This is a review I've done for work which can be found here
Joaquin Phoenix, Oscar-nominated actor famed for his roles in Gladiator and Walk the Line, has, as they say, gone off the rails. Some time in 2008 he quit acting for good and followed his hearts desire by starting a career in hip-hop. No doubt you’ve seen some of the results: the beard, the Letterman show, the footage of him falling off the stage whilst performing. Rumours that it was all a hoax were quick to start flying, and for some, the knowledge that Casey Affleck was filming the whole process only added fuel to that fire. I’m Still Here is the result of that footage – a documentary that follows Phoenix from his decision, through his last performance, home recording sessions, gigs, travels and travails.
The backbone of any good documentary is a fascinating subject that can stand independent of any prior audience knowledge. I’m Still Here certainly has that. Behind the beard and the glasses it is almost impossible to find traces of Johnny Cash or Emperor Commodus, well groomed as they were. Instead we follow a man on a mission to destroy/reclaim his life. The film opens with Phoenix explaining his decision: he doesn’t want to be a puppet for other people’s creativity, he wants total creative control himself. Rejecting fame and the publicity machine that goes with a Hollywood life he wants to live and work as a genuine hip-hop artist. So far, so reasonable. The only problems are that a) he isn’t very good and b) he expects to slot into the top of the hip-hop world based on his acting achievements and fame. Cue hideously uncomfortable scenes with the ultra-professional producer formerly known as P Diddy, some atrocious performances and a diving tackle off the stage at one heckling fan.
There is real tragedy here as talent and “friends” (all seemingly on the payroll) are thrown away on this spiral of self-delusion, mistrust and pride. But (and this is a big but), this film is funny, very funny, and in a variety of ways. Impeccable comic timing by the man himself, shocking unbelievable acts (people really snorting coke of a hooker’s tit) and surreal ‘cameos’ from the Hollywood A-list all make this a very entertaining film. Whether or not this is real becomes something of a moot point for enjoying the film. If it is, then Casey Affleck is to be commended for an insightful and powerful documentary. If it’s not the Joaquin Phoenix has perhaps pulled off the most audacious and committed role of his generation. Only time will tell – but neither possibility should spoil your enjoyment of the film.
Friday, 17 September 2010
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Frisbee: Nationals
Nationals was only 2 weeks ago but it feels like much more. A 3 day party tournament has an odd way of distorting your sense of time.
Anyhoo
We (Burro Electico) went in expecting a top 12 finish, hoping for a top 10 and wishing for a top 8. We finished 9th which made us happy. I was D-line co-captain again, which is still slightly surreal but definitely something I enjoy. Less pressure, more glory and I get to call lines.
On with the tournament
Firstly, our seeding was drawn out from a hat. A slightly odd system which meant we would be either 11th or 12th and would be playing either Leeds or Fusion for first game. Leeds was preferred so of course we ended up with Fusion
They were not happy about their loss to us at Tour 3 and proceeded to show us just why they really belong in the top 8. Despite a small squad they ran us hard and were clinical as good teams are. The weather was drizzly and a little windy and our offense (on both lines) faltered again and again. Theirs didn't and that's why they one 15-5. A disappointing start for us.
Second game was against our old friends Ltd Release.
I don't have much memory of the flow of this game but this handy points graph reminds me that we took the half 8-5 before chumping up the the second part of the game. Sudden death and the D-line goes on for glory. Yours truly gets half a block on a floaty pass (I was fouled (but not, cos it was by a teammate (but I didn't know that))) and the leftovers were put to ground with layout D from Juan. He immediately put the disc into play, it swung to me and I put a nice half-pitch backhand in for the score. Ltd were very sad but very gracious in defeat.
Third game was against Devon and this was for a guaranteed spot in the top 8. This was, seemingly, a tight game. They took the half and we pulled back to take the lead 11-10. Then we played like absolute morons and threw the game away, not scoring another point. Devon win 15-11. They went on to finish 6th, so there's no doubt that they're a very good team but it still hurts that we could have traded out for the win.
Heads were a little bit down on Saturday evening and that encouraged the core of the team to go out drinking. Jaegerbombs. 'Til 3 in the morning. At nationals.
With half an hour until game-time on Sunday morning I took charge and lead a warm-up and drills with the team we had. The wankers turned up 5 minutes before the game, holding their heads and mumbling something about the B&B screwing up their breakfast.
Our first game was against Strange Blue and a columbian guy they'd picked up. We traded for most of this game and we always felt in control. The O-line faltered a little but the D-line was more than capable of making blocks and we finally got our offense working. Highlight for me was a pitch length backhand huck that was D'd (by a friend of mine) because my hungover teammate was milking it in for the score. We won 15-12
Our final game of the weekend was against our old rivals Team Shark. We had some insider information that told us we were definitely in their heads - lots of email promises going around about how they refused to lose to us again.
Our O-line - the people that had been out drinking - really collapsed during this game. In contrast, the D-line were on a roll. The handy points graph again shows the flow of the game. The flat bits are when the O-line was on conceding and the up bits are when the D-line was on scoring. In the end the captain (one of the drunkards) took the decision to remove the O-line from the game almost entirely and the D-line worked like dogs to take the game. Despite being down all game we squeaked a victory 15-12.
