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Flash Movie Review: Elemental
WHEN SHE TOLD ME SHE AND her family were planning to move to the city, I was surprised. Not that there was anything wrong with the city where we both were born; however, it was not the trend anyone in the family was doing. As far as I knew, both families and friends were moving further and further north and west of the city. I did not understand the trend, assumed it was following new construction. Nevertheless, when I asked my relative why they were moving from the suburbs back to the city, she said she did not want her children to grow up in a neighborhood like she had when she was small. Seeing the confusion on my face, she explained to me that there was nothing wrong with her childhood neighborhood, but it was not the real world. Almost everyone she knew growing up was the same religion and race; there was little diversity, and she wanted her kids to be exposed to people from all parts of the world. Thinking about my childhood home, I began to understand what she was trying to do. The neighborhood she planned on moving to was known as a diverse neighborhood; it was a conglomeration of various ethnic and religious groups. Instead of buying a house, she and her husband decided to buy a three flat, so the kids would learn the ways of living with neighbors. I had to admire my relative’s determination in creating a meaningful life lesson for her children. I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS RELATIVE WHEN I was living on my own. One of my first places to live was in a two flat in the city. I lived on the 2nd floor; the landlord and his family on the first. In one of the hotspots of the world our two religions were at war; however, here in the city we were friendly and neighborly with no issues. In fact, we both were curious to learn about the other’s customs and beliefs. I could not help but think about what my relative was trying to achieve with her children, to instill respect and acceptance in people who were not the same as themselves. It really was an admirable goal. My thoughts triggered a memory I had from elementary school, when a new student was introduced to our class. They were the first person of color to be enrolled at my school. Most of the students treated this new student like any other new student; but I can remember a few classmates who used to tease this new student. Those kids could have used my relative’s guidance in how to treat people. HER FAMILY WAS FROM FIRE AND his from water; two unlikely residents of the city who discovered the things they were led to believe all these years about the other were not necessarily true. With the city in danger, could they overcome their differences to help protect the residents in peril. With Leah Lewis (The Half of It, How to Deter a Robber) voicing Ember, Mamoudou Athie (Underwater, Jurassic: World Dominion) voicing Wade Ripple, Ronnie Del Carmen (Inside Out, Soul) voicing Bernie, Shila Ommi (The Illegal, Tehran-TV) voicing Cinder and Wendi McLendon-Lovey (Bridesmaids, Reno 911! -TV) voicing Gale; this latest animated Pixar film had a beautiful message about immigrants and diversity. I appreciated how the writers spun these themes into the story. The visuals were interesting and at times stunning; however, compared to other movies of the same ilk, this one did not overwhelm me. I did not get a strong sense of contrasts in the emotional and dramatic scenes. There was decent humor but nothing memorable. This comedy, adventure movie’s strength was the story line; it was sweet and charming, with a touch of insightfulness to stimulate the viewer’s mindset.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
WHAT I THOUGHT WAS SNOW FLOATING in the summer air was explained to me to be cottonwood seeds. It did not really matter because what attracted me to watch them was the way they randomly moved on the currents of air, slow motion fluffiness with no sense of direction. I was fascinated with flying; it did not matter if I was imagining doing it alone like a superhero or sitting in a plane, peering out the window at the moving landscape below. Looking at the cottonwood seeds, I wanted their ability to be lighter than air and let the currents carry me wherever they wanted to take me. Living on the 3rdfloor of an apartment building provided me with a unique view of air’s power. Seeing the tops of trees swaying and bending in the wind as if they were bowing and curtsying allowed me to visualize the wind’s path coming through my neighborhood. I can still remember being taught how to make a paper airplane then going out on our back porch; so, I could throw it into the air and watch it twist and turn, as it sailed towards the ground. Of course, I would then have to run down 3 flights of stairs to retrieve it then walk back up so I could fling the paper plane over the porch bannister again, out into the wind. FROM PAPER AIRPLANES, I GRADUATED TO flying kites. My first kite was made of a tissue type paper in a light red color. I loved holding it up behind me while running, waiting for it to catch enough wind to rise into the air. One of my favorite places to do this was at the beach, despite the peril of the kite possibly catching a “bad” wind that would force it to spiral down into the lake. However, seeing my kite extend out over the lake always made me happy. Once I had mastered the art of flying a kite, I started to add homemade tails of cloth to the bottoms of my collection of kites. The tails made it easier for me to keep track of my flying kite when there were other kites nearby in the air. And in case you were wondering, it did cross my mind once to tie a key to the kite to see if I could get lightning to strike it. I wonder if this could be one of the reasons why I have always enjoyed sitting and watching a thunderstorm? The wind has provided me with an endless source of enjoyment, both in reality and my imagination; but I do not hold a candle to what the young boy did in this drama. WITH THE VILLAGERS STARVING FOR FOOD during a bad drought, one boy was dreaming of a way he could help. Based on a true story, this film starred Chiwetel Ejiofer (12 Years a Slave, Doctor Strange) as Trywell Kamkwamba, newcomer Maxwell Simba as William Kamkwamba, Lily Banda (Deep State-TV) as Annie Kamkwamba, Aissa Maiga (Black and White, Anything for Alice) as Agnes Kamkwamba and Raymond Ofula (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Jacob’s Cross-TV) as Mister Ofesi. This movie was a film festival winner and it deserved it because Chiwetel not only starred in it, he wrote and directed the movie. The story was incredible, and I thought as a newcomer Maxwell was a veteran of acting, he was that good. Now I will say the story is predictable, but I did not care; everything I was seeing seemed authentic and real. It also did not go unnoticed by me how one could see parallels between then and now with governments and science. The script was spoken mostly in English but there were several scenes where Arabic and Nyanja were spoken with English subtitles. This picture reinforced my fondness and appreciation for the wind.
3 ½ stars
moviejoltz 