Time and Again a Journey Through the Past

 

TIME AND AGAIN (1970)

By Jack Finney

Simon and Schuster, 398 pages.

★★★

 

I’ve long been a fan of time travel books. Back in 1970, I read Time and Again by Jack Finney. I had forgotten about it until it reappeared from the deep recesses of a closet. It’s not science fiction per se. In a little-discussed aspect of Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, the present, the future, and the past exist in the same time block. Don’t push me any further as my physics and mathematics are not up to the task, but it’s connected to space-time theory. Apparently, Einstein also believed that traveling into the future would be easier than going back in time, which could violate causality principles. From what I gather, he didn’t think a machine could be built that could travel fast (or slowly) enough to allow time travel. 

 

Einstein’s name carries more gravitas than that of the average science fiction writer, which explains why Einstein is so often invoked in time travel novels. Finney’s Time and Again is one of them. Its 1970 publication date coincided with American trips to the moon, the Cold War, the first Earth Day, and bookstands selling non-fiction books such as Future Shock, The Population Bomb, and The Year of the Quiet Sun. Logician/mathematician Kurt Gödel’s 1949 “rotating universes” theorem allowed for travel to the past, as would later quantum physics (though not for people).

 

Is it possible? That’s way above my pay grade, but novelists have found it irresistible. Finney’s fictional character Si(las) Morely is the central figure of a government-funded program in Time After Time. His handler Dr. Danzinger believed that a properly trained candidate could literally walk from the present into the past after a regimen of familiarization, self-hypnosis, and pre-preparation, a novel (ahem!) way of changing the position of the observer. New Yorker Si Morely is housed in the Dakota Hotel, grows a beard, wears 19^th century clothing, and reads period newspapers as a prelude for a stroll into the New York City of 1882. His task is to watch a man who is enigmatically linked to Kate, Si’s 1970 girlfriend, mail a letter at the post office. Si is a professional illustrator also asked to keep notes and make sketches of things he observes. Si has his doubts until the day he gazes across 72^nd Street at snowy Central Park and indeed walks into the past. He is naturally astonished.

 

Thinking back to 1970, New York was not then a nice place. Like many U.S. cities of 1970s, the air and water were polluted and the streets were crowded, noisy, filthy, and crime-riven. Racial tension, garbage strikes, abandoned buildings, and homelessness were prevalent. Hippies commandeered Washington Square, the Bowery was a repository of alcoholics, and the city was close to insolvency. Imagine Morely’s astonishment of watching families joyously riding sleighs, farmsteads within sight of the Dakota, boarding horse-drawn trolleys or steam-driven trains on the Ninth Avenue El, being able to see the Museum of Natural History sitting alone, viewing the arm and torch of the future Statue of Liberty in Madison Square Park, or climbing the stairs of the Trinity Church steeple, then the city’s tallest structure!

 

Si makes several trips back and forth to 1970 and 1882–once with Kate–and each time immerses himself deeper in the world of 1882. In good Victorian style, a melodramatic side story develops. Si was supposed to be careful not to alter history, though he finds himself falling in love with Julia, a woman at his boarding house. She is betrothed to Jake Pickering, whom Si suspects is a rogue. To say more would be a spoiler. Finney does a good job of ratcheting the tension of a wild chase, a discovery, and a fire. If that’s not melodrama, I don’t know what is.

 

A final way in which Time and Again is very much tied to 1970 is that today we would label parts of the book sexist, not in a physically abusive way but certainly in its gender assumptions. Finney’s book is called “An Illustrated Novel” for its use of period photos and sketches, some of which are invented and others pulled from archival sources. Its greatest virtue is taking us inside the worldview of 1882. Sit down, take a chaw of tobacco, and try to hit the spittoon! If you could journey to the past, where would you go and would you stay?

 

 Rob Weir

 

 

Oddly Enough, Mickey 17 is Charming

  

 

 

 

Mickey 17 (2025)

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Warner Bros. Pictures, 137 minutes, R (language, violence, sexual content, substance abuse)

★★★★

 

After the award-winning Parasite, South Korean director Bong Joon Ho made Mickey 17, which made nearly $132 million. Yet, it lost tons of money because Warner’s budget was more than $250 million. Many fans of Parasite called the film an artistic failure, though I liked it.

 

Mickey 17 is a science-fiction/slapstick/black comedy that borrows elements from numerous other films, though its script is based on the eponymous Edward Ashton novel. It is filled with in-jokes and satire. Joon is an English football fan and modeled several characters on players. Others are parodies of politicians, religious figures, scientists, and businessmen.  

In the year 2050, the Earth is beset with great environmental damage. The scientific and political establishments seek to transplant human beings to an allegedly idyllic planet called Niflheim. The long journey is headed by failed lawmaker Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffolo), a composite of bombastic politicians like Donald Trump, Mussolini, and Robert F. Kennedy Junior. The crew consists largely of individuals who haven’t done well on earth. Timo (Steven Yeu) owes a loan shark a lot of money and is unaware that the Elon Musk-like Darius Blank (Ian Hanmore) is aboard the ship to collect the debt at any cost, including cutting Timo into five pieces. Nothing has gone right for Micky Barnes (Robert Pattison) whose sole friend is the obnoxious and unreliable Timo. In a satire of agreement statements, Mickey’s volunteers to be an expendable without reading the contract conditions. He just wants a new start and a better look at the recruiter’s legs.

