Year In Review: Ever Forward Edition

Happy Almost New Year, Friends!

In preparing to write a reflection on a year as it comes to a close, I have often looked back at the photos I've taken.  In doing this, I get to watch how the emotions I have while looking back on a year can contradict and resonate with the things I found noteworthy enough over the course of the last twelve months that I photographed them.

Emotionally, this year was a slog.  The path from the beginning of the year to now included coming to the end of the process of trying my best to create a life that worked for me in our Previous City, determining that was not possible, then creating and embarking upon the path that led us to our New Home.  I am so grateful to be here, where I can finally deeply root myself.  I am still adjusting to the beautiful shock of: this really is my life now.  It is so good that this change came into fruition, and it was not easy making it happen.  I'm still releasing the tension and strain that this change required, as well as the sadness and frustration that are a natural consequence of trying to make myself grow in unyielding soil.

Then, in looking back at the year in photos, there are so many glowing things that happened this year.  They signal little oases, desperately needed respites in a long journey.  They remind me that along the way, there were many little eddies in the stream where I could take a breath.  For annoying technical reasons those photos aren't currently available for me to share, so you'll have to take my word for it that there is pictorial evidence these things occurred.

Abundant Demonstrations

It was extremely important to me to stay involved in demonstrating this year.  Each time it was deeply invigorating and hope-instilling.  Sadly, as last year, there were many things to show up for, including common sense firearms policy and not forcibly separating children from their parents as families seek asylum.

Great Art

My visits to museums stand out very clearly in my memory this year as nourishing and transporting yet anchoring little vacations.  I'm so grateful for the artistic and cultural institutions in this nation across several cities, including this one, this one, this one, and of course this one.

I am also grateful to now live in a city with a vibrant commitment to public art.

Vacations to Beautiful Places with Wonderful People

I have this false narrative in my mind that, because of the stress and expense of moving and changing jobs, I did not do as much traveling this year as I normally would.  This makes me sad.  However, this isn't wholly true--those travels just happened over the course of long weekends or just weekends to driveable places, as well as the occasional farther-flung trip for a wedding.  I'm hoping that Husband and I will get to take a just-us trip somewhere far away in the new year, but in the meantime we did just fine with lots of shorter trips to excellent places in 2018.

New Babies, New Marriages, and Adoptions

Some wonderful new people came into the world this year, and we were happy to celebrate the marriages of some very dear friends and family members.  We were also very lucky to make the acquaintance of a sweet little bird before we left Previous City.

I am also so thankful for our loving and extraordinarily handsome cats.  We will take a brief break from our photo hiatus to share proof of their beauty:

Excellent Food Eaten and Made

Yeah we did really well on this front.  We visited some amazing restaurants and made some incredible meals at home, including recent feasts of local seafood.

Building the Life I Want

And here I am, in my Home.  Thank goodness for places that feel like home, and for bright lights to guide us there through the darkness.

Here's to an ever brighter 2019, dear friends.  Happy New Year!

{Heart}

Operating on the "Border" Between Being Happy and Unhappy I Saw This Movie

Hi everyone!

Before 2018 ends, I'm hoping to sneak in a few quick posts to satisfy one of my lingering and as-yet-unfulfilled resolutions for this year.

Commence!

I recently saw "Border" (2018; Swedish title "Gräns"), and I'd like to tell you about it.

I was drawn to "Border" because: 

a) it's a Swedish film and I like those, and
b) it looked like a weird movie and I like those, and
c) it had very good ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and finally
d) it was showing at one of my very favorite movie theaters in New Home and I hadn't gotten to go there since we moved, so obviously that was an emergency that needed to be immediately resolved.

Having now seen the movie, I can attest that it satisfies on these counts: it is a Swedish movie, it was at one of my favorite theaters, and I can see why it got positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes because it is definitely very weird.

At the end of the film, I had a feeling very similar to how I felt at the conclusion of "Sorry to Bother You" (2018): I am glad I saw "Border" and I'm glad it was made, but I also felt decidedly unsettled and like I needed a mental palette cleanser before heading to bed.

