0 Bachelor Season 17, Episode 4 Recap

Episode 4 starts out with a Chris Harrison sighting. Little known fact: Chris is starting his own clothing line
Tierra must have missed the memo about him showing up as she looked like she just woke up. Alternatively it's par for the course with the first Sean sighting; shirtless and boxer briefs along with a rear shot of him getting dressed. In a couple more episodes he is just going to stroll around naked.
 Selma has the girls out for the date and Sean is taking them all in. I wish I knew how to screen capture because I would love to make a gif out of him staring down her shirt. She is all over Sean, just throwing her body on him and draping herself on him. I don't get Selma. She's successful and pretty and she can't get a man? What gives? Upon further realization  Selma is a fucking brat. She complains twice about the heat and is quite a princess; she normally wears six inch heels. This was a smart move by Sean (not a surprise with that name) testing her with something she would hate to see her reaction. Or maybe it's his goal to just get her to need him so he can feel like "the man" and in control.

As an aside, I love Bachelor product placement. It's not even remotely subtle. Bluestar Jets is going to be my go-to for private jet rental. Sean is such a Jeep dude. You know the type. Football, Jeeps and apple pie.

The date is rock climbing and Selma is actually very impressive once she starts. I love the gratuitous cleavage shots, just trying to appeal to the men who are forced to watch this with their spouses or significant others. Sean doesn't feel a need to change his pink khaki shorts, buttoned shirt or remove his dress watch. He's that guy who wears jeans to go to the gym and run on the treadmill.

The second part of the date is something that I still don't really understand. A double wide theme park seems like a disappointing date. At least you won't forget it. I like Sean's sentiment that "after a year, it's only natural to bring up marriage" as if that's a normal thing. Sean is perpetually awkward. He refuses to make a move. I'm confused.  With Selma's background why she would go on this show? I feel like she would be ostracized by her family if what she is saying is true. Maybe she is playing the long game though and trying to hook Sean and keep him on the line. She is showing her boobs and blinking her eyes and making Sean want to chase her and kiss her. Trust me. As a dude, the thrill of the chase is what keeps you going. Well played Selma. Well played.

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the card for the group date shows up, setting up the roller derby that they have been advertising for a couple of weeks. Since alcohol defuses everything, the women are drinking mimosas in the morning. The Bachelor just seems like week after week of Senior Week, only with less sex. Sean has never met a superlative he didn't love. He walks into the dilapidated roller rink and calls it "amazing". Man. Did none of these girls go to the roller rink in grade school? Remember that? That one kid always had roller blades and would show off. I haven't forgotten you weaving in and out of people holding hands, Tommy Reiff. Dick.

I'm a little confused why Sarah got brought on this date. She didn't get invited to the volleyball match for good reason. Side note: How awful is her voice? She comes off like an awful girl from The Hills. Amanda has a little evil thing going on for her and she gets what is coming to her when she falls. Karma is a bitch. That's why you don't play head games. Also, I'm not a medical doctor, but you would know if your jaw was broken or fractured. I understand that for legal reasons they have to take her to the hospital in a non-ambulance but come on. Sean is actually wearing pads and roller skates while some slow jams are playing which just perpetuates the image of him as a big old awkward 8th grader.
Lindsay shows off her impressive mental faculties at the beginning of the group date talking about the best and worst things about skating. I would imagine she is going to have substitute in front of her title for a long time. Amanda shows up back from the hospital and talks about her intent to play the sympathy card. This is not going to play well on the reunion show.

Another flash back to the ranch shows the girls (women?) awaiting a card. Daniella has never met a low cut shirt she didn't like. I loved the Pretty Women shout-out. It's not often you would see someone glamorizing a prostitute so you have to drink it up when you can.

Back to the group date, some drama starts to show up. The irony of Tierra calling someone immature is immense. I love Lindsay. "Did you bring your bathing suit?" She is fantastic. Tierra's breakdown which has been brewing finally results in a one on one talk with Sean. She must have missed the memo where having a freak out means you go home or get sent home. Sean listens to her and walks away and probably the creepiest stare of the whole season results. My kingdom for a screen capture. Tierra wins this week with her freak out and that is going to lead to some shit. Mark my words.

How has Leslie never gotten jewelry from a boyfriend in her life? That seems to defy reality. Sean rolls into the date with a vest that would make an 11 year old boy proud. I hope he doesn't ask for more soup, because he would be in for a rude disappointment  As they drive away, one of the women says "Pretty Woman". What kind of twisted producer thinks that a movie about a prostitute is something to idealize and plan a date around? Everyone leaves out the basic premise of the movie when they talk about Pretty Woman being their favorite movie.
I can't tell if Neil Lane has chewing tobacco in or not just looking at his jaw. It would make my day if Sean pulled out a tin and Neil bummed a chew. I hate the idea that spending a lot of money makes someone "feel like a woman". Good message there ABC.

Sean says that today's date is the most romantic date he could ever dream up. Wow. First off, you didn't dream this date up. You stole it, verbatim, from a 20 year old movie. I would be insulted if someone watched a movie about a guy picking up a prostitute and thought that was romantic. And not just romantic, but the most romantic thing ever. I wish Siobhan had incorporated Weird Science into one of our dates. I would have been over the moon. Sean basically admits that Leslie is going to go home halfway through dinner, right after she tells him her parents are divorced. It's also a little insulting when someone gets taken home in a minivan. You couldn't spring for a limo? They should take things up a notch and have girls get taken home in smart cars. Would be a power move.

The sad music plays as Leslie gets driven away and the girls all gasp. The scene ends with the slow motion rose fall. Such cookie cutter bullshit. The final rose ceremony cocktail party begins. I wish a girl who had already won a rose showed up to a final ceremony in sweatpants. The girls all talk to Sean, and he says the same thing to every one of them. These women are all going to be so heart broken when Sean sends them home. Robyn takes control and pulls him towards her to kiss him. This show is all about Sean not making the 1st move. Tierra decides to go talk to Robyn and it goes basically exactly how you would expect things to go. More irony with Tierra, the queen of immaturity, talking about high school petty behavior.  Sean is talking with Catherine and brings up "the friend zone". It took me a while, but I finally figured out who Sean is. He is Josh Baskin aka the main character in the movie Big. He is a 12 year old boy stuck in a 30 year old man's body.

The actual ceremony starts and Daniella has a little Mckayla Maroney face going for her. I am shocked he keeps Catherine as they had spent no time together before the 5 minutes before the rose ceremony.  Amanda must have missed makeup class during her fit modeling, because it looks like she applied it in the middle of a blackout. Sean in a bit of a twist, sends Amanda home, keeping the girls whose names we still don't know.

It's looking like a double post week next week with a double episode. It looks oh so promising with Tierra being evil and getting hypothermia and a possible showdown.

0 Lupa review

Some friends of Siobhan were in town last night and one of them always goes to eat at the same place, a Mario Batali owned restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village called Lupa, whenever she is in town. We met up with them for dinner at 745. The space is relatively small, a front room with a bar and a larger back room with larger tables for bigger parties. We showed up a little early and had to wait uncomfortably by the bar where there was not enough room for us. Not a lot of places in NYC have large waiting areas, especially downtown where space is at a premium already.

We got seated at our table and ordered a bottle of wine to start the night off. I had left my phone in my jacket which was at the coat check so I was not able to take pictures of any of the food (nor would I have). We started our food order with the apple, winter greens & guanciale (a salad with pork jowl and a vinaigrette on top), the marinated funghi & farro piccolo, and the veal sweetbreads with shishito peppers. The pork jowl tasted amazing, the perfect amount of crisp and salt and the vinaigrette was made at the side of our table and poured on top right before we ate. I had never had sweetbreads before and these were battered and fried, and were very tender. As long as you don't think about what you are eating, I would recommend them to others. The funghi and farro is a hard dish to describe. It was mushrooms and farro (a wheat grain) marinated and tossed together. A unique taste.

