Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Trouble in paradise?
Shaquille O'Neal has filed for divorce from his wife of nearly five years, Faith Evans lookalike Shaunie O'Neal. It seems she's been withholding some assets from him. At 7'1", 330 lb, I bet she wishes Shaq had withheld some assets from her.
Money plays
Stray dog
This ex-Browns fan is selling his allegiance to the highest bidder, and to him I say bravo! I traded my baseball allegiance for dinner at Chili's, maybe I should market my allegiance for English Premier League soccer... And if anyone wants me to root for a particular NASCAR driver, I could use a new pair of New Balance, 12 4E.
Terps in the news: Read a Book
Read a Book (warning: gratuitous use of the N word) is sweeping the nation, thanks to University of Maryland alum Bomani Armah. Parents are pissed, but guess what: they're always pissed.
The hottest trailer since Sin City
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and The Polar Express tried to use motion capture to create CGI actors realistically, but the characters looked lifeless and unconvincing. Final Fantasy was a huge bust at the box office, but The Polar Express raked in nearly $300 million worldwide. These characters look incredibly convincing; no one can watch this trailer without at first thinking it's a live action movie. If Beowulf is a success in the box office as well as critically, more movies may end up looking like this.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
My top ten war movies
I've been working on my top war movies. The hardest part isn't ranking them, it's determining what's a war movie. Is Schindler's List a war movie? How about The Pianist? Das Boot? Braveheart? I decided Schindler's List, The Pianist, and Life is Beautiful were holocaust movies, as was Hotel Rwanda. Braveheart isn't centered around a war I'm familiar with, and it's more of a William Wallace biopic, much like Lawrence of Arabia is a biopic. Casablanca happens to take place during a war more than it is a war movie. Without a further ado, here are my top 10 war movies:
1. Saving Private Ryan (1988). Spielberg's masterpiece got jobbed out of Best Picture by a legendary Weinstein campaign for Shakespeare in Love, but this WW2 epic had it all. Comedy, action, drama, the three hours fly by.
2. Apocalypse Now (1979). It can be chaotic, and in my opinion the Redux version is too meandering, but this sets the standard for "War is Hell" movies.
3. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Alec Guiness gives one of the finest performances of all time in this classic that won seven Oscars.
4. Black Hawk Down (2001). Some would consider this way too high for Ridley Scott's follow up to Gladiator, but any movie that has a 90 minute shootout is OK in my book.
5. Dr. Strangelove (1964). Now I realize this is a black comedy, but it's a brilliant satire on the war machine. The way I see it, all the other movies are war dramas, and this is a war comedy.
6. Platoon (1986). A Vietnam vet directs a Vietnam movie, 1986 Best Picture winner.
7. Das Boot (1981). This almost doesn't qualify as a war movie since it's more of a submarine movie, but since it's about the psyche of those on the sub I'll count it.
8. Paths of Glory (1957). One of Kubrick's first movies, this WW1 courtroom drama features Kirk Douglas in an Atticus Finch type role.
9. The Deer Hunter (1978). It's been said that this is the most realistic depiction of war put to film.
10. Full Metal Jacket (1987). FMJ is really two movies: training and deployment. Every minute of it is unbelievably intense. Kubrick's third movie on my list.
Coming later this week: my top 10 Westerns.
1. Saving Private Ryan (1988). Spielberg's masterpiece got jobbed out of Best Picture by a legendary Weinstein campaign for Shakespeare in Love, but this WW2 epic had it all. Comedy, action, drama, the three hours fly by.2. Apocalypse Now (1979). It can be chaotic, and in my opinion the Redux version is too meandering, but this sets the standard for "War is Hell" movies.
3. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Alec Guiness gives one of the finest performances of all time in this classic that won seven Oscars.
4. Black Hawk Down (2001). Some would consider this way too high for Ridley Scott's follow up to Gladiator, but any movie that has a 90 minute shootout is OK in my book.
5. Dr. Strangelove (1964). Now I realize this is a black comedy, but it's a brilliant satire on the war machine. The way I see it, all the other movies are war dramas, and this is a war comedy.
6. Platoon (1986). A Vietnam vet directs a Vietnam movie, 1986 Best Picture winner.
7. Das Boot (1981). This almost doesn't qualify as a war movie since it's more of a submarine movie, but since it's about the psyche of those on the sub I'll count it.
8. Paths of Glory (1957). One of Kubrick's first movies, this WW1 courtroom drama features Kirk Douglas in an Atticus Finch type role.
9. The Deer Hunter (1978). It's been said that this is the most realistic depiction of war put to film.
10. Full Metal Jacket (1987). FMJ is really two movies: training and deployment. Every minute of it is unbelievably intense. Kubrick's third movie on my list.
Coming later this week: my top 10 Westerns.
Amazed, they blew
There's no way Lloyd Carr can survive losing to Football Championship Subdivision (AKA Division 1-AA) power Appalachian State. The way Colin Cowherd often puts it when calling for Carr to be fired, Michigan is one of the top three football programs in America, and there's no way he's one of the top three coaches. He got outcoached by whoever coaches Appalachian State (Jerry Moore is his name, by the way). Michigan went for two down and failed five late in the 3rd quarter. The only reason you'd go for two at that point is if you think you'll shut other team out the rest of the game. Because they went for two then, they had to go for two again up one and failed resulting in the historic two point loss.
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