Target Field/Minnesota Twins

Product

2012

I had the opportunity to go to a Twins game Thursday night - May10th. I had not yet seen the new park in person. I come away thoroughly impressed. It was so enjoyable watching a professional baseball team outdoors in the cool, crisp night air. Oh yeah, and the Twins were there too. The Twins were pathetic. It is truly no wonder they sport the worst record in all of Major League Baseball. It was literally like watching the Bad News Bears.

Target Field is a first class facility that has a lot going for it. The layout, the accessibility, the food, the cup holders, the scoreboards and big screens and of course the field itself are all fabulous. Unfortunately the tenants are stinking up the place.

I must also say the fans were either completely bored with the product on the field or we just have the most unserious fans in all the major leagues. No one honored the simple etiquette where you keep your butt in the seat when someone is batting as to not block the view for real fans at a critical moment. However, it was such a terrible game that there were no critical moments to miss. We'll give the fans a pass on this one.

The Twins pitcher, Marqis, was awful. The catcher (not Joe) could not catch the ball - I have never seen so many dropped balls in my life - it actually became annoying. The fielding was atrocious. The Blue Jays stole bases at will, advanced bases at will and respected no one's throwing arm as the scored runs at will. As bad as the pitching and the fielding was the batting was even worse. At least 4 players laid down bunts - guess how many were successful? Yeah, none. Only the DH Willingham really drove the ball hitting his 7th home run. That was the sole highlight. The team looked uninspired, distracted, and bored. The Blue Jays on the other hand hustled on every play, they deserved to win.

And yeah the mighty Joe Mauer sucked too...

I remain skeptical that the Twins are going to turn things around, they have absolutely nothing going for them that I can see. It's a shame that the whole experience of going to this really first rate ball park is tainted by this truly lousy team.

Target Field 5 of 5 stars


Twins 1 of 5 stars


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The Avengers

Movie

2012

Two thoughts come to mind after seeing this film. Thoroughly enjoyable from stem to stern and greater than the sum of it's parts. Everything about this movie worked - the plot, the characters, the acting, the dialogue, the effects, but most of all the timing. I never took my eyes off this 142 minute movie, I couldn't.

The one liners you grew accustomed to watching Robert Downy Jr. in the Iron Man movies where so much better, had greater impact and were far funnier in the Avengers. Better still, they came at precise moments enhancing the action in every way. A movie like this could have bogged down in the sort of gratuitous action we've seen before in these super hero movies. Not this movie. It was, in a word - great.

As for declaring the film greater than the sum of it's parts, it's neither a stretch nor necessarily obvious. The Iron Man movies were quite good, thanks in large part to Robert Downy Jr.'s confident acting and super cool technology (special effects). That said, I found the Thor movie unwatchable, I hated it, never finished it. In the Avengers the Thor character (Chris Hemsworth) was fabulous, completely likeable and totally righteous. The Hulk movies left me with a "meh" attitude. Blind rage isn't endearing in a super hero. Except in this movie it was. It was used to perfection. The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) became the star of this movie. As for the Captain America (Chris Evans) I never saw the movie. In the Avengers "old" CA was picture perfect, the glue that held the team together.

The other characters Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and The BlackWidow (Scarlett Johansson) were great and really added personality to the plot. Far from being mere eye candy Johansson shows us that the Black Widow is more than just a pretty face; she's as dangerous psychologically as she is physically. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) Mr. S.H.I.E.L.D. himself was fine as was his sidekick Agent Maria Hill (the stunningly beautiful Cobie Smulders). Perhaps the funniest one liners were delivered by the driest of characters, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) who we have come to know from the other Marvel movies as the recruiter for Nick Fury.

What super hero movie would be complete without a great villain? The Avengers doesn't disappoint. Meet Loki, wonderfully complex, masterfully dancing on the fine line between villainy and redemption as the god of mischief. The half brother of Thor, he is seeking his revenge on dear brother by declaring war on Thor's protectorate - the Earth. He is more than a simple megalomaniac with a great smile. A great villain will at times pull at your sympathies before showing his true colors and Loki delivers.