For the main course we ordered bucatini all' amatriciana and heritage pork belly with scorzonera & pears. The bucatini was delicious, homemade pasta in a red sauce with cured pork cheek and pecorino cheese. I would definitely order that again. The pork belly was incredibly tasteful, but I couldn't get over the texture. Much of the pork belly was fat and my stomach was rebelling at the consistency of the pork belly. I ended up leaving most of it on the plate, which was a shame.

We ordered dessert, but I don't actually remember what we ended up getting. Needless to say, it was not memorable.

The service was top notch, with water always being filled up, a very knowledgeable service staff and attentive and technically proficient service (replacing glasses of wine, presenting the bottle, new silverware with each course). I would recommend this place to someone looking for good Italian food, and it was relatively cheap for 4 people (if you aren't drinking wine).

8 Best Movies of 2004

The longest ongoing feature on JDC is back and better than ever with colored fonts to make reading easier.  Here we go with the discussion for the great year of 2004. As always feel free to add to the discussion with your two or three cents at the end...

Ed F.:
2004... This is where I abandon all pretense of selecting the "best" movie of the year.  On a certain level, I feel capable of exhibiting at least some degree of objectivity.  I can look at a movie and evaluate performance, technique, pacing, etc.  I can examine a director's choices and try to understand his vision and intent.  But on another, more personal level, artistic craft cannot entirely explain my affectations toward particular films.  2004 is a year where I find certain movies which resonate very deeply with me, while others simply make me smile with how well they are executed.  This is why I will forego selecting the "best" movie of 2004 and simply talk about some of my "favorites."

The Aviator...  In lieu of discussing the movie, I'd like to start a debate about Dicaprio's acting talents, even though I think his turn as Howard Hughes might be one of his best roles to date (along with Shutter Island).  In my opinion, Leo basically has three settings: he's expository (ex. as he is in much of Inception... simply explaining things to people), he's howling like a banshee (ex. as he is through the entirety of Revolutionary Road... just yelling and spitting and turning red), and he’s got some sort of agitated timidity which often involves a furrowed brow and sweat (ex. as he is when introduced to Daisy in The Great Gatsby trailer.  He’s the same way at the end of Inception when he’s trying to convince Saito to come back with him.)  But I don’t want to be too harsh.  He’s an extremely serviceably actor, and I often enjoy his movies a lot.  But that’s just it… he’s serviceable to the plot.  I don’t know if we’ll ever see Leo have a performance on par with great modern character pieces such as Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, or Denzel in Malcolm X and Flight.

Speaking of Denzel… Man on Fire.  The movie represents the height of the late director Tony Scott’s frenetic style.  It’s been dubbed “MTV-style” editing, and it has often been imitated (I’m looking at you, Michael Bay), but it has never been matched.  The reason the movie works so well is that Scott takes a good 45 minutes at the beginning to introduce the relationship between Denzel’s character, Creasy, and Pita, played marvelously by a 10-year old Dakota Fanning (seriously, who doesn’t love this kid?).  There’s a real emotional core that makes the entire second half of the movie (when Creasy gets real mad) seem plausible.  Great style, great performances… tied for my favorite movie of 2004.
Also tied for my favorite movie of ’04… Spartan.  I suppose it could be dubbed as a “thriller” since it stars Val Kilmer as a sort of unofficial special ops ranger commissioned by the Secret Service to help find the President’s missing daughter.  If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re probably thinking it sounds pretty lame.  But with David Mamet as writer and director, the plot is secondary to the dialogue. And it’s not just what is said, it’s how it’s said.  Mamet’s dialogue is highly stylized, and he has a bevy of regular players, including William H. Macy, whom he employs in addition to Kilmer in order to deliver the lines with perfect rhythm and cadence.  I could go on and on about how well the themes, visual style, and musical score complement one another, but instead I’ll try to wrap things up….
There are so many other great movies from 2004… The Passion of the Christ is one of the most affecting movies I have ever seen.  I would do little justice in discussing it.  Additionally, Million Dollar Baby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, House of Flying Daggers, Kill Bill Vol. 2, etc, all deserve certain mention.  But alas, I turn it over to Sean and Marty.  I hope I have started some arguments.


Sean:
A lot to digest here. I can't comment on Spartan as I have not seen it, and I have only seen bits and pieces of the Life Aquatic so I will abstain from that as well. As an aside, the best picture nominees were : Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray and Sideways. I have seen none of those movies in their entirety.

I could not agree more with your Man on Fire commentary. Creasy finds something to hold onto and something to live and fight and die for in the character of Pita. An unexpected casting of Marc Anthony actually works as a slimy Mexican businessman as well as Christopher Walken as his doughty comrade in arms. Interestingly enough, the movie was based on a book which was set in Italy with the Mob as a stand in for Mexican kidnappers. In the book, Pita dies and Creasy lives, but understandably they could not kill off Dakota Fanning. One of the better movies I saw in 2004.

As for Leo, I understand completely what you are talking about. His main acting forays the last 10 or so years have followed those three paths. But if you look at an earlier movie like Basketball Diaries it doesn't fit into just one of those three categories. I wouldn't put Leo in the same category as Daniel Day Lewis, but I think he is a better actor than a Tom Cruise. The thing with Leo is, everything seems so effortless with him when he is acting. He has air about him that seems to project this image of nonchalance. He is just acting to fill up the dead space in between dating and discarding models, so it doesn't look like he is trying. There is no imagery or stories of him assuming the role of the character like DDL and texting in 19th century language, so there is no legend of Leo. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is probably a close runner up to Layer Cake. A great movie that shows you what Jim Carrey (along with Truman Show) was really capable of as an actor.  I would speak more on this, but I think Marty will go into further detail.

Anchorman was odd, and then funny, and then it got beaten to death by anyone and everyone. I can't really watch it anymore as its mass popularity has ruined it. 

My personal choice for my favorite film of 2004 would be Layer Cake. Starring Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Colm Meany and a host of other English actors, this movie was made right before Daniel Craig was named as the next Bond, dooming the talks of a sequel. A crime thriller about a drug dealer on the cusp of retirement given two last assignments, this movie has it all. A great soundtrack, awesome writing and the right amount of action and dark comedy; it is just a crisp, well made movie. If you haven't seen it, I recommend.


Marty:
Ed F., welcome to the dark side of just picking whatever movie if your favorite and not really caring about the "best."  I'm pretty sure I've been doing this the entire time. 

Life Aquatic is great and fits my eccentric tendencies well.  Man on Fire is classic Denzel and is really good movie.  I forgot all about Spartan, but that movie is really good too.  I need to watch that again.  Looks like that's going in the old Netflix que.  Anchorman is great when it comes to quotability.  It is pretty crazy that a sequel for Anchorman is coming out in 2013, which is so far removed from when the original came out.   And I think I'm still trying to make it through Layer Cake without falling asleep (I probably have tried to watch it at least 5 times).
  
About Leo.  Leo is always entertaining.  I think Leo's best strength is his ability to pick roles that suit him well.  Along those lines, he was really wise to become BFF's with one the best director's ever, Scorsese.  Good films always seem to elevate the performances of even bad actors.  Leo certainly isn't a bad actor, so a good film helps him even more.  Although sometimes I feel that we are just watching Leo be a version of himself.

Before I get to my best movies, I need to talk about Million Dollar Baby.  I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate this movie.  Did I mention that I hate Million Dollar Baby?  In case I didn't, I hate Million Dollar Baby.  I could probably make an entire post about my hate of the movie.  But I won't.  If I wanted to be depressed and completely hate life, I'd go hang out in the ghetto or watch a really sad documentary.   Seriously, the movie is depressing to the point that it nearly becomes farcical.  It probably is my least favorite movie ever and I've seen some really bad movies including Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (It's streaming on NetFlix, you know you want to try it out).
  
A very close runner-up to my best movie is Spider-man 2.  Spider-man 2 might be the best super-hero movie ever and is a really well done movie (I'm going to save the discussion about super-heroes for a future JDC post). 

