The Grouchy Editor

 

 

Hodgepodge

 

And so, the big debate is just days away.

The challenge for Trump, it seems to me, is to resist the temptation to point out the obvious: Biden’s mental and physical deterioration. To do so might appear “mean-spirited” to some viewers. The current president’s feebleness should already be clear to anyone who’s watched him.

Instead, Trump should relentlessly hammer on the sky-high cost of food, gas, and rent; illegal immigrants repeatedly allowed to stay in the country, and often raping and killing young girls; the increasing likelihood of a world war with Russia or China.

In other words, don’t make the debate about Biden personally, nor about your own legal battles. Make it about the destructiveness of Biden policies on we, the people.

 

**

 

 

I am conflicted by the raging debate over The Acolyte.

On the one hand, I am so, so sick of fantasy shows in general, and Star Wars shows in particular.

On the other hand, I am so, so sick of wokeness permeating Hollywood output in general, and Disney shows in particular.

My solution: Ban all fantasy-related projects for the next five years. This will punish the Hollywood woke and Star Wars fans alike.

And it will make me happy.

 

**

 

I recently mentioned the 1972 Wes Craven movie (The) Last House on the Left.

I called it Last House on the Left. 

Rotten Tomatoes calls it that. IMDB and Wikipedia, however, refer to it with the extra article: The Last House on the Left.

Which is correct? This, to me, is the burning issue of the day.

 

**

 

 

If you are of a certain age, you might fondly recall Creepy and Eerie magazines. Today, they would be called graphic novels. They followed in the spooky tradition of Tales from the Crypt, and new issues were a cause for celebration, if you were a kid.

And so it was with nostalgic joy that I discovered this Web site. It seems that you can find and enjoy most, if not all, of the old magazines. I’d say more, but I have to get reading.

 

**

 

 

As a longtime smoker, over the years I’ve been alternately bemused and angered by this country’s attitude toward the obese and toward smokers.

Fat and smoking are both bad for you, we can agree. But while smokers are banned, shunned, taxed and sent 20 feet away from the door, the reaction to fatties is … oh, well.

To me, this hypocrisy is simply a matter of numbers. While you probably don’t have many friends who smoke, you probably do have fat friends. Or you are fat, yourself.

 

 

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Hit Man

 

Netflix Nuggets

 

Filmmakers have this knockout idea for a scary movie: Let it take place in one of the creepiest places on Earth — the catacombs beneath Paris.

 

 

This is such a great concept that it’s been used twice in the past ten years. First in As Above, So Below, and then in the shark-movie Under Paris, now playing on Netflix.

 

 

It’s too bad that both movies suck — although they do have their moments.

One bright spot for Under Paris is its musical score. It was entrancing. It was pretty much the only thing that kept me interested.

 

*

 

Speaking of mediocre misfires on Netflix, we have the premiere of Hit Man.

 

 

Inexplicably, critics and the public seem to love this thing, and 2024 seems to be the year that we crown Glen Powell as The Next Big Movie Star. 

I don’t understand the fuss over this film. It doesn’t matter that it was directed by critics’ darling Richard Linklater. I share this dude’s exasperation.

 

 

**

 

 

Good point, Stephen. Biden wasn’t involved because, at the time, Biden was in the shower with his daughter.

 

**

 

Glen Powell proves in Hit Man and in Anyone But You that he understands the importance of attractive co-stars. Now if only he understood the importance of attractive scripts.

There’s no question that Adria Arjona is a highlight of Hit Man. She is hot. For more Arjona hotness, check out season one of Narcos, or her appearance in True Detective season two (below).

 

 

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

 

Trump Musings

 

I don’t know if the left is terrified of Trump, desperate, crazy like a fox or just flat-out crazy. But they are throwing everything they have at the Orange Man.

A year ago, I would have said an assassination attempt on Trump was too extreme even for his worst enemies. I’m not so sure about that anymore.

 

*

 

The left seems to be trying what worked for them during the last presidential election: What they did back then — insist that the Hunter Biden laptop story was “disinformation.” After the election, admit that the laptop story was real.

What they are doing now — convict Trump and jail him. What will likely happen next — Trump’s conviction is overturned on appeal.

In both cases, Trump’s ultimate victory is too little, too late. Biden gets another term.

 

**

 

I inadvertently left one channel off last week’s list of YouTube “rabbit hole” sites:

 

 

This guy gives an Everyman’s perspective on everything from luxury hotels to obscure dives as he travels the globe. (His poor wife occasionally joins him; usually, she’s stuck at home with the kid.)

 

**

 

I watched the Sydney Sweeney rom-com Anyone But You on Netflix …. You know how the cliche ends: “… so you don’t have to.”

It was woke, derivative, and dull. 

