Movie of the Week

This Week,

THE SHOOTIST (1976)

Starring- John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart

The final film in John Wayne's storied career is a classic. Although sometimes overlooked, it provides us with what I believe to be Wayne's best performance. The Duke plays J.B. Books, the last of the great gunmen, who is dying from terminal cancer. This film has very poignant overtones because Wayne himself died from cancer a few years later.

Books stays at the home of the Widow Rogers (Bacall) while he decides how to live out his remaining days. During the ensuing week Books is prey to old flames, enemies and newspapermen, all hoping to cash in on the famous shootist before he dies. For Books, death is a very private matter and he chooses to make sure that he does it on his terms.

Wayne adeptly goes between vulnerable and tough, as he wrestles with mortality. It is very moving, and it makes you want to treat your own demise with a much dignity as he does. The cast is very strong, and features some of Wayne's old pals, like Jimmy Stewart, in supporting roles. The Shootist ends a great era in film with wistful aplomb. Westerns would never be the same after Wayne's death, just as the world in the movie would be different without the gunfighter. The parallels between Books and Wayne make the film better than it could have been with any other actor.

Things to watch for-

Opie Cunningham

Colonel Potter as Marshal Thibido

Some bitchin red paint they use for blood

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on."

The State of the Union

Tonight marks Obama's first State of the Union address to the nation, and as such, I have some thoughts. I am a Democrat, I voted for Obama and I like him, so please understand that I have a bias. Yes, things in the country are not where we hoped they would be, yes we Democrats have seemingly given away the advantage, and yes, health care is in the lurch, but the state of our union is much stronger now than at any time during the years 2001-2008.

Obama was handed the biggest mess imaginable, and everybody in the United States needs to back off. I don't have a job, I am going to eventually run out of unemployment pay and I am disappointed by the crisis, but I don't feel the need to start ripping the President because we haven't made a 180 degree turnaround from this time last year. Those who thought things were going to change for the better overnight are idiots. Republicans who want to call Obama's presidency a failure need to use their elephant memory and think back to how their guy and his people spent eight years ruining EVERYTHING! It makes me so upset that even those with the HOPE bumper stickers and Obama mugs are saying he hasn't done enough yet. Guess what? He told us repeatedly when he took office, and even in the campaign, that there would not be a quick fix, one hour photo solution to our problems, and that things would probably get worse before they got better.

Therefore, please have the HOPE that Obama instilled during the campaign, and give the guy a chance. I am trying to make the best of my situation, and everyone else needs to do that too. These are dark times for our country, but it could also very easily be our finest hour. It is critical that we band together and support the leadership in Washington. If we do not, and succumb to negativity and in-fighting, we will never know how much good could have been done. Barack Obama deserves the opportunity to make things right, and even though it will take time, I know it will be worth the wait.

Movie of the Week

This Week,

THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986)

Starring- Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

The sequel to the 1961 film The Hustler, this movie gave Paul Newman a long awaited Oscar for Best Actor. Newman probably had better performances, but this one is very good. He plays Fast Eddie Felson, who after his fall from pool playing stardom, has settled in as a liquor salesman to local bars and restaurants. In one such bar he sees a young pool junkie named Vincent (Tom Cruise) and thinks he might be able to recapture his lost glory. After some wheedling, Eddie convinces Vincent to come on with him as his protege.

Vincent proves to have the "balls" but not the "brains" that Eddie feels he needs to become a successful pool hustler. The two clash over how best to make money and achieve glory, and in the end they part ways- Eddie now deciding to return to the fold as a player.

Martin Scorsese's direction heightens the drama between the two stars, and makes Newman appear confident and fragile at the same time. Even though he is older, Newman still manages to out cool his younger co-star, as he deftly teaches Vince about the nuances of being a hustler. One almost wishes that Fast Eddie would take us under his wing instead of the compulsive Vincent, and tell us about how to score and make big money. A wild card in the mix is Vince's girlfriend, Carmen who has her own angles and ideas on the business of hustling. She is a nice foil for the two men, and really helps ratchet up the tension.

The Color of Money is by no means Scorsese, Newman or Cruise's best work, but together they make an entertaining movie. I could watch Paul Newman read the phonebook, so that may have something to do with why I like this film, but it provides a good lesson about luck, life and how to navigate them.

Things to Watch for-

Forrest Whitaker as a young pool hustler

A bit of a cliffhanger ending

The Balabushka

Scorsese's cameos

VINCE's T-shirt

"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."

Things I Think- Sporting Edition

Sports are the great equalizer. Everyone from the richest of the rich, to the poorest of the poor can enjoy a game of football, basketball, baseball or even curling. Whether in person or on T.V., sports are dramatic, redemptive and heart-wrenching. I love sports, some more than others, but I follow the ones I like quite religiously. On top of reading Sports Illustrated, I also watch Sports Center and Pardon the Interruption daily on ESPN. As such, I have some thoughts on the sporting world.

I think that people need to pick a team to cheer for and remain loyal to that team- FOREVER. Nothing bugs me more than people who jump from team to team just because they are winners. Also, I dislike people who don't root for their hometown teams and instead follow some sexier, big market team like oh, I don't know, The LAKERS! For the record, I follow the Jazz in basketball, the Packers in football, the Cubs in baseball and the Calgary Flames in hockey. If I ever root for someone else, you can kick me in the pills.

I think that NCAA March Madness is awesome the way it is. Lately there has been talk of expanding the tournament from 64 to 96 teams, and I hate that idea. If the field were expanded it would completely devalue getting a bid, and it would make filling out a bracket ridiculously difficult. Don't mess with the most perfect thing in sports!

I think that the best sports movies are Rocky, Raging Bull, Miracle and Hoosiers.

I think USC, Notre Dame, Lakers and Yankees fans are annoyingly smug.

I think any attempt to lengthen the playoffs or regular season of any sport is a mistake and is so obviously just a way for owners to make more money.

I think it would be nice if I could get into soccer because we have a team here in Salt Lake that just won the MLS Cup, but I can't.

I think Tiger Woods needs to come out of hiding and address the media. The longer he stays away, the worse it will be when he returns. It has been said that winning is the greatest deodorant, but I'm not sure that just putting up some W's in tournaments will be enough to redeem Tiger.

I think that Tiger should have been more like Arnold Palmer, who is a legend in the ass-getting department, but kept his business on the down-low.

I think PTI is on. Bye.

50th Post Special

Well, dear readers, Conned has made it to the 50th post. Its a special milestone for me, and I hope you recognize how far this blog has come since August. We started off with a crappy layout and no pictures, and now we have a less crappy layout and pictures. Yay! Anyway, to mark this momentous event here are some facts about/related to the number 50.

50 is the atomic weight of tin.

Former Spurs Center David 'The Admiral' Robinson wore #50.

President Ulysses S. Grant is on the 50 dollar bill.

There are 50 chapters in the book of Genesis.

The T.V. show Hawaii Five-O is called this because Hawaii is the 50th state.

There is a Canadian beer called 50 Ale.

5o's Roman numeral is L.

50 is the golden anniversary.

In the year 50 C.E. the Romans learned the use of soap from the Gauls.

Bill Murray, Randy Quaid and Tom Petty were all born in 1950.

Just wait until we hit 100, that party is gonna be off the hook.

Bowzers

Since I grew a beard, people have told me that I am starting to look like my dog. People who look like their dogs are known as Bowzers, and I'm not really that keen on being one. I know there are much less attractive dogs that I could look like, and I do love the pooch, but I still

don't see it. You be the judge.

Even if you think we look somewhat alike, you have to agree that these people are much worse.

WOOF!

Get Bent, Jay!

Conan O'Brien is too good for NBC. The fact that they want to keep Jay Leno instead of Conan shows that they are even dumber than CBS who still continues to show that sociopath Charlie Sheen in the moron-fest, Two and A Half Men. By the way, that kid should count as a whole man by now- he's a big boy. Did he eat Jon Cryer? I'm just saying. Jay has never been funny, and will never be funny, no matter at what time they put his stupid show. I've seen episodes of This Old House that made me laugh harder than anything Jay Leno ever did. I hope Conan gets his own show again, and that NBC takes a huge hit for sticking with the giant chin. Here now is a link to Conan's hilarious monologue from last night's Tonight Show.

http://www.wwtdd.com/2010/01/conan-seems-upset-about-something/

Enjoy!