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	WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: A MEMOIR
	*"And The Year After That, And The Year After That . . . ( * * 1/2)"**	2008-09-28
As a Brooklyn-born boy who came late into his true inheritance, love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, this book was recommended to me by a friend who appreciates my passion despite the fact that he is a NY Yankees and NY Giants fan. I've read and enjoyed several of Doris Kearns Goodwin's books, among them Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys : An American Saga, and No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, so I assumed I was going to enjoy WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR. And there are things I enjoyed very much. Kearns Goodwin's recollections of growing up in the Long Island town of Rockville Centre, New York predate mine by twenty years; but certain landmarks were familiar. References to Sunrise Highway, Wolf's Sport Shop, and the Cathedral of St. Agnes, Kearns Goodwin's church, connected us. Although Kearns Goodwin grew up several towns cityward from my own post-Brooklyn home in Massapequa, her compass was mine as seen from the train or through the car window as I commuted to or from home. And her reminiscences of playing in the streets and backyards of a less-crowded 1940s-50s Nassau County resonated with me. Kearns Goodwin can remember when there were 7000 televisions in America. I can't. But her descriptions of the quiet suburban streets and the general tenor of life on Long Island rang true. Raised in a religiously diverse environment, I could smile at her memories of her First Communion, her first Confession, and what passed for sin in the mind of a very Catholic and properly brought-up young lady of her time, which was pre- Vatican II. After a while, and even with this awareness however, I had to check the spine of the book to see if it had not been co-written by St. Augustine of Hippo. So much of WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR is filled with page after page of recitative of votives lit, novenas said, Hosts swallowed, Hail Marys repeated, and Acts of Contrition uttered that the middle of the book became a tedious slog. It was sweet to read of Kearns Goodwin's personal gift to fellow Catholic Gil Hodges of a St. Christopher's Medal blessed by the Pope, handed over at an autograph signing, and it was even more satisfactory to read that this gift broke Hodges out of a legendarily long and awful batting slump the next day. God bless! It was infuriating, however, to read about Kearns Goodwin's childhood fear of the eternal damnation of her immortal soul for the transgression of having visited the social center of an Episcopal Church to take part in an ecumenical, interracial event, a speaking engagement by Roy Campanella on tolerance and diversity. Kearns Goodwin never remarks on the irony of the situation. To be fair, I wasn't angry at Kearns Goodwin (who was only a child), nor at her parents (who to their credit let her attend), nor at the clergy (who reassured her of the harmlessness of such an act), but at the stultifying atmosphere of that form of 1950s white suburban American Roman Catholicism that could imbue a child with such terror. Kearns Goodwin did NOT attend parochial school. She went to public school, and her neighbors were not all Catholic, so her fixation---near obsession---on religion was unexpected (at least to this reviewer). At least she did not go so far as to say that some of her best friends were Jewish (even though some of them were). In part, this repressiveness was due to the inflexibility of Catholic dogma at the time, and it was also part and parcel of a world which was suffering from Cold War paranoia, McCarthyism, Rosenberg Spy Trial Mania, and fixed and seemingly immutable rules regarding the roles of women and men, the place of blacks and whites, the superiority of one belief system over another, and the rightness and wrongness of Right versus Left. People dealt with these issues differently. Kearns Goodwin's neighbors the Greenes (nee Greenbergs) converted to some branch of Protestantism and hid their previous identity; Jewish neighbors avowed their hatred of the Rosenbergs' presumed treason; her best friend found her personal ambitions frustrated by her family in favor of their son; Kearns Goodwin's father encouraged his family of daughters to investigate nontraditional roles; as she grew older Kearns Goodwin began questioning her received ideas about ethics and morality (as an example, in regard to the Legion of Decency's ban on Blackboard Jungle); and over all, the Brooklyn Dodgers integrated baseball, changing America forever. 1957 saw the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, and Kearns Goodwin came of age just as, and just in time for, the start of the social ferment that was the 1960s. Kearns Goodwin had the pleasure of meeting not only Gil Hodges and Roy Campanella and Clem Labine in person, but also her favorite player, Jackie Robinson. Her love of the Dodgers bound her to her father, a lifelong fan. Her heartbreak at the Dodgers' annual loss of the World Series to the Yankees is palpable. Her joy at their World Series win in 1955 is an event shared by millions. It seems to be a hallmark of this genre of memoir that the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers is linked to, and becomes a metaphor for, life-altering change and loss in the lives of the authors. Kearns Goodwin's mother died in 1958, when she was fifteen. Roger Kahn's (The Boys of Summer) father passed away in 1956, just as Jackie Robinson left the team; Thomas Oliphant's (Praying for Gil Hodges: A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family's Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers) father survived a severe bout with a long chronic illness in 1957 and his family relocated to California in 1959, literally following the Dodgers; Maury Allen (Brooklyn Remembered: The 1955 Days of the Dodgers) was just beginning his overseas military service as the Dodgers won the Series; Michael Shapiro (The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together) was a child just coming into his first awareness of the outside world as the Dodgers departed at the end of the 1957 season; and Bob McGee (Greatest Ballpark Ever: Ebbets Field And the Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers), links the departure of the Dodgers to priceless memories of time with his father: "He said it would matter to me someday, I would value the time we spent, and he was right." So right.
	Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World [Blu-ray]
	""The lesser of two weevils.""	2008-09-24
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD stars Russell Crowe as Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, master and commander of the 'HMS Surprise,' on war patrol during the first worldwide war of the Napoleonic era (1805). Crowe is perfectly cast as Aubrey, an intelligent, erudite captain who can both inspire and lead his men with fairness and firmness, only occasionally resorting to the knout. MASTER AND COMMANDER is gorgeously done, the ships are authentically recreated, and the atmosphere of the film never thins. For anyone familiar with the history of seafaring conditions in those days, the film is somewhat sparse in showing us the true underside of life before the mast on board a late eighteenth century/early 19th century British man-o'-war: A stinking, dirty, dark, dank, impossibly cramped and crowded space most often painted red to hide the bloodstains from work wounds, war wounds, and fights. Compared to the reality, the 'Surprise' might as well be the 'Mauretania,' but beyond this lapse, the film is an honest portrayal. Sailors, be they professional, military, or recreational, will love it. Some reviewers have derided this film as being "boring." It is not. However, a drawback of making accurate films about the Age of Sail is that a jack tar's life in those years was defined by backbreaking, repetitive daily labor altogether adding up to long stretches of ennui, punctuated by short, incredibly violent and bloody exchanges with the enemy. To be an honest portrayal, a film cannot find its way around this central fact. Captain Aubrey and his crew and ship, including his friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a surgeon and naturalist, are attacked by the French battle ship 'Acheron.' After being trounced, Captain Aubrey becomes as obsessed as Melville's Ahab with hunting down the adversary, and takes his vessel around Cape Horn, into the Southern Ocean, the Pacific, and to the Galapagos Islands to meet battle. While at the Galapagos, Maturin discovers dozens of new species of life and formulates a theory regarding the origin of these species, but the demands of the service call the 'Surprise' away before he can collect specimens or coalesce his ideas, leaving it to Darwin to do so not many years later. As the film closes, the 'Surprise' continues on her war patrol, leaving the door open for a sequel. RECOMMENDED
	Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (Widescreen Special Two-Disc Set)
	""The lesser of two weevils.""	2008-09-24
