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Echo shines a light on the gifts of generations past < Back Echo shines a light on the gifts of generations past Marvel Studios, 2024 42 minutes Creator: Marion Dayre Reading Time: 9 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Rye Coleman https://www.instagram.com/coleman811/ Echo Afterpxrty 00:00 / 12:20 Coca Movies and TV shows about drugs or with disorienting presentations Masala Chai Movies and TV shows about toughness and athletic competition Reba Chaisson 2024-11-14 When my husband and I were dating, his family would regale me with stories of his childhood. Most of them were meant to be fun and funny, but there were some that carried a much more serious tone. They would always follow up the ones in the latter group with “He got that from his dad,” “Yeah, he’s just like Great Granddaddy,” or “That boy is just like his uncle was when he was that age.” It helps when older adults in the family are around to pass on these stories firsthand. You can see for yourself the joy they take in having played a part in their loved one’s make-up. They marvel at how their once very young child has evolved to define themselves as an extension of them. Ech o presents such a passing on of generational lore through Marvel’s story of Maya, a deaf and mute Choctaw girl in Tamaha, Oklahoma. The five-episode series opens with Maya who, at about 7-years-old, loses her mother in a tragic car accident and then struggles to find her center. The loss of Maya’s right leg in the crash only compounds her challenges, although this is depicted more as an inconvenience for her than a disability. For such a young child, she expresses no pain or wonderment about her missing leg and seems to take it all in stride. Chula, Maya’s grandmother, blames her son-in-law William (Zahn McClarnon) for her daughter’s death. So, soon after his daughter’s recovery, he and Maya move from their home in Tahama to New York City to start a new life. Shortly after settling in New York, William hands over Maya to someone off-camera for martial arts training, skills at which she becomes quite adept as she grows into a young woman. But when 20-something-year-old Maya, played by Alaqua Cox ( Hawkeye , Flash before the Bang ), arrives at William’s auto shop on her motorcycle one day and sees him killed by a masked man, she handles her grief by indulging in crimes like burglary and motor vehicle theft. It is then that we meet the man who calls himself her “uncle,” and with whom she had become close since moving to New York City and beginning her martial arts training. Kingpin Fisk is played by Vincent D’Onofrio, who is best known for his many seasons as Detective Bobby Goren on Law & Order: Criminal Intent . In his heart-to-heart talk with Maya, he tells her “Let me help you release this rage in a more constructive way. Take your hurt, loss, and pain. Make it into something useful.” Kingpin encourages Maya to use her fighting skills to shake down and often kill his enemies. But when she later learns Kingpin ordered her father’s death, she shoots him and flees back to Tahama on her black motorcycle. While Marvel’s crafting of the villains in this series are somewhat convincing, they are moreso entertaining. One of Kingpin’s cronies, Zane, played by Andrew Howard ( Banshee , Mayor of Kingstown ), is a small-framed British man who often wears sunglasses indoors and pants that are too short. Kingpin himself is a comical villain, a big bald man in a white suit with a raspy voice. While hulking and scary at times, he also has a sense of humor. At one point in the series, he brings Maya dinner, wine, and dessert. Not trusting him, she uncorks the wine and pours it into the sink when he isn’t looking. When they sit down, he unpacks the food and says, “Cookies from La Vane. Are they still your favorite?” She nods in the affirmative. He responds, “Let’s hope those don’t go the way of the wine.” Echo has an age-diverse cast, with actors from pre-adolescence to older adults. Tantoo Cardinal ( Wind River , Killers of the Flower Moon ) plays Maya’s crusty maternal grandmother, Chula, who avoids her, not realizing that she is punishing her granddaughter for the disdain she still carries for her deceased son-in-law. Through her, we learn that when we lose someone we love, as Chula did with her daughter, we sometimes blame others. Anyone in proximity to those blamed is often collateral damage. As he did in the movie Wind River , Graham Greene, who plays Maya’s granddad, Skully, injects humor and wisdom into the series. He flirts with Chula and imparts old-school knowledge to Maya to help her gain some empathy for her grandmother and some understanding of Choctaw culture. Echo is filled with an abundance of spiritual symbolism designed to tell the story of Maya’s ancestral origins. The embedded mini-films or historical pieces consume about ten percent of each episode, and their purpose is not made clear until the final segment. Because of this, watching the series can feel incongruous at times. These moments, however, are key to the series as they elucidate Maya’s struggles with understanding who she is and how she seems to have a special strength and courage, and a gift for combat that is typically reserved for Choctaw men. While some skills were taught to her, others were infused — passed on to her through five generations of Choctaw women who came before her. Despite the important generational depictions linking Maya to her ancestors, watching the show can still be frustrating with respect to the lack of translations for its language use. Choctaw, for instance, is sometimes used by the characters, but on-screen translations are not consistently provided so that audiences who don’t know the language can follow the dialog and story. The same occurs with the frequent signing in the series. Because Maya is deaf, mute, and unable to read lips, she communicates through ASL (American Sign Language). Some of the main characters are fluent in the language, such as her father’s former friend-in-crime, Henry, played by Chaske Spencer ( Blind Spot , Twilight Saga franchise), who also speaks as he signs. Her grandparents, Skully and Chula, know it somewhat and occasionally speak as they sign. Still, other main characters don’t know ASL at all, such as Kingpin, who eventually purchases an AI gadget that does the signing for him. The lack of electronics used in this mostly dark-lit, rural-situated series makes the sudden appearance of leading-edge technology feel like a time warp has been inserted in the middle of an episode and near the end of the series. It is as if the filmmakers decided this on a whim because they suddenly realized that Kingpin wouldn’t be able to communicate with Maya otherwise. The varying degrees of fluency in ASL among the characters, though, is not problematic. What is problematic is the failure of the filmmakers to consider that much of the audience is neither fluent in ASL nor Choctaw, and thus are unable to follow the dialog when the lines are not spoken or translations not made available on-screen. In addition to the images, language is needed to connect the audience to the characters and the story. Foreign films provide full subtitles in well over a dozen languages; Echo provides few for its Choctaw and ASL translations. It is as if a different crew member was assigned to this task every day of filming, and someone forgot to tell each person that they needed to do this. Or it’s as if someone neglected to tell the editor. Or perhaps the project simply ran out of budget. That someone signed off on Echo ’s release without performing appropriate quality assurance is problematic. Unfortunately, the result is a multimillion-dollar series that delivers a frustrating and off-putting cinematic experience for its audience. Music dynamics like mezzo forte , pianissimo , and crescendo give character to music by varying its highs, lows, and even tempo throughout a song. In doing this, dynamics help keep us engaged in the music — making our heads bob, our bodies sway, and even moving us to cry sometimes. Film, as well, should stir such emotional, seemingly natural variances in our responses. Audience members should feel something. Maya’s expressions throughout the series, however, remain unconvincing even when she witnesses her father’s death and gets her metal prosthesis jammed between two railroad cars. These should result in a seismic jolt that sends chills down the audience members’ spines or makes their eyes get big. Instead, each scene comes across as just another scene. As the protagonist in the series, Maya needs to keep the audience engaged in the story by varying