Donald Trump is correct to ask for an investigation of Halper’s
contacts which began during his campaign and continued after he was
inaugurated. Anyone concerned about the dangerous role of secret and
unelected law enforcement control ought to support his request.
Justified anti-Trump sentiment shouldn’t be forgotten but also should
not be allowed to legitimize the very dangerous intelligence apparatus.
The same forces which went after Trump will come after anyone else
who is seen as a danger to the system. One cannot argue against the
“black identity extremist” designation without also calling into
question the intelligence agencies role in politics, even if their work
was used against Donald Trump.
-- Margaret Kimberley, "CIA and FBI Election Interference" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
A note to our readers
Hey --
Monday night. And we're done.
Let's thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen, Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen, Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
And what did we come up with?
Margaret Kimberley gets another truest.
Why aren't we asking the questions, making the demands, that the people of New Zealand are calling for?
Ava and C.I. cover AUDIENCE's CONDOR and FILMSTRUCK as well as NETFLIX.
Stop abusing the English language.
This is a serious topic and people stop making jokes.
Beto!!!
I (Jim) hated this feature from the start. After Ava and C.I.'s piece was read by all, this piece was written. Why are we defending NETFLIX? It's awful and it took the axe to SENSE8 and to Kathy Bates' sitcvom. I would have been fine without this piece.
Clinton, not Manning.
Amen.
SOLO sucks.
Repost of BURN PITS 360
What we listened to while writing.See you next week.
Peace,
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Editorial: Time to debate the never-ending war
The Iraq War has been going on for 15 years and there's no end in sight.
Where's the concern in the US?
Yes, Little David Hogg is amusing and we all want to see him get pantsed, taken over the knee and given a good spanking -- by a romantic partner or maybe just by his best friend. Little David Hogg would look so funny with a nasty case of red ass and doing the naughty boy dance.
But until that day arrives, can't we focus on some things that actually matter?
Like ending war.
Barack Obama got elected president of the United States by promising to end the Iraq War. It was a lie. When Samantha Power revealed that in March of 2008 (to the BBC), she had to immediately resign. But proving what a lie his 'promise' was, as soon as he was elected, there was a spot for Samantha in the adminitration.
Now Barack destroys Chicago and gets millions to produce content for NETFLIX -- even though he's never produced entertainment content before. Not since NBC paid Chelsea Clinton $600,000 a year has anyone been so grossly overpaid while being also so tremendously underqualified.
Harmeet Singh Sooden (STUFF) points out the lack of transparency the New Zealand government has demonstrated on the topic of Iraq and concludes, "Regardless, it is left to the public to encourage the Government to act in the public interest with respect to New Zealand's military intervention in Iraq. To that end, the need for reinvigorated public debate is all the more pressing as the Government deliberates on whether to extend Operation Manawa's mandate beyond November 30, 2018."
Is there a reason that the same pressure on the government can't take place in the US? A reason that we can't demand that a public debate take place about this never-ending Iraq War?
No.
Where's the concern in the US?
Yes, Little David Hogg is amusing and we all want to see him get pantsed, taken over the knee and given a good spanking -- by a romantic partner or maybe just by his best friend. Little David Hogg would look so funny with a nasty case of red ass and doing the naughty boy dance.
But until that day arrives, can't we focus on some things that actually matter?
Like ending war.
Barack Obama got elected president of the United States by promising to end the Iraq War. It was a lie. When Samantha Power revealed that in March of 2008 (to the BBC), she had to immediately resign. But proving what a lie his 'promise' was, as soon as he was elected, there was a spot for Samantha in the adminitration.
Now Barack destroys Chicago and gets millions to produce content for NETFLIX -- even though he's never produced entertainment content before. Not since NBC paid Chelsea Clinton $600,000 a year has anyone been so grossly overpaid while being also so tremendously underqualified.
Harmeet Singh Sooden (STUFF) points out the lack of transparency the New Zealand government has demonstrated on the topic of Iraq and concludes, "Regardless, it is left to the public to encourage the Government to act in the public interest with respect to New Zealand's military intervention in Iraq. To that end, the need for reinvigorated public debate is all the more pressing as the Government deliberates on whether to extend Operation Manawa's mandate beyond November 30, 2018."
Is there a reason that the same pressure on the government can't take place in the US? A reason that we can't demand that a public debate take place about this never-ending Iraq War?
No.
TV: Streaming
"I'll be dreamin', dreamin'," sang Vanessa Williams on her first hit ballad, "hoping, baby, you will be there." Us? We keep streamin', streamin', hoping, baby, something worth watching will be there. Two of the most recent huge disappointments? AUDIENCE and FILMSTRUCK.
