Movies 2019

Once again - my obligatory movie round up of my favorite flicks of the year!

2019 was actually quite a year for movies - and there were a ton that I really enjoyed but yet still didn't make my top ten.

As always, the disclaimer - I'm a big fan of big fun movies.  Films are great and all, but really if I'm going to invest my hard earned time and money in a movie theater - I want to see shit blowed up real good as opposed to long scenes of dialogue and contemplation.

Of course this doesn't mean that I don't want a good story - story is actually to me THE most important element of a great movie. Story, story, STORY!   I like my stories solid and grounded, but as for the worlds they inhabit, the bigger and more fanciful the better!

So without further ado - the runner ups!


Hobbs & Shaw
Was not expecting this one to be nearly as fun as it was when I caught it on a plane flight to Hawaii.  I found myself laughing and giddy throughout.  A hell of a good time at the movies, lots of fun and great action set pieces (though not anywhere near believable) - this movie knows exactly what it is and goes all out balls to the wall to show us all that it's got, and it's got a lot!  The Rock is a national treasure and so is that Statham guy.

Alita: Battle Angel
Came out a long time ago, but I still look back fondly on it's story and simple execution.  Don't know that we'll ever get a sequel, which is a shame, because this is a true comic-book movie, in the sense that it's incredibly faithful to the source material and is designed to keep going with the story.  Enjoyed the FX work and really dug the strange looking lead performance.

John Wick 3
For my money, the best of the trilogy so far.  Truly awesomely insane action sequences - including a crazy bit with horses that extends into the motorcycle chase of a lifetime.  Hyper violent, but also hyper fun - JW3 delivers.

Joker
Was not expecting to enjoy this at all - only reluctantly watched because it got so much acclaim and so many Oscar nominations.  Glad I watched - yes, it was grim and bleak to the point of distraction, but it was also exceptionally well done.  Joaquin is incredible in his performance, and the rest of the film rises to his level of excellence in writing, pacing, editing and production value.  Not exactly blockbuster entertainment, but a dark journey worth taking that adds another layer to the Batman legacy.

Toy Story 4
Like the previous 3 films, this one goes deep into the human condition but unlike the other 3, this one  explores what happens when Woody realizes that there's more to life than being a child's toy.  It's an interesting and risky proposition - the previous three films being grounded in the values of loyalty and fidelity - but I think it's a worthwhile exploration; plus it has all the usual Pixar excellence in story telling.  Enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to it showing up on Disney +.

Frozen II
Loved just about all of this - great production design, great songs (though 'Into the Unknown' isn't nearly the show stopper that 'Let it Go' was)  - and plenty of humor and fun moments.  I was taken a bit aback when it appeared they were shoe-horning white guilt and genocide into to the story - but all was forgiven when Elza did the right thing and protected her homeland and heritage.  Enjoyed watching this with my 15 year old daughter, who was 10 when the first one came out, and was super pumped to see this new one.

Downton Abbey
So in the year leading up to this movie I had the great pleasure of binging the entire show with my wife and daughter.  They had watched it before, but for me it was all new.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show - the production value, the performances, the time period and of course the often great dialogue and sometimes a bit too soapy storylines.  So we were all well prepared when we struck out to the theater and indulged in this very jumbo sized episode that hit all the right familiar notes and also gave a warm and comforting feeling to us Downton fans.

The Irishman
I have to say, it took me 3 days to get through this.  But, I was never really bored.  Scorcese is such a world class filmmaker, and his gangster game is still so strong -that I was thoroughly entertained and interested through the entire movie.  The sight of an 80 year old Robert Deniro (with a pixilated 30 something face plastered on) beating up a man in the streets, was a bit of a stretch - but overall it still works.  Pesci was amazing, and all the other supporting roles were well cast and executed.  Also very much enjoyed Pacino playing Hoffa - yeah, he's mostly doing himself, but he's still captivating. I actually kind of want to watch this again.

Ready or Not
A blast of a horror/thriller shot in basically one location for a modest budget.  Tons of fun, silly violent and profane - but thoroughly engaging from beginning to end.  The concept is a bit kooky, but it all works thanks to polished dialogue and confident performances and direction.  This is the kind of movie I would love to make with my production company - we are currently exploring low budget horror features, that look good and are made well enough, but could be SO much better with a script like this.


And so we arrive at my top ten!

Keep in mind, I don't get out a ton during the year, so I haven't had a chance to see everything that's out there that's worth watching.  I certainly have a list of flicks I want to see, read on down below to see those.


