Boogy is a bad man, but not through and through
939052
If you like Bogart, you will like this.  It's more or less the same story as the remake (Mickey Rourke I think)(perhaps that should be vice versa) but it has the '50s feel to it.  If modern day actors could be like Bogart, then they would need the "edge" that converts PG to R.  This is a good one.
3991401
"Buffalo Soldiers" is essentially a version of Bill Murray's "Stripes," but only told by a guy who is really, really angry.  It's still funny - even inspired, at times - but it's a humor fueled by rage.  And that rage causes the story to make a couple of missteps.

Set in 1989 (note the perfect use of then-President Bush's plastic grin in several portraits) on an Army base in West Germany, "Buffalo Soldiers" informs the viewer that the majority of our fighting soldiers are simply there in order to escape a jail sentence.  As a result, thieves and drug dealers rule the roost - the top MP is a villainous heroin dealer.  The only virtuous soldier is the commanding officer, Colonel Berman (Ed Harris), who is a nice, incompetent buffoon more suited to running a vineyard than a regiment.  (This is a wonderful supporting performance by Harris, by the way.)

Almost every Army movie has a "scrounger," the guy who can get things done in the cracks of the system and usually with a lot of charm.  In "Buffalo Soldiers," that is Private Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix), the company clerk.  We see early on how smooth Elwood is as he simultaneously covers up a drug dealing enterprise while protecting the honor of a soldier who was killed playing tackle football indoors while stoned on about ten different substances - including the Pill.  Elwood is a small-time heroin dealer who sells black market Mop & Glo and drives a Mercedes.  He is one of the princes of the criminal Army.

His little realm gets invaded by "Topper," Sergeant Robert Lee (Scott Glenn, easily the most sinister Sergeant ever).  Lee sizes up Elwood in an instant and brings him down about fifteen pegs - look for an inspired scene involving Lee's bullying of Elwood via "target practice."  Lee is unbribable, connected to the general, but also dangerous in that Scott Glenn way.

Elwood also has his little world come apart due to a stoned tank crew on maneuvers.  Intoxication leads to two dead American trucks drivers and two trucks full of unclaimed assault rifles.  Elwood stumbles across the guns and instantly sees an angle.  But he is forced by his connection to take raw narcotics rather than cash as compensation.  Elwood, who makes his money by cooking the drugs into a distributable product, is soon playing a game that he does not control, and the bodies begin to mount up.

This is not one of those movies that gently mocks the Army while honoring it.  There is nothing gentle or honorable in "Buffalo Soldiers."  It is funny.  It is dark.  And it pulls no punches.  While not a great satire in the class of "Thank You for Smoking," it is a worthy satire sure to appeal to the wicked sense of humor in all of us.
2970260
If you haven't guessed it from the title, Mr. Uppity, although extremely wealthy, is not a very nice person to be around. In fact, his alias could be Mr. Rude! (Of course there is already a Mr. Rude so that wouldn't work!)

Mr. Uppity lives in Bigtown and is rude to everyone. One day he meets a goblin as he walking in his gardens. This goblin says someone wants to meet him and shrinks him to his own size before disappearing through a hole in a tree. Of course, Mr. Uppity, wanting to be changed back to his original size, follows him. Who does he meet? The King of the Goblins!

The King of the Goblins tells Mr. Uppity what he thinks of him and says that he will return him to his normal size but each time he is rude in the future, he will shrink again. How long does it take Mr. Uppity to reform?

