FLIX!
Okay, fellas, it's alright. A chick-flick once in a while is okay. A Joyful Noise turned out to be fun, didn't it? And Pitch Perfect? Admit it, you loved the cup/song thing. Well along comes The Other Woman.
It stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Upton (who is truly funny and the best thing about the movie), and newcomer Leslie Mann. Newcomer Leslie Mann is here for her exquisite body, but I saw more than hints of talent popping out.
The premise is this: a wife discovers her husband (Zac Efron) is cheating, and when she confronts the mistress discovers that she's not really a mistress because he said he was single. And in a weird twisted way, they become friends. And as they together spy on the guy, they discover that he is actually with another girl too. He has told her he is in the midst of a divorce. The new girl is also somehow brought into the "angry-women-fold", and they begin plotting on how to get even. And the things these women came up with were mind boggling. I hate infidelity. I would never cheat anyway, but after seeing this with my wife.... I would never cheat. Ever. Not even let it cross my mind, honey......
This movie is laugh out loud funny. It lost a little umph for us because we saw it at 11:30 in the morning with four other people. So there wasn't exactly uproarious laughter. But it was funny. I laughed out loud even when I was the only one. Hey, funny is funny.
I liked this flick a lot. The final scenes are well worth the price of admission. I don't like these hound-dogs that make my gender look awful, and I was cheering when the pay-backs were happening. And those scenes are hysterical by the way. You go girls!
This is the movie that toppled "Captain America" at the Box Office last week, so there's that guys!
Check this out.
Grade: Strong B+
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Draft Day
FLIX!
This film is exactly what the title says it is. It occurs on Draft Day. The NFL Draft Day to be exact. It starts in the morning as Kevin Costner (the supposed General Manager of the Cleveland Browns) is off to work. This is an important day for GMs as one might suspect. Along the course of this day we learn that this GMs dad had been the former coach, and that his son had fired him. An Accounting executive who watches the whole salary cap thing (Jennifer Garner) has been sleeping with the boss and the day before Draft Day is the day she decides to let him know she's pregnant. On top of all this, the Kevin Costner GMs father, who he recently fired, has died, and his mother decides today is the day there is an ash spreading ceremony.
Costner wants to make a great Ohio State Defensive linebacker pick that will truly help the team win, but the owner interferes and wants him to take the rock star of the day Quarterback. Costner agrees to save his job. But as the day progresses, many things happen, and the tension builds. The final scene of trading and finagling is worth the price of admission. That scene is a thing of beauty.
I can't say any more about the film's story-line. But I must say right up front, I am not a Kevin Costner fan. Unless he's in a Western. I think he is the greatest Western star of our generation. I like him even more than Eastwood. So there's that. I loved seeing Jennifer Garner back in the biz. She and her husband have started a family and she took some totally understandable time off, but now she's poking back into the biz and that's great. All at your pace, Jennifer. Even a little is better than none at all. Ellen Burstyn as the mother was wonderful and even the one-day shoot with Rosanna Arquette as the ex-wife was fun.
I liked this film but didn't love it. I loved the whole build up to the Draft Night wheeling and dealing, and that was great, but I don't know.....was there enough meat in the story?
So I am going to recommend you to go see it. I liked it at least that much. But don't rush out to buy it on Blue-Ray. I am glad I saw this movie. But if I see it one or two more times in my life, that's enough.
GRADE: C+
You know what? I've thought about it a long time and I have decided to own this on Blu-Ray. And I am going to make my wife pay for it at Christmastime. This was a wonderful movie. It was a while ago, but I'm upping my grade to a B-.
This film is exactly what the title says it is. It occurs on Draft Day. The NFL Draft Day to be exact. It starts in the morning as Kevin Costner (the supposed General Manager of the Cleveland Browns) is off to work. This is an important day for GMs as one might suspect. Along the course of this day we learn that this GMs dad had been the former coach, and that his son had fired him. An Accounting executive who watches the whole salary cap thing (Jennifer Garner) has been sleeping with the boss and the day before Draft Day is the day she decides to let him know she's pregnant. On top of all this, the Kevin Costner GMs father, who he recently fired, has died, and his mother decides today is the day there is an ash spreading ceremony.
