As a comic-book heroine continues her blockbuster dominance this summer, a much lesser known film has also grabbed moviegoers’ full attention. The self-distributed Native American story “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” has quietly sold out nearly every one of its appearances at multiplex theaters across the U.S. over the past two weeks. This box-office winner, with an amazing and authentic star, has touched so many hearts that theaters are extending their movie runs in cities and while expanding into new markets. Due to the overwhelmingly positive reception in Phoenix to “Neither Wolf Nor Dog,” the independent film has just added Tucson to its growing list of cities for wider release—set now to premiere at Harkins Theatres Tucson Spectrum 18 on July 7 for at least one week of showings.

Based on Kent Nerburn’s critically acclaimed novel by the same name, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” tells the unforgettable Indian story of a 95-year-old Lakota elder named Dan, played perfectly by Dave Bald Eagle. Getting too old, the Native American leader wants his personal notes formally recorded for history’s sake. Tasked to compile the leader’s lifelong journey is none other than fair-minded author and white man Nerburn (Christopher Sweeney).

Modestly filmed by a crew of two over only 18 days, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” is an incredible look inside the Lakota Country of South Dakota. The movie powerfully captures the culture, hardships, and obstacles that Native Americans have endured over the years. It also highlights the graciousness, humor, and pride still vibrant throughout the Lakota people.

The excellence and shear power of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” is found in its main star, Dave Bald Eagle, who died post-production at the age of 97. Left for dead on D-Day in real life, Bald Eagle leads a stellar cast that’s both believable and fascinating to watch. The interaction of the characters, particularly Sweeney’s as Nerburn opposite Bald Eagle’s robust Dan, is what keeps this dialogue-heavy movie rolling and interesting.

“Neither Wolf Nor Dog” is an education for viewers throughout. It presents the beauty and tragedy of Lakota life in simple terms, right down to the cinematography and filmmaking techniques used to tell one man’s iconic journey. A historical account that goes back to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. All events and relationships that must be remembered forever. And that’s the true importance of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog”: the deeply seeded history lesson of our nation’s past and present with the Lakota culture.

This film isn’t bringing home the box-office sales of “Wonder Woman,” but it’s selling out theaters everywhere it’s shown. “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” is a bold, rich take on Native American history that is catching fire with audiences throughout Arizona. We’re fortunate to have this unforgettable story come to Tucson this week.

Patrick King is a resident of Tucson and writer for the REEL BRIEF movie blog at www.reelbrief.com.

The Burro Fire east of Tucson has grown to more than 25,000 acres, but crews have made some progress in containing the blaze. Incident Commander Bea Day said in a press release that containment of the fire was at 11 percent, as of Thursday afternoon.

Catalina Highway, Redington Pass Road and the Mount Lemmon Service Road remained closed Thursday, allowing officials and fire personnel to move unencumbered in their efforts to fight the fire. Residents of Summerhaven were still barred from returning home.

The origin of the fire, first reported on June 30 in the Burro Tank area of Redington Pass, is still under investigation. Nearly 700 fire personnel from 16 crews are on assignment, with eight helicopters and 47 fire engines to help combat the fire.

Considerable progress was made along the fire’s southeastern front on Wednesday, said Bea.

“Fire crews will continue to strengthen fire lines and do mop up work to ensure that the fire does not escape containment,” he said.

However, the northeastern boundary of the fire continues to burn unabated. The area is too dangerous to send personnel in by foot, with the steep terrain offering few escape routes for firefighters and ample fuel source for the fire.

Instead, crews are using helicopters and water tankers to drop slurry on the blaze while at the same time “making contingency plans so they will be prepared if the fire should attempt to spread into the rugged country beyond the existing perimeter,” Day said.

Crews were also working to protect structures along Catalina Highway. Brush and debris were removed from the area, with contingencies made for defending homes'

“Firefighters are positioned for a possible defensive burning operation between the highway and the fire’s edge should the fire make an aggressive run to the west,” Day said.

Less-than-ideal weather has also slowed efforts. Crews will be battling more than just the fire this  weekend, with an extreme heat advisory in effect for the area through Friday. Forecasts do call for some monsoon activity on Saturday or Sunday, however.

During Thursday mornings incident briefing, Day took a moment to remember the importance of the date. “On this day 23 years ago, 14 firefighters lost their lives on the South Canyon Fire” in Colorado, he said.

Then he warned the firefighters to be careful out there.

“There is nothing on that mountain worth dying for,” Day said. “Keep your head on a swivel, watch out for each other and come back here safe tonight at end of shift.”

