There is the old Chinese curse – “May you live in interesting times” – and the year 2017 has definitely been that.
On the micro-level for my family and extended family, it’s been a good year. There were no major illnesses and everybody has been able to continue with their lives pretty well unaffected by things that are happening at the macro level.
2017 was a good year for the arts. There were a lot of great movies, music, books, and TV shows produced. However, there is no denying that there are fracture points along socio-cultural lines taking place today in the world. Viewpoints on social matters have never been more polarized. Technology has removed the middle ground. It has never been easier to communicate but social media removes the human component of communication. Without that human component, there has been a loss of empathy for other viewpoints.
We are more connected to each other today but we are also more isolated from one another. The chasms between different viewpoints have grown deeper. These are interesting times indeed and much of what’s Alvin Toffler predicted in his book – “Future Shock”, is coming to pass. If you have not read this book I highly recommend that you seek it out. It’s amazing how relevant this book is today even though it was written in 1970.
Tina and I closed out the year watching two really good movies.
Wind River is Dir./Writer Taylor Sheridan’s latest movie. In it, Jeremy Renner plays Cory Lambert, a wildlife officer who finds the body of an 18-year-old woman on an American Indian reservation in snowy Wyoming. Fellow Avengers alumni Elizabeth Olson plays Jane Banner, an FBI agent who was called in to investigate when it is found out the girl was raped.
Taylor Sheridan does an amazing job both directing and writing this movie as the dialogue really pops and he uses the snowscapes of Wyoming to great use to create the sense of isolation the Indians live in. The movie has a great cast. Other cast members include Kelsey Cho, Julie Jones, Gill Birmingham, and the always great Graham Greene. Greene was also in Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile.
The movie builds to an explosive and unexpected climax that literally blows the story wide open. It is one of the most intense sequences I’ve seen in the movie in several years. To top it off the anticlimax is also very powerful but much more understated.
This is the best thing I’ve ever seen Jeremy Renner in. He gives a great performance.
The other movie we saw was Three Billboards Outside Epping, Missouri. This is another movie from a writer/director – Martin McDonagh. Another movie with a great cast and great writing. The inciting incident is also a rape-murder of a young girl. In this movie, Francis McDormand plays the aggrieved mother of the murdered girl.
The rest of the cast includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, and John Hawks. All of them are fantastic in this movie with special notice due to Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson.
Unlike Wind River, this is a very funny movie even though the subject matter is dark. Francis McDormand is a force to be reckoned with as she will not put up with anyone else’s excuses in her quest to find the murderer of her daughter. I highly recommend you check out the trailer for this movie and you’ll see just how funny it is.
This is a real character movie with deeply flawed individuals who despite their own weakness and prejudices are able to reach across the gulf of their differences.
A timely movie, indeed.
Our last Stephen King podcast of 2017 including a guest interview with horrormeister – Brian Keene. A podcasting highlight to be sure. Check out my previous post to find out where to listen to it.
Well, that does it for 2017. Still using Dragon to dictate and things are moving along well.
To you and your loved ones, Happy New Year!
Lou W. Sytsma 