by Tana French

 

What to say about the ambiguous ending when it pops up in books and movies? Some people like it, others are outraged. I happen to think that when it works, it can be brilliant. Case in point:  1974’s Black Christmas, in which the audience never finds out who the killer is. Hey, isn’t that what sometimes happens in real life? But when the ambiguous ending does not work, well … heavy sigh.

French’s debut novel gives us not one but two mysteries, one about a cold case involving some missing children, the second about a recently murdered girl. If you expect that by the end of the book you will have satisfying answers to both mysteries, well, French does provide one resolution.

Another issue:  The author’s decision to go with first-person narration by one of the protagonists, a male cop, doesn’t always pan out. It occasionally comes off like a female writer’s idea of how the straight man’s thought processes work. For example:  Reflecting on a recent romantic conquest, our man doesn’t think of the actual act; he ponders his lover’s hair, or some such thing. Nice try, but no cigar.

For the most part In the Woods is a compelling read. French is a talented writer whose prose I enjoyed, and I was never bored. Yet that ending simply feels like a cop-out.

 

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Tim Pool

 

Tim Pool and guests discuss the controversial “Great Reset” on this video.

You tell me: Is this “reset” something we should welcome, or does it spell doom for everyone but the global elite?

 

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I’m in a bind. I want to bone up on this so-called “great reset,” because I don’t trust the global fat cats who are reportedly behind it. But the book I have my eye on (Winners Take All) is written by a former New York Times columnist, and I no longer trust New York Times columnists.

Also, I want to order the book from Amazon, which is owned by one of the global fat cats, Jeff Bezos. I don’t like Jeff Bezos.

I can’t seem to gather information about the bad guys without financially rewarding the bad guys.

 

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Netflix Nattering

 

 

The Professor and the Madman:  This had the potential to be a great movie, and there are some memorable scenes. I love the plot because it’s original – it’s about the origin of the Oxford English Dictionary (stop yawning; some of us are word nerds). Mel Gibson and Sean Penn (pictured above) star and are both exceptional.

But it’s not as emotionally stirring as it obviously wants to be. I don’t know if that’s due to screenplay flaws or because of reported legal skirmishes between the production companies and Gibson.

The cliché that best describes this movie is “interesting misfire.”

 

 

Black SpotAsk fans of Twin Peaks to explain their fascination with the David Lynch drama and they might struggle to answer. Same thing for me and Black Spot. I’m weary of series with supernatural elements. Black Spot has supernatural elements. I’m tired of shows that dwell on family angst. Black Spot dwells on family angst.

But I’m watching Season 2 now and I can’t seem to stop. The characters intrigue me, and the spooky forest setting is atmospheric as hell. The whole village seems to be enveloped by the forest, which harbors no end of disturbing secrets. For some reason, I love that kind of thing.

 

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Why does my mood sour every time I see Mitch McConnell on the TV screen?

 

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The female sports reporter in the video below says she doesn’t like the fact that, when she enters a locker-room to interview male athletes after a game, she encounters male athletes after a game. Naked male athletes. 

 

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In the pictures above, we see Kristine Leahy at work interviewing (clothed) jocks.

Perhaps the boys have been looking at Kristine’s Instagram page and are merely letting her know that her cock-tease pictures (below) are working.

 

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We noticed that Kristine did not complain after interviewing our own Rip van Dinkle after his appearance in a recent hot-dog eating contest:

 

 

 

 

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Exactly how many facelifts has creepy Joe Biden undergone? And you thought Trump was vain about his hair?

 

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Netflix’s new series Bridgerton (above) has been getting a lot of buzz. I checked the reviews:

 

 

With the exception of the (presumably) male from The Observer, all of the reviewers are female, and they are all impressed by Bridgerton.

And they say that the “chick flick” is dead.

 

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My Christmas Wish

 

What I wished for Christmas: I wanted to be magically transported to the year 2095, so that I can read in history books about 2020, rather than live through it.

Because politics are making my head explode.

 

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No Christmas card for …

 

This guy:

 

 

I am an old white dude, and this guy seemingly wants to see me dead to “level the playing field” for underrepresented Americans. That means if I die because I was last in line for the virus vaccine, so be it.

But that’s OK, Harald, because the feeling is mutual.

 

**

 

The problem with both Newsmax and Parler is that they aren’t very user friendly. The two conservative outlets hope to usurp Fox News and Twitter, respectively, and right now is probably the optimal time to try.

But as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. In other words, polish your product.

