Everything that could go wrong does
I was very much late to the airport after some confusion by my driver whom I had to forgive immediately because it was my Dad. The fact that the TSA seemed to read my flight details at the end of the pre-check line without as much as a flinch gave me some comfort. And indeed, I was able to push myself and all my stuff to the gate without a problem, just in time to have a trip to the bathroom before landing in line at exactly the right time for my boarding group. We had turbulence worse than I can remember since the 80s, when it seemed that was a regular thing. I was also seated very close to a crying baby. However, that did not stop me from enjoying as many movies as humanly possible in the time aloft.
Here are a few of the new films I’ll be reviewing here for your enjoyment, with apologies for those of you who dislike spoilers. On the whole, I was surprised how good most of these films were. I love anything that can keep my mind off of the fact that we’re so high in the air in tight quarters. 1) Dead Man’s Wire 2) Arco 3) Rosemead 4) Rental Family
Dead Man’s Wire - A real life very clever drama
Are you a fan of movies based on real events? This one was intriguing because its story feels like the father of the Luigi Mangione happening of recent times. They did a great job of keeping the cinematography in the 70s when it really happened. Here are some spoilers of what I loved about this film:
No one dies, but they really kept you on the edge of your seat.
I don’t think I even saw any fake blood.
All the characters are so relatable. All of them, even the police were people I liked. I love to find movies where the characters are all believable and fully fleshed out.
I didn’t know this story until this movie because I was too young to have heard about it. But I have to say, this is the first time I’ve seen a movie that portrays a very clever yet fallible person that is able to escape jail because of an insanity plea without allowing himself to seem to be guilty of taking advantage of this “loophole” in the system. In fact it feels like the system still failed him because he was so ethical about the sentence that he would not admit that he had any mental health issue even if it meant he would have to stay institutionalized for many more years.
We need more films like this that look at these odd places in our history that make us think about what does and doesn’t work in our current mental health and/or justice system.
Instagram related link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DR0NT8wkfs4/
Arco - Futuristic Animation with Rainbows that Time Travel
The story of this one is incredible in a wonderful way. Have you ever witnessed a double rainbow? I’m not talking about a rainbow that is on top of another, but two that span the whole sky and touch somewhere closer to the ground. This story is surprisingly touching and does something most other time travel movies neglect- explaining the mechanism of time travel in such a visual and stunning way. Here’s some spoilers about this movie that I loved:
All characters in this film are adorable, with even robots and many other odd characters eventually being very much helpful to the community. I can’t help but notice this futuristic film is so light-hearted, whereas so many take the route of being post-apocalyptic. This is a refreshing change.
This film answers the question of if time travel is so easy to access in the future that even children can do it, how many children could go missing and what kinds of supports could there be to prevent it?
There was a love triangle between three of the children in the film, and many of the older characters in the film seemed to have a kind of voyeuristic enjoyment of watching the children interact. This made me feel some kind of way about what this was supposed to mean.
A lot of the children in both times seemed to have a lot more autonomy than I’m used to. There was a lot of trust with these robots to care for children, and this Anime styled animation feels like a perfect fit for our love of staying young and caring for children.
Related link to Arco: https://www.neonrated.com/film/arco
Rosemead - a brutal look at a local Asian family affected by SZ
Here’s my spoiler for this film- an Asian mother who has cancer kills her son who has schizophrenia. I don’t recommend it primarily because it was difficult to watch.
Rotten Tomatoes related link: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rosemead
Rental Family - Within Japan, people can buy emotional relationships
I was surprised to enjoy this film very much. There’s something about it that is whimsical like Amelie, where the joy of building relationships with people make you hunger for emotional adventures. Here’s my take on the best parts:
I love the idea that you can hold a funeral for someone that is feeling so sick of life that they need others to tell you why they loved you. This is one of the first scenes, and why is this not more common to support people who might otherwise feel suicidal?
This film embraces people at two vulnerable ages, as children and as seniors. By being available to people at their times of need, by being someone who can set aside their own egos and truly listen, this film shines a light on ways to pay forward the gift of acting well and doing the right thing.
People live so close together while sharing space in a big city. It is too easy to feel lonely in a crowded room... This film tries to fill in those empty spaces with love.
My favorite scene is him as the toothpaste hero.
Outro- Thank you for being a loyal reader!
I’m always looking for new topics to talk about. Please feel free to share ideas with me about what you think I could focus on next. Thank you for reading this!
I hope that if you are flying out anywhere for any reason that you have a safe and speedy trip to where you want to be. Much love and best wishes.