10. Captain Marvel

(From my UDATED Top MCU Movies: Ranked, post)

It kind of sucks that there was so much internet bullshit surrounding this one - both from in-cel neckbeards and from misguided conservatives who brought all of their emotional and political baggage to this very straightforward cosmic adventure that features a fantastic Brie Larson as the modern incarnation of Carol Danvers in the incarnation that many of us know and love from a relatively recent comic book run written and drawn by Kelly Sue DeConnick.

Truly, it is a rip roaring, and sometimes heartstring pulling yarn about our favorite Air Force captain - this time around she has amnesia - which isn't my favorite story telling device, but it works here because most of the audience isn't familiar with who she is either, and so it's an effective way for all of us (including Carol) to get to know her.

As for the internet nonsense - I really don't get it.  Life is political enough, I don't need to inject politics into a movie where it doesn't really exist; and that's what I think is going on here.  Look, I get it, in real life Brie Larson is a political ding-dong.  So what?  That doesn't mean the movie has one of her idiotic political agendas, or that the character of Captain Marvel is a 'Mary Sue' (the dumbest concept from the right as of late).   Captain Marvel is a fun movie that moves right along and does a great job at straddling the line between earth bound adventure and the Marvel cosmic scene.

I love the young Sam Jackson (amazing) and his chemistry with Brie just crackles - in a totally plutonic way that works.  Love Jude Law as the sniveling Kree, and it's great to see him finally dealt with properly at the end.  And of course I love Ben Mendelsohn as Talos who brings the funny to his misunderstood Skrull character.


9. Knives Out

Had a blast with this unconventional murder-mystery that Rian Johnson turned inside out for our amusement and delight.  Clearly he's a massive fan of the genre - and just like he did with Star Wars, Johnson here subverts our expectations and plays with a bit of meta-commentary on the various tropes. Frame for frame I don't know that there's a more entertaining movie out there this year - this one just kept me engrossed from beginning to end, and really just a delightful journey with ups and downs and just the right amount of anxiety.  Reminded me a lot of old Cohen Brothers stuff - Blood Simple in particular leaps to mind.


8. Shazam!
Speaking of genres, this was a hoot and a holler and really what the super hero movies should be.  What a blast of a good time!  The humor is sharp, the story is tight, even the villain is fleshed out well (something that even the best superhero movies often struggle with).  I will say though, no spoilers, that the ending is what really makes this one soar.  What a joyous development with our hero and his new family - very, very cool!


7. Spider-Man: Far From Home

(Also from my MCU ranking post)

This one is a blast and a half!  Not quite as strong as the first MCU Spider-Man installment, FFH still manages to bring the excitement and freshness only as the MCU can.

Jake Gyllenhaal is truly the very best choice for the very best until-now unused villain in the Marvel pantheon - Mysterio!  Everything here works; from the faithful costume design (which works perfectly as a 'manufactured' costume to mock) to Mysterio's half-cocked scheme that he executes perfectly as he transforms from a nice guy who you want to have a beer with, into a snake who is incredibly dangerous.

Love the relationships here - Ned and the blonde chick are hilarious!  "Thanks babe!"  And Peter and MJ, the whole thing works really well - better than it did in Homecoming.

Love the location work, it gives the movie a much bigger epic feel than the story warrants.

The best stuff is with Happy and Peter on the jet, and the climactic fight is a "marvel" (see what I did there) in visual FX and editing.   Beautifully done!   Can't wait to see how they deal with the shocking reveal in the mid-credits tag!   Great to see JK though!


6. Ford v Ferrari

When I said that Knives Out was very likely the most thoroughly entertaining movie of the year - it completely slipped my mind that 2019 was also the year we got this incredibly engrossing modern American fable.   Bale and Damon are at the height of their powers in this expertly crafted and directed Mangold film that makes cars completely compelling, even if you're not a motor head.  I absolutely loved this movie - it was funny, it was comforting and has a bitter-sweet conclusion that really makes you sit back and take it all it.   Amazing film, I really need to watch this again!


5. Little Women

Speaking of amazing - I guess from here on out they're all great - and this one knocked me on my ass by how good it was.

