The check for all three is in the blackmail

  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) After seven months with no arrests for the violent rape and murder of her daughter, Angela, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards chastising the police for their lack of progress. This sets off a firestorm of controversy in her small town where people revere the local sheriff… Continue reading The check for all three is in the blackmail

45 years of big concussions

  Concussion (2015) After forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) examines the body of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster, he believes Webster’s erratic behavior and suicide were the result of damage done to his brain during his playing career. Over a period of several years, Omalu investigates the deaths of several former NFL players and confirms… Continue reading 45 years of big concussions

The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985

In 1985: Ronald Reagan began his second term as US President; Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in the Soviet Union; Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the inaugural Wrestlemania; Elmo first appeared on Sesame Street; New Coke debuted and, after a disastrous couple of months, was removed from US stores; David… Continue reading The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985

Best of the 1970s

  Watermelon Man  (1970) White salesman Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) wakes up to discover he’s become a black man overnight. His transformation causes problems at work, with the police, and with his neighbors. His seemingly liberal wife (Estelle Parsons) who once chastised him for not caring about the problems faced by black people in America, leaves… Continue reading Best of the 1970s

Saving Spider-Man from drowning

  Waterworld (1995) In a world covered in water after global warming melts the polar ice caps, a mysterious Mariner (Kevin Costner) becomes a reluctant protector of Enola and her guardian Helen when Enola is hunted by The Smokers whose leader, Deacon (Dennis Hopper), believes she possesses a map to the mythical Dryland tattooed on her… Continue reading Saving Spider-Man from drowning