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Media Swooning Over Colbert’s Farewell Says

Avengers like Ant Man can shrink to the size of an insect or smash anything in sight like The Hulk.

But wait … Stephen Colbert is an Avenger of sorts, too!

So says USA Today, part of the Legacy Media’s fawning farewell tour for Colbert and his hard-Left “Late Show” showcase.

Tonight marks the final new episode of the late-night series. Tomorrow, a cheaper, less divisive program takes its slot – “Comics Unleashed.”

Colbert has been a consequential pop culture figure, no doubt. To read the Legacy Media’s tributes to him suggests something … superheroic.

Hardly.

But no one handles politics with the reassuringly smiling delivery of Colbert. He’s like Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, but in a dapper suit, mocking his daunting opponents while keeping his swashbuckler grin intact.

You should see Colbert dodge and weave when faced with a president who couldn’t share a coherent thought on a debate stage. Flynn couldn’t match that sense of style and dignity!

And this embarrassing piece wasn’t alone.

The far-Left L.A. Times compared Colbert, an alleged Catholic, to a priest. Really.

“We will miss the divine and very human ministry of Stephen Colbert,” reads the headline. Was that why he called President Trump the “c*** holster” for Vladimir Putin? Or laughed at blue-collar Americans for protesting against draconian lockdown mandates that crushed their livelihoods?

Doesn’t seem very spiritual, does it?

Remember all the times Father Colbert railed against progressives for supporting abortion on demand? Me, neither.

The far-Left AP, once a fair and balanced platform, says Colbert’s cancellation leaves a “void.”

Really?

Where will we find another late-night show to attack President Trump … beyond “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Tonight Show,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “The Daily Show,” “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight?”

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The AP article should be studied for its chronic bias. It’s a stunning document, one that leaves out that “The Late Show” was hurting CBS to the tune of $40 million a year. Or the fact that the same company that fired Colbert for allegedly mocking President Trump gave more than a $1 billion to the “South Park” duo who spent the last year mocking President Trump.

How in the world do those facts duck your final draft?

It begs an obvious question. Why are we seeing this over-the-top praise and endless tributes for a late-night talker? Colbert’s far-Left shtick reflected the media’s far-Left mentality.

Period.

As bad as most political reporters are today, and they are borderline corrupt in their inability to tell the full truth, they could never go as far as Colbert could each night.

Oh, they wanted to so very badly. But they clung to a pretense of neutrality, one anyone with eyes could see right through.

So they did the next best thing. Two things, actually. Three, really.

  • They never labeled him as a progressive
  • They regurgitated his every quip to attack President Trump and/or the GOP
  • They downplayed or ignored the fact that his show was costing CBS $40 million a year

That’s why we’re seeing a national mourning for “The Late Show’s” cancellation. And, in the Death of Shame, they can’t see what they’ve become.

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This Little ‘View’ Distortion Is Peak Cringe

Sometimes the smallest lies speak the loudest.

Take “The View.” The syndicated talk show spews so many conspiracies (Trump will end interracial marriages) and factually-challenged morsels that it’s hard to spot the smallest fibs.

They still matter. In fact, they often speak to a larger, more important narrative.

Yes, we can be outraged by the show alleging that President Donald Trump’s attempt to lower drug prices could be catastrophic.

“Once Trump puts his name on prescriptions, we’re all going to die, okay? He put his name on the Trump Shuttle, the Trump Vodka, Trump University, the Trump Hotel, and my favorite, the casinos that all went bankrupt.”

Tell that to the seniors who may benefit from the program. Yet the show’s elitism can be just as troublesome.

Take Sunny Hostin. She’s been a part of “The View” for nine-plus years and is likely well compensated for her work. She often shares dubious information and urges viewers to disconnect with family members who don’t agree with her political views.

That’s just ugly.

