Star Trek not only successful reboots the franchise but is the first film to feature a Beastie Boys song in the 23rd century. The film is visually spectacular thanks to the direction of J.J. Abrams, which features innovative camera angles and a brisk pace. The film also re-introduces the primary characters, combining familiar traits with new wrinkles well enough to satisfy most fans. (I had heard that Christopher Pine based his portrayal of James T. Kirk on Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones and Han Solo and was disappointed when he did not take advantage when Spock perfectly set him up for …
Malcolm Gladwell and Full-Court Pressure
A friend asked me to comment on this article, which was published by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker. First of all, Vivek Ranadivé is incredibly self-centered and should reevaluate why he wants to coach twelve-year-old girls. This statement does not absolve his counterparts of their boorish, loutish, and short-tempered behaviour but he is coaching at the wrong level. Usually, that particular age group restricts full-court pressure because of the destructive effects on skill development. If he had limited practice time, Randivé should have focused on fundamental skills. Obviously full-court pressure would work; most teenagers make horrendous decisions under any …
Tulpan
On Saturday evening, I screened the Kazak film Tulpan, which had received a favourable review in the Friday edition of The Globe and Mail. The compliments proved merited and the film was enjoyable, albeit occasionally tedious. That tedium is part of the routine of nomadic sheep herders which comprises the rhythm of the film. Tulpan, the title character, is the only young woman in a three yurt village. She is not shown on-screen, except for a brief moment as she peers through curtains in the yurt. Asa, the protagonist, is the young man snubbed because of his big ears. After …
Hungry for More
Hunger – a film recreation of the hunger strike by I.R.A. leader, British M.P., and inmate of the Maze Prison in Belfast Bobby Sands – is mostly very good. It is a gritty recreation of the “Troubles” between the United Kingdom and Irish Republicans. The cast successfully portrays the intense emotions of Irish prisoners on a “blanket and no-wash” protest because they are seeking political status. When Sands and other inmates seek to up the ante with a hunger strike, the actors give the audience a real sense of the determination required to sacrifice oneself for a cause. However, major …
Gomorrah
This Italian film with English subtitles relies on the contrast between innocent youth and the guilty actions of the members of the Camorra crime syndicate in the region of Campania to make its dramatic point. The insidious organization, supposedly larger than the Cosa Nostra, recruits young people to fill its ranks, which deplete rapidly due to an enormous number of homicides. Two teenaged friends realize that they must become mortal enemies because one of them joined a separatist faction. Two dim-witted young men go from playing Scarface to stealing weapons. A grocery delivery boy uses his position to trick a …
The Watchmen
There is a fine line between satire and parody and various reviews of The Watchmen that I have read disagree on where to place the movie. I thought that scenes from a war room that mimicked Dr. Strangelove and a helicopter sequence from Vietnam set to the Ride of the Valkyries enhanced the movie. One theme of the Watchmen is how pop culture and sensationalism have replaced meaningful discourse and although the film is set in an alternate universe, it seemed appropriate to include elements from the pop culture in this timeline. The film is visually spectacular and most of …
On Snooker
I was positively uncertain about the content of this tiny tome when I purchased it at the used book store. Reading the synopsis on the reverse, I gathered that Mordecair Richler was an avid fan of the game who would include anecdotes from throughout his life. Perhaps the author would delve into the kinship between the literati and elite athletes or outline the importance of competition in a young man’s life. Perhaps he admired a professional athlete from afar or found similarities between creativity on paper and canvas and creativity on felt (and by extension grass or hardwood since certain …
ESPN: The Uncensored Story
Michael Freeman’s book about the birth of ESPN offers many lessons about entrepreneurship and marketing, largely focused on persistence and the benefits of competition. Many people turned down the concept of a 24/7 sports network yet the founder Bill Rasmussen kept pushing because he believed that he had a good idea. The networks at the time were extremely myopic in their vision for the future of television which permitted cable networks like ESPN, CNN, and HBO to steal countless viewers, talent, and advertising revenue. Whilst the new blue-chip brand’s humble beginnings were fascinating, the amount of alcoholism, sexual harassment, gambling, …
