Category Archives: entertainment news

entertainment news, military news

'American Sniper' glorifies nothing

What’s with all the chatter about whether a powerful film “glorifies” an American warrior doing his duty in the most hostile environment imaginable?

Critics have contended the film “American Sniper” romanticizes the exploits of the late Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL sniper whose struggles with post traumatic stress are chronicled in one of the most powerful bits of movie-making in years.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/american-sniper-generates-off-screen-controversy/story?id=28342832

Kyle served four tours of duty in Iraq and recorded more “kills” than any sniper in U.S. military history.

I watched the film over the weekend in a packed Amarillo movie theater. At the end of the film, about the only sound coming from the departing audience were the sniffles of those who were crying.

I do not get the criticism.

“American Sniper” does not glorify what Kyle was ordered to do on the battlefield. As for whether Kyle and his teammates were “heroes,” well, yes they are. War produces heroic acts. From my standpoint, anyone who puts himself in harm’s way, exposing himself to possible death at the hands of an enemy combatant is a hero — and that standing needs zero glorification from a film to make it so.

I didn’t see any glory in what Kyle did. I saw a young man struggling with his emotions; he was torn between his devotion to the men with whom he served and the young family who were at home, waiting for his safe return.

What I saw on that film screen was the story of war in all its brutality.

 

entertainment news

Sir Paul … who?

Some things simply defy description. They tax one’s ability to reason things out.

Take the case of an “unknown artist” who made a record with Kanye West, the hip-hop star, husband of Kim Kardashian and the guy who burst onto the national scene a few years ago when he sought to upstage Taylor Swift the moment she won a Grammy award.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/bemused-kanye-west-fans-ask-4919529

Kanye West released a song with a guy named Paul McCartney, who’s been a pretty good singer/musician/songwriter over, oh, about the past 50 years.

West’s fans took to Twitter to proclaim that they’d never heard of McCartney, who at one time was one-fourth of the world’s greatest rock and roll band, The Beatles. He teamed with another pretty good musician, the late John Lennon, to write music that defined a generation … maybe two or three generations.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing. West’s fans are, well, pretty young. They might not expose themselves to music beyond the kind of music that West produces. Perhaps they haven’t heard about The Beatles from, let’s see, their parents or grandparents.

Or perhaps this is all a big joke, a put-on, kind of like those “Paul is dead” rumors that enveloped the planet back in 1969.

Well, whatever. I’m certain Sir Paul isn’t terribly worried about his standing in the world of music entertainment. Indeed, those unknowing Kanye West fans are aware now of Sir Paul’s influence.

***

For those who still might not know who Paul McCartney is, consider this: Paul put on a concert about five years ago in Red Square, in Moscow. His encore song was “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” which he recorded in 1968 with The Beatles. As Paul lit into the rocking number, teenagers in the Red Square crowd were singing the song with Paul — in English, knowing every word of a tune recorded decades before any of them were born.

Kanye West no doubt hopes his songs will have that kind of lasting power.

 

entertainment news, national news

Rethinking this Sony film matter

Mea culpa time, kind of.

I’ve been getting beaten up over a blog I posted about whether Sony erred in making a comedy about an attempted assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. I said Sony Pictures’ biggest mistake was in making the film at all.

The chastening I’ve taken has forced me to reconsider what I wrote. Here it is:

https://highplainsblogger.com/2014/12/19/sonys-bigger-mistake-was-in-making-film/

President Obama said this week that Sony “made a mistake” in pulling the film from its scheduled release. He said the filmmaker should not be intimidated by a two-bit dictator. Others have noted that the United States, the strongest nation on Earth, shouldn’t be cowed by a tinhorn despot.

My friends on the left and the right have slung barbs at me for suggesting that Kim Jong-Un had a legitimate beef with the filmmakers and the film, “The Interview,” which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco.

No one likes admitting they were mistaken, but I think I’m about to go there.

Maybe I got caught up in the heat of the moment and didn’t think through the implications — all of them — in suggesting Sony had messed up.

Perhaps if I were running Sony, I would have been reluctant to depict the killing of an actual sovereign leader. Here’s the thing, though: I am not running Sony. That was someone else’s call. They had the right to make that decision.

Kim Jong-Un, therefore, didn’t have the right to bully Sony into pulling back the release of its film.

There. I actually feel better now.

