Month: May 2021

Top Twenty Movies About Oklahoma

A guest review by Jonathan Dorst

With the recent news of the Matt Damon film Stillwater (filmed in and around Stillwater, OK) getting a July release date, and the news that Martin Scorsese has begun filming Killers of the Flower Moon in the Pawhuska/Bartlesville area with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, it got me thinking about movies that are about my adopted home state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has had its share of well-known actors– including Alfre Woodard, Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Mullaly, James Marsden, James Garner, Jennifer Jones, Vera Miles, Van Heflin, Ron Howard, Bill Hader, Tim Blake Nelson, Tracy Letts, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gary Busey, Wes Studi, and Will Rogers– but it has not had a plethora of movies made about it. The ones that have been made, however, include several that are fairly iconic, so it seems like a good time to rank the 20 best Oklahoma movies made so far. 

For starters, we’ll just consider feature films, not documentaries– apologies to Okie Noodling, Unlikely Family, and Tiger King. Also, movies simply filmed in Oklahoma (like UHF) or tangentially related (think Ruprecht yelling “Oh boy, Oklahoma, Oklahoma” in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) don’t count if they’re not essentially about Oklahoma. There are still a number of stories that could, and should, be told on screen about Oklahoma, including Clara Luper and the Katz Department store lunch sit-ins, Stanley Draper and the expansion of Oklahoma City, Stillwater’s Farm and the birth of Red Dirt Music, and the 2012 OKC Thunder. But for now, check out the stories that have made it to the big screen.

20. Home, James (2014)– Native Oklahoman Jonathan Rossetti directs and stars in this story of 20-somethings in Tulsa (filmed in Tulsa) trying to figure out life together and by themselves. 

19. Mekko (2015)- Sterlin Harjo’s picture of homeless and vulnerable Native Americans. Much of it was shot in the block surrounding Tulsa’s historic Circle Cinema in the Kendall-Whittier district.

18. To the Stars (2019)- A thoughtful picture of 1960’s Oklahoma and outcast teenagers (and adults) trying to survive. Filmed in and around Oklahoma.

17. The Oklahoma Kid (1939)– James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star in this story about the 1889 Land Run, outlaws, family, and the establishment of cities and order in the West. Shot in California.

16. Oklahoma (1965)- Probably the first thing people think about, after country music, when they think about entertainment coming from the 46th state. Catchy songs but very strange in places. Shot in Arizona (why?).

15. Silkwood (1983)- Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her portrayal of Karen Silkwood in this true story. Filmed in Texas and New Mexico.

14. Where the Red Fern Grows (1974 & 2003)- The classic coming-of-age story of a boy who hunts raccoons better than anyone in Oklahoma, or Arkansas for that matter. The original (filmed in Vian and Talequah, OK) has a lot of country charm, the remake has Dave Matthews and a much bigger budget. 

13. Cimarron (1931 & 1960)- A Best Picture winner, this is the seminal movie about the Land Run. The 1960 remake might be an improvement, but it didn’t win Best Picture, so we’ll stick with the original (although neither was filmed in Oklahoma).

12. Far and Away (1992)- Ron Howard’s epic saga of Irish immigrants surviving the land rush has abundant Irish clichés and all the charisma of (then married) Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Most of the film was filmed in Ireland, with the land rush scenes filmed in Montana.

11. Twister (1996)– Filmed in Wakita and lots of other parts of Oklahoma, this 1996 movie is still a top-tier disaster movie with a great cast.

10. Rumble Fish (1983)- Coppola’s follow-up to The Outsiders, a grittier version of young adult life in Tulsa in the mid-20th century based on the novel by SE Hinton. Filmed in, with tons of great footage of, Tulsa.

9. In Old Oklahoma (aka War of the Wildcats) (1943)- With John Wayne in a comedic role, this 1943 film imagined the feuds over oil, with a dash of romance. Filmed everywhere but Oklahoma.

8. Leaves of Grass (2009)- An hilarious tale written by Tulsa native Tim Blake Nelson about twin brothers from Oklahoma (both played by Edward Norton) who have taken very different paths in life but are brought back together near Tulsa for nefarious purposes. Filmed in Louisiana.

