Vic Sage

your hair is sort of reddish auburn, coobster? yummy

of the ones being shown, i've bolded the "must-see"s: The Maltese Falcon - great The Asphalt Jungle - great Night of the Iguana - dated, but worth seeing Reflections in a Golden Eye - awful The List of Adrian Messenger - awful Beat the Devil - awful The Man Who Would Be King - 1 of his bets The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean - great Treasure of the Sierra Madre -great The Misfits - strange, but worth seeing Moby Dick - mediocre The Red Badge of Courage - overrated Fat City - really good Under the Volcano - slow, but interesting

John Huston was a Hollywood legend, with a career as an actor, writer and director that spanned over 50 years. A boxer, artist, tough guy, liberal activist, hunter, oft-married eccentric and rebel, he lived a large life and made some great movies. 1930s: actor, script-doctor, screenwriter He started his career in Hollywood as an actor and a writer during the 1930s. The Storm (1930) (actor,dialogue) A House Divided (1931) (screenplay) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) (additional dialogue) Law and Order (1932) (adaptation and dialogue) Death Drives Through (1935) (story) It Happened in Paris (1935) (screenplay) Jezebel (1938) (screenplay) The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) (screenplay) Juarez (1939) (screenplay) Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) (screenplay) - Oscar Nomination High Sierra (1941) (screenplay) Sergeant York (1941) (screenplay) - Oscar Nomination Golden Age: 1940s-50s breaking through: After 2 of his screenplays earned him Oscar nominations, the Warner brothers decided to give him a shot behind the camera, with MALTESE FALCON, and he was off and running. The Maltese Falcon (1941) (writer & director)- Oscar Nomination (screenplay) In This Our Life (1942) (director) Across the Pacific (1942) (director) The War Years As a Lt. in the signal corps, Huston turned out important documentaries to support the war effort Winning Your Wings (1942) (director) Report from the Aleutians (1943) (writer & director;uncredited) Dark Waters (1944) (screenplay;uncredited) Know Your Enemy: Japan (1945) (screenplay) San Pietro (1945) (producer,writer & director;uncredited) Let There Be Light (1946) (writer & director) Peak: Upon his return to Hollywood, he reestablished himself as a force, winning 2 oscars for SIERRA MADRE, and reeling a series of a terrific films. It is during this period, too, that he spearheaded efforts to undermine the HUAC blacklists, and ultimately took up residence and citizenship in Ireland. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) (actor,writer & director) - 2 Oscars Key Largo (1948) (writer & director) We Were Strangers (1949) (writer & director) The Asphalt Jungle (1950) (writer & director) - 2 Oscar nominations The Red Badge of Courage (1951) (actor,writer & director) The African Queen (1951) (writer & director)- 2 Oscar nominations Moulin Rouge (1952) (producer,uncredited)(writer & director) - 2 Oscar nominations Fall from Grace: 1950s After 10 films in 10 years (plus 6 more for the Army), most of which were widely acclaimed and commercially successful, Huston finally hit a bump in the road with his bizarre spoof, BEAT THE DEVIL, which bombed. While his films of this period are interesting, some taking on social issues no one else would deal with, they are not of the caliber of his earlier work. Beat the Devil (1953) (producer, writer & director) Moby Dick (1956) (producer, writer & director) Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) (writer & director) - Oscar Nomination (screenplay) The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) (director) The Roots of Heaven (1958) (director) 1960s Huston continued making solid if unspectacular films through the early sixties, but there began to be more misses than hits, and the era ends with some spectacularly bad films. During the 60s, in fact, he became more noted as an actor than a filmmaker, starting with his Oscar in a supporting role in THE CARDINAL (1963). The Unforgiven (1960) (director) The Misfits (1961) (actor,director) Freud (1962) (actor,director) The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) (actor,director) The Night of the Iguana (1964) (producer, writer & director) The Bible (1966) (actor,director) Casino Royale (1967) (actor,director) Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) (producer & director) Sinful Davey (1969) (director) A Walk with Love and Death (1969) (actor,director) The Kremlin Letter (1970) (producer;uncredited) (actor,writer & director) Revival Comeback: 1970s After a decade in the wilderness, Huston moved to Mexico where he met one of his many wives, and revived his filmmaking career with a string of fascinating, entertaining movies, including his brilliant Kipling-esque adventure tale, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. Fat City (1972) (producer & director) The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) (actor,director) The MacKintosh Man (1973) (director) The Man Who Would Be King (1975) (writer & director)- Oscar Nomination (screenplay) Wise Blood (1979) (actor,director) nadir: perhaps his years in Mexico muddled his brain, because Huston then went on to make perhaps the worst 3 films of his career. Phobia (1980) (director) Victory (1981) (director) Annie (1982) (director) last hurrah: But, as he was dying from emphasyma, he managed to make 3 more excellent films 2 lyrical,l quiet contemplations of death and a black comedy for his daughter that brought him his last Oscar nomination. He was working on a film (MR. NORTH) with his son, director Danny Huston, when he died. Under the Volcano (1984) (director) Prizzi's Honor (1985) (director) - Oscar Nomination The Dead (1987) (director) Houston's top dozen: The Maltese Falcon (1941) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Key Largo (1948) The Asphalt Jungle (1950) The African Queen (1951) Moulin Rouge (1952) Fat City (1972) The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) The Man Who Would Be King (1975) Under the Volcano (1984) Prizzi's Honor (1985) The Dead (1987)

