Leaving Neverland

I can no longer watch Bill Cosby. I grew up watching Fat Albert and The Cosby Show. I loved them. I shared one season of The Cosby Show with my daughter. I wanted her to watch all of it. Then it came out: Bill Cosby drugged and raped women. He is now sitting in jail. I can no longer watch Bill Cosby.
What is far more difficult for me is Michael Jackson. I was never a huge Jackson fan growing up, however he was the biggest pop star of my generation. Songs like Thriller are ingrained in the fabric of our Western culture. Thriller has been used in movies I like and it's a staple of every Halloween party soundtrack. I can hear it in my head and it's catchy. Michael Jackson sexually molested children for decades. I can no longer listen to Michael Jackson in the same way. Every song now has this baggage.
HBO's two part, four hour documentary, Leaving Neverland, focuses on Jackson's abuse of two boys, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who are now adults. Questions like: How could the parents allow this to happen? Why didn't anyone say anything? Are somewhat answered, at least for me. I found it to be riveting, shocking, and disturbing. I was glued to it. Catch it on HBO.

Isle of Dogs

The first Wes Anderson film I saw was Rushmore; I loved it. Then came The Royal Tenenbaums, which I thought was weird and quirky, but lacked emotional depth; it was just okay. And it wasn't all that funny. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was awful. I can't remember if I made it to the end; painful. Moonrise Kingdom I turned off after the first twenty minutes. What I had once found to be charming about Wes Anderson was now annoying. I thought The Grand Budapest Hotel was Wes's best outing in a while. So it was with great reluctance and pessimism I went into my viewing of Isle of Dogs - I didn't want to like it. It turns out I loved it. Wes Anderson's weird and quirky ways completely work in animation. Maybe all of his films would be better if they were animated.
I had so much fun watching this goofy and ridiculous film - maybe because I'm a dog owner. Bryan Cranston as Chief was wonderful; his performance had bite - pun intended. If you are looking for something light and fun, adopt this dog. Catch it on streaming services.