We’re not going to lie, George Clooney might be the coolest man to walk the face of the Earth since Frank Sinatra. He’s come a long way from his “suave Eddie” role as Dr. Ross on ER and his super, super lame push as a Hollywood star in the mid-90s when he starred in such clunkers as One Fine Day, The Peacemaker and of course, Batman & Robin. Bill Bodkin


1. Danny Ocean (Ocean’s 11, 2001): This was the role that made Clooney Hollywood gold. He had just started regaining both critical and commercial ground with Out of Sight (which was the beginning of his working relationship with Steven Soderbergh) and Three Kings, but Ocean’s is what put him over the top. Stepping into the role Sinatra made famous Clooney exudes, what would become, his ultra cool, funny and sometimes self-deprecating charm that has made millions of women swoon.

2. Michael Clayton (Michael Clayton, 2007): After starring in the box office version of lay-up in the Ocean’s sequels, Clooney proved once again that he has tremendous acting chops. Here he plays a legal fixer, whose comfortable job is challenged by a possible cover-up his friend (Tom

Big Wide Grin: Clooney's critically acclaimed role in O Brother Where Art Thou? launched his comeback.

Wilkinson) has discovered. Clooney portrays Clayton as a man wearing his moral conflicts on his sleeve and we’re at the edge of our seat wondering which way he’ll go.

3. Everett T. McGill (O, Brother Where Art Thou?, 2001): If Ocean’s was Clooney’s commercial home run, he certainly knocked it out of the park for critics here. In his first teaming up with the Coen Brothers (who took a huge casting risk), Clooney plays the always scheming, hair product obsessed Everett T. McGill. Clooney plays the role with sublime idiocy and delivers great one-liners, especially
like “you guys are dumber than a bag of hammers.”

4. Fred Friendly (Good Night & Good Luck, 2005): Clooney plays a stocky second banana to David Strathairn’s Edward R. Murrow. While Strathairn completely owns this film, Clooney’s turn as the always worrying, yet solidly behind his friend is brilliant. The fact Clooney also wrote and directed the film, which I consider one of the best about journalism ever, makes his performance even better.

5. Lynn Cassady (The Men Who Stare at Goats, 2009): Not many people have gotten into this film, however from reviews and word of mouth one thing is certain- Clooney was brilliant. Watching him dance around in a bad long-haired wig with a silly mustache to a cheesy 80s song shows that this guy knows how to pick meaty roles and is not afraid to embarrass himself on camera.

It was the 2000 Golden Globes, and George Clooney won Best Actor in a Comedy for O Brother, Where Art Thou.

I was shocked.

As 17-year-old who knew his movies, I didn’t like George Clooney. He seemed nothing but canned charm and a pretty smile who didn’t need to know how to act to attract fans.

But now he had a Golden Globe. Really? Wasn’t he the guy who butchered Batman worse than Val Kilmer? I didn’t get it.

Nine years later, George Clooney is the man I most want to be. Not just because of the charm and smile. But because he does it all so effortlessly — acting included. He’s arguably the most underrated actor in Hollywood — a star who can pull off comedy, romance, light action and heavy drama. -Brent Johnson

So, from a Clooney convert, here are my favorite Clooney roles:

1. Danny Ocean, Ocean’s 13
This is where Clooney’s appeal hit me. Even more so than the first ‘Ocean Film,’ the second sequel is where Clooney proves he’s a master of subtle control — whether it’s charming a disarming woman or making
the audience believe he knows exactly what’s going on. You trust his confidence — even when he’s knocking off casinos. That’s the essence of cool.

2. Jack Foley, Out Of Sight
Danny Ocean with a little less confidence, but no less charm. Here — in one of his earlier films, just before leaving ER — he shows even the coolest men have flaws. Which of course gives average men hope. But Clooney’s still cool enough here to call a federal marshal just to flirt, even when she’s trying to track him down for escaping from prison. (By the way, this is a great, underrated flick — a precursor to the ‘Ocean’ films, which were also directed by Steven Soderbergh.)

Totally Out of Sight: Clooney rebounded from a disastrous early career with Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight

4. Harry Pfarrer, Burn After Reading
As he gets older and grayer, he’s not above playing a supporting role. And this one has some stellar lines (about not discharging his gun and his penchant for after-sex jogs) and one killer scene (where his
finally discharges his gun). And once again, Clooney subverts his persona by oozing more smarm than charm.

5. Michael Clayton, Michael Clayton
Yes, it’s a study in understated acting, with measured reactions and calm conversation — a performance that earned his first Best Actor nomination. But try not to be utterly thrilled by the final scene. His fixer attorney cuts his opponent down to size — without ever entering a courtroom. And the last line is spectacular, delivered with perfect panache.

Honorable Mention:

Seth Gecko, From Dusk Till Dawn
The most fun of all his roles — Danny Ocean included. Maybe because he knows how to deliver Quentin Tarantino dialogue.

Speaking of which, they should work together again. I get the feeling Q.T. is the kind of guy who is cool in his own way — but still wishes he can be as cool as Clooney.

Will these two ever rejoin forces?

1ST QUARTER :
- Chiefs(D/ST) Chiefs (RB/KR)Jamaal Charles 97 Yd. Kickoff Return for TD
- Colts (QB)Peyton Manning passes to (TE)Dallas Clark for TD
- Buccaneers (QB)Josh Freeman passes to (WR)Michael Clayton for TD
- Browns (QB)Brady Quinn passes to (WR)Mohamed Massaquoi for TD
- Saints (QB)Drew Brees passes to (WR)Robert Meachem for TD
- Ravens (K)Billy Cundiff kicked FG’s of 46 Yds, and 44 Yds.
- Browns (QB)Brady Quinn passes to (WR)Chansi Stuckey for TD
- Falcons (RB)Jason Snelling rushes for TD
- Browns (QB)Brady Quinn passes to (WR)Joshua Cribbs for TD

2ND QUARTER :
- Vikings (QB)Brett Favre passes to (WR)Percy Harvin for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (RB)Aaron Brown for TD
- Jaguars (RB)Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for TD
- Giants (QB)Eli Manning passes to (TE)Kevin Boss for TD
- Vikings (QB)Brett Favre passes to (TE)Visanthe Shiacoe for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (RB)Kevin Smith for TD
- Steelers (QB)Ben Roethlisberger passes to (WR)Hines Ward for TD
- Packers (QB)Aaron Rodgers passes to (WR)Greg Jennings for TD
- Ravens (K)Billy Cundiff kicks 38 Yd. FG and 36 Yd. FG (4/4 in FGA in the first half)
- Vikings (QB)Brett Favre passes to (WR)Bernard Berrian for TD
- Steelers (QB)Ben Roethlisberger passes to (TE)Heath Miller for TD
- Colts (RB)Joseph Addai rushes for TD
- Packers (QB)Aaron Rodgers passes to (WR)Jordy Nelson for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (WR)Calvin Johnson for TD
- Giants (QB)Eli Manning passes to (TE)Kevin Boss for TD
- Saints (QB)Drew Brees passes to (WR)Robert Meachem for TD

3RD QUARTER :
- Chiefs (QB)Matt Cassel passes to (TE)Leonard Pope for TD
- Falcons (RB)Jason Snelling rushes for TD
- Bills (QB)Ryan Fitzpatrick passes to (WR)Terrell Owens for a 98 Yd. TD
- Giants (RB)Brandon Jacobs rushes for TD
- Vikings (QB)Brett Favre passes to (WR)Sidney Rice for TD
- Saints (QB)Drew Brees passes to (TE)David Thomas for TD
- 49ers (QB)Alex Smith passes to (WR)Michael Crabtree for TD
- Saints (RB)Mike Bell rushes for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes for (TE)Will Heller for TD

4TH QUARTER :
- Vikings (QB)Tarvaris Jackson passes to (WR)Sidney Rice for TD
- Giants (QB)Eli Manning passes to (FB)Madison Hedgecock for TD
- Steelers (QB)Ben Roethlisberger passes to (RB)Rashard Mendenhall for TD
- Seahawks (RB)Justin Forsett rushes for TD
- Packers (RB)Ryan Grant rushes for TD
- Chiefs (QB)Matt Cassel passes to (RB)Jamaal Charles for TD
- Falcons (QB)Matt Ryan passes to (WR)Eric Weems for TD
- Saints (RB)Mike Bell rushes for TD
- 49ers (QB)Alex Smith passes to (TE)Vernon Davis
- Cowboys (QB)Tony Romo passes to (WR)Patrick Crayton for TD
- Jaguars (QB)David Garrard passes to (WR)Mike Sims-Walker for TD
- Jaguars (QB)David Garrard rushes for 2 Point Conversion
- Browns (QB)Brady Quinn passes to (TE)Michael Gaines for TD
- Falcons (QB)Matt Ryan passes to (TE)Tony Gonzalez for TD
- 49ers (QB)Alex Smith passes to (RB)Frank Gore for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (TE)Brandon Pettigrew for TD

To be honest, when I saw this in the theatre, I was on the fence about liking this film. After watching this again on bluray, I certainly enjoyed it more the second time around. Maybe because my expectations are were lowered a bit since going into it the first time, I really was wanting laugh out loud funny, and it didn’t deliver on that. Seeing it for what it is now, it is a light-hearted film with pleasantly funny scenes.

