I have scratched together a living, in one way or another, as a writer for more than 60 years now. I was a free-lance writer during the early stages of the Vietnam War. I was the Southwest Division Overnight News Editor for United Press International back when UPI was a legitimate news gathering organization. Following that, I went to the Dallas Morning News where I became the first person to write about rock 'n' roll on a daily basis for a Texas metropolitan newspaper. I later became the News' entertainment editor. Following some stints with a couple of prominent PR firms, I had the extraordinary good fortune to team with two communications legends, Ken Fairchild and Lisa LeMaster, as part of one kick-ass media consulting/crisis communications team. That was followed by stints as a department head with the City of Dallas (and its public information officer); the Dallas Northeast Chamber of Commerce where I had the good fortune to meet and work alongside some of this city's business and political titans; and editorial director for QuestCorp Media until that company went out of business. Now officially retired, concentrating on this blog.
Still Mine **** Directed by Michael McGowan. An elderly couple (James Cromwell, Genevieve Bujold) fight against local authorities in rural New Brunswick to build their final home. In a era populated with comic-book superheroes, ersatz Transformer types and stupid buddy comedies, this movie lets viewers spend some quality time with real humans for a change.
Veronica Mars *** Directed by Rob Thomas. Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) gets pulled back to her hometown — just in time for her high school reunion — in order to help her old flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), who’s embroiled in a murder mystery. It plays less like a meaty mystery than an extended thank-you to the fans who breathed it into existence. Still, it’s smooth and engaging enough on its own compromised terms, clearly informed by Thomas’ genre-savvy storytelling and unpretentious craftsmanship, and not without a certain self-deprecating sense of humor about its own immodest origins.
The Art of the Steal **½ Directed by Jonathan Sobol. Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) , a semi-reformed art thief, agrees to get his old gang back together to pull off one last heist. An energetic but paper-thin genre exercise, filled with pleasant riffs on the standard heist flick, but ultimately lacking in payoff. With Jay Baruchel, Katheryn Winnick, Chris Diamontopoulos, Kenneth Welsh, Jason Jones, Terence Stamp, Matt Dillon.
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