I do think it's worthwhile to see this movie.  Without getting too deep into spoilers (but still: spoilers alert), like "Sorry to Bother You," "Border" is its own version of a societal commentary told through reality blended with fantasy.  As a person with Swedish heritage, I was particularly interested in the utilization of Swedish folklore to construct the film's commentary, and embarked on a deep Wikipedia dive to follow up on some of the topics touched upon.  Had "Border" dwelt solely on these themes, it could have been a still-unsettling but really thought-provoking exploration of histories of attempted extermination of native peoples that would have powerful echoes in American and global audiences.  However, the film veers somewhat tangentially into ever darker territory, unfortunately muddying the waters of an already sufficiently interesting allegory.

So, while I recommend this movie, I don't think I can give it as high a rating as "Sorry to Bother You," which was excitingly weird and inventive and still managed to stick to its important central themes. 

I gave "Border" a 3.5.

{Heart}

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! 2018 Edition

Hi friends,

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful food-based, family-and-friend-filled holiday last week!

Because at this late hour I am pushing my luck if I am to adhere to my goal of writing at least one post per month and, unlike last year, I don't have a ton of inspiration to draw upon for coming up with a new approach to this year's post-Thanksgiving post, I'm going to fall back on my approach from years past: writing a little list of the things for which I am thankful this year.

This year, I am thankful for:

• Husband, who leapt with me into the next stage of our life in City Where We Met.

• Kittens.

• Baby birds who have no business surviving, yet do.

• Everything it took to move back to City Where We Met: 

• courage, vision, stubbornness, perseverance, patience, extremely hard work, independence, distress and frustration tolerance, and a good dose of Damn the Torpedoes,

• and also the privilege of a professional network of colleagues who will gladly vouch for me, new colleagues who warmly welcome me, family and friends who I easily reconnect with (and who help me find a beautiful new home), and all the invisible little legs up that I probably still do not fully appreciate that made it possible for me to just up and bolt to a city I ferociously love, where I have a fighting chance to thrive and simply be happy, because many people cannot do that for reasons they don't deserve and can't control.

• City Where We Met.  I recently heard someone say with complete conviction that this city is magic.  It is.  I wake up in the morning to look across the street at a tree-filled, creek-threaded park where I often watch deer graze.  I've eaten some of the most delicious meals of my life here.  One of the best museums in the world is here.  One of my favorite theaters in the world is here.  Husband and I have gone out to the movies on a Tuesday night, eaten a crab feast, bought locally-made art, gone to a farmer's market, discovered a brunch place with incredible pancakes and always an open table (!!!), taken walks around a beautiful lake just up the street, and explored two food markets, and we're not even close to done throwing ourselves into everything this city has to offer.  The morning after we moved here, I sat in our little backyard and finally felt like I could breathe.  It took me almost a decade, but I finally get to come home.

• Rich, vibrant, courageous anti-racism.  There are many ways in which our ill nation desperately needs healing, and this is one of the cures.  I am so grateful for all of the resources and people who have helped grow my ability to be an anti-racist ally (including by better understanding the dilemma of celebrating a holiday with a deeply problematic history), and so exhilarated by the opportunities I have to continue to grow.  I am particularly grateful for my family's willingness to have actual conversations with me about difficult topics, and for the modeling some of my family have given me in how to do be much better at these conversations.

• My family.

• My brilliant, joy-giving friends.

• Wonderful and fascinating books, shows, and of course, movies.

And, always:

• You, dear friends who read this humble blog.

I hope you all have many things for which to be thankful, in which to find meaning, and with which to fill your hearts.

{Heart}

A Halloween Sampler for All Souls: 2018 Edition!

Halloooooooooooooo!

Happy Halloween dear readers!  It's time for our annual review of creepy movies to enhance this season's fear factor!

As with all Halloween Samplers in our proud history, for today's post I will supplement our usual 1 - 5 rating scale with the additional bonus scary/intense rating system of 1 - 5 exclamation points thusly:

! = not at all scary 

!!!!! = so scary!

This year I have the somewhat unusual "problem" of having already written about several of the scary movies I would like to include in the Halloween round-up.  To compensate, I will divide up this year's movies by "New Movies" and "Old Movies," with the latter referring to films that have already been reviewed.

And with that: Commence!

"Old Movies"

"Lizzie" (2018)

Rating: 3 Scary Rating: !!

