“Nobody” (2021):
The next addition to the Home Alone series you didn’t know you needed.
Bob Odenkirk kills this role. Unsuspecting father, coworker and neighbor, Odenkirk portrays Hutch Mansell, your regular old middle-aged metal fabrication worker with an unexpected past. He seems like a nobody.
But you never know how much rage can be ignited inside of you until a stranger robs your house and steals your daughter’s kitty cat charm bracelet. Or maybe you do, if you’re John Wick and your dog holds the same sentimental value as said bracelet.
This film is just so fun. Nothing is as you would predict (except for maybe the fact that all the ‘bad guys’ are Russian since, for some reason, that is just a given reason to be evil in American movies) and it really shows how much you can turn violence into comedy when making a film.
While this film may be morally questionable, it promotes a good laugh, and no sane person can hate Bob Odenkirk even if they tried.
“Shiva Baby” (2021):
Family reunion-based movies might just become the next big thing for the horror genre.
With the inharmonic and increasingly high tones of the instrumental music in the background, this movie has everyone asking, “Wait, is this a thriller?” And I would say, “Yes, it is.”
Rachel Sennott plays Danielle, the main protagonist in the film. She’s attending a ‘shiva’ with her family, a Jewish tradition that follows the death of a loved one. When some unexpected guests from her personal life show up, tensions rise.
This film is so anxiety-producing that you just can’t look away. I watched this movie on a Friday and immediately watched it the next morning, forcing my friends to watch it with me. It’s one of those movies that you can watch repeatedly with new people, just wanting to see their reactions to every twist and unexpected scenario.
“Sound of Metal” (2020):
With the Oscars happening last week, I thought I’d touch on one of my favorite nominees for best picture.
“Sound of Metal” follows Ruben Stone, a drummer for the two-man band he has with his girlfriend, Lou, until he unexpectedly begins to lose his hearing. After visiting a doctor and officially receiving the diagnosis of his rapidly deteriorating hearing, Ruben cannot stand the thought of a future without sound and continues to perform.
When his girlfriend Lou discovers this fact, however, she helps him find a deaf community for recovering addicts where he can learn and become accustomed with American Sign Language and live the rest of his life as a deaf man. Lou continues to travel by herself, experimenting with music of her own.
This film paints a beautiful portrait of how life is worth living even when where you once found serenity is taken from you.
Joe, a recovering alcoholic who extends kindness to Ruben throughout his time at the deaf shelter, says, “But for me, those moments of stillness, that place, that’s the Kingdom of God. And that place will never abandon you.”
The ending of this movie is one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever seen in film. For that scene alone, it’s worth it.
“Wangari’s Tree of Peace” – Jeanette Winter (2008):
Another picture book to add to the shelf, this time concerning the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization in Kenya focusing on environmental conservation.
This book portrays the impact of Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who created a movement by simply planting nine trees in her own backyard.
When other women saw what she was doing, they began to plant trees as well. It’s a story of creation care, women’s strength and the power in numbers.
Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, the first African American woman to do so. “The earth was naked. For me, the mission was to try to cover it with green,” Maathai said.
Next Month:
Here are a few things I’m interested in checking out next month.
Profile (May 14)
The Woman in the Window (May 14)
A Quiet Place Part II (May 28)