AUDIENCE still can't produce a series to justify its existence. If you're like most viewers, you took a pass on YOU ME HER -- another straight male fantasy where a plain looking man gets two attractive women. If you're like most viewers, next month you will take a pass on CONDOR.
We just finished watching the so-so series and why anyone gave this nonsense the greenlight is beyond us. The series is flabby, each episode overflowing with unneeded scenes that meander to an obvious close apparently due to the director's inability to yell "Cut!" The editing doesn't help either.
For those who missed the 70s classic film THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, it starred Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. Redford is Joe Hale, CIA analyst, whose office gets hit and he goes on the run, encounters Kathy Hale (Dunaway) who assists him -- at first reluctantly.
The chemistry between Robert and Faye made up for a lot in the film (and is referenced by Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney's characters in Steven Soderbergh's OUT OF SIGHT). THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was directed by Sydney Pollack -- a man not known for handling tense thrillers. Pollack was given his big break by Natalie Wood -- as was Robert Redford. When she okayed each -- as director and co-star of THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, she took a big risk. It's a risk that neither man ever felt the need to repay. When she returned to acting after taking time off to raise her daughters, both men played dumb when she contacted them about working on new projects together.
To be clear, THE SLENDER THREAD, the only film Pollack directed prior TO THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, was not a success -- critical or commercial -- and Warners didn't want him to direct but Natalie demanded it. And Redford? They'd worked together on INSIDE DAISY CLOVER but he had a minor role in the film she starred in -- made more minor by his refusal to play the part as written -- the gay man her character marries. Redford had not starred in a film and the studios weren't keen on him due to his temperament (he didn't work well on TV sets) and weren't crazy about the bumps on the side of his face.
But Natalie stood up for both men and she was the queen of Warner Brothers so she got what she wanted. And both men? They got careers.
What did Natalie get?
When Redford needed her to do a cameo in his 1972 film THE CANDIDATE, despite being in retirement, she agreed to help the man she thought was her friend.
That was the kind of person she was.
The kind of people Redford and Pollack were? They never lifted a finger to help her when she decided to return to films.
In fairness, Redford's vanity has always occupied so much of his time. And Sydney? Well he was so very busy being a spy for the Israeli government.
If the Academy Awards can expel Roman Polanski, why can't they expel Sydney who was an American citizen spying on America for a foreign government. That's reason enough to expel Sydney.
We're not saying he didn't direct a few good movies. Certainly, TOOTSIE will always be a classic. But we are saying if he helped supply weapons and worse (possibly nuclear triggers as well as helping to score uranium for Israel), he certainly doesn't demonstrate the behavior that one expects.
With THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, Pollack directed a script, routinely directed -- Lorenzo Semple supplied the tension (as he did on other scripts he co-wrote or wrote solo -- including the classics PRETTY POISON, THE PARALLAX VIEW and THE DROWNING POOL).
So while it would have been a good idea for all the episodes to have been directed by one person, it's even more important that the piece be strongly written. It has not been. Jason Smilovic has done some writing and 'creating' in the same way that he did on such TV disasters as KIDNAPPED, MY OWN WORST ENEMY, BIONIC WOMAN and KAREN SISCO. Where do you go after those flops?
AUDIENCE, obviously.
The series is poorly written, badly edited and shapeless in terms of direction. In terms of acting?
Brendan Fraser's the only one he truly delivers. 2018 has been a strong year for Fraser -- doing the only solid job on CONDOR (and as the villain, no less) as well as being part of an outstanding cast on FX's TRUST. Other than Brendan, there's no real reason for CONDOR to even exist.
Well there's William Hurt.
No, Hurt's not delivering a great performance -- or even a good one. It's the same performance that went stale in the eighties. But it's great to see him -- the man Marlee Matlin revealed raped her and beat her -- starring opposite hypocrite Mira Sorvino to demonstrate just how shallow Mira's supposed commitment to survivors of abuse truly is -- as shallow as her acting in CONDOR.
CONDOR should never have been made. To remake a classic, you should have a passion, a driving need to tell the story again but this series has all the energy of a LOVE BOAT episode.
NETFLIX is supposedly more powerful than DISNEY -- among others. Last week, THE GUARDIAN noted:
Netflix surpassed Disney as the most valuable US media company on Thursday, a sign that Netflix’s subscriber growth, coupled with potential problems in Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s TV and film assets, as well as changes in entertainment media consumption habits, are contributing to fundamental shifts in power.
That's surprising since NETFLIX has so little to offer.
Once upon a time, they had a steady flow of classic films -- via their deal with STARZ. That ended. They insisted at the time that they would have new deals to replace it. Subscribers are still waiting for those deals to emerge and classic films to return.
Instead, DISNEY is planning its own streaming service which would result in NETFLIX losing those films. And idiotic decision like cancelling fan favorite SENSE8 (a tele-film wraps the series up in June) don't help the service.
