Archive for November, 2007

Sean Taylor

{ 11/28/2007 @ 5:51 am } · { Uncategorized }
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This is a pretty random post for me, but I really just hate this kind of junk.Sean Taylor was the 24 year old, pro-bowl safety for the Washington Redskins. Monday night someone broke into his house in Miami while he slept with his girlfriend of seven years and his 18 month old baby girl and shot him, fatally wounding him. Taylor apparently got up when he heard a noise in the other room, and attempted to lock his bedroom door as it was kicked in by the intruder. 2 shots were fired, one into the far wall, and one into Sean Taylor’s leg. The bullet ruptured Taylor’s femoral artery and he had lost a massive amount of blood by the time the ambulance arrived. He lost consciousness shortly after being shot, and never regained it. Last night he answered a nurses request to squeeze her hand and there was hope. Doctors expressed worry for Taylor because usually brain damage is an after affect of loosing that much blood. We’ll never know, Taylor died this morning.

*****

Here are just a few of a million articles discussing the issue if you desire more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/11/27/taylor/index.html?eref=T1

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3129417

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3129406

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/27/obit.taylor/index.html

*****

I did not know Sean Taylor, obviously, and I am not a Redskins fan, but this is obviously a much greater issue. I don’t really have much else to say on this topic and I have no idea while I felt this post necessary. Maybe because it is a very tragic thing when a 24 year old is cut down in a senseless act of violence. Maybe it’s because he was killed by a gunshot to the LEG. Getting shot in the leg isn’t supposed to kill you. If you’re shot, you want it to be in the leg, maybe not anymore. I don’t know. Regardless, Sean Taylor’s daughter will now have to grow up without a father and that’s just terrible.Sorry for the depressing post.Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. But the gun sure helps.

R.I.P. Sean Taylor [1983-2007]

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (a late Oscar addition)

{ 11/26/2007 @ 2:09 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Everyone makes mistakes…even me. I apologize to all 3 of my readers, I did not do my research. There is one film I forgot to mention in my Oscar Season thread. I could have sworn this film was scheduled for Feb. 08 release…but enough excuses.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - http://imdb.com/title/tt0401383/

Trailer:

The Diving  Bell and the Butterfly is a film I first noticed a year or so ago. Johnny Depp was originally set to play the main character, naturally this was very exciting. I noticed  that Depp had dropped out some months ago due to a scheduling conflict, and that was the last I checked into the project. Then about a month ago I checked into it again, just for the hell of it, and I read the plot outline again, and knew that this project had the potential to be something special.

The trailer is a bit ambiguous so I’ll attempt to explain without giving too much away. Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor of Elle Magazine (yes that’s right all you fashion babes out there) in the early 1990’s.  Bauby was very well known around the world and especially around the fashion powerhouse that is Paris. He lived an extravagant life, and had it all (as they always do in movies). Then in 1995, at age 43, Bauby had a massive stroke. When I say massive, I mean pretty huge, like massive. Bauby was left completely paralyzed, well almost. Bauby’s brain stem had been damaged in the stroke and was no longer active. The only part of his body he could control…was his left eye lid. Ridiculous, I know. But wait, the plot thickens…using this one eye-lid, he BLINKED OUT, yeah–fucking ridiculous, BLINKED OUT, his memoirs. How could you not want to see it just on that fact alone? True story, swear to it. I won’t give away anymore, I may have already spoiled some of it, but I don’t think so. If you feel that way, can it, and read something else. Anyway, the film covers his life before and after the stroke, including the blinking out of his memoirs. It’s equally insane no matter how many times I type it out.

I should add that the film was entered into the Cannes film festival this year, and it collected the best director award, a pretty impressive feat. The director is Julian Schnabel, who received a lot of praise for Before Night Falls, staring Javier Bardem (yay!) and Johnny Depp (always great).

