The Springfield Zephyrs Are No More.

I know this is predominantly a film Blog, but from 1990 to 1997 The Simpson's was one of the best shows in TV history. The first episode I remember loving was Homer Goes To Bat which aired February 20th 1992. In the episode Monty Burns decides to bring in some MLB ringers to help the Springfield Power Plant softball team beat the hated Shelbyville team. He brought in Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia, which were some of the best players of the time. Yesterday the last active player on the Springfield Zephyrs, Ken Griffey Jr, retired from professional Baseball after 22 years. This saddened me because it made me remember a simpler time for The Simpson's and Baseball. The Simpson's was starting to roll into one of my all-time favorite shows and Baseball wasn't marred by strikes and steroid abuse. Now 18 years later The Simpson's have more bad than good episodes and is a shadow of the genius it used to be. Baseball has gotten better the last few years, but I don't have the same passion I had for it when I was a senior in High School. Goodbye Zephyrs you will be missed.

The Players and why they couldn't play in the championship game.

Roger Clemens-(1984-2007) Thinks he's a chicken, but it's not the Hypnotist fault, he did a good job.
Wade Boggs-(1982-1999) Barney beats him up because of their disagreement on the best British Prime Ministers. Kip the Elder?
Steve Sax-(1981-1994) Arrested for every unsolved murder in NYC.
Ken Griffey Jr.-(1989-2010) Loved drinking Nerve Tonic so much he got Giganticism.
Ozzie Smith-(1978-1996) Fell into the Springfield Mystery Spot, and is still there.
Jose Canseco- (1985-2001) Too busy saving a woman's possessions from a fire. I call bullshit on this one, he was really doing blow in a ally way.
Don Mattingly-(1982-1995) Kicked off the team because of his sideburn problems.
Mike Scioscia- (1980-1992) Loved working at the power plant so much he caught the radiation bug.
Darryl Strawberry- (1983-1999) The only one who played, but was distraught because of Bart and Lisa's heckling. Darryl,Darryl,Darryl.

R.I.P. Dennis Hopper

Sad to see one of the great Hollywood Bad Boys die, but he did live longer than most would have thought. Breaking into the business in the mid '50's with television and bit parts in great films like Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Giant(1956) Hopper showed a lot of potential. He looked like the boy next door with a streak of rebellion and recklessness. Along with Brando, Newman, and James Dean, Hopper helped feed the fear of all WWII vets that the youth was going to ruin America. Dennis Hopper was one of the few that actually tried to change the way things were, and he proved it with his and Peter Fonda's ground breaking directorial debut Easy Rider(1969).
Like so many others Hopper spent the 70's drugged out of his mind and getting in trouble with the law and Hollywood executives. In 1986 The Dennis Hopper Resurgence occurred with two amazing performances, Blue Velvet ( My favorite) and Hoosiers, and from this he was allowed to direct and get choice roles again. In the 90's the elderly Hopper became one of the great crazy bad guys and shined in movies like Speed (1994). I thought his last good performance in a quality film was in Basquiat (1996) and I am saddened that he never had one more great role before he died. Everyone should drink a Pabst Blue Ribbon this week in his honor.

Other Notable Films
Gunfight At The OK Corral (57) His hometown
Cool Hand Luke (67)
True Grit (69)
The American Friend (77)
Apocalypse Now (79) Maybe my 2nd favorite performance
Rumble Fish (83)
My Science Project (85) That's Right! and I'm gonna skip Flashback because of this.
The Indian Runner (91)
Red Rock West (93)
True Romance (93) He's in the best scene in the entire picture.
Waterworld (95)
As a Director
The Last Movie (71)
Colors (88)
The Hot Spot (90)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The older that I get, I find it harder and harder to get myself to the theater. Out of fear that I will become one of those people that waits to see films largely through my Netflix que, I find myself looking for different films that might strike enough interest to actually see it outside of the realm of streaming. The problem lately is that rarely do I see a trailer that strikes up this kind of interest.

That being said, I fully realize that this time of year is not geared towards my personal taste. I went to Catholic school for eighteen years, and the Jesus story that has been adapted into every super hero movie over the past twenty years is old hat. Sure, I enjoyed Iron Man, but that doesn't mean I want to race out and see Robert Downey, Jr mugging it up in between fight scenes for Iron Man 2. Let me guess, he's going to have to make some sort of sacrifice towards the end, right? The summer tent pole movie is not made for me and that fact has become evidently clear.

When I did drag myself from the couch and the on-going NBA Playoffs (Go Celtics!), I chose to go another route and saw (gasp!) a foreign film. I chose said foreign film for a couple of reasons. I figured while the rest of the texting tweeners and obnoxious theater goers who have started this unnerving trend of convincing themselves that they are the only people in the theater to the point of having full blown conversations during the film were watching Iron Man 2, I could slip past them all and huddle into the smallest screening room possible and avoid potential conflicts. Let's face it, the same guy who is still amazed that Iron Man can fly is the same guy who won't watch foreign films because he, "don't like reading movies." (I would worry about offending said guy, but, seeing as he doesn't like to read, I'm sure the computer is more of a porn box and/or e-mail transporter than anything.) Second, I chose what was supposedly a violent and nerve-wracking film, and, kind of get a kick watching people walking out of movie theaters after witnessing something violent and/or nerve-wracking. (One of my greatest experiences being the two rows of people I watched leave during a screening of Pulp Fiction in Monroe, Louisiana. I think you can guess the scene.) Point being, the older I get, I am getting more and more disturbed by the modern day movie-goer.

So what could possibly drag me out of my house and be worthwhile? The film is called A Prophet and is one of the best gangster films that I have seen since Goodfellas. French filmmaker Jacques Audiard paints one of most realistic and gripping portraits of the modern day criminal, yet adding moments of the surreal to give a genre a much needed shot of adrenaline. Tahar Rahim (in an absolutely brilliant performance on the level of DeNiro's Johnny Boy in Mean Streets) plays a young Arab prisoner who over the course of the film is introduced to the various levels of the criminal underworld that run a Parisian prison. (These various levels strangely resembling how most major industries run.) Audiard is able to tell an almost Shakespearean level tragedy with a modern edge that keeps the viewer riveted throughout.

It seems that today's European filmmakers have gone the opposite route of the modern American cinema. While studio after studio invests in the fad of 3-D, most prominent European filmmakers have made a point to go more bare-bones. Embracing cinema verite techniques such as long tracking shots and use (sometimes overuse) of hand held to interject realism into every frame, enveloping the viewer into the world of the film. It was refreshing, in the sense of A Prophet, to see this realism brought to the crime drama genre that at it's best is classic filmmaking (The Godfather, Casino) and at it's worst overdone to the point of nausea (Suicide Kings, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead). No matter how many times you have seen the rise of a criminal to the peak of his powers, A Prophet is as engaging as the best of it's kind.

The most surprising part of my experience was the actual viewing experience. At first, watching retirees (the last of people who actually read the newspapers, therefore reading reviews, and therefore not minding when they have to read subtitles) and hipster film students (they are the ones who haven't showered or peeled off their skinny jeans in months who sit in the back to the chagrin of no one but themselves) slowly come in, I was entranced by a seemingly normal family of a father, mother, and daughter enter in last. I waited for them to sit by me and then prepared myself for a soon-to-infamous-razor-blade-scene I had read about before, pondering what expletive the father would yell out as they left the theater, aghast that such things could happen in a prison of all places. But as the scene played out, I was able to peek out of the corner of my own cringing to see that the seemingly normal family was still there after the scene had ended. Not only were they there, but they were just as enthralled with the movie as everyone else in the theater. The retirees, the film school cynic in the ripped Ramones shirt, even my wife (her movie suggestion that day was Letters to Juliet) were so wrapped up in the story (imagine that and we didn't even need glasses) that the entire audience was pinned to their seat. Putting kidneys and bladders in harm's way for the sake of seeing where this character and, more importantly, this movie was going to take us next. The experience alone might have been enough to get me off the couch and back to the theater one or two more times this summer. Even if one of those times is for McGruber.

See It! Hunger

I was really surprised at how good this film was and shocked that it didn't receive any Oscar buzz. I loved the first half of the film a lot more than the second half. I am not saying that the second half is bad, but I saw original storytelling and throwback film making leading up to the beginning of the Hunger Strike. Once the Hunger Strike begins the film becomes more of a document, but still very good. Every actor is suburb and Michael Fassbender is just flawless, especially with the scene of him and the priest. I loved the way you didn't know who you were following in the beginning and then BOOM it's Fassbender's film. Kudos to director (still hard to say it) Steve McQueen for making a powerful and somewhat objective movie. The film looks beautiful and disgusting at the same time and guess what people, he used a tripod. I love that he went away from the documentary look and just shot a straight forward and very powerful film. One of the best and most important films last year. Watch it on Criterion Blu-Ray, but not while you eat.

R.I.P. Corey Haim

If you grew up in the 80's then you have been kicked in the head the last year with 80's Iconic deaths. Corey Haim is a big one, not much of a surprise, but still big. The pretty one of the legendary "Two Corey's" probably should have died in 1991 when his career did. He would not have been regarded the same way River Phoenix, but still he gave us enough good times that I think he would have been known as a great "could have been" instead of the joke that he became. Five years when you are a kid seems like twenty years, and we got a good five out of Haim from 1984 to 1989. Here are my favorites from the non bitter Corey. 6) Secret Admirer- to be fair this a C. Thomas Howell movie, but Haim is great as his theiveing kid brother. 5) License To Drive- At the peak of their "Corey" Powers, this was my most anticipated Corey movie ever. It's not as easy to watch now, but still a lot of fun. The movie is a time capsule and it proved that Billy Ocean had no ceiling when it came to movie soundtracks. 4) Silver Bullet- Really underrated horror film from the 80's. Great cast, good story, and Haim as a wheelchair bound firework weilding Werewolf hunter. It's got Busey in it so you know it's good. 3) Lucas- "Throw it to Lucas!" Great coming of age drama about a nerd who rightfully gets made fun of for being different. This is easily Haim's best acting role of his career. Great before they were stars cast with Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, and Jeremy Piven. Sheen is so cool in this that he doesn't even fall for the slow clap at the end, he just bangs a locker. 2) The Lost Boys- Good Vampire film that could have been great if Richard Donner would have directed instead of Schumacher. It still really holds up today and is probaley Haim's best all around film. I still can't forgive the Rob Lowe poster and this film says "Michael" about as much as Lebowski says "Fuck". Besides that a solid film. 1) Dream A Little Dream- talk about guilty pleasure, this movie works on me the same way Saved By The Bell does. It's not Haim's best film, but if you throw all these DVD's in front of me and I can only pick one, it's definatly the Dream. Great cast, stupid dancing, Salenger's twins, Adler, McNamera, Robards, Body Switching!!!! I'm gonna bust! This film is so good it killed the Corey's forever. In later years Feldman became a bitter former child actor, while Haim became just a sad Casio playing has-been. I really felt sorry for the guy and what a sad, but expected, ending.
R.I.P. Peter Graves
Another big part of my childhood gone with the death of the great Captain Oveur from the groundbreaking Airplane movie's. Yes I also love the Sequel, Graves is also great as Price in Billy Wilder's classic Stalag 17.

Cody's 2009 Oscar Predictions

Welcome to my 2nd annual Oscar Predictions. 2009 was a little better than 2008, but not by much. This what I think will win, not what I want to win.

Best Picture- Avatar. This is a shame, but Avatar will win just for the effort and the industry needs this. I think Inglourious Basterds is by far the best film of the year and will come in second place which means nothing. Up and The Hurt Locker are the only really good films nominated this year. Ignored: It's already ridiculous the Academy went to 10 nominations this year and they still couldn't get it right. Moon, The Road, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are better than 8 of the nominations and I rather read stereo instructions for 2 hours than ever watch The Blind Side.

Best Actor- Jeff Bridges. This seems like a slam dunk win for Bridges, but I was happy to see Jeremy Renner nominated. Ignored: Rockwell for Moon and Viggo for The Road! Robbed, Robbed, Robbed! I tell ya! I also liked Matt Damon in The Informant!

