I loved Emma Stone’s performance as Billy Jean King in Battle of the Sexes, the story of the TV event in the Astrodome that captured the largest audience for a tennis match at that time. Steve Carell plays frustrated 55-year-old former tennis great Bobby Riggs. Riggs decides he can regain the public spotlight (and make some money) by becoming a sexist clown and challenging women tennis players to competitive matches.

Many of you may remember the famous Battle of the Sexes event on ABC TV narrated by Howard Cosell and Rosie Casals (Natalie Morales). Austin Stowell plays Billy Jean’s devoted husband. I liked Sarah Silverman as Billy Jean’s feisty agent. Bill Pullman and Alan Cumming are part of the talented cast.

A good part of this movie shows the pressures Billy Jean King endured on the professional tennis tour, the physical and mental demands. Billy Jean’s relationship with a hairdresser (Andrea Riseborough) isn’t sugar-coated although the resolution is. Good performances and great story. What more could you want? GRADE: B+

Although most of Marshall is set in 1941 Bridgeport, Connecticut what you’ll be seeing on the screen is Buffalo, New York: Central Terminal, Delaware Park, Beard Avenue in North Buffalo, Statler City’s former Rendezvous Room (doubling for Harlem’s Minton’s Playhouse), and City Hall. Yes, this film was mostly shot a few miles away from where I live.

Director Reginald Hudlin’s movie about Thurgood Marshall–the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and the civil rights lawyer that won “Brown vs. Board of Education” that officially ended “legal” segregation and the “separate but equal” defense–features Chadwick Boseman as the prickly Marshall (soon to be a major star in Black Panther). Hudlin and Boseman take a risk by making Marshall initially arrogant and aloof and unsympathetic. Marshall is the NAACP’s only full-time lawyer at this time. He defends cases of discrimination all over the country, but not all the black defendants get freed. That adds to Marshall’s bitterness.

Marshall centers around a case where a black chauffeur (Sterling K. Brown) is accused by his female employer (Kate Hudson) of rape and attempted murder. Marshall hasn’t passed the Bar in Connecticut so he needs a local lawyer to front for him. Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a Jewish lawyer who specializes in insurance cases, finds himself Marshall’s reluctant co-counsel. Marshall’s contempt for Friedman’s lack of criminal law experience soon turns to grudging respect as the two men work together to prepare a defense.

Marshall is one of the best movies I’ve seen in 2017. Don’t miss it! GRADE: A

The Big News here is the trade that sent million dollar per game Defensive Tackle Marcell Dareus to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a Sixth Round pick. Clearly, the Bills executed a classic “Salary Dump” by moving Dareus. The Buffalo Bills drafted Dareus in 2011 with the Third overall pick in the First Round. Dareus made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014. In the 2014 season, Dareus had 10 sacks and 49 tackles. The Bills signed Dareus to a $100 million contract extension.

But then Dareus flunked a drug test, was suspended for a game in 2015, flunked another drug test, was suspended for four games in 2016, and Dareus’s performance fell off the cliff.

Dareus is just one more flunked drug test from a mandatory 10 game suspension. The Bills had to be delighted that the Jags were willing to take Dareus off their hands (and free up millions under the Salary Cap!).

The Bills are 3-point favorites today against the Raiders. How will your NFL team do today?

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is based on Jill Lepore’s book The Secret History of Wonder Woman (you can read my review of Lepore’s book here). Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Radcliffe, William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman and the comic book that became a sensation back in the 1940s. As if creating the most popular female superhero of all time wasn’t enough, Marston also maintained a love triangle with his wife and a student.

If you’ve read the early Wonder Woman comics, you’ll notice a thread of sadomasochism running through those issues. Marston, his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall), and the student (Bella Heathecote) get into some kinky S&M. And we learn where Wonder Woman’s sexy costume originated. If you’re looking for something outside the mainstream, I recommend Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. GRADE: B+

This new Soho paperback omnibus collects five of Margaret Millar’s mysteries from the 1940s. Three novels feature PSYCHOLOGIST PAUL PRYE: The Invisible Worm (1941), The Weak-Eyed Bat (1942), and The Devil Loves Me (1942). My favorite mysteries in this volume feature Toronto police detective, INSPECTOR SANDS. The Wall of Eyes (1943) and The Iron Gates (1945) contain some of Margaret Millar’s best writing. If you haven’t read these early Millar’s, you are in for a treat! Soho deserves praise for reprinting Margaret Millar’s work in such an attractive, affordable format! GRADE: A

You can read my reviews of Margaret Millar’s work here, here, and here.

