I saw Precious at the New York Film Festival yesterday. As you may know, Precious is the only film to ever win the Audience Award at both the Sundance and Toronto International Film Festivals. The film has been highly hyped since January and I was afraid I would be underwhelmed. Well, I sure wasn't! Precious is a powerhouse piece of cinema that will rip your heart to shreds. The acting is pitch perfect from everybody and the film-making is unusual.

Precious is about Claireece 'Precious' Jones, an overweight girl who has already had a child with Down's Syndrome from when she was raped by her father. Her mother constantly abuses her and she's already pregnant with her second baby. When she gets kicked out of school and is forced to go to an alternative school to help her get her GED, she realizes that there may actually be hope for her.

The acting is easily the most important and best thing during Precious. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe will absolutely be famous and definitely deserves the Best Actress Oscar. Her performance was so real and searing that you're just forced to sympathize with her. Other cast includes Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, and Mo'Nique who are all unfamiliar to the genre, but still perform very well. Mo'Nique gives a really great performance as the abusive mother Mary and should definitely win an Oscar as well. Mariah Carey's performance is a bit dry, but her character is not very major. Paula Patton, the actress who plays Blu Rain, Precious' teacher, gives a believable and loving performance as well. Also, the girls in Precious' class are all great. I actually was sitting behind them at the screening and got the them to sign my Playbill. They were all very excited.

The crowd seemed to love the movie. At Toronto, people laughed at serious parts, but the New York audience ate it up. People clapped for Precious, cried at the right parts, and even gasped at the screen over some of the violence. The violence is often so abrupt that it feels as if you too could have just been hit over the head with a pan. Everybody was so engaged in watching it even Gabourey Sidibe herself who had already seen it three times. Even she had trouble watching some parts. At the end of the movie, everyone in the audience stood up and gave Lee Daniels and his cast about a ten minute standing ovation. Everybody loved the film. Precious is definitely one of the best movies of the year and will definitely at least be nominated for Best Picture if not win it. It may be a bit bleak, but Precious gives me and everybody else hope. Lee Daniels wrote a quotation at the end of the movie that said "For precious girls everywhere". This is what really put the icing on the cake. Precious is a magnificent and disturbing movie.

Amadeus is one tremendous film. The acting was great. Tom Hulce did wonderful and I have only seen him once in a film and that was Animal House. The rest of the cast was great to like F. Murry Abraham did a terrific job in his performance. The music was brilliant, I have never seen a film with such great performances in their plays. I really did admire this movie, everything in it was very interesting and after I watched the film I did a little research on Mozart. The script and directing was superb and the cinematography was brilliant. I couldn't of asked for a better film than Amadeus. I'm glad I saw this film!

What a dramatic and compelling movie is Precious!! It makes u sit back and realize the heart wrenching situations that young females and males have to go through in there homes lives whilst fighting to stay alive in their every day survival!!! Be ready for a good cry but be sure that you will be left feeling inspired by precious and her courage to not be labeled but to fight against all odds!!

Precious is a movie that focuses on a girl's everyday struggle in the world. It shows the life of a girl that is courageous and does not give up the will to live. She goess through everyday struggling to keep it together throught the physical, emotional, and mental abuse. I would recommend this movie to everyone I know.

Director Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire is the movie everyone has been talking about ever since it won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film focuses on Clareece Precious Jones, an overweight, undereducated 16-year-old who is physically and mentally abused by her mother and about to have her second child, both of whom are the result of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. When her school learns of her pregnancy she is expelled, but the principal still cares enough to advise of an alternative school that could help her work towards earning her GED.

If for no other reason than to get out of her house, Precious goes to the school and meets Ms. Rain, a teacher that believes in her and helps her to discover her own voice.

I admit that that brief plot description makes Precious sound like a thousand other films, but it is impossible to provide any kind of brief plot description that truly does this film justice. It is truly a remarkable film that delivers one emotional gut-punch after another. By "emotional," I'm not necessarily saying that it's the kind of film that will make you cry--although I'm sure many will--but I'm referring more to the feeling this film will leave deep within your gut, whether your eyes are moist or not.

