BLINDSPOTTING a Comedy/Drama: Spot On Highlighting Racial Injustice, Violence and Gentrification

BLINDSPOTTING is an intelligent, entertaining & ambitious film.  It serves to take blinders off unperceptive admissions of racial stereotyping, race relations, gentrification and cultural appropriations.  The pervasive slaying of unarmed black men by white officers/men who then appear unfairly shielded from persecution attributed to their fair skin tone, is the scathing spotlight of this absorbing & discomfiting film.  And, it tackles more than a "Black Lives Matter" movement.  There's much to extol in this risk taking filmmaking that is co-written, co-produced by its co-stars Daveed Diggs ("Hamilton") and Rafael Casel.  BLINDSPOTTING is an astonishing debut feature film for Diggs, Casel and director Carlos Estrada (b. Mexico).  The collaborative project took nearly a decade to complete (mostly due to Diggs' work conflicts).  The film is fierce & unafraid to mix visual styles and art forms with brutality and without blinking an eye.  Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) are life long friends growing up together in a tattered but tightly knit community in Oakland. Collin is black with dreadlocks and Miles is white with a gold mouth grill, black girlfriend & bi-racial son, Sean (Ziggy Baitinger; guilty of scene stealing).  The story's timeline starts with 3 days left on Collin's probation.  The kinship between Collin & Miles is established early on in the film.  The buddy comedy genre with colorful characters sets a hilarious tone which rapidly turns dark. Collin is pressed to make curfew on his probation when he unwittingly witnesses a black man fleeing from a white officer who fatally fires at the man into his back.  The officer & Colin lock eyes at the scene.   Colllin is faced with a life altering conundrum; would his testimony against the office have credibility & will reporting the officer derail his release?  The tender & funny moments are overshadowed by gruesome scenes of violence & haunting images from Collin's conscience particularly when envisioning those gunned down & nightmares of being incarcerated.  The images of Sean playing with his father's (hidden) loaded gun and miles of bloody black men grounded in front of tombstones are indelible.  Our obsessive & destructive gun culture, "culture vulture" appropriation and gentrification are subjects annexed in addition to a sobering "hands up - don't shoot" paradigm.  There are artistic stretches & creative licensing that disrupt some of the film's credibility.  Still, the dismantling of a photography studio with white/black headshots & overlain images of unearthed trees are stylized and poignant but heavy handed.  The coincidence of Collin & Miles confronting the officer involved in the fatal shooting is also a long shot.  But, this allows for an intense grandstanding rapping session with piercing lyrics unfortunately lost amidst this preposterous plot spot.  Nevertheless, BLINDSPOTTING is a movie that is mind-blowing & eye opening despite its inherent flaws.  If you're not seeing this movie first as a scathing social commentary, at least see it for yourselves with an open mind.  

Boots Riley's SORRY to BOTHER YOU - Should Bother You with Armie Hammer, Tessa Thompson SEE IT!

Boots Riley (b Amer 1971) is a Renaissance Man; creative in numerous artistic venues.  Riley is a rapper, producer, screenwriter, filmmaker and political activist who aligns with Communist ideology. SORRY to BOTHER YOU is Riley's debut feature film and he successfully combines his immense talents into a unique art form that is an unremitting political powerhouse.  The film set in Oakland in a not too futuristic dystopian society.  It'ss deceptively convincing and hence deeply disturbing.  Cassius (Lakeith Stanfield) or "Cash" to most, is the hero of the film.  It begins with Cash & his artist girlfriend Detroit (a terrific Tessa Thompson) in the garage of his uncle's home.  Basically, he's freeloading off his uncle whom he verbally assails as the oppressor to the have nots in a hilarious banter when told he's 4 months behind on his rent.  The rent money is for his makeshift garage living quarters where the door inconveniently opens at inopportune in flagrante delicto moments.  Both names are references to Cassius Clay, a.k.a. Mohammad Ali and the motor city, a prime example of a major city fallen into a poverty-stricken, volatile urban decay.  Cash needs cash and he sets out to get a telemarketing job in a hilarious & pathetic scene.  He gets the job regardless/or because of his phony pandering.  Cash joins the lowly ranks of the exploited workers paid only commissions & deprived of human decencies.  The working class is stuck in an impoverished quagmire, lowly social strata kept under control by militant armed patrol.  Danny Glover in a minuscule role, advises Cash to use his "white voice." This is creepy but effective in making money.  The building where Cash works has an elevated social class for the "Power Callers."  When the poor proletariats assemble to unionize for fair wages, Cash bails for a promotion as a "Power Caller."  The pay is exorbitant in exchange for being a sellout.  He's now in the business of selling weapons and humans into slave labor.  Riley's ingenious script makes multiple piercing political statements about humanity.  While Riley's film is unique, it harkens to the brilliance of other masterpieces:  Orwell's "Animal Farm," Jordan Peele's GET OUT, Margaret Atwood's "The Heart Goes Last," "Breaking Bad" and the iconic scene on Pleasure Island from PINOCCHIO.   Steve Lift (Armie Hammer; the ultimate manipulative villian)  conjures a morph of Napolean from "Animal Farm" and Lucifer.  The biting parodies are plentiful in this ferocious film. To name but a few: Cash on a reality TV show submitting to a beating & swimming in shit, Cash rapping "Nigger Nigger," Detroit's performance art and the claymation movie within the movie that reveals Steve's diabolical therianthropic plan for the working man.  It's both cartoonish and gruesome.   The masses may not enjoy this film.  It's not meant to be likable but it deserves a Nobel.  This film makes people worry they'll never be worry free again!

