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cinomar · 6 years

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My top 10 movies of 2017

As December draws to a close, and year-end lists dominate social-media feeds, I thought I’d share my own views on the crème de la crème of what has been an extraordinary 12 months for motion pictures.

Full disclosure: I have not yet seen a lot of the heavy-hitting Oscar contenders (The Post, Phantom Thread, All the Money in the World, I, Tonya...), so my favourites will be limited to the movies I’ve managed to watch so far.

Without further ado, let the countdown begin!

10. Mother!

Perhaps the most polarising movie this year, Mother! is a toe-curling exercise in endurance cinema that recasts parables from the Old Testament. Within a suffocatingly claustrophobic house, whose creaking groans and seeping blood only augment the sinister storyline, this nightmarish scenario plays out before reaching a harrowing symbol-crash of a crescendo. There were moments in Mother! when I looked down at my hands and they were convulsively shaking. Is it my favourite Darren Aronofsky? No. Will I be watching it again? Absolutely.

9. Get Me Roger Stone

“I revel in your hatred, because if I weren’t effective you wouldn’t hate me.” So says Roger Stone, the polemical political strategist who has been getting rich off his moral bankruptcy since his involvement in the Watergate scandal. This Netflix documentary traces the life of the self-defined agent provocateur, from his encouraging Donald Trump to run for office in the 1980s to his intentional thwarting of the Florida-election recount in 2000. Guaranteed to make your blood boil, this film offers maddening insight into the extent of corruption in Washington.

8. Baby Driver

Baby Driver is a triumph, resplendent in its tyre-screeching glory. By seamlessly embedding music into the film’s narrative, Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) delivers a startlingly original heist movie that marches to the beat of its own drum. Boasting an eye-watering rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, a hyper-stylised sensory richness and adrenalin-inducing car chases, Baby Driver is a cinephile’s film par excellence.

7. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

They say people cope with grief in different ways, and this certainly seems to be true of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) who takes her local police (led by Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell) to task after the rape and murder of her teenage daughter. The expletive-spewing Hayes plasters accusatory messages on billboards challenging the town’s law enforcers to reopen her daughter’s unresolved case. She is a reckless firecracker of an anti-heroine. Whether she’s kicking a schoolchild in the crotch or flinging a petrol bomb at a police station, Mildred has an infectious desire to put these killers behind bars that makes her a treat to watch.

6. Good Time

Robert Pattinson is unrecognisable in the Safdie brothers’ nerve-shredding thriller Good Time, turning in a career-best performance as a petty criminal hustling his way through a colour-leached Queens to save his mentally ill brother. Since he earned a six-minute standing ovation at Cannes, it’s unsurprising the actor is being compared to De Niro in Taxi Driver.

5. BPM

Set in Nineties Paris, BPM (beats per minute) provides a brutally heart-wrenching take on the AIDS crisis without sinking into sentimentality. The movie, which scooped up the Grand Prix at Cannes, centres on the LGBTQIA activist group Act Up. Through heated, strategy-focused meetings – where the blood-hurling advocates clash with the big-pharma sympathisers – the campaigners raise awareness of the epidemic, forging relationships along the way. I’m thoroughly disappointed that the Oscars snubbed this defiant, sincere film in the foreign-language category.

4. The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist is a hysterical behind-the-scenes exposé tracing the making of Tommy Wiseau’s self-financed vanity project, The Room (widely regarded as the worst film ever made). James Franco – who also directed The Disaster Artist – has earned plaudits for his sensitive, yet hilarious, impersonation of the filmmaker. I was so intrigued by the trailer that I fought my way into a (massively oversubscribed) advanced screening at the BFI, where I full-on cried with laughter, then collapsed on a Tube platform when my sister quoted a line to me on the way home. Funniest film of the year without a shadow of a doubt.

