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Review: Across the Spider-Verse

Miles Morales

There have been recent Marvel movies that I’ve thought about viewing (Guardians 3, e.g.) and I still may. When Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse came out, though, I HAD to see it. The fact that that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a pretty good gauge of popular culture on his Substack, loved it only added to my anticipation.

Spider-Man is my favorite character in the Marvel universe. During COVID, I saw all of the iterations of all of the Spidey films I had missed, which made No Way Home so delicious.

Still, my favorite webslinger film was the animated Into the Spider-Verse featuring Miles Morales. Across is a follow-up to that.

Isn’t it? The lengthy beginning of the film, before the credits, made me wonder for a time. Oh, yeah, there’s our young hero saving his neighborhood and frustrating his parents with… whatever secret he’s obviously keeping.

Gwen Stacy, a Spidey from a different sphere, shows up. This eventually prompts the Brooklyn-based teen to cross the Multiverse to join forces with other Spider-People to take on a calamitous villain Miles thinks he may be responsible for.

Without giving anything away, the film leans into the overarching mythos of the webslingers.

Obamaesque?

I was fascinated by the New Yorker article The Post-Racial Vision of “Across the Spider-Verse.” The subhead: “The movie treats its fantastical multiethnic team of superheroes and their forays into cultural determinism with Obama-like breeziness and tact.”

The key paragraph: “The appeal [of Miles’ character] is so universal—or, some might say, neutral—that even right-wing pundits who have dedicated the past few years to getting mad at every superhero or children’s film with a minority lead seem to have mostly given Miles Morales a pass. In what must have come as a surprise to its readers, ‘Worth It or Woke?,’ a Web site that disapprovingly assesses the wokeness of Hollywood releases, recently gave ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ a positive eighty-one-per-cent rating.

“Though it determined that the film took a ‘beloved character’ and ‘race-swapped in the name of Leftist virtue signaling,’ it briefly included the movie in its list of films that were ‘worth it.’ (The recommendation was ultimately pulled when the author of the review noticed that one of the characters had a ‘Protect Trans Kids’ sign in her bedroom.)” [Of COURSE it was.]

So Across the Spider-Verse has managed to walk the fine line of creating “representation” without ticking off the people who find the concept an anathema. Having Spideys from India and Japan, it appears, is OK by almost everyone.

The one structural difficulty is the same issue as Avengers: Infinity War; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1; and virtually every movie’s second act. I want to see the next film NOW.

Venue

I saw the film at the Regal Theatre at Colonie Center near Albany. It’s not my favorite venue, but, at the time, the Spectrum was closed on Wednesdays, fortunately no longer the case.

So many ads and infotainment! The noon movie started at 12:25.

Utica: The Last Refuge

Refugee and Immigration Support Services of Emmaus

On World Refugee Day, June 20, my wife and I, along with dozens of others, went to the Olpalka Gallery at the Sage College in Albany, NY, to see the documentary film Utica: The Last Refuge.

Utica is a Rust Belt city about an hour from Syracuse and an hour and a half from Albany that had seen better days. I remember my family trekking up there when I was growing up because my godparents, the Whitfields, lived there for a time.

So how did Utica, cold, sometimes snowy Utica, become a new home for a refugee family of four from Sudan? “The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (MVRCR) is regarded nationally as a model agency for how refugee resettlement is done, for how they guide Utica’s refugees into comfortable jobs and lives.”

However, the process suddenly became more complicated in 2017 by political decisions that would impact the MVRCR budget.

A boon

The film began answering these questions: “Will Utica’s economic turnaround be slowed by a drop in incoming refugees? As refugee resettlement agencies across the country are forced to close their doors, will MVRCR survive? Will the Azein family find a way to support themselves? While much media attention is focused on where refugees first land, on beaches and in camps, Utica: The Last Refuge looks at why the future is so bleak for most refugees: the system is backed up.”

This program has been a success story for the community. “While the population is still only about 62,000 [from a high of over 100,000 in the 1960s], nearly 20% are now refugees and their children. Local politicians, from the Mayor on down, extol the virtues of Utica’s diversity. The refugees, they say, are hardworking and dedicated.”

