Beachcombing – Movie Reviews

Thanksgiving was a bit of a bummer last year. First, we were reeling over the passing of Beachcomber columnist Steve Downing on Nov. 20, at the age of 87. Later, we learned of the passing of movie critic John Thomas on Oct. 27, at the age of 86.

Because he spent most of his time in New York City and submitted his movie reviews months in advance, we did not learn about Thomas’ passing from a stroke until Nov. 29, two days after Thanksgiving. He also maintained a residence in Belmont Shore, but our face-to-face meetings were very few.

A retired ceramics instructor, John was referred to us about 20 years ago by his sister, Karen, who lives in Long Beach. He spent much of his time watching movies in NYC and sought to publish his reviews in our newspaper. John was unique in that he would attend the annual Venice International Film Festival, reviewing dozens of movies with ratings like “must see,” “see” and a third category best described as “yawn.”

How to replace John’s movie reviews in Beachcomber was the question. So, in January, I asked my new best friend, ChatGPT, to review one of the 2026 Academy Award nominees, “Sinners.” Chat gave it four out of five stars. The movie received 16 nominations and it went on to win in four categories.

We published the review on January 23 and Chat suggested J.R. Hale as a possible pseudonym.

Still, I thought it would be nice to see a Chat review of a movie that I saw on Netflix, “The Proposal.” It was given four out of five stars and I concurred. It was published in our May 15 issue.

Next, I tested the ghost writer concept on Netflix’s “And So It Goes” a 2014 film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. It was given three out of five stars. Again, I concurred and placed the review in a future issue file.

Meanwhile, reporter/editor Jose Cervantes flagged the J.R. Hale byline, wondering who it was and asking what happened to John Thomas. I shared the saga with Jose and decided that it was time to update the story with you. We’ll use J.R. Hale’s reviews as space permits in our A&E section, but he/she won’t be getting a place of honor in our masthead (the box in the bottom right corner of this page) containing the names of real people versus AI.

Including Downing and Thomas, I counted six reporters and columnists who have worked with us during the past 26 years who have died from old age or by accident. This fact served as a reminder that maybe it’s time to plan ahead for my own departure.

Most funeral homes offer a pre-need guide that specifies where stuff is kept, who to contact, preferences, etc. I created one of my own with two dozen bullet points for sharing with immediate family members. It’s important to emphasize that the guide does not in any way change existing wills, living trusts or advanced medical directives.

Two of my bullet points dealt with computer passwords and ongoing business expenses. Both are significant.

I have about 50 usernames and passwords because some organizations think we need to change passwords every few months and we cannot use any prior (six or so) passwords. The estate trustee will need this list.

It’s also important to promptly stop ongoing business expenses that won’t be passed on to a new owner. I have about 20 items that automatically get paid via credit card; most of these expenses are for computer software, utilities and memberships. Canceling the credit cards should fix this liability.

Our time on this planet is temporary and few of us are given advance notice of our departure date. So, if you love your family and want to save them much grief, set up an information guide and add it to copies of your will, trust and medical directives.

publisher@beachcomber.news