No, these are NOT the greatest hits of the 1970s. But this 8 CD box set was a tremendous value (I bought it for $5!). There’s a lot of marginal music here, but there are lots of wonderful songs, too. I remember many of the One-Hit-Wonders like Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” But many of these songs must have been hits in Europe because I had no recollection of the songs or the groups–have you heard of Atomic Rooster? Do you see any songs here from the Seventies that you’re fond of? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST
Disc 1
1. It’s A Heartache /Bonnie Tyler
2. Back Home /Golden Earring
3. Ready To Go /Generation X
4. No More Heroes /The Stranglers
5. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t ‘Ve?) /Buzzcocks
6. My Sharona /The Knack
7. Tomorrow Night /Atomic Rooster
8. Showdown /E.L.O.
9. Hello Suzie /The Move
10. Up Against The Wall /Tom Robinson Band
11. Man From Manhattan /Eddie Howell
12. Silver Lady /David Soul
13. Baby Jump /Mungo Jerry
14. On My Radio /The Selecter
15. Message To Rudy /The Specials featuring Rico
16. (You’ve Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back /Peter Tosh
17. Second Time Around /Shalamar
18. Bimbo Jet / El Bimbo
Disc 2
19. Spanish Stroll /Mink DeVille
20. Dyna-Mite /Mud
21. Magic /Pilot
22. Dancing On A Saturday Night /Barry Blue
23. You To Me Are Everything /Real Thing
24. And The Beat Goes On /The Whispers
25. Rapper’s Delight /Sugarhill Gang
26. Whodunit /Tavares
27. Grease Lightnin’ /John Travolta
28. Roll Over Beethoven /E.L.O.
29. Kung Fu Fighting /Carl Douglas
30. Dreams Are Ten A Penny /Kincade
31. Freedom Come, Freedom Go /Fortunes
32. Donna /10CC
33. Sugar Candy Kisses /Mac & Katie Kissoon
34. Beach Baby /First Class
35. Brother Louie . /Hot Chocolate
36. Be Good To Yourself /Frankie Miller
Disc 3
37. Child In Time /Deep Purple
38. Dance With The Devil /Cozy Powell
39. Long Cool Woman In Black Dress /The Hollies
40. Radar Love /Golden Earring
41. Silver Machine /Hawkwind
42. Milk And Alcohol /Dr. Feelgood
43. Motor Bikin’ /Chris Spedding
44. 2-4-6-8 Motorway /Tom Robinson Band
45. Rubber Bullets /10CC
46. Nutbush City Limits /Ike & Tina Turner
47. Your Generation /Generation X
48. Isn’t It Time /The Babies
49. Peaches /The Stranglers
50. Sylvia /Focus
51. This Perfect Day /The Saints
52. Cotton Fields /The Beach Boys
53. Here Comes The Sun /Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
54. He’s Gonna Step On You Again /John Kongos
Disc 4
55. Air That I Breathe /The Hollies
56. Don’t Throw It All Away /Gary Benson
57. When You Are In Love With A Beautiful Woman /Dr. Hook
58. Please Don’t Go /KC & The Sunshine Band
59. Loving You /Minnie Riperton
60. Tired Of Toein’ The Line /Rocky Burnette
61. Dancing In The City /Marshall Hain
62. Norma Jean Wants To Be A Movie Star /Cunningham
63. If You Can’t Give Me Love /Suzi Quatro
64. Hot Child In The City /Nick Gilder
65. Wall Street Shuffle /10CC
66. Popcorn /Hot Butter
67. Una Paloma Blanca /George Baker Selection
68. Lay Your Love On Me /Racey
69. Mexico /Les Humphries Singers
70. Darlin’ /Frankie Miller
71. If I Had Words /Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Kesley
72. Don’t Let It Die /Hurricane Smith
Disc 5
73. Hocus Pocus /Focus
74. Tears Of A Clown /The Beat
75. Something Better Change /The Stranglers
76. Little Girl /The Banned
77. Valley Of The Dolls /Generation X
78. Straw Dogs /Stiff Little Fingers
79. Judy Teen /Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
80. Tell Me Your Plans /The Shirts
81. 7 Teen /The Regents
82. Homicide /999
83. Brontosaurus /The Move
84. Don’t Take No For An Answer /Tom Robinson Band
85. Walk In The Park /Nick Straker Band
86. I Go To Pieces /Cotton, Lloyd & Christian
87. Don’t Give Up On Us /David Soul
88. Girls /Moments & Whatnauts
89. Boogie On Top /Rokotto
90. Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) /Joe Tex
Disc 6
91. Tiger Feet /Mud
92. Day That Curly Billy Shot Crazy Sam Mcgee /The Hollies
93. Proud Mary /Ike & Tina Turner
94. One Last Kiss /J. Geils Band
95. Money In My Pocket /Dennis Brown
96. O.K. Fred /Errol Dunkley
97. Midnight Rider /Paul Davidson
98. Cocaine /Dillinger
99. Sideshow /Barry Biggs
100. Gangsters /Special A.K.A.
101. Bad Bad Leroy Brown /Jim Croce
102. There’s A Lot Whole Loving /Guys & Dolls
103. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel /Tavares
104. Emma /Hot Chocolate
105. Can You Feel The Force /Real Thing
106. American Pie /Don McLean
107. Sad Sweet Dreamer /Sweet Sensaton
108. Be Thankful For What You’ve Got /William De Vaughn
Disc 7
109. Wild Places /Duncan Browne
110. Make Me Smile /Cockney Rebel
111. Lost In France /Bonnie Tyler
112. Alright, Alright, Alright /Mungo Jerry
113. Touch Too Much /Arrows
114. Indian Reservation /Don Fardon
115. Man Who Sold The World /Lulu & David Bowe
116. Streets Of London /Ralph McTell
117. Give Up Your Guns /The Buoys
118. Piece Of The Action /The Babys
119. Rich Kids /Rich Kids
120. Knock On Wood /Amil Steward
121. Where Is The Love /Delegaton
122. Shame, Shame, Shame /Shirley & Company
123. Gonna Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse /Jimmy Helms
124. Shannon /Henry Gross
125. Memories /Memories
126. Time In A Bottle /Jim Croce
Disc 8
127. More Than A Woman /Tavares
128. That’s The Way I Like It /KC & The Sunshine Band
129. So You Win Again /Hot Chocolate
130. Swing Your Daddy /Jim Gilstrap
131. Rock Your Baby /George McCrae
132. Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) /Al Martino
133. Calendar Song /Trinidad Oil Company
134. Can’t Get By Without You /Real Thing
135. Uptown Festival /Shalamar
136. You’re My Everything /Lee Garrett
137. Don’t Do It Baby /Mac & Katie Kissoon
138. Misty Blue /Dorothy Moore
139. Nice And Slow /Jesse Green
140. Boogie Oogie Oogie /A Taste of Honey
141. Gonna Get Along Without You Now /Viola Willis
142. Get Off /Foxy
143. I Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet /Gonzales
144. Movin’ /Brass Constructon

