TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Indigenous

Showing posts with label Indigenous. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Review: "PREY" is the Best "Predator" Sequel to Date

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 of 2023 (No. 1944) by Leroy Douresseaux

Prey (2022)

Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong bloody violence

DIRECTOR: Dan Trachtenberg

WRITERS: Patrick Aison; from a story by Patrick Aison and Dan Trachtenberg (based on the characters created by Jim Thomas and John Thomas)

PRODUCERS: John Davis, Marty Ewing, and Jhane Myers,

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeff Cutter (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Claudia Castello and Angela M. Catanzaro

COMPOSER: Sarah Schachner

SCI-FI/THRILLER

Starring: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope, Stefany Mathias, Bennett Taylor, and Mike Paterson

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REVIEW SUMMARY:

--Prey is by far the best Predator sequel, and it is one of 2022's best films.

--The Canadian landscape where this movie was filmed is an equal character in the story while offering magnificent vistas and breathtaking beauty.

--The first half of the film is a tense suspense thriller that builds a sense of mystery similar to that of the original Predator film.

--The second half of the film is an explosion of brutal violence and heart-stopping duels that leads to a showstopping finale. I highly-recommend it.

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Prey is a 2022 science fiction thriller film directed by Dan Trachtenberg. It is the fifth film in the main Predator film franchise, which began with the 1987 film, Predator, and the seventh in the overall franchise (when the “AvP” films are counted). Prey is a prequel to the four main Predator movies, and it is a direct-to-streaming film that was released as a “Hulu original film.” Prey is set in the early 18th century and pits a young Comanche woman who wants to prove that she is a warrior by taking on a mysterious creature that slaughters everything in its path.

Prey opens in the Northern Great Plains in September 1719. Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman, has trained as a healer, but she wants to be a hunter like her older brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers). To that end, Naru wants to embark on a “kühtaamia,” which requires her to hunt something that is hunting her.

While tracking deer, Naru witnesses strange lights in the sky, which she believes to be a “Thunderbird,” the legendary creature of Native American folklore. However, the strange lights are actually an alien ship dropping a Predator (Dane DiLiegro), something her people have never encountered. Now, Naru, Taabe, and their tribe's other hunters must take on a Predator that is the ultimate hunter. If she cannot defeat the Predator, she will lose her life and her tribe will fall as well.

I have been interested in seeing Prey since I first heard about it, but I wasn't subscribing to Hulu when it debuted, nor do I currently subscribe to it. However, my friend and collaborator, Carter Allen, an illustrator, concept designer, and comic book creator, sent me a copy of the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray edition via Amazon.

Now, having seen it, I think it is a shame that Prey did not receive a theatrical release. It's cinematography captures the beautiful vast forest locations outside Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where this movie was shot, in a way that should be seen on a big screen. The landscape is an equal character in the film, even more so than it has been in previous Predator films. Prey's director, Dan Trachtenberg, uses the landscape to make his film feel real and to have weight and depth and not come across as if it were some kind of action or video game fantasy.

Prey is the best sequel to 1987's Predator, easily surpassing what I think is the previous best sequel, 2010's Predators. In some ways, the combatants in Prey seem more authentic and the action more visceral than in the first film. The fights are brutal and up-close-and-personal. Flesh is slashed and chopped into raw meat, and bodies are pierced, penetrated, and ruptured with artistic precision. Heads are lopped off, and limbs aren't far behind. The Predator of Prey does not kill from on high, shooting death rays as the original Predator did. In Prey, the Predator moves in for the kill in a way that is similar to what Logan/Wolverine did to the mercenaries in the X-Men film, X2 (2003). Also, the costume and creature design for Prey's Predator is as much horror movie killer as it is sci-fi monster. In some ways, he seems garbed as a super-villain.

Amber Midthunder as Naru and Dakota Beavers as Taabe give outstanding performances. Their characters are well written, and Patrick Aison's script is ambitious enough to give the actors the opportunity to explore their characters, which they do. Midthunder is mesmerizing and fierce as Naru, and she makes me care about her journey every step of the way.

I'm surprised. Prey easily exceeded my expectations. I hope that future Predator films are as ambitious as this one. In the meantime, I pray for a sequel to Prey.

9 of 10

A+

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

You can buy a copy of the PREY Blu-ray at AMAZON.

