Jessica Chastain probably gets herself nominated for an Oscar as she plays a very determined and capable woman—reminiscent of her character in Zero Dark Thirty. The film is about a force of a woman—though it’s not necessarily about women, and part of the plot is about gun control in politics—but it’s not really about gun control. It’s about the lobbying industry and the ruthlessness with which big money chases votes, paying mercenaries (lobbyists) to fight their wars for them: if a new or changed law means billions, you quickly pay millions to try to make it go your way. Power is ruthless, so the driving conflict of the film is “winning” or  achievement in pitched battle against conscience and morality. The machines of industry and

The election was won—as I thought it would be in my post of 9/22 (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/the-clinton-curse-or-the-time-of-trump/) by the anti-candidate and the disruptor. Democrats had two potential disruptors in Warren and Sanders, either of whom could have won the election for president (and whose candidacies would probably have helped Dems gain the senate majority) were it not for the ambitions of Hilary Clinton—who offered to disrupt NOTHING except the gender of the most powerful leader in the world. In her insatiable appetite for political power and by applying her influence with the DNC, Clinton cost the country a chance at real change—instead of what will doubtless become control by Republicans and the conservative elite of all three branches of government: Congressional, Executive, and Judicial. My hopes, fears,

  I saw a number of films—some still playing—that do not merit a full review, so I will suggest a couple and try to create some energy around new ones on the way. Here are the shortened versions: Inferno Though I loved watching Felicity Jones, I got bored pretty quickly. Tom Hanks—it feels terrible to say this about a great performer—is getting tiresome. The plot did not grab me as in the prior stories. Ugh. The Accountant It was worth the price of admission, but would have been a better film if Ben Affleck had convinced me his character was autistic. He reminded me more of the programmed killer played by Matt Damon in parts of Jason Bourne than anything like Dustin Hoffman in Rain

Over the last year, Americans–and for that matter the world – witnessed the onset of a new era. I covered this to an extent in my post on Brexit  where I posited some rather dark parallels to the events of the early 20th century (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/brexit-rings-the…-dis-integration/ ). But the surprising facts of the Trump candidacy and the weakening Clinton candidacy are further evidence this trend is in full swing and gathering momentum. The reality is that populism, nationalism, isolationism and protectionism are on the way in and globalism, inclusiveness, and pluralism are on the way out. With less than two months to go, it appears very possible that Donald Trump will be our new president. I would go so far as to set the odds at

The fact that one man and a group of supporters stood up against the most powerful elements in the world in order to defend our freedom is not something that needed to be sensationalized or otherwise embellished. And while there are those who want to demonize Snowden, I say with more confidence than I have said about anything else I know about life, history will make him a great hero. – That is, as long as we follow his lead. Because if we if we allow the government into the most private rooms of our homes and our minds, then Orwell’s terrible vision will have coalesced around us. As you recall, it was the job of Winston Smith himself to be part of the team that rewrote