the intensity of her facial expressions and body language as needed for the scene. This is especially crucial given her lack of oral speech. The audience can’t hear her frustration so that it has a chance of feeling it. I think, for example, about Marlee Matlin’s characters in shows like Children of a Lesser God and West Wing . The audience knows when her characters are happy, smitten, pissed-off, and even being playful. The comparison is not intended to pit one person who is deaf against another. It is to highlight the importance of being animated on-screen when hearing and speech are not available to you. I suppose it can be argued that these could indicate personality differences between actors. Perhaps. It is still necessary, though, for an actor - any actor, to find ways to engage the show’s audience or they will lose them. There are also happenings in the film that the protagonist can do nothing about. For instance, Henry owns a skating rink in Tamaha. He and Maya are kidnapped and held at the rink by criminal wannabes hoping to hand her over to Kingpin for a bounty. Maya has an opportunity to overtake the incompetent perpetrators, but instead, pushes them out of the room and locks herself back inside. This is confusing to me even after returning from yet another weird David Yurman commercial. Now, no one watching the series to this point is surprised about what happens to the criminal wannabes when Kingpin’s guys arrive. At any rate, Maya eventually escapes the room she could have left some time earlier, and beats six, seven, eight of Kingpin’s men in hand to hand to feet combat, that is, before yet another David Yurman commercial comes on! The writing for this series is perplexing, unconvincing, and frustrating. The problems with Echo notwithstanding, I think sometimes we forget that our strength and courage, while we often own them, are not flukes. Like an echo, much of who we are were passed to us as gifts from those who came across the generations before us. Unfortunately, this theme in the series is clouded by the show’s problems. I once read that Stevie Wonder spent ten years writing his hit song, “As.” He would work on it, walk away from it for a while, and come back to it later to work on it some more. “As” was finally released in 1976 and it was well worth the wait. While Echo didn’t necessarily require ten years, it did require similar nurturing, so that the audience could enjoy the experience and appreciate its themes. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Why and How Short Films are Made An Examination of Short Films and How They Serve Aspiring Filmmakers Chris Chaisson 11/12/22 Reading Time: 9 minutes 📸: Photo from Pixabay In 2011, a short web series called The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl premiered on YouTube. Its premise related to much of its viewership, centering around a young Black woman navigating uncomfortable situations in the professional, social and dating worlds. The exposure it received from YouTube helped Awkward Black Girl to spin off into a very successful HBO series known as Insecure . The creator of both, Issa Rae, has now forged her path into mainstream Hollywood, and it all started with a simple short showcasing her creative chops. Given the high demand for content across all platforms, there is always a chance that a modest project can morph into something big. Many cinephiles are familiar with some of the big-screen to small screen spinoffs, such as The American President becoming The West Wing , or A Few Good Men setting the table for JAG . However, many talented filmmakers lack the resources to produce expansive projects that gain the attention of influential representatives or studios. Creating a television series or a feature length movie requires budgets in at least the seven-to-eight figure range, usually valuated by professionals known as line producers. So what’s the best use of the underdog’s modest means? Many go the route of what’s known as a short film. With running times typically ranging anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour, shorts offer filmmakers a chance to showcase their storytelling and directing abilities. The small-scale project often serves as a foot in the door for their future endeavors. Short films can have any one of several purposes. Many filmmakers make a short for what’s called a proof-of-concept, whether for a feature-length flick or television pilot. As there are countless scripts waiting to be looked at, a project that has gone from the page to the screen is more likely to garner attention from studio executives. “Proof of concept is great,” says Alex Morsanutto , director of Operation: Cavity . “Because if you have a bigger idea, you could show a producer, or an agent, maybe your manager, ‘Hey, this is what I'm thinking of, something that I'd like to do as my next project. I already have this visual example of what it's going to be like. This is the proof of concept. All you need to do is get me the money and we're in business.’” Furthermore, a story may come off as too difficult or expensive to produce, or not capable of captivating an audience for the allotted time. In these instances, even filmmakers who have some notoriety produce proof-of-concept shorts. There are several interesting examples to choose from, perhaps most notably Robert Rodriguez’s The Customer is Always Right , Zack Snyder’s Die Free , and Neill Blomkamp’s Alive in Joburg. These projects paved the way for Sin City , 300 , and District 9 , respectively. None of these three award-winning blockbusters would likely have been made without their proof-of-concept shorts preceding them. Such was also the case for the creators of the Saw horror franchise. Leigh Whannell and James Wan struggled to find the funding necessary for their script, so they instead made a short film, moved to Los Angeles, and screened it for producer Gregg Hoffman . It made a strong enough impression for them to secure funding of what is now a very popular horror series that earned far more than it spent. The most common purpose in a proof-of-concept is to attract investors with a visual representation of what the filmmaker hopes to create. Directors aim to establish the look and feel of the movie more so than the specifics of the narrative. Whannell and Wan’s short consisted of a gruesome torture scene, consistent with what each feature ended up containing. Similarly, Die Free , the aforementioned short for 300 , runs only a minute and a half, but it provides a glimpse into the stylized violence and cinematography that 300 fans know very well. Conversely, some such projects are based entirely around a character. Similar to Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl series, Mike Judge produced a series of animated shorts surrounding Milton, a character frequently bullied by his office co-workers. The shorts became mainstays on MTV and Saturday Night Live in the ‘90s. Later, Judge incorporated Milton into his second feature in 1999 that would become a cult classic known as Office Space , with Milton playing an ancillary character. Some filmmakers go another route, opting to enter their shorts into a short film festival. Many in-person festivals serve as a hub for both creators and investors. A filmmaker can find not only financiers to fund future projects but also like-minded peers for future collaborations. With enough exposure and accolades from events, short films have the potential to climb their way into Oscars consideration. Over 90 short film festivals are considered Oscar qualifiers , and the entries to these festivals all have a chance to be recognized by the Academy. Along these lines, filmmakers can take their completed short and screen it in theaters for seven straight days in one of six major U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, or Miami. Matthew A. Cherry’s very popular short film Hair Love won the 2020 Oscar for Best Animated Short after first airing in theaters alongside The Angry Birds Movie 2 , Jumanji: The Next Level , and Little Women . Hair Love was later adapted to a 12-episode animated series by HBO Max. An option for filmmakers still in school is to compete in the Student Academy Awards, put on by the Academy every year. The award ceremony offers a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal, any of which can be nominated for its corresponding Academy Award category (Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, or Best Animated Short). According to the Oscars official website, 63 medalists from the Student Academy Award have been nominated for an Oscar and 11 have won. So what does a short film cost to make? The most