Garrison Keillor? Really?

Oh, what the hell now?

 

Garrison Keillor, the former host of "A Prairie Home Companion," said Wednesday he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of what the network called improper behavior. In a follow-up statement, he said he was fired over "a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard."

 

OK, I was a bit surprised when I woke up Wednesday morning to the news Matt Lauer was fired but come on. In retrospect, are we really that shocked? OK, maybe I’m not being fair to Matt Lauer but he helped push out Ann Curry as Today co-host so yeah, I admit I might be a bit biased against him.

 

But come on! Garrison Keillor? Really?

 

Or as Mark Evanier put it:

This Just In…

Published Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 9:59 AM

Garrison Keillor? Garrison Keillor???

You and me both, Mark. 

 

OK, this is striking a bit too close to home now. I’ve been a fan of his work for years. I met the man last year. He spoke with my daughter Randie. He was a perfect gentleman to her and well, everyone I saw him speak to that night.

 

Really? Garrison Keillor?  

 

Mr. Keillor, what do you have to say for yourself. 

 

In an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Keillor said he had put his hand on a woman's bare back in an attempt to console her. "I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it," Keillor told the newspaper.

 

"We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called."

 

Oh, I’ve been there, Garrison. I have been there.

 

Minnesota Public Radio confirmed Keillor had been fired, saying it received a single allegation against Keillor about "inappropriate behavior" and didn't know of any other allegations. MPR said it was notified of the allegation last month and that it stemmed from Keillor's conduct when he was responsible for producing "A Prairie Home Companion."

 

The firing Wednesday came shortly after Keillor, an avowed Democrat, wrote a syndicated column that ridiculed the idea that Sen. Al Franken should resign over allegations of sexual harassment.

 

"A Prairie Home Companion" has been a public radio staple for more than 40 years; Keillor stepped down as host last year and musician Chris Thile has just started his 2^nd season as its current host.  Minnesota Public Radio said the name of the show would be changed.

 

Really? No more “A Prairie Home Companion” because of a single allegation against a man who is no longer hosting the show?

 

Really? 

 

MPR also said it will end distribution of "The Writer's Almanac," Keillor's daily reading of a poem and telling of literary events, and end rebroadcasts of "The Best of A Prairie Home Companion" hosted by Keillor.

 

Is this getting out of hand? 

 

Let me say as simply and directly as I can: women shouldn’t have to put up with shit. There! Not complicated at all, guys!

 

But…

 

Really? Garrison Keillor?  

 

As Mark Evanier noted on hi blog, “Everyone just needs to remember that punishments should fit crimes and that every crime exists in various degrees.   Patting the butt of an adult who does not want you doing that is not the same wrong as rape or pedophilia or sexual extortion.  It also helps to keep in mind that much of this is not about sex or only about sex.  Much of this is about abuse of power.”  

 

After way too long for women suffering countless indignities and abuses without any justice, is the pendulum swinging too far the other way? I mean, who knows? Maybe we’ll find out that Garrison Keillor is an old perv who is constantly putting his hand on a woman's bare back and God knows where else? Or maybe it was just an inadvertent slip without any guile or ulterior motive? Who knows? But I think there is this fear that every misstep is being treated the same, regardless of intent or severity.   

 

I think women who have been abused, humiliated and assaulted should see justice done, no question about it. 

 

But come on! Garrison Keillor? Really?

Hypocrisy On Display

One of the many, many frustrating things about Li’l Donnie and his gang of enablers is the sheer intensity of the hypocrisy on display.

 

Get a load of this shit. In advance of a meeting between Trump, GOP leaders and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi  and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss a deal to keep the government open, that great “dealmaker in chief…who knows all the best words” decides to get that meeting off to a rousing, positive start.

 

Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Pelosi and Schumer "want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," adding, "I don’t see a deal!"

 

Pelosi and Schumer responded to this with a veritable “fuck that”.  They called off their plans to meet with Trump. "Given that the president doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead," Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.

