Vic Sage

excellent sports movie. Hackman is, as usual, terrific and Hopper is unexpectedly great, as well.

i saw Joe Holden play for the Cyclones. He's a good little ballplayer.

metsmarathon wrote: i think that typically you want your #2 hitter to be your best contact hitter, outside, perhaps, those who would be better served batting first, third, or fourth.. i think, ideally, you want your #2 hitter to be a hitter you want to give more ABs too than you'd choose to give to the least productive hitter on your team. reyes doesn't need a contact hitter to score. he just needs fewer outs made behind him. i think, by and large, lineup order has little overall consequence, beyond simply giving your best hitters more ABs than your worst hitters. Which is why LoDuca hitting in the top 3, and Wright hitting 5th, is so irritating to me.

also, SMOKING got much better reviews, for whatever that's worth to you. frankly, none of those options are particularly appealing. How about going to the theater instead?

One of Chris Columbus's better films. That is ultimate damnation with the faintest of praise. Chris Columbus is what happens when film school grads go terribly wrong. He is the quintessential hack of the Spielberg generation. CC started out as a screenwriter: Gremlins (1984) (writer) Reckless (1984) (writer) Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) (writer) The Goonies (1985) (writer) His first one, GREMLINS, turned out to be a fairly amusing and twisted satire on small-town America, with a cartoonish energy supplied by director Joe Dante. It turned out that he really only had one script in him. The others were soullessly mechanical "coming-of-age and/or boy's adventure"-type movies, but with a dark side to make them creepy. But the scripts were successful enough to get CC his shot to direct, starting with the aforementioned ADV/BABYSITTING. Adventures in Babysitting (1987) (director) Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1988) (writer) Heartbreak Hotel (1988) (writer / director) Home Alone (1990) (director) Only the Lonely (1991) (writer / director) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) (director) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) (director) Nine Months (1995) (writer / director / producer) BABYSITTING, in the style of his scriptwork, mined the youth market with its "young protagonists in Jeopardy" formula, and it demonstrated he could direct a studio feature, in a calculated but competent manner. Thus, CC entered his "auteur" phase as a writer/director of H.HOTEL, O.T.LONELY and 9MONTHS, where he seems to be trying to create films out of more truthful emotions rather than the mechanical slapstick and cloying faux-sentimentality of his director-for-hire projects, like HOME ALONE1,2 and DOUBTFIRE. But the only film with which he succeeds in creating recognizably human characters to tell a funny and genuinely touching story is ONLY THE LONELY... and that is probably to the credit of John Candy as much as CC. With 9 MONTHS, he takes on the mantel of producer, too, so that one is totally his baby, as it were. And it marks the beginning of his "impresario" period, which continued with the following list of dreck: Jingle All the Way (1996) (producer) Stepmom (1998) (director / producer) Bicentennial Man (1999) (director / producer) Monkeybone (2001) (executive producer) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) (director / exec.prod) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) (director / exec.prod) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) (producer) Christmas with the Kranks (2004) (writer / producer) Fantastic Four (2005) (executive producer) Rent (2005) (director / producer) Despite the justifiable failure of all his non-Potter projects during the last 10 years, it is not yet time to say "Goodbye, Columbus", it seems. When I heard that he was set to direct DAREDEVIL, my heart sank. Luckily, he left the project. But now, anytime I hear about some new movie project that sounds really exciting, i hold my breath until i'm sure that CC is not involved with it.

Elster88 wrote: ]BILF 'nuff said. I think you mean BIFL. Or were you going for MILF? i was going for "BIFL", but i had "MILF" on my mind. I often have MILF on my mind. Its a problem.

I just saw comedian Sarah Silverman's performance film, JESUS IS MAGIC, and i must say i was greatly disappointed. I've seen her in small doses on other shows, including THE ARISTOCRATS, and i thought she was sexy, smart and funny... the trifecta! Here, however, when exposed to an hour of her standup, i was totally bored. Her shtick is based on being transgressive... she is basically portraying a a character who is a vicious, racist, vain, self-involved Jewish comic, but trying to shock or to transgress is not funny just by itself... you also have to say funny things. And i don't think her material is that funny. Joking about rape, the holocaust, aids, "niggers and chinks", aging, and other such topics still requires either a punchline (ala Don Rickles), or humanity, like Carlin or Pryor. Silverman lacks both. Her shtick feels like performance art, not comedy. To me, the best comics are the ones that tell the truth. They put themselves on stage, and bare their souls. Pryor, Carlin, Robin Williams, Lewis Black. She is more of the faux-comic character comedy styling school of Steve Martin... but instead of just pretending to be a stupid banjo player who mistakenly thinks he's a wild and crazy guy, she's a hateful bitch who sings songs to old people about how they're going to die soon. Don't get me wrong. I like transgressive art. Its just that a little of her act goes a looooonnnng way. Like much other performance art, its better in concept than execution, and the idea of her is better than the experience of her.

I made my annual pilgrimage to Coney for last night's Cyclones home opener against the SI Yanks. The Baby Bombers were up 14-0 by the 3rd. I shit you not. So when, after 2.5 hours, there was an extended delay because of an umpire's injury at the top of the 5TH INNING, i went home. 'Clones ended up losing 18-zip. An inauspicious debut, to say the least. By the way, they have an infielder named "Junior Contreras" who is listed at 6'-5"/265 lb. If that's Junior, i'd hate to meet Senior Contreras in a dark alley.

i find the film virtually unwatchable. On the other hand, Shue is VERY watchable in LEAVING LAS VEGAS. In fact, I love it when actresses, who were either 1) child performers, or 2) typecast, or 3) otherwise unable to get "serious" roles, decide to make a "career move" by appearing in a movie where they are nearly or totally naked. This practice is described and satirized in a great scene in Blake Edwards' movie "S.O.B.", where the director is trying to talk goody-goody star Julie Andrews into going topless. And she does! Its a sub-genre i have great affection for.

BILF 'nuff said.

Your right, Irish. Valentin is 36, going on 37. And since he's from Puerto Rico, not Cuba or DR, the age is probably documented. But to further clarify his stats, he only hit .170 (not .190) last season, after hitting .213 the season before. And his defensive stats indicate that he's never played 2b in the majors. So, though a few years younger than i at first thought, my analysis stands.

Beltran - I'm not suprised when a great player in the prime of his career plays great. Glavine - After his 2nd half performance last season, I'm not surprised he has maintained that same level of performance this season. The 10 wins are a surprise, but thats about the Mets offense, not just Glavine. Lo Duca - He's hitting what he hits in the 1st half of seasons. that his B.A. has no power behind it (thus lacking significant run production) also doesn't surprise. XNady - Nady HAS hit like this, in short spurts in San Diego, and for extended periods in college and minors. He was one of SD's blue chip prospects, held back by injury and blocked by other players. That now, at age 27, he's hittting .260-.270 with power, is not a huge surprise, once he got the full-time gig. It remains to be seen if he can produce at this level over a full season. Soler - We've had his coming fortold since he floated over from Cuba. That he's had a few good starts is not earth-shattering news. Milledge - ditto. Sanchez - I didn't like the trade on principle, but Sanchez was really good for the Dodgers, so, again, not a stunner when he's really good here. This leaves Chavez and Valentin. Chavez has always been a good fielder but never hit well enough to hold a major-league job. He's been terrific this year as a 4th OFer. Still, his age and his speed makes his production in limited playing time more understandable. His talent is such that a number of organizations took a shot at giving him a full-time job. So, while his hitting has been a pleasant surprise, its not as HUGE a surprise or as CRITICAL a surprise (given that Chavez remains a bench player) as the play of ... ...Jose Valentin. He has been, by far, the biggest, most important and most pleasant surprise on the Mets, to date. As a 39-year old [on edit: 36] coming off a .190 season [on edit: .170], he was signed purely as a LH-ed pinch-hitter and general utility guy. His best days were clearly behind him, and he wasn't supposed to play very much. When he had an awful start of the season, Willie gave him a few starts, to get his bat going enough to keep his roster spot as a LHed PHer. Valentin then went on to become the Mets everyday 2bman. Huh? Yup. Surprising? Uh, yeah. Most folks thought his career was just about over, and it was a career that didn't include much playing time at 2b [on edit: in fact, none]. And he's gone on to show an excellent glove there. As a hitter, he's been hitting for a solid BA, which he's not done in his career, either. But its not just surprising. The critical importance of his performance to this team's success so far cannot be oversstated. 2b had been the Mets achilles heal for years now, and Matsui's production (like Hernandez's, earlier in the season) was a drag on the offense. Once Valentin took over, the Mets offense took off. And it hasn't stopped yet. He's played so well that nobody is even talking about the trade needed to fill our hole at 2b. Because we don't have one any longer. I can't believe anybody here has NOT been totally and happily surprised by Valentin, so far this season.

