Frayed Knot

* One review I read, from a confirmed 3D skeptic, said that this is the type of movie that 3D was made for and that should be seen in 3D * Bullock, even with a best actress Oscar already on her shelf, still seems to carry the rep of a light (or, at best, middle) weight among portions of the general public. Perhaps this will begin to change that. * Ed Harris space movies are almost becoming numerous enough to be their own sub-genre: as John Glenn in THE RIGHT STUFF, as Gene Krantz in APOLLO 13, and now 'voice' in GRAVITY. Two more and you've got a whole Jeopardy category.

Edgy MD wrote: ... now an adaption of A Walk in the Woods, a book Bill Bryson wrote about walking the Appalachian Trail in 1997, at the age of 46. Redford is 77. He originally wanted to cast Paul Newman as Katz, Bryson's contemporary, school chum, and walking companion. Newman, of course, is 88 and dead at the present time. Apparently it's going to be the now 72-y/o Nick Nolte to play opposite Redford in AWitW - so i gather there's going to be no attempt to recreate the book as it was written. I guess they just substitute old and bucket list for out of shape and getting reacquainted and run from there. Nolte and Redford had a scene or two together in 'The Company You Keep' and I was thinking as I was watching the two on the screen that we are a long time removed from the day when those two were as big as any two blond heartthrobs that Hollywood had, like back when 'RICH MAN, POOR MAN', 'THE DEEP' and 'NORTH DALLAS FORTY' more or less coincided with 'ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN', 'BRUBAKER', and 'THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR' [1976-1980]

In this flick Redford's 77 y/o butt plays someone who would be 60-ish now that it's some 40 years after his character's college age crimes.

Vic Sage wrote: RUNNING ON EMPTY, though not great, is a decent drama and substantially similar to COMPANY YOU KEEP in its narrative and themes about our radical 60s past haunting our current life. This was the one that I thought of as most similar (helped by the fact that I haven't seen a good chunk of the others you mentioned). The main difference here is that the movies were made a quarter century apart and therefore the protagonists are considerably older and their pasts further into the rear view. Hirsch and Lahti are among the few age-appropriate actors who Redford did not use; possibly because it might have been confusing to the audience as to whether they were in reprised roles. Redford is also trying to make a point about press coverage in this one, a point that can only work if the small city (Albany, NY) reporter keeps beating the FBI to the clues, which, of course, he does. There's also a mystery aspect to this as part of what the reporter (LaBoeuf) uncovers is a secret involving a few of the leads that has nothing specific to do with their past crimes. It's not a bad movie and has some good performances in the interactions of these past radicals--some still believers, some who have moved on, some who didn't particularly get along way back when--even if in fairly small doses (so many stars, so little time). But the whole mystery/over-reaching press angle is kind of clumsily handled and not all that shocking by the time they get around to it.

When a 1960's radical decides to turn herself in for past crimes committed, it sets off a chain reaction involving others in her one-time circle, the FBI, and a reporter for an Albany, NY newspaper. Robert Redford directs and heads an all-star cast Susan Sarandon Julie Christie Nick Nolte Chris Cooper Terrence Howard Stanley Tucci Richard Jenkins Anna Kendrick San Elliot Brendan Gleeson Shia LeBoeuf

Yeah, I was wondering if the inevitable sign-off scenes where the audience is told what became of the crew in the years after the voyage would mention that the success of the trip hardly settled the debate on the topic. It didn't. To its credit it also didn't claim the journey as proof of Heyerdahl's theory even if it tacitly implied it and did manage to credit the trip with spurning a new era of exploration as demonstrated by everything from the Everest expedition right around the corner and up to the space era, something which is probably at least as arguable as the lag in exploration was probably more due to the two world wars over the previous two decades than from some era of indifference just waiting for a spark. One thing that was interesting about the movie is that it was shot with an entirely Norwegian cast (at least the leads) but with large portions of it shot twice with the bilingual actors doing one take in Norwegian and one in English in order to be able to release the same movie in different markets and different languages without either subtitles or dubbing.

