The Way Back

I actually had a ticket to see The Way Back but then the quarantine ended my plans. I love the theme of redemption and I love a good underdog sports movie (Gavin O'Connor also directed Miracle which is a favorite of mine) so I was really looking forward to this and was a little sad that I would miss it. Luckily it is already available on Amazon Prime Video and I had the chance to see it last night.  Construction worker Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) is an absolute mess who can't even make it through a shower without drinking and frequently needs the proprietor of his favorite bar to carry him home at night.  Not only is he fighting many inner demons but he has also never recovered from the death of his son and is hurt when his estranged wife (Janina Gavankar) moves on with another relationship.  He is asked by his former high school, where he was once the star player, to coach the basketball team.  They haven't made the playoffs since he was on the team and, at first he just goes through the motions, but he eventually takes the job seriously and mentors a player who reminds him of himself (Brandon Wilson).  The team begins winning against all odds but the only way Jack can help them is by helping himself recover.  I loved this movie so much!  Affleck, who is very hit or miss with me, gives one of the best performances of his career in a role that is pretty unsympathetic (there is none of his usual charm or charisma on display here).  His ultimate redemption is not at all what I was expecting but it still made me want to stand up and cheer.  The basketball sequences are thrilling because O'Connor puts us in the middle of the action (just like he did with Miracle) and the score adds to the intensity.  The young actors do a really good job as players looking for a reason to win, especially Wilson.  There is a lot of profanity (which precipitates a hilarious scene involving the school's chaplain) but I would definitely recommend this movie.

Note:  There are quite a few recent releases now available on Amazon Prime Video such as The Call of the Wild, The Invisible Man, Onward (which is also streaming on Disney+), and Emma.  I recommend all of these movies.

Dolphin Reef

This year there are two Disneynature documentaries to celebrate Earth Day in April and, as someone who loves these documentaries, I am here for it!  In addition to Elephant, Disney+ is also streaming Dolphin Reef which I really enjoyed!  The underwater cinematography featuring a beautiful and dynamic coral reef in Polynesia and all of the fascinating animals who live there is simply stunning.  The main narrative revolves around a young and easily distracted bottlenose dolphin named Echo as he is weaned from his mother Kumu.  He has a few adventures, such as swimming with a humpback whale who has migrated from the north to give birth to her calf in the warm water, and a few close calls, such as an incident with some tiger sharks and getting lost with a turtle in a deep underwater cavern, as he learns to survive on his own.  We are also introduced to many of the other animals who are vital to the symbiotic relationship in the reef ecosystem and my favorite is the peacock mantis crab who is portrayed as an OCD neat freak (this, like most Disneynature documentaries, features narration that is very anthropomorphic).  I feel you, mantis crab!  There is a message about doing our part to protect the delicate balance in nature to keep the coral reefs around the world thriving but I didn't find it to be heavy handed.  What I liked most about this documentary, aside from the breathtaking visuals, is that I actually learned quite a bit about dolphins that I didn't know, such as synchronized sleeping and the unique ways they catch fish.  I enjoyed Natalie Portman's lighthearted narration and I also really liked the score.  If you are a fan of the Disneynature documentaries, this is a spectacular entry in the canon that I would definitely recommend!

Note:  In addition to the premiere of Elephant, Disney+ is also steaming the 2019 Disneynature documentary Penguins which is a lot of fun.

Elephant

I am a huge fan of Disneynature documentaries and, since elephants are my favorite animal, I have been looking forward to Elephant for months.  Is there anything cuter than watching a baby elephant frolic in a watering hole?  I submit that there is not so I thoroughly enjoyed all of the spectacular footage of one herd's epic migration across the Kalahari Desert from the Okavango Delta to the Zambezi River when their watering hole dries up.  The narrative focuses on an elephant name Shani, her boisterous calf Jomo, and the matriarch of the herd Gaia.  Shani must protect her calf and learn from her mentor how to lead the herd as they face brutal temperatures, dwindling food sources, and dangerous predators.  What I really love about elephants is how tender they are towards their calves and how protective they are of each elephant in the herd.  There is a powerful scene of a mother trying desperately to free a calf from the mud, a dramatic scene as the elephants circle to protect a calf from a group of lions, and an incredibly poignant scene of the herd's reaction to a death (I may or may not have had a tear in my eye).  I loved the time-lapse photography showing the changing seasons in the Okavango Delta and the Zambezi River, particularly when a waterfall slows from a torrent to a trickle.  As with many Disneynature documentaries, the narration is very anthropomorphic and I thought it was adorable when Jomo wanted to go and play with a baby cheetah and when he was jealous of the attention paid to a new calf in the herd.  The narration is by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and many have been critical of her performance.  While I don't care for her personally, I think she does a pretty good job balancing the emotional and playful tones of the narrative (aside from an inconsistency in her pronunciation of Shani).  This is a compelling look at some of the most intelligent and majestic creatures on Earth and I highly recommend it.  Elephant is now streaming on Disney+.

