RIP to the Life of the Party

2016 just won’t go away. I really thought we suffered enough heartbreak for one year and 2017 was here to help us, but boy was I wrong. We already lost George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds THIS WEEK and now Robert Leo Hulseman, the man who created the party-starting disposable red solo cup, has passed away at age 84. His invention is a requirement at college keg parties, sporting events, beach parties, hanging at the house, or literally any other place. On top of creating the literally perfect cup, he was a philanthropist, a man of humor, a dancer, and had a gift for music.

So let’s not be in despair but lets celebrate this man the only way we know how: by raising up our red solo cups and blasting Toby Keith on repeat.

 

Raise one for this good man today. RIP #RedSoloCup https://t.co/ZFB6vnm3Ye https://t.co/txCo0BRl06

— Toby Keith (@TobyKeithMusic) December 29, 2016

Film Review : Manchester by the Sea

     Manchester by the Sea stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler and Lucas Hedges and is the story of a man whose brother passes away and suddenly finds himself facing guardianship of his nephew. Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, this is an emotionally powerful film but also extremely funny and beautifully shot.

Casey Affleck has never been better than he is here as Lee Chandler, an incredibly broken man. Affleck will no question be getting  himself an Oscar nomination as this may just be the best he has ever been. There are times in this film where he doesn’t say much but says everything just by the look on his face and his mannerisms. I never once felt as if this performance by him jumped off the screen in a way that screamed look at me I’m an actor and want an Oscar.  His was so grounded and subdued it felt like I was watching a real person. Michelle Williams also delivered a tremendous performance here as Lee’s wife Randi.  She doesn’t have that much screen time, maybe about 20 minutes total, but when she’s on she is excellent. There is a scene toward the end of the movie between her and Lee that will stick with him for a very long time it’s that powerful and devastating where both actors knock it out of the park.

Maybe my favorite part of the film though is the writing and directing by Kenneth Lonerman. For as heavy as this movie is, it is really funny. The interactions between Lee and his nephew (Lucas Hedges) are laugh out loud funny at times. The laughs were well placed throughout and gives the viewer a nice chance to breathe at points in the film since the rest is so tense and pretty sad.  Often times scenes were filmed in a way that felt we were eavesdropping on these conversations and just observing what was going on. The film also used flashbacks in a way I haven’t really seen in a film. It doesn’t make it obvious that we are viewing the past and present and took me a few minutes to catch on, but I think that speaks to the quality of the directing by Lonerman to not hold the viewers hand throughout and trust they will catch on as well.

The only negative I can really think of was that there were times it felt as if the pacing was off just a bit and felt like it dragged at times in the first hour. However, when the film delivers the payoffs to the certain moments it spends so much time building up to, they pay off in a huge way which was very satisfying to me and I think will be to a lot of viewers if you can be patient. For example, the conversation between Lee and Randi towards the end of the film and the flashback to when you find out what exactly happened in Lee’s life to make him the way that he is are both so emotionally charged because of the groundwork laid done to these characters and the story as a whole.

Overall, I loved this film. The performances, writing, and directed were all incredible and this will easily be major player, especially Affleck, come awards season. As I said alluded to above, I would not classify this as an easy watch, far from it. People will definitely be turned off by the pacing and length but if you go into it with patience and an open mind and just follow these characters along I think you will love it just as much as I did.

Grade – 9/10

 

TV Talk: The OA

Half of you have no idea what “The OA” is and the other half can’t stop talking about it and that’s all because of Netflix’s marketing strategy. They dropped a surprise trailer for their new 8 episode original series “The OA” and at the same time said they’re going to launch it five days later. Prior to dropping the trailer, they had a bunch of cryptic tweets regarding the series, which was a very unique way to advertise. It’s hard to talk about this series without spoilers, so I’m only going to give an overview.