Nationals was a lot of fun and it was fantastic to have live streaming and stats - it made me feel very special.
Thanks to all of Burro for a great season.
Anyhoo
We (Burro Electico) went in expecting a top 12 finish, hoping for a top 10 and wishing for a top 8. We finished 9th which made us happy. I was D-line co-captain again, which is still slightly surreal but definitely something I enjoy. Less pressure, more glory and I get to call lines.
On with the tournament
Firstly, our seeding was drawn out from a hat. A slightly odd system which meant we would be either 11th or 12th and would be playing either Leeds or Fusion for first game. Leeds was preferred so of course we ended up with Fusion
They were not happy about their loss to us at Tour 3 and proceeded to show us just why they really belong in the top 8. Despite a small squad they ran us hard and were clinical as good teams are. The weather was drizzly and a little windy and our offense (on both lines) faltered again and again. Theirs didn't and that's why they one 15-5. A disappointing start for us.
Second game was against our old friends Ltd Release.
I don't have much memory of the flow of this game but this handy points graph reminds me that we took the half 8-5 before chumping up the the second part of the game. Sudden death and the D-line goes on for glory. Yours truly gets half a block on a floaty pass (I was fouled (but not, cos it was by a teammate (but I didn't know that))) and the leftovers were put to ground with layout D from Juan. He immediately put the disc into play, it swung to me and I put a nice half-pitch backhand in for the score. Ltd were very sad but very gracious in defeat.
Third game was against Devon and this was for a guaranteed spot in the top 8. This was, seemingly, a tight game. They took the half and we pulled back to take the lead 11-10. Then we played like absolute morons and threw the game away, not scoring another point. Devon win 15-11. They went on to finish 6th, so there's no doubt that they're a very good team but it still hurts that we could have traded out for the win.
Heads were a little bit down on Saturday evening and that encouraged the core of the team to go out drinking. Jaegerbombs. 'Til 3 in the morning. At nationals.
With half an hour until game-time on Sunday morning I took charge and lead a warm-up and drills with the team we had. The wankers turned up 5 minutes before the game, holding their heads and mumbling something about the B&B screwing up their breakfast.
Our first game was against Strange Blue and a columbian guy they'd picked up. We traded for most of this game and we always felt in control. The O-line faltered a little but the D-line was more than capable of making blocks and we finally got our offense working. Highlight for me was a pitch length backhand huck that was D'd (by a friend of mine) because my hungover teammate was milking it in for the score. We won 15-12
Our final game of the weekend was against our old rivals Team Shark. We had some insider information that told us we were definitely in their heads - lots of email promises going around about how they refused to lose to us again.
Our O-line - the people that had been out drinking - really collapsed during this game. In contrast, the D-line were on a roll. The handy points graph again shows the flow of the game. The flat bits are when the O-line was on conceding and the up bits are when the D-line was on scoring. In the end the captain (one of the drunkards) took the decision to remove the O-line from the game almost entirely and the D-line worked like dogs to take the game. Despite being down all game we squeaked a victory 15-12.
Nationals was a lot of fun and it was fantastic to have live streaming and stats - it made me feel very special.
Thanks to all of Burro for a great season.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Frisbee: Tour 3
So, long time no postee.
Tour 3
Tour 3 ended with Burro's best ever result, although you wouldn't know it from Saturday. We won 1 pool game, against Fully Charged, losing to Ltd and Tooting. Luckily Ltd beat Charged and we won the 3 way tie (again) ending up 2nd in the pool. Typically when we played well we played very well and when we played badly we were very poor. We were also helped by the arrival of Si Weeks (GB deep cutter for 10? years) on Saturday afternoon.
After a convivial evening (involving sambuca shots) Sunday morning was a slightly groggy and flat affair. We were playing Fusion for a spot in the top 8 and soon found ourselves 9-3 down. The O-line (inc. me) played poorly (obviously) and although the D-line were getting blocks they were struggling to score. Out of nowhere we got our belief back and, riding high on a massive sideline, we suddenly started playing hard again. This is the hardest I have seen the team work all season and it paid off, D-line went on a roll and we put enough points on the board to take the lead. Aided by a callahan from Si, and a layout point-block from Si that deflected the disc into the dump mark's gut for another callahan we took the game right back to a short Fusion squad. O-line got their mojo back and we traded out towards the win. By now the game time is long since over and we've gathered quite a crowd. The D-line go on for game point (win by 2) and get a block. D-line captain picks up the disc and launches a 40yard blade into the endzone for, unsurprisingly, the turnover. All I'm thinking at this point is that if we lose the game now at least it won't be my fault - something I've heard football players feel about teammates who miss penalty's. Anyhow, O-line go on to trade out for the sudden death victory and the vice captain launches a laser backhand off the side of the pitch. They send it deep and he drops off his man to get the block. But he catches it. And launches a laser backhand into a layout poach D. A few passes later they turnover on a miscommunicated swing. We play a few passes and the vice eventually throws the forehand for the score. Burro in the top 8.
Finally we a get a match up against Team Shark who are friends with a lot of the team but who we haven't seen (apparently0 for 2 seasons. We play a hard game and bring our intensity. The O-line plays better, the D-line does it's job and we take a reasonably comfortable victory. Last game is against Brighton and although we go a few breaks up our tiredness starts to show in our decisions. Brighton's experience shows and they take the game away from us. Burro finish 6th.