honest and least popular answer is of course, “depends.” While budgets for past short films are harder to unearth than blockbusters, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) defines a short project on a low budget scale as being entirely shot in the United States for a maximum budget of $50,000, running no longer than 40 minutes. A list of expenses would normally include location rentals, cast and crew wages, craft services, and equipment, along with other minor costs. Given the prorated nature of some of these expenses, the more concise your shooting schedule, the cheaper your shoot. For short films, many directors use their circle of friends to fulfill roles on both the cast and crew. If possible, many use that same network to acquire the camera, lights and possibly even location needed at a discount. They often supplement that with on-screen talent looking to develop what is known as an actor reel to showcase their work. In this instance, actors are usually willing to accept less pay in exchange for the opportunity to bolster their acting resumes. Raising the money to produce a short could prove challenging. The easiest, and most commonly recommended, way, is to have rich, generous friends and family. Aside from that, filmmakers often have to cultivate relationships and operate on a quid pro quo basis with the people or businesses that can help them. If you’ve ever seen the “Special Thanks To” section closing out the end credits, that tip of the cap is usually to the people or places that provided food, a location, or some other helpful service for little or no cost to the filmmaker. Aside from individual investors to pitch to, many firms specialize in financing films. For creators, the best way to approach such investors is to have a clear and concise description of the film you wish to make, how much money you need and detailed explanations on how the money will be used.. Some people have locations locked down but need help paying the crew. Others have enough money for labor but need help renting equipment. In any case, the needs should be explicitly stated and possibly even itemized. The most important aspect of a filmmaker’s pitch is transparency, as any investor will be wary of the potential that they are being taken advantage of. There are good lessons to be learned in the stories of past short films made. While the aforementioned examples make the short-to-feature pipeline seem chock full of success stories, far more go unnoticed or receive negative reception. In a famous example, a young USC student named George Lucas produced his short entitled Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB . It was later adapted into a feature shortened to just THX-1138 , thanks to his good friend Francis Ford Coppola’s production company, American Zoetrope. However, the Warner Brothers executives that Coppola received funding from despised THX-1138 and demanded a refund on their investment. This anecdote gives insight into the potential setbacks an aspiring filmmaker can suffer, even when receiving the funding he or she needs. Nonetheless, perseverance allowed Francis Ford Coppola to create The Godfather and recoup his losses. I just hope that George Lucas kid turned out alright. For more on short films, listen to Season 1, Episode 3 of the Cup of Tea Critiques Podcast . Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and more. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Sanctuary questions relationships and power dynamics with one unusual pairing Rumble Films, 2023 96 min Director/Writer: Micah Bloomberg / Zachary Wigon Reading Time: 5 minutes Sanctuary Timeless (GBV57KVQUTLVCWVJ) 00:00 / 05:14 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Honeybush Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Barley: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Chris Chaisson 2023-06-28 Sex scandals tend to dominate headlines in the worlds of business and politics. Not only is a lot of money and power involved, but the public is often eager to catch these influential figures in both compromising and hypocritical positions. Such scandals have unseated individuals, thrown large entities into brief turmoil, and provided fodder for late-night talk shows everywhere (some of which have similar scandals of their own). However, once the news breaks, very little attention is afforded to the events that may have led up to the information leak. Given the permanent loss of privacy the anonymous whistleblower often suffers, what level of desperation must they have reached to motivate them to come forward in the first place? The new erotic thriller Sanctuary dives into this very dynamic. Sanctuary drops us in the middle of a long-standing, erotic business agreement between Hal and Rebecca. Hal is a trust fund baby, the mid-30s son of an exceedingly wealthy, recently deceased businessman. For many months, Rebecca has privately served as his dominatrix, role-playing as he wishes and degrading him for his sexual pleasure. With the passing of his father, Hal is set to take over the business as CEO and thus seeks to end his meetings with Rebecca after a final meeting in his hotel room. As he says, he wants to “match his insides with his outsides,” a line he stole from his father’s memoirs. Rebecca is put off by being suddenly jettisoned from Hal’s sex life, and rather than take it in stride, she proceeds to blackmail him immediately after their last hurrah. She informs him that she has video of their sessions and will release them unless he adheres to her monetary demands. Hal must decide whether to give in to Rebecca or call her bluff, letting his secrets be known to his future peers and the public at large. The notion of powerful men seeking a submissive role in their sex lives may be a familiar narrative. Many judges and politicians have this detail revealed when their privacy gets exposed, rationalizing it as the need to find pleasure in being powerless given the pressures of their powerful positions. Sanctuary subverts this expectation with Hal. Though he has financial security and a business being handed to him, he is quite meek and insecure. While this initially appears to be a by-product of his dynamic with Rebecca, the only other character on screen, Hal’s lack of assertiveness comes through in his phone conversations with others. He never comes across as a powerful, domineering, or self-assured voice when talking to anyone, regardless of status. Deep down, he feels a level of guilt for his advantages in life and remains in his father’s shadow. He grieves his father’s absence, in part because he is not ready for a patriarchal role. On the other side, Rebecca at first seems to be handling her dismissal very poorly for no apparent reason. She has what appears to be an established business with other clients and has been compensated well. However, her role in Hal’s sex life has made her emotionally invested beyond business. She feels that the only reason he is ready to take over the company is because of the confidence that she has instilled in him through their affairs. Rebecca cites the fact that Hal was very timid when approaching her initially and developed enough self-assurance to write out a script for her to adhere to during their meetings. As the evening wears on, it becomes clear her emotional investment and demand for money go beyond just her pride in Hal’s development. The one-location indie serves as a long tug-of-war between a character with material power and a character with inner fortitude. Hal can only use his wealth and influence as a way to intimidate Rebecca, while she can use psychology to push back. This back-and-forth lends credence to why Rebecca is svelte and dainty rather than a large intimidating physical presence that the audience might associate with a dominatrix. Her understanding of Hal’s psyche stems from the fact that their role-playing is not so much the physical, S&M style often portrayed in kinky sex thrillers, but more mental. Writer Micah Bloomberg and director Zachary Wigon cleverly reveal the backgrounds of each character during both their foreplay and their haggling, so it never feels that they are bringing it up strictly for the audience’s benefit. Additionally, it explains Rebecca’s last gasp attempt to stay in Hal’s life. The best comparison for this two-character, one-location thriller is the 1994 film Disclosure , starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. As in every Michael Douglas movie, he plays a lusted-over businessman dealing with a scorned ex-lover (okay, maybe not every movie). Adapted from a Michael Crichton novel, Disclosure co-stars Meredith (Moore) as his boss, suing him for harassment over an encounter that she secretly initiated. Sanctuary feels similar in the sense that the other half of a private, socially taboo relationship has some modicum of power to manipulate the situation against a more traditionally powerful figure. 