To paraphrase the ad … there is only one Dane Cook. And thank God for that. But it seems there’s also only one Dane Cook TV spot. Does Fox really have to show it so often? It’s become more annoying than the repeated playing of “Cleveland Rocks.” How far will he go? If you ask me, he’s already gone far enough. I hope Cook didn’t make any spots to be played during the World Series. (On the other hand, I love, love, love those Wes Anderson–directed AT&T ads.)
Maybe I am getting old. As I was getting home this evening, one of my younger new neighbors was also coming in the front door. So being the nice guy that I am, I held the door open for him. He responded by saying, “Thank you, sir.” Ouch.
In the opening scene of Gone Baby Gone, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) talks about how the neighborhood you grow up in is what makes you who you are. And clearly, that pedigree is all over Ben Affleck’s film.
I’m a Brookline kind of guy, and I don’t know Dorchester from anything, but this movie just feels, looks, and sounds authentic. (And for the record, yes, I know Ben’s from Cambridge, not Dorchester. Close enough.)
From the accents (though they’re stronger at the beginning than at the end) to the shots of the streets and people of the neighborhood, there’s no mistaking that this is a set-in-Boston movie.
Hell, Ben even gives a special thanks to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz in the closing credits.
Gone tells the story of the search for a missing four-year-old Dorchester girl. Early on in the search, the girl’s frantic aunt hires Kenzie, an investigator who gets people to talk because he’s a local boy and knows the neighborhood and, most importantly, works independently of the police.
Kenzie works with his girlfriend, Angie (Michelle Monaghan), and the two initially feel like they are in over their heads because the cases they typically get involved with don’t ever involve the possibility of a dead body.
But they uncover some details the police weren’t paying attention to, and soon they’re also collaborating with two cops (including one played by Ed Harris) and their Chief (Morgan Freeman).
And that’s just part of it.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote the book Mystic River), and adapted by Affleck and Lehane with Aaron Stockard, it’s a layered plot with twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
Acting across the board is excellent, from Casey Affleck on down. Clearly, working with his brother suits Casey (though he was also good in The Assassination of Jesse James …).
But Ben’s made a compelling movie that is a great compliment to Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, with its working-class neighborhood setting and missing person plotline.
It’s pretty exciting that the movie turned out so well, because I think deep down Affleck’s a good, decent guy (and he certainly has great taste in women), and he was due for something to turn out so well. I mean, you could say the guy didn’t really stretch himself, given that this is such a Boston-centric film. But Gone Baby Gone more than that, more than Good Will Hunting too, and it’s a very impressive achievement.
I’m giving Gone Baby Gone an A–.
What a difference a week makes. Gagne learned how to pitch, JD Drew came through, Schilling had stuff, and we won! Woo hoo! Go Sox! But the best part? No “Cleveland Rocks” between innings! Bring on game seven!
Here’s a good way to ensure you’ll lose the ALCS: start selling championship t-shirts before you’ve actually won it. Go Sox!
Did you know the Head of the Charles was this weekend? Yeah, neither did I.
Didn’t this event used to be a big deal around these parts? (I said the same thing two years ago.) Hmmmmm …
Over the past two months, I’ve been in touch with my building management company a couple times about the increase, not just in noise, but in the lack of respect for neighbors in my building.
First there was the flute and violin playing next door, then there were the doors constantly being propped open, and then there were the parties two weekends in a row where college students would hang out right outside the front door of the building until early hours of the morning, talking loudly and smoking.
And it’s not that I have a problem with them smoking, per se, it’s just that the weather was nice those nights and my windows were open, and the smell of the cigarettes wafted up to my apartment.
And worse, on Columbus Day, I left the building and found all kinds of trash — cigarette butts, empty cigarette boxes, crushed cans of beer — in the flowerbeds outside the front door. Continue reading
The tagline for the movie Rendition is “What if someone you love … just disappeared?” Well, it seems apt to paraphrase it for this review: What if a movie starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Meryl Streep … one that dealt with a topical subject like torturing suspected terrorists … one where the two apparent leads apparently fell in love off-screen … suddenly disappeared? I mean, did you know the movie was being released this Friday? I haven’t seen a single ad, article, TV spot, or heard anything about it. It’s almost as if the New Line doesn’t even want you to know it exists.
Well, you should thank them. Rendition is actually a pretty awful movie. Reese’s Egyptian husband is taken into protective custody and shipped off to North Africa after he’s suspected of being involved in a terrorist bombing. Jake’s on the team that does the torturing, but apparently he’s conflicted about it (I say apparently because he doesn’t show any emotion at all). Streep is the apparently Southern CIA agent who orders and then covers up these torture interrogations, known as extraordinary rendition. (Oh, and I say apparently in Streep’s case because it took about half the movie for me to realize she was speaking with a twang in her voice. It’s definitely the worst accent she’s ever done.) Peter Sarsgaard plays an aide to a Senator (Alan Arkin); apparently, Sarsgaard’s character went to school with Reese’s. (Again, apparently because they don’t look at all like they’re the same age — in fact, Sarsgaard is five years older than Reese.) Oh, and did I mention that Reese’s character is pregnant and at one point when she goes into labor after a tense confrontation (you knew that would happen, didn’t you?), someone actually stops to ask her, “Are you alright?” And all this is without mentioning the film’s chronology of events, which is totally confusing and jumbled up just to make it seem more “artsy.” (And if you’re interested, Reese and Jake never once act together here. It’s like they’re in two different movies.)
Reese’s husband is the one being tortured, but really, it’s the moviegoers who are enduring the worst of it. I’ve definitely seen worse movies, but this one surely ranks as one of the worst of this year. No wonder you’re not hearing anything about it. I give Rendition a D.
It’s bad enough we gave up seven runs in one inning, had our third straight pitcher unable to pitch five full innings, and we’re now down 3 games to 1 in the ALCS. But did Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have to bring up — not once or twice but at least three times — that today, October 16, is the fourth anniversary of the fateful ALCS game seven against the Yankees? After winning the World Series in 2004, it’s safe to say that wound has healed (maybe not completely, but it no longer stings). It’s amazing that even when the Yankees aren’t even playing, the guys on Fox still show their loyalty.
As for me, I’m already thinking back to the good old days of spring training. I’m hopeful that Beckett will pick us up on Thursday and shift the momentum back our way. But at this point, it’s just not looking good. It’s not that I’m giving up; I’m not. But this isn’t 2004. I think the season may actually be coming to a close this time.
Sure, I could blast Dice-K for giving up four runs and six hits over just four-plus innings (again), but I’m feeling generous tonight for some reason. After all, his six strikeouts were impressive. Maybe it’s Post-Gagne Syndrome, but to me, even Dice-K didn’t look so bad tonight. (I’m not going to say he was good, because he wasn’t. But he didn’t suck.) And I could also lament the fact that we had plenty of scoring opportunities but couldn’t get anything in. But I won’t.
Yes, for a change I’m going to stay positive after a Sox and Dice-K loss. I’ll say it looks like we’re actually going to need six games to win this thing. We can do that. I hate that we lost the game tonight, but there’s still a lot more baseball to play and we’re not out of it yet. Go Sox!
Martin's Musings 