 

Expendable is true to its title. Mickey is a lab rat to test dangerous vaccines, foods, and poisons. His 17 designation means he has died 16 previous times, plopped into a copier holding his memories and DNA patterns, and “reprinted” Mickey is surprisingly popular among the crew, partly because everyone wants to know, “What’s it like to die?” They–each Mickey has personality differences– do, however, have a serious girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie) who doesn’t like the way Mickeys are treated. Once they “die” they are tossed like so much garbage into an incinerator to be melted for the next Mickey.  

 

Predictably, Marshall and his insufferable wife Ylfa (Toni Collette) are greedy little monsters who live and eat high on the hog, suck up to politicians, look like TV evangelists, pray on their knees, and justify their grubby existences by playing the God card. As you might also anticipate, Niflheim is no Garden of Eden. It is largely a wind-and-snow swept desert. Nor is it uninhabited. Creatures Mickey 17 calls Creepers occupy caves and allegedly have a fondness for human flesh. They look like a cross between eyebrow lice and boxing gloves. Mickey 17’s problem magnifies when he reports that he is being swarmed by the Creepers. The lab crew assumes Mickey has been eaten and print Mickey 18 (also Pattison), a more arrogant and confident version of 17. In fact, Big Mama Creeper saves Mickey 17. He and 18 wrestle around over the incinerator pits, but just when it looks as if one will vanquish the other, they must break off their battles lest they be discovered and both thrown into the soup (and no more Mickeys will be printed). It doesn’t help that 18 has the best sex with Nasha she’s ever had or that a widowed harpy name Kai (Anamarie Vartolomei) tries to bed 17, who sees her for what she is. But when Kai finds out there are two Mickeys, she tries to manipulate both.

 

Star Trek aficionados will recognize that the Creepers are a variant of the rock-eating “horta” and that one doesn’t mess with the little ones. When the megalomaniacal Marshalls kill a small Creeper, Mama is on the warpath and thousands of Creepers surround the spaceship as the geeky Dorothy (Patricia Ferran) frantically seeks to perfect a communications translator. There is a happy ending in that the Marshalls are deposed, the problem of multiple Mickeys is resolved, Timo is not cut into five pieces, and crew mates (especially Dorothy) cuddle baby Creepers.

 

Sounds awful, right? It’s strangely and inexplicably charming. Pattison is wonderful as both 17 and 18, Ruffalo chews the scenery, and Ackie is adorable and fierce. Yes, it’s a dumb script but … in a good way!

 

Rob Weir

 

 

[RW1] 

 

---

 [RW1]

 

The Brutalist: One-Half Epic, One-Half Trainwreck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BRUTALIST (2024)

Directed by Brady Corbet

A24, 215 minutes, R (language, brief graphic sex, adult situations)

★★ ½

 

The Brutalist was a polarizing film. Most critics loved it and it won three Oscars; yet it did poorly in North America. It made some money though. Despite its epic pretensions, the budget was quite low. I found it half of a brilliant film and half of a trainwreck. In part, audiences stayed away because of its length. Like its central character, architect Lásló Tóth (Adrien Brody), director Brady Corbet allowed his vision (and perhaps a touch of megalomania) to get the better of him. Those who loved the film will disagree, but it’s seldom a financial boon to get too far ahead of what movie-goers expect. At 3 hours and 45 minutes, The Brutalist is told in chapters and had an intermission so patrons could stretch and go to the loo.

 

The Brutalist is not a biopic. Corbet and Mona Fastvold based Tóth on several post-World War II Jewish modernist architects (among them, Marcel Breuer, Erno Goldfinger, and Louis Kahn). They often took on largescale projects made more affordable by using poured concrete. “Brutalist” has a double meaning in Corbet’s film; brut is French for raw and unrefined, as in using unfinished, unornamented concrete. It’s a controversial style who advocates praise its spare look that emphasizes shapes and utilitarianism; others find it ugly, heavy, and evocative of a prison. (Which is why numerous post-Holocaust Jews embraced it!) As we discover, Tóth has brutal aspects of a different sort.

 

Tóth and his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) are of Czech ancestry. Both survived the Nazi death camps, but Lásló first got permission to emigrate from Europe; Erzsébet and their daughter Zsófia were stuck for years in Europe. Lásló’s adjustment to America is not smooth. After a harsh (and smutty) journey, Lásló goes to Philadelphia where his cousin Attila runs a small furniture and design shop. He has also changed his surname to Miller and is married a Catholic woman who lies to get her way. Nor were Lásló’s designs greeted well. He does, though, help Attila get commissions through his business acumen. Lásló’s biggest coup is redoing a library in Doylestown for rich industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) as a surprise birthday present from his snooty son Harry (Joe Alwyn). When Harrison returns from a trip, he absolutely hates the design, fires Lásló, and refuses to pay. That is, until he finds out that Tóth was famous in Europe and starts getting praise for his bold, modern library.

