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February 14, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 cont’d from pg 8 St. Johns Library Visit St. Johns Li- brary for their first ever film festival. Every Sunday in Feb- ruary from 2-4 p. m. enjoy a movie that highlights and uplifts the Black experience in America. February 11: Afro- Punk February 18: Red Tails February 25: Tupac Vs Central Library Sunday, Feb. 25, 2:30 – 4 p.m.: Oregon Humanities presents After Obama: Talking Race in America Today Central Library hosts Oregon Human- ities and writer and professor Kim Single- tary for a conversa- tion that explores the challenges and bene- fits of discussing race openly with our fami- ly, friends and strang- ers. The conversation will also touch on best practices for encour- aging constructive “race talks” within participants’ commu- nities. Albina Library Tuesday, Feb. 27, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Launch Your Own Podcast Today! Have you ever want- ed to have your own radio show? Josh Boy- kin will take you from an idea to a real-life podcast, using anchor. fm directly from your phone! Most of ‘Basmati Blues’ was filmed in 2013, when a monsoon shut it down, before Oscar-winner Brie Larson, had appeared on anyone’s radar By Kam Williams For The Skanner News D r. Linda Watt (Brie Larson) is a scien- tist doing research for Mogil, a lead- ing agri-chemical com- pany based in New York. The young doctor is so thrilled about genetical- ly engineering a strain of Basmati rice that yields 22 percent more grains per acre that she spontaneously breaks into song on Fifth Ave- nue, right in front of the iconic Flatiron building. Mogil’s CEO (Donald Sutherland) is just as excited by her ground- breaking discovery, but all he sees are dol- lar signs. He decides to launch the new product over in India, where about a billion and a half people eat rice ev- ery day. But first, the farm- ers have to be talked into switching to Rice 9 from the reliable strain they’ve used for genera- tions. So, he sends Linda over to the subcontinent to market her invention herself. Trouble is, she’s a nerd who’s far more comfort- able working long hours in a lab than address- ing big crowds. Worse, she has no idea that the small print in the “Rice 9” contract will force the signers to buy their seeds from Mogil year after year forever. The question is whether Dr. Watt will wise up to the fact that she’s being used to by her greedy boss to ruin millions of farmers financially. Besides business, Lin- da finds time for a little romance during her stay. First, sparks fly with William (Saahil Sehgal), the local yo- kel serving as her tour guide. Then, she devel- ops a little chemistry with Rajit (Utkarsh Am- budkar), a rebellious college student suspi- cious of Mogil’s inten- tions. Thus unfolds “Bas- mati Blues,” a musical dramedy reminiscent of “La La Land.” Unfor- tunately, this relative- ly-amateurish produc- tion fails to measure up in terms of plot, acting, cinematography or soundtrack. The movie marks the ambitious di- rectorial debut of Dan Baron, previously best known for writing the screenplay for a kiddie comedy, “See Spot Run.” Baron ostensibly bit off more than he could chew here, frustrat- ing his A-list ensem- ble by rarely allowing them to play to their strengths. For instance, why make the audience suffer through Donald Sutherland’s woeful- ly-strained warbling? Equally miscast are six-time Emmy-winner Tyne Daly and Golden Globe-winner Scott Ba- kula. A shaky, Bolly- wood-style musical worth a watch only to see Oscar-winner Brie Larson give it her all. Good HH Unrated Running time: 106 min. Production Studios: Red Baron Films / Con- sidered Entertainment / Zas Film AG To see a trailer, visit TheSkanner.com. PHOTO COURTESY OF MOTTO PICTURES Library Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: ‘The Final Film Review: Cross-Cultural Love Triangle at Heart of Bollywood-Style Year’ Chronicles the Last Days Inside the Obama ‘Basmati Blues’ White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, Secretary of State John Kerry, and President Brarack Obama in ‘The Final Year’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News B esides granting a record number of pardons to non-vi- olent felons con- victed of drug offenses, Barack Obama didn’t accomplish very much during his last days in office. That’s not unusu- al for a lame-duck presi- dent, particularly when the opposing party is in control of both houses of Congress. Remember how the Re- publicans refused to al- low Obama to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court, even though he still had anoth- er 11 months to go in his second term? Well, that was par for the course in 2016, a year marked by GOP obstruction of the White House agenda at every turn, including its only override of a presidential veto. Con- sequently, all the Obama administration’s high- lights, from saving the economy, to passing the Affordable Care Act, to the gay marriage initia- tive, came prior to 2016. That didn’t discourage director Greg Barker from making “The Final Year.” After all, he had been afforded unusu- al access at that time to President Obama and such confidantes as Sec- retary of State John Ker- ry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Saman- tha Power. The film focuses mostly on foreign policy issues, although not much of consequence or of inter- See REVIEW on page 11