Discover Carter Allen's latest graphic novel, Ectyron vs. Des Moines here.

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Thursday, October 5, 2023

Review: "THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF" is Crazy (Literally), Sexy, Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pacte des loups, Le (2001)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France; Language: French, German, Italian

The Brotherhood of the Wolf (2002) – USA title

Running time: 142 minutes (2 hours, and 22 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence, gore, and sexuality/nudity

DIRECTOR: Christophe Gans

WRITERS: Stephane Cabel and Christophe Gans

PRODUCERS: Richard Grandpierre and Samuel Hadida

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dan Laustsen

EDITORS: Xavier Loutreuil, Sébastien Prangère, and David Wu

COMPOSER: Joseph LoDuca

DRAMA/HISTORICAL AND HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of adventure

Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier, Mark Dacascos, Jean Yanne, Jean-Francois Stévenin, and Jacques Perrin

Le Pacte des loups is a 2001 French period film, action and horror movie directed by Christophe Gans. The film was released in the United States in early 2002 by Universal Pictures under the title, The Brotherhood of the Wolf (the title by which I will refer to this film in this review). The film's plot is loosely based on the legend of the “beast of Gévaudan” and a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century. The Brotherhood of the Wolf focuses on a French knight and his Native American companion who are sent to investigate the mysterious slaughter of hundreds of people by an unknown creature in the county of Gévaudan.

At the beginning of The Brotherhood of the Wolf, Old Thomas d'Apcher (Jacques Perrin) recounts a fantastic fable/story of his youth. It is France of 1765, and the King sends two envoys to the Gevaudan province (which no longer exists) to investigate a series of brutal murders of which the locals believe is committed by a mysterious beast. The envoys are the Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), a naturalist, and his companion, Mani (Mark Dacascos), a Mohawk Iroquois shaman of New France (Canada). They arrive in Gevandan to find the provincials bigoted and superstitious, even in the midst of the death all around them.

Among the colorful cast of characters include a mysterious and powerful priest, Henri Sardis (Jean-Francois Stevenin), and a sly and dangerous one-armed hunter, Jean Francois de Morangias (Vincent Cassel). The young Thomas d’Apcher (Jeremie Renier) becomes a hunting companion of Fronsac and Mani. Two strong female characters compete for the attentions of the virile and intelligent Fronsac: Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), Jean Francois’s beautiful younger sister, and the nubile and hypnotic courtesan Sylvia (Monica Bellucci). As Fronsac and Mani pierce the veil of mystery and terror that covers the province, intrigue and deceit surround them, and the beast continues to kill.

Directed by Christophe Gans, The Brotherhood of the Wolf bends genres as easily as the film’s beast tears through its victims. Horror, thriller, western, martial arts, and mystery, the film is filled with suspense, terror, romance, eroticism, and political intrigue. It is at times intoxicating and mind bending and at other times, languid and thoughtful. It is difficult to categorize, but the movie is largely fantasy and action, but different from most of the movies that both genres recall.

Fronsac is a man of reason who sees a human conspiracy behind the killings that is darker and more insidious than any beast of Hell. Still, this man of science also understands the mystic worldview and belief system of his friend and blood brother, Mani. Fronsac is enlightenment’s soldier against the backward and ignorant peasants and nobles of Gevaudan. The provincials fear the ways of a city like Paris, and Sardis and Jean Francois resent the capital’s intrusion into their world. They disdain the confidence and intelligence of the King’s envoys. The beast is a physical manifestation of the provincials superstitions, isolationism, hatred, and evil that feeds upon the populace, and the creature resists the authority of the government.

The movie’s creature is a computer-generated image (CGI); at its best is fearsome. At its worst, the creature, especially during some daylight scenes, is hokey. However, Gans wisely holds revealing the beast in scenes that go by so quickly that we rarely get a good look at it. Sometimes, just the unseen beast’s roars, growls, and footsteps are enough to set the heart racing.

Le Bihan as Fronsac is strong and strongly confident. He is the romantic lead upon which the audience hitches its wagon. When he and Mani arrive early in the movie, after the film’s opening murder, they appear in a driving rainstorm, masked minutemen with the presence of demigods. Mani’s assault upon the villagers recalls fight scenes from The Matrix, but his are down to earth and more physical, more visceral; the threat of danger to him from the attackers is much greater. Decascos is mostly very good on the screen as Mani, though a few bits of his screen time are a little flat. When Gans unleashes him late in the movie, Decascos is a beautiful force a nature, a small storm in human guise tearing through his antagonists.

