The next 8 movie reviews
Catchin' up, catchin' up. Continued from here. See also the second half of this post for a sort of meta-analysis of reviews like these.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) ♥
What all superhero movies these days should aspire to be. Witty, moving. Features sympathetic characters. Knows how to play with the fact that we've been fed a lot of Spiderman media. Uses animation styles to enrich and comment on and have fun with and convey information beyond the narrative, providing "form follows function" satisfaction similar to good poetry.
Even as someone without visual triggers, I did find some of the deliberate blur hard to watch and some of the animation/motion overwhelming, but that's okay; I'm not as young and Instagram-saturated as the movie's core audience, I assume.
Ocean's 8 (2018)
It was fine. I wished for more tension, but I understand why it's a welcome change to have a woman-centric movie-with a heist plot, no less-that allows viewers to simply enjoy the ride and the competency kink and not worry about things going wrong. Everybody had impossibly sleek hair and clothes. Always nice to see Anne Hathaway, and I appreciate fandom's appreciation of Cate Blanchett.
Dreamkeeper (2003)
TV movie wherein a storyteller grandfather + reluctant grandson duo (August Schellenberg and Michael Eddie Spears, dammit, I will never get them straight) take a long trip that serves as an excuse to showcase many tales from different tribes. It took a few sittings to finish the three-hour anthology, but I enjoyed it. Father/son and other family relationship stuff; the tenuousness of teenagers facing a decision point between divergent futures; hope in the face of concerns about old ways and old stories fading away if new generations don't take an interest.
Quite the roster of actors in one or another of the tales, too, including Chaske Spencer from Longmire and Twilight and many other things, Gary Farmer and John Trudell-thanks, Dreamkeeper, for clueing me in to this famous activist turned writer/musician/actor, albeit years after his death-as the trickster pair of Coyote and Iktomi the spider, Tantoo Cardinal, Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman, Gil Birmingham, Wes Studi's niece Delanna Studi who was also in the basketball movie Edge of America, the late Misty Upham who was also in Edge of America and whose life story is horrifying, Tokala Black Elk whose face I liked a lot in Wind River, Saginaw Grant a.k.a. Wilson Sam in the Skinwalkers PBS adaptation, and Michael Greyeyes, whom I didn't even recognize, all blue and CGI-blurred as a thunder god, although in retrospect it's obvious, P.S. once again a handsome love interest.
Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) (2008)
So this movie set in the era of early settler contact that is advertised as being about different Inuit family groups coming together in summertime to share stories and intermarry their kids is more about [SPOILER] how a lot of people die of smallpox and will this elderly grandmother and young grandson survive on their own out there on the ice? [END SPOILER] So, uh, more depressing than I was prepared for; but also beautiful and contemplative. Interesting choice of music for the score, very French/New Age-y, plus this closing song, ~so uplifting~. From the studio that made Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, and, according to Wikipedia, "the first feature film to be made by Arnait Video Productions, a women's Inuit film collective."
Chiefs (2002)
Documentary about a high school basketball team on the Wind River reservation over a couple of seasons when they risk fumbling their winning streak. Follows a few players who go adrift after they graduate and stop being part of the team. Production values were rough but the community insights interesting. Info at PBS Independent Lens.
Winter in the Blood (2013)
A Chaske Spencer-led movie that I'd started once a few years ago but didn't get hooked, probably because it was on a hotel room TV. Much better results this time.
Story about a messed-up dude in rural Montana who doesn't know how to handle a lot of sorrows, including the loss of his father and brother in separate incidents when he was a kid. I got that it's a noir, but the DVD featurette explained what probably should have been obvious: it's also a modern take on the vision quest. More evidence of how little foundation I have in the basics! Many of the movie's quirks made more sense in retrospect, plus the featurette examined some of the meaning derived from cinematography choices and having shot on location; I'd like to watch it again some day, or maybe read the 1973 book, by James Welch, whom I also hadn't heard of but is apparently quite well-known; sorry, Montanans!
Also starring Gary Farmer, Julia Jones, Saginaw Grant and a wacky David Morse (Tritter on House). FYI, produced by Sherman Alexie, who appears in the DVD extras.
