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‘WHAT MEN WANT’ Rated R

Flipping the gender in Hollywood remakes is nothing new.

Think of the female versions of “Ghostbusters” and “Ocean’s 8,” notable as more recent examples that herald either an enduring trend or a fad of the moment.

Two decades later, one has to ponder the appeal of turning Mel Gibson’s “What Women Want” into a female empowerment statement with Taraji P. Henson playing the tough cookie in “What Men Want.”

Playing strong is what Henson does well, if you take note of her role of Cookie Lyon in the TV series “Empire.”

Here, as sports agent Ali Davis, she’s equally sharp, fierce, relentless, fearless and unstoppable.

The trouble for Ali is that she’s pigeonholed as doing her best work representing female athletes that are Olympic medalists and trophy winners. She’s need to break the glass ceiling in a business dominated by males.

Poised to be made a partner at the sports management firm, Ali anticipates securing the position at a company meeting only to be humiliated by her boss (Brian Bosworth) who gives the promotion to an unqualified male junior executive.

Grabbing the brass ring won’t come easy until she lands a big-time football, baseball or basketball star. Setting her sights on signing top NBA draft prospect Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie), Ali finds his dad Joe “Dolla” Barry (Tracy Morgan) might be her biggest hurdle.

Meanwhile, following a party with her tight-knit girlfriends, Ali has an accident that puts her in the hospital. She wakes up to find that a concussion has rendered her with the ability to hear men’s thoughts.

With only her brow-beaten, nerdy assistant Brandon (Josh Brener) remotely on her side, Ali unlocks the mysteries of the male-dominated business to navigate the corporate minefield.

Meanwhile, a one-night stand with bartender Will (Aldis Hodge) turns into something more when Ali uses the widowed father and his young son to fool Jamal’s father into thinking that she’s in a stable family situation that enhances her ability to handle a superstar client.

“What Men Want” doesn’t move the needle in any big way on the scale of generic romantic comedy, nor does it hold much surprise in how a female dynamo gets the upper hand in the workplace.

Taraji P. Henson, of course, steals the show with her blazing ball of energy that shows she has mastered the ruthless corporate culture on an equal plane with her male peers.

WINTER-SPRING PREVIEW ON TV

The winter television critics press tour brings news of many midseason new shows on the networks, cable channels and a plethora of streaming services. It’s getting harder to keep up with all the options.

Among the big four networks, ABC appears to have the busiest upcoming season. Marcia Clark, the prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder, is one of the executive producers behind “The Fix,” about a Los Angeles prosecutor taking a second chance in a high-profile murder trial.

ABC’s “Whiskey Cavalier” dives into the international spy business with a mix of heroic action and wacky humor, while “Grand Hotel” explores family intrigue and scandal in the backdrop of a ritzy hotel in Miami Beach.

The catastrophic 1986 nuclear accident in Chernobyl gets the small screen treatment by HBO in a miniseries of the same name. Preview clips of “Chernobyl” reveal the sacrifices of the brave men and women saving Europe from unimaginable disaster.

Fans of the DC Comics are probably aware that Warner Bros. and DC Universe have teamed up for a streaming service that provides access to older DC live-action films and animated films and series.

“Doom Patrol” re-imagines DC’s beloved group of outcast super heroes, including Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane, led by mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder. This band of freaks fights for a world that wants nothing to do with them.

The National Geographic Channel’s “The Hot Zone,” starring Julianna Margulies as a heroic U.S. Army scientist, dramatizes the high-stakes operation to head off an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus from the central African rainforest that arrived on U.S. soil in 1989.

“The Rook,” a Starz original series, tells the story of a woman waking up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory, who turns out to be a high-ranking official in Britain’s secret service for people with paranormal abilities.

Acorn TV’s streaming service delivers the best in British entertainment. Derived by the memoirs of a London police detective, “Manhunt” is a gripping miniseries based on the true story of a murder investigation that riveted a nation’s attention and defined a detective’s career.

Ovation TV is a channel dedicated to the arts so it is only fitting that Julia Stiles stars as an art curator in “Riviera” whose husband is killed in a yacht explosion, causing her to figure who in his family she can trust to uncover if his death was an accident or murder.

This column will eventually explore in greater detail many new series in the coming months.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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James Brown will be celebrated at the Middletown Art Center on Friday, February 15, 2019. Public domain image.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Get down deep and get funky at the 2019 Friday Night Valentine’s dance, “Body Heat,” at the Middletown Art Center from 7 to 10 p.m.

Celebrate love and immerse yourself in the legendary musical genius of the late great Godfather of Soul, James Brown.

This is the seventh James Brown tribute in South Lake County since his death in 2006.

Local resident and avid collector Blue Verhey artfully crafted a mix he says will be “the best yet, and a pure adrenaline dance experience for your body and soul!”

Dance through the three-hour mix and win a prize for your longevity, endurance and enthusiasm.