Costner wants to make a great Ohio State Defensive linebacker pick that will truly help the team win, but the owner interferes and wants him to take the rock star of the day Quarterback. Costner agrees to save his job. But as the day progresses, many things happen, and the tension builds. The final scene of trading and finagling is worth the price of admission. That scene is a thing of beauty.
I can't say any more about the film's story-line. But I must say right up front, I am not a Kevin Costner fan. Unless he's in a Western. I think he is the greatest Western star of our generation. I like him even more than Eastwood. So there's that. I loved seeing Jennifer Garner back in the biz. She and her husband have started a family and she took some totally understandable time off, but now she's poking back into the biz and that's great. All at your pace, Jennifer. Even a little is better than none at all. Ellen Burstyn as the mother was wonderful and even the one-day shoot with Rosanna Arquette as the ex-wife was fun.
I liked this film but didn't love it. I loved the whole build up to the Draft Night wheeling and dealing, and that was great, but I don't know.....was there enough meat in the story?
So I am going to recommend you to go see it. I liked it at least that much. But don't rush out to buy it on Blue-Ray. I am glad I saw this movie. But if I see it one or two more times in my life, that's enough.
GRADE: C+
You know what? I've thought about it a long time and I have decided to own this on Blu-Ray. And I am going to make my wife pay for it at Christmastime. This was a wonderful movie. It was a while ago, but I'm upping my grade to a B-.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
TV Is The New Place To Find Art.
There was a time in the moving picture art world when movies reigned supreme. There were motion pictures being cranked out like "The Godfather", "Citizen Kane", "To Kill A Mockingbird", and on and on. All masterful works of art. And then cable TV happened. And somehow the archaic rules about TV that kept it limited to favorite martians, talking horses, and how funny WWII prisoner of war camps were, seemed to begin to be stretched. And over the years progressively, albeit sometimes too slowly, things have been changing. TV has become the new black, to coin an incidental phrase.
The Networks are still hopelessly caught in the deer-in-the-headlights-not-getting-it -full-of-crap tie downs that keep them limited by sensibilities of a by-gone era. Good. Keep thinking that losers. Because nobody cares anymore. The Networks are so yesterday's papers, that I can't imagine why anyone goes there. Okay I liked "The Blacklist" but the idiots at the network only bought 10 episodes. When it was a hit, they hurriedly bought 10 more, but hey, it's been a while and my patience grows thin. It wasn't THAT great, after all. Your colon looks fine NBC, pull your head out and see some sunlight.
Okay, Modern Family is brilliant, but after the first two seasons what the?.....
But let's look at what else has been going on. Oh, let's see.....can you say 'everywhere else on the dial' brilliant?
Let's start with the Premium channels. HBO: There are some I didn't like (Okay, they were The Sopranos, (the most over-blown piece of shit ever), Deadwood, and Entourage. ) But I loved The Wire, Homeland, True Detective, The Newsroom, and The Extras.)
On SHOWTIME: There was one of the greatest shows ever: Weeds. Then followed Dexter, and one of my personal Favorites: Californication. Hey, Networks, starting to feel it yet? No, you dummies are probably still scratching your heads wondering why you're tanking. So, let me continue.....
AMC: The biggest show on cable: The Walking Dead. Zombies apparently rule over CSI crapola. Mad Men. The darling of reviewers everywhere, but is in reality only slightly above average.
And there's Justified. Great show, and not just because of the great Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins.
I'll add more as it occurs to me.
The Networks are still hopelessly caught in the deer-in-the-headlights-not-getting-it -full-of-crap tie downs that keep them limited by sensibilities of a by-gone era. Good. Keep thinking that losers. Because nobody cares anymore. The Networks are so yesterday's papers, that I can't imagine why anyone goes there. Okay I liked "The Blacklist" but the idiots at the network only bought 10 episodes. When it was a hit, they hurriedly bought 10 more, but hey, it's been a while and my patience grows thin. It wasn't THAT great, after all. Your colon looks fine NBC, pull your head out and see some sunlight.