George Clooney (Oceans 11, Best Supporting actor for Syriana, Michael Clayton) directs and stars as “Dodge” Connelly, one of the veteran players in a dying professional football league. Clooney is adequate in this movie, but doesn’t deliver on the funny lines like O Brother Where art Thou. He still has some good chemistry going with Renee Zellweger (Chicago, Bridget Jones Diary), especially in the scene when they first meet. Trading one liners back and  forth was great and could almost used a few more of those type of quick witted fast talking scenes in the movie. The Film also stars The Office regular, John Krasinski (Away We Go) who is nicely cast as the young college super star.

Ok, would I recommend it to people, yes. Not to mention enjoying period pieces, especially from the roaring 20’s era, this film is solid, and enjoyable from start to finish. It is a lot of fun seeing the old-time football, leather helmets, wooden scoreboards, very few rules and half empty stands. Nothing groundbreaking or innovative from this film, but it is film that is well done in all areas. Just sit back and enjoy this easy-going and lighthearted journey about the beginning of professional football.

Holy mother of Moses, there were a lot of good comments in October.

The October 2009 Comment of the Month is a tie between last month’s winner, Doug1, who argues against date rape:

The whole effort to make intoxication sex rape at the girls option after the fact is an abomination and must be thoroughly and vehemently rejected by men.

The large majority of causal sex, particularly first time casual sex between a pair, involves some degree of drinking on both parties part. That’s our social custom among most groups in this country and has been for a very long time. If a girl’s judgment is loosened up when she drinks in ways she may regret later, then it’s her responsibility to not drink so much, or not drink at all, or not do so and then flirt re: having having sex with a new partner. If all other areas drinking does not absolve the drinking person of responsibility for their actions when they’ve been drinking. It should even less so in this one.

The whole date rape campaign of campus and radical feminists is at BEST a concerted campaign to make all but the most gentlemanly conduct on the part of men that involves sexual contact (even though not rejected), a VERY VERY SERIOUS CRIME. I.e. rape. That’s ridiculous.

At the same time a great many women, way over half and probably lots many more than that have rape fantasies. Now they don’t have fantasies about some unattractive schmuck raping them, it’s true. It’s also not true, despite what feminists say, that women never actually want to act out any of those fantasies. Plenty of women do. I know this first hand. plenty have wanted to with me.

In the case of date rape, the man is by definition almost, or certainly a guy can and should be forgiven for assuming so until there’s good evidence to the contrary that the girl did find at least tentatively attractive. She went on some kind of date, or engaged in flirting behavior, with him. No that doesn’t entitle him to then pull a knife and despite her screams rape her. Of course not. But these circumstances do mean that if a woman starts down the road towards indicating an interest in having sex with her date, the BURDEN SHIFTS TO HER TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT SHE DOESN’T WANT FULL ON SEX if she doesn’t..

It’s not even as clear as a mere no. Because against despite feminist lying, and lesbian feminist lying is what it usually is, women DO often mean yes when they say no, or really more maybe when they say no, maybe, if you can make me feel it enough that my hindbrain passion overcomes my forebrain restraint and go slower, cause that kind of overwhelming is like just one of the hottest sexual feelings a girl can have, and is in fact at the core of a lot of rape fantasies or “was that rape” fantasies. Which later are EVEN MORE COMMON. Ask e.g. Bhetti, romance novel glutton.

Of course there are ways of saying no that do mean no, and I for one can nearly always tell the difference. But can a jury when the woman lies about it afterwards, when her forebrain ego and superego, are coldly evaluating the loss to reputation of putting out so easily with someone less than the number one stud on campus (and sometimes even if to him, esp. if he didn’t call the next day or week).

Actually feminist date rape extremism and climate of hysteria is moving me back to thinking that a women should have to do a lot more than say no to make it rape. She should have to actually physcially struggle and show clear evidence that she has. If that means risking some degree of injury, tough. Rape is a VERY serious charge and brings serious jail time and total loss of male reputation in all decent circles. THe incidence of false date rape accusations is just too high.

IN THIS ATMOSPHERE OF DATE RAPE HYSTERIA that campus and radical feminists have created WOMEN DO LIE ABOUT RAPE, especially acquaitance rape ALL THE TIME NOW. Maybe they didn’t used to. But times have changed. They sure do now.

…and Leopold II, King of the Belgians, who opines on the insidious evil of SWPLness:

Obsidian has the half of it.

I do enjoy the classlessness (in both senses of the word) of North America. There’s something romantic about a country where the wealthiest financiers and the poorest laborers sat next to each other in the bleachers at the games and fought shoulder to shoulder in the trenches.

This is the one of the few places on earth where a kid from nowhere can make great wealth, and perhaps the only place where making your wealth from nothing is more respected than inheriting it.

This is not merely a great story, it is my father’s story – the story of a man who came from a dirt poor country, came here with nothing. He had little “culture” of the high-brow sort, and never cared much for it. He loved the prole legends of the old country, and he loved Coca-Cola.

it is not perfect, not by half. But half of it works, and that’s more than anywhere else in this world.

—

But what is the other half? The other half are those who try to destroy it.

SWPLs who want “class” and “substance” are merely those who wish to be our aristocracy attempting to insert social barriers between the rich and the poor. Those are most SWPL are the ones with the greatest status anxiety – neither plutocrats nor working men are SWPL.

It is those who transplant to cities, those with wealthy parents but little skill, and urban white women desperate to reassure themselves of high social position, who most fear slipping in status. They fear men like my father, blue-collar men with funny accents, will overtake them. Thus, they throw up barriers, they use their obscure indie bands and their useless diplomas to give them a reason to feel superior.

For in a world where some kid writing software in garage, some high school dropout driving a front-loader in Fort Mac, some Indian immigrant who borrows money from his family to buy a gas station, all can gain entry to the middle class, how do those born into privilege set themselves apart? SWPLism, the ersatz Europhilia, the smugness about foreign travel, the obsession with obscure bands, all this is an attempt to set hard class boundaries. Thus, they create these SWPL shibboleths to set themselves apart.

Make no mistake, this is a dagger aimed at the heart of the American Dream and the middle class.

It is attempt to create a hereditary aristocracy.

Sheer awesomeness. Great work.

Runners-up include Hermes on female solipsism:

Remember that season of The Bachelor a few years back, where the bachelor was a doctor, and one of the female contestants, who was a doctor as well, lamented “my eggs are rotting!” She also kept talking about the fact that she was a doctor, as though she thought it was unfair that he wasn’t impressed by that. (That was one of my first glimpses of sex-realism: I remember some blogger writing, “news flash ladies–we don’t care about your resumes!”)

Another important example of this is how women judge other women’s attractiveness by the same standards by which they judge men’s (personality, style, etc.) Thursday wrote a good comment explaining this. I’ve seen this so many times in my own social circles, where girls will get all jealous around the girl who dresses and does her hair really stylishly and wears lots of makeup, but whose raw materials are only so-so, and then be utterly flummoxed when men display interest in the jeans-sneakers-and-ponytail girl-next-door who just has a prettier face and better body.

…Marquis on women and game:

i’m always amazed at women with knowledge of “game” theory, who admit it works, but then in the same breath will talk about what women “say they want”…if women wanted what they SAY they wanted, more beta males would get laid, there’d be less divorces, less alimony/child support payments…and chicks would be happy. to quote Chris Rock: “I never met a happy woman in my life.”

…Obsidian on asshole game:

While I definitely have my problems with Tucker Max, and will delve into that issue a great deal more in the coming weeks (Obsidian: The Blog, launching Oct 31 2009), I have to openly and freely admit that Asshole Game WORKS.

Yes, that’s right. It works. Emphatically. And one need not be a PUA or a Dating Advice columinist of whatever stripe to see and know this-all you need are your lying eyes. We’ve all known complete and utter jerks who get more ass than the proverbial toilet seat, while the nice guys not ending up finishing last, but they’re feverishly working it out w/the Five Fingers Of Death on a lonely Saturday night in Anywhere USA.

And, as you rightly put it Ferdi, its in the genes. Women are indeed hardwired for this sort of thing, *especially when they’re younger*, ie, btw say, 20 and 30 or so. Truthfully, I think its a lifelong thing. A few examples, ripped from the Obsidian Files, will suffice.

Just last night I had to resort to a bit of Asshole Game w/my Woman, Brown Sugah. Like virtually every Woman I’ve ever had, she goes off the rails at least once a month, and I have to set things straight again. Last night was no exception. After giving me a day’s worth of snarky text messages and playing “hide and seek makeout”, I abruptly ended the session and turned to watch the tv. When she tried to touch me, I violently shrugged her off and kept watching the tv (btw, Michael Clayton is a very interesting movie, check it out if you haven’t already). In Game parlance, this is known as a “Freeze Out”, and trust me when I tell ya fellas, IT WORKS.