As I noted in last month's summary post, "Lizzie" seemed like a promising re-imagining of the historical ax murders.  Despite being steeped in a moodily tense atmosphere and enhanced by great performances, the movie simply didn't deliver high-intensity scares.

"A Quiet Place" (2018)

Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!!

Large plot holes aside, I really appreciate the creativity and genuine scare-factor of "A Quiet Place."  It offers a really interesting premise and doesn't rely on fake-out jump-scares, unnecessary gore, or any of the other tropes that rapidly diminish the esteem in which I hold a horror movie.

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018)

Rating: 1 Scary Rating: !

This year's "Holy God I Hated This Movie" entry.  Holy God I hated this movie.  How, HOW did it make dinosaurs boring??  But more importantly, why??

"New Movies"*

* = Some of which are not actually new

"Annihilation" (2018)

Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!!!

"Annihilation" is a great new addition to the genre of space horror, although admittedly it is not set in outer space but instead portrays the consequences of outer space infiltrating Earth.  It is mind-bendy and unnerving on a level I haven't experienced in a while (well, with one exception), combining great special effects with a strong female-majority cast, helmed by Natalie Portman.  It climbs to a deeply creepy and unsettling climax that will leave you with a decidedly yucky feeling in your stomach.  So... if you're down for that, enjoy!

"The Innocents" (1961)

Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!

This year's classic entry!  Husband and I watched "The Innocents" (note: very different from 2016's excellent "The Innocents") while carving jack-o'-lanterns, and it was a perfect choice.  The movie's dark cinematography, set in a menacing over-sized manor, pleasingly reminded me of one of my favorite horror movies.  "The Innocents" is based on a story by Henry James and the screenplay was co-adapted by Truman Capote, which increased my eagerness to see this movie and likely contributed to its well-balanced combination of old-timey hokeyness and enduring frightfulness.

"Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press" (2017)

Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!!!!

This year's documentary entry!  While this is by no means a conventional horror story, in the current political era it is nevertheless deeply terrifying.  It tells the story of how radically conservative billionaires with a vendetta against the press can actively and devastatingly destroy the public's access to quality journalism and threaten democracy.

And with that, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this beautifully creepy holiday!  Happy Halloween!!

{Heart}

A September Micro-Post Medley

Hello friends,

I join you from the pseudo-fugue state of almost-but-not-quite-done packing in anticipation of moving to (New) Home on SUNDAY.

Now, after a week's break from old job and with just over a week to go before starting new job, I'm getting to feel some genuine, simple excitement.  We are doing this.  It is happening!

My hope is that, in the first week of October, I'll be able to prioritize making mental space for considering how to make a home that, as much as is possible, creates happiness and peacefulness.  I'm really looking forward to this task.

Before literally everything I own is packed away, I want to ensure I write a brief entry for this, the final month I live in City Where I Currently Live.

Commence: A Micro-Post Medley of the Movies I've Seen in September!

"The Wife" (2018)

Oh my goodness I did not care for this movie.  The performances felt strangled by a stagey, stilted, and unbelievable script.  It is an unfortunate irony that the movie suffers from what feels like an under-developed premise and set of characters, and it is about an acclaimed author who is winning the Nobel Prize for literature.  I appreciated the brief glimpses of Stockholm the film afforded, but otherwise "The Wife" unfortunately thoroughly skippable.

Score: 1

"A Simple Favor" (2018)

I delightfully misread the advertising for "A Simple Favor."  It looks like it should just be "Gone Girl" (2014) Redux, since the premise is so similar--a posh-looking and mysterious woman, played by Blake Lively, goes missing, kicking off a slew of gossip in her insular Connecticut town.  However, "A Simple Favor" is much more than a brooding study of dueling psychopaths.  It's a smart, twistedly funny study of dueling maybe psychopaths... who are also maybe friends?  I really enjoyed the film, especially because it is my sense that Lively and her co-star Anna Kendrick might have had a lot of fun making the movie.  Also the costume design is really fun to look at.

