Movie Review: Dan in Real Life, In Bruges, Tales of Despereaux, Shortbus
Should have been posted before below post.
Shortbus
- A Justin recommendation. Interesting to say the least, I think I
like Justin’s story about the film better than the film itself. Lots
of graphic sexual scenes, not that that’s a bad thing, unless they are
of guys sucking themselves off. It was OK, I didn’t really ever
dislike it, but I never really felt like I got it. Mike probably
wouldn’t like it but Joe might. I give it a 2.
Tales of Despereaux
- Kids movie. I will say though, that the designation of “Kids movie”
does not disqualify a movie from being entertaining or good, see
“Ratatouille.” However, this movie was pretty mediocre. The graphics
were good but the plot convoluted, especially for a “Kids movie.” I
give it a 2.
In Bruges
- This came as a recommendation from my buddy Scotty. I never really
heard of it and had little expectations except for the synopsis I read
and the recommendation as a dark comedy that I would enjoy. Well I
really enjoyed it, BUT not at first. It moves from a 2 movie to a 3
movie to a possible 4 movie as the plot accelerates and the dialogue
gets much better as well, by the end of the movie I was like that was
damn good. Plus, the setting of Bruges makes me want to visit someday,
remember from High School English that the setting can be a
character/antagonist/protagonist (never thought I would bring Ron
Gabriel/Bill Novak wisdom). Also you can never go wrong incorporating
midgets in your movies (take note Joe for future screenplays). I give
it a 3 bordering on a 4 (so a 3.7, although this violates my simple
rating system, I will make an exception. At least until I have more
time to digest it because I just finished watching it.) I think Justin
and Joe may like it and Mike, well I’m not sure. Mike, I think if you
endure about half way through you’d really like it because there is
some funny/witty dialogue and good scenes.
Dan In Real Life
- This is a perfect example of an actor carrying a movie. I like Steve
Carrell, in the same way I love Ben Stiller. Something about their
persona I find really funny. So pretty much any Ben Stiller or Steve
Carrell movie, I like. This movie has kind of a dumb plot, a pretty
unrealistic plot, the love story is really unbelievable or at least
underdeveloped but I still liked it and laughed a shitload. Because of
Steve Carrell. If you put Ben Affleck, Owen Wilson or any other
Romantic Comedy guy in there, the movie fails, but with Carrell it
really made me laugh and forget the bullshit part about it. I give it
a 3.
Coming Soon:
Raiders of The Lost Ark
(watching this with everyone, kids haven’t seen it. Probably won’t
write anything unless my viewing experience has changed dramatically
within the last 15 years. By the way, it can happen. I have a better
appreciation for E.T. after seeing it now than when I did when I was a
kid. I think I enjoyed it more as an adult.)
Beowulf
The Hunting Party (A Joe recommendation)
Still open to any recommendations. Mike, I’m really in the mood for some good hockey comedies, know of any?
Topics: Cinema Reviews | 1 Comment »
Cinema Review: 6 Movies
Scale (1-Disliked, 2-Liked, but wouldn't recommend, 3-Liked and recommend, 4- Really Liked, Highly Recommend)
Quite a few movies on this one.
Beowulf
- I knew this had CGI or whatever but I was really shocked by how much
it felt like a cartoon, a brutally violent cartoon at that. I never
read Beowulf or really had any idea what it was about but the movie was
entertaining…and I guess that's the extent of my critique – It was
entertaining. I can't really comment on any actor performances or
cinematography, because there was none. But if you're just looking for
a good action flick in a cartoonish medium, then go for it. My rating
is a 2.
Indiana Jones and the
Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Watching this again after many years and I believe it stands up well
through the test of time. Probably my favourite Indiana Jones movie.
In fact watching it now as an adult I think I caught on to more of the
archaelogical shit, which made it more interesting. Whereas when I was
a kid I liked the action and the shitty humour. My rating is a 3.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
- The kids love this shit. I hate this shit. Seriously one of the
worst movies and humour I've seen in a long fucking time. I'm not a
Kevin James fan but I at least thought the guy had some sense if so
many people liked him. Not funny at all even if I delved deeply to try
and find my 8 year old self, I think he would agree. My rating is a 1.
Friday the 13th (New 2008 or 2009 version)
- Again another horrible movie that I could barely finish because
somehow I got distracted. If you can get distracted for even a moment
in a horror or suspense movie, then that is a problem. Never a huge
fan of Friday the 13th in the first place, but I do like the occasional
schmaltzy horror movie, if for at least reminiscing when this stuff did
scare me. The only reason to like this movie is for Tits from hot ass
girl campers, who's fate is destined at the hands of Jason. My ratins
is once again a 1.
Willow
- Got this for the kids, and again a movie I am watching as an adult.
I liked it better as a kid. It's not that it's bad, it's pretty
decent. I can see where it gets the comparison as a fantasy Star
Wars. I think I would compare it more though to the new Star Wars,
especially with the Brownies characters (think Jar-Jar Binks). Val
Kilmer probably should have passed and left this for Rutger Hauer or
something…would've probably been better for his career resume. My
rating a 2.
Pineapple Express
- Chalky humour. Lots of pot jokes and so on. Is funny only if you're
a bottle of wine deep while watching (which I was). I gotta admit, I
really like watching comedies a LOT more now than ever in my life. I
like laughing at dumb shit, so this my taint my review. But still I
think Pineapple Express, while it does have some moments, as a whole is
very mediocre. Especially since I have higher expectations from that
team of writers and actors. My rating a 2.
Overall a pretty
blase movie viewing experience this last week or two. Hopefully I will
have something better to write about next time.
Upcoming:
The Hunting Party – Joe recommendation
Speed Racer
Irreversible – Supposedly "SHOCKING" French
Film.
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Cinema Review: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Usually like these to go out with bulk reviews but I am bored, so:
Have any of you seen "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"?
Well,
I have. In fact I saw it last night, and it lasted ALL night, 2hr
49min to be exact. I gotta say it gets a 2 on my scale (1-Disliked,
2-Liked, but wouldn't recommend, 3-Liked and recommend, 4- Really
Liked, Highly Recommend).
First, nothing was as good as it was
ramped up to be. The cinemotography was good, everybody acclaims the
train robbery scene, but not all that. In fact I'm more moved by the
"western scenes" that turn out to be filmed in Italy in old spaghetti
westerns than I am by these. The plot is very slow moving, some will
say intentionally but I nodded off at one point, NOT GOOD. This is one
of those movies that is OK but is latched onto by the critic zeitgeist
(aka Joe) and loved. I didn't hate it but I've seen better. To call
it the best Western since "Unforgiven" is unforgivable.
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Cinema Review: “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Devil’s Rejects”
SCALE (1-Disliked, 2-Liked, but wouldn't recommend, 3-Liked and recommend, 4- Really Liked, Highly Recommend)
I saw Slumdog Millionaire and I give it a 2. There was a lot hype
about this movie but I did enjoy it. It reminded me a lot of "City of
God" which is a really good movie about the slums in Brazil and the
violence. It's not knock you out of your seat good, but solid.
"The
Devils Rejects" gets a 4. I really liked this movie, not sure what it
says about me because it's pretty fuckin twisted. I loved the '70's
cinematography and soundtrack. The soundtrack kicks ass in this
movie. The character of Captain Spaulding is probably one of the
interesting characters in a movie I've seen in a while. It also has
some funny moments, in a sick way though. Mike, I definitely think you
would enjoy this movie, move it to the top of your queue.
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Cinema Review: “Idiocracy” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
SCALE (1-Disliked, 2-Liked, but wouldn't recommend, 3-Liked and recommend, 4- Really Liked, Highly Recommend)
Ok, I watched Joe's recommendation Idiocracy and Mike's recommendation Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Dewey
Cox had some really funny parts and wasn't as dumb as I though it would
be. I don't think it's as funny as Mike made it out to be but overall
it was better than I thought. Rating is a 2.
Idiocracy
was pretty funny. Actually Mike, I think you would love this movie it
has a lot of ass and whore jokes. It was made by the Beavis and
Butthead guy so it has that type stupid but really funny humor. Grades is a 3.
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Jeff Kent: Hall of Fame?