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Music

Dogbreth. "I want you to feel like you could rely on me if you need to" ... but I’m not sure if you can. This typifies the brutally honest, slightly neurotic voice of Dogbreth, a self-effacing indie combo from Phoenix and Seattle. Despite the lead singer’s openhearted rawness, the band is surprisingly well-produced and polished. Kindred to Fang Island, though by far less straight-ahead rocking, these kids were suckled on Belle and Sebastian's Tigermilk, reared on The Shins and came of age to Wayne Coin's quirked-up psych-pop earnestness. By calling themselves out on their own awkwardness, "head shaved, eating pizza at the Christown mall, waiting for you to call," Dogbreth is instantly endearing. That the fuzz guitars really soar and the bass really pounds make up for the wavery vocals, hell they highlight how authentic they really are. "Rock ’n’ roll won't make it all OK, but it used to seem that way.” Damn straight, and when we hear bands like this we remember why we felt that way. With Nice Try, Her Mana and CTV. Sunday, July 9
at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. $7. 7 p.m. 16 and up.

Satanik Goat Ritual. Rimshots pound your skull with relentless determination, a guitar pelts you with driving black rain and a vocalist terrifies, growling unholy utterances that keep popping up in an unseen speakers, like some Wackamole demon. The effect is disorienting, dark and appears utterly devoid of irony. This is Satanik Goat Ritual. Hailing from El Paso (fuck, yeah!), the band channels the violence of life lived debajo de la frontera. There’s no native language that will help you understand SGR's lyrics—they are utterly indescifrable— or universally understandable, depending on your perspective. In a "Prayer for Death," it’s like the deep vocal bark and repetitive hammer-fist downstrokes evoke thing you’re really ashamed of, sexual or otherwise. That’s power in song! This brutal combo channels real menace and conjures and harnesses that energy, and it’s primally unnerving. With Olden, Shadows of Algol, Bloodtrail and Xiuhcoatl on Saturday, July 8 at The Flycatcher, 340 E. 6th St. 9 p.m. $5. 21+.

decker. With the melodic sensibility of early Wallflowers, harnessing the jaunty chorale energy of the Polyphonic Spree, decker continuously bounces the listener like a baby on his knee and turns well-worn phrases over like quarters in his hands. He takes old-timey Americana orchestration to tackle modern topics like being a suburban "Patsy" ("Never better over there"), or the fact ODB will take his secrets "to the grave." His voice is a sincere blend of high nasal wine and perfect jazz control, a stellar combo and this music would be impeccable if it weren't for the irony. The production is perfect, stylized, craft-cocktail-hip, as are his pro YouTube vids. Perhaps he wants to be up-to-the-moment Jonathan Richmond (that’s be a real drag), but the music lapses into hipster clever-clever land too often. In the bluesy "Blackwash" he asks, "You want it real hot baby, how you feel it now?" I just want to feel something. And we’d much rather this mustached dude be real than hot. Ultimately his mastery over his music is his lorded mastery over us. As he strings together cliché after cliché, I wonder if he's just smirking inside, stringing listeners along too. With the mighty Carlos Arzate and The Kind Souls, Upsahl on Friday, July 7. Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. 8 p.m. 21+. Free.

Patsy's Rats. "Rock ’n’ roll friend/Come see me again?/I'm starting to miss you" is sung to the limits of earnest Patsy Gelb’s vocal range. A dude sorta harmonizes overtop for emphasis, and punchy glimpses of a "My Sharona"/“Pretty Vacant” guitar punctuates and soars. The whole thing’s sweetly nostalgic, like Holly and the Italians or early Cars. Her vocals can be coolishly indifferent-sounding like VU's Mo Tucker, so when Patsy invites her friend to join her in a big black car, who wouldn’t wanna get on in with her. The band hails from Portland, but Patsy's dad is Pennsylvania-via-Tucson hero Howe Gelb, and her mom co-wrote Belinda Carlisle’s giant killer hit “Mad About You.” So, yeah, pretty good genes. On "Hard Time Karen,” we say goodbye to the girl enough times to make this song a solid drinking game selection. It's bouncy but dark and captures the duality of pop and macabre that’d make Lou Reed or Ric Ocasek green with envy. See the Rats before they blow into full-on underground superstars. With The Resonars, Al Lover and Wooden Tooth Record DJs on Thursday July 6. Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. 7 p.m. Free.

We heart this cool flick.

The Fox Tucson Theater offers comfy seats, central air and air-conditioning for the brain with the zephyr-light, Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire vehicle, Funny Face, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 7.

Among the most enduring relics of Hollywood’s golden age of romantic comedies, this technicolor gem features haut style in an uber-cool Parisian fashion environment.

It’s the genre paradigm that gave rise to La La Land, but we’ve seen Fred Astaire, and adorable as Ryan Gosling is, he is no Fred Astaire.

The Fox event benefits the Andra Heart Foundation which provides heart screening for high-school athletes and heart health information to the community. General admission is $25; VIP seats are $75 and include a reception at 5:30 p.m. plus reserved seats in the loge or balcony.

“Sing,” laugh and stay cool with the kiddies!

