Year: 2020

The “Ted Lasso” way is comforting – and a counter to the hollow nationalism Americans have embraced

The “Ted Lasso” way is comforting – and a counter to the hollow nationalism Americans have embraced

Published by Sam Flores

Citing a single favorite scene in “Ted Lasso” may not be impossible, but it is certainly difficult. That’s the burden of a comedy devoid of wasted dialogue or pretentious cleverness – and that merely refers to the joke setups and punchlines. Honestly, if memorable scenes were gems, “Ted Lasso” would be an encrusted splendor fit for the Queen. But there is a monologue nestled within the eighth episode that burrows straight to the core of why this little comedy has sparked something dormant in our hearts. It takes place in a pub where Ted, a character inventively reimagined by Jason Sudeikis, has repaired for a business meeting with his boss Rebecca (West End musical theater favorite Hannah Waddingham). This being a situational comedy, the pair happen to run into Rebecca’s repellent and excessively wealthy ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head, at his most nefarious) who, in so many words, lets them know that this run-in is not random and proceeds to lord his presence over them. Understand, Rebecca and Ted are known to the tavern regulars but …

The true story of the prince of Qatar and his time at USC

The true story of the prince of Qatar and his time at USC

Published by Sam Flores

Los Angeles has long enjoyed a reputation as a playground for the rich, but the handsome teenage prince who arrived nine years ago operated on a different level. He came from the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar on a private jet with a squad of servants, a bottomless natural gas fortune and the stated goal of a college education. He installed himself in the Beverly Wilshire, the hotel that “Pretty Woman” made famous, and embarked on a lifestyle that few undergraduates could imagine — luxury suites for Lakers games, lunch at the Ivy and regular excursions to gamble in Las Vegas. Classic stories from the Los Angeles Times’ 143-year archive He took the town with an entourage, a rotating collection of cousins and friends from back home, in a fleet of exotic sports cars, rubbing elbows with a flashy set that included Scott Disick of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” and announcing his exuberance in custom trucker hats emblazoned with his initials: KHK. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the son and, later, …

New doc “John Lewis: Good Trouble” gives nuance to a relentless freedom fighter

New doc “John Lewis: Good Trouble” gives nuance to a relentless freedom fighter

Published by Sam Flores

John Lewis is a man of herculean determination. His leadership, faith, and sense of humor are all put on display in Dawn Porter’s powerful and timely documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble.” The film documents the life of a politician and civil rights leader who has never lost sight of his purpose even when faced with insurmountable odds. The title of the film comes from some advice Lewis likes to give: “When you see something that’s not right, not fine, say something, do something. Get in trouble: good trouble, necessary trouble.” He certainly knows what this means. He has led and participated in thousands of protests, been arrested over 40 times, and spent 33 years in Congress. “Good Trouble” begins by tracing his footsteps growing up in Troy, Ala., where he was born on February 21, 1940, the third of 10 children to a sharecropping family. He grew up during a time when his place in life was defined by the margins of the color line and signs that read White and Colored that provoked him …

“The Ringmaster”: When a documentary about the world’s best onion rings serves up a sobering twist

“The Ringmaster”: When a documentary about the world’s best onion rings serves up a sobering twist

Published by Sam Flores

“The Ringmaster,” screening at the DC Indie Film Festival (March 4-8), is a quirky documentary about onion rings. Not just any onion rings — Worthington, Minn., native Larry Lang’s homemade onion rings. Well, actually, the film isn’t entirely about onion rings; rather it is about Zachary Capp’s efforts to make a documentary about Larry Lang’s onion rings. Capp wants to propel this aging chef’s signature dish from a single restaurant to the world stage. Alas, things don’t quite go as planned. “The Ringmaster,” directed by Molly Dworsky and Dave Newberg, chronicles how Capp, who has an addictive personality — he is a reformed gambling addict — tries to better Lang’s life. However, he manipulates and arguably exploits the chef, for the sake of his self-funded film. (Capp spends boatloads of his inheritance making his documentary over three years until his colleagues tell him, “Enough!”) The humble Larry, who was making his rings in a local saloon, was reluctant to be part of the film. He is also blasé in participating in what might have been …

The internet is widely accessible in Cuba. Why is the U.S. insisting it isn’t?

The internet is widely accessible in Cuba. Why is the U.S. insisting it isn’t?

Published by Sam Flores

Trinidad, Cuba — Sitting at an outdoor café, Alian Rojas deftly thumbs the small keyboard on his iPhone as he calls up The New York Times website. Then he shows a reporter how easily he can use WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube. “I can access any website I want,” says the 30-something tour guide. Cubans can even download the Miami Herald’s Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald, infamous as a font of anti-Cuban government reporting. They can use Signal, an encrypted messaging app developed by Edward Snowden and others, which prevents even the U.S. government from eavesdropping. Over the past 10 years Cuba has made great progress in internet accessibility. Nevertheless, U.S. government officials, right-wing Cuban exiles in Miami, and conservative human rights groups assert that Cuba intentionally limits internet access. Freedom House, a conservative think tank, argues that the Cuban government keeps the country technologically backward and censors dissident websites as part of repressing political dissent. “Cuba remains one of the world’s least connected and most repressive environments for information and communication technologies,” according to a Freedom House report on internet usage. That claim plays well …