KC Confidential

CIA analyst Jack Ryan is back!

Well sort of. Actually one could call JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT a back story—or better yet, a Ryan prequel.

Paramount had first intended to release this action-spy thriller at Christmas but replaced it late in the game with THE WOLF OF WALL STREET.

In hindsight that was probably a wise decision.

In its new mid-January slot at the boxoffice the movie won’t get lost as it might have during the crowded holiday period. And who knows, reviewers may not be as critical of the picture as they would have been during  yule time. After all, Chris Pine in the starring role has some pretty big shoes to fill. Continue reading →

Some local special interest groups and media would have you believe Kansas City is still in the running to land the 2016 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION…

They say that the demands being made on the eventual host city are being met here. Others add the word barely when describing KC’s offerings.

Hey but who am I judge?

Other major competitors still in the race for the convention include Denver, New Orleans, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.

There are OTHER player-hopefuls like Chicago, Detroit, Dallas and Orlando.

Then there’s the self-perceived favorite – Las Vegas – which sees absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t win!

Nevada’s Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki—who also serves as chairman of the nonprofit host committee assembling Vegas’ bid—recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “We have enough hotel rooms, at least THREE venues that could host the event, outstanding entertainment options and vast experience hosting large events. Nobody else can match Las Vegas’ advantages.”

Krolicki didn’t get into the downsides of the competing cities. That thankless, unbiased task was left to Review-Journal reporter Steve Sebelius.

Here’s how he sees it from Sin City’s point of view.  Continue reading →

If there remains ANY doubt that Meryl Streep is America’s finest working actress, then here is even more proof…

The movie is called AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. It’s dark and not easy to watch. It’s also deeply touching and proves once an for all that “misery can love family.”

Adapted from Tracy Lett’s Pulitzer Prize winning play—a play that also won five Tony Awards including Best Play—AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY sets out on an often verklemmpt journey of the strong-willed women of the Weston family.

Their lives have diverged through the years until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in—and the woman who raised them.

I don’t want to give too much of the storyline away here. Suffice it to say that things often get mighty uncomfortable through the film’s two hour running time.

To call this family dysfunctional is an ueber-understatement. Continue reading →