I finally finished Poor Things and, wouldn't you know, it grew on me. Or maybe it was just Emma Stone's amazing acting that finally reached me. There were some funny moments, some great cinematography (particularly when she and Max were walking down the lane and it showed each with the background leaves and tree kaleidoscope blurry), and even some touching moments.
Well, I'll complain one more time and then you're done hearing about it until the end of July - my knees are killing me, and playing goal this morning was incredibly painful, probably the worst since before my hip replacement. I wasn't sure I could even put on my goalie pads. My non-twisted right knee hurt the most. Wonder if that's because I've been favoring my left knee? Luckily, my team spent most of the time in the other end. I still gave up 6 goals and we lost, 6-4.
I think I just need to stay off them for a bit. I'm sorry doggos, but this means no long walks in the Fells for a few days. I probably should ice them both. I didn't realize they were doing so poorly, so for the rest of #today, I'll take it easy. If A will let me have the big screen TV, I'll just to get back to my #Oscars movie watching. I really want to see Anatomy of a Fall and American Fiction, although I suppose I should force myself to finish Poor Things. #movies@movies
Nice essay by @DavidKlion in the Nation about Jonathan Glazer's speech.
"For those of us who appreciate The Zone of Interest in the spirit Glazer in which intended it, and who share his basic perspective on Gaza, what’s additionally striking is how measured his remarks were. Glazer did not demand a free Palestine from the river to the sea, did not comment on whether Zionism is inherently racist, and did not deny the suffering of Israelis on October 7 (in fact, he cast them as victims of the occupation, just as Palestinians are). All he did was attempt to reclaim Jewish identity and Holocaust memory from their propagandistic use in the service of Israel’s military campaign, and to suggest that the lessons of the Holocaust might apply to atrocities committed by Jews and not only those committed against Jews. The ferocious response suggests that Glazer’s critics now recognize themselves in Rudolf and Hedwig Höss, and they’ll never forgive Glazer for that."
The fact that ANY non-white straight male story gets even made is nothing short of a miracle in that ecosystem. (and then to put marketing $$ behind AND campaigned - oh boy)
And hollywood is going to get even more risk averse.
In short, Please shout of loud from the rooftops about movies you love. Stories centering women, PoC, Queers, mixing genres and tones and themes, critiquing the empires - celebrate them like the miracles they are. They almost never get made.
And important note, because such movies usually don't get financial confidence, you can't expect them to "find you" like the way blockbusters do i.e. there is no marketing budgets
So you can't just watch the movies that find you and feel dissatisfied.
You got to FIND THE movies. Meet them in middle. Follow film festival reviews, project announcements. If you wait for trailer on sunday tv or billboards.......self fulfilling prophecy.
A few years ago, Obama humiliated Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner. People laughed AT Trump. He was publicly humiliated. His racist blood was boiling. Tonight, Jimmy Kimmel publicly humiliated Trump at the Oscar’s. The audience cheered when he said it was “past your jail time”. I wish more people would do that. It’s Trump’s weakness. #Oscars #TrumpForPrison
#Artists4Ceasefire / Oscar Winner Jonathan Glazer Said What No One Else Dared to Say
“Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst… Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza.” --- Jonathan Glazer
The global condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza following the events of October 7th seems to have shaken the confidence of many Israelis who still believe they are on the right side of history. Rather than provoking self-reflection, this widespread criticism appears to be causing most of them to double down on self-pity and the dehumanization of Palestinians.
Noa Tishby is back, and she appears to have descended into genocide denialism or, at best, has become an apologist for genocide.
"If you call for a #ceasefire without calling for the release of the captives - you are advancing #Hamas' agenda and casting doubt on Israel's right to self-defense"
Her attempts to justify, downplay or explain away Israel's brutal actions in Gaza, which have been widely condemned as disproportionate and barbaric by the international community, are deeply troubling. By dismissing well-documented human rights violations and the suffering inflicted on Palestinian civilians, she is engaging in a form of historical revisionism that whitewashes state violence against an oppressed population.
Others recognize that Israel's expectation that the world will remember October 7th but forget everything that happened since then, or anything since 1948, is simply pathetic. Israel's persistent brushing aside of Palestinian suffering and denial of historical realities is making it increasingly isolated, even among many of its traditional allies and supporters in the Jewish diaspora who were horrified by the barbarity on display in Gaza. Fewer and fewer are willing to reflexively identify with or defend Israel's actions these days.