I'm down wit dat, wolfie.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Singin' in the Rain" topped the American Film Institute's list of the "25 Greatest Movie Musicals," the movie preservation group said Sunday (9/3/06). A jury of more than 500 film artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians selected the list, whose top 10 are, in descending order, "West Side Story," "The Wizard of Oz," "The Sound of Music," "Cabaret," "Mary Poppins," the 1954 "A Star Is Born," "My Fair Lady," "An American in Paris" and "Meet Me in St. Louis." The remaining 15 films are "The King & I," "Chicago," "42nd Street," "All that Jazz," "Top Hat," "Funny Girl," "The Band Wagon," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "On the Town," "Grease," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," Walt Disney's 1991 "Beauty and the Beast," "Guys and Dolls," 1936's "Showboat" and "Moulin Rouge!"

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and... Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten? Nigel Tufnel: Exactly. Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder? Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where? Marty DiBergi: I don't know. Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven. Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder. Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder? Nigel Tufnel: [pause] ...These go to eleven.

i'd love for the Padres to win the WC and face the Mets in the first round, and I'd love for Piazza to have an amazing series as the Mets sweep SD out of town. for all the caterwaling about how washed up Piazza was after last season, its interesting to me that he's currently outhitting our catcher, with a 65 point lead in OPS (.838 to .773), while accumulating Runs + RBIs at a rate of .264 per AB (89r+rbi / 337ab), compared to LoDuca's significantly less produtive .249 (110r+rbi / 442ab). Now, given that Piazza has over 100 fewer ABs than LoDuca so far this season, its reasonable to assume that, at his age, Piazza's numbers would likely decline if he played as much as LoDuca had. Still, the numbers indicate that the Bachelor still has some punch and is giving SD more bang for its buck than Punchless Paulie has given the Mets.

Does Milledge make the post-season roster? It would seem he HAS to, doesn't it? Otherwise we have no RH-ed OFers on the team (other than switch-hitting Beltran, and UT Woodward, who we need available as an IF backup). And assuming we go with a 6-man bench /11-man staff (as we should, with a starter in the bullpen), does Robo make the staff over Mota, based on his ad hoc "assistant coach" role with the pitchers?

]The last time the Japanese saw anything as big as Ryan Howard, it was overturning a ferry in Tokyo Bay. Bravo, Stone. Bravo.

It would seem that Kevin Smith's entire oeuvre is too limited to bother creating a "filmography" as i have for other filmmakers, but i think his output is worth a second look. As an actor-producer-writer-director, Smith is one of the most interesting and successful young hyphenates in the film industry, with a range of control over his modest projects enjoyed by only a handful of filmmakers. Also, continually making short films and writing animation for tv, writing superhero screenplays for hollywood studios, acting in non-Smith projects, producing non-Smith films, writing comics and running his comicbook store, he's actually been pretty productive over the last 12 years. Smith is a young, working-class, Catholic slacker from New Jersey... a film-school dropout, but well-schooled in pop culture. As a filmmaker, Smith is more of a writer than a director. His films are visually uninteresting and tend to be composed in the most simplistic ways possible. His strength is in conceiving unique characters and having them speak in a distinctive (if highly stylized) form. Some criticize him for "overwriting", but if he didn't, he'd be of little interest. His comedic milieu combines the world of comic books, outragous sexuality, and a questioning kind of christianity. His characters are seekers of one type or another, either sexually repressed or total hedonists; and they all speak in a similarly clever, wordy, showy patois, referencing and sub-referencing pop culture like Dennis Miller clones (before Miller went insane after 9/11). His plots (such as they are) tend to be episodic, without much structure, that allow the characters to inhabit his unique world. And Smith has indeed created a world. He not only uses a consistent ensemble of actors, he has created continuing characters like Jay & Silent Bob, and he references other of his characters in a number of his films. Smith uses his stories much as a comic book writer does... to create his own universe populated by characters that cross over into each other's stories. The crossovers are further supported by his work in other media, as well. (tv shorts, cartoons, comics, etc). It is the world of VIEW ASKEW... not only his production company, but a description of his world view. His gestalt approach to storytelling has won him a hardcore following but, needless to say, he's not for everybody. His films: As producer / actor / writer / director: Clerks (1994) - 2 guys talking in a convenience store. Stuff happens. Funny, original breakthru film. Mallrats (1995) - unsuccessful studio followup, its pretty wacky, and is highly appreciated among Smith cultists. Chasing Amy (1997) - Probably his best movie to date, it comes closest to having an emotional center, where real things happen to real people. One of the best films about the comicbook industry (for those interested in that sort of thing). Dogma (1999) - This very religous film was, ironically, savaged by certain Christian groups, giving it the kind of hype that made it a hit. I don't think its quite as good as AMY, but many would disagree. It is certainly, however, his most cinematic and visual film to date. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) - Smith takes his most popular supporting characters and gives them a wacky road movie, satirizing movies and anything else Smith could think of. I think its kind of lame, actually, and Jay and Bob are best in small doses. Jersey Girl (2004) - after settling down with wife and child, this was Smith's attempt to make a grownup movie about a family man. It got blown to hell by the JLo-Affleck media explosion. Its a fairly middling picture, and ones enjoyment of it is directly related to ones tolerance for Ben Affleck. Most cultists hate it, since its "outside of continuity". Its also the only one that Smith doesn't appear in. Clerks II (2006) - Smith catches us up on his original characters 12 years later, and his progress as a filmmaker is notable. It might seem strange to talk about maturity in a film depicting a "Donkey Show", but that's Smith's gift. And Rosario Dawson is rarely a bad idea. This joins CHASING AMY and DOGMA as one of his better films. There is also available a 3-hour "concert film", if you will, of Smith talking to a college audience. He is hilarious in recounting his adventures in Hollywood and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Despite its length, and despite the fact that its just a show of Smith standing and talking, it's a surprisingly watchable and funny film, well worth checking out.