Paradigm Shifts
Recently I read War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest and Coach: The Life of Paul “Bear” Bryant. The books chronicled three iconic college football coaches during a time when their profession and the world around them were evolving at breakneck speed. The first book is about the Hundred Yard War and how the coaches reacted to each other and unrest on their respective campuses; the second book focuses on Bear Bryant’s life, especially his time in Tuscaloosa. Thomas Kuhn, in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions talks about how …
Casablanca
Whether on DVD or at the Bloor Cinema, it is always worth watching Casablanca. I find that it is the best film of all time, mostly due to it’s historical significance. The characters are iconic and the performances by a stellar cast are excellent. The screenplay is dramatic but comedic at times. Many of the lines are so memorable that the film screens itself after you start watching. Film in black and white, a microcosm of the world is portrayed in the desert town of Casablanca. **** For Example:Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?Renault: I am …
Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle successfully adapts a little-known novel to create a compelling story that is tremendously enjoyed by many. So does that make Slumdog Millionaire the best film of the year? Perhaps. Well, at least I had fun. Despite the fact that I wanted to vomit during the first thirty minutes, I wanted to see how the story would turn out. Not Really. There was too much sensory overload. The direction was overdone and I felt that the game show presentation of the film was a gimmick. It could symbolize the collective attention deficit disorder faced by society but I don’t …
“This Is Russia”
Dave King wrote King of Russia during the 2004-05 season when he coached Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League. The diary contrasts the professional hockey systems in Russia and North America and records observations about daily life in Russia. In post-Communist Russia, the country is modernizing from Moscow outwards but it is not quite there. Despite all best intentions, transportation and distributions quandaries occasionally arise and corruption remains a problem. King encounters some bizarre situations where it is best not to ask questions because “this is Russia.” Unfortunately, King is also able to chronicle how the Russian economy is …
My Bad
Taking responsibility and finding ways to improve team performance is entirely different from taking responsibility and repeatedly making the same mistake. Saying that it is your bad doesn’t make it better. We’ve all been coaching for years and know it’s your bad. Furthermore, anyone who has been playing the sport for more than twenty minutes should know it’s your bad. The phrase has become cursory and trite like cocktail party conversation; on some teams, it is as incessant as a broken record. Coaches don’t say that it is their bad when the bench is uncomfortable. David Frost: President Nixon, do …
Outliers
Like Blink and The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell weaves a number of seemingly unrelated pieces of anecdotal evidence to create his latest work Outliers. The fundamental premise of the book is that conventional wisdom about success is flawed: factors publically praised are irrelevant and success or failure can be determined by a few core factors. Gladwell raises a salient point that many of athletic and academic cut-off dates favour those born early in the year. Basketball Ontario and other organizations have realized this and have implemented strategies to provide more coaching for those born late in the year and recognize …
Common Sense
Common Sense begins with the opinion that representative democracy is simply the extension of the Welch House meeting where all residents would convene to determine matters of utmost importance. This small meeting expands to become the Trinity College Meeting, which becomes the Joint College Meeting. Finally, the population becomes so large that it is impractical for everyone to convene in one place at a single time and individual constituencies elect one of their own to represent them. If the representative is typical of the citizens, he will faithfully advance their interests — because they are his interests. If the representative …
Milking Documentaries
Milk tells a compelling story of a man who moves to San Francisco in the early 1970s and finds self-satisfaction promoting human rights, environmental, labour, and neighborhood issues. Harvey Milk initially opens a camera shop but after facing anti-gay adversity decides to enter politics. Early in the movie, the protagonist is worried that he has do nothing to be proud of during his life but manages to draft several progressive pieces of legislation during his short time as a city supervisor. Milk also leads a coalition against state legislation targeting homosexual teachers. Other themes in the film are Milk’s attempts …