 

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This week’s cheesecake is brought to you courtesy of the year 1933:

 

 

The babe is an actress named Peggy Shannon, stripping down to her skivvies in a disaster flick called Deluge. You can find it on YouTube.

 

**

 

Against our better judgment, we’re going to check in with Rip van Dinkle on Twitter:

 

 

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The guy who plays the hero of Alice in Borderland, pictured above right, gets my vote for Worst Actor of the Year

 

I am such a Netflix sucker. I keep allowing myself to be roped in by whatever new show Netflix is promoting, only to realize after two or three episodes that the series is stupid as hell.

In my defense, these shows often look mighty fine. And their premises are somewhat intriguing. But invariably they prove to be a colossal waste of time.

I suppose it’s possible that shows like Sweet Home, Alice in Borderland (above), and Better Than Us, should I find the intestinal fortitude to finish them, will in time prove to be worthy, even good, series.

But life is short. I have so many other garbage shows to check out on Netflix.

 

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As Donald Trump perseveres in his lonely crusade to overturn the (apparent) election results, the silence from many of his prominent Republican “allies” should make clear, once and for all, this simple fact: Trump was never a Republican; he used the party to run for president because he had to. Republicans, in turn, were never Trump fans; they used Trump just as he used them.

 

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Hey, nobody wants to be Chicken Little, running around screaming “America is falling! America is falling!” But man, things just seem to be getting worse and worse – and I’m not even talking about the damned virus.

Censorship from Big Business and Big Tech is out of control. I’m tempted to publish future “Weekly Reviews” using nothing but language, subjects, and issues considered out of bounds by Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the mainstream media. You know, like Ellen Page, voter fraud, etc.

 

**

 

 

That’s our boy Abraham Lincoln speaking in 1838. With apologies to Honest Abe, it would seem that, with our purchased politicians, China, and corrupt billionaires throughout the world, if we do go down, it will be thanks to a combination of insiders and outsiders.

 

**

 

Blue states seem to believe that since they control the economy, a civil war would not end well for red states.

But tell me again, which states control the most important resource of all, the food supply?

 

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We have mysterious monoliths popping up all over the globe, Barack Obama playing coy about the possibility of space aliens on Earth, the former head of Israel’s space agency claiming the aliens are already here, and Harry Reid’s comments from a while back.

It all has me wondering which is scarier, greedy globalists or little green men.

 

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I expect the next public outrage to make a splash and then quickly be ignored will involve the rich and powerful cutting the line to get COVID-19 vaccines. Just like six months ago when celebrities and pro athletes cut the line to get tested for the virus.

Then again, if conspiracy theorists are correct and the vaccines are a nefarious scheme to sterilize much of the world’s population, maybe we should let people like Bill Gates go first.

 

**

 

 

I noticed that The Queen’s Gambit no longer enjoys a 100-percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One critic didn’t like it. She was unhappy, apparently, because Gambit does not sufficiently address race issues in America.

 

 

I also noticed that The A.V. Club’s critic gave Gambit a rather lukewarm endorsement, grudgingly awarding the miniseries a B. Apparently the show did not sufficiently address gay issues in America.

 

 

I would humbly suggest that in the future, the Emmys and Oscars should only bestow awards on shows that delve deeply into race and gay issues. Every other show must be penalized.

 

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What’s this? Not everyone in Hollywood is nuts?

 

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So let me see…. I guess women are such delicate, fragile creatures that they require special protections not granted to men. Doesn’t seem very feminist of you, Facebook.

 

**

 

Last but not least, let’s check in with Tucker Carlson to find out what Joe Biden’s good pals, the Chinese, have been up to:

 

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My Grubby Two Cents

 

 

Voter Fraud

My hunch is that, people being people, voter fraud happens all the time. The question isn’t whether there is voter fraud, but rather how widespread is it?

We’ll never be able to catch all of it, but how much of it are we willing to tolerate?

 

The Great Reset

Perhaps the goal of a “great reset” is admirable, even desirable. I’m not invited to Davos, so I have no clue. The problem is, people being people, no one in charge can be trusted to “reset” society.

The people on top are self-interested, hypocritical, and corrupt. And so, is it surprising when they meet resistance when they try to impose their great reset, without consent and in a sneaky manner, on an unsuspecting, uncooperative populace?

 

Law and Order

Along with income inequality, seems to me that our biggest problem is the gradual breakdown of law and order. We have all these laws, but we only enforce some of them. Certain people are allowed to flout them while other folks are not.