It should be noted that this film is in French, with English subtitles, but that shouldn’t deter you too much, unless you’re lame. But hey, who wants to read when they go to a movie, I understand. Tough it out, see this film.  Coming to a theater near you, probably. Look for this film in spring next season as France’s contribution to the Oscars.
Release date: November 30th, 2007 (limited)

No Country For Old Men

{ 11/25/2007 @ 11:27 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Movie: http://imdb.com/title/tt0477348/

Trailer:

If you haven’t seen that trailer, watch it. How can you not want to see this movie after watching that trailer?

Yes, right now, just go, stop reading and go see it, now. This will be here when you get back, barring some ridiculous extenuating circumstances.

If my word isn’t good enough, how bout these people: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_country_for_old_men/

141 good reviews/ 7 bad. Man wouldn’t you feel like a douche if you were one of those 7…

No Country For Old Men is the newest film from the Coen Brothers. I’ve seen many, not all, but many Coen brothers films, and all of them have been great. They are the masterminds behind, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, and Raising Arizona (to name a few). No Country For Old Men is a brutal film that shows you what can happen if you take something that isn’t yours. The story begins with our protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, stumbling upon a slew of dead people (and one dog), copious amounts of heroin, and 2 million dollars cash. Naturally he takes the money and runs. Little does Llewelyn know he has just made the biggest mistake of his life. Suspecting he might be in for more than he can handle Llewelyn sends his girlfriend to her mothers and books town. Enter Anton Chigurh, a hitman–a VERY good one. Let the games begin. The slow speed chase that ensues provides us with one of the most gripping, bloody and surprising films in a long while.

This is hands down the best movie of 2007. (thus far)

This movie is not for the squeamish, that is for damn sure. It’s basically non-stop violence, without actually being non-stop violence, confusing I know but you’ll see what I mean.

The acting in this film is amazing. Javier Bardem takes on the role of Anton Chigurh (pronounced shug-ah) and creates one of the most memorable villains in recent memory. Chigurh is unbelievably believable and will have you looking over your shoulder all the way back to your car and turning your lights on before you enter a room (not that that would help you). If nothing else this movie is worth seeing simply for the crazed killer that Anton Chigurh is. Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, and does a great job. He hasn’t really been in too much but recently he appeared in American Gangster (as a crooked cop) and in Grindhouse. Tommy Lee Jones plays the sheriff and is arguably one of the most subtlety important characters. Woody Harrelson has a cameo, but his few lines are pretty great.

All this being said, I have a hard time believing that the Coen brothers will not be up for an adapted screenplay Oscar as well as a directing Oscar. Bardem has made a strong case for actor or supporting actor depending on how the academy gages his prominence in the film.

See this movie! I will say it again:

This is hands down the best movie of 2007.

(I’m seeing it again tomorrow).

6/5

Barry Bonds

{ 11/17/2007 @ 8:50 am } · { Uncategorized }
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I dedicate this post to my mother, and actually to myself, why? Because we’ve known what a selfish and arrogant man Barry Bonds was; since 1992.

Heres one of the million articles including the details of his indictment, I’m not going to cover much here, just give a selfish man the verbal herranging he deserves.

Heres the facts: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/11/15/bonds.indictment.ap/index.html

And here’s what I have to say:

Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, what can anyone say about you anymore that hasn’t already been said. Cheater? Liar? Heard it all before, all that matters this time is that there will be a signed document proving beyond any doubt that you are both.I can not wait for the moment when you are forced to look into a media camera and admit what a phony you really are. Destroying baseball, almost single handily. And that’s a generous statement, because I can see it now, Bonds guilty in a court of law but maintaining his innocence till the day he dies.

Whats that? You don’t care about Cooperstown anymore? You don’t want your garbage in the Hall of Fame? Well guess what? Now you don’t have to worry, because it’s sure as hell not getting there.