Me: I played pretty badly on Saturday, turfing every breakforce throw I went for. Sunday I played much more as a reset and only threw openside. The team did much better. I got a pointblock or 2 and a few other easyish blocks which is always nice. I also threw a crappy hammer which wasn't.
Tour 3
Tour 3 ended with Burro's best ever result, although you wouldn't know it from Saturday. We won 1 pool game, against Fully Charged, losing to Ltd and Tooting. Luckily Ltd beat Charged and we won the 3 way tie (again) ending up 2nd in the pool. Typically when we played well we played very well and when we played badly we were very poor. We were also helped by the arrival of Si Weeks (GB deep cutter for 10? years) on Saturday afternoon.
After a convivial evening (involving sambuca shots) Sunday morning was a slightly groggy and flat affair. We were playing Fusion for a spot in the top 8 and soon found ourselves 9-3 down. The O-line (inc. me) played poorly (obviously) and although the D-line were getting blocks they were struggling to score. Out of nowhere we got our belief back and, riding high on a massive sideline, we suddenly started playing hard again. This is the hardest I have seen the team work all season and it paid off, D-line went on a roll and we put enough points on the board to take the lead. Aided by a callahan from Si, and a layout point-block from Si that deflected the disc into the dump mark's gut for another callahan we took the game right back to a short Fusion squad. O-line got their mojo back and we traded out towards the win. By now the game time is long since over and we've gathered quite a crowd. The D-line go on for game point (win by 2) and get a block. D-line captain picks up the disc and launches a 40yard blade into the endzone for, unsurprisingly, the turnover. All I'm thinking at this point is that if we lose the game now at least it won't be my fault - something I've heard football players feel about teammates who miss penalty's. Anyhow, O-line go on to trade out for the sudden death victory and the vice captain launches a laser backhand off the side of the pitch. They send it deep and he drops off his man to get the block. But he catches it. And launches a laser backhand into a layout poach D. A few passes later they turnover on a miscommunicated swing. We play a few passes and the vice eventually throws the forehand for the score. Burro in the top 8.
Finally we a get a match up against Team Shark who are friends with a lot of the team but who we haven't seen (apparently0 for 2 seasons. We play a hard game and bring our intensity. The O-line plays better, the D-line does it's job and we take a reasonably comfortable victory. Last game is against Brighton and although we go a few breaks up our tiredness starts to show in our decisions. Brighton's experience shows and they take the game away from us. Burro finish 6th.
Me: I played pretty badly on Saturday, turfing every breakforce throw I went for. Sunday I played much more as a reset and only threw openside. The team did much better. I got a pointblock or 2 and a few other easyish blocks which is always nice. I also threw a crappy hammer which wasn't.
Friday, 18 June 2010
Frisbee: Tour 2 (and Hat)
Hello all,
New job (by which I mean another unpaid internship) and longer commute has cut into my writing a little.
Tour 2 this weekend
Some sort of open 32 team seeding should be fun - we're 2nd in the group with Dublin (above us), Cardiff and which I hope we will be able to hold seed in (and might have a chance at coming first). We've got a solid squad, although we're missing Beej (our best deep) to study groups which is a little annoying. Hoping for no wind to let the team run around and put some points on the board.
Hat tournament in Durham (alum) last weekend was a lot of fun. Saw a lot of people I haven't spoken to for 6 months and put up with an amusingly drunk girlfriend on the Saturday night.
Hopefully I'll get a film write up here soon but at the moment I just don't have time.
New job (by which I mean another unpaid internship) and longer commute has cut into my writing a little.
Tour 2 this weekend
Some sort of open 32 team seeding should be fun - we're 2nd in the group with Dublin (above us), Cardiff and which I hope we will be able to hold seed in (and might have a chance at coming first). We've got a solid squad, although we're missing Beej (our best deep) to study groups which is a little annoying. Hoping for no wind to let the team run around and put some points on the board.
Hat tournament in Durham (alum) last weekend was a lot of fun. Saw a lot of people I haven't spoken to for 6 months and put up with an amusingly drunk girlfriend on the Saturday night.
Hopefully I'll get a film write up here soon but at the moment I just don't have time.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Frisbee: Tour 1, Summer League and Wingfest write ups
Well, off to a cracking start and then near instant tardiness with the posts. Loyal readers, I'm sorry.
Burro at Tour 1
As mentioned I was only there on Sunday. We only played one Euro team and they were irish. Their presence did lend an air of excitement and unpredictability to the tournament and I saw some cracking games in the top 10. In the end though, the usual contenders were at the top, Clapham over Chevy in what was by all accounts an embarrassingly large win, followed by Fire at 3rd.
We finished 20th which I think puts us at the top of B-tour next time. The team won2/3 games on Saturday; Beej and I turned up and we lost every game.
First up were Dublin, they played man and a split stack. They ran us hard and our sloppy offense gave away turns and failed to capitalise. D from both lines was pretty good although we stuggled to shut down their iso/handler cut combination in the endzone. Fun game.
Fully Charged
Not a fun game. They played zone and absolutely dicked on us. Not sure why we struggled so hard, but struggle we did - I think we scored less than 5 points. Our zone D wasn't great but our man was at times effective. For some reason one of their players got shirty about a pick call and pushed one of our guys over. They had at least an 8 point lead at this point which made it very odd. He grudgingly apologised at the time and then much more fully during the post-game talk.
