I never took the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" " tennis match between top woman's player, Billie Jean King and has- been Bobby Riggs seriously. First, it was between a 29 year old King and a 55 year old Riggs. I was surprised that Riggs didn't have a heart attack. Second, all of the publicity before the match indicated that Riggs was part Muhammed Ali, and part circus clown. He said he was putting the "show" in chauvinist. Then you had the silly pre-match ceremonies. King was brought in on a litter carried by hunky slave men. Riggs was escorted by scantily clad women. But looking back, it was a turning point for women's tennis and the women's movement. The match does make for a fascinating story that's depicted in the film Battle of the Sexes.
The film takes place in the early seventies and starts out with Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) being informed that the prize money for the woman in an upcoming tournament would be one twelfth that of what the men's winner would get. Infuriated, King and nine women tennis players with the help of Gladys Heldmen (Sarah Silverman) form The Women's Tennis Association. The goal would be to increase the payout to women players and get some equality for the woman athlete.
Meanwhile, over-the-hill tennis player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) is struggling with his gambling addiction and left to play on the senior circuit. The time period is also the dawn of the women's liberation movement. There were many men who felt threatened by women who wanted equality and were downright sexist when it came to women. Riggs seizes upon the moment and challenges King to a match. She initially declines and Riggs plays top player and homophobic tennis player Margaret Court. (Jessica McNamee) He defeats her and King finally accepts the challenge for the big match.
Emma Stone turns in an excellent performance as the conflicted King. She's fighting three battles. One is to lead women's tennis to equality. Then there is the match with Riggs. The other is her burgeoning lesbianism leading to an affair with her hairdresser. She suffers a guilt knowing that she could hurt her husband. It's also ironic that Court is portrayed in the film as the two in real life have had recent run-ins over homosexuality. (Sydney Morning Herald)
The supporting actors also rise to Stone's performance. I've watched Sarah Silverman's work as a comedian for years from Star Trek: Voyager to her stand up. Here's she plays a tough feminist promoter for woman's tennis. Got to love the scene where Silverman's Gladys and King barge in on a men's club. Simply put, Steve Carell is perfectly cast. He captures Riggs tongue in cheek personality. His Riggs was not really a male chauvinist. That was Riggs in real life. I'm not saying he was a feminist but clearly he was playing the clown. He was teasing the public while using his shtick to get one more day under the sun. Carell knows this and uses his comedic skills for his portrayal.
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)'s screenplay does a good job at capturing the events surrounding the match which was called "The Battle of the Sexes." The slight problem here is that he has all these King plot threads. They're interesting but Riggs also has an interesting story too. I would have loved to see a little more of the clown. Still, the comedy works and the movie is touching. Also, kudos to directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) for staging some excellent tennis shots.
The King-Riggs match was a big event. Fifty million people in the United States watched it on TV. Thirty thousand saw it at the Astrodome making it the largest audience to watch a tennis match live. (Wikiepedia) As I said, it was a turning point of women's tennis. It brought attention to the woman's game and propelled it to popularity. As for women, the idea of equality for women was now firmly placed in the public domain. And it was a legendary reality TV show demonstrating how a reality TV event or reality TV star like Trump could affect society. . Battle of the Sexes captures the moment beautifully. The grade is A minus.
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Stephen Colbert on the Secretary of State calling Trump a "moron."
You knew when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called President Trump a "moron" that satirist Stephen Colbert would have fun with it. Well, he did. Enjoy his monologue from The Late Show.
American Made review
I'm guessing that the late Barry Seal would love American Made, a film based on his exploits as a pilot for the CIA. First, who wouldn't like being portrayed by the handsome Tom Cruise. Second, it's a fine movie that may not be historically accurate but is both complicated and fun. Oh yeah, Seal may have flaws but doesn't come off that bad. Seal was a real person whose personality could not be described as black and white.
American Made starts out by showing TWA pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) bored of flying people around the country and smuggling Cuban cigars. The smuggling bit catches the attention of CIA agent Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) who recruits Seal to fly for the agency. The adventure appeals to Seal who initially flies sorties through Latin American countries taking pictures of communist insurgents. Later missions would include delivering money to Panamanian dictator Manual Noriega for intelligence. Seal's skills catches the attention of drug dealer Pablo Escobar. (Mauicio Mejia) With a need to feed his wife and children, Seal agrees to run drugs to America for money. And I mean it was a boat load of money.
