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Review of The Premonition

Review of The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis Rating ***

I’m a Michael Lewis fan. Premonition, however, fell short for me. The book lacked a narrative focus. Instead, it read more like a series of loosely connected anecdotes. I would have preferred more insight into how the Trump administration dropped the ball.

Trump’s initial reaction to the pending pandemic was to kill the messenger. Career civil servants tried to raise alarm bells, but Trump and his Republican allies did their best to silence those who didn’t fall in line with their nothing to see here approach. Take, for example, Trump’s solution to rising covid numbers, which was to reduce testing. Yeah, this guy was President.

When Trump saw the positive press that Governor Cumo received from his daily press conferences, Trump decided that he would be the new front person. That’s when we started getting nonsense like Trump’s suggestion to inject disinfectant.

The people who knew what steps the administration should have taken must have felt enormous frustration with the total lack of planning and foresight. But, unfortunately, I didn’t get that sense of frustration from the characters with whom Michael Lewis chose to focus.

Some give Trump credit for the rapid development of vaccines. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that Trump was more concerned about getting the pandemic behind him because of the upcoming election.

I believe Micahel Lewis missed the bigger picture. I wanted to know what Fauchi thought as Trump mucked things up. I wanted to know more about the CDC’s mishandling of covid tests, the mixed messages over masks. I would have liked more on the economic impact of completely shutting down the economy for nearly a year. That history has yet to be written.

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Review of LuLaRich

Review of LulaRich Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason Rating *****

This four-part documentary series covers the rise and fall of LuLaRoe, a multi-level marketing company that mainly catered to white working moms. Part one covers the backgrounds of company founders DeAnne and Mark Stidham. Interspersed throughout the series are interviews with past and current employees, consultants, and legal experts. The term consultant refers to women whose primary source of income came from recruiting other consultants.

From the first glimmer of inspiration from DeAnne, there is a sense that her idea for colorful maxi dresses and leggings had potential. She had a unique concept. But rather than focus on the product and the brand, she chose to grow her company by enlisting DeAnne clones. The resulting business turned into a very successful pyramid scheme.

DeAnne had great success selling her product directly to consumers through one on one interactions. At that point, she could have turned her company into a brand as relevant as Spandex or any other unique clothing company. Instead, she tried to duplicate her success by enlisting other women to do direct selling. In addition to earning income from the sales of LulaRoe clothing, women who signed up early on earned even more money in bonuses and commissions from women they recruited.

As the company expanded, thanks to social media platforms like Facebook live and Instagram, problems arose. It’s one thing when one person uses Facebook live to have pop-up sales events. It’s another thing when thousands of other women try to duplicate that success. Women who came in late to the process had to invest ten thousand dollars and up for inventory. They couldn’t order what they wanted. They had to sell what was shipped to them, which may not have been something they could sell. The quality of the product suffered. Design patterns passed off as LuLaRoe originals used patterns taken from other designers. Complaints grew.

At this point, the mostly family-run business let greed and self-importance interfere with their original intent, which was to empower women. Rather than admitting their mistakes, they accused others for their problems. They forced their religious viewpoints and values on their workforce. They tried to silence dissenters and voices of opposition. The result was a landslide of lawsuits and lost momentum.

This isn’t a story about a scam. LuLaRoe still has a unique product that has an audience. This story has more to do with what can happen when ambition gets in the way of ethics.

Catch this series on Amazon Prime.

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Review of the Netflix Film Worth

Review of the Netflix Film Worth written by Max Borenstein and directed by Sara Colangelo rating **** 1/2

This film proves that you don’t have to have a big budget and special effects to tell a compelling story. Michael Keaton plays Ken Feinberg, the lawyer tasked with administrating the victim’s compensation fund for family members of those lost on September 11.

It starts with Ken and his law firm taking on the task pro bono. He’s not out to take advantage of the situation. At first, it seems like a relatively cut and dry problem. You take a person’s current income projected over their expected lifetime, and you come up with a number of that person’s financial worth. The loss to a family member whose wife or husband was a CFO making 750,000 a year is worth more than someone who lost their retired father living on social security. It’s not the first time lawyers have had to deal with this type of situation. There have been other incidents involving victim’s compensation funds. It doesn’t take long, however, to realize it’s not quite as simple as looking at a table of numbers to find out what your loved one is worth.

People at the low end of the payout rightly argue that their loved ones meant just as much to them as those looking at receiving much higher amounts. Other issues arise. What about domestic partners who are not legally married? What about illegitimate children? How do you handle first responders suffering from health problems due to the effects of toxic dust?

