Kokuho

Now I would like to see Kabuki preformed live.

Movie: Kokuho

Running Time: 2:54

Nominated for: Make Up & Hair Styling

How I watched: AMC, 8:45 am showing

When it had me: The drama starts early

When it lost me: It felt like it wandered a bit in its three hours

What systems does it challenge: The hereditary system in Kabuki, patriarchy

This is about two young men growing up in training for Kabuki theatre. One has the correct lineage and one was "adopted" into the family. Both face hardships and shame along the way to becoming true Kabuki performers.

The film is shot well, with gorgeous costumes and sets for the Kabuki shows. The acting is good throughout and I did feel drawn in to the trials of these two young men. The drama experienced by women in the film felt clumsy more often than not but the core tragedies of the two main characters were deeply affecting.

While they did an admirable job of instructing the audience about the traditions and expectations for this very specific style of theatre, I still felt like I was missing out a little bit. In particular, I didn't know exactly what great Kabuki theatre should look like so I just had to trust that these guys were supremely talented.

It felt like the culture of shame was a trap for these men (and perhaps by extension, everyone?) If they gave up everything to be a great performer then they had shame for not centering relationships in their life. If they wanted more than just Kabuki in their life then they had shame for not treating the art form with its proper respect. 

Men were trapped by the prescribed roles they must submit to but women were trapped by needing to submit to and support the men. Women were not even allowed to work in the Kabuki in any roles whatsoever. They had no say about how their children were treated (or in the case of geisha, whether their children would be acknowledged) and their own status seemed to rest wholly on whether their husbands were in favor or not.

In case you missed it, this was THREE HOURS LONG. It did span a long portion of their lives, so it wasn't totally unearned as a running time but oh my goodness, I still mourn the loss of half of my day. Even though at 8:45 am this is the earliest screening I have attended this year. Or ever, maybe.

Note: This is now the highest grossing live action Japanese film in Japan!

The Perfect Neighbor

The body cam tells the tale.

Movie: The Perfect Neighbor

Running Time: 1:36

Nominated for: Best Documentary Feature

How I watched: Netflix

When it had me: The trailer

When it lost me: The reality

What systems does it challenge: Racism, White Women's Tears

This was a truly heart-breaking documentary (not unusual) about a nosy white lady neighbor who hates all the black children who play near her apartment and spends all of her days planning on how to ruin everything for them. She's absolutely disgusting.

What's unusual about this doc is that the cops in it are on the side of the children and most of the documentary is shown through the dash cams and body cams of the police who are repeatedly called out to the neighborhood.

It's well told and very upsetting.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

This is fine. Everything's fine.

Movie: Jurassic World: Rebirth

Running Time: 2:14

Nominated for: Visual Effects

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Sleeping T-Rex

When it lost me: Probably some stupid choices

What systems does it challenge: Dinosaur Resurrection! aka unchecked ego disguised as progress

Guys, I don't know. I saw this back in summer. I enjoyed it more than the last couple of Jurassic World movies. It felt like it got back to basics; just a ragtag group, on an island, running from dinosaurs. There were some decent set pieces with a sleeping T-Rex and inside a convenience store. I don't need it to be more.

The family in the movie had some annoying dynamics going on. The boyfriend was like a vestigial tail; totally useless and in the way. But Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali are a good trio.

I was just reminded of the beginning of the movie where dinosaurs get loose because a stupid, stupid scientist (I knew there were stupid choices!) carelessly drops a snickers wrapper too close to the containment door vent and it gets sucked in. And previously, a stupid, stupid engineer had designed a containment door with a vent that is big enough to forcefully suck things in but no grate to keep contaminants out. And when it does suck things in, it obviously results in total failure and all the dinosaurs can get free. It's like Galen Erso designed it this way on purpose because he wanted the rebels to free the dinosaurs. sigh.

But otherwise, mostly a good time.

Cutting Through Rocks

Me, trying to recenter after learning of new horrors.

Movie: Cutting Through Rocks

Running Time: 1:35

Nominated for: Documentary Feature

How I watched: Slipstream via LACMA

When it had me: Charming main character

When it lost me: It didn't

What systems does it challenge: Patriarchy, Oppressive Religion

First off, this was not an easy documentary to find. It had ONE screening in local theaters and that happened to be right in the middle of the Super Bowl. Are you kidding me? I had a house full of guests so that didn't work. Then I found out it would be streaming on Docplay, a streaming service that I was all ready to sign up for and then cancel.

However, that changed again, and I ended up finding that LACMA was hosting online screenings of it. I had to register and sign in on a certain day and finally got to watch it. Thanks, LACMA.

Now I have watched it and I HATE THE WORLD!

It takes place in a village in northern Iran where Sara is a completely unconventional woman. Her father had no sons for years so he taught Sara to ride a motorcycle and build things and dress however she wanted and think for herself.

Her marriage doesn't last so she becomes a divorcee with her own home and works as the village midwife and runs for office on the village council. So far, it's great. I love everything about her. She helps married women to become part owners in their own homes, she encourages girls to stay in school and not marry as children and she advocates for child brides who want a divorce.

Can you guess what happens next? Yeah, they come for her. And they do it in the wildest and most unexpected way! I was infuriated and terrified and sitting on the edge of my seat. Since the film is hard to find, I'll tell you what happened at the end of the review but don't want to spoil it for those of you who want to check it out.