Let this be a lesson to anyone out there, that if you treat people poorly, including the media, your entire life, eventually its going to come back to you, in a bad way, karma.
Oh, but Barry is getting undeserved attention, hes the victim, hes the scapegoat. Sure, sure he is, and lets think about why that might have happened? Because no where along the way to his stardom did he not step on anyone smaller than him. Tons of other players used/are using steroids. Correct, they are. It seems ridiculous to think that Bud Selig will strike out Bonds’ record or anything of that nature, after all so many players have cheated, what punishment do you hand down to them? This is what pisses me off about Bonds’ supporters: they act like he is being treated differently than all the other players in the MLB in regards to steroids.

HE IS. Why might that be? Because Bonds’ broke the most sacred and coveted record in baseball, the all time home run record, and he stole it from one of the greatest and most well rounded players in the games history. Giambi took roids, but what happened to him? He broke down and is now worthless. What punishment do you deal him? Hes already ashamed and utter garbage now. He can no longer actually play baseball, hit and he’s costing the Yankees tons of money each year. Bonds has something to lose, and he deserves to lose it. He gambled using roids, and more importantly he cheated and lied to everyone, all the while trying to make us all feel bad for leaving him out in the cold so many times. “Nobody likes me, I feel so alone, even in the clubhouse.” That’s because you’re selfish and a jerk. Mean people tend not to have friends, and you’re a mean cheater, 0-2. Your strike out will come after your trial.

I know, innocent til proven guilty. But let me say this, the Fed doesn’t waste its time on cases it doesn’t think it will seal in a heartbeat. The fed has no reason to lie and say it has documents proving Bonds tested positive, if they didn’t in fact have those documents. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t bother. Plus, you’re going to look at 1992 Barry Bonds, the slender, quick basestealer, and 2003 Bonds, with his swelled head (a telltale sign of steroid use), and his ridiculously huge physique.  It turns out Barry actually didn’t play baseball for those 11 years, he was just lifting weights, 24/7, 365. Oh and taking skull enlarging pills. Bonds will go to jail for very little time, and pay a fine. Big deal. I don’t care. I just want his baseball record(s) taken from him. If you think its not possible, you’re wrong.

He’s what I propose: Documents showing Bonds testing positive for anabolic steroids are in the possession of the fed. As Bud Selig, you take whatever date that document reads and strip him of all home runs hit after that date. Then you test him again, and if he tests negative, let him come back to the league and try to break that record again in his present, broken down because of roids, condition. That is, if any team wants to taint there reputation with him.

Goodbye Barry Bonds, may you get all that you deserve.

*****

If you didn’t like my mean and spiteful review of bonds, tough. And heres an AMAZING article written by Jay Mariotti, sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/653449,martiotti111507a.article

If you’re interested, its a must read.

Tis Oscar season

{ 11/15/2007 @ 3:05 am } · { Uncategorized }
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As a self-proclaimed movie guru, I am here to tell you which movies you’re not going to want to miss this holiday season and maybe update you on some ones you already missed. I’ll post the links to IMDB and to a trailer on youtube, if I embedded all the trailers if would take up an ungodly amount of space.

Upcoming in 07′ (in chronological order)

Margot At The Wedding – http://imdb.com/title/tt0757361/

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_NQobRrZhvo

I’m excited to see this movie. It is writer/director Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to his Oscar nominated film, The Squid And The Whale. I loved the Squid and the Whale, it’s one of my favorite movies, especially of the last few years. Baumbach has a way with words/storytelling. His characters are extremely engaging and very funny, but the story remains deep and has multiple layers to it. These make for a very interesting film. In Margot At The Wedding, Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her son Claude decide to visit her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) after she announces that she is getting married to less-than-impressive Malcolm (Jack Black). In short order, the storm the sisters create leaves behind a a mess of thrashed relationships and exposed family secrets.

