Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World: Here is a documentary about Thomas Sowell, PhD economist who studied at Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Chicago. Jason Riley outlines his career and interviews various friends and associates of Sowell. As a longtime fan and avid reader of Thomas Sowell, I was already familiar with most of what the documentary covers. This is a good primer for Sowell, but only scratches the surface. There was not enough of Sowell himself in this documentary about him. A search on YouTube will provide some great videos of Sowell covering a wide array of topics. Recommended.
Val: The life and career of Val Kilmer, narrated by his son, Jack. The story is told both in the present with a dramatically diminished Kilmer (he has survived throat cancer) and in the past through home movies. Val had carried a video camera with him throughout his career and had captured a great deal of behind-the-scenes video, both on the sets of his movies and of his home life. Val Kilmer has always seemed like the coolest of the cool, but his autobiography is one long tragedy interrupted by moments of joy. At least, that is how the documentary paints it. Well-made but depressing. Proceed with caution.
Shatner in Space: On October 13, 2021, William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, went to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. Here is the background of how he met Jeff Bezos and then launched into space to become the oldest person ever (90) in space, surpassing the previous record holder, Wally Funk (82), who had flown on the first crewed New Shepard. Shatner is astonishingly spry for a man his age and still mentally sharp. He does not seem 90. Though sometimes saccharine sweet and occasionally preachy about the environment, it is mostly fun and worthwhile.
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