Brown Sugah sat there, befuddled for a few minutes, then slowly rose up from the bed and walked aimlessly around the house. Then, as she washed dishes, she started crying.

I wasn’t moved in the slightest. I let her stew in her shit for an hour, then went back to Good Cop and consoled her. The resultant hummer rivaled Vanessa Del Rio’s.

Second story…a true one:

My grandfather was a Good Man in every sense of the word; a true Virgo Gentleman. But he happened to be married to a firecracker of a lady in my grandmother, and I could only imagine what she was like when they were youner and courting. He should have gotten an award just for simply marrying her in the first place, and I say that out of sheer love for both of em, lol.

Anyway, one day while at the dinner table, my grandmother was really on the rag and on a tear, bithing up a storm. She had been at it nonstop for at least a half and hour. When it got to the 45 minute mark, my grandfather, a Man I’d known all my life, who didn’t believe in whipping his own kids (RARE in the Black community let me tell you, especially bck in the 50s-60s) and was always, always, always a most concilliatory guy-turned into the Incredible Hulk.

Out of nowhere, he smashed his fist on the glass dinner table and bellowed “ENOUGH!!!” the table? Toast. Had a big assed crack that ran the full length of it. My grandmother? That was the first and only time I saw a Black Woman turn as white as a sheet. Her haughty, snarky tone was completely gone, replaced w/a barely audible mousy whisper, begging my grandfather to calm down and that she was sorry. I could see the veins in my grandfather’s neck bulging. That shit scared me.

We ate in silence, and directly afterward, my grandad got up from the table and went upstairs, followed closely behind by my grandmother.

I don’t know if old folks screw or not, and I certainly wasn’t trying to find out if my grandparents did, but I do know this: had they been my age at the time, and knowing what I do today about Human Nature, they’d be humping like rabbits.

My point? That you simply cannot be too nice w/Women. They can and will see it as a fundamental weakness, even though, in a modern and advanced world, such reasoning, if one can call it that, makes about as much sense as their liking for exclusively tall guys. Nevertheless, its TRUE. And the Freeway of Love is littered with the corpses of Nice Guys who didn’t know the rules of the road.

I am philosophically opposed to Asshole Game; at heart, I’m a chip off the ole block that was my grandfather. But I see and realize a simple, yet profound truth: Nice Guy=Supplication=Beta Male=Five Fingers Of Death. The ONLY way you can be a nice guy and get away with it, is to, every once in awhile, let your Woman know that you can and will go Rambo on her or anyone else who fucks with you. Not only do Women respect this, it makes them dripping wet.

Women like the one you wrote about above Ferdi, can afford to write the things they do, because it in no way is connected with their ability to get Dick On Demand; simply put, there’s a reason why Witchcraft and the Paranormal are such hue draws for Women, while hard sciences and High-Tech are such huge draws for Men, and Game is no different. The reasons why are simple: Women really don’t need “Game”-all they need is to be hot, be feminine, and be available, and the line will soon form to the left.

For guys, unless they were born w/the rarified Alpha Gene, they need to figure out ways and methods that actually net him poon and the chance to win the evolutionary arms race-or, he’s toast. Game exists because Men HAVE to figure Women out. Women don’t HAVE to figure Men out, at least until they hit their Wile E. Coyote Moment. All a Woman’s gotta do, as Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton showed the world so very well, is lay back, and spread her legs.

As we all know here, but ladies like the topic of this post either don’t, can’t, or won’t accept, is that the sexual marketplace is as real, and for my money, even moreso, than anything Wall Street could cobble together. Because the stakes are so high and impactful, not a lot of abstract concepts and Fed Chairman speak. And when it comes to the sexual marketplace, Women set the price-Men, mostof them anyway, have really only one of two options: “buy” at the going rate, or, refuse to buy. Like most consumers, most Men would rather pay a little more than go without.

Natural Alphas and Men w/Game, though, have a third option-they can haggle over the price that Women set. In fact, that’s how I see Game-the extent to which you, as a Man, can negotiate for a better deal with the seller. Until very recently in the sexual marketplace history, it was a Seller’s Market. Noawadays, with the advent of Game, things done changed-it’s a Buyer’s Market for those who are saavy enough.

Asshole Game, much as I may personally dislike it, is the “negotiations with a lightsaber” of the entire system. And again, I have to say, it works.

No doubt.

If Women don’t want assholes winning out, they can change that situation overnight. But, as you said Ferdi, we guys and the only ones that are led around by their nether regions.

…Bhetti on male body language:

When I was exposed to the explicit idea that men could be gym rats and not get any female attention to speak of, I started trying to really see the men around me and their likely ability to elicit female attraction.

Time and again, I would see tall and even muscled out gentlemen utterly compromise themselves by ‘I’m going to make myself look smaller and as least threatening as possible’ body language. This practically makes them invisible to a woman, I think.

…Gunslingergregi on niceness and cowardice:

Plus I found out my dad is nice but not kind. Definetly a distinction poignant shit you wrote there. Really good stuff. A ton of guys thinking they are so nice and wondering whats wrong and why they got fucked up. It is because you are a pussy that you where being nice. Not out of kindness because you could personnally make the scenerio go either way.

…MNL on Shakespeare’s alphaness:

Shakespeare clearly understood asshole game. He had it down cold (as he did so many other social roles and situations). But it’s important to remember in this Youtube clip–as well as in other modern re-enactments of historic social relations–that what we’re seeing is not 16th century game per se. What we’re seeing instead is some modern, Hollywood-influenced writer’s INTERPRETATION or spin on those historic social relations. What we often see is a characterization of historic game–washed through an (often unconscious) lens of modern social agenda. And there’s no guarantee that agenda matched Shakespeare’s. (This comes out most apparently when one sees a clip of some obviously feminist-motivated historic re-enactment.)

Nevertheless, Richard Burton here appears to be perfect for the role. He plays it to the hilt. The guy (Burton) was alpha in real life.

So, to make sure you’re not being spoon-fed some agenda, it helps to keep the original in mind below. In fact, you’ve gotta love, where Katherina bitches that Petruchio just wants to play the field: “He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage”

Says Katharina:
No shame but mine: I must, forsooth, be forced
To give my hand opposed against my heart
Unto a mad-brain rudesby full of spleen;
Who woo’d in haste and means to wed at leisure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior:
And, to be noted for a merry man,
He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage,
Make feasts, invite friends, and proclaim the banns;
Yet never means to wed where he hath woo’d.
Now must the world point at poor Katharina,
And say, ‘Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife,
If it would please him come and marry her!’

Shakespeare = uber alpha.

…Max on the nature of morality:

When people talk about “moral superiority” it makes me cringe.

There is this lingering Bronze Age belief that morality is a universal code of +/- that exists in a vacuum.

Morality is an abstract system of relative value judgements based on the human physiological experience of the world.

Hot stove: Ouch! Hot stove bad.

Infidelity: Sad. Infidelity bad.

The reason morality -seems- universal is because is is based on our very similar individual human experiences of stimuli.

. . . Of course women have a slightly different experience of the world then men, hence their cock-eyed circle-logic morals.

…Mike T for finding a Biblical justification for game:

Auster also seems to have forgotten God’s curse on Eve: “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Far from enjoying a higher position in the world, women enjoy one of subordination to men. The very reason why game works on women is because God ordained that part of the curse on the entire gender through Eve would be domination by men.

…and for these two comments on “Sluts Against Rape“:

Women like this are the ones who jump into big cat exhibits at zoos to take close up shots and then act incredulous that the big cat mauls them. They are so addled by the poison of tabula rasa that it never occurs to them that things operate according to their nature, and that predators, by nature harm that which they perceive as weaker and a target ripe for predation. It is in the nature of a lion to hunt and kill, even humans; it is in the nature of a rapist to rape women.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with some white, middle class undergrads about 9/11 while I was in college. They said we need to “educate people like the 9/11 hijackers.” I looked at them and said, “you damn fools, these people have advanced degrees from some of the most elite universities in the world, whereas we are getting undergrad degrees from an above-average state university… what do you think you could say to them that would ‘educate them?’”

It shut them up and made them very uncomfortable. It was like the sub plot in From Hell when the upper class couldn’t believe that Jack the Ripper was a gentile, educated man… that education had absolutely not a single impact on his nature or character.

…and finally, Thursday on the varieties of game-haters:

People dislike game for different reasons. Just calling them haters doesn’t tell us much about their motivations or what arguments they are using.

There seem to me three varieties of haters:

1. Pedastalizers – Don’t like their view of women as morally superior beings disturbed. Often religious and/or socially conservative.

2. Equalists – Don’t like that women are attracted to men who are dominant over them. Often liberal whether right liberal (libertarian or neoconservative) or left liberal.

3. Hyper-Moralists – Don’t like the fact that the main discoverers and theorists of game are almost all libertines and/or nihlists. They also don’t like that game contains techniques for getting women to have premarital/extramarital sex, and that it seems too consciously manipulative.