The 2016 animated feature Sing echoes the story of the Fox Theatre, where it screens at 10 a.m. Friday, July 14. The movie follows the exploits of Koala Buster Moon who aspires to rescue his grand old theater with a singing competition worthy of the Guinness Book of Records. Five contestants show up, hi-jinx and calamities ensue and lives are changed forever. The movie’s free, and so is the popcorn!

Cool off with coffee?

Historically, Tucsonans drank coffee to stay cool. Perspiration plus zero dew-point made swamp coolers of their skin. Now we can drink iced coffee and enjoy free entertainment every Friday at 8 p.m. at air-conditioned Epic Café, 745 N. 4th Ave. The Sound of Comedy open mic features aspiring musicians and comedians, both. Organizer Rich Aguirre says, “We are giving more artists more stage time so they can grow. And more performers bring more audience members.”

This week, the Tucson film community delivers a little somethin' somethin' for everyone—whether you're feeling goofy or heartfelt, we've got just the moviegoing experience for you!

The Loft

Cult Classic Series (every Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m.): On Friday, July 7, and Saturday, July 8, The Loft will show Idiocracy, a science fiction comedy designed to examine the devolution of humanity. From Mike Judge, the creator of Office Space and Beavis and Butthead, this movie follows the life of the smartest man half a millennia in the future.

Social Justice Summer (every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.): This series aims to pair hard-hitting social justice issues with cinema, as audiences are invited to explore important issues through film. Leading community experts will be present after every showing to hold community talkbacks. This Wednesday, July 12, the Global Justice Center will air a free screening of Who is Dayani Cristal? This film follows the investigation into the life of an unidentified immigrant found dead in Arizona's Sonora Desert. Follow a team of forensic anthropologists as they attempt to restore the man's lost identity and retrace his incredible journey to the U.S-Mexico's deadliest border crossing.

Mondo Mondays (every Monday at 8 p.m.): Diving directly into the strange, wonderful and unorthodox realms of mondo movies, this series is sure to deliver a weekly dose of weird. This Monday, July 10, enjoy Meatballs Part II, the truly bizarre sequel to Bill Murray's 1979 hit Meatballs. Behold the wild antics of a new crew of campers, a pot-smoking alien named Meathead and Paul Reubens (pre-Pee-Wee).

Outdoor Movie Party!: Though Tucson days simmer on, the nights offer cool reprieve from the intense heat. Join The Loft in their final Outdoor Movie Party! screening this Saturday, July 8 at 7:30. If you missed last week's showing of the Cat Video Fest, then fear not! This purr-fectly hilarious lineup of cat videos is yours for the watching! Proceeds benefit local cat shelters in Tucson!

First Friday Shorts (every first Friday of the month at 9 p.m.): Head on down to The Loft this Friday, July 7, to participate in the Tucson-famous First Friday Shorts Series. Enjoy a smorgasbord of local shorts, and participate in naming this month's best films!

Loft Jr.: This Saturday, July 8 at 10 a.m., enjoy a free showing of the Oscar-nominated family film Whale Rider. Hosted at the Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse, audiences are invited to participate in pre-showing activities (9:15 a.m.) hosted by Mildred & Dildred Toy Store. This movie follows a young girl's struggle to fulfill her destiny within her tribe and her journey to claim her birthright. This beautifully-photographed New Zealand film spins a tale of triumph and tribulation.

Poetry on Film: Enjoy a series of short films this Wednesday, July 12, 7:30 p.m., at the University of Arizona Poetry Center. The New York International Children's Film Festival Best Of the Festival Short Films features 13 short films, with a screening of Tucson native Timothy Reckart's Head Over Heels to boot. Hosted outdoors, these screenings are free to the public and invite audiences to immerse themselves in the artistic and talented world of children's film.

More details on all of above at loftcinema.org.

There isn’t a single wrong note in Maudie, an alternately heartbreaking and uplifting biofilm about the life of Canadian painter Maud Lewis (Sally Hawkins).

After answering an ad for a housekeeper in Nova Scotia, Maud, stricken with arthritis since she was a child, winds up in the house of miserable bastard Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke, delivering yet another monumental performance). The two wind up married, but it’s no fairytale; Everett has some major, major issues that Maud must contend with and, when Maud finds fame with her sweet paintings, Everett becomes an even bigger jerk.

Director Aisling Walsh, working from a script by Sherry White, makes a lot of interesting choices depicting the couple; Hawkins and Hawke make them all work. Hawkins is a true Oscar contender for her work here, and while the role of Lewis requires a difficult and strenuous physical performance, the light in her voice gives Lewis an illuminating quality.

The humor always shines through, and it’s breathtaking how good she is. Hawke never gives up the ghost on his character, one of unrelenting stubbornness afflicted with a permanent scowl. He could find himself in the Oscar race, as well.