 

Schumer and Pelosi said they asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to meet Tuesday afternoon instead. The GOP leaders said ‘fuck that”.

 

"Democrats are putting government operations, particularly resources for our men and women on the battlefield, at great risk by pulling these antics," McConnell and Ryan said in a statement.

 

Describing Schumer and Pelosi’s actions as “antics”, I wonder what McConnell and Ryan call this:

 

Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Pelosi and Schumer "want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," adding, "I don’t see a deal!"

 

Then White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had to weigh in. “The President’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work,” she said in a statement.

 

Describing Schumer and Pelosi’s actions as “pettiness and political grandstanding”, what, pray tell, should Sarah Huckabee Sanders call this:

 

Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Pelosi and Schumer "want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," adding, "I don’t see a deal!"

 

This is not necessarily a defense of Schumer and Pelosi. Maybe one can make an objective case that their actions to cancel their meeting with Trump at The White house as “antics”, “pettiness” or “political grandstanding”.  But what is also objectively clear to me is that this:

 

Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Pelosi and Schumer "want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," adding, "I don’t see a deal!"

 

Is the very epitome of “antics”, “pettiness” or “political grandstanding”.

The statements from McConnell, Ryan and Sanders represent the height (or depth) of hypocrisy  that comes in to play when there is a concerted effort to overlook the failings of Li'l Donnie in unflinching fealty to this Moron In Chief.
___________________________________________



One of the recurring points I've made on this blog is that Donald Trump Is NOT the President of the United States.  No, Donald Trump Is the President of That Part of the United States That Voted For Him.  Which serves as an explanation for Li'l Donnie's tweet from Tuesday.


Baby Don put pandering to his base above actually getting any governing done. When given a choice between bi-partisan efforts to keep the government in business or keeping the mouth breathing morons who voted for him happy, guess what Trumpy chose to do? 


There was no negotiation advantage to Trump's tweet attacking Pelosi and Schumer. All it did was undermine any hope of cooperation from the two Democrats. But it did appease the base who have been taught and trained to demonize Democrats, especially Pelosi and Schumer.  


Unlike other legislative efforts that have been pursued seeking only Republican buy in (like Obamacare repeal and tax reform), budget deals to keep the government open need to cut across party lines. Ostracizing the Democrats at this point has zero value. Except for throwing some raw meat to the idiots who are still backing this moron in chief.   


By the way, if a budget deal is not reached and the government shuts down, you know who will most likely be hurt?  The idiots who are still backing this moron in chief.


And speaking of catering to the idiots....


Wednesday, Li'l Donnie retweeted a Tweet from a right wing U.K. based extremist that linked to images of alleged Muslims committing acts of violence. I saw "alleged" as there is nothing in these images to identify that the perpetrators are in fact Muslim. Given the propensity of the alt right to perpetrate false narratives, there is every reason to think these videos are fake or edited out of context.


Recently, an alt right entity called Project Veritas sent a woman to the Washington Post with a story of a sexual encounter with Senate candidate Roy Moore when she was a teenager which left her pregnant and Moore encouraging her to get an abortion. The Post quickly saw the story wasn't adding up and a cursory search revealed the woman's alt right media connections. 


Going back to the Tweet that Li'l Donnie forwarded on yesterday, even if every scene shown in that tweet was legit, why would a President of the United states re-tweet such a thing? It serves no useful purpose. It only makes sense when you remember that Donald Trump Is the President of That Part of the United States That Voted For Him. 

Outlander

Over the course of the last couple of months, I’ve become immersed in a TV fandom that is not Doctor Who.

 

One Sunday afternoon, I stumbled across a marathon the Starz cable channel of a TV series I had heard about before, Outlander. Intrigued, I found myself watching 1 episode then another followed by another. These episodes were from the latter half of season 2 so I had to do some piecing together of what was going on which was a bit tricky as I had not seen episodes from season 1 or the 1^st half of season 2. But that lack of knowledge did not impede me in my enjoyment of what I was seeing. Indeed it just fed my desire to know more about this show. It’s been a long time since I’ve entered a world like this fresh and uncertain.

