Mongo Was Right

Did you see or notice this?

The price of gasoline jumped 20 cents overnight.

Crazy.

I saw this at the QT convenience store at 72nd Wornall.

Insane.

It isn't often you see a seller jump their prices more than 14% literally overnight. And I can't imagine what world or local event made them do this. I'm sure it was just a corporate meeting and they decided "Hey, let's just jump those prices 20 cents more per gallon. Done."

Mongo was right.

And we're Mongo.

Be safe out there, y'all. Be well. And stay home.

Entertainment Overnight -- Remember When

I Don't Like Where It Looks Like We're Headed

Apocalyptic movies began and, if anything, seem to keep growing in numbers. "Mad Max", for me, seemed to be either the first or one of them. In the meantime, they've grown in number.

This one, "Ready Player One", from Steven Spielberg, is due out next year.



It makes me fear for our future, for our collective futures.

Entertainment Overnight -- Manhattan

Entertainment Overnight -- MTM

MTM

She sang, she danced, she did comedy, she did serious drama and acting. She did it all and wonderfully, beautifully.






Thank you for all of it.

You'll be missed. Very missed.

Rest in peace and godspeed to you.

Entertainment Overnight -- The Way Life Should Be

Good luck out there, y'all.

Entertainment Overnight -- In and Out

In and out of New York Harbor, in 2 movies, years, decades apart.

Entertainment Overnight -- Best

One of the best, if not the best, intro to a movie ever.

Entertainment Overnight -- Coming Soon

This looks fantastic. Seems Steven Spielberg will have knocked it out of the ballpark, once again.


And it's not Mark Rylance's best genre but it's still Mark Rylance.


Coming July 1.

More here:  The BFG (2016) - IMDb

Entertainment Overnight -- Incredible Talent

Incredible talent.  Incredible fun. There was only one Fred Astaire.

Entertainment Overnight -- More Star Wars

How fantastic is that?



Happy holidays, y'all.

Entertainment Overnight -- On Star Wars

"The Force Awakens": Ironically Racist (Warning: Some Minor Spoilers)

It needs to be said and recognized.

The new version of "Star Wars", JJ Abrams' adaptation, "The Force Awakens" is, yes, ladies and gentlemen, racist.  And simply and blatantly so. And here's how.

There is one, count 'em, one black actor as a main character in the entire movie. Apparently there aren't any black people in space.

And to really balance things out, there's one Latino, too. As we can see, there are a few Asians but that's it.

Second, if you see the movie as I did, note what this actor's training was while he was a Stormtrooper.

It's stunning.

He was in "sanitation."  Seriously.

Third, the black character fails. And he needs all the white people to save him. Seriously, that's what happens.

And then fans turned out to be even more racist. Soon as they heard there was a black hero character in the film, they went full goose, public racist, out to the world:

Racists Urge Boycott of 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

Twitter trolls urge boycott of Star Wars

 over black character

In ugly fairness from them, however, they were also angry a female character is central to the story. They really went nuts when it turned out the female character has feelings for the black guy.

Imagine that.

Ironic, isn't it? A bunch of white fans flip out because a black guy is a main character in what was, apparently, probably a favorite movie of theirs and then it turns out the movie itself is racist.

Link:  New 'Star Wars' blasted as 'anti-white'

'Star Wars' Black Character Controversy: African-American Sci-Fi Fans Battle Genre's Racial Stereotypes

The Force Snores

SOURCE: DISNEY

Oh, yeah. The Force snores. And snoozes.

As you may be able to guess, I saw the latest version of "Star Wars", "The Force Awakens" this evening. It was a wonderful and thoughtful and even appreciated gift from my bosses and company for the holidays but wow. What a stinker of a movie.

This movie is, without doubt the most unoriginal, predictable, repetitive, tedious, cute and cutesy--and even racist--movie you could ever want to see. What was, originally, fresh and clever has become deeply formulaic. Hence the predictability.

And while I will say all that about it---and I can back it up, certainly---I won't put any spoilers here, though the film deserves it.

Personally, I'd like the 2 hours back. 

It's nearly as though someone made 8 or 10 more versions of "The Godfather." It makes that much sense, as a film.

These two writers, responding to the New York Times review, got it right:

OpposeBadThings  United Kingdom

I watched the film last night. I am one of those who saw the original and marveled at it back in 1977. JJ Abrams has a unique talent - the ability to take a franchise, remake the base story with new special effects and modern directing but - and this is the awful truth - has no imagination whatsoever. This is nothing more than the first film re-made. The plot is so alarmingly duplicated in so many details that I felt little more than duped. This was an opportunity to take Star Wars in a new direction, but instead, as he did with Star Trek, he just steals plots and reworks them. Utterly, totally disappointing- we have fallen for the hype - in 2 years everyone will realise how had they were.

anixt999 new york

The true genius here is not in the film itself which is an almost shot by shot remake of the original, no, the true genius is in the marketing and merchandising which has been like something never seen before, it's almost akin to a national brainwashing. Some may even call it similar to Jedi mind manipulation. This full court press of marketing is the true force to be reckoned with and is happening in every corner of the globe where there is a movie theatre.