The reason for its popularity at present has to do with the latecomers coming on board and wanting to see what everyone used to be talking about.
Also struggling in TCM -- TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES. Still a premium channel when it comes to payment, the channel long ago lost luster and has taken to airing 'classics' that most would consider to be bombs. Due to incessant complaints from viewers about the repetition in their schedule of the last six months, they've taken to airing old franchises -- Ann Southern's ten Maisie films, Mickey Rooney's Andy Hardy films, Lupe Velez's series (THE GIRL FROM MEXICO and the seven Mexican Spitfire films that followed), Bonita Granville's four Nancy Drew films, the six Perry Mason films from WARNER BROTHERS (four starring Warren Williams), William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles in THE THIN MAN films (six in all), Margaret Rutherford's four films playing Agatha Christie's detective Jane Marple, among others. Quite a difference from their usual sole reliance on the BULLDOG DRUMMOND films.
In late 2016, TCM launched the streaming service FILMSTRUCK -- right away, they became the streamers of The Criterion Collection (a collection made famous for their remastered DVDs of film classics), stealing the Collection from HULU.
Grumblings in e-mails have noted the belief many TCM viewers have that the streaming service is what is depriving them of quality films.
The grumblers are wrong.
We spent the weekend going through FILMSTRUCK. The bulk of what they have makes it to TCM regularly. The only exception might be the Jean Harlow films. You're far more likely, on TCM these days, to see Carroll Baker playing Jean Harlow than to see a film starring the first bombshell of American films herself. And if you care the actual Jean Harlow on TCM, it's most likely going to be yet another airing of DINNER AT EIGHT and not one of her classic films like BOMBSHELL. TCM also can't seem to discover the Anita Loos films Jean Harlow made.
But otherwise?
Katharine Hepburn is currently represented on FILMSTRUCK by these films: BRINGING UP BABY, SUMMERTIME, PAT AND MIKE, ADAM'S RIB, THE SEA OF GRASS, WOMAN OF THE YEAR, KEEPER OF THE FLAME, WITHOUT LOVE and THE TROJAN WOMAN. So if you're thinking that SYLVIA SCARLETT (her first of four teamings with Cary Grant) is being kept off TCM by FILMSTRUCK, think again.
Some performers are better represented. Cary Grant isn't one. FILMSTRUCK only has his BRINGING UP BABY, SUZY (with Jean Harlow) and HIS GIRL FRIDAY (with Rosalind Russell). The ones who are better represented tend to be WARNER BROTHERS performers like Bette Davis (queen of the lot in the late 30s and early 40s) and Natalie Wood (queen of the lot in the sixties). That's because WARNER's has ended their own streaming service and now instead have partnered with FILMSTRUCK. Joan Crawford and Marlon Brando are also well represented as a result of their WARNER films.
But where, for example, is Betty Grable?
If she's on TCM at all these days, it's HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE -- the 1953 film that teams her with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall. 1953 is not her strong year in terms of box office. From 1941 to 1951, Betty Grabe was a top ten box office draw in the US -- and in 1942 and 1943, she was the number one box office draw.
I WAKE UP SCREAMING is a film noir starring Betty Grable, a classic film noir. But it doesn't feature on the film noir slot Saturday nights or early Sunday mornings (NOIR ALLEY). Why? It's apparently not mach enough for host Eddie Muller (but he was fine with being paid to do commentary on the film's DVD). The same sexist thinking appears to keep Deanna Durbin's film noir classic CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY and so many offerings by Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford out of the running. Don't even try to look for Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake teamings, they simply won't be aired.
But Betty Grable, one of the biggest stars in the US for countless films in a ten year period, is exactly the sort of performer TMC should exist for. They should highlight the films and provide context on them -- both in terms of art and in terms of their times -- what led people to respond so strongly to Betty Grable onscreen?
But you won't see her on TMC or FILMSTRUCK -- and you won't see her on FXM -- FOX's FX MOVIE CHANNEL. You might see her classic films -- especially her comedies -- on the over the air broadcast channel MOVIES! but that's really about it.
So PIN-UP GIRL, MOTHER WORE TIGHTS, MY BLUE HEAVEN and the Preston Sturges directed THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND are not being shown and their impact not being addressed.
It's really amazing, when you think about TCM being a premium channel and FILMSTRUCK being a subscription service, that they offer so little that is truly rare or necessary for a film history education.