It was weird, in the way that I get excited for franchise films like Harry Potter, or Star Wars or Marvel - I found myself about 2/3 of the way into this movie, feeling the same way.  All the girls feel like old friends, like they are in stories, either their own or ones written by Jo, that we can return to over and over again and feel like we're home.  Greta Gerwig is quite a talented director, who takes this fairly familiar and straightforward work of literature, and somehow elevates it to a level that enraptures us and makes us feel like we are gearing up for adventure in the same way all the tent-pole movies do.  I don't know how she does it, but she does!   I thought all the girls were well cast - the lead boy however seemed to be a bit too young - but it still all works marvelously.


4. Star Wars: Episode IX (spoilers)

Here's the thing - I love all about this movie, the same stuff that I love about all Star Wars movies.  The excitement, the adventure - the same feeling of family and familiarity that Little Women gives off - I get it from these expertly done big budget genre films.  I love Rey and Finn, and I love seeing what they go through together and how they get there.  I love a LOT about this movie and have already seen it twice and will see it again and again before I die, no doubt.

That said, I would be remiss if I didn't quickly go down what disappointed me about this film.

The little stuff - Rose Tico getting sidelined in favor of a different female character that doesn't really need to exist.  Don't understand it, don't appreciate it.

Ret-conning every little thing; from fixing Kylo's helmet to inexplicably saying that Rey is now related to Palpatine.  Huh?   Really annoying, especially in light of how good Last Jedi was - how unconventional and how game changing it tried to be.  JJ Abrams apparently just goes down the line like a little fan-boy and ticks off each item that he doesn't like.  Sigh.  Ok, not the most creative thing.

I loved Last Jedi, and so it makes me sad that so much time and effort was spent to deliberately undo what Rian Johnson had accomplished.  Rian, who is an auteur and filmmaker as opposed to JJ who apparently is a very talented hired gun who specializes in fan service - is given a great disservice here and so that leads me to my biggest gripe with the whole movie and really the whole Disney approach.

WHY, in the hell, did we not map out this entire trilogy from the beginning?  My understanding is that Abrams and Kasdan turned in the script for Episode 7 and then shot the film with only the barest of outlines for what would happen in episode 8 and literally no plan at all for episode 9.

WHY?  Why is this?

As per the usual suspects - time and money.  Rather than take the time to really go into pre-production and map the whole story out, they rushed to get Force Awakens out in time for a 2015 release.   I really, really don't understand this.   Because you're not going to make BILLIONS of dollars no matter what - you really want to rush this stuff out?   Very irritating.

That said - this movie itself is still in the top half of my top ten for the year.  It was still exhilarating, it was still well more than a thrill and a half.   Lots of humor and heart, plenty to enjoy and appreciate.   Stuff I loved, in no particular order of preference.

Light speed jumping. Rey training. Lando in old Sandcrawler treads.  Rey using force lightning. Rey and Kylo battling across space using Rian's teleport device - so awesome!  Poe and his new Felicity girlfriend who's not really his girlfriend.  Babu Frik. Rey and Kylo's duel in the water.  The return of Han - perfectly done, lump in the throat PERFECT.

Rey and Keylo fighting together and yes - eventually kissing.  It works, it's the one thing that JJ didn't retro-con from Last Jedi.  There was sexual tension in that film, and he follows through with it here - I really dug it and then really felt it when Kylo passed away.  Very well done all the way through.

So really, I loved it - despite my few misgivings.  I'm so grateful that we do have Star Wars episodes 7-9, which I never thought we would have.  As I've said, I love the characters of Rey and Finn & Kylo as well, sure I wish we had gotten deeper into them - but I am grateful for what we did get.  SO much better than the prequels in terms of story and characters.  These are films I will be watching for the rest of my life, no doubt.


3. 1917

I've been super excited for months to see this, having recently watched Peter Jackson's amazing documentary on World War I, it's a conflict that is fascinating to me but I also understand that it was absolutely a senseless war that didn't have to happen, which makes it very tragic as it was so horrific in it's carnage and suffering.

1917 turned out to be oh so much more than I could've hoped.  I heard they were employing the 'gimmick' of one long continuous shot - but when I saw the film, I realized it's more than just that.  The movie is truly all enveloping, because of the never ending shot and also because of the extraordinary surroundings that was the battle field in the first world war.   We are absolutely surrounding by this war - completely immersed in the danger and peril, along for the ride with two young men (boys really) and we suffer with them, we cry with them - we really live what they are living, and dying of course.

Absolutely a modern marvel of filmmaking - I'm happy to see 1917 has gotten a ton of Oscar nods, it really deserves to win all of them.  Eager to give it another watch, especially to pay closer attention to the invisible shot transitions - I started to look for the cut points when I first saw the movie, but quickly was overwhelmed by the story.  Next time through I can relax a bit, knowing how it all ends, and really enjoy the technical feat of the storytelling device.



2. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Wow, Quinton really outdoes himself with this one.

I've seen this movie three times now, and have enjoyed it more and more each time.

I confess, the first time I watched 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood' was by myself in the theater and found myself shifting in my seat quite a bit.  The pacing here is slower than what modern audiences are used to.  But of course that final act just knocked me on my ass, and by the end I knew I had to see this one again.

A dear friend of mine who is not a QT fan, pointed out to me after we saw the film together (I for the second time) that my complaint about the pacing ran contrary to the filmmaker's intention of taking the audience on a nostalgic trip back in time - where the entire point is to SAVOR the atmosphere and the colorful characters from a bygone era.

My friend didn't care for the movie, but he really made a great point - Tarantino wants us to slow down and enjoy Los Angeles in the 1970's, every detail and aroma that he cooks up on screen - and by the time I watched this movie for the third time I was in exactly the right frame of mind to really appreciate all the effort and detail that QT put into this, what I would say is his masterpiece of a film, second only to Pulp Fiction in excellence.

What I loved about the message of the film - as near as I could tell - it is a harkening for a return to masculinity.  That old school, Clint Eastwood / John Wayne - was discarded by the Polanski's and the Scorcese's of the new wave - and it really should've never been that way.   The 70's counterculture saw the old guard as tired and useless - when really, they could've learned a thing or two from the Jack Dalton's of the world.

Sometimes, you really need a cranky old alcoholic to step out with a pitcher of margarita and tell those punk ass kids to shut the fuck up.   Sometimes, you really need a thoroughly masculine stunt man to knock a dirtbag hippie's teeth out - or sic his pit-bull on home invaders who are little more than glorified beatniks with tiny dicks and big mouths.

I love, love, LOVE that QT reclaims Sharon Tate as a strong, vibrant and quintessentially feminine ray of light - and that QT also reclaims and condemns the dirty, smelly, hippy pieces of garbage that the Manson family was.   The final act - OMG - is just so fucking great.  Yes, it's once again another Tarantino revenge film, where this time the revenge is against shitty history that didn't have to be.

If someone like Jack Dalton had been at Sharon's gate - you're damn right those cowardly little shits would've never made it up her driveway.   That's the old school.  That's the virtue and value of real men - for all their faults - they are ultimately what stands-up for the vulnerable and says no to evil.

I could watch this one again and again - and no doubt I will!


1. Avengers: Endgame

Okay, this one I suppose is a bit of a cop-out - but really, I have loved these Marvel Cinematic Movies for over a decade now, going back even before them into my childhood when I was a voracious reader of stories populated with the same characters that now light up the screen - there is really no way I can look at this movie, which is the absolute culmination and payoff to the amazing MCU and not put it at the top of my list.

You can read my entire lengthy review here - but the Cliff notes are; I love these Marvel movies so so SO much; and this Endgame finale is fantastically done, a great movie unto itself that soars with humor, emotions and epic moments - that it is a relatively easy choice for number one, because it really is a great movie but also because it represents all that has come before as well.

So yes, in the way "Return of the King" won all the awards, including best picture, when it arguably wasn't the best of the trilogy (though I have always been of the school that it was) Avengers Endgame also gets top honors from me, because it is GREAT and also because it is the end of this generation of Marvel movies.



And yes, there's still a ton of movies I WANT to see and likely will.  They are...

Jo Jo Rabbit
Parasite
Doctor Sleep
Terminator Dark Fate
IT Chapter 2 - UPDATE - SAW IT!  Enjoyed the humor and the acting a lot - the story itself was good, but it was a long one!
Harriet
Fighting with my Family

Especially looking forward to Jo Jo Rabbit - Taika is the MAN!


And finally - my short list of disappointments...

X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Ugh, what a letdown!  I am the easiest fanboy in the world to please - how, how HOW could they do something like this?  Wait a minute, let me get this straight - it is LITERALLY the same writer as X-Men 3 Last Stand?  That abortion of a movie that butchered the Phoenix Saga?   You literally actually hired the SAME EXACT GUY to write and direct this one?   Um, no.

The movie was really, not good.  No excuse.  Nothing to do here but reboot the X-Men into the MCU.  A real shame because I LOVE all of the other X-Men movies, like actually LOVE all of them with the single exception of X-Men 3 Last Stand, yes, the one written by THE SAME GUY WHO WROTE THIS PIECE OF SHIT.


Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Disappointing not because it was terrible, it wasn't - disappointing because it could've been really good to great - and instead was just BORING and uninspired.  Nothing rubs me the wrong way more than a mediocre film.  I can take it if it's flat out bad, but this was just good enough to really sting because it falls short.


Rocketman
Don't get me wrong, there's lots to like here.  Taron Egerton is bloody brilliant and embodies Sir Elton - and I do enjoy the fantasy musical sequences - BUT - as the child of an alcoholic, I find movies that endlessly harp on alcoholics / addicts - really tough to enjoy.  This movie for the most part is one note, over and over, and that note is addiction.  Addiction sucks - I really don't like being subjected to almost 2 hours of it.  I wanted a lot more lighter moments and a lot more moments of joy.

The Queen movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, had a really great mix of ups and downs - and even when we were in the darkest times, we could always count on the music lifting us up.  Here, Elton John himself doesn't do the actual singing, and frankly the musical production value (the music itself) really isn't up to snuff.  Elton's music should be POWERFUL and here quite often it's forgetful.  I especially was disappointed in the shot for shot remake of the "I'm Still Standing" video - in real life it is a grainy video taped piece of work but it is thoroughly powerful in emotion - here it just falls flat.

Anyways, didn't hate it by any means, I just wanted more ups and not so many downs - and I wanted to hear the real Elton singing with backing from his real band and producers.  Taron did a great job, but he's not Elton and whoever was tasked on bringing the music to the screen did not bring the wallop that Elton's music usually carries.



So that's it!  I laughed, I cried, I kissed my hard earned cash goodbye!  Except when I managed to snag a screener or two ha ha.

Hope you enjoyed reading what I thought of the movies this year - again, I think overall it was quite an excellent year as far as these things go.

Hopefully I'll write a bit more in 2020 than I did in 2019 - and hopefully there will be plenty more great movies to come!

Quiet - but not silenced.

You may have noticed, I've been scarce around these parts lately.  Well, it hasn't been intentional and it's not because I don't have anything to say - really, it's just because I've been super busy at life.  My two passions, my job and playing poker - not to mention the most important thing of all, my family, these days really do take up all of my time.

But today, I have a cold.  My head is stuffy, and the stars and planets have aligned at work to allow me a day of respite.  So I will attempt to lay out here, where my head is at politically and in regards to the state of our country.

I officially retired from posting and commenting on politics via' Facebook in 2016, and I'm happy to say I have (for the most part) kept to my abstinence from these things.  I do slip once in awhile in commenting in a friend's thread (and then immediately withdraw) or posting my own article about the ever deplorable state of the homeless (mentally ill addicts) in this country and more specifically in Los Angeles, but I don't really consider that issue political.  (Though plenty of people chime in anyways about Trump this or liberal failures that).

In any case, I'm now quiet about politics.

Well, and then there's also my private chat group on FB where I've summarily taken each and every last one of my liberal friends who have dared to challenge me to the woodshed and basically pummeled them (verbally) into shame and silence.  Only one remains, my dear DSR, who though radically wrong in many ways on many issues, still has the brains and self-awareness to understand that politics are in the end not personal.  He also has enough faith in his own convictions that he is not as easily cowed as the others who have come and gone - and gone rather quickly when faced with my rapid fire intellectual beat downs.

And so, mostly, I am quiet about politics.

I learned many, many years before social media, to keep my opinions to myself about politics in all manner of company, both polite and also rowdy, if there were liberals among them.  I did at times indulge with my closest friends, but even then, as I valued their friendship far more than me being right, I would hold my tongue when we arrived at fundamental disagreements.  Which for some of them, our disagreements are scary deep - such as my friend who doesn't think our troops are the best and the bravest, he thinks they are mostly murderers.  That is a friend that I have known since grade school, had I met him later in life, I promise you we would not be friends.

But I digress a bit here.  My purpose with this post is to check in with this blog (though I plan to check in within this month again with my annual movie round-up) and let anyone who also still checks in here know, that I am quiet for now - but I have not been silenced.

I mostly avoid discussing politics these days, even in my private facebook group, because I have been turned from someone who was repulsed by Donald Trump and did NOT vote for him in the primary or the general - into someone who now will basically crawl over broken glass to support him.

