Black Nativity (2013)

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I really would have given it a higher rating but I wasn't 100% crazy about all of the singing. I loved the story line and the cast was phenomenal. Overall everyone did a really good job with the acting and singing. So many of my favorites in one film is really a treat. I will be telling everyone I know about this movie.It should be watched by all who value family and faith. This situation plagues many minority homes. Holding on to the anger, hurt of misunderstandings for years when it can be fixed with communication, respect, honesty and forgiveness.I wasn't sure about whether it would be good in the beginning but very pleased I stuck it out and even got my hubby-to-be to watch it with me and he liked it also.

We've just come in from seeing this movie on Christmas Eve. Tonight was the ideal night to see it. I went with my spouse and both of us enjoyed it. Had read a review but didn't realize there would be quite a bit of singing. It wasn't disruptive though. I read the other reviews and understand that it might depend on your mood as to whether you see this as corny and full of stereotypes or not. It didn't seem that way to me, though a family in front of us laughed through it. On the other hand, the people behind us were sniffling. It was entertaining and, as the name would indicate, a movie with a religious tone. The story has a universal message. Losing your way, rejection, remorse, are a part of this.The setting is contemporary and ventures into dream sequences sometimes. They are the subconscious interpretations of a boy who is at the stage of his life where he is questioning who he is and why his life has been so hard. One highlight of the film is when the man in the pawn shop speaks to the boy with a verse from Langston Hughes. The sets deserve mention, so helpful in putting us in the story. Was it simple? Was it complicated? In the end, sometimes it pays not to over think it. This is a movie after all and there is no sin in a barefaced, "feel good" story. Talented actors can pull it off and they did.

BLACK NATIVITY has a lot of singing. People sing in church, but they also sing on the sidewalk, they sing in the street, and they sing at the bus station. If this movie had scenes in public rest rooms, like many of today's films, someone surely would be singing in there, as well. This flick also jumps around a lot. It goes in and out of dreams, as people nod off in church. One minute Jennifer Hudson's character is in Baltimore; the next, she's in Harlem, with not so much as a clicking of Ruby Red Slippers to explain her transit. Every character here seems Gung Ho for public humiliation. Names are dropped, including Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, and Langston Hughes, but plugs also are given for specific brands of money-getter guns. The folks in this flick would suffer fewer headaches in someone would drive a pick-up truck on a route everyday--like a newspaper delivery person--but hand out bundles of cash instead of papers. Maybe this sequel could be entitled BANK ACTIVITY.

Very well told story based on the widely performed Langston Hughes play, Black Nativity. The music, acting and story captured me in a way I wouldn't have expected. I loved Jennifer Hudson's singing and Jacob Latimore's acting. He's one to watch in the future. And where did Grace Gibson come from? Fantastic acting from Forest Whitaker, Angela Basset and Mary Blige. The story line is intentionally unreal but beautifully matches the spirit of the season. As an upper middle class white Jewish guy, with nothing directly in common with these characters, I was moved and completely absorbed by this movie. I'd recommend it for every one of all ages. Take your kids, you'll have something good to talk about.