The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020): Character study of a struggling playwright/teacher/wannabe rapper in a mid-life crisis. Should she sell out her vision to be more commercial? The dignity and even greatness in an everyday woman. Written, directed, and starring Radha Blank. B+

Extending the Reach of Richardson's Gag Order

The City of Richardson is considering a social media policy. Let's stipulate that this resulted from the City's embarrassing BimboGate in early 2019. Mayor Paul Voelker addressed that, eloquently and sufficiently, in my mind, with this statement of belief: "Richardson’s values are best upheld when we engage in civic discourse that is civil in tone, respectful of others and designed to produce constructive outcomes for the betterment of our community."

Now Democracy is a Dirty Word, Too

For years, I've tracked how virtues like tolerance and compromise and civility have all come under attack from conservatives. I've said, "What I thought made American democracy great is being surely dismantled, virtuous brick by virtuous brick." Ironically, the latest such motherhood and apple pie virtue that conservatives want no truck with any more is "democracy" itself.

Succession - Season 1 (TV 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Succession - Season 1 (TV 2018): Aging patriarch of family-owned media empire faces succession. Schemes, double-crosses, undisguised ill will. Think King Lear, Murdochs, Trumps. Lots of foul language. Lots. Not a likable character in the show. But yet, riveting television. B+

#TardyReview

Bad Education (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Bad Education (2020): Drama based on real life. Embezzlement in a Long Island school district by a popular but smarmy superintendent. Plot unfolds like you'd expect. Great cast does their best with so-so script. Maybe screenwriter should have gone all in on black comedy. B-