This week, she pushed an absurdly dumb argument tied to the Jan. 6 riot. The Left has been feasting on that gross day for years, exaggerating the threat it posed while ignoring how many Americans did little but enter the Capitol but faced outsized punishment.

Actor/producer Nick Searcy fearlessly captured that reality with not one but two documentaries – “Capitol Punishment” and “The War on Truth.”

Now, Hostin says the Jan. 6 riot was far more dangerous than the Black Lives Matter protests from 2020, thanks to the fine folks at Newsbusters. The latter caused more than $1 billion in damages, much of which targeted ordinary Americans. It also left more than 25 people dead, compared to just one fatality on Jan. 6 – Ashley Babbitt.

Hostin’s argument is absurd, but it’s an opinion, ultimately. What she said next was just untethered from the truth.

“It costs like $10 to buy eggs!”

This Denver-based shopper can buy a dozen large eggs at King Soopers for $1.79.

Hostin hasn’t gone shopping in quite some time, apparently. That sense of detachment may seem unimportant, but it’s good to know certain societal basics while talking to America five days a week.

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‘I Love Boosters’

Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters” is a work of pure creative freedom, mainstream cinema at its most unhinged.

This is what happens when a filmmaker allows their imagination to go wherever it wants at the screenplay level, then makes a film that doesn’t hold back but actually propels the imagination to fire off into the stratosphere.

What I’m trying to say is that a cult following is guaranteed down the road. For now, this will put off audiences wanting something easier to define. For the rest of us, particularly those who loved “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022), here is a worthy counterpart.

We meet a trio of “boosters,” led by Corvette (an excellent Keke Palmer), Mariah (a livewire Taylour Paige) and Sade (the wonderful Naomi Ackie), who identify as someone who “steals from a store and sells it as an affordable price.”

Another early reference to boosters pops up in a store they’re robbing, which touts a “Boosters Get Busted” sign. Most of the locations getting robbed are Metro Designer, an expensive and popular brand from mega mogul Christy Smith (Demi Moore, in a witty turn).

There’s also a guru named Dr. Jack (an unrecognizable Don Cheadle), and a handsome supporting character (LaKeith Stanfield) who seems like he’s positioned to be the love interest. Nothing goes as expected, not for the characters, nor the audience witnessing this bonkers and consistently funny treat.

From the very beginning, there is an unceasing joy in the filmmaking and vibrancy in the colors visible on screen. The key is to embrace how nutty this is from the start and stick with it when it gets unapologetically wacky.

Palmer has never been better, while Paige (a scene stealer in every movie she appears) and Ackie (another solid performer who takes on consistently interesting roles) have some great moments and a way with Riley’s one-liners.

Moore isn’t playing a caricature and brings surprising depth to a designer with a guru-like pull and Will Poulter is hilarious as the insufferable manager of a posh Metro Designer outlet, who blasts techno music over the store speakers.

Stanfield, who was the lead of Riley’s endearingly odd “Sorry to Bother You” (2018), has a supporting role here that plays like a parody of a handsome leading man. In case you’re wondering, this is a far crazier, riskier juggling act than “Sorry to Bother You.”

Some bits either don’t work or are better upon reflection, when one can consider the cleverness of a gag that went by too quickly to land as hard as it should have.

There’s also a graphic sex scene that takes a bizarre, horror movie-worthy turn, then is brushed off entirely with a funny punchline. A character is visibly reading Salmon Rushdie’s 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” noted for its magical realism, a quality that Riley also generously applies here.

By the second act, a sci-fi plot twist fuels the story and Riley, rather than making it a non sequitur, runs with it until the very end. The jarring tonal change that commands the latter half of the film is even battier than the one in “Sorry to Bother You” and is an out-there but welcome touch.

Something I loved about Riley’s film, as well as David Lowery’s recent “Mother Mary”: for a reasonable budget, these filmmakers have given us wildly entertaining and personal films that are neither timid nor predictable.

