GREATER HAMILTON’S INDEPENDENT VOICE JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 VOL. 26 NO. 1 Decade Fresh NEWS: INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGET APPROVED • REAL ESTATE: NEW DECADE, NEW REAL ESTATE DEALS • FREE WILL ASTROLOGY 2 JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 VIEW VIEW JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 3 MUSIC 10 NICK BLAGONA R.I.P INSIDE THIS ISSUE JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 06 COVER BEST OF 2019 FORUM MOVIES 05 PERSPECTIVE Trump 06 REVIEW Best Films of 2019 and the Unknown 16 REVIEW The Grudge 05 CATCH Budget Approved 17 Movie Reviews 22 REAL ESTATE New Decade 23 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY MUSIC 10 REVIEW Year in Review THEATRE 10 Hamilton Music Notes 08 REVIEW Best Theatre of 2019 15 Live Music Listing FOOD ETC. 14 Dining Guide 22 General Classifieds 23 Adult Classifieds 370 MAIN STREET WEST, HAMILTON, ONTARIO L8P 1K2 HAMILTON 905.527.3343 FAX 905.527.3721 VIEW FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: 905.527.3343 X102 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ron Kilpatrick x109 [email protected] OPERATIONS DIRECTOR CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ACCOUNTING PUBLISHER Marcus Rosen x101 Liz Kay x100 Roxanne Green x103 Sean Rosen x102 [email protected] 1.866.527.3343 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] ADVERTISING DEPT DISTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTORS LISTINGS EDITOR RandA distribution Rob Breszny • Gregory SENIOR CORPORATE Alison Kilpatrick x100 Owner:Alissa Ann latour Cruikshank • Sara Cymbalisty • REPRESENTATIVE [email protected] Manager:Luc Hetu Maxie Dara • Albert DeSantis • Ian Wallace x107 905-531-5564 Darrin DeRoches • Daniel [email protected] HAMILTON MUSIC NOTES [email protected] Gariépy • Allison M. 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HAMILTON, ONTARIO L8P 1K2 HAMILTON’S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE SINCE JANUARY 5, 1995, VIEW IS PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER USING VEGETABLE OIL-BASED INKS 4 JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 VIEW [PERSPECTIVE] by MICHAEL TERRY TRUMP AND THE UNKNOWN FOR MUCH OF Donald Trump’s presi- illustration of the lack of moral response to its own actions, this night- dency, he has been on the defensive. authority and credibility of this White mare somehow makes perfect sense. From Russiagate to the current House and State Department. With Throughout Trump’s presidency, impeachment process, Trump has the intelligence ‘failure’ that led to the the fear that exists among so many often spent much of his time flailing Iraq war still casting a pall over any people is based beyond the actual about on the lawn of the White claims that might be made based on awful things that have taken place, House, berating journalists and spew- supposed information, the addition of but rather the horrifying possibilities ing lies, or pounding away on Twitter Trump and his constant need to lie or that feel like they exist. How bad is to the general detriment of the public hide the truth, makes knowing any- this going to get? Seems to have been discourse. It is when he acts however, thing about the veracity of these the prevailing thought among most that a fuller picture of the damage claims utterly impossible. Trump has throughout these first three years. wrought comes to light. Whether he’s launched a full–scale assault on reality Trump’s temperament, his refusal to caging children, handing money to for years now, and its certainly come accept constraints on his power, his America’s wealthiest people, or turn- home to roost with this situation. narcissism, and his feeling that he’s ing his back on climate change his Save his supporters and sycophants, always under threat, have fed into this record is littered with immoral acts who in this world actually trusts any- feeling that all bad things are squarely and a series of dangerous or foolish thing Donald Trump tells us? If he is possible. Now, we are at the most ones. Now, at the beginning of what is willing to lie about knowing more important moment of this relentless surely to be a volatile and ugly elec- about windmills than anyone else, nightmare. Trump has acted, and in a tion year, Trump has fully waded into how could one take him at his word manner that has stunned the world, the waters of geopolitical chaos. about something this substantial? and thrown the people of the Middle Trump began 2020 by murdering Beyond the impossibility of know- East into even greater turmoil and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. ing