Larry Auster and Conor F. are a mix of pedastalizer and hyper-moralist.

Will Wilkinson is an equalist.

Todd White, Anakin Niceguy and his commenter Justin are hyper-moralists.

I would also point out that Save Western Civ guys aren’t identical with Social Conservatives who aren’t identlical with haters. Lots of Save Western Civ guys do accept game.

Good comments, everybody.

Mike T scores a record FOUR-FER with the LMAO Award for this remark on the male biological clock:

3 minutes past the hour: Get laid
6 minutes past the hour: Get laid
9 minutes past the hour: Get laid

The male biological clock >:)

A lot closer to reality then the mainstream claims.

njartist49 wins the Zinger Award for this line directed at Kirsten Gillibrand’s detractors:

Did I just walk into a blind men’s dicussion of who is hot?

Heh, heh, heh.

Titter wins the Good Advice Award for this remark on Meghan McCain’s boobs:

The stats don’t lie.

Big, luscious tits sell. Forget about all your intellectual content-driven drivel. The real content that counts is pics of hot chicks.

That was lesson 1 in advertising. Out of 1 lesson total.

Rule 5 rules your ass.

Professor Hale wins the Funny ‘Cause It’s True Award for sharing this bathroom graffiti:

Written on the porta-john wall in Kuwait:

Army women… one plane ride away from being ugly again.

And it is true.

Finally, David Alexander wins the Sacklessness Award for outdoing himself:

I’ve generally felt that the politeness is a sign of a proper, well civilized culture that suppresses it’s meanness for the sake of creating a safe environment for everybody. Politeness is what separates us from the savages, and it’s a great way to avoid being threatening to whites (and women)…

Wow. Just wow. I am in awe of your lameness, Lord of the Betas.

Seit 1960 verwandelt sich Wien im Oktober traditionell in eine internationale Filmfestivalstadt.

Die Viennale zeigt in ihrem jährlichen Hauptprogramm eine akzentuierte Auswahl neuer filmischer Arbeiten aus allen Ländern, nationale, zum Teil internationale Premieren, durchwegs Beispiele einer lebendigen Kinematographie von ästhetischem Eigensinn und politischer Aktualität. Neben der umfangreichen aktuellen Spielfilmproduktion in allen ihren Formen, Genres und Erzählweisen widmet das Festival besondere Aufmerksamkeit dem dokumentarischen Kino, dem internationalen Kurzfilmschaffen sowie experimentellen Werken und Arbeiten aus dem crossover Bereich.

Eröffnet wurde die Viennale am 22.10. von Tilda Swinton. Der Schottin ist eines der beiden Tributes gewidmet, gezeigt werden Filme wie “Orlando”, “The Garden”, “Julia”, “Caravaggio” und “Michael Clayton”, in dem Swinton an der Seite von George Clooney den Oscar gewonnen hat.

Im Verlauf des Festivals wird der FIPRESCI-Preis der Internationalen Filmkritikervereinigung vergeben, ebenso der hochdotierte Wiener Filmpreis der Stadt Wien, sowie der Preis der DER STANDARD-Publikumsjury. Eine Reihe von Galavorführungen, Special Events und Feste gehört ebenso zum lebendigen und vielfältigen Geschehen des Festivals wie Diskussionen, Publikumsgespräche und Begegnungen zwischen internationalen Gästen und Besuchern.

Mehr Infos unter: http://www.viennale.at

The movie poster for Michael Clayton is provocative and intriguing allowing the viewer to ponder what the contents of the movie are, as it should.  It is successful in this for several reasons.  The first thing the viewer’s eyes are attracted to is the movie’s tag line in red “The truth can be adjusted.”  As our eyes naturally move down the poster from left to right we then are guided to the title which can easily be read in a clear font with extra spacing.  The next type to grab the eyes attention is October which is clearly printed in red caps in the bottom right.  The poster has a nice simple flow which is reinforced with the vertical figure of George Clooney who plays the movies namesake Michael Clayton.  His expression conveys a sense of tension and seriousness which matches the films content and tone.  His image is blurred for several reasons.  First, Clooney’s character has an air of mystery throughout the film about what exactly it is that he does for a living and none of the other characters seem to be quite clear about it either.  Second, Michael Clayton demands anonymity from his clients and this blurred image attempts to make him seem more like he can be almost anyone but the general populous can still clearly recognize the figure as the famous George Clooney which the movie studio wants to capitalize on.  Lastly, the blurred photograph reinforces the tag line that just like the truth this image has been adjusted. Overall, the poster evokes a sense of tension about the gray area between honesty and dishonesty which the viewer can assume is one of the major conflicts of the film.

I am going out on a limb.  No one has been harder on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the past few weeks, but I believe a change may be in the air.  I think the Bucs may have found something that can work.

There is no doubt that I thought Byron Leftwich was a capable, if uninspiring, quaterback option for the team.  When Leftwich was benched, he was 6th in the league in passing yards.  In retrospect, he’s faired better than many quarterbacks who are still getting snaps.  One such QB is on his way to town this week: Jake Delhomme.

So, what’s new in Tampa?

Somehow, the Buccaneers have figured out a way to sustain drives.   Consider this:

• Against the Eagles, the Bucs had drives of 16 plays, 9 plays, 10 plays and 11 plays.  Those are incredible statistics for a team playing on the road with a rookie QB.
• Two of those extended drives ended in touchdown passes to tight end Kellen Winslow.
• The Buccaneers led the Eagles in time of possession.  Bucs (34:33) – Eagles (25:27)

The Buccaneers have a lot of new pieces in place — the coach, the QB, the tight end, the backup running back, the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator.   The rookie QB threw 3 interceptions against the blitzing Eagles (Who doesn’t??)  So, there is plenty of room for growth.  Few teams blitz as often and as well as Philadelphia.

If the Buccaneers can continue this trend and get some actual ground yardage (a solid prospect against Carolina’s pourous run defense), they can turn the tide on Sunday.

ADDENDUM — OCTOBER 21, 2009

If only I had known this before writing this post:

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback B.J. Askew will miss the remainder of the season because of injuries suffered in a car accident.

The Bucs placed the seventh-year pro on the non-football injury list Tuesday. The team also signed cornerback Marcus McCauley and released cornerback Derrick Roberson before re-signing him to the practice squad.

Askew started two of five games he played in this season, carrying the ball once for no gain.  He sat out Sunday’s 28-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers because of neck and back pain.
Last week, Bucs coach Raheem Morris said Askew had been injured in a “fender bender” accident.

McCauley was released by the Detroit Lions on Sept. 28. He entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2007.

Last week, Steeler rookie WR Mike Wallace had 7 receptions and 102 receiving yards on the road vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Steelers lost the game, but the rookie served notice that he just might be a player.  I was impressed enough to scoop him up in my FFL, even though I think the Steelers are at the softer spot of the 2009 schedule and are likely to run the ball more.  I think Wallace is about to do some special things.  Here’s why:

Mike Wallace takes Jonathan Joseph for a ride.

Wallace’s 7 catch, 100-yard production has only been matched by a handful of rookie wide receivers over the past 6 years.  If the line of demarcation is five or six catches, the lists are entirely different.  I was looking for the number that seemed to be the best indicator of rookies breaking through.  Since 2003,  approximately 200 wide receivers have been drafted in the NFL.  Coming down with 7 grabs isn’t easy.  Only a handful of players have done it.  That list includes, but is not limited to:

• Calvin Johnson. Game 11 (2007).  7 catches, 83 yards and a touchdown.
• Ted Ginn, Jr. Game 16 (2007).  7 catches, 53 yards and a touchdown.
• Anthony Gonzalez.  Game 5 (2007).  7 catches, 71 yards.
• Mark Clayton.  Game 10 (2005). 7 catches, 86 yards.
• Reggie Brown. Game 16 (2005).  7 catches, 77 yards.
• Lee Evans.  Game 15 (2004).  8 catches, 92 yards.
• Larry Fitzgerald.  Game 10 (2004).  7 catches, 92 yards.

The list, however, of players who have managed to grab 7 balls AND reach 100 yards in a rookie season is short — and SWEET.