Really, I have been so put off by the radical left - i.e. the mainstream democrat party - and their hatred for our president, who is kicking all kinds of ass policy-wise (record low unemployment, first wage growth in over a decade, record high stock market, GDP growth that Obama said was no longer possible, and on and on and on) that right now I am not avoiding talking politics because I don't want an argument - I am avoiding it because I don't want to bite someone's head off.

I am so angry with the left right now, it's rather scary, even to myself.

It started with Trump's inauguration and his speech that I thought was pretty great.

The media and Trump's opponents called it racist, and it just went downhill from there.

Then there was Kavanaugh and Covington - both cases of crazed lynch mobs, bringing the verdict first and then scrambling to find evidence that didn't exist.  Of course Kavanaugh was a gang rapist, what else would he be?  Of course that MAGA hat wearing kid was the instigator, and clearly a white nationalist.

Yeah, um, no.

Right now, I am so angry with those who think this impeachment fiasco is somehow justified or worthwhile - and are blind to how damaging it is to our country - that I really don't want to talk about it at all because I fear I will lose my temper and say things that I will regret.

I have to keep reminding myself that most people, even highly educated people, people who get a 100% on the written Jeopardy test and then pass the audition and actually go on the show - really don't care....



But make no mistake - if you are going through life and you think attacking the president, impeaching the president, doing everything and anything necessary to damage him or remove him is okay; half the country, including yours truly, is actually very, very, VERY angry at you for feeling this way.

From our point of view, if you want him removed from office you are un-American and an asshole.  I really believe this - and the left has pushed me here.  You have nothing on Trump.  NOTHING.  And you know it, and yet you don't care because an emotional victory is more important to you than logic or reason.

I understand he's off putting, I understand his character at times is questionable. I myself had qualms about voting for him - and I don't know if I've mentioned it here - but I actually did not vote for him in 2016.  I don't like his arrogance, his thin skin or his inability to control his temper.

But in the end, I look at what has happened economically, militarily and judicially to our country over the last year - and I can't help but understand that Trump has become a hundred times more the great conservative than I could ever have hoped.   And the hate from the left has grown exponentially and is vastly disproportionate to whatever flaws in character he might have.

The hate from the left is coming because of policy, not because Trump at times can be an impulsive jerk.  And that is what is so off-putting to me and why now I am a full throated Trump supporter.

Me, someone who has never liked Trump personally - now I think he is the greatest president in my lifetime.  More conservative than Ronald Reagan - and also a more effectual president.

Trump doesn't just talk (often like a jackass) - he gets it done.

Look at this tariff thing with China.  Across the political spectrum, both sides now are fairly astonished that his weaponization of tariff's actually worked - and we are now in the best position with China, with a workable and enforceable trade deal with teeth that has been signed off on for the first time - all because Trump was right.

Look at what happened with Iran - they are now cowed.  They now understand that you don't fuck with us.  Their response was to launch rockets into the dirt.    An actual red line was crossed and Trump responded viciously and disproportionately - as he should have.  The perfect response, and the only thing the Iranian leadership understands and respects - brute strength.  For the first time in 40 years, now there is a glimmer of hope for the Iranian people.  Trumps speech to them in the aftermath of the rockets into the dirt illuminated this and was a shining moment in his presidency.

Look at our judiciary.  As of this writing he has installed over 180 federal judges who are cut in the mold of Scalia.  Our Constitution will now be defended for generations across the country.  And the Supreme Court as well will be rock solid for decades to come.   And when RGB retires or passes away, Trump's legacy of SCOTUS appointments will become a trifecta of victory for liberty.

And finally, look at math.  Math doesn't care about your feelings.  All time historic record low unemployment numbers for people of color.  Wage growth.  A GDP at numbers that most on the left said would never be possible again.  Krugman said that the economy would 'crater' under Trump.  How very, very, VERY wrong he and his contemporaries were.

All I see, when I look at this Trump presidency is winning.   Trump himself said in his campaign that we would get sick of so much winning - and he was absolutely prophetic.

We are winning, and winning and winning over and over and OVER.  And all the left can do is play fucking games with souvenir pens and fist bumping on talk shows.



Just absurd and incredible really, just how much the left doesn't give a shit about truth or honor.

Yes, so you may have figured out - I've been quiet, but I'm not silenced.  I'm just over it.  And very angry at what folks on the left are doing to my president and in turn to those of us just right of center and a bit farther to the right of that as well.

Anyways, I'm eager to talk movies (with some political injection in there as well, this is my safe space for talking politics after all) and I'm looking forward to that in this space, in fairly short order, so stay tuned for that!