Capsule Critical Commentaries.....
Saw a movie and finished a book this past week. First, the book.
Jonathan Eig is a meticulous researcher and an excellent writer who had given us terrific biographies of sports stars Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and, most recently, Muhammad Ali. I have written extensively about the Ali book:
It was only after reading that book that I learned that Eig had written this book about America's most famous gangster back in 2010, so I went scampering to the local library to secure a copy of it. Everybody knows everything about Al Capone, or thinks they do. Bootlegger, pimp, killer, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, got sent up the river for not paying his taxes, right? Well, there's more to Capone. A case can be made that in the decade of the 1920's, Capone was perhaps the most successful businessman in America, and he accomplished all of this at a remarkably young age. It amazed me that by the time Capone got nailed on the tax rap and was sent to federal prison, he was all of 33 years of age. He was only 47years old when he died.
And everyone has heard of Elliot Ness, the G-man who got Capone, and looked a lot like Robert Stack (or maybe Kevin Costner), right? Well, maybe Ness wasn't so important in hauling down Big Al, and maybe the real hero was a bland United States Attorney named George E.Q. Johnson. Ever hear of him? Neither had I, until I read this book.
Anyway, it's a fascinating story. A portrait, not only of Al Capone, but of America in general, and Chicago in particular, in the "Roaring Twenties". Well written, and I would recommend it to both true crime buffs and history buffs.
Three stars from The Grandstander.
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And the movie we saw.....
This is a movie which is based on a video game, which should tell you all you need to know, that features giant mutations of a gorilla, a wolf, and an alligator, evil corporate villains, blundering military folks who won't heed the warnings of the hero, insipid dialog (classic line: "You're going to have to evacuate Chicago."), plot holes through which you could drive a truck (or fly a stealth bomber, one of which makes an appearance in this flick), and totally ridiculous situations.
So why should you see this movie? Easy answer....The Rock!!!
Dwayne Johnson is appealing, fun, charismatic, and doesn't take himself seriously. He knows that he's not making "Citizen Kane" here, but he's having fun with the material, and you will too if you just suspend all sense of belief for a couple of hours.
Two stars from The Grandstander.
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One of the featured players in the Capone book was the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. You'll have to read the book to find out just what role Hoover played in the Capone Saga, but in the book's epilogue, author Eig includes an anecdote about Hoover that included this following quote, which strikes quite a chord here in 2018, and I include it here for your consideration.
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