1. Anquan Boldin.  Game 1 (2003).  10 catches, 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hello world!  Boldin is arguably one of the most underrated receivers in the league.  He is the active leader in receiving yards per game.  His numbers track very closely with those of Larry Fitzgerald (in terms of catches, yards and touchdowns), but he is not as widely known or respected — except by defenders in the NFL.
2. Andre Johnson. Game 2 (2003).  7 catches, 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.
3. Michael Clayton. Game 6 (2004).  8 catches, 142 yards.  Clayton, a former LSU standout was highly regarded out of college and after his rookie campaign.  Since then, he’s been slowed by injuries, a stint in the Gruden “dog house” and other issues.  After his rookie season, he started 10, 9, 4, and 9 games respectively.  He began 2009 healthy and with a big-armed QB.  He responded with 5 catches for 93 yards vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
4. Marques Colston. Game 8 (2006).  11 catches, 123 yards and 1 touchdown.   This game was sandwiched around a 6 catch, 163 yard, 2 touchdown showcase and a 10 catch, 169 yard showstopper.  Colston, a 7th round draft pick out of tiny Hofstra College (NY) burst on the scene, but lost out on Rookie of the Year honors to Vince Young.  Colston missed 3 games that season.
5. Dwayne Bowe. Game 4 (2007).  8 catches, 164 yards and 1 touchdown.  Another LSU product, Bowe has been a high-level performer since being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.  His performances over years 1 and 2 closely parallel that of Detroit’s more celebrated Calvin Johnson.  The sky is the limit for Bowe.
6. Laurent Robinson.  Game 15 (2007).  7 catches, 114 yards, 1 touchdown.  Robinson was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.  (Can you imagine Robinson, Roddy White and a healthy Harry Douglas?)  He is currently paired with Donny Avery on the St. Louis Rams.  Note that Robinson is the only person on this list whose breakout performance occurs at the END of the season.  He can play.
   

   Laurent Robinson and his Week 2 Poster Boy DeAngelo Hall

7. Eddie Royal. Game 1 (2008).  9 catches, 146 yards and 2 touchdowns!!  Royal announced his presence with gusto last season.  Drafted in the 2nd round (42nd overall), the diminutive wideout from Virginia Tech served notice he’d be catching balls all season long.
8. MIKE WALLACE.  Game 3 (2009).  7 catches, 102 yards.

None of us know what the future holds for Mike Wallace, but he is in some very heady company.

58 people are dead after security forces fired on protesters in the African nation of Guinea today. They were protesting the current military government (which took power last December) and the expected announcement that the military leader currently in charge, Moussa Dadis Camara, will run in national elections in January 2010. Leaders of the opposition were also arrested at the rally, Al Jazeera.

China is preparing a massive celebration for October 1, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Photo gallery of the preparations, CNN. A CNN reporter, Emily Chang, was granted permission to interview members of  the Communist Youth League in advance of the anniversary, CNN International. Tour of Mao’s hometown, CNN Asia.

The Oxfam international aid agency has issued an emergency call for aid to Ethiopia and other East African countries. The area is experiencing the worst drought in 10 years, BBC News.

A new study says that most corporations aren’t paying taxes in the United States:

The Government Accountability Office said 72 percent of all foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2000.

Senators Byron Dorgan and Carl Levin requested the study so that the U.S. government can work to plug holes in the tax code, Reuters. The process companies use to avoid paying taxes is illustrated in the 2007 film Michael Clayton, IMDB.

The publication date of the memoirs of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been moved up from next spring to November 17 of this year. The book will be called “Going Rogue,” Associated Press.

From two of the greats of the classical studio era, to two of contemporary Hollywoods finest cinematographers. Roger Deakins and Robert Elswit are both responsible for some of the best American cinematography of the last ten years (although Deakins is actually British).

Roger Deakins 

Selected Filmography:

-          Barton Fink (dir. Coen Brothers, 1991)

-          Fargo (dir. Coen Brothers, 1996)

-          Kundun (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1997)

-          The Big Lebowski (dir. Coen Brothers, 1998)

-          O Brother, Where Art Thou? (dir. Coen Brothers, 2000)

-          The Man Who Wasn’t There (dir. Coen Brothers, 2001)

-          Jarhead (dir. Sam Mendes, 2005)

-          No Country For Old Men (dir. Coen Brothers, 2007)

-          The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

            (dir. Andrew Dominik, 2007)

-          Revolutionary Road (dir. Sam Mendes, 2008)  

Deakins is perhaps most synonymous with the Coen Brothers, having shot almost all of their films since 1991. Just as the Coens change their style from film to film so too does Deakins, his versatility being perhaps his best asset. Deakins is also responsible for Sam Mendes’ Jarhead as well as Revolutionary Road. In the latter his work is arrestingly understated in its use of movement and subdued colour. Deakins always succeeds in finding the right way to shoot subject matter, never overpowering a film with stylistic bravado. He is thoughtful, clearly taking the tone of the film into account and allowing it to motivate his approach.

I think my favourite work he has done recently, besides No Country For Old Men, was on Andrew Dominik’s overlooked The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Below is the train robbery sequence, which is magnificent from start to finish.

Robert Elswit

Selected Filmography:

-          Hard Eight (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1996)

-          Magnolia (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)

-          Punch-Drunk Love (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)

-          Good Night, and Good Luck (dir. George Clooney, 2005)

-          Syriana (dir. Stephen Gaghan, 2005)

-          Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy, 2007)

-          There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

Robert Elswit is more bravado, but in a good way. Compare the spectacular opening of Boogie Nights to Metty’s opening shot on Touch of Evil to see what I mean. Elswit’s collaborations with P.T. Anderson are always exciting and his work on There Will Be Blood justly won him the Oscar, albeit over Deakins who was actually nominated for both Jesse James and No Country For Old Men!

I could pick almost any part of There Will Be Blood to play but instead I chose the opening of the excellent Michael Clayton another film Elswit shot in 2007. Here Elswit elevates the banal into the sublime, with a series of beautifully composed frames.  

Leggo da Mantellini che REPORT – la trasmissione di Milena Gabanelli che tanti travasi di bile ci ha fatto avere negli ultimi anni –  rischia di non andare più in onda perché la RAI non sarebbe disponibile ad assumersi la copertura legale della trasmissione.

È vero che a REPORT “se le cercano”…, ma la Gabanelli dice che:

«E’ stata manifestata apertamente dalla Rai l’intenzione di togliere la copertura legale, e non capisco perchè, visto che finora non abbiamo perso una causa.»

What’s “frakkin’”? It’s a reference to one of the greatest science fiction television shows, ever. Edward James Olmos (see left), of the acclaimed Battlestar Galactica, has been officially confirmed to have a role in the upcoming “Green Hornet”. Joining Olmos is Tom Wilkinson, who was great in “Michael Clayton”, and David Harbour (“Revolutionary Road”).

Now if they can just get Nic Cage to actually sign, they will join Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou and Seth Rogen to round out the cast.

Thanks to /Film for breakin’ the news.

by The Great White Gypsy

Amreeka – Written and Directed by Cherien Dabis
We’ve seen this kind of thing on TV and in movies before. Actually, a lot recently. But this story of a single mother emigrating from Palestine and working at a White Castle in Illinois looks interesting. If you liked The Visitor, you’ll probably enjoy this, and it’s gotten a lot of positive reviews from Cannes and Sundance.
Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muellam, Alia Shawkat
September 4

Carriers – Written and Directed by Alex and David Pastor
Chris Pine (Star Trek, Bottle Shock) has already proven himself to be a versatile actor. Looks like your typical virus-ends-mankind thriller, but since when is that a bad thing? The Pastor brothers are new, but the preview is enticingly vague and eerie.
Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci
September 4

Extract – Written and Directed by Mike Judge
The creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill has been sadly absent from cinema since Office Space in 1999 (save 2006’s Idiocracy). About an Extracts plant owner who thinks his wife is cheating on him, the fact that the preview and the tagline compare it to Office Space could spell trouble, but Judge, Bateman, and J.K. Simmons haven’t let me down so far.
Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Clifton Collins Jr.
September 4

Gamer – Written and Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Pro: It’s good to see Gerard Butler in an action movie after being in bullcrap like P.S. I Love You, Nim’s Island, and The Ugly Truth.
Con: The Writer/Director team is the same guys who did Crank and Crank 2.
Futuristic story about convicts who are players in a live action video game, controlled by real people. The winner is set free…everyone else dies. Granted, it appears to be a solid movie, but Crank 2 didn’t do anything for Jason Statham’s career (especially after Transporter 3), and after movies like Death Race, The Condemned, and Running Man, don’t expect to see anything groundbreaking.
Gerard Butler, Ludacris, Michael C. Hall, John Leguizamo
September 4

9 – Directed by Shane Acker, Written by Shane Acker and Pamela Pettler
Sure, 9 little rag dolls running around in a post-apocalyptic world might not rattle your cage, but after seeing Sebastian’s Voodoo at the Ashland Festival last April, I can’t wait to see Shane Acker’s animated short come to life as a full length feature. Not only is the voice casting solid, but it’s being produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for 9 years (don’t worry, I already punched myself for that one.)
Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover
September 9

The Other Man – Written and directed by Richard Eyre
Liam Neeson suspects his wife is cheating on him. Then she disappears, which makes him…slightly more suspicious. So he sets out to find and meet the man she’s seeing. Then they play a game of chess (if only Ingmar Bergman was alive to collect royalties on that). Kinda looks like Taken 2, but Neeson, Banderas, and Linney are all solid, and Eyre directed Notes on a Scandal, which got a lot of Oscar attention. Also based on a short story by Bernhard Schlink, who wrote The Reader. Unsure about this one.
Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney
September 11