My best movie of 2004 and one of my all-time favorites is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  If there was a machine that would allow you to erase past memories including an entire person, would you use it?  At first, it seems like an easy solution to heartache.  Visit a doctor and he will take away your bad memories and you will be happy.  But as Joel and Clementine learn, losing part of your past isn't all that you would think it would be.  Eternal Sunshine is a witty well-acted, original and charming love story with a sci-fi bent.  Jim Carey gives a great and understated performance as Joel, Kate Winslet is good as always and Elijah Wood is great in a supporting role as being a huge creep.  The script by Charlie Kaufman is intelligent, witty and  has a great balance between the absurd and the real.  I cannot say enough good things about this film.  If you haven't seen it, then you really should.

0 The NCAA

The NCAA has been getting a lot of heat (and rightfully so) for their bungling of the Miami investigation. To sum it up, Nevin Shapiro was acting as a whistleblower for the NCAA; he was concurrently involved in a bankruptcy case. Somehow, someway, his lawyer for his bankruptcy case (which is handled under federal law and involved civil and possible criminal liabilities) got involved with the NCAA case and sent a bill to the NCAA for services. This meant that the NCAA was using the threat of civil and criminal liabilities as a hammer to coax testimony. The NCAA does not have this power. No private entity does. Only the government can compel such action. This has opened a can of worms with prior NCAA rulings, most notably the almost death penalty sanctions levied against Penn State as well as against USC and UCLA.

This article from a couple years ago basically sums up my feelings on the NCAA: http://basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1343

The NCAA is an anachronism that needs to be blown up and re-imagined in this new world we live in.  From the article "In other words the NCAA would enable student-athletes, in exchange for performing at an acceptable level academically, to pursue what they love heedless of money -- sort of what the NCAA says it's been doing all along. But "heedless" here means that whether money materializes or not the NCAA wishes you well, so long as said money doesn't come from the school or on its behalf."

The NCAA should (but won't) take a hard look at itself. As the world gets more sophisticated and more complicated, they still hang on to their noble and idealistic view of the student-athlete.

1 Look who's back...

After years off from the song game, Justin Timberlake is back.  I guess being:

one of the best hosts in recent SNL history... 

being a great guest on Jimmy Fallon...

making movies...

and marrying Jessica Biel...

weren't enough for the man, so he had to make a new album.  I couldn't be more excited.  FutureSex/LoveSounds was one of the best albums of the 00's, he brought sexy back and he ruined Britney Spears for years with the devastating Cry Me a River.  

Basically, a new album from Timberlake is much, much long overdue.  And I'm certainly not alone 'cause the new single broke records for most plays.  

With that being said, let's have a breakdown of the first new single, Suit & Tie with Jay-Z:¹

1.  Horns... gotta like that.

2.  Suit & Ties are so classy, right?

3.  Nice shout out to your fans JT.

4.  JT is going to show us a few things, can't go wrong with that.

5.  Classic smooth JT.  

6.  Do you think JT just watched a lot of How I Met Your Mother and thought:  "Hey, Barney wearing suits and ties all the time is pretty cool. He picks up a lot of chicks with them ALL the time.  Maybe I should write a song about suits and ties cause they are pretty cool."

7. Next time I have my suit and tie on, I'm def going to leave it all on the floor that night.  

8. Digging the smoothness for sure.  

9. By the way girls wearing dresses are always a good thing.

10. Oh, there he is H.O.V.A.  Uhhh..  

11. Solid as ever, Jay-Z verse.  

12. I'll be hearing this song a lot and I'm not going to complain.

¹By the way seeing that Jay-Z is on the first single, I really hope that it means that there is a Kanye West/Timberlake song in the works, which would probably be one of my favorite songs ever.  

2 Bachelor Episode 3 recap

This episode starts out with a staple Sean shirtless shot. Working out and getting a run in, sans shirt. Totally natural and not staged at all.

Chris Harrison brings the first date card, and the man with the easiest job in in all media does not disappoint. Lesley M has a one on one date with Sean. She seems like one of the more normal girls on the show. They head to the Guinness Book of World Records Museum.

God. Sean is horribly boring. Even his responses seem like canned bullshit. Sidenote: Sean's dad seems much more interesting than Sean. Not an easy task. My dad likes singing (badly) Italian opera and eating at chain restaurants. Siobhan's dad orders all meat well done and eats exclusively at Irish pubs. Travelling to Fiji? Better hope there is an O' Flaherty's

Chris Harrison shows back up again, vest and all, with the date; setting a Guinness World Record. I guess it's a good 1st date story (I much prefer me hitting a pole while picking up Siobhan) and something to tell your kids about. If you remember from the last season and the beginning of this one, Sean is a notoriously bad kisser. Why would you pick something you are awful at for a date? It would be like me taking Siobhan to the pool for a swim and trying to impress her by not drowning. Sean drops a bunch of bullshit boilerplate nonsense about Lesley. How can you get more intimate with someone after kissing them for 3 minutes. Sean reminds me of another Sean I know. He has no game. Awkward silences galore. He tells Lesley M. to make a move and "take control". Jeeeesus. Irregardless, Lesley M has to be a surefire contestant for the final 3.

The second date is a giant group date of volleyball, a.k.a. time to wear swimsuits and show what you have for Sean. If you were curious, and I was, a fit model is "is a person who is used by a fashion designer or clothing manufacturer to check the fit, drape and visual appearance of a design on a 'real' human being, effectively acting as a live mannequin". News to me.
The women have to win a volleyball match to win a group date with Sean. A good thing he did not invite Sarah. That could have been awkward. Also, not to be critical, but wearing a cover-up on this date is a bad look. It shows a lack of confidence. The game ends and cue the waterworks. The model loses her shit, which is surprising. If anyone in the house should have confidence, its her.

The group date begins at Sean's house. Sean goes out with Lindsay and they talk and he takes control and starts making out. It's a weird dynamic that I'm not used to, seeing an aggressive Sean. It's scary to think that Lindsay is educating our nation's children. No wonder test scores are plummeting. Then Desiree comes for a one on one and starts rambling about deep thoughts and spiritualism, apparently unprompted. Random question: Do you think they carry breath mints at all times? Amanda brings nothing to the table, but Kacie B decides to intervene and tell Sean, ratting out two other girls. She must have missed the last Bachelor and how badly that turned out for Emily. Snitches get stitches. What a colossal meltdown. She comes back to apologize to Sean but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Tierra grabs the date card and man, she is awful. She comes off like a Courtney wannabe, but pales in comparison to the queen of reality tv. Selma looks like a different person without makeup.

AshLee has a one on one date with Sean. How long do you think it took her to get ready? 3 hours? 4? She talks about how nothing can and will go wrong, which are high standards, even for a perfectionist. Tierra ruins AshLee's date by falling down the stairs, a classic attention grab. AshLee is not pleased, to say the least. I can't wait for the reunion show for the cat fight that is going to result. Eventually, Sean and AshLee head out to 6 flags and wow, what a badly planned date. AshLee looks pissed in the jeep that her hair is getting mussed and does not seem like the kind of person who enjoys amusement parks.

Man, now I feel bad for making fun of Sean. He seems like a genuine good dude who really cares about people. He is gonna get taken in by all of these stories, plus it will give women these unrealistic expectations for men. So I have to have a 6 pack, be in fantastic shape, care about everyone AND cry on demand. Whoof. Sean is the kind of dude who cries after sex because it was so beautiful. I haven't cried since Forrest Gump lost his mother. Side note: I wish the Bachelor and Bachelorette could get real bands that real people have heard of. I'm trying to think of other bands from other seasons, but failing miserably.