And when it comes to film classics, you will find more on HULU or AMAZON PRIME than you will on NETFLIX. In fact, you'll find more film classics on the free streaming service TUBI than you will on NETFLIX. On TUBI right now, for example, you can find the documentary SING YOUR SONG: HARRY BELAFONTE as well as films like THE WOOD, BROADWAY DANNY ROSE, THE DUKE IS TOPS, MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, RADIO DAYS, PAPER MOON, BILLY LIAR, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, ETERNALLY YOURS, ROYAL WEDDING, SECOND CHORUS, BAGHDAD CAFE, CHARADE, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, BOUND, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DIAL M FOR MURDER, DETROIT 9000, BALL OF FIRE, CAUSE FOR ALARM!, MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, NOTHING SACRED, ROAD TO BALI, D.O.A., CONTEMPT, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, MEET JOHN DOE, LADY OF BURLESQUE, THE HITCH-HIKER, THE STRANGER, SCARLET STREET, THE BAT, LOVE AFFAIR, THE NAKED KISS, THE OUTLAW, THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL . . .
NETFLIX is doing well right now -- for the most part, due to name recognition. Should a streaming service emerge that really serves fans of film, that could change very quickly.
AUDIENCE still can't produce a series to justify its existence. If you're like most viewers, you took a pass on YOU ME HER -- another straight male fantasy where a plain looking man gets two attractive women. If you're like most viewers, next month you will take a pass on CONDOR.
We just finished watching the so-so series and why anyone gave this nonsense the greenlight is beyond us. The series is flabby, each episode overflowing with unneeded scenes that meander to an obvious close apparently due to the director's inability to yell "Cut!" The editing doesn't help either.
For those who missed the 70s classic film THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, it starred Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. Redford is Joe Hale, CIA analyst, whose office gets hit and he goes on the run, encounters Kathy Hale (Dunaway) who assists him -- at first reluctantly.
The chemistry between Robert and Faye made up for a lot in the film (and is referenced by Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney's characters in Steven Soderbergh's OUT OF SIGHT). THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was directed by Sydney Pollack -- a man not known for handling tense thrillers. Pollack was given his big break by Natalie Wood -- as was Robert Redford. When she okayed each -- as director and co-star of THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, she took a big risk. It's a risk that neither man ever felt the need to repay. When she returned to acting after taking time off to raise her daughters, both men played dumb when she contacted them about working on new projects together.
To be clear, THE SLENDER THREAD, the only film Pollack directed prior TO THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, was not a success -- critical or commercial -- and Warners didn't want him to direct but Natalie demanded it. And Redford? They'd worked together on INSIDE DAISY CLOVER but he had a minor role in the film she starred in -- made more minor by his refusal to play the part as written -- the gay man her character marries. Redford had not starred in a film and the studios weren't keen on him due to his temperament (he didn't work well on TV sets) and weren't crazy about the bumps on the side of his face.
But Natalie stood up for both men and she was the queen of Warner Brothers so she got what she wanted. And both men? They got careers.
What did Natalie get?
When Redford needed her to do a cameo in his 1972 film THE CANDIDATE, despite being in retirement, she agreed to help the man she thought was her friend.
That was the kind of person she was.
The kind of people Redford and Pollack were? They never lifted a finger to help her when she decided to return to films.
In fairness, Redford's vanity has always occupied so much of his time. And Sydney? Well he was so very busy being a spy for the Israeli government.
If the Academy Awards can expel Roman Polanski, why can't they expel Sydney who was an American citizen spying on America for a foreign government. That's reason enough to expel Sydney.
We're not saying he didn't direct a few good movies. Certainly, TOOTSIE will always be a classic. But we are saying if he helped supply weapons and worse (possibly nuclear triggers as well as helping to score uranium for Israel), he certainly doesn't demonstrate the behavior that one expects.
With THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, Pollack directed a script, routinely directed -- Lorenzo Semple supplied the tension (as he did on other scripts he co-wrote or wrote solo -- including the classics PRETTY POISON, THE PARALLAX VIEW and THE DROWNING POOL).
So while it would have been a good idea for all the episodes to have been directed by one person, it's even more important that the piece be strongly written. It has not been. Jason Smilovic has done some writing and 'creating' in the same way that he did on such TV disasters as KIDNAPPED, MY OWN WORST ENEMY, BIONIC WOMAN and KAREN SISCO. Where do you go after those flops?
AUDIENCE, obviously.
The series is poorly written, badly edited and shapeless in terms of direction. In terms of acting?
Brendan Fraser's the only one he truly delivers. 2018 has been a strong year for Fraser -- doing the only solid job on CONDOR (and as the villain, no less) as well as being part of an outstanding cast on FX's TRUST. Other than Brendan, there's no real reason for CONDOR to even exist.
Well there's William Hurt.
No, Hurt's not delivering a great performance -- or even a good one. It's the same performance that went stale in the eighties. But it's great to see him -- the man Marlee Matlin revealed raped her and beat her -- starring opposite hypocrite Mira Sorvino to demonstrate just how shallow Mira's supposed commitment to survivors of abuse truly is -- as shallow as her acting in CONDOR.
