‘40 Acres' Review: This Land Is Their Land
The title of R.T. Thorne's fierce and striking postapocalyptic thriller, '40 Acres,' is, of course, rife with symbolism. The name stems from Gen. William T. Sherman's Civil War land promise to Black Americans freed from enslavement. Hailey's lush rural Canadian property, whose familial ownership dates to 1875, is a fulfilled vow that never came to fruition in the United States. Tellingly, those who trespass on Hailey's farm, such as a band of killers in the film's gruesome opening skirmish, are exclusively white.
To protect the area, Hailey and her Indigenous partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) — who's also understandably sensitive to the preciousness of land — rely on their four children. A kindhearted Emanuel (Kataem O'Connor) patrols; a perceptive Raine (Leenah Robinson) serves as a sniper; and the growing sisters Danis (Jaeda LeBlanc) and Cookie (Haile Amare) help where they can. Furthering fortifications include an electrified fence, A.T.V.s for roaming, a cache of guns in a fallout shelter and a network of subterranean tunnels suggesting an underground railroad. During the day they practice marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat, and at dinner, Raine presents a report on 'The Proletarian Handbook.'
Though Hailey prefers isolationism, new threats emerge testing her desire. Through her CB radio she learns that cannibals have massacred several surrounding farms. Her lone friend, Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), is also missing. Unbeknown to Hailey, Emanuel, who's desperate to find romance and others his age, takes in a wounded Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas), who mysteriously appears in search of help.
While we learn much about this family during the film's five chapters, their surrounding world remains obscured. Hailey speaks about a military faction known as 'Union,' but they're never seen. Is a government still in place? Is there an opposition? Though these cannibals are a menacing presence, they also remain nameless and broad. By seeing the army and the cannibals as the same threat, Thorne limits the film's dramatic potential to mix race with horror and history.
Still, there's a tense beauty to '40 Acres.' Deadwyler's forceful energy fills the frame; through her rigid stature and her cleareyed speech, she lends power and humor to this lovingly stern mother. Through wide shots and sweeping tracks, the cinematographer Jeremy Benning juxtaposes this heartland's soft golden hour magic with the hard violence necessary to defend it. A final freakout, taking place in multiple settings, helps to quench the viewer's pent-up blood thirstiness, while Hailey's last-act devotion to Emanuel adds warmth to a chilling apocalyptic story.
40 AcresRated R for strong bloody violent content and language. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
16 minutes ago
- Fast Company
‘Pips,' a new logic puzzle from New York Times Games, might just be your next ‘Wordle'
On an average day, tens of millions of people visit The New York Times Games section to solve the latest crossword puzzle, keep their Wordle streak alive, or see if they can figure out the mystery of that day's Connections puzzle. Two-thirds of the site's weekly visitors play two or more games. Half play four or more. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, The Times only occasionally releases new game offerings—typically one per year. So that makes Monday's release of Pips, the latest permanent addition to the collection especially significant. It's not only new, it's a new kind of puzzle, eschewing wordplay for logic. And if the reactions to the beta test (which launched in Canada in April)—and the outcry when The Times took the game offline for final polishing—are any indication, the company might have found its next big hit. Reddit users have been mourning its absence for over a month, debating whether the game would return and when. Reviews of the beta were glowing, calling it 'a brilliant fusion of classic gaming elements and modern puzzle design.' 'We wanted to do something that was original and fresh, but still familiar,' says Jonathan Knight, senior vice president and head of games at The New York Times. Pips was first proposed last year and the team has been working on it throughout 2025. It's a puzzle-based take on dominoes that lets users choose between three difficulty levels. Each game board has a series of conditions (for instance, in some regions, you must have the same number of pips, the dots on a domino, in each box, while in others, the pips must add up to a certain number). Like sudoku, it's about balance. You have to place your dominoes in a pattern that satisfies all of the different requirements. Easy puzzles in Pips have players placing four or five dominoes. Hard ones will have up to 16. There are no time limits. If you get the puzzle wrong, you can go back and continue working on it. And the game will show you the areas you need to correct. 'It's very hard in life to finish anything,' says Ian Livengood, puzzle editor of Pips. 