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Fool Me Once unveils the continuing spiral of interdependence < Back Fool Me Once unveils the continuing spiral of interdependence Quay Street Productions, 2024 50 minutes Creator: Harlan Coben Reading Time: 6 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix Fool Me Once Storm Before the Calm (N6J42VARUMKBN5UC) 00:00 / 06:19 Ginseng Suspenseful and intense thrillers Matcha Mysteries or whodunnits Reba Chaisson 2024-02-05 I find a lot of similarities in British television series. For example, each episode tends to end on a crescendo so you’re anxious to come back for the next. The crescendo in Anatomy of a Scandal is in the form of sharp and sudden slow motion special effects that gives us the sense of being hit in the stomach and getting the wind knocked out of us. While weird and over the top, it is effective at sending us into an anticipatory state – impatiently awaiting the next episode. Fool Me Once is similar, but thankfully it executes without such dramatic special effects. I need no reminders of sci-fi. (Sorry folks. With the exception of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , I am just not feeling the genre. I do love some Yoda though!) Michelle Kegan plays Maya Stern in this 8-episode series about a recently widowed 30-something year-old determined to find out who is behind the murders of her husband, Joe Burkett, and her sister, Claire Walker. Complicating this is a covert effort underfoot to challenge her sanity. Although Joe is shot dead in front of her during a stroll in the park, she sees him playing with her 2-year-old daughter, Lily, on the child’s nanny cam several weeks later. Maya, a former Air Force captain already haunted by events that occurred during her service, suspects her wealthy and powerful mother-in-law, Judith Burkett, who heads the family’s long-established pharmaceutical company in Britain. Feeling her daughter-in-law was never good enough for her son, Judith neither likes nor trusts Maya. Their mutual disdain constitutes the main source of tension in the series. During her investigation, Maya must deal with the intrusions of the 50-something year-old Detective Sami Kierce, played by Adeel Akhtar ( Utopia , Sweet Tooth ). Detective Kierce’s idiosyncrasies bring “Lieutenant Columbo” to mind. Played by Peter Falk, Columbo is a smart, shrewd, yet quirky police detective in the popular 1970s series of the same name that ran for nine seasons. My parents loved this show because Columbo, in his iconic beige trench coat, always got his guy or girl because they dismissed him due to his unpolished appearance and quirky behaviors. Detective Kierce’s quirks and occasional clumsy appearance are like that of Columbo’s. He wears a trench coat in the beginning of the series, and at an upscale gathering, he is told, in a disrespectful manner, that his shoes are untied. Maya underestimates Kierce and often treats him like an annoyance, which, as we learned from the Columbo series more than 50 years ago, is never good practice. Fool Me Once is missing elements we take for granted in a murder mystery/police story. People brought in for questioning are neither harassed nor tricked by the police (yeah, right). In fact, doing so is frowned upon. When Detective Kierce reluctantly partners with the younger and impressionable Detective Marty McGreggor (Dino Fetscher), he confronts McGreggor about a story he told during their “interview” of a suspect. He asks McGreggor about the veracity of his story, and McGreggor laughs and admits it was a lie to get the suspect to talk. “It’s good policing,” he adds proudly. Kierce responds with seriousness, “Lying is never good policing.” McGreggor’s smile slowly fades. The exchange conveys the age divide in the detectives’ ideas of what constitutes good policing: Kierce’s sense of old-school ethics versus the young McGreggor’s belief in doing what is necessary to get information. The twenty or so years between them and their difference in perspectives convey the sense that adherence to traditional police behaviors in Britain is fading with each generation and will likely disintegrate altogether over the next 20 years if the generations before them do not put them in check. In murder mystery/police stories, we usually observe a lot of shooting or other forms of violence, but other than Joe and Claire’s murders, we don’t see this across the eight episodes of Fool Me Once . One reason for this is the absence of guns in Britain, as British police officers carry police batons. I am reminded of this when McGreggor happily gives Kierce a hug because of a compliment he paid him for an action he took. Kierce, clearly not wanting to be hugged, quips, “This is the real reason we don’t carry firearms.” The funny moment is presented as if series creator, Harlan Coben, wants us to know this “guns-free” tradition in the UK, hoping we ponder for ourselves the reasoning behind the superabundance of firearms in the U.S., particularly amid the high incidents of gun violence. Fool Me Once is an aesthetically pleasing production that takes us into Britain’s posh countryside and expansive estates to unravel a murder mystery. Having the threads pulled from an upper-class insider like Claire and an outsider like Detective Kierce gives a sense of balance to the show as she works from the top down and he from the bottom up. It helps us see how people across social classes are not as disconnected as they seem, that there is a strong web of interdependence among them. The degree to which wealthy families rely on their employees to commit wrongdoings for them is one example, and the impossible situations the workers find themselves in and so do what is asked is another. The degree to which people, out of greed, sell their souls for money and favors, or to remain in the good graces of their benefactors, are even more examples of these interdependent relationships. So, unlike the crescendo in Anatomy of a Scandal , we are not shocked or flabbergasted when we get a hint that makes us question, what could this person over here possibly have to do with this matter over there? We are, however, frequently blindsided, which makes each episode so tough to just stop there. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Reservation Dogs features Indigenous teens experiencing joys and pains on a reservation in Oklahoma. < Back Reservation Dogs features Indigenous teens experiencing joys and pains on a reservation in Oklahoma. FX Productions, 2021- 30 minutes Creator: Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi Reading Time: 3 minutes 📷 : Pixabay Reservation Dogs Groove Station (WBNFSZVDNWGFGUQI) 00:00 / 03:48 Oolong Movies and TV shows that make you laugh or involve physical activities like dance and exercise Ginkgo Biloba Youthful, lighthearted, and fun movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2021-10-18 Even as the portrayals of people of color in fictional media have increased in recent years, a frequent criticism still lingers: the stories almost entirely revolve around oppression. Whether it is the civil rights era, gang violence or eminent domain, stories centered around Black, Hispanic and Indigenous groups tend to zero in on pain and suffering. It is certainly important to highlight but not great to fixate on, as it cuts out the full range of existence. Some of the most original content stems from characters of various backgrounds having individual joys and pains. Reservation Dogs is the latest production shooting for this type of storyline. Though just a few episodes in, Taika Waititi’s ( Thor: Ragnarok ) latest creation features a group of four Native Americans teens living on a reservation in Oklahoma. Their goal is to raise enough money to relocate to California together, but to do that, they rob cargo vehicles and sell the supplies. Their long‑term plan comes to a screeching halt due to a group of rival teens trying to intimidate them at every turn. Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) and his three friends refuse to turn tail and run, so they now must stay and defend their territory. Amid their transgressions, they do their best to evade the town police officer, Big (Zahn McClarnon, Westworld ). Reservation Dogs leans on some of the same comedy stylings of Waititi’s previous project, What We Do in the Shadows . The show uses elements of surrealism, such as during Bear’s daydreams where he receives advice from an ancestor on a horse. It also doesn’t shy away from satire, such as when Bear and his friends are shot with paintball guns by their new rivals and Bear’s mannerisms mimic action scenes from Platoon . Waititi and co-creator Sterlin Harjo shrewdly casted a couple of stand-up comedians in Kirk Fox and Bobby Lee. Both provide deadpan expression and dry delivery as they address the children, with Lee’s recurring gag as the doctor for every medical specialty on the reservation. This gag is indicative of a consistent achievement of the show, which is poking fun at life on the reservation while providing nuggets of truth. Though a slight exaggeration, Bobby Lee’s portrayal of every kind of doctor hints at a reality about the environment, that there may only be one person in town capable of any given task. Reservation Dogs delves even further into the truths in how they portray Bear’s father. Despite not living with Bear and his mother, his father is still on the reservation and able to be reached. Bear goes to him for advice about handling bullies, but he is reluctant to share. The estranged father that is still around can be a sobering plot device, but the show chooses not to dwell on it. As with other elements of the show, this fact is presented as an unfortunate circumstance but not one that defines Bear or any of the other main characters. This half-hour comedy can still go in many directions but presents its audience with a rarely told, easily embraced concept: Indigenous youth simply living their lives. Shows such as Reservation Dogs illustrate that you do not have to be of good means or part of a dominant group in society in order to enjoy life. Waititi manages to weave in cultural elements that may hint at historical oppression without pulling the series out of its genre, giving youngsters a way to see themselves represented onscreen in a blissful, positive light. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Catalina considers what it means to call someone a friend < Back Catalina considers what it means to call someone a friend rubbertape, 2022 16 minutes Director/Writer: Tyler Rabinowitz / Sam DiGiovanni Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, rubbertape Catalina Friendship And Enmity (BYXIMB0N9DPNS9UC) 00:00 / 04:20 Chamomile Family dramas Ginger Thought-provoking movies/shows Reba Chaisson 2023-10-02 Located off the coast of southern California, Catalina Islands (or Catalina) boasts wonderful activities, restaurants, and accommodations for our vacationing pleasure. Why, then, would anyone go there to camp? Gus, Will and Brian do – and they make the trip every year to relax and reconnect. Catalina is about the bond the three have shared since childhood and their intentional efforts to remain close. The late twenty-something trio differ in several ways. Will is African American and Gus and Brian are White. Gus and Brian are secure in their chosen careers and Will is in flux after recently dropping out of law school. Gus is gay and his friends are not. Their relationship is unusual since most of us engage in gender homophily , meaning our closest friendships tend to be with people whose sexual orientation is the same as ours. Researchers found that the quality of male cross-orientation friendships is high. This is remarkable given that most heterosexual males hold steadfast to traditional views of masculinity. So, the idea of men being friends, let alone, good friends with someone of a different sexual orientation is astonishing. But in Catalina , Gus (Sam DiGiovanni), Brian (Ben Holtzmuller) and Will (Ronald Peet) are comfortable divulging their personal and professional struggles to one another without fear of judgment or criticism. This comfort level is something we typically find with our parents, close family members, and occasionally, long-time best friends – people we trust to offer support and encouragement rather than a snicker and/or admonishment. Researchers also found that close cross-orientation friendships usually predate disclosure of the gay member’s sexual identity. Sharing their sexual orientation with their heterosexual friends creates the space for the group’s relationship to grow deeper and more supportive. Gus, Brian and Will exemplify this as their friendship began when they were just kids and their depth of caring for one another has deepened over the years. Part of this consisted of the men gradually, over time, shedding their ideas about what constitutes masculinity. There are cases, however, in cross-orientation friendships, when heterosexual group members pull away because of concerns about being hit on by their friends who are gay. There are also instances where gay members make assumptions about their friends’ ideas about them, leading them to keep their sexual identity to themselves or avoid their friends for fear of ostracism and ridicule. Catalina touches on this dilemma when Gus, obviously hesitant, hits on one of his friends. This pivotal moment risks the film falling into stereotypes about both gay and heterosexual men. The film, though, reaches beyond these tropes to center this moment as a test of their friendship, so we can watch with bated breath if it will bend, break, or hold firm under these taboos. Among the many things I learned from a dear friend of mine who recently passed away, was to be intentional in loving the people you say you love. Catalina crystallizes this and for that reason, I found this film quite moving. Director Tyler Rabinowitz’s work makes us consider just how much richer our lives could be if we were intentional in letting go of our phobias and the contempt they breed. Catalina depicts this possibility along with the stumbling blocks that can occur along the way. How we handle them says something about us and the importance of our friendships. The short isn’t a tearjerker, just a 16-minute depiction of what it means to call someone a friend despite your differences. As for camping - don’t mind me. I like the outdoors, but I just crave modern amenities like plumbing, glass plates, and a roof over my head. Available on Film Shortage Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back This suspenseful political thriller starring Jessica Chastain, takes viewers on a whirlwind around Washington’s power-elites where influence, will, and ingenuity meet center stage. EuropaCorp, 2016 132 minutes Director/Writer: John Madden / Johnathan Perera Reading Time: 5 minutes Miss Sloane Intercept (KJBRWNSW03XUAWPG) 00:00 / 05:39 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Ginseng: Suspenseful and intense thrillers Barley: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Reba Chaisson 2022-05-22 Some people might argue that it takes a person devoid of emotion to do the work of politics, where the goal is not to be charismatic but simply to get your way. This suggests that those who do political work are automatons motivated solely by the desire to win, damn the cause and the potential human costs— even to oneself. This also suggests that the person has lost him or herself in the quest to win. That they have become oblivious to what drove them to the debate in the first place. When this happens, they lose sight of their peripheral vision and are blindsided by moves they failed to anticipate. Why? Because politics is a game of chess, not checkers. Chess so aptly describes Miss Sloane , an immersive film about political maneuverings, manipulation of relationships, and ideologies that shift with the wind depending on which direction yields the advantage over an adversary. Headlined by Jessica Chastain ( Molly’s Game , Zero Dark Thirty ) in the title role as Madeline Sloane, the contemporary Washington DC-based drama is a suspenseful political thriller, in which figuring out motivations and a winning strategy proves to be simultaneously mind-boggling and mind-blowing. Because Shakespearean tragedies involve the death of a political hero, few people consider their parallels when tragedy befalls a heroine. To sell a modern story as one, the central character must be cloaked in stoicism and traditional, yet masculine exhibitions of leadership and determination. In Miss Sloan for example, Evelyn Sumner, a wealthy supporter of feminist causes who is played by Christine Baranski ( Mamma Mia! , The Good Wife ), does not hide her disdain for Sloane, telling her directly that “all she needed was a d***.” So, a woman who exhibits traditional male qualities and conducts her business in a traditional male domain is essentially viewed as problematic when she does not consistently support feminist causes. This, however, narrows what women can be and