The final cocktail party happens and Sean brings Sarah her dog. Siobhan started crying, naturally. I mean, was Sean grown in a lab? Desiree comes in to swoop Sean from Tierra and she pouts like the child that she is. The cocktail party turns into a constant date swap and I stopped paying attention. The rose ceremony begins and Sean calls Kacie aside and plays the friend card. That is some cold blooded shit. Selma has her literal game face on and it works. Taryn and Kristy get sent home and wow, I am shocked, at least about Kristy. Taryn looked perpetually pissed off and shows emotion for the first time in the season way too late. Kristy was a model and has a sweet Wisconsin accent, which I can personally vouch for, but who knows.

A more interesting episode than the last and the one for next week has some real promise with Tierra's breakdown.

2 Best Movies of 2003

Here we are with next in the very thrilling Best Movies of the 2000's series.  This time we have a new twist because super fan, super commentator and movie aficionado Ed F. has been included in the original babbling...

Marty:
2003 wasn't a great year if you look at Oscar nominations and of course Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won best film.¹   But if you look deeper, 2003 has tons of depth.  Look at what we got, the Matrix sequels, Michael Bay at his car blowing up best in Bad Boys II, Johnny Depp being ridiculous in the first Pirates of the Caribbean, a solid holiday film in Elf,  Tarantino being his ridiculous director self in Kill Bill: Vol 1,² under-rated Zombie killing in 28 Days Later and an over-the-top Fast and Furious sequel and Matthew McConaughey being Matthew McConaughey in the great rom-com How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.³  

However, the battle for two movies comes down to an epic showdown of Old School vs. Love Actually, which means time to break it down:

1. Rewatchability: Old School, it's hard to watch Love Actually in the middle of Summer, it just doesn't feel right. I can't remember the number of times I've watched Old School
2. Quotability: Old School, tons of classics. 
3. Star Power: Love Actually, barely.  Will Ferrel, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and the short dude from Entourage are stars in their own right but there is only one Hugh Grant.  Plus, there is also my girl Keira Knightley. 
4. British Charm: Love Actually,  easily because Hugh Grant might have perfected it.
5. Frat guy hijinks: Old School, clearly the whole movie is one big party.
6. Rom-com actors that became Zombie killers: Love Actually, the bro who tries to get his best friend's hot wife is Rick from the Walking Dead. 
7. Times watched hungover in college: Old School, not even close.  

So in a close one, Old School edges out Love Actually for film of 2003 by a score of 4-3.



Sean:
Took a little break from replying to this one for no real good reason. But, with that being said, lets dive right into this.

Oscar nominations are a bad metric to measure a good movie by. So many movies come out and just based on their subject or the tone (British period pieces are a perfect example) are Oscar bait, designed to attract attention but not particularly a good movie.

Yeesh, those Matrix sequels. The first movie was so good, so pure, for lack of a better word, and then those two abominations came out. If you look at the 1st movie in depth, you see the Buddhist and other eastern religion influences on the movie. The 2nd and the 3rd do not have the same approach. They spent all their time on special effects and none on plot or story; realistically, there should have been no sequel. The first movie ended ambiguously and things should have stayed that way.

Love Actually is a very polarizing movie I have found, with people either loving it for its over the top cheesy portrayal of Christmas or loathing it to no end* (for my money, the best Christmas movie is Gremlins).

It's interesting also, going back and looking at these movies that came out when we were in college. I so rarely saw movies in college because why would you ever leave the protective environment and go to the movie theater? Those that I did see were generally not the deeper or more introspective type of movies. Usually it was an action movie like Tears of the Sun or a comedy like Old School.

So without further ado, here are some choices from me and a selection.

City of God follows 2 kids growing up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It's a stark look at the drug and gang culture in Brazil and it is fantastic. I watched it recently and it gets even better with age (along with the ability to comprehend and understand more as you get older) and the subtitles become easier to deal with as well. This is my choice for best movie of 2003.

Old School is a classic, which has probably been ruined by oversaturation, but when it came out it was pretty much brilliant. The movie tails off for the last 30 minutes, but the first hour or so is pretty much gold. A great movie before the frat pack became omnipresent.

Matchstick Men was a solid movie that also dealt with untreated mental disorders which is really the perfect role for Nic Cage (or however he is spelling his name right now). An underrated movie that also starred Sam Rockwell before he made it big.

Master and Commander was a great movie that could have been made into a good series, if you think along the lines of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Based on a series of books, it follows the adventures of a English captain and his crew during the Napoleonic wars and it was actually nominated for best picture. A great movie although predictable as well.

I would comment on Last Samurai, but I think our all star commenter will have some thoughts on that.




Ed F.:
2003 is one year where I find my own tastes actually aligning pretty well with the Academy Award nominees in the major categories. Although not my personal favorite, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was a clear choice for Best Picture, and I can’t fault the decision. After The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, it was pretty clear that these movies were worthy of award recognition, so it was just a matter of waiting two years for formal bestowal of the honor. Say what you will, but Peter Jackson did a great job with these movies at a time when he was a relatively unproven talent.

Marty’s choice of Old School as a best picture of 2003: unconventional. But I appreciate the grounds on which he made the decision. It holds up extremely well almost 10 year later, and I’m even prepared to discuss placing it in the ranks of the great comedies like Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and certain Mel Brooks’ movies (not exactly sure why I chose these specific examples). Sean’s choice of City of God: much respect. If I could swap one of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, I would replace Seabiscuit with City of God. Of the other movies already discussed… I saw Love Actually some time in 2004, but can’t remember a single significant detail. (I’m placing it in my Netflix queue now.) Matchstick Men was a pretty great con-man movie, and I must admit that I never saw "the reveal" at the end coming. (A solid mini-stretch for Nicholas Cage with this and Adaptation the previous year. Also, not the type of movie you typically expect from director Ridley Scott.) I greatly admire Master and Commander; It’s a HUGE and impressive production.

A few of my own favorites from 2003…

I feel obligated to mention The Last Samurai. It’s a worthy epic that is fantastic in its production values and is quite well acted. I hesitate to impart more serious praise because it’s a relatively "safe" movie. It has a certain "I’ve seen this before" quality in the way that a morally suspect Westerner is captivated by a foreign (and overly romanticized) culture and in turn finds himself and something for which he can stand (think Dances with Wolves). It’s very well executed, but it’s difficult for epic and expensive productions to take interesting risks.

House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley is about a troubled woman who loses her home for neglecting to pay the appropriate real estate taxes. The house is bought at auction by an Iranian immigrant, and conflict ensues. It’s a simple story that’s simply told, but it’s a powerful meditation on how little people actually know about one another and how little they may actually want to know. The feeling of existential isolation I felt while watching this movie was only heightened by the fact that I was the only person in the theater when I saw it. I’m surprised by how much this movie has stuck with me throughout the years.

My favorite movie of the year, however, was Mystic River. For me, it’s a disturbing exploration of characters that are never free of the evils that have pursued them since they were childhood friends. Sean Penn gives an amazing performance, fully deserving of his Academy Award for Best Actor, but the entire cast is notable. (This is the movie of which I am reminded when I think of great Sean Penn performances.) Clint Eastwood, never a particularly flashy director, deserves a lot of credit here for giving his actors room to breathe. Every performance is so incredibly nuanced, and the tone of the entire movie is so perfectly honed, that the story is elevated to the level of tragedy.

Two others from 2003 that I thought were at least worth mentioning: In America and Big Fish. Big Fish received all kinds of attention and nominations during awards season, but was largely ignored at the Oscars




Marty:

I was forced to go unconventional because I didn't see/remember many of the movies, which is probably due to my excessive college binge drinking that usually involved pre-gaming by taking shots of Vladimir Vodka.  For example, I have never watched Mystic River, even though I've always wanted to.  I also have never watched Master, Commander and City of God and House of Sand and Fog.  Although the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure that my favorite "real" movie of 2003 would have to be Big Fish, because it hits me on many levels. 

I feel like I need to clarify my stance on Peter Jackson a bit.  Was Return of the King deserving of Best Picture? Yes.  Was it the best of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy? Yes.  Was Peter Jackson really good at making the world created by Tolkien come to life? Yes.  Was Peter Jackson actually being good director? I'm not sure.  I know creating that world took great artistic talents, but isn't a director supposed a director supposed to make difficult decisions and create a tight compact narrative?  He certainly did do that.  Here are the lengths of the movie: theatrical release 201 minutes, extended edition 251 minutes and special extended Blu-Ray Edition 263 min.  Basically if Peter Jackson had his way the movie would have been almost 4.5 hours in the theater.  I don't see how that can be considered being a good director.  That is more everything gets to be put in the movie.  And if you want the whole in depth experience of Lord of the Rings, then  you should read the actual books.   

With the Matrix movies, I am beginning to come to the belief that it is much easier to write an interesting opening act where you create a complex and intriguing world than it is to write a satisfying conclusion.  When the first Matrix ended the possibilities of what could happen were limitless, so of course people are going to be disappointed when the sequels involves weird cave raves, confusing rants from confusing characters and an ending that is basically Jesus dying on the cross to save everyone from their sins.  Another problem the sequels illustrate is when writers fall in love too much with a popular character and keep him or her around even though it really messes with the structure of the narrative.  Agent Smith clearly dies in the first movie, but because everyone loved him, he is written into the sequels in such a convoluted way.  It is the same problem with Homeland, Prometheus and almost anything written by Damon Linedeloff.

Finally, with Love Actually, I realize it is a holiday-based romantic comedy but it does what that kind of movie is supposed to do really well. I also wrote my breakdown in the middle of December, after I just watched it, so I can blame it on the Christmas spirit. 

We've clearly ranted on long enough and I've said more enough about 2003.

¹Insert Peter Jackson rant here.

²At first I was going to pick Kill Bill: Vol 1 as the film of the year but really Kill Bill: Vol 1 is just half of a really long movie that if I remember correctly was forced to be two movies by the studio.  So, I think that it can't qualify for best movie of the year.

³A great bet to make when watching any movie with Mr. Alright Alright in it is the over/under of when he will first be seen without his shirt off.  I think in Ghosts of Girlfriends past it might be a the 2 minute mark.

0 NFL Conference Championship Picks

Coming off our mediocre success last week of each being 2-2, we are back with even more NFL picks.  Like always, these picks are for entertainment purposes only.  Besides, you really wouldn’t want to listen to our advice anyways.  



NFL Conference Championship Picks

Ravens (-8) at Patriots

Marty: So while in sunny Cancun on Saturday, I walked into the “Sports Bar” at my all inclusive resort when there was 40 seconds to go in the Ravens-Broncos game.  The many Denver fans there were already celebrating.  Then somehow the miraculous happens and the Ravens get a long TD.  The Broncos fans got really quiet and never recovered just like the actual Broncos never recovered and lost in OT.  I guess Peyton choking is really greater than the potential badness of Flacco.  I mean seriously, how is Manning vs. Brady even a discussion?  Brady wins the majority of his playoff games, Manning doesn’t.  And even when Brady loses, it is usually in the Superbowl.  Saying Manning is better than Brady is like saying Pepsi is better than Coke, or Burger King is better than McDonalds, or any other country is better than Amuuuurica.  Not much to say in terms of the actual game, the Patriots are rolling and I still don’t think the Ravens are actually that good and they certainly won’t get lucky like they did last week, so I’m taking the Patriots and the points.  

Sean: Patriots. Simple as that. That offense, playing at home is so dominating with their ability to use tempo and pace to tire out other team’s defenses and the Ravens are still banged up. The Ravens looked good against the Broncos,  but even that game was decided by a ridiculous combination of a 70 yard touchdown pass and awful awful defensive coverage along with shitty conservative coaching. The Broncos should have won that game. The Ravens will not be able to sub in players quickly enough to keep up with the Patriots various schemes, even without Gronkowski. The Ravens will be hard pressed to keep pace with the Patriots and this is going to be a high scoring game. I would definitely take the over. I think it will ultimately hinge on turnovers, and the Patriots were +25 in the regular season on turnovers. The Ravens by comparison were +9, most likely due to Ray Rice never losing a  fumble in the regular season.  If the Ravens can’t force turnovers (which I don’t think they will be able to) this game is over. I don’t want them to win, but the Patriots will march into the Super Bowl for a rematch with the 49ers.


49ers (-4) at Falcons

Marty: What can you say about the Falcons? They still have looked pretty bad in the playoffs with Matty Ice as QB.  Kinda crazy how they almost blew that huge lead against the Seahawks.  So there are two possibilities:¹ Atlanta got their nerves out of the way and will show up in a big way on Sunday or Atlanta will still be the same underperforming playoff team that they have been.   Yes, some may say it is stating the obvious, but isn’t that what sports writing is?  Stating the obvious and then trying to look smart after you are “right.”  I still can’t trust the Falcons, until they show that they got it for an entire game.  On the other hand, the 49ers are a well coached machine that apparently don’t care at all about the curse of Alex Smith.  So I’m going to take the points and pick the 49ers.  

Sean: After narrowly eking out a win last week against the Seahawks at home, the 49ers come to the Georgia Dome for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Falcons have looked like a pedestrian team in their one game so far this postseason and the 49ers have looked dominant, destroying the Packers in a game that was over by halftime. Colin Kaepernick is the X factor in this game, and all season the Falcons have not been able to defend mobile quarterbacks.  I don’t hate the Falcons, but I hate Jamaal Anderson, Chris Chandler and the rest of that Dirty Bird team from the 1998 Season, when Gary Anderson missed his only field goal all year. This cost an awesome Vikings team² from going to the Super Bowl and bludgeoning John Elway and the Bronco’s. I have still not forgiven them. For that reason I am picking the 49ers. Also, I think only the 49ers could beat the Evil Empire Patriots in the Superbowl and this Atlanta team would be embarrassed.


¹ Sean says via footnote: Aren’t these the only two choices? Either Atlanta wins or Atlanta loses? 
² Marty says via footnote: that Vikings team was awesome.  They had the best offense ever.  Randall Cunningham throwing bombs to a young Randy Moss, Chris Carter being hall of famer Chris Carter, pro-bowl RB Robert, I’m too smart for football so I’m retiring early before my brain is gone, Smith and a really good 3rd WR in Jake Reed.  Best offense ever and one of the best video game football offenses you could ever use.  

1 Bachelor Season 17, week 2 recap

Well this episode starts out exactly how you would expect it. At least 3 shots of Sean shirtless, including one of him working out. You know what's gross? Working out without a shirt. It's a good way to get scabies or a staph infection. Hope they burned that bench afterwards!

 The first date is Sean picking up Sarah in a helicopter, like it's something special. The Bachelor and Bachelorette tv shows have made helicopter rides like hopping on the subway. They just keep helicopters on retainer. (Side note: I think Sarah ends every sentence mentioning her only having one arm. She's like the drummer from Def Leppard. Also, Sarah's voice is incredibly obnoxious.)

1st dates can be tricky. Do you do brunch or go get coffee or maybe take a nice stroll? Well, if you are on The Bachelor you ask the person what their biggest fear is and then ask them to go through it! It's like some bizarre Fear Factor like experiment. Hate seafood? We're going to Red Lobster! Arachnophobia  Tonight's date is at Tarantula-Town!

Day 2 starts out with some interviews and day drinking and then a photo shoot for books that 50 year old menopausal women read. Another shirt optional shot featuring Sean, including Kristy touching his abs. The whole photo shoot just ends up with Sean ripping his shirt off. I like Lesley showing her "other side" to Sean, namely her stomach and breasts. The two of them talking on the couch was like a flashback to middle school, awkward flirting, awful conversation and hesitant touching galore.

Siobhan just brought up a great point which I never really thought of. Sean is an empty husk, a pretty jeweled ornament with nothing inside. He looks good but is a self admitted awful kisser and he would be a total starfish in bed. Also, every woman on this show has had their teeth whitened. There is no way this many people all have perfectly white teeth. Tierra's outfit for the one on one date was in a word, awesome. She looked like a backup dancer for a 90's rap video.

This season of the Bachelor appears to be rooted in making every person feel afraid or awful. You know what a funny prank is? Dialing someone on the telephone and asking if their refrigerator is running. Or pantsing someone. That's funny. You know what's not a funny "prank"? Making someone think they destroyed a priceless piece of art and ruining their night. And you know what makes a good prank? Drawing it out so they really feel like an awful person. Making someone stew for 30 seconds is lame.

Robyn brings up the softball that the producers gave her because of the discrimination lawsuit that was filed against ABC and Sean hits it out of the park. He doesn't see color and dated a Persian! He even speaks a few words of Arabic. Robyn looks like Malia Obama will in about 10 years.

The rose ceremony is drama free and Sean sends home the women we never really got to know. Brooke had some potential but we never got to know her. Diana was a mom with 2 kids. She didn't stand a chance.  

All in all, an awful boring episode. This show needs to step its game up. What really isn't helping things is how cookie cutter and vanilla Sean is. What dude says they want to get married and start a family and means it? The dude comes off like Beaver Cleaver, an antiquated relic from the 50's. Way too genuine and way to earnest. Word to the wise/women. Normal dudes aren't like that.

0 Week 2 NFL Playoff Picks

Week 2 NFL Playoff Picks

Gambling on NFL games is one of the main reasons why the league is so popular.  People love betting on games and playing Fantasy Football.  We really should have been doing a picks column more often.  But without further ado here are our very uninformed picks for this weeks NFL playoff games:¹


Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers (-2.5)

Marty:  Aaron Rodger is playing some of his best football of his career.  The Niners have a great D and the actual good Harbaugh coaching brother.  I read a stat a couple days ago that the Packers are ridiculously bad when they don’t force turnovers.  Lucky for them, the Niners replaced one of the best QBs in terms of taking care of the ball, Alex Smith, with a young unproven hotshot, Colin Kaepernick.  So take the points and watch as Green Bay pulls up the mild upset in San Fran.  Call it the curse of Alex Smith.

Sean: Gotta go with the home team only having to win by a field goal. The 49ers get Justin Smith back for this game, and he is the straw that stirs the defense’s drink. Mason Crosby earns a Bronx cheer every time he successfully hits a field goal. These teams played already in Green Bay, and the 49ers dominated the Packers. The home field crowd combined with the 49er running game and defense as well as the close point spread has me picking the 49ers. Of course, this means the Packers are probably winning the Super Bowl.


Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons (-3)

Marty:  So I’m probably a bit of a degenerate when it comes to fantasy sports.  I have multiple football teams and I spend way too much time on my reigning champion baseball team, Mrs. Jon Warner. And after saying how much that I hate fantasy football all season I signed up for a playoff fantasy football league in which each player in the playoffs is allowed to get picked twice.  Once your player’s team loses, you are done getting points for him.  Because I picked nearly last in the first round and all the good QBs were gone I decided to go all in Seattle, which means my team consists of 2 Marshawn Lynchs, 1 Russell Wilson, 2 Seattle D’s and 2 Seattle kickers.  So obviously I have to go with Seattle.  Plus, besides my bias, Seattle has some of the best advanced stats, is on a really hot run at the right time and Atlanta has a history of not showing up in the playoffs. Of course with my fantasy football luck that means Seattle is getting blown out this week.  

Sean: Matt Ryan has been heaped with scorn and false praise for his inability to win in the playoffs. I think this game has Ryan getting that monkey off of his back. The Seahawks are not a dominant team when playing  on the road without the Qwest field (or whatever it’s called now) advantage at home, and if RG3 was playing on two legs instead of one, the Seahawks would not have advanced out of the wild card round. The Falcons will throw the ball 50 times in this game and if Matt Ryan can be kept clean, they Seahawks are in for a long day. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they just lost their best pass rusher, Chris Clemons, to a torn ACL. The Dirty Bird will be making a comeback this week, and the Falcons will advance to the Divisional Championship round. I hate even point spreads, and this line feels like a push to me.²


Houston Texans at New England Patriots (-9.5)

Sean: No one is giving the Texans a chance in this game after their dumpster fire of a game in November in Foxboro (or is it Foxborough?). In that game, the Patriots did not have Gronk playing and blocking (which is one of his more underrated skill sets) and still dominated the Texans in every facet of the game. I think the Texans will be up for this game, due to their prior embarrassment by the Patriots and they will run the ball and play better defense.  Also, if you look at who the Patriots played this year, they lost to 3 NFC West teams, with two of those games being at home. The Patriots beat up on bad teams like the Jets, the Titans, the Dolphins, and the Bills, but have a problem when they have to play teams with real defenses, like the Seahawks, the Cardinals, and the 49ers. The Texans defense was exposed by the Patriots, but I think Wade Phillips will have the Texans better prepared to play. I think the Patriots still win, but I am taking the points.

Marty: New England.  No question about it.  Texans have no D and limped their way into the playoffs.  The Texans also were in one of the worst divisions in football the AFC South.  On the other hand, the Patriots have one of the best offenses of all time with the second best QB of all time,³ a great coach and the best offensive coordinator in the game.  So yeah, I’d say the Patriots are a lock to win and should cover even though the point spread is pretty high.  


Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos (-10)


Sean: Woof. 10 points. The Broncos have won 11 games in a row, which seems shocking, and their only losses have been to playoff teams (The Falcons, Texans, and Patriots). They seem like a juggernaut, with a running game that keeps on plugging in backs, two awesomely nicknamed wide receivers (Black and Decker), and a hellacious pass rush bookended by Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil. Lost in this wonder season from Peyton Manning is that he played against the AFC West⁴ and lost to good teams. Are the Ravens a good team? Most definitely not. Flacco is league average, and does just enough to cause you to lose a game. The Ravens were historically built on swarming, dominating defenses, but this group looks more like a M.A.S.H unit. Ed Reed’s body is 50 years old and he has a torn labrum in his shoulder, Ray Lewis is playing with a bionic arm, Terrell Suggs has a torn bicep and Ngata still has a knee sprain. Peyton Manning is going to eat these guys for lunch, even if they do get “up” for Ray Lewis’s final tour de league. That being said, 10 points is a lot of game for a playoff game. Take the points, bet on the Ravens and hope for a close, low scoring game featuring running the ball.

Marty: I have to admit it.  I was completely wrong about Peyton.  I thought he was done after his injuries.  But he showed that he still got it.  Even though the Broncos played no one, they still won the games, which has to mean something right?  So they are definitely a decent team.  However, that being said, I will always believe that Peyton is a choker.  He couldn't win a title in Tennessee but Tee Martin was able to as soon as he left.  He loses tons of NFL playoff games.  If the Broncos were playing any other team in the playoff, then I would have picked that team.  But the Ravens are horrible.  Flacco is the most overrated QB in the league and I constantly rant about bad he is.  He has one of the best RBs in the league and the offense is meh.⁵  Their D is old and not dominant like it once was.  And they recently fired their offensive coordinator near the end of the season.  Seriously, who does that?  This game just has blowout written all over it.  I’m taking the points and going with the Denver Broncos.  

¹ Of course it goes without saying, all of our picks here are for entertainment purposes only.  You are reading a blog by two pseudo-lawyers so of course we are going to have this disclaimer.  
² A push? That is a classic Sean pick if I have ever seen one.  
³ Dan Marino is number one of course #h2p
⁴ The AFC West is/was the worst division in the NFL this year. The Broncos finished with 13 wins, as many as the rest of their division combined. Think about that for a second. The next closest division is the AFC East where the Patriots won 12 games and the rest of the division won 19.
⁵ Speaking of Flacco, some insane Pitt fans still talk to this day about how Wanny really screwed over Pitt football by starting Palko over Flacco.  These are the same Pitt fans who want Jamie Dixon to be fired.  Pitt fans sometimes just make me smdh.