As a spoof of consumerism, particularly a landscape where those who would even want to buy Smith’s hideous products can’t afford it, Riley gets some digs in, but this isn’t as malicious as “Zoolander” (2001) or “Ready to Wear” (1994).

Nevertheless, this is the antidote to “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” which aims solely to celebrate and worship both the materialism and self-absorbed figures of this world.

Riley is celebrating artistic freedom, not those who seek to control it and aim to make it inaccessible. It seems that Riley’s goal is mostly to allow his storytelling instincts and joy of filmmaking to take him where he wants to go. Smith declares early that “reality is unchangeable, but we can change how we see reality,” a line of dialogue that also sounds like Riley’s approach to his narrative.

There’s never a dull moment, as the two-hour running time flies by. Sometimes it’s too much but I have a weakness for something this original and presented with the eye of an artist.

Riley has created a film with so visually and tonally in synch with his imagination, it deserves comparison to the works of Wes Anderson. Some will take that as a final warning, while others know that means they should see this immediately, on the big screen and in a packed theater.

Three Stars (out of four)

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Fellow Comics Roast ‘Offended’ Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler was shocked, shocked to hear inappropriate jokes at “The Roast of Kevin Hart.”

Not long ago, Handler was the one dishing out wild punchlines, sometimes involving ethnic stereotypes.

Now, she’s part of the woke comedy movement, eager to police stand-up comedians for sharing the “wrong” jokes. She fit right in during the height of Cancel Culture.

Today, she appears out of step with the return to “anything goes” comedy.

She just skewered two fellow comedians who told roast-worthy jokes at the Hart gala – Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis. The gags involved the suicide death of Sheryl Underwood’s husband, George Floyd and lynching.

RELATED: CHELSEA HANDLER: WHITE MEN OWE US AN APOLOGY

And Handler made it personal, calling Hinchcliiffe and Gillis racist and sexist for sharing them.

“It was gross. I don’t find those jokes to be funny, jokes about lynching Black people …Lynching is not a joke. That’s worse than rape. You’re not joking about rape, are you? … You know you can’t do that, but you can say ‘lynching’?”

“If [Underwood] says she’s fine with that, she’s fine with that. I wasn’t fine with that. I thought that was disgusting too.”

Gillis’ reaction?

“This is a big moment for Chelsea. I am glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her. We’re all rooting for her. Anyway, come see me July 17th at the football stadium in Philly.”

Other comedians also weighed in. Steve Byrne shared a personal anecdote about Handler that was less than flattering.

2007, CH does The Tonight show w Jay Leno. She makes fun of Angelina Jolie & her newly adopted son, 3 yr old Pax, who is Asian. CH: “He probably doesn’t even realize he’s Asian yet! He certainly doesn’t know he’s going to be a horrible driver… or that he’s going to be amazing at doing nails!”

The next few days there was plenty of outrage, disappointment & accusations of racism levied against NBC. 2 weeks later, I’m booked on The Tonight Show & I’ve already had my set approved.

I was told, I can’t tell any of my jokes because of the blowback of her hacky, racist jokes. Yes, I couldn’t tell jokes about being Asian because she did so much damage making fun of Asians. Then, weeks later of 2007, I performed at a showcase where CH was present.

Prior to, I had never spoken to, met or interacted with her & as I was wrapping up my set, I mentioned her in the crowd? It’s odd to see a comedian sitting in a showcase watching w audience, so I mentioned it in passing. She then yelled out “you’re doing a great little Asian job”

MY POINT: I personally know Shane & Tony aren’t racist. In fact, I don’t think Chelsea is racist. Sure, she’s got a long history of promiscuity, an affinity for day drinking, publicly stated she’s prescribed a healthy dose of anti depressants, rumored to be awful to work for or with, has a punch card to a plastic surgeon, accused of punching down in her comedy, never been married or had kids & lives alone in her 50s, had dinner with Jeffrey Epstein but c’mon gang, she’s not racist.

