Month: October 2021

Movie of the Week: ‘The Thing’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Thing” (1982) – “I don’t know who to trust.” – Dr. Blair (Wilford Brimley) We’ve all heard that phrase before.  Perhaps you attended MBA school, competed in a beauty pageant, or watched “Survivor”, the reality television show in which contestants compete for a million dollars in the remote locales of Borneo, the Pearl Islands, or Cambodia.  Although Richard Hatch, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Jeremy Collins voted their “Survivor” castmates off the island, no one felt like their lives were in jeopardy. (Now, wear a Michigan Wolverines jersey to an Ohio…

‘Warrior Spirit’: This initially straightforward doc turns into an ominous, cautionary tale

Jeff Mitchell

“Warrior Spirit” – Nicco Montano is a woman of firsts.  At 28 years young, on Dec. 1, 2017, she won the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.  On that day, she became that division’s premiere female UFC champion and the organization’s first Native titleholder. Wow. In the documentary “Warrior Spirit”, Nicco – an admirable, inspirational role model with Navajo roots – arrives at her alma mater, Chinle High School in Chinle, Ariz., and speaks at the 2018 graduation ceremony.  Students, parents, and teachers give her a rock-star welcome, and she reciprocates. “Thank…

‘Lamb’: Challenging circumstances flock to this intriguing Icelandic character study

Jeff Mitchell

“Lamb” – Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) are committed.  They are committed to each other and their chosen vocation.  This husband and wife are sheep farmers with a barn full of the said fuzzy, adorable animals, and Maria and Ingvar nestled themselves in an Icelandic valley.  This place might be 5,000 km from the North Pole, but it seems closer to heaven.  Their homestead sits by itself with zero neighbors in sight, and if you sent out scouts to run marathons in every direction, they wouldn’t stumble…