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD stars Russell Crowe as Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, master and commander of the 'HMS Surprise,' on war patrol during the first worldwide war of the Napoleonic era (1805). Crowe is perfectly cast as Aubrey, an intelligent, erudite captain who can both inspire and lead his men with fairness and firmness, only occasionally resorting to the knout. MASTER AND COMMANDER is gorgeously done, the ships are authentically recreated, and the atmosphere of the film never thins. For anyone familiar with the history of seafaring conditions in those days, the film is somewhat sparse in showing us the true underside of life before the mast on board a late eighteenth century/early 19th century British man-o'-war: A stinking, dirty, dark, dank, impossibly cramped and crowded space most often painted red to hide the bloodstains from work wounds, war wounds, and fights. Compared to the reality, the 'Surprise' might as well be the 'Mauretania,' but beyond this lapse, the film is an honest portrayal. Sailors, be they professional, military, or recreational, will love it. Some reviewers have derided this film as being "boring." It is not. However, a drawback of making accurate films about the Age of Sail is that a jack tar's life in those years was defined by backbreaking, repetitive daily labor altogether adding up to long stretches of ennui, punctuated by short, incredibly violent and bloody exchanges with the enemy. To be an honest portrayal, a film cannot find its way around this central fact. Captain Aubrey and his crew and ship, including his friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a surgeon and naturalist, are attacked by the French battle ship 'Acheron.' After being trounced, Captain Aubrey becomes as obsessed as Melville's Ahab with hunting down the adversary, and takes his vessel around Cape Horn, into the Southern Ocean, the Pacific, and to the Galapagos Islands to meet battle. While at the Galapagos, Maturin discovers dozens of new species of life and formulates a theory regarding the origin of these species, but the demands of the service call the 'Surprise' away before he can collect specimens or coalesce his ideas, leaving it to Darwin to do so not many years later. As the film closes, the 'Surprise' continues on her war patrol, leaving the door open for a sequel. RECOMMENDED
	Teammates (A Voyager/Hbj Book)
	"Teammates and more"	2008-09-19
Peter Golenbock (Bums An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers) has written a simple but eloquent children's retelling of the story of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. br /br /Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play modern Major League baseball. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, in the face of incredible opposition and violent resistance.br /br /Pee Wee Reese, the Captain of the Dodgers, was a Southerner. Although asked to sign a petition barring Jackie Robinson from the team, Pee Wee Reese refused to sign. Pee Wee Reese, who was greatly respected throughout the sport of baseball, thus put an end to any talk of petitions and player strikes. br /br /Jackie Robinson was the target of viciously aimed pitches. He was spiked by opposing players. His life was threatened by racist fans. He was verbally abused in the worst way by fans and players.br /br /Everyone remembers the central incident of TEAMMATES, though there is disagreement as to where it happened. On this particular day, the verbal abuse of Jackie Robinson had reached a fearsome level. Pee Wee Reese stepped from the dugout. He approached Jackie Robinson and put his arm around him. The crowd fell silent. br /br /This simple gesture is remembered as one of the finest moments not only in baseball but in American history, and has been immortalized by a statue which stands in Brooklyn today. br /br /Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson became more than teammates. They became friends.br /br /Peter Golenbock's well-written tale is easy for children to understand, and will help them develop sensitivity, empathy, tolerance, and a sense of equality with others who may (or may not) be different than themselves. br /br /This book is AN ESSENTIAL READ for children of all ages.
	Teammates
	"Teammates and more"	2008-09-19
Peter Golenbock (Bums An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers) has written a simple but eloquent children's retelling of the story of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. br /br /Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play modern Major League baseball. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, in the face of incredible opposition and violent resistance.br /br /Pee Wee Reese, the Captain of the Dodgers, was a Southerner. Although asked to sign a petition barring Jackie Robinson from the team, Pee Wee Reese refused to sign. Pee Wee Reese, who was greatly respected throughout the sport of baseball, thus put an end to any talk of petitions and player strikes. br /br /Jackie Robinson was the target of viciously aimed pitches. He was spiked by opposing players. His life was threatened by racist fans. He was verbally abused in the worst way by fans and players.br /br /Everyone remembers the central incident of TEAMMATES, though there is disagreement as to where it happened. On this particular day, the verbal abuse of Jackie Robinson had reached a fearsome level. Pee Wee Reese stepped from the dugout. He approached Jackie Robinson and put his arm around him. The crowd fell silent. br /br /This simple gesture is remembered as one of the finest moments not only in baseball but in American history, and has been immortalized by a statue which stands in Brooklyn today. br /br /Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson became more than teammates. They became friends.br /br /Peter Golenbock's well-written tale is easy for children to understand, and will help them develop sensitivity, empathy, tolerance, and a sense of equality with others who may (or may not) be different than themselves. br /br /This book is AN ESSENTIAL READ for children of all ages.
	Keeping the Faith
	""It's complicated. I'm reading "Dianetics".""	2008-09-16
KEEPING THE FAITH (2000), is a cinematic take on the old joke, "A priest and a rabbi meet this blonde coming down the street. . ." In this case, the blonde is Jenna Elfman (Anna), the priest is Edward Norton (Brian), and the rabbi is Ben Stiller (Jake), three childhood best friends. KEEPING THE FAITH is very much about how religiously observant people balance the demands of the spiritual life against those of the temporal life; it's also about how people, observant or not, balance the demands of career against those of love and family; and last, but not least, it is about how people who love balance their self-expectations against the expectations they have of their significant others. Brian and Jake are still best friends, dedicated to working together ecumenically, and dedicated to invigorating their congregants with a desire to become closer to God, sometimes with hilarious consequences. Jake falls in love with Anna and Anna with Jake, but Jake can't reconcile the idea of a rabbi marrying a non-Jewish woman with the demands of his heart, and the expectations of his synagogue. While Jake struggles with this dilemma, Brian finds himself increasingly attracted to Anna (who loves, but is not in love, with him), and struggles with the demands of his heart versus his vows. When he realizes that Anna is in love with Jake, a crisis ensues. Since Jake, Brian and Anna all fear confronting themselves and each other with these issues, their lifelong bond becomes strained and their love for each other is put to the test. In the end, all three discover, happily, that "keeping the faith" is in large part a question of having faith in each other. KEEPING THE FAITH is a nice, fluffy film that showcases the talents of Elfman, Stiller and Norton well, and gives us New York City in summertime at its best.
	World Trade Center (Two-Disc Commemorative Edition) [HD DVD]
	"September 11, 2001---A Day That Will Live In Infamy"	2008-09-07
It seems almost blasphemous to criticize this film. And perhaps WORLD TRADE CENTER is better than it seems. And perhaps the main difficulty with this movie IS that was simply too soon to treat Nine Eleven cinematically. Perhaps, perhaps. But the truth is that this Hollywoodization of America's darkest day is wholly inadequate in addressing its subject matter, despite a sincere attempt by all involved to make a responsible, quality film about the Trade Center disaster. Yes, it touches the event, transmitting about 1/1,000,000,000th of the emotion of the event to the viewer. WORLD TRADE CENTER is well-made, deserving of TWO AND A HALF STARS for good acting and authenticity, but it's focus is too narrow. By reducing itself to the story of a group of miraculously unharmed survivors, it never captures the vastness of the event or the eight million tragedies that crowded that moment in time. Almost any currently-existing documentary about that day is more effective in speaking to the audience than is this film. The conspiracy-theory-fueled College Boy film school junk film LOOSE CHANGE is an exception. Unfortunately, WORLD TRADE CENTER does not succeed in bringing the event within the compass of our understanding. It may be decades before the media creates such a vehicle.
	World Trade Center (Two-Disc Commemorative Edition) [Blu-ray]
	"September 11, 2001---A Day That Will Live In Infamy"	2008-09-07
It seems almost blasphemous to criticize this film. And perhaps WORLD TRADE CENTER is better than it seems. And perhaps the main difficulty with this movie IS that was simply too soon to treat Nine Eleven cinematically. Perhaps, perhaps. br /br /But the truth is that this Hollywoodization of America's darkest day is wholly inadequate in addressing its subject matter, despite a sincere attempt by all involved to make a responsible, quality film about the Trade Center disaster. br /br /Yes, it touches the event, transmitting about 1/1,000,000,000th of the emotion of the event to the viewer. WORLD TRADE CENTER is well-made, deserving of TWO AND A HALF STARS for good acting and authenticity, but it's focus is too narrow. By reducing itself to the story of a group of miraculously unharmed survivors, it never captures the vastness of the event or the eight million tragedies that crowded that moment in time. Despite the survival of small groups of the buildings' trapped occupants, this should not have been a film with a happy ending. br /br /Almost any currently-existing documentary about that day is more effective in speaking to the audience than is this film. (The conspiracy-theory-fueled College Boy film school junk film Loose Change Final Cut is an exception.) br /br /Unfortunately, WORLD TRADE CENTER does not succeed in bringing the event within the compass of our understanding. It may be decades before the media creates such a film. If ever.
