BCB After Dark: Missing a star

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the be-boppingest hot spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. So glad you stopped in during this long holiday weekend. The fireworks outside may be different that the ones in here, but these are cheaper. There’s no cover charge. There are a few good tables still available. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week, I asked you if you thought Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman would be on the team in 2024. By a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent, you said “No.”

Here’s the part where I talk about jazz and and movies. You’re free to skip ahead to the baseball question at the end. You won’t hurt my feelings.

For the holiday weekend, I thought of trying to get some patriotic jazz songs, but then I remembered that as America’s original true native art form, all jazz is patriotic.

While there were a few jazz greats before them and many jazz greats after them, it’s hard to think of any two people who had a greater influence on the art form that Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. And here’s the two of them teaming up on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961.

Last week, I asked you to weigh in on one of the biggest questions of the movie world—which is the better film—The Godfather or The Godfather Part II? By a margin of 65 percent to 35 percent, you went with the original film. Honestly, I think the margin between the two of them is a lot closer than that and I go back and forth over which one I think is the better picture. I guess I’d vote with the majority today, but a few years ago I probably would have voted for Part II and I may vote for it again in the future.

I think I mentioned last year that I always try to watch 1776 on the Fourth of July—they play it every year on the Fourth of July on Turner Classic Movies and on Tuesday it will air at 10:45 pm Eastern time. That film was considered a disappointment when it came out and its reputation has only been partially redeemed since. Restoring the musical number “Cool, Cool Considerate Men,” which was cut at the request of Richard Nixon, has only helped it so much. But I like the film anyway.

But rather than go into that, I thought I’d ask about the sub-genre of political films. Back in 2020, The Washington Post published this article about the best political films ever made. There are other similar lists out there that have many of the same films in it. But I thought I’d ask you to share your favorite political movies.

I’m firmly of the belief that every film has some sort of political dimension. It’s either representative of the values and mores of a time or place or it’s a criticism of them. But that’s not really what I’m going for here. If you want to discuss the politics of The Muppets Take Manhattan, do it on your own time.

No, what I mean is a film about politics — like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or All the President’s Men — or something that is making a clear commentary on a political issue such as Spotlight or Do the Right Thing. Does the original The Day the Earth Stood Still count? I think it does, but that’s up to you. Honestly, Taxi Driver probably counts but again, it’s up to you how “political” a film has to be to recommend it.

Obviously I’d recommend all those films and some on that Washington Post list such as The Battle of Algiers, Advise & Consent and Dr. Strangelove. There are also political thriller films such as Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View. I’d consider a war picture like Glory to be a pretty political film I noticed that the Washington Post didn’t mention Seven Days In May, which I think is a pretty darn good film. That’s maybe Burt Lancaster’s best role.

Honestly, there are way too many good ones to mention here and I want to leave some open for you. Tell us your favorite political films.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

The All-Star Game rosters were announced yesterday and three Cubs—Justin Steele, Marcus Stroman and Dansby Swanson — were named to the National League team. That’s pretty good representation for a team that’s under .500.

But there are always people who don’t make the roster. I personally hate to use the word “snub” as I think it has an unnecessarily negative tone. I know that people have their favorite candidate who didn’t make the team, but there are only so many spots. You can’t tell me that a player was “snubbed” without telling me who he should replace on the roster—and you can’t pick a player from a team with only one representative.

But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t want more Cubs on the All-Star team. Maybe you understand that there wasn’t room for him on the roster, but you think Nico Hoerner would have been deserving of making the team. Or that Christopher Morel has an All-Star worthy slugging percentage, even if he doesn’t have a position.

So I’m going to let you pick one more Cubs player to add to the NL All-Star Game and you don’t have to take anyone else off. And you can have any reason for picking this player—maybe you don’t think he’s the most deserving, just that you want to see him get more attention. Or maybe he’s just your favorite player. I don’t care. There are no rules here because this is just an intellectual exercise to stimulate discussion.

So which Cubs player who didn’t make the All-Star team do you want to add to the roster?

Thank you so much for stopping by. We know there’s a lot going on this long weekend and we’re very glad that you decided to spend a little time with us. Please get home safely. Take extra time on the roads if you’re traveling. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.