Republican Fuckery XVIII: Clarence Thomas Paid Off, Kevin McCarthy’s Usual BS & MI Republicans are Behind the Times

In the moment, it is easy to believe that you are making the right decision. History, however, may say otherwise.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s reputation has taken a nosedive over the past few years (not that it was solid, to begin with. Re: Anita Hill). The most recent scandal is that he has been allegedly bought and paid for by right-wing Real Estate mogul Harlan Crow (the perfect James Bond villain name).

Among the many lavish gifts that Crow has bestowed Thomas are expensive vacations and buying Thomas’s mother’s house so she can live out the rest of her days without worrying about where the next rent payment is coming from. While the latter could be seen as Crow being altruistic, the former is highly problematic. If this isn’t the case for a potential investigation into ethics violations, I don’t know what is.

In other news, Kevin McCarthy continues to prove why he is spineless and a hypocrite. During an interview with CNBC last week about the debt ceiling, McCarthy claimed that Biden has not even tried to negotiate. The truth is that the President has agreed to come to the table. What he will not budge on are cuts to help those who need it the most and ruining our country’s financial reputation.

And finally, nine Republican state Senators from Michigan voted to keep a century old that bill would make it illegal for unmarried couples to live together.

I don’t know about anyone else, I have plenty of friends who lived together before they married. I also know other couples who are not married and happily living together. I have two questions for these state Senators:

1. Don’t you have more important things to worry about than whether or not a cohabitated couple has said: “I do”?
2. What era do you think we live in?

If this side of the aisle wants to remain in power and win future elections, I suggest that they stop alienating young voters. The wise person would not ignore their collective voice/vote.

Just another day in America.

Advertisement

Flashback Friday: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

The Indiana Jones film series is one that keeps on giving. Forty-plus years old, the story of historian/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has kept audiences enraptured for generations.

The 4th movie in the narrative, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) takes place in 1938. Indy’s father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) disappears while looking for the Holy Grail. On top of searching for his father, Indy, with the help of Elsa (Alison Doody), has to stop the Nazis from getting their hands on the grail and its power.

This movie is so much fun. It is a heart-pounding, blood-pumping, roller coaster of a ride. Ford and Connery have incredible chemistry as on-screen father and son.

My only complaint (which, as I spoke of in my last post), is that Doody as Elsa (who does not have a last name) is a film version of the “girl of the week”. Just like Connery’s other well-known series, James Bond, there is a new female love interest/co-adventurer in every story while the male lead remains as is.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Operation Mincemeat Movie Review

When it seems that every story about World War II has been told, the door opens to reveal additional narratives that have remained hidden.

The new Netflix film, Operation Mincemeat premiered last week. Based on a book by Ben Macintyre, it tells the story of a secret mission to end the war via a corpse and false papers.

Among those who are in on the secret are Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth), Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew MacFadyen), future James Bond creator Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn), Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), and Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton). They know that if they succeed, it could mean victory for the Allies. But getting to that point requires strategy, timing, skill, and a little bit of luck.

For obvious reasons, the movie was a must-see. A cast chock full of Austen actors (including the two most popular Fitzwilliam Darcys), a spy thriller set in World War II-era England, and the fight for freedom against tyranny.

I have mixed feelings about it. What was good was that the main female characters were initially more than secretaries, love interests/spouses/female family members, and background characters. They were as important to the mission as their male colleagues. I also very much appreciated the subtle reference to the Holocaust and the destruction of European Jewry. It reveals that the Allies once again knew what was going on, but did nothing to stop it (which is another topic for another time).

What was bad is that about halfway through the film, I started to lose interest. It was as if the screenwriter(s) just gave up. The other thing that bugged me was the love triangle between Charles, Jean, and Ewen. It felt unnecessary. It also trivializes Jean, making her little more than the wannabe romantic significant other instead of an integral part of the group.

Do I recommend it? Disappointingly, no.

Operation Mincemeat is available for streaming on Netflix.

Ridley Road Review

Hate, in all of its forms, is always around us. It is an unfortunate part of the human experience. Despite our advances in science, medicine, education, and technology, it remains ever-present.

The new Masterpiece series, Ridley Road (based on the book of the same name by Jo Bloom) premiered last weekend. The heroine of the series, Vivian Epstein (Agnes O’Casey) is the daughter of a Jewish family in England in the early 1960s. She is expected to live as her mother and grandmothers did before her: give up her job, marry the boy chosen for her, and take care of her husband and children. But Vivian wants to be more than a housewife and mother.

She follows her boyfriend Jack Morris (Tom Varey) to London. Jack is a part of the 62 group, an underground Jewish organization who are fighting against the growing fascism in the UK. Going undercover as a member of the neo-nazi group led by Colin Jordan (Rory Kinnear), both Vivian and Jack play a dangerous game of going along with their new identities while trying to keep their relationship alive.

I am absolutely loving this series so far. It’s James Bond meets a love story with a feminist coming of age narrative and a background of combating prejudice. What makes the program for me is that our heroes are ordinary people. It is, I think a reminder that change does not always come from the top. It comes from the person on the street who sees a wrong and does what they can to right that wrong.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Ridley Road airs on PBS on Sunday night at 9PM EST.

Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel Book Review

Spying is rarely as glamorous or simple as it appears to be in film and on television. It is often dangerous, requiring those who take up the charge of spying to potentially put their lives on the line for their cause and their country.

In the new non-fiction book, Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel, author Matti Friedman tells the true story of four young men of Sephardi Jewish descent (Jews who come from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East) who pretended to Muslim to spy for the newly born Israeli state in the late 1940’s.

Spy novels, whether they are fiction or based on fact are usually not my go to genre. However, this book is one heck of a read. It had the narrative of a James Bond movie combined with the true stories of four young men who put their own needs aside to protect their country and their people.

I recommend it.

Black Panther Movie Review

*I have no knowledge of either the narrative and characters in the Black Panther comic book, so this review is strictly based on the movie.

Comic books, especially the ones based around superheroes have become our modern-day fairy tales. There are heroes, villains, difficult journeys and life lessons that leave a lasting imprint long after we have read the final page.

Black Panther hit theaters this weekend.

The film starts off where Captain America: Civil War has ended. T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), is stepping into the role of King of Wakanda, a fictional country in Africa, after loosing his father. He is supported by his ex/best friend, Nakia, (Lupita Nyong’o), his younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), the Q to his James Bond, his widowed mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and his general, Okoye (Danai Gurira), who is the head of Wakanda’s Amazon-esque army.

When Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) threaten T’Challa/Black Panther and his kingdom, our hero must fight for his thrown and his country.

I loved this movie. I loved this movie. It has heart, it has humor, it has action, it has bad ass female characters and most importantly, character and actors of color who are proudly representing their heritage.

This movie is worth every word of praise and every dollar that has been spent to see it.

Black Panther is presently in theaters. 

 

Throwback Thursday-The Avengers (1998)

In the wake of The Cold War and the success of the James Bond films, The Avengers hit our televisions in the 1960’s.

In 1998, the big screen adaptation of The Avengers was introduced to movie audiences. Taking the places of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg as John Steed and Emma Peel were Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman. They have to stop Sir August De Wynter (Sean Connery) a villain who plans to use the power of nature to destroy the world.

Before I continue with the review, I have to warn that I have not seen the original television series, so my knowledge of the narrative and the characters is strictly based on the movie and the general pop culture references from the series. Based on what little information I have, the problem I see with this film is that it is a superficial reboot without the substance or style of its predecessor. I have a feeling that fans of the original series would like to forget that this reboot was ever made.

Do I recommend it? No.

Idris Elba As The Next James Bond? Yes Please

With the release of Spectre, the most recent James Bond film, rumors have been circulating about who might play the world’s most famous spy when Daniel Craig decides to move on with his career.

My vote is for Idris Elba and this is why.

1. If one of the requirements to play James Bond is to be easy on the eyes, Idris Elba has it in spades.
2. Bond is more than a bed hopping spy with saucy one liners who with little trouble, can defeat his latest nemesis. The more recent Bond films have shown him to be a man who is dealing with internal turmoil. Considering Elba’s work in Luther, I don’t think he will   have a problem playing that internal drama.

3.  It’s about time to see Bond played by an actor of color.

Happy Saturday!

Flashback Friday- Counterstrike (2002)

The subject of spies, espionage and government has long fascinated audiences. It explains why James Bond has been around as long as he has.

14 years ago, author Richard P Henrick published his novel, Attack On The Queen. It told the story of two brothers, both working for different government agencies, who must stop a nuclear clock from exploding under a cruise ship where the Chinese Premier and the American President are meeting for a G-7 Summit.

In 2002, the book was adapted for screen and renamed Counterstrike. Starring Joe Lando and Rob Estes as the brothers, they must put their past animosity aside to the prevent the bomb from going off and killing two of the world’s power powerful leaders.

To be fair, this is a TV movie. And the actors are not huge A list stars. But it is entertaining and the producers, knowing that the fans of the Lost World would be watching, were very wise in their casting decisions.

I recommend it.

Flashback Friday- Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)

In 1997, Mike Myers created one of the most unique and unforgettable characters ever to appear on the big screen: Austin Powers.

In Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, Austin Powers ( Mike Myers) is internationally known as a spy in the 1960s. When his nemesis, Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers) is frozen, Austin is frozen. Warmed up and woken up 30 years later, he finds that the world has changed.  His former partner, Mrs. Kensington (Mimi Rogers) has long since retired. But her daughter, Vanessa (Elizabeth Hurley) has followed in the family business. Dr. Evil has also woken up and is eager to continue on where he left off. It’s up Austin and Vanessa to stop Dr. Evil once more.

This movie is the perfect send off of the just a little too serious James Bond movies of the 1960’s. While respecting the groundwork that the James Bond series created, Myers also delivers a perfectly timed pie in the face satire of the spy movies of the era. After 17 years, this movie still holds it’s own.

I recommend it.