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The top 10 best (and worst!) movies of 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Michael Phillips | Chicago TribuneSo many good and even great films this year! It’s nice to use an unironic exclamation point for the movie year that was, amid a year soaked in political dread and menace, in America and beyond.The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes fought back against the studios and streaming giants, gaining some meaningful financial ground and some roadblocks, at least, to de-accelerate the artificial intelligence encroachments in an industry barely, chaotically recognizable from a few years ago.The summer of 2023 drew audiences as if COVID wasn’t a thing anymore. Millions responded to the weirdest, simplest, happiest ad hoc marketing coup of recent movie times: Barbenheimer! The “barb” half was based on a toy, the “enheimer” half told the story of the man behind the weapon that stripped our planet of any future certainty. Both were verifiable and remarkable eyefuls. And “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” ended up making nearly $2.5 billion as a doub...

7 must-read nonfiction graphic novels

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Comparing something to a comic book isn’t usually meant as praise, but comics, animation and graphic novels can do things other art forms can’t.I remember watching a roundtable discussion with some former writers for “The Simpsons,” and one of them commented that since it cost the same to draw 50 helicopters as it does to draw Homer on the couch, the writing staff could let their imaginations go wild in a way they couldn’t in other types of TV or film.That kind of creative freedom is also evident in nonfiction graphic novels we’re focusing on this week (and there’s one fiction book included, too, for those who like their stories made-up). Not only will you find a range of visual styles – some books explode with color and imagery, others stick with clean black & white lines – but the stories unfold in distinctive ways as well.I’ve been gathering graphic novels to share as we approach the holidays and end of the year. Maybe you need gift ideas for older comics fans, or just want t...

Ticker: MBTA expanding fare discounts; Meta rolls out end-to-end encryption

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Agency staffers are developing the details of a low-income fare program that would expand reduced fare options for certain groups, including students, young adults, seniors and people with disabilities.The pending policy could reach between 50,000-60,000 riders over the first five years, said Steven Povich, the MBTA’s senior director of fare policy and analytics.Estimates show that there are roughly 60,000 adults ages 26 to 64 who have incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level but have no reduced MBTA fare benefits, Povich said. Slashing their fares in half could translate into $720 in annual savings for daily bus and subway riders, and $1,908 for certain commuter rail riders.“This is really significant savings for our riders across our network, whether you’re a frequent or infrequent rider, whether you’re on the bus and subway network, or the commuter rail,” Povich said. “The annual savings are really material.”Meta rolls out end-to-e...

Best TV of 2023: In a tumultuous year for Hollywood, standouts include Chicago-set ‘The Bear’ and Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Nina Metz | Chicago Tribune (TNS)We close the book on a year that saw Hollywood weather a writers and actors strike, resulting in almost no work for nearly six months. Tough times for anyone who makes a living in TV.But it also functioned as an overdue course correction. Streamers have been loathe to admit they’re churning out more shows than audiences can keep up with — and providing inadequate budgets to market them all — and the 2023 work stoppage was an excuse to cut back on things instead. How convenient.The strikes hit TV networks the hardest. Broadcasters resorted to an unsatisfying mix of reruns and reality. But weekly episodic TV was already in a diminished state, and this is ironic considering older seasons of these very shows, from “NCIS“ to “Grey’s Anatomy,“ are among the most popular on streaming platforms. Only NBC managed to premiere new shows in the fall (completed before the strike and held back just in case) with “The Irrational“ and “Found.” Though mediocre, at le...

Massachusetts AG files lawsuit against neo-Nazi group NSC-131

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Massachusetts’ attorney general has filed suit against prominent New England neo-Nazi group the Nationalist Social Club, also known as NSC-131, alleging the group’s activities have violated state civil rights laws and interfered with public safety.“NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with their rights. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable for their unlawful actions against members of our community,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement Thursday. “My office will continue to do all it can to protect our residents’ and visitors’ civil rights and public safety.”The suit filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court targets the organization itself as well as two of its leaders, Christopher Hood and Liam McNeil. It cites what the AG’s office calls “an escalating series of unlawful and discriminatory incidents” between July 2022 and January of this year...