Ouch.

Fellow comic Sam Tripoli also mocked Handler.

https://t.co/6h9nlbVNt3

— Sam Tripoli (@samtripoli) May 20, 2026

Fun Fact: One time on the Chelsea Lately set, Chelsea Handler held up a picture of a gorilla and then made a joke about how it was Loni Love’s family! This is a true story and it was told to me by multiple people who saw it happen. Jokes are jokes, folks!

Now, these are accusations lobbed against Handler. We don’t know her side of the story. And, this all could get uglier should Handler choose to respond.

One thing is clear. The culture has shifted dramatically since the early 2020s when comedians were afraid to share select jokes and some comics were punished for mocking the “wrong” groups.

That was made clear today by a new story at the far-Left Hollywood Reporter. The site noted that Handler is facing pushback for attacking two Roast comics. It’s the kind of article the site wouldn’t have published a few short years ago.

Now, it’s fair game, suggesting it’s taking sides against Handler. The article quoted from a NY Post op-ed by Kirsten Fleming and suggested Handler was “clutching her pearls” over the gags.

The woke movement will linger indefinitely, but this is another sign of its fading clout.

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This Trump Derangement Victim Is Saddest Case of All

Watching liberal stars fall for every Fake News story about President Donald Trump is sad.

It’s also expected.

If you only get your news from The New York Times, CNN or The Washington Post, you’d think Trump colluded with Russia and is one step away from putting his opponents in the gulag.

Common sense says that after five-plus years of President Trump, you’d know nothing of the kind is heading our way. Nor are the worst of the worst conspiracy theories (like Whoopi Goldberg saying the president will separate interracial marriages) likely to happen.

But no. Stars like Robert De Niro, Mark Ruffalo and Mark Hamill keep warning about the End of Democracy™ under President Trump.

This A-list talent just joined that sad group. And it couldn’t be more shocking.

He spent decades delivering hard-nosed comedy that took no prisoners. He skewered everyone from Paris Hilton to Michael Jackson, and he slammed politicians across the ideological spectrum.

It’s his brand, and a well-deserved one.

Yet Trey Parker of “South Park” fame has succumbed to Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). And, boy, does it show.

Last year, the brilliantly fair and balanced “South Park” took a hard-Left pivot. The show skewered President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and GOP cabinet members without mercy.

Week after week after week.

There’s nothing wrong with poking fun at the current political leaders. Heck, that’s the American way. Two things were different, though, in this “new” approach.

One, “South Park” didn’t previously attack President Trump nearly as much as their Hollywood peers. That proved refreshing, further separating the Comedy Central series from its competition.

What else could a satirist say about Orange Man Bad at this point, anyway?

Two, the newest “South Park” episodes didn’t hit both sides as they’ve done for years. The Left has given us endless material to mock of late, from Democrats rallying behind the worst of the worst illegal immigrants to insisting trans women should compete against biological women.

The show once mocked the latter.

What changed? Why did “South Park” abandon its “both sides” mantra? We just got our answer.

Parker spoke this week at a TV Academy awards gala where he picked up a trophy – ““What took you so f***ing long?” he joked about the honor.

He used his podium time to praise his “fearless” staff. They’re putting their lives on the line, literally, to fight Orange Man Bad.

“There’s always groups telling you what you can and can’t say; now that group has a military and so it is scarier. They have to be fearless.”

It’s no accident that “South Park” is getting awards now, as Parker referenced. Once an artist attacks Trump, the awards spigot opens. Just ask Stephen Colbert, who won his first Emmy trophy in a decade for “The Late Show” weeks after his July 2025 cancellation, seen by the Left as driven by Trump.

The timing wasn’t accidental.

Now, it’s “South Park’s” turn for Hollywood honors, and Parker couldn’t be giddier. And he and fellow “South Park” creator Matt Stone are leaning into the Hollywood adulation.