The Burning Plain – Written and Directed by Guillermo Arriaga
Kicking off Oscar pre-season is Guillermo Arriaga’s (writer: 21 Grams, Babel) poignant drama about three women searching for happiness. Not only are Theron and Basinger involved, but composer Hans Zimmer (Frost/Nixon, The Dark Knight), cinematographers Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton) and John Toll (Gone Baby Gone, The Last Samurai, Almost Famous), and Production Designer Dan Leigh (The Last Kiss, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) are all present and accounted for. Could be a contender.
Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, John Corbett, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquim de Almeida, Robin Tunney
September 18

Disgrace – Directed by Steve Jacobs, Written by Anna Maria Monticelli
Adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author J.M. Coetzee’s (Elizabeth Costello, Waiting for the Barbarians) novel about a professor in post-apartheid South Africa who has an affair with a black student. When he is dismissed, he goes to live with his lesbian daughter, and they are attacked by a group of black teenagers. Films like this are hard for Americans to swallow, because they often forget that apartheid really didn’t start to disappear until 1994. Rookie director and writer, but Malkovich is always brilliant.
John Malkovich
September 18

The Informant! – Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Written by Scott Z. Burns
I’m trying very hard to forget about Ocean’s 11-13, and Soderbergh’s love affair with George Clooney. If I focus really hard on films like Out of Sight, Traffic, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape, then maybe I’ll give this Kurt Eichenwald (Conspiracy of Fools) adaptation of an agricultural businessman turned government informant a chance. I make no promises.
Matt Damon, Scott Bakula
September 18

Paris – Written and Directed by Cedric Klapisch
About a Parisian man with heart disease who is waiting for a transplant. He observes the city, and the people around him as they struggle through life and love. Klapisch looks fairly prolific in France, and I’m a Juliette Binoche fan. Looking forward to it.
Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini
September 18

Jennifer’s Body – Directed by Karyn Kusama, Written by Diablo Cody
A hot high school girl takes a plain jane under her wing. Turns out she’s possessed, and trying to kill everyone. Normally I won’t even mention high school horror films like this. However, the people involved have me interested. Diablo Cody wrote Juno, which was amazing. Kusama directed Girlfight (good), but she also did Aeon Flux (not good). Probably won’t see it on the big screen, but I’ll look for it on On-Demand.
Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody
September 18

Splice – Directed by Vincenzo Natali, Written by Vincenzo Natali and Antoinette Terry Bryant
Again, normally I wouldn’t hype a film that appears to be a rip off of Species. But it also reminds me of Mimic, which was directed by Guillermo del Toro and, interestingly enough, del Toro is producing this sci-fi thriller. I like Adrien Brody, and I liked The Orphanage. Enough said.
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polly
September 18

The Blue Tooth Virgin – Written and Directed by Russell Brown
As an aspiring writer, I’m always a sucker for a film about aspiring writers. Two such people in L.A. have their friendship thrown into turmoil when one of them doesn’t like the other’s new screenplay. I’m interested, but most of you might wait until you see it on cable.
Karen Black, Roma Maffia, Lauren Stamile, Lance Aaron, Amber Benson, Bryce Johnson
September 25

The Boys are Back – Directed by Scott Hicks, Written by Alan Cubitt
The director of Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis is teaming with Clive Owen for this dramedy about a man trying to raise his young son and reconnect with his older son after his wife dies suddenly. Looks more dramatic-family-dynamic than feel-good-comedy, a good departure for Owen as of late.
Clive Owen
September 25

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men – Written and Directed by John Krasinski
Krasinski’s directorial debut portrays a woman (Nicholson) interviewing men about their relationship patterns. Might not be really innovative, but after The Office and Away We Go, I’ll shell out $10 to support Johnny K. Not only that, it’s based on a short story by David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest), who is freaking brilliant. Good luck finding this anywhere, though; I can’t even find an actual preview yet.
John Krasinski, Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton, Lou Taylor Pucci, Josh Charles
September 25

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell – Directed by Bob Gosse, Written by Tucker Max
I’ve picked up Tucker Max’s book several times from the discount table at Borders, but, funny as it sounds, it’s not my kind of literature. However, the subject matter should make for an entertaining movie, and the outlandishly misogynistic things this guy says should be good for a laugh (the first line of the preview had me laughing out loud.)
Jesse Bradford, Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults, Traci Lords
September 25

The Invention of Lying – Written and Directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson
As much as I respect Ricky Gervais (The Office…no no, the original one), this inside-out Liar Liar has the potential to be esoterically dull. That being said, anything with Jeffrey Tambor has my initial approval.
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Patrick Stewart, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey
September 25

Pandorum – Directed by Christian Alvart, Written by Travis Malloy
Unknown meets The Descent meets Event Horizon in this sci-fi thriller about two crewmen aboard a large transport spaceship. They wake up alone, without any memory, and start to see weird monsters and crazy visions. Ben Foster is creepy all by himself, but this film looks dark and tense. Director, cinematographer, and editor each have a respectable body of work in Germany, but few successes in the US. I’ll definitely see it.
Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Antje Traue, Norman Reedus
September 25

Surrogates – Directed by Jonathan Mostow, Written by Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato
This is an almost Aasimovian story about a future where everyone just stays home on the couch, and controls a robot surrogate in the outside world with their mind. No one’s supposed to die. Then someone does. How do they never see that coming? Unfortunately, Mostow directed Terminator 3, which, along with Terminator Salvation, was also written by Farris and Brancato. If I see Schwarzenegger once, I’m throwing popcorn.
Bruce Willis, Rosemund Pike, Ving Rhames, Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell
September 25

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Dorian Gray – Directed by Oliver Parker, Written by Toby Finlay
Oscar Wilde’s original novel may have been a bit dry, but it’s a classic. Like most classics, however, this one is yet again being twisted and exploited by the film industry. The effects look cool, but the story seems a bit off, and the shameless addition of lurid sex scenes, while generally enticing, is just corrupting another good book, so today’s teens can read the smutty film novelization instead of the real thing. Not sure when it’s hitting the states, but the UK gets it next month.
Ben Barnes, Colin Firth
September 9 (UK)

Creation – Directed by Jon Amiel, Written by John Collee
The story of Charles Darwin in the midst of his controversial theories on evolution. It’s supposed to be based on a biography, but it appears to have a little church propaganda slant to it. Nevertheless, Bettany and Connelly are generally good, and the genuine emotions in the preview look solid. Not sure when we’ll see this one, but once again the UK gets it next month.
Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam
September 25 (UK)

2008 Record: 9-7, 2008 TABRank: 16, Tentative 2009 NFC South Projection: 4th
At 9-3, Tampa Bay seemed primed to make the playoffs in ‘08.  However, the Buccaneers lost more games in the last quarter of the season than they did in the first three.  The four-game losing streak cost Tampa Bay a playoff spot and Jon Gruden a head coaching job.  Some blame the collapse on the decision by Monte Kiffin to leave the team for the University of Tennessee after the season.  Others blame it on lackadaisical play all around.  No matter what happened to end 2008; the story will remain the same in 2009: new quarterback, new head coach, new offensive coordinator and new defensive coordinator.  Jeff Garcia now plays in Oakland.  Raheem Morris replaces Gruden.  Jeff Jagodzinski now runs the offense and Jim Bates now runs the defense alongside Morris.  In addition, longtime Tampa Bay vets Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn were released among other aging players.  The drastic changes could give the Bucs an advantage; there will be little or no film for opponents to prepare for, giving Tampa a chance to have a surprisingly successful season.  On the other hand, the instability and the several weaknesses on the team could spell a disaster in 2009.

Surprisingly, Antonio Bryant may have been the best offensive player for the Bucs in 2008.  Bryant sat out the 2007 season and had several character issues before then, but the Bucs still took a shot on the talented fellow.  Tampa Bay reaped the rewards for their confidence in keeping Bryant, as he had a career year (he set personal highs with 83 receptions for 1248 yards and 7 TDs).  He also had perhaps the most impressive catch of the decade on Monday Night Football in Carolina in Week 14.  Bryant’s surprising emergence was one of the best stories in 2008, and the wide receiver deserved some consideration for Comeback Player of the Year.  Another receiver needs to emerge opposite Bryant, preferably Michael Clayton or Dexter Jackson.  Jackson would make a nice deep threat and slot receiver.  The team should get some wonderful receiving help from TE Kellen Winslow, Jr, who could be the team’s best offensive weapon in ‘09.  The offensive line had a pretty solid start (just 10 sacks allowed in their first nine games), but fell apart after their Week 10 bye (22 sacks allowed in the last seven).  Center Jeff Faine and RG Davin Joseph are two great linemen, but they could help the line to rebound by having a more dominant presence on the field and a more apparent leadership role in the locker room.  LG Jeremy Zuttah could become the starter since Arron Sears has been suffering from some unique neurological complications after a concussion suffered last season.  Sears didn’t show up to training camp, and there’s no telling if or when Sears will be fit to play.  The Buccaneers have interesting options with the RB trio of Ernest Graham, Derrick Ward and Carnell Williams.  Graham will probably start, and he sets the tone with his size and toughness.  Ward will see plenty of time himself, and he can work well backing up a big RB, proven by his 1025 yards while working with Brandon Jacobs last year.  There’s much less luxury involved with the battle for the starting QB spot.  Under Jagodzinski’s West Coast style of offense, Luke McCown currently has the upper hand on the starting job.  McCown has just seven starts to his career, and hasn’t shown consistency so far in the little time he’s played.  Then again, the sample size for his career is too small, so there’s no true way of telling what McCown can do.  Byron Leftwich was signed to push McCown for the time being while first-round pick Josh Freeman learns the ropes, but Leftwich long windup and release is ill-fitted for the West Coast offense.

