When a franchise becomes over-extended, it becomes a parody of itself. It reflects incredibly poorly upon Quantum of Solace that the most memorable moment of the film is a reference to an earlier James Bond story: like Auric Goldfinger covered Jill Masterson in gold, Dominic Greene covered another one of Bond’s failed loves with crude. (Similar to how Halle Barry’s emergence from the ocean is more a nod to Ursula Andress and Doctor No than a part of Die Another Day.) The visual is striking because of the earlier scene that it parodies; Agent Fields appeared far too briefly for …
Fun
First concert in a while Tuesday night. Saw The Hold Steady at the Phoenx. Last time that I was at that club, Beck was playing and people were worried about Y2K. Last time that I was at a show, Oasis were touring Don’t Believe the Truth at the Molson Amphitheatre. It was more or less enjoyable, a reminder to do so more often. It was similar to seeing Birds of Wales at the Mod Club, another band suggested by a friend. The Hold Steady turned out to be a band that I like (of course, any rock band that plays …
Synecdoche, New York
“The visible world is no longer a reality and the unseen world no longer a dream.” – W.B. YeatsSynecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and directed by Charlie Kaufman opened to mixed reviews this past weekend. I thought it was a good film. Kaufman’s directorial debut delves into death, divorce, and decay. The protagonist, Caden Cotard, a struggling director in Schenectady, New York reads the obituaries of different friends in the newspaper as September turns into November in a single morning. Eventually, Caden’s wife leaves him and he becomes paranoid about his health. He receives an apparently unlimited grant …
The Best and Brightest
“Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it,” according to George Santayana. According to David Halberstam’s book, The Best and the Brightest – which exposes how the Kennedy and Johnson cabinets of the 1960s handled Vietnam – it may not be so simple. John F. Kennedy’s administration had lofty goals: some of the most educated men in the country sought to redefine the role of the United States on the world stage. Some sought to curtail the arms race, others sought to establish a new, modern “Great Society” back home. Despite their best intentions and their amazingly …
The Audacity of Whatever
Now that Barack Obama has finally become President of the United States, he must put his plans into motions. Grand ideals must transform into nuts and bolts, a campaign of change into possibly a deficit budget. Hyperbole has become acceptable discourse in politics. Rather than debate the details of Stéphane Dion’s carbon tax and how it would be implemented, Stephen Harper called exaggerated the policy and called Dion another tax and spend Liberal (if a government is going to tax, it should be a consumption tax). Rather than introduce his own policies, John McCain tossed key words like Socialist at …
What Just Happened?
“Indeed,” remarked the cinema patrons as they left Robert DeNiro’s latest film What Just Happened? “Was that a comedy or a drama?” said one. “I have no clue,” replied another. “Just keep walking,” urged a third. Did a comedy happen? Or a drama? I was hoping that an absurd series of events would parody Hollywood like Get Shorty. Or maybe a disaffected protagonist grinding his way through a series of soulless setbacks, like directory Barry Levinson’s T.V. series Homicide and Oz. If not that, then two leading actors bantering back and forth and satirizing their field, like another Levinson-DeNiro collaboration …
Basketball Relativism
Seeking to avoid the tendency to move players around like Stratego pieces but still recognizing that the basketball season is like a game of Labyrinth. Balancing the motivation of a group of student-athletes towards meaningful goals while encouraging them when they falter. Generating elite performance from the team on the court and inspiring personal improvement away from it. Coaching becomes much more challenging than diagramming a sideout play down two with two seconds left on the clock. As a moderate Platonist, I try to avoid moral relativism. I think that there are standards of success, of good performance, that shouldn’t …
Player Development, Part I
Today, Ettore Messina held a clinic at the University of Toronto regarding the development of the young post player. I thought that it was a very insightful presentation and included some technical elements which are not usually covered in North American coaching literature. First of all, Messina spoke of developing trust with players. I agree with his point that players will respect you once you prove that you can help them improve. To me, it’s highly logical and creates relationships based on respect, not the one-sided interactions that have become prevalent in schools and teams in North America. As I …
Body of Lies