The worst part?

Parker knows he and his colleagues have nothing to fear for mocking Trump. Nothing.

How do we know? The pop culture landscape teems with artists doing just that. No drone strikes yet!

Plus, Parker and Stone just got a $1 billion deal from Paramount, the company that allegedly “silenced” Stephen Colbert for his Trump jokes.

What dictator would allow such a thing?

Plus, the average Hollywood dweller isn’t brave enough to share a subversive thought on social media. Nor do they ever defy or question the industry’s hard-Left groupthink. Do you think they’re literally risking their lives for a comedy series?

It’s pure Victim Mentality Syndrome (VMS), a condition that’s pervasive in La La Land.

TDS can be cured. Just ask Michael Rapaport, who hammered Trump early and often until he expanded the kind of news he consumes and saw the world differently.

Let’s hope Parker follows that path. We miss the old, subversive “South Park.”

What’s your favorite “South Park” episode … and why?

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‘Obsession’ Director Is Shaming Hollywood to the Core

Studios pray that their films have a good “hold” in their second weekend of release.

That means the audience drop won’t be dramatic – think 30-40 percent as opposed to 60 or, gulp, 70 percent. Positive word of mouth helps the former, while bad buzz creates the latter.

“Project Hail Mary” is a fine example of a film that faded oh, so slowly, thanks to glowing word-of-mouth responses.

It’s just Hollywood math, but apparently Curry Barker skipped those classes.

The director’s first film, “Obsession” didn’t drop during its second weekend.

It grew.

Deadline reports “Obsession” earned 26 percent MORE in the last three days compared to its debut frame. (Final figures may be slightly different). (NOTE: Latest figures show “Obsession” scored 39 percent more than its opening weekend, not 26 as originally reported)

That’s not a typo.

The indie film has earned $55 million stateside, so far.

That shocking second weekend number came against “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a film that is underperforming for a “Star Wars” entry but still generating millions in ticket sales.

That’s not the best part for Team Barker. He made the film for a microscopic amount – under $1 million. It may become one of the most profitable films of all time.

Barker is no stranger to tiny budgets. His breakthrough short film, “Milk & Serial,” cost just $800.

The weekend comparison couldn’t be more jarring, comparing title to title. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is all lazy IP storytelling. It’s a film bereft of clever dialogue, engaging new characters and compelling narratives.

“Obsession” follows a young man who is granted any wish he chooses. He asks for his crush to fall in love with him, but the ramifications of the wish prove unnerving.

The plot sounds intriguing, but it’s hardly revolutionary. So what explains that crazy, word-of-mouth enthusiasm?

Look at Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critic’s score and audience score are currently identical – 95 percent “fresh.”

That’s very rare.

Barker shared some of his filmmaking philosophies with AL.com, including how he got here in the first place. He recommends fledgling filmmakers embrace “quantity” over “quality,” at least at first.

“Make 10 s****y films and allow it to be bad and give yourself that permission, so you can earn your stripes.”

He’s done just that. “Obsession” put him on the map, and he’s already signed up to revive the dying “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” saga.

Hollywood will never give up on aging IPs and big-budget blockbusters. But whenever a movie like “Obsession” overperforms, it’s a sign that audiences will never stop craving something else.

Quality. 

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‘Midway Point’ (Barely) Overcomes Familiar Teen Romance Tropes

Writer/director Lucca Vieira’s “The Midway Point” begins with a title card announcing “Around 75 million people have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). That is 19 percent of the world’s population, according to the CDC.”

We meet Jake (Sean Ryan Fox), a teen who struggles to connect with anyone at high school and only expresses his frustrations with his mother (Thora Birch). Every day at school is an endurance test for Jake, who tries but can’t make meaningful connections with his classmates.

To his surprise, Jake comes out of his shell when Alice (Catherine Daddario), the girl he crushes over from afar, finally shows an interest in him. The two form a strange bond (of all things, they share a love of bad movies, like “Manos: The Hands of Fate”).