The Sun at Midnight (2016)
Wildlike, but the Northern Territories instead of coastal Alaska and two Gwich'in characters instead of white people! See parallels: young woman from the city gets shipped north to spend the summer with a family member; she runs away; she meets a gruff older gentleman en route; he reluctantly takes her under his wing; they bond and achieve some personal insights. There's even a bear! Only this time the story is further enriched by themes of reconnecting with one's heritage and with the land and the creatures that inhabit it. Not in a super trite way, though. Starring Devery Jacobs from Rhymes for Young Ghouls-more on that later-and Duane Howard. Written, produced and directed by a woman (Kirsten Carthew), yay.
Warning for a nonconsensual sexual situation, as there was in Wildlike. There's an uncomfortable scene in Winter in the Blood as well.
Rain in the Mountains (2007)
What an odd little movie! A low-budget absurdist comedy about a small-town Washington man of (indeterminate? the internet doesn't help my memory here) Native heritage who tries to resurrect the traditions of his people and drags his wife and son along with him after being told by an extremely questionable prophet that he's destined to do so, except he has no idea what he's doing and keeps bungling everything, and somehow we end up in a farce about chopping down power lines and blowing up a dam to stick it to The (White) Man. The comedy provides avenues for touching on complex topics about disconnection from traditional ways and urban vs. rural Indians and Native/Native and Native/non-Native relations, as well as lots of stereotype-busting moments. There's one especially chuckle-inducing scene where the dad seeks wisdom from a local elder and then has to make up a godawful translation for his son out of whole cloth because he has no idea how to speak the language, and later the elder has his own laugh because he speaks English just fine but liked pulling the prank.
There's a deadly dull DVD commentary by the directors as they gaze at their own navels about details of production. The only standout story I caught between fast-forwards was that the lead actor, Steve Pierre, had a stroke in the middle of filming and couldn't continue, although he urged the team to keep going. That explains why the story felt choppy at times and why his character was missing from some scenes where it seemed better for him to be there. Pierre did eventually recover.
This blog post has some interesting things to say, including pointing out an N. Scott Momaday reference that went over my head.
Originally posted at https://bironic.dreamwidth.org/385476.html, where there are
comments.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) ♥
What all superhero movies these days should aspire to be. Witty, moving. Features sympathetic characters. Knows how to play with the fact that we've been fed a lot of Spiderman media. Uses animation styles to enrich and comment on and have fun with and convey information beyond the narrative, providing "form follows function" satisfaction similar to good poetry.
Even as someone without visual triggers, I did find some of the deliberate blur hard to watch and some of the animation/motion overwhelming, but that's okay; I'm not as young and Instagram-saturated as the movie's core audience, I assume.
Ocean's 8 (2018)
It was fine. I wished for more tension, but I understand why it's a welcome change to have a woman-centric movie-with a heist plot, no less-that allows viewers to simply enjoy the ride and the competency kink and not worry about things going wrong. Everybody had impossibly sleek hair and clothes. Always nice to see Anne Hathaway, and I appreciate fandom's appreciation of Cate Blanchett.
Dreamkeeper (2003)
TV movie wherein a storyteller grandfather + reluctant grandson duo (August Schellenberg and Michael Eddie Spears, dammit, I will never get them straight) take a long trip that serves as an excuse to showcase many tales from different tribes. It took a few sittings to finish the three-hour anthology, but I enjoyed it. Father/son and other family relationship stuff; the tenuousness of teenagers facing a decision point between divergent futures; hope in the face of concerns about old ways and old stories fading away if new generations don't take an interest.
Quite the roster of actors in one or another of the tales, too, including Chaske Spencer from Longmire and Twilight and many other things, Gary Farmer and John Trudell-thanks, Dreamkeeper, for clueing me in to this famous activist turned writer/musician/actor, albeit years after his death-as the trickster pair of Coyote and Iktomi the spider, Tantoo Cardinal, Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman, Gil Birmingham, Wes Studi's niece Delanna Studi who was also in the basketball movie Edge of America, the late Misty Upham who was also in Edge of America and whose life story is horrifying, Tokala Black Elk whose face I liked a lot in Wind River, Saginaw Grant a.k.a. Wilson Sam in the Skinwalkers PBS adaptation, and Michael Greyeyes, whom I didn't even recognize, all blue and CGI-blurred as a thunder god, although in retrospect it's obvious, P.S. once again a handsome love interest.
Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) (2008)
So this movie set in the era of early settler contact that is advertised as being about different Inuit family groups coming together in summertime to share stories and intermarry their kids is more about [SPOILER] how a lot of people die of smallpox and will this elderly grandmother and young grandson survive on their own out there on the ice? [END SPOILER] So, uh, more depressing than I was prepared for; but also beautiful and contemplative. Interesting choice of music for the score, very French/New Age-y, plus this closing song, ~so uplifting~. From the studio that made Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, and, according to Wikipedia, "the first feature film to be made by Arnait Video Productions, a women's Inuit film collective."
Chiefs (2002)
Documentary about a high school basketball team on the Wind River reservation over a couple of seasons when they risk fumbling their winning streak. Follows a few players who go adrift after they graduate and stop being part of the team. Production values were rough but the community insights interesting. Info at PBS Independent Lens.
Winter in the Blood (2013)
A Chaske Spencer-led movie that I'd started once a few years ago but didn't get hooked, probably because it was on a hotel room TV. Much better results this time.
Story about a messed-up dude in rural Montana who doesn't know how to handle a lot of sorrows, including the loss of his father and brother in separate incidents when he was a kid. I got that it's a noir, but the DVD featurette explained what probably should have been obvious: it's also a modern take on the vision quest. More evidence of how little foundation I have in the basics! Many of the movie's quirks made more sense in retrospect, plus the featurette examined some of the meaning derived from cinematography choices and having shot on location; I'd like to watch it again some day, or maybe read the 1973 book, by James Welch, whom I also hadn't heard of but is apparently quite well-known; sorry, Montanans!
Also starring Gary Farmer, Julia Jones, Saginaw Grant and a wacky David Morse (Tritter on House). FYI, produced by Sherman Alexie, who appears in the DVD extras.
The Sun at Midnight (2016)
Wildlike, but the Northern Territories instead of coastal Alaska and two Gwich'in characters instead of white people! See parallels: young woman from the city gets shipped north to spend the summer with a family member; she runs away; she meets a gruff older gentleman en route; he reluctantly takes her under his wing; they bond and achieve some personal insights. There's even a bear! Only this time the story is further enriched by themes of reconnecting with one's heritage and with the land and the creatures that inhabit it. Not in a super trite way, though. Starring Devery Jacobs from Rhymes for Young Ghouls-more on that later-and Duane Howard. Written, produced and directed by a woman (Kirsten Carthew), yay.
Warning for a nonconsensual sexual situation, as there was in Wildlike. There's an uncomfortable scene in Winter in the Blood as well.
Rain in the Mountains (2007)
What an odd little movie! A low-budget absurdist comedy about a small-town Washington man of (indeterminate? the internet doesn't help my memory here) Native heritage who tries to resurrect the traditions of his people and drags his wife and son along with him after being told by an extremely questionable prophet that he's destined to do so, except he has no idea what he's doing and keeps bungling everything, and somehow we end up in a farce about chopping down power lines and blowing up a dam to stick it to The (White) Man. The comedy provides avenues for touching on complex topics about disconnection from traditional ways and urban vs. rural Indians and Native/Native and Native/non-Native relations, as well as lots of stereotype-busting moments. There's one especially chuckle-inducing scene where the dad seeks wisdom from a local elder and then has to make up a godawful translation for his son out of whole cloth because he has no idea how to speak the language, and later the elder has his own laugh because he speaks English just fine but liked pulling the prank.
There's a deadly dull DVD commentary by the directors as they gaze at their own navels about details of production. The only standout story I caught between fast-forwards was that the lead actor, Steve Pierre, had a stroke in the middle of filming and couldn't continue, although he urged the team to keep going. That explains why the story felt choppy at times and why his character was missing from some scenes where it seemed better for him to be there. Pierre did eventually recover.
This blog post has some interesting things to say, including pointing out an N. Scott Momaday reference that went over my head.
Originally posted at https://bironic.dreamwidth.org/385476.html, where there are
comments.