Friday on the NewsHour, a Capitol Police officer dies from injuries sustained in the violent insurrection inspired by the president as talk of impeachment emerges, the coronavirus claims more than 4,000 Americans in a single day as the vaccination campaign struggles, we talk with President-elect Biden's pick for his Council of Economic Advisers, and Brooks and Capehart on the week in politics.
Watches
Playlist of watched movies, television shows, online videos, and other visual-based events
Directed by Daniel Minahan. With Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey. While recovering from his battle with Jaime, Eddard is forced to run the kingdom while Robert goes hunting. Tyrion demands a trial by combat for his freedom. Viserys is losing his patience with Drogo.
Directed by Brian Kirk. With Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley. Catelyn has captured Tyrion and plans to bring him to her sister, Lysa Arryn, at the Vale, to be tried for his, supposed, crimes against Bran. Robert plans to have Daenerys killed, but Eddard refuses to be a part of it and quits.
Directed by Brian Kirk. With Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley. Jon begins his training with the Night's Watch; Ned confronts his past and future at King's Landing; Daenerys finds herself at odds with Viserys.
Directed by Timothy Van Patten. With Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley. While Bran recovers from his fall, Ned takes only his daughters to King's Landing. Jon Snow goes with his uncle Benjen to the Wall. Tyrion joins them.
Directed by Timothy Van Patten. With Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley. Eddard Stark is torn between his family and an old friend when asked to serve at the side of King Robert Baratheon; Viserys plans to wed his sister to a nomadic warlord in exchange for an army.
I think I stopped watching this a few years back when I got rid of HBO, but thought I’d revisit it to see where the series ultimately went.
Directed by Jon Favreau. With Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel. Buddy, a human, is raised amongst elves at the North Pole. When he discovers that he is not an elf, he travels to New York to search for his biological father.
Rating: ★★★★
Watching in the background as I do some quarterly cleaning after the holidays.
Directed by Andrew Bernstein. With Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina. Leo returns to the White House to help bolster the administration, which is suffering from the loss of Josh, Donna, Will, and the Vice President to the next election campaign. Leo's first day back follows President Bartlet's last State of the Union address, and unlike in previous years there appears to be little momentum on bold, large-scale initiatives. Amidst numerous distractions that dilute ...
Directed by Christopher Misiano. With Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina. Josh and Santos visit New Hampshire to launch the presidential campaign. Josh has experience running national campaigns and has a clear idea about what candidates should and shouldn't do to get elected, but Santos's approach differs dramatically: he believes in talking about big ideas rather than saying whatever he needs to do in order to win votes. This difference in opinion combined with ...
Directed by John McTiernan. With Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson. An NYPD officer tries to save his wife and several others taken hostage by German terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Rating: ★★★★½
Annual Christmas-time rewatching. Dozed off for 20 minutes in the middle because it was so late.
Directed by Patty Jenkins. With Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal. Rewind to the 1980s as Wonder Woman's next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah.
Rating: ★★★
Had to suspend a lot of disbelief. Entertaining watch, but nothing truly spectacular. This was released yesterday directly to streaming day-and-date with the theatrical release due to the pandemic.
Directed by Laura Innes. With Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Janel Moloney. While Will gets an enticing offer from the new Vice President, Josh finds himself responsible for a crucial mistake that could sorely embarrass the Administration. He isn't the only one on the wrong side of the tracks as Amy finds out first hand why she shouldn't handle the First Family.
I’ve been watching West Wing a lot this month as background noise, but actually sat through this episode and paid attention. Sort of sad that it’s leaving Netflix on the 24th, but I’m hoping it will return to the air immediately on HBO Max, which I’m already subscribed up in anticipation.
Directed by George Mastras. With Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris. Walter White's domestic life continues to deteriorate; at the same time, his growing business venture aims to steal a train car chock full of methylamine.
I’ve been away from this series for quite a while. Nice to get back to it after a long break.
Directed by Ed Thomas. With Richard Harrington, Mali Harries, Alex Harries, Hannah Daniel. A woman's suicide is thought to be related to another death. The independent investigator makes an admission to Mared which gives her a lead regarding the case she is investigating with Tom. More than one person stands in their way.
Interesting to hear the many pronunciations of Pontarfynach in this episode.
Many episodes of the series were almost painfully slow and could easily have been 60 minutes instead of 90 if the pace and the brooding were taken out. This final episode was a good cap for something that had been brewing since the end of the first season.
Directed by David Yates. With Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Johnny Depp. The second installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" series featuring the adventures of Magizoologist Newt Scamander.
Rating: ★★★★
Purchased a copy tonight on Amazon Prime. Dozed off somewhere in the middle. Definitely a darker ending than it’s predecessor.