Devon
Nice buch of guys with some very good players - Izzy not least amongst them. She skyed two of our guys (although she is taller than them) and generally ripped anything near her. This game was reasonably close for a while, both teams playing a lot of zone. Out weak offense eventually lost it for us but it was a much better performance all round. We played Zone D too, Junk. Everyone knows this zone but having not trained it together even once (windless winter) we didn't realise how many different individual tweaks each player was used too - chaos. We sorted it out during a TO and did get some decent blocks with it in the end
My goals
Get a layout block. Sounds basic, but if you've played with me you know I don't really do the whole D thing, especially not the diving around bit. Well, that's changing hopefully.
No. I felt I had one in me but it was too windy and there was too much zone
Flatter backhand hucks. Mine have got too much roll edge - easier for me to get them out, harder for the receiver to catch
Again, a bit too much wind to measure progress here. I did pull out a very nice break force i/o backhand huck for Beej to score
More aggressive handler movement. As asked for by the captain. I'm generally happy to get the disc out to a cutter and let the team take it from there, moving into a dump position for if I'm needed. He'd rather I pushed upfield harder and faster so I'll give that a go...
Wow - wind really ruined all my goals - again, couldn't do too much of this (at least in the way I/he wanted me to) against zones.
Summer League
I threw together a Summer League team of mostly ex-Durham players and a few friends, teammates and similar but to the 2nd degree. It's a right laugh - chilled out games, blindingly low sun and someone brings a different drink each week. We're in Div 2 which we stand a good chance of winning and might manage to make a run to cup semis if we're lucky. I'll try to keep you updated - if you're fascinated results are available here - we're called Pastafarians (last time I put a team name to the vote)
Wingfest
So one of the girls from Pastafarians asked me (and others) to help out her uni beginners team at their first ever tournament. This was a great laugh, a fun bunch of guys all still throwing a backhand to the forehand side. Their learning curve was incredibly steep and by Sunday afternoon they were regularly stringing 4 passes together by themselves. I had lots of fun breaking forces and occasionally skying people. I only took 2 points off over the weekend and I really noticed a drop in my decisions and throwing quality in the last games of the day. Knee played up, got my IT band stripped by Beej and cried like a baby. Seemed to help though. Great weekend.
Next up
Summer league against a possible contender, Curve, this thursday, then Durham Hat - looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces. I don't really know anyone on my team which means plenty of new friends. No costume sorted yet and, tbh, no real plans to. Moneys on Pink 1 or Green for the win.
Burro at Tour 1
As mentioned I was only there on Sunday. We only played one Euro team and they were irish. Their presence did lend an air of excitement and unpredictability to the tournament and I saw some cracking games in the top 10. In the end though, the usual contenders were at the top, Clapham over Chevy in what was by all accounts an embarrassingly large win, followed by Fire at 3rd.
We finished 20th which I think puts us at the top of B-tour next time. The team won2/3 games on Saturday; Beej and I turned up and we lost every game.
First up were Dublin, they played man and a split stack. They ran us hard and our sloppy offense gave away turns and failed to capitalise. D from both lines was pretty good although we stuggled to shut down their iso/handler cut combination in the endzone. Fun game.
Fully Charged
Not a fun game. They played zone and absolutely dicked on us. Not sure why we struggled so hard, but struggle we did - I think we scored less than 5 points. Our zone D wasn't great but our man was at times effective. For some reason one of their players got shirty about a pick call and pushed one of our guys over. They had at least an 8 point lead at this point which made it very odd. He grudgingly apologised at the time and then much more fully during the post-game talk.
Devon
Nice buch of guys with some very good players - Izzy not least amongst them. She skyed two of our guys (although she is taller than them) and generally ripped anything near her. This game was reasonably close for a while, both teams playing a lot of zone. Out weak offense eventually lost it for us but it was a much better performance all round. We played Zone D too, Junk. Everyone knows this zone but having not trained it together even once (windless winter) we didn't realise how many different individual tweaks each player was used too - chaos. We sorted it out during a TO and did get some decent blocks with it in the end
My goals
Get a layout block. Sounds basic, but if you've played with me you know I don't really do the whole D thing, especially not the diving around bit. Well, that's changing hopefully.
No. I felt I had one in me but it was too windy and there was too much zone
Flatter backhand hucks. Mine have got too much roll edge - easier for me to get them out, harder for the receiver to catch
Again, a bit too much wind to measure progress here. I did pull out a very nice break force i/o backhand huck for Beej to score
More aggressive handler movement. As asked for by the captain. I'm generally happy to get the disc out to a cutter and let the team take it from there, moving into a dump position for if I'm needed. He'd rather I pushed upfield harder and faster so I'll give that a go...
Wow - wind really ruined all my goals - again, couldn't do too much of this (at least in the way I/he wanted me to) against zones.