Score: 4

"Lizzie" (2018)

There's a lot to like about this re-thinking of the infamous Lizzie Borden axe murders, including the peek it provides into a tensely dysfunctional high-status Boston family as well as the strangely satisfying deeply American Northeastern architecture of the airless spaces in which their dysfunction grows.  Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bridget, the Borden family's new Irish maid, and Chloë Sevigny's portrayal of the appropriately paranoid and claustrophobic titular character are highly absorbing.  Despite these promising elements, however, "Lizzie" ultimately disappoints as a horror movie or thriller.  Although the Borden murders happened at least a century after the events portrayed in 2015's "The Witch," the aspirations and aesthetics of both films felt similar enough that I felt a bit let down when "Lizzie" didn't deliver nearly as compellingly as its darker, more inventive, and more disturbing counterpart.

Score: 3

"Fahrenheit 11/9" (2018)

On a farewell tour of my favorite theater in City Where We Currently Live, Husband and I went to see Michael Moore's newest offering this week.  I can readily acknowledge that there are plenty of reasonable misgivings to be had about how Moore operates: his clear and deliberate attempts to cultivate and steer the emotions of his audience through cherry-picked facts and footage, his non-linear, unfocused, collage-style film-making whose thought process is at times difficult to follow, and his failure to ever explicitly state what exactly the movie's thesis is are three main complaints relevant to this and other movies he's made.  That being said, I appreciate that there is a lot of worthwhile information and perspective to be absorbed in this film, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to reflect on what I've inferred to be "Fahrenheit 11/9"'s guiding principle: that America's democracy is very much in peril and has never fully attained its aspirations, and that the active and concerted engagement of the citizenry is urgently needed if we are ever to right the ship upon which we are sailing.

Score: 4.5

And with that: back to packing I go!

{Heart}

Midyear Resolutions Update: 2018 Version

Hi team,

Admittedly, given that it is the end of August, we're a bit late for a midyear resolutions update.  I suppose this would more accurately be called the three-quarters-year update?  But for reasons that will probably make sense shortly, the resolutions review I wanted to do earlier this summer is actually better-timed for now, as the end of the summer draws near.

So let's dive in!

The resolutions I set for 2018 were:

Resolution 1: Regularly smash the patriarchy.

As operationalized by:

--Participate in at least once weekly advocacy with my elected officials.

Some success!  I continue to be extremely grateful for the existence of technology that makes civic engagement extremely easy.  Themes in my outreach to elected officials have been generally along the lines of:

Why are we engaging in state-sanctioned traumatization of vulnerable children??

Why is our President actively undermining of an investigation into possible foreign interference in our elections when our elections are critical to upholding our democracy??

Why do we STILL not have anything resembling intelligent or effective gun regulations??

Etc.

The regularity of this outreach is absolutely something I need to continue to work on.  When technology makes it so easy, there's really no excuse for anything less than regular advocacy.

--Ongoing self-education through self-directed reading, participation in at least one course to learn about dismantling systemic discrimination, and joining an ongoing anti-racist action group. 

Less success.  Sources of ongoing learning that I have accessed this year have generally included discussions in some groups I participate in on social media, as well as self-directed learning (e.g., reading articles, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts).  I have not yet joined an anti-racist action group, but that is for reasons that will be expanded on shortly! 

--Lead a second round of the multicultural seminar at work.

No success. I wish I had seen this through.  It was also a challenging undertaking the first time around.  Part of the reason I didn't pursue it a second time was that my initial experience made it ever more clear that I would need time to reflect and prepare that was not forthcoming, plus it would be valuable to have training in this extremely important area of expertise.

I have woven my emphasis in multicultural competence into other presentations I have done over the course of this year, but nothing that solely focus on multicultural competence.  I hope this is an area I can build a stronger skill set in in the future.

--Practice my right to peacefully assemble and demonstrate at least 3 times this year.

Success!  And there are still a few months left in the year for extra demonstrations!

--Regularly consume news media again.

Success!  This is a relatively recent development that occurred largely thanks to these two great, concise podcasts.

Resolution 2: Learn all the stuff and things.

Success!  Or rather, as much success as is reasonable when the goal is to learn "all the stuff and things"!  I think I've finally gotten into a true, sustainable habit of reading, for which I'm extremely grateful.  This has been facilitated by actually being able to enforce taking a daily lunch break, which shouldn't be a thing and yet has very much been a thing.  What's great is that my emerging habit of reading during lunch has also spilled over into quiet periods at home, especially on the weekend, which is so pleasurable.  Graduate training makes it very difficult to do any leisure reading, so I'm really glad to finally reclaim my enjoyment of reading.

