Month: April 2020

Four films to enjoy on 420

Jeff Mitchell

Happy Monday!  This Monday is also April 20, and the date is informally recognized as an international marijuana consumption day, simply known as 420.  So for some, this Monday has an especially happy ring.  If you are legally (and we stress, legally) partaking in celebrating 420, here are four movies that you might enjoy.   Note, we don’t recommend seeing all four in one day, but one or two could be a friendly companion. “All About Eve” (1950) – Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is a big Broadway star, but pay attention to…

‘The Booksellers’ is a celluloid page-turner

Jeff Mitchell

“The Booksellers” – According to a 2019 Pew Research Center study, 73 percent of U.S. adults have started at least one book in the past year, but this is down from a 2005 Gallup News Service poll, in which 83 percent did. Why the drop?  Well, one can point to several factors:  longer work hours, shorter attention spans, social media’s rise, instant gratification needs, home streaming services, and the Joe Exotic documentary series.  Actually, Netflix released “Tiger King” in 2020, a year after the 2019 findings, so we can’t blame…

‘Selah and The Spades’ doesn’t deal a winning hand

Jeff Mitchell

“Selah and The Spades” – Selah Summers (Lovie Simone) is cool.  She’s a top student at Haldwell, a prestigious boarding school in the Philadelphia suburbs.  She’s a cheerleader too, but not the peppy, do-gooder, always-sunny type, because Selah has fought on the front lines at home and at Haldwell.  These days, her mother quietly pushes this talented kid to pursue perfection, at least with her grades, but voices aren’t upturned between mother and teen.  They don’t have to reach ugly, combative heights in 2020, because – off-screen – enough verbal…