Lorakeets

We entered the cage
of the bright birds
with light-hearts
little did we know
the hunger hid
beneath the rainbow plumage
swarmed by clicking claws
deafened by screeching jaws
Overcome
by their petite ferocity
Fun? No.
But an Experience
etched into memory
I even have a wound to prove it.

Racing Thoughts

They trip and tumble
multiply
clog the road
to beddy-bye
do this, do that
what if, regret
the head becomes
the past's roulette
count 1 and 2
breathe 3 and 4
sometimes sleep
is quite the chore

'IT Chapter 2' A Review

IT Chapter 2 is the sequel to 2017's IT a continuation and completion of the adaptation of the Stephen King novel. 27 years have passed since the loser's club vanquished Pennywise in 1989 but he's back! The movie opens on a pretty brutal and over the top hate crime, instigated were meant to infer by the return of the psychotic clown. Mike(Isaiah Mustafa) the only one to remain in Derry calls the losers back together to make good on their childhood promise and to confront Pennywise once again.

All the adult actors are well cast and are good visual and emotional counter parts to their younger selves however they're all given very little to do other than be propeled by the strident and single minded plot. The come together, they are disbelieving, they are convinced, they separate, they come together, they confront the badguy. It's structured more like a dated video game rather than a narrative. Bill Hader and James Ransone as Richie and Eddie respectively are the stand outs but that is due more to their innate energy rather than their characters as written. Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Mustafa are all fine actors but here their opportunity is simply to slim to do much with. Bill Skarsgård doesn't do much differently than he did in the previous movie and the ending especially sidelines him in favor of over the top and exceptionally ineffective CGI.

At almost three hours the pacing is nothing short of baffling, feeling both too fast to take time for any real character dimension(we know virtually nothing about the adults the children have become) and too slow to develop or maintain any real tension the movie languishes and plods when it should speed and soar culminating in a CGI confrontation that deflates rather than heightens.

Splitting up the story was wise, not intertwining the kid and adult storylines immediately as the book does was a mistake making both installments formulaic and inadvertently diffusing much needed tensions. The focus on jump scares, creatures, and gross out visuals also misses the point of the story completely. It's not about zombies or spiders or baby heads on scorpion bodies, it's about fear. It's about the loss of innocence in your childhood and nostalgia as an adult.

As cheesy as it can be the Tim Curry lead mini-series remains the better adaptation.

Don't See It.

'Ad Astra' A Review

Ad Astra is a science fiction film set in the near future where space exploration has been expanded to the moon, Mars, and beyond. The Earth is bombarded with anti-matter power surges causing major black outs and SpaceCom Major Roy McBride(Brad Pitt) is sent to communicate with the source who they believe to be his father(Tommy Lee Jones) previously presumed dead.

Pitt is ok as the extremely reserved and restrained stoic spaceman who only occasionally shows disquiet or contentment. Pitt does very little, the character as written is very passive, and is unable to replicate the zen-like but still charismatic tightrope of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Writer/director James Gray asks a very specific thing from his leads and this outing is not nearly as successful as Charlie Hunnam minimal but evocative performance in Gray's previous film The Lost City of Z. Pitt is serviceable but in doing so little the result is boring rather than contemplative, his moments of emotion comparatively so big they ring false. His monotone voiceover doesn't contribute it only hinders. Pitt is also virtually the only character with any screen time, we see Jones almost exclusively in old video messages that Pitt's character watches and the various stars who have cameos - Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler- are given little time and virtually no dimension to balance Pitt's monastic non-performance.

The production design succeeds in virtually every aspect. Visually the film is breathtaking. Rich eerie colors and bizarre sets, with seemingly little CGI, evoke an alien quality we don't necessarily associate with out own solar system. The score is melodic and minimal with moments of silence punctuating both action and isolation. There's a couple of exceptionally striking sequences- a moon shoot-out, a rescue mission, stowing away- but the sum doesn't quite live up to it's parts.

Aesthetically astounding but lacking emotional punch or intellectual epiphany.

See It.

'Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice' A Review

Linda Ronstadt The Sound Of My Voice is a rock-doc about the life and career of musician Linda Ronstadt. Through talking head interviews, extended sequences of voice over narration by the subject, archival footage, and footage of numerous concerts the eclectic taste, legendary ability and propulsive rise to fame of the are unspooled.

The form is conventional to the genre and the footage shot for the film is adequate rather than stylish(mostly stationary interviews) but the access to Ronstadt now as the narrator as well as the breadth of unearthed footage is the real hook.

Those who only know Ronstadt's hits will learn about her wide-ranging creative drive and her trial blazing and near decade plus domination of the charts. Fans will get extended access not previously available. Although the film contains little surprises learning more about Ronstadt's life and watching performance after stunning performance of hit after hit is a real pleasure.

Rent It.

Harmony

When I am distressed
I must ask
what is wrong with me
because most often
irritants, inconveniences,
CTA congestions
are outside my control
and my agitation
only serves to exacerbate
my ability to cope
when balanced, when attuned
to the manifold kalidscopic
thrumming pulse
of the tapestried collective consciousnesses
that make up this painful and glorious Now
of which I am a small but vital part,
when I can find my place in the large and rushing melody
that hurtles our life-stuffed Earth into the vitality of space/time
I can reside in an impervious tranquility
in the knowledge, perhaps faith, that the outside is in good hands
and only the inside
is up to me.

Considering What's Owed

I saw an old friend
at a wedding
she just had her second kid
and I'm engaged
we caught up
reminisced a bit
and it was good.

It made me think
how strange
time can be
and that saying
"time heals all wounds"
may not be true
but there's truth in it.

Eight years ago
this friend
hosted my intervention
at her apartment
and only now
do I realize
I never considered the effect on her.

There must
have been a cost
in time and stress and energy
weathered patience
and tested credulity
perhaps there remains a debt
for what was taken but never fully given back.

'Hustlers' A Review

Hustlers is a crime drama about a struggling stripper Dorothy aka Destiny(Constance Wu) who is taken under the wing of the more worldly Ramona(Jennifer Lopez). The two become friends and work the system but over time their angle goes from above board to criminal. An interview with Destiny in 2014 with reporter Elizabeth(Julia Styles) is used as a framing devise to flash back to 2007 when the Destiny and Ramona meet then their subsequent financial problems in the wake of the housing crisis which results in their illegal activities.

Wu puts in a good performance as the financially hamstrung lead just trying to make ends meat and provides some much needed emotional dimension however the script leaves something to be desired as far as character depth and back story. Lopez is utterly electric and outshines Wu a bit even though she is in the presumptive supporting role. It's Lopez's best performance, and most dynamic role for that matter, since Out Of Sight and she takes full advantage bringing all of her moviestar charm and undeniable charisma to the screen. Her introduction scene, an extended pole dancing routine, is one of the best scenes of the year. The two have great chemistry and this tale of working-class working-girl camaraderie works perfectly for the first half of the film. The other glorious stand out is Cardi B as fellow stripper Diamond but she is woefully underutilized and only appears on screen for a couple minutes. When the film changes in tone the actors don't falter but the script does.

The soundtrack is pitch perfect, the cinematography not particularly flashy but effective in making you feel as if you are apart of the group at the film's center and although by nature there are bodies on display there is little to no leering or exploitation of the setting. The film is mostly successful but stumbles in the second half of the film when the women engage in overtly criminal acts and the morality, machinations, and economics of the crimes aren't particularly investigated. The script attempts to maintain it's feel-good female-friendship tone and focus glossing over the disturbing lengths the titular hustlers eventually go to. Overall this is forgivable and, bolstered by Wu and Lopez's performances, remains engaging if not totally successful.

Fun, ambitious, if not altogether tonally consistent. Worth it for Lopez alone.

See It.

'Tigers Are Not Afraid' A Review

Tigers Are Not Afraid is a crime drama with elements of magical realism. Set in a nameless Mexican city devastated by the drug war the film follows a young girl Estrella(Paola Lara) whose mother disappears. She then joins an orphan gang lead by Shine(Juan Ramón López) and the group tries to survive the harsh conditions of the city and roving cartel enforcers who seem to kidnap and kill indiscriminately.

The subject matter is exceptionally grave but not clearly set or developed and the psychological horror elements aren't particularly effective and undermine the effectiveness of the real life situations the film is attempting to convey. This incongruity makes it near impossible for the very young cast to find its footing, establish a coherent tone, or to portray characters with much depth. There are some successful moments with the young crew- moments of humor and camaraderie- but those are breezed by quickly and dashed with incredibly violent deaths which are in turn breezed by in favor of sequences of ineffective horror which, through context, seem only to be in Estrella's mind.

Certainly ambitious with important subject matter however neither the gritty drama or vengeful ghost ideas are cultivated with any real dimension and they are certainly not married. What's left is a film that doesn't particularly make sense, not only as a viewer but as to it's intention. We are not left with a real sense of the ongoing conflict or it's cost, what we are left with is the occasional and graphic visuals of the violent deaths of children that, unfortunately, don't carry the weight they should because time has not been taken to set up the circumstances or the characters.

Don't See It.

Motorcyclists

Beneath the scruff
beyond the danger
there is an iron fellowship
a shorthand, a secret sign
a common kindness
for those who traverse the road
on metal steeds
with open hearts
at thrilling speed
bound by the need for brazen deeds.

'Brittany Runs A Marathon' A Review

Brittany Runs A Marathon is a dramedy about Brittany(Jillian Bell) a twenty-something New Yorker struggling with her identity and ambitions. The film opens on Brittany waking up in the afternoon out of it and then late for work at the box office a small theater, that night she parties with her friends and acquiesces to a compromising situation. The next day she goes to a doctor to attempt to get an adderall prescription but instead is warned about her BMI. She begins running, makes new friends, changes jobs, and slowly takes control of her circumstances with the express goal of running the NYC marathon.

After years of consistently wonderful supporting characters Bell is finally given a lead role which she sinks her teeth into, conveying some incredible, at times heartbreaking, pathos without sacrificing a degree of her humor. In fact her comedic ability serves to bolster the emotional vulnerability of the character. The supporting cast is all wonderful but it is Brittany and her journey which, justly, take center stage. Michaela Watkins as Catherine Brittany's running friend is always a treat to see and the two have great chemistry, see this years Sword of Trust, and Lil Rel Howery as Demetrius Brittany's brother-in-law and defacto stepdad is also a delight. The real standout both in performance and screen time is Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jern Brittany's man-child love interest who is introduced as a vapid douche but quickly gains some compelling dimension.

Shot in a not-always-successful hand-held on-the-go style Brittany Runs A Marathon looks more like gritty mumblecore than feel-good dramedy, but it works. It brings us into Brittany's world which isn't always totally comfortable and confronts the audience with challenging situations which it's humor belies. The narrative isn't perfect, not a surprise for a freshman effort from writer/director Paul Downs Colaizzo, but it's flaws either add to it or are ultimately forgivable given the authenticity and honesty, the humor and the intensity which are achieved.

More drama than comedy, a poignant look at a person finding their path.

See It.

Ancestors

I am not alone
for behind me are a chain of ghosts
that stretch back
and back and back
fathers and mothers
brothers and daughters
before time was counted
I do not find their weight oppressive
because I do not carry them
like some crushing burden
but stand upon their backs
their blood and sweat
given freely
that I could put down the plow
wash the earth from my hands
and look up towards the sky.