Tom Cruise as ex-military investigator Jack Reacher may not physically fit the character of author Lee Child‘s popular action-suspense novels. Reacher is a big and tall enforcer. Cruise is not.
But not to worry. A short time into JACK REACHER the movie, you’ll buy into Cruise’s interpretation of the complicated character. Continue reading
President Obama feels he inherited a mess from the Founding Fathers…
He can’t fix what has happened during the last 236 years in four years.
But President Obummer sure spent more in four years than all the other presidents combined. Our dollar will be history in four years as world reserve currency. Continue reading
We all know about KU’s great basketball program…
What we don’t hear enough about is their fantastic drama department. Years ago it launched Missouri born actor Don Johnson to big time stardom.
In 1982 my agent, Harold Moskowitz called me and my crime partner Don Woodbeck in for a quick meeting. Both of us had moved to Hollywood and we had a deal on a movie about our lives called OUTLAWS. Basically two guys – us – posing as cops who weren’t but later became real lawmen. Nice. The media had jumped on it and we got lots of press in the LA Times, Today Show, Variety and so on.
Little did I know at the time that this would be the peak of that project for decades to come. Because now we were famous outlaw/lawmen – at least in LA and in the media. Continue reading
Newsweek gives a nod to KC Mayor Sly James on its year-end list of Top 5 “Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S.” He lobbied to get Google Fiber (after KCK) and has helped transform KC into a “Midwestern tech mecca.” Once again, our top story; Newsweek is still publishing magazines. For what, two more weeks?
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Police are looking for someone who stole 41 Arrowhead Stadium parking signs that cost $1,000 each. So far the only people they’ve ruled out are Royals base runners.
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They’re dropping like flies at the Kansas City Star…
As expected, Hunger Games victim Dawn Bormann is takings a layoff bullet, in deference to fellow reporter Karen Dillon, who, with seniority opted to remain at the newspaper. Bormann is telling co-workers that she’s looking forward to spending more time with her family.
Also last week, religion editor Helen Gray announced that she would retire, as did one of my favorite editors Bill Dalton (more on those later).
The latest: House + Home section editor Stacy Downs will join former Star editor Anne Spenner, the Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications at UMKC. Continue reading
When it comes to THE GUILT TRIP, Barbra Streisand as a mom takes Jewish Mother Stereotyping about as far as it can go in an adult targeted comedy…
A little of that neurotic, over the top nagging and miserly attitude almost wore me out.
Sure Streisand delivered similarily as mother (Roz) Focker in those earlier family outings. But there she was surrounded by a heavy talent pool.
Here she’s the nagging, widowed mom of down on his luck chemist/inventor son Seth Rogen who invites her along on his cross-country road trip. A business trip to pitch his newly invented cleaning product to the likes of Costco and K-Mart. Continue reading
After this past season’s disappointing exit in the first round of the playoffs, almost all the Sporting KC talk has been centered on signing an impact striker that can score goals…
Head honcho Robb Heineman has stated his desire to get a true goal scorer repeatedly. And the media has speculated endlessly about a “Spanish DP” or a “South American striker.” Meanwhile, Sporting made several trades for defenders and a midfielder.
So where is our goal machine?
Well, the wait’s over, KC has a Designated Player once again, and his name is…Claudio Bieler. Continue reading
So here’s the thing about the KC Confidential Christmas Wilding…
For starters, it’s happening tomorrow – Wednesday, December 19th from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – at the Conspiracy Room located inside the Uptown Theater.
Well, OK, several things.
First of all, what the hell is a “wilding?” From what I can tell, the word refers to marauding bands of youths that terrorize random people on the streets. So, hmm… I suppose that is somewhat accurate actually. I mean, Lefty, Glaze, and HC will be there. Continue reading
In the aftermath of the Connecticut school shootings, the “solution” always goes back to the simplistic notion that banning guns will somehow prevent tragedies like this from happening…
This notion ignores the fact that someone who wants to commit violent acts will find a means of accessing a firearm. As was done in this case…
The mass murderer in this case, Mr. Lanza, was denied the ability to purchase a rifle from a Danbury, CT. gun shop- earlier that week, according to NBC News. So he simply went to “Plan B” and stole his mother’s guns.
But what if assault weapons were banned? Continue reading
“These tragedies must end,” said the President of the United States on his televised speech to the nation regarding the latest in a long, long, long line of school massacres….
The latest in Newton, Connecticut, left at least 26 dead, more than half young children. The horror! The killer, another young white male, out of his mind, who really knows why. There have been countless meaningless rampages like this one recently, from Columbine, the Batman theater shootings, mall shootings, other school shootings, work place shootings and even here in Kansas City at Ward Parkway. And don’t forget the political shootings, like Arizona and of course the bombings of government buildings. All by Americans.