Released (Limited) – November 16th

No Country For Old Men – http://imdb.com/title/tt0477348/

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YBqmKSAHc6w

This is the movie I am most anxious to see presently. This is the newest Coen brothers film. The Coen brothers are the masterminds behind, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and The Big Lebowski. I’ve heard through the grapevine that this film is a bit different than there older films, but it still has a Coen aspect too it. In No Country For Old Men, Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, and Tommy Lee Jones star. Bardem’s character is rumored to be the new face of evil, I’m excited to see his performance.

Released – November 21st

The Savages – http://imdb.com/title/tt0775529/

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mq1_M3l84G8

Rookie writer/director Tamara Jenkins managed to snag two of todays most talented actor and put together what looks like a great film. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this dark comedy. The Savages is about a sister (Linney) and brother (Hoffman) who must face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father. Linney and Hoffman are great, I really look forward to this film.

Released (Limited) – November 28th

Juno – http://imdb.com/title/tt0467406/

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z_qX1sx8WRU

Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) chose to take on this little number. The trailer gave me a similar feeling that Little Miss Sunshine did. Ellen Page (Hard Candy) and Michael Cera (Superbad) star in this comedy about a young woman (Page) faced with an unplanned pregnancy, who then makes an unusual and bizarre decision regarding her unborn child. The trailer alone made me laugh out loud, I am very excited to see this movie.

Released (Limited) December 5th

There Will Be Blood – http://imdb.com/title/tt0469494/

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ml2Ae2SIXac

This is writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest contribution to the cinematic world. Anderson, who has both written and directed: Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, and Boogie Nights, has set high standards with his previous works. This movie looks thoroughly well made simply from the preview. The movies stars Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) and Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine). There Will Be Blood is a story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century Texas prospector (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the early days of the business. Christmas may come a little bit late this year.

Released (Limited) – December 28th

Movies that you may have missed, but shouldn’t have in 07′

Lars And The Real Girl – 5/5

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – 5/5

3:10 to Yuma – 5/5

Pan’s Labyrinth 5/5

Knocked Up – 5/5

Zodiac – 4.5/5

American Gangster – 4/5

Reign Over Me – 4/5

Check those out if you haven’t.

Movies to look for in 08′

Will be coming soon, I’m compiling a list slowly but surely.

Albums of the year..so far..

{ 11/14/2007 @ 8:21 am } · { Uncategorized }
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It’s getting to be that time (2008). I figure nows as good a time as any to look back on the musical year that was 2007. This should be an overoptimistic article considering there were so many haters of 2007 music. We shall see.

Best of 07′

1. Kevin Drew – Spirit Is… – My personal favorite album of the year. Kevin Drew, when not working on his new solo project, fronts the indie baroque pop sensation Broken Social Scene. His first solo album draws from a similar pool of inspiration. It reminds me a lot of a BSS album, which is great. This is a very original album with a multitude of different styles, both vocal and musical. Drew has a way of creating musical hooks that will have you listening to the same song over and over and over. If you haven’t heard Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People, do check it out, easily one of the best albums around.

2a. Radiohead – In Rainbows - This album was well worth the wait. Radiohead do not disappoint. This is a very strong collection of songs and technically speaking its only half the album. The second disc is to be released in the intensely expensive ($80.00) disc box exclusively through Radiohead.com. If Kid A and Ok Computer had sex and Ok Computer produced the dominant genes, Hail to the Thief is Born. Conversely, if Kid A and Ok Computer had sex and Kid A produced the dominant half, then the product would be In Rainbows. Radiohead = gods, probably forever. If you haven’t heard In Rainbows then find a way to, because its well worth the brief 45 minutes it takes up, and how sad you are when those minutes are up.

2b. The White Stripes – Icky Thump – The White Stripes weren’t a band I was into very much originally. Their early stuff is alright, a little garage punk/rockesque, which is cool, but nothing super special. But slowly since Elephant they have been progressing in sound and style. Jack White is one of the best modern lyricists at writing catchy songs. His guitar riffs are always playable by a 1st year guitar player with no practice, yet they are just so god damn catchy. Get Behind Me Satan took a bunch of musical styles and mashed them onto the same album, and it worked. Icky Thump does relatively the same thing, but in a completely different way. It’s hard to explain, just listen to it. I was drawn to it because it was different, not the same old same old.

3. Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times - See below, amazing album. Knocked Up is one of my favorite songs of all time.

4. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocryopha – Andrew Bird is the man. His songs are so well constructed, so catchy and so beautiful. It’s great music to listen to anytime and the lyrics will puzzle you enough to keep you on your toes but you’ll hardly think about it as you sing along to each and every song. Heretics is a great song.

5. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible – One of the three albums I felt received a lot of undeserved slamming. You’re right, its not Funeral, but what is? Now that we’ve established they are different albums, accept Neon Bible for the amazing piece of music IT IS, and not the indie-rock revolution you WANT IT to be.

6. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer? – Amazing album from and amazing band. The album is a concept album and it chronicles lead singer Kevin Barnes’ transformation from himself into his alter ego. Great concept, even better execution. Interesting and new sound with great lyrics.
7. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away – The second of three albums that was criticized much to harshly. Wincing…is a very strong album. It lets me know that The Shins wont be going anywhere musically that I don’t want to hear. Sleeping Lessons is one of my favorite Shins songs.

8. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - The last of the three. There is no denying Modest Mouse has changed their course with their last 2-3 albums, but that isn’t really as bad as everyone seems to think. They have maintained their roots with songs such as, March Into The Sea, Education and most notably Spitting Venom. You can’t stay the same forever, playing the same type of songs for 15 years has to get boring, you’d want to change it up a bit too. And admit it, you love those catchy more poppy songs, Florida, Dashboard, People as Places as People and my favorite Fire It Up.

9. Albert Hammond Jr. – Yours To Keep - see below, great album.

10. Elliott Smith – New Moon - Dead, and still kicking. Smith’s newest collection of released material dates back to his Either/Or days and therfore they can’t be bad right? Of course not. Some of my favorite Elliott Smith songs surfaced on this collection. Both discs are strong, but I favor the first one. Hopefully he had many more of these stashed away.

11. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills – The sophmore album from Swedish sensations the Shout Out Louds is anything but a slump. I loved this album. I found it much more penetrable than Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, and god, how much better is the name? Hard Rain is a great song, lot of emotion and very catchy. I hope that the SOL’s keep this up, I’m looking forward to hearing more and more of their material.

Huge Surprises 

Kings of Leon – Because of the Times – The King’s last album (Aha Shake Heartbreak) was great, but this album blows their previous efforts out of the water. This albums starts slowly (in an amazingly good way) and slowly builds towards awesome. By track four your faces is melting of awesomeness. [Key songs-->Knocked Up, McFearless, Ragoo, True Love Way, Charmer]

Albert Hammond Jr. – Yours To Keep - This album game out of no where. I barely knew it existed, and then bam, it was there. Albert (1 of 2 guitarists in The Strokes) should be singing on a future album. There is little to say about this album, the material speaks for itself, but beware, its catchy as hell. Best news is, he is already in the studio working on his second album. Yay! [Key tracks--> Everyone Gets A Star, Call An Ambulance, Back To The 101]

Feist – The Reminder - Usually I am not a fan of female vocalists (no sexism intended), but Feist is an exception. Her and Jenny Lewis are just so good that I can love them anyway. Feist’s newest album is much stronger than her debut in my opinion, well worth hearing.

Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight - I don’t know how much I love this album, but I did like it a good amount. It seems to be unpopular among hardcore fans, but I am not a hardcore fan so I find it well worth a listen. Jenny Lewis has a great voice. This album is much more rocky than their previous efforts.

Bout what I expected 

The Apples In Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder – Given to me by a friend (tremor) late in the year, this album pretty much blew me away, at first. Its very catchy and definietly worth listening to, maybe owning, but its not going to blow you away for years to come.

