In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
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An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Director:
Tate Taylor
Stars:
Emma Stone,
Viola Davis,
Bryce Dallas Howard
When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director:
Jonathan Demme
Stars:
Tom Hanks,
Denzel Washington,
Roberta Maxwell
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Director:
Simon Curtis
Stars:
Michelle Williams,
Eddie Redmayne,
Julia Ormond
It's Harlem 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones - who goes by her middle name Precious - is an illiterate, overweight black girl. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see otherwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain... Written by
Huggo
At the beginning of the film, when Mary attempts to hit Precious with the frying pan, she has no cigarette in her mouth. However, in the next shot, she does. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Clareece 'Precious' Jones:
[voiceover]
My name is Clareece "Precious" Jones. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair. And I wanna be on the cover of a magazine. But first I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Momma said I can't dance. Plus, she said who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow?
See more »
"My Good Lovin"
Performed by Da Brat & Lil' Mo
Contains a Sample of "Back Like That"
Performed by Ghostface Killah featuring Ne-Yo
Written by V. Brown, Jay-Z (as Shawn C. Carter), Ghostface Killah (as Dennis David Coles), Douglas Gibbs, Ne-Yo (as Shaffer Smith), Ralph Johnson and Willie Hutch
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Contains a Sample of "Baby, Come Home" as Performed by Willie Hutch
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under License From Universal Music Enterprises
Lil' Mo Appears Courtesy of HoneyChild Entertainment Inc.
Da Brat Appears Courtesy of Throwin' Tantrums Entertainment/Rare Breed Inc. See more »
This is a truly moving, patiently directed American movie the likes of which we rarely get treated to anymore. The word 'Precious' certainly does take on it's original meaning after seeing this story unfold.
Just when I think 'the movies' have lost their last bit of integrity, a movie like this comes along as though to say 'don't worry, it's still an art form'.
As for Mo'Nique... well... I wonder what she'll say in her acceptance speeches? Brava, brava, brava.
And Mariah's performance is outstanding and deeply surprising as well.
I can't recommend this film highly enough.
70 of 130 people found this review helpful.
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This is a truly moving, patiently directed American movie the likes of which we rarely get treated to anymore. The word 'Precious' certainly does take on it's original meaning after seeing this story unfold.
Just when I think 'the movies' have lost their last bit of integrity, a movie like this comes along as though to say 'don't worry, it's still an art form'.
As for Mo'Nique... well... I wonder what she'll say in her acceptance speeches? Brava, brava, brava.
And Mariah's performance is outstanding and deeply surprising as well.
I can't recommend this film highly enough.