CONDOR should never have been made. To remake a classic, you should have a passion, a driving need to tell the story again but this series has all the energy of a LOVE BOAT episode.
NETFLIX is supposedly more powerful than DISNEY -- among others. Last week, THE GUARDIAN noted:
Netflix surpassed Disney as the most valuable US media company on Thursday, a sign that Netflix’s subscriber growth, coupled with potential problems in Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s TV and film assets, as well as changes in entertainment media consumption habits, are contributing to fundamental shifts in power.
That's surprising since NETFLIX has so little to offer.
Once upon a time, they had a steady flow of classic films -- via their deal with STARZ. That ended. They insisted at the time that they would have new deals to replace it. Subscribers are still waiting for those deals to emerge and classic films to return.
Instead, DISNEY is planning its own streaming service which would result in NETFLIX losing those films. And idiotic decision like cancelling fan favorite SENSE8 (a tele-film wraps the series up in June) don't help the service.
The reason for its popularity at present has to do with the latecomers coming on board and wanting to see what everyone used to be talking about.
Also struggling in TCM -- TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES. Still a premium channel when it comes to payment, the channel long ago lost luster and has taken to airing 'classics' that most would consider to be bombs. Due to incessant complaints from viewers about the repetition in their schedule of the last six months, they've taken to airing old franchises -- Ann Southern's ten Maisie films, Mickey Rooney's Andy Hardy films, Lupe Velez's series (THE GIRL FROM MEXICO and the seven Mexican Spitfire films that followed), Bonita Granville's four Nancy Drew films, the six Perry Mason films from WARNER BROTHERS (four starring Warren Williams), William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles in THE THIN MAN films (six in all), Margaret Rutherford's four films playing Agatha Christie's detective Jane Marple, among others. Quite a difference from their usual sole reliance on the BULLDOG DRUMMOND films.
In late 2016, TCM launched the streaming service FILMSTRUCK -- right away, they became the streamers of The Criterion Collection (a collection made famous for their remastered DVDs of film classics), stealing the Collection from HULU.
Grumblings in e-mails have noted the belief many TCM viewers have that the streaming service is what is depriving them of quality films.
The grumblers are wrong.
We spent the weekend going through FILMSTRUCK. The bulk of what they have makes it to TCM regularly. The only exception might be the Jean Harlow films. You're far more likely, on TCM these days, to see Carroll Baker playing Jean Harlow than to see a film starring the first bombshell of American films herself. And if you care the actual Jean Harlow on TCM, it's most likely going to be yet another airing of DINNER AT EIGHT and not one of her classic films like BOMBSHELL. TCM also can't seem to discover the Anita Loos films Jean Harlow made.
But otherwise?
Katharine Hepburn is currently represented on FILMSTRUCK by these films: BRINGING UP BABY, SUMMERTIME, PAT AND MIKE, ADAM'S RIB, THE SEA OF GRASS, WOMAN OF THE YEAR, KEEPER OF THE FLAME, WITHOUT LOVE and THE TROJAN WOMAN. So if you're thinking that SYLVIA SCARLETT (her first of four teamings with Cary Grant) is being kept off TCM by FILMSTRUCK, think again.
Some performers are better represented. Cary Grant isn't one. FILMSTRUCK only has his BRINGING UP BABY, SUZY (with Jean Harlow) and HIS GIRL FRIDAY (with Rosalind Russell). The ones who are better represented tend to be WARNER BROTHERS performers like Bette Davis (queen of the lot in the late 30s and early 40s) and Natalie Wood (queen of the lot in the sixties). That's because WARNER's has ended their own streaming service and now instead have partnered with FILMSTRUCK. Joan Crawford and Marlon Brando are also well represented as a result of their WARNER films.
But where, for example, is Betty Grable?
If she's on TCM at all these days, it's HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE -- the 1953 film that teams her with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall. 1953 is not her strong year in terms of box office. From 1941 to 1951, Betty Grabe was a top ten box office draw in the US -- and in 1942 and 1943, she was the number one box office draw.
I WAKE UP SCREAMING is a film noir starring Betty Grable, a classic film noir. But it doesn't feature on the film noir slot Saturday nights or early Sunday mornings (NOIR ALLEY). Why? It's apparently not mach enough for host Eddie Muller (but he was fine with being paid to do commentary on the film's DVD). The same sexist thinking appears to keep Deanna Durbin's film noir classic CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY and so many offerings by Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford out of the running. Don't even try to look for Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake teamings, they simply won't be aired.
But Betty Grable, one of the biggest stars in the US for countless films in a ten year period, is exactly the sort of performer TMC should exist for. They should highlight the films and provide context on them -- both in terms of art and in terms of their times -- what led people to respond so strongly to Betty Grable onscreen?