3. Get Out

The flash of a camera. The clinking of a teaspoon. The humming of crickets in a suburban street. Get Out’s accumulation of seemingly banal details makes it so masterfully unsettling. The movie is something of a modern-day Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? that sees an African-American (Daniel Kaluuya) visit the parents of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) and gradually discover an unsettling truth brewing beneath mind games and micro-aggressions. The film marks the sketch comedian Jordan Peele’s first foray into cinema as a writer-director, and has already established him as one to watch. Get Out is a sucker punch to the status quo that is impossible to forget.

2. Lady Bird

Lady Bird is an astounding addition to the coming-of-age canon, a feel-good film exuding a sincerity and warmth that quickly confirms its status as one of the cinematic highlights of 2017. Raw and relatable, the movie is a show-stopping masterpiece that ushers the actress-turned-director Greta Gerwig into the pantheon of blossoming auteurs. The film faithfully captures the essence of what it’s like to grow up female; the awkwardness of that disconcerting stage of adolescence in which you are unceremoniously prised from the familiar embrace of girlhood and thrust towards womanhood. In the tradition of great cinema, Lady Bird takes a profoundly personal story and transposes it with such dexterity that it feels universal.

1. Call Me by Your Name

“Call me by your name and I’ll call you by mine,” whispers Oliver (Armie Hammer) as he gently caresses the cheek of his lover Elio (Timothée Chalamet) in the soft darkness. The blossoming romance between these two men, that unfurls over six sun-dappled weeks in northern Italy, is utterly ravishing. The director Luca Guadagnino creates a sensory masterpiece by lingering over the finer details of their relationship: peach juice trickling down a chin, bicycle pedals whirring into action. Call Me by Your Name is a shining beacon of tolerance and acceptance, with a heartbreaking ending that will bring tears to your eyes.

#film #movie #awards season #Oscars #best #Call Me By Your Name #lady bird #get out #bpm (beats per minute)#good time movie #three billboards #the disaster artist #baby driver #get me roger stone #mother!

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daresplaining · 7 years

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Iron Fist Countdown: 7 Days

Danny’s Superpowers

Danny is the most powerful member of the Netflix Defenders team. Or at least, he has the greatest power potential. In addition to his mad kung fu skills, the uses for the chi of Shou-Lao could (and, in fact, do) fill an entire book, and the vast power it grants its wielders is ever-evolving. Even Danny hasn’t yet learned everything he’s capable of. Here are some of the highlights of what various Iron Fists have achieved over the years, and of what we might possibly see in the show.

To start: This post is going to give the impression that Danny is really, really overpowered, so we’re going to stick in a little caveat: the Immortal Iron Fist Power Upgrade Factor (IIFPUF). Speaking generally, 616 Danny has had two major power levels (so far, anyway-- his upcoming solo series is going to explore another, but that is a very special situation and probably not relevant here). Before Immortal Iron Fist (BIIF) Danny was still very powerful, but his power had frequency limits. Using the chi of Shou-Lao left him drained, thus preventing him from summoning it more than once-or-twice per day and prompting him to only use it in dire situations.

Danny: “Can... hardly... move-- By the silver dragon, what have I done? Heartbeat’s racing almost too fast to count... feel flushed, sweating... system overloaded... Power has a definite limit-- remember that! More I use, more it drains me...”

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #6 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Karen Mantlo]

In Immortal Iron Fist he acquires the Book of the Iron Fist, which was stolen by his predecessor in an ill-conceived attempt at ending the Iron Fist legacy. This book contains techniques for, among other things, not getting worn out by using the chi of Shou-Lao. Having gained this knowledge, post-Immortal Iron Fist (PIIF) Danny now uses his powers all the time without suffering any ill effects.

In the Netflix show, we know that Danny will be operating at a BIIF level-- which makes sense, from a storytelling perspective as much as a worldbuilding one. The less frequently he uses his powers on-screen, the more dramatic they will remain. However, the actual range of abilities he might possess in the show remains to be seen. Here are some of the exciting options...

