully realizes her, and makes her soar. Also equally as stunning is the comedian Mo'Nique, who portrays the mother with such intensity that her performance leaps off the screen and grabs you by the throat. There were scene between these two actresses that literally left me gasping for air, I was holding my breath for so long. As Precious begins to find herself, begins to find who she is, she also discovers her place in life, and her strength. Towards the end of the movie, Precious reflects on this strength, and says, about her teacher: "Some folks got a light around them that shine for other peoples. I think maybe some of them was in a long tunnel before. And in that tunnel, maybe the only light they had was one that was inside of them and then -even long after they escaped that tunnel, they still be shining for everybody else." Precious could also be talking about herself. Lee Daniels has given us a gift. It's not an easy gift to watch. It's not an easy story to tell. But it's real. As she emerges from her cocoon, we see Precious' face for the first time, with glimmers of hope, glimmers of optimism, glimmers of tomorrow. She is finding her wings, she is learning to fly. Every child in America should have that hope. Read more