But you won't see her on TMC or FILMSTRUCK -- and you won't see her on FXM -- FOX's FX MOVIE CHANNEL. You might see her classic films -- especially her comedies -- on the over the air broadcast channel MOVIES! but that's really about it.
So PIN-UP GIRL, MOTHER WORE TIGHTS, MY BLUE HEAVEN and the Preston Sturges directed THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND are not being shown and their impact not being addressed.
It's really amazing, when you think about TCM being a premium channel and FILMSTRUCK being a subscription service, that they offer so little that is truly rare or necessary for a film history education.
And when it comes to film classics, you will find more on HULU or AMAZON PRIME than you will on NETFLIX. In fact, you'll find more film classics on the free streaming service TUBI than you will on NETFLIX. On TUBI right now, for example, you can find the documentary SING YOUR SONG: HARRY BELAFONTE as well as films like THE WOOD, BROADWAY DANNY ROSE, THE DUKE IS TOPS, MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, RADIO DAYS, PAPER MOON, BILLY LIAR, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, ETERNALLY YOURS, ROYAL WEDDING, SECOND CHORUS, BAGHDAD CAFE, CHARADE, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, BOUND, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DIAL M FOR MURDER, DETROIT 9000, BALL OF FIRE, CAUSE FOR ALARM!, MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, NOTHING SACRED, ROAD TO BALI, D.O.A., CONTEMPT, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, MEET JOHN DOE, LADY OF BURLESQUE, THE HITCH-HIKER, THE STRANGER, SCARLET STREET, THE BAT, LOVE AFFAIR, THE NAKED KISS, THE OUTLAW, THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL . . .
NETFLIX is doing well right now -- for the most part, due to name recognition. Should a streaming service emerge that really serves fans of film, that could change very quickly.
It wasn't an informant, it was a spy
There's a thing called the English language, US reporters should f**king learn it. The FBI used a spy to spy on Donald Trump's presidential campaing.
Professional liar James Clapper, as well as the delusional James Comey, have insisted that it was not a "spy," it was an "informant" that was used. From NPR to CNN, all the press whores lined up to use the same term.
Even though the term is wrong.
That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Ghosts of Films Past."
Ruby Dee did co-write UP TIGHT. And that's a story where a guy in a group decides to rat out his peers -- to 'inform' on them. It's an update of John Ford's THE INFORMER which was also about someone in a group turning on the group and 'informing.'
Get it?
It's not that damn hard.
When the FBI got a man not in Trump's group to begin watching the campaign? That was spying, not informing. If someone within the campaign had gone to the authorities? That would have been informing.
The English language can be your friend if you learn it.
Professional liar James Clapper, as well as the delusional James Comey, have insisted that it was not a "spy," it was an "informant" that was used. From NPR to CNN, all the press whores lined up to use the same term.
Even though the term is wrong.
That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Ghosts of Films Past."
Ruby Dee did co-write UP TIGHT. And that's a story where a guy in a group decides to rat out his peers -- to 'inform' on them. It's an update of John Ford's THE INFORMER which was also about someone in a group turning on the group and 'informing.'
Get it?
It's not that damn hard.
When the FBI got a man not in Trump's group to begin watching the campaign? That was spying, not informing. If someone within the campaign had gone to the authorities? That would have been informing.
The English language can be your friend if you learn it.
- He was called the “Walrus,” but Cambridge University professor Stefan Halper seemed remarkably agile and active in making contacts with Trump campaign officials in the summer and fall of 2016.
- The Hill has posted my column on the three critical questions for the IG in investigating the Halper controversy.
Assassinations
Earlier this month, Iraq held national elections. To the surprise of the US government and their whores in the media, Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr ended up the big winner.
Sunday, Abdullah bin Bijad al-Otaibi (ALARABIYA) wondered:
So now the question is who will assassinate Muqtada al-Sadr? Or who will assassinate his deputies to reengineer the composition of the Iraqi parliament? This has already happened earlier when the formation of government was taken away from Ayad Allawi and was passed on to Nouri al-Maliki.
It will be at the hand of Iran and no one else, but how will that be done? Will it be done through the hands of Sunni extremists, like when al-Qaeda assassinated Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim? Or will it be carried out by Shiite extremists like the bombing of Al-Askari Shrine in Samarra? The Iranian apparatuses, their militias and their agents in Iraq can answer these questions.
What is it that's made it so natural to raise the issue of assassination?
Madonna, Johnny Depp and too many other nut cases have thought that floating the assassination of President Donald Trump was cute, funny and sophisticated.
It's not cute, it's not funny and it only serves to remind most that you barely got through high school and that you're so-called intellect is not what you're famous for.