i hate the MFY, but i'm not self-destructive enough to root for the Phillies to beat them. Go, Evil Empire! Crush! Kill! Destroy!

she broke thru as a kid with her performance in THE PROFESSIONAL, which is a terrific movie. After another great performance in BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, the only things she's been even decent in are GARDEN STATE and V FOR VENDETTA. I do not hold the STAR WARS movies against her. Lucas' total inability to direct actors is self-evident (even in the original trilogy), and only the greatest actors in the world (Alec Guiness, James Earl Jones) could survive his awful dialogue. Even such excellent actors as Liam Neeson and Ewen McGregor barely rise above mediocrity. Portman is beautiful and talented but lacks the requisite skill to rise above Lucas' prattle (the same for the male manniquen who played Anniken). I haven't seen her in CLOSER yet, but i've got the dvd at home, waiting to be watched. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for a while longer, before consigning her to the "child actor who didn't make the transition" scrap heap.

excellent, underrated little movie. a character study of small-town guys frozen (literally and metaphorically) in their high school days, unable or unwilling to move on, and the women that try and pull them out of their stagnant lives. funny, poignant, with strong female characters to balance the male-bonding vulgarity. Hutton grounds the film with his centered performance. His relationship with Portman is moving and funny, without being creepy. And Hutton is certainly no Mickey Rourke, or any other 1-trick pony. His career went well beyond his Oscar at 18 for ORDINARY PEOPLE. In my view, he was one of the better American actors of the 1980s, giving solid lead performances in TAPS, DANIEL, and FALCON & THE SNOWMAN (one of the best movies of that era). Alan Rudolph's MADE IN HEAVEN, though commercially unsuccessful, is a very interesting little romantic fantasy, and TIME OF DESTINY, another indie film, was powerful and operatic in style. Hutton finished the decade with Q & A, one of sydney lumet's toughest cop dramas. Hutton didn't do any other interesting films until BEAUTIFUL GIRLS (96), except for the over-the-top Romero flick DARK HALF, so it was a comeback of sorts. His last notable performance was in SUNSHINE STATE (02), a John Sayles indie drama.

As Edgy notes, the studios realized early on that have-not heroes versus have-villains was a viable formula for success (hair color notwithstanding, since films were in black & white). I think the only thing worth noting about the 80s "phenomena" of the preppy blonde villain was that i think Valenti's historical point was accurate. Many different minority groups were sick of being stereotyped and villainized by Hollywood and, starting with the civil rights era of the 60s and 70s, activists were starting to make their feelings known. Filmmakers, especially those in the studio system, did not want to offend their audiences and so turned back to the basic "class conflict" model, and began using corporations (rather than specific countries or ethnic, racial, religious groups) as villains, and could use the "blonde preppie" villain with impugnity. John Hughes' whole ouevre (especially the films from that period) was based on class conflict.

"Warrrrrriors, come out to play-ayyyy!!" (clink, clink, clink)

Does the lead guy still strut around playing air guitar on a baseball bat? I love RAT CITY IN BLUE. you have a picture of that one?