Tom Cruise as Barry Seal turns in one of his better performances of his career. This should make up for The Mummy. Cruise is able to turn his good looks and charm into an individual that believes he can escape the DEA, FBI and enjoy the fruits of his criminal acts without feelings of guilt. Seal's greed blinds him to the illegality of his actions. Sarah Wright as Lucy, Seal's wife. is a sexy country goddess. She may not like the drug smuggling but she enjoys the benefits. Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson does an excellent American accent. You would never have known he was a Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I. His CIA agent Schafer is just as greedy as Seal. Only it's a greed that needs success for the mission, no matter how dubious.
Director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) and screenplay writer Gary Spinelli have made a period piece that mixes eighties' greed, conservatism, the war on drugs and the Cold War into forces of motivation. Yes, Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" to drugs looks naive. Thee was hubris in politics. Perhaps, it is the era's greed that overwhelms everything. Whether it's about money or politics, the desire to achieve these goals led people like Barry Seal, and Colonel Oliver North to ignore morality. The film also mixes funny satire, and sharp drama. It's a lively, entertaining concoction that is slightly let down by a lack of intensity in the third act. And let me say something about the Doug Liman's direction of the flying sequences. They're astounding. Planes are swooping down into the Columbian jungles. They're outlasting DEA jets. Exciting stuff. I hope as a tribute to the two pilots, Alan Purwin and Carlos Berl who were killed in making this film that Liman used some of their work regardless of the suits filed against the production companies. (Hollywood Reporter) It would be a nice memorial to their work in creating some gorgeous flying sequences.
American Made is a funny and smart film. The grade is A.
American Made starts out by showing TWA pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) bored of flying people around the country and smuggling Cuban cigars. The smuggling bit catches the attention of CIA agent Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) who recruits Seal to fly for the agency. The adventure appeals to Seal who initially flies sorties through Latin American countries taking pictures of communist insurgents. Later missions would include delivering money to Panamanian dictator Manual Noriega for intelligence. Seal's skills catches the attention of drug dealer Pablo Escobar. (Mauicio Mejia) With a need to feed his wife and children, Seal agrees to run drugs to America for money. And I mean it was a boat load of money.
Tom Cruise as Barry Seal turns in one of his better performances of his career. This should make up for The Mummy. Cruise is able to turn his good looks and charm into an individual that believes he can escape the DEA, FBI and enjoy the fruits of his criminal acts without feelings of guilt. Seal's greed blinds him to the illegality of his actions. Sarah Wright as Lucy, Seal's wife. is a sexy country goddess. She may not like the drug smuggling but she enjoys the benefits. Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson does an excellent American accent. You would never have known he was a Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I. His CIA agent Schafer is just as greedy as Seal. Only it's a greed that needs success for the mission, no matter how dubious.
Director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) and screenplay writer Gary Spinelli have made a period piece that mixes eighties' greed, conservatism, the war on drugs and the Cold War into forces of motivation. Yes, Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" to drugs looks naive. Thee was hubris in politics. Perhaps, it is the era's greed that overwhelms everything. Whether it's about money or politics, the desire to achieve these goals led people like Barry Seal, and Colonel Oliver North to ignore morality. The film also mixes funny satire, and sharp drama. It's a lively, entertaining concoction that is slightly let down by a lack of intensity in the third act. And let me say something about the Doug Liman's direction of the flying sequences. They're astounding. Planes are swooping down into the Columbian jungles. They're outlasting DEA jets. Exciting stuff. I hope as a tribute to the two pilots, Alan Purwin and Carlos Berl who were killed in making this film that Liman used some of their work regardless of the suits filed against the production companies. (Hollywood Reporter) It would be a nice memorial to their work in creating some gorgeous flying sequences.
American Made is a funny and smart film. The grade is A.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Kingsman: The Golden Circle review and the rules for action sequels.
Following the success of the spy movie Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) is the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle. And like any action sequel there are rules, at least for big budget sequels. Yeah, this is inspired by the rules from Scream 2. (1997)
Rule 1. Bigger action set pieces. Come on you got more money because of the first one. It's a franchise. Rule 2. More carnage. That means more dead bodies. Rule 3. Bigger explosions. See Rule 1. Rule 4. Big dramatic plot surprises. Yeah, everybody wants to make The Empire Strikes Back. Rule 5. Give the audience more of what they saw in the first one. But what about creativity? You want art, go to The Louvre. We're trying to make a boatload of money from our franchise.