Summer League
I threw together a Summer League team of mostly ex-Durham players and a few friends, teammates and similar but to the 2nd degree. It's a right laugh - chilled out games, blindingly low sun and someone brings a different drink each week. We're in Div 2 which we stand a good chance of winning and might manage to make a run to cup semis if we're lucky. I'll try to keep you updated - if you're fascinated results are available here - we're called Pastafarians (last time I put a team name to the vote)
Wingfest
So one of the girls from Pastafarians asked me (and others) to help out her uni beginners team at their first ever tournament. This was a great laugh, a fun bunch of guys all still throwing a backhand to the forehand side. Their learning curve was incredibly steep and by Sunday afternoon they were regularly stringing 4 passes together by themselves. I had lots of fun breaking forces and occasionally skying people. I only took 2 points off over the weekend and I really noticed a drop in my decisions and throwing quality in the last games of the day. Knee played up, got my IT band stripped by Beej and cried like a baby. Seemed to help though. Great weekend.
Next up
Summer league against a possible contender, Curve, this thursday, then Durham Hat - looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces. I don't really know anyone on my team which means plenty of new friends. No costume sorted yet and, tbh, no real plans to. Moneys on Pink 1 or Green for the win.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Frisbee: Mixed Tour 3/Nationals
Scores
Flaming Galahs vs:*
Oxford Mixed 13-9
Thundering Herd 2 10-13
Bear Cavalry 2 13-6
Lemmings 13-9
Kent 13-10
South Coast Ultimate 13-7
* all scores are more or less guesses
My Thoughts
This isn't an official team write-up, just my thoughts on the team and my own performance (because you all clearly care so much).
After a short nights sleep on Friday everyone arrived pitchside an hour before the 1st game and we got a proper warm up in. We came out alright, not particularly hard but our offense was good. Theirs was not. We got a lot of cheap turns from misplaced passes and drops and managed to take a sizable lead. I think they eliminated those from most of the rest of their games and could have beaten us had they done so in our game. They had a lot of very good players who just weren't playing anywhere near the top of their game.
Next up were Herd 2 who had been climbing all season long. They were well up for the game (taking down a local 1st team, who wouldn't be?) and I felt like we expected to put down their challenge pretty easily. Next time we looked at the score they were 2 ahead and we were running out of time. Then we ran out of time. Nuff respect to Herd 2; they played well and deserved the victory - but we walked away shamefaced. This game seemed typical of our season - we have been unable to get our heads in the game at crucial moments. We weren't in it before it started (thinking perhaps, that we didn't need to be) and we couldn't switch on when we saw where the game was headed. It felt like the tournament was kind of over at this point, and that the season had been a little wasted.
We went into our last game of the day pretty pissed off with ourselves and didn't struggle too much against Cavalry 2. I was moved from D-line to O-line for this game (and the remainder of the weekend) - swapped with another handler. Felt like a demotion to me, and apparently to him too - I guess only the captain will know. The D-line got plenty of blocks and put away a few in the first half. Other than that we traded and never really felt too threatened.
Meanwhile, on a pitch not too far away, some sort of small miracle was happening. Oxford got their shit together and Herd had a nightmare. That result put us in a 3-way tie which we won, apparently by 1 point! Much jubilation and excitement. This gave us the easier cross-over in the morning, oxford the harder one and pushed poor Herd out of any chance at moving up significantly.
Sunday morning was wet and miserable and the team were pretty crap at warming up. This London club scene is pretty lightweight compared to uni training in Durham - not sure how they would have handled regionals in horizontal snow... Anyhow, we had Lemmings first up who had beaten us at tour 1. They had lost their captain/founder to the 2nds for reason unknown but were still a force to be reckoned with, particularly their girls who had sticky hands. O-line was a joy to play and we were pretty efficient with our points - most had no turnovers and were scored in 10 passes or fewer. We won the game by two or three and it felt pretty comfortable. Our D-line got plenty of blocks but just couldn't score, although it felt like they had it in them if Lemmings started coming back.
Next were Kent who had beaten us in a hard game at tour 1. They've got some standout players and a hard running short game. We came out and lost 3 on the trot. Captain put the D-line on and they scored 3 on the trot, then the O-line played a D point and scored again. The game was a great battle from thenceforth. I was loving the O-line groove, running as middle handler mostly and remembering why I prefer it to D-line handling. Unfortunately I have lost the ability to assist - I think I threw away almost every opportunity I had from 10 yards out or less. I got a chance to redeem myself and made a layout block in their endzone. I rarely lay out and less so for D so I was pretty pleased with myself. I have no idea what my form was like - probably more of an awful fall over than anything pretty. I can't really remember it anyway, that half second is black, whether from having my eyes closed or just being too excited to form memories. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that I couldn't hold the disc (I was trying to) for a Callahan - it's not often I'm going to get chances like that. Anyway, enough about me - we traded out most of the rest of the game and the D-line converted their block for the final point. I think Kent were pretty gutted but their speech was lovely and as gracious in defeat as it was in victory last time.
Final game was against South Coast Ultimate. We had a pretty gritty game against them at tour 2. They had a great deep game: all their guys could huck and sky and they pretty much took us apart. Half of our team were hungover and they made some dodgy calls and we made some rude words and it all got a little tetchy. This game was quite different. We shut down their deep game with flatter forces and conservative marking. They proceeded to throw away quite a lot. We took the first half something like 7-2. They were very tired, probably because they only put the disc through the men on the pitch. We used our girls to good effect, sending them deep for probable half of the O-lines scores. We were very fired up for this game which was pleasing to see - especially as I felt like shit before hand and was fully expecting to lose. In the end we cruised to an easy victory for the plate and the game was very pleasant all round.