Whether you liked any of the Marvel movies before this you owe it to yourself to see this one. It will be the yardstick all future super hero movies will be measured against.It really is that good.


4 of 5 stars


CW


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Midnight In Paris

Movie
2012


Midnight in Paris combines two of the people I like the least in all of Hollywood. One being Woody Allen and the other being Owen Wilson. Despite this demented duo I found that I really enjoyed this movie - and I wasn't expecting to.

Wilson is an actor I find annoying in general. I thought he was really good in that off beat movie The Royal Tannebaums and not too bad in the Wedding Crashers, but in everything else he plays the same irritating, punch me in the face character. Sure there's a little bit of "that" Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris, but the writing is so good and the dialogue so snappy that you forget that you don't like the main protagonist at all.

I have always been a fan of Rachel McAdams and was looking forward to her contribution here, but honestly anyone could have played her part because this was Wilson's movie from the start.

Gil (Wilson) is a successful Hollywood writer who had grown bored and now has set off to write his first novel. Unfortunately it was not going well. Inez, his fiance, (McAdams) takes him to Paris piggybacking on her father's business trip. Gil falls in love with Paris and thinks they should live there after they get married. Inez scoffs at his romantic notions of the city, brushing his suggestions aside as just crazy talk.

Ultimately Inez bores him with her pretentious friends and culturally bitter parents, causing Gil to seek inspiration by drunkenly wandering that streets of Paris at night. And that's where the fun begins...

At the strike of midnight he is invited into a party car that transports him back to the 1920s where he meets the people that he most admired. To his utter bemusement and delight he meets F.Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, Hemingway, Picasso, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein and the delightful Salvador Dali (and his obsession with rhinoceros').  Night after night at the strike of midnight he enters the Golden Age of literature and art to find a special something (and someone) that leads to a breakthrough in his own work.

Adriana, played by the Oscar winning Marion Cotillard, once Picasso's girlfriend soon becomes Gil's muse and the object of his desire. She is also pining for a Golden Era of her own - convinced the1890's Europe was the pinnacle of all culture.

Woody Allen put together an interesting and snappy screenplay that was simultaneously clever and funny. After watching the film I'm not surprised he won the Oscar this year. I was sure Allen had lost his edge decades ago. He put together a fine cast including Kathy Bates, Allison Pill, Adrien Brody, Michael Sheen and Corey Stall as Hemingway. Although I still don't like Allen or Wilson I am big enough to give them both a hat tip for this gem.


4 of 5 stars


CW

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Dashboard Confessional

Music
2012

In my quest for discovering new music (new to me anyway) a few years ago I came across a song while listening to Pandora.com that perked up my ears. It was called "Stolen" by a band I had never heard of - Dashboard Confessional. Wow, I thought, that's just good songwriting. Eventually I downloaded the mp3 and put it on my IPod and went on my way. As the song would pop up in the random rotation I would think wow, that's just damn good songwriting.

You see I fancy myself a songwriter too - I have an album coming out soon myself (more on that some other time) - and I am continually amazed at the plethora of good writers out there. Some shine brighter than others, and some can sustain that over the years, album after album. Christopher Carrabba's Dashboard Confessional has done just that.

Dashboard Confessional started as a side project for Carrabba in an effort to become more intimate and personal with his music. With his success a new genre of music was legitimized and has crawled out of the underground. I'm still not exactly sure what Emo is but it is described as a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. And yes that describes Dashboard Confessional exactly. According to the article on Wikipedia - Emo broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000's with the platinum-selling success of Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional...

Leaving his band Further Seems Forever to pursue a solo career in the early 2000's Carrabba's first recordings were just him and his guitar. Even then he started to gather a legion of devotees. Later in 2002 the full-length album "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" was released and featured a full band on several tracks. From that album the heart-rending single "Screaming Infidelities" found an immediate home on modern rock radio.

