Category: Movies

Every year we make resolutions – as an author, it’s to write more, to keep growing and learning, but how?

Every year we make resolutions – as an author, it’s to write more, to keep growing and learning, but how? Have you ever considered a residency? It’s a getaway that gives you space and the artistic interactions to keep you inspired and motivated. That’s what Storyrocket author, Linda Rodriguez did for the 6th time at Atlantic Center for the Arts. Follow her journey, here’s part 2 of 4 of the blog series and see why she keeps going back for more.

CHILDREN’S SAFETY, INTERNET MONSTERS, FEMINIST EMPOWERMENT Last week I went to a theater to see John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place(2018) so I could have that communal experience Peele talks about and because it was doing so well critically and financially. Also, because after Puerto Rico experienced a post-Apocalyptic situation during the 2017 hurricane season, I’m now interested in seeing if filmmakers get it right.A Quiet Placedoes a pretty good job, except for the electricity and running water, but they hit it on the nail with the emphasis on lack of safety.In fact, Emily Blunt says in an interview title‘A Quiet Place’ leads box office, as horror keeps making noisethat the film is about the difficulty of keeping our children safe. There is a scene that in particular explodes this theme, that is, when the little boy Beau, who innocently is attracted to a toy space shuttle, becomes a target of the “monsters.”A Quiet Placeis a “social thriller”because it metaphorically reflects not only the issue of children’s lack of safety in our schools but another very pressing issue: If you “speak” on any type of social media, in effect, you put yourself in danger of some “electronic-big-eared-big-brother-troll-monster” coming out of their “digital darkness” to “pounce” on you and your private information.Finally,A Quiet Placeis a film about women’s empowerment, but I won’t say anymore in case you have not watched the film yet. Let’s just say, the ending ofA Quiet Placeechoes Rod’s final line inGet Out:“We handle shit. That’s what we do. Consider this situation fuckin’ handled.”Don’t forget to check out the recent re-release ofNight of the Living DeadonThe Criterion Collectionand see all of Jordan Peel’s CNN interview at:‘Get Out’ director: My fear has become my power.

TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING TOGETHER I recently experienced how watching a film together turns on the “communing” and “empathy” and“fun” factor when I improvised an “otherness” double feature for my film students at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. First, we watchedNight of the Living Deadand throughout the show in one class section there was intense silence coupled with nervous jumpiness while in another section there was near-constant loud cheering on of the main character, Ben, played by African-American Duane Jones. So all fun!But the ending was a bad let down for all: When Ben gets unceremoniously shot, and the still photos depicting his body being treated as meat start to come one after another, I could feel the communal shock in both of my classes. One of my students asked empathetically,“Is that it?”Implying: “But he’s the hero, the leader, he worked so hard to survive. The movie can’t possibly end this way.” Well it can, because Romero being himself an “outsider” (he was of Cuban-Lithuanian descent) was reflecting in his casting of Duane Jones and the film’s ending the real-life situation of African-Americans in the 1960s who still lived under the threat of mob lynchings. It’s a part of American history that only now is being revisited in a significant way via this month’s inauguration ofThe National Memorial for Peace and Justice.ForGet Out, Peele chose a very different ending from Romero, a final scene of empowerment. And much of the source of this power is to be found in the unlikely character Rod Williams, played with impeccable timing by Milton“Lil Rel”Howery. Rod is a caring person: He feeds and pampers Sid the dog who suffers from digestive issues and constantly warns his friend, Chris Washington, to leave his girlfriend’s family house.Moreover, Rod uses his intelligence and training as a TSA agent, to find and rescue the hero. And Rod achieves all this without ever throwing a punch or shooting someone. In fact, Rod is never even mean to anyone. He is a good guy who humbly goes about his work, but he is empathetic and resourceful and chooses to act, and I would argue, the film’s true hero.

Jordan Peele has called his recent Oscar winner, Get Out (2017), a “social thriller,”but what does he mean by that? Let’s see…In a recent CNN interview, Peele states that as a child he told a scary story around a campfire (an iconic storytelling image!), and seeing his classmates’ spellbound reaction, he realized that:“Wow! What was my fear, it’s kind of become my power, and wielding that artistry felt good.”In writing the screenplay that became the filmGet Out, Peele wielded the power of storytelling he had discovered as a child to explore 21st-century race relations in the United States. And as he wrote, not far from his mind was the legacy ofGeorge Romero‘s first film, about which he says in the same CNN interview: “50 years ago we had ‘Night of the Living Dead’ which was about race and that should have opened up the conversation for more films in that “social thriller” genre.”As part of this genre, Peele also mentionsRosemary’s Baby(1968) andThe Stepford Wives(1975).Peel ends the CNN interview saying:“There is a need for stories that allow an audience to commune, to come together in a theater, not just at home, but a theater, to experience something together, and for stories that promote that empathy and deal with these sort of untold truths but also provide an escape and a fun time. That’s what I’m committed to doing.”Don’t forget to check out the recent re-release ofNight of the Living DeadonThe Criterion Collectionand see all of Jordan Peel’s CNN interview at:‘Get Out’ director: My fear has become my power.

