Back in the wake of the election and the early days of the Turdpol Kakistocracy, a common theme in the media were warnings not to ‘normalize’ President Donald Trump. There is nothing normal or typical about a barely literate egomaniacal narcissist who lacks the temperament, consistency, gravitas, and intelligence to be president, yet who still finds himself the leader of the free world. The man is a huckster who has no competency for the job, and whose primary accomplishment as president so far has been stuffing the family coffers. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 84: Let’s Kill Some People!”
Author: capcom
Shitty Movie Sundays: Steel Dawn
Other than being a shitty movie, Steel Dawn, the 1987 film from director Lance Hool and screenwriter Doug Lefler, defies normal categorization. At first glance, it’s just another cheesy post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick. Sure, it is that. But it’s also a kung fu flick, a samurai flick, and a spaghetti western. The filmmakers even managed to include a car chase, which is impressive considering the film takes place in a land with no electrical power or internal combustion engines. Continue reading “Shitty Movie Sundays: Steel Dawn”
Cocksuckers Ball: Harvest Time
The United States Senate is headed towards an historic moment this week. The nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch has gone to the floor for debate. As of right now, the Republicans do not have enough votes to impose cloture on the debate. It is expected that on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce a vote to change Senate rules to allow cloture to be passed with a simple majority, clearing the way for a floor vote on Gorsuch. By the time we all sit down for dinner on Friday evening, Gorsuch will be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Senate will begin a new era — one that is leaving many pundits uneasy. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Harvest Time”
Empty Balcony: Night Moves
Be warned, this is a spoiler-heavy trailer.
Gene Hackman is still alive! As of this writing he is, anyway. Throughout his career, beginning with a bit role in something called Mad Dog Cole in 1961, to his final appearance in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, it was odd for a year to go by without multiple films featuring Hackman. But, after Mooseport, Hackman decided to retire. Too bad. Thank goodness, then, that Hackman plied his trade on the silver screen rather than on stage. His work is still available for all to see, including this little neo-noir flick that has slipped into some obscurity. Continue reading “Empty Balcony: Night Moves”
Trumpland Day 69: The Tsar’s Man
The investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russian intelligence is moving right along, even with House Republicans now doing their best to duck the issue. Devin Nunes, Republican of California and the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has really stepped in it. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 69: The Tsar’s Man”
Shitty Movie Sundays: Mazes and Monsters
This isn’t the trailer. This is the climax. Go ahead and watch it. You will have missed nothing of consequence in the rest of the film.
I enjoy seeing movies from the early days of a star’s career. Not all stars were fortunate enough to burst onto the scene out of nowhere, but rather had to put in the low level, unglamorous grunt work that us normal people must endure when starting out. That’s how we got such historic performances from George Clooney in Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Kevin Bacon in Friday the 13th, and Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun. Watching these films, there is no indication at all that these were future stars. I can now add another film to the Shitty Movie Sundays athenaeum featuring a then-unknown star. Continue reading “Shitty Movie Sundays: Mazes and Monsters”
Cocksuckers Ball: Turnabout Is Fair Play
In all the news this week, including a late-breaking story from CNN last night that said, in their carefully chosen words, “The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” it’s easy to forget that there were confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court nominee. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Turnabout Is Fair Play”
Trumpland Day 60: And the Beat Goes On
How much of a disaster is the Turdpol Kakistocracy? The Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch today. This is a nomination that was stolen from President Obama by obstructionist Senate Republicans, led by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. The refusal by Senate Republicans last year to give Obama’s pick for Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacated seat, Merrick Garland, so much as a hearing, much less a vote, stands as one of the most frightening actions the GOP has taken to undermine American democracy since the party went extremist. Yet, it feels like battling over the Gorsuch nomination is near the bottom of the list of priorities for the Democrats in opposition. Normally that would be because the Democrats loathe confrontation. But President Trump has turned that all upside down. This is where we are. A Supreme Court pick was stolen from a sitting president, and that is less of a crisis for the republic than all the other stories dominating political news. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 60: And the Beat Goes On”
Empty Balcony: Hacksaw Ridge
Is it okay to watch a Mel Gibson film again? Has he paid enough Hollywood penance for being a drunken, anti-Semitic, Catholic fundamentalist? Because, let’s not forget, the man is an Oscar-winning filmmaker. Gibson’s personal travails matter little to this reviewer. If the idea of watching a film helmed by Mel Gibson still leaves a viewer with a bad taste in their mouth, even though Gibson spent the better part of a decade in the weeds, then just don’t watch it. Continue reading “Empty Balcony: Hacksaw Ridge”
2017 Shitty Movie Sunday Awards
Last week I published my awards for the best in film that I saw from 2016. Now it’s time for the worst. This is the Shitty Movie Sunday Awards. Unlike with the Empty Balcony Awards, a film doesn’t have to be released in 2016 to be eligible. I just have to have seen it sometime in the past year. This is more loosely constructed than my more serious awards, as well. I take these Shitty Movie Sunday Awards about as seriously as shitty filmmakers take their movies. Hell, last year I never even got around to writing this companion to the Empty Balcony Awards. These are shitty awards for shitty movies. Continue reading “2017 Shitty Movie Sunday Awards”