Interpol – Our Love To Admire – The third album from dead pan dan and his group of stagnant musicians. There is nothing wrong with staying the same if it’s a good thing. Interpol’s latest album surpasses Antics, but pales in comparison to Turn On The Bright Lights.

Matt Pond Pa – Last Light – Bout the same as all other Matt Pond albums, which is nice, there is nothing wrong with predicable non-offensive indie rock.

Sigur Ros – Hvarf-Heim – Sigur Ros is one of my top bands of all time. Almost unparalleled in talent and originality their newest album isn’t on my top 11 because it isn’t new material. It is basically an acoustic rehash of some great songs, but nothing new here. Check out all of their old albums, ( ), and Takk… especially.

Explosions in the Sky – All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone – A good album, but no where near as good as The Recuse or The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. Worth picking up.

Complete letdowns 

Bright Eyes – Cassadega - Next album please.

Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light – They managed to hold my attention through Futures, they definietly lost me with this one. Can Jim Adkins sound more pathetically insincere when singing such pathetically insincere lyrics?

Still to come

There is little left to look forward to, but there is one…

Rivers Cuomo – Alone – The Home Recording Of Rivers Cuomo - A collection of lost long and closely guarded B-sides and home recordings by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, recorded from 1992-2007. This should be good, I’m really looking forward to this one. tentative released date: December 18, 2007.

Lars And The Real Girl

{ 11/14/2007 @ 12:41 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/

Trailer:

This movie was amazing, that is the only way to start. Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), Emily Mortimer (Match Point) and Paul Schneider (The Assassination of Jesse James) star in this extremely off-beat dramatic comedy about a lonely man searching for and finding a companion in the strangest place.  When Lars (Gosling) informs his brother Gus (Schneider), and his sister in law Karin (Mortimer),  that he has met a woman, online none the less, they are ecstatically surprised that their shut-in introverted brother has found a date. Lars warns them from the beginning that she is different. She is paraplegic, and she doesn’t talk much and when she does its hard to understand because shes brazilian, but she has a longing to help everyone around her. But nothing could have prepared Gus and Karin for their initial meeting with Bianca. Bianca is an anatomically correct, life size doll, who’s true purpose is person on doll sex.  Lars treats her as if she were his true love, he feeds her, talks to her and she talks back. He puts her to bed, and bathes her. And he heartbreakingly pushes her around in her wheelchair. He takes her to the lake and tells her his secrets. Slowly Bianca begins to have an affect on everyone in Lars’ small little down.

This movie had a strong emotional impact on me. I must admit there were several times during the film that I shed a few tears, and as the final credits began to roll I was full on crying. Me being a baby aside, this movie was so sad, hopeful, beautiful, and well done that I would have been crazy not to cry. This film is anchored in a superb performance by Ryan Gosling. He is one of the most prolific young actors, and his script choice is amazing. If you haven’t seen Half Nelson, do. Gosling, who plays a crack addicted middle school teacher in the film, was nominated for the academy award for actor in a leading role.

To reiterate my point, see this movie. period.

5/5

Shits-burgh Pennsylvannia…

{ 11/04/2007 @ 10:28 am } · { Uncategorized }
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to name their new manager and successor to the awful Jim Tracy on Monday. Who is this mystery man? After a month of search, new Pirates GM Neal Hunnington is expected to name former Pirate third base coach and current manager of a triple-a affiliate, John Russell.

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/

I was very excited when Neal Hunnington was named GM, for the first time since Jason Bay won rookie of the year a few years ago, and that’s saying something. But he has already made bad decisions, he didn’t even need time to ‘break in.’ First he claims Kevin Thompson, a 28 year old, shoulda been good 8 years ago but never amounted to anything player off waivers. Next he claims Phil Dumatrait, a relief pitcher, off waivers, and not only is he bad, but he refused assignment. Yes, a bad pitcher refused the Pirates, what is this world coming to? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Then this, John Russell, a man who coached a triple-a team to a 55-88 is hired on as Pirates new manager…great, just want I wanted.