 

The story of an artist and an abusive patron is one of the oldest in art history. Harrison is at turns sycophantic toward Lásló, jealous of his talent, his protector, and his tormentor. Lásló is commissioned to build the Van Buren Institute, a massive concrete community center, gym, and Protestant chapel complex. Not only is it a clash of egos and religious beliefs, it’s one of Lásló’s heroin addiction and Harrison’s alcoholism. When Erzsébet and Zsófia arrive, things get more complicated. Zsófia is mute from death camp trauma and Erzsébet, though sexually active, is wheelchair bound from osteoporosis (the subtitle said osteomyelitis). Harry has become a conniving SOB who undermines everyone, and Harrison’s volatile cashflow leads to demands for cost cuts, which Lásló refuses to do to the point of offering to pay for overruns himself. Another major crisis occurs when Lásló and Harrison go to Carrara to pick out marble for the altar. Will the concrete white elephant ever get built? The Brutalist borrows themes of megalomania from Citizen Kane, but is also about prejudice toward outsiders (racial, religious, national, socially inferior).

 

The film spirals out of control after the intermission when the focus shifts from an immigration story to a construction project sullied by rancor from numerous directions. Corbet attempt at a sweepingly epic like The Godfather saga begins to leak like raw concrete. In the confusing second half, un- or barely-introduced characters drop in and out, along with unresolved mysteries, and dropped storylines. The film’s epilogue is an unexplained out-of-nowhere tribute to Tóth.

 

I was sad that the promising first part of the movie disintegrated before my eyes. The Brutalist could have taken its place among epics such as Schindler’s List, The Last Samurai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Citizen Kane. Alas, it crumbled like the Van Buren Center.

 

Rob Weir

 

Note 1: Corbet admired the music of the late Scott Walker and dedicated the film to him. Walker’s music was also quite controversial, innovative to some and strident for others.

 

Note 2: Here are two examples of brutalist architecture: Boston City Hall and the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center.

 

UMass 

Boston 

The Beasts Return to the East

The last few years there was MLB buzz that teams in the East were no longer the powerhouses they used to be. The West Coast LA Dodgers open 2026 as the favorites to win another World Series, but competitive baseball has returned to the East.

 

  

National League East

The Mets, Phillies, and Braves are all capable of winning the East or securing a Wild Card playoff slot. My predictions are as much gut level as objective.

1. A lot of people picked the New York Mets to win the East last year, but they were a DNQ. This year I think they will win the NL East. Plucking Peralta from the Brewers cemented a promising pitching staff. Look for McLean to establish himself as an ace. Peterson isn’t flashy but he gets it done and Holmes has surprised as a reliever turned starter. An infield of Polanco, Semien. Lindor, and Bichette–all four of whom were came via free agency in the past few years– should be pretty good.  If you like irony, Semien has a .253 career batting average and has hit 253 career homers. He’s a metaphor for the consistency of the entire infield.

Remember last year when Soto was booed for his slow start. All he did thereafter was slash .263/43/105! Robert has thus far played like a guy who couldn’t wait to get out of Chicago.

What could go wrong? Devin Williams, now the closer, was so bad in that role with the Yankees that he was demoted. Memo: The pressure is just as great in Queens as it was in the Bronz. Benge is a rookie in right, so we need to see how that sugars off. Senga is the fifth starter and hasn’t exactly torn up the league in the four years since coming over from Japan. The Mets flunked the resiliency test last year. Could it happen again?

2. If there’s no urgency in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse, there should be. The Phils have been perennial winners of the East but seldom go very far in the postseason. Father Time is lurking in their neighborhood. Six of their pitchers are over 30–three years over a pitcher’s prime–and key lineup players like Harper, Realmuto, Turner, (Adolis) Garcia, and Schwarber are edging toward their middle 30s. Don’t get me wrong; the aforementioned are very good, Schwarber smacks homers like they’re flies, and Harper is a genuine superstar, but baseball’s wear and tear makes injuries more likely after 30. Witness starter Wheeler’s current status on the IL. (Christopher) Sanchez was 13-5 last year and Luzardo 15-7. The Phils hope Painter will be an ace.

What could go wrong: The best scenario is that Wheeler returns midseason, but that’s not a given. Nola was supposed to be elite pitcher, but with the exception of two superb years, he’s blown hot and cold. Walker is very hittable. The Phils are putting Crawford, a rookie, in center and a youngster, (Byrson) Scott at short. Can they handle the pressure?

3. Atlanta Braves: Last year everything that could go wrong did. This year the Braves should hang around and, should the Phillies stumble, Atlanta could grab a Wild Card. Sale remains a superb hurler and if Strider (currently on the IL) returns to his 2023 breakout year, that’s a great 1-2 punch. They will need help, though. If top prospect Caminiti is ready, that will help and a few more arms are on the cusp. The Braves have a habit of churning out good pitchers. Olson is a very productive hitter, Harris II is usually good for 20 homers a year, Yastrzemski was a useful pickup from Kansas City, and a healthy Acuna Jr. has star potential.