Okay, Modern Family is brilliant, but after the first two seasons what the?.....
But let's look at what else has been going on. Oh, let's see.....can you say 'everywhere else on the dial' brilliant?
Let's start with the Premium channels. HBO: There are some I didn't like (Okay, they were The Sopranos, (the most over-blown piece of shit ever), Deadwood, and Entourage. ) But I loved The Wire, Homeland, True Detective, The Newsroom, and The Extras.)
On SHOWTIME: There was one of the greatest shows ever: Weeds. Then followed Dexter, and one of my personal Favorites: Californication. Hey, Networks, starting to feel it yet? No, you dummies are probably still scratching your heads wondering why you're tanking. So, let me continue.....
AMC: The biggest show on cable: The Walking Dead. Zombies apparently rule over CSI crapola. Mad Men. The darling of reviewers everywhere, but is in reality only slightly above average.
And there's Justified. Great show, and not just because of the great Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins.
I'll add more as it occurs to me.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Steve Jobs
PAGES!
Steve Jobs
by Walter Issacson
Simon & Schuster
2011
I read a lot of biographies. But I don't usually get to read a biography about someone two years younger than me. That means I can remember everything in it and put it in my own time perspective. Steve Jobs was two years younger than me and in a very real way helped shape what others will someday look back on and credit my generation with. My generation was the dawn of the digital age. We brought computing into everyone's home. We made animation seem three dimensional. We now carry thousands of songs around with us in a device not much bigger than a credit card. My generation, a generation that decided we could all walk around with an actual telephone on us, and it would also store our music, and take pictures, and scan the web. And who was deeply imbedded in the midst of all of this? Steve Jobs. In many ways, and in a real sense, the Thomas Edison of our times.
Walter Isaacson has done meticulous research and has put together a biography that was well organized, fair, was true to who Jobs was, and gave us a real insight into the workings of a very complex person.
It all started when Steve was adopted by the Jobs' in 1955. And his father Paul Jobs did what many men of the era did; he bought cars, fixed them up, and sold them to make a few bucks. That's what my dad did, that's what Paul Jobs did. But Paul Jobs taught young Steve that one should never skimp on what's under the hood, what's not seen. It is a matter of pride.
Some might say the real story starts when Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak. Maybe. But there was also the episode wherein Steve Jobs needed a part for some gadget he was working on and he looked up the number of Mr. Hewlett of Hewlett/Packard (a local company in the area) called him and asked him to help get the part. Mr. Hewlett gave young Steve a job and he got to be around some very smart electronics guys.
But when Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak was truly one of the pivotal moments in 20th century history. Like when Lennon met McCartney, but on a computing level. Wozniak was the electronics wizard of the team that began humbly enough in the Jobs family garage. "Woz" was a shy, introverted electronics mastermind, who seemingly to this day has no idea what a genius he is. And if it weren't for the brash Steve Jobs we would never have heard of Steve Wozniak.
Jobs was the driving force, the visionary who knew what to do with the cool stuff Woz could do. And they started Apple in a garage but they wouldn't be there long.
Apple began making exciting computing equipment for the everyday user that looked great and was fun to use. When the Apple II came out, it shook the world. I could go on and on about Apple's accomplishments so I must warn you from the start that I am an "Apple worm" as I prefer to call myself. I started when I ventured to get one and have since converted my whole family. My dad is 86 years old and goes nowhere without his iPad.
The story of Steve Jobs is like a roller coaster ride. He builds this great company, he gets pushed out, he starts another company NeXT, it's crummy, he gets in and makes a company out of Pixar and makes movie history time and again, gets Apple back, and although it's on the brink of folding, brings it back bigger and badder than ever.
