Tag Archives: native americans

Aug 27 2017
3 Comments
Movies

Movie Review – Wind River (2017)

So much snow.  So much ennui.

BQB here with a review of “Wind River.”

When a young woman’s body is discovered on Native American reservation land, it’s up to an unlikely trio to solve the mystery.  Said trio consists of Corey Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a mountain lion hunter for the U.S. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, super hot rookie agent out of her depth Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), and grumpy old tribal police chief Ben (Graham Greene) to solve the mystery.

Those who have never been there (myself included) might thing of life in Wyoming as clean, country living – wide open spaces

When a young woman’s body is discovered on Native American reservation land, it’s up to an unlikely trio to solve the mystery.  Said trio consists of Corey Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a mountain lion hunter for the U.S. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, super hot rookie agent out of her depth Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), and grumpy old tribal police chief Ben (Graham Greene) to solve the mystery.

Those who have never been there (myself included) might thing of life in Wyoming as clean, country living – wide open spaces devoid of harsh urban crime.  Think again because apparently, according to whoever wrote this film, it really sucks to live in Wyoming.  It sucks real bad.

It sucks even worse to live on a Native American reservation.  The film gives us a look into the challenges of reservation life – the land is cold, unforgiving, undeveloped and there isn’t much to do there.  Native American parents have to deal with their dumb kids wearing backwards hats, taking drugs and blaring their rap music as they rebel against their humdrum lives so yeah, pretty much what happens in any family with teenagers. with the exception that opportunities for the natives to rise above it, make money and become successful are few and far between.

Crime exists and worse, there are few resources to deal with it.  As stated in the film, the reservation is the size of Rhode Island yet the tribal police department only has six officers.  The Federal government of yesteryear pushed the natives here but the Federal government of today isn’t doing much to help them.

Oh and because the terrain is so harsh and undeveloped, it often takes a fifty mile drive or a long trek on a snowmobile to get to a point that is only five miles away.

Further, as the film points out, Native American women often go missing and because statistics are not kept, it is difficult to determine how or why this happens.  Alas, perverts and creeps abound and due to the wide open spaces and little law enforcement to patrol such vast lands, it is easy for a pervert and/or creep to engage in perverted, creepy activities, preying upon the innocent with reckless abandon.

So yeah, if anyone in charge happens to catch this movie, the good people of Wyoming, especially the native people, need some assistance.

Renner and Olsen get to exercise their acting chops.  Fun fact, this isn’t the first time these two have worked together.  It’s just the first time they have worked together while not wearing tights.  That’s right.  In the Avengers films, Olsen is Scarlett Witch and Renner is Hawkeye.

While their comic book alter egos are fun, Renner and Olsen get real here.  Olsen is super hot and boner inducing, not to mention a young woman who appears to be full of hope about life.  She’s green, not having been with the FBI long and it’s up to Lambert and Ben to educate her as to what life is like in a corner of the world where life is a daily, seemingly insurmountable struggle.

Renner is his usual grumpy, stoic self, though that works here as a typical cowboy/hunter.  His character, Lambert, suffers from his own past demons and sees this case as a path toward redemption.  Further, since he is not a cop, he has the ability to act outside the law, which at times, puts him at odds with Banner.

At any rate, it’s a film that isn’t getting a lot of heat but it deserves some.  Overall, it’s a good mystery and while there are times when it is slow, the ending, which I won’t give away, will make your butt pucker.  Did I ruin it by saying that the ending will make your butt pucker?  Hmm, I probably did because now you will be expecting it.  Oh well.  Forget I said anything.

STATUS: Shelf-worthy.

 

 

 

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May 01 2016
6 Comments
Zombie Western

How the West Was Zombed – Chapter 91

 

shutterstock_320226569Flames danced all across the right side of Blythe’s body, from his torso to his face. Still, he needed to maintain focus. The arrow was less than an inch from his heart so the slightest mistake would leave him a pile of dust.

Lying flat on his back on the ground, he gripped the arrow tightly and pulled it slowly until it was out, the stone tip covered with his putrid black blood.

He rolled about and slapped the fire that had engulfed him out. His coat was ruined, the fabric singed beyond repair. The bubbling blisters on his face, on the other hand, disappeared quickly. The vampire was back to his handsome self again.

Blythe rose up and looked to the roof of the livery. There was Standing Eagle, drawing another arrow out of his quiver and preparing to take aim with his bow.

To his left and right were Crafty Fox and Screeching Owl, each with bows drawn. Fox sent an arrow sailing through the air until it entered the eye of a zombified Buchanan Boy, piercing its brain and dropping its carcass to the ground.

The vampire was packing a shiny nickel plated revolver. In a rare display of panic, he shot indiscriminately at the rooftop, waving his free hand to signal his zombie firing squad to join in.

Undeterred by the heavy fire coming at them, the trio jumped from the rooftop. Standing Eagle withdrew a tomahawk and swung it furiously, decapitating zombies left and right. He locked into a formation with Fox and Owl and together, they watch each others’ backs, slicing up all zombies that came their way.

Werewolves Taylor and Browning made a run at the intruders. Meanwhile, Wandering Snake and Charging Bobcat had other plans in store for Werewolf Miller.

Atop Townsend’s shop, Snake rapidly twirled a bola over his head. He let it loose and Miller’s paws became tangled in a web of rope and wooden balls, causing him to trip and face plant into the ground.

That gave Bobcat the chance to do what he did best – attack his prey. He jumped from the roof top, landed on Miller’s back and used his long knife to hack away at the beast’s back, only to be shocked as the wounds instantly healed.