What could go wrong? If Albies doesn’t play to his potential and Riley has a mediocre year, there are big holes in the lineup. DH Murphy and SS Kim are on the IL, and Profar is suspended for the entire year. Slumps and injuries could make ’26 a repeat of 2025. If the young arms aren’t ready, Lopez, Holmes, and Elder will have to pitch better than they ever have.

4/5. The Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins are in rebuild mode, a place where they seem stuck the past few years. The Nationals have veteran pitchers Littell and Mikolas on their staff, but are taking a leap of faith in making Beeter their closer. If he finds Homeplate that will be an improvement, but he could also hit the backstop! The lineup will be young and filled with names few beyond the DC Metro area know very well.  

On paper the Marlins have a somewhat stronger team with Alcantara, (Eury) Perez, Paddack, and Fairbanks pitching. The lineup resembles that of the Nats, though, and the names you might know (Stowers, Slater, (Agustin) Ramirez) are cast offs. Both teams will be young in a wait-and-see manner. I give the Nats a slight chance of avoiding the basement simply because no matter who owns the team, Miami tends to trade talent instead of developing it.

 

 

 

American League East

1. The Toronto Blue Jays came within two outs of winning the World Series last year. That was no fluke. The Jays have arrived and should be in the mix for years to come. Anyone hoping to catch them should make their move early while the Jays still have key players on the IL. The staff will eventually have Gausman, Cease, Bieber (IL), and superb young pitcher Yesavage (IL). The lineup is loaded: Guerrerro Jr., Okamoto, Clement in the infield, Kirk, a 5’8” catcher who hits like Yogi Berra, and an outfield that can shuffle Springer, Straw, Varsho, Barger, and Lukes.

What could go wrong?  Scherzer and/or Lauer will have to step up as the # 5 pitcher as Ponce is probably out for the season. Bet on Lauer. Hoffman and his 4.76 ERA doesn’t rank among the MLB’s best closers. The Jays didn’t lose much defensively with Bichette heading to the Mets, but they don’t have a real shortstop. Gimenez will give it a try, though he’s really a 2^nd baseman by trade. He also hit .201 last year! Toronto could be weak defensively.

2. Nothing would surprise me about the New York Yankees; they could win the division or fall as low as 4^th. I’m not entirely certain what management had in mind in the off-season, but New York basically starts 2026 with a team that looks like 2025. The only real moves were trading for pitcher Weathers, re-signing Bellinger, and biding goodbye to half their bullpen. In theory, the pitching staff will be superb, but that’s if Cole and Rodon come back at near full strength. Fried is a reluctant ace, but is very good. They may have unearthed a gem in Schlittler, and Lagrange is knocking on the door. The bullpen also looks pretty good now that Bird has regained confidence and has Doval, Cruz, Hill, and (maybe) Headrick around him. If anyone falters, there’s talent in the minors.

Rice is another great find and can both catch and anchor first. Chisholm Jr. is polarizing, but exciting. Grisham needs to hit like he did last year because Scranton has two guys who should be on the MLB roster: Dominguez and Jones. The Yankees right fielder is a guy whose name you might have heard:  Aaron Judge, who’s either the best or second-best player in baseball.

What could go wrong? Stanton had an amazing spring, but the odds are better than 50/50 he will end up on the IL. For the life of me I don’t understand why New York traded for Weathers. Volpe is on the IL, but manager Boone is nuts if he starts him over Caballero. McMahon is a superb glove at 3^rd but his bat is as shaky as a pool noodle. Likewise, watch Wells behind the plate. If Rice catches as often as he plays first, Wells will be traded. There’s also a lingering feeling that the Yankees might have a better team in Scranton (Gill, Cohen, Beck, (Elmer) Rodriguez, Cabrera, Shewmake, Dominguez, Jones) than in New York.

3. This year the Boston Red Sox should at least get a Wild Card. On paper their pitching is awesome: Crochet, Gray, Suarez, Bello, Early (with Tolle in the wings). The seemingly ageless Chapman can close it down if Whitlock, Weissert, and Slaten hold leads. Contreras hit in St. Louis and Sox hope he does so in Boston. Story brings experience to short and Anthony has emerged as a probable superstar. The Red Sox outfield with Amthony, Rafaela, Abreu, or Duran can flat out pick it. It might be the best defensive OF in MLB today. And let’s not underestimate revenge motivation from all the former Yankees the Sox pilfered: Gray, Whitlock, Weissert, Chapman, Narvaez, Seigler, Durbin, Kiner-Falefa.

What Could Go Wrong?  The Sox have some young players–Mayer, Durbin, Rafaela–they’re counting on. Mayer spat the bit last year and Rafaela has never hit .250 in the majors. They need to be better as the Red Sox don’t have a lot of power. The word on the street is that Gray melts under pressure and that Suarez’s soft tosses won’t play well in the AL East. Why is (Romy) Gonzalez (IL) so underrated? 