I think it began with (sorry, potheads) marijuana. We have federal laws against pot possession and dealing, but enough of us don’t like those laws that we allow many states to simply ignore federal law. Same thing with immigration; now we have “sanctuary cities” that do as they please, federal law be damned. This year, we’ve moved on to quarantine rules. Some people and places ignore them, others do not.

 

By the way, if my above complaints have you thinking that I must be a cantankerous coot, I direct you to the name of this Web site.

 

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I was watching a Travelocity ad on CBS Wednesday night, and a funny thing happened: a television show called The Amazing Race broke out.

 

From Reality Blurred:

 

 

 

Greedy CBS. Why not just replace host Phil Keoghan with a fucking gnome?

 

**

 

This week’s review is short because, frankly, I’m sick to death of politics. I want to retreat into fantasy.

I want to pretend that I am once again a 12-year-old boy, and I’ve been asked to be in a Hollywood movie in which I join a group of like-minded horny boys who get to stare at a Russian movie star’s butt as she is twirled through the air.

 

 

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One thing I’ll say about Joe Biden: He certainly has the potential to be the weakest, worst president we’ve ever had.

 

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Here’s the thing about that whole “fair and balanced” motto at Fox News: Reportedly, Fox wants to entice viewers from across the political spectrum by including more liberal points of view, i.e., by becoming more “fair and balanced.” Makes sense, I suppose, from a business perspective.

But to many Fox loyalists, “fair and balanced” meant something different. In a media landscape dominated by liberal outlets like the broadcast networks, CNN, and Hollywood, Fox made the overall landscape a bit more balanced by giving conservatives a place of refuge. If Fox wants to go more 50-50, politically, that will make what is already an unbalanced media even more skewed to the left.

That is why, I think, conservatives are abandoning Fox for channels like Newsmax TV.

 

**

 

British Babe 1

 

Diana Rigg died … two months ago. How the hell did I miss that? They might need to revoke my Weekly Reviewer license, if I keep missing things like that.

If you are of a certain age, Diana will always be two characters: Mrs. Peel on The Avengers, and the first-and-only Mrs. James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (pictures below).

 

Mrs. Peel

 

Mrs. Bond

 

Diana Rigg in September and Sean Connery in October: All my favorite British spies are dying.

 

**

 

I watched the much-maligned Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix – not a masterpiece, but nowhere near as bad as some reviews would indicate.

Could it be that liberal critics are predisposed to dislike anything that might appeal to Deplorables? Just asking.

 

**

 

British Babe 2

 

Speaking of critics, most of them are also rather hostile toward the Gemma Arterton miniseries Black Narcissus on FX.

Below is a video clip from the show, in which Gemma gets “blacked” by an egotistical player (Idris Elba, also blacking Gemma in the picture).

 

 

Blacked, for the uninitiated, is what the kids call it when a black dude scores a piece of ass from a desirable white girl.

 

Just kidding about the video. Gemma plays a nun in Black Narcissus. The clip is from a 2016 film called 100 Streets.

 

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Certainly one of the ugliest.

 

**

 

 

As corrupt as we are now learning that Obama was, if I were Trump I’d take this as a compliment.

 

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This election has me scratching my head, to put it mildly. Looking at the size of the crowds at Trump rallies (above), and then watching as a guy whose speeches can’t draw crowds large enough to fill a parking lot, somehow attracts 77 million voters ….

So, the “silent majority” was actually composed of Biden voters?

 

**

 

 

Too many weird things going on. Our leaders keep telling us how dangerous this virus is, and that we must all wear masks and social distance. And then we see: Gavin Newsom (above) enjoying a maskless, distance-free, indoor dinner party; maskless Nancy Pelosi having her hair done at a salon; the maskless Lori Lightfoot and Dianne Feinstein; the maskless Cuomo brothers, and so on, all of them flagrantly ignoring their own mandates.

Why aren’t they afraid of the dangerous virus? We all know what cowards most politicians are, so where is their fear?

 

**

 

Maybe something like this happened:

 

Aliens:  You people are destroying your planet. Your citizens will revolt over income inequality. We can help you. Here is a virus. Spread it throughout the world. This will create chaos and undermine faith in your institutions. And then, once you have the people under your thumb, institute The Great Reset.

World leaders:  OK!

Aliens:  We are here to help. We will set the table for you because we are here …

 

 

Hey, my conspiracy theory is no worse than your conspiracy theory.

 

**

 

I’m half expecting the next civil war to take place in the hallways of Fox News. Seems that since the election, more than a few Fox anchors and reporters, who have been in hiding for four years, have been emboldened to come out as the pro-establishment, anti-Trumpers they really are.

There is a name for people like that: weasels.

