Alfre Woodard and Chewetel Ejiofor? There's no wrong turns you can make here! Going Sunday!

I am looking forward to seeing this even though I dread it. It isn't in my town yet though.

I tip my hat to Mr McQueen for doing a fantastic adaptation of the book. I especially appreciate the fact that he refrained from adding a warm and fuzzy lens to the true horror of this holocaust, unlike many Hollywood directors before him.

I haven't seen my hubby Idris' movie yet, but I think it's safe to say that Chewy has given him a run for his money. Between those two and b-ball camp supersenior Reggie, it's going to be a tough awards season.

What a wonderful movie! Wow! I've seen so many movies about slavery, yet I was still surprisingly uncomfortable and shocked. Not sure how intentional, but the variations of slave owners was really noticeable. Some simply want free labor while others were mad men. You almost want to make the argument that there were "good" slave owners vs bad ones. Of course, there is no such argument!

Chewetel was marvelous, and he played every emotion you would think a man in this predicament might feel. Michael Fasbender was exceptional as well. He owned it and ran with it! Lupita Nyong'o is quite the find! Her first film role and she absolutely rocked it. She had me in tears.

Two things I might have done differently - I would have brought Bass (Brad Pitt) in sooner. It seemed sort of random that the first time we see this guy, he spouting off about equal rights and slavery being wrong. I would have given him a few more scenes with Epps (Fasbender) before he got on his soap box.

I also would not have cast Adepero Oduye (Eliza). She was just awful. I thought, when watching her in Pariah, that might have been a fluke, but no, she's awful! The scene with the children being taken from her reminded me of Kizzie being taken away from her parents. Madge Sinclair gave one of the best television performances ever. I could not help but think those scenes should have been similar. Far from it. God forgive me, but I was super happy when Eliza was hauled off.

But overall, fantastic movie with wonderful performances. In a perfect world, Chewetel, Fasbender and Paul Dano should be difficult to beat come Oscar time!

CH, I actually preferred that Bass hadn't gotten more screentime, as this was clearly the story of Solomon. Yes, he's featured more in the book, but there's only so much that you can do in a 2+ hour movie and I'm glad that McQueen made sure that it was all about Chewy from beginning to end.

Also happy to hear that it's doing well in limited release: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-box-office-12-years-slave-20131020,0,2687648.story

Saw this tonight. I must say the movie had me feeling many different emotions throughout! Fantastic job by all involved!

I saw it last night. Amazing movie! So heartbreaking, yet life affirming for Solomon anyway. My heart broke for Patsy when he left her. Nothing he could do. The brutality of slavery was portrayed in a way that has never been done before. The people in the theatre audibly gasped when they saw Patsy's back after that whipping. I honestly do not think that I could watch this movie again. All the pain and suffering is seared in my heart.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (who I have been a long time fan of and deserved this breakout role) and Lupita Nyong'o (who I had never seen before) were outstanding as was Michael Fassbender. Fassbender made Epps' drunken madness terrifyingly real. All three deserve an Oscar nomination.

Overall I thought all the performances were strong, I agree with Chit that Adepero Oduye was horrible. I had never seen her before, but that crying was dreadful.

It is my contention that every time someone waves or displays that confederate flag that they get a 100 lashes. They deserve no less.

Edited November 9, 201312 yr by Ann_SS

It is my contention that every time someone waves or displays that confederate flag that they get a 100 lashes. They deserve no less.

He needs to be first.

Haven't seen it yet - hoping to tomorrow. Is my girl Alfre Woodard amazing?

I have the screener for this and I'm probably going to watch it tonight. I'm glad to hear Michael Fassbender is great. I really want him to break out and become a bigger star.

Haven't seen it yet - hoping to tomorrow. Is my girl Alfre Woodard amazing?

Unfortunately, she only had one scene.

Really?! The previews made it look like she was integral to the story. Disappointing! Oh well - I'm sure it's still fantastic.

This is (or was) the poster they were using in Italy.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/12-years-a-slave-posters-in-italy-promote-white-actors-ignor?bftw

This is (or was) the poster they were using in Italy.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/12-years-a-slave-posters-in-italy-promote-white-actors-ignor?bftw

Hell must be freezing over because I'm not going to get on my soapbox this morning. IMHO, I believe this was done to get people into the theaters. 12 Years... is a damn good movies, but damn good movies are overlooked all of the time when they don't have a big name to promote them. That's unfortunate, but it's the way it is and it's also the reason no talents can command $20 million/movie.

Wow! They have such a prominent picture of him and he was only in the movie for like 10 minutes. I'm just going to have to go with Chit's reasoning that they wanted to use a known star to get people to see it.