4. Back in 2021 many “experts” called the Baltimore Orioles the team of the future. Within a few years they debuted talent like Holliday, Henderson, Rutschman, and Mountcastle, to name guys still with the O’s. Of them, Mountcastle had a great year in ’21, when he launched 33 home runs, but hasn’t duplicated it. They’ve gotten very little out of Holliday; Rutschman has been good, but not the elite catcher he was projected to be. 

This year they brought in Bassitt to stabilize the staff and added power bats in Alonso and Ward, the latter a truly underrated player who spent time with the mostly awful Angels. Some have picked the Orioles as the dark horse to grab a Wildcard.

What could go wrong? I’ll say this, if the Orioles don’t upgrade their pitching, the O’s could drop to last. (Tyler) Rogers is good, though Bassitt could become their # 1 guy. Bradish is 29 and has spent much of his career in MiLB, Baz is 17-17 lifetime, and Elfin at 68-67 (mostly with the powerful Phillies) goes on my list of most disappointing highly touted prospects. Baltimore is a case study for an adage I’ve mentioned before: Until they show otherwise, prospects are suspects. The O’s will be better with Alonzo and Ward but, without luck, they are missing too many pieces.

5. Last year the Tampa Bay Rays even lacked a stadium. This year they’re back in the Trop, but it’s not good news to return to that awful tin can. The Rays seem to specialize in pesky players who can sting you but are unlikely to see the inside of Hall of Fame without a ticket. Rassmussen and McClanahan are good pitchers, but things fall apart pretty fast after that. Matz was once a hot prospect but is 61-62 for his injury-marred career. (Nick) Martinez has a similar profile. Closer Jax has exactly 27 saves of 5 years.

The Rays are why some analysts dismiss Batting averages. The Rays were 8^th in MLB for batting averages last year, but 15^th in runs scored and 16^th in home runs. See the problem? If Lux gets off the IL, he could add some power, but as the roster stands there’s not much firepower beyond Mullins and (Yandy) Diaz, one of the more productive catchers in the AL. In short, the Rays need more than a new ballpark.

 

Rob Weir

 

 

 

Thelma is Insulting and Unfunny

 

 

 THELMA (2024)

Directed by Josh Margolin.

Magnolia pictures, 98 minutes, PG-13.

★★

June Squibb has been acting since 1947, yet, few movie goers knew of her before she vowed audiences in the wonderful Alexander Payne movie Nebraska (2013) for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar. Squibb later landed a leading role in Thelma. Alas, it’s a total mess. An example of its lack of forethought is that it’s hard to find because, of course, searches direct you to Thelma and Louise, a much better and more popular film. (Why not give Squibb a different old-fashioned name like Cora?)

Thelma is burdened with a clumsy and insulting script. It was billed as rom-com, but it’s actually a sappy comedy of the lowest common denominator. Were it not for the performances of Ms. Squibb–back when she was a mere 93–and (the late) Richard Roundtree, Squibb’s sympathetic co-star, you could erase every copy of Thelma and Western society would never notice. It made a few bucks the box office, but that’s only because its budget was just $3 million, which is less than most movies spend on makeup.

Thelma Markowicz is an elderly American suffering from memory lapses and physical ailments that trouble many senior citizens. She continues to live alone in Los Angeles, though her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) loves her dearly and comes over from time to time to talk and show her how to send emails. The ongoing joke is that Danny is a sweet smiling dweeb who is socially challenged. He lacks self-confidence and is pretty much the ward of his parents, Alan (Clark Gregg), who stares at his phone most of the time, and Gail (Parker Posey). She’s a neurotic and over-the-top controlling helicopter wife and mother. The big family discussion is whether Thelma has truly lost it and should be living in a care facility. Thelma doesn’t want to hear of it. She does have memory issues, but she’s also keenly aware of those with fewer marbles than she and has witnessed the grinding sadness of nursing homes via visits to friends.

A crisis point comes when Thelma is scammed into sending $10,000 in cash to a post office box in Van Nuys. She falls for a phone call from a “bail bondsman” telling her that Danny is in jail for hitting a pregnant woman. This ups the now-lighter-ante and a new push to find an eldercare home for Thelma. They take her to a “nice” facility, but instead of looking around, she finds her old friend Ben (Roundtree) who shows off his new scooter that gets 43 miles per charge. Instead of returning to the lobby, Thelma appropriates Ben’s scooter and we are (mis)treated to an inane chase around the rest home. Thelma escapes through a set of double doors, but Ben catches up to Thelma, who convinces Ben to ride with her to Van Nuys to recover her money. In the meantime, Alan and Gail go frantic and act as if there’s not an adult bone in their bodies. Danny practices feeling sorry for his ineptitude and blaming Thelma’s absence on himself. (Later, we find out that Danny has a sort of girlfriend, though who would date such a man-boy is an open question.)