With Bates becoming the new defensive coordinator, the “Tampa-2” defense no longer resides in Tampa Bay.  Gaines Adams still hasn’t has come close to living up to the bill of being a top-five draft pick, as he was in 2007.  He needs to break out in his third season, because there’s not much besides him on the defensive line.  Fellow end Jimmy Wilkerson is a solid player, but nothing more.  The Bucs could use some help from some of the young defensive tackles as well.  Barrett Ruud now becomes the defensive leader, as well the centerpiece, with the release of Brooks.  There’s not much besides Ruud at linebacker, and the team is taking on a major project by moving former safety Jermaine Phillips to the weakside.  The secondary could struggle as well.  Safeties Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli can contribute well, but they both lack the ball skills that could prevent them from making a huge difference.  CB Ronde Barber looks to be declining in a bad way, and he had a terrible start to the 2008 season.  Aqib Talib, who should start opposite Barber, was arrested early yesterday for striking a cab driver.

There are some doubts on special teams as well.  Tampa Bay put punter Josh Bidwell on IR on Monday, which leaves Dirk Johnson to pick up the duties.  Meanwhile, Matt Bryant and Mike Nugent are competing for the place kicker job.  Clifton Smith did a very nice job returning the ball last year, having both a kick- and punt-return for a TD in ’08.

By looking at the roster, especially on defense, it looks like there’s little reason to expect a playoff run by the Bucs.  There are questions at quarterback, offensive tackle, defensive line, outside linebacker and cornerback.  This is a rebounding project after all, so the 2009 season could be a long one for Tampa Bay.

Burning Question: When should the Buccaneers allow Josh Freeman to start at quarterback?
Simply put, whenever the Bucs are officially eliminated from the playoffs, they should allow Freeman to start.  Tampa Bay has some nice skill position players (Bryant, Graham, Ward and Winslow), so Freeman will have some impressive targets to get acclimated with early in his career.  McCown doesn’t seem at all like the long-term answer, and Leftwich doesn’t fit the system well.  Let Freeman play when the pressure is off, so he get some time to mature and get a feeling for the game at the professional level.  This answer seems like an easy one, but right now there’s no telling what Morris and the front office are thinking right now about the Kansas State product.

Sunken Ship
Tampa Bay became the first team with a winning record to end the season with a losing streak of four games or more since the 1993 Miami Dolphins, who have Leon Lett to thank for the winning season.  In some irony, Lett’s “giving” on Turkey Day allowed the ‘Phins to steal a victory, but that win was their last of the season.  Miami was 9-2 after defeating the defending Super Bowl champs on the road, but they lost their last five to miss the playoffs at 9-7.  (Meanwhile, the Cowboys won their last five in the regular season, including Emmitt Smith’s gutsiest performace to help win the NFC East title, and you know the rest.)  Now it’s time to look at some more recent history and see all of the basic things that went wrong in Tampa’s last four games:

*-The numbers in the parentheses are the averages for the respective span of games.

Seeing this at the theatre for the first time, I left thinking to myself that this film was just an average ho-hum movie. Watching it again on bluray, I thought a bit more of the film. Maybe because I knew the plot line and the story and it was easier to watch it as a dark comedy rater than trying to make sure you get all the facts straight so you can know what is going on. For what ever reason, I did enjoy the humor in the film much more the second time.

 This film is about personal trainers Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Legends of the Fall) and Frances McDormand (Best Actress Fargo) who find a disc that is simply information on a novel that belongs to a government employee, John Makovich (Rounders, In the Line of Fire). Linda and Chad, the trainers, try to blackmail Osbourne Cox for a quick get rich scheme. George Clooney (Oceans 11, Best Supporting actor Syriana) has a great character whose only goal is having affairs with women, and one of the women, Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actress Michael Clayton, The Deep End) is one of the cheating wives, and married to Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) the government agent. Paths cross, stories overlap and the insanity begins!

This film is directed by the Coen Brothers also known for No Country for Old Men and  Fargo. Don’t think that this film will measure up to those two, they won’t. But if you enjoy their style of comedy, or like me, want to give it a second chance, there are a lot  funny moments, I just needed to know where to look. Worth watching but not a must see.

2007: Michael Clayton di Tony Gilroy

“Un film in cui valgono più le atmosfere e i singoli fatti che l’intreccio, e che non si preoccupa di rendere immediato ed esplicito l’incontrarsi e l’attraversarsi dei fili narrativi. In platea c’è chi si disorienta, perso in particolari di cui non intravede il legame. Ma questo apparente disordine della storia finisce per esprimerne un altro, esistenziale e morale”. Così scriveva il 14 Ottobre 2007 Roberto Escobar nel suo articolo su Il Sole – 24 Ore cogliendo esattamente l’essenza del film.

Un raro esempio di cinema hollywoodiano in cui importanti sono le parole, i pensieri, le psicologie, le inquietudini dei personaggi piuttosto che il ritmo forsennato e l’azione. Coraggiosa la scelta di bandire tutti gli orpelli tanto graditi a molta produzione americana: musica assordante e invadente, superflui effetti speciali, andamento frenetico, inquadrature e montaggio da videoclip.

Una trama che all’inizio sembra complicatissima ma che poi si rivela quasi banale, vista tante volte sullo schermo, ma che Tony Gilroy (famoso sceneggiatore, incredibilmente alla sua prima regia) affronta e svolge in maniera del tutto originale.

Un procedere lento che offre l’occasione al regista di trasformare un semplice thriller in una profonda e seria analisi del cinismo di parte della società americana (ma non solo) e dà allo spettatore l’opportunità di riflettere su quanto sta vedendo. Uno stile secco e asciutto che rifiuta inutili digressioni, una suspense che cresce progressivamente e culmina nelle scene finali attanagliando con intelligenza il pubblico.

Un film che ci regala tre formidabili interpretazioni da parte di George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson.

Clooney affronta in modo mirabile il ruolo più difficile della sua carriera e dimostra eccezionali doti espressive: l’ultima inquadratura (su cui scorrono i titoli di coda, assolutamente da non perdere) andrebbe studiata nelle Accademie, una lezione di recitazione da applaudire incondizionatamente.  

Pubblicato su FilmAgenda

Regia: Tony Gilroy

Sceneggiatura: Tony Gilroy

Cast: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Ehle, Michael O’Keefe, Ken Howard, Denis O’Hare, Robert Prescott, Austin Williams, Sean Cullen, Merritt Wever, David Lansbury, Bill Raymond, David Zayas, Skipp Sudduth, Pamela Gray, Amy Hargreaves, Terry Serpico, Christopher Mann

Fotografia: Robert Elswit

Montaggio: John Gilroy

Musiche: James Newton Howard

Produzione: Section Eight, Castle Rock Entertainment, Samuels Media, Mirage Enterprises

Distribuzione: Medusa Film

Paese: USA 2007

Genere: Drammatico, Thriller

Durata: 119 Min

Uscita Italia: 5 Ottobre 2007

Uscita USA: 24 Settembre 2007

Sito Ufficiale

Trama:

Michael Clayton ‘aggiusta’ situazioni compromettenti per i clienti più facoltosi dello studio legale presso cui lavora. Finché un giorno viene messo di fronte a una scelta morale ineludibile.

Note:

Su IMDb premi e riconoscimenti.

Hay friands,

I’m not much of a critic but here is what I have watched this summer. I rated it based on a A B C D F scale because that is easier than a P4k 6.74 scale. K.

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Michael Clayton

Grade: D

Why? It was pretty boring. The story was confusing. The characters weren’t that interesting. I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Lords of Dogtown

Grade: C

Why? The film was kind of neat in terms of learning the history of skateboarding’s “founding fathers”. But I thought the way it was done was kind of crappy. I didn’t like the way the film “flowed” but maybe that just reflects the life of the skater dudes. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great. I’d probably watch again.

Mr. Brooks

Grade: C

Why? Well it was alright for the most part, but just alright. It wasn’t all that original and honestly, for a killer, he wasn’t that interesting. Mildly entertaining if you want to watch a thriller.

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

Grade: C

Why? I’ve only seen this installment. Harry Potter doesn’t seem to be that original of a concept. Snape was pretty cool and the kids were tiny compared to the previews I’ve seen of the new one. I couldn’t help but continually wondering why year 1 kids have to kill Volemort instead of the 80 year old experienced wizzards.