Vincent Cassel’s Jean Francois is the serpentine equal to Fronsac. He dominates all of his screen time, except for his scenes with Fronsac, in which both must share the screen. The movie nearly bursts from having to contain both their magnetic presences. They alone are worth the price of admission, but the rest of the cast, both veterans and newcomers, make the most of their roles.

Although a little long, The Brotherhood of the Wolf is wonderful; a dark horse, it is one of the best films of the year 2001. Gans and his screenwriting partner, Stephane Cabel, created a script that melds raw action with social intrigue, and the result is quite an accomplishment. The Brotherhood of the Wolf is plainly good entertainment. Not quite high art, it is eye candy that is very smart and very fun.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited: Wednesday, October 4, 2023

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Friday, June 9, 2023

Book Review: "THE WAY OF THE BEAR" Takes the Readers Deep into Greed and Murder

THE WAY OF THE BEAR – (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel #8)

HARPERCOLLINS

AUTHOR: Anne Hillerman

ISBN: 978-0-06-290839-1; hardcover (April 25, 2023)

286pp, B&W, $30.00 U.S., $37.50 CAN

The Way of the Bear: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel is a 2023 hardcover original novel from author Anne Hillerman. It is the eighth novel in her “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” book series, which began with Spider Woman's Daughter (2013).

This series is a continuation of the “Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Series” written by Hillerman's late father, bestselling author, Tony Hillerman (1925-2008). The father's novels are the basis for “Dark Winds,” a television series from the cable network, AMC, and its streaming service, AMC+. In The Way of the Bear, Chee and Manuelito find themselves caught up in a case that involves fossil harvesting, greed, rejected love, and murder.

The Way of the Bear opens in December. Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito and her husband, Sgt. Jim Chee, have traveled to San Juan County, Utah to the place known as “the Valley of the Gods,” near the Bears Ears National Monument. Chee is on assignment for the Navajo Nation Police Department, and his job is to convince Dr. Chapman “Chap” Dulles, a wealthy fossil hunter and paleontologist., to donate money to a fallen Navajo police officers fund.

Bernie has gone along on the trip and uses the time to visit Bears Ears for relaxation, contemplation, and exploration. This has been a difficult time in her life for both personal and professional reasons. While there, she has a terrifying encounter involving a pickup truck that tries to run her down. One of the truck's passengers even shoots at her. And after that, Bernie helps a young couple deliver their baby in the middle of the night.

However, an unexpected death on a lonely road outside of Bears Ears for raises questions for Bernie and Chee. They didn't plan on being involved in a murder, but they also wonder why a seasoned outdoorsman and well-known paleontologist freezes to death within walking distance of his car? A second death, and apparent murder, brings more turmoil and mystery. Who is the unidentified man killed during a home invasion where nothing much seems to have been taken? Why was he murdered?

The Bears Ears area, at the edge of the Navajo Nation, is celebrated for its abundance of early human habitation sites and for the discovery of unique and revolutionary fossils. Instead of being able to appreciate all this, Bernie and Chee are faced with an unprecedented level of violence that sweeps them both into danger.

THE LOWDOWN: I have been crazy about Anne Hillerman's work since I first read Spider Woman's Daughter. I had read two of her late father, Tony Hillerman's novels a long time ago, so I requested a review copy of Spider Woman's Daughter from HarperCollins when it was offered to reviewers back in 2013. It was a fortuitous decision, as the “Manuelito, Chee & Leaphorn” series became one of my favorite modern literary series.

When I read the previous novel in the series, 2022's The Sacred Bridge, I didn't know if I should call it a turning point in the series, but the story did suggest that big changes were ahead for both Bernie and Chee. Joe Leaphorn did not appear in The Sacred Bridge, nor does he appear in The Way of the Bear, except indirectly, and Hillerman continues to hint at big changes for him.

Like The Sacred Bridge, The Way of the Bear is a solid crime thriller, and at times, a riveting suspense thriller. In this new novel, Bernie and Chee's lives are constantly under threat – sometimes in unexpected ways. There is level of danger, menace, and peril that I don't remember encountering in earlier novels. However, the entries in this series always seem to be moving the characters forward. Nothing is stale, and the lives of Bernie and Chee are ongoing and evolving. Even with the danger this story imposes on them, the narrative also gives us a deeper look into them.