If you thought the chase through the nursing care facility was stupid, the slow ride to Van Nuys is dumber still. Along the way, Thelma stops to steal a gun from an old friend living in squalor to intimidate the thieves if they discover them. Is any of this plausible? Does Thelma get her money back? Do she and Ben make it back to the facility safely? Does Dudley Do-Right Danny redeem himself? Do we care? Has Margolin stolen the essence of The Straight Story (1999)?

I suppose Margolin, who also wrote the script, thinks he redeemed himself by making Thelma a person who can learn to use a computer over the telephone. Or perhaps, he thinks a black white friendship shows compassion. Nope!  The entire movie rests upon stereotypes of older Americans, will a drive-by meek effort of showing old dogs learning new tricks. Most of the “funny” stuff seldom rises above obvious slapstick or a Grade-B TV laugh track. I wish Margolin had given Roundtree a worthy goodbye and Squibb a real leading role.

Rob Weir

 

 

 

MLB Central Time

National League: 

 

 

1. Chicago Cubs:  Milwaukee caught lightning in a jar in 2025, but it’s hard to imagine that happening twice. On paper, the Cubs lineup and pitching is superior. Busch showed unexpected power, Crow-Armstrong is a star in the making, Happ should hit better this year, they added Bregman and Conforto, and Hoerner and Swanson are solid. Regulars Horton, Suzuki, and Austin are on the IL, but the Cubbies can cover until they come back. I’m not so sure about Boyd is a # 1 hurler, but Imanaga, Horton, and Taillon are good and they lifted Cabrera from Miami and stuck the Yankees with Weathers, the definition of a bum.

What could go wrong? The bullpen could implode without a real closer. They shuffle two catchers, one of whom hits for average but has no power and the other his opposite.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Last year I picked the Bucs to win the Central and they cratered. This year I’ll be slightly more cautious. Let’s start with the obvious. Skenes is the best pitcher in baseball not named Skubal. Chandler, their number one prospect, joins the staff fulltime this year. Keller has the stuff to be better. The lineup bulked up to give support to Reynolds. Lowe, Ozuna, and O’Hearn will help. Heralded prospect Griffin is knocking at the door.

What could go wrong? The big question is whether they’ve added enough. The 4,5 pitchers are suspect as is the relief staff. The lineup has holes that last year hit near the Mendoza Line. Do the Bucs break out or back up the van?

3. Milwaukee Brewers: Based on last year they get picked for a Wild Card, but I still shake my head at how the Brew Crew won 97 games last year. Woodruff is good, but not an ace; Misiorowski hasn’t been as good as his press clippings, Priester is on the IL, and both pitching prospects Harrison and Patrick are suspect until they prove otherwise. Megill is a fine closer. The Brewers mashed last year. Yelich and Chourio should again and perhaps (William) Contreas will also, but this is not the same lineup as last year.

What can go wrong? Quite a lot. They’ve got a hitter named Ortiz, but it’s Joey not David. Their outfield is thin and an injury to Chourio or Yelich would be devastating. In so-called small market terms, the Brewers lost more than they gained over the offseason, including Peralta, last year’s ace. Montas left as well, but no one will lose sleep over that. More harmful was the loss of Rule 5 players close to readiness.

4. Cincinnati Reds: Speaking of teams I don’t trust, I offer the Reds. De La Cruz should be a superstar. He’s faster than a congressman leaving for summer break, but he has a history starting hot and finishing in the just-okay middle. They did score big by signing Suarez, who belted 49 homers last year.  Abbott is a good starter and Pagan one of the better closers. Skipper Terry Francona is their X-factor.

What can go wrong? Other than Suarez at the plate and De La Cruz on the base paths, the lineup has a few guys who occasionally shine, but quite a few who don’t. The same is true of the pitching. They’d have to go full Milwaukee-2025 to be in the running.

5. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards are in a rebuild and it’s probably going to be a long few years in St. Loo. Herrera hit the most homers of any current Cardinal at just 19. There won’t be many guys pitching you’ve heard of and the same goes for the everyday players. I won’t bother with what could go wrong. Count every loss under 90 as a moral victory.

American League:

 

 

1. It’s hard to argue against the Detroit Tigers. Skubal is amazing and Mize is a young arm who’d be their best were it not for Skubal. Valdez is pretty good too and one suspects Flaherty will rebound. Jansen is 38, but he’s still closing and doing it well. Torkelson isn’t flashy, but he hit 31 dingers in 2025. The Yankees should have never parted with Torres, and top prospects McGonigle and Keith should be ready to go. If either one falters the Striped Cats have Baez to step in. Greene hit 37 homers and drove in 111 last year.

What could go wrong? Sentiment aside, 43-year-old Verlander will pitch on experience but not much else. Toledo lefthander Miller might take his role sooner than later. The outfielders beyond Greene don’t hit a ton. More like 3 lb. weights. We might see prospect Max Clark sometime this summer.

