hbo – The Nerd Corps

Samuel Kishi crafts a remarkable film that reflects on the immigrant experience and the sacrifices they must make to survive.

I am a son of an immigrant, my father had to make the toughest decision to come over to a country he knew nothing about to be able to be with my mother. My mother is a daughter of immigrants, her parents made a tough decision to cross the border and provide a better life to their children than the one they had in Mexico. My family is filled with a history of being immigrants and we carry that with us every day of our lives. We are reminded every time we look around of the countless struggles and obstacles we crossed to be able to stand comfortably in this land we still don’t know a lot about. These are not easy decisions to make but sometimes they are the only viable ones. You have to leave your life back home and start from zero in a new place where you know nothing of the customs, language, and culture that you find yourself in now. There are many like you around but even then you still don’t entirely feel like you belong over here but you remember that in this life you have to sacrifice a lot. The Wolves is a film that follows these exact beats and speaks on this very experience.

The Wolves is directed by Samuel Kishi and stars Martha Reyes Arias, Maximiliano Nájar Márquez, and Leonardo Nájar Márquez as a family that immigrates to the United States from Mexico. The boys stay in their apartment that does not have a proper bed to sleep on while their mother works long shifts for multiple jobs while trying to make ends meet. The boys spend their days hanging out with each other and listening to tapes that their mother has left them with stories of the past and English lessons. The boys are given a set of rules they must follow but as their stay prolongs things get harder and harder to understand. All while they are told that one day they will get to go to Disneyland. These boys befriend their landlords while staying at this complex and get to know the neighborhood children who pose problems for them.

The film is expertly directed with a beautiful screenplay to accompany it. There was not a single moment here where my attention was somewhere else. I was emotional throughout this whole ordeal watching as these boys try to understand how much their mom is sacrificing for them. Maybe it is because I relate a lot to what these boys feel because I grew up a lot like them with not a lot as times were very tight with money. The film also is crafted with some exquisite and powerful cinematography by Octavio Arauz. Our main cast also give wonderful performances that creep right into your heart even when there is not a lot of words being spoken. The Wolves enriches your experience with empathy and beauty in understanding the immigrant experience. What is not being said directly is discussed through its moments of tenderness in the story.

We are following this journey with these children as viewers to understand the sacrifices someone must make to provide a good life to those they love. We understand everything must be given up when we have to leave all we know. We sympathize with the feeling of being lost and not knowing how to ask for the help when we really need it. We learn to be patient because we don’t always understand the severity of the situations we find ourselves in. Most importantly, we learn to just keep moving forward because at the end of the day we are all a culmination of the sacrifices that those who came before us made.

The Wolves is available to watch on HBO Max.

A REVIEW OF HBO’S “the righteous gemstones”

By the way…this one’s spoiler-free. Enjoy.

I love when comedies are smart. When they take taboo subjects that very rarely get discussed (as people either find them too ridiculous or too unnerving to talk about) and shine the brightest damn light possible on them. Growing up on the coast of Mississippi, being raised southern baptist, and attending christian schools, I can say that I have seen my fair share of religion and teachings. I’m still spiritual in my own way, but I choose not to attend church services as I’ve been given plenty of reasons to mistrust religious organizations, especially those of the mega churches where every Sunday seems to be a Pink Floyd concert with a sermon in the middle of it. So, of course, I found HBO’s new comedy series hilarious, riveting, and having one hell of a soul.

“The Righteous Gemstones” is a brilliant comedy series that pokes fun at religion and leaves no mega church unharmed in its wake. Starring John Goodman, Danny McBride, Edi Patterson, Adam DeVine, and Walton Goggins, we are taken into the lives of the Gemstone Family, a multi-generational media conglomerate with live Sunday sermons broadcast all over the world. Goodman plays the patriarch Eli Gemstone, who is battling depression due to the passing of his wife (even going so far as to erect a fountain with a statue of her head topping it), and dances between wanting to follow his wife’s final wishes and the power of the dollar all-the-while having to corral his misbegotten children. Jesse (McBride), Judy (Patterson), and Kelvin (DeVine), as they’re called, are truly the protagonists of this series.

Jesse sees himself as the perfect…well, everything. As a father, brother, husband, pastor, etc. From the first episode, this is shown to be very, very untrue and it only gets better from there. As they say, pride comes before the fall. Judy is the 40-something, unmarried sister who looks for attention, be it from her father, lover, brothers, uncle…really anyone, like a heat seeking missile and behind that smile is a rage monster. Kelvin, the youngest, has been set to task as being the youth pastor in his family’s business and given really no responsibilities, other than keeping his friend Keefe Chambers from returning to his past devil-worshiping ways. Their back and forth bickering, slap stick, and general immaturity are the comedic highlights of this first season.

All three are spoiled to the point where reality has faded into the opulence of private jets, Mercedes G-Wagons, and even a flippin’ roller coaster on the family compound. However, mistakes are made that are liable to upend the family and cause irreversible damage to the image that Eli Gemstone has been cultivating for decades. How the family goes about reconciling these mistakes are truly hilarious and end in somewhat of the plucking of the good ol’ heartstrings. Also, another shining cast member is that of Walton Goggins who plays “Baby” Billy Freeman who is just electric in his role. I don’t want to get into too much detail as this is a must watch in my eyes and should be in yours too. – YoungYoda