	Black Snake Moan [Blu-ray]
	""This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . .""	2008-09-05
An excellent, underrated movie betrayed by its atrocious theatrical poster, BLACK SNAKE MOAN works on just so many levels. Samuel L. Jackson is Lazarus, a farmer and natural blues guitarist living in rural Tennessee. Lazarus' wife has left him for his brother, and the bitter Lazarus veers like a skirling wind between self-pity, world-weariness, emotionally-charged violence, and religiously-fueled hopefulness. One morning, he finds Rae (Christina Ricci) lying beaten, bloody, and naked in the road near his house. Rae is the girl in town with the "reputation"; the least perjorative way to describe her behavior is that she uses her sexuality as both a weapon and a shield, closing herself off from a trauma-scarred childhood. Consequently, Rae manipulates men and is victimized by them. Her boyfriend Ronnie has just been deployed with the Tennessee National Guard, and in her lonely misery, her evening companion has attacked her and dumped her off. The lonely Lazarus takes Rae in, but realizing that she is delirious both from the beating and a raging fever, he chains her inside the house so she will not wander. Although Rae first tries to get away, she soon finds in Lazarus a kindred spirit, and the two become friends. Unfortunately, the image of Lazarus holding the panty-clad Rae by a length of chain is the image the promoters chose to market this film. This sexually-charged, racially stereotyped symbolism undoubtedly ruined this film's reception. And it's a shame, because BLACK SNAKE MOAN is a splendid film with great depth. Of course, the mostly-naked Ricci is sexy in a trailer park way (it's said that she put herself on a diet of junk to acheive the sallow, sunken-eyed look which typifies Rae), but the relationship between Lazarus and Rae develops into a profoundly moving father-daughter bond as the film progresses. It is not one-sided. Both Rae and Lazarus are able to collect the shards of their shattered self-esteem and rebuild their lives. In the Hollywood manner, all their complex problems are resolved by the end of the third reel, but nonetheless, BLACK SNAKE MOAN gives us a wonderful portrait of two deeply wounded people finding themselves in each other's eyes. There are many women like Rae; and there are many men like Lazarus. It is the reality of their shared experience that hits home with such force. We know these people. On some level, we are these people. A film can accomplish nothing finer nor more meaningful and lasting than that. The blues soundtrack is a perfect underscore to what we see onscreen. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
	Black Snake Moan [HD DVD]
	""This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . .""	2008-09-05
An excellent, underrated movie betrayed by its atrocious theatrical poster, BLACK SNAKE MOAN works on just so many levels. Samuel L. Jackson is Lazarus, a farmer and natural blues guitarist living in rural Tennessee. Lazarus' wife has left him for his brother, and the bitter Lazarus veers like a skirling wind between self-pity, world-weariness, emotionally-charged violence, and religiously-fueled hopefulness. One morning, he finds Rae (Christina Ricci) lying beaten, bloody, and naked in the road near his house. Rae is the girl in town with the "reputation"; the least perjorative way to describe her behavior is that she uses her sexuality as both a weapon and a shield, closing herself off from a trauma-scarred childhood. Consequently, Rae manipulates men and is victimized by them. Her boyfriend Ronnie has just been deployed with the Tennessee National Guard, and in her lonely misery, her evening companion has attacked her and dumped her off. The lonely Lazarus takes Rae in, but realizing that she is delirious both from the beating and a raging fever, he chains her inside the house so she will not wander. Although Rae first tries to get away, she soon finds in Lazarus a kindred spirit, and the two become friends. Unfortunately, the image of Lazarus holding the panty-clad Rae by a length of chain is the image the promoters chose to market this film. This sexually-charged, racially stereotyped symbolism undoubtedly ruined this film's reception. And it's a shame, because BLACK SNAKE MOAN is a splendid film with great depth. Of course, the mostly-naked Ricci is sexy in a trailer park way (it's said that she put herself on a diet of junk to acheive the sallow, sunken-eyed look which typifies Rae), but the relationship between Lazarus and Rae develops into a profoundly moving father-daughter bond as the film progresses. It is not one-sided. Both Rae and Lazarus are able to collect the shards of their shattered self-esteem and rebuild their lives. In the Hollywood manner, all their complex problems are resolved by the end of the third reel, but nonetheless, BLACK SNAKE MOAN gives us a wonderful portrait of two deeply wounded people finding themselves in each other's eyes. There are many women like Rae; and there are many men like Lazarus. It is the reality of their shared experience that hits home with such force. We know these people. On some level, we are these people. A film can accomplish nothing finer nor more meaningful and lasting than that. The blues soundtrack is a perfect underscore to what we see onscreen. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
	Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino
	"A Brooklyn Dodger Fan Salutes The Red Sox Nation"	2008-08-31
As a lifelong Brooklyn Dodger fan I have to admit that I cried when I watched this. I had never really followed the Red Sox before I saw this video, but I will now. Actually, because of the similar caps, we get mistaken for Sox fans ALL the time, but that's no shame. Brooklyn's Dodgers and Boston's Red Sox share long and storied complementary histories. Just watch this DVD and any of the many Brooklyn Dodger DVDs available. Consider this: 1. Fenway Park was built in 1912. Ebbets Field was built in 1913. 2. The Dodgers' first Ebbets game was against the Giants, our bloodsworn National League enemies. The Sox' first Fenway game was against the Yankees (then the Highlanders). 3. Boston had Frazee. We had O'Malley. Roz Wyman is our "No, No Nanette." 4. Babe Ruth played for Boston at the beginning of his career. He played for Brooklyn at the end. 5. We share The B. 6. It took Boston 86 years to win the Series. It took Brooklyn 68. 7. Fans of both teams HATE (and I mean HATE) the Yankees. The Yankees defeated Brooklyn 6 times in the Series (Boston beat Brooklyn once, in 1916, by the way, but that was A LONG TIME ago; it's a shame Brooklyn got kidnapped and never got to even the score). 8. The Dodgers were the first team to integrate. Boston was the last (what took you guys so long?) 9. A bizarre history has plagued both teams, who constantly blew Pennants and Series in nailbiter situations. The Sox had the Curse of the Bambino. The Bums had the Curse of Brooklyn. 10. Brooklyn fans and Boston fans share an almost spiritual attachment to their teams that spans generations. I guarantee NO CITY ever had a love for a team like Brooklyn, but I'll put Boston a VERY close second. 11. Many grieving Brooklyn Dodger fans are now active Red Sox fans. 12. Boston is the American League's Brooklyn. And vice-versa. (I don't know ANY Brooklyn-turned-LA Dodger fans. A different breed altogether.) 13. The Green Monster. The Rotunda. Gil Hodges. Yaz. Ted Williams. The Duke of Flatbush. 14. "WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!" Need I say more? *** Dear Boston, Best wishes from The City Across The River. Need I say more???
	The Secret [Blu-ray]
	""A 36 year old woman in a 16 year old's body. I'm every man's dream.""	2008-08-25
THE SECRET is a bit weird and disturbing. David Duchovny's wife and daughter, essentially estranged from each other, are in a horrific car crash. The daughter dies. The distraught wife dies at the same moment crying her daughter's name. Mysteriously, the daughter recovers, only she's no longer Duchovny's daughter, she's Duchovny's wife in her daughter's body. So far so weird. But THE SECRET, a bizarre take on FREAKY FRIDAY, gets a little disturbing as the Mrs. settles into her daughter's life, discovering (or rediscovering) the joys of being sixteen, including sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. She also sleeps with (but doesn't seduce) Duchovny, but the intimate adult-to-adult conversations between husband/father and wife/daughter are enough to make your skin crawl, since the line, though never crossed, is toed very tightly. There is a denoument, but to tell it would be to ruin the ending, and THE SECRET doesn't deserve to be ruined. It is worth watching, though the moral of the story is, unsurprisingly, a bit murky.
	Born on the Fourth of July (Special Edition)
	*""Ronnie, you're doing the right thing. Communism has got to be stopped." ( * 1/2)"**	2008-08-23
Everybody and their brother thinks this is a war film classic. I don't. I grew up in Massapequa, knew Ron Kovic (slightly), hung out at Arthur's Bar, got my hair cut at Sparky The Barber's, I played in Sally's Woods as a kid, and watched God knows how many holiday parades down Broadway. Growing up, they occurred on every major holiday except The Feast of The Assumption. Massapequa's the kind of place you love and hate at the same time. It's a fly in the amber. The schools are excellent. Businesses like All-American and Krisch's Ice Cream Parlor have been there since 1955 and remain surprisingly unchanged. The town's underlying values remain intact, mostly because the kids that grew up there in the Fifties inherited their parents' houses and have passed them on to their kids now. On the Fourth of July the smoke from "illegal" fireworks is so dense that spy satellites can't penetrate it (this is a documented fact). There's been a spate of new construction, if you can consider a spate to have lasted 25 years, but beyond that, it's still home as I remember it. So the ersatz Massapequa (a town in Vermont that they dressed up) in this film was a little disconcerting to me: "Lemke Hardware wasn't even on the same street as Krisch's, and Krisch's is Krisch's, not Boyer's!" Hollywood. And this wasn't even the original film. The original BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY by Brian DePalma starred Al Pacino and was made, or partly made, in 1978. The Internet Movie Database tells me that the "financing fell through" but I can recall the Pequa Theater marquee showing "Love Story" during some filming. They were actually going to use Massapequa to represent Massapequa in that version. Actually, the sets don't bother me half as much as Tom Cruise. Pacino would have made this movie a TRUE classic. Cruise is real good at playing the teenaged Ronnie Kovic, but he utterly blows the role once Ronnie Gets His Gun. Cruise spends most of the movie overacting shamelessly, like yelling "Penis, penis, penis!" in a badly-acted "drunk" scene, and turning the heart-rending bitter anger of Ron Kovic's searingly sad book into something like pablum for the ease of audience digestion. We needed grit and despair in this movie. We got Tom Cruise, and not the Tom Cruise of A FEW GOOD MEN or THE LAST SAMURAI, we got the Tom Cruise of Jumping On Oprah's Couch Tom Cruise. War is hell. It should be presented as such. And so should it's hellish consequences. Like the Massapequa it presents the Ron Kovic of this film is not the real deal.
	Born on the Fourth of July [HD DVD]
	*""Ronnie, you're doing the right thing. Communism has got to be stopped." ( * 1/2)"**	2008-08-23
Everybody and their brother thinks this is a war film classic. I don't. I grew up in Massapequa, knew Ron Kovic (slightly), hung out at Arthur's Bar, got my hair cut at Sparky The Barber's, I played in Sally's Woods as a kid, and watched God knows how many holiday parades down Broadway. Growing up, they occurred on every major holiday except The Feast of The Assumption. Massapequa's the kind of place you love and hate at the same time. It's a fly in the amber. The schools are excellent. Businesses like All-American and Krisch's Ice Cream Parlor have been there since 1955 and remain surprisingly unchanged. The town's underlying values remain intact, mostly because the kids that grew up there in the Fifties inherited their parents' houses and have passed them on to their kids now. On the Fourth of July the smoke from "illegal" fireworks is so dense that spy satellites can't penetrate it (this is a documented fact). There's been a spate of new construction, if you can consider a spate to have lasted 25 years, but beyond that, it's still home as I remember it. So the ersatz Massapequa (a town in Vermont that they dressed up) in this film was a little disconcerting to me: "Lemke Hardware wasn't even on the same street as Krisch's, and Krisch's is Krisch's, not Boyer's!" Hollywood. And this wasn't even the original film. The original BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY by Brian DePalma starred Al Pacino and was made, or partly made, in 1978. The Internet Movie Database tells me that the "financing fell through" but I can recall the Pequa Theater marquee showing "Love Story" during some filming. They were actually going to use Massapequa to represent Massapequa in that version. Actually, the sets don't bother me half as much as Tom Cruise. Pacino would have made this movie a TRUE classic. Cruise is real good at playing the teenaged Ronnie Kovic, but he utterly blows the role once Ronnie Gets His Gun. Cruise spends most of the movie overacting shamelessly, like yelling "Penis, penis, penis!" in a badly-acted "drunk" scene, and turning the heart-rending bitter anger of Ron Kovic's searingly sad book into something like pablum for the ease of audience digestion. We needed grit and despair in this movie. We got Tom Cruise, and not the Tom Cruise of A FEW GOOD MEN or THE LAST SAMURAI, we got the Tom Cruise of Jumping On Oprah's Couch Tom Cruise. War is hell. It should be presented as such. And so should it's hellish consequences. Like the Massapequa it presents the Ron Kovic of this film is not the real deal.
	Born on the Fourth of July
	*""Ronnie, you're doing the right thing. Communism has got to be stopped." ( * 1/2)"**	2008-08-23
Everybody and their brother thinks this is a war film classic. I don't. I grew up in Massapequa, knew Ron Kovic (slightly), hung out at Arthur's Bar, got my hair cut at Sparky The Barber's, I played in Sally's Woods as a kid, and watched God knows how many holiday parades down Broadway. Growing up, they occurred on every major holiday except The Feast of The Assumption. Massapequa's the kind of place you love and hate at the same time. It's a fly in the amber. The schools are excellent. Businesses like All-American and Krisch's Ice Cream Parlor have been there since 1955 and remain surprisingly unchanged. The town's underlying values remain intact, mostly because the kids that grew up there in the Fifties inherited their parents' houses and have passed them on to their kids now. On the Fourth of July the smoke from "illegal" fireworks is so dense that spy satellites can't penetrate it (this is a documented fact). There's been a spate of new construction, if you can consider a spate to have lasted 25 years, but beyond that, it's still home as I remember it. So the ersatz Massapequa (a town in Vermont that they dressed up) in this film was a little disconcerting to me: "Lemke Hardware wasn't even on the same street as Krisch's, and Krisch's is Krisch's, not Boyer's!" Hollywood. And this wasn't even the original film. The original BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY by Brian DePalma starred Al Pacino and was made, or partly made, in 1978. The Internet Movie Database tells me that the "financing fell through" but I can recall the Pequa Theater marquee showing "Love Story" during some filming. They were actually going to use Massapequa to represent Massapequa in that version. Actually, the sets don't bother me half as much as Tom Cruise. Pacino would have made this movie a TRUE classic. Cruise is real good at playing the teenaged Ronnie Kovic, but he utterly blows the role once Ronnie Gets His Gun. Cruise spends most of the movie overacting shamelessly, like yelling "Penis, penis, penis!" in a badly-acted "drunk" scene, and turning the heart-rending bitter anger of Ron Kovic's searingly sad book into something like pablum for the ease of audience digestion. We needed grit and despair in this movie. We got Tom Cruise, and not the Tom Cruise of A FEW GOOD MEN or THE LAST SAMURAI, we got the Tom Cruise of Jumping On Oprah's Couch Tom Cruise. War is hell. It should be presented as such. And so should it's hellish consequences. Like the Massapequa it presents the Ron Kovic of this film is not the real deal.
