Category Archives: movies

No mercy from bailed-out BofA

Posted on April 15, 2012 by oddmanout215

In the not-so-distant past, one of the most reviled characters in American popular culture was the landlord who threw families into the street if they couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage on their homes. Think of Lionel Barrymore as Mr. … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, movies, Obama, Occupy Wall Street, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

One word for you, young man: ‘Prisons’

Posted on April 12, 2012 by oddmanout215

The “too-big-to-fail” bank Wells Fargo received a $37 billion bailout from the government after playing a major role in sparking the 2008 collapse of the housing market. Now the bank is bigger than ever and investing heavily in one of … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, movies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Across 110th Street’

Posted on March 30, 2012 by oddmanout215

Bobby Womack’s song, playing over the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. And that’s Pam Grier, of course, not little surfer girl Bridget Fonda. You got to be strong if you wanna survive… Better start eating my spinach, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, movies, pop music | Leave a comment

GOP gets medieval on our ass

Posted on February 19, 2012 by oddmanout215

My two favorite Catholics recently weighed in regarding American bishops opposed to the use of contraceptives. First comedian Stephen Colbert warned that American Catholic women who are unopposed — i.e., the majority of those who are sexually active — are … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, movies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Rats on sinking ship, no exit

Posted on February 12, 2012 by oddmanout215

Background: Danny Ciello (Treat Williams) has cooperated with a federal investigation into NYPD corruption, after being assured investigators wouldn’t go after his friends and fellow cops in the narcotics unit. He learns he made a deal with the devil as … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Natural-born faux populists

Posted on January 26, 2012 by oddmanout215

Watching Barack Obama’s speech the other night, my mood swung from bemusement to grudging admiration to laugh-out-loud disbelief. I wrote a post yesterday that focused on the president’s innate acting ability. Today, Robert Scheer noted that Obama’s gift is strongly … Continue reading →

Posted in Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, movies, Obama | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Whatsa matta, you no like-a SOPA?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by oddmanout215

In case you didn’t notice, some large websites shut down today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act that was being sneaked through Congress until President Obama voiced opposition to it. Which doesn’t mean Obama won’t sign the bill if … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, mainstream media, movies, Obama, Politics, pop music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Terrence Malick’s dream of life

Posted on January 10, 2012 by oddmanout215

I’ve been writing too often about politicians — dull creatures, in most cases, with bad ideas and base motives. So here’s a belated review of my favorite movie of 2011, director/writer Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. I only saw … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘The Apartment’

Posted on December 31, 2011 by oddmanout215

The best-ever New Year’s Eve movie is a dark comedy, but director/writer Billy Wilder knew exactly when to lighten it up, even during the attempted-suicide scene. Jack Lemmon plays a bachelor with a dismal office job who curries the favor … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, movies | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Politicians and celebrity suckers

Posted on December 28, 2011 by oddmanout215

Daniel Craig, star of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, recently sounded off about politicians, especially the ones who pretend to be hip and progressive in order to win the favor of liberal-minded celebrities: “Tony Blair started it much more … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, liar, mainstream media, movies, Obama, Politics, pop music, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments