Friday Floetry x 8/10/07

Well, this week I’ve heard several mentions of “making it rain”. Pacman Jones has just joined a professional wrestling league. I guess he wants to do something while he is banned from the NFL for various alleged crimes. At least a couple of those alleged crimes are related to things he did while “making it rain” or right after “making it rain”. Priest Holmes is trying to make a comeback in the NFL following an injury to his head and neck a couple of years ago. When a reporter mentioned to Holmes that some were dubious about his motives for returning especially since the team’s starter is currently holding out, Holmes responded, “Dubious is a great word, but dedication is a little bit more defined in concrete. I mean, we have what’s called ‘making it rain’. We have the dogfighting, we have so many things that have cast a negative light on the NFL. This is just a great story to show guys that regardless of what situation you’re in, you can preserve.”

With all that said, that’s sort of why I chose the Make It Rain remix for this week’s Floetry.

Floetry:

Blat, Blat, Blat, Blat, hey Joey let me git 'em
It's young money and we on like the television
The weather channel, but I do not broadcast
I throw up more cash, and change the forecast
Your boyfriend is lame, I make it rain on ya
He never make it rain, like Southern California
Where's your umbrella? Now get your raincoat
Baby I make it flood, now you gon' need a boat


Taken from Make It Rain (Remix) by Fat Joe featuring Ace Mack, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, R. Kelly, and T.I.

Movies You Should Have Seen By Now #5

Casablanca

Just like Citizen Kane, this is quite simply one of the greatest movies ever made. AFI has ranked it as #2 ten years ago and this year dropped it just behind The Godfather, as well as naming it the top romantic movie. Hollywood does not make movies like this anymore. Not that this should sway you considering the Academy's track record, but Casablanca took home the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay Oscars in 1943.

Humphrey Bogart is perfect as Rick, the owner of a nightclub in Casablanca, Morocco during the early part of WWII. Rick's plays host to refugees looking to get documentation to leave war-torn Europe and travel to America. Rick is has that special trait that he knows people and has a way with people. Captain Renault put it best when he said "Well, Rick is the kind of man that... well, if I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick. But what a fool I am talking to a beautiful woman about another man." The story really gets going when former flame and true love Ilsa arrives in Casablanca with a famed rebel looking to get to America. The love between Rick and Ilsa is reignited and she has thoughts of staying behind with Rick. It is in this dilemma that the movie becomes as amazing as it is and provides us with some of the most poignant dialogue:

Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa: But, Richard, no, I... I...
Rick: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?
Captain Renault: I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist.
Ilsa: You're saying this only to make me go.
Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.
Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.

Some other great quotes from the film:

Rick: Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Rick: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.

Ilsa: Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.

And of course, the actual dialogue (and not the misquoted - Play it again Sam)
Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.
Sam: I don't know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.
Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."
Sam: Oh, I can't remember it, Miss Ilsa. I'm a little rusty on it.

[Quotes taken from imdb.com]

Bourne Ultimatum movie review

Part III of the Bourne trilogy is every bit as good as its predecessors. It kept the same tone and feel of Identity and Supremacy, but added some new wrinkles. We were brought in a little deeper into Bourne's past as he inched his way towards fully remembering his past. Of course, he was constantly being chased, but somehow always remained mostly unscathed. He kicked all kinds of ass. Some of my biggest problems with the trilogy were again exposed in this entry. Can we please go back to the days of John Carpenter's They Live for filming fight scenes and Bullitt or French Connection for chase scenes. There were so many quick cuts and shaky-cam shots that I had no idea what was going on except that somehow Bourne would win and they other guys would be stopped. Its nice that we have finally passed the wire-fu fighting stage, now we need to cut this quick cut crap out. I have no idea if any punch thrown in the entire movie actually touched another actor. Despite this, the movie put a nice little bow on the Bourne saga and is definitely worthy of a viewing in theaters. Matt Damon is Jason Bourne and there many other fantastic supporting actors in this movie, with the sole exception of Julia Stiles. I don't know what happened to her after 10 Things I Hate About You, but she felt very wooden in this series. I cannot tell if it was the way the character was written, her take on the character or her just going through the motions of a minor character and cashing a paycheck. There was a curveball thrown out in the middle of the movie with Bourne and Stiles' character, but they either downplayed it through the rest of the movie or they just forgot about it. This is definitely one of the better trilogies to come out in years and all 3 are worth the admission price. This was also the best threequel of the summer, besting out Spiderman, Pirates and Shrek (Rush Hour 3 comes out Friday).

4.5 out of 6 beers

756

So Barry Bonds just hit his 756th homerun to surpass Hank Aaron as the all-time Major League Baseball homerun leader. I for one and am glad it is over and now Bonds can go ahead and retire from baseball and let the San Francisco Giants go back to being a baseball team instead of a team that caters to his homerun fetish. The celebration was exactly what Bonds deserved as there was an aura of smugness to the whole thing and Hank Aaron merely provided a video tribute passing the torch, but I guarantee he had a gun to his head the whole time. It was as unsincere of a speech as I think I have ever heard. I just hope that Bonds has enough class to do the same thing when someone like A-Rod surpasses him whether he wants to or not.

The one amazing thing about the whole steroids fiasco with Bonds is that he is a baseball legacy between his dad and his godfather and how in a way spit in their faces by sullying the game they played and gave their life too. Congrats Barry. Enjoy, you "earned" it.

Things To Watch Out For In The 2007 NFL Season

With the Hall of Fame Game being played last night (Steelers defeating the Saints), it is time for a season preview. I don't know if I will breakdown the individual teams outside of maybe the Texans, but if you need to see what your favorite teams will look like this year, check out the likes of Deadspin and the boys at Kissing Suzy Kolber as they are well into their team by team analyses. I will also be giving my predictions for the season in a few weeks (need to wait for any preseason injuries), but my plan is to give you, our readers, some questions to be answered and other things to look forward to in this upcoming season. [Please note that if any of these things actually happen, do not shoot the messenger or just take your aggression out on Brownie as I will find a way to blame it on him]


(1) When will the Madden Curse strike Vince Young?


(2) What will be this year's "Our Country" by John Mellencamp? You know, that one commercial that is played at virtually every commercial break during every football contest on every channel.


(3) At what point during the season will Larry Johnson's legs fall off?


(4) Will Bryant Gumbel and Chris Collinsworth (as well as the slate of games this year) on the NFL Network telecasts be any better than the snooze-inducing commentary from last year? If last night's game was any indication, then no.


(5) How many of my first 4 picks on my fantasy teams will suffer season ending injuries (Draft to be held August 18 - check back for a recap)?


(6) Will the Texans miss David Carr and will Matt Schaub be pissed that he left the Falcons (and a now starting job with them) to come play tackling dummy for AFC South defeneses?


(7) Will the Falcons win a game this season now and if they lose, will Michael Vick drown his teammates in water and electrocute them?

(8) Will the regime change instituted by Jack Del Rio and Mike Nolan to wearing suits on the sidelines impact the number of man boobs we will be see in tight fitting golf shirts?


(9) What kind of numbers will Tom Brady put up now that he has a legit NFL receiving corps rather than the Pop Warner guys he had last year and what will Randy Moss' impact be on team chemistry?


(10) Will the Arizona Cardinals finally live up to the hype they have received the past few years and will we be able to crown they ass?


(11) At what will Donovan McNabb's season end due to injury and when will rumors of the amazing Kevin Kolb getting snaps at practice start?

(12) What impact will the suspensions of players/criminals such as Pacman Jones have on their respective teams?

Anything else we should be on the lookout for?