0 Bachelor Recap, Season 17, episode 1

I would imagine every episode of this season we will see a pool, a river, a lake, an ocean or a fjord which requires Sean (great name!) to take off his shirt for the television cameras. The gratuitous workout scene was just that, gratuitous. Sean (there's that name again!) used to be a college football player, so of course he's in great shape. Those of us who sit on our couch drinking beer don't need to be reminded of this.

 The producers kept the women in the house much longer this time and they fed them much more alcohol. Ashley H came off like a soft core porn star, Ashley P was a train wreck who has cat lady written all over (little tidbit about Ashley P, she comes from the same town where Eminem lives). Now I'm just a regular dude, avoiding work responsibilities and writing emails about the Bachelor, but if some woman wore a wedding dress to what is ostensibly our first date (a bizarre date where I would also be dating 25 other women), that would scream weird and desperate, not cute and quirky. Lindsay I hope you are taking notes and not more glasses of wine to drink. It blew my mind when he kept her drunk/tipsy/craziness on the show, but we often forget the important roles that producers play. We saw at least 3 black girls on the show, probably because of the lawsuit implying that the Bachelor was a 1950's era dating show with 21st century sexual mores. Tierra scares me. When she found it was Sean (Sean!!), she lost her shit, screaming and moaning and wailing about his attractiveness (but isn't that most women around Sean?). I predict she will be the fulcrum of crazy Bachelor behavior, if the previews didn't already. Diana talked about her kids, which with a dude like Sean seems like a no-go. Desiree looks much better when she doesn't smile, so she should practice doing that much more

Couple other random thoughts: Every season there is one or a couple of people where you sit there and wonder why they went on this show. They seemingly have their life together, possess an actual personality with quirks and everything and hold down a real job. Robyn is an example of this person. Why would she come on this show? She seems too good for it. Taryn seems to have some slight insecurity issues, constantly thinking she is not good enough or he isn't interested and legitimately shocked when she is given a rose. Finally, there is Sarah. Sarah's story almost unfroze my tear ducts, especially hearing her talk about dating. She is obviously armless (more like forearm and hand) and I would like to think Sean gave her a rose for the right reasons (Sean's are very upstanding individuals) and was not informed by the producers to do so in order to make him look like a better person. My cynical belief is that she, like the black girls, was kept on by the producers to show how fair and even handed things are. "Not only are there black girls, but a disabled one too!!".

All my thoughts for this episode...

1 New Year's Resolutions

It's still January so there is still time to put my resolutions down on paper or in this case posted. I figure if I actually post my resolutions, then it will be more likely that I give the resolutions a good college try.¹

1.  Read the 10 Greatest books of all time.  In the past, I've set lofty literary goals such as reading every Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction. However, I've failed each time.  I think having a list of about 50 novels to read is a bit daunting.  Instead, for 2013, I'm going to read the following list of the 10 greatest books of all time according to a survey of all the top authors in the world:²

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Expect a review of each book once I'm done.  So exciting, right?

2. Be on time more often.  I have a bad habit of trying to do too many things in too little of time, which means I'm constantly late to everything. While, I'm not yet at the level of Altman time or Siobhan time, I'm creeping up there.  This trend needs to be reversed and 2013 is the year it will happen.  Timeliness is next to godliness as they say.

3. Don't get as frustrated when driving.  The combination of bicycles,³ buses⁴ and horrible drivers⁵ are starting to take a toll on my psyche.  But should it?  No.  It's just driving.  There is no need to get fired up about it.  I think that being on time more often will help with this resolution because I'm always trying to get somewhere in 15 minutes when really it should take 20 minutes.

4. Don't lose things as often.  I probably lose my keys and/or wallet at least once a day.  In 2013, I'm going to be better organized and more mindful of where I place things.  I'm sure this will help me be on time more often because instead of looking for keys I will be actually getting to where I need to be.

Feel free to post your own resolutions.  It's great to have your resolutions in writing because it's easier to see how badly you didn't reach those resolutions.  Best of luck to all of you with your own resolutions.  I know I'll need it.

¹ Look Sean, there is no resolution about being positive.  Although, I'm going to try to bring back positive Marty just for the heck of it in 2013.
² Here is the link to the article from Time where the list is from: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1578073,00.html
³ Hey bicyclist,  the rules of the road aren't optional.  If you are going to ride in the middle of the lane, then you better not go through stop signs or sneak up besides traffic at red lights.
⁴ Hey PAT bus driver, how about you don't move into my lane when I'm right besides you and how about you don't just make turns on red lights just cause you are a bus.
⁵ Hey Burgh driver, a sprinkle of rain shouldn't cause my commute home to be 10 more minutes and how about not coming to complete stops just cause of tunnels?

8 Best Movies of 2002

Now that the Holidays are over.  We can get back to the important thing in life, like discussing movies from over 10 years ago...

Sean:

There were some interesting movies in 2002. The main movies that stand out in my mind are a couple of action films, which, considering my age and maturity level, makes a degree of sense. But there were some other movies with depth and layers as well.

Blackhawk Down was a college dorm room staple. Viewed solely for people shooting guns and blowing shit up. A dependable  if unremarkable action film about an event that I was not really old enough to comprehend when it first happened. 

The first Bourne movie came out in 2002 which started the trilogy. A dependable action film, basically an amnesiac James Bond type. Worth a watch if it's on, plus the idea of 5'8 (on a good day) Matt Damon playing a superspy one man army is always good for a chuckle.

Minority Report: Based on a Phillip K Dick short story, this movie is ostensibly about crime prevention and technology, but digging deeper the movie is all about the notion of free will. If crime can be predicted and stopped before it is actually committed, if human behavior can be mapped before actually occurring, than the question is, what decisions are actually made? If everything is pre-ordained, then you are just following what has already been laid out for you. It brings to mind the famous quote from Lawrence of Arabia, "nothing is written". In this dystopian future, due to the use of pre-cogs, everything is written. Free will and decision making do not exist, as every action has already been laid out and mapped before it is even to occur. This is probably my pick for movie of the year for 2002.

One Hour Photo: This movie. Yeesh. Such a creepy movie, purely because of the casting of Robin Williams as a serial borderline pedophile type who works at a photo development lab. It's interesting to see actors take on roles that stretch their typical typecast roles (See Smith, Will) and go for outside the box parts. This was definitely the case for this movie. 

8 Mile: A movie that reads and plays like an autobiography of Marshal Mathers life and rise to fame and fortune. Chronicling his ups and downs and also starring the late Brittany Murphy, this is a gritty movie which ends with a glimmer of hope but does not delude the viewer into thinking the protagonist, Rabbit, has finally made it big. Probably known best for its soundtrack. A solid if unspectacular movie. 

Confession: I have never seen Gangs of New York in its entirety. Starring two of the better actors of our lifetime in Daniel Day Lewis and Leonardo Dicaprio, I just have not had the patience to sit down and watch the movie start to finish. I think if I did, this would probably be my nominee for best movie in 2002. 

Catch Me If You Can is a great movie. Also starring Leo Dicaprio, its a light hearted approach (for most of the movie at least) to identity theft. An enjoyable movie which does not take itself too seriously and also features the great Christopher Walken.

Interested to see your thoughts...

Marty:

Good overview of 2002.  There might not be one huge star in the whole year but there is tons of depth.  I'd say it was a pretty, pretty good year.  

First, some quick thoughts about some of the movies you mentioned.  The first Bourne movie is more than just an amnesiac James Bond movie, I think it represents the beginning of realistic action movie trend that continues today.  Just look at the Bond movies since the first Bourne.  Basically, Bond movies are no longer Bond movies, instead they are serious movies about a serious brooding secret-agent.  I almost went with Bourne as my movie of the year.  8 Mile is an underrated movie, the build up to the final rap battle where he eviscerates Papa Doc is pretty awesome. And Eminem is really good even if he is playing himself.  By the way its unbelievable that you have never seen the entire Gangs of New York.  Daniel Day Lewis might be at his finest in the movie.  I just love how Daniel Day Lewis stays in character throughout the whole filming.  It would have been awesome watching Bill the Butcher in real day interactions like ordering McDonald's.  Although, I can't make it the best movie of the year because I never really have the urge to watch it when I see that it is on.  