CRONOS (1993) Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed his first feature,Cronos, when he was only 28 years old. With a budget of $2 million, del Toro shot this unforgettable film in about 8 weeks and it went on to win9 Ariel Awardsin Mexico, theCritic’s Prizeat France’sCannes Film Festival, and many other awards.Cronos, set in Veracruz in 1536, is a re-telling of the vampire-monster myth. While the film’s title alludes to the disturbing story of the Greek deity Cronus, who castrated his father and ate his children, the film’s setting hints at the violence of European colonialism and exploitation of the New World. In 1519, only 19 years before the story told inCronosbegins, on Easter Friday, Hernán Cortés had landed on Mexico’s eastern coast naming itVilla Rica de la Vera Cruzin reference to the gold sources he expected to exploit and Christ’s crucifixion.It’s interesting to note that the same year that del Toro was filmingCronosin Mexico, across the border,Bram Stoker’s Dracula(1992) was mesmerizing audiences in the USA. This film, written byJames V. Hartand directed byFrancis Ford Coppola, as del Toro’sCronos, hooks us in with its opening narrative that integrates historical events with the idea that everlasting life might be more of a curse than a blessing. WhileBram Stoker’s Draculakeeps us glued to our seats staying close to the original 19thcentury European novel, and an exuberant to-die-for-vampire played with relish byGary Oldman, del Toro’s take on Stoker’s mythical creature travels a different route.Del Toro explores the myth through the story of Jesús Gris, loving grandfather, and owner of an antique and art bazaar, and Aurora, his granddaughter. Aurora is speech-less, but apparently only by choice, as toward the film’s end we discover she can speak when she says, “Abuelo.” In her quietness and playfulness (we often see her with her teddy bear and playing hopscotch with her grandfather), the young Aurora anticipates the adult Elisa Esposito inThe Shape of Water.PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006)InPan’s Labyrinththe monstrous has now mutated into the mythical Faun, a half-human-half-beast creature related to the Greek deity Pan, and the Pale Man, cannibalistic devourer of fairies and children. But the most unrelenting monster in this film is Captain Vidal, who like the Richard Strickland character inThe Shape of Water, is driven by his sense of absolute patriarchal superiority to all human “Others” and the wondrous creature he rips out of a South American jungle with some vague aim to exploit in the name of science.Yet, both Captain Vidal and Strickland dismiss the importance of science, so that inPan’s LabyrinthVidal shoots Doctor Ferreiro and inThe Shape of Water, Strickland tortures the Russian scientist instead of helping him after he has been tricked and shot by his own people. But whilePan’s Labyrinthis set in an ultra-nationalist-fascist Spain in 1944 in a farmhouse surrounded by a magical forest, in his latest mythical tale del Toro brings us to the USA and closer to our times.THE SHAPE OF WATER(2017)The screenplay forThe Shape of Waterwas co-written by del Toro andVanessa Taylor,producer, TV, screenwriter, and as a child, a writer of fairy-tales. The story is set in the early 1960s, takes place in an urban setting, Baltimore, and abounds in references to the lack of full civil rights for most Americans and Cadillacs, space exploration, and the Cold War. A great part of the story develops in a secretive research facility that has been infiltrated by a Soviet spy, Dr. Robert Hoffstetler, in a similar fashion as the Manhattan Project had been infiltrated by Klaus Fuchs, a German-born physicist, and a real Soviet spy.But whileThe Shape of Watertackles serious socio-historical issues that we have not yet resolved, in fact, its tag line is “A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times,” the main character, Elisa, retains some of the innocent playfulness of the child characters, Aurora and Ofelia, of the earlier films,CronosandPan’s Labyrinth.Elisa, played by Sally Hawkins, as Aurora inCronos, is playful in more ways than one: In the film’s first scenes we see her pleasuring herself in the bathtub and she spends her free time with a grandfather-like visual artist Giles, with whom she “tap-dances” as they watch Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. And talking about dancing… Elisa, as Ofelia inPan’s Labyrinth, is a Cinderella-type. Certainly, both Elisa and Ofelia are associated with shoes, but even more, they are symbolical of a person neglected by those around them but who eventually, with supernatural help, achieve their full “royal” potential.InPan’s Labyrinth, the final voice-over tells us that Ofelia: “The princess returned to her father’s kingdom.” While the narrator inThe Shape of Waterin the opening monologue calls Elisa: “The princess without a voice.” In the end, Elisa also joins the ranks of the super-natural as she transforms to become consort to her “prince” in his watery kingdom… and then one of her shoes floats away! Perhaps in her new world of expanded potential, Elisa will no longer be concerned with shoes and other restraints. The princess is now all grown up and can choose to wear shoes, or not! Indeed, the last image ofThe Shape of Waterseems to tell us:Times Up!