Note:  One of the greatest experiences of my life was being able to see elephants on safari in Kenya and Tanzania.  I got to see two baby elephants frolicking in a watering hole and it was exactly like what was depicted in this documentary.  It brought back many wonderful memories!

A Good Neighborhood

I have been under a two week quarantine because a student at Hunter High tested positive for Covid-19 and, while some aspects have been difficult, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to read without feeling like I am neglecting other obligations. I actually read A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler in one day because it is absolutely riveting! The modest suburban neighborhood of Oak Knoll, North Carolina is slowly becoming gentrified as developers tear down the existing houses and cut down trees that are hundreds of years old to build extravagant mansions. The narrative revolves around Valerie Alston-Holt, a black professor of ecology and forestry, and the Whitmans, a nouveau-riche white family who moves into a mansion next door to her. They judge each other before they even meet but soon their uneasy rapprochement is tested by a series of events. Valerie decides to sue Brad Whitman for damages caused to an oak tree in her yard. She contends that building such a large house and an in-ground pool has damaged the root system of the tree causing it to die. The Whitmans are enraged when Valerie's son Xavier begins a relationship with their sheltered teenage daughter Juniper. This reads like a Greek tragedy with the neighborhood itself acting as the chorus foreshadowing the events to come. The narration provided by this chorus reveals background information about all of the main characters and offers commentary on the action taking place.  This is an incredibly effective device because the slow accretion of details makes the tragic events seem inexorable. I read this book in one sitting because there is such a sense of urgency and I had to know what happened! While I found the final resolution to be deeply upsetting on a personal level, this is a very thought-provoking look at race in America right now and I really appreciated the fact that multiple perspectives of people who think of themselves as "good" are explored. Even though A Good Neighborhood is ultimately heartbreaking, there is a redemption of sorts and I highly recommend this cautionary tale.

Note: A Good Neighborhood was this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection but, sadly, the meeting was canceled. Even though there was an interesting Facebook Live chat with the author, I would have really enjoyed discussing it with my group!

American Dirt

Last night I went to a meeting of my book club to discuss our latest selection, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time and we had a very stimulating discussion about it. Lydia Quixano Perez is a middle class woman living in Acapulco with her husband Sebastian and their eight year old son Luca. She owns a bookshop and Sebastian is a journalist who writes about narcotrafficking. When he writes a critical piece about the leader of a drug cartel, he and fourteen members of Lydia's extended family are gunned down while the family is celebrating a quinceanera. She and her son are the only ones to survive but, because she knows the cartel will come looking for her, she makes the decision to flee Mexico and become one of the many migrants who try to come to the United States illegally because she feels she has no choice. She and Luca are forced to travel by La Bestia, a network of freight trains that run the length of Mexico north to the United States, which they board while the train is in motion. They face many other unspeakable dangers while riding the train before they give all of their savings to a coyote to take them across the border. This novel was deeply upsetting to me because I could feel Lydia's terror and desperation every step of the way. Intellectually I knew that it was dangerous to cross the border but I had no idea of the horrors involved, particularly for women and children who are attacked, beaten, and raped repeatedly. It was also very enlightening to learn than most migrants are not merely searching for a better life in the U.S. but they are literally fleeing for their lives. This book is very controversial because many have accused Cummins, who identifies as white, of cultural appropriation and have called her out for her stereotypical depiction of Mexicans. We had a great discussion, with an amazing moderator who is Mexican, about the fact that this story made all of us feel more sympathetic towards the plight of migrants and any book, regardless of who wrote it, that shines a light on a dark subject and gets people talking about it is a good thing. This book is a work of fiction that may have some inaccuracies but we didn't think that they detracted from the importance or relevance of the story.  I found it to be incredibly compelling, suspenseful, and heartbreaking and I highly recommend it.

Note:  The next selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club is A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler.  Go here for more information and to sign up.  As always, if you are local consider joining us on April 7 at the Layton Barnes & Noble.  We are a small but lively group!