Saw 40 Acres tonight! Considering the title and the main cast being a Black and Indigenous blended family headed by former soldiers, I was expecting a more direct political critique. It ended up being pretty subtle, though. Still trying to decide how I feel about its approach, tbh. The racial and community politics are very much there-- there are a couple direct references to the way the government has treated BIPOC people and the family explicitly engages with Black Marxist theory as part of their educational curriculum. But I felt like more could've been explored, especially as regards community and how the parents' approach might've been shaped by their military experience. Then again, the racial makeup of the cast is a conversation in itself, so maybe the creative team wanted to let the setup speak its own piece so the story could focus elsewhere.

The movie is a dystopian thriller set after a fungal plague has wiped out most animal life on Earth. Food is scarce and good farmland is the hottest commodity. The matriarch of the Freemans took her family isolationist during the fallout, surrounding their farm with an electric fence, and has raised her children to survive and to kill. The plot kicks off with word through the Network that other homesteads have been attacked and is driven by the oldest son's growing desire for human contact outside his family.

All the actors put in great performances and the family dynamics feel genuine and lived in. Everyone has their own voice and you really get the sense that this family is a community unto itself. I found the juxtaposition of the horror inherent to the way they've been raised with the sweeter and the simply more mundane moments they share to be highly effective for making the premise believable.

There's a good sense of not only the family's isolation but of their vulnerability throughout the movie. It's there in the characters' behavior, of course, but also in the way their land is set up and what we see of the way they live. There's a visceral sense of the rising threat through the comm chatter we overhear-- probably my favorite little touch in the movie. And the cinematography and sound design really bring it all home. There are some incredible shots and sequences in this movie, especially once we get into the thick of the action. The fight scenes straddle the line between gritty and typical action movie nonsense and they ride that line well.

I didn't find anything terribly special about the story itself. Though it definitely beats its own drum, its beats are familiar to the genre. The story plays out basically how you'd expect it to once everything is set up. This was hardly a disappointment for me, personally, since it let the performances and the action alike shine and left ample space to consider those subtle politics dynamics and to ponder over what little we learn about the backstory of this world.

So, yeah, would recommend!

I always mix up June and July as far as length goes and so I'm always taken by surprise when June ends a day earlier than I expected.

Can you believe this year is half over already? On the other hand, can you believe that there's still a whole half a year to go?

Definitely can't say honestly that I'm where I'd have liked to have been at this point of the year. But I can at least say with some confidence-- maybe more like some optimism-- that I feel like I'm getting close. Better late than never, right?

I overestimated how much yarn I have of a specific color for the plants for my sister-in-law. Oops. Luckily enough, it's for what was already going to be one of the smaller plants. The finished product won't be quite what I originally envisioned but I don't think it should lose too much. It's a generic, viney plant with flowers and so at least it isn't supposed to look like anything in particular.

This does have me worried about how wrong I might be about the two larger pieces I have in mind, though, which are supposed to look like something in particular-- a fern and a spider plant. I guess I'll just go into them assuming they'll be smaller than what I'd originally planned and build them up accordingly. If I do have enough to fill them out, that'll just be a bonus. If push comes to shove, I can get more yarn but I don't want to do that.

At least I know the smallest piece, a set of coasters that looks like a succulent when all folded away, will go exactly as planned.

Haven't sorted out a ride yet on account of I forgot BUT I do know my mom is off tomorrow. The recycling center I want to go to isn't as far away as I thought either; I've just only been there on the way to work and that affected my perception. I should have all my donation items ready to go, too, so that'll be taken care of in one trip.

Not gonna put a lot of effort into my actual rearranging tomorrow. Instead, I'll focus on getting more to-sell stuff listed and prepping my space for the storage pieces I'm looking to find. I need some kind of rack or tower for my physical media and I want something along the lines of a Rubbermaid set of drawers for paints. The smaller storage I want to replace my canvas cube drawers can wait for now. My current setup doesn't especially lend itself to easy access but I don't need to easily access much just now, so it isn't a priority. I want to do something new with my crochet and sewing supplies but I'm still deciding on what. I can't remember if I mentioned last time but I'm planning to go back to a higher-placed, horizontal setup for Travis and that'll have to wait, too, since of course I want to get the new tank and whatever it'll be sitting on at the same time. I do need to be thinking about what I want him sitting on, though, and how I'll want to utilize that space. Maybe I'll actually just set my physical media to the side for now and get an entertainment cabinet to set Travis up on.

Not having all the furniture quite in place means I still won't be putting my wall art back up yet but I do think I'll play around with my displays a little. At the very least, I need to make some final decisions about what toys are staying and what toys are going. There are several that I still like as individual items but they don't really go with anything and I only have so much space.

All that said, my main goal for tomorrow will be to work on the fake plants for my sister-in-law. I've chosen the patterns and the yarn, just need to buckle down. I also need to make a decision about the pots I'll need to make. I've seen people crochet with old grocery bags and I think that's what I want to do, to give the pots and plants a different look. I'm worried it'll look tacky for decorative pieces, though. I suppose I can make at least one and if I don't like it, I'll still have a functional little basket I can use; just gotta add handles. I'm not especially looking forward to the handfeel of crocheting with plastic bags but I am excited to try something new to me.

Something is wrong with my sister's car yet again. One of those "could be fine for a month, could stop working tomorrow" sorts of things. So, it'll be a few days at least that she can't risk driving me. Boo. Worse, though, we had plans this weekend. Not much in the way of plans, since I've got things to do, but it involved taking some stuff to Goodwill and some stuff to recycling. More specifically, it involved taking some foodstuff to recycling. Aaand I've already been keeping said foodstuff longer than I meant to, on account of forgetting it when I took my cardboard earlier this week. Here's hoping I can get another ride...

Yes, I know, I should really go about getting a license already. But between the DMV hours being more or less my work hours and the fact that I still wouldn't reliably have a car anyway, it's hard to keep it at the top of my mind as a priority, y'know?

Anyhow, one more work day to go before I really have to worry about it. My brother might be able to take me, not that I think he'll be keen on it since he hates driving anywhere more than ten minutes away for an errand and I need to go closer to twenty minutes away. Dunno when my mom works on Saturday but she might be my last resort. We'll see.

SPEAKING OF WEEKENDS. KINDA. CLOSE ENOUGH. I just realized that the Fourth is on a Friday this year-- three-day weekend coming up fast!! :D I had to pause my rearranging due to lacking the storage solutions I need to get some stuff put away properly but if I can get all that figured out next week-- which I should be able to, since I get paid-- I can use that extra time to wrap everything up. Guys, I'm asking you-- please pick on me about getting stuff done. Stopping in the middle of a project decimates my motivation no matter the reason and despite my best intentions. Don't let me get away with slacking!