Music Monday: September 14, 2015

On By Luke FlorenceIn Lists, Music MondayLeave a comment

Music Monday

Lists and rankings have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. In Junior High, my weekly top ten music list was arguably the most popular list I’ve ever created. Classmates would ask me about it all week long, and actually wanted – no, DEMANDED – to see it when Monday morning came around.

Kids would then actually BRING me CDs to listen to, in hopes of getting one of their favorite songs on the next batch of rankings.

Who knows if any of that actually happened, but hey, that’s how I remember it.

Starting today and every Monday moving forward, I will unveil my top ten songs of the current week. There are no rules here. Songs can be brand new, or ones that have been around for decades. It’s a glimpse into my favorite ten songs of the week, the ones I’m listening to/discovering/loving.

If I’m listening to crap – which is likely – let me know. If I should be listening to something else – let me know. I’d offer to listen to a CD if you had it, but I’m pretty sure they don’t exist anymore.

Without further ado, here are my top ten songs of the week. Continue reading “Music Monday: September 14, 2015” →

Luke’s Favorite Films Take Two: #87

On By Luke FlorenceIn Cinderella Man, Favorite Films, Lists, Movies1 Comment

#87: Cinderella Man (2005)

Cinderella Man
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti
Academy Awards: Nominated three times. Paul Giamatti for Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Makeup.
Plot: The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
Stock: Holding
Previous Ranking: #32

“I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.”

Cinderella Man is a story of hope, redemption and of under-dogs overcoming obstacles. Every time I watch it I get goosebumps, which count for something because most of the time they are beyond my control. The “chill effect” tells you that whatever you are experiencing is making an impact deeper than just on a superficial level.

Russell Crowe is phenomenal as James J. Braddock, an aging heavyweight boxer who has always been a mediocre fighter at best. A hand injury practically derails his career and he is forced to go to work on the docks in order to feed his family, which is proving to be quite difficult as this film takes place during The Great Depression. But when an unexpected opportunity comes along, Braddock takes advantage of it and the rest as they say is history.

Paul Giamatti plays Braddock’s trainer and after you watch it you will understand why he was nominated for an Academy Award. There’s no way you can say he didn’t deserve it.

Ron Howard is also outstanding as the director of Cinderella Man. He is able to capture the human condition during those hard-times magnificently. Howard also never loses focus of the story and what all it stands for.

The film is centered around Braddock’s rise as a boxer, but the story stands for so much more. It’s about the human spirit, about never giving up, and about seeing the best in everything possible condition.

UPDATE

Thirty-two was a tad high for this movie, but #87 seems to be a better fit. Truth be told, I was probably sucked in by the “true story” effect the first time around. Cinderella Man is in the top-100, and will more than likely stay there as the years rack up.

Fun Fact: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton and Mark Wahlberg were all considered for the role of Jimmy Braddock.

Hint for #86: Fake IDs were never viewed the same again.

Peace Be The Journey.

Luke’s Favorite Films Take Two: #88

On By Luke FlorenceIn Along Came Polly, Favorite Films, Lists, Movies1 Comment

#88: Along Came Polly (2004)

Along Came Polly
Director: John Hamburg
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Plot: “A buttoned up newlywed finds his too organized life falling into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate.”
Stock: Holding
Previous Ranking: #86

“He’s a sexy guy. He’s sexy. He’s sexually active in his community.”

While the previous two movies were absent the first time this list was created in 2011, Along Came Polly is a repeat offender. In these situations I will post the original material (cleaned up a bit for your benefit) with an UPDATE section. Enjoy.

A movie I stumbled upon on the USA channel one afternoon eight years ago, Along Came Polly makes the top-100 thanks to some Ben Stiller wackiness, a little bit of Jennifer Aniston hotness, and a whole lot of Phillip Seymour Hoffman hilariousness.

Playing Ben Stiller’s best-friend, Sandy Lyle, Hoffman steals every scene he is in. If I were ranking my top 100 movie characters (which is a great idea by the way), Sandy Lyle would be much closer to the top-10. Lest I forget Alec Baldwin’s performance as well, and you have a couple supporting actors creating all the memorable scenes. Good things.

The plot is fairly simple and straight-forward, a guy (Stiller) gets married, quickly gets a divorce, and falls for another girl. The premise sounds over-done but the execution is what makes Along Came Polly unique.

UPDATE

When Hoffman passed away back in February of 2014, the first thing I thought of was Along Came Polly. That’s how good he is as Sandy Lyle. Without that performance, this movie doesn’t even come close to sniffing this list. Yes it’s near the bottom again, but it’s here nonetheless, and that’s the important part.

Fun Fact: Ben Stiller mentioned while on a talk show promoting the film that the ferret bit him a couple of times during production, including one time latching onto his chin.

Hint for #87: Russell Crowe beats people up … legally.

Peace Be The Journey.

Luke’s Favorite Films Take Two: #89

On By Luke FlorenceIn Favorite Films, Lists, Movies, Ted1 Comment

#89: Ted (2012)

Ted
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane
Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Original Song, “Everybody Needs A Best Friend.”
Plot: “From the creator of Family Guy comes a movie about John Bennett, whose wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true. Now, John must decide between keeping the relationship with the teddy bear or his girlfriend, Lori.”
Stock: Holding
Previous Ranking: NR

“When you hear the sound of thunder / Don’t you get too scared. / Just grab your thunder buddy / And say these magic words: / “Fuck you, thunder! / You can suck my dick! / You can’t get me thunder / ‘Cause you’re just God’s farts!”

Ted’s movie poster is exactly how I spent my first time watching this movie. Relaxing on a couch, beer in hand, laughing my ass off.

Despite not being the biggest Mark Wahlberg or Seth Macfarlane fan, Ted makes these two a tag-team comedic force. It’s a movie chalk-full of hilarious back-and-forth conversations between Wahlberg and Macfarlane. This movie was such a success that a sequel was just released in June of 2015.

Haven’t checked out the sequel yet because the original didn’t need one. Often in those situations the script follows the same formula but with a lower success rate (see: The Hangover II).

The first time I watched Ted was with my fiancé and we both were laughing throughout, which let me tell you, is no easy feat. Ted is a perfect movie to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon when you just want to laugh a lot.

Fun Fact: Ted was the 9th highest domestic grossing film of 2012.

Hint for #88: “Rain dance!!”

Peace Be The Journey.

A Season Worth of Season Openers

On By Luke FlorenceIn Cleveland Browns, NFL, Sports, Weekly ColumnLeave a comment

Statistics can often be misleading. They can be a tool used only to illuminate opinion. But every once in a while a stat comes up that transcends opinion. It sheds light on the entire story – not just one side’s view.

For the Cleveland Browns it’s this transcendent stat … 1-15 in season openers the last 16 years.

Think about that for a second. Bask in how undeniably awful it is.

Sixteen season openers, one win. Fourteen times they had home games to start a season – one win.

Here’s some other fun numbers just to warm everyone up.

– The Browns have scored more than 20 points in just one season opener, and of course, lost that game.

– The Browns have failed to score a single touchdown three times and you guessed it, all losses.

– Surprisingly, the Browns have also held their opponent out of the end-zone three times as well, but still managed to lose two of those.

– Three times, the Browns opened the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland has been outscored 107-34 … yes, that is not a