 

The marathon was leading up to the debut of Series 3. I watched the season premier and I’ve followed every new episode since.

 

So what pray tell is Outlander?  

 

It’s a historical drama. It’s a tale of war and hardship. It is an epic romance. It’s an adventure laced with humor and heartbreak. It’s a story of time travel and mysticism. 

 

Outlander is something beyond the sum of its parts. 

 

Outlander begins with a woman named Claire Randall in 1945, a nurse who served in World War II on a much needed holiday with her husband Frank in Scotland. There is a circle of stones, Claire finds herself cast back in time to 1743. There she meets a highlander named Jamie Fraser who she winds up getting married to as a matter of convenience and protection. But Claire and Jamie fall in love, deeply and passionately. 

 

There are efforts underway to lead a rebellion, an uprising of the Scots against the British. Claire knows the history of this endeavor, that it will lead to a battle on the fields of Culloden where all the Scotsmen will be killed.  Sharing with Jamie this knowledge and her status as a visitor from the future, Claire and Jamie do what they can to stop this uprising.

 

But history must have its way which is where I come in midway through season 2. The web of destiny ties itself in tighter and tighter knots as the battle at Culloden becomes unavoidable. With Claire pregnant with his child, Jamie sends Claire back through the stones to her own time where Claire and their child will be safe. Then Jamie heads towards his destiny, to die on the moor at Culloden. 

 

Except…

 

OK, as Amy one said on Doctor Who, “this is where this gets complicated”. 

 

Claire reappears in Scotland in 1948. Frank Randall is a bit weirded out by Claire’s time travel story. But he agrees that he and Claire will raise the child as their own.  The Randalls move to Boston where daughter Brianna is born (with Jamie’s red hair). After being a nurse in World War II and a healer in the highlands of Scotland, Claire grows restless in her domestic role in 1950s America so she goes back to school to become a doctor.

 

On the home front, things between her and Frank are not so good. Still devoted to Jamie, Claire cannot bring herself to fully be Frank’s wife. It is a situation that Frank tolerates for he is committed to being a father to Brianna. 

 

By 1968, Frank is dead, Claire is a respected surgeon and Brianna is totally flummoxed by the news that Frank was not really her father and that her father was Jamie Fraser, a Scottish highlander from two centuries ago.

 

Meanwhile (more or less), Jamie does not die at Culloden though not lacking for several opportunities. Jamie is a fugitive living in the woods, a prisoner in a British prison, an indentured servant on a British estate (where he fathers a son named Will) and then…

 

Well, who knows? Back in the 20^th century, Roger Wakefield, a descendant of one of the clans Claire met back in the 18^th century has been researching Claire’s story and discovers Jamie did not die at Culloden as Claire thought. As “recently” as 1765, Jamie appears to be alive and working as a printer in Edinburgh.

 

With some unexpected encouragement from Brianna (who seems to be on board with her mom’s tales of time travel), Claire returns to Scotland to go back through the stones to reunite with Jamie. 

 

And that brings us to halfway through season three. 

 

Whoa. 

 

And then…

 

Claire and Jamie have a very sexual and very protracted reunion. But uh oh! Jamie’s up to no good including smuggling and sedition. A bad guy comes along looking for trouble, finds Claire, attempts to rape her (apparently, people threatening to or trying to rape Claire happens a lot in Outlander) but she kills him. Then another bad guy sets fire to Jamie’s print shop. Jamie and Claire head to Jamie’s old homestead at Lallybroch where Claire gets a chilly welcome back. People are bugged she was missing for 20 years and didn’t bother to send anyone a note which is tough to explain when trying to avoid discussing that whole time travel thing.  Also upset with Claire being back: Jamie’s current wife who shoots Jamie. But Claire saves the day with her surgeon skills plus the 20^th century surgical tools and penicillin she brought with her.  Then Jamie’s cousin Ian gets kidnapped by pirates (Yes, PIRATES!) so Jamie and Claire hitch a ride on a boat to pursue. THEN a British warship stricken with typhoid shows up. Claire with her 20^th century immunizations (she is immune to typhoid!) goes on board to save who she can. But the British ship takes off with Claire still on board.

