WTF

 found here

SPOILER ALERT: Entourage just got even more ridiculous.  Of course Vince bought Turtle's tequila stock.  Nothing bad ever happens and when it looks like it is, easy solution.  Instead of interesting us with how Turtle scrapes up the money for the space for Don Pepe's we get the simple Vince saved the day yet again explanation.  Yawn.

Now Sloane is pregnant?  Seriously?  Are you trying to use a kid to make us care about E, or Sloane, or E's whining about Sloane?  Someone really forgot to tell them no one likes Eric, and the only reason we tolerate Sloane is because she is hot.  This is not a couple we care about, so unless this leads to Malcolm McDowell dusting off the old black bowler, white suit and cane (see A Clockwork Orange) and following through on his threat to kill E so that the last scene of the show is his funeral please just conveniently forget this for next week's finale.

Why waste time on a couple that clearly has no business together and not on the one relationship we wanted to see: Ari and Mrs. Ari.  For years the show has pushed that underneath it all Ari is a family man.  He finally came to the realization this week that all he was doing to make the best for them actually was driving them away.  Yet it seems like too little too late.  I find it hard to believe that something that has received so little serious attention this past week will be fully flushed out in the one episode left.  It's sad really because I was rooting for Ari, as he has been the only character that has remained interesting/ entertaining/ not annoying as hell through the show's entire run.

Get What You Pay For

That seems to be the model for this year's young EPL season.  Now I don't claim to be a English Premiere League expert.  I also am not a huge fan as far as watching; as many of you know I'm more of a FC Barcelona La Liga fan.  But somehow I convinced Comcast to give us Fox Soccer Channel for free.  And Saturday morning, hungover, it is great watching. 

In the wake of a 13-3 thrashing of the North London teams by the teams from Manchester I want to devote a brief analysis of what seems to be happening right now in English football: money talks.  This is not new.  The big clubs always rise to the top (with some exceptions, see Leeds United).  Spain is dominated by Barca and Real Madrid because those two have more money (although recent purchase of Malaga by a wealthy Arab could make things interesting).  Italy the two teams from Milan have consistently held the Scudetto. 

England has had in recent years the "Big Four:" Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal.  They got this monicker because they dominated the Champions League spots from the EPL.  But in recent years these 4 have had a little trouble holding on to those 4 spots.  Two seasons ago, when Liverpool hadn't spent much money, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City pushed them down the table and Spurs nicked the final Champions League spot.  Since then Manchester City has spent, spent, and spent some more trying to create a team with the fluidity and flexibility of Barcelona.  Last year it was City who captured that 4th spot, just beating out Tottenham.  This weekend City destroyed Spurs 5-1 at Tottenham.  It's not that Spurs haven't bought plays, but they have tried to under bid many on the same players that City signed (like Sergio Aguero).  And boy did it show.

Similar story with the Manchester United's 8-2 demolishing of Arsenal.  Both managers believe in developing talent.  But the difference is that Sir Alex Ferguson is not afraid to not only change tactics, but also buy experienced talent for Man U when he knows there is a weakness.  Wenger unfortunately believes that he can buy young and develop.  He consistently buys inexperienced players who he can mold to his system.  Maybe one day the excuse of "we're building" will come true, but I believe that if you're good enough, you're old enough. 

The question remains what about Chelsea and Liverpool?  Both teams have been consistently spending money on talent.  Chelsea has the problem of inconsistency at the helm.  I count 6 managers in 4 years.  But despite that they have been in the top 3 each year (even winning one title) and have looked good thus far under youngster Andre Villas-Boas.  Liverpool has also had managerial issues, but they also had ownership problems.  They have those settled, have purchased smartly and have looked sharp thus far.

The lesson of the young season seems to be tight purse strings= bare trophy cabinet.

Mixed Debut

Last night marked the debut on new US Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in a friendly (exhibition) against rival Mexico.  After 10 days on the job, the man who has been touted as the savior of US soccer had to face a team that had embarrassed us a little over 6 weeks ago in the Gold Cup final and the only other soccer power in CONCACAF.  It was definitely going to be a tough task. 