In The Kingsman; The Golden Circle, super drug dealer Poppy (Julianne Moore) destroys The Kingsman headquarters. She's this crazy nostalgia freak for the fifties, and the sixties. And her Cambodian jungle headquarters shows it. There's an old fashioned bowling alley, and yes it could be a nod to The Big Lebowski. After all Jeff Bridges is in this movie. At the center is Poppy's headquarters which is fifties hamburger diner complete with robot dogs and a gigantic meat grinder for turning your human enemies into meat patties. She's also captured Elton John who has some very funny moments. Anyway, she's got a plan. Since she supplies most of the world's drugs, she's decided to spike the supply with a poison and blackmail the world since she has the antidote.
Kingsman Eggsy aka Galahad (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) must seek out help. They are directed to Kentucky where the Statesman are headquartered. The Statesman are American version of the Kingsman. They're led by Champagne aka Champ aka as The Dude. (Jeff Bridges) Um... okay, he's not known as The Dude. But come on, there's Julianne Moore here and bowling. They find Harry Hart still alive. (Colin Firth). Hart was shot in the head by Samuel L. Jackson in the last film. Halle Berry is here as the American version of Merlin or Q. But she's given very little to do. Hold on. Berry, Bridges, Moore and Firth. A law firm? No. But these four actors have Oscars. Whoa. Bet you a dollar, nobody is going to get an Oscar for this movie.
Director Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman have made a screenplay that follows the rules of action sequels. It's got bigger action, there's more carnage, bigger explosions, big dramatic plot surprises, and it gives the audience the same stuff from the last movie. Action and comedy. So what's not to like? Well, too much of a good thing may not be a good thing. The movie is bloated. For example, Poppy grinds a henchman into ground... well, ground henchmen and then cooks the um... said beef and makes a burger out of it. She then feeds it to another henchmen. You guys are trying to turn us into vegetarians. And then the way they bring back Harry is kind of ridiculous. The Statesmen have nano technology to repair head shots. Really? How about just having him shot as glancing flesh wound? And if you thought the first one was campy, this one seems to get its inspiration from the sixties Batman TV show. There was also no need for the demise of some of the characters. Guys, you're not making The Godfather II here.
Director Vaughn certainly knows how to frame and set up the action set pieces. He relies less on editing and more on slow motion tracking shots. It makes sense and there is less confusion. There's some good comedy here and some cringe worthy comic material. The later stages of the poison causes people to dance. As Steve Martin would say, "Comedy is not pretty." I will say this. Elton John's last sentence is one of the funniest lines in cinema this year.
Kinsman: The Golden Circle is fun. But it's like eating ice cream too fast. You'll get a headache. The grade is B.
Rule 1. Bigger action set pieces. Come on you got more money because of the first one. It's a franchise. Rule 2. More carnage. That means more dead bodies. Rule 3. Bigger explosions. See Rule 1. Rule 4. Big dramatic plot surprises. Yeah, everybody wants to make The Empire Strikes Back. Rule 5. Give the audience more of what they saw in the first one. But what about creativity? You want art, go to The Louvre. We're trying to make a boatload of money from our franchise.
In The Kingsman; The Golden Circle, super drug dealer Poppy (Julianne Moore) destroys The Kingsman headquarters. She's this crazy nostalgia freak for the fifties, and the sixties. And her Cambodian jungle headquarters shows it. There's an old fashioned bowling alley, and yes it could be a nod to The Big Lebowski. After all Jeff Bridges is in this movie. At the center is Poppy's headquarters which is fifties hamburger diner complete with robot dogs and a gigantic meat grinder for turning your human enemies into meat patties. She's also captured Elton John who has some very funny moments. Anyway, she's got a plan. Since she supplies most of the world's drugs, she's decided to spike the supply with a poison and blackmail the world since she has the antidote.