Assassination is troubling. It's violence attacking the people and not just the subject targeted.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knows all about that. Tom Jackman (WASHINGTON POST) reported Saturday:
Kennedy was asleep in his dorm at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, on June 5, 1968, when a priest woke him and told there was a car waiting outside to take him to the family home, Hickory Hill, in McLean, Virginia. The priest didn't say why.
In his new memoir, "American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family," Kennedy said his mother's secretary was waiting for him. "Jinx Hack told me my father had been shot, but I was still thinking he'd be okay. He was, after all, indestructible."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his older sister Kathleen and brother Joe flew to Los Angeles on Vice President Hubert Humphrey's plane, Air Force Two.
At Good Samaritan Hospital, Kennedy wrote, his father's head was bandaged and his face was bruised. A priest had already delivered last rites. His mother was there.
"I sat down across the bed from her and took hold of his big wrestler's hand," he wrote. "I prayed and said goodbye to him, listening to the pumps that kept him breathing. Each of us children took turns sitting with him and praying opposite my mom.
"My dad died at 1:44 a.m., a few minutes after doctors removed his life support. My brother Joe came into the ward where all the children were lying down and told us, 'He's gone.' "
RFK Jr. is haunted by his father's death. He also believes there was a second shooter in his father's assassination and supports a re-investigation into his father's murder (we agree a re-investigation is needed). When people think they're being cute, they might want to think a little harder because there is nothing cute about assassination.
Sunday, Abdullah bin Bijad al-Otaibi (ALARABIYA) wondered:
So now the question is who will assassinate Muqtada al-Sadr? Or who will assassinate his deputies to reengineer the composition of the Iraqi parliament? This has already happened earlier when the formation of government was taken away from Ayad Allawi and was passed on to Nouri al-Maliki.
It will be at the hand of Iran and no one else, but how will that be done? Will it be done through the hands of Sunni extremists, like when al-Qaeda assassinated Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim? Or will it be carried out by Shiite extremists like the bombing of Al-Askari Shrine in Samarra? The Iranian apparatuses, their militias and their agents in Iraq can answer these questions.
What is it that's made it so natural to raise the issue of assassination?
Madonna, Johnny Depp and too many other nut cases have thought that floating the assassination of President Donald Trump was cute, funny and sophisticated.
It's not cute, it's not funny and it only serves to remind most that you barely got through high school and that you're so-called intellect is not what you're famous for.
Assassination is troubling. It's violence attacking the people and not just the subject targeted.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knows all about that. Tom Jackman (WASHINGTON POST) reported Saturday:
Kennedy was asleep in his dorm at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, on June 5, 1968, when a priest woke him and told there was a car waiting outside to take him to the family home, Hickory Hill, in McLean, Virginia. The priest didn't say why.
In his new memoir, "American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family," Kennedy said his mother's secretary was waiting for him. "Jinx Hack told me my father had been shot, but I was still thinking he'd be okay. He was, after all, indestructible."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his older sister Kathleen and brother Joe flew to Los Angeles on Vice President Hubert Humphrey's plane, Air Force Two.
At Good Samaritan Hospital, Kennedy wrote, his father's head was bandaged and his face was bruised. A priest had already delivered last rites. His mother was there.
"I sat down across the bed from her and took hold of his big wrestler's hand," he wrote. "I prayed and said goodbye to him, listening to the pumps that kept him breathing. Each of us children took turns sitting with him and praying opposite my mom.
"My dad died at 1:44 a.m., a few minutes after doctors removed his life support. My brother Joe came into the ward where all the children were lying down and told us, 'He's gone.' "
RFK Jr. is haunted by his father's death. He also believes there was a second shooter in his father's assassination and supports a re-investigation into his father's murder (we agree a re-investigation is needed). When people think they're being cute, they might want to think a little harder because there is nothing cute about assassination.
30 Things NETFLIX can rightly brag about
1) SENSE8
2) THE SANTA CLARITA DIET
3) GRACE AND FRANKIE
4) THE JOEL MCHALE SHOW WITH JOEL MCHALE
5) JOHN MULANEY: KID GORGEOUS AT RADIO CITY
6) THE BREAK WITH MICHELLE WOLF
7) MUDBOUND
8) A LITTLE HELP WITH CAROL BURNETT
9) HOUSE OF CARDS
10) ALI WONG HARD KNOCK WIFE
11) JACK WHITEHALL AT LARGE
12) DISJOINTED
13) ROXANNE ROXANNE
14) PEE-WEE'S BIG HOLIDAY
15) OH, HELLO ON BROADWAY
16) JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD
17) THE OA
18) OZARK
19) CRISTELLA ALONZO LOWER CLASSY
20) WAR MACHINE
21) THE BABY SITTER
22) JESSICA JONES
23) BARBRA THE MUSIC . . . THE MEM'RIES . . . THE MAGIC!