The cast doesn’t have crazy star power but Brit Marling serves as both writer and the star and let me tell you she is a phenomenal talent. If you check her resume, she has written and acted in several great indie movies (“Another Earth” written and starred in by Marling is a solid film that won many film festival and indie awards and actually is filmed in West Haven, CT in many locations including West Haven High School). Marling is definitely someone who’s a star in the making. The cast also includes Emory Cohen (Brooklyn, The Place Beyond the Pines) who’s also magnetic in any scene he’s in and another star in the making. There are other familiar faces who are superb in their roles such as: Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter), Scott Wilson (Hershel from The Walking Dead), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis from The Office), and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, The Night Of, Nightcrawler). It’s very easy to form emotional attachments to all the characters which is a big time plus for me.

First of all let me just say this: this show isn’t for everyone. I’m a fan of science fiction and weird TV/movies so I really enjoyed this but if you like to take a more grounded approach to your television this might not be the show for you. After reading some reviews, I see people either love it or hate it, leaving very little grey area. Comparasons are being drawn obviously to Stranger Things, due to the genre but I think it more closely resembles programs like “Westworld” “The Leftovers” “Life of Pi” and “Donnie Darko”. If you’re looking for something to take up your time this weekend, this is an easy show to binge watch. I sat down with my mom for about 3 days and finished all 8 episodes. The binging nature of Netflix really helps this show as I believe it wouldn’t work in a traditional weekly set up.

Overall, I give it my stamp of approval but there are some flaws that I was willing to overlook that others may not. It covers crazy topics and is one of those shows that leaves you with more questions than answers as you go along (similar to Lost in that respect). If you Reddit “The OA” you’ll be filled with fan theories and people analyzing every tiny detail. It’s almost too deep and scy-fy for it’s own good and there are many “cringe-worthy/goofy” scenes that leave the viewer questioning what’s actually going on. Also, it has one of those endings that leaves the viewer to decide what actually happened, similar to that of “The Sopranos”.

“The OA” walks a tight rope of equal parts brilliant/equal parts insane, borderline very realistic/borderline absolutely fake and fantastical, so it’s up to the particular viewer to decide their opinion. Some may not be able to get past the goofy moments but if you can, I believe it’s a solid 8 hours of television that can open up your eyes to what lies beyond the traditionally accepted or the confines of visible reality. This is already one of the most divisive shows of the year, practically splitting audiences in half, so I would love to hear your thoughts.

RATING: 8.2/10

Morality Clause?

Rule 5 in the process of electing players to the Baseball Hall of Fame states that, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” I’m not sure when the “Morality Clause” became a thing but it seems to me like the Baseball Writers Association of America are letting their egos grow a little too big.

While I understand this rule when it applies to “steroid era” players such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, I certainly don’t understand it when it applies to someone such as Curt Schilling. These writers shouldn’t be the ones to decide if someone isn’t worthy of the Hall of Fame just because they don’t like what they say on Twitter. Players such as Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth were among the best to ever play the game but they didn’t exactly fall under the “morality clause”. Ty Cobb was a bigot, had frequent violent outbursts both on and off the field, and once stated that he may have killed a drifter. Babe Ruth was a womanizer, drinker, and once got up on top of the dugout to scream at the crowd.

Schilling has never cheated during his playing career and certainly shouldn’t be hurt because of someone’s negative opinion against him. Now I’m not defending or attacking Schilling’s character, I’m just defending the numbers he put up during his career, which I think are Hall of Fame worthy. The numbers should be what’s important.

Curt Schilling had a 20 year career where he posted a 3.46 ERA, had 216 wins, and is 15th on the all time strikeout list with 3116 (everyone else in the top 15 are in the Hall of Fame). Schilling was a six-time All-Star and finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting four times. Although his win total and lack of Cy Young Awards hurt his case, he’s arguably the best big game pitcher of his era, winning three World Series Championships and was named Co-MVP of the 2001 World Series. His playoff reputation speaks for itself, in 133.1 innings pitched, he’s 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA and 120 strike outs.

His bloody sock is in the Hall but he’s not.