During one of the film's devastating abuse scenes, I felt as if I had been truly shaken to my core. It was the emotional gamut: anger, fear, sadness, and disgust. It may be hard to watch, but it is this emotional wallop that makes the Precious's progression so much more effective.

The film also balances these gut-wrenching scenes with some much needed comic relief, mostly in the form of Precious' classmates. Probably second only to the shock at how brutal the abuse scenes in this film were was the delightful surprise at how funny it was at times. Many movies that consider themselves comedies would be envious of the humor in Precious. Still, the humor never interferes with or lessens the emotional drama that is at this film's heart and soul.

The performances in this film are truly remarkable. Most of the attention, it seems, has been directed at Mo'Nique, who plays Precious' frighteningly abusive mother. The talk of late has been that her Oscar chances are being diminished by her standoffish attitude, but I don't understand how the Academy would be able to ignore such a raw, emotional and commanding performance. She dominates--sometimes literally--every scene that she's in.

Not to be outdone is newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who brings such honesty to Precious that you want to root for her not just because she's the victim of abuse, et cetera, but because you can see that something special buried deep within her. The same something special seen by Ms. Rain and others, including a male nurse and a welfare worker played by music superstars Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey, respectively. Carey is virtually unrecognizable, dressing down to play the social worker who connects with Precious. The Academy loves stars that set aside glamour for their craft and Carey might find herself recognized as well.

Lost among the film's flashier roles is Paula Patton, who really serves as the film's driving force as Ms. Rain. Were this your typical "teacher helps lost teen" movie, I'm sure Patton would be the one receiving most of the attention, but typical is not how I would describe Precious.

If I have any complaints with the film, it would be the sometimes distracting camerawork. The film's timeline also gets a little confusing along the way, as Precious seems to go from being unable to read the title of a children's book to being able to read Ms. Rain's letters in no time. These are very, very minor annoyances in an otherwise brilliant emotional drama. This is one movie that will soon be earning more than just Oscar buzz.

This was not a bad film to watch. I was glad to see Mo'Nique plsy a different role other than her usual comedy role but as always she did an excellent job.

This movie was a great film with a little too much profanity at times but a must see film.

Great Movie I am glad my own life was not so hard.Monique Is just wonderful as the mean mother.Precious learns to take care of herself .She finds some great friends at school that help her to get her life on the right path.This is a great learning movie.

I think this was a great movie make u want to read the book. I'm more of a horror person,but this was worth the time. This movie mad you laugh, cry , get mad, then cry again. The acting was brillant, finally Mo was in a serious movie, and I must say that I never she could act this good. 10/10

This movie is YES!! Gabourey Sidibe did a very good job. As well as Monique, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, and Paula Patton. I really loved this movie. Without a thought, it's the best movie of us Afro-American's this year along side Princess and The Frog! Amazing movie, a must watch!!!!!!

This movie is beautiful beyond words. The fact it applies to a lot of people around the world and was done by Mo'Nique who is incredibly talented made it all the more interestine. The flaw for this film is that it does not have as much publicity as it should. the film had me wanting more.

I should start out by emphasizing that I disagree with much of the criticism the film has been receiving. A common disparagement condemns the movie as "emotionally manipulative" and "superficially inspirational", much like other films that fall into the category of the "inspirational dramas" depicting stories of individuals overcoming obstacles and hardships that many people seem to hate. Well, I personally found that the film portrays a reality far too bleak and dismal and brutal for it to possibly be considered "inspirational"; in addition, while the film ends on somewhat of a high note, even that is laced with misery and becomes the lesser of two evils for the protagonist. Another criticism of the film – and of the book it is based on – is from the opposite end of the spectrum, and blames the film for portraying TOO bleak a situation to the point of exploitation. I personally found the scenario portrayed in the film to be strikingly realistic, and I think that people who are too ignorant to realize that such a grim existence can feasibly be led in 21st century America need a serious wake-up call.

