Archive for the ‘entertainment’ Category

Trump-ified A Man in Full on Netflix comes up empty

Posted: May 12, 2024 by John Ruberry in culture, entertainment, media, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

If you only have a minute and you want to know, in a nutshell, what the Netflix adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s novel from 1998, A Man in Full, is all about, here it is: The lead character, Atlanta businessman Charlie Croker, is Donald Trump–orange hair and all. Then throw in elements of the George Floyd and Rodney King stories and add an even more shocking ending than the one in Boogie Nights.

Earlier this month, Netflix started streaming the six-episode series, which stars Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane. 

Wolfe, who is my favorite writer, after a two-decade career in journalism, made a smooth transition into fiction with his first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities. It encapsulates the boom years of 1980s–along with the mayhem of pre-Rudy Giuliani New York City. Three years later, the film version was released. It is godawful, starting with the miscasting of Tom Hanks in the lead role as “the Master of the Universe,” Sylvester McCoy. After I suffered through the movie, I said to myself, Vanities is a mini-series not a two-hour movie.

I had hopes, misguided ones it turns out, that A Man in Full would be better, because it is a mini-series. Adding to my anticipation was Netflix streaming last year the insightful documentary, Radical Wolfe.

As A Man in Full begins, Charlie Croker (Daniels) is celebrating his 60th birthday at a party with Shania Twain entertaining his friends, family, and business associates. Two of those guests are executives from PlannersBanc, his principal lender, Raymond Peepgrass (Tom Pelphrey) and Harry Zale (Bill Camp). While it appears that Croker is an Atlanta version of a Master of the Universe, he’s broke–Charlie owes PlannersBanc $600 million. He’s overextended with other lenders too. Peepgrass and Zale want to carve up Croker’s empire, starting with his quail hunting plantation and his corporate jet. A rescue is offered by the mayor of Atlanta, Wes Jordan (William Jackson Harper), who is campaigning for reelection, and Croker’s attorney, Roger White (Aml Ameen). But to save his neck, Croker will have to betray his former Georgia Tech football teammate, Norman Bagovitch (John Lacy), who is running against Jordan.

Bagovitch–wait for it–decries the status of the white male in his campaign. Jordan is Black.

David E. Kelley wrote the script, and he should be ashamed. No serious candidate for public office would campaign on such bigoted idiocy. And in Atlanta?!? Why does Kelley insult his audience?  

Oh yeah, he wants to demonize Trump. Orange Croker Bad. Oops, I mean Orange Man Bad.

Joyce Newman (Lucy Liu) is an alleged victim of a sexual assault from Bagovitch. In the book, well, let’s just say there is fear of a race riot because of the racial angle of that alleged rape.

Wolfe, brilliantly in my opinion, centered much of his plot on racial contrast and conflict, but also on Croker being an anachronism. The series is set in 2024, but events in the book take place a quarter of a century earlier. Croker, nicknamed the 60 Minute Man because he starred on offense and defense for Georgia Tech, played a lead role for a national championship Yellowjackets team, at a time when major college sports teams in the South were not integrated. Croker came of age just as the civil rights protests were picking up steam, and when Jim Crow laws were still in force in Georgia and other southern states. The world changed, but Croker, not so much. Sure, of course Croker in the novel knew blacks had equal rights, but they still belonged– and I’m not endorsing his sentiment–“in their place.”

Kelley, and the directors, eliminates that angle by turning Croker into Trump. He even does away with Charlie’s redemption in Wolfe’s novel.

There’s even a climate change dig included in the series. I mean, why not?

As Croker, Daniels, who is usually very good, is an embarrassment, beginning with his overwrought Foghorn Leghorn southern accent and his Trump-sized abdominal paunch. On the other hand, Diane Lane, as Charlie’s first wife, shines. I had the pleasure of seeing her at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth a decade ago.

Wolfe’s novel is over 700 pages long, so it’s understandable that some storylines are condensed. 

For instance, Conrad Hensley in the book is the child of worthless white hippies who, in spite of them, still manages to develop a strong moral compass. He works for Croker Foods in the East Bay area of California Hensley’s life, like Charlie’s, collapses. He ends up on the wrong side of the law after he violently tries to retrieve his towed car. By the way, anyone who has had his car towed and is forced to pay usurious fees to retrieve it, will sympathize with Hensley. In the series Hensley (Jan Michael Hill) is Black, and well, I already mentioned Rodney King and George Floyd. 