 

And then…

 

Well, as Claire might say, Jesus Roosevelt H. Christ! I’m exhausted just going over all this. 

 

This past Sunday saw Claire trapped on an island in the West Indies where she’s eaten by ants and has a giant snake (A GIANT SNAKE!) crawl over her. Then she meets a kindly but deranged priest (his best friend is a coconut named “Coco”) and then is reunited with Jamie whose ship has run aground on the same island, (Really! The same island!) Then Claire gets drunk on turtle soup (really!) after which she and Jamie get laid. I mean, really, really laid.

 

And then….

 

There are just two episodes of season 3 left.  I came to this party late so I didn’t have to endure a wait between seasons before (known by fans of the show as “droughtlander”).  Maybe I can use the upcoming gap between seasons 3 and 4 to catch up on the episodes from seasons 1 and 2 that I missed.

 

I haven’t been this psyched to delve into a new mythology since I was a young man discovering Doctor Who for the first time.

 

What really makes this show distinctive is not just the pastiche of genres but it’s indelible female perspective. It would be easy to make Jamie Fraser the hero of this saga with his flowing red locks and his chiseled chin. My god, you could cut a diamond with that chin. Yes, he is the very dashing figure of many adventure and romance fantasies. But the protagonist for this series is clearly and emphatically Claire. She is the “Outlander” in the series’ title.  It is her perspective that shapes this narrative, not just as a person out of time but as a woman in worlds and times dominated by men. Even in the 20^th century, Claire finds herself at odds with men due to her sex. There’s this sequence in episode one of season 3 when Claire is in labor with Brianna in 1948.

 

Doctor: Mr. Randall, how far apart are the contractions?

Frank (shrugs): I don’t know.

Claire: Contraction are 3 minutes apart. 

 

Not to mention the condescending tone of the university chancellor who questions Claire’s grasp of politics. Or the cold glares that greet her as the lone woman in her first surgery class.

 

Life in the 18^th century isn’t much better but there does seem to be a greater deference to Claire’s wisdom and skill when she proves she knows what the hell she’s talking about. 

 

Outlander is based on a series of books written by a woman. I’ve noticed that women’s name appear frequently in the credits as writers and directors.

I suppose it may be a bit odd for me to be so caught up in Outlander as I guess I'm not the target demographic. But I think that's what makes this show so appealing to me, that it's something I recognize but not made for me, it makes the experience of watching Outlander more interesting to me. 

Hot for Coco; Chilly For Olaf

So this post, I want to talk about the new Pixar film, Coco. But before we can do that, let’s address the elephant in the room. Or more to the point, the magic snowman in the room.

 

I speak thusly of Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.

 

As is normally the course, Pixar features are preceded by a short.  That short is usually produced by Pixar and for its brevity, it’s usually a quality production on par with the main presentation.

 

But not this time.

 

• The short is from Disney, not Pixar.
• It’s not really that good. 
• And the short is actually not short.

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure clocks in at about 21 minutes. 

The Olaf feature went on so long, a child sitting behind me asked their parent, “Are we in the wrong movie?” 

 

From the mouths of babes and all that, right?

 

Let me clarify that Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is not bad… for what it was supposed to be which was a half hour TV special.  It’s a light, somewhat amusing trifle with some goofy antics with Olaf and some tender moments with the Frozen sisters whose names elude me at the moment so let’s say Laverne & Shirley, maybe? 

 

But 21 minutes is a LONG time to spend with Olaf, Thelma and Louise before we can get to the main feature. And tonally, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is a poor match with Coco.

 

OK, enough griping about Olaf, Cagney and Lacey. Let’s chat about Coco.

 

Coco is awesome!

 

Visually, the film has a unique vision that bursts forth on the screen with a plethora of colors and distinctive designs. But what truly drives a great Pixar feature is the story and the characters and here, Coco also excels. 