7. Hang ‘Em High (1968)– One of Clint Eastwood’s best Westerns, this is a meditation on revenge and the development of the justice system in the American West. Filmed in New Mexico and Arizona.

6. Oklahoma Crude (1973)- A similar premise to the Susan Hayward film Tulsa, but a more realistic (and cruder) vision of an independent woman, played by Faye Dunaway, trying to take on the big oil companies. Like many older films, this one was all filmed in California.

5. To the Wonder (2012)- Terrence Malick’s vision of cross-cultural romance, with Bartlesville, OK playing as big a role in Ben Affleck’s character’s love life as Paris, France. Some scenes were also shot in Pawhuska and Tulsa.

4. True Grit (1969 & 2010)- A classic Western about doing what’s right, no matter how hard. I prefer the Coen brothers version with Jeff Bridges (and the excellent Hailee Steinfeld) over the John Wayne version, even though none of it was filmed in Oklahoma.

3. August, Osage County (2013)- An all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, and Margo Martindale (and Ewan McGregor, and Benedict Cumberbatch, and Juliette Lewis…), anchors this funny and heartbreaking story that reminds us that we can’t choose our family, only how we treat them. Shot on location in Osage County, OK.

2. Grapes of Wrath (1940)- John Steinbeck’s iconic novel about the Dust Bowl and the Okie migration to California adapted in gorgeous black-and-white by John Ford with Henry Fonda. Some scenes were filmed in McAlester and Sayre, OK, but most of it was filmed in California.

1. The Outsiders (1983)- Francis Ford Coppola’s classic adaptation of Tulsan SE Hinton’s novel of greasers and socs. Filmed in Tulsa, it was a launching pad for a bunch of great young actors.

Honorable Mentions: Tex, Come Sunday, Return of the Bad Men, Four Sheets to the Wind, Where the Heart Is, Tulsa.

Others: Oklahoma Territory, Into the Storm, Thunderstruck, Home in Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Cyclone, Bringing Up Bobby, Barking Water, Keys to Tulsa (awful), Terror at Tenkiller (worse than awful).

Triple Feature: Raya and the Last Dragon, Justice League, and Godzilla vs Kong

I’m back!

April was a hectic month, but never fear! I did watch movies, and I’ve got some thoughts on these recent blockbusters and streaming hits to help you navigate what you should watch next, from the latest Disney family fare to the mythical 4-hour superhero epic to the monster mash that helped re-open the box-office.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Raya and the Last Dragon, which did a simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ premium access release, follows young Raya on a search to find the last dragon in her fantasy world of Kumandra in order to save her father and the world from monstrous creatures called the Drunn.

Out of recent Disney movies, Raya has the most in common to Moana, with a weak pseudo-villain who later becomes a friend, lovable misfits accompanying the protagonist, and rejection of former Disney princess tropes like a romantic interest or ballgowns (and unlike Moana, Raya doesn’t even have musical numbers!). Both films are also set in an amalgamation of vast non-Western regions- Moana of Pacific Islander cultures, Raya of South Asian countries. There is an epic fantasy feel and scope to Raya that is ambitious for Disney (I’d say on par with or exceeding Frozen 2), although as many have pointed out, the world-building is similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender, which has been an influence on the fantasy genre across the board (such as the recent Netflix series adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone).

All of those other pieces of media- Moana, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Frozen 2, and Shadow and Bone– are hits with audiences, and Raya is just as likeable as those other films. However, I think it’s more unmemorable, for a simple reason. Because the film tries to cover a lot of ground in complex world-building, it’s so fast-paced that in order to get its numerous messages across- admirable ones about trust and cooperation and forgiveness- these themes must be talked about, rather than shown. Characters talk about the importance of trusting, cooperating, and forgiving one another, but the examples of that happening in the story are rushed. We are told emotions without seeing the characters fully feel them, which means we can’t feel them deeply either. The animation is beautiful and the voicework is strong, but they don’t service a story that can stand up on its own without being overly explained to the audience. This makes Raya feel like it was made for a younger audience than that for which it really was made.

