Movies

Was it Roots where they showed tits bouncing around on board a slave ship? When was that? 1970's? 80's? So the sight of a black woman's tits bouncing around was okay for network TV 40+ years ago. That always got me. Like we were watching National Geographic & so it was okay. Sshhh! They're not really human. 

I'm watching Independence Day right now. 

Watching The Flintstone movie right now & it sure ain't for John Goodman or Rick Moranis.

Mom and Dad - not sure if this one ever even made it into theaters, but can’t imagine it staying on the big screen for any length of time.

Nick Cage (as his usual maniacal self) and Selma Blair play parents to a young boy and a teenage daughter in high school who has the hots for a boy a grade ahead of her.

Mom and dad do not approve as boys that age have only one thing on their minds. There are overtones that it might also be because he’s half black.

One afternoon, something happens (which is never explained) that triggers every parent to go nuts and try and in many cases succeed in murdering their children.

And while the premise is absurd enough in itself, most of the attempts of Nick & Selma to kill their kids and the boyfriend while they in turn try to defend themselves are simply embarrassing.

In one scene, after having a hanger stuck through his cheek and back out his mouth (which he pulls out), the boyfriend is pushed over a two story railing, crashing into and breaking the lower bannister and posts before ending up on the floor below, presumably dead.

Nick opens the basement door which the kids have rigged with matches that will strike and light the natural gas that the parents have run a hose from their range into a basement window to “gas the kids”.

Of course, it blows and Cage is shown taking the brunt of it in the face and again, presumably killing him.

Both he and the boyfriend return within minutes to continue the battle.

As always, I won’t spoil the ending but I really can’t recommend this one, even for Cage fans. It’s simply ridiculous and while supposed to be a satiric comedy, it’s neither.

1/2 ⚾️ at best.

GO DODGERS!!!

Not me!  I'm a big guy and like big gals!  

Don’t EVEN get me started in Affirmative Action. Not sure if I’ve told this story but it bears repeating.

Back when I was 16, I joined the local volunteer fire department in my village as a junior member and when I turned 18, I was activated to full time.

I received my training via the department and was state certified. I immediately knew this was what I wanted to do for my career.

Unfortunately, this was the early 80’s and Reagan’s AA program was in full tilt. I took the exam for the city of Cincinnati twice a year for five years.

I never once scored less than a 90 and in one instance, I scored a 98, meaning I missed only ONE question on the entire test.

I never got more than a “thanks - see you in six months” letter from the city. To even make it to Phase II, a white man had to score 100 & have a 5 point military or disability credit.

Now how someone who was disabled could possibly work as a fire fighter is beyond me, but whatever. It also didn’t hurt if you had family or knew someone on the department.

I had none of the above and only my scores on the initial written test to fall back on.

Yet if you were a person of colour or a woman, the minimal score to advance was only 70. SEVENTY!!!

I think if you were a black woman they didn’t even make you take the written test and you went straight to the next phase (I’m kidding here, but it wouldn’t have surprised me!).

Now I’m not one of those who think a woman’s place is in the home. And there are women fire fighters who can and do perform right up there with their male counterparts.

But again - this was the early 80’s and every class had 10 - 12 women in it and every class was completed WITHOUT a woman getting certified and a position in the department.

And some of the blacks that made it were so stupid they couldn’t even spell the name of the city they were getting a paycheque from, even with it right there in front of them on the side of every truck, ambulance and emergency vehicle.

Were there other departments I could have applied to besides the City of Cincinnati? Of course there were and I did.

But it was no better there because not only were they under the same AA restrictions, they were maybe looking to fill one or two positions out of hundreds, if not thousands of applicants.

At least with the city, even though there were probably two or three times more people taking the written test, they were hiring 35 - 40 recruits twice annually.

So, I never got to be a full time paid fire fighter. If I had, I’d have gotten in my 30 years over a decade ago and would likely be fully retired living on the coast somewhere.

I stayed a volunteer for close to 12 years until the village budget forced our little two truck department to shut down and have our coverage provided by the township.

GO DODGERS!!!

Paranormal Activity I, II and III. Caught all three of these over the last few weeks. They are all “documentary” style with a good deal of black and white footage of abnormal events happening to young couples living in suburban CA.

Part I tells the tale of a young couple who begin to hear and see things that “go bump in the night” in their new home. Cameras are set up and footage is shown throughout the night via time lapse.

Part II is basically a prequel to Part I and has two of the same characters that interact with another couple.

Part III goes all the way back to the origins of the evil entity that inhabits at least one of the two sisters who are then shown as adults in Parts I and II.

All three movies have their “creepy” moments, but there is a lot of dead space between the action and final climaxes.

I would say that the one thing you don’t want to be in ANY of these films is the male character / husband / boyfriend. Let’s just say it doesn’t end up good for any of them.

None of the three is particularly outstanding, but again, they did all have their moments.

I’d go an overall ⚾️⚾️ 1/2 for the trio.

GO DODGERS!!!