James Brown, the "hardest working man in show business," is known for his dramatic performances, costumes and signature dance moves. His work is a composite of blues, jazz and gospel that evolved to include soul, funk and rap.

The progenitor of hip hop, Brown is the most sampled artist in music history and was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1994 and the 2003 Kennedy Center Honor.

The tribute to James Brown is also a local celebration of Black History Month. Brown promoted black pride and self-sufficiency through his music in tunes like “Say it loud! I’m Black and proud!”

Through the years, he advocated for justice in minority communities, and increased education opportunities for black youth and the poor.

So “get up offa that thing, dance 'till you feel better,” and immerse in J.B.’s distinctive funk and grooves surrounded by community and art.

Everyone is invited. Admission is $10, and a no host bar is onsite.

Children up to 8 years of age are admitted free, but must be supervised.

There will be a “chill room” in back in the MAC studio. All proceeds help pay MAC’s rent.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29. Be a part of the growing arts and culture scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, by joining MAC this Friday or participating in Restore classes and workshops, or any of the many arts and cultural events at MAC.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or “like” Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at MAC.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.


A child at a school bus stop, on his way out into the world, a fine subject for a fine poem by Dante Di Stefano, who lives in Endwell, New York.

Might we all live out our days in a place called Endwell! "With a Coat" is from his book from Brighthorse Books of Omaha, Nebraska, entitled Love is a Stone Endlessly in Flight.

With a Coat

I was cold and leaned against the big oak tree
as if it were my mother wearing a rough apron
of bark, her upraised arms warning of danger.
Through those boughs and leaves I saw
dark patches of sky. I thought a brooding
witch waited to catch me up from under
branches and take me, careening on her broom,
to her home in the jaundiced moon.
I looked to the roof of mom and dad's house
and wondered if the paisley couch patterns
would change during the day. My brother peeked
from a window and waved. When the bus came,
I pawed away from the trunk, fumbled,
and took my first step toward not returning.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Dante Di Stefano, "With a Coat," from Love is a Stone Endlessly in Flight, (Brighthorse Books, 2016). Poem reprinted by permission of Dante Di Stefano and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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The “Lake Winds”: From top, Kelsey Vorce, Patricia Jekel, Kathy Whren; bottom, Beth Aiken, Nick Biondo. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In the second concert of a four part series produced by Beth Aiken, the newly formed Lake County woodwind quintet “Lake Winds,” will perform at the Soper Reese Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m.

Seating is open. Tickets are $20 for adults. Children 18 and under are free.

“Lake Winds” is composed of some of the most accomplished woodwind players in Lake County.

These talented musicians play separately in a variety of ensembles in Lake County and Mendocino County.

The woodwind quintet is composed of Patricia Jekel (flute), Beth Aiken (oboe), Nick Biondo (clarinet), Kathy Whren (bassoon) and Kelsey Vorce (horn).

This classic wind quintet has a very unique sound and will perform works of contrasting styles from Bach to contemporary masterpieces.

For tickets go to www.soperreesetheatre.com or to The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call 707-263-0577.
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Rockin' Johnny Burgin. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Rockin Johnny Burgin, one of the hardest touring and well recognized traditional Chicago blues guitarists and singers today, will perform at the Big Valley Hall on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The show will take place from 7 to 10 p.m.

The cost is $15 at the door.

Since his start in the early 1990s, apprenticing with Chicago blues masters such as Pinetop Perkins, Sam Lay and Taildargger, Burgin has become a leading blues attraction.

He is a Delmark recording artist with eight CDs to his credit. David Mac of Blues Junction called his latest release, "Neoprene Fedora,” “a wide wanging affair that is simply spectacular."

Burgin was nominated for a BMA for Best Traditional Blues CD of 2017 for "Howlin' at Greaseland", a Howlin' Wolf tribute. He also is in demand as a session player and has recorded with many blues greats including Billy Boy Arnold, Taildragger, Paul DeLay, Jimmy Burns, Andre Williams, Eddie Taylor Jr., Jimmy Lee Robinson and others.

Burgin grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, and Greenville, South Carolina, and while he was still in high school, he got to see many touring blues bands such as Guitar Jr, Gatemouth Brown and Eddie Clearwater. He father was an actor and folk musician and taught him guitar.

He went to University of Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer, but a different path unfolded and he fell headfirst into the Chicago blues scene.

After learning from the masters by touring with such artists as Pinetop Perkins and Howlin' Wolf drummer Sam Lay, he put his own band together.

Things started happening fast after The Rockin Johnny Band (with guest vocalist Jimmy Burns) took a Monday night residency at the Smoke Daddy in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Their original, energetic approach made them a strong local draw week after week and year after year. The atmosphere the band generated was so electric that the prestigious local label Delmark Records offered them a contract after hearing just one set.

Since those days, Burgin played the Chicago blues festival many times, toured Europe regularly and has headlined festivals all over the US.

Over the years, he has developed from a precocious blues guitar slinger and local blues hero into a fully fledged singer, harmonica player, a dynamic and engaging bandleader, and a mature, seasoned guitarist.