I'm sure we all know someone that can be like Mr. Uppity from time to time. A good lesson to learn here! See how Mr. Uppity gets to enjoy the words "Please" and "Thank You".
3461989
Ms. Leavy states in her introduction, "The aim here is neither voyeuristic nor encyclopedic - don't look for every home run, clutch base hit, disabling injury, or pub crawl." It was the kind of sports biography I was hoping to read. The author attempts to give the full measure of Mickey Mantle and not just his impressive baseball talents. In essence, what made him tick. Ms. Leavy succeeds. 'The Last Boy' also highlights some of the uglier sides of hero-and-celebrity-worship. Beyond knowing Mr. Mantle's name, that he was a New York Yankee ballplayer, and the brouhaha surrounding his liver transplant, I knew nothing about the guy. Zealous fans, who take great umbrage about anything critical of their hero be it in sports, religion, acting or whatnot, I find discouraging. It's a form of adulation which treats the "hero" as better than the rest of us. I can respect Mr. Mantle's talents as a baseball player, but he shouldn't be given a pass or preferential treatment because many adults including the police got giddy little hard-ons being near his greatness. He like many celebrities was surrounded by so-called friends who rationalized Mantle's self-destructive behavior as okay because the guy was popular. In reality, most of these people were leeches and/or cowards.

Ms. Leavy is evenhanded in her presentation of Mr. Mantle. He had qualities that were admirable, some that were simply awful, and other circumstances that made me feel bad for the guy. Like life, the book ends with Mr. Mantle finding some semblance of peace, but knowing he was leaving a mess behind when he died. I found having read Jim Bouton's 1970 memoir 'Ball Four' last summer was a big help before re-entering the sexist, little boys' club of Major League Baseball and it's greedy ball-team owners. I had to keep reminding myself that 1950s' male mindset and environment Mr. Mantle was raised were not kind ones for viewing women as equals.

'The Last Boy' is more than just a biography about Mickey Mantle. It's also about the intentional creation of myths, the sports owner's disposable attitude about athletes beyond their prime, the high level of sports-related injuries, alcoholism, and the memorabilia industry. Most people have the impression that all professional athletes must be rolling in huge vaults of money like Scrooge McDuck. Reality for most of these ballplayers was very different and sad. The book was a wonderful character study and completely engrossing.
2133637
This author writes a different type of bad boy, earnestly though Kinkaid has whoring ways though and refuses to see why Sadie has such an honored position in his life. Though does he have enough to keep her in his life, if that's what he decides. The MC club though is legit and not in any illegal trade you usually see. Plus Kinkaids stint as a stripper is a hoot!
983599
Some people have said that Gingrich is a bad guy who pontificates publicly about moral purity while boinking his side piece as his wife dies of cancer.  But he's also a skilled propagandist.  This book lacks some of the nuance of other works of fearmongering, like "The Triumph of the Will", but it's got more of a plot than "The Eternal Jew".
1396140
This is an enjoyable read about a cranky man, who is at first annoying. As you peel back the layers of his character, you begin to understand why he is the way he is and empathize with him.
4455899
A small, I mean short, crime story, a page turner, about three men who are all unworthy of living in a humane world, but since the world is not humane they are right in place.

One is a real criminal, supposedly impotent, married to a harpy who - in fact which would be better fitting here - he hates because she is humiliating him, betraying him, you name it you have it. He is a book bee, one of those people who are collecting and gathering books, mainly second hand and out of print, in order to deliver them - at a price of course - to those who want the rare gems in booklore that only a book bee can find and circulate.

He wants to kill his wife and he does it.

The second is a lawyer, not in criminal law for sure, but so nave and idiotic that he falls in love and marry a psychotic person who little by little - like a spider in her web - wraps him up in her silk out of the world for personal consumption only, and humiliation, criticism, mental and psychological violence are the everyday and every night last supper of farewell till the next evening when she will start all over again: carry your cross to the top of the calvary on Golgotha and that will never end because every morning you resuscitate to be available on the following night. He wants to kill her but he is of course unable to do so. He is innocent in acts though not in intentions.

The third one is a cop who decides to join the two cases because of some similarities and to get the two men down for the murder of their wives, even if in the second case the autopsy and the coroner's office have concluded it is a suicide.

Tactic, if any? Politically and police wise unethical and incorrect: brutalize the two to bring them to their limits and confront them to see what happens. The book bee is a vicious obnoxious vengeful man. You can imagine when he discovers, thanks to the cop, the other one is an impotent copy cat. His own impotence comes back to the front directly in the limelight. The second is totally incompetent at working with other people, understanding their motivations and preserving himself. He falls in all the traps of the cop and he goes through an ordeal till the bitter end.

