Patrick did especially well this past week at the Brickyard, finishing 18th. Hey, a top 20 finish is a great thing! AND that puts him in 36th position overall. One more move up and he doesn't have to qualify for races anymore, he's automatically in.
That of course assumes the races won't go to caution every ten laps for new tires.
In other racing news, I have to say I get less impressed with Danica Patrick's behavior almost every week. Her little spat with Milka Duno would have been funnier had Milka slugged her one, but at least Milka got to throw a towel.
I'm not really sure if Danica gets a pass because she's female or not. Male drivers confront each other all the time. Is she trying too hard to be one of the guys, feeling she can confront anybody who does her wrong? Does she think being female gives her a pass on jumping on the guys because she knows they really can't jump back at her? Because frankly, the more I hear of stuff like this, I think she's behaving like a brat. She has to know everybody's eyes are on her, and that includes all those little girls who look up to her.
She's not the friendliest person, so it appears - she comes off as a bit of a cold fish. Fine. I get that she's had a lot of sexism to deal with. And she's talented, for sure. But I can say that if she had Sarah Fisher's personality, or Sarah had her driving skills/ride, the tables would sure be turned and Sarah would be the most popular driver in the series, along the league of Helio Castroneves. Danica is hurting her own popularity by appearing standoffish.
And she's of course under lots of pressure. I get that too. But she has to learn to behave herself in the public eye with the panache of Lyn St. James or Dale Earnhardt Jr and remember that storming down pit road to snap at somebody just makes her look like a little kid who can't handle the pressure.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Movie Review: The Good Shepherd
Pay attention. Brush up on your history. Take notes. Whatever you have to do to unravel this complicated plot, do it.
I like movies that don't pander to the lowest common denominator in the audience, and I like having to pay attention. And this movie definitely requires that level of concentration. With a running time of nearly three hours, flashbacks and historical references, it's difficult to follow what's going on without stopping the DVD and discussing the plot with your friends. You'll even want to dig out Wikipedia to get a historical brush up on WWII, Bay of Pigs, Cuba and other historical happenings that figure prominently into the plot.
Matt Damon stars as Edward Wilson. We see him performing in 'HMS Pinafore' before being inducted into Yale's Skull and Bones society, where he meets up with the slightly malevolent Richard Hayes (Lee Pace from TV's Pushing Daisies). They'll run into each other several times
over the next few years, as Wilson is pushed into a loveless marriage, loses the woman he does love, and ends up as a spy overseas. The whole movie is based on his rise into the CIA and how his duty to his country and the path he seems to have fallen into affect his life, his decisions and ultimately his happiness.
Damon plays this role without color. I suppose that's the point, but eventually you want to see him emote, show something, do anything. When he does unleash his giant boyish smile, it seems far too warm for the character. He's good at what he does, of course, but it's hard to feel anything for Edward, since he doesn't seem to feel anything for anyone else.
Angelina Jolie plays Clover (which, if you ask me, is a cow's name) the sister of a friend, and she comes on to Edward with very little subtlety. But I'm still not sure if we're supposed to see her as fast, too intrigued by Edward to be careful, or merely naive and reckless. You don't, after all, cast Jolie to be a virginal prude. That said, Jolie is a better actress than the material or her sex-bomb reputation have allowed her. But she doesn't have a lot to work with here. Despite that, she seems to age better than many actresses her actual chronological age do, and she wears the years with a heavy weariness that Damon's aging character can't match.
The cast is stellar - Michael Gambon, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, John Sessions and many more. That alone would make the movie interesting, if you could only figure out how they're all connected to Edward and the plot. That takes some real doing. It's nice to see all those familiar faces (although I didn't recognize Crudup at all) but getting their actual role in the film is easier said than done with many of them, especially since Edward meets up with some of them both socially and professionally. Hayes lurks, for example, in both realms, and it isn't until the end that you know for sure where he stands.
Among other notable characters, Tammy Blanchard plays Laura, Edwards' first love who has severe hearing loss. She drifts into and out of the story over the years, and Edward pines for her, we suppose, but he doesn't really show it much. Instead, we see time and time again how his job is the ultimate focal point of his life - less so, his family and friends, because he can no longer trust anyone. He doesn't trust women or treat any of them particularly well, and his fellow Skull-and-Bones friends seem not to affect him in any way, even when he's in his early years and supposed to be good friends with these men. In fact, he shows the most life while acting in drag, whatever that's supposed to tell us. When he's with Blanchard, the color comes from her; she blossoms under his affections.