Where do we start? I guess logically, the iMac. The first computer that had that Jolly Rancher coloring and the looks of the Jetsons. That assures Apple is coming back in a big way. Now, it should be known that they had struck a deal with Xerox who had developed the technology of the digital interface, but didn't know what to do with it. It is pretty much acknowledged that left in the hands of Xerox, nothing would have ever come of it. Then the "sunflower" iMac, still my very favorite of all Apple products. I told my Dad to buy Apple computer at this time, at $35 a share. He didn't listen. Wish he would have because then came the iPod. Not only did this become the biggest product Apple offered, but it spurned the sales of iMacs. Others rushed to catch up, but Microsoft among others were caught with their pants down. Next Jobs saves the music industry that was dying a quick death because of pirating, and comes up with the iTunes store. The music companies that signed on, although understandably wary, flourished again. And then it was another idea that Bill Gates said wouldn't work, the Apple Store. (The Apple store in New York has more shoppers in a week than Macy's has in a month). Never ceasing to be amazing Jobs presents the iPhone. It is still the Rolls-Royce of cellular devices. Do you know why I once owned an Android? Because I couldn't afford an iPhone. Thankfully I have an iPhone now. But Android is cool. Those weird people in Wal-Mart need to feel like they have a cellular device too. (See? I said I was an 'Apple worm').
After the iPhone, and although it was actually way into the works before the iPhone, came the iPad. This again was revolutionary. It is so minimalistic and streamlined and beautiful. And so very functional. (Okay, at this point I need to be fair and mention that although my wife has an iPad, I have only a Kindle Fire, but that's okay. It does what I need. Netflix, HBO, Spider Solitaire....)
And let us not forget the Apps Store. Jobs railed against outsiders being allowed to create apps for his device, he was outvoted. Apps were just part of the logical next step in the digital revolution.
Jobs was a visionary. He saw ahead of time the "Digital Hub", that all of our devices should work in conjunction with each other. The iCloud - I still maintain it should have been called "locker room" a place where we can all keep our stuff in our "locker, but nevertheless Jobs saw this ahead of time. He got it.
What he never got was how to eat properly. I'm not trying to start a war with vegans, because honestly, y'all won't be around long enough to finish the battle. But he stayed true to his vegetarian beliefs and it cost him his life. Jobs was told he needed surgery. Instead he spent 9 months in a health food store instead of his Doctor's office. Those nine months were critical. Yes, he finally agreed to the pancreas surgery...too late....and then the liver transplant....a short lease on life... Eventually he began eating omelets as a feeble attempt to get the valuable protein his body required.
At the end of his life Jobs had a three hour visit with Bill Gates. Two of the most important men of the 20th century, and they made amends. They finally were just two guys that did their best. And they both changed the world.
Dear Dad: Apple now trades at over $600 a share.
Grade: A.
Steve Jobs
by Walter Issacson
Simon & Schuster
2011
I read a lot of biographies. But I don't usually get to read a biography about someone two years younger than me. That means I can remember everything in it and put it in my own time perspective. Steve Jobs was two years younger than me and in a very real way helped shape what others will someday look back on and credit my generation with. My generation was the dawn of the digital age. We brought computing into everyone's home. We made animation seem three dimensional. We now carry thousands of songs around with us in a device not much bigger than a credit card. My generation, a generation that decided we could all walk around with an actual telephone on us, and it would also store our music, and take pictures, and scan the web. And who was deeply imbedded in the midst of all of this? Steve Jobs. In many ways, and in a real sense, the Thomas Edison of our times.
Walter Isaacson has done meticulous research and has put together a biography that was well organized, fair, was true to who Jobs was, and gave us a real insight into the workings of a very complex person.
It all started when Steve was adopted by the Jobs' in 1955. And his father Paul Jobs did what many men of the era did; he bought cars, fixed them up, and sold them to make a few bucks. That's what my dad did, that's what Paul Jobs did. But Paul Jobs taught young Steve that one should never skimp on what's under the hood, what's not seen. It is a matter of pride.