'So there's something very satisfying about being able to finish [this game].' Hooking the player In a world where it's increasingly difficult to capture people's attention, The Times has had incredible success. Last year, its puzzles were played 11.1 billion times. Of that number, nearly half was focused on Wordle, which was played 5.3 billion times in 2024. (Every minute, the company says, more than 2,000 people share their Wordle score.) Connections, introduced in 2023, was played 3.3 billion times. The Games team says it doesn't focus on those numbers, but it does challenge itself to create titles that draw people back again and again. Most ideas don't make the cut. Several dozen concepts are pitched each year, from all corners of the company via hackathons and other initiatives. The majority of those concepts don't get too far. Some, like Zorse (a phrase-guessing game introduced last year) get as far as public beta tests before they're rejected. It comes down, generally, to the elusive fun factor. 'We focus very much first on the mechanics and finding the fun,' says Knight. With Pips, he says, there weren't a lot of major changes from the game's concept to its final execution. Most of the evolution was in how the game visually communicated the requirements of the puzzle to the player. Livengood says the hook for Pips as well as other Times games is their level of visual clarity. They're not designed to overwhelm you. You can look at the games and generally figure out what you're supposed to do in a very short amount of time. While games like Candy Crush use AI to create and optimize levels, puzzles at The New York Times, whether in Pips, Wordle, or any other game, are handcrafted. 'There's always a person behind the game,' Livengood says. 'And increasingly, with AI and computer-generated algorithms, that feels almost refreshing. It's comforting knowing there's a person behind it.' A less-is-more approach also helps draw people back in. Times games are designed to only take a few minutes, then you're free (and encouraged) to go about your day. 'It fits into your life,' says Knight. 'We're not trying to get you to stay in our app 24 hours a day. We're not nagging you constantly. A healthy, time well-spent cadence has been what makes us so successful.'
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
The Weeknd's Biggest Albums Join His Debut Project In Climbing The Charts
The Weeknd is one of a handful of musical acts so popular that they regularly occupy multiple spaces on the Billboard 200. That tally ranks the most consumed albums in America, and it's the most competitive and busiest of all lists dedicated to full-lengths, but that doesn't faze the Canadian hitmaker. This current frame is an exciting one for the Grammy-winning superstar. As multiple collections climb, one of his earliest career-making sets manages a comeback. The Weeknd Claims Five Billboard 200 Wins The Weeknd fills five spaces on the Billboard 200, making him one of the most successful names on the tally at the moment. Four of those projects climb from where they sat last time around. Hurry Up Tomorrow, his 2025 effort, is his highest-rising, as it returns to the top 40, lifting from No. 44 to No. 40. Three other blockbusters — Starboy, After Hours, and The Beauty Behind the Madness — descend from where they sat just a few days ago and settle at Nos. 101, 109, and 126, respectively. House of Balloons Returns to the Chart The Weeknd adds to his list of current favorites, as House of Balloons finds its way back to the Billboard 200. The Weeknd's debut mixtape, which arrived in the spring of 2011, reenters the tally at No. 196. Despite the fact that House of Balloons was first unveiled more than a decade ago, it has only spent 24 weeks on the Billboard 200, and it's never entered the top 100. Hurry Up Tomorrow, Starboy and After Hours All five albums by The Weeknd appear on multiple Billboard charts, but their performances are mixed beyond the Billboard 200. Hurry Up Tomorrow, Starboy, After Hours, and The Beauty Behind the Madness decline on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally, while the latter of that bunch increases one spot on the Top R&B Albums. House of Balloons is steady at No. 24 on the Top R&B Albums chart, and though it's his lowest performer this time around, at least it doesn't step back. 'Baptized in Fear' Debuts on One Billboard List The Weeknd claims even more hit songs on the Billboard charts this week. Several recent tracks like 'Rather Lie' and 'Timeless' rise on multiple lists and fall on some, while 'Baptized in Fear' from Hurry Up Tomorrow debuts on the Adult R&B Airplay ranking, giving The Weeknd his lucky thirteenth career placement on the list. Several other tunes from past projects — like 'Save Your Tears' with Ariana Grande, 'One of the Girls' with Jennie and Lily-Rose Depp, 'Blinding Lights,' 'Die For You' (another collaboration with Grande), and 'Starboy' with Daft Punk — also live on Billboard's two global rosters.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