The Iron Fist

[Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #67 by Mary Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, and Ben Sean]

Iron Fists are, of course, named after their big signature move. Summoning the Iron Fist involves focusing the chi of Shou-Lao into a concentrated spot (usually a hand), thus imbuing it with temporary super strength and invulnerability. A few writers have suggested that there’s an actual molecular shift involved, which causes the limb in question to literally become “like unto iron”, but generally the actual iron aspect of this technique is treated as a metaphor. Wielding the dragon chi in this way allows the Iron Fist to strike with immense force without suffering any damage themselves.

[New Avengers vol. 1 #59 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, and Dave McCaig]

With this move Danny has-- to name just a few feats-- obliterated giant robots, sunk ships, blown up trains, taken down a helicarrier (see above), and he once sucker punched 300-pound Luke Cage through a wall, across a street, and into a building that then collapsed on top of him. (Don’t worry, he was fine.)

Obviously, we know Danny’s gonna be chi punching things to awesome effect in the show as well.

(Aw yessssss...)

Accelerated Healing

[Immortal Iron Fist #9 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja]

The chi of Shou-Lao can also be used as a healing force, enabling Iron Fists to perform what is essentially epic-level reiki on themselves and others. Take it away, Danny...

Danny: “Your doctors did most of the hard work weeks ago... All I’m doing... is focusing your chi a bit.. to speed up your natural healing process.”

[Daredevil vol. 2 #111 by Ed Brubaker, Clay Mann, and Matt Hollingsworth]

This is a versatile skill that works on more than just cuts and bruises and broken bones. The chi can be used to burn out harmful infections and substances within the body. It is, for example, difficult to poison an Iron Fist. Danny also once used the dragon chi to cure cancer, and has managed to break himself out of mind control with it on occasion. It can be used to grant prolonged life. And it works quite well for combating demons who have possessed your friends.

[Shadowland #5 by Andy Diggle, Billy Tan, and Victor Olazaba]

This is one power that was drastically impacted by the IIFPUF (see above). When Danny first learned to use the chi in this way, it was a difficult procedure that actually caused him immense physical pain. PIIF, however, he is able to heal rapidly, almost without thinking about it.

Resurrection

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #12 by Kaare Andrews]

Chi is life energy, and so it makes sense that there are high-level Iron Fist techniques that can be used to bring dead things back to life. This isn’t a skill that Danny has mastered in the comics (it requires a level of spiritual awareness that he hasn’t achieved yet), but given the link to the Hand mythos in the MCU, and their tendency of bringing people back from the dead, we wonder if it might come up in the show...

Lightning From God (chi projection)

[Immortal Iron Fist #7 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Khari Evans]

This is a move trademarked by former Iron Fist and all-around badass Wu Ao-Shi, the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay. She developed a technique that allowed her to project her chi out of her body and into her arrows, thus making them extra lethal on impact. Orson Randall, Danny’s direct Iron Fist predecessor, was able to do the same thing with bullets, and it’s a skill that Danny has mastered as well.

[Thunderbolts (2006) #137 by Andy Diggle, Carlos Rodriguez, et al.]

Hypnosis

[Immortal Iron Fist #2 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja]

This is one of those Iron Fist powers that rarely comes up, but there is a technique that allows the chi of Shou-Lao to be used to plant mental suggestions, and to control people against their will. It’s not entirely clear how (this is one of those That’s Not Really How Chi Works things) but it’s very cool, so we’ll buy it.

[Mighty Avengers (2013) #6 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, and Frank D’Armata]

It’s probably related to this next ability....

Illusions

[Immortal Iron Fist #24 by Duane Swierczynski, Jose Angel Cano Lopez, and Edward Bola]

One neat aspect of the chi of Shou-Lao is that, because it is such a versatile power source, it can be shaped to suit the talents and tendencies of the individuals who acquire it. Li Park, an artistic Iron Fist with a powerful imagination, used the chi in a way that enabled him to draw others into his fantasies. All evidence suggests that this is the Hypnotic Fist technique (above), enhanced to its most potent level.

Energy Absorption/Manipulation

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #7 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Bonnie W.]