The subplot with Peepgrass and Martha Croker remains, with the Boogie Nights twist added. If you crave more details on that, click on this Daily Mail link.

Oh, the Crokers’ son, Wally (Evan Roe), sure looks a lot like Barron Trump in the series. 

Astonishingly, Trump-hating Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis doesn’t appear here. Maybe she was on a cruise with Nathan Wade during filming.

I guess I needed to suffer for some forgotten sins, because I endured all six episodes of A Man in Full. Of the other Netflix series that I punished myself with, in full, only The Pentaverate and Vikings: Valhalla were worse.

On the flipside, the cinematography for A Man in Full is sharp–Atlanta never looked so good. The soundtrack, compiled by Craig DeLeon, is spectacular, it’s as splendid as the best work of T-Bone Burnett. Keep an eye on DeLeon.

Wolfe, who died in 2018, didn’t like The Bonfire of the Vanities film. I don’t think he’d care for the series based on A Man in Full either.

I hated it.

A Man in Full is currently streaming on Netflix. It is rated TV-MA for violence, foul language, sex, and nudity.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Young Sheldon, George Cooper and the Ivermectin Irony

Posted: May 10, 2024 by datechguy in covid, entertainment, media, medicine
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CBS’ popular series Young Sheldon has been trending on twitter/X last night because the character of George Cooper, Sheldon’s Dad excellently played by Lane Smith was killed off by a heart attack.

It was very realistic in the sense there wasn’t a lot of “drama” involved. No big scene with him, nobody else around, he left for work that morning heading for his job in the knowledge that he had just achieved what has to be the dream of every high school football coach in Texas, being recruited to coach at the college level and just like that he was gone, all of his plans and the plans of his family eliminated in an instant.

All over twitter all kinds of users were in mourning even though it had been established by the parent series “The Big Bang Theory” that Sheldon’s dad died when he was 14. Everyone knew it was coming, although perhaps they figured it was coming next week or they and the fictitious Cooper would get a chance to say goodbye. The series writer Chuck Lorre who has a history of leaving endcards at the end of his shows left this one:

In case you can’t read the print:

Eighteen years ago , when we were writing and producing The Big Bang Theory, it seemed like a good idea to imagine that Sheldon’s childhood was deeply disrupted by the loss of his father. No one could have thought that someday we would regret that decision. That someday is now.

There were a lot of tears on stage when this episode’s last scene was shot. A reminder that we had all fallen in love with a fictional character Which is itself, a reminder to love the characters in our live who are real. To do otherwise is to live with regret

While I agree with the sentiment I found it rather ironic considering this story from a few days ago concerning Chris Cuomo late of CNN, apparently having nasty side effects from the COVID Vaccine and is taking ivermectin daily, the same drug that the administration along with practically the entire media and entertainment industry and CNN insisted was only for horses and urged the public to avoid.

His admissions drew a nasty rebuke from Gino Carano one of the many people tarred as “anti-vaxers” over questioning the shots, an excerpt:

You were a part of one the most powerful news organizations in the world and you bullied and shamed the genuine questions from the public that you were supposed to be offering unbiased news to. Instead, you all called them “anti vaxxers” and “alt right extremists”. Don’t try and change the story now. Show some humility. People weren’t allowed to sit next to their loved ones as they died because of the propaganda you spread! This phase in major news media history will go down as one of the most embarrassing, destructive moments that cost people’s lives and careers, broke up families and destroyed our economy. You don’t look like a hero now, you look arrogant with no idea how deep this goes for the people this destroyed.

What’s even more ironic, news that Astra Zenica has withdrawn its COVID vaccine from the market insisting it has nothing to do with any side effects. Perish the thought!

I bring this up because the grief of the cooper family that so many are commenting on and sharing is the same grief that the families of the 1483 young athletes who had sudden heart attacks and died after receiving the COVID vaccine and of thousands and thousands of others who have “died suddenly” since the push for the vaccine and the push against ivermectin.

Now for the record Mr. Lorre while supporting Joe Biden, did not attack people who didn’t take the vaccine (putting up a single vanity card making a joke about side vaccine side effects) and I can’t find a single entry in his cards containing the word: “ivermectin”

But I DO wonder how many people in mourning over George Cooper online were part of the crowd that pressured people into taking the COVID vaccines, who went after people who recommend ivermectin, who were part of the crowd who tired to cancel Joe Rogan for speaking the truth about this subject?