2. Kansas City Royals: are capable, if the Tigers don’t seize the day. Witt might be the AL’s best shortstop and Perez its best catcher. Pasquantino is an up-and-coming slugger. If Lugo can bounce back from a down year and Wacha continues to eat innings, KC could surprise. Estevez will close the door on close games, as he did 42 times last year.

What could go wrong? Like the Tigers, the outfield is more hope than output. I expect to see (Starling) Marte take somebody’s job. For all its potential, only Bubic had a (barely) winning record among starters and their top prospects are in the low minors. I might also mention that KC was 2025’s sexy pick in the AL Central and went 82-80.

3. The Cleveland Guardians won the Central last year and few managers do as much with constant turnover as Vogt. The only guys who jump out at you in the lineup are (Jose) Ramirez and Hoskins (via the Brewers). How do they do it? Pitching, mainly, but they lost a starter (Means) over the winter plus four relievers. They still have (Gavin) Williams and Bibee, who underperformed in 2025. What could go wrong? Every year it’s an open question how Cleveland’s Scotch tape roster will perform. Vogt will get the best out of his players, but he will need luck this year as the talent is either inexperienced or mediocre. Luckily, they have one of the best pipelines of minor league talent. I doubt that everyone projected to be a starter will be so by midseason. Lefty Messick is their top pitching prospect but if he’s not ready, the staff will be challenged.

4. The Minnesota Twins have (Joe) Ryan as their ace and he’s a lot better than many people think. Other than Woods Richardson, though, the rest pushes the mediocrity needle to its far edge unless the prospects are Skenes clones. Buxton had a monster year at the plate last year, but ask me if I think he’ll duplicate it.

What could go wrong? I’ll admit it; I freaking hate the Twins. Every year they whine about being a small market team, though it’s a top-20 media locale of nearly four million and is owned by the filthy rich Pohland family. They seldom spend real money on talent and act as if they are saints for keeping the Twins in Minnesota. Memo: These guys just aren’t good enough.

5.  The Chicago White Sox lost more than 100 games last year. They will be better this year but there’s still a long road from here to respectability. The Sox will field a lot of pitchers who are more like household rumors than household names. They have Acuna and Sosa in the lineup, but it’s Luisangel and Lenyn, not Ronald or Sammy. Teel is on the IL but is a promising catcher. Murakami came over from Japan and is allegedly a powerful hitter with an iron glove. Hays, plucked from free agency is a good player. Benintendi hit 20 homers last year, but no one knows how. The Chi Sox allegedly have the second-best farm system in MLB. We’ll likely see some of those lads this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MLB: How to Buy the West

 

 

 

Full confession: I don’t scout the West very much, so if there’s a kid who busts out to be a rookie of the year candidate, my apologies.

 

National League

 

1. The cream of the NL West, if not all of MLB is the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champion. They’re probably the best team in Japan as well, which is where they’ve cherrypicked talent lately. They are what a billion dollars in salary get you because when the Dodgers were bad, MLB made a sweetheart deal that allowed LA to hide salaries via deferred payments, write-offs, and tax-dodges.

            They have MLB’s best everyday player, Ohtani, who might be their second-best pitcher as well. Glasnow, Snell, and Yamamoto can also throw pretty well, and they scooped up Edwin Diaz in free agency to stabilize the bullpen and still have Tanner Scott. And who wouldn’t a daily lineup that includes Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Rojas, Hernandez, Smith, and 2026’s prize free agent, Kyle Tucker?

 

Weaknesses? The bullpen before you get to Scott or Diaz is quite hittable. Sasaki impresses those who think speed is everything, but batters have figured him out. Plus, he’s on the IL. 

 

2. The San Diego Padres turned over their roster, but kept key pitchers like Cease, King, Darvish, and Musgrave. They might have the NL’s best relief pitcher in young Mason Miller, added innings guy Pivetta, and the rest of their staff is made up of Yankees castoffs such as Brito, Marinaccio, Peralta, and Vasquez. That’s not a bad thing, as New York has fallen into a bad habit of dumping useful players for bets on those who aren’t. San Diego may have done the same thing with signing Bueler, who looks gassed, and Castellanos the worst outfielder in MLB and a known clubhouse distraction. The lineup, though is formidable with bats such as Bogaerts, Machado, Tatis Jr. and Laureano. Their bullpen might be better than that of the Dodgers.

 

Weaknesses? There are weak spots after jettisoning Kim and Solano. Will catcher Fermin handle the staff as well as Higashioka?

 

3. I’m not sold on this pick, but I think the Arizona Diamondbacks will squeeze out third place based on very good pitching staff: Kelly (currently on the IL) , Burnes, Gallen, Pfadtt, and (hopefully) Eduardo Martinzez, who are on the IL. 

 

Weaknesses? Other than Carroll, Marte, and (they hope) the aging Arendo there aren’t many hitters who will ruin a good pitcher’s sleep. Last year, the D’Backs had the worst bullpen in baseball and adding the ruined arm of Loaisiga is unlikely to help.

 

4. The San Franciso Giants:  I could have jumped straight to weaknesses, but I should give a shout out to Ray and Webb, who are good pitchers, gold glove outfielder Bader, high OBP hitter Arraez who seems always to be on base, and Chapman or Devers who can knock him in.