Some might say the real story starts when Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak. Maybe. But there was also the episode wherein Steve Jobs needed a part for some gadget he was working on and he looked up the number of Mr. Hewlett of Hewlett/Packard (a local company in the area) called him and asked him to help get the part. Mr. Hewlett gave young Steve a job and he got to be around some very smart electronics guys.
But when Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak was truly one of the pivotal moments in 20th century history. Like when Lennon met McCartney, but on a computing level. Wozniak was the electronics wizard of the team that began humbly enough in the Jobs family garage. "Woz" was a shy, introverted electronics mastermind, who seemingly to this day has no idea what a genius he is. And if it weren't for the brash Steve Jobs we would never have heard of Steve Wozniak.
Jobs was the driving force, the visionary who knew what to do with the cool stuff Woz could do. And they started Apple in a garage but they wouldn't be there long.
Apple began making exciting computing equipment for the everyday user that looked great and was fun to use. When the Apple II came out, it shook the world. I could go on and on about Apple's accomplishments so I must warn you from the start that I am an "Apple worm" as I prefer to call myself. I started when I ventured to get one and have since converted my whole family. My dad is 86 years old and goes nowhere without his iPad.
The story of Steve Jobs is like a roller coaster ride. He builds this great company, he gets pushed out, he starts another company NeXT, it's crummy, he gets in and makes a company out of Pixar and makes movie history time and again, gets Apple back, and although it's on the brink of folding, brings it back bigger and badder than ever.
Where do we start? I guess logically, the iMac. The first computer that had that Jolly Rancher coloring and the looks of the Jetsons. That assures Apple is coming back in a big way. Now, it should be known that they had struck a deal with Xerox who had developed the technology of the digital interface, but didn't know what to do with it. It is pretty much acknowledged that left in the hands of Xerox, nothing would have ever come of it. Then the "sunflower" iMac, still my very favorite of all Apple products. I told my Dad to buy Apple computer at this time, at $35 a share. He didn't listen. Wish he would have because then came the iPod. Not only did this become the biggest product Apple offered, but it spurned the sales of iMacs. Others rushed to catch up, but Microsoft among others were caught with their pants down. Next Jobs saves the music industry that was dying a quick death because of pirating, and comes up with the iTunes store. The music companies that signed on, although understandably wary, flourished again. And then it was another idea that Bill Gates said wouldn't work, the Apple Store. (The Apple store in New York has more shoppers in a week than Macy's has in a month). Never ceasing to be amazing Jobs presents the iPhone. It is still the Rolls-Royce of cellular devices. Do you know why I once owned an Android? Because I couldn't afford an iPhone. Thankfully I have an iPhone now. But Android is cool. Those weird people in Wal-Mart need to feel like they have a cellular device too. (See? I said I was an 'Apple worm').
After the iPhone, and although it was actually way into the works before the iPhone, came the iPad. This again was revolutionary. It is so minimalistic and streamlined and beautiful. And so very functional. (Okay, at this point I need to be fair and mention that although my wife has an iPad, I have only a Kindle Fire, but that's okay. It does what I need. Netflix, HBO, Spider Solitaire....)
And let us not forget the Apps Store. Jobs railed against outsiders being allowed to create apps for his device, he was outvoted. Apps were just part of the logical next step in the digital revolution.
Jobs was a visionary. He saw ahead of time the "Digital Hub", that all of our devices should work in conjunction with each other. The iCloud - I still maintain it should have been called "locker room" a place where we can all keep our stuff in our "locker, but nevertheless Jobs saw this ahead of time. He got it.
What he never got was how to eat properly. I'm not trying to start a war with vegans, because honestly, y'all won't be around long enough to finish the battle. But he stayed true to his vegetarian beliefs and it cost him his life. Jobs was told he needed surgery. Instead he spent 9 months in a health food store instead of his Doctor's office. Those nine months were critical. Yes, he finally agreed to the pancreas surgery...too late....and then the liver transplant....a short lease on life... Eventually he began eating omelets as a feeble attempt to get the valuable protein his body required.
At the end of his life Jobs had a three hour visit with Bill Gates. Two of the most important men of the 20th century, and they made amends. They finally were just two guys that did their best. And they both changed the world.