 

The story centers on a boy named Miguel from a large family of shoemakers who are really obsessed with making shoes and NOT making music. Seems a few generations back, a man done great grandma wrong by leaving the family to pursue a career in music. So music is forbidden! Which is a problem for Miguel who loves music and has a talent for it.

 

The story takes place during Día de los Muertos (note, in Spanish the holiday is properly called Día de Muertos) for  the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday when families commemorate family members who have died while those same family members can cross over to the land of the living to visit with their living relatives.  Events transpire to send Miguel to the Land of the Dead where he needs the blessing of a deceased family member to send him back to the land of the living before sunrise or else he’ll be trapped with the dead forever.  He finds his great grandmother who is prepared to help send Miguel back to the living but only on the condition that Miguel forsakes music forever.  Miguel does not want that deal so he goes in search of a family member he thinks will be more supportive of his dreams, the late great music sensation Ernesto de la Cruz who is Miguel’s great grandfather. Miguel’s only help among the dead is a ne’re do well hustler named Ernesto.

 

Except…

 

Even in death, people are not always what we assume them to be.

 

Miguel who was so angry with his family’s outright rejection of his dreams and gifts for music learns the value of family. And if that sounds like a sappy, trite lesson, it is anything but in Coco. It is a lesson for Miguel that hurts as much as it uplifts.  Coco has a genuine emotional power that can move you to tears.  

 

Well, it would for me if I wasn’t emotionally dead inside.

 

So I would highly recommend Coco.  As for Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, just grin and bear it. Go get some snacks, maybe. Or go to Mexico where some theaters are showing Coco without Olaf. 

Thanks for reading. Until next time, remember to be good to one another.    

Hi There!

Just a brief post to say... I have nothing much to say.  

Hope your Thanksgiving went well. We ventured forth from the Fortress of Ineptitude to spend time with my wife's family with at least three people I'm sure voted for Trump. Two of them are in the right tax bracket to look for that rich person tax cut and another was old enough and religious enough to have been snookered by Li'l Donnie. 

Thankfully, politics was mostly avoided except for the old guy addressing his dissatisfaction with NFL players not sanding for the national anthem and Trump saying the league was going down hill as a result.   

The food was good but did not include turkey. So on Monday when I get back to work, if any one says, "Hey, did you get enough turkey?", I may have to slap them.  

Friday came and went with absolutely no shopping. We did go out to see the new Pixar film, Coco, which I will write about in detail later. I will warn you of this: it takes over 21 minutes to get actually get to Coco thanks to the pre-feature "short", Olaf's Frozen Adventure. My daughter Randie was NOT amused. 

But Coco itself is VERY good.   

I think I may have slept through Saturday.  

Not sure what's happening today. Randie wants to see Coco again but only if we can show up 21 minutes late.  Look, I'm not a big fan of the Olaf thing either but I don't think so. One of my biggest pet peeves is arriving late for a movie and clambering over people in the dark. I don't like having it done to me or doing it.   

In case you're wondering, Trump and his ilk are still pissing me off. But I'm going to leave the heavy lifting to Mark Evanier.  

And that is that for today. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.  

Thanksgiving: The Quality of Gratitude

So let me see if I’ve got this straight.

 

LiAngelo Ball and a couple of his UCLA Bruins teammates are picked up for shop[lifting in China. Uh oh! Li’l Baller and his buds are off to Chinese jail where’s they’ll have to subsist off moldy bread with only their own urine to drink and maybe get their hands cut off because, well, you know, the Chinese, man! They don’t fuck around, right? 

 

Well, Donald Trump happen to be passin’ through about the same time and reportedly asks President Xi if he could see his way clear to get Li’l Baller and his buds out of Chinese jail. 

 

So American president talks to Chinese president which is followed by American people getting out of Chinese jail. Cause& effect, people! Trump saves the day! YAY!

 

OK, so how much influence if any Trump had on getting LiAngelo Ball and his pals out of China is not quantitatively known. All we know is from Trump’s own self-serving boasting after the fact that he saved these young men from the hell of a Chinese prison.