 

Weaknesses: More holes than a hobo’s socks. They are slow, swing at too many bad pitches, and lack power. Plus, new manager Tony Vitello has only college baseball experience. He may turn out to be a good skipper, but I doubt that will be this year.

 

5. Would someone fold the deckchairs on the U.S.S. Colorado Rockies? They lost 119 games last year and could lose 120 this year. Other than Freeland, Lorenzen, and (I Need a New Agent) Kris Bryant you won’t have heard of any of the kids who will be playing for the Rockies this year. Best Case Scenario: By the end of the season a couple of hopeful prospects will have emerged but nobody seems to know if there’s any sort of plan, let alone a “grand” one.

 

 

 

 

American League:

 

1. I’m seldom sold on the Seattle Mariners, but they should have enough to prevail again in the flawed AL West. First, though, hats off to catcher Cal Raleigh who slammed 60 homers last year. He probably won’t duplicate that in 2026, but he has other decenthitters around him: Naylor, Julio Roriguez, Crawford, Canzone, Robles and newcomers Donovan and Refsnyder. The staff is anchored by Castillo and Woo.

 

Weaknesses: The Mariners tend to look great on paper but have too many players who have been less than the sum of their parts. Castillo is said to be an ace, but he’s 84-84 lifetime and has had a winning record in just three of his 9 years in MLB. Robles is the hitter equivalent, 9 years in the majors, but a .247 hitter based mainly on two great years and has never had more than 17 homers. I’ll go on record as saying that top prospect Colt Emerson will be an early call-up. The M’s should rock the AL West but don’t blame me if it’s merely a mild shake.

 

2. Here’s my wild prediction for 2026. The Athletics (playing in Sacramento but with no city designation) will finish second in the AL West. (Once they move into their very ugly domed stadium in Las Vegas, we need never care about them again!) The A’s have done a nice job of bringing along young hitters mixed with a few veterans. Four A’s hit 25 or more homers in 2025: Soderstrom (25), Rooker (30), Langeliers (31), and Kurtz (36).

 

Weaknesses? Here’s where my optimism could turn to foolishness. You’ll notice there are no pitchers mentioned. Their top three relievers (after trading Miller) had a total of seven saves between them and all five of their starters had ERAs well north of four. They are depending on Luis Severino to be their ace. He’s a guy the Yankees released and went 8-11 for the A’s last year. Look for young pitchers Gage Jump and Jack Perkins to breakout early, or this young A’s team will finish fourth, not second.

 

3. The Houston Astros are a shell of what they were are their apex, but they’re still a decent ballclub. Walker, Altuve, Pena, and Correa make up one of the best infields in the AL now that Correa has moved to third to allow Penna to take over short. Diaz is strong behind the plate and Hader is one of the best closers around. Brown is considered their number one starter given Javier’s fall off in 2025, and they have high hopes for Japanese starter Imai, though a lot of other clubs passed on him. If McCullers and Burrows pitch to their potential, the ‘Stros will have strong pitching.

 

Weaknesses? The outfield is a wing and a prayer. Put another way, put the three starters together and they don’t add up to one Kyle Tucker. Don’t be surprised if prospect Matthews and Cole displace a few incumbents in late spring. Walker is a fine defensive first baseman, but his inconsistent bat is why teams that needed one didn’t pursue him back in 2024.

 

4. If the A’s are a fantasy pick and the Astros don’t up their game, the rebuilding Texas Rangers could move up a slot or two. Eovaldi and de Grom are frontline starters. Everyday players include Nimmo (from the Mets), Aroldis Garcia, Seager, and Langford, the latter a young player with the ceiling of a star.

 

Weaknesses?  The Rangers are quite thin everywhere. Look for Higashioka to displace Jansen as catcher but overall, the Rangers simply can’t afford injuries to key players like de Grom, Altuve, or Langford. Even if they stay healthy, they’ll be several pieces short. Robert Garcia is their closer and had but nine last year. If he goes down, the ball goes to Beeks. (Really?) Walcott, still just 18, has raked this spring and might hit his way into the lineup.

 

5. Unless Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Great Pumpkin collectively work magic the Los Angeles (really Anaheim) Angels will be hard-pressed to improve on 2025’s 99-loss season. They redid their pitching staff, which shouldn’t have been hard, but gave up their third best hitter, Taylor Ward, to acquire Grayson Rodriguez who has a dead arm. Deters is their number 3 guy and he was in bullpen last year. Neither # 1 nor # 2 (Soriano and Kikkuchi) had winning records. If I asked you who was their best hitter, you’d be tempted to say Trout, except his line last year was .232/26/64. Adell’s 37 homers led the club.

 

Weaknesses? Everywhere. When a bust like Moncada is your new third baseman, you’re in trouble. Ditto When the two guys pegged to close games are vets who collectively had four last year. The Angels should do the kind thing and trade Trout to the Dodgers for a truckload of prospects.