Everything is Illuminated

Grade: B

Why? The film was pretty funny. It kept me interested and at the end I thought it was pretty neat. Kind of depressing but a cool idea and new take on the Holocaust. I enjoyed it.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Grade: A

Why? The film is a heart-touching WWII film. It was a new spin on the WWII genre and done quite well. Unexpected yet practical ending. Pretty good acting. Low budget but high satisfaction. Will recommend and watch again.

Angels and Demons

Grade: B

Why? It was a decent film full of unexpected twists. I never saw the Davinci Code but from what I hear this one was much better. I enjoyed it. Conspiracy-type-history-type films are always a go for me though.

Be Kind Rewind

Grade: D

Why? I hate Jack Black. He just sucks. And this film shows his suckiness well. Mos Def is the only bright part but he isn’t very funny either. The plot was kind of clever but it wasn’t done well at all and the ending, while abrupt and inconclusive, was great, because I was ready for that nightmare to end.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Grade: A

Why? What a clever story. Based on Fitzgerald’s short story. Great acting. Wonderful characters. Funny lightening man. Just a masterpiece. A must watch. Bring some tissues. It’s a tear jerker.

Stranger than Fiction

Grade: B

Why? I don’t like Will Ferell too often. At least not when he is trying to make me laugh. I like him in the innocent roles like this where he is all cute and clueless and such. The story was pretty odd and didn’t make literal sense; but it didn’t need to. I liked it that way.

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That’s all so far. I still have a list of others to watch in my last month of summer. Until then,

<3 Uncle Farkus

For what seems an eternity, I have mourned the loss of the days when Hollywood studios managed to mix films that were simply meant to have mass appeal, with films that focused on a more demanding audience. But those days are long gone and seem, for the moment, to be drifting farther and farther away. Even many of the studio’s more sophisticated arms like Warner Independent Pictures and Paramount Vantage have seen their doors close. Quite possibly forever.

Whether it’s the state of the economy or the fact that studios simply don’t tend to hire people who truly love film (more than the film business), the quality of American cinema has continued to nosedive.

Take Steven Soderbergh’s latest almost-film, MONEYBALL. Based on Michael Lewis’ nonfiction baseball story and set to star Brad Pitt, the plug was pulled by Sony Pictures just days before shooting was scheduled to begin. The reason given for such a rare and surprising last minute decision? According to the New York Times:

…accounts from more than a dozen people involved with the film, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid damaging professional relationships, described a process in which the heady rush toward production was halted by a studio suddenly confronted by plans for something artier and more complex than bargained for.

It seems a new version of the script was rewritten by Soderbergh himself. Now without having read the script myself, it’s hard to say if this decision was made because a film with a $57 million price tag simply needs to appeal to as many people as possible, or because the execs at the top simply don’t, themselves, appreciate more demanding films. I mean, let’s face it, Sony used to be the studio that made films like REMAINS OF THE DAY. What was the last film to come from that studio (or any other) that approached the quality of that one? Also from the Times:

The swift mothballing of “Moneyball” may also increase doubts that Hollywood can still deliver tricky but appealing pictures like “Michael Clayton,” “Good Night, and Good Luck” or “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

While films like REMAINS OF THE DAY haven’t had a place at the studios for quite some time, it’s truly sad to consider that films like the above-mentioned might also not be able to find a home at our once beloved studios.

And maybe that’s why I rarely see films produced and developed by a studio unless I happen to be in the mood for something, well, mindless. And they are good at that. And that has its place.

But I still miss the films that inspire and move me, the ones that allow me to think, that challenge me, that remind me that I am a human being, with complexities, questions, thoughts, ideas, curiosities, a sense of adventure, a desire for something poetic, profound, daring… something that can reach deep inside me and move me with the sheer energy of its cinematic storytelling…

But alas… I guess, for the time being, I will have to depend on the rest of the world to supply those. And to the handful of American independent filmmakers out there who are making films more for themselves, and less for that much-coveted directing slot at their favorite studio of choice… I am depending on you.

Addendum: it looks like MONEYBALL is back in the game, but Soderbergh is not. Sony has brought in SPORTS NIGHT creator Aaron Sorkin to do a polish on an earlier, more commercially-minded version of the script written by Steve Zaillian. Pitt is still attached.

Okay I’ve been resisting this impulse for weeks now but I’m giving into it wholeheartedly because all I see is red red red movie rental boxes everywhere and my loathing of them and what they represent has increased to the level of “Sledge-Hammer Now!” I’m not adverse to an appearance of Thor with his hammer at all–hint, hint (we do so adore the Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul…ah Dougie, your imaginative wit is sorely missed). Why do I abhore these vending machines of cheap fast flick fixes? For starters you can’t have a conversation with them. Nope. No one is ever going to discover some deliciously quirky flim like Wristcutters via a big red rental box.  Big red boxes are just big red boxes–they do not view movies. They only ’spew’ forth movies at the behest of a plastic card inserted into their mechanical guts. Big red boxes are incapable of sharing their delight of the visual imagery of a huge lotus pond in Tears of the Black Tiger. Big red boxes do not engage in debates about Michael Clayton being just another lawyer movie or not (I argue most definitely NOT becausse there’s no escaping the mental context of Tom Wilkinson’s incredible line, “I am Shiva the god of death!” and everything that concept entails in the film.)  Anyone at a loss for why I consider the big red boxes lurking everywhere as Evil? If so–then try it this way: they’re one more mark of the devil incarnate in philistine mentality. And before anyone gets any ideas about taking moi to task over the word ‘philistine’ as a result of confusing it with an ethnic group–do so please, pretty please with raspberries on top–google the definition of the word before posting any hate mail or ye shall be soundly smoted–yes, I’m going with ’smoted’ rather than smitten for you grammatical purists–and I will because I can and I can because this is ‘my’ blog post.  Now, without any further self repression I offer some films to the sad soul of the blogger who couldn’t stand watching another real downer.   I’ve gone about this list of the moment with the thought in mind of supporting the argrument of what the red box cannot and will not do for anyone. So, here are some films that probably will not be featured on the facings of said incarnations of evil(furthermore, they give the color ‘red’ a bad reputation). In no particular order:

Run Lola Run–and Franke Potente as Lola does just that three ways to a screaming climax.

28 Days Later–there are worse thngs than zombies to run from–as this film conveys when it turns into an entirely different sort of horror genre about midway.

The Killing Fields–Do tell if this kills your appetite for war movies after viewing. It certainly did squash mine for years. True story of Din Pran’s struggle to survive.

Billy Elliot–Let’s dance away from the dark side for a moment, shall we?

Off the Map–Hmm…This lifestyle might offer suggestions for everyone feeling the economic squeeze.

Black Robe–1634, Hurons, Quebec, Jesuits, need I say more?

The Commitments–Oh yes, indeed, the Irish have SOUL.

Amelie–And the French have Audrey Tautou who can beat the acting the pants off anyone at will when she’s at the top of her game–which is quite ofen. She’s got quality control under her belt.

Joyeux Noel—Something else from the French–1914 Christmas trench war–and not just the obvious battleground as the Irish priest discovers much to his dismay.

Kontroll–Another aspect of control–Hungarian style. Oh  yeah, subways as hell? purgatory? redemption grounds? Totally cool.

Smoke Signals–Storytelling, storytelling, and more storytelling–and a young Adam Beach does listen listen listen to his friend’s stories as they road trip in search of some anwers.

Edge of America–A true story for the basketball fans among you.  Wes Studi is the magic working mechanic in this Utah setting.

Strictly Ballroom–The movie one critic deemed much much better than Moulin Rouge. Dancing on the wrong side of the tracks in the land down under.

The Milagro Beanfield War–Because we do so love magical realism–and Joe  Mondragon is so damn ‘cute’ even when dodging bullets.

Mongol–More epic history–Genghis Khan falls in love and what a love story it is. View on the largest screen availabe to you because the scenery is KILLER Beautiful and a character in its own right.

Brotherhood of the Wolf–”Wildly Entertaining!” The only movie screening I’ve attended where the entire audience stood up cheering and clapping at the end. I kid not.

The Host–Do NOT watch this dubbed the first time because it destroys the sound atmosphere. Go with the subtitles–you can read this therefore you sure as hell can read subtitles.  The BEST monster movie ever–well so far. I mean who knows what these folks might dish up next! 

Zero Effect–Quirky, quirky, quirky for fans of Bill Pullman (as this film shows the man really can act, he’s got more than a pretty face), detective mysteries, and eccentricity.

Night Watch–Ah the eternal battle between good and evil, light and dark, Russian style. Break out the vodka!

Bagdad Cafe–Magic in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Jack Palance as an artist, imagine that.

The Year of Living Dangerously–That actress from Alien and the Lethal Weapon guy before both of those lesser films.

Serenity—Because I can watch it, and the Firefly series, again and again and again and it NEVER gets old! True delights of dialogue, performance, substance, and fun and on and on and on.

Lastly, for now, Beyond Rangoon–for the acting of Patricia Arquette, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray–John Steele’s photography–and for Burma and the ongoing insanity of Aung San Suu Kyi’s situation as the elected leader currently on trial for the apparent idiocy of an American man.