 

He also immediately wondered if LiAngelo Ball or his friends would bother to thank him. So right off the bat, Li’l Donnie looks like he’ spoiling for a fight.

 

Well, the young men did say thank you to Trump but Li’l Donnie was unimpressed by what he considered insufficient genuflection, I guess. He regarded their thanks as insincere, that LiAngelo Ball and friends werer not properly grateful and maybe he should’ve let them stay in Chinese jail. 

 

Now LiAngelo ‘s dad, LaVar Ball enters the picture. LaVar is brash businessman with limited intellect and limitless bravado. LaVar is also the father of several elite basketball players.  And LaVar ain’t having what Trump is selling. Basically, LaVar ball questions the veracity of Trump’s claims of being instrument in the release of his son and his friends from Chinese jail. LaVar said there were people on the ground in china who were working towards getting these young men released.

 

So Li’l Donnie stamped his foot and threw the following temper tantrum on Twitter:

It wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department, it wasn't father LaVar's so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man's version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think, LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It's a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017

Whoa.

Say what?!?!

Really?

Really, dude?

 

There is so much to unpack there but it depresses me to look so closely at Li’l Donnie’s ignorance and immaturity in such a concentrated form.

 

Instead, let’s look at the ignorance and immaturity of Trump’s supporters. 

 

Get a load of this article that posted on Salon.com yesterday.  

 

"The ongoing war of words between LaVar Ball, the simple-minded windbag father of several elite basketball players, and President Donald Trump, the simple-minded windbag leader of the free world, is perhaps the most garbage story of 2017."

 

"Trump supporters, who apparently cannot tell the difference between two black men who have similar first names, have been attacking "Reading Rainbow" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star LeVar Burton over the internet in the false belief that he is somehow LaVar Ball."

 

Here are some of the tweets sent Burton's way. 

 

LaVar Burton broke the rules of good manners. He insulted our president and the president of China. He should be ashamed that his son dishonored him by stealing.

— Heather Marie Fraser (@heathermfraser) November 19, 2017

 

@levarburton you sure don’t do much for the black cause with your unlawful ungrateful parenting skills.

— Steven Epps (@Steven_L_Epps) November 20, 2017

 

@levarburton VERY UNGRATEFUL! https://t.co/UNJ4As8t1r

— Kim (@kglass1957) November 21, 2017

 

@levarburton You're a has been actor with a thief for a son and Trump is the president of the United States. Get the picture?

— markconte (@proseman) November 21, 2017

 

'MERICA! Hot damn!

Here’s what leVar Burton had to say about all this: 

 

One of many sleights I am having to endure these days. Thanks! @Lavarbigballer... #bydhttmwfihttps://t.co/uYkoDOV6yZ

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) November 21, 2017

 

And LeVar’s ST:TNG co-star Brent Spiner added this:

 

If you cared about our President, you’d change your name.

— Brent Spiner (@BrentSpiner) November 21, 2017

 

In case you’re wondering why an American president would get into a petulant slapfight over all this, remembers these points:

 

• Donald Trump Is President Of Only the Parts of the United States That Actually Voted For Him. Believe me, there are millions of ignorant white men and women who are eating up that their guy is slapping down some ungrateful n*****s. And do not doubt for a second that’s how they’re seeing it. Sorry for the oblique reference to the N word but Trump’s base isn’t thinking “people of color” or “African American” or “black”. Nope, these morons are thinking THAT word.
• Li’l Donnie is a petulant, spoiled baby in an old, flabby man suit.
• And we are so well and truly fucked.

But it’s Thanksgiving y’all! Remember all the blessings in your life and be thankful for them! 

And be thankful for LeVar Burton because, well, he seems like such a nice guy.

Justice League

Hi! So my wife, daughter and I ventured forth from our Fortress of Ineptitude Sunday afternoon to go take our medicine and see the new Justice League movie. As I noted in Friday’s post, the reviews could be summed up as “Does not completely suck”. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman. But that was the reviewers.


