give it a chance

i was going to add this on to the other post, but the other one was getting a little long and i know that it probably wasnt intriguing enough to keep people's attention, so i figured i would just make another post instead of just tacking it on at the end. but you know what could have saved no chance harvey? some bollywood dancing. check out the closing credits from 'slumdog millionaire.' (sorry, i couldnt post the video, but its worth watching). im not sure if they do this at the end of every bollywood movie, but i think hollywood should definitely implement this. how awesome would that be if at the end of every movie, all the cast gets together and does some choreographed dancing? if at the end of no chance harvey, dustin hoffman and emma thompson got together at a subway station and danced to abba's 'take a chance on me' or katy perry's 'hot 'n cold' then i would have been out buying everyone tickets to go see this movie. a little bit of choreographed dancing by old and/or awkward people that cant dance would provide quality entertainment and really save a lot of box office bombs. or it might even be surprising because unexpected people might have great moves. like what if clint eastwood was a surprisingly good 'pop and lock' dancer. you just never know. but you know that if you heard he was and that he was doing it at the end of the movie, you would sit through anything to see it. give it a chance, hollywood.

no chance harvey

nellie and i went and saw 'last chance harvey' on saturday night. it was only 1 hour 32 minutes long. which was about 45 minutes too long. it felt like it was 3 hours. that was probably due to the fact that i really had to go to the bathroom for most of it, but regardless, it never got good enough to the point that i forgot that my bladder was filled with sprite from that mediocre restaurant they call 'el torito.'

so this movie isn't a 'romantic comedy,' but merely a 'romantic movie.' there was little to no comedy for it to ever be put into a genre with comedy in the title. but you couldnt really term it just a drama because it wasnt drama, it was just boring. nellie really wanted to see it and even she couldnt find too much praise for it.

it has an 'all star' cast, but it wasnt enough to make the movie work. you have to love emma thompson. she is really incredible. she can always just start crying right there on screen and make you think she actually is sad about whats going on. i guess i shouldnt be too impressed though now that i live with a woman and i realize how easy and often tears can come. (that makes me sound like some abusive husband. honestly, im not. most of the time i havnt even done anything to make the tears come. im just standing there. i havnt even talked or said a word and im left speechless because there are tears, yet nothing has happened. but then suddenly they are gone and everything is back to normal and we are all happy. but why the tears then? not sure. not sure where they came from or where they went so quickly. just completely different wiring.)

the next problem with the cast was the lack of supporting characters. everyone knows that in romantic comedy (if that is what this is) that you have to have awesome supporting actors that lighten the mood and make you happy and provide a break from the love story drama. well, there werent any supporting actors in this movie. there was one girl that was alright and you could tell that it was her role to be that comedic relief and entertainment, but she was only ok. plus, she was rarely on screen and her character wasnt anything amazing or brilliant, it was only 'relief' because the rest of the movie was so slow and dull and just dragged.

and that was mainly because of this guy: dustin hoffman. who was i think playing the same guy he was in 'the graduate,' only now its 30 years later. he finished college. didnt want to work. carried on an affair with some neighbor. finally decided to get a job, or leave the neighbor because she was 40 years his senior and scary looking. went out and fulfilled his 'passion' by writing music, but never quite made it in the industry and ended up writing commercials. finally got married, but was a bad father and husband (probably because he spent so many years before he got married bucking the trend of responsibility by not working and carrying on the affair). now, for whatever reason we are supposed to care about this guy and that he has a happy life. no way. he's a loser. he is probably a nice guy, since he really isnt the same character he played in the graduate. but you would think he was because he still talks as slow...as...he...ever...has. he also still, well, you know, he, uh, well, he pauses...a lot, and um, well, you know, he uh, still sort of bumbles his words, just like he um, did in that one movie, you know, the uh, the uh (throat clear), the uh graduate. where he never really seemed to know what he wanted and was so insecure about stuff and so confused. just make a decision harvey or say something. but its hard to make a decision or profess your interest in someone when you know, you uh, have options over here and then over there and there are places to go here and then over there and uh, it just gets hard you know. yes, you know. well, hopefully you know. (its really hard to mimick someone speaking in writing. if you ever watch the movie, youll notice how slow and how long it takes him to get out each line).

anyways, there were probably other reasons this movie failed. maybe because no one really cares when two 60 year olds fall in love. not that im not happy for them, and i know that old people do exist and maybe even find love later in life, but its never exciting or something you want to watch, even when the story is fictional. its like 'the notebook' when the old couple starts making out. sick. i know it happens. thats great. i hope to make out with my wife when im sixty. but im sure no one would want to watch. and i dont care to show them. they dont make out in this movie. they dont get to that point. they just get to know each other and end it by letting you know that there is a chance they might get together and something might happen. an uneventful ending for an uneventful show. no chance, harvey.

Lyon striker Fred to return to Brazil with Flu

its been a long time since i have blogged and this isnt exactly how i anticipated getting back into writing and posting. life has been busy and hectic and just not much time lately. but i read this headline on espnsoccernet after reading about real madrid's president resigning (another post altogether, its been a rough season) and wanted to share it, but not sure how or with whom. yea for the blogosphere. i put it out there and 'share' it and someone anonomously comes along and reads it and without any sort of human interaction, we enjoy it together. no wonder its called a lone a dreary world.

so first of all, i just love fred. he's always been one of my favorite brazilian players. not so much because of his style of play as much as his name. one name, like many brazilian players. only its not brazilian at all. its fred. pele, ronaldo, robinho, kaka (also a funny one), and fred. anyways, i just also thought it was the strangest headline. i wondered why he couldnt be treated in france. surely france is a better place to receive treatment than brazil. maybe france didnt like the idea of having a brazilian with the flu in their country. doubtful. but if you have the flu, it seems like flying all the way across the world would only make you feel worse. and how long does the flu last? a week? 10 days? youre going to fly home for a week and fly back when you feel better? its gotta be a cover up. nope. just a misleading headline (or it lets a guy know he doesnt know his brazilian clubs very well).

"Fluminense will sign Lyon forward Fred in the summer, according to the Brazilian club's president.

Roberto Horcades admitted his side would like to take the former Cruzeiro striker this month but had been priced out of an early move.

"Fluminese sent a letter to Lyon expressing our interest in him after the player finishes his contract there," said Horcades.

"Before that it is not possible as the cancellation of his contract would cost five million euros.

"Alexandre (Faria, football manager) and Fred have already sealed the agreement in Natal."