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Sunday, March 16 2008

-Movie Review
Posted at 11:14 PM by JaredG

We Own the Night

Cops, guns and drugs: I don't know much about these things, but I love to watch them on TV. The role of a cop is a perfect vehicle for action and as a platform for exploring the nuances and trifles of human drama in a more explosive context, specifically of men in society dealing with the thin lines between self-denial and hedonism, loyalty and betrayal, and what constitutes family? We Own the Night deals with these dynamics just like any good crime drama should, in a moody, violent, well-performed way with plenty of attention to detail, and the cool soundtrack.

Brooklyn, 1988, "We Own the Night" is a slogan of the New York police department proclaiming that law and order is taking back the streets from the drug traffickers. Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix star as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Joaquin Phoenix is Bobby Green, a successful nightclub manager. He's not quite a criminal but he's not concerned with upholding the law either. Bobby's brother Joe (Mark Wahlberg) is the law. Bobby and Joe come from a long line of the "blue blood" ties that bind; their father Albert (Robert Duvall) is also a cop. Bobby likes the life he's living. He likes his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes), and she loves him too. Bobby's an amoral character, but he's not an evil person.

Things get out of control for Bobby when the cops crackdown on the club and the club's owner asks Bobby to join him in the drug trade. Just as Shakespeare's Prince Hal, Bobby must decide what side his true allegiance is on, and which side he will fight, betray and leave. Whether or not Bobby will leave his Falstaffian influences and like Prince Hal throw off "the base contagious clouds" makes for an exciting drama. I highly recommend We Own the Night.


Monday, February 25 2008

-Football - rejected Cardinal Connection article
Posted at 11:52 PM by JaredG

Why am I writing about football? I cannot stand football. For twenty-some years I've felt as if it is my patriotic duty as a man to watch, love football. To shout, "Go team go!" Heck, I didn't even watch the Super Bowl. I could care less. I've never been a team player.

I've never seen much need to wear jerseys or wave flags. I just don't get it, and it doesn't get me either. I remember trying out Little League when I was in 2nd grade. That lasted about a day. I thought all the people were idiots. I remember trying to lower my standards to get along with them. What an arrogant little prick I was.

Flags of course remind me of patriotism. Patriotism reminds me of what? The American flag. I remember late 2001 when all those people were waving around their Japanese made American flags with such national pride. For honor and freedom and country waving their slave labor produced symbol of liberty and justice. I didn't want to get on that bandwagon either.

So, I see the hypocrisy in everything, which makes me a critic, an idealist, and an outsider. But, I like it that way. I guess I'd rather be reading a modern prose translation of The Bhagavad-Gita than going to an 8o's theme party. Besides I've been through that stage in my life. I'd rather write a poem about the oneness of all mankind, and be contemplative, quiet. But, I can't avoid being a hypocrite myself.

Here I am, sitting alone, reading about the oneness of everyone to reinforce my own superiority. Do I have problems or what? Well, I guess we're all in this boat together, hypocrites. This boat called life or eternity or whatever. But, I still don't give a shit about football.




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