Snake’s feet hit the ground. Calmly, he stuck his knife in the forehead of an attacking zombie, then used his staff fend off the undead as they circled him.

“Eagle!” Bobcat shouted as he stabbed away at Miller to no avail. “The dog monsters cannot be hurt!”

Eagle was preoccupied as he laid on the ground, holding open Browning’s jaws with his bare hands, desperately holding them back from chomping down on his face.

“I’ve noticed!” Eagle replied

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Apr 21 2016
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Zombie Western

How the West Was Zombed – Chapter 84

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Standing Eagle raced his horse across the valley, bound for Highwater.  For a good part of the ride, he watched as grain silo on the edge of town catch fire, only to eventually break apart and collapse upon itself.

Suddenly, the Chief heard galloping hooves behind him.  Screeching Owl and Wandering Snake flanked Eagle on the left.  Charging Bobcat and Crafty Fox took their leader’s right flank.

Eagle brought his horse to a halt.  His warriors did the same.

“Why do you defy my orders?” the Chief asked.

“If you are Standing Eagle, then tonight, we are all Standing Eagle,” Wandering Snake replied.

“Our people,” the Chief said.

“In safe hands with Solemn Bear,” Crafty Fox said. “He leads them south as we speak.”

“I will not have you die for white men who lie to you,” Eagle said. 

Charging Bobcat had applied menacing warpaint to his face.  He’d covered his face with a black base and on top of that, he’d drawn a white skull.  He almost looked like a zombie himself.

“We do not do this for the white men, Eagle,” Bobcat said.  “We do this for you.”

Eagle’s stern face did not betray the sense of pride that swelled within him.  He nodded and together, the group made haste for Highwater.

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Apr 17 2016
1 Comment
Zombie Western

How the West Was Zombed – Chapter 79

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Standing Eagle and a dozen of his warriors galloped their horses to the top of a hill overlooking the valley that contained Highwater below.  Wandering Snake trained his spy glass on the smoke signals as they rose into the air.

The tribe’s shaman translated the signals out loud.  “Attention…Injuns…”

The Chief slapped his forehead.  “Oh spirits give me strength.  They’re even racist in code.”

“White men…in heap big trouble…”

“There,” Standing Eagle said. “Right there.  That is a vicious stereotype.  None of us use the word ‘heap’ to describe anything.”

Screeching Owl, one of the tribe’s younger warriors, rode his steed up to the group and peered at the puffs of smoke rising above the town.

“Sorry I am late,” Owl said. “Wow.  That’s a heap many smoke clouds.”

Eagle looked to Snake, who shrugged his shoulders.  “Oh fine. So one of us uses the word ‘heap’ in place of ‘many’ or ‘very’ and to the white man that means we all do it.  I swear the white man judges every other group based solely on its dumbest member.  Owl!”

Owl turned his gaze to the Chief.  “Chief?”

“Stop saying ‘heap!’”

Owl nodded. “I’m heap sorr…I’m very sorry.”

Snake continued the translation.  “Monsters have…overrun…town.  Soon will…take over…country.  Please…send help…so we can defeat…leader of monsters.”

“Give me that,” Eagle said as he grabbed Snake’s spy glass and trained it about the town.  Wherever he looked, he saw buildings on fire, half-eaten bodies in the streets, and dead men traipsing about.

“What in the…Snake!”

“Chief?”

“What’s going on down there?” Eagle asked.

The shaman lit up a stick that was doused with sweet smelling incense, the aroma of which he believed would ward off evil.

“The spirits are angry.”

Eagle kept using the spy glass to take in different views of the carnage until he spotted old man Knox and his boys standing on the back of a flipped over cart, shooting every last bullet they had at a throng of zombies until they were torn apart, severed limbs being tossed everywhere.

“The white men need help,” Eagle said as he handed the spy glass back to the shaman.

Like his namesake, Charging Bobcat was lean and wiry.  His hair was styled in a mohawk, with tattoos inked along the shorn sides of his head.  A feather dangled from his ear.

“Let the white men die, Eagle,” Bobcat said.  “This is likely their doing.  Some sort of experiment they did to ‘improve’ over Mother Nature’s wishes coming back to bite them…literally.”

“Right,” Eagle said.  “Start a fire and send them my response.  ‘Dear White Men.  So sorry that another group just showed up one day and started taking all of your shit even though you all had clearly been there for awhile.  We have no idea what that’s like…”

Snake shook his head.

“What?” Eagle asked.  “Too much sarcasm?”

The shaman peered once more at the town through his telescope.  “Spirits would say that the evil of others is no excuse for you to commit evil.  Those in need must be helped by those who can.”

“Damn it, Snake,” Eagle said.

“Eagle!!!”

The Chief turned his attention to his scout, Crafty Fox, who was quickly galloping in from the south side of the mountain, flanked on either side by two more scouts.

There was a look of terror on Fox’s face.

“Come quickly!”

Eagle and his braves followed the scouts to the South side of the mountain.  Though they were all battle tested fighters, the warriors’ mouths gaped in awe at the sight that unfolded before their eyes.

Lines of werewolves marched in formation from the West, snapping whips across the backs of the zombies ahead of them, herding them toward Highwater.  It was a massive army, thousands in total.

Eagle was calm and resolute in his orders.  “All of you.  Return to the village.  Gather the women, children and the elderly and seek refuge with our friends in the south.”

“And what of you?”  Bobcat asked.

“I will do what I always do,” the Chief said.  “I will stand.”

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