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‘Little Mermaid” remake flounders

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“The Little Mermaid”Rated PG. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.Grade: CThis new, live-action “The Little Mermaid” from Disney works on almost no level. It hardly has enough music to be a musical (and some of the songs are sung by off-camera voices), the underwater scenes are murky and look fake, and the lead actors have no emotional connection. Outside of exploiting nostalgia for the 1989 animated version, this new “Mermaid” directed by Rob Marshall of “Chicago,” is just another Disney live-action remake of an animated hit. The fact that it also comes across like a water-logged remake of “Cinderella” only makes it more dull.Ariel, the film’s fish-tailed protagonist, is played by the Grammy-nominated singer Halle Bailey, whose casting caused a racist backlash. Ariel is a mermaid, who once again sports a big, reddish mane of (CG?) billowing hair and for reasons I did not understand in either film, longs to become a part of the world...

Gallery: Celtics win Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals 110-97

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the TD Garden

Franks: Wishing a happy 100th birthday to Henry Kissinger

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

It would be difficult to find any living American who has had a greater impact on world events over an ever-growing period – stretching decades – than former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who turns 100 on Saturday.In my Forrest Gump-like life, I had the high honor of getting to know Dr. Kissinger during the 1990s. After my successful campaign for Congress, I was left with a sizeable campaign debt. Then-Vice President Dan Quayle and Kissinger were the first to call to offer help with retiring that debt. They were each featured speakers at fundraising events. Kissinger and I became friends.Kissinger repeated his support for my other campaigns as well, including when I ran for the Senate eight years later.Besides always being able to draw a paying crowd, I learned a great deal from this statesman. As a lover of history, I could sit and listen to Kissinger for hours. Where do you start? The Vietnam War, opening doors to China, former President Richard Nixon’s resignation, I could ...

Carroll: Medicaid rates standing between addicts and recovery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

My recovery journey began on March 3, 2014 after hundreds of failed attempts over the course of nearly two decades. From the outside looking in I was at the height of my career as an actor and musician but my personal life and health began to deteriorate rapidly. Emergency room visits became routine and I learned how little success meant if you could not show up as a sober husband or father. I was losing the things that really meant something.To be brought to the light after being in the darkness for so long is an amazing experience. To rebuild one’s life from a place of disrepair to one that is full of purpose and gratitude is about the most beautiful thing I can think of. This is the great promise that recovery can deliver. Life can be filled with hope, connection and meaning. Mine is today.But for too many in Massachusetts, recovery is out of reach and hope is dim, if not gone altogether, because of a lack of resources. We are in the middle of an epidemic – a humanitarian c...

Formulaic ‘Kandahar’ misfires as spy action thriller

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Kandahar”Rated R. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.Grade: C “Kandahar” is the latest action film from actor-producer Gerard Butler and his G-BASE company (“Plane,” “Den of Thieves”). It’s also the second recent film about a Western fighter in the Middle East and his bond with his local translator (the other one is Guy Ritchie’s overrated dud “The Covenant” with Jake Gyllenhaal).Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, the director of Butler’s previous efforts “Angel Has Fallen” and “Greenland,” and written by former Defense Intelligence officer Mitchel LaFortune (instant winner of best spy-name contest), “Kandahar” features Butler as Tom Harris, some kind of Middle East CIA operative whose specialty is – oy, that again? – doing jobs no one else can pull off in between visits to his beloved 17-year-old daughter Ida, who lives with his estranged wife back home in the UK.“Kandahar” stretches credulity from the get go. In openin...