But you’d probably like to see the scene where Sweeney gets her ass groped. So here you go:

 

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole

 

It’s easy to get lost in the sea of YouTube videos. You get sucked in by (often) misleading headlines or provocative thumbnails and, while you planned to spend 15-20 minutes surfing videos, at some point you look at the clock and realize you’ve been swimming for three hours.

But not all YouTube channels are created equal. The following are channels I find myself returning to, again and again. They are listed in no particular order. I apologize in advance if I overuse the adjective “fascinating.”

 

 

 

Tim Pool is interviewing Donald Trump tomorrow. He’s come a long way since the day I watched him blow a gasket over the movie Cats.

 

 

 

Travel stuff. Fascinating.

 

 

 

A young guy’s interesting takes on history and what it predicts about the state of the world today.

 

 

 

Bill Maher’s podcast is certainly flawed. Too often he does 90 percent of the yakking himself, with his guest serving as a captive audience. But as long as the subject of the moment isn’t named Donald Trump, the conversations are often engaging. And stoned.

 

 

 

I have no idea what country this young gal is from. But she’s charming and it’s good to get Gen Z’s perspective on cultural affairs.

 

 

 

A young couple from Romania who exist in YouTube’s world of “First Time Watching” movie reactions. He is from Romania, she is from the Philippines. They are fun and I want to live next door to them. But not in Romania.

 

 

 

If you dig movie reviews from an intellectual, uh — goth girl? — this is the channel for you. In her channel’s comments section, I once accused her of “recency bias” and she blew up at me. But I still watch her reviews.

 

 

 

If you enjoy snark and film reviews that attack wokeness with relish, the “Critical Drinker” is your man. He’s been popping up as a guest on Piers Morgan’s show, for whatever that’s worth.

 

 

 

This guy is the anti-Critical Drinker. He’s sunny and friendly and loath to say anything bad about the movies he reviews. But he’s into old Hammer and Universal horror movies, which is a nice change of pace (no “recency bias” here).

 

 

 

This couple living at the top of the world (Svalbard) sucks me in every week. Their videos are often repetitive — shovel snow, do housework, shop for groceries … repeat, repeat — but I find it all very soothing and comforting.

 

 

 

Cody Leach is a very persuasive podcaster. His specialty is horror movies, and his arguments for or against a particular film are very convincing. At least for a while. Often, five minutes after I watch his latest video, I will decide that I completely disagree with his opinions. But never while I’m watching.

 

 

 

An enigmatic guy who reviews films primarily from the 1960s and 1970s. He does a lot of background work on each film and finds juicy behind-the-scenes anecdotes. But for some reason he has disabled his comments section. Too bad.

 

 

 

I can’t decide if this guy is a real redneck or just pretending to be one. Either way, I find his travel videos about America and Americana to be — you guessed it — fascinating.

 

 

 

There are many prank sites on YouTube, but I think this channel might be one of the best. It’s creative and who doesn’t find chicks in thong bikinis to be fascinating?

 

**

 

 

I’m not interested in salacious stories about Diddy. I just find the blonde bending over in the bikini to be fascinating.

 

 © 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

 

I spent a lot of time this week (gasp!) listening to women.

Not in real life, mind you, but on YouTube.

Imagine that. The Grouch doesn’t just ogle women; sometimes he listens to them!

It turns out that not every young American female is in thrall of (or dependent on) big, bad government in general, or the Democrat party in particular.

There are young women out there with different viewpoints. I don’t agree with everything these ladies espouse, but a lot of what they have to say makes sense.

Most of them advocate for more traditional ideas of society; some of them also seem to be a bit “black pilled.” Too late to reform today’s America, they say, but there is hope for future generations.

Here are links (in green) to a few of the interesting women I (gasp!) listened to:

 

 

Mary Morgan takes on a roundtable of sex workers.

 

Lauren Chen, Pearl Davis, Rachel Wilson, and Isabella Moody discuss male-female relationships in 2024. Oh yeah, and Tim Pool moderates.

 

There are some obvious contradictions here. If these women truly believe a woman’s place is in the home, then what the hell are they doing on Internet podcasts?

On the other hand, if women’s issues only gain credibility when they are addressed by actual women, then who else is going to promote conservative views? Your neighbor with a houseful of kids is much too busy.

 

**

 

Stupid Idiom of the Week:

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

 

Yeah, not so much in 2024. These days, if you are a powerful person who screws up, you either get promoted (“fail up”) or retire with a golden parachute.

 

 © 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Gaza Madness

 

I’m trying to follow all of the recent media uproar: the student protests, war in Gaza, D.C. politics, etc.

I am trying. But it’s hopeless. Somebody’s not telling me the truth. Or everybody’s not telling me the truth.

 

I was told, I believe, that there would be “no American boots on the ground” in Gaza:

 

 

But American boots on a pier that’s attached to Gaza ground? Doesn’t count, I guess.