DON'T Miss Fred Rogers' Doc. WON'T YOU be MY NEIGHBOR - It's Loved Exactly as It Is

For those who don't remember a time when TV was a tool for talking to children about their feelings and as a guide through life's difficult transitions,  Fred Rogers was the iconic figure that nurtured kindness, empathy & curiosity.  Fred Rogers (b Amer 1928-2003) was an ordained minister & the first to understand & utilize the power of TV to impart important values and messaging to children.  Perhaps, the main message that Mr. Rogers instilled is "Love is at the root of everything; learning, parenting and kindness."  The trope of love and tolerance were a constant and reassuring refrain of Mr. Rogers. "Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people."  The "Mr. Rogers Show" aired on PBS from 1968-2001 with approximately 900 episodes.  Two episodes were written and aired following the assassination of Robert Kenned (1968) & the terrorist attacks (2001) to help children understand events, allow them  to express their concerns and to quell their fears.  Mr. Rogers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  He's been inaugurated into the TV Hall of Fame & his sweaters mounted in the Smithsonian Institute.  Mr. Rogers deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.  He is credited with saving the funding for PBS in 1968.  Rogers appeared before the Head of the Com. on Communications, John Pastore on Capitol Hill, and spoke briefly & extemporaneously on the trust imparted to children and the care each child receives just by being themselves and liked for being just the way they are. "{Children's} feelings are mentionable and manageable and that is the good service provided."  Pastore was ready to end the session & cut funding but he was awe struck by Mr. Rogers statements.  "I think that it's wonderful.  Looks like you just earned the $20 million."  This was one of many wonderful segments in this thoughtful and tender documentary.  Other memorable moments include Mr. Rogers talking & singing a duet with a boy confined to a wheel chair and a time when Rogers invites a black police officer to cool his tired feet alongside him in his wading pool.  Rogers was peacefully & poignantly fighting against segregation & racial hatred.  Critics may accuse Rogers of hypocrisy for repressing the acceptance of homosexuality.  I argue that tolerance & love was the clarion message and addressing sexual orientation on his show aimed for young children would have been grossly age inappropriate.  Mr. Rogers' show celebrated imagination & the best of humanity is sorely missed today on television which focuses on violence and in our world.  WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR is a film for children & adults.  It nourishes the need for make believe and for believing in yourself.  "The idea that love abounds & can be shared means that you don't have to do anything sensation to make people love you."