When I heard that Coco would be screened at the Excélsior theater in the town of Cabo Rojo in Puerto Rico last December, I quickly added the event to my calendar. In the 19th C., the Excélsior began its life as a traditional theater, opening its doors with the premiere of Salvador Brau y Asencio’s playHéroe y Martir(1871). And even though in 2016 it was converted to a cinema, today the Excélsior and the art school next to it housed in a building dating to 1903, strike me as welcomed flashbacks to more romantic and humanitarian times.But the day that I planned to watchCocobegan with an early evening black-out that lasted over 30 hours. Black-outs, or simply no electrical service, is the new normal months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017. In fact, since September 6th, when Hurricane Irma passed just north of the island, my parents who live near San Juan, have not had electrical power.Living with these difficult circumstances, I had really been looking forward to watchingCoco, and also because I had read reviews that spoke about its positive depiction of Hispanics. But with the black-out all around me, I was reluctant, no afraid, to brave the dark road to the theater.THE DIFFICULT ROAD TO COCOI finally got to seeCocoin January 2018, in Germany’s largest cinema, Nuremberg’s Cittecita. It was a midday show on a weekday and the film was screened in its original English-Spanish version. But here we were, a group of people still wanting to seeCocositting in an underground theater within the medieval walls of a city-state that has had its own seismic struggles.Cocois a beautiful re-telling of Theseus’ myth, a descent into “Hell” to fight a “monster” and steal a “treasure.” In this case, the “monster” is Ernesto de la Cruz, a person willing to kill his own friend to achieve celebrity status. The “treasure” is young Miguel’s recovery of his lost legacy, a rich tradition of art, and close family ties. Miguel’s journey to the “underworld” definitely brings back “balance” to his family, especially to the character Coco who is reunited with her father, Héctor, even if only after death. But many of us can take consolation from the thought that we will be reunited with lost loved ones after this life.Cocoalso cemented its wide appeal by incorporating into its story human beings’ best friend, the dog. Miguel’s spirit-companion is a hairless Mexican Xolo dog he names Dante. This dog can travel between the world of the living and the dead. In fact, Dante actively serves as part of the bridge of memories for the dead. In the film, skeletal-after-life-Frida Kahlo recognizes him as her own favorite dog when she was alive, Mr. Xolotl. Dante also serves as a bridge between cultures as he is an ancient breed with ties to the Aztecs and Asia, and by his name, a reference to Italy’s poet Dante Alighieri, author of theDivine Comedy, which like Theseus’ story, also entails a trip to a hellish place.MOVING BEYOND SHARKS TO ALEBRIJESAlso during part of the film, Dante turns into a lively and colorfulalebrije. When I visited Mexico City some years ago, I couldn’t resist these creatures and bought analebrijepainted in aqua green and shocking pink with big eyes, long eyelashes, wings, and a scary fire-red long tongue. After watching the film, I brought out myalebrijefrom a forgotten glass case in my house, dusted her, and placed her in my living room where I can look at her every day. Now I think myalebrijeis a she-dragon, a powerful and protective magical being similar to the one in the film, Pepita, and I feel protected by her as I write this commentary onCoco.It is a positive step forward thatCocorespectfully represents Latin American culture. Now I just ask us to find a way to re-evaluate and re-imagineWest Side Story. For decades this “beautiful” production has grossly tainted the way the world looks at Puerto Ricans. Besides academic studies, I have a personal story that prompts me to state this: My mother and father met in London, England in the late 1950s. At the time when the theatrical version ofWest Side Storywas being performed in a West End theater from 1958 to 1961. My mother was born in London and my father was born in Puerto Rico. When my mother announced she was getting married to my father, a friend of hers told her that all Puerto Ricans were criminals. Of course, this friend had watched or read aboutWest Side Storyand theSharks. The fact isWest Side Story, film, and drama versions, are still very popular and continues to reinforce very negative stereotypes of Hispanics in “America.”We need to keep working on a more balanced representation and portrayal of all minorities in the media. The year 2017 was earth-shattering in many ways. But now this is 2018 and a new year always brings hope. And in Hollywood, this is the time to take aggressive steps on key issues like sexual harassment and pay disparity. The journey ahead of us will still be filled with obstacles, but if Miguel found his way home, so can we.