People Are In Awe Of Martin Short's 'Classy' Response To Kathie Lee Gifford Repeatedly Referring To His Late Wife As Though She Were Alive In An Awkward Resurfaced Interview
Martin Short's 30-year marriage to his wife, Nancy Dolman, was one of the most wholesome relationships in Hollywood, with Martin and actor Nancy meeting back in 1972 when they starred in the Toronto production of Godspell. They got married in 1980, and Nancy retired from showbiz five years later to be a stay-at-home mom and raise their family, with she and Martin adopting three children over the years. Related: Tragically, Nancy died of ovarian cancer in August 2010, and Martin has been open about how his wife's passing impacted him over the years. In 2014, Martin revealed that before she died, Nancy had told him that she didn't want a funeral. "She once said to me: 'I don't want a funeral, and I don't want a memorial. Throw a party, or not,'' he recalled on The Meredith Vieira Show. "So I just followed her wishes. We went up. We had a party with all the family — about 30 close friends and family. The kids and I went into a boat. We sprinkled the ashes in the water, and we jumped into the ashes.' And speaking to The Hollywood Reporter just last year, Martin said of Nancy's death: "It was absolutely horrible, obviously, and as sad as anything. I will tell you what I said to my kids at the time: 'I believe Mom has zoomed into our souls.'" He then mentioned a George Eliot quote that he'd also shared with his children when their mom died, saying: 'George Eliot said: 'Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.' We were together for 36 years. I didn't want to forget Nancy." Now, Martin has won widespread praise for the 'classy' way he handled Kathie Lee Gifford discussing his marriage with Nancy unaware that she had died during an awkward interview on the Today Show. For context, the actor was on the show to promote his movie Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and how he reacted to Kathie's questions about his and Nancy's relationship is beyond impressive. Related: It all started when Kathie asked: 'You and Nancy have one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business, how many years now for you guys?' After a slight hesitation, Martin replied: 'We, uh… Married 36 years.' Kathie then pushed: 'But you're still, like, in love?' to which Martin confirmed: 'Madly in love. Madly in love.' 'Why?' Kathie followed up with a laugh, and here, Martin offered a slight shrug before joking: 'Cute, I'm cute.' The host then said: 'And you make each other laugh, right?' To which Martin said 'yes' before Kathie's co-host, Hoda Kotb, changed the subject. Discussing the resurfaced clip on a Reddit forum, a popular comment lauded Martin for the 'generous' way that he responded to Kathie's questions. It reads: 'I've seen this clip a few times, and it's a complete Masterclass from Marty on how to be a classy, generous public figure.' 'He didn't want to embarrass her or make it awkward so he just went with it and took the chance to talk about the woman he loved. A class act,' somebody else echoed. While another wrote: 'Very classy response from Martin. I know it wasn't malicious on Kathie Lee's part, but I'm dumbfounded how she didn't know about his wife's passing. It should've been basic info to know when she was prepping to interview a guest.' One more noted: 'His eyes are so sad 😭😭' 'Martin handled this with so much grace,' another user wrote. 'I know he didn't want to embarrass her and she didn't mean it, but interviewers (or the people responsible for research) really need to do background research on the people they interview." Related: At the time, Kathie acknowledged her misstep after a commercial break, telling viewers: 'I felt so badly for my question. Marty very kindly came up to me and told me what I had done, and I want to say my sincerest, sincerest apologies to him and to his family for not realizing what I was doing on live television.' She also tweeted after the show: 'I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family. He handled the situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful.' And Martin was just as gracious about Kathie's blunder off-screen as he was on. The star was asked about the incident in a subsequent interview with E! News, where he said: 'I think that it's live television and people make mistakes and there's no ill will intended.' Martin, now 75, has been romantically linked to his Only Murders In The Building costar Meryl Streep since the start of 2024, but the two have not confirmed their relationship. Related: You can watch the full Today Show clip below, let me know your thoughts in the comments! More on this Selena Gomez Called Her "OMITB" Costars Steve Martin And Martin Short "Childless Cat Ladies," And I'm CacklingLauren Garafano · Sept. 16, 2024 15 Celebs Whose Stories About Meeting Their Husbands And Wives I Think About At Least Once A Week Because They Are So PureNora Dominick · Nov. 29, 2024 After Denying Dating Rumors, Meryl Streep And Martin Short Held Hands On The Red CarpetNatasha Jokic · Aug. 23, 2024 Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Solve the daily Crossword