The only winner is the cop. But that you will have to discover yourself.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
794151
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. It was a bit repetitive, but I read it word for word. Despite the shocking title, the author shows that the much-maligned Yugo was far from the worst car in history. Due to the confluence of Cold War politics and the materialism embraced by the 80s "Me Generation", the Yugo became a notorious butt of jokes. The kicker of the book is the role of Malcolm Bricklin in the whole sordid tale - a fast-talking opportunist who ran the company one step ahead of its creditors and drew everyone from Slobodan Milosevi to Henry Kissinger into his web of bulls***.

To Americans a car is an expression of wealth, social standing and sex appeal. I'm pretty sure that's part of the reason why my dad bought one for me in high school - it was definitely NOT sexy. But it was an economical and reliable car. After I left home, my father continued to commute to work daily in the little white Yugo until he retired.
1334613
"You wanna keep saying no, then ya better find your Inch, boy. Find it and protect it. Ya can cry and scream and beg and curse. Ya can do any damn thing ya gotta do to get through it, but as long as you don't say yes, you win. Long as ya keep yer Inch for yerself, long as ya don't pussy out and give it to [anyone], you win. You win and they lose."

This is spoken by a character introduced briefly towards the end of the book, an old man who has refused any type of compromise in his life, and it's gotten him through a prison gang rape and continuing torture through dismemberment. And while in certain respects this is a deeply admirable quality, it has also prevented him from developing any meaningful relationships with others (because everyone wants a piece of you, wants to make you less). He's reached the end of his life, and while he maintains in full his sense of dignity and self-respect, one has to question whether it was worth the cost.

We All Fall Down focuses on one man's refusal to commit to a cause with which he agrees, but to which he isn't fully committed. By the end, his refusal to commit seems much more to be about digging his heels in and saying no simply for the sake of proving that he can. The only thing he strongly believes is that he won't be forced to commit to something, even if he agrees with it. This becomes the defining principle of his life, and it presents some interesting - if frustrating - reading.

Caldwell has an interesting premise and promising plot, but the lackluster writing and underdeveloped main character prevent the book from rising above average.
3055846
Danny (Mickey Rooney) borrows /steals $20 from his employer for a night out with a worldly woman he has just met; intending to return the money in a few days after he gets paid, before discovery; but things do not work out as planned. Danny is extorted by mean men and later by bad men into more serious crimes to stay out of jail; ever deeper into crimes.

The appeal of the film is the believability of the situations Danny finds himself in. Filmed on location in Los Angeles. Peter Lorre is the bad-guy.

This is not an Andy Hardy type film, but sort of a film-noir without the mystery. It is intriguing with good character-actors and realism. The film claims a happy-ending; has a good moral; but it is not a happy-ending. Thus, it is not a feel-good, film. I am a happy-ending guy; so only 3-stars.
I watched it on Amazon's Video-on-demand.
516119
Shaun of the Dead does everything a zombie movie needs to do, and it also manages to be an intelligent comedy that says something not only about the protagonist Shaun (Simon Pegg), but about the Britain around him as well.  He is, we have the impression, an observant, smart, young-ish man if given the opportunity.  You might actually say he's got what it takes to be a leader of other men and women, except there are a few things working against him:

The first is his daily routine, which is fit for a zombie.  Every morning he arises, has coffee, toast with jam, dresses for work, heads around the corner to the local Quick-E-Mart, then off to work where his co-workers are practically half his age.  Not exactly inspiring; but throught it all we have the sense that were he spurred by something, he might transcend his situation and become what he was meant to be.

The second thing holding him back is his friend Ed (Nick Frost), who has never left the pub in his mind.  He's fat, obnoxious, vulgar, probably smelly, and particularily charming in those qualities around Shaun's girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield).  Ed keep Shaun firmly ensconsed in the local pub, "The Winchester," and is his compatriot in underachievment.  Such is the extent of Ed's underachieving ways that when he picks up the apartment, we're not even sure he's done it since the place becomes messy before Shaun gets home.  He does have redeeming qualities; at least he's not Pete, the responsible one, whom Shaun would be were it not for the world around him.

Suddenly; in the midst of routine, drinking at the Winchester, dealing with his stepdad Phil (Bill Nighy), and trying to patch things up with Liz, zombies begin to walk the earth.  The explanation (and it's very brief) is that it's a sickness infecting the locals.  Of course this is a commentary on everyday Britains and their routine; emblematic in Shaun.  He is basically the original zombie before people start eating brains.  He has no variety in his life, no hopes of breaking out of that humdrum because he lacks the ambition within him.  Basically, zombies are humans whose life have betrayed their minds; the only difference with Shaun is that he doesn't moan, lumber around and try to eat people.

Oddly enough, the emergence of zombies gives him exactly what he needs to at least touch on his potential.  His stepfather succumbs to the zombies, only after an actually very heartfelt speech that is probably one of three sincere moments that evoke both pity and fear.  His problems with Liz evaporate in the face of the greater good, and she actually starts defending his decisions to the obnoxious David who's only there to second-guess Shaun.  It's okay though; he dies badly.

The film has some truly hilarious scenes, espcially when they decide which LPs to throw at the zombies to try and decapitate them.  The Batman soundtrack doesn't survive this round.  Of course who would have thought a cricket bat would work so well?  It's a solid zombie-crushing implement; a piece of life in the zombie world.

The extras are great to watch, espcially the Zomb-o-meter, which acts like VH-1's old "Pop Up Videos" where trivia and info pops up on screen as you watch the film.

This is definitely a film for any zombie freak; it does something that a lot of good zombie movies don't make you do, which is laugh deliberately.
1290462
This book is pretty much the opposite of glamorizing addiction; rather than glossing over the nasty bits, Patrick deWitt wallows in the filth exclusively and with conviction. I respect that. The story is set in Hollywood, at a bar, where initially the bartender is a married, functional writer - and it chronicles his descent beyond rock bottom.
785999
Hillarious may be a bit of an overstatement, but for those that love campy horrorcomedies, Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon does deliver it's good share of laughs. It has a lot of "trying to hard to act" moments and bad stereotypes (not everyone in the south is named "Bubba"). Overall, if you love bad movies at least give this one a try. If your looking for a movie full of top-notch special effects, acting, and story development, this is not your movie. Perhaps only a select few will appreciate "so bad it's good" movies, if you are one of those people, then this ones for you.
1775094
As a huge Harry Crews fan, I was somewhat disappointed with "All We Need of Hell," which can easily be read in under four hours.  Here, we are introduced to the main character, Duffy Deeter, a forty year old husband and father, who can best be described as an incredibly repulsive and self-centered human being.  Everything about Duffy is about "bettering" himself, whether it be lifting more weight, running a faster mile, thrashing his opponent in handball or karate, or lasting longer sexually (by thinking of Hitler and concentration camps!).

  Duffy is a cheating husband and absent father who basically has no regard for his wife and son, and spends most of his free time with his lover Marvella, a self-destructive cocaine addict, whom he seems to despise.  Duffy forms an intense friendship with Jerome "Tump" Walker, after he intentionally kicks Tump in the head while playing handball.  Tump, a cocaine addict, is a star pro football player, but seems to have a way to bring disparate people together, and improbably bonds with Duffy's son (and later, Duffy's lover, wife and mother).  Running throughout the story is Duffy's dealings with his two-faced law partner, Jert MacPherson, who matches Duffy in repulsiveness.

  Usually Crews offers the reader at least one character who tries to stand on higher ground.  Perhaps Tump Walker is that person in this book.  However, every character is addicted to one thing or another.  By the end of the book, Duffy apparently trades his addiction of self-centeredness for whisky and vodka.  Is the reader supposed to believe that this is an improvement?  I just never accepted that any of the characters actually bettered themselves or really learned anything.  Of course, the best Crews novels (e.g. "The Knockout Artist," "A Feast of Snakes," "Body," "The Scar Lover"), have many of the same elements.  I just think these books are more compelling and provide a stronger and clearer moral message.
2345352
Robert Barnard in his crime novels veers often from his Dickensian caricatures to his Swiftian satire and irony that spear a great deal of English social and political life. He can be quite cutting and misanthropic; it's difficult to find many likeable, admirable characters in his cast of mostly selfish, nasty, grasping, mean-spirited, and petty monsters. His humor saves him from being condemned as solely as an unpitying commentator.
He's a born storyteller who keeps you whipping through his stories, effortlessly and enjoying the ride, though you won't be able to avoid his rapier thrusts of cynicism and sarcasm. He thrives on dissecting the British class system, and he can be just as cutting with the rich as the poor. His sympathies reside in the craft of writing. His frequent use of a nasty newspaper called The Grub, his own creation, show his great disdain for the press, reporters and the media.
In "political Suicide" (1986) James Partridge, a Tory member of Parliament ends up quite dead in the Thames. Police Superintendent Sutcliffe investigates, suspecting murder. He finds that the M.P.'s Bootham constituents in Yorkshire were rather indifferent to him. The unnamed prime minister for the Tories was Margaret Thatcher at this time, a frequent target of Barnard's jibes. He has only negative barbs for the country's leader throughout the book. Partridge was trying to get an animal rights bill through the House that would provide for more humane treatment of animals particularly on factory farms, but the bill was very unpopular within his own party.
Partridge and his uppity wife are separated; the man had no friends and was a loner. The whole book deals in considerable detail with the election campaigns of the three men vying to replace the dead House member.
This is one of Barnard's lesser efforts. The story and the characters aren't that interesting. The usual comic element seems muted, and the story pokes along. Barnard seems incapable of writing a bad book, but this one just doesn't have it. I didn't find the solution of the case satisfying or credible. I think Barnard's goal was to skewer the electorate and show how pitiful the three party hopefuls were. One was a class snob, one a scheming rabble rouser, and the third a barely competent nonentity. Although it is in the mystery genre, it is really an indictment of the British political system, politicians, and an uninformed electorate.
One M. P. says, "All politicians have problems with their private lives: they either have too little of it, or too much."
2621932
ROUGH TRADE is a great ripping romp in the classic tradition of darkly comic buddy crime fiction, meant more to be viscerally experienced than reflected upon, and a fine fit for fans of Joe R. Lansdale's Hap & Leonard novels or Johnny Shaw's Jimmy Veeder Fiascos. This second Boo & Junior outing finds the pair of down-but-never-out Boston club bouncers expanding into the world of private security, with predictably pooparoo results. Trying to explain the convoluted plot, with its wide-screen cast of characters, would be like a semi-comatose stoner trying to explain "The Big Lebowski." Suffice to say, our dumb-but-not-as-dumb-as-they-look heroes take all manner of beatings all over Beantown and keep bouncing back, and manage to do so while not violating their forged-in-youthful-hellfire code to keep their pummelings as non-lethal as possible.

ROUGH TRADE gets bonus points for exploring Boo and Junior's troubled-youth backstory in flashback, though the I'm-trying-to-be-OK-with-gay-people through-line feels heavy-handed and heavily outdated (which is a good thing!). And I could have done with a little less of Boo's ceaseless, cringe-inducing self-criticism. But balancing out that ballast is the often laugh-out-loud prose. Examples:

 "One morning, after a particularly epic drinking session, Id woken up on his couch with all the flavors of hell having an oily orgy in my mouth."
 "The place smelled like someone had recently pooped in a bag of Cheetos."
 "As I looked back, the guy sat in the dirty snow, clutching his foot and screaming like a death metal singer whod stepped on a Lego."

And I will be forever indebted to Todd Robinson for introducing me to the word "twatwaffle."

Great fun, ROUGH TRADE. I'm on board for Boo & Junior's next outing.