A contribution by JTT:
of Famer, which hadn't really occurred to me. He didn't really put up
a single-season worth of Hall consideration 1998, at which point he was
already 30 years old. (Prior to that, it's a bunch of years where he
went like .270/20/70, which is hardly Hall-worthy.) Then from
1998-2002, he put up fairly elite numbers, which allowed him to win the
2000 MVP (although even then, a strong case could be made that Bonds
truly deserved the award). Since then, he's generally been solid but
nothing spectacular — statlines like .290/25/90 or so. This has
allowed his career totals to be respectable: a .290 lifetime BA, 2298
Hits, 377 HRs, and 1518 RBIs.
OF, but because he plays 2B — and in fact, has set various offensive
records at 2B — he probably will get in. This would make sense if
Kent were a good defensive 2B. If he were a Gold Glove caliber player,
and he put up those numbers, then by all means he
should go in. (Something like this applies in the case of Ryne
Sandberg.) But I always was of the impression that Kent was supposed
to be pretty mediocre defensively. He was like having just another 1B
on the field, but shifted over 50 feet. If that's right, then I don't
think it makes sense to hold him to lower offensive standards.
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Baseball, Statistics and Intuition
This article states that the unconscious mind is a better decision maker than it's been given credit for. The discussion of rational conscious decision making versus unconscious decision making (for these purposes I'll refer to as intuition) has always intrigued me. Lately it's implications in the baseball world has really drawn my attention.
Within the last 8 or so years, with the advent of the book Moneyball, the area of baseball statistics called Sabermetrics has really grown in popularity and legitimacy. Sabermetrics aren't new, in fact the Godfather of them, Bill James, has been publishing for 20+ years. With the rise in legitimacy, they are now being used by many as the foundation for determining awards, salary, playing time, promotions/demotions, signings, etc. It's hard not to read a baseball article without some mention of OBP or VORP. The Sabermetrics proponents will claim that these statistics that are surpassing the older statistics, such as RBI's, Wins and Batting Average, are in fact much more accurate and more of a reflection of a player's true value. The use of the older statistics has fooled us, and moreso that decisions not based on the results of sabermetrics (ie intuition) are not optimal. For example, a manager's decision to pinch hit or not and with whom is almost always second guessed using a metric claimed by Sabermetricians to be rational measurement. I have two main points:
1) First, when comparing Sabermetric stats vs. traditional stats the sabermetric stats do bring a great insights that traditional statistics failed to do. In general, however the proponents of the Sabermetric stats fail to admit that stats, in general, have to based on a certain premise that can't be statistically proven, so it's a reduction to eventually making an intuitive claim. See this post for more info.
2) When making a decision in baseball there are a multitude of factors and variables that statistics can only measure in the broadest sense. For example, it's the 8th inning the Yankees are down by 1 with 2 outs, runner on 2nd. They have A-Rod on the bench and Melky Cabrera to pinch hit. It's sprinkling slightly, the pitcher is lefty, A-Rod is slightly hung over, Cabrera is 2-20 in his last 20 AB's, but 12-30 in his last 30 AB's, and I could go on and and on adding variable after variable. The statistics can tell you which batter hits better average, obp, slugging, and it can probably even reduce it to vs. lefty/righty, home/away etc. However, at a certain point there is not a stat that can take in every single factor of this situation and give you a best probability. That is when the manager uses his intuition to make a decision. Often this is mocked by "rational thinkers", however those people must consider the fact that the unconscious mind is a better aggregator and decision maker on certain subjects with lots of random info. Sometimes it's better to trust your gut. The assumption I am making, though, is that the person making the decision is well experienced and has a base of conscious and sub conscious information to draw from. For example, Joe Torre's gut about baseball decisions should be relied on more than say Bill Clinton's. Torre has a lifetime of baseball experience.
I am not laying claim that statistics and sabermetrics should be thrown to the side in favor of intuition. I'm just making the claim that some decisions aren't best served by using flawed data such as sabermetrics, and in lieu of better information one should use their intuition if they have the experience to draw from.
Topics: Baseball, Miscellaneous | No Comments »
The Case Against the Fed by Murray Rothbard
This is another enlightening read considering the times we are in. Prior to reading The Case Against the Fed
Rothbard belongs the Austrian School of Economics, proponents of the free market who despise central banking. Rothbard makes a compelling case and in a very readable, laymen way. Rothbard explains the ideas behind central banking and how they create inflation, though purporting to control inflation. Beyond explaining the Federal Reserve, Rothbard shows how it was implemented in the US and the drivers behind it. It's incredible to believe how much power JP Morgan and Rockefeller had in the early 1900's.