Dear Dad: Apple now trades at over $600 a share.
Grade: A.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Pompeii
FLIX!
Since I don't believe one should only review things they liked, I will review this.
This film was one long gladiator fight interrupted only occasionally by a tremor, and then the volcano erupted.
The End.
Grade: E
Since I don't believe one should only review things they liked, I will review this.
This film was one long gladiator fight interrupted only occasionally by a tremor, and then the volcano erupted.
The End.
Grade: E
Saturday, February 15, 2014
The Patriarch
PAGES!
The Patriarch - The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
David Nasaw
The Penguin Press 2012
There is something strangely compelling about the Kennedy family. And it all begins with the Patriarch of the family, Joseph P. Kennedy. Since I have read so much about this family in the past, I could not wait to read yet another account with a new emphasis. This one focused on the father Joe instead of the other family members.
David Nasaw was very thorough in his research and did something that many biographers cannot do. He did a complete research and wrote it out and yet made it a compelling read.
I think the single most interesting thing I learned from this book is that Joe Kennedy never took part in any form of boot-legging. By the time Prohibition happened he's already made the Lion's share of his fortune and had no need to dabble in anything nefarious. But the "Joe Kennedy was a boot-legger" mythology is so absorbed in the American back-story that it is difficult to adjust to, when one realizes that some of what we've always believed is myth.
That is not to say he did not have his own troubling personality problems. First of all, throughout his life he made money. Lots of it. He made it primarily in the Stock Market and in Hollywood. He was eventually asked to do some work for the Maritime Commission and he did such an excellent job, that later he was brought in as the very first head of what was being called the Security Exchange Commission. While there he tightened up loopholes and questionable practices that many deemed unethical. Ironically many of these questionable practices were the very thing Mr. Kennedy had exploited to make his fortune. But Mr. Kennedy was not crooked; not a gangster in a tuxedo. Throughout his life, although he was never afraid to frequent the same night clubs, or restaurants frequented by mobsters and other questionable characters, he never needed to interact with them. Whatever he needed he could get from others.
When Mr. Kennedy became a big player in the Roosevelt election campaign, he did it in the belief that there would be a big prize in it for him. He longed to be the Treasury Secretary. Instead he was given the Ambassadorship to England - a plush assignment to anyone's mind, but still one that Kennedy deemed beneath his level. As a war with Germany became more and more a possibility, Kennedy kept preaching appeasement, that it stay out of war at any cost, even if it meant giving the Nazis everything they wanted. He would officially declare it was for the good of Britain and that he could not bear the thought of young men dying in battle if a solution could be found to prevent it. But the reality is that deep in his psyche, maybe even unconsciously, he thought it was a threat to his fortune. He made it known many times that he thought a world war would cause a depression like the world had never seen and that money would be worthless. He could not bear the thought of his fortune, and the fortune he's acquired for his family (he had large trusts for each of his children) becoming non-existant.
But if ever anyone brought to life the old saying "money can't buy happiness", it was Joe Kennedy. Yes, he accumulated unbridled wealth. But along the way there seemed that the money brought with it a curse. First his oldest, and most beloved son, Joe Jr., in an attempt to be a war hero like his younger brother Jack [Jack Kennedy had done remarkable feats saving fellow crew members when his PT-109 was rammed], wanted some glory too. So he volunteered for an extremely dangerous mission and was killed during it. Next, one of his older daughters Kathleen was married in London, with her husband a month when he was sent to the front and he was killed three months later. Following that the oldest daughter Rosemary's doctors were given the go-ahead by Joe to do a lobotomy in order to make her less "slow." Instead the reverse happened and she became the next thing to a vegetable. Then Kathleen, nick-named "Kick", was killed in a plane crash.
And later still after John Kennedy had become President, he was assassinated. Then Ted's disastrous events at Chappiquidick. And finally Joe lived long enough to learn that Bobby too, had been assassinated. And curse seemingly continued. Grandchildren killed in skiing accidents, grandsons accused of rape, and most sadly of all John Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law perished in a plane crash.