	Born on the Fourth of July - DTS
	*""Ronnie, you're doing the right thing. Communism has got to be stopped." ( * 1/2)"**	2008-08-23
Everybody and their brother thinks this is a war film classic. I don't. I grew up in Massapequa, knew Ron Kovic (slightly), hung out at Arthur's Bar, got my hair cut at Sparky The Barber's, I played in Sally's Woods as a kid, and watched God knows how many holiday parades down Broadway. Growing up, they occurred on every major holiday except The Feast of The Assumption.br /br /Massapequa's the kind of place you love and hate at the same time. It's a fly in the amber. The schools are excellent. Businesses like All-American and Krisch's Ice Cream Parlor have been there since 1955 and remain surprisingly unchanged. The town's underlying values remain intact, mostly because the kids that grew up there in the Fifties inherited their parents' houses and have passed them on to their kids now. On the Fourth of July the smoke from "illegal" fireworks is so dense that spy satellites can't penetrate it (this is a documented fact). There's been a spate of new construction, if you can consider a spate to have lasted 25 years, but beyond that, it's still home as I remember it. br /br /So the ersatz Massapequa (a town in Vermont that they dressed up) in this film was a little disconcerting to me: "Lemke Hardware wasn't even on the same street as Krisch's, and Krisch's is Krisch's, not Boyer's!" br /br /Hollywood. br /br /And this wasn't even the original film. The original BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY by Brian DePalma starred Al Pacino and was made, or partly made, in 1978. The Internet Movie Database tells me that the "financing fell through" but I can recall the Pequa Theater marquee showing "Love Story" during some filming. They were actually going to use Massapequa to represent Massapequa in that version.br /br /Actually, the sets don't bother me half as much as Tom Cruise. Pacino would have made this movie a TRUE classic. Cruise is real good at playing the teenaged Ronnie Kovic, but he utterly blows the role once Ronnie Gets His Gun. Cruise spends most of the movie overacting shamelessly, like yelling "Penis, penis, penis!" in a badly-acted "drunk" scene, and turning the heart-rending bitter anger of Ron Kovic's searingly sad book into something like pablum for the ease of audience digestion. We needed grit and despair in this movie. We got Tom Cruise, and not the Tom Cruise of A FEW GOOD MEN or THE LAST SAMURAI, we got the Tom Cruise of Jumping On Oprah's Couch Tom Cruise. br /br /War is hell. It should be presented as such. And so should it's hellish consequences. Like the Massapequa it presents the Ron Kovic of this film is not the real deal.br /
	The Brooklyn Dodgers - The Original America's Team
	""Never give up, never give up, never give up!""	2008-08-20
The Brooklyn Dodgers ceased to exist as an active ballclub a half century ago. Gone but not forgotten, they have been mourned by generations of Brooklynites. Their history, real and legendary, has been passed down through family lines like a lost patrimony. The villain of Brooklyn Dodger history is Walter O'Malley, their owner, who, driven by greed, uprooted one of the oldest and most beloved baseball teams in the country, and moved it 3,000 miles from home. Long having faded in the memories of people living beyond Kings County, New York, there has been a recent upsurge in interest about the Brooklyn Dodgers. Currently there are an impressive number of videos (and books) available that immortalize the team. Fifty years after their demise, American society is just beginning to see in "Dem Bums" a vision of America that was truly a nation of virtues, being all-inclusive, prone to failure but dedicated to excellence, and dedicated to family and community. The undoing of the Dodger mystique, as unrecognized as it was in its time, marked a first step toward the depersonalization and commercialization of this nation of non-acheivers we now fear ourselves to be. As this video shows, we need not surrender to that fear. The Brooklyn Dodgers have become more than just an absent baseball team. Each of the scores of books and videos produced about the Dodgers seeks to understand and describe their crucial role in the self-definition of America. They were not just Brooklyn's team. Through a combination of verve, nerve, and sheer willpower they transcended baseball, becoming as much a part of the American mythos as George Washington and the Cherry Tree, Honest Abe Lincoln, the indefatiguable United States Marines, or even the Dodgers' perennial rivals, the New York Yankees, who, as it has been said, "represented another side of the American Dream." Where the Yankees exuded certainty, power and authority, the Dodgers spoke to the dreams of the common man, often beaten down but never vanquished. Victory was theirs in 1955, a lone World Series victory over those selfsame Yankees, made ephemeral by O'Malley's self-serving decision to move the team to Los Angeles in 1957. As host Roger Kahn (The Boys of Summer) reflects, whether O'Malley was a visionary or a villain all depends on one's point of view and point of geographic reference, New York or Los Angeles. As "America's Team" the Brooklyn Dodgers were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. The Dodgers integrated in 1947, seven years before the Supreme Court of the United States declared separate but equal to be inherently unequal. This daring was not without a high price, as this video shows. More by example than by design, Dodger players, living in small middle American towns in the off-season and "that community of communities" Brooklyn, in the summers, embodied all the virtues we consider our own. As the Dodger wives say, "We didn't know at the time that we were anything out of the ordinary," mostly due to their very ordinariness. ESPN's multi-episode special has been brought to this two disc DVD, an examination of the Brooklyn Dodgers through its history and its departure, and through the lenses of some of its most popular players, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Duke Snider. At nearly 300 minutes, this video takes the time to delve in depth into the hearts and minds of these men and the people---teammates, rivals, bosses, fans, and family members---around them. In each segment, we are introduced to the world as seen through the eyes of each man, and are invited to share and feel what he felt, first as an up-and-coming player, then as a superstar, then as a man dislocated from his home turf of Ebbets Field, and finally, after baseball. Each man's shared experience is uniquely different. The material is not all adoring, but it is honest. In stepping away from mythologizing the Dodgers, the film makes them all the greater, as they are described as extremely talented and ordinarily flawed men who accomplished something beyond evaluation. Jackie Robinson's talent is highlighted, as is the intrinsic bitterness, "that ate him up from the inside" as he integrated baseball, alone at first, being the target of unimaginable ugliness, death threats, crass insults and more, which Jackie answered fighting back by excelling beyond all expectation. Duke Snider is properly credited as being the greatest Center Fielder of his time (and this in comparison with Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle). His sometimes unpleasant temperament and lack of tact is addressed as is his later conviction on tax evasion. In the end, the Duke is seen as a proud but humbled man, having found some true joy and contentment in his life. Roy Campanella's boyishness shines through as does his unwillingness to become politicized by race. His unexpected divorce is discussed. Roy, a quadriplegic since 1958, is seen struggling for breath in his last interview. Pee Wee Reese emerges as a truly extraordinary man of character, revered as the Captain of the Dodgers, a leader and a molder of men, clearly, the single player who might have been said to define what the Brooklyn Dodgers were at their best. Pee Wee, a Southerner by birth, embraced Jackie Robinson (both literally and figuratively), and by so doing broke down more walls than can be imagined. Pee Wee was so much more and finer than just gifted a shortstop, a truly admirable, modest human being. "The Boys of Summer In Winter" is the last segment of this collection. A film by Mark Reese, it chronicles the struggles of the Dodgers in times most ordinary, and records the last year in the life of his father, taken away by cancer. Deeply moving, this film transcends documentary to become both an intimate portrait, a home movie, and a paean to marriage, fatherhood, love, and profound respect. Beyond this, there is so much more. This may be the finest visual document created to date about the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is a long voyage lasting almost five hours, but it is a valuable exploration of our true cultural values as expressed through our National Pastime, and through the story of what may have been the most talented, unique and revolutionary group of players ever to take the field. Oh my Boys of Summer, we hardly knew ye.
