Vee

Wow:

There is a very good profile of McConnell in the NYT this week. Basically, he still seems like a total enigma and mostly opaque personality - it seems as though the only thing he cares about is the utilization and consolidation of power, and most of all that history will view him devoid of context and entirely in terms of his skill and focus. (The one note that seems to get slightly under his skin is the idea that Trump would get credit for his achievements.) I don't know if that's a sociopath, but it's definitely something bizarre.

On a side note while we wait for Trump to stop dragging his feet and come out and take his medicine (or declare martial law instead -who knows?): Pelosi knows exactly how to work him psychologically. She knows he has deep psychosexual issues with women as well as an obsessive need for performative behavior mixed with a pathological avoidance of direct confrontation. She did not posture like this in the 2000s when the Democrats retook Congress under Bush. She is adapting to his framework to break him, and neither he nor his people will forget listening to her emasculate him every time a microphone is in front of her. That leaves a psychic toll for his followers. Eventually they get tired of feeling bad/cuckolded. They will go where power is, and power is leaving Trump.

Uhhhh, we'll see.

FYI: Against frankly long odds, I am surprised to report Season 2 of Discovery is very good so far. Thoughtful, fun, and taking its time to think and build character, including the much-neglected bridge crew from last year. I haven't seen a Star Trek episode as well-paced as this week's since the occasional good episode of Voyager. Recommended - try CBS All Access via Amazon Prime, the stream is better.

Millennium is kind of a junk outfit. Someone there is going to have to toss him or Singer shortly, IMO. He also calls the movie "Reed Sojna".

This is a remarkable statement making Avi Lerner's political leanings crystal clear. I give it 72 hours before a head rolls.

I like the Judy version but to me it runs too long. I've always preferred the 30s versions, both the original and What Price Hollywood? I think the latest is easily the best since the '30s.

I agree. I mostly posted it for the pertinent quote.

I like ASIB, but coronating it with performance favoritism is a bit much. (I also think that though it's very well performed and shot it's not the best of the year)

IMO, BR and Green Book being nommed is the more conservative bloc of older Academy voters reacting to the last several years: 2016 writ large. Vice seems to have a mixed reception and I'll see it soon, but despite a great cast I'm not sure what more it can tell us about the 2000s that we don't know. I also think many of those voters find it very comfortable to dwell on the less complicated political times (i.e., 'who didn't hate Dubya/Cheney?'). In its own likely unintentional way, for the Academy it's a 'safe' film - and I don't think McKay's The Big Short was.

It's a disgrace that BR is nominated. Not only is it co-directed by a monster, it's mediocre fluff.

I like Joe a lot and always have. I think he's done a lot for this country. I also think he has a lot of sins in his past which are magnified in today's climate, and not all of them are overblown. I do think most of the venom towards him is performative, OTT and not representative of the larger electorate. I think it's a mistake for Joe to run. The time has passed and he will be exposing himself, his record and his future legacy in dangerous ways. I do think he absolutely should be out there campaigning vigorously for someone else.

I don't think they really gave him much to work with. I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit it big on some cable or streaming thing in future.