helps explain why some exhibit behaviors typically associated with men, particularly in the political arena. Sloane is a quick-witted, high-energy, and bold thirty-something political operative who takes on the powerful gun lobby to regulate firearm purchases. This not only upsets the lobbyists but also raises the ire of certain congressional members who receive millions of dollars in campaign donations and in-kind favors under the tacit assurance that restrictions are never imposed on gun purchases. With the vote on a gun regulation bill looming, the lobby solicits the political consulting firm where Sloane is highly regarded and used to winning. Unable to contain her cynicism when approached by the head of the gun lobby, Bill Sanford, played by Chuck Shamata ( The Day After Tomorrow , One Week ), she laughs in his face and declares that they have no case. Incensed, her boss, George Dupont, played by Sam Waterston of Law and Order fame, gives her an ultimatum. She then takes viewers on a whirlwind around Washington’s power-elites where influence, will, and ingenuity meet center stage. The 2016 release is reminiscent of the 1987 film, No Way Out , which stars Kevin Costner as Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell. He secretly witnesses the accidental killing of his lover, Susan Atwell by Senator David Brice, a powerful politician who was having an affair with her. Played by Gene Hackman ( The French Connection , Runaway Jury ), Senator Brice finds a Polaroid negative underneath Atwell’s bed appearing to be Atwell and her lover. He then embarks on a plan to divert attention away from himself by pointing the authorities in the direction of Farrell as the killer. Not only must he get the negative developed first, but he must ensure Atwell’s friends don’t reveal his relationship with her. Unfortunately for Farrell, Senator Brice exerts his influence to get the case assigned to him and to insist he uses the Pentagon’s software to render “the killer’s” image from the negative. Unbeknownst to Brice, the image is that of Farrell, who must work against himself to ensure the picture does not get revealed and that he simultaneously protects Atwell’s friends by staying one step ahead of Brice and his goons. Both are done at great cost to all involved. Like No Way Out , Miss Sloane uses politics to tell a story about human costs and sacrifice. Sure, the cost of expending energy to win in Washington is measured in terms of livelihood, degree of influence, and wealth. So determined are the players to get their way that they leave immeasurable human wreckage in their wake. Instead, said wreckage manifests itself in intangibles like unmet needs, unchecked emotions, and unrequited love. Miss Sloane left me wondering how much of ourselves we should sacrifice, and if winning is worth what we are risking. The price of not pausing to consider these has long-term consequences for what many believe are the most important things in life. Understanding this, is winning truly everything? Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Biosphere takes a more docile, academic angle in the post-apocalyptic genre Duplass Brothers Productions, 2023 106 minutes Director/Writer: Mel Eslyn Reading Time: 4 minutes Biosphere Strange Science (DHJJSCGX4M4QFF6S) 00:00 / 04:14 📷 : Pixabay Barley: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Ginger: Thought-provoking movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2023-08-02 Set in an apocalyptic future, Biosphere stars two lifelong friends, Ray (Sterling K. Brown, Black Panther ) and Billy (Mark Duplass, Safety Not Guaranteed ), who have witnessed the end of civilization and now co-exist in a self-sufficient biosphere. As they are both biologically male, Ray and Billy being the sole survivors would indicate the inevitable extinction of the human race. But is it that simple or is an unforeseen evolutionary change coming? Ray and Billy’s relationship sees its ups and downs as they debate their differing perspectives, reflect on their lives before the incident, and plan for what is to come. As one might expect from a two-character story, Ray and Billy have very glaring differences. Ray is the overachieving intellectual, having built the biosphere they are surviving in himself. Not only is he highly educated in biochemistry, but he served as an adviser to Billy’s presidency. What to some may be the most perplexing element of the story is that Billy was ever the President of anything, let alone the United States. Though charming, he appears to lack any leadership skills or authoritative presence, mostly deferring to Ray’s expertise. His character is most likely a satire of many leaders in real life, if not the entire idea that a leader knows any more than the average person. Billy serves as the voice of the audience, specifically those not well-versed in science or evolution, and reacts just as they would to hearing the volume of information that Ray throws out. Ultimately, Billy becomes a sympathetic character, as having a highly intelligent and accomplished friend could conjure up feelings of insecurity. Biosphere being a post-apocalyptic buddy comedy allows for it to present many interesting questions. One such question is where to turn to after an argument? In many post-apocalyptic films, there is one survivor who speaks to inanimate objects for a sense of socialization. However, Ray and Billy each have someone to talk to, but not anyone to moderate once they have verbal disagreements. One solution is the fish that they are growing (and eventually eating) in the biosphere’s pond. Ray talks to them for a reprieve multiple times after getting into it with his best friend. Though not exactly like Wilson in Cast Away or the mannequins in I Am Legend , we see that even with the presence of a human companion, situations dictate turning to other beings for conflict resolution. The movie’s main question pondered over the course of 106 minutes is “could an organism’s biological makeup change out of necessity in order to continue its species?” On this topic, Ray and Billy both must face changes propelling them to act in ways they never thought they would have to in a civilized society. What pulls the viewer into the story is that due to their lifelong friendship and confinement to a single space, the characters have candid conversations about who they are, how they have been raised, and how both factors act as mental roadblocks to evolution that they must figure out a way around. Writer/director Mel Eslyn’s film differs from many others in its genre. In most films with two friends struggling to survive, they are stranded in the wilderness or space, still with some faint hope of rescue. In many post-apocalyptic movies, there is either a sole survivor still able to traverse the wasteland for resources or many groups of survivors that form their own cliques (i.e. Mad Max ). Having two friends co-existing in a biosphere avoids the violence and tribalism that we often see from movies in this category. Instead, it goes the academic and largely comedic route. Pressed for a comparison, Biosphere bears some resemblance to the Oscar-nominated 2017 film The Shape of Water . In Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed flick, a lonely janitor forms a relationship with an amphibious creature being held captive. Both films raise questions about how human beings adapt in the face of loneliness, desperation and, in the case of Biosphere , possible extinction. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Alex Morsanutto A Conversation with Operation: Cavity Writer/Director Alex Morsanutto Cup of Tea Critiques sits down with indie director Alex Morsanutto Chris Chaisson 2022-10-31 Reading time: 10 minutes Synopsis: A group of young kids team up to rob the dentist who has wrought havoc on their childhood. Cast: Jonathan P. O’Reilly as Douglas Maroney Scarlett Lewis as Lucy Howie Sheard as Kitkat Declan Foley as Timmy Neil Samuels as Dr. Caine Crew: Writer/Director: Alex Morsanutto Editor: Alexander Frasse Director of Photography: Sam Cutler-Kreutz Music: Sam Warfield Producers: Kara Bartek, Catalfamo Megan, Alex Morsanutto Special Makeup Effects: Jessie Roberts Alex Morsanutto wanted to make a short film about a relatable concept: childhood fear. Cue Operation: Cavity , a fun coming-of-age-meets-heist short film about four friends who plot to avenge the pain their dentist has inflicted on them. Cup of Tea Critiques sat down with Alex to talk about where he gets his ideas, his favorite aspect of directing, the purpose behind producing a short, and other aspects of his work. We began by talking about the themes in Operation: Cavity , including the hyperbolic nature of kids’ imaginations. “The film in general is inspired from my youth, and kind of like that idea of playfulness and adventure,” says Alex. “And, thinking crazy things are in play, when in reality, you're just a kid, and you don't really know what you're getting yourself into. But, all those intimate shows that we grew up on, Hey Arnold, Doug, Recess: School's Out is another great reference. All played into where I was drawing from for this sort of adventure.” Similar to other creators, Alex found inspiration in his own life experience, both past and present. After careful thought, he was able to fuse the style of movie that he wanted to make with that life experience. “I mean, to this day, I'm still nervous to go to the dentist. And I feel like for the past eight years, maybe I've had this idea of a film I wanted to do with the dentist. I just couldn't figure out how to make it into a film for the longest time. And, I kind of just started brainstorming, and then I wanted to make a heist movie, and I thought maybe I can mix these two genres together.” While the film as a story stands alone, Alex produced the short with a longer project in mind. Many filmmakers with a limited budget go this route, like Robert Rodriguez with The Customer is Always Right or Zack Snyder with Die Free . “I was hoping that this would be like a proof of concept for a TV series, where each episode would focus on these kids. And they get themselves into trouble. They need to get themselves out of it in a creative way. So, the next one could have been detention or some kind of devils of night adventure, around Halloween time, stuff like that. It's definitely something I'm gonna keep pushing once I get the opportunity to.” Alex’s goal is not uncommon among indie directors, who often have limited resources for making their films. Rather than produce a full-length feature, many young directors opt to use their budget and connections to make a short film that, similar to a portfolio or a writing sample, showcases the director’s abilities. “A short film is either like a calling card, or just something to display, your directing ability or writing ability, producing, whatever. And I was trying to get the most bang for my buck. I tried to develop a short film that I could adapt into something bigger, and really launch my career as a director in the narrative space. So, these things take a lot of time to make, as I said earlier, and trying to make every single at-bat count, as much as possible. If you're gonna spend three years making a short film, might as well make it something that you could hopefully adapt and launch your career moving forward.” Often, an indie director’s long-term goal is to parlay his or her concept into a more expansive project. Alex spoke on the logic behind using a short film not just as a display of his directing chops, but also as a proof of concept. “Proof of concept is great, because if you have a bigger idea, you could show a producer, or an agent, maybe your manager, ‘Hey, this is what I'm thinking of, something that I'd like to do as my next project. I already have this visual example of what it's going to be like. This is the proof of concept. All you need to do is get me the money and we're in business.’” Many filmmakers feed off of the passion and devotion to style that the most accomplished in the business give off. Alex spoke on how he enjoys directors who have had a similar career path to his own. “I always liked the directors that came from a commercial world, because I come from a commercial world. And I'm hoping that my career can somehow replicate theirs. Directors like Ridley Scott or David Fincher, Michael Bay, that'd be an awesome career, but, I also like Jeff Nichols. Jordan Peele. I really admired his stuff with Key and Peele . As a commercial director, I work in the comedic space. And the sketches that he did on that show are just amazing. His ability to pivot from comedy to horror is something I look to as if it's possible, we can make some movies after the stuff we've already made.” Moviegoers frequently think of directors as responsible for planning the look, angle, and length of every shot on screen, but an equally important task is coaching up the actors and managing people. Alex shared which aspect of directing he likes best. “Working with actors is one of my favorite parts of the job. I went to acting school after NYU. I did some time at [Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute] and then I did [Upright Citizens Brigade] in New York. And I really started to appreciate just the craft of acting and what goes on in an actor's head, scene by scene. And when they get the script, what are they thinking about? So as a director, it's like you're trying to pull that out from them.” Filmmakers get their starts in varied ways and often draw on their past experiences to solve problems. Some cross over from another field of entertainment, like former standup comedian Judd Apatow. Others find their way into directing from a completely different industry, such as former journalist Ava DuVernay. For Alex, directing commercials allowed him to get his feet wet and become comfortable taking charge. “It's kind of like anything in life. Directing commercials gives you an opportunity to get the repetition, to get in the habit of creating a shot list, creating a mood board, working with department heads, working with actors, trying to get specific shots, and working with new equipment and all that stuff. It's really just getting the reps in, like how an athlete works out so many hours a day and practices with their team. I feel like it's the same thing for an artist, you need to get those reps in, and get comfortable taking charge of the set, pivoting if something goes wrong, or changing the line of dialogue if it's not reading right, and stuff like that. Directing commercials has been so rewarding for me in that way.” Children ages 12 to 13 are at the center of Operation: Cavity . Many professionals in the film industry speak to the challenges of directing child actors, whether it be the limited hours they are available for shooting the film due to school, their typically shorter attention spans, or their lack of significant life experience to draw motivation from for playing their characters. Alex elaborated on the challenge of keeping the kids’ energy levels and spirits up, as well as some of the tactics he used on set to reinvigorate his adolescent actors. “Working with kids is particularly hard. Especially at that young age, when they memorize the lines, they get to the cadence where they're memorizing with their parents, or guardian, whatever. And they almost sound like robots. Even when it comes to line delivery. I went as far as creating these audio notes for them, sending them how I think they should read the lines to help them get into the pacing of things and the inflection, stuff like that. You really have to be clever with how you schedule your days so you get a good burst of energy…it's really tough to get them to keep moving. We tried donuts and cupcakes, and candy to try to keep them going. And it was fun, because the kids are feeding off each other too. So all you really need to do is have one of them buy in and then, they all were pumped. But it is, it's definitely a challenge.” It took Alex a solid two years to finish post-production, which consists of editing, color correction and the addition of music. Though the completion of the film itself gets much of the attention, the marketing and distribution can be the most arduous task. Many indie filmmakers have trouble getting eyeballs on their completed project and hear many “no’s” before something breaks their way. For Alex, it took almost a year before his short film was accepted to the Hollyshorts Film Festival in Hollywood, California. “It's such a weird dance,” Alex mused. “You spend all this time in post-production, trying to make everything right. And then, with a short film, and basically a feature film too, you want to get a good premiere. So you're submitting to all these top tier film festivals, you're getting a bunch of rejections, you're waiting a long period of time, because it's not like they're one after another. So we were going through that process. And we were basically at the end of the line when we got in with Hollyshorts, which was great, because it was an Oscar qualifier. That was almost nine months of submitting to film festivals to get a premiere somewhere big…It's such a weird process, because a lot of it is just waiting with this finished film. Hoping to get it in front of people who can help push your career one way or another.” Alex hopes to build upon the success of Operation: Cavity but is also pivoting to different projects to continue challenging himself. “If the opportunity comes up to adapt Operation: Cavity , I'd love to keep building out that world. Other than that, the thing I had my eyes set on right now is this Viking film that I'm going to shoot in Norway in 2023. Super indie, not a lot of money, but just something unique. And that's kind of grounded in the Norse mythology over there in Norway, so I'm excited for that. As I've gotten older, I've gravitated away from comedic movies to stuff that's more serious; horror, thriller, suspense, that type of stuff. So I'm hoping my next movie is along those genres.” You can follow Alex’s upcoming projects at silvermineproductions.