Yes, this is, of course, about the Norwegian explorer/scientist Thor Heyerdahl and his attempt to show that the Polynesian Islands of the south pacific were settled, not as conventional wisdom dictated by Asians from the west, but by South Americans from the east. Scholars doubted that theory because those living in and around present day Peru didn't have the type of sailing boat necessary to travel the 5,000 or so miles 1,500 years earlier. Heyerdahl countered that they did have rafts, and that rafts could float even if they lacked the technology to steer them to much of an extent, and that those people knew the winds and the prevailing currents could have taken them that way. So how does one 'prove' such a theory? Why you attempt to duplicate it naturally. So off he went right after WWII with a crew of five other Nordics to build a copy of a raft that would have been known to the south Americans at the time using only materials that would have been available to them (balsa wood logs; twine but no cables; bones but no nails) and either get there or die trying. Movie does a decent job of portraying Heyerdahl as a mixture of serious scholar and wild dreamer (yeah, he's a bit out there at times) whose vision endangers both his marriage and the lives of him and his crew. Aside from that it's a pretty straight-forward tale of him trying to raise money and buck conventional thought at the time. And then of course there's the trip itself. Great looking film if nothing else.

A bunch of blond guys head down to Peru in 1947 to do some rafting.

MdD gets an honorable mention in this week's Ba 'Hot Sheet' Matt den Dekker, cf, Mets. A wrist injury sidelined the 26-year-old den Dekker for first three months of Triple-A Las Vegas� season, but he�s enjoyed the thin mountain air this August, going 12-for-27 (.444) with a pair of homers and a triple this week to push his OPS to .970 for the month. The Mets face a 40-man roster decision on the 2010 fifth-rounder this offseason, so den Dekker may receive a September callup if he remains healthy and productive.

Mars needs women.

Vic Sage wrote: But did he live in a van down by the river? No, nothing like that. He lived in a boat down by the river. And the boat was in a tree. So, did you like? Yeah I did. Little bit of mystery and interesting characters to it, anchored by teens who have been let down by most of the older folk around them. Reminded me a bit of Juno in that last regard even though a totally different flick.

So who would have guessed that the flick where Matthew McConaughey plays a homeless fugitive who lives on a river island is the one where he has his shirt ON most of the time?

Montero makes it to the top of this week's 'Hot List' in BA Rafael Montero, rhp, Mets Team: Triple-A Las Vegas (Pacific Coast) Age: 22 Why He�s Here: 2-0, 0.64, 14 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 17 SO The Scoop: Few Dominican pitchers fly through the minor leagues, but then few have the same background as Montero. The Mets signed him in January 2011 when he was 20�an age that makes him practically ancient in the world of international scouting�but he�s skyrocketed from the Dominican Summer League to Triple-A in just two seasons thanks to his impressive command of a solid arsenal. Little has fazed Montero on that journey, including the hitter-friendly conditions of Las Vegas. The only run Montero gave up this week came on a George Springer home run�he certainly has plenty of company there�but otherwise he overmatched hitters during his two home starts in Las Vegas. Montero sits in the low 90s and can get up to the mid-90s when he needs it, but it�s the late life and the command of his fastball that makes him so effective. He lacks a wipeout offering among his secondary pitches, so scouts aren�t projecting Montero as a frontline starter, but the stuff and command are there to profile as a steady mid-rotation arm.

At this point I don't even remember what specifically it was that I didn't like about it, only that I thought it to be a silly waste of talent.

Havens was quietly bumped-up to AAA Vegas about a 100 ABs ago and is doing ... well, about what he was doing in AA: taking his walks but not a whole helluva lot else. AA - 325 ABs - .215/.340/.351 AAA - 97 ABs - .237/.312/.330

John Sickels -- New York Mets prospect Cesar Puello went 1-for-3 with a double for Double-A Binghamton yesterday, giving him a season line of .332/.401/.571 with 16 homers and 23 stolen bases. He's been particularly hot lately, hitting .361 in his last 10 games with five doubles, a homer, four steals, and a 6/7 BB/K ratio. Tools have never been the problem with the 22-year-old Puello, but he's been slowed by injuries and poor plate discipline. He's healthy this year, has tripled his 2012 walk rate, and is now hitting the hell out of the ball. He's flashed this before but didn't sustain it, but this season he got hot in late April and has stayed that way. I didn't have him in my recent Top 75 Prospects update, but he'd definitely be in the 80-100 range and if he keeps playing like this he'll certainly be in the Top 50 for next year.