In the end this was a great tournament. I finally felt like we played near our potential and, crucially, did it consistently. I'm not entirely sure why we couldn't bring it to previous tournaments: we'd trained hard and often, played competitive friendlies etc. Anyhow - I'm glad we managed to end the season on a high. The team has been great, lots of new friends made (only to lose some again to foreign countries) and everyone has played some standout ultimate. Mixed in London is a lovely community too and I look forward to seeing/beating everyone throughout summer league.
Tournament Predictions follow up
Going up
1) BAF from 9 to 5
Word is they chumped it against Kent (quite an upset) and then lost to Don't Let Go to stay out of the top 8. Final position - 9th
2) Galahs 1 from 18 to 14 (gotta back yourself, right?)
See main topic for full breakdown - basically we got lucky on Saturday and played great on Sunday to finish 13th and win the plate
3) Oxford Mixed from 21 to 17
In our group. Did alright on Saturday (2nd in group) then won their crossover into the top 16 and lost their penultimate game. Final position - 15th
Going Down
1) Bear Cavalry from 4 to 7
Finished 3rd
2) Curve 1 from 12 to 15
Finished 17th
3) Bear Cavalry 2 from 23 to 26
Finished 27th
So not so bad then: 2 well out and the others only by a few places.
Flaming Galahs vs:*
Oxford Mixed 13-9
Thundering Herd 2 10-13
Bear Cavalry 2 13-6
Lemmings 13-9
Kent 13-10
South Coast Ultimate 13-7
* all scores are more or less guesses
My Thoughts
This isn't an official team write-up, just my thoughts on the team and my own performance (because you all clearly care so much).
After a short nights sleep on Friday everyone arrived pitchside an hour before the 1st game and we got a proper warm up in. We came out alright, not particularly hard but our offense was good. Theirs was not. We got a lot of cheap turns from misplaced passes and drops and managed to take a sizable lead. I think they eliminated those from most of the rest of their games and could have beaten us had they done so in our game. They had a lot of very good players who just weren't playing anywhere near the top of their game.
Next up were Herd 2 who had been climbing all season long. They were well up for the game (taking down a local 1st team, who wouldn't be?) and I felt like we expected to put down their challenge pretty easily. Next time we looked at the score they were 2 ahead and we were running out of time. Then we ran out of time. Nuff respect to Herd 2; they played well and deserved the victory - but we walked away shamefaced. This game seemed typical of our season - we have been unable to get our heads in the game at crucial moments. We weren't in it before it started (thinking perhaps, that we didn't need to be) and we couldn't switch on when we saw where the game was headed. It felt like the tournament was kind of over at this point, and that the season had been a little wasted.
We went into our last game of the day pretty pissed off with ourselves and didn't struggle too much against Cavalry 2. I was moved from D-line to O-line for this game (and the remainder of the weekend) - swapped with another handler. Felt like a demotion to me, and apparently to him too - I guess only the captain will know. The D-line got plenty of blocks and put away a few in the first half. Other than that we traded and never really felt too threatened.
Meanwhile, on a pitch not too far away, some sort of small miracle was happening. Oxford got their shit together and Herd had a nightmare. That result put us in a 3-way tie which we won, apparently by 1 point! Much jubilation and excitement. This gave us the easier cross-over in the morning, oxford the harder one and pushed poor Herd out of any chance at moving up significantly.
Sunday morning was wet and miserable and the team were pretty crap at warming up. This London club scene is pretty lightweight compared to uni training in Durham - not sure how they would have handled regionals in horizontal snow... Anyhow, we had Lemmings first up who had beaten us at tour 1. They had lost their captain/founder to the 2nds for reason unknown but were still a force to be reckoned with, particularly their girls who had sticky hands. O-line was a joy to play and we were pretty efficient with our points - most had no turnovers and were scored in 10 passes or fewer. We won the game by two or three and it felt pretty comfortable. Our D-line got plenty of blocks but just couldn't score, although it felt like they had it in them if Lemmings started coming back.
Next were Kent who had beaten us in a hard game at tour 1. They've got some standout players and a hard running short game. We came out and lost 3 on the trot. Captain put the D-line on and they scored 3 on the trot, then the O-line played a D point and scored again. The game was a great battle from thenceforth. I was loving the O-line groove, running as middle handler mostly and remembering why I prefer it to D-line handling. Unfortunately I have lost the ability to assist - I think I threw away almost every opportunity I had from 10 yards out or less. I got a chance to redeem myself and made a layout block in their endzone. I rarely lay out and less so for D so I was pretty pleased with myself. I have no idea what my form was like - probably more of an awful fall over than anything pretty. I can't really remember it anyway, that half second is black, whether from having my eyes closed or just being too excited to form memories. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that I couldn't hold the disc (I was trying to) for a Callahan - it's not often I'm going to get chances like that. Anyway, enough about me - we traded out most of the rest of the game and the D-line converted their block for the final point. I think Kent were pretty gutted but their speech was lovely and as gracious in defeat as it was in victory last time.