If there’s an underlying message to this movie it’s this: If you love somebody, you better damn well act like you mean it before it’s too late.

The Fourth of July is synonymous with watermelon, barbeque and fireworks. Here in Tucson, it's all those things and more, with "more" being the annual grass-fire on Sentinel Peak, aka "A" Mountain.

This years' torching was more extensive than past years, with the entire south-face of the peak erupting in flames for well over three hours.

I initially started my night at Kino Sports Park, however after seeing initial social media postings depicting the fire, I quickly jumped into traffic and headed towards the west-side. Here is a video diary of what I was able to capture:

I saw initial reports of a fire breaking out on "A" Mountain and decided to head over. Immediately after leaving Kino Sports Complex and jumping onto Campbell Avenue, the fire was visible. At this point, the fireworks show was still proceeding.


As I crossed the I-10 onto Tucson's west-side, the fire came into view in spectacular fashion. Multiple vehicles pulled off the road to witness the blaze. People looking to leave the area after the fireworks clashed with traffic returning from other parts of the city. This video is taken from a neighborhood on Silverlake Road, a little over a mile from the fire.

The world witnessed a chicken reach unprecedented heights, only to return to Earth early due to a technical malfunction.

World View Enterprises launched a Kentucky Fried Chicken Zinger sandwich in near-space on June 29 near Page, Arizona. The launch was delayed a week due to weather concerns and carried out in Page instead of the new World View HQ in Pima County.


Ostensibly scheduled to promote the nationwide roll out of the sandwich, the launch was also supposed to test key systems on World Views proprietary Stratolite technology. The mission was to last four days. However, that didn't happen, and the craft returned to Earth within 24 hours.

Jane Poynter, Chief Executive Officer of World View, said in a press release that she was pleased with the overall mission result. "Within an hour, all system test objectives were met," she said. That success included, "altitude control capability, solar power generation and successful distribution, high-definition video downlink, and effective steering of the vehicle."

The special payload also operated to specs. The Zinger performed "flawlessly and experienced incredible views from the edge of space," Poynter said.

Still, problems emerged. After nearly 17 hours in flight, a small tear in one of the Stratolite's balloons grounded the craft.  World View has based its business on developing guided high-altitude balloons (unlike standard weather-balloons, which lack guidance systems) that can do the job of satellites at a lower cost. The Zinger mission was to be the first multi-day test of that system.

Even though the Stratolite made an early return, Poynter said she and the World View team "are extremely pleased with the results of the mission. Many of these systems were flown for the first time and tested together simultaneously."

Far from acknowledging any problems with the mission, KFC reveled in getting the sandwich airborne. On the company's official Facebook page, a short video of the sandwich in its custom made "space-pod" is shown. Above the video is the caption: "The Chicken has landed, welcome home brave space sandwich."

Calls for free or nearly free college tuition are gaining momentum. That's not surprising given the increasing cost of college and the skyrocketing level of student loan debt. In 2009, Americans owed $150 billion in student loans. In 2017, it's up to $1.3 trillion. And that number will keep climbing as interest rates go up. Student loan interest is tied to the rate on treasury notes, which just took a jump. That means a seven-tenths of a percent hike on student loan rates.

What to do? Tennessee, Oregon and New York are experimenting with different ways of making college tuition free, at least for community colleges. Arizona gubernatorial candidate David Garcia has made the gradual move toward free tuition beginning at the community college level and eventually expanding to state universities part of his campaign platform. This year, our universities are piloting an Arizona Teacher Academy which will be tuition free for students willing to commit to teaching in high-need schools. It's a good first step, but this first year, it will help only 200 students, mainly seniors. It's hard to imagine our legislature giving the universities enough money to expand the program.

My favorite semi-utopian-but-plausible notion for free tuition is usually called income-share, though I'm fond of the name some people have given to a program Oregon is looking into: the Pay It Forward plan. The basic idea is, college is tuition free when students attend, then they pay for it after they leave. However, unlike loan programs where people have a fixed amount of debt they have to pay off, students pay a percentage of what they earn over a ten to twenty year period. In Oregon, the proponents say the program would be self sufficient if graduates pay back 3.5 to 4 percent of their earnings over twenty years. At Purdue University in Indiana where they're trying out the idea, the payments are spread over ten years. The percentage graduates pay is determined by the amount of their tuition they defer.

Hi, I’m Namibia.

I am a 6-year-old pastel girl looking for the purr-fect home. When people walk by my kennel I make a unique chipping noise to let them know to come see me. I am shy until I get to know you so I will need time to adjust to my new home. I don’t like change much but promise to be a gentle, loving, loyal lap cat if you give me the time I need. Come by HSSA Main Campus at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. to do a meet and greet, or give an adoption counselor a call at 327-6088 ext. 173 for more information!

Lots of Love,
Namibia (841947)