I thought 'RED' was deplorable so I don't think I'll be adding my two cents to this poll.

BA puts Flores on their prospects to watch in the 2nd half list: -- A participant in tonight�s Triple-A all-star game, Flores has cracked 16 extra-base hits (five HR, 10 2B, one 3B) in the past 26 games for Las Vegas. With an uncharacteristic 22-4 K-BB ratio in that time, he appears to be making a concerted effort to hit for power, and so far it�s been working. Only Albuquerque outfielder Nick Buss has more extra-base hits (17) in this sample. The 21-year-old Flores has played four of his past eight games at first base, suggesting he may be auditioning for a look at that position in New York this summer.

A 'Hot List' Honorable Mention for this past week: • Darrell Ceciliani, cf, Mets -- The 23-year-old missed virtually all of last season, and he hit a modest .262/.309/.367 through June this year at Double-A Binghamton. But then Ceciliani reeled off an 8-for-18 week (.444) with three homers, a double, a triple, eight RBIs, a steal and two walks to remind everybody why he has a chance to develop into a fourth outfielder. All the same, he’ll need to sharply reduce his strikeout rate (26 percent of plate appearances) to avoid becoming Kirk Nieuwenhuis 2.0.

Good week for NYM prospects, Noah Syndergaard checks in at #9 in BA's 'Hot List' for the week. Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 9 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 HR, 10 SO, 1 BB The Scoop: Syndergaard threw just two innings on Thursday, not because of ineffectiveness or injury but because he’s probably going to start Sunday’s Futures Game at Citi Field. He was plenty good in his full-share start last Saturday, working seven innings and allowing three runs while striking out seven and walking one. Syndergaard has responded positively to his promotion to Double-A, notching 26 strikeouts, four walks and 18 hits allowed in 20 innings, pushing his career K-BB ratio to 3.9. And from the Q&A on the list: Q - How has Noah Syndergaard made the transition to AA look so easy? A - He seems to have that scary ability to control a double-plus fastball, which goes a long way against minor league competition. In some ways Syndergaard’s ascension is reminiscent of Zack Wheeler when he was at Double-A last year in that he gets a ton of swings and misses on the fastball and that he can work deep into games because of his pitch efficiency. I don’t want to say that Sydergaard’s fastball has the same late explosion that Wheeler’s does, but he compensates with better feel for a second pitch (changeup).

That Alfonzian day, when combined by the rest of his week, was enough to get Flores the #6 spot on BA's 'Hot List' .400/.419/.767 (12-for-30), 2 HR, 5 2B, 9 RBIs, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 SO Talk about linear progression�Flores� OPS has climbed from .715 in April to .873 in May to .950 in June to 1.200 through 11 games this month. He placed an exclamation point on his recent performance with a 4-for-5, two-homer, one-double game yesterday versus Tucson. Flores has very quietly climbed to the top of the PCL heap in three categories�doubles (33), extra-base hits (49) and RBIs (74)�and while he�s had considerably more success in Las Vegas, he still has a .288/.333/.440 batting line in road games. Not bad for a 21-year-old second baseman in Triple-A. Prospect watchers may want to take note of the Mets in September if the organization ends up promoting a trio of young position players on its 40-man roster�Flores, catcher Travis d�Arnaud and Double-A right fielder Cesar Puello�to make their major league debuts in tandem.

From a Q&A in BA --How does Noah Syndergaard compare to Zach Wheeler? Can we expect a similar time table next year? -- Jim Callis: Wheeler is about two years older than Syndergaard. At the same stage, Wheeler had better stuff while Syndergaard had more polish. Syndergaard has quality stuff, too, and I could see him beginning 2014 in Triple-A and reaching New York later in the year.

I was thinking of skipping this in the theaters but I think I'll wait until it comes out on cable and skip it then instead.

Wow! I hadn't been tracking him over the last few weeks so that's a serious hot streak. But even including the slower start he's hitting .329/.392/.596 // 988 for the year with 32 of his 79 hits going for extra bases and, for all the talk about plate discipline being his weakest asset, that's still around an average walk rate. For a 22 y/o at AA and in his first year at a new level, I'll take it. Is playing RF most of the time (with the occasional game in CF) and is said to have the arm for it.

Are you sure that's Jim Carroll? I thought it might be David Bowie ... or Tilda Swinton.