whether what is being said is true, insecurity. Instead of making a predic- This act is without question the most there’s also a serious lack of trust in tion, it should simply be said that it is decisive one of the Trump presidency, the competence of those making and precisely those people who do not and it is the one most likely to have carrying out these decisions. A great deserve this. The amount of pain, loss, global ramifications. Leaving aside example was a letter sent from an and suffering endured by so many in any moral judgment of the act itself, American commander to the Iraqi this region for so long, is utterly for that would require far more space military, declaring that the United unjust. Having the fear of even worse than I have here, let’s instead consider States would withdraw its troops from to come is unimaginable for people what it reveals about the Trump presi- Iraq, in accordance with the Iraqi gov- like me. Again, rather than a predic- dency, and how the consequences of ernment’s wishes. Then, the letter was tion, think of it this way; what would his administration’s behaviour will no said to be a fake. Then, it was declared actually shock you at this point? Of all doubt make matters even worse, even real, but a mistake. A poorly worded the horrifying ways that this may play harder to parse. explanation that troops weren’t leav- out, which one genuinely seems To begin with, there’s Trump and ing, but rather repositioning. It would beyond the realm of possibility. When his cronies’ justification for killing be truly unbelievable at basically any you honestly come to terms with the Soleimani. The claim is that the man other time that such a thing could fact that nothing seems out of the was planning imminent attacks on happen as we’ve been told, but given question, you can begin to understand Americans. Here we have a perfect the seeming lack of preparedness in how unhinged this all really is. V VIEW JANUARY 9 — 15, 2020 5 [BEST FILMS OF 2019] BEST FILMS OF 2019 7 10 Honourable Mentions: Spider-Man: 2015. Filmmaker Nanfu Wang talks to Far From Home, John Wick: Chapter 3 – 9. El Camino: people about their experiences living Parabellum, Marriage Story, The A Breaking Bad under it, and the answers are some- Irishman, Glass, Midsommar, Joker, The times horrifying and sometimes slivers 6 Lighthouse, Ad Astra, Ready or Not, Movie of light in the darkness. The stories are Booksmart. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is on the absolutely stunning as even years later run in this film epilogue to the TV some still think the terrible actions by series Breaking Bad with Jesse trying to the government were right. The reper- 10. Star Wars: The escape the ghosts of his past. Paul puts cussions of the one child policy is still Rise of Skywalker in a fantastic performance that is both being felt by all generations throughout Mysteries are revealed as the final bat- heartbreaking, determined, and some- China as One Child Nation ensures its tle is fought for the fate of the galaxy as times hilarious as Jesse processes his memory will never be swept away. Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) grief through enlightening and moving sends Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) after flashbacks as the clock keeps kicking 7. Us Jedi in training Rey (Daisy Ridley). for Jesse as things are closing in. Writer Writer/director Jordan Peele (Get Out) Skywalker brings back the ultimate bad and director Vince Gilligan delights in stages a thriller that starts out small guy as events in the film resonate with twisting the screws with neat reveals scale and then expands to include the weight of the previous movies. The and some very Western moments as El freakier ideas as it goes on. Adeline action is spectacular with compelling Camino gives emotional closure to (Lupita N’Yongo) and her family’s performances by Ridley, McDiarmid Jesse’s final ride. vacation is interrupted when they are and Driver as the script features some confronted with their murderous dop- 8. One Child Nation pelgangers as the long night gets pro- neat surprises and funny moments, like will perish in a trap. It is a technical A harrowing and sometimes heartfelt gressively worse. With great perform- C–3PO (Anthony Daniels) being even 6. 1917 marvel as 1917 is shot like an uninter- documentary about the one child poli- ances, especially N’Yongo as both the more put upon than usual. A modern Director Sam Mendes (Skyfall) delves rupted single take as it pushes along cy of Communist China from 1980 to mother and her killer double, there are pop culture myth gets an epic send off.