Joseph Kennedy had suffered a stroke years before, but died in 1969, long before any of his grandchildren could get into trouble or be killed. He spent his last years in a wheelchair, with a gnarled up fist at the end of a useless hand, unable to speak. But still, what a life. What a life indeed.
David Nasaw was given access to everything he needed and free rein to do any research he needed to make this book as historically accurate as possible. And although it is nearly 800 pages, it was what it took to tell this story. Like I said, I happen to be intrigued by this family, but I believe anyone seriously interested in the history of 20th century America owes it to themselves to read this book. It is a beauty, and a thing of wonder. Thank you Mr. Nasaw, and thank you Mr. Kennedy.
Grade: A
The Patriarch - The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
David Nasaw
The Penguin Press 2012
There is something strangely compelling about the Kennedy family. And it all begins with the Patriarch of the family, Joseph P. Kennedy. Since I have read so much about this family in the past, I could not wait to read yet another account with a new emphasis. This one focused on the father Joe instead of the other family members.
David Nasaw was very thorough in his research and did something that many biographers cannot do. He did a complete research and wrote it out and yet made it a compelling read.
I think the single most interesting thing I learned from this book is that Joe Kennedy never took part in any form of boot-legging. By the time Prohibition happened he's already made the Lion's share of his fortune and had no need to dabble in anything nefarious. But the "Joe Kennedy was a boot-legger" mythology is so absorbed in the American back-story that it is difficult to adjust to, when one realizes that some of what we've always believed is myth.
That is not to say he did not have his own troubling personality problems. First of all, throughout his life he made money. Lots of it. He made it primarily in the Stock Market and in Hollywood. He was eventually asked to do some work for the Maritime Commission and he did such an excellent job, that later he was brought in as the very first head of what was being called the Security Exchange Commission. While there he tightened up loopholes and questionable practices that many deemed unethical. Ironically many of these questionable practices were the very thing Mr. Kennedy had exploited to make his fortune. But Mr. Kennedy was not crooked; not a gangster in a tuxedo. Throughout his life, although he was never afraid to frequent the same night clubs, or restaurants frequented by mobsters and other questionable characters, he never needed to interact with them. Whatever he needed he could get from others.
When Mr. Kennedy became a big player in the Roosevelt election campaign, he did it in the belief that there would be a big prize in it for him. He longed to be the Treasury Secretary. Instead he was given the Ambassadorship to England - a plush assignment to anyone's mind, but still one that Kennedy deemed beneath his level. As a war with Germany became more and more a possibility, Kennedy kept preaching appeasement, that it stay out of war at any cost, even if it meant giving the Nazis everything they wanted. He would officially declare it was for the good of Britain and that he could not bear the thought of young men dying in battle if a solution could be found to prevent it. But the reality is that deep in his psyche, maybe even unconsciously, he thought it was a threat to his fortune. He made it known many times that he thought a world war would cause a depression like the world had never seen and that money would be worthless. He could not bear the thought of his fortune, and the fortune he's acquired for his family (he had large trusts for each of his children) becoming non-existant.
But if ever anyone brought to life the old saying "money can't buy happiness", it was Joe Kennedy. Yes, he accumulated unbridled wealth. But along the way there seemed that the money brought with it a curse. First his oldest, and most beloved son, Joe Jr., in an attempt to be a war hero like his younger brother Jack [Jack Kennedy had done remarkable feats saving fellow crew members when his PT-109 was rammed], wanted some glory too. So he volunteered for an extremely dangerous mission and was killed during it. Next, one of his older daughters Kathleen was married in London, with her husband a month when he was sent to the front and he was killed three months later. Following that the oldest daughter Rosemary's doctors were given the go-ahead by Joe to do a lobotomy in order to make her less "slow." Instead the reverse happened and she became the next thing to a vegetable. Then Kathleen, nick-named "Kick", was killed in a plane crash.