Kingsman Eggsy aka Galahad (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) must seek out help. They are directed to Kentucky where the Statesman are headquartered. The Statesman are American version of the Kingsman. They're led by Champagne aka Champ aka as The Dude. (Jeff Bridges) Um... okay, he's not known as The Dude. But come on, there's Julianne Moore here and bowling. They find Harry Hart still alive. (Colin Firth). Hart was shot in the head by Samuel L. Jackson in the last film. Halle Berry is here as the American version of Merlin or Q. But she's given very little to do. Hold on. Berry, Bridges, Moore and Firth. A law firm? No. But these four actors have Oscars. Whoa. Bet you a dollar, nobody is going to get an Oscar for this movie.
Director Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman have made a screenplay that follows the rules of action sequels. It's got bigger action, there's more carnage, bigger explosions, big dramatic plot surprises, and it gives the audience the same stuff from the last movie. Action and comedy. So what's not to like? Well, too much of a good thing may not be a good thing. The movie is bloated. For example, Poppy grinds a henchman into ground... well, ground henchmen and then cooks the um... said beef and makes a burger out of it. She then feeds it to another henchmen. You guys are trying to turn us into vegetarians. And then the way they bring back Harry is kind of ridiculous. The Statesmen have nano technology to repair head shots. Really? How about just having him shot as glancing flesh wound? And if you thought the first one was campy, this one seems to get its inspiration from the sixties Batman TV show. There was also no need for the demise of some of the characters. Guys, you're not making The Godfather II here.
Director Vaughn certainly knows how to frame and set up the action set pieces. He relies less on editing and more on slow motion tracking shots. It makes sense and there is less confusion. There's some good comedy here and some cringe worthy comic material. The later stages of the poison causes people to dance. As Steve Martin would say, "Comedy is not pretty." I will say this. Elton John's last sentence is one of the funniest lines in cinema this year.
Kinsman: The Golden Circle is fun. But it's like eating ice cream too fast. You'll get a headache. The grade is B.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Trump shows the world he's a racist and Colin Kaepernick's mother's response
On Friday, conservative Republican President Donald Trump showed the world he wants the angry bigoted white man vote and that he is a racist. You see he was in Alabama, the heart of the angry , racist white male nation. Remember what Bull Connor did to civil rights protesters in the sixties? Anyway, Trump in a political rally said this about NFL players kneeling in protest to racial injustice during the national anthem,
"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired. He's fired!" CNN REPORT
Now let's not be suckers here. We know who he is referring to. It's African American quarterback Colin Kaepernick who kneeled in protest to the treatment of black people by the police. Trump said this in front of a white audience full of angry white males. He said it in Alabama, the heart of angry, white, racist male nation. Alabama has a history of opposing civil rights. It's a message of support for bigots. And before you say there was nothing about blacks in that statement please remember that Trump did not call Nazi protesters "sons of bitches." In fact, he said there were "fine people" in the Nazi ranks. (The Atlantic) Guess who are the bad guys according to conservative Trump? The African Americans. And what about free speech/ This is not just saying that the NFL can punish protests therefore not a government suppressing speech. Trump as President is the government. By urging the suppression of free speech, he's violating the guarantees of free speech under the First Amendment.
So, what did Colin Kaepernick's mother say about this? Here's her glorious tweet.
You go girl. Impeach Trump now. Vote liberal Democrat, if you want to live.
"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired. He's fired!" CNN REPORT
Now let's not be suckers here. We know who he is referring to. It's African American quarterback Colin Kaepernick who kneeled in protest to the treatment of black people by the police. Trump said this in front of a white audience full of angry white males. He said it in Alabama, the heart of angry, white, racist male nation. Alabama has a history of opposing civil rights. It's a message of support for bigots. And before you say there was nothing about blacks in that statement please remember that Trump did not call Nazi protesters "sons of bitches." In fact, he said there were "fine people" in the Nazi ranks. (The Atlantic) Guess who are the bad guys according to conservative Trump? The African Americans. And what about free speech/ This is not just saying that the NFL can punish protests therefore not a government suppressing speech. Trump as President is the government. By urging the suppression of free speech, he's violating the guarantees of free speech under the First Amendment.
So, what did Colin Kaepernick's mother say about this? Here's her glorious tweet.
Guess that makes me a proud bitch!
— Teresa Kaepernick (@B4IleaveU) September 23, 2017
You go girl. Impeach Trump now. Vote liberal Democrat, if you want to live.
