Watch "Fruitvale Station" (2013) instead of this rather tedious picture about police brutality. "Fruitvale Station" has got much more gut power and a far better coherent story about police brutality. The problem with "Monsters and Men" is that it force feeds a righteous message about police brutality. Everybody knows there is police brutality, but that fact doesnt make this movie interesting by simply repeating over and over again that the police are bad and that the victims are saints, using violins and soft focus photography. Too many violins at specific scenes felt forced. I dont like it when I get cued to feel sentimental NOW and NOW, because of a sudden overdose of violins and soft focus photography when a dad is playing with his children.

There is no real drama either, which is remarkable because the subject of police brutality has tons of it available, but the director somehow managed to turn this interesting subject of police violence into a somewhat tedious story. It starts out promising, but it is definitely lacking punch in the middle, because suddenly the leading character gets replaced by another and later on by another. Too bad this movie has got a whopping 3 different stories to tell, which only further weakens the power of this already rather slow movie.

Watch the brilliant and shocking "Fruitvale Station" (2013) instead of this slow (soft) surrogate...

A large black male selling loosies on the street is shot to death by a cop with a questionable history. Passerby Manny films the incident which ignites protests. He is eventually arrested for being in the wrong place with the wrong people. Dennis is a black cop who witnesses the interrogation. He is caught in the middle of two worlds as the shooting gets investigated. He passes by as Zyrick gets searched by two cops. Zyrick is a high ranking baseball prospect who finds himself struggling between the day-to-day racism and his ticket to a better world.

Of course, this is referring to the Eric Garner incident. As soon as the guy selling loosies shows up, I was worried that this would be handled poorly. That part's fine. It's the inciting incident but not a big part of the movie. I don't like the passing-the-baton structure. There are interesting moments but I want the leads to be more connected. Quite frankly, the story of Manny and Zyrick can be combined. The more dramatic ending would be Dennis confronting Zyrick after the protest. Overall, the movie tries to handle the difficult story material with care. It does need more than intention for a compelling story.

Darius Larsen sells loosies, a capital offense in NYC. His death is caught on a shakey 3-minute video. The film looks at how it affected the lives of three people.

Interesting film if my timely. Note to self: uploading a video of a crime when applying for a job at the police department is not a good career move.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.