When it turns into a romance, Jake tries to keep it a secret from his mother and everyone else.

Fox and Daddario are very good in the leads; they have a nice chemistry and bring unexpected layers to their roles. Julie Benz plays a school counselor, and the role is far too small for an actress this good.

Birch is excellent as always and Wes Studi is solid as Jake’s sympathetic teacher.

“The Midway Point” has lots of heart, but it’s awfully familiar and the third act runs into a wall of melodrama.
I would have been more impressed with the film had I not already seen “The Spectacular Now” (2013), “The Fault in Our Stars” (2014), Like Crazy” (2011), the films of John Hughes, all of those Nicholas Sparks movies and the ABC After School Specials I grew up on.

This is far from the first tortured teen romance we’ve seen before. The cast clearly cares about their characters but very little that happens here is a surprise.

Vieira, making his feature film debut, pads the running time by flashing back to scenes we just saw a minute ago. Also, the big moment of a first kiss is drowned out by an overly eager soundtrack.

Nevertheless, the film is well crafted, even as the director can’t inject the material with enough innovation to make it seem fresh.

The end credits include a special thanks to Jeff Fahey and other notable artists, leading me to think this was a labor of love for those involved. As an actor’s piece, particularly for Fox and Daddario, this should provide a showcase for them that leads to subsequent projects.

The ending, which I won’t describe, isn’t defeatist but surprisingly gives us an optimistic conclusion, a most refreshing touch. After all the seen-it-before teen drama, the last half is the least expected section and the most successful.

Too much of “The Midway Point” gave me Teen Movie Drama déjà vu but the final stretch, where the characters and the story go literally and figuratively into the unknown, was when it finally won me over.

Two and a half stars (out of four)

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‘The Fox and the Hound’

Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” (1981) arrived with an infamous production history, as well as muted enthusiasm from longtime Mouse House fans.

Made when the Walt Disney Company, a decade after their founder’s death, was trying to figure out its identity in the late 20th century, the film was completed during emotionally charged company confrontations, followed by a delayed release, revealing that the film’s making as a difficult and uncertain one.

Just looking at the credits reveals this, as no less than three directors and eight credited writers worked on this.

An orphaned fox named Tod (initially voiced by Keith Mitchell, later Mickey Rooney) is raised by the Widow Tweed, a kindly farmer who takes him in as though he were kin. Tod befriends Cooper (initially voiced by Corey Feldman and later Kurt Russell), a hound who becomes his best friend.

The tight kinship between Cooper and Tod is challenged when Tod is suddenly taken from his home and forced to live in the wild. When Tod returns to his original home, fully grown, he discovers his relationship with Cooper and the rest of the animals has changed.

“The Fox and the Hound” begins with a long, stunning opening shot that shows a fox (Tod’s mother) fleeing hunters, dropping her baby fox at a nearby fence, then running over a hill and – BANG! She’s dead.

Memories of “Bambi” (1942) spring to mind, as do the countless other Disney films that depict the protagonist having to overcome the tragedy that marked the start of their lives (everything from their 1999 “Tarzan” to the 2016 “Pete’s Dragon”).

It’s a compelling and bold way to open any movie.

The cute moments are contrasted with heartbreaking ones, particularly a second-act turn of events that is almost identical to the most wrenching scene in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001), both sequences involving a mother abandoning their child in the wilderness.

Despite sporting eight writers and three directors, “The Fox & The Hound” is better than most remember. Some scenes sport contrasting backgrounds and similar character designs to “The Rescuers” (1977), but this is a much better film (though nowhere near the masterpiece-level of the 1990 sequel).

While imperfect, the best aspects here aren’t just admirable but tough, bringing to mind not only “Bambi” but that other terrific Disney film that nobody likes, “The Good Dinosaur” (2016).

