Baby, I Don't Care

Midnight in Paris

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:25:30 -0400

At first pitch, Midnight in Paris must have seemed like a throwaway idea, a one page doodle conceived for the “Shouts and Murmurs” section of The New Yorker. A Hollywood screenwriter…

Moss or Owens: The Freakish Headcase Debate

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:14:13 -0500

Moss or Owens: The Freakish Headcase Debate:

Jerry Rice just entered the Hall of Fame. By the virtue of the fact that wide receiver is one of the flashiest and least physically punishing positions in football, his jaw-dropping…

Black Narcissus

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:33:50 -0400

Black Narcissus:

Akira Kurosawa and Howard Hughes have at least one thing in common; they both employed meteorologists full-time on feature productions to tell them when the perfect clouds were…

#8: Nice Guys Finished

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:04:54 -0400

#8: Nice Guys Finished:

Last year, the Minnesota Vikings were not only the most talented team in football, they were also the best on the field. Change two plays or less in the championship game, and the Violet…

#9: Tunatown

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:39:06 -0400

#9: Tunatown:

When Bill Parcells took over the Miami Dolphins, with former Cowboys offensive line coach Tony Sparano as a figurehead, most of us assumed we had not heard the last from the Fins. What we…

The Vault #60: Judge Priest

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:50:44 -0400

The Vault #60: Judge Priest:

There is no director that represents the oft-referenced idea of “America” as well as John Ford. That is not to say that the man was a zealot or xenophobe, marching pre-packaged messages…

Those were the days: Ocho gets leveled.

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:31:04 -0400

Those were the days: Ocho gets leveled.

#10: The Defense Rests

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:03:20 -0400

#10: The Defense Rests:

There may have never been a team as blessed as last year’s New Orleans Saints. From Robert Meachem snatching an interception out of a defensive back’s hands and taking it in for the score…

Those Were the Times: Lust, Caution

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:34:34 -0400

Those Were the Times: Lust, Caution:

The specific details of another time and place are usually enough to fill a book, let alone a film. Throwing a melodrama on top usually renders the costumes a convenient layer of…

#11: 'Til Death Do Us Part

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:20:30 -0400

#11: 'Til Death Do Us Part:

Most teams are in search of their identity, of their leader, of the whip-smart coach who will take them to the promised land. Some, like the Saints, Ravens and Cowboys, seem to be in the…

Half-Price Pulp

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:55:22 -0400

Half-Price Pulp:

Before the censors let loose the grindhouse and blood washed away any sense of decency the B-movie ever held itself to, there were even smaller, grittier pieces of fiction, two-act works of armchair…

Worn-Out Genre + Will Ferrell + Gags Beaten to Death = Funny? The Other Guys

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:04:37 -0400

Worn-Out Genre + Will Ferrell + Gags Beaten to Death = Funny? The Other Guys:

Adam Sandler was one of Saturday Night Live’s most original comic talents - as a result, he is barely memorable as a sketch performer. His most enduring material from that show comes…

#12: I Want Winners

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:23:24 -0400

#12: I Want Winners:

Doesn’t every coach want people that want to win? Furthermore, shouldn’t ever football player want to win? More wins means more money, but it can also mean more pain and more sacrifice….

The Vault #59: The Hit

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:36:45 -0400

The Vault #59: The Hit:

The mythologized gangsters are never racketeers, bookmakers or tax evaders - such crimes, though worthy of extended prison sentences, are not fodder for melodrama. These must be doomed…

#13: Lights Out

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:10:54 -0400

#13: Lights Out:

When LaDainian Tomlinson became the best non-QB player in football, a window opened for the San Diego Chargers. Rising teams and new contenders are always judged in part on their “window”…

What We Talk About When We Talk About Favre

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:10:54 -0400

What We Talk About When We Talk About Favre:

“3 time NFL mvp reportedly has doctor’s appointment next week.”

The piece Will Leitch wrote about The Decision applies here. There’s an illusion at play 100% of the time…

Video

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:07:50 -0400

The Vault #58: Scarface

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:08:57 -0400

The Vault #58: Scarface:

The immediate effect of sound being introduced into movies was the revolution of genre filmmaking. Epic adventures and romances, once visual feasts, were foregone for talky…

The Hills: Winter's Bone

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:32:48 -0400

The Hills: Winter's Bone:

The nature of the film industry has relegated rural America to a symbolic representation of itself. Coastal elites retire to the back country only to make some larger political point…

#17: Steel Reserves

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:10:26 -0400

#17: Steel Reserves:

Pittsburgh began their long slide to the middle of the league last season. With Troy Polamalu sidelined, the black and gold lost to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland, a slide that pushed…