] I spent the 70's reading comics with the radio off. I read my comics in the 70s with the radio ON. But that was the last period of time i listened to top 40... Elton John, America, Billy Joel, Meatloaf, Harry Chapin, Foreigner, Boston, Styx, Kansas, Yes, Jackson Browne. But I hated the inescapable disco sound on the radio of the era, and so i mostly listened to my older brother's LPs --- British rock (Beatles, Who, Pink FLoyd, Tull, Kinks), folk-ish, country-ish rock stuff (Simon & Garfunkel, CCR, Dylan & The Band, CSN, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Randy Newman), R & B (Motown, Ray Charles, early Steve Miller, Van Morrison), Springsteen and Elvis --- and dad's jazz vocalists (dinah washington, sarah vaughn, ella, tony bennett), and mom's showtunes. When i went to college (1978 - 1982) at SUNY Stony Brook, i stopped listening to radio almost entirely. The only new music i heard was from the LPs i hoisted from the Concerts Committee slush pile (they got promotional LPs from all the record labels). So I was listening to a variety of eclectic stuff that i never would have heard otherwise, because they weren't on mainstream radio stations... Laurie Anderson, T-Bone Burnett, George Winston, Kitaro, Pat Metheny, Robert Fripp, Renaissance, Brian Eno, Tom Waits The campus concert series exposed me to other stuff as well (Cyndi Lauper, Bangles, Go Gos, Stray Cats, Prenders, Talking Heads, King Crimson). And Zappa played there every year, attendance to which became a ritualized experience. There was also a local band called The Good Rats, which i liked alot. The more mainstream radio stuff of the period that i did like included Dire Straits, Peter Gabriel, Blondie, The Clash, Queen, The Police, Prince. and the Doors were in the midst of a big revival at that time. After college, i didn't like the haircut bands and silly brit-pop and euro-dance crap i heard everywhere (except for Eurythmics, which i liked alot), and "punk" (which I didn't like, but at least had a personality) had morphed into the pointlessly generic "new wave", so i reverted even more into exploring 60s rock and my other earlier faves. A few new acts have slipped under the radar over the years...Warren Zevon, Suzanne Vega, Tracey Chapman, Enya, some others. But i've managed to largely avoid the disco era, euro-dance music, heavy metal, the entire grunge era, alternative (to what?) bands, and rap/hip-hop. Instead, I've expanded my interest in earlier forms (classical, rag, jazz instrumental, celtic) and continue to mine the backlists of favorite artists. But at this point, i have no idea whats going on in the top-40 pop music field, and every time i hear the newest DJ-Killdabitch, or the next Britney Spears, or the next American Idol, i realize im not missing much.

well, i don't think he can maintain his CURRENT pace. This last start aside, he's been lights out this year. I'm just saying that if he continues to pitch well enough to be a good starting pitcher, he's likely to get there next year. And i think, actually, he should go back to Atlanta next year. That would be the appropriate way and place for him to get to 300.

i didn't really think he'd make it, but if he keeps up his turnaround, begun 2nd half last year, he'll make it by the end of next year. He's still signed with Mets thru next year, right? it still won't seem like a "mets acomplishment" though. glavine will always be too Braves-ey to be accorded any great Mets acclaim.

NEW YORK - Online movie rental service Netflix will screen 10 classics this August at locations made famous by the films. "Field of Dreams" will be shown at the Dyersville, Iowa, baseball field surrounded by cornstalks. "Jaws" will be played at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" will get a screening by the Cedar Lane Water Tower in Northbrook, Ill. The "Netflix Rolling Roadshow" is a coast-to-coast promotional tour beginning Aug. 2 at Coney Island in New York, where the 1979 gang film "The Warriors" will be shown. Dates for the various screenings range throughout the month. Other stops include Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., and the classic Western "The Searchers" at Gouldings Lodge in Monument Valley, Utah. Director Kevin Smith and cast members are expected to be on hand for a screening of "Clerks" at the Quick Stop in Leonardo, N.J. Other screenings will include activities related to the films, like raft floating in the ocean during "Jaws." Also to be screened on location is the Coen brothers' "Raising Arizona" at the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Ariz., "The Poseidon Adventure" on the H.M.S. Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., and Clint Eastwood's "Escape From Alcatraz" on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco.

As Emil the skuzzy sidekick said, in ROBOCOP: "I LIKE IT!"

that doesn't surprise me in the least. my mother often didn't remember my name, even while looking straight at me. She'd start with my oldest brother's name, then move to the middle brother's name, before reaching mine. Sometimes, my dad and the dog got their names called before me, too. Birthdays? she knew we had them, and what they were, but she didn't always match them up correctly. As for ages, she always thought we were younger. always.

Yancy Street Gang wrote: If you know anyone who was born on November 11, 2000, they'll be 11 on 11/11/11. Actually, there are a lot of 2000 dates that would lead to stuff like that. One each month. Me, I don't think I know anyone at all (yet, anyway) who was born in 2000. My niece was born in 1999, and my daughter in 2001. my son was born in 2000... 11/21/00 it will always be easy to remember how old he is... for as long as i can remember what year it is.