Reel to Wheel 2

While working on the sequel to Every Time I Think of You, I decided to specifically watch movies that prominently feature characters who are wheelchair users or are disabled. I wanted to see how depictions are either accurate or, more often, preposterous or melodramatic. Here's a list:

Abominable (2006): Rear Window meets Sasquatch. Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy) is forced by his doctor, apparently, and his slightly abusive caregiver to return to his remote cabin in the mountains, after a paralyzing rock-climbing accident that killed his wife. Along with the amusing low-grade horror devices, a number of improbabilities plague this low-budget thriller. What doctor would recommend making a man return to his completely inaccessible home, with two flights of stairs? Rogers is portrayed as a trapped victim forced to become a hero and save the dwindling cast of female nearby cabin-renters.

A few amusing B-horror actor cameos, plus a lot of gore, don't excuse the completely implausible story that the notoriously reclusive (albeit fictional) Bigfoot would go on a murderous rampage. At least Rogers does eventually become a hero. (See interview with the writer-director.)

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Planta 4 (2003; also called 4th Floor, and Entre Amigos, not to be confused with the cheesy American thriller The 4th Floor): About a group of rambunctious kids dealing with cancer, and its resultant leg amputations, the film is set entirely in a Spanish hospital, where the adorable clan get into various mishaps and misadventures. There's a bit of tragedy, but more, an overriding sense of goodhearted spirit to Antonio Mercero's film, which is based on the experiences of screenwriter Albert Espinosa's stage play, called 'The Baldies' (the actors' shaved heads, while representing their recovery from chemotherapy, only make them cuter, especially Juan Jose Ballesta).

The Politics of Dancing

In between doing housework, watching the Democratic National Convention on TV, and the London Paralympics online (wheelchair rugby, aka murderball), I forgot to watch So You Think You Can Dance, which last year featured a duet performed by Oakland's AXIS Dance company, with Rodney Bell and Sonsheree Giles.

This time/last night, AXIS dancer/choreographer Sebastian Grub performed the intense duet "The Narrowing" with new company member Joel Brown (Bell has left the company). Here it is.

Pool & Court

Just a few screencaps of a few Paralympics hotties, including Andre Brazil, from Brazil, who won gold in the men's swimming 50meter.

The men's basketball game between Germany and Great Britain was the most violent, er, action-packed b-ball game I've seen in a while. It rivals wheelchair rugby in its suspense. The newer chairs make it easy for the competitors to flip back upright like gymnasts. amazing stuff, and you can watch hours of action, un-edited, with no Bob Costas (yay!).

Broadcast this, NBC.

The Paralympics in London start up next week, August 29. I wish a U.S. network would dare to broadcast what millions of people in other countries can see. 46 million disabled Americans, and they're robbed of this significant event of pure uplifting visibility. Here are some promo videos: