Slap Shot (1977)

Slap Shot is a 1977 Paul Newman hockey film that every professional hockey player adores. The film is about a failing minor league hockey team located in a dying mill town. The owner wants to sell the team and Newman, portraying player/coach Reggie Dunlop, utilizes increased violence and false relocation rumors (to, of all places, St. Petersburg, Florida) to focus the team and try to save his waning career.

The film, written by Nancy Dowd, is pretty high on the vulgar scale. Barely a few minutes passes by without the heaviest of curse words spoken or the Lord's name decried, so watch it at your own risk.

But the allure to this film and what has made it memorable after all of these years lies in characters of the three dim-witted, nasty hockey players called the Hanson Brothers. They have amazingly low IQs, but are a terror on the ice. Its there brutality that whips the fans into a frenzy and shows Dunlop the path and opportunity to save the team.

As the satirical story unfolds, the once-empty stadium is packed with blood thirsty fans who are more interested in fighting than hockey. It echoes back to gladiator fights in the Coliseum of Rome. At one point, while every player on both teams are squared off in a grisly battle of fisticuffs, the announcer screams in anger as one of the hockey players refuses to fight. Only at the non-violence does the announcer suggest that real hockey is being betrayed and that children should look away. It is a very funny moment and defines the overall style of the film.

Sprinkled throughout the story are smaller plot lines involving Dunlop's failed marriage and another hockey players failing marriage, both of which are visually represented by the slow death of the mill town itself. The film carries with it a definite 70's gritty film style and anti-establishment attitude.

The Hanson Brothers

I first saw this film on cable television 20 years ago in college and I have to admit that my best friend, Tim, and I still throw quotes from it while watching the Tampa Bay Lightning games. Quotes such as "putting on the foil coach!" or "you go to (penalty) box... you feel shame." are spoken often.

Slap Shot is a classic for it's prototypical 70s film style, the Hanson brothers and its attitude. But, be warned, watching the film is like walking into a minor-league hockey locker room... language, along with the violence, can be brutal.

Red Eye (2005)

Wes Craven is known as the master of horror having directed so many successful hits such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes and the Scream series. He takes on the thriller genre with the very effective Red Eye, with rising stars Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy.

I have come to adore the 30 year old McAdams because she is not only beautiful, but extremely talented. Her roles have been so varied, from the head of the Mean Girls to the love interest in Wedding Crashers and now the distressed lead in Red Eye, she is chameleon-like in her performances. In Red Eye she plays head hotel manager Lisa Reisert who spends her life making sure other people's problems are solved. On a flight home from her grandmother's funeral, she fills her time waiting for her delayed overnight flight by talking with a charming stranger played by Cillian Murphy.

The Irish born Murphy was first introduced to American audiences in the horror film 28 Days Later and later as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. In Red Eye, Murphy plays the mysterious and dangerous Jackson Rippner, who flirts with McAdams on the flight, but who's real goal is much more sinister.

Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy

Craven's years of directorial experience and cinematic storytelling are shown to great effect in Red Eye. You would have thought Craven had been shooting PG-13 thrillers for years. He lets the story unfold with suspenseful anticipation and the overall film is very satisfying.

One of the hard things about promoting a film like Red Eye, or thrillers in general, is how do you entice the audience without giving away major plot points? Its tough. I could go on and explain in detail some other storylines, but to do so would destroy much of the effectiveness of the film.

So, do yourself a favor and don't watch the trailers, don't read anything more about it, just go rent Red Eye, sit back and enjoy an excellent thriller.

ACLU, Meet Mr. Washington

During my wife's visit to Washington, DC she bought for me a book of great American speeches. In it is the first inaugural address from our first president, George Washington.

I think we should all thank Mr. Washington for setting into motion the divine graces for which this country has enjoyed on numerous occasions. Below is a portion of Washington's first address as President of the United States... I've added my own highlights to emphasize the point:

"...it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge.

In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.

Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.

Now, does that sound like a man who intended the socialist, ACLU version of "separation of church and state" to be the standard of this country? Does this sound like a nation that intended to REMOVE God from the public discussion?

What audacity do the members of the ACLU have to rewrite the intentions of the founding fathers to fit their socialistic atheistic agenda.

And what a sad state of education we have that every American citizen is unaware of the contents of this country's first President's first official act.

As I read through the rest of the many speeches in my book I will post those that show further the founding faith in God Almighty that built this country on such a strong and divinely protected foundation.

State of the Divided Union Address

Last night President Bush gave his fifth State of the Union address and it made me realize two things...
1) Bush was great on ideas and short on detail.
2) Democrats offer nothing.

I felt this State of the Union address should have been the one delivered after his re-election. We need to get off of our dependence on foriegn oil... I said it back then that Bush should have mandated a shift to non-oil solutions as Kennedy mandated we get to the moon.

There were a lot of great ideas in Bush's positive speech, but if I followed up each idea with the question "well, how do we do that?" I found very little detail to make me think those ideas would be converted to action quickly.

The other thing I realized, or at least solidified in my mind, is the current Democratic leadership has completely lost their way.

For the most part, I believe each American is likely 50% Republican and 50% Democrat... Republican in the sense we want the government to leave our money alone, we want judges to uphold laws, not rewrite them and we tend to follow the moral direction the Republicans represent. We are Democrats in the sense of focusing on the environment, assisting the poor and under privileged and evaluating domestic social programs to fill the gaps between the haves and have nots.

However, I really feel the current Democratic leadership offers nothing. They complain about the war, but offer no solutions. They complain about tax cuts, while ignoring how those cuts strengthened the economy, and they have offered no strong spending and/or entitlement overhauls to fix overspending.

They remind me of the slash and burn mentality in war... they go in, burn down an idea, and leave nothing remaining but the smoldering remains.

For example, one of my biggest gripes is Social Security. Bush offered a Social Security solution which, by the way, is very similar to a plan the members of Congress and federal employees currently enjoy. Yet, the Democrats slashed and burned the idea, not because it was bad (i.e., they use it now personally), but because it was Bush's.

I have not heard a peep out of the Democrats on how they would fix Social Security... except raising taxes.

Excuse me? Let me get this straight. You've borrowed against the Social Security funds, decisions which have put us in a precarious situation, and now you want to take more of my money? Why should I believe the government will spend that money wisely? They haven't before, or else we wouldn't be in the situation, so what's changed?

Tell you what, I'll pay more taxes if the government can prove to me that they've cut all of the unnecessary spending in the budget. Do that, show me you're responsible, show me I should trust you with my money, and I'll pay more taxes.

Until then, leave my frickin' money alone.

The clincher for the Democrats failure occurred last night at this point in Bush's speech...

"Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security..."

And the Democrats applauded. They were actually proud that they did NOTHING to solve this problem! What they should have focused was on Bush's words that completed the sentence:

"...yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away — and with every year we fail to act, the situation gets worse."

If I were a Democrat I would immediately demand the resignation of current leadership. There have GOT to be some proactive, sensible Democrats among the ranks that actually represent the average American citizen. Because the current list of bozos (Clinton, Kennedy, Reid, Shumer, etc.) represent one thing... bad leadership. They attack. They change their stances on critical isues at the whim of the polls. They offer nothing constructive or productive.

They slash, they burn and they leave the remains to us and our children.

As for the details missing in Bush's speech, I'll give him a little time to put together some initiatives. I'd love to see them all come to fruition, but talk is cheap, especially in Washington. For me, he's got six months to put some meat behind the ideas or else those ideas just become smoke and mirrors.

My last thought watching the State of the Union and all of the members of Congress was... these people are supposed to represent the average citizen? They're supposed to understand our needs and react to them?

I didn't buy it for a minute.

I wondered what Washington, Jefferson and Franklin would have to say about that. I can't imagine it would have been good.

Social Experimentation 101 - Exhibit A

Exhibit A gives teeth to my arguments listed in my Social Experimentation 101 blog entry below.

UPS Driver Attacked by Middle School Students : He (Thomas Murphy, the victim) says a teenager walked out in front of his delivery truck Friday at about 3 p.m.

When he stopped the truck, 15 to 20 youths surrounded him .

"Somebody clocked me with a pipe. I took kicks from my right. My eyes caked over. I tried to get up and defend myself as best I could," Murphy said.

He was beaten from his head to his ankles.

"I remember being down on one knee, falling to the ground with kids on top of me," Murphy said.

Somebody should be held accountable for these kids. They run wild like a pack of wolves, where's the parents?" Murphy said.

You can read the whole story here.

Oscar Nominations

The nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.

I've highlighted the movies I've seen and the movies I want to see before the Academy Awards are handed out.

Best Picture:

• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• Crash
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Munich

Best Actor:

• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
• Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
• Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
• Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
• David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actress:

• Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
• Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
• Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
• Charlize Theron, North Country
• Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor:

• George Clooney, Syriana
• Matt Dillon, Crash
• Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
• Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
• William Hurt, A History of Violence

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams, Junebug
• Catherine Keener, Capote
• Frances McDormand, North Country
• Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
• Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain

Best Director:

• Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
• Bennett Miller, Capote
• Paul Haggis, Crash
• George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
• Steven Spielberg, Munich

Best Foreign Film:

• Don't Tell, Italy
• Joyeux Noel, France
• Paradise Now, Palestine
• Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days, Germany
• Tsotsi, South Africa

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
• Dan Futterman, Capote
• Jeffrey Caine, The Constant Gardener
• Josh Olson, A History of Violence
• Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich

Best Original Screenplay:

• Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, Crash
• George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck
• Woody Allen, Match Point
• Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
• Stephen Gaghan, Syriana

Best Animated Feature Film:

• Howl's Moving Castle
• Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
• Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best Art Direction:

• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Pride & Prejudice

Best Cinematography:

• Batman Begins
• Brokeback Mountain
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• The New World

Best Sound Mixing:

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Walk the Line
• War of the Worlds

Best Sound Editing:

• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• War of the Worlds

Best Original Score:

• Brokeback Mountain, Gustavo Santaolalla
• The Constant Gardener, Alberto Iglesias
• Memoirs of a Geisha, John Williams
• Munich, John Williams
• Pride & Prejudice, Dario Marianelli

Best Original Song:

• In the Deep from Crash, Kathleen Bird York and Michael Becker
• It's Hard out Here for a Pimp from Hustle & Flow, Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
• Travelin' Thru from Transamerica, Dolly Parton

Best Costume:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Mrs. Henderson Presents
• Pride & Prejudice
• Walk the Line

Best Documentary Feature:

• Darwin's Nightmare
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
• March of the Penguins
• Murderball
• Street Fight

Best Documentary (short subject):

• The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
• God Sleeps in Rwanda
• The Mushroom Club
• A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

Best Film Editing:

• Cinderella Man
• The Constant Gardener
• Crash
• Munich
• Walk the Line

Best Makeup:

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Cinderella Man
• Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith

Best Animated Short Film:

• Badgered
• The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
• The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
• 9
• One Man Band

Best Live Action Short Film:

• Ausreisser (The Runaway)
• Cashback
• The Last Far,
• Our Time Is Up
• Six Shooter

Best Visual Effects:

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• King Kong
• War of the Worlds

Social Experimentation 101

During the course of my short life, American society seems to be carelessly implementing social experiments with no real understanding as to the consequences of such change.

The core of any society is the family unit. The stronger the family, the stronger the society. When my parents got married, there were common expectations of the dating ritual and of marriage:

• You didn't have premarital sex.
• You did not cheat on your spouse.
• You did not divorce.

Granted, not everyone followed these standards, but they were the expectations of society at the time. If you are able to manage these three things, some amazing events occur... or should I say don't occur:

• You don't have children out of wedlock.
• You have far fewer single-parent homes.
• Impact of sexual disease on society is greatly diminished.
• Children are raised with both parents.

Then, in the sixties and seventies, we became "enlightened" and, with the advent of birth control, made some pretty hefty social changes:

• Marriage is not a prerequisite of sex.
• Premarital sex becomes acceptable.
• Sex no longer equals pregnancy.
• The value of pregnancy decreases.
• The expectation of responsibility for sexual actions diminishes.
• Sexual diseases spread at a far greater rate.

Once this became engrained in society, the next great set of social changes occurred:

• The value of marriage decreased.
• Divorce became more prevalent.
• Single-parent homes increased.
• Unplanned pregnancies increased.
• The definition of pregnancy changes, dehumanizing the baby in the womb by calling it a fetus.
• Abortions became acceptable.

So, what are we left with?

• Children having to be raised primarily in day care situations are not guided by their parents on socially acceptable behavior. Emotional control issues arise such as road rage, stalking and increased domestic violence.
  
• Media has a growing influence on our children's moral structure as they spend more time alone in front of the television than with their parent(s).
  
• Gang membership increases as children search for a sense of family they are not receiving at home.
• The definition of family broadens to encompass anyone who can create a baby, naturally or artificially, with no consideration for the number of parents involved.
• If the life of a fetus is up for individual moral determination, then what about the elderly and terminally ill? Euthanasia becomes a viable option.
• Since sex is no longer mandatory for the purpose of pro-creation or as an outgrowth of marriage, homosexuality and other "alternative" lifestyles become more acceptable.

Where is this all leading? I don't really know. But it does concern me. We seem to be moving away from societal norms to individual norms.

Before we redefine marriage or begin cloning or use aborted tissue to fix our own medical problems, maybe we should take a step back to forecast the implications of such massive social change.

Will these changes strengthen the family or not? Will they strengthen the nation or not?

One thing is certain, everyone cannot do whatever they want whenever they want... that's called Anarchy.

We live in a democratic republic. There have to be rules in a society... an agreed upon set of values that guide our moral and social decisions. Some people will be disappointed. Some people will be "disenfranchised." But there is still value in sacrifice for the greater good. Some of us will have to sacrifice what we want in order for the nation to get what it needs... or, at least, I hope we will.

March of the Penguins (2005)

Movie night in the Bauer household this weekend consisted of a family viewing of March of the Penguins. It is an amazing story of just what the penguins do in order to breed. It is very touching and sweet and horrific and trying. My wife and I were surprised at how our children were so emotionally moved by the harsh realities of life in the wild... i.e. when baby penguins did not survive.

Growing up watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, my wife and I were well versed in the kill-or-be-killed survival-of-the-fittest world of life in the wild. It was tough to watch as a child, but it did make you realize how fragile life can be. Watching some of the missteps of the penguins and the sad outcomes was hard on our kids because they had not been exposed to such realities. So, we comforted them and used it as an opportunity to explain the value of life.

The film is an amazing experience and worthy viewing. If having human kids was as tough as having penguin kids, we would have been extinct a long time ago.

DC Trip Pics 3

Pics from the Washington Monument...

The Washington Monument.

Dea at the base of the Monument
Part of the group outside the Monument.

View from the Monument toward the Lincoln Memorial.

Another View from the Monument.
View toward the White House.


View toward the Capital Building.

Another View from the Monument.

Another View from the Monument.

DC Trip Pics 2

More DC Trip Pics...

Dea and DC on the way to the Capital Building.

The Capital at Night.

The Capital from the Washing Monument.

DC at the Museum of Natural History

DC and Friends outside the big doors

of the National Archives.

DC and the rest of the church group
outside part of the WW2 Memorial.