I consider myself a bit of an indie-movie fan. My wife and I used to frequent Landmark Theaters years before anyone knew about Sundance or Telluride. I like edgy movies that take on provocative themes and offbeat subjects, but there can be a fine line between creative and ridiculous. I was looking forward to seeing the latest, Darren Aronofsky film, Mother with Jennifer Lawrence. I enjoyed two of Aronofsky’s previous films, Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and The Wrestler starring my all-time favorite, Mickey Rourke. I wish I didn’t waste my time. Mother is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. It was unsettling, and plain stupid. At one point when I think we were supposed to be terrified, Kathy and I literally laughed out loud. We have all heard stories of the excesses of Hollywood, well the best way I can describe Mother is that it is the ultimate product of a self-indulgent writer/director who has lost total regard for his audience.
On Friday evening, the LA Dodgers won game one of the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees in glorious fashion, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For Dodger fans, the game could not have been scripted better...
I once read that sports are a universal language. Regardless of ethnicity or what language you speak, almost everyone speaks sports. No place has that been more evident than the Olympics, where every four years, we are moved by images of athletic rivals from around the world shaking hands and embracing each other in moving displays of sportsmanship.
The NFL markets its brand as well as any enterprise in the world. I heard a comedian once say that the NFL is so popular, it has its own day. NFL football is huge. Each NFL franchise brings in approximately $400M a year in revenue; almost double the annual revenue of NBA teams and 2 ½ times as much as MLB clubs.