The Bengals' season is over
Is it too early to call the 2017 Cincinnati Bengals season over? After last week's game where the Bengals couldn't score a touchdown against the Houston Texans who had their two starting cornerbacks injured and now the Bengals drop a game to the Green Bay Packers after leading them 21-7, this long suffering Bengals fans has had it.
Yesterday's game against the Packers had all the hallmarks of your typical Bengals epic meltdown. After leading the Packers at halftime by 21-7, the Bengals scored just 3 points the remainder of the game. It's time to sit Bengals cornerback Adam "Packman" Jones down. His new nickname should be "Toast." Because he got toasted on a 72 yard pass play to set up the Packers winning field goal. Not only has he lost a step, he's an embarrassment off the field and do you all remember his meltdown against the Steelers in that 2016 Playoff game? His temper in that game caused a unsportsmanlike penalty which gave the Steelers a chip shot field goal. (Check out this News Record op-ed piece on Jones.)
Yesterday, the Bengals lost in the usual heartbreaking way. I've seen this movie before. Time to call the season. Not really interested in writing about the Bengals until they do something sustainable in a positive way. Time to think about the draft. Here's Lance McAlister's report.
Yesterday's game against the Packers had all the hallmarks of your typical Bengals epic meltdown. After leading the Packers at halftime by 21-7, the Bengals scored just 3 points the remainder of the game. It's time to sit Bengals cornerback Adam "Packman" Jones down. His new nickname should be "Toast." Because he got toasted on a 72 yard pass play to set up the Packers winning field goal. Not only has he lost a step, he's an embarrassment off the field and do you all remember his meltdown against the Steelers in that 2016 Playoff game? His temper in that game caused a unsportsmanlike penalty which gave the Steelers a chip shot field goal. (Check out this News Record op-ed piece on Jones.)
Yesterday, the Bengals lost in the usual heartbreaking way. I've seen this movie before. Time to call the season. Not really interested in writing about the Bengals until they do something sustainable in a positive way. Time to think about the draft. Here's Lance McAlister's report.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Sen Bill Cassidy aka Doctor Death fails two oaths and Jimmy Kimmel torches conservatives
Conservative Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) who is a doctor violated his primary medical oath which is to do no harm and then fail his own coined term "The Jimmy Kimmel Test." Cassidy after hearing Kimmel make a public plea to Congress to provide health care to everyone even those who could not afford medical care. Kimmel was grateful that he had health insurance to cover his infant son who had a congenital heart condition. Kimmel was urging Congress to either fix Obamacare or provide insurance to everyone even the poor. Cassidy told Kimmel on his show that any plan he would support would do so.
Kimmel unfortunately trusted a conservative Republican. You see they view government assisted healthcare as socialism That comes from their god, Ronald Reagan. (My post with Reagan's audio on the issue.) So now Cassidy has proposed a new healthcare plan. It would repeal Obamacare. And it would slowly kill Medicaid. Place caps on how much insurance would pay for one patient. And get this it would allow states to opt out of mandating insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. Since his plan would cause millions to lose coverage and likely lead to deaths. So, let's call Cassidy, "Doctor Death."
Here's Jimmy Kimmel on the Cassidy 's "healthcare" plan.
Cassidy then said he didn't lie to Kimmel and then indicated that Kimmel didn't understand healthcare. Bad mistake. Kimmel torches him. Thank you Jimmy Kimmel for fighting for Americans' healthcare. Here's Kimmel's response. And vote liberal Democrat if you want to live.
Kimmel unfortunately trusted a conservative Republican. You see they view government assisted healthcare as socialism That comes from their god, Ronald Reagan. (My post with Reagan's audio on the issue.) So now Cassidy has proposed a new healthcare plan. It would repeal Obamacare. And it would slowly kill Medicaid. Place caps on how much insurance would pay for one patient. And get this it would allow states to opt out of mandating insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. Since his plan would cause millions to lose coverage and likely lead to deaths. So, let's call Cassidy, "Doctor Death."
Here's Jimmy Kimmel on the Cassidy 's "healthcare" plan.
Cassidy then said he didn't lie to Kimmel and then indicated that Kimmel didn't understand healthcare. Bad mistake. Kimmel torches him. Thank you Jimmy Kimmel for fighting for Americans' healthcare. Here's Kimmel's response. And vote liberal Democrat if you want to live.
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