 

entertainment news, International news

Sony's bigger mistake was in making film

3 Comments

President Obama said today Sony Pictures made a mistake when it pulled a film depicting an attempted assassination of North Korean dictator/goofball Kim Jong-Un.

Well, Mr. President, from my vantage point, Sony’s bigger mistake was making the film in the first place.

http://politicslive.cnn.com/Event/President_Obama_Press_Conference?hpt=hp_t1

The film and the reaction from North Korea has been the talk of, well, the world. “The Interview” was supposed to be released. It stars Seth Rogen and James Franco and it’s about a plot to kill Kim Jong-Un.

Sony pulled the picture, cancelling its release after North Korea launched a cyber attack in response to the film. Yes, the crazy Stalinists in North Korea were angry.

Why in the world would anyone be surprised? And why would anyone doubt North Korea would respond with a cyber attack that has done considerable damage around the world?

Why, also, wouldn’t Sony have anticipated this kind of unpredictability from the leader of a reclusive state known to do just about anything to make a point?

Obama said American filmmakers shouldn’t be pushed around by nations angry over their work.

That’ a fair point.

But don’t filmmakers have a responsibility to exercise some judgment in choosing the topics — and individuals — they seek to portray?

They made a “comedy” about an attempt to kill a living, breathing leader of a nation that has acted rather dangerously before.

Therein lies Sony’s mistake.

 

entertainment news, International news

What was Sony thinking?

7 Comments

Time allows one to think things through and to cogitate a bit on the consequences of one’s action.

Perhaps the makers of the film “The Interview” could have thought just a little bit longer about the product that was supposed to be shown to American theater crowds.

I’ve been pondering the blowback from the film, the threats of Internet hackers striking back at the producers of the film — and at the public at large. My conclusion? I believe Sony Pictures should have known with whom it was dealing when it made a “comedy” about an attempt to assassinate the leader of North Korea.

My sympathy for Sony, the actors involved and those who thought they would make a lot of money from the film is waning — rapidly.

The film stars Seth Rogen and James Franco. It’s supposedly a comedy. The main characters are plotting to kill Kim Jong Un.

Let’s be real. The entire world knows about Kim Jong Un’s weirdness. The world knows he runs a country that gives hyper-secrecy a bad name. I mean, this place is reclusive beyond description. Kim’s antics — just as those of his late father, Kim Jong Il — are, to say the least, highly unpredictable.

Why couldn’t the makers of the film fictionalized the story? Why single out the leader of a nation — and a dangerous one at that — for this kind of “comic parody”? What would the reaction be in any country on Earth if someone made a film purporting to assassinate its leader?

My conclusion is that Sony should have expected a highly negative reaction from a country that hardly anyone knows with any certainty.

Terror threats in response to the film? Well, duh! Do you think?

 

entertainment news, International news

Terrorism goes online

Twenty-first century terrorism has entered a new phase.

It’s highly offensive and utterly mind-blowing. It comes in the form of threats to hack into people’s emails if they dare attend a movie — a movie, for crying out loud! — that portrays the North Korean goofball/dictator in a decidedly unflattering light.

This is what terrorism looks like in the Digital Age.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/17/media/the-interview-sony-theater-owners/index.html?hpt=hp_t2&hpt=hp_c2

The film in question is “The Interview.” It stars Seth Rogan and James Franco. Sony today cancelled the release of the film after major movie chains declined to show the film because of terrorist threats by computer hackers.

The film is about an attempted assassination of Kim Jong Un, the bizarre North Korean dictator who succeeded his equally bizarre father, Kim Jong Il. It’s a comedy. It’s meant to make people laugh. It’s meant to poke fun at the reclusive Marxist government that operates in the shadows on the Korean Peninsula.

So now some mysterious Internet terrorists are telling American movie-goers that they cannot watch the film. What do they fear? That someone is going to see the film and then become motivated to try to do what is portrayed on the screen? That the movie is going to produce an assassin bent on killing Kim Jong Un?

Sony already has been hit by hackers reportedly angry over the film.

All of this has me absolutely bumfuzzled.

 

 

entertainment news, national news

Still waiting for Cosby's magic words

2 Comments

Bill Cosby has — more or less — broken his silence on the allegations of sexual abuse that have piled up on him.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/bill-cosby-breaks-silence-amid-allegations-black-media-should-stay-neutral/ar-BBgMJqY

The Hollywood Reporter link isn’t very long, as Cosby didn’t talk long to the New York Post reporter interviewing him. He made a reference to his lawyer not wanting him to speak to the media.