Room for improvement remains, however: I have an ever-growing back log of articles I want to read, and I also sincerely want to recommence language learning.

Resolution 3: Write more: keep journaling and 15 posts!

Success so far!  The regularity of my journaling has definitely waned especially in recent months (again, for reasons I will elaborate on shortly), but I've kept it to at least two to three entries a month.  I've kept up the habit of writing at least a post a month, and if I hustle a bit in the final few months of 2018, I still have a shot of hitting my goal of 15 posts this year.

Resolution 4: Actively prepare and take steps to build the life I want.

Major success!

So.

We now arrive at this mysterious thing I've been mentioning that at least partially explains why I've fallen short on some of my other resolutions this year.

Husband and I are moving back to the City Where We Met.  I've found two part-time positions that I'm extremely enthusiastic and optimistic about, and this weekend I'm traveling to the City Where We Met hoping to find our new home.

Moving to the City We Currently Live In was a leap that I'm glad for in many ways.  I see that coming here provided me with some extremely useful experiences as well as knowledge about myself.  That said, living here has also been an exercise in trying to talk myself into loving a place that just isn't right for me, and ultimately accepting that that exercise is an exercise in futility.

I think the biggest challenge to accepting this reality was simply acknowledging that loving a place, just like loving a person, is not a straightforwardly rational enterprise.  On a visceral, instinctual level, some people just feel right.  Some places simply do not.

I spent a long time trying to override my instincts with all of the rational arguments in favor of the City We Currently Live In: Our apartment is so beautiful and has great amenities!  It's in a great location!  There's so much history here!  The summers are beautiful and we're close to places that are nice to travel to!

But here's the thing: I realize that I'm lucky I even know this--to know that there are people and places that on a fundamental level feel right for me.  And after giving the City We Currently Live In an honest shot, I just can't justify spending my life here when I could be living in a place that on a cellular level my heart says "Yes!" to.

Making this change has of course taken a lot of time, thought, and effort.  Once Husband and I make it happen, I'm hoping I can readily and fully recommit myself to my other resolutions for this year.

Resolution 5: Cultivate compassion.

Work needed!  While I did keep up my plan of integrating loving-kindness meditation into my morning routine for a while, I have definitely slacked off in this department.  This is yet another thing I'm hoping to dedicate more time to once my life has resettled.

Resolution 6: Watch at least 52 movies.

Success pending!  Very happily, this is not a resolution that I've had to compromise on in the context of all these approaching changes.  Full steam ahead with the movie watching!

Onward!

{Heart}

"Sorry to Bother You" with a Micro Post

Heyo!

I want to right an uber quick post to a) prove to myself that this is possible, better enabling me to b) actually write more often and c) allow myself to accomplish some other important things this day calls for.  So away we go!

Let's talk about "Sorry to Bother You" (2018)!

In summary:

I'm really glad this movie was made and I am glad I saw it.  I did not, per se, enjoy every minute of it.  And I still think people should see it.

Explanation for Summary:

"Sorry to Bother You" is an interesting and inventive movie weaving together elements of science fiction and satire with whiffs of "Being John Malkovich" (1999) and a healthy dose of racial minority stress/horror reminiscent of star Lakeith Stanfield's recent role in "Get Out" (2017).  Previews make it seem as if "Sorry to Bother You" is largely a narrative focused on code switching and "white voice," and while this is absolutely an important aspect of the movie, it is in actuality a much broader film.

Set in a near-future dystopian Oakland, the movie pursues to their disturbing next chapter current societal trends like the erosion of workers' rights, the dismantling of unions, and costs of living outpacing typical workers' wages.  "Sorry to Bother You" expands on these themes by commingling them with our nation's ongoing entanglement with and re-enactment of our history of slavery and the dehumanization and devaluation of people of color.  The result is disturbing, entertaining, and keeps you guessing until its conclusion.

To add to that already formidable accomplishment, the movie features a great leading performance by Lakeith Stanfield along with great supporting performances by Danny Glover, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Omari Hardwick, Kate Berlant, Michael X. Sommers, and Walking Dead's Steven Yeun.  The film is noticeably augmented by an ear-catching soundtrack.  Creative cinematographic choices--like literally dropping Stanfield's Cassius Green into the living rooms of the customers he is calling--jolt you out of complacency and warn you that this is a movie that will keep you on your toes.  There are also plenty of moments of humor that made me laugh aloud.



