Directed by Christopher Misiano. With Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina. In the wake of his daughter's kidnapping, Bartlet must make a decision between being a father and being President.
Watches
Playlist of watched movies, television shows, online videos, and other visual-based events
📺 "The West Wing" Commencement | Netflix
Directed by Alex Graves. With Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina. The assassination of Shareef threatens to become public, the president speaks at Zoe's graduation, and the unthinkable happens.
📺 "The West Wing" Life on Mars | Netflix
Directed by John David Coles. With Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Janel Moloney. On his first day on the job, the new deputy counsel uncovers a trail of clues to a scandal that will end one person's career.
📺 Notre Dame vs. Clemson – December 29, 2018 | ESPN
Get a summary of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Clemson Tigers football game
Simultaneously saddened to see another Notre Dame bowl loss, but happy to see the Tigers advance.
📺 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) | Paramount Pictures
Directed by Edward Zwick. With Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Robert Knepper. Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name. On the run as a fugitive from the law, Reacher uncovers a potential secret from his past that could change his life forever.
Watching this yet again in celebration of Robert Catrini’s birthday.
📺 “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” Inshallah | Amazon Prime
Directed by Daniel Sackheim. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman. Jack and Greer fear Suleiman's next attack could be on U.S. soil. They must figure out how to stop him or risk enormous costs.
📺 “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” The Boy | Amazon Prime
Directed by Patricia Riggen. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman. Jack and Greer try to convince their superiors to lead a covert ground assault to capture Suleiman. Jack's double life costs him an important relationship.
📺 "Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan" Sources and Methods | Amazon Prime
Directed by Carlton Cuse. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman. Jack's moral code is tested when he and Greer use a Turkish criminal to help them track down a high-value target who may be able to lead them to Suleiman. Hanin tries to evade her pursuers and keep her daughters safe. Cathy investigates an outbreak of a virulent form of Ebola that may point to something more ominous.
📺 “United Shades of America” Latino, USA | CNN
With W. Kamau Bell. The population of East Los Angeles is over 90 percent Latino; they are predicted to be the majority population of Americans by 2044; W. Kamau Bell speaks to many Latinos who are fighting prejudice and spreading the message of tolerance.
It helps to watch an episode reflecting some culture in my own back yard. I’ve now got a better barometer by which to judge some of the rest of the series.
Kamau gets it pretty solid, though there’s a lot more poverty and struggle while his version here makes things seem much more upbeat. Like Kamau in this episode, I’m almost tempted to say “Soy Chicano tambien.”
📺 “United Shades of America” Behind These Walls | CNN
With W. Kamau Bell, Samuel Robinson. WKB visits San Quentin, one of the most progressive prisons from a rehabilitation standpoint.
Apparently San Quentin is a drastically different place than popular culture would make it seem.
📺 “United Shades of America” The New KKK | CNN
With W. Kamau Bell. WKB visits the "new" and "improved" KKK that is more concerned about its branding but still has the same hate.
I’m curious if this would look quite the same if made again now, just a bit over two years later?
I’m given some hope by Kamau’s experience in the small town with what seemed like the majority of the people there.
📺 Semi-Pro (2008) | New Line Cinema
Directed by Kent Alterman. With Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney. Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true.
There was just something poetic about Jackie Earle Haley’s portrayal of “Dukes”. He’s been stupendous portraying 70’s burnouts across his career.
Were there any 70’s tropes this picture didn’t cover? This was entertaining and funny, but there are so many other cheese-ball movies from the 70’s itself, why do we need to watch ones that are doing it satirically instead of naturally?
📺 Office Christmas Party (2016) | DreamWorks
Directed by Josh Gordon, Will Speck. With Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston. When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand...
Just some good, stupid fun.
📺 Washington vs. Ohio State – January 1, 2019 | ESPN
Ohio State tops Washington 28-23 in Meyer's Rose Bowl finale
PASADENA, Calif. -- Urban Meyer says he decided to end his remarkable coaching career at Ohio State partly because of the stress inherent in this high-intensity job.
After his Buckeyes blew most of a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to recover a last-minute onside kick to win the Rose Bowl, anybody could understand why this 54-year-old coach can't wait to retire.
But the stress is over. Meyer is going out at the top of his profession. And for the first time, he is a Rose Bowl champion.
What a great attempt at a comeback by Washington. Without the interception in the last minute things may have been quite different.
📺 “Chopped Junior” Why So Blue? | Food Network
Directed by Michael Pearlman. With Ted Allen, Chris Santos, Ruben Studdard. A fun twist on a classic comfort food and pricey truffles in the appetizer round; large blue squash in the entrée round; out-of-this-world lollipops and green fruit in the dessert round; journalist Michelle Park, chef Chris Santos and Ruben Studdard are the judges.
They keep saying broccoli rabe and I’m hung up on thinking about The Office. It took me a minute, but then I remembered they did have a tangential character named Broccoli Rob.