Hurricanes make great disaster films. It’s hard to look away as people battle the elements. Often many people die in these films, but we don’t really care, or at least don’t care for long, because we are focused on the heroes, and we know they will make it to the end.

Patty Jenkins has been vindicated, but her story follows a disturbingly familiar pattern. She wrote anddirectedMonster(2003) which won a slew of awards and an Oscar forCharlize Theron. In his contemporaryreview ofMonster,Roger Ebertwrote:“Jenkins, the writer-director, has made the best film of the year.”Yet, after that achievement, Jenkins did not direct another feature for over a decade.And now herWonder Womanhas proven that a female Super Hero can more than hold her own! But why should anyone be surprised?Lynda Carter,who portrayed Wonder Woman in the 70’s show, is an adored icon. As part ofLibrary of Awesome,Carter sat at theLibrary of Congressnext to a super-woman in her own right,Dr. Carla Hayden,and gave aninspired talkabout her experiences: Being told other women would not watch an hour-long TV show with a female lead, that many women would outright hate her, and that the show’s producers had hired a man, chest hair and all, to be her stunt double.TheHollywood’s gender-gapchanges very slowly (if at all), but one thing has never changed, girls and women all over the world love the idea of Wonder Woman and bond around it, asAlondra N. Abreu Carlo, a nursing student at theUniversity of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez,said to me,“Girls can do anything they set their mind to…Me and my sisters went to watch the movie together so it was a big deal at my house.”After my own bonding experience with Carter and Hayden via YouTube, I wanted to know more about theLibrary of Congress‘ link to Super Heroes, so I dug in and discovered this institution is amega-serious collectorhousing more than 100,000 comic books! Also the Library holds original artwork for the first American comic-book,Famous Funnies No. 1,which appeared in the 30’s duringThe Great Depression,and the first appearance ofSpider-Manin 1962, the same year JFK gave his inspiredMoon Speech.Wonder Woman is a child of her times, first appearing inAll-Star Comicsat the end of 1941 and on the cover ofSensation Comicsin January 1942. Her birth coincided with the agonies surrounding thePearl Harborattack onDecember 7, 1941. Wonder Woman represented a new heroic human being that would integrate and utilize the best qualities of both sexes, a true(wo)man. Her creator,Dr. William Moulton Marston, was a bohemian psychologist who belonged to a “cult of female sexual power.”Moreover,Jill Lepore, author ofThe Secret History of Wonder Woman(2014) has said that the Wonder Woman character probably began to develop in Dr. Marston’s mind in 1911 when he was a student at Harvard, and this institution was so afraid of thesuffragistEmmeline Pankhurst,that they banned her from speaking on campus.Later in his life, and with the world immersed in the second nihilistic war of his lifetime, Dr. Marston stated,“Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world.”So if our Super Heroes rise out of specific historical circumstances, I ask, “Why now a first stand alone, big budget-high-production-values Wonder Woman Super Hero movie?”You might say,“Hey, it’s just “silly” entertainment!”And yes,Wonder Womandoes follow some well-entrenched tropes in fantastical girl stories: On her journey, Diana travels with somewhat “broken” companions as Dorothy inThe Wizard of Oz(Sameer, Charlie, Chief = Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, making Steve Trevor akin to Toto), Etta Candy, Trevor’s secretary, functions as a Fairy Godmother helping her “protégé” find the perfect dress for the “ball” and Dr. Maru, a chemist and clearly the most formally educated person in the story, is relegated to play the jealousWitchin Disney’sSnow White(1937). (BTW: I do hope Dr. Maru’s character gets more developed in future installments). But in spite of some short-comings,Wonder Womanpresents a heart-felt allegorical story that condemns the atrocities of war, criticizes violence as a means to solving problems, highlights the evils stemming from racism, and shows how even in London, England it wasn’t that long ago when women did not have full civil rights, could not vote, and were banned from male-dominated social and political arenas.Finally, speaking about social and political arenas,Dr.Kyle William Bishopwrites in his book,American Zombie Gothic, thatNight of the Living Dead(1968) functions as “allegorical condemnation of the atrocities of Vietnam, violent racism, and the opposition to the civil rights movement.” (pg. 14). That “silly” piece of entertainment, directed and co-written by Cuban-AmericanGeorge Romero,was released nearly 50 years ago and has since then become a significant American cultural artifact chosen in 1999 by theLibrary of Congressfor preservation in theNational Film Registry,as“culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”and in 2016 fully restored by NYC’sMoMA.I don’t know what the next 50 years hold forJenkinandGadot‘sWonder Woman, but for now, I highly recommend going to see the film and enjoy it as entertainment. But also think about the historical circumstances that have helped birth an updated version of a beloved feminist icon in the protest-wracked summer of 2017.