Dear Abby: Obsessed woman stalks BF’s ex online

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a 45-year-old woman who has been dating “Ben” (53) for two years. We have known each other for more than 20. He treats me like a queen. Prior to our dating, he had a girlfriend he used to confide in me about. I was very jealous of her. She knew we were friends, so she made a point of posting lots of pictures of their PDAs on his social media, since we did not follow each other.Fast-forward two years: Abby, I cannot stop obsessing over her! I think about her constantly and compare myself to her. I stalk her social media page. Ben has never given me a reason not to trust him, so why am I still bothered by her?She has moved on and is in another relationship. How can I finally quit obsessing about her and move forward? I don’t feel this way about his other exes, but for some reason, this one gets under my skin. I don’t want him to find out what I have been doing. I really need help. Any advice? –Insecure in PennsylvaniaDear Insecure: In...

Conroy: Celtics suddenly feeling the Red Sox’ 2004 vibe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

Asked what his team’s mindset was going into Thursday’s Game 5 against the Miami Heat, Celtics coach Joe Mazzula was succinct in his answer.“Just win or die,” said the first-year coach.Well, the Celts are a long way from living the life they should be, but they are not dead yet.Maybe it’s the fact that the pressure is momentarily off them. Perhaps it’s a matter of pride kicking after being rag-dolled by their notoriously forgiving fan base after their pathetic no-show performance in Game 3 down in Miami that put them in an 0-3 hole. Or maybe they’ve finally come to the realization that they are the better team.But it’s a series now, and suddenly the Celtics have that 2004 Red Sox vibe. There is belief now that the Celts can make history like their baseball brethren and become the first team in NBA history to climb out of the 3-0 series deficit, getting it back to 3-2 with a 110-97 victory at the Garden.Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics celebrates...

Better Buzz Coffee coming to Coronado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

CORONADO, Calif. -- Coffee in Coronado, anyone?Better Buzz Coffee, which already has 12 other locations in the San Diego area, is opening a new spot in the "Crown City," the company announced on its website.The Coronado location at 1305 Orange Avenue will open its doors starting Friday, giving out free hats to the first 50 guests, according to officials. Anyone in the military will also receive a discount.Better Buzz Coffee offers hand-crafted iced or hot coffee, espresso, teas, smoothies, bowls, toasts and sandwiches. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams opens new San Diego shop One of the favorites on the menu is its "Best Drink Ever," which contains Classic Americano espresso and creamy vanilla.If you want something cold, try their Mint Infused Iced Coffee featuring espresso, muddled mint, raw natural cane sugar and heavy cream.The Coronado location opens daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.Other Better Buzz Coffee locations in the San Diego area can be found in Encinitas, Escondido, Fashion Vall...

Stock market today: Asian markets mixed as US government debt talks push toward brink of default

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

NEW YORK — Asian markets were mixed Friday as a deadline loomed for Congress to reach a deal on the U.S. government debt or face a potentially calamitous default. Tokyo and Seoul rose while Shanghai and Sydney fell. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices also declined. Talks on raising the U.S. debt ceiling continued Thursday while lawmakers left town for the Memorial Day holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default.Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose as their price for raising the legal debt limit. At the Capitol, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “every hour matters” in talks with President Joe Biden’s team as they try to work out a budget agreement.But markets are whirling from various factors, and on Thursday, enthusiasm over artificial intelligence pushed share prices higher despite the potential crisis brewing in Washington.Tech company shares rose in Asia, too, where Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 g...

Supreme Court limits regulation of some US wetlands, making it easier to develop and destroy them

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:40 GMT

The U.S. Supreme Court has stripped federal agencies of authority over millions of acres of wetlands, weakening a bedrock environmental law enacted a half-century ago to cleanse the country’s badly polluted waters.A 5-4 majority significantly expanded the ability of farmers, homebuilders and other developers to dig up or fill wetlands near rivers, lakes and streams, finding the government had long overreached in limiting such activities.The ruling Thursday may nullify key parts of a rule the Biden administration imposed in December, which two federal judges already had blocked from being enforced in 26 states. It’s the latest turn in a decades-old struggle by courts and regulators to determine which waters are subject to protection under the Clean Water Act.Some experts say the battle over wetlands now may shift to states, with red and blue states writing laws that take dramatically different approaches. The high court’s decision follows one in 2022 curtailing federal power to...