Final game was against South Coast Ultimate. We had a pretty gritty game against them at tour 2. They had a great deep game: all their guys could huck and sky and they pretty much took us apart. Half of our team were hungover and they made some dodgy calls and we made some rude words and it all got a little tetchy. This game was quite different. We shut down their deep game with flatter forces and conservative marking. They proceeded to throw away quite a lot. We took the first half something like 7-2. They were very tired, probably because they only put the disc through the men on the pitch. We used our girls to good effect, sending them deep for probable half of the O-lines scores. We were very fired up for this game which was pleasing to see - especially as I felt like shit before hand and was fully expecting to lose. In the end we cruised to an easy victory for the plate and the game was very pleasant all round.
In the end this was a great tournament. I finally felt like we played near our potential and, crucially, did it consistently. I'm not entirely sure why we couldn't bring it to previous tournaments: we'd trained hard and often, played competitive friendlies etc. Anyhow - I'm glad we managed to end the season on a high. The team has been great, lots of new friends made (only to lose some again to foreign countries) and everyone has played some standout ultimate. Mixed in London is a lovely community too and I look forward to seeing/beating everyone throughout summer league.
Tournament Predictions follow up
Going up
1) BAF from 9 to 5
Word is they chumped it against Kent (quite an upset) and then lost to Don't Let Go to stay out of the top 8. Final position - 9th
2) Galahs 1 from 18 to 14 (gotta back yourself, right?)
See main topic for full breakdown - basically we got lucky on Saturday and played great on Sunday to finish 13th and win the plate
3) Oxford Mixed from 21 to 17
In our group. Did alright on Saturday (2nd in group) then won their crossover into the top 16 and lost their penultimate game. Final position - 15th
Going Down
1) Bear Cavalry from 4 to 7
Finished 3rd
2) Curve 1 from 12 to 15
Finished 17th
3) Bear Cavalry 2 from 23 to 26
Finished 27th
So not so bad then: 2 well out and the others only by a few places.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Film: Iron Man 2
I liked the first one. Saw it on the Saturday night of a tournament at York if I remember rightly. Anyway, it struck a great tone; fun, slightly self-referential but not annoyingly so, , a decent villain, good action, great banter between Potts and Stark etc. It had it easy in some ways; not a well known story (cf Batman, Spiderman) and it was an origin story which is, in my book, always the most fun.Onto Iron Man 2. First off, let me say it's not bad. I'm going to talk about all the stuff I didn't like which is going to make it seem bad, but it isn't. I enjoyed watching it, I'm just in no desperate rush to watch it again.
I came out of the cinema feeling like the film had everything it needed to be but had somehow failed to put all the elements together in the right way. Nothing is too obviously wrong but it just doesn't quite work. It is unbalanced, I think; not enough action interspersed throughout the film, just a lot of talking and then a big action sequence at the end. Plus Stark doesn't get to be much of a hero in it (the saving Potts thing is a bit lame and doesn't really make up for all the abuse he's taken from her) and it is meant to be a hero movie.
The villains and the ending
I thought the villains of the film were excellent. Some have argued that there were too many, citing SarJo's character as a potential villain that distracted from the others (cf Spiderman 3) but I never saw her as a villain so for me she didn't get in the way.
Vanko and Hammer paired up nicely - they complemented each other and the themes of the film (morality of an individual with that much power etc).
Hammer provided a counterpoint and mirror to Stark both for comic effect (trying to command the stage at the Expo like Stark did) and also reflecting Stark's arrogance back at him. Sam Rockwell is seriously good in this role bringing vanity, jealousy, neediness, corruption and a desperate desire to be loved to a few short scenes.
Rourke was fantastic as Whiplash, grimy, tattooed and almost impenetrably accented. His character reflects another side of Stark - the inventiveness and ability (compare the opening scenes of both films) but also single-mindedness and inscrutability. Whiplash however, was seriously underused. This guy is the villain, the big threat, the monster we're all supposed to fear. And how much screen-time does he get? (not much) And how much of that screentime is him tinkering in labs (quite a lot). The big climax mostly involves him sitting at his computer and typing something every time one of his drones dies. That's not very intimidating.
The ending generally was a bit of an anticlimax. There was a lot of flying around at high speeds which wasn't very exciting (couldn't see much, just lots of swooshing - compare that to the fighter jet scene from the first one). Then when they hit the ground and take out the drones it's just a lot of the camera swirling around static figures. Then Whiplash comes along and he's got a new suit which is cool and he's finally a bit scary. Then 30 seconds later he's dead. Even this fight is poor. Whiplash gets ended with that blast Iron Man and War Machine accidentally discovered - fine - but is he really so good there was no other way of beating him? Same as the first film a bigger suit seems to have no weakness. Is there no disadvantage to building 4inch thick armour that the lighter, faster Iron Man can utilise? If not, then why doesn't he build like that? So Whiplash gets beaten and he's like "actually, I win" and sets his bomb. To which the response is "not if we fly away." And then he's all like "oh." Come on! Just blow the bomb without the whole big beeping red light and 10 second timer. Obviously they're trying to set up the whole superhero saves the girl thing but it seems like a pretty weak attempt.
Oh, and Hammer. The other villain. His 'big' ending - a whimper as he walks away with the cops. Wow - that was cool (N.B. sarcasm). They're probably keeping him alive for future films (I hear in the comics he provides super weapons on the black market thus creating baddies for Stark to fight) but surely he could have a better ending than that?