Body of Lies is unfortunately less than the sum of its parts. Fortunately, it’s made with a number of top quality parts (Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio) so it’s still a very entertaining story. Crowe has worked with director Scott in previous films such as American Gangster and Gladiator and they always do well together. Body of Lies is much closer in quality, scale, and significance to the more recent American Gangster than the Academy Award winning Gladiator. It is still a film that is worth seeing. I am tired of films with taglines such as “Trust No …
Relationships and Individuals
Coaching is often described as relationship building, bridging people together. When two random squads play the team with superior talent, the players most physically and mentally ready to play, will win. Sometimes, the talent comes pre-packaged, hence the importance of recruiting and motivation in short-term scenarios. When a coach possesses the luxury of time, what attributes become necessary? Does relationship-building remain paramount? When is it necessary to know the game and develop talent? Where do high standards fit in? A sophisticated project requires a sophisticated approach. The Canadian National Soccer Team faces turmoil because certain key players were dismissed for …
Burnt After Reading
Several individuals counseled me to avoid the Coen Brothers’ film Burn After Reading on account of poor reviews but I found that these opinions strengthened my resolve. After viewing the black comedy, I did not find myself to be disappointed, nor did the rest of the audience at the Varsity Cinemas. The film lacks the drama and tension of “No Country for Old Men” but provides numerous laughs, thanks to an absurd screenplay and ridiculous performances. Borrowing (or perhaps “adapting) shocking scenes from Pulp Fiction and Fargo, Burn After Reading is fairly violent. I found J.K. Simmons deadpan character to …
The Dark Knight and The Graduate
Over the weekend I watched two films, The Dark Knight in IMAX and The Graduate on DVD. Directors Christopher Nolan and Mike Nichols created two excellent films but only one of the two is truly an all-time great (despite what IMDB’s All-Time Ratings indicate at the moment). On the six-storey IMAX screen, The Dark Knight is spectacular. Panoramic shots are crystal clear and one can appreciate the scale of Gotham City. The monologues and dialogues are even more intense; the size of the presentation does great justice to the performances of Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart. But the …
Four Bond Films
I decided to compare a few of the early James Bond stories that I have been reading and watching lately. Casino Royale Book (1953): This is an excellent detective novel. Ian Fleming also showcases his writing for the first time and acquits himself admirably. The style is concise and memorable; there are some nods to the dialogue in the most recent film adaptation. Unlike the action-themed film, the novel focuses more on the Baccarat game between James Bond and Le Chiffre (it’s disappointing that the film chose to focus the gambling around Texas Hold-em rather than Bond’s traditional game of …
Medium=Message
If the medium is the message, where does Barack Obama’s announcement of Joe Biden as his running mate fit in? First leaked by CNN and announced shortly afterwards via text message and on the Internet at 3:00am, the message employed an entirely different medium than previous vice-presidential picks. Does Obama wish to say that he is the candidate of change because he used a new format or that his ticket now possesses stability and foreign policy experience because of Biden’s profile? Marshall McLuhan meant to say that fact that people in the 1960s had begun watching television in mass numbers, …
Silver and Bronze
During the 2008 Olympics, China has placed a premium on gold medals. To some degree, the philosophy suggests that if the medal isn’t gold it doesn’t matter. Like Johan Bruyneel said in the title of his new book “We Might as Well Win.” Many times, falling just short – pulling up instead of driving for the line, missing the critical foul shot – is an example of a lack of focus. That said, there are other occasions when a podium position is still an example of excellent mental training. During Tuesday’s triathlon, Simon Whitfield had been dropped by the lead …
The Path to Olympic Success
Donovan Bailey said that while athletes participating in the 100m dash share genetics and other physical characteristics, it’s entirely mental when they arrive in the stadium for the final heat. Swimmers and other athletes would be remiss not to take the 1996 Olympic Champion’s advice. Self-confidence, technique, overcoming fear (of success and failure) are among the essential skills possessed by an Olympic Champion. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in a single Olympics. He is an amazing athlete. But Phelps also performs consistently and never wavers from his game plan. He’d only have six medals if the competition were as …