Chi is energy, as we said, and the physical fact of having absorbed a giant dose of highly-volatile dragon chi seems to enable Iron Fists to do the same with other such energy sources. Danny has shown immense tolerance for radiation bombardment and magic, seemingly by absorbing the energy without being harmed by it. Along these same lines, he has found ways of connecting to and manipulating magnetic fields, and he once plugged himself into the chi of every single person in K’un-Lun for a final ditch-effort power boost. He didn’t enjoy it, but he did survive the experience, which is saying something...

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #9 by Kaare Andrews]

Perfect Strategy Mind (mental enhancement)

[Immortal Iron Fist #15 by Matt Fraction, Khari Evans, and Paul Mounts]

Developed by master tactician and former Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen, this technique seems to enhance mental performance and focus. We’ve never seen Danny use this-- but he’s made enough poor judgment calls in his life that he probably should. (Just kidding, Danny. Love ya.)

Vulcan Mind-Melding

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #6 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Karen Mantlo]

We doubt this one will be used in the show, but anything is possible! At a certain point, Colleen is kidnapped and mind controlled into trying to kill Danny. After failing to snap her out of the mind control by conventional means, and desperate to avoid either being killed or having to kill her, Danny takes a wild shot and attempts to merge his chi with hers. This allows him to break through the brainwashing, but it’s an extremely unpleasant, violating experience for both of them, and he never does it again. This literal meeting of minds results in a transfer of memories, emotions, and knowledge between the two. Afterward, Colleen is able to pull off some advanced K’un-Lun kung fu techniques that she didn’t know before.

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #14 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Janice Cohen]

Levitating (Ack!)

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #12 by Kaare Andrews]

It’s not clear how, or why, or wherefore, but Iron Fists can levitate! (Kaare Andrews, if you’re reading this, please explain.)

Increased Energy

[Immortal Iron Fist #16 by Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth]

Danny is able to successfully go without sleep for long periods of time (or, at the very least, to replace sleep with periodic meditation). Of course, most superheroes don’t get much sleep, but Danny has an advantage in that dragon chi is a slightly more powerful stimulant than coffee.

And finally, uh, whatever this is...

[Immortal Iron Fist #17 by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman, and Matt Milla]

We’re not sure what this move does, since Danny never actually completes it... but holy moley, it should be on the show.

One more week!

#Iron Fist #Danny Rand #Orson Randall #Wu Ao Shi #Li Park #Bei Bang Wen #Pei the Tiny Monk #IF Countdown

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michellelinkous · 4 years

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Crushing cancer

Henry Dai can truly say he has crushed cancer.

The 17-year-old celebrated his remission by destroying a replica of the tumor that once grew in his chest.

In a room at Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Henry raised a sledgehammer and slammed it down—crash! boom! bang!—multiple times, smashing the tumor to smithereens.

“It felt great,” he said. “It’s like this feeling that I really beat cancer—but literally, as well.”

The cancer-crushing celebration marked a first for the pediatric hematology-oncology program at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

“We wanted to signify the destruction of this evil he has been fighting,” said David Hoogstra, MD, a doctor in the pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship program. “It went really well.”

Shortly before the celebration, Henry and his parents met with Dr. Hoogstra to discuss the results of his recent PET scan.

He showed them two scans, side by side. In the one taken before treatment, the tumor appeared as an orange blob near his heart. In the one taken earlier this week, the tumor was gone.

“It has melted away,” Dr. Hoogstra said. “Your scans are clean. They’re clear.”

Henry and his parents welcomed the news with relief.

“That’s amazing,” said his mother, Truc Nguyen.

Shocked by his diagnosis

Henry traced his first signs of lymphoma to late May 2019—exam week of his sophomore year at East Kentwood High School.

He had a bad cold, and that seemed to develop into asthma. After several months of treatment, he still struggled.

In August, during marching band practice, he felt too sick to march.

His doctor ran a blood test and referred him to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

After more scans and tests, Henry sat down with his doctors and learned he had lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

He felt numb when he heard the diagnosis.

“It was not a denial kind of thing. I just didn’t feel anything,” he said. “I knew it was serious. But I was too shocked.”

A bright student with a passion for science and math, Henry wanted to focus on the facts about his illness and the plan for his treatment.