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @ajmorsanutto or @silvermineproductions. 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< Back An intense story of betrayal covering a turbulent time period in the U.S. in the late 1960s. BRON Studios, 2021 125 minutes Director/Writer: Shaka King / Will Berson, Shaka King, and Kenneth Lucas Reading Time: 3 minutes Judas and the Black Messiah Enough Said (8COAKXLXPP0JCOC9) 00:00 / 03:50 📷 : Used with permission, Snollygoster Productions https://www.instagram.com/snollygoster.productions/ https://posterspy.com/profile/snollygoster-productions/ Dandelion: Movies and TV shows with heavy subjects Chris Chaisson 2021-07-25 Julius Caesar . 1984 . Antony and Cleopatra . Stories of betrayal can be heavily appealing to many of us. Though the aforementioned examples straddle reality and fiction, you can find plenty of real-world instances of a character using someone’s trust to double cross them. Take for instance mob movies like Donnie Brasco , based on one of many real-life cases of undercover law enforcement entering a mob family. Such characters often prove to be anticipatory and quick on their feet, causing the audience to root for them to escape with their concealed identity intact. The story trope of a mole infiltrating an organized group, be it criminals, activists or law enforcement, conjures up angst and anticipation in viewers who are game. The popular TV series 24 managed to recycle this trope for the better part of eight seasons, earning high ratings the entire way. As fans watch these stories play out, they tend to be drawn in by the dramatic irony. Will the imposter be caught and what will be the consequences? If you’ve indulged in this storytelling enough, you know the stakes are often life and death; and not a peaceful death at that. Judas and the Black Messiah deals with one such story surrounding a revolutionary figure in Black history along with Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton. Rather than take the conventional angle of centering the story around Hampton, Judas instead chooses the perspective of William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield, Get Out ). A street hustler turned FBI informant, O’Neal strikes a deal with FBI Agent Mitchell (Jesse Plemons, The Irishman ) to infiltrate the Black Panther Party in exchange for a reduced sentence. In doing so, he finds himself in perilous situations with his cover nearly blown while also questioning where his allegiances ultimately lie. Judas and the Black Messiah maintains a level of intensity throughout with strong performances from its leads in Plemons, Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton. Despite its formidable cast, the film occasionally misses opportunities to submerge its audience in the time period, as 1968 was a turbulent year filled with assassinations, hate crimes, and news of the ongoing Vietnam War. Sometimes, rather than portraying real-world events or even story events on-screen, the script opts to simply tell the audience through dialogue. Additionally, while Kaluuya gives a riveting performance, Fred Hampton remains the “1b” character to O’Neal, which may frustrate viewers who are drawn to the lore of this larger-than-life figure. Nonetheless, the film will certainly entice those that enjoy stories of betrayal. Watching Judas and the Black Messiah may take you back to sitting in the movie theater (remember those?) and taking in American Gangster or White Boy Rick , to mention just two such films of the same sub-genre. Though none of these movies is perfect, moviegoers could enjoy all three for their elements of dramatic irony and suspense. Your familiarity with the story of Fred Hampton may tip off the ending to you, but the journey to this finale would make it worth the ride. That is, if you’re into that sort of thing. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

You Know Where to Find Me shows how far we’ve come in how we view difference < Back You Know Where to Find Me shows how far we’ve come in how we view difference Junk Drawer, 2023 20 minutes Director/Writer: Sam A. Davis Reading Time: 3 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Sam A. Davis You Know Where to Find Me Playtime (R0KD8JFHXVVCYSM2) 00:00 / 03:51 Chamomile Family dramas Jasmine Movies/shows with heart, positive vibes, warm message Reba Chaisson 2024-01-16 “A mattress. There’s nothing like moving a mattress.” When I was in high school, children with learning or mild intellectual disabilities either attended classes on the school’s third floor or they went to specialized schools that were designed to meet their specific challenges. Early in the 1980s though, mainstreaming, the initiative to move students with such disabilities out of segregated learning areas into regular settings, came along. In addition to reducing the stigma often associated with students with disabilities, the goal of mainstreaming was to socialize them into the everyday culture of kids their age, enjoy school events, and just hang out like high school kids do. What we’ve come to recognize over the last 40 years is that people with learning and mild intellectual disabilities are capable of understanding and doing significantly more than they were given credit for prior to mainstreaming. Back then, for example, the establishment operated under the assumption that many of these individuals did not have the temperament to live with their families or the capacity to even hold down a job. I love this 20-minute short about a kid with a job and moving out of his mother’s home because it pointedly contradicts these assumptions. Frankie is a 23-year-old with a mild intellectual disability, and he is moving into his own place for the first time in his life. Excited about his new place, even if it is just across the way from his mom’s house, Frankie, played by acting neophyte Grayson Deeney, makes an adjustment to a piece of furniture and says with satisfaction, “I been planning this my whole life.” When his housewarming party does not quite turn out as planned, we learn something about his perseverance as he later tells his mom, “Don’t keep looking out the window at me. Love you.” Seemingly alone, Frankie’s mother, played by Noa Graham ( Elegy for a Glacier , The Secret Diet of an Exchange Student ), is soft-spoken and patient as she coaches her son on the appropriate greeting to leave on his answering machine. It takes several (okay, more than several) tries, but ultimately, she leaves him the space to craft a message that is right for him. It is one of the most touching scenes I’ve ever seen. One of the things I find interesting about films centering children with disabilities is that they often show mothers as the sole caretakers of children with disabilities. Unfortunately, You Know Where to Find Me is no different. Perhaps the percentages bear this out, but it would be nice to see fathers depicted as caregivers of their children as well. I wonder how Frankie’s adjustment to his new apartment and experience living alone would differ if someone he identified much more closely with (a father or another male figure) was depicted as being a part of his life. A girl, for example, attends his party. While we get the sense that he likes her, he is clearly inexperienced on how to engage her. Could the influence of a father or father figure have boosted his comfort level in this regard? Can Frankie’s quality of life be even better with the appropriate support? Watching Sam A. Davis’s beautiful short makes me wonder how, for so many years, we could have disregarded people because they present themselves to the world a little differently than most. I like this film because it shows that presenting oneself differently doesn’t mean we’re wrong for the world. It just means we’re different. Available on Film Shortage Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!