Doc. 3 IDENTICAL STRANGERS Joyous Reunion- Indefensible Separation for Scientific Study

This documentary/re-enactment film of a remarkable reunification of identical triplets separated at birth and reunited at 19 by serendipitous coincidences seems too incredulous to be true.  It is true but if the rejoicing & love feast fostered between Eddy, David and Robert seems too good to be true - it's because it's not truly good.  The fast friendship amongst the 3 & notoriety quickly turns into a horrific psychological tampering that is abhorrent and absolutely non-justifiable.  The filmmaking is a pastiche of past tense re-enactments, archival footage, journalistic investigative reporting and present tense interviews (storytelling verity') with 2 of the triplets and family members, friends and wives of Eddy Galland, David Kellman and Robert Shafran.  Knowing only 2 of the triplets are on camera telling their live's story is ominous foreshadowing; fortunate familial reunification turns tragic.  Eddy & David first meet each other at 19 when David enters an NY community college where his (unbeknownst) brother Eddy attended the previous year.  Fellow classmates clamored welcoming him back to campus where he knew no one & everyone called him Eddy.  A friend of Eddy's brought the 2 together for the first time and the shocking & exciting "Parent Trap" scenario receives a lot of news coverage.  The photos of the two are spotted by David and the identical twosome multiples to three.   Reunited and it feels so good until some good questions were posed.  Why were these boys separated at birth and none of the adoptive parents notified of their child's birth siblings?  The 3 sets of parents sought answers from the same agency from which they adopted their sons.  Coincidentally, all 3 families had adopted daughters as infants and all were 4 years older than their adoptive brothers.  The parents whose rancor at the adoptive agency sought answers.  They were intentionally misled from the real purpose - psychological research pertaining to nature v. nurture.   Aunt Hedy addressed the reprehensible treatment of the young men and their families.  "When you play with humans you are doing something wrong."  The evil plotting was even more egregious as it was lead by a Jewish refugee of WWII.  Separating the babies at birth was atrocious "Nazi shit."   The film is buoyed by the boys enthusiasm.  The course of events are shattering.  The mystery as to conclusions drawn from this remain unclear.  Clearly, the incredulous notion you may have an unknown doppelganger lurks.  This captivating film is a roller coaster of emotions from ecstatic joy to indignant outrage.  It's inconceivably cruel to treat human beings as lab rats.  The true story of THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS is fascinating fact and tragically not fiction.  

LEAVE NO TRACE With Ben Foster a Father/Daughter Survivalists Film that is Fierce and Poignant

LEAVE NO TRACE is a powerful movie that pits a PTS father Will (Ben Foster) along with his beloved daughter Tom (Thomas McKenzie) against the world.  Will  has honed his daughter to live in the austere wilderness, outside of civilization and its confinements.  This is a brief synopsis of a breathtaking film that is both tender and strenuous to beat.  Nonetheless, it is made credible and even enviable due to the tour de force performances and spellbinding cinematography.  We first come upon a father and daughter in a rural & sylvan surroundings what first appears as a camping expedition.  Soon we discover the 2 are living clandestinely in the woods off the grid of "civilized" society and fending for themselves.  The engrossing drama piques our curiosity as to why they have chosen and how they sustain themselves in such an austere survivalist/naturalistic manner.  Will is resourceful and mentors his daughter with a solemn and loving hand.  Tom in turn trusts her father implicitly and is adroit at fending for herself in "the wild."  "The wild" we soon discover is a public park in OR where their camp has been uncovered.  Will is hunted and apprehended by police & their search hound.  Will doesn't resist arrest and calls out to Tom to co-operate, "We haven't done anything wrong."  It's up to social services to determine whether Will is a fit father and what their fate will be.  The sensitive and compassionate case workers maintain the only unlawful action was residing in a public park.  Will and Tom are reunited and provided a modest home provided Will works for the owner chopping trees (destroying the natural habitat in which they thrived.) The potted tree within the home has withered and died just as Will cannot flourish cooped indoors.  Tom is much more adept at adapting.  She finds comfort in socializing and basic comforts such as warm showers, a warm home and a full fridge.  Will is a complex & astounding individual.   He's relentless & resourceful but incapable of remaining within civilization.   Director Debra Granik (WINTER'S BONES) has made an epic film of profound depth.  The father/daughter relationship survives amidst nature's harsh & breathtaking beauty.  The expansive OR and WA wilderness is a magnificent backdrop to humanities'  suffering and compassion.  One can manage with no phone, no TV,  no religion and still no one can take one's own thoughts away.  LEAVE NO TRACE is etched with dignity and mired in pain.  "How important is it what other's think?"  Both Foster (whose long overlooked for his brilliant acting) and McKenzie deliver Oscar worthy performances.  Leave no doubt, LEAVE NO TRACE is a shattering film; haunting and unforgettable.   Trust is the main theme that glistens throughout; trust in others,  trust in oneself and trust in hope.