Honestly, its considerable quality and intrigue aside, I like "Sorry to Bother You" because we live in an era of constant unnecessary sequels and I'm therefore just so grateful for any movie with a fresh and invigorating take on filmmaking.

So why any reservation whatsoever in my enjoyment of this film?

Look, this shit is dark.  Contemplating society's progression, in the context of our current economic, political, and ethical climate, is not pleasant.  "Sorry to Bother You" might be classified as sci-fi/comedy, but it still feels a bit close to possible future reality for comfort.  I definitely recommend it, knowing that like me you might walk out of it with a bit of queasiness in your stomach.

I gave "Sorry to Bother You" a 4.

{Heart}

Snap Judgment: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"

Oh hello,

So Husband and I saw "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018) this weekend.  To continue the tradition established with "Jurassic World" (2015), I feel I have no choice but to write a follow-up Snap Judgment.

SO MANY DINOSAURS it's GOT to be great, right??
.......Right???????

Spoiler alert: my alternate title for this post was, simply, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is Terrible.  Feel free to continue reading to learn five bullet-pointed reasons this sentiment is unassailably true!

• Seemingly impossibly, an even less-inspired script than the last one.

In my review of "Jurassic World," I noted that the script was kind of excruciatingly bad.  Every line felt stilted and inauthentic, and every attempt at a zing-y one-liner rang pitifully hollow.  This is, I would argue, an impassable barrier to success for an entry in a movie franchise that was established by "Jurassic Park" (1993), whose whip-smart and infinitely quotable script is peppered throughout with jokes that offer a skillful, wry counterpoint to an otherwise bracing and thrilling adventure.

Well, somehow, "Fallen Kingdom" pulled off what is possibly an even worse script than "Jurassic World," because it didn't even seem to try.  There was a moment or two that threatened to produce a tiny smile, but these were generally sight gags.  None of the dialogue had any life to it whatsoever.

• Rampant necrophilic throw-backing.

There are too many allusions to the original "Jurassic Park" to count, and every single one made me want to angrily shout, "STOP DESECRATING A MOVIE I LOVE."  A selected list:

• Not one, but two T-Rex spin-and-roars.

You know the move.  It's the dinosaur equivalent of Blue Steel.

• Tapping raptor toe-claws.
• Not one, but two moments of child-escaping-being-eaten-by-dinosaur-by-slamming-door-shut-on-tiny-enclosed-space-just-in-time.  (Although of course I have a hard time believing that an old wooden dumbwaiter door would withstand "Fallen Kingdom's" version of the wOrlD's MosT tErRifyInG diNoSaUr, but whatever.)
• Raptors figuring out how to open doors.
• Someone possibly being squished under a car.
• Emotive moment in which a dinosaur fan/expert sees a Brachiosaurus for the first time.  (This might top the list of the most HOW DARE YOU-IEST moments of this stupid, stupid movie.)

What "Fallen Kingdom" seems to fundamentally misunderstand is that imitation of a great movie does not inherently confer that greatness to this film.  To the profound contrary, in this case it simply mercilessly drives home how lackluster "Fallen Kingdom" is, because it reminds you of how great its predecessor was.

• Clothes really do make the woman, evidently.

One of the many irritating aspects of "Jurassic World" was its bizarrely non-existent character development for Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire--except through her costuming.  Well, the profoundly irritating trend continues, to a point that is honestly so confusing I was left wondering, "But seriously, who is this person??"

Before: Spotless Ice Queen!

After: Totally Not That!

See, NOW Claire is wearing military green.  She is letting us know, solely through color choice and with absolutely no explanation, that she isn't a prissy soulless corporate lady anymore; NOW she's an animal rights-loving doe-eyed bleeding heart environmentalist.  Now she's SO committed you guys to saving endangered animals (and by "endangered animals" I mean "ravenous deadly resurrected crimes against nature").

So how committed is she?

She is SO committed that, unlike LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE who has ever survived a dinosaur-driven debacle in the Jurassic universe, she is totally down to go back to the island that houses the creatures that ate her assistant (TWICE) while also killing and maiming countless others.  Everyone else who was invited back was like, "Hey that was actually a bit traumatic so no thanks," but she was like, "I have a ponytail now, so I can do anything!!"