 

*

 

Meanwhile, House Republicans, I was told, “control the purse-strings” of government expenditures. Yet Republicans seem more than happy to fund whatever military misadventure — Ukraine, Gaza, wherever — Biden chooses to initiate.

 

*

 

 

Now they say Biden would like to invite Gazan refugees to come live with us in the U.S. — just like the millions of “newcomers” moving in from our southern border.

 

Well, we didn’t really want Gen Z to inherit any of the country’s wealth, did we?

Poor Gen Z.

Poor all of us.

 

*

 

 

Now that we’ve decided Kristi Noem is a puppy-killing villain, can I please get un-banned from Twitter for saying that she has “nice tits”?

Just curious.

 

 © 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Best TV shows of the 21st century

 

Disclaimers:  A) This list is fiction only; no news, no documentaries, no reality TV.  B)  There are some conspicuous titles missing, not because I think they are undeserving; I simply haven’t seen them. These include shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Mad Men.  C)  Most shows on the list were superb from start to finish. A couple (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Black Mirror) are on the list for their early seasons only.  D)  These are my preferences — not a critics’ consensus, not your list, just my favorites. Here’s my list, in no particular order:

 

The Shield

 

The Shield: Two scenes stick with me, 20 years after I first watched them, on this cop drama that aired on FX at the beginning of what we now call Peak TV. The first scene is the rape of an authority figure (Captain Aceveda), who is forced to literally bend the knee to a very bad man (“Mum,” season three). The second scene is the defilement of an innocent little girl, which we don’t see but can imagine simply from seeing a dove tattoo inked onto her cheek (“The Quick Fix,” season two). The scenes are a reminder that evil can touch anyone, the weak and the powerful — which also happens to be the show’s main theme.

 

Curb Your Enthusiasm

 

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The best comedy I saw in the 2000s — although after the first few seasons, it gradually lost its sharpness. My comments here.

 

Game of Thrones: See my recent review here.

 

Breaking Bad: There have been many great crime dramas. This is the best of the best. My review here.

 

The Crown: It’s soap opera, sure, but delicious soap opera about Britain’s royal family.

 

Doc Martin

 

Doc Martin: Here we have The Andy Griffith Show for the 21st century. By the way, that’s a compliment.

 

Black Mirror: When it transitioned its creative base from England to Netflix, its quality dropped. So, its deterioration is Netflix’s fault. But when it was good, early on, it was very good.

 

Rectify

 

Rectify: This wouldn’t be much of a list if it didn’t include at least one great show of which you probably haven’t heard. Aden Young starred as an ex-convict who attempts to adjust to life on the outside after serving his sentence. The adjective “absorbing” was invented just for this drama. My review here.

 

Honorable Mention

 

Shows with flashes of genius, but which were not consistently great: Peaky Blinders, Ozark, Rescue Me, Louie.

 

**

 

Sometimes you feel like taking a break from the real news, and instead becoming TMZ:

 

 

I realize that the incident on a New Mexico film set was deadly business. But aside from that, I always find hothead Alec Baldwin’s misadventures with paparazzi and the public oddly entertaining. Possibly it’s the enraged expression on his face.

 

*

 

 

It’s got to be culture shock for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes when he has to go from placing his hands on wife Brittany’s shapely derriere (orange bikini, above) to placing his hands between the legs of some beefy center on the line of scrimmage.

 

*

 

 

I’m not at all sure to whom these pictures are meant to appeal. Sydney Sweeney fans? Man haters? Clothed Female Naked Man fetishists? At any rate, she seems to enjoy ogling this dude’s nutsack and/or ass.

 

 © 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

So Many Questions …

 

I recall being told, back when Republicans took the House of Representatives, that it was great news for the right because the House “controls the purse strings.” Theoretically, the House could shut down any cockamamie proposals pushed by Democrats by simply refusing to pay for them.

Uhhh … that doesn’t seem to be happening.

My question: Is House Speaker Mike Johnson just as bad (or weak, or corrupt) as predecessor Kevin McCarthy when it comes to reining in the left?

 

**

 

It seems that Republicans in Congress are no better than the Democrats. It seems that we are royally screwed. Especially if the country votes to re-elect this delusional clown:

 

 

**

 

If Trump is convicted in New York and ordered not to leave the state, does that mean that one presidential candidate will be campaigning from Trump Tower and the other from Biden’s basement?

 

**

 

I waited five years after the conclusion of HBO’s Game of Thrones, but due to popular demand, here at last is my review of it. (Spoiler alert: the dwarf does not end up on the throne.)

 

**

 

Just in case you were wondering whatever happened to the crazy lady who alarmed fellow airplane passengers about a man who “wasn’t real.”

 

 

That’s what I call milking your 15 minutes of fame.

 

 

 © 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)