Rhodes/War Hammer
I said above that I enjoy origin stories. Rhodes becoming War Machine is the origin story in this film and I think they really botched it up. This could have been really cool; Rhodes overcoming an obstacle, mates banter, learning the new suit, kicking ass together etc. Instead we get something that felt morally dubious. My problems are as follows:
- It ties in to the Senator issue. What is the film's standpoint on the morality of one man owning such a powerful tool? Rhodes steals the suit, Stark never gives him permission. Rhodes represents the army and the US Govt. So that's the military intervention which Senator Stern wanted all along. But Stark could turn the suit off any time he wants it is later revealed. He doesn't, so does he approve of the State having it?
- Stark isn't really into weapons any more, how does he feel about his suit being made into a walking armoury?
- There's no learning. Rhodes just steps into the suit, it fits him perfectly and he instantly knows how to work it. Not only that but he can fly it pretty well. There is a nice moment in the fight when War machine slides across the floor and Iron Man controls his descent, but that is it. The best bit about an origin story is getting to grips with the new powers. None of that here though.
- Stark doesn't give him a single tip or software update to help him and show official nod of approval. Stark's suit can fly higher (cos of the gold, see film 1) and presumably has a whole load of updates and bug fixes. None of this seems to affect War Machine though. Not so sure what my point is here... Also, why the hell has Stark got a load of mini arc reactors (power systems) already loaded into his old suits? He doesn't use them, he just changes the palladium in his own...
Pepper Potts
Pepper, and her relationship with Stark, was great in the first film because we knew nothing would happen between them. Why did we know this? Because she was his PA and he ran a large business. No matter how equal they were in terms of banter that disparity meant they couldn't get it on without it becoming a bit sleazy and unfeminist. That frisson of excitement between them came in part because of that slight taboo. That frisson was what made the relationship special. In this film they get rid of the only obstacle almost straight away. No obstacle, no drama. In making her CEO they did try and do the whole 'servant is master for a day' role-reversal thing but it didn't really work 'cos Robert D-J is too charming.
Too much going on
Despite restraint on villains there is too much going on:
- Pepper as ceo
- Pepper as love interest
- ScarJo
- Sammy L
- Agent Coulson
- The driver character (played by director Jon Favreau)
- Father relationship
- retconning big reactor/Expo
- illness
- War Machine/Rhodes
- Hammer getting War Machine
- Hammer/Vanko
- Vanko family history
These elements combine with the fact that there are too many 'themes' (using the term loosely). Usually in Hollywood films the character has an arc (ie changes for the better over the course of the film). Usually this arc follows a theme e.g. man doesn't trust anyone, gets in a scrap and loses, learns to trust his friends, they all get in a scrap and win together. Iron Man 2 has far too many themes, any one of which would be sufficient to hold the story. This is why it feels so narratively muddled I think.
Themes include (and note, some overlap)
- Self destructiveness
- Lone gunslinger act
- Egomaniacality
- Romantic Love
- Parental Love
- Buddy Love
- Who should own a superweapon
So for anyone of these Stark should have had a big problem and then clearly faced up to it by the end and used that new-found knowledge about himself to save the day. This is a superhero film, we don't need subtlety, that sort of stuff can be written big, bold and obvious. Instead we get different beats (specific moments) of different arcs kind of glued together to form a Frankenarc. For example he is dangerously self-destructive and we get a great scene showing this - drunk at his own party he nearly kills everyone. Does he ever face up to this? No. He learns instead that his Daddy did love him after all. Does he put this knowledge to use to defeat the bad guy? No. He realises that teamwork will save the day. Any of these would be effective themes to build an arc from. All of them together is muddled and underwhelming.
Little bugs and plot points that annoyed me
- Tony getting in the F1 car was a surprise to everyone, the driver, Potts, ScarJo, everyone. Except Vanko who apparently read his mind months before and sorted out the papers to get himself trackside
- If you didn't stay after the end of the first one you musta been hella confused when Samuel L Jackson turns up and starts rattling on about the Avengers with no preamble or explanation.
- The whole illness thing made no sense at all. If the palladium is poisoning him, why not just put the reactor in the suit (or anywhere away from his body) and just connect the couple of wires needed to run the magnet, you know, like the original battery worked. Also, when he puts his new, triangular, reactor in why does that suddenly make him feel better and more powerful? Surely it's just providing the same current to the electromagnet to keep the shrapnel out of his heart?
- In the first film he flies home, turns off the power 4ft above the ground and promptly crashes through two floors of his house. Funny moment. Pretty sure he drops a few feet onto random buildings in this one and the same thing doesn't happen though.
- What happened to the stuff from the trailer (it got cut obviously, my question is why?) That image of Stark guiding ScarJo using the Iron Man hand never cropped up. No biggie. More of a problem for me was the awesome scene from the trailer just before he dropped into the Expo. You can watch it here. Basically, in the plane Stark asks Pepper for a kiss for luck, she kisses his helmet and chucks it out the back, he jumps out after it calling out "you complete me!" Great line, lots of banter, generated a good buzz online. Wasn't in the film. Could have been easily.
Wow - well that was epic-er than I thought it would be. Hopefully future film thoughts will be a little less verbose.
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