College Football Defined

This.  No matter what your loyalties are in sports, this.

The best camera angle turns bad when the crowd goes ballistic and the stadium shakes.  When the official puts his arms in the air signaling touchdown, the stadium erupts and 70,000+ people become one booming noise of excitement and chaos.  And as a fan, you live for these moments of chaos.  Bravo Michigan State.

Now This Is Something I Can Get Behind

If you haven't heard about the Occupy Wall Street/I'm the 99% crowd, well, damn.  Watch TV or something, I don't know.  And while my grandma will try to argue that they are all pot smoking, jobless, abortion machines, it's probably better you get your news from a more reputable news source.

It's probably best to read the group's own mission statement and news here.
The BBC and CNN also have ongoing reports and junk, so there you go.

That being said, who cares about that when something much more important is happening on streets all across America.  Something that each and every American can get behind.  That is the Occupy Herbstreit movement.  It has already gone after NPR, the White House, Wall Street, and University of Maryland Terrapins tailgates.  It's spreading people, and you need to jump on board while it's still football season!  But really, this is kind of clever.  If nothing else, it's a good excuse to make different College Gameday signs that don't feature Justin Bieber or creepy Lee Corso.

Pushing You Around In Pink Clouds

Today's Character: Daisy Buchanan (née Fay)

Luhrmann's Daisy: Carey Mulligan

Betty Field, Mia Farrow, Mira Sorvino

This character is the one I feel myself really wanting to love, but then I remember that she is a heartless bitch that basically understands how her life is spiraling out of her control, and when she can do something about it she totally spaces on being a responsible human being 'n' shit and Gatsby and Wilson die and Tom acts like a major douche.  Totally weak sauce, if there ever was such a thing.  But, Daisy has everything a man (me) could ever want in a woman.  She has a beautiful voice, she's attractive, and she loves money.  If you call her (or me) superficial, I will find you (no I won't).  She walks that delicate balance between nice innocent woman that needs the care of a man and strong, power hungry chick who is much less clueless than she puts on.  Ah, Daisy, mi amore...

Anyway, who is Carey Mulligan?  I have not seen anything with her in it, or not that I know of, and that may be a good thing.  Mulligan is a non-American actress, so I am very intrigued as to how she will vocalize a Midwestern US accent.

Pros:  Fits the size and vocal tone of Daisy that Field and Farrow established, docile passivity and audio/visual characteristics are feminine and thus it is more understandable why she would defer to males given the historical period, not widely known so could define her career with Daisy

Cons:  non-American (you best bring da accent, ya heard!), can she act? (legitimate question, can she?  I don’t know), shouldn't attempt to be Farrow

I cannot say I like or dislike this pick.  It’s just kind of there.  With Mia Farrow, I mean, that was pretty solid casting.  She could act aloof and disconnected all while being really cute and likeable when she turned on the feminine charm.  It’s hard to hate her, even though you know you have to.  The ultimate male struggle.  How can you hate a woman so needy and attractive.  Daisy, I’ll help you raise your daughter!  Come away with me... 

Excuse me, anyway, Farrow is what Mulligan has to beat, but I don't mean she must compete to beat her.  She just has to be her own Daisy, like Farrow did.  Betty Field, the precursor to Farrow, did not command much stage presence but actually came off as a more needy Daisy.  She played the historical aspect of the role perfectly, but that didn't mean she also made the manipulation of the character believable.  I mean, she's still likable enough to feel torn about when to feel sorry for her.  Mira Sorvino also plays a decent Daisy, but she may have been the main weakness with the 2001 film version.  She seems more independent and not the dainty little Daisy that needs the help of a big strong man such those of her predecessors.  She did a lot to change my mind throughout the film, but her Daisy is just different than how I personally picture THE Daisy.  The part where she drives up in the car and introduces herself to Gatsby especially does not sit right with me.  I mean, women aren’t supposed to drive!!!  HARF HARF HARF!!!  But, really, they didn't drive much in the '20s.  But all is forgiven, because she is totally hot in that all white get-up.  So, thank you for that Mrs. Sorvino.

Okay, This Was Cool Wisconsin

Thank you Wisconsin for:

1. Not sucking as bad as I once believed
2. Whipping Nebraska
3. Knowing the words (for the most part) to "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations.  I'm a sucker for old R&B sang in unison at football stadiums.

You have made America proud.  Also, I'm a real big fan of cheese, so keep up the good work.

Video from field level:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYCdKDI5hk

He’s Got His Wife Locked Up In There: Featuring Male Of The Year George Wilson

The Great Gatsby character review has been on a bit of a hiatus recently.  It’s nothing you did, so don’t worry.  I have been looking very closely at how I am judging the character selections, and have tried to figure out a coherent way to explain how and why I am doing this. 

Look, I am not trying to be too cynical in these reviews and say that everyone will suck.  Far from it (except for Tobey).  What I am trying to do is review each actor and see if they fit the profile of the character they are portraying in the book.  Australian or European or American actors aside, can they live up to their predecessors and the original?

For example: Robert Redford’s version of Jay Gatsby (née Gatz) was probably the best interpretation from the novel.  Just my opinion, but the other two were good, but on a different level of good.  Maybe it was the supporting cast, maybe it was what part of the theme was conveyed that made Redford look good; whatever it was, it worked.

So, what tools do Leonardo DiCapro bring to make his performance even better than Redford, thus making him an even closer representation to the actual character, thus retelling the book in visual form in the best way possible (I will get to this comparison another day)? 

That’s the question I am trying to answer.  So, with DeBicki, I can’t really answer that question, but I can say that she has potential to make the character truly hers because all she has at this point is potential.  She has things to live up to, but she isn't pigeonholed in the role because she is a character actress.  But, I can also say Tobey Maguire will be boring because he does that in a good majority of his movies.  Nick Carraway is not a boring character and he cannot exist as a boring character meant to drive/narrate a plot, and that is TRUTH.

So, if that wasn’t confusing enough, basically I:

• describe the character portrayed in the book
• look at past roles
• look at others’ performances of the same character
• infer their role in the greater theme of the story and see if this is a good fit for them
• infer if this role will then make the movie better as a whole
• offer up suggestions based on no personal experience in feature films

Bringing all of these things together, one can make a subjective assessment of how the character may act in the movie.  Also, yes, I may be a little cynical, but oh well.

Today’s character: George Wilson

Luhrmann’s George: Jason Clarke

Past Wilsons:  Howard da Silva, Scott Wilson, William Camp