As I have done with the previous books, I am heartily recommending The Way of the Bear. The more I read, the more I learn about Bernie and Chee, and the more attached to them that I become. As always, I am sad about reaching the end of the story, doubly so this time because it was just a year ago that I read The Sacred Bridge. The best recommendation that I can give The Way of the Bear is to tell you, dear readers, that I would like to read another book in the series right now.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Anne Hillerman and of her late father, Tony Hillerman, will want to read The Way of the Bear.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.annehillerman.com/

https://twitter.com/harperbooks

https://www.instagram.com/harperbooks/

https://twitter.com/HarperCollins

https://www.harpercollins.com/

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Monday, November 14, 2022

Book Review: "THE SACRED BRIDGE" Offers Murder Most Foul x 2

THE SACRED BRIDGE – (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel #7)

HARPERCOLLINS

AUTHOR: Anne Hillerman

ISBN: 978-0-06-290836-0; hardcover (April 12, 2022)

336pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S., $33.50 CAN

The Sacred Bridge: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel is a 2022 hardcover original novel from author Anne Hillerman. It is the seventh novel in her “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” book series, which began with Spider Woman's Daughter (2013).

This series is a continuation of the “Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Series” written by Hillerman's late father, bestselling author, Tony Hillerman (1925-2008). The original series is the basis for “Dark Winds,” a television series from the cable network, AMC, and its streaming service, AMC+. In The Sacred Bridge, Chee and Manuelito each investigate an unusual murder.

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito and her husband, Sgt. Jim Chee, are enjoying a vacation, but Bernie leaves early. Jim Chee’s stay in beautiful Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell has a deeper purpose. He is on a quest to unravel a sacred mystery his mentor, the legendary police officer, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, stumbled across decades earlier. Chee's journey takes a dark turn when, after a prayerful visit to the sacred Rainbow Bridge, he spots a body floating in Lake Powell. The dead man is Curtis Walker, a Navajo with a passion for the canyon’s ancient rock art. However, Curtis lived a life filled with many secrets, including an affair with a married woman and double-crossing one or more potential business partners. In his mission to discover why Curtis died and who is responsible, Chee's will put his own life at risk.

Back at their home base of Shiprock, Bernie is driving home when she witnesses a black Mercedes sedan purposely kill a hitchhiker. The search to find the killer leads her into an undercover investigation at KHF – “K'é Happy Farm,” a cannabis farming operation that was supposed to benefit the Navajo Nation. However, the place is surrounded by mystery and rumors and also reports that workers are shooting dogs. Even the guy who is supposed to own the place, Dino Begay Perez, is missing. Bernie discovers a dangerous chain of interconnected revelations involving KHF. It is an evil that jeopardizes both her mother and sister, Darleen, and puts Bernie in the deadliest situation of her law enforcement career.

I don't know if I would call The Sacred Bridge a turning point in the series, but the story does suggest that big changes are ahead for both Bernie and Chee. While Joe Leaphorn does not appear in the novel (although he plays an indirect part in the plot), Hillerman also hints of a big change for him.

Of all the books in this series, The Sacred Bridge is the one that I would most describe as a crime thriller or a suspense thriller. Both mysteries that confront the lead characters are filled with danger, and it seems that their lives are always under threat. It is not a spoiler to say that both come close to being killed, and Chee's case is filled with heartbreak that will vex some of the characters long after the story ends. In Bernie's case, the characters end with hope and reunion.

As I have done with the previous books, I am heartily recommending The Sacred Bridge. As usual, I was sad when I finished the last page. I always want more, and, dear readers, if you give this book a chance, you will want more, also.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Anne Hillerman and of her late father, Tony Hillerman, will want to read The Sacred Bridge.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.annehillerman.com/

https://twitter.com/harperbooks

https://www.instagram.com/harperbooks/

https://twitter.com/HarperCollins

https://www.harpercollins.com/

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Friday, November 11, 2022

Review: "BLACK PANTHER: Wakanda Forever" is the Best Marvel Movie in Years

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 of 2022 (No. 1881) by Leroy Douresseaux