Three days after classes started for his junior year at East Kentwood, Henry began a four-month series of chemotherapy treatments.

Every three weeks, he arrived at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital on a Friday. He received continuous chemotherapy for the six days.

On Wednesday, he left the hospital. He spent 2 ½ weeks at home before returning for his next session.

In handling that demanding schedule, Henry had support and prayers from family and friends, said his father, Luan Dai.

And he encouraged his son, saying, “You’re young. You’re strong. Your mind is strong. You can get through anything.”

Big plans

Henry has long had big plans for his future. After high school, he hopes to attend the University of Michigan or an Ivy League school.

Determined not to let cancer throw his academics off track, he took a full course load at school, including four advanced placement classes.

He continued to play alto saxophone in the school band and the jazz band.

And despite the chemotherapy regimen and 26 absences from school, he finished the semester with a stellar report card: 5 A’s and one A-.

“I am so proud of him,” his mother said.

Proud, but not surprised.

She said Henry has always been a highly motivated student.

He draws inspiration from his parents, who came to the United States from Vietnam in 2000.

“My parents are immigrants and they worked really hard to get to America,” he said. “It would be a waste if I didn’t make an effort, too.”

Henry’s tenacity and kind nature impressed his medical team.

“I have been continually amazed by the grace and courage he demonstrates,” Dr. Hoogstra said.

“In six months of intensive chemotherapy, I could count on one hand the number of times Henry had a negative thing to say. He is just not a complainer.”

During his inpatient stays, Henry passed the time by doing homework. He received tutoring to cover the calculus classes he missed.

“Henry would request to be the first patient seen on his day of discharge, so that he could get to school as soon as possible,” Dr. Hoogstra added.

A unique way to celebrate

As Henry neared the end of his treatment, Dr. Hoogstra began to think about the tumor-smashing celebration. When he was a medical student, he heard about another patient doing something similar.

He ran the idea past Henry, who agreed enthusiastically.

To create the replica, the pediatric hematology-oncology department tapped the 3D printing expertise of the Congenital Heart Center of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Spectrum Health Innovations.

Innovations engineer Eric Van Middendorp, cardiac sonographer Jordan Gosnell and clinical research nurse Bennett Samuel created the models.

They experimented with several materials before settling on a thin, hard plastic that would shatter in a satisfying way.

On Friday, Child Life specialist Rhys VanDemark set up a table with a block of wood, covered by a sheet, in a playroom on the 11th floor of the hospital.

On it he set the tumor model, a lumpy white hunk of plastic about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.

Henry put on safety glasses and gloves.

His parents and medical providers began the countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Henry swung the sledgehammer.

Thunk! He smashed through the tumor into the wood block. He kept swinging until he reduced it to a thousand tiny pieces.

And then he looked up with a smile.

A healing moment

Such end-of-treatment rituals are important for emotional and psychological healing, his caregivers said.

“We are here at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital not just for physical healing, but for holistic healing of our patients,” Samuel said.

“I think just connecting the external action of smashing the tumor to being internally healed just makes it real for Henry.”

Young patients, and particularly teenagers and young adults, feel a loss of control as they go through cancer therapy, James Fahner, MD, the division chief of pediatric hematology-oncology at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

“To really be able to take ultimate control over your disease has to be cathartic,” he said. “It has to be an amazing closure for what he went through.”

After he obliterated the tumor model, Henry received a second copy of it to take home. He asked his medical caregivers to autograph it.

Looking ahead

His experience battling lymphoma has prompted Henry to consider a change in career goals. He once planned to become a technology engineer or work in a computer-related field.

“After being in the hospital a while, I am thinking something medical-related,” he said. “Maybe cancer research.”

After the tumor destruction was complete, Henry looked forward to another event.

The next day was the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, celebrated with family gatherings, feasts and gifts of red envelopes containing “lucky money.”

“We are ready for the celebration of a new year,” his father said.

Crushing cancer published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.tumblr.com/

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gordonwilliamsweb · 4 years