My Braun coffee maker died last week after 10 years of reliable service. The reviews for today’s Braun coffee makers didn’t impress me so I turned to the October 2017 issue of Consumer Reports to see how they ranked the current crop of coffee makers. The Cuisnart 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker (Model DCC-3200) ranked Number One. We have a Cuisnart toaster that we love. So we checked prices at various stores and online. AMAZON had the Cuisnart DCC-3200 for $72. The list price was $100. But Diane had a Kohl’s coupon for $10 off a $50 (or more) purchase. Kohl’s also sent Diane a 20% coupon on one item. Then, when the Kohl’s cashier cashed us out, Diane received $10 of Kohl’s cash! We got the Cuisnart Coffee Maker for about $68.

I don’t need a machine to grind my coffee beans. I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles. I just want a reliable coffee maker. What kind of coffee maker do you have? Do you like it? GRADE: A (after one week of operation…so far so good!)

Sadly, this is probably the last role Adam West played before his death on June 9, 2017 (my Birthday!). Batman Vs. Two-Face is another of the DC animated features. Like last year’s The Return of the Caped Crusaders (you can read my review here), Batman Vs. Two-Face resembles an episode from the 1960s TV Batman series. Adam West voices Batman, Burt Ward voices Robin, Julie Newmar voices Catwoman, and William Shatner voices Harvey Dent/Two-Face. I enjoy these animated movies. You might, too! Who is your favorite villain? GRADE: A-
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Special Features for Batman vs. Two-Face include “The Wonderful World of Burt Ward” featurette, spotlighting Burt Ward’s life away from acting, particularly his many benevolent activities, and his lifelong devotion to the health and welfare of dogs. Adam West Tribute Panel/2017 Comic-Con International 2017 showcases how, at the 2017 Comic-Con International in San Diego, a panel celebrated the life and times of the late Adam West, the legendary “Bright Knight.” Fans laughed, cried and cheered as actress Lee Meriwether (Catwoman from the 1966 Batman movie), director/writer/actor Kevin Smith, actor/radio personality Ralph Garman, producer James Tucker and moderator Gary Miereanu captivated the audience with anecdotes and tales about Adam West. The final special feature includes actors Burt Ward and Julie Newmar discussing various aspects of their lives, ambitions and inspirations.

The Girl Who Took An Eye For An Eye is the fifth volume in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. Larsson planned to write 10 books about genius hacker Lisbeth Salander but died of a heart attack in 2004 after writing the first three books. David Lagercrantz wrote the fourth book, The Girl In the Spider’s Web (2015). You can read my review here. Lagercrantz is back writing this new Lisbeth Salander adventure. Salander is in a Swedish prison as a result of the events in The Girl In the Spider’s Web. The prison is ruled by a psychopathic inmate, Benito, who terrorizes both the staff and the other convicts. Salander, who can’t stand bullying, takes action. We also learn more about Salander’s past and how she got her dragon tattoo. Other themes like religious fundamentalism and the Russian mafia impact the plot. You’ll be thrilled by the dramatic conclusion! I don’t usually read books in a series after the original author has died, but I’m making an exception for this astonishing series. Are you a Lisbeth Salander fan? GRADE: B+