The film has many beautiful shots woven throughout and captures such a rich tapestry of emotional states of the various women and children involved. It does offer some hope even thought I'm just completely angry about all patriarchies at the moment. Well worth the watch.

Spoilers ahead....

Turn Back now....

Sara gets charged with having an indecent home and is under investigation. Her home is searched for hours and she has to visit a doctor to determine whether or not she is really a woman! What the actual fuck? And it's not just a genital check. It's long interviews asking why her voice isn't feminine and why she isn't more polite and when she plans to get married again. The judge then reviews all the materials and HE GETS TO DECIDE whether or not she needs GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY. I'm absolutely dying. There is no end to the ways they find to torture women. I'm livid. Apparently this is how they punish gay people in Iran. 

The judge rules that she can stay a woman but cautions that she better get married soon. Out of the students that Sara spoke to 17 of them get married off by their families and only five are trying to focus on their studies. Sara decides she has to be more patient and not push for such big changes but she isn't quitting. Good for her. Now I'm going to go crash out.

Diane Warren: Relentless

Movie: Diane Warren: Relentless

Running Time: 1:32

Nominated for: Original Song

How I watched: Prime

When it had me: She's so chaotic!

When it lost me: Some ableism

What systems does it challenge: Ableism, for me. Not sure for the film maker

I know Diane Warren because she gets nominated for an Oscar every time she writes a song for a movie. When she writes something it's usually for some interesting, small, out of the way film that would never have gotten noticed by the Academy otherwise. Year after year she shows up to the Awards and then goes home empty handed. Seventeen nominations, zero wins!

So this year, they made a whole documentary about her with her own original song attached and she is STILL not going to win because she is up against K-Pop Demon Hunters and Sinners.

What I learned watching the doc is that she is also responsible for the entire soundtrack of my teen years. She has 9 number one hits and 33 top ten hits! It's mind boggling.

Also? She is completely chaotic and quite clearly neurodivergent. But everyone in the doc talks about how peculiar and quirky she is so I figured no one has bothered to question how her brain works. Then halfway through they casually mention her autism. It really bothered me that they know she is autistic but they constantly exclaim over how hyper focused she is or how socially awkward she is or how she is so strange for prioritizing career over personal life. She is who she is and we know exactly why she has "quirks" and she is wildly successful besides. It just felt unnecessary to present her in that way.

The doc felt very spontaneous with one scene where Diane wants to show off a shed where she wrote songs as a teen but they obviously didn't plan it in advance because the door falls off the shed and they can't get inside. I like the honesty of leaving that in. It also felt padded in places, like they didn't quite have enough but I give it credit for really teaching me some things.

Thankfully Diane has won an honorary award from the Academy for her work over the years. It meant a lot to her and it will make it easier for me to watch her lose again this year.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

New witch just dropped!

Movie: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Running Time: 3:17

Nominated for: Visual Effects, Costumes

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Nope

When it lost me: The first Avatar

What systems does it challenge: Militarized Colonization and/or indigenous people's sovereignty.

How is this nominated for costumes when the costumes are all CGI? I realize someone had to design them but it's like we are trivializing the entire act of bringing the costumes to life. It seems kinda fishy to me. 

Anyway, three hours and 17 minutes is too long. You know how I feel.

Jake Sully continues to bring his culture to the Na'vi which means more guns and emotional unavailability.

Jake Sully continues to ask Na'vi to trust him and then immediately gets them all killed or their homes destroyed.

The white saviorism is uncomfortable.

Good news! I did meet another witch! I was hoping I would but they kept everything she did a mystery so I didn't learn any new tricks.

The visuals are beautiful, like the screensavers they use to sell TVs at Costco.

The dialog is stiff and unnatural. The visual effects even seemed spotty and not that great. Did we just have an off screening?

The action and pacing of the film actually move along pretty well. It carries forward logically from one scene to the next with a good balance of action and reflection. Look, this is a bare minimum kind of compliment but I actually see a lot of films that don't manage this.

How many times will James Cameron be allowed to make this movie? I think his plans include about 7 right now...am I really going to have to do this four more times???

Major Upside: there are some really cute CGI otters!

The Alabama Solution

Movie: The Alabama Solution

Running Time: 1:54

Nominated for: Best Documentary Feature

How I watched: HBO Max

When it had me: Phones in prison?

When it lost me: It did not

What systems does it challenge: Prison Industrial Complex 

Another heart breaker. This one covers the Alabama prison system which is both overcrowded and understaffed. It also keeps its inmates in unsafe conditions and uses them as a form of slave labor. 

Due to the understaffing, phones have become ubiquitous in prison and the inmates have finally found a way to communicate with the outside world and document some of the injustices that are a regular part of their daily life.

I'm inspired by the inmates who spend their time educating themselves on the law and on activism and fighting for their rights to be treated as humans. And I'm mortified by stories of men who have been behind bars for more than three decades. I can't imagine how I could build a life for myself in a place like that. How do you put one foot in front of the other with any kind of sanity when it's pretty clear you're never getting out?

These brave men have documented the many violations, abuses and crimes of the guards and are filing suit against the whole system. The movie points out that the state of Alabama has never done anything to protect the rights of people of color unless the federal government has required them to do so. The governor of that state takes offense that they are asking for federal assistance with this and insists it will require an "Alabama Solution" rather than a federal one, hence the title.

I wish I could tell you that at the end of two hours it's all worked out but it's s fight that will have to be maintained for quite some time, I fear.