Scriptwriters Please Note: This is NOT how you write a convincing female character.  Next time, please try giving her thoughts that she sometimes says out loud and that actually make sense in the context of her life experience.

• Utterly stupid plot twists.

I'm not wanting to get too excessively spoiler-y, so I'll just give some examples:

• Dinosaurs with racing stripes.  You can tell this one is EXTRA scary, because its stripe is yellow!
• Clarifying question: Is cyanide gas even a thing?  If so, why have it just out and about in catastrophically large quantities?
• IS she your granddaughter?  Well IS SHE??
• STOP RUINING BD WONG.

• Literally no substantive resemblance to the original.

See, I'm upset about "Jurassic World" and "Fallen Kingdom" because "Jurassic Park" is truly a special movie.  I assert that not simply because I fought my parents to see it when I was a scant few years shy of its PG-13 rating, not because my perspective is skewed by seeing it for the first time with the eyes of a child.  As you know, I watched the move again relatively recently, and it still holds a formidable amount of power.  My beef with Steven Spielberg is solidly on hold when it comes to "Jurassic Park," because it is just a damn fine movie.  

What "Jurassic World" and "Fallen Kingdom" are lacking is not just a snappy script.  It's not just missing John Williams' beautiful, compelling score, although good God it sure hurts not to have it.  It's also that there is no spirit of scientific study and discovery, lived through scientists who have studied these creatures across millennia and toiled to answer unanswerable questions.  

It's also the lack of pacing, not having any idea when to hold back on the reveal of a terrifying row of teeth or literally gut-wrenching claw or a volcanic eruption and when to hit the gas pedal in the Jeep.  

Fundamentally, these movies are missing the ability to elicit the full range of emotions that "Jurassic Park" created: the visceral dread, throat-tightening fear, and most importantly, the wonder and awe.  Given the opportunity, who wouldn't take the chance to glimpse a real dinosaur?

This brings us to the problem with any sequels to "Jurassic Park," I suspect: Dinosaurs can't become boring.  If you're trying to improve upon the scary-factor of a freaking Tyrannosaurus Rex, you have simply missed the boat on this premise.  If you're not letting us access the era-that-never-was joy and thrill of seeing a towering herbivore for the first time or caring for a sick Triceratops, you don't get the point.  

If that original spirit was somehow retained in the movies that have followed, I would not be able to complain about them nearly as stridently.  Because those movies would at least be trying to honor the film-making excellence of "Jurassic Park."  But instead, they just want to cash in on the fact that dinosaur-loving suckers like me will buy a movie ticket just on the off-chance they can genuinely relive seeing that first Brachiosaur.

Shocking no one, I gave "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" a 1.

{Heart} 

Bet "The House" on "Logan Lucky": A Comedy Double-Header

Halloo!

I'd like to talk about some comedies I've watched recently.

It has been a very long while since I compared two films side-by-side.  Let's go for it!

Today's comedy contenders:

"The House" (2017)

"Logan Lucky" (2017)

Husband and I have established a tradition of eating a nice dinner and seeing a movie on Fridays to cap off the work week.  When we are particularly vulnerable to the siren song of the comforts of home, we rent or stream movies instead of heading to a theater.  Both of these movies are among the proud pantheon of films we watched from home.

So first: "The House".

This was the perfect movie to watch at the end of a very long work day.  It is not an intellectually challenging movie--in fact, the plot borders on being almost non-existent, such is the infinitesimal exposition or transition between different events.  At one point, characters travel instantly between Las Vegas and home--so abruptly that it's as if they teleported--despite the underlying premise that everyone is broke.... and actually, it is so unclear where exactly the characters live that I'm not even sure if that trip warranted the travel montage it did not receive.  See what I mean about the lack of plot development?  Really, the plot is just a bubble-gum-and-popsicle-sticks scaffolding to hold together a bunch of silly bits in which the cast can play.



Happily for "The House," the cast is so packed with comedic actors that there is a lot of room for silliness.  Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell play Kate and Scott Johansen, parents who, despite living in a suspiciously nice house in "the tri-state area", have failed to save a cent for their only child's college education. 

That back yard patio sure is nice for a family that is apparently destitute?