The Movie itself is the typical action show, designed for kids and the kid in all of us, kids will love it, but they also loved Avengers, and Antman and all those other action flicks, and this will quickly blend in with the rest. It will not be the iconoclastic, seminal, magical event that many of us were lucky to experience in 1977. It's a hyped-up remake that profits in comparison to the hated prequels. Like many of have already stated, the excellent novels which have been disowned to make way for this new storyline were so much better and interesting as well as thought provoking, the kind of stuff that stays with you and stimulates the imagination. This movie has none of that quality. It is an end in itself and will quickly drift away from your thoughts and dreams.

However, It's lack of originality will not be disturbing to Disney, all they care about is Money. 

May the Greed be with you.

All I can say, after the above totally fair judgments, is that JJ Abrams, though he will make millions, should be embarrassed, if not ashamed. And it will be great for Disney, certainly and millions upon millions of people, the world over will go and even enjoy the film. Sadly.

It's just further proof of the very old but also very true saying from H.L. Mencken:

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."

Go. Enjoy.

You know you want to.

I'm just happy I didn't pay for it.

Link:   The Pre-Fab “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” - The New Yorker

Opens Today

See this movie.

Entertainment Overnight -- Happy Birthday, Willie!

Disney's "Steamboat Willie", born this day, 1928

On This Day, September 2

For whatever reason, I thought September 2nd to be a day of significance. With that in mind, I thought I'd put together a few highlights from the date, down through the ages. Partly fun, partly educational, partly historical significance. Hopefully enjoy.

490 BC - Pheidippides, Greek hero and inspiration for the modern marathon, dies

44 BC - Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.

- The first of Cicero's Philippics (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them over the next several months.

1649 - The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro. (I love that. Pope Innocent)

1666 - Great Fire of London begins at 2am in Pudding Lane, 80% of London is destroyed

1732 - Pope Clement XII renews anti-Jewish laws of Rome. (Don'tcha' just love those oh-so-innocent Catholics?)

1864 - Union General William T. Sherman captures and burns Atlanta during US Civil War

1894 - Forest fires destroy Hinckley Minnesota: about 600 die (I can't even fathom that one)

1901 - VP Theodore Roosevelt advises "Speak softly & carry a big stick"

1902 - "A Trip To The Moon", the first science fiction film, by film great Georges Méliès released

1919 - Communist Party of America organizes in Chicago (It didn't really catch on. Not permanently, anyway)

1936 - 1st transatlantic round-trip air flight

1942 - German troops enter Stalingrad

1944 - During WW II, George H W Bush ejects from a burning plane

1944 - Holocaust diarist Anne Frank was sent to Auschwitz

1945 - Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independence from France (National Day) (Years later, Americans would learn nothing whatever from France's loss and exit from Vietnam and instead, attack the country)

1946 - Nehru forms government in India

1957 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1962 - Stan Musial's 3,516th hit moves over Tris Speaker into 2nd place

1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

1963 - Alabama Gov George C Wallace prevents integration of Tuskegee HS

1963 - CBS & NBC expand network news from 15 to 30 minutes

1964 - Keanu Reeves birthday, Beirut, "actor"

1969 - Ralph Houk signs 3-year contract to manage Yankees at $65,000 a season (think things haven't changed a lot?)
        - The first automatic teller machine (ATM) in the United States is installed in Rockville Center, New York.

1971 - Chris Evert & Jimmy Connors win their 1st US Open tennis matches (Chris who? Jimmy who?)
         - Also his, Jimmy Connors', birthday, 1952

1972 - Rod Stewart's 1st #1 hit (You Wear it Well)

1973 - J. R. R. Tolkien, British author (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings)--as if you had to ask--dies of an ulcer at 81

1982 - Rolling Stone Keith Richard's house burns down

1987 - Donald Trump takes out a full page NY Times ad lambasting Japan

1997 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Montreal Canada on CHOM 97.7 FM (and we still haven't gotten rid of him)

2005 - Bob Denver, American actor (Gilligan of "Gilligan's Island"), dies of complications from treatment for cancer at 70
So now, get out there, kids, and enjoy your September 2nd.

Fukushima Radiation Nears California Coast

Yes, I saw this two days ago:

Fukushima radiation nears California coast, judged harmless

It immediately reminded me of this:



Have a nice day, y'all. Keep warm.

Two of the best Roberts in one movie

How can it be anything but stellar?



Opens October 10

Must-see movie coming soon

Can hardly wait.