By 2003 with a permanent lineup (with bassist Scott Schoenbeck, guitarist/pianist Johnny Lefler, and drummer Mike Marsh) and a new album, "A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar" Dashboard Confessional was on it's way. The album topped the Billboard charts and spawned another hit single, "Hands Down," which peaked at number eight.

The thing put the band in the spotlight was the inclusion of the song "Vindicated" on 2004's Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. The band now had a wide audience, and a song that rose to number two. The album that featured Vindicated - Dusk and Summer - also featured the hit single "Don't Wait" which really epitomizes the whole emotional nakedness of the genre. Carrabba sets up the listener with a pensive, heartfelt verse then ratchets it up 10 notches as he delivers the punchline chorus:

Don't wait, Don't wait
The road is now a sudden sea
And suddenly, you're deep enough
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down

Over the years Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional have been savaged by the critics. The theme repeats itself over and over claiming Carrabba abandoned the true Emo purity he himself pioneered. As if it is a crime for artists to grow and change from album to album. You know the Beatles abandoned holding hands and Norwegian wood too. While DC may not be your thing the talent here is undeniable.

I find the songwriting - as mentioned, very, very strong - and the performances led by Carrabba's emotive vocals backed by solid rock components make for exciting music with rib-sticking hooks. I find myself humming these tunes long after the final notes fade away.

My favorite tracks are:

• Stolen
• Don't Wait
• Vindicated
• Until Morning
• Belle of the Boulevard
• Hands Down

You can download individual songs on ITunes or Amazon.com's mp3 site. Dashboard Confessional may not be a new act, but there are plenty of new audiences out there to be discovered. Yours truly, having cut my teeth on the sounds of the 1970's, appreciates the new generation of songwriters and in particular Chris Carrabba.


4 of 5 stars


CW

Netflix (Streaming version)

Product

2012

We got a Nintendo Wii machine at Christmas-time and it came with a "free" month of Netflix. We were excited since the avenue for renting movies in a retail setting has really dried up in the last two years. We have rather old TV's and none with an HDMI connection and certainly none with built-in wi-fi. Ordering a movie through Comcast's On Demand is a serious rip-off - isn't that monthly bill high enough already???

So the Netflix offer through the Wii seemed a perfect solution. It was easy enough to get the Wii connected to the home wireless network, quite slick in fact. The Netflix app installed seamlessly and an account was created, so far, so good. The rest, however, is not so good.

I spent a good hour pouring through the initial offerings listed in several different categories only to become more and more disappointed. The movies were old and were repeated over and over within the different categories. OK, well, they have a search feature, surely the movies I wanted were just not "on the shelves" so to speak. I was interested in a Matt Damon movie called "The Adjustment Bureau". It was old enough that it would easily have been on the shelf at Blockbuster by now. Nope not on Netflix. How about that movie "Captain America"? Nope. My son wanted to see and old Ed Burns sci-fi movie called "Sound of Thunder". Not there either. My wife was interested in a TV series called "Justified". She wanted to see it from the first episode because it was one of those shows that won't make sense coming in half way through season two. That also was not there.

We went online to the Netflix site only to learn that the DVD service and the streaming service did not share the same content. Of course they don't share the same subscription either. You would have to pay double to have both. Not going to happen.

I would opt for the the DVD service if anything, but then we would have to weigh how many movies we would watch in a month as it compares to a service like Red Box. I have learned that Red Box is a pretty good deal and it has a slick reservation service too. The only issue I have is that our movie watching habits are schizophrenic and we would probably rent movies we never end up watching or endure daily late fees. Red Box only makes sense if you are disciplined. We are not. The Netflix DVD service is more forgiving for people like us.

Needless to say I will be dropping the Netflix Streaming service - it just not right for us. Perhaps it will get better with time. We can also explore Hulu and other online services once we join the 21st century and get a modern - connectable - TV.