	Nicholas and Alexandra
	"The Tragedy of The Twentieth Century"	2008-08-07
In 2000, there was much talk about the "most important person of the 20th Century." My choice was always Gavrilo Princip, the young Bosnian assassin who killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, igniting World War I, which caused the Russian Revolution, Communism, and the Treaty of Versailles, which led to Naziism, World War II, atomic bombs, and the Cold War. Of course, there were other factors which formed the tragedy of the twentieth century, and perhaps some of these historical events would have happened anyway. Almost for certain, the Romanov Monarchy would have fallen or been transformed out of recognition without the help of Gavrilo Princip's bullets. Although the Ottoman Empire was always referred to as "the sick man of Europe," Robert K. Massie illustrates that Russia was not very well either, despite appearances. An obsolescent autocracy, the Russian Empire was mired in time at the dawn of the twentieth century, the great mass of its people existing much as they had 100 years earlier. Massie's theory, that the hemophilia of Alexis, the young Tsarevich, had an inordinate influence of Russian and subsequent world history, is well thought-out, though perhaps an oversimplification. Yet, it cannot be discounted. The Romanov Dynasty had ruled Russia then for 300 years, and brought the country, by fits and starts, slowly into the orbit of the modern world. Despite this, there is much truth in the observation that "Lenin inherited a nation playing beside a manure pile and Stalin bequeathed a nation playing with an atomic pile." This is not to defend Stalinism, but only to say how little the Romanovs did overall to modernize their State. When Nicholas II inherited the throne after his father's untimely death, he was woefully unprepared to rule. Dominated for years by archconservative and anti-modernist members of his family, he did little to educate his people, provide health care, build infrastructure, or lift the heavy cloak of official repression that lay over all but ethnic Russians in his realm, or the cloak of cultural repression that lay over the ethnic Russians. Yet Massie shows us a man and a family of uncommonly kind nature in Nicholas II and his family. His daughter Olga paid personally for the care of a handicapped subject she spied from her carriage one day. The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, despite a reputation as an uncaring woman, herself nursed sick friends before the war and horribly wounded soldiers during the war. The family built hospitals and schools in and around the various cities wherein lay the royal estates. They acted to ameliorate suffering wherever they saw it, without reservation. Of course, this was the problem. They acted only on what they saw with their own eyes, never recognizing that these sufferings were endemic throughout the realm. Their myopia was part and parcel of the lives of the citified upper classes, completely divorced from the mass of agrarian peasants in the countryside, magnified by the hermetically sealed nature of being an Imperial Family, aided and abetted by sycophants and the self-serving, who kept the real world at a very long arm's length, in order to maintain their own privileged positions. Living in a bubble within a bubble, they were just not aware of conditions in most of Russia. Nicholas II ruled over the largest domain on earth. Russia today is still the world's largest nation, even shorn of Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, the Ukraine, the Central Asian provinces, and (in 1867) Alaska. Sunset in Vladivostok was dawn in Brest-Litovsk. His hundred million subjects included hundreds of peoples speaking hundreds of languages, linked together by a shockingly small road and rail system. The sensitive Nicholas, had he been really cognizant of the shape of things, could have, by a single order, vastly improved the lives of each and every Russian (of course, as he noted, being an autocrat and giving orders does not ensure that they are carried out properly). His greatest failings, as a ruler, all had to do with his decisions to outwardly maintain his Imperial hautre and his autocracy at all costs in the face of cataclysmic change. This bubble-within-a-bubble existence however, could not spare them from the fact of the Tsarevich's hemophilia. A genetic disorder inherited through the female line (Alexis' Great-Grandmother was Queen Victoria, whose progeny were ravaged by the disease), it prevents the clotting of the blood. When Alexis was born in 1904, the world was a full lifespan away from the development of a usable clotting factor; most hemophiliacs simply bled out and died. The Tsarevich was protected by a full retinue, but this did not help him, and the boy was often in screaming agony and close to death from what might in another child, be a bad bruise. The Heir, therefore lived in a bubble within a bubble within a bubble. The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, was a solemn, shy, but deeply emotional and loving woman, nicknamed "Sunny" by her husband. To the world, she presented an aloof exterior, and was extremely unpopular with her subjects. Had they known the sorrows and agonies she suffered through with Alexis, her realm, and history, might have treated her far better. But the Imperial Family decided to keep Alexis' condition a closely guarded secret, fearing the destabilization of the Monarchy and Russia in the face of a physically frail Heir. This may have been the Imperial Family's worst error, as it robbed them of an outpouring of sympathy and support from a passionate populace. Alexandra turned to religion, and ultimately, to Gregory Rasputin, a filthy, degenerate, sexually perverse and personally dissolute monk of peasant extraction. Although derided by most, and called a charlatan by many, Rasputin was perhaps one of the most charismatic men in history, had a devoted following (largely comprised of Society women he'd seduced), did have the power, somehow, to control Alexis' bleeding episodes, and therefore, had the Empress's full and unwavering support in all things. The feared and hated Rasputin may have indeed been a seer or had mystical powers of some sort, judging from circumstances. Rasputin was not really political, but as his influence over the Romanovs grew, his power expanded commensurately, and he was able to have Ministers dismissed, Generals reassigned to sinecures, and policies changed according to his own whims (expressed as messages from God) or concerns. Capable Russian leaders, who did not know the basis of Rasputin's power, suspected the worst of Alexandra, and in challenging Rasputin found themselves toppled from power. As World War I dawned, Russia was upside-down, its best men in internal exile, and woefully unprepared for war. Rasputin himself counseled against war, stating that Russia would collapse from within. Nonetheless, the British, German and Russian grandsons of Queen Victoria went to war.In that war, millions died, empires fell, nations were born, ideological political systems triumphed, and the stage was set for a darker and yet bloodier future. The Tsar and his genteel family were consumed, ending their days against a wall before a Bolshevik firing squad, probably not understanding, until the end, that they had been in the eye of a hurricane that remade the world.
	Caddyshack
	""Doody!""	2008-07-06
I used to live at Rolling Hills Golf and Country Club where CADDYSHACK was filmed, and from my third floor apartment overlooking the eighteenth hole I got to hear every line of dialogue in this film repeated ad nauseam by wannabe Rodneys, Chevys, Teds and Bill Murrays. I also got to see careless golfers' carts tip over, dumping them into the lake, something that should have been in this film, but wasn't. Frankly, I've never understood why CADDYSHACK rates so very high amongst comedies. The individual comedic performances are consistently very funny (and in Rodney Dangerfield's case, truly inspired), but this film always has struck me as LESS than the sum of its parts. In CADDYSHACK I always feel as though I'm watching a dozen competing stand-up acts a la the cable show MAKE ME LAUGH. The various bits (such as the infamous pool scene) are individually hilarious. Unfortunately, none of it meshes comfortably into a cohesive whole, and I never find myself wholeheartedly enjoying this film. And, considering it was an afterthought anyhow, I wish they'd lose the gopher entirely. Man, that shtick is just plain dumb.
	Caddyshack
	""Doody!""	2008-07-06
I used to live at Rolling Hills Golf and Country Club where CADDYSHACK was filmed, and from my third floor apartment overlooking the eighteenth hole I got to hear every line of dialogue in this film repeated ad nauseam by wannabe Rodneys, Chevys, Teds and Bill Murrays. I also got to see careless golfers' carts tip over, dumping them into the lake, something that should have been in this film, but wasn't. Frankly, I've never understood why CADDYSHACK rates so very high amongst comedies. The individual comedic performances are consistently very funny (and in Rodney Dangerfield's case, truly inspired), but this film always has struck me as LESS than the sum of its parts. In CADDYSHACK I always feel as though I'm watching a dozen competing stand-up acts a la the cable show MAKE ME LAUGH. The various bits (such as the infamous pool scene) are individually hilarious. Unfortunately, none of it meshes comfortably into a cohesive whole, and I never find myself wholeheartedly enjoying this film. And, considering it was an afterthought anyhow, I wish they'd lose the gopher entirely. Man, that shtick is just plain dumb.
	Caddyshack - 19th Anniversary Edition
	""Doody!""	2008-07-06
I used to live at Rolling Hills Golf and Country Club where CADDYSHACK was filmed, and from my third floor apartment overlooking the eighteenth hole I got to hear every line of dialogue in this film repeated ad nauseam by wannabe Rodneys, Chevys, Teds and Bill Murrays. I also got to see careless golfers' carts tip over, dumping them into the lake, something that should have been in this film, but wasn't. Frankly, I've never understood why CADDYSHACK rates so very high amongst comedies. The individual comedic performances are consistently very funny (and in Rodney Dangerfield's case, truly inspired), but this film always has struck me as LESS than the sum of its parts. In CADDYSHACK I always feel as though I'm watching a dozen competing stand-up acts a la the cable show MAKE ME LAUGH. The various bits (such as the infamous pool scene) are individually hilarious. Unfortunately, none of it meshes comfortably into a cohesive whole, and I never find myself wholeheartedly enjoying this film. And, considering it was an afterthought anyhow, I wish they'd lose the gopher entirely. Man, that shtick is just plain dumb.
	Caddyshack
	""Doody!""	2008-07-06
I used to live at Rolling Hills Golf and Country Club where CADDYSHACK was filmed, and from my third floor apartment overlooking the eighteenth hole I got to hear every line of dialogue in this film repeated ad nauseam by wannabe Rodneys, Chevys, Teds and Bill Murrays. I also got to see careless golfers' carts tip over, dumping them into the lake, something that should have been in this film, but wasn't. Frankly, I've never understood why CADDYSHACK rates so very high amongst comedies. The individual comedic performances are consistently very funny (and in Rodney Dangerfield's case, truly inspired), but this film always has struck me as LESS than the sum of its parts. In CADDYSHACK I always feel as though I'm watching a dozen competing stand-up acts a la the cable show MAKE ME LAUGH. The various bits (such as the infamous pool scene) are individually hilarious. Unfortunately, none of it meshes comfortably into a cohesive whole, and I never find myself wholeheartedly enjoying this film. And, considering it was an afterthought anyhow, I wish they'd lose the gopher entirely. Man, that shtick is just plain dumb.
	Caddyshack
	""Doody!""	2008-07-06
I used to live at Rolling Hills Golf and Country Club where CADDYSHACK was filmed, and from my third floor apartment overlooking the eighteenth hole I got to hear every line of dialogue in this film repeated ad nauseam by wannabe Rodneys, Chevys, Teds and Bill Murrays. I also got to see careless golfers' carts tip over, dumping them into the lake, something that should have been in this film, but wasn't. Frankly, I've never understood why CADDYSHACK rates so very high amongst comedies. The individual comedic performances are consistently very funny (and in Rodney Dangerfield's case, truly inspired), but this film always has struck me as LESS than the sum of its parts. In CADDYSHACK I always feel as though I'm watching a dozen competing stand-up acts a la the cable show MAKE ME LAUGH. The various bits (such as the infamous pool scene) are individually hilarious. Unfortunately, none of it meshes comfortably into a cohesive whole, and I never find myself wholeheartedly enjoying this film. And, considering it was an afterthought anyhow, I wish they'd lose the gopher entirely. Man, that shtick is just plain dumb.
	The Dodgers Move West
	"Wallet O'Money Moves West"	2008-06-29
This is an unfortunate example of the kind of revisionist tripe the O'Malley family has championed for the last decade in order to get dear old dead Walter into the Hall of Shame. Facts are stubborn things, and while it is true that the City of New York moved with arthritic abandon to try and keep its two National League franchises in the city, it is also true that ultimately, Walter O'Malley bears full responsibility for kidnapping the Brooklyn Dodgers. Walter was not a lover of the sport of baseball. Nor was he even a Dodger fan. The Dodgers were merely a cash cow for him. And, despite all the nonsense to the contrary, the Dodgers were the most financially successful team in baseball. O'Money was making MILLIONS in Brooklyn. The problem was that MILLIONS were not enough. He wanted more---free land, cable TV rights (Skiatron, his baby, worked by having the TV watcher put coins into a mechanism attached to the watcher's own set. No wonder the idea tanked), and a state of the art stadium with his claw marks on it. Los Angeles offered him all of this, available by the simple expedient of wrenching a beloved community treasure away from its native soil. Frankly, though O'Malley was a consummate businessman, he was also very, very dumb. He ignored offers to build a new stadium in the New York area (Queens, New Jersey or Patchogue) avowing that the Brooklyn Dodgers needed to stay in Brooklyn and only Brooklyn. Yeah, obviously. He further ignored the fact that Ebbets Field, while small and inefficient, could have been revamped and enlarged even within its limited expansion space. With a modest investment of less than what he paid for Dodger Stadium, parking could have been added, seating rearranged, and so on. The stadium was only 40 years old (Fenway Park, built around the same time, still serves well). The neighborhood WASN'T bad, it was just changing demographically, and had the Dodgers stayed, their presence would have arrested the area's slide into urban decay. But O'Money was not interested in attracting fans of color, despite the fact that THEIR money was green, too. He also made disparaging comments about Brooklyn's large Jewish population. The fact is that the Ebbets Field experience was as much a part of seeing the Bums as was watching the game. If he'd been truly smart he would have made gazillions marketing the whole experience, even on TV---the Sym-Phony, Hilda Chester and her cowbell, and the rest---but he was a man of limited vision, motivated only by the greenback. TV was cutting into stadium gate receipts (in all cities), yes, but viewership was expanding exponentially, and deft handling of the broadcast rights would have netted millions more. He simply didn't see this. The harebrained Skiatron plan underscores his lack of imagination. O'Malley counted only warmed seat bottoms, principally because that limited approach suited his plans. The fact is that he had made up his mind to move the Dodgers long before, and his every action was designed to forestall any successful attempt to keep them in New York. The fact that Mayor Wagner and Robert Moses simply didn't care to challenge him only helped O"Malley. The argument that he was a "visionary" for bringing baseball to the West Coast is without any merit. Baseball WAS on the West Coast. The Pacific Coast League (Minors) had an unofficial status as a third league, and teams like the Hollywood Stars and the California Angels drew heavily. Many others had tried to move these teams into the Majors long before O'Malley ever paid a penny for Dodger stock. Had crusty old Kenesaw Mountain Landis or his milquetoast successors been able to sway the owners of the MLB to allow an expansion, either or both of these teams (and others) would have been West Coast teams. O'Money had great influence with the owners' conference---did he work to block such plans? An interesting thought. Of course, O'Malley had the legal right to move the Dodgers. He owned the team. But the Dodgers were not just an asset of his, they were also part of the Brooklyn commonwealth, and had existed in one form or another as far back as the 1880's. Some properties are properly to be held in trust---the old family farm, grandmama's cameo, and in this case, the Brooklyn Dodgers. That O'Malley disregarded this consigns him to the seventh circle of hell, no matter what the revisionists say.
	The Era 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World
	"Johnny Podres, Joltin' Joe, Larry MacPhail, Jackie Robinson, The Mahatma, The Old Professor, Willie, Mickey, and The Duke"	2008-06-27
THE ERA is Roger Kahn's anecdotal, witty and exceptionally readable retelling of the eleven baseball seasons between 1947 and 1957 (also known as "The Glory Days") when baseball was preeminently the National Pastime, and New York City was the capital of the baseball universe. Kahn, an ultimate baseball insider, covered all three New York area ballclubs for various publications during The Era, and knew most of the participants personally. In THE ERA he avoids the deification of ballplayers that was so common in the contemporary press, bringing these men into realistic focus. By so doing, he reduces some giants to the stature of ordinary men and creates giants out of pygmies. Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers has said that, "baseball is a reflection of society," and never was this more true than during The Era, when baseball became the cutting edge of an increasingly powerful trend toward liberalism (the signing of Jackie Robinson), a battleground of the conservative ethos (the suspension of Leo Durocher), and a stage play wherein a small army of more talented and less talented heroes, scoundrels, clowns, jerks and geniuses helped create the national mood against a backdrop of increasing prosperity, Cold War paranoia, and tectonic sociological change. Although THE ERA is ostensibly about the rivalry between the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants, and the New York Yankees, it is really about so much more. It is about the "good old days" when things perhaps were not so good as we recall and far newer than we remember. THE ERA is a time-travel visit to the world of the Eisenhower Baby, the first world many of us remember. So return with Roger Kahn to those thrilling days of yesteryear, the Spoiled Bratdom of America.
