Author: aetchells

Review for North By Northwest

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Ok, ok, so Blue Velvet actually beat North by Northwest by a single vote. But my video store didn’t have a DVD copy of Blue Velvet somehow, so I went with North by Northwest. If anyone has a copy of Blue Velvet I could borrow, I’ll watch it this weekend.

This film was an absolute blast. The scenery was almost as much fun as the film, from the colorful hotel rooms to the obviously staged woods to house at the end, the sets were amazing. Cary Grant was the definition of cool. As a friend of mine said the other night, “George Clooney has built an entire career out of being Cary Grant.” And Eva Marie Saint is stunningly beautiful, with that certain edge that makes women ten times sexier. Smart, powerful, and sexy, I have a hard time thinking of an actress in Hollywood today that could have pulled that character off. The other character I really liked was the super creepy villain played by Martin Landau. What was up with that dude? What a psycho.

I loved the classic scene on the prairie. “That’s funny, that plane’s dustin’ crops where there ain’t no crops.” And of course Cary Grant runs from a plane without ever breaking a sweat or running out of breath. I also enjoyed the scene at the art gallery, where he made an ass of himself to avoid being killed, though I wasn’t sure why he didn’t try to get away from the cops as well.

No real negatives to talk about. Thought the movie coulda been about 15 minutes shorter, but I still enjoyed all of it. I thought the Mount Rushmore scene was a little hokey. Apparently, they were really gonna shoot at Rushmore, but got found out and the Park Service wouldn’t let them, so they had to build a fake Rushmore and promise to not walk on the faces. In any event, that scene was a bit silly, though I’m really just nitpicking here.

All in all, a great film. I even watched the 30 minute extra about the filming of it, which I rarely do, because I wanted to learn more about the film. I’m sure I missed some vague nuances, and will at some point treat myself to watching it again to try to pick them up. Great film. B+.

Around the horn, brought to you by Berzerk

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–This rapping groundhog makes me wanna be a nurse.

–Trivia Art’s latest in the Metro.

-It was on this date in 1940 that the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge began waving wildly in the wind. In this video, the only thing as good as the trippy bridge waving is the news reel announcer.

–An economist tries to figure out why we date who we date. Pretty interesting: In a survey we did before the speed dating began, participants rated their own intelligence levels, and it turns out that men avoided women whom they perceived to be smarter than themselves. If there are any dumb girls out there reading this, call me. We can get together and make fun of smart girls.

Around the Horn, political edition

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-Do you know about the Socialist candidate for Mayor, John Staggs? Darth Ern says the socialist run this town, so this guy’s probably gonna win in a landslide.

-The rumor that could alter the future of America: Is Hillary Clinton a lesbian? And if so, is she really hooking up with a woman this hot?

-The Metro checks in with Sam Katz on election day.

–“For the first time in the history of the Gallup Poll, 50% say they “strongly disapprove” of the president. Richard Nixon had reached the previous high, 48%, just before an impeachment inquiry was launched in 1974.” -in today’s USA TODAY.

-Waterboarding got a soldier kicked out of the army in 1968. Today, it is encouraged by the Bush administration, putting America in some pretty dubious company when it comes to promoting torture.

How Taubenberger coulda won

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It would have been simple. If Al had destroyed the Philadelphia Parking Authority, he woulda had a chance. And I don’t mean destroy it like reorganzie it. No I mean marching down to PPA headquarters with a barrel of gasoline and setting the goddamm thing on fire. Had he done that months ago, people would have said, “You know what, this Taubernberger guy is OK. I think I may just vote for him.”
RELATED: The Philadelphia Parking Authority, the most pathetic entity in the city of Philadelphia other than the Eagles receiving corps.

Should the Eagles Trade Westbrook?

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This is brought to us by my good friend Duff:
The time will come, sooner than later, when Westbrook will not be the jaw dropper he is today. Two years, maybe three left. So since Kolb is three or four years from taking us somewhere (he really looks good from the nanosecond I saw), we should get top $$$ and picks while we can. The only medium term issue is maintaining the offensive line and not losing the corners. The rest can be turned over as we develop Kolb but we need to dump Westbrook or we may win just enough games to avoid a decent pick and damage Westbrook just enough to make him worthless in a trade.

I happen to agree. This team is going nowhere but down for several years, and there is no reason to make Westbrook suffer through the rebuilding. Philly has a habit of holding onto their stars until they are no longer valuable, then trading them for nothing (Abreu, Iverson, etc.). But in this case, it’s time to call this what it is. A bad team playing for next years draft. Let’s start losing, get rid of our only valuable asset for numerous draft picks, and try to build the team thru the draft like the early 90s Cowboys. Of course, with Andy’s drafting record, that might not work either.

Quizzo News and Notes

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-JGT begins quizzo at Temple tonight. His quizzo at the Draught Horse (1431 Cecil B. Moore Avenue) begins at 8 p.m.

–Bounty Bowl at the Bards on Tuesday. The Sofa Kingdom has won 5 straight Tuesday night matchups and must be taken out. $20 cash bonus (on top of $40 gift certificate) to any team that can pull the upset.

-Since the apparent retirements of Satan’s Minions and Yes You Can’t, there has been a power vacuum at the Black Sheep. Though Duane’s World is the strongest team there currently, Philly Hardcore has started to make a name for itself, and any team has a chance.

-The other venue that is wide slam open is Good Dog, back in action this week after taking a week off for renovations. If you have a team that is solid but not immortal and still want the glory and the gift certificate that come with a victory, I would suggest the Dawg.

-Looking to try some new beers? I highly recommend O’Neals, one of the underrated beer spots in the city. Lots of unique beers on draft and over 100 bottles. The competition is tough, but as the Cornbread Mafia proved this past week, anything is possible.