Maybe we’re more dangerous than the terrorists? Continue reading
The 31 movie scribes of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle came together again for its 46th annual choices of the best on film during the past year…
The organization represents critics who review motion pictures for various regional radio, tv, cable, on-line and newspaper outlets.
This year’s BEST PICTURE award by the K.C. critics went to THE MASTER, a 1950’s set drama that centers on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as The Master whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America and the young drifter who becomes his right-hand man.
The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams and was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Continue reading
In the early 
2000’s Kat Williams replaced Dave Chappelle as the No. 1 Urban Comic in the world…
His career was on fire. Kat was being paid six figures a night to do his stand up thing in front of both black and white audiences all over the nation.
Then something went wrong.
THE LITTLE PIMP, a nickname he embraced, began to NOT SHOW UP. He acted strangely, got in fights, got arrested weekly and didn’t seem to care that he was going broke.
Since he’d become a huge star, making his agency, producers and hangers-on tons of dough, he got a second chance to come back about a year ago.
And this Friday in Kansas City, with thousands on hand at Sprint Center, The Kat In The Hat once again NO SHOWED. “Ladies and Gentleman the Show is cancelled, we will refund your ticket money,” they announced according to one of my staff who was there Saturday night. Continue reading
Twelve years is not that long a time when I look back,…
Twelve is actually an interesting number for me. I’m one of 12 children, there are 12 apostles and then there are the 12 days of Christmas. But enough of all that, I’m getting off track.
These are just a few words about a bar that for 10 years was my job, my passion, my life, my burden.
In 2000 I left a job of 10 years in the printing business to pursue my love of the bar business. To buy Kenny’s News Room. Continue reading
It’s Bowl season…
My favorite college team that nobody paid much attention to is Vanderbilt. I’m all over them.
I also like Alabama to prove that Notre Dame was way overrated.
I’m pulling for K-State, but I think Oregon is just too fast for them, we’ll see. Continue reading
The Kansas City Chiefs meet the Oakland Raiders Sunday…
If you’re over 35 you can probably remember that this was once considered the top match-up in the AFC. Today there is no real wow factor where this game is concerned.
It’s little more than a showdown between two bottom feeders.
Neither team has any ill feelings the other. The hate is long gone because both teams are just playing out the season, playing for jobs next year on their clubs or somewhere else. Continue reading
Retailers, restaurateurs and nightclub owners love it…
Bring on the fair weather and the fair weather customers, they say. For many the warm winter climes are a welcome respite from the gloomy, cold temps we’re used to at this time of year.
White Christmas? Bring it. Freezing cold weather, snow and sleet – fuggedaboutit!
However there’s a price to pay for all this balminess. Continue reading
“I finally sold it,” says The News Room owner Kevin McGraw…
And just like that one of Midtown’s most venerable watering holes faded into the history books a week ago today.
“I was told Ernest Hemingway used to go there,” McGraw says. “And Wes Lyle, the famous Kansas City Star photographer used to come in after I bought it in 2000. He’d been coming in there for 40 years and he gave me photos of Harry Truman and one of Tony Orlando doing the bump with Betty Ford when she was hammered. I hung them all in the bar as an ode to him.” Continue reading
Time was (I’m talking Tuesday here) the home page of kansascity.com featured a Twitter feed prominently on the right rail. It highlighted everything – good and bad – tagged with @kcstar, the Twitter handle of The Star and kansascity.com.
Well, it’s been missing in action for three days now. I can’t imagine why, although I could take a stab at it:
The downtown streetcar is a miserable idea.
There, I said it. And I stand by it, despite the barrage of verbal grenades that the urban core hipsters might see fit to lob in my direction. And they’re entitled to their opinion. But they’re wrong. Because this project is destined to be a $100 million failure.
Look, I LOVE public transportation. I think it’s a vital cog in any real-life big city. But this isn’t real public transportation. This is a slow, hulking nuisance that will serve to shuttle people for a two mile stretch of Main, and, when the novelty wears off (which won’t take long, I promise), it will become a chariot of the down-trodden and indigent. The floor will become sticky with urine and fortified wine and young jackasses will etch their gang name (“TEDDY WAS HURR”) into the body of car while only nobody who cares is looking. Continue reading
New Years Eve used to be the holiday night in Kansas City…
Remember?
Hell, even as a tweenager we’d save up fireworks from the 4th of July and blast them off at midnight as the year advanced into the next. If you were a wild 14 year-old maybe you and your pals would sneak into mom and dad’s booze locker and grab a beer or two.
You’d get sick, but you’d be happy. Continue reading