	An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
	*"Big Suzuki * * ( * * )"**	2008-06-22
D.T. Suzuki was NOT a Zen Master. This reviewer isn't even certain he was a Zen practitioner. So this book is a little dangerous for people interested in Zen. This is a great INTELLECTUAL discussion of Zen "philosophy," the "psychology" of Zen, the Zen "mentality," the "principles" of Zen, and the "point" (if there is one) of Zen. For all of that, it earns FIVE STARS. This book was and is written for linear-minded Westerners who want to know "about" Zen, but for the person interested in Zen practice, reading this book is analogous to sitting down at the dinner table and eating the plates, not the food. You will not "experience" Zen by reading this book (unless you already understand that reading the book is Zen). People first coming to Zen through this book need to be warned that this book will not make them into Zen students. D.T. Suzuki makes a big deal about "Kensho" and "Satori," but trying to describe enlightenment is like trying to describe your own dying. Thus, we give back TWO STARS. But if you want to understand Zen as a "school of thought," this book is definitely for you. D.T. Suzuki was considered the "dean" of Zen in the West when Zen was first breaking into the public consciousness. Along with Lafcadio Hearn, Reginald Blyth, Christmas Humphreys and Alan Watts, he was one of the midwives of that process. Shogaku Shunryu Suzuki (not related), who WAS a Zen Master often referred to himself as "Little Suzuki" to distnguish himself from "Big Suzuki." For active Zen practitioners, however, the appellations need to be reversed. For the essence of "Little Suzuki"'s teisho (teachings) visit with Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library). Zen is NOT an intellectual process, and it cannot be described. It is tasting the food. It is the reading of the book. It is sitting in meditation. It is counting the breath. It is all that, and it is none of that. It is---BANG---and that is all.
	Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
	"The Marrow of Zen"	2008-06-22
This is one of the earliest Zen books available in English. ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES is not "about" Zen, it "is" Zen. An omnibus of beloved Zen tales ("101 Zen Stories"), the classic ten "Oxherding Pictures," and the "Mumonkan" ("The Gateless Gate") a collection of those ironic, irreverent, and seemingly illogical Zen riddles known as Koans, this book is an excellent, one might say, indispensable, part of any Zen practitioner's library, whether beginner or Dharma Heir. It's an excellent translation. Zen writings are essentially paradoxical, filled with sense impressions, and sometimes arcane (Koans descended from Chinese law cases of the Confucian period and are still called Cases today). ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES will not have you tearing your hair out trying to decipher the language of the Zen Masters (given the number of shaven-headed monks, you have to wonder), but it still gives the reader a great sense of the fluidity of thought that marks the material. There are other books out there that "explain" Zen, or "teach" Zen, but ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES is the essence of the immediate experience that IS Zen. The recorded version, read by Peter Coyote, is a wonderful listening experience. Sit with it.
	Law of Contracts
	"Mutual Mistake, The Mailbox Rule, and Other Legal Fictions"	2008-06-17
"Hornbooks" are summaries of a body of law used by angst-ridden law students to amplify and clarify the often arcane materials contained in Casebooks. The law of Contracts is one of the primary building blocks of a first year legal education, along with Property and Torts. Almost every 1L has a small library of these dark green encyclopedic volumes that weigh in by the kilogram. CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS is one of the few Hornbooks (along with PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS) that is considered an acceptable, though not authoritative, treatise for purposes of legal citation. Of course, cases themselves trump any other source material. This is a very good, albeit very, very dense discussion of the Law of Contracts, which is one of the most intellectually challenging areas of the law. Most of the great legal theorists were Contracts specialists. Most of our Common Law is a variation on Contract law---Torts is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in civil injury; Criminal law is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in wrongs punishable by incarceration or other sanctions; Property is all about implied (or express) contractual understandings as to the holding of title and interest; even Civil Procedure and Evidence are forms of Contract, a system of agreed-upon rules for conducting cases. The sheer density of the material in CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS makes this book less helpful than it might be to an overwhelmed law student. A typical 1L just doesn't have the time to parse and unpack this mahogany block of a text. There are other books out there that are more quickly and easily accessible, but none that acheives the depth of this particular volume. It is a "must have" for anyone serious in familiarizing themselves with the realm of Contracts. So many years after the intellectual concentration camp that is First Year Law School, I find that perusing Hornbooks for interesting minutiae can be a rather enjoyable way spend a rainy, quiet afternoon. It's too bad that most law schools make grasping the underpinnings of the U.C.C. feel like root canal without novocaine. Law has a beauty that is often ruined by legal education. If you plan to carry your Hornbooks around, get yourself a litigation case on wheels; it'll spare you a future of back problems.
	Calamari and Perillo on Contracts (Hornbook Series Student Edition)
	"Mutual Mistake, The Mailbox Rule, and Other Legal Fictions"	2008-06-17
"Hornbooks" are summaries of a body of law used by angst-ridden law students to amplify and clarify the often arcane materials contained in Casebooks. The law of Contracts is one of the primary building blocks of a first year legal education, along with Property and Torts. Almost every 1L has a small library of these dark green encyclopedic volumes that weigh in by the kilogram. CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS is one of the few Hornbooks (along with PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS) that is considered an acceptable, though not authoritative, treatise for purposes of legal citation. Of course, cases themselves trump any other source material. This is a very good, albeit very, very dense discussion of the Law of Contracts, which is one of the most intellectually challenging areas of the law. Most of the great legal theorists were Contracts specialists. Most of our Common Law is a variation on Contract law---Torts is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in civil injury; Criminal law is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in wrongs punishable by incarceration or other sanctions; Property is all about implied (or express) contractual understandings as to the holding of title and interest; even Civil Procedure and Evidence are forms of Contract, a system of agreed-upon rules for conducting cases. The sheer density of the material in CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS makes this book less helpful than it might be to an overwhelmed law student. A typical 1L just doesn't have the time to parse and unpack this mahogany block of a text. There are other books out there that are more quickly and easily accessible, but none that acheives the depth of this particular volume. It is a "must have" for anyone serious in familiarizing themselves with the realm of Contracts. So many years after the intellectual concentration camp that is First Year Law School, I find that perusing Hornbooks for interesting minutiae can be a rather enjoyable way spend a rainy, quiet afternoon. It's too bad that most law schools make grasping the underpinnings of the U.C.C. feel like root canal without novocaine. Law has a beauty that is often ruined by legal education. If you plan to carry your Hornbooks around, get yourself a litigation case on wheels; it'll spare you a future of back problems.
	Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts (Hornbook Series Student Edition)
	"The Zone of Danger and other legal fictions"	2008-06-14
"Hornbooks" are summaries of a body of law used by angst-ridden law students to amplify and clarify the often arcane materials contained in Casebooks. The law of torts is one of the primary building blocks of a first year legal education, along with Property and Contracts. Almost every 1L has a small library of these dark green encyclopedic volumes that weigh in by the kilogram. PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS is one of the few Hornbooks (along with CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS) that is considered an acceptable, though not authoritative, treatise for purposes of legal citation. Of course, cases themselves trump any other source material. Having practiced law for fifteen years I was surprised to note that PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS is still in its Fifth Edition (updated with Pocket Parts, no doubt) just as it was when I first cracked the spine of my copy. So many years after the intellectual concentration camp that is First Year Law School, I find that perusing Hornbooks for interesting minutae can be a rather enjoyable way spend a rainy, quiet afternoon. It's too bad that most law schools make reading the "Palsgraf" case feel like root canal without novocaine. Law has a beauty that is often ruined by legal education. If you plan to carry your Hornbooks around, get yourself a litigation case on wheels; it'll spare you a future of back problems.