They partner up with their friend Frank, played by Jason Mantzoukas, and launch an illegal casino from Frank's home in an effort to quickly generate a college education's worth of cash (plus some extra money so Frank can win back his wife). 

Nick Kroll plays Bob, a scheming city official, with ever-convincing sketchitude.  A host of other recognizable-from-funny-stuff-you've-probably-seen people are featured, including Lennon Parham (from "Veep"), Michaela Watkins (from "Transparent"), Cedric Yarbrough (from "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"), and Rob Huebel and Andy Buckley (from "The Office").

With such a full house (see what I did there?) of comedic talent, there are not surprisingly some genuine laughs in "The House".  Most of them derive from the genuine fun chemistry between Poehler and Ferrell, who wrangle trying to assume the roles of badass illegal casino owners with increasing adorable goofiness.



That being said, by the latter half of the film, it started to feel more reminiscent of a film like "Masterminds" (2016), where I appreciate that it is a film that exists so I can bemusedly tune out whilst tired from a long work day, but I am also kind of surprised that it is a film that exists because it is so aggressively okay.

Alternatively, consider: "Logan Lucky".

This film features yet another packed cast, including Channing Tatum and Adam Driver as the titular brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston (who was maybe the only good thing about "Alien: Covenant" (2017)), David Denman (another "Office" alum), Riley Keough, and an absolutely delightful Farrah Mackenzie playing Jimmy's daughter Sadie. 

We all know I find Channing Tatum to be an absolute goddamn national treasure, but I was concerned about the possibly distracting sullen influence of Adam Driver--only to have my concerns completely dispelled by yet another example of great on-screen chemistry.  In fact, "Logan Lucky" is a hit parade of things I didn't think would work, yet worked exceedingly well.

Included in this list:

--Daniel Craig as a heavily tattooed bomb-engeering prisoner in the deep South.

--A cute and charming (but not TOO cute and charming) daddy-daughter relationship between Jimmy and Sadie.

--A movie about stuff that happens in the South... but is NOT excruciatingly packed with cliché sexism.  There are threatened whiffs of it--mostly perpetrated by Moody Chapman, as portrayed by the basically-always-playing-a-sketchy-character Denman--but Keough's Mellie Logan shuts them down with satisfying deftness.  (I wonder if this might be due to the refreshing influence of the film's presumably female but possibly fictitious(??!) writer, Rebecca Blunt.)

--A heist movie, because, with few exceptions, I normally just can't care less about those.

Honestly, one of the only things that doesn't work is Seth MacFarlane's performance as Max Chilblain, an inexplicably British NASCAR driver?/team owner? with a TERRIBLE-wig-and-moustache-combo and a terrible accent to go match.  It's not as if MacFarlane is known for his nuance, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that his performance sticks out in what is otherwise a pretty masterfully woven tapestry of characters.

But why.

One aspect of "Logan Lucky" that could not stand in starker contrast to "The House" is the complexity and thoughtfulness of the plot.  Very much like director Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven and Other Integers" (2001 - anticipated in 2018), if you blink, you'll miss the tiny details that explain why an intricate heist actually gets pulled off.  However, to me the major turn-off of the integer'd cops and robbers movies is that everyone is so smug, polished, and evidently already doing financially okay.  I don't feel any need to root for sociopaths who are stealing for sport, not need.

This is why, for me at least, "Logan Lucky" works so well.  As you watch Jimmy limp away after being fired from his construction job because his old football injury is a "liability," it's hard not to feel an empathic ache and wish that the brothers could break Clyde's theorized Logan Curse.  Watching them earn the title of their movie, especially with grit and resourcefulness their smoother Ocean's counterparts don't need to rely on, is therefore that much more satisfying.

To add to what is already a pretty great movie, there are lots of great moments of surprise and humor.  I had an audio clip of Jimmy proclaiming, "I looked it up on the Google" in the most entertaining, bouncy Southern drawl for at least a day or two after watching.  Watching all the set pieces coalesce into a pretty remarkable heist is a genuinely fun thrill.

So, while you definitely need to be a bit more alert to fully enjoy "Logan Lucky" compared to "The House", the fight between these two films is pretty unfair.

In conclusion, the scores I gave these two films were:

"The House" (2)

"Logan Lucky" (4.5)

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