And later still after John Kennedy had become President, he was assassinated. Then Ted's disastrous events at Chappiquidick. And finally Joe lived long enough to learn that Bobby too, had been assassinated. And curse seemingly continued. Grandchildren killed in skiing accidents, grandsons accused of rape, and most sadly of all John Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law perished in a plane crash.
Joseph Kennedy had suffered a stroke years before, but died in 1969, long before any of his grandchildren could get into trouble or be killed. He spent his last years in a wheelchair, with a gnarled up fist at the end of a useless hand, unable to speak. But still, what a life. What a life indeed.
David Nasaw was given access to everything he needed and free rein to do any research he needed to make this book as historically accurate as possible. And although it is nearly 800 pages, it was what it took to tell this story. Like I said, I happen to be intrigued by this family, but I believe anyone seriously interested in the history of 20th century America owes it to themselves to read this book. It is a beauty, and a thing of wonder. Thank you Mr. Nasaw, and thank you Mr. Kennedy.
Grade: A
Friday, February 7, 2014
Frozen
Flix!
My wife saw this before I did and she was really impressed. She kept walking around, professing how doggone cute it was, and so when she suggested a few nights later that we go, I agreed.
Frozen is loosely adapted from the Hans Christian Anderson story "The Snow Queen." It involves the story of two sisters, one of which has extraordinary powers to freeze everything. Although her power is almost beyond her control. As she is crowned Queen of her country, she ends up sending her nation into a deep-freeze, an eternal winter, that keeps getting colder.
Her younger sister sets out on a journey to find her, and along the way enlists the help of a young man and his faithful sidekick reindeer. So off they go, but before they get there they meet a little snowman, who is a stitch and is a great comic element to the rest of the story. The younger sister is convinced that her Snow Queen sister can reverse what's happened in their town and make it summer again.
There is a lot of music in this film and the songs are all pretty wonderful. I kept thinking that if I had to vote on best song in a film for the Oscar, I wouldn't know which one to pick.
I haven't been to a Disney animated film in quite awhile, but I must say I did enjoy this. The cast was made up of virtual unknowns to us regular folks, although they are probably big stars on Broadway. Great vocals.
This is a wonderful film that had my wife tearing up at the end the first time she saw it. I liked it very much too. If I were to do a top ten movies of 2013, this would be in my top ten.
I recommend this film, and doggone it, it is cute. And fun. And my only regret about it is that Walt Disney didn't live to see this. He would have loved it and all the computer generated stuff. And if there were any justice he would have....he'd only be in his 80's now.....
Grade: B+
My wife saw this before I did and she was really impressed. She kept walking around, professing how doggone cute it was, and so when she suggested a few nights later that we go, I agreed.
Frozen is loosely adapted from the Hans Christian Anderson story "The Snow Queen." It involves the story of two sisters, one of which has extraordinary powers to freeze everything. Although her power is almost beyond her control. As she is crowned Queen of her country, she ends up sending her nation into a deep-freeze, an eternal winter, that keeps getting colder.
Her younger sister sets out on a journey to find her, and along the way enlists the help of a young man and his faithful sidekick reindeer. So off they go, but before they get there they meet a little snowman, who is a stitch and is a great comic element to the rest of the story. The younger sister is convinced that her Snow Queen sister can reverse what's happened in their town and make it summer again.
There is a lot of music in this film and the songs are all pretty wonderful. I kept thinking that if I had to vote on best song in a film for the Oscar, I wouldn't know which one to pick.
I haven't been to a Disney animated film in quite awhile, but I must say I did enjoy this. The cast was made up of virtual unknowns to us regular folks, although they are probably big stars on Broadway. Great vocals.
This is a wonderful film that had my wife tearing up at the end the first time she saw it. I liked it very much too. If I were to do a top ten movies of 2013, this would be in my top ten.
I recommend this film, and doggone it, it is cute. And fun. And my only regret about it is that Walt Disney didn't live to see this. He would have loved it and all the computer generated stuff. And if there were any justice he would have....he'd only be in his 80's now.....
Grade: B+
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