The Snyder Cut

Mamma Mia! Here we go again!

That’s right, 2017’s Justice League is back, and I sat down and watched all of the new 4 hours of it. And I’m here to report that…. It’s fine! It’s better than the original Joss Whedon version (“Josstice League”).

If you like Zack Snyder’s work and his aesthetics, you will love this. This is an auteur completely unbridled, and it means the film has a distinct flavor that differentiates itself from other DC movies, even Snyder’s own. Snyder is not my personal cup of tea, but I see the appeal. He excels at grandeur, using the camera to worships its subject. His visual style is a perfect fit with comic book panel styling, which similarly venerates its god-like subjects. And he puts the extra time to good use giving more story to Cyborg, who becomes the emotional core of the movie, removing the sexism towards Wonder Woman present in Josstice League, and expanding the story so it’s not as rushed or slapped together as it previously was. Most of my issues with the original film– that everything felt hasty and half-baked, unfinished CGI, lame humor– are all fixed. But those problems being fixed doesn’t mean this is an enjoyable four hours.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the saga of why this “Snyder Cut” came about, I’ll give you the short version. During the production of Justice League, Zack Snyder’s family suffered a terrible tragedy that caused him to leave the film. Joss Whedon, hot off of the newest Avengers movie (my beloved Age of Ultron), was brought in to finish the film. When it was released with negative reviews, the legend of a “Snyder Cut,” a cut of the film that was solely Zack Snyder’s creative vision, unsullied by the studio or Whedon, became to emerge online in fan communities. It continued to grow as more details of both Snyder’s original film came to light, along with more and more ugly allegations against Warner Brother executives and Joss Whedon on the set, primarily from Ray Fischer (who plays Cyborg). In late 2019 the actors took to social media to voice their support for Zack and the cut. This coincided with the development of HBO Max streaming service, which needed original content to entice subscribers. Why not bring back Zack and give him money to complete his original film and serve the fanbase and distract from the Joss Whedon allegations and build up HBO Max? So that’s why we have the Snyder Cut. It’s a juicy Hollywood story, it does make it feel some justice has been served, and it means we will never hear the end of “Release the ___ cut of ___ Movie!”. 

Ultimately, the story about this film is more interesting than the film itself. For fans of DC comics and Snyder, The Snyder Cut is a worthy reward, but I can’t recommend it for anyone else.

Godzilla vs Kong

Is Godzilla vs Kong the best movie of 2021? Ok, maybe that’s hyperbolic (although hyperbole is in line with a movie like this!). But, I’ll argue that it’s the most fun movie of 2021 so far. I’m not usually a fan of monster action movies, and I haven’t seen the other Godzilla or Kong movies. But there are two reasons why I think Godzilla vs Kong worked for me. 

First, we came here to see two CGI monsters duke it out, and director Adam Wingard understood the assignment. We get three epic fights, the first of which could be studied in film school. We have Kong chained down on the boat, unable to fight Godzilla, who’s already at an advantage in the water. Their ancient rivalry has been established; there can only be one winner. The stakes have been set. Our human characters are helpless until, in the eleventh hour, they’re able to help turn the tables of the fight. There’s character development, tension, and suspense. Poetic cinema.

Speaking of the humans, they aren’t annoying! Okay, some of them are. But while such a large cast of characters means no one is well fleshed-out, it also does mean we don’t have to spend too long with any one group of them, so you won’t get bored as the movie jumps between them. Everybody knows what kind of movie they are in and thay all do an excellent job. Rebeca Hall, Kaylee Hottle (joining the proud cinematic tradition of silent young girls), and Brian Tyree Henry are standouts. 

Godzilla vs Kong is fun and silly without feeling phoned in. It’s a love letter to monster movies and good! We need it. While the pandemic continues to rage on worldwide, there is no better time to see a movie that is both escapist fun and reminds us of what the pandemic has taught us- which is that history shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men.

-Madeleine D