I wonder how many of them were hiring managers who would not let people work if they didn’t get the vax, I wonder how many of them were people involved in decision making that penalized and ostracized folks in the medical profession who spoke out about the safety of Ivermectin and how many if they were not part of that decision making crowd, merely added their voices online in support of the treatment of any who dared strayed from the orthodoxly of the message pushed every day by the media, the administration and the left?

I wonder if such people have any grief for all those families whose suffering and grief are real and question, even for a tiny moment, if they had any the slightest part in enabling that suffering and reflect on it.

I suspect such number are few but for those who are self aware enough, particularly those who had the power over others and made decisions that cost lives, be aware forgiveness for these acts is a single sacramental confession away.

The Answer is: “When the First Thought That Comes to Mind When Seeing This Story is: ‘Kristi Get Your Gun.'”

Posted: May 4, 2024 by datechguy in comedy, politics
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What is: “How do you know when a person’s national political career is toast?”

The story in question Is it time to ban pit bulls?:

Let’s take a look at the numbers. Between 2005 and 2017, at least 433 Americans were killed by dogs. And guess what? Pit bulls were responsible for a whopping 66% of these deaths. Pit bulls — a breed that makes up only 6% of the dog population in the U.S. — is causing the majority of fatal attacks.

It’s not even just humans who are suffering at the jaws of these dogs. In 2017 alone, pit bulls were responsible for the deaths of 13,000 dogs, 5,000 cats, and 20,000 horses and other farm animals.

Those are numbers Kristi Noem can only dream of.

I’m sorry but when you see this kind of joke in stories that begin with a police officer having to shoot a dog you’re finished politically whether you know it or not.

She might be able to be a Senator out of her state but VP or P not a chance.

As for the substance of the story in question, remember that the Pit Bull is so named because they were bred to fight in a pit:

The term “Pitbull” is derived from the dog breed that was utilized for bull-baiting, which took place in a “pit.” This violent sport involved pitting dogs against bulls, and the dogs were specifically bred for their strength, tenacity, and determination. This is why the name “Pitbull” became associated with these dogs.

Bull-baiting was a popular blood sport in the 19th century, particularly in the United Kingdom. The purpose was to test the dog’s ability to restrain and subdue a bull, which earned them a reputation as powerful and aggressive animals. Although bull-baiting was later outlawed, the association between Pitbulls and their historical past persisted.

I have no opinion on the matter one way or the other but for the record my next door neighbor has a Pit Bull called Kuz who greets me every day with loud barks and a wagging tail so I don’t know what end to believe. The dog absolutely loves DaWife.

13 great songs about getting old

Posted: March 3, 2024 by John Ruberry in culture, entertainment
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By John Ruberry

You’ve heard it before and probably not from me. No one ever got younger. 

Getting old is natural as youth, but our culture of course is focused on the latter–music especially.

Yet, I’ve managed to discover some great songs about aging. 

13) “A Lady of a Certain Age,” the Divine Comedy. Neil Hannon, who is essentially the one and only member of this baroque pop act from Northern Ireland, is a first-rate storyteller, along the lines of the Kinks’ Ray Davies. We’ll hear from Davies later. As for that lady of a certain age, Hannon, leaves it up to you whether to like her or not.

12) “Something about England,” the Clash. The self-styled “Only Band that Matters” often went too far with their pedantic politicking, and this song, about a young man (Mick Jones) encountering an old homeless man (Joe Strummer), gets off to a bad start with a condemnation of anti-immigrant sentiment, which has nothing to do with the rest of its poignant lyrics.

“You really think it’s all new
You really think about it too,”
The old man scoffed as he spoke to me,
“I’ll tell you a thing or two.”

Jones’ character learns that he has much in common with Strummer’s old man, just as another old man we’ll encounter later. This track is probably the best matchup of the contrasting vocals styles of Jones and Strummer in the Clash’s catalog.

11) “When I’m Sixty-Four,” the Beatles. You’ve certainly heard this one before. Paul McCartney, who sings lead here, sadly didn’t find out if his first wife, Linda, would love him at 64, she passed away from cancer when he was 55. Linda by all accounts still loved Paul until the end.

10) “Glory Days,” Bruce Springsteen. Lost love is a common topic in songs, here’s one about lost youth. “Glory days, yeah, they’ll pass you by, glory days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye,” is part of this song’s chorus.