1 of  5 stars



CW

One For the Money

Movie 

2012

Based on the famous Janet Evanovich novels about Stephanie Plum, the accidental bounty hunter, One For the Money had a lot to live up to. I heard my wife laugh hysterically while reading the Plum books for years so I was mildly anticipating this movie with her.

Plum, played by Katherine Heigl, is an unemployed lingerie saleswoman out of luck and out of money. She takes a job from her cousin, a bail bondsman, hoping for some quick cash picking up lowlife deadbeats who fail to appear for court. The first case that crosses her radar is Joe Morrelli, a cop who's on the run after being charged with killing an unarmed man while off duty. The price on his head is 50 thousand which is too much for Plum to overlook - and of course there is history between them.

The picture is being panned mercilessly largely because critics routinely can't stand Heigl - personally I find her endearing (I mean anyone who had work with that completely nauseating Seth Rogan and actually make me want to finish watching Knocked Up has something going for her). Admittedly the movie could have been a 2-hour pilot for a TV series, but it was a fun romp and undeserving of such scorn. Audiences are polling in the 70% positive range. The movie was meant for the female audience for obvious reasons and has wonderful escapist qualities. It wasn't meant to vie for an Academy Award, it's a date movie.

Now I have not read the books so I don't know if they are all about the laugh and said escapism, but the story could have had a bit more mystery and cleverness. Some of the comedy seemed contrived but there were some really good laughs.

The rest of the cast, including Debbie Reynolds, Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo and Sherri Shepherd, where there to only support Heigl. The movie had no side stories - it was all about Stephanie Plum. Daniel Sunjata who plays Ranger a professional bounty hunter takes Plum under his wing to show her the ropes. He promises to be a integral part of the Stephanie Plum story if this film spawns sequels as one would expect.

Honestly it should be spawning a TV series instead.

3 of 5 stars


CW

The Script

Music
2012


Being a child of the Classic Rock era I can basically say I'm sick of it. I love 70's music (pre-disco era) more than just about anyone, but I'm needing new musical stimulation. I can consume Classic Rock in small doses, I mean you have to, right?  You wouldn't necessarily take more than a few sips of TJ Swan or Southern Comfort at your age would you?

Indeed, I'm always looking for new music. Using Pandora and some of the other Internet Radio Stations is a great way to find new music. By new I mean the 90's and beyond. Yes, it's true I do not live on the cutting edge so something new to me may actually be yesterday's news.

I found The Script by way of an Internet Radio site called Last.fm. While you listen to a self-created station they always list "similar artists". I think I was listening to Parachute when The Script appeared. I clicked on it and I was hooked.

Their most popular song is probably "Breakeven". It's certainly not breaking any new ground, but it is just so well done and so very, very catchy that it instantly sticks in your head and stays there. The tune/melody is simultaneously familiar and new, the instrumentation upbeat, crisp and affirmative, capturing all the elements of a hit song.

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving
And when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven even... no

What am I gonna to do when the best part of me was always you,
And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up and you're ok
I'm falling to pieces, yeah,
I'm falling to pieces, yeah,
I'm falling to pieces

Vocalist Danny O'Donoghue describes their music as 'celtic soul' - I don't what that is??? Guitarist Marc Sheehan plays in an understated style that never takes over, but does drives the music forward. The first album (self-titled) proved to be an incredible success, topping the charts in serveral countries and establishing the Script as 2008's most popular newcomer. In 2009 Paul McCartney and U2 both put the band on stage to open several of their sold-out shows.

There is a lot of similarity between The Script and Maroon 5. If  I was asked who they sound like it would be them. I'm a fan of both. With their 2nd album Maroon 5 began to fall heavily into pure pop music whereas The Script inhabits what I would call pop rock. 

Some other stellar songs from The Script's 2 major releases include "Nothing", "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" and "For the First Time". You can sample and buy individual songs on ITunes and Amazon.com. While The Script may be old news to you I consider them one the best new bands on my playlist.

