5 things on my mind: Costner confirms 'Yellowstone' exit, 'Hacks' comfort, and the bad pitcher island

Let's get into a few things on a hot Sunday.

It’s Ray King hot outside. Or maybe it’s Todd Stottlemeyer hot in St. Louis right now. Both former St. Louis Cardinals pitchers sweat through a shirt before recording an out in the sweltering Midwest heat. Late June is bringing a healthy dose of awful summer reality, so let’s anchor up in the air conditioning for a rundown of what’s on my mind and which topics from that maniac inferno are worth writing about before something else flies into the brain.

On Thursday, Kevin Costner confirmed what’s been stewing for months: he is in fact done with Yellowstone. In a candid video released from his social media account “Kevin Costner and MW,” the actor/filmmaker told fans that he would not be returning for Season 5 (which premieres on Nov. 10) or for any later editions.

It came from a desire to set the record straight after being peppered about it during his media tour for Horizon, which debuts its first (of four) movies Friday with Part 2 releasing in August. I think it’s been over for a while, but it was wise for Costner to close the door. Paramount Plus dragged him through the dirt for over two years, even though the actor kept up his end of the contract. The show will be less without him.

What he can do, if his Horizon odyssey doesn’t bury his star status, is make another Mr. Brooks movie. A sly double life thriller setup carried out nice and dirty that most critics unfortunately just didn’t appreciate. Save some millions for that one, Kevin.

When midnight nears and the couch gets extra comfortable, you need a show or movie that isn’t complex or too demanding. Simple setup, execution, and consistency in one, like a diner. Hacks (on Max) settles in nicely. A young comedian (Hannah Einbinder) teams up with an aging, out of touch Las Vegas comedian (the brilliant Jean Smart) who needs a new angle. Each of them need each other, yet chide and chirp one another like longtime friends. They overcome the early years in the business for Einbinder’s Ava and the desire to stay in the game over the course of three seasons, the latest of which is finishing up its run on the channel/streaming platform previously known as HBO Max.

Smart is good in anything, and gets to dish out salty putdowns and mix in the pathos of getting older in a body with a mindset that doesn’t approve of the “slow down with older age” idea. Einbinder can trade shots with her, and also carve out a nice up and coming creator who doesn’t quite know where she would like to sit at the entertainment table. All of it is nicely packaged together for a few laughs with some nice cameos (hello, Christina Hendricks) thrown in for good measure. Anytime you can give the Mad Men queen a plum guest spot, the show is worth checking out.

Christina Hendricks on Hacks

Once again, an easy watch if you’re surfing late at night.

In case Cardinals fans (and pretty much any baseball fan) didn’t know, there is a bad pitcher island. Unofficially, they call it the disabled or injured list. In reality, it’s a player who is so bad at the MLB level that he needs some kind of respite to hide from those high expectations and bright lights. A pitcher develops shoulder soreness or stiffness, or possibly a back spasm. He goes down to the minors, works on not serving up homers, and tries to make his way back.

Sometimes, he gets stuck on the bad pitcher island for weeks. Giovanny Gallegos is about to exit the island, and I am not sure he should. If minor leaguers are beating your pitches into the stands, big leaguers will crush the ball harder and hit it farther. Along with the seemingly injured forever Steven Matz, he should stay on the island and keep working on stuff. They’re so well paid that regular human beings shouldn’t worry about their feelings. Like us, they can get up and go to work and try not to suck.

It will just be at a lower level of competition.

Getting older comes with the task of discovering slow-burn injuries on random occasions. Unlike the 20s and 30s, it’s not okay to just roll your eyes at a possible injury and just keep living. You have to take notice of unusual things.

For instance, I was washing my hands and noticed something weird on my right elbow. A pointy, bone-looking thing seemingly pushing out of the forearm. No pain or swelling, but a different look for sure. A quick internet search tells me it’s a bone spur that can develop from arthritis or overuse. Lifting plumbing supplies can do just that, but the lack of pain makes me feel less rushed to get it looked at.

But that’s part of getting older, right? Finding weird things on the body, measuring the pain and “oh shit” factor, and then acting accordingly. I think so, at least. A weird bump may not be a pimple, but something else. Oh, what’s this thing on my leg? The extra monitoring is tiring and stressful, because I would like this shit to be identified within seconds.

Someone smarter at tech than me, please build a device that scans a weird thing for data and quickly analyzes possible causes. We’ve seen them in the movies, but we need them in real life. Scan that thing and get answers. I don’t like the guessing game. Stepping off my princess soapbox for a final word about…

Pulp Fiction. Life can deal you a cool note every now and then, reminding you that there is some kind of playbook to the whole ordeal of life--but there’s also a slight rhythm to it. On Thursday, I watched Quentin Tarantino’s first masterpiece on the big screen again as the latest edition of Galleria 6 Cinemas’ “Back on the Big Screen,” formerly known as Great Film St. Louis.

I watched it in the same theater as I did when it first came out in 1994. Outside of different color paint and carpet, not much has changed about the theater in the past 30 years. That only ensured the nostalgic feel would reach any hardcore movie fan who got to appreciate the same experience twice.

Unlike the first time, when my wise dad pulled me out of a certain scene, I watched the entire film and basked in the glow of premium grade Bruce Willis, the first great Samuel L. Jackson role, and dialogue that made it seem like Tarantino had his own multiverse. It’s playing tonight one last time at 7pm. Go see it on the big screen. A movie not reliant on action, special effects, or sequels.

Back in the day… back on the big screen. Hmm, just thought of that. Be well, friends.