One look at his tour schedule confirms his status as an in-demand blues performer. He puts on the kind of satisfying and exciting show that only years of touring can develop.

Elmore magazine remarked on Johnny's "commanding vocals and stinging guitar," but Elvin Bishop may have said it best: "his guitar style is raw and rude and real – n the vocal side, a nice original style – he's damn good!"

The Big Valley Hall is located at 1510 Big Valley Road.
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‘MISS BALA’ Rated PG-13

Bringing a new perspective to a remake, director Catherine Hardwicke’s “Miss Bala” is a reimagining of an acclaimed 2011 Mexican film of the same title.

Not having seen the original, this review is regrettably unable to make any comparisons. Nevertheless, there’s an intriguing element to “Miss Bala” that may well revive interest in the source material.

Known for the “Jane the Virgin” television series, Gina Rodriguez stars in the leading role as Gloria. Here she is suddenly thrust squarely into the dangerous world of cross-border crime.

An American of Mexican descent, Gloria is a makeup artist who travels from Los Angeles to Tijuana to visit her close friend Suzu (Cristina Rodlo) to help her win the Miss Baja California beauty pageant.

Suzu persuades Gloria to attend a pre-pageant event at a swanky nightclub, at which Suzu hopes to network with officials and power brokers that could enhance her chances at taking home the winner’s sash and the prize money.

The party is where the trouble starts. While in the ladies room, Gloria is confronted by armed thugs from a drug cartel who shoot up the nightclub in an attempted hit on a corrupt government official.

During the melee, Gloria is separated from Suzu, who goes missing without a trace. After a long night of a vigil in a café, Gloria seeks the help of a local cop who turns her over to a bunch of tattooed bad guys.

Ending up face-to-face with cartel honcho Lino (Ismael Cruz Cordova), Gloria becomes a hostage forced to do the bidding of Lino and his gang as a condition of getting help to find Suzu.

The so-called favor involves Gloria’s unwitting participation in a heinous crime that results in severe repercussions when American DEA agent Brian Reich (Matt Lauria) threatens her with years in prison if she doesn’t become a mole in Lino’s organization.

An interesting dynamic takes shape in the Stockholm syndrome that causes Gloria to develop a psychological alliance with Lino as a survival strategy during captivity. Sexual tension hangs in the air but nothing comes of it.

The tenuous bond between Lino and his captive is that both of them have identities that transcend the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Lino was once an immigrant living in Bakersfield and Gloria, an American citizen, was born in Mexico.

Both the DEA and Lino string Gloria along to do their respective bidding. Caught between two opposing forces, Gloria makes the dangerous trek to and from San Diego to transport cash and contraband.

More than once, Gloria has to take cover during shootouts between the cartel and law enforcement. In a climactic scene, Gloria, who has been courageous yet skittish, summons up her inner action heroine.

Plot twists abound in “Miss Bala,” and there are enough action thrills in the violent showdowns to keep the pace spirited enough to be entertaining. But the best feature is Gloria’s eventual empowerment to outsmart all sides.



‘PROJECT BLUE BOOK’ ON HISTORY CHANNEL

The History Channel has decided to tap into the zeitgeist of the early 1950s fascination with UFO sightings and the possibility of abductions by little green men from outer space.

The 10-episode “Project Blue Book” may be compared to the paranoia stoked by “The X-Files” series, but Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are fictional characters. This new series is loosely based on the U.S. Government’s actual top-secret alien research with the help of an astrophysicist.

While “The X-Files” had the tagline “The truth is out there,” it should be more appropriate for “Project Blue Book” because the lead character, Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Aiden Gillen), was recruited by the Air Force to investigate alien life.

Dr. Hynek teams up with Capt. Michael Quinn (Michael Malarkey) to travel the country to study reported UFO encounters, beginning with an Air Force pilot’s alleged aerial dogfight with a mysterious, fast-moving craft that resembled a brightly illuminated sphere.

After engaging the unexplained flying object, Air Force pilot Fuller (Matt O’Leary) is fortunate to survive a crash landing. He’s utterly convinced that this encounter was something otherworldly.

When pressed by Dr. Hynek for details, Fuller tries to unravel the mystery, and then comes up short by concluding that “logic can’t begin to explain what we are dealing with here.” This fairly well sums up the conundrum that faces Dr. Hynek’s mission.

Capt. Quinn is more than eager to wrap every case with a tidy report to debunk any alien activity. He’s pushed in this direction by hard-nosed General Harding (Neal McDonough) and General Valentine (Michael Harney).

On the other hand, such as in the episode about the Flatwoods Monster (based on what happened in a small town in West Virginia), Dr. Hynek shows more openness to those who believed they stumbled upon an alien.

Shades of conspiracies abound. Shadowy men in fedoras lurk about. A mystery woman conducts surveillance on Hynek and his family.

“Project Blue Book” delves into the paranormal with a relish that proves eminently watchable.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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