No promise of funding additional parking by Ford government in Ontario Place development document

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

New details coming to light about what the Ford government is promising private companies when it comes to parking at a redeveloped Ontario Place.While the Ford government has not disclosed any details of its long-term lease with Therme, the Austria-based company which was given a 95-year lease to build and operate a water park and private spa at Ontario Place, Ontario’s acting auditor general said Wednesday the deal binds them to provide a number of dedicated parking spaces for the spa between 2028 and 2030 or face a financial penalty.CityNews has obtained the 2019 Call For Development (CFD) for Ontario Place, which sets out the parameters companies needed to consider when making an application to develop the waterfront theme park. The document shows that while the Ford government is obligated to provide 1,200 parking spaces to LiveNation for its Budweiser Stage, there is no mention of building additional parking, let alone a 2,100-car underground parking garage.“Partic...

Ontario giving $20.5M for hate prevention; priority given to Jewish, Muslim groups

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

Ontario is offering faith-based and cultural groups an additional $20.5 million this year to help address incidents of hate, with priority being given to Jewish and Muslim groups.The funding is on top of $12.5 million that has already been given to more than 1,400 groups through the first round of the government’s Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant.Citizenship and Multiculturalism Minister Michael Ford says Ontario has seen a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic acts in recent weeks and they have no place in Ontario. Related: 'Staggering' rise in hate crimes across Toronto: police chief The grants give groups up to $20,000 to better protect community facilities, synagogues, mosques, schools and child-care centres from graffiti, vandalism and other hate-motivated damage.The money can be used for measures such as hiring security staff, buying surveillance cameras, conducting security assessments, enhancing cybersecurity, and making building repai...

‘Crossed my line’: Calgary traffic reporter goes viral after response to body comment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

CALGARY — TV traffic reporter Leslie Horton developed a thick skin over the years because of nasty feedback from viewers, but she unleashed a viral smackdown last week after she says one of them “crossed my line.”The usually unflappable host, who has been at Global Calgary since 1995, was about to give a live report on the morning show when she decided to read out a message she received during a break.“I’m just gonna respond to an email that I just got saying, ‘Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you’re gonna wear old bus-driver pants, you have to expect emails like this,'” Horton said. “So thanks for that,” she responded.“No, I’m not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year. And this is what women of my age look like. So if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate.“Think about the emails that you send.” Horton, 59, said she has been getting “nasty” messages for the last fou...

Community-building businesses look to fill societal gap

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

TORONTO — When Joshua Zachariah was a teenager, he was enamoured with bars — or at least his idea of them. Too young to visit them himself, he envisioned Enlightenment-style salons as described by his great-grandfather’s memoirs, which suggested bars were the only place that fostered true intellectual thought.When Zachariah was old enough to go to pubs, he found they were not, by and large, bastions of intellectualism, but he loved them nonetheless. So much so that he wanted to create the modern-day salon of his dreams: “A place for people to gather and talk about interesting things, and to build movements, and to discuss issues and to learn things,” he said, bemoaning a lack of public places for people to connect.“Over time, that idea became less about the salon and more about the community,” said Zachariah, now the proprietor of Danu Social House in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood.Danu is among a crop of business focused on filling a growing ho...

The GOP’s slim House majority is getting even tighter with Kevin McCarthy’s retirement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer, complicating future votes and magnifying the ability of individual lawmakers to force concessions.Republicans had just a 222-213 margin before Rep. George Santos of New York was expelled in a broad, bipartisan vote a week ago. Then, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California announced Thursday he would be retiring at the end of the month. He was the first speaker ever booted from the position, a victim of a process he had agreed to implement that allowed just a few defections from within the GOP ranks to oust him.The margins before both representatives’ exits allowed Republicans to lose up to four votes on a party-line ballot and still get a bill over the finish line, assuming every lawmaker was in attendance. Now that margin is down to three votes. It could even drop to two if Democrats flip the Santos seat in a special election set for Feb. 13, ...