Russell, a veteran Disney actor at this point (and a movie away from going full tilt as a John Carpenter regular) embodies the complex shades of his role, but Pat Buttram (who also voiced the Sheriff of Nottingham in Disney’s 1973 “Robin Hood” and a talking bullet in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) steals the film as Chief, an old hunting dog.

“The Fox & The Hound” was made during the era of the infamous Don Bluth walkout, where Bluth and a handful of fellow animators ditched the Mouse House and started their own animation production company. Their output includes the 1982 masterpiece “The Secret of the NIMH”, the 1986 “An American Tail,” the 1988 “The Land Before Time” and the 1997 “Anastasia.”

Bluth began his animation career with the dream of working at Disney, only to become a major competitor the decade after he left.

Director Tim Burton was also briefly employed at Disney during this time – this was when the company allowed him to make the short film “Frankenweenie” (1984), then shelved it indefinitely when it merited a PG rating. Burton, flush with post-“Batman” (1989) success, would return to Disney decades later and become a major hitmaker for them.

Another sign of how topsy-turvy the company was during the production of “The Fox and the Hound”: the same year as the film’s hit release, the company also unveiled the fantastic but too-gory-for-the-PG-rating “Dragonslayer,” as well as “Condorman,” their embarrassing first stab at comic book movies.

A second attempt at a big win from the studio the same year: “The Devil and Max Devlin,” a high-concept adult comedy in which Elliot Gould makes a deal with Satan, played by Bill Cosby (!). To say the least, it was an unsteady time for the Mouse House.

The moment was a few years away from the Michael Eisner/Jeffrey Katzenberg era, where the animation unit was given greater priority (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” all opened within six years) and Touchstone Pictures gave the grown-up movies a proper place and handling.

Disney historians often place “The Fox and the Hound” alongside misfires such as the infamous “The Black Cauldron,” the 1985 bomb so disastrous, that it nearly bankrupted the studio. At the time, the only thing keeping Disney alive was park admission revenue!

The truth is “The Fox and the Hound” is a much better, harsher and more potent work than most remember. The big finale, involving a bear attack, is a stunner. Following the magnificent climax, there’s the ending, which is nowhere near as triumphant as it seems and, upon reflection, is much more bittersweet and sad than the music assures us.

The tragic element to “The Fox and the Hound” is there from the first scene and gives the film its lasting power.

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Liberal Film Critics Torch Woke ‘Ladies First’

Sacha Baron Cohen should have been a free speech warrior.

After all, the British actor broke out after “Borat,” the 2006 comedy that pushed the boundaries of humor, class and good taste.

That gave Cohen a rare position in Hollywood, a newly minted comedy outlaw. What would he do with his well-earned status?

Turns out he went from subversive to obedient. 

How? 

He turned his iconic Borat character into an anti-Trump cudgel. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was a sorry sequel that existed for one reason.

To bring down Trump. 

Later, he cheered when social media platforms canceled the world leader. Some free speech warrior. He was just like other liberal stars, looking the other way as speech got crushed.

Now, Cohen is leaning into his progressive side anew with “Ladies First.”

RELATED: SACHA BARON COHEN SEXUALIZES FLOTUS

The new Netflix comedy, released with little fanfare last week, finds him playing a chauvinist who bonks his head and wakes up in a world where women rule.

Down with the Patriarchy! Up with the Matriarchy!

That gimmick feels like a 2020 fever dream, born from the BLM protests era and Hollywood’s woke revolution.

Except this is 2026, and woke isn’t in fashion. Even liberal film critics aren’t always eager to grade woke content on a curve. They may have done just that with the execrable “Starfleet Academy,” but they did no such thing for Cohen’s new film.

“Ladies First” currently has an 18 percent “rotten” rating at RottenTomatoes.com. The reviews are unsparing.