As the match grew closer, pundits tried to bring expectations down a bit.  Both Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman said on ESPN's pregame coverage that it was not so much the result but the style that mattered.  This was the first sign that we had taken a step forward as a footballing nation.  Under Bradley style was sacrificed for results.  Now that is not something to complain about; Bradley took US soccer to the top of a World Cup group; he took the team to a new level of respect internationally.  However, his short sighted approach and his lack of tactical flexibility had taken the team as far as it was going to go.  This year's Gold Cup was an example of that: we had one way to play and it was to defend in numbers and hopefully get a goal on the counter-attack.  Unfortunately, because Bradley had taken every match one at a time this meant our defense consisted of players who had a few too many caps and way too few.  Mexico tore this to shreds.  So, last night's match would be a great barometer on how Klinsmann's style would hold up and change the side.  The result didn't matter because he had 10 days and 3 practices to put in his system.

The first half the style was not there.  Many of the players starting were stalwarts under Bradley and the same Bradley problems plagued the team.  We could not keep possession for long spells, and when they did it was just outside of our own 18 yard box, not on the Mexican side of the halfway line.  It was almost impossible to get the ball forward because there was no link.  Just like under Bradley our lone striker was useless because no one could get the ball into the final third by doing anything but hoofing a long pass up there and hoping he could fend of 3 defenders.  As a result the halftime whistle blew with 0 shots on goal for the US.  While the goal conceded could be chalked up to bad luck, the team was lucky to not be down more than 1.  Mexico deserved the lead.

The second half was much more promising.  It started the same as the first half: Mexico possessing, probing, looking the most likely to score.  Then Klinsmann went to his bench.  He brought on two players Bradley either completely failed to utilize (Brek Shea) or used poorly (Juan Agudelo who was always either a lone striker or alone on a wing under Bradley).  These two proved to be crucial in implementing Klinsmann's style onto the game.  Immediately the squad began pinging the ball around with series of one touch passes.  The triangle game was there.  The US kept possession; we kept it well into Mexico's half.  After that we took control of the game and it began to look like a goal for Sam's Army was inevitable.  And that goal did come.  It was a beautiful move of short passes and individual skill that led to Shea teeing up Robbie Rogers with a snappy cross along the ground for an unmarked shot from 2 yards out to a wide open goal.  Ironically Rogers came on for son of the former coach, Michael Bradley.  Is this a sign or a coincidence? 

Michael has been a great player and there is certainly a role for him as more of a midfield enforcer, but he symbolizes his father's game plan: defend then long ball.  Klinsmann wants to play more like Spain than a mid-table Premiere league squad.  The question was do we have the players who can play that style.  Last night answered that partly: you have to be able to play like that if you want a spot in Klinsmann's team.  Obviously, one game is no judge of how the Klinsmann era will play out.  However, last night's second half showed we can play like he wants us to for spells, but we have a long way to go.  He's only been on the job for 11 days and there are two more good tests coming up for the German in the next month or so.  Those two games will be more telling, but the attitude is certainly right: he wants players to fit his style, not the other way around.  That style is what is needed for the next level of success (see Spain, FC Barcelona).

A Year and Change Later

I love Lost.  That is not a surprise.  It is easily my favorite show of all time: the characters, the intricate plot, the mythology, the Star Wars references!  I think in the past few years we have really come to see exactly how special the show is after many attempts to recreate it have fallen flat (See Flash Forward , The Event).

I got the entire Lost series for Christmas this year and have slowly made my way through all six seasons.  This blog entry is going to be a retrospective of the whole series, but through the lens of the finale (read my original review here)

"This is a place that you... that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you"- Christian Shephard

That quote summarizes the entire series, and at the same time still makes me get a little misty eyed.  To me this quote reflects the true nature of the show.  It was never about the polar bear, or why they had to push the button, or what the Dharma Initiative was doing there.  It was about those people and how such an ordeal, such a brush with the supernatural, shapes them, molds them, brings out their true identity, makes them a complete person.  As Jacob said in the finale: none of them came from a happy life.  But all of the characters became better people.  Jack learned he doesn't have to fix everything.  Kate stopped running by becoming an adoptive mother.  Locke became the leader he wanted to be.  Hurley learned he was not some fat loser, but a loveable, caring, guy who can command people's respect.  Sun and Jin realized just how perfect for each other they really are.  Sawyer became more than a ruthless, selfish con-man.  

The Island was there to make these people whole and that is what the finale and the series was all about.  The sideways universe was a microcosm for the entire show.  When the characters had the big "reveal" in the sideways universe it was because they found that piece from the island that made them the good human beings they were meant to be.  Charlie had a substance abuse problem until Claire and Aaron came along, in both the real world and the sideways world.  Penny's love gave Desmond the motivation to make something out of his life in both timelines.  

My thoughts on the finale itself have not changed watching it again after a year+ later.  My thoughts on the series haven't changed much either.  Watching it in a much more compressed time frame does make me believe that they knew what they were doing from the start.  I saw a lot more connections and a lot more recurring themes that maybe did not have significance the first time around.  And if that isn't proof there was a final destination in mind from the beginning then this certainly is:

Entour-fail

I have a history of being disappointed with Entourage.  Last night's final season premiere is no different.  Per usual nothing bad really happened (almost).  Vince had a coke problem but avoided jail time and apparently became an even bigger star by going to rehab.  Drama's show is doing great.  Turtle is selling tequila (which you can buy!) and is still dating the very gorgeous Alex.  Even Billy Walsh is having a great time. 

While many like it that nothing bad ever happens, I believe it is a total failure of hammering home the message of the show.  When I watch it I see the creative team saying: friends stick together through the thick and thin; friendship is the most important thing.  Yet nothing on this show has tested their friendship.  The closest we've seen to characters being pulled in opposite directions is when Vince thought Medellin was good and E didn't.  This was the first time friendship and work mixed.  And it showed Vince had a surprisingly un-aware perspective on what makes a good movie.  They are trying to resurrect this storyline it seems for the final season, but the stakes aren't nearly as high and it doesn't feel nearly as organic.  For some reason Vince is mad a E for mixing work and friendship (I guess because he tried to stop his friend from doing coke because it hurt his professional image?).  But the big idea out of last night's episode was writing a made-for-TV movie about miners no one has ever heard of and a dog.  Seems like the exact same receipe for Medellin except Vince (who has shown little interest in the movie making process until now and little to believe he has the discerning eye needed to be a director) will direct instead of Billy, who like him or not has only had one flop.  This does not seem too interesting, especially since we know a) Vince has Airwalker to fall back on b) casted star Drama has Johnny's Bananas to fall back on and c) no one has ever hurt their reputation on a made -for-TV movie.

There are two characters who seem to have bad things happening.  E's engagement with Sloane ended because he wouldn't sign a pre-nup.  First of all: good for him.  Second: either way I don't care.  He can get back with Sloane that's great.  He can not.  That's great too.  The series has always tried to paint E as some sort of hopeless romantic who deserves some sort of happy ending.  I don't see it.  He is just a power-hungry, just as manipulative, just as ruthless as everyone else in the business (he threw his fiance's godfather out of his own management firm!).  He also has always been a terrible boyfriend: work always came first, which is why Sloane dumped him in the first place.  Most of his relationship misery is self-inflicted, so while it would be nice to see him break the self-sabotaging cycle, it's not something I am particularly invested in.

This leads me to the one, the only storyline I care about: Ari.  Yes, Ari is the ultimate in ruthless, manipulative, and deceitful.  Add in a serious anger problem.  But there is one thing Ari is that you really have to respect: a family man.  You can tell that his wife and kids mean the world to him.  The hurt in his eyes when Mrs. Ari told him she was seeing someone else was a true emotion (which this show has deftly stayed away from mainly due to the talent, or lack there of).  I am really rooting for the Gold family to get back together.  It may end up with Ari walking away from the business, but that is a sacrifice I would love the show to make if it really is about sticking together.

Also, it really hurts the show that Scott Caan has quickly become not only the second best actor, but the second most interesting character.  I just can't wait to see what quirky stuff he is going to do next.

All that being said: I've seen 7 seasons already; I'll be sticking around for the last 7 episodes.

In Defense of "Treme"

A lot of people have recently bashed HBO's latest David Simon series "Treme" as a plotless, plodding project designed to keep the creator of the greatest series ever, "The Wire," happy (See Pappademas).  I can see where the drama focused on the recovery of New Orleans after Katrina would seem that way.  But the people who believe that just don't get it.

Simon and company do an excellent job of art imitating life in every project and "Treme" is no exception.  In fact I would argue the show takes that message to heart as it shows the recovery of a devastated city.  Life is not full of plot twists and fake-out endings; life moves along at it's own pace.  And for a community of musicians, chefs, lawyers, teachers, etc. in a city that is slowly picking itself up off the canvas that pace is not going to be any different. 

Many will argue that you don't watch a show to see a pace of life you live every day because let's face it, most of us live boring, uneventful lives.  But by taking what feels like a much more life-like pace the writers of "Treme" are able to expose much more human moments.  The problem is that you really have to know the characters and know the story to really feel the full force of those moments.  You have to know how passionate Davis is about music and all the frustrations he has felt with the limitations of his talent to appreciate his final performance with yet another band he started that outgrew him.  It's these little very, very human moments that make this series more than just some way to placate the great David Simon. 

Found here

I can understand the frustration of those who thought that this would be "The Wire: New Orleans."  But I am certainly glad it isn't.  "The Wire" was great, don't get me wrong.  But so often was there a feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of evil always winning, of the corruptibility of man that it was a very dark series.  "Treme" has those moments no doubt: suicides, drug addiction, murder, rape, political corruption, government ineptitude/indifference, police cover-up/laziness, but the series does not hinge upon those things like "The Wire" did.  It chooses to focus much more on the strength of the community and the positive moments, like a father and son finally coming to appreciate what each one does for a living and creating something great together.

Father and Son play Jazz Fest

 

I can also understand the frustration of all the musical and cultural interludes.  But again I say to them: that's the point.  New Orleans is a very culturally rich city, and music and food top that list.  Simon wants us to really absorb the culture.  That's why every week we get to hear Antoine Batiste play a few gigs, or Annie T sit in with some famous musicians.  It is why so much gets done in restaurants whether it be Nelson's business deals or Janette's life as a chef in general.  I have never been to New Orleans but this show does such a great job of portraying the culture I feel like I have about as much of a sense of the city as someone could ever hope to without actually going there (it probably helps that I love music in general as well as many of the acts that have shown up on the show).

I would strongly recommend the show to anyone, especially someone who enjoys live music.  But my recommendation would always be start from the beginning and focus on the characters not the plot.  "Treme" is a marvelous study of people in a tough, tough situation.

Random Thoughts

- HBO please stop trying to make the final season of Entourage seem so serious, it is not making me want to watch it.  This show has been pretty bad for a few seasons now, but like so many I have spent so much time with the characters I can't stop watching.  My first thoughts about the new season is that it would be similar to The Office where the destination at the end of the season would give it direction and allow it to re-find those qualities we loved it for.  Maybe it will.  But I remembered that outside of Jeremy Piven the talent level is so vastly inferior to The Office that it would be a stretch.  Here's hoping the Adrian Grenier learns how to act/care, E stops being a whiny little man, Turtle finds something to do with his life beyond smoking weed 5 times a day, and Drama stops being mad at the world.  They left last season with some potential interesting storylines (namely the return of Billy Walsh as a clean cartoonist trying to make Drama a cartoon star, the state of Ari's Marriage, and Vince's arrest), but recent history seems to point to the show dealing with these problems in a deus ex machina way (see Vince quitting the business only to be offered the role of Nick Carroway by Scorsese [which was an even more ridiculous plot line that one flop would turn an actor toxic to the point of quitting]).

-If you haven't gotten into Game of Thrones I give it my full backing.  I have never nor plan to read the some 6000 pages written/to be written by George R. R. Martin which serve as the basis for the show.  After 2 episodes I was skeptical I would keep with it due to the vast expanse of the universe and all the complex relationships the show was having trouble explaining while keeping the plot moving.  However, I watched the third episode (I always give shows at least three episodes) and I was hooked.  The acting is phenomenal, aided by the fact that we have had little experience with most of the actors and actresses in other projects.  The no-names work because it doesn't really distract you from the characters and the world they live in.  Think about the Harry Potter series, when you watch that then watch another movie, say Love Actually and half the cast is the same you keep expecting Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman to end their marriage, don their Hogwarts robes and settle their differences with their wands.  It also helps that the actors do not define the show giving it much more freedom to dispose of characters;  it would be tough to have Lost with out Dr. Jack Shepard (as the creators wanted to kill off the show's most notable star, Matthew Fox, episode 1), but Game of Thrones does not have that quality about it. 

-  The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team is in trouble.  Don't expect the next World Cup to go as well as this past one.  The team looked weak in this year's Gold Cup, despite making the finals.  The defense was a huge question mark and outside of Clint Dempsey the attack lacked any real threat.  The worst part is the best performers at the Gold Cup will be in their 30s in 2014, many of them leading the line for their 3rd cup.  Ask Italy how that worked out for them.  We also won't play much together outside of qualification.  Missing out of the 2013 Confederations Cup really hurts.  If you remember it was the Confederations Cup where we beat Spain and went 2 up on Brazil.  This gave the team a lot of confidence and familiarity with each other, the atmosphere and the venues for the World Cup the following year.  Next go round the team will need to have a lot of new blood that won't have that experience.  It looks like a repeat of 2006 could be in the books.