What did I think?  

Does not completely suck. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman.

Actually, I will be a bit more positive and say that I actually enjoyed Justice League.  Yeah, there were weaknesses in the plot, storytelling and characterizations. But I came out of Justice League feeling good about the experience. Unlike feeling mugged and a bit depressed after viewing Batman Vs. Superman last year.  

So let's cover some good bits. 

Barry Allen/The Flash

I was prepared to not want to like this character. Why create a new Flash when there's a perfectly good one running around on the CW? 

But this Flash is sufficiently unique from his Arrowverse counterpart. As portrayed by Ezra Miller, this Barry Allen is young, uncertain and adorkably lacking in social skills. Ezra's Barry Allen keeps things light by providing the most human perspective of our heroes. Having super powers doesn't make someone automatically a super hero.

My favorite part with the Flash is when the team is confronting Steppenwolf who is holding hostages. Flash tells Batman that everyone there seems ready to go into battle but this is all new to him. Batman gives Flash one thing to do: save one person. Just one. Barry asks what happens after that and Batman replies, "You'll know what to do."  So Barry rescues 1 person. Then he does it again. And again. And again. Barry saves all the hostages. It's a cool moment for Barry that shows he can be  hero.

Arthur Curry/Aquaman

From the trailers, James Momoa's take on Aquaman was what I was most interested in seeing. A beer drinking bro-dude? Can't say I've ever seen that version of Aquaman before. 

There are unfortunately few surprises and revelations about our erstwhile King of the Sea. We know he has a chilly relationship with Atlantis and some mother issues apparently but otherwise, there's not a lot of depth (See what I did there?) to Aquaman. But he does get in one of the film's funniest bits when he shares with the team what he exactly thinks about everything bad (they're all going to die!) and good (Wonder Woman is hot). Whoops! Arthur's accidentally sitting on Diana's magic truth compelling lasso.   

I guess the idea is that Aquaman will have his own move coming out next year which will explain more about Mr. Curry. Which is an inherent and ongoing problem with making a movie with an eye on the franchise and not on the movie that's happening right now.

One more word about Aquaman: he's portrayed as very powerful, not the limp fish you might remember from Super Friends. He doesn't just talk to fish. (As he tells Bruce Wayne, "I talk to the ocean.")  

Victor Stone/Cyborg

Vic Stone is... the black guy. OK, I don't mean to short change Mr. Stone but let's be honest, the Justice League would be homogeneously white without Cyborg. He is also... the brooding young man, placed in circumstances he didn't want or ask for, robbed of his dreams and stripped of most of his humanity.

There's not a lot for Ray Fisher to work with but I'll concede that while Cyborg was not easy to love, I didn't dislike him. He has, to be blunt, every reason to be pissed off at life. But we really have no context for what Vic lost as he movie brings us into his life sometime after he's become Cyborg. But beneath all that machinery, Vic Stone is still a man and Ray Fisher lets that humanity shine through as the movie progresses.  During the final battle with Steppenwolf, Vic actually smiles and concedes he likes being alive.

And if you are fans of cyborg from Teen Titans Go, Cyborg does say "boo-yah" one time. 

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot rules!

OK, I could just leave it at that. But a couple of things:

• Diana has some mad "busting through a wall" skills. Give me a Wonder Woman movie where Diana busts through walls half the time, I'm good. 
• Her solo at the start of the movie against some crazy terrorists type demonstrates her ferocity but when a gunman opens fire on the hostages, its Diana's compassion that is really on display as without hesitancy she throws herself in the path of the bullets.
• It is a little weird that for a woman with such wonderful powers, Diana has kept a low profile in helping humanity. Ostensibly, her grief and guilt over the death of Steve Trevor is still a driving force in her life, even after 100 years. As a trained Amazon warrior, she would be more open and ready to taking a position of leadership and being a person of inspiration. By the end of the movie, we see Diana embracing these roles. 

