Comedy Legend is Gone

                       
Actor/director/writer Carl Reiner (and father of Rob Reiner) passed away at 98. Active and sharp as a tack to this year, his career covered landmark recordings with mega hit The 2000 Year Old Man with Mel Brooks (his neighbor and close friend), Your Show of Shows (live sketch comedy decades  before SNL) with the greatest comedy writing ensembles of all time,, and perhaps his greatest achievement, the semiautobiographical The Dick Van Dyke Show which ruled the ratings and amassed a treasure trove of Emmy Awards with its groundbreaking cast and scripts. He had career rebirths with a series of marvelous comedy films starring Steve Martin at his peak including The Jerk, Dead Men Don't  Wear Plaid, and All of Me, and more recently, he was part of the handpicked con artists in the films Oceans 11, 12, and 13. He starred in The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming and directed Oh God. When you make a mark in recording, TV, and film for seven decades, well, all I can say is, "Oh Rob", "Aw honey."

The Lessons of Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station from 2013 was a prescient film and deserves a look with its topical themes that resonate today with the current protests. It's also a true story. Featuring newcomer Michael B Jordan and directed by newbie Ryan Coogler, it also starred Octavia Spencer. Jordan has gone on to stardom and Coogler become an A list director with Black Panther. This film is a classic example of timing being key. A critical and financial success, it would likely have had even greater success had it been released in subsequent years.