Second, there were some pretty good movies that you left out, which adds to the deep class of 2002.  The Pianist, I remember Adrian Brody being really good in the movie, but Roman Polanski is a horrible human being so f' that movie.  There was another Lord of the Rings, but Pete Jackson has already been covered.  Adaptation was a really good movie with a good performance from Nic Cage.  28 Days Later is probably the best zombie movie ever created.  Tom Hanks was pretty solid in Road to Perdition, but that movie dragged on a bit.  The second Star Wars Prequel came out and it wasn't as horrible as the worst, mainly because there was no annoying little kid.  Signs was Sign with M. Night being M. Night.  Finally, I'll have to mention Thirteen, my Dad was all about this movie when it came out and made me watch it, if you want to see a crazy story about teenagers and mothers with really good acting check it out.      

My pick for best movie of 2002 comes down to Minority Report and Spider-Man.  I love Spidey¹ and you would think it would be a slam-dunk for movie of the year, but a few things bring it down such as the CGI that looks pretty bad, Tobey McGuire being Tobey McGuire and the fact that they just recently released Spider-Man,with the same story.  With Minority Report, there is a lot of good about the movie especially the story and the concept that really makes you think.  Spielberg created a great vision of the future with the crazy cars, the hand gesture computers and the retina scanning advertisements.  And you have Tom Cruise.  Who doesn't love Cruise?²  I still like to think that everything that happens after Cruise is arrested is just a dream Cruise is having while locked up including his release and exoneration. But since the ending is really a classic Spielberg happy ending and because I really love Spidey, I'm going with Spider-Man as the best movie of 2002.³  Who cares about CGI or Tobey, the Spider-Man origin story is the best. And Raimi did a great job of making you feel like you were in a world where Spider-Man really exists.  The ending is pretty big time with Mary Jane realizing Peter Parker is Spider-Man.  With great power, comes great responsibility indeed. 

With all of the good movies that we've both mentioned, neither of us mentioned the supposed best picture winner, Chicago.  I mean seriously, that was the best picture of 2002? Ugh.  

Sean:

It was tough for me to review some of those movies because I had never actually seen them. I had heard good things about Adaptation but never seen it. Same thing with the Pianist. I thought Road to Perdition was good (with a Daniel Craig casting as a sniveling son) but a little too long and drawn out for my tastes. I didn't even go into Spiderman because that is your favorite movie evah. Polanski is a horrible human being, but who cares? It doesn't make Chinatown a less awesome movie. You still root for the Steelers who employ rapists and domestic abusers. Terrible people make good shit all the time. Cest la vie as a wise man says. 

I disagree about Bourne. An amnesiac man can defeat a CIA trained network of assassins. Bullshit. That is not a realistic movie. He wouldnt last two days. The CIA would find him and kill him. That movie should be a 20 minute show. Man wakes up in water, makes it to land, CIA drone kills him, end scene. 

I think the problem with Gangs of New York is that it's too long for you to be flipping channels, catch it on and sit down and watch and you cant just jump into it and watch it. 

Signs was probably the 2nd or 3rd best M Night movie, which is damning with faint praise. I had high hope for World War Z and was a big fan of the book but the movie is looking like a disaster; your 28 days later call will stand. 

I wonder if Spiderman would have been a better movie if it had not gotten the Hollywood treatment and gotten two sequels. It stands up just fine on its own, but the sequels are horrible, in my opinion and cheapen the series as a whole. I think Tobey Maguire was the perfect person to cast for that movie. His whole movie career he has basically been different iterations of Peter Parker. The kid in Cider House Diaries, the too small jockey in Seabiscuit, and his character who he played in Ride With The Devil whose name escapes me now. I think the problem was before the 2nd Batman movie, everyone took superhero movies with a grain of salt, and looked at them as glorified movies for grown up kids. I wonder how that would play now? I think you also would need to make Spiderman darker if you were going to remake it. 

The Academy Awards is a sack of shit. Chicago winning is proof enough of this.

Marty:

The fact that he is a horrible person means I'm not going to rave about how awesome his movies are.   With him you also have the added bonus of his fanboys constantly raving about how awesome he is and how he gets unfair treatment. The dude is a fugitive who uses his money to escape justice.  By the way you will never hear me raving about how awesome the Steelers are when they are starting a formerly accused rapist at QB.

I meant realistic in the sense that the action is not over-the-top and there isn't some ridiculous villain shouting catch phrases.  Just compare the Die Another Day, which was also released in 2002, to Casino Royale, which is basically a Bourne wannabe with James Bond.  

M. Night has made two legitimate movies in my book, Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.  Sixth Sense is such a shocker when you see it.  And Unbreakable has the always cool combination of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.  That movie is way underrated. 

I'll give you half-right/half-wrong with the Spider-Man sequels.  Spider-Man 2 is a great movie and is perhaps the greatest superhero movie made.  It's well made with good performances from good actors.  I'll give you Spider-Man 3 being bad, although I have to admit I loved emo-Spidey.  I think reason that people like the sequels less is because of Tobey Maguire.  Tobey Maguire does understated/discovering⁴ things really well, which makes him great for a young unconfident Peter Parker.  However, Tobey Maguire does not have the charisma or charm to pull off the cocky wise-cracking person that Spider-Man is supposed to become.  They really might have been better off with sticking with James Franco as Peter Parker.  I disagree with Spider-Man not playing well today, because of the darkness of the Dark Knight.  The Dark Knight worked so well because the Joker is probably the best villain you can have in a superhero movie and Heath Ledger was great as the joker.  People want superhero movies to be entertaining.  The amount of darkness is irrelevant.  As long as it is well-made, then people will like it.  For example, the Avengers is much lighter than the Batman movies and it made tons and tons of money and was better reviewed than Dark Knight Rises.  There will be plenty more to say about superhero movies in upcoming years.

It's just fun to point out how ridiculous the Academy Awards are.  I'll let you have the last say about 2002...

Sean:

Don't forget James Harrison. Polanski is an awful person and I would never defend him. Chinatown is a good movie. The two have fuck all to do with each other. 

That makes sense for Bourne now that you explained it. The Bond movies with Daniel Craig are basically Bourne movies. 

You are correct about M. Night. Unbreakable was such a cool concept for a movie and 6th sense is probably (with Memento and Inception) one of the cooler ideas for a movie in the past 15-20 years. 

Maybe you misunderstood my point with Spiderman. People weren't taking superhero movies seriously back in the early 2000's and the idea of an actor getting nominated for an academy award would be unheard of back then. People might look at it differently now because of those movies that have come out that people took seriously and looked at with more than a skeptical view. The amount of money a film makes and "better reviews" are irrelevant to if a movie is actually good. Amount of money especially. Spiderman 2 discussion will have to wait for that year, but I am interested to see your defense/argument as to it being the best superhero movie ever. That is quite the bold statement. 

You are right about the Academy Awards. They have gotten better as of late but when you go back and look at some of the decisions and the winners and it boggles the mind. But at the same time, movie tastes are such a personal thing. It's like arguing who was better at baseball, Kirby Puckett or Willie Stargell.⁵

¹ The Spider-Man costume my Mom hand made for me in 3rd grade will always be the best Halloween costume I've ever had.  

² The more I look at past movies, the more I realize how much I like Cruise.  Cruise is awesome.  He has charisma.  He acts well.  And he runs awesomely. 

³ At first I had Minority Report, but it just didn't feel right.

⁴ See Pleasantville. 
⁵ The answer is obviously Kirby Puckett (Marty’s ever so rare footnote response: you obviously were afraid of comparing Kirby Puckett to Dave Parker, cause that is no contest, but that’s a whole different discussion for a different day).