Rothbard describes an almost ominous and conspiratorial implementation of the Federal Reserve. Even if I believed this to be true, which I may, what I find lacking was an analysis or description of how they justified the needs or benefits of a central banking system. Furthermore, I would like Rothbard to counter more ideas from proponents of central banking. Not necessarily from bankers but from economists.
I look forward to reading more of Rothbard's work. I can't say yet I'm a follower of his ideas but I find many compelling, enough to want me to read more.
Topics: Book Review | No Comments »
Reading Zinn Through Late 2008: The Election of Obama and the Economic Crisis
I just finished Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States 
First, the election of Barack Obama was an historical event and symbolizes the success of so many people's struggles throughout history that Zinn chronicles. Zinn makes the point over and over again that the equality and freedom won for blacks was literally fought and paid for in blood through the people rising up. The government did not give the blacks equality, it was not their's to give, in fact the US Government did little to help the movements and did much to hinder them. Read about Bobby Kennedy's time as Attorney General. The people are the source of power for change and justice, not the government. Does this sound familiar? It should as it was the central theme of Barack Obama's campaign and promises. However, if Zinn's book shows us, we should be skeptical of Obama as every single President before him has done little to change the inequitable system that protects and enhances the elite in society through misguided policy. I want to hope and believe that Obama is different but his actions will have to prove it to me, until then I will be skeptical.
Another related theme that Zinn discusses is the concept of Patriotism. In recent years Patriotism is used as a Scarlet Letter, "either you're with us or against us." The most deceitful tactic is implying that disagreeing with the government is unpatriotic. Zinn makes it clear that love of country is not love of government. We as a society have to unravel the brainwashing that started as children that intertwines government and country. Zinn also makes the complaint that most classical history tells the story of states and their government as if they were on some noble, theatrical stage, ignoring the actual people.
Finally, with the events recently I believe that in the near future, political consciousness will once again be raised to unprecedented levels. The people of the United States will stand up to demand for equality through classes. The economic crises has seen the US Government give a mind boggling amount of money to Banks and Big Corporations, while meanwhile people are losing their jobs, houses, and means of living at a pace we haven't seen in decades. The greed of the corporations led us down this path, with the government allowing it, what's going to happen when millions of people realize not only have they been robbed, but robbed of everything? My answer: I believe that if events continue down this road that we will have an economic revolution soon. It will be a transformation to a system that is more just and equitable. Whether Barack Obama can lead that will be interesting, but if I am right he will not be able to deny it.
Topics: Book Review, Current Affairs, Politics | No Comments »
Jim Rice
Another insightful thought by JTT:
Jim Rice has had trouble making it into the Hall of Fame is that even
though he was good at the traditional statistics (BA/HR/RBI), he was
not very good (or at least not Hall-Worthy) at the Sabermetric
statistics, particularly OBP. So, for instance, his career OBP of .352
is just 1 point above Walt Weiss's career OBP of .351. So, if OBP is
your standard, Rice is barely more Hall-worthy than Weiss. (By
comparison, Rice's career BA was .298 while Weiss's was .258.)
have a good OBP (more exactly: he shouldn't have an OBP much better
than his BA). But setting that aside, another point I wanted to make
is this. There are now a whole bunch of different Sabermetric stats
based partly on OBP: VORP, Runs Created, Runs Created/27 Outs, Win
Share, etc. Look at all these stats, and you'll see that Rice doesn't
rank that highly. But this is a kind of illusion: it creates the
impression that there were many dimensions along which Rice sucked: he sucked at OBP, and he sucked at VORP, and he sucked at Runs Created, and he sucked at Win Share, etc.
walks. And this one bad trait is what keeps all those other stats down
for him. Put this way, the case for Rice is stronger. Rice was really
good at various things: BA, HR, RBI, etc. Is the fact that he wasn't
Hall-of-Fame caliber at drawing walks enought to keep him out of the
Hall of Fame?
Topics: Baseball | No Comments »