 

**

 

 

In the past, The Crown hasn’t shied away from showing the warts on Britain’s royal family. The difference in season four is that the family flaws no longer seem relatively benign. This season, Elizabeth and her brood often seem downright odious.

 

**

 

 

This is disturbing. Why is Politico checking out my LinkedIn profile? Are they compiling some sort of “enemies list”?

 

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Evil (above) is one of those shows of which, in retrospect, you question certain scenes that weren’t particularly logical. But it doesn’t much matter because, while you’re watching it, you don’t really notice the flaws. It’s too fast-paced and the dialogue is too sharp. It’s entertaining.

Any series – especially a network show – that produces numerous “what the fuck?” moments is alright by me, and Evil did just that, especially in episodes four and nine.

On the downside, the series does go a bit off the rails in its second half. The emphasis seems to shift from our three heroes debunking bogus claims of demonic possession to: “Let’s throw in every wacky, Satan’s-hiding-in-the-closet plotline we can think of!”

 

**

 

On the one hand, I have to agree with Democrats who are calling for post-election “unity.” Sounds nice. Sounds like a welcome relief from four years of national strife and chaos.

On the other hand, calling for unity now takes some real chutzpah, given the way Democrats have behaved for the past four years.

 

**

 

Tucker Carlson said something on his show Friday night that really pissed me off. Here is what he said:

 

“If you ever wondered where the dumbest people in America live, you just saw it: in the Minneapolis City Council and in your neighborhood philosophy department.”

 

Listen, I was born in Minneapolis and I live (near) there now. Carlson pissed me off because … he’s correct.

 

**

 

Season four of The Crown is premiering this weekend on Netflix. Yes, it’s a great show. But sorry, Elizabeth, the best queen on Netflix this year is this one:

 

 

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We here at The Grouchy Editor are going to do everything in our power to ignore this kind of crazy, nuts, and deranged advice:

 

 

You can read the article here.

 

**

 

 

 

 

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Knock Knock

 

Normally in movies like Knock Knock, director Eli Roth’s (sort of) home-invasion thriller starring Keanu Reeves and two young beauties, the audience has someone to root for. I couldn’t find anyone I liked in this mash-up of Fatal Attraction and Lolita; I pretty much wanted everyone to go down. Which removes a lot of the suspense from a suspense film.

Architect Reeves and his artist wife represent the Southern California 5 Percent, a vapid couple with perfect house, perfect kids, and perfect dog. Genesis and Bell (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas), who inveigle their way into Reeves’s house when his wife and kids are gone, represent entitled young people. When it turns out that the girls have something more sinister in mind than just sex, the battle begins. Like I said, I didn’t care who won.

But it’s competently directed, and the performances of Izzo and de Armas are spot-on chilling. Izzo, by the way, was Roth’s real-life wife at the time. Judging from the amount of skin she displays in this and other Roth productions like The Green Inferno and Aftershock, the couple seemed intent on becoming this decade’s answer to Brian De Palma and Nancy Allen.  Release: 2015   Grade: C+

 

Above, Izzo gives her all for director Roth and actor Reeves.

 

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The Social Dilemma

 

“Everything in moderation.” 

 

(I didn’t attribute the above quote because if you do a search on it, you’ll find that it’s credited to everyone from the Apostle Paul to Oscar Wilde to Jimmy Smits. In other words, it’s like everything else on the Internet: untrustworthy.)

 

To me, The Social Dilemma is most powerful in its last half hour. Until that point, the Netflix documentary offers nothing particularly new. It’s a critique of the power of advertising on human psychology, something we’ve known about for a long time, especially since the advent of TV. But in the final third of Dilemma, when the film depicts the impact of Facebook et al. on countries like Myanmar, the Philippines and, yes, the United States, and how their misuse can undermine democracy and the very social fabric, well, that’s the frightening part.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, and their media cousins care only about attracting eyes and keeping them. If that means sensational clickbait and fake news that leads us to tear each other to shreds, oh, well. We can’t say we didn’t “like” it.  Release: 2020  Grade: A-

 

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The Invisible Man

 

The best parts of this retelling of H.G. Wells’ science-fiction novel reminded me of the basement scene near the end of The Silence of the Lambs. Imagine Clarice Starling hunting and being hunted by an invisible foe – but in this case many times over the course of a two-hour film. That’s the predicament faced by Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man, in which a violent ex uses invisibility to stalk and torment her. Much of what transpires doesn’t pass the logical smell test, but then it is a movie called The Invisible ManRelease: 2020 Grade: B+

 

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