And Tommy Nelson and Eddie Redmayne play Edward Jr. as both a boy and a young man, and both roles require him to be something of an odd duck. Both actors do well with that role; in particular young Tommy is actually rather creepy as he plays Edward Junior, that awkwardness due to his father's neglect.
This movie is at least 45 minutes too long. Some subplots could be excised; others take far too long to pay off; long before then I was fidgeting on the sofa, sleepy but wanting to figure out how it all ties together. When it was over, it was hard to say if I liked it. I'm still not really sure. I think it could have been brilliant, had somebody told Director De Niro that the story is bloated and hard to follow.
Animals: None that I recall.
Overall: An interesting complex plot becomes too complex, with far too many characters and threads to come to a conclusion that answers questions before it wears out the viewer. Because of the stellar cast and the intelligence the film assumes from the viewer, I give it three roses out of five.
I like movies that don't pander to the lowest common denominator in the audience, and I like having to pay attention. And this movie definitely requires that level of concentration. With a running time of nearly three hours, flashbacks and historical references, it's difficult to follow what's going on without stopping the DVD and discussing the plot with your friends. You'll even want to dig out Wikipedia to get a historical brush up on WWII, Bay of Pigs, Cuba and other historical happenings that figure prominently into the plot.
Matt Damon stars as Edward Wilson. We see him performing in 'HMS Pinafore' before being inducted into Yale's Skull and Bones society, where he meets up with the slightly malevolent Richard Hayes (Lee Pace from TV's Pushing Daisies). They'll run into each other several times
over the next few years, as Wilson is pushed into a loveless marriage, loses the woman he does love, and ends up as a spy overseas. The whole movie is based on his rise into the CIA and how his duty to his country and the path he seems to have fallen into affect his life, his decisions and ultimately his happiness.
Damon plays this role without color. I suppose that's the point, but eventually you want to see him emote, show something, do anything. When he does unleash his giant boyish smile, it seems far too warm for the character. He's good at what he does, of course, but it's hard to feel anything for Edward, since he doesn't seem to feel anything for anyone else.
Angelina Jolie plays Clover (which, if you ask me, is a cow's name) the sister of a friend, and she comes on to Edward with very little subtlety. But I'm still not sure if we're supposed to see her as fast, too intrigued by Edward to be careful, or merely naive and reckless. You don't, after all, cast Jolie to be a virginal prude. That said, Jolie is a better actress than the material or her sex-bomb reputation have allowed her. But she doesn't have a lot to work with here. Despite that, she seems to age better than many actresses her actual chronological age do, and she wears the years with a heavy weariness that Damon's aging character can't match.
The cast is stellar - Michael Gambon, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, John Sessions and many more. That alone would make the movie interesting, if you could only figure out how they're all connected to Edward and the plot. That takes some real doing. It's nice to see all those familiar faces (although I didn't recognize Crudup at all) but getting their actual role in the film is easier said than done with many of them, especially since Edward meets up with some of them both socially and professionally. Hayes lurks, for example, in both realms, and it isn't until the end that you know for sure where he stands.
Among other notable characters, Tammy Blanchard plays Laura, Edwards' first love who has severe hearing loss. She drifts into and out of the story over the years, and Edward pines for her, we suppose, but he doesn't really show it much. Instead, we see time and time again how his job is the ultimate focal point of his life - less so, his family and friends, because he can no longer trust anyone. He doesn't trust women or treat any of them particularly well, and his fellow Skull-and-Bones friends seem not to affect him in any way, even when he's in his early years and supposed to be good friends with these men. In fact, he shows the most life while acting in drag, whatever that's supposed to tell us. When he's with Blanchard, the color comes from her; she blossoms under his affections.
And Tommy Nelson and Eddie Redmayne play Edward Jr. as both a boy and a young man, and both roles require him to be something of an odd duck. Both actors do well with that role; in particular young Tommy is actually rather creepy as he plays Edward Junior, that awkwardness due to his father's neglect.
This movie is at least 45 minutes too long. Some subplots could be excised; others take far too long to pay off; long before then I was fidgeting on the sofa, sleepy but wanting to figure out how it all ties together. When it was over, it was hard to say if I liked it. I'm still not really sure. I think it could have been brilliant, had somebody told Director De Niro that the story is bloated and hard to follow.
Animals: None that I recall.
Overall: An interesting complex plot becomes too complex, with far too many characters and threads to come to a conclusion that answers questions before it wears out the viewer. Because of the stellar cast and the intelligence the film assumes from the viewer, I give it three roses out of five.
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