As for the movie, “The Last Refuge team is a group of issue dedicated vérite filmmakers, many of whom came together as alumni of Hamilton College, which neighbors Utica.”

RISSE

The two showings at Olpaka constituted a fundraiser for RISSE, the Refugee and Immigration Support Services of Emmaus, “a family-based center that supports newcomers in building sustainable lives in the United States,” located in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, not very far from my home.

“RISSE was founded in 2007… The initial goal was to help these refugees find housing, jobs, and resources and to advance their education. An after-school program was established for children; then came English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for adults.

“Volunteers, many of them immigrants… played a key role in the early success of RISSE… An early partnership with The College of Saint Rose and its art education, counseling, literacy, and community service programs provided expertise and volunteers that supported the growth of RISSE services.”

Several other entities offered literature at the reception that took place between the 3 pm and 6 pm showing. One was The USCRI Albany Field Office “Newly arrived refugees receive a comprehensive set of services including housing placement, cultural orientation, school enrollment, coordination of initial health appointments, referrals to ESL classes and employment preparation and placement.”

A short film

Related, I saw mention of the short film Translators. Here, director Rudy Valdez talks about the new film “and the overlooked experiences of child translators within immigrant families. The two-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker talked with AL DÍA ahead of the film’s June premiere at the L.A. Latino International Film Festival and Tribeca.

And here, “Valdez and Virginia Vasquez, a translator for her family featured in the documentary, joined New York Living. PIX 11.”

Watch Translators here.

Movie review: Somewhere In Queens

Versailles Palace

After my wife came home from a movie she’d seen alone (Chevalier, which she liked), she thought we should see the film Somewhere In Queens, based on the trailer.

I knew next to nothing about the film except that it was the directorial debut of Ray Romano. He was the star, a writer, and a producer of the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. The show was based on his standup routine. I saw it infrequently; I watched only one episode in its entirety, though it was nominated for 69 Emmys, winning 15.

Yet I’ve seen him in subsequent projects such as The Irishman, The Big Sick, and the TV show Parenthood.

The film

Leo (Romano) and Angela Russo (Laurie Metcalf from Roseanne) are part of an extended Italian-American family. Every other week, there’s a family event at the Versailles Palace, the neighborhood banquet hall.

Leo works in the family business run by Pop/Dominic (Tony Lo Bianco), a construction company job he doesn’t love. However, his brother Frank (Sebastian Maniscalco) and his sons seemed to be born into it. Their current worksite is at the home of the young widow Pamela (Jennifer Esposito).

Leo and Angela’s very reserved son Matthew, who everyone calls ‘Sticks'(Jacob Ward), finds success on his high-school basketball team. Maybe this will be his ticket to college. And who’s that young woman, Dani (Sadie Stanley), hanging on his arm after the game?

I had concluded that the movie was about a particular storyline. Ultimately, though, it was centered on something quite universal. It’s pretty funny, but it has its serious moments. I am unwilling to reveal much more.

My wife and I liked it; most critics and the audience felt likewise. In one online poll, 31 of 32 people gave it four or five stars out of five. The one-star reviewer said they knew Italian-Americans, and they didn’t swear like that. There IS a bit of cursing, usually at other family members. Then they move on.

The movie title, though accurate, is pretty dull.

Movie review: Air (2023)

Michael Jordan’s footwear

On the surface, there is no reason the movie Air (2023) should work. It’s a film about the inner workings of Nike, a sneaker company, a clear #3 in the basketball world, trying to get players to endorse and wear their product. It sounds as though it could be boring.

Yet I was captivated at the onset, from the opening montage of 1984 images – “Where’s the beef,” Mr. T on the A-Team – to the musical selections. The key, though, was driven by Alex Convery in his debut as a screenwriter. The dialogue was fresh without being affected.

Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) is a middle-aged, overweight guy with a radical plan. Instead of trying to sign three or four rookie prospects to put on the foot apparel as usual, Nike should commit the entire budget to one player. Sonny violates corporate protocol to try to get Michael Jordan to agree to sign with them.