The allegations are serious and, to be quite candid, are sounding more believable with each new alleged victim coming forward. The most notable accuser has been supermodel Beverly Johnson, who has accused Cosby of drugging her and having his way with her.

My major source of skepticism about all of this centers on the length of time that has passed since these alleged incidents occurred. Moreover, Cosby’s never been charged with a crime.

Still, in the comments that have come forward, either from Cosby himself or from his legal team, I am still waiting to hear or read the “magic words” from the accused.

They are: “I did not commit these acts.”

It troubles me terribly that Cosby hasn’t declared categorically in public that these alleged acts never occurred. It also troubles me, if it’s the case, that his lawyers might have instructed him to keep quiet on that specific point.

The silence from this entertainment icon is speaking volumes. Maybe I’m just hearing things, so to speak.

My goodness, I hope that’s the case. I am fearing the worst.

 

entertainment news, national news

Cosby once was the face of Temple U.

This is how far Bill Cosby’s star has fallen.

The comedy icon has resigned as a Temple University trustee. Why? Because of the outpouring of accusations that Cosby has sexually assaulted women — for decades!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/at-temple-university-students-hope-to-put-famous-alum-cosby-behind-them/ar-BBgr1JB

Good heavens!

Cosby has done stand-up routines about his days as a student at Temple, not to mention recorded comedy albums. He’s given the school added fame and acclaim. He has earned his degrees from the Philadelphia school.

And he has served on the board of trustees, giving the board the heft of his once-good name and reputation.

Cosby is fighting back against at least one of his accusers. He calls the allegations all kinds of names, such as “baseless” and “ridiculous.”

I’m still waiting him for Dr. Cosby to say the magic words: “I did not do these things.”

Watching this man’s reputation unravel before our eyes remains a painful experience for us spectators. I only can imagine what this is doing to the man’s family.

 

 

entertainment news

Good bye to an American icon

Bill Cosby isn’t dead, but his reputation has been dealt a potentially mortal injury.

I hesitate to say categorically that it’s a self-inflicted wound. Charges of sexual abuse and out-and-out rape have come from multiple women over many years against the iconic entertainer.

No charges have been filed by any law enforcement agency. Cosby, though, appears to be toast. He appears headed for entertainment oblivion.

http://time.com/3609432/colleges-bill-cosby-sexual-assault/

I get that U.S. citizens deserve the presumption of innocence. The allegations, though, are adding up. They have an eerie similarity. These women have talked about fear in bringing the allegations to light; they feared the fallout that would come by suggesting this gigantic entertainment figure would do the things they have alleged he has done.

Then one came forward. Then another, and another, and another. I’ve lost count of the number of women who’ve accused “The Coz” of doing terrible things to them.

Now we hear that the University of Massachusetts-Amherst has asked for — and received — Cosby’s resignation as an honorary faculty member; he received his master’s and doctorate in education at UMass-Amherst.

This ongoing and burgeoning scandal sickens me — as it sickens millions of other Americans who have laughed at Cosby’s everyman monologues and marveled at the role model he has become to so many men around the world.

I hope it’s false, as Cosby’s lawyer insists it is. I fear for the worst.

 

entertainment news, national news

Et tu, Dr. Huxtable?

This cannot be happening to one of America’s most iconic entertainers.

Then again …

Bill Cosby has been accused by at least three women of sexual assault. His lawyer denies the allegations. Meanwhile, one television network, NBC, and an online entertainment provider, Netflix, have cancelled planned projects involving Cosby.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/nbc-scraps-cosby-television-project/ar-BBeHfAq

What in the name of all that is holy is going on here?

I believe we are seeing a case of the backlash hurting at least as much as the initial slap.

The allegations need to be proven and Cosby is entitled to the presumption of innocence. NBC and Netflix have been quick to distance themselves from the one-time Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, a character Cosby portrayed on the acclaimed series “The Cosby Show.”

In that show, Dr. Huxtable became the standard bearer for family men across the nation, rearing a boisterous family along with his equally successful wife, portrayed by Phylicia Rashad. More to the point, Cosby’s character became an important role model for African-American men, many of whom forsake their fatherly duties once they learn that a child is on his or her way.

I do hope these allegations lead to nowhere. However, hope by itself won’t make it so.

My fears are leading me to suspect something else might be about to transpire.