Best Actress-Sandra Bullock. I think I just puked in my mouth a little. Looks like Erin Brockovich wins again, what a weak catagory. Ignored: Can't think of anything.

Best Supporting Actor- Christoph Waltz. Nothing touches this performance, nothing! Best performance of the year by far! Ignored: Anthony Mackie and Ralph Fiennes in The Hurt Locker. Michael Fassbender and about 4 others in Basterds.

Best Supporting Actress- Monique. Haven't seen this film, but she will win. I also thought Vera Farmiga was really good in Up In The Air. Ignored: Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent for Basterds.

Best Director- Quentin Tarantino. I hope the Acadamy relizes this catagory is for directing actors and not spectacles. Everyone is good in Basterds and no one is good in Avatar. I wouldn't be super pissed if Bigelow wins, but QT is the best director of the year. Ignored: Duncan Jones for Moon and John Hillcoat for The Road. I am still in shock that these films were shut out this year.

Original Screenplay-Inglourious Basterds. The one category that there is always justice, I think this is a sure thing. I was happy with Up being nominated. Ignored: MOON!

Adapted Screenplay-Precious. This should be a strong catagory this year, but nominating the wrong films made it weak. Ignored: Harry Potter, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Road. All of these films are better than the nominated ones.

Cinematography- The White Ribbon. You ever play roulette? Always bet on Black and White! This is yet another weak catagory because the wrong films were nominated. Christian Berger's photography is breath taking and easily the best looking film of the year, but if Lord Of The Rings can win then anything can win. Ignored: A Serious Man, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Where The Wild Things Are, shall I go on? 80% of the films relesed this year look better than Harry Potter and Avatar.

Editing-Avatar. If you win editing then it's a 90% chance you win Best Picture, but Basterds and Hurt Locker deserve it more. Ignored:Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, and The Road.

Foreign Film- White Ribbon. If you are nominated for another catagory you win.

Best Animated- Up. Same as above. Up and Mr. Fox were two of the best films this year.

Art Direction, Make Up and Costume Design-The Young Victoria. The title says it all. Ignored: Where The Wild Thigs Are.

Sound Editing,Mixing, and Visual Effects-Avatar. SLAM Freaking Dunk!

Score-Avatar. Ignored: Where The Wild Things Are, Moon, and Black Dynamite.

Song- The Weary Kind-Crazy Heart. T-Bone!

Documentary- Burma VJ. Food Inc was ok and I did enjoy The Most Dangerous Man, but Burma is what the Acadamy looks for in a Doc.

Doc.Short-Rabbit a la Berlin- It's about The Berlin Wall, That's Oscar gold next to Nazi films.

Short Film-Kavi. It takes place in India and after Slumdog these films are right behind Nazi's and The Berlin Wall.

Short Animated- A Matter Of Loaf and Death. Two Words, Wallace & Gromit!

Well thats it! Please send some feed back and let's hope I did better than last year.

2009 Oscar nominations: or "How I learned to stop talking about 'Avatar'"

Now that we’ve all seen ‘Avatar,’ I feel the need to get some ammount of closure on the collective doomsday opinion. So after much anticipation and a power outage prolonging this discussion, we start off with more “all tech and no story” discussions having finally taken it in. Then we move on to discuss the oscar nominations as they were announced a couple of weeks ago. What are we happy with? Surprised about? And what films got snubbed this year? Once the awards are given, we will continue this path of bringing justice to the world of cinema. We want to hear what you have to say about it so listen to the show and email us at doomsdaypodcast@gmail.com.

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Cody's Film Review: The White Ribbon

Palm D' or winner and most likely Best Foreign Film Oscar winner is a haunting and beautiful film. It's the story of strange events in a small german village on the brink of WWI. The occurrences take a background to the town folk, which is what makes this film work. All of the characters are fascinating, and it's interesting to know that their way of life is about to be shattered and nothing will be the same with the coming war. This is a 2.5 hour movie and it held my interest throughout, but the viewer is robbed by the absence of an ending. *SPOILER* The strange occurrences are caused by the children of the town, which is no surprise while watching the film. As soon as the school teacher solves the mystery the movie wraps up and is over within minutes. As a viewer everything leads up to this and there is no payoff and you leave the theater without any real closure. I think this really hurts the film and it's what keeps it from being a great film. This is the first Michael Haneke film I have seen, and have heard that open endings and pessimism is his style, which usually annoy me. The White Ribbon is supposed to be his most positive film, and the naturalistic style of his actors makes this film creepy and realistic. Christian Berger's cinematography is beautiful, and has the look of a 60's Bergman film. I was surprised that it was shot in color then digitally altered to B/W. This film has a lot of brutality and tenderness and the characters are what make this film worth seeing. White Ribbon is a mystery that lacks a mystery, and it hurts the film as a whole. 3.5 stars out of 5

When Cameron was in 3-D Land...

Okay, so it’s the biggest movie in the history of movies, and yet the only constant thing I continue to hear from everyone (aside from how visually stunning it is) is that “you have to see it in 3D.” Fine, since it’s not going to be in an IMAX theater forever I might as well give in. But on the same note only 10% of the people that I’ve talked to tell me that it’s simply a good movie…probably because, simply it is not. What disturbs me about a movie like “Avatar” (without having seen it) is the obvious attempt by the filmmakers to assemble several popular socio-political themes and wrap it up in the biggest, shiniest technologically advanced package that money can buy thereby taking every calculated “lowest common denominator” elements of such films that do nothing more than draw a crowd. Now, I’m not saying everyone who likes this movie is an idiot. And yes, I understand that this is a business and I don’t have a problem with that either. I’m simply saying that when the world takes off it’s 3D glasses, they might not like what they see after all.

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Jeff's Top 10 List of 2009

10. FUNNY PEOPLE

It's long, it's sort of a mess, but, I found it hilarious and poignant. I know a couple of stand up comedians, and from getting to know them, I can honestly say this film encompasses how much pain, anger and sadness that one must go through to be funny.

9. MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY

It's a "walking around the city" drama about the 24 hours following a one night stand. A very engaging, very funny, very thoughtful film.

8. MOON

An old school intelligent science fiction film that's not about action and gadgets, but rather about character and emotion. Also, my film wet dream: Sam Rockwall is in every single scene.

7. BIG FAN

A bleak and funny character study with fucking Patton Oswald giving one of the best performances of the year. It accomplishes a rare feat in it's final moments: completely unpredictable.

6. TWO LOVERS

This film reminds me of the great dramas from the 1970s (The Panic in Needle Park, Fat City). Small, simple, great acting. Hopefully Joaquin will snap out of it, he puts on a clinic in this film.

5. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

My guilty pleasure of the year. At times, it rings as true as any film about love and heart break. At other times, it's a cliche ridden as your typical studio film. But by any measure, it's the best romantic comedy of the decade.

4. GOODBYE SOLO

Ramin Bahrani is slowly becoming one of my favorite contemporary film directors. After MAN PUSH CART and CHOP SHOP, he once again tops himself, giving us two original characters you'll most likely never see in any other film.

3. THE HURT LOCKER

I wish I could reedit the final 5 minutes. Having said that, this is the best war movie I've seen in quite sometime. Actually, it's less about war and more about the men doing work. There really isn't a story here, there's no antagonist, just these three characters doing their job.

2. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

First things first: this is probably the most polarizing film of the year. I realize that a lot of people didn't like it, and that's fine, it's their loss. But, me, I was literally moved to tears. Hands down one of the most honest portrayals of childhood emotion I've seen on screen maybe ever.

1. A SERIOUS MAN

It's a work of comic genius. The most existential film from the Coens since BARTON FINK. It's about trying to make sense of life, as futile as that may be. Bottom line: the best ending to a film this year. Also, it's something I thought I'd never see from the Coens: a deeply personal film.

Honorable Mentions: Food, Inc., The Brothers Bloom, Up, The Girlfriend Experience, Up In The Air, The Hangover, Humpday, The Road, the first half of Antichrist.

Overrated: Inglorious Basterds, Precious, Drag Me To Hell, An Education, District 9

Worst films I saw this year: Away We Go, Gigantic, The Goods, Terminator Salvation

Haven't Seen Yet: Broken Embraces, A Single Man, Anvil!, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Brothers, Crazy Heart