24) THE BABY SITTER
25) MASCOTS
26) THE RACHEL DIVIDE
27) LITTLE EVIL
28) ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
29) LOST IN SPACE
30) BRIGHT
2) THE SANTA CLARITA DIET
3) GRACE AND FRANKIE
4) THE JOEL MCHALE SHOW WITH JOEL MCHALE
5) JOHN MULANEY: KID GORGEOUS AT RADIO CITY
6) THE BREAK WITH MICHELLE WOLF
7) MUDBOUND
8) A LITTLE HELP WITH CAROL BURNETT
9) HOUSE OF CARDS
10) ALI WONG HARD KNOCK WIFE
11) JACK WHITEHALL AT LARGE
12) DISJOINTED
13) ROXANNE ROXANNE
14) PEE-WEE'S BIG HOLIDAY
15) OH, HELLO ON BROADWAY
16) JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD
17) THE OA
18) OZARK
19) CRISTELLA ALONZO LOWER CLASSY
20) WAR MACHINE
21) THE BABY SITTER
22) JESSICA JONES
23) BARBRA THE MUSIC . . . THE MEM'RIES . . . THE MAGIC!
24) THE BABY SITTER
25) MASCOTS
26) THE RACHEL DIVIDE
27) LITTLE EVIL
28) ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
29) LOST IN SPACE
30) BRIGHT
Go away, Chelsea
We would have to agree.
Further, we'd wonder why Chelsea Clinton can't shut the f**k up?
What has she accomplished in her life?
Nothing.
Though NBC paid her $600,000 a year, she couldn't do TV journalism.
What can she do?
Nothing.
In the past, First Daughters learned to focus on their parents' legacy and to be non-controversial.
For some reason, Chelsea wants to be controversial, a real little bitch, in fact. One has to wonder why she doesn't shut up. This is the woman who, when she was First Daughter, was protected by the press. This is the woman who, in 2008, campaigned for her mother while refusing to give interviews or asking questions. A grown woman who could be photographed and whose speech could be noted but couldn't answer a question -- because she was too stupid to speak.
She's made it clear in the last years just how stupid she is.
She needs to lay off Donald Trump. Chelsea is a cheap little hustler, scoring cash on her parents' names and unable to offer any reason for anyone to be impressed with her own pathetic ass.
Tweet of the week
American journalists:
The silencing of press on the Tommy Robinson case is fine because we think he’s an asshole.
The silencing of Julian Assange is fine because we think he’s an asshole.
OH MY GOD TRUMP TWEETED A MEAN THING ABOUT CNN!!! THE FREEDOM OF PRESS IS UNDER ATTACK!!
SOLO goes flop
In his review, Stan noted "SOLO is so low" and, indeed, it is.
Suck up Tim Grierson noted SOLO was a flop and then offered five so-called reasons. His ass kissing apparently kept him from noting reality.
May 11th, Kat asked "Will SOLO make Alden Ehrenreich a star?" before answering:
I don't see how. He has zero acting talent -- the Warren Beatty movie RULES DON'T APPLY made that even more clear.
Even worse? He's repugnant. He looks like Danny Masterson -- the guy dropped from THE RANCH because of all the rape rumors.
His whole face is f**ked up. That can't be fixed. The most he can hope is that he can starve before every film and that will make him less repugnant.
But why would you hire anyone like that to be a leading man in the first place?
It's those kind of decisions that make people scratch their heads and ask, "Who did he sleep with?"
Alden Ehrenreich? Even the name doesn't sound like a star name. And Kat's right, he's not good looking. Were he a woman, critics would be discussing his body and how the studio should have forgotten about an acting tutor and instead hired Alden a trainer to lose some of that body fat.
Suck up Tim Grierson noted SOLO was a flop and then offered five so-called reasons. His ass kissing apparently kept him from noting reality.
May 11th, Kat asked "Will SOLO make Alden Ehrenreich a star?" before answering:
I don't see how. He has zero acting talent -- the Warren Beatty movie RULES DON'T APPLY made that even more clear.
Even worse? He's repugnant. He looks like Danny Masterson -- the guy dropped from THE RANCH because of all the rape rumors.
His whole face is f**ked up. That can't be fixed. The most he can hope is that he can starve before every film and that will make him less repugnant.
But why would you hire anyone like that to be a leading man in the first place?
It's those kind of decisions that make people scratch their heads and ask, "Who did he sleep with?"
Alden Ehrenreich? Even the name doesn't sound like a star name. And Kat's right, he's not good looking. Were he a woman, critics would be discussing his body and how the studio should have forgotten about an acting tutor and instead hired Alden a trainer to lose some of that body fat.
Burn Pits 360 Lobby Day At Capitol Hill June 7
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