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Running time: 161 minutes
MPA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action and some language
DIRECTOR: Ryan Coogler
WRITERS: Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole; from a story by Ryan Coogler (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Nate Moore
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Autumn Durald Arkapaw (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Kelley Dixon, Jennifer Lame, and Michael P. Shawver
COMPOSER: Ludwig Göransson

SUPERHERO/ACTION/SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Cole, Alex Livinalli, Mabel Cadena, Richard Schiff, Robert John Burke, Lake Bell, Manuel Chavez, Maria Mercedes Coroy, Divine Love Konadu-Sun, Trevor Noah (voice), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael B. Jordan

[Emotionally super-charged and possessing some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's greatest battles, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is Marvel Studios' best film in over three years.]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a 2022 superhero, fantasy-drama, science fiction, and action movie directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Marvel Studios. The film is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, Black Panther, and is the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is based on the Marvel Comics character, Black Panther, that first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (cover dated: July 1966) and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Wakanda Forever finds Wakanda in mourning following the death of its king while also facing a threatening world and a mysterious new adversary.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in the African nation of Wakanda as King T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) dies from a mysterious illness. One year later, his mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), must face the United Nations, as world powers demand access to Wakanda's most precious resource, the metal Vibranium. One particular nation even hires mercenaries to invade a Wakandan outpost in order to steal its vibranium, but they are foiled by Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje, the King of Wakanda's personal guard.

However, the American CIA's attempt to find vibranium on its own draws the attention of a mysterious new adversary, known by many names, but is called “Namor” (Tenoch Huerta) by his enemies. Namor leads the forces of his kingdom, Talokan, in a strike against the Americans. He confronts Ramonda and Shuri (Letitia Wright), Ramonda's daughter and T'Challa's younger sister, as they grieve. He demands that they find the scientist who created the Americans' vibranium detecting device and kill him. The him turns out to be a her, a Chicago-based teen named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). Now, Shuri and Ramonda must gather allies, including T'Challa's ex-lover, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), and M'Baku (Winston Duke), leader of the Wakandan border tribe, the Jibari, in order to fight off the forces of Namor, which are more than capable of destroying Wakanda and perhaps, the world. Can Wakanda survive without its champion, the Black Panther, or must another arise?...

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a triumphant – a poignant triumphant and a superhero action movie triumph. It is much better than I expected and that I could have hoped for. Wakanda Forever is the most emotionally honest, genuine, and heartfelt Marvel Studios film since Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The fight scenes are some of the best outside of martial arts films, and the action and battles scenes are Avengers-level.

Angela Bassett stands astride this film, which is both a eulogy to Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther and also a powerful and successful attempt to forge ahead with the franchise. Bassett, as regal and as dramatically potent as she has ever been, is glorious, and it time for her to receive the Oscar win she should have had ages ago. She exemplifies the grief in the film for half its narrative.

Letitia Wright exemplifies that grief the rest of the way. Wright also shows impressive range – playing Shuri as obstinate and angry in the face of her brother's death. [That death is depicted in Wakanda Forever's opening moments, and the audience with which I saw this film was stunned into silence.] Wright plays Shuri's turn to the “dark side” with the depth of performance that usually earns actors some award season notice. She is truly the lead in Wakanda Forever, and she carries it with the flair of a veteran, accomplished actor.

I also had high hopes for Tenoch Huerta as Namor, and he easily surpasses them. Huerta makes Namor seem so real that his murderous inclinations come across as entirely appropriate for that which Namor is fighting and defending. Huerta's performance also works to uplift the other actors playing denizens of the kingdom of Talokan.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is filled so much good stuff. The costumes, art direction, make-up and hair, cinematography, and editing are all … well, Oscar-worthy. Ludwig Göransson's score is a masterpiece of tones both subtle and tremendous and is easily on the level of Hans Zimmer's award-winning score for Dune: Part One (2021).

I don't want this review to run-on too long... If I could speak to Ryan Coogler, I would tell him that already loved him for his film, Fruitvale Station, and that he made me love him even more after the first Black Panther. I don't have the words to describe how great an accomplishment Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is. Coogler honored his friend and partner, Chadwick Boseman, as well as he could, and he made a truly great and magnificent film. It honors Boseman and reveals how much respect Coogler has for his audience via the film art he creates. I am giving Black Panther: Wakanda Forever my highest recommendation.

10 of 10

Friday, November 11, 2022

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