9) “Minutes to Memory,” John Mellencamp. Two Hoosiers, Mellencamp and a 70-year-old retired steelworker from Gary, are sitting next to each other on a Greyhound bus, probably heading back to Indiana. The elderly man gives Mellencamp advice, which, years later, he finally sees as sagacious.

The old man had a vision but it was hard for me to follow,
“I do things my way and I pay a high price,”
When I think back on the old man and the bus ride
Now that I’m older I can see he was right.

Another hot one out on Highway 11
“This is my life, it’s what I’ve chosen to do
There’s no free rides, no one said it’d be easy,”
The old man told me this, my son, I’m telling it to you.

8) “Old Man,” Neil Young. Another song you are probably familiar with. The opening line says it all, “Old man, look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.”

7) “Where Have All the Good Times Gone,” the Kinks. Astonishingly, the Kinks principal songwriter, Ray Davies was only 21 when this song was released in 1965. The Kinks have a very loyal support base, but this song, similar in sentiment to Springsteen’s “Glory Days,” was a sleeper fan favorite, not becoming a staple of the Kinks’ live set until a decade later. Davies developed the idea for this song by listening older men reminisce and regret in pubs.

6) “Veronica,” Elvis Costello. Paul McCartney, the co-writer of course of “When I’m Sixty-Four,” penned this tune with Costello. While “Veronica” has a bouncy, British Invasion-type melody, in typical Costello fashion, it’s paired with downcast lyrics. “Veronica,” which was Costello’s highest-charting single, was written about his paternal grandmother, Molly McManus, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. While Mellencamp’s steelworker character in “Minutes to Memories” is filled with memories, tragically Veronica’s have faded away.

5) “100 Years,” Five for Fighting. A solo act in all but name, like Neil Hannon’s the Divine Comedy, Five for Fighting is the work of John Ondrasik. “100 Years” takes the listener from the main character’s teen years deep into old age. It’s a lesson about how seemingly short even the longest lives are.

4) “Father and Son,” Cat Stevens. His birthname was Steven Demetre Georgio–now he’s known as Yusuf Islam–but as Cat Stevens, he movingly wrote about a father who says, “I am old, but I’m happy.” But is he? And while this father has wisdom, he still doesn’t understand his son. Sometimes relationships aren’t destined to be blissful ones, however hard we try.

3) “The Lion This Time,” Van Morrison. Unless you know a lot about Van the Man’s storied career, this song doesn’t seem to belong here. So let me provide the background. Rare for a pop tune as it was written in the 6/8 time signature, “The Lion This Time” is a sequel of sorts of sorts to “Listen to the Lion,” an 11-minute long Morrison masterpiece recorded over 30 years prior. “The Lion This Time” is a standout of his Magic Time album, Morrison’s best collection from the 21st century. Van the Man turned 60 a few months after the release of Magic Time. In a contemporary review for Paste, Andy Whitman wrote of both this song and the album, “You expect to encounter a tired legend, a once-mighty king becalmed and tamed by the miles and years. You find instead an echo of a full-throated roar hanging in the air, the telltale signs of a bloody struggle, and an empty cage. The lion in winter is on the loose.”

And the Belfast Lion is still on the prowl. Last autumn he released his 45th studio album.

2) “Martha,” Tom Waits. Closing Time, Tom Waits debut album, didn’t gather much attention–or sales. But the Eagles noticed, and they recorded “Ol’ 55” from that album for their “On the Border” collection. But an even better song is “Martha.” Waits’ character, Tom Frost, calls an old flame, “Martha,” after forty years apart. They married others, but Frost can’t let go.

I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be
And Martha, Martha
I love you, can’t you see?

Not surprisingly, “Martha” is one of Waits’ most covered compositions.

1) “Hello in There,” John Prine. I’ll let Prine, who as a teen delivered newspapers, tell the story behind this gem. “I delivered to a Baptist old people’s home where we’d have to go room-to-room,” Prine said, “and some of the patients would kind of pretend that you were a grandchild or nephew that had come to visit, instead of the guy delivering papers. That always stuck in my head.”

The chorus is haunting yet beautiful.

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, “Hello in there, hello.”

This song is so good it could be used to recruit volunteers for assisted living homes.

Amazingly, all of the lead singers of the songs in this assemblage are still with us, except for Prine, who, after years of poor health, was taken by COVID in 2020.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

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