Family members of 9/11 victims had three years to decide to either accept the government’s offer or join a class-action lawsuit. As the deadline nears, only 1200 families out of 7,000 families agree to the payout. Something has to change. At that point, Ken Feinberg realizes that trying to fit everyone into a spreadsheet isn’t the way to go about it. Instead, he decides to hold private meetings with family members and treat each case individually.

I don’t know if this film had a theatrical run. I’m guessing if it did, it was limited. But that doesn’t matter. It’s a story worth telling, especially with the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. It’s the number two movie on Netflix. It’s worth your time.

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Review of the Netflix Documentary Series Turning Point

Review of the Netflix Documentary Series Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror
Rating *****

If you can watch only one 9/11 documentary, make it this one. This five-part documentary series expertly encapsulates the mistakes made before and after that terrible day.

Rather than focus solely on the events of 9/11, this documentary series examines the Bush Administration’s flawed response: the missed opportunity to get Osama Bin Laden when he was still in Afghanistan, the lies and deception that led to the invasion of Iraq, the misguided justification for the use of enhanced interrogation techniques (torture).

One fact that I was not aware of concerned the motivation to go after Sadam Hussain. I always believed, and still do, that the entire Iraq invasion had more to do with a failed assassination attempt on George H. W. Bush than any claims of supposed ties to Al-Qaeda and the possession of weapons of mass destruction. It turns out, however, that part of the justification came from an Al-Qaeda operative who provided false information while undergoing torture by the CIA.

After watching this documentary series, I agree that it was time to leave Afghanistan. We let 9/11 happen partly due to a lack of governmental interagency communication. We tried to force American values on a nation that was only somewhat receptive. We stayed too long. We spent too much money for what we got in return. This documentary series demonstrates the truth behind the statement “elections have consequences.”

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Review of the Netflix Bob Ross documentary

Review of Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed Directed by Joshua Rofe
Rating *****

I don’t know if it was the voice or simply the fascination of watching a painting come to life in thirty minutes, but I always stopped channel surfing whenever I came across A Bob Ross Joy of Painting show. The new Netflix documentary about the famous painter tells the story of his rise to fame and the subsequent exploitation of his name and likeness after his death in 1995.

The documentary relies heavily on snippets from past shows. They not only show Bob doing what he did best, but the filmmakers use Bob’s own words to advance the narrative and provide subtext. For example, the filmmakers insinuate that Bob may have had ideas of his son taking over the shows in the future. Bob’s son, Steve, appeared frequently. Bob also mentioned his son in several episodes. But Steve had other ideas.

As Bob’s show grew in popularity, so too did his fame. Annette Kowalski and her husband, Walter, who, along with Bob, started BRI (Bob Ross, incorporated), saw an opportunity to capitalize on that fame. They began selling Bob Ross merchandise and pursued other money-making ventures using Bob’s name and likeness.

When Bob was diagnosed with cancer, and his show was winding down, he attempted to distance himself from the Kowalskis. He prepared documents that left future income to his son and brother. The Kowalskis, though, had other plans.

The Kowalskis ultimately declined to be interviewed for the film. Now they are complaining about inaccuracies by the filmmakers and a lack of transparency in their initial communications. Sorry, that argument doesn’t hold up. You had your chance. Maybe you consulted a lawyer who advised against being interviewed. Regardless, it was a terrible decision. Unfortunately for them, the Bob Ross empire they built and relied on will likely go up in smoke.

Antipathy towards the Kowalskis is already growing as a result of the film. People are refusing to purchase Bob Ross merchandise. And Bob Ross’s original artwork is sure to take a hit now that authenticity is in question.

All Bob Ross ever wanted was to spread the joy of painting. Thanks to this film and replays of his past shows, his legacy will live on. The Kowalskis on the other hand will have to live with their choices.

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Review of Hunting LeRoux

Review of Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire by Elaine Shannon Rating ****

This book had a little of everything. On the one hand, it was like reading a Jason Bourne thriller. On the other hand, it was a bit like reading about a cartoon villain in the next Incredibles. The main antagonist in this story is so unlikeable, so depraved, that it made the book hard to get through at times.

There are plenty of psychopaths running around in society. The worst kind are those who achieve a level of power and wealth. Paul Leroux had started with honest intentions. There is plenty of money to be made from online pharmacies. But LeRoux wanted more, not that it took much prodding to move from legal drugs to those with more profit potential.

As LeRoux’s empire grew, so too did his need for more revenue. So LeRoux branched out into other money-making ventures like arms sales. If someone deceived him, or if LeRoux suspected someone had deceived him, he had his hit squad dispense with the offender.

LeRoux’s greed had no limit. It’s what ultimately led to his downfall. The careful LeRoux let his guard down, blinded by the prospect of gaining even more wealth. In the end, it was a man with a conscience that brought him down.

The disappointing thing about LeRoux’s story is that he did not face charges for any of the murders he orchestrated.