Hunnington is already showing that he’s better than former GM Dave Littlefield by a .5 margin on a scale of a thousand. Let’s just prep ourselves for another losing season, hell its been 15 years, why not 16. I suppose I was just holding out hope that someone in that organization would understand that you need to spend money to make money.

American Gangster

{ 11/04/2007 @ 7:47 am } · { Uncategorized }
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I just went and saw American Gangster with Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Again, in case you don’t know what I’m talking about…

Heres the movie:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0765429/

And here’s the trailer…

This movie received a lot of hype. The New York Times loved it, as did many other critics. It was tossed around Hollywood for a while because apparently no one wanted to be the one to touch on its subject matter. I found this a little interesting after seeing the movie. It really wasn’t any more racy than say, a Martin Scorsese picture, but what do I know? Both Denzel and Russell Crowe churned out great performances. I’m not a huge Denzel Washington fan, I really still think he has like one expression, but he does use that expression to its fullest in this movie.

The movie follows detective and aspiring lawyer Richie Roberts (Crowe) as he attempts to nail the notorious black gangster, Frank Lucas (Washington) for importing huge amounts of cocaine direct from south-east Asia. Lucas uses the coffins of American soldiers being sent back from Vietnam to hide his drugs. Lucas’ web of affiliates is similar to the Italian run mafia. Based on a true story, it is definietly an in your face kind of movie. It is about 2 hrs and 30 min. long but it moves fairly quickly. All of the slower parts tend to be very necessary and equally gripping. Yet, somehow, it felt like the beginning of the movie and the end were so far apart, director Ridley Scott (Alien, Black Hawk Down) did a great job of making the two seem worlds apart in a short span of time. All in all, violent, gripping, exciting (basically the same thing) etc etc. Wouldn’t bring young ones, and prepare to see some blunt violence.

4/5

Dan In Real Life

{ 11/03/2007 @ 3:17 am } · { Uncategorized }
{ Tags: , , , , , } · { Leave a Comment }

I just saw Dan in Real Life, the new movie with Steve Carell. If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about…

Here’s the movie:  http://imdb.com/title/tt0480242

Here’s the trailer:

The movie was a pleasant surprise, I really was a  expecting fairly mediocre movie. This movie turned out to be much more than that. Steve Carell, Dane Cook, and Juliette Binoche star. Steve Carell recalls his performance in Little Miss Sunshine and gives the character more depth. Dan (Carell), a widower and a father of three girls, all at different stages in their adolescent lives, arrives at his families house in Rhode Island to celebrate the holiday season with his entire family. Brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, and kids litter the household. Dan, who hasn’t dated since his wife passed away four  years ago meets a energetic and eccentric woman (Binoche). Dan falls for her. He returns to his parents house only to discover that the girl that had just entranced him was his brothers (Cook) new girlfriend. Awkwardness ensues and Dan is forced into a situation he’d rather just avoid.

Carell gives a great performance, he brings Dan to life in a way I’m not sure many other great actors could have. Dan is obviously a very complex and fragile person and Carell balances this with humor gracefully. Never once did the his performance come into question. Dane Cook did a good job NOT being Dane Cook, which is a first in a movie for him. I was impressed. Binoche also did a wonderful job playing the likable yet strange love interest of both Cook and Carell, it is easy to see why she would be someone to hold on to. Carell’s dynamic with his daughters was great and the three daughters all did good jobs playing their representative cliche’s.

All in all I would recommend this movie to pretty much everyone. It’s not going to knock your socks off, but it is a great movie that does not require a lot of thought. Some parts of it are just brutal with how honest they are, but you’ll laugh those moments off real quick.

3 out of 5

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