i took my daughter to this game. It was a lovely night, and we had free tix in the upper deck behind home. And despite the crapitude of the game, she insisted on staying till the final out.

It would seem that Kevin Smith's entire oeuvre is too limited to bother creating a "filmography" as i have for other filmmakers, but i think his output is worth a second look. http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?t=4523

]I'm still waiting for the first Italian-English-German/American, who was born in a town along the CT coast to a firefighter father so I can have someone to identify with... and if one came along, you'd be his fan for life. I liked Lee Mazzilli out of proportion to his ability, because he played in the Gil Hodges Little Leage (in Coney Island) and went to Lincoln HS (like my brothers). I like Stephon Marbury for the same reasons. And now I'll like Shawn Green. In a society where the joke "what's the thinnest book in the word? The book of Jewish sports heroes!" is still floating around, a little counter-example is always a nice thing for my kids to see.

Delgado 4.50 Beltran 2.25 LoDuca 1.00 Heilman 1.00 Bradford .75 Mota .50

Have there been any other Jewish Mets (besides Shamsky)? Shamsky Green ?

$8-$9M/yr for a .280 / 20hr / 80rbi /.825 OPS RFer is pretty steep. Still, i'd rather have him than Ricky Ledee, and if he doesn't cost us much in actual prospects, its okay with me.

i like some of Smith's work (CHASING AMY, DOGMA) and even the ones i dislike (JAY & SILENT BOB, MALLRATS) i still end up watching over and over on cable. CLERKS is more the latter than the former, but i really liked CLERKS II. Not only better made, its got a bit more heart and soul. And some of the stuff is just laugh-out-loud funny. He remains more a conceiver of characters and writer of dialogue than a truly adept filmmaker, but there is always something worth seeing even in the worst of his pictures. what can i say... he speaks to me.

O Hernandez 5.25 Beltran 1.50 Delgado 1.50 Bradford .50 Heilman .50 Wagner .75

i took last week off, and ended up going to various movie malls, slipping from 1 screen to another. I saw LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and TALLADEGHA NIGHTS, then the next day i saw SNAKES ON A PLANE and WORLD TRADE CENTER. also watched some dvds... SECOND HAND LIONS was excellent.

fun shlock. a solid rental, so wait.

really good. Steve Carrell is terrific. sort of a cross between WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, National Lampoon's VACATION, and Ashby's SMILE.

i ended up seeing it, and it's pretty effective, and restrained, too... for a Stone movie.

i have a low threshhold for Will Farrell but i found the movie surprisingly amusing.

we should move this thread to the Movie forum

Mike Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers, as a result of his personal ties to Dodger icon Tommy Lasorda; he played in the Dodgers minor-league system for 4 years; he came up and was a Dodger ROY; he had his best seasons as a Dodger; he was an all-star MVP as a dodger; and he played for the Dodgers for parts of 7 seasons, including 2 post-seasons. While I enjoyed him as a player for the Mets, and i know he had an impact on the franchise, i still don't think a few hundred more ABs as a Met changes the fact that he's a Dodger HOFer. Maybe if we'd won the WS in 2000, that could've tipped the scales. But we didn't, and so it doesn't. We should not be retiring the number of yet ANOTHER Dodger great (including Gil Hodges and Jackie Robinson).