The left-Leaning Guardian gives “Ladies First” one out of five stars:

…for a film so unashamedly silly, it’s also incredibly, tiresomely un-fun and, by the end, laughably earnest, as if we should all be learning a very important lesson.

The Financial Times’ take is downright cruel.

Sacha Baron Cohen is knocked unconscious early in Netflix comedy Ladies First, a film that only sometimes makes you wish the same for yourself.

Even the reviews that side with the film’s premise aren’t happy with the results.

It makes some valid points, then proceeds to beat them to death.

Most film critics are unabashedly liberal. That’s just science. And, more often than not, they pull their punches on progressive or “woke” content.

Even liberal critic Richard Roeper said as much regarding the reception for 2016’s “Ghostbusters” reboot.

“Ladies First” is either so lousy that liberal critics couldn’t give the film a pass, or they understand the woke era was a massive mistake, one that’s best left in the dustbin of history.

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Horror Has Never Been Hotter

The Force may be strong, but it could be taken down by an indie horror film this weekend.

“Backrooms,” an A24 release, has no A-list stars nor an IP connection. Box office soothsayers still predict it could snag up to $33 million this weekend. Others say the film’s pre-release sales match “Scream 7,” which debuted with $64 million.

And, if “The Mandalorian and Grogu” stumbles badly at the box office, that puts this indie thriller in striking distance.

How is this possible?

The better question may be, how could a micro-indie like “Obsession” grow nearly 40 percent from its opening weekend? Director Curry Barker’s big-screen debut did just that days ago, a stunning development in La La Land.

Editor’s Note: It’s a brutal time to be an independent journalist, but it’s never been more necessary given the sorry state of the corporate press. If you’re enjoying Hollywood in Toto, I hope you’ll consider leaving a coin (or two) in our Tip Jar.

“Obsession” also lacks A-list stars and IP ties. Word of mouth did the trick, and the film could become one of the most profitable titles of all time.

You can’t pin these numbers on Halloween, a season when horror movies often thrive. Nor can we blame any radical marketing schemes, like the one that catapulted 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” into the stratosphere.

These are well crafted indie horror films drawing big crowds.

But why?

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Wouldn’t Hollywood like to know? The return on investment here is through the roof, something that can’t be said of films like “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The Disney title will have to keep earning over the next month to make back its sizable investment.

That’s typically how Hollywood rolls in the 21st century. It’s blockbuster or bust.

Horror films offer a smart alternative. Even more traditional shockers, like “Scream 7” ($121 million US) and “Send Help” ($64 million US) performed well earlier this year.

Let’s throw some theories out as to why indie horror is suddenly all the rage.

First, horror remains a perfect vehicle for escapism. The genre offers less intellectual rigor and more “fight-or-flight” style storytelling. That never goes out of vogue.

We’re also living in a deeply divided age, where social media makes it feel like a new civil war is just around the corner. It isn’t, but that sense of anger and isolation makes a horror movie a fine antidote to modern times.

This critic can relate.

Around 2020, I faced a dual threat unlike any I’ve experienced before. My wife was undergoing cancer treatment, and the government had locked down society to “stop the spread” of COVID-19.

As a movie critic, I generally gravitate to serious, sober films. Oscar-bait movies matter deeply to me. Except now I wanted little to do with them.

I craved escapism, the kind of emotions that only genre films could offer. It explains why my favorite film that year was “Alone,” a taut, terrific thriller that likely didn’t make it onto any other critic’s Top 10 list.

Let alone the top spot.

Plus, we’re lucky enough to have several storytellers who luxuriate in the horror genre sans apology. In the past, young filmmakers may cut their teeth in the genre before moving on to more “serious” storytelling.

Think Peter Jackson, James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola.

Today, directors like Osgood Perkins (“Longlegs”), Zach Creggers (“Weapons”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”) and now Curry Barker unabashedly embrace the genre.

This may collectively explain why horror is crushing the box office. 

Why do YOU think horror movies are exploding in theaters now?

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