Check them out and enjoy!

4 of 5 stars

CW

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Movie
2012


I was a fan of the black and white movies of old with Basil Rathbone playing our inimitable hero. While I enjoyed the modern remake with the fine acting of Robert Downey Jr. in the first Holmes movie I wasn't prepared for Sherlock to be a street brawling swashbuckler. Never fear in the second movie he still holds his own when guns and knives come out. This movie was well done in the modern format such as it is. Modern movies with their extreme closeups and fast, frenetic editing can be exciting visual candy, but it is not a substitute for great dialog and good story telling. Fortunately Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has both.

If you can get past Holmes being a manic, street smart, wise cracking genius the mystery is pretty good. This film pits Holmes against his greatest foe, the one and only Professor Moriarty (played Jared Harris). Clues are scattered about for future use as the movie progresses, the trick is to guess which are ultimately relevant. The look and feel of the sets/locations is excellent. No expense was spared to make the environment seem like what we imagine the 1890's to be.

Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law, is not all the character we came to love in the old movies. He is as loyal to Holmes as the original but less of a slow wit and far more prickly. Law does a good job but the character is somehow not right, but then again neither is Sherlock Holmes himself.  They do work well together, but if you're at all nostalgic for the original films this rendering can be hard to swallow.

The movie starts with a reprise of Rachel McAdam's delicious character from the first movie - the mischievous Irene Adler. However, she makes a quick exit and a love interest for the Holmes character is never re-established. It can be argued that it isn't even missed since the wedding of Dr. Watson to Mary seems to come between Sherlock and John anyway.

The mind games between Holmes and Moriaty are decent, helping to build some tension and suspense, but the wise cracking irreverency Downey brings to the character is a little like inviting Captain Jack Sparrow to the party. There is also just a little too much dependency on slow motion through the critical action scenes that drag the movie down when it should be hectic and a bit unpredictable. What was so effective in the first movie as we watched Holmes evaluate the moves of both his adversaries and himself before they happen tended to drag this film out. It is OK and even worthwhile if it is used sparingly, in this movie it's just too much of an old thing.

Overall it's a afternoon of good fun. You'll laugh, you'll cringe (you'll eat popcorn), but rest assured this film will not be winning any awards.



3 of 5 stars


CW

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Movie
2011

Based on the popular novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson this movie is a taut, well acted murder mystery that keeps you guessing and intrigued throughout. Starring Daniel Craig as disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeteh Salander the story has a several twists and turns that serve to define the principal characters.

Blomkvist, fresh off a losing court battle in which he is left nearly penniless takes a job investigating a 40 year-old murder of the niece of a wealthy industrialist played by Christopher Plummer. He leaves behind the magazine and his lover and quickly becomes obsessed with the case as it morphs into conspiracy of vast proportions. All the while he works with the promise that Henrik Vanger (Plummer) has the goods on his nemesis Wennerström who had brought the lawsuit on him.

As the conspiracy widens he bring on an investigator, a rather unconventional one at that. Lisbeteh Salander, the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker is officially a ward of the state because she is labeled clinically insane. She is brilliant, but ultimately trapped by the system and therefore lives in the shadows of society. Her very appearance and manner make her almost invisibly to polite society which disregards her as just another troubled youth. She is able to use this to her great advantage.

Rooney Mara takes over the film at this point as the whole mood ratchets up ten notches. Her street smarts and ability to defend herself make her a worthy anti-hero as she simultaneously frees herself from her government oppressors and makes a true friend with Mikael.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was easy enough to "bond" with Daniel Craig's character, but I found myself extremely sympathetic to Mara's character whom if I had met on the streets in my daily life would have repelled me.

The movie is rated R and rightly so, with some extreme violence (though not gratuitous) and some sex scenes. I can imagine sequels stemming from this as there are two more novels in the series, though this movie stands alone in it's resolution.


4 of 5 stars



CW