Lost in Transit and in Time

[davetheanalyzer]

The transition to my new mentor was smooth. No sooner did I have my last session with the previous mentor did I hear I’ll be meeting my current 1. We’ve been practicing driving for a couple weeks, though still getting used to each other. She’s far more cautious, wishing I go under the speed limit for our safety. It admittedly led to me feeling stressed and annoyed, like all my progress was being reverted via different rules. Still, she says I’m improving and when I wanted to see a film last Tuesday (More on that later), she was willing to take me. She also mentioned she’s financially stable, so she likely won’t need to leave to find a better paying job and said she could wait out whenever I get sick for a month and a half. We discussed learning a couple other things like using a checkbook, which my mom has taught me very occasionally. Hopefully it’s a relationship that’ll last a while.

I ran into some struggles with mail. I decided to indulge myself and buy candy off Ebay. I was a bit concerned when it took a while to ship, to the point I ordered a second batch from another buyer. But then the first batch finally shipped and I waited with anticipation, not minding the second batch was unavailable and getting a refund. The trouble began when the first batch was announced to have arrived a couple Fridays ago, where it was nowhere to be found. I had to wait at least a day because it might be delayed. When I went to my town’s post office the following Monday, Mom and I learned it apparently got sent to the wrong address, though they didn’t give me what address it was. I informed the seller asking for at least a partial refund but they don’t seem interested in doing that, insisting after when I asked Ebay for help that it was sent as desired. Annoying but don’t feel like pressing it too much. My actual address was part of the order. Maybe someone in stress or a hurry mixed it up with another item. My dad wants that postal worker fired but that’s too much work and especially with the postal service under attack from the right, I don’t want to contribute to that even in a small way.

I saw The End of Oak Street last Tuesday. A survival thriller film is not something I would normally see and I was put off by the AI dog podcast promotion but it drew me and despite spoiling myself, I decided to see it. I found it good. A suburban neighborhood being teleported to the dinosaur era is a novel idea and it’s used for all the fears and thrills that could happen (except maybe a volcano eruption). It introduced the lead family and their conflicts well, with the father Greg dysfunctional and the mother Denise considering a divorce. The 1980s setting apparently was to throwback to that era’s wild-premise films and presumably to not have computers interfere. The buildup to the time change and the revelation of dinosaurs was pretty tense and creepy. I liked a neighbor was shown driving off and speeding back to his home in terror. Some expressed discomfort that a couple times cats were implied or explicitly shown to be killed while the family dog was ultimately unharmed, which I agree was unjust. There’s barely any explanation for how and why these location time displacements are happening but there doesn’t need to be, as it’s focused on how a family copes with the situation. Of course this only intensifies marital conflicts and their son Brian’s insecurities. I liked a bully angry Brian accidentally broke his little brother’s arms assaulted him, only for the brother in question to shout against it, saying they have bigger problems. This continued pursuit of old grievances in a crisis situation does feel not far off from reality (RIP the bully actor, who passed away after this film was shot).

The movie doesn’t attempt to keep the dinosaurs consistent with the era, with some that didn’t even have feathers given feathers. As I read someone point out, there’s a throughline of the neighborhood didn’t work together, only bunkering into their house and being picked off 1 by 1. I surmise that’s suburbia in the 1980s in some respects even though the people doing this aren’t inherently malicious. The people in this story didn’t act very logically but that makes sense since a lot of them didn’t expect this absurd situation and don’t have any training. Denise’s family does take in a girl Brian crushed on called Janet whose parents were eaten but she quickly bonds with Aubrey instead, implying they have feelings for each other. Neat but also sad about the modern fascist atmosphere that the best queer representation can only be displayed through subtext. It was amusing seeing 2 dinosaurs mating on a house and the couple take the levity they could from it. If I hadn’t spoiled myself, it would’ve been shocking that Greg gets killed midway through the film. That Denise just stands there while the dinosaur eats him displays understandable shock, as does the dinosaur now having a meal and thus ignoring the rest of the family. Them finding a portal home and trying desperately to enter it was tense. Brain mistiming his jump is understandable as he’s a kid but it leads to the family getting cornered. The librarian saving them was good.

Then the weird implications come in when Denise and the others find themselves back to their time, 20 minutes before the neighborhood gets transported. The family calls the alive Greg out of the neighborhood before it happens. Was there an alternate Denise and her kids now trapped in the dinosaur era? Janet saved her family and now there are 2 of her. I don’t blame the family for not thinking too hard about it, but it makes the conclusion less wholly happy than presented. Still, it was nice that Denise saved those she knew who died in the original timeline, even Mel the jerk neighbor who’s very thankful to her. Denise managed to monetize the experience and give her family more comfort, presumably also talking with Greg about and settling their problems. Who knows what this world would do with the dinosaurs transported to the present, maybe make scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that wouldn’t be possible with fossils. There’s dead bodies, animal harm, and a deleted marketing promotion using A.I. but with that in mind, I do recommend this film for those interested.

That’s all for now. Free Palestine and all those in Israel’s torture prisons. May Trump and his ilk fail utterly. Until the end of September, see you!