While getting some support from his colleague Howard White (Chris Tucker), Sonny is getting resistance from his boss Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), and especially Nike head honcho Phil Knight (Ben Affleck.) To contact Michael, he has to deal with the athlete’s mother Doloris (Viola Davis).

There’s no need to fear

This is a sports story about an underdog. But the underdog is not Michael, though the actual player had been underestimated in the past. The underdog is Nike, and especially Sonny.

Interestingly, the character Michael himself barely appears in the film. The creators decided, probably rightly, that the actor would be unfavorably compared with the real deal. Thus the shots of Michael (Damien Young) are usually from his back. He barely speaks. Film clips of Michael are used, especially near the end.

The acting is solid throughout, and director Ben Affleck keeps the mostly talk-driven film moving. It was reviewed well.

BTW, at least seven movies on the IMDb titled Air in this century alone exist. I saw the MJ-related Air at the Madison Theatre in Albany at a Wednesday afternoon matinee on the last day it played there, along with two other people.

Trailers

Before the movie, there were trailers for three movies. One was for the Dungeons and Dragons film, and another was for Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

The first was the red band trailer for Sisu. “When an ex-soldier who discovers gold in the Lapland wilderness tries to take the loot into the city, Nazi soldiers led by a brutal SS officer battle him.” It was quite violent; you can find it on YouTube, but I’m not linking it.

From the New York Times: “The Finnish way of life is summed up in ‘sisu,’ a trait said to be part of the national character. The word roughly translates to “grim determination in the face of hardships,” such as the country’s long winters: Even in adversity, a Finn is expected to persevere, without complaining.”

Folks turning 70 in May 2023

Oingo Boingo

Here’s a list of notable people turning 70 in May 2023. I’m SO much older than they are.

Tony Blair (6th). I had hope for him when he became the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1997. He worked for a minimum wage, and he supported LGBTQ rights. But in his second term, he supported W’s foolhardy invasion of Iraq.

Alex Van Halen (8th) – the only time I mentioned the drummer of Van Halen in this blog was as Eddie’s brother.

I have one CD by Mike Oldfield (15th), which has nothing to do with Tubular Bells; I have it on vinyl, considered a precursor to new-age music.

George Brett (15th) was a Hall of Fame third baseman, playing over 20 years for the Kansas City Royals. Yet, I still think of him regarding the pine tar incident on July 24, 1983.

Pierce Brosnan (16th) played in a detective series Remington Steele, which I viewed. Other folks watching thought he should play James Bond, and he did in five films, though I saw none of them. I did see him in Mrs. Doubtfire and Mamma Mia!

Oddly, I most remember him by how much he loved his first wife, Cassandra Harris, and her children. Cassie died in 1991, and her daughter Charlotte died in 2013, both of ovarian cancer.

“When your partner gets cancer, then life changes. Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this change. Because you’re dealing with death. You’re dealing with the possibility of death and dying… Cassie was very positive about life. I mean, she had the most amazing energy and outlook on life. It was and is a terrible loss, and I see it reflected, from time to time, in my children.”

Doc Ock

Before I knew who he was, Alfred Molina (24th) was in many movies, including Raiders of the Lost Ark. I saw him in Chocolat, Frida, An Education, and primarily as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man movies. I didn’t know he was born in London.

Danny Elfman (29th) is such a prolific composer of film scores that I don’t know where to start. From the Wikipedia page: “Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, contributing music to nearly 20 Burton projects, including Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Batman, Edward Scissorhands,… as well as scoring Raimi’s A Simple Plan, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Van Sant’s Academy Award–winning films Good Will Hunting and Milk. He wrote music for the Men in Black franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick’s animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the themes for the popular television series Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons.” I’ve seen every single film mentioned above.

“Among his honors are four Oscar nominations, two Emmy Awards, a Grammy,… the 2015 Disney Legend Award… and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Yet I will link to the video for Weird Science by his band Oingo Boingo, which he is now mortified by.