One aspect of the film that deserves all the praise in the world is its cast, specifically the performances of its lead actresses and the surprising and unexpected quality of these performances considering the particular thespians involved. First and foremost, we have the breakout role of Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, portraying the overweight, twice-pregnant and illiterate protagonist, Precious. The performance is a revelation both because of how convincingly Sidibe reacts to and interacts with her brutal day-to-day existence, but also because of how completely removed it is from the first-time actresses' actual life. It's always impressive to see a performer convincingly convey difficult and profound emotions that they probably would never feel themselves in their real lives, but for a first-time actress to convey these emotions is particularly incredible. Precious' life is populated by three prominent adult characters; two of which see past her daunting exterior and genuinely want to help her, and one who does the exact opposite. Mariah Carey plays a social worker who takes a personal interest in Precious' case and, in the film's most dramatically gut-wrenching scene, makes a genuine attempt to bridge the gap between the teenager and her monstrous mother. Carey has only ever acted in two or three other films, including the atrocious vanity project "Glitter", but in this role, she de-glams, puts on a convincing and raspy accent and actually manages to deliver a surprisingly well rounded and convincing performance. Paula Patton plays another alternate mother figure in Precious' life, her teacher at her alternate school who takes a particularly personal interest in Precious, to the point of letter her stay at her home when she has nowhere else to go. Unlike Mariah Carey, Patton never did anything to totally remove my confidence in her acting abilities, but then again, she's never actually given what can really be considered a "good" performance, which is what makes her tender and genuine turn in this film most impressive. But the scene-stealer is without a doubt Mo'Nique, probably one of my LEAST favorite "comedic" performers who totally redeems herself and manages to deliver a frighteningly convincing performance, incredibly transforming herself into Precious' villainous, sadistic and purely evil mother. It is an incredible and difficult and extremely brave performance, and is even more impressive considering that it's coming from the star of "Phat Girlz".

The performances are rich and incredible enough to hold up dramatic scenes, but not the narrative as a whole, which, as I mentioned before, suffers from a series of bad directorial choices made by director Lee Daniels. The film's biggest flow is emotional inconsistency: in an attempt to portray Precious' inner feelings, Daniels injects strangely conceived fantasy sequences at key dramatic moments in which Precious imagines herself as a glamorous and famous personality. While the intention of these sequences is clear, their abruptness just totally jolts the audience out of the emotional flow of the film, and they just seem out of place. For a similar reason, Daniels chooses to set grim and dramatic scenes to oddly inappropriate songs and musical cues, which once again just feel forced and out of place, and interrupt the emotional resonance of the scenes. Other than that, the film just seems poorly done at times, or simply unfinished: the cinematography is inconsistent and often features zooms and loss of focus that don't feel like stylistic choices but rather just like mistakes. In addition, the editing is quite disjointed at times, and many cuts interrupt musical cues in the middle or otherwise are just so sudden and jumbled that they completely ruin the dramatic flow. Finally, I just felt that while many separate scenes work wonderfully and are emotional and genuinely gut-wrenching, they are just too loosely connected for the film to actually carry a consistent dramatic arc throughout, as it jumps between Precious' brutal home life to her newfound support in her classroom to her day-to-day activities to her inner fantasies. For example, a major dramatic reveal near the end of the film end sup completely ignored and thus irrelevant to the dramatic arc. As I mentioned earlier, the performances are absolutely spectacular, but the inconsistencies in the film's tone and its jumbled and odd editing take away from what otherwise could have been a genuinely affective film.

I saw the movie when it first came out and now, 2 years later it never fails to blow my mind. While it's a truly dark, moving take on this young girls life, tormented by her abusive mother and father whom she has had two children with, it's one of the best drama movies of the last five years for me. Every single cast member is fantastic but a special mention must go to Mo'Nique. When I heard a comedian was given the role of the abusive, beastly mother of Precious, I was a little skeptical but I now admit I was VERY wrong. A fantastic fantastic movie that everyone should see! 10/10