 Clark Kent/Superman  

Life is not great post-death for Lois Lane who is still not back in her ol' reporter groove and Martha Kent who has lost the family farm back in Smallville to foreclosure. In fact, the world over all seems a less hopeful place since the death of Superman.

So when an opportunity presents itself to bring Superman back to life, no matter how insane and fraught with danger it may be, Bruce Wayne is all gung-ho to make it happen. Plus Steppenwolf clearly outclasses Bruce's team of heroes in raw power. Superman could give them the edge they need for victory.

Superman returns and he is a bit angry and confused as he takes on the Justice League. Thankfully Batman has a back up: Lois Lane. Calmed down, Supes flies away with Lois back to Smallville. The scene in the corn field in the trailer everyone figured was a dream sequence? Nope, it happens.

Then its time to suit up as Superman joins the battle royale against Steppenwolf for the fate of the planet.

It was so cool to see Superman back in action again. And for the first time, Henry Cavill looked like he was enjoying the experience.

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Batman is at core of this film. He knows something really bad is coming and loner that he is, even he knows he can't fight it alone.  Bruce Wayne's guilt over his actions towards Superman is pervasive. Superman was a symbol of hope and a being of great power, attributes that Batman does not share.  

There have been criticisms over Ben Affleck's performance, that he was as one reviewer put it "phoning it in". I will concede there's no real award winning acting going on here but I found Affleck to be fine. Just fine. I will note that Ben is more comfortable as Bruce Wayne than as Batman but hell, I could say the same about Christian Bale or Michael Keaton. I think that goes with the rubber padded Bat-suit. 

I cited this earlier as a favorite scene with Barry Allen but it works for Batman too, telling a nervous Flash to just save one person and trusting Barry to figure it out from there. Trust is not something we associate with Batman. It was a lack of trust that put him into conflict with Superman last year. So it's good to see Bruce reaching out to Barry and helping him with his fear, not just trying to coerce or demand him to do something. 

Maybe Batman can learn to play well with others. 

Other things I liked: 

• Jeremy Irons is wickedly ascerbic as Batman's aide, Alfred. 
• J. K. Simmons channels a perfectly dry Commissioner Gordon in his too brief appearance.   
• Batman, Diana & Vic pulling that vanishing thing while Gordon isn't looking but Flash is still there, looking flummoxed. The fastest man alive is the last to leave. Classic! 
• The mid credits scene with Superman and the Flash getting together for a race. That last freeze frame of Supes & Flash would make an awesome poster.  
• The flashback to Steppingwolf's last attack on Earth! Oh look! A Green Lantern? So cool! 

As for the not so good things? 

Steppenwolf

Oh God, another alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff because, well, that's what alien beings of immense power do.  Despite the overwhelming threat to life as we know it, I just never felt what was at stake. Stopping Steppingwolf gave the Justice League something to do. It looked awesome but did it feel...awesome?  

Maybe because we've seen this thing so much.

• Thor Vs. Hela, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Ronan, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Ego, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff. 
• Superman Vs. Zod, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Avengers Vs. the Chitari, alien beings of immense power out to destroy stuff. 

You get the idea.  

Post credits scene

Lex Luthor is on the loose and he has Deathstroke with him.  God, I hate Jesse Eisenberg as Luthor and found this scene underwhelming. I think it would've been better to have had this scene (if we had to have it at all) as the mid credits scene and saved the Superman/Flash meet up for the end to wrap things up on a more uplifting note.   

Maybe for the next Justice League movie, Lex can assemble is League of Evil Leaguers for a more earthbound threat instead of fighting another alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  

Before I wrap this up....

What about Clark?

Both Superman AND Clark Kent were dead in the DCEU. How are we going to explain how Clark is back right after Superman returns? 

Of course, maybe secret identities are not that big of a deal in the DCEU. 

• Lois calls Superman "Clark" in front of Metropolis police officers.  
• Bruce Wayne does Batman's recruiting, even going so far as to throw a batarang at Barry Allen to test his reflexes.  

Anyway and in conclusion, Justice League does not completely suck. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman.

Be good to one another until next time.