Blindspotting [Film Review]

Imagine a buddy cop movie (think the first Lethal Weapon film), but the buddies aren't cops, rather they are a white hood rat and a black soon-to-be ex-con. Toss in some over-the-top commentary on gentrification, slick visual elements (split screens, hyperintensive flashbacks, neon tinged night shots, etc.) and you've got a sweet slice of urban drama.
While far less absurdist than Sorry To Bother You (both films take place in Oakland, CA, btw), Blindspotting is no less hard-hitting on the socio-political-economic commentary. It is an excellent critique on what it means to be black in an increasingly gentrified community. The anti-hipster stance is militant, but also hilarious as fuck. The film strikes a nice balance between laugh-out-loud moments and tension drenched sequences that are as harrowing as they are thought provoking. The insights of a being a grown man in the hood were rendered with richness and deft nuance. Gritty like vintage Singleton and Lee and Hughes Bros.

Rating: 4.5 / 5
RIYL:
vintage Spike Lee; the spoken word musings of Danny Hoch; Boyz N The Hood; Menace II Society; Lethal Weapon if you edited it down to a short film that encompassed just the interactions between Murdoch and Riggs

Sorry To Bother You [Film Review]

Boots Raley's debut feature unfurls like a Terry Gilliam film as filtered through the lens of Spike Lee circa 1987. Or vice versa.
Absurd.
Brazen.
Hilarious.
In-your-face.
Plus it contains a wallopping W.T.F.?!?!?!? moment to end all WTF moments (it was like being knocked on your ass sideways after getting smacked in the face with an engorged donkey dick. Literally.)
It reminded me of Idiocracy, Brazil, Do The Right Thing, and a totally fucked-up Outer Limits episode. Additionally there is a noticeably heavy influence from Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufmann, and Spike Jonze.
The film contains blatant nods to Get Out, Gondry, Nickelodeon game shows gone awry, and probably a ton more references that I missed (there is a lot going on in this film in the background, so much so that I plan to see it a second time if I can).

Rating: 4.5
RIYL:
the early films of Sapike Lee (Do The Right Thing, She’s Gotta Have It, etc); the early films of Terry Gilliam (specifically Brazil); the early films of Michel Gondry; pretty much anything that Charlie Kaufman has written; the films fo Mike Judge (specifically Office Space and Idiocracy); the films of Spike Jonez; The Lobster

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

I laughed.

I cried.

I came out of the theater feeling like I am not that great of a person; that I can be a better human being. But I also came out feeling happy and that life ain't all that bad if you roll with it and keep a positive outlook.

If you grew up in the 1970s and were weened on PBS like I was, then I highly recommend this documentary. Now I've always looked at documentaries as films that "should" be objective, but let's face it, most documentaries these days are pretty subjective. So, be warned: this film is very pro-Fred Rogers, it’s essentially a love story about the show and the man. In many ways it portrays him as being damn-near saintly. Nary a bad thing is spoken about him. It does show him as having been insecure and perhaps not terribly comfortable in his skin, which is cool, but overall it paints him in a very positive light. So the film may feel a bit one-sided to some folks. Honestly, I was so emotionally wrapped up in what was unfolding onscreen that I didn’t really think about this aspect of the film until later.

What really resonated with me was how topical, socially conscious, and downright political Mister Roger’s Neighborhood really was back in its heyday (and even later in the oughts). This was something that was totally lost on elementary school aged Me, that’s for sure. Rogers and company addressed some heavy spiritual, philosophical, and political issues, but in a mellow, unassuming way.

Now while I was emotionally charged throughout the film, there were a few elements that puzzled/bothered me. Let's call them "minor quibbles about the film".  They would be the following:

     1. Lady Aberlin (aka Betty Aberlin), although represented in quite a bit of archival footage, is conspicuously absent from the film.

     2. It is mentioned that Mr. Rogers came from money and that he was a chubby (fat) kid who was bullied as a youth. Yet there is no commentary on this from Fred Rogers himself. It’s basically mentioned and then forgotten. On a similar note(s), it's not really delved into that much in regards to what led him to pursue the Seminary, nor is anything really said about his family (parents, brothers/sisters, etc).

     3. There’s a segment where Rogers meets with a young kid who had a tumor that left him wheelchair bound. They interview the kid’s parents    (today), but there is no mention of whether the kid is still alive. There is a quick clip during the credits that shows the kid (now grown up) meeting Rogers at an awards show, but that clip is at least a decade old.

     4. One of my favorite characters on the show was Chef Brockett, and while he passed away in 1995, there is no mention of him in the film. :(

     5. They stopped showing the names of the various people who were interviewed for the film, so I ultimately forgot who many of them were and what their relationship to Roger's was. They were a mix of actors, producers, journalists, historians, and family. I wish they had kept putting their names up on the screen throughout the film. 

Again, these are just minor quibbles that popped into my head after I'd seen the film. I get that it’s hard to make a documentary and hit all the points, but those were the ones that stuck out with me.

What the film does do well is provide a pretty solid cross-section of interviewees ranging from cast members to guests, crew, and journalists. It also features quite a bit of behind-the-scenes archival footage, which is super cool.

In the end, the film resonated with me on a pretty deep emotional level and showcased how much Fred Rogers was a man either ahead of his time or completely out of time (though there is a segment where he testifies before Congress that shows he was right on time!). If anything, it made me realize that it is totally hip to be square. 

Oh yeah, and you get to see Mister Rogers moonwalking!!!

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I don't surf, but if I did I probably wouldn't use a surfboard wax called "Shark Bait"...

Is it ironic to witness 7 turkey vultures hovering above a McDonald’s in Marin?

Have you ever noticed that cinematic serial killers & psychos only listen to classical/opera or heavy metal? Why is that?