Max’s View
RBG
(3 Stars) You probably think it makes a huge difference whether our next Supreme Court justice is nominated by President Trump or President Warren. Fortunately, there’s no truth to that. The history of the Supreme Court is not one of partisanship. Reagan’s nominee Anthony Kennedy cast the tie-breaking vote in some of the biggest liberal wins of our...
Free Trade vs. Trade War: What’s in a Name?
Whoever came up with the term Free Trade to describe our globalist economic system was a splendid propagandist. For the first two hundred years of US history, our government worked to protect domestic manufacturing using tariffs. In the late 20th Century, Washington decided to knock down trade barriers for the express purpose of annihilating Americ...
The Farewell
Now Playing at the Savoy Theater (3.5 stars) I am not scared of death. If I am right about death, it is literally nothing to be afraid of. If the majority is right, then I will be the first soul to politely ask Satan to please turn up the thermostat. Dying, however, sounds horrible. I dread the year that I learn that my disease is terminal. I will...
You Can’t Predict Baseball
…the question is which myopic owners will sabotage their franchise by signing Manny Machado and Bryce Harper to long-term contracts. And which teams will give themselves a chance to win by saying no and sticking to the cheap young players that they already have. –me (August 3, 2018) A baseball team that signs a superstar to a long-term contract is...
Sweden: A Lesson for America?
(4 Stars) Now on Amazon Prime Video We could sure learn some lessons from the Social Democrats of Sweden. The big, enlightened, compassionate central government in Stockholm doesn’t let market forces get in the way of its universal healthcare, enviable schools, and guaranteed cradle-to-grave financial security… …I honestly thought that’...
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
(3.5 stars) Who is the greatest living American director? …Scorsese, Stone, Nolen, Payne, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson? I don’t know. All I know is that Quentin Tarantino has to be in the mix. And he’s still in the prime of his career. “Django Unchained” is one of the best movies of all time. “The Hateful Eight” is not quite as good but it’s...
I Love You, Now Die The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter
(4 stars) Now on HBO If you are depressed right now, please please do not consider taking your own life. Doing so would make your friends and relatives incredibly sad. Also, if you happen to have spoken to one of your friends about your depression, she may be prosecuted for your murder after you are gone. In 1692, Massachusetts convicted innocent w...
Fasting
(1.5 Stars) Now on Amazon Prime Video People sure do enjoy talking about food. And when they’ve eaten too much food, they enjoy talking about the latest fad diet they are on. But when I talk about my strategy for staying thin – skipping meals – people look at me with glassy eyes. It’s like that’s an alien topic that I am not supposed to mention. Pe...
Yesterday
Max’s Review Yesterday (3 Stars) “Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.” —The Clash, “London Calling” Imagine a world without the Beatles. It isn’t hard to do. Every older person reading this column knows who Bing Crosby is. He was the most popular recording artist in America for more than a decade and a movie star to boot. Now, young people may k...
The Third Man (1949)
Now on Netflix (4 stars) Austria, 1947: what an interesting place to begin a movie. There was no way to make post-war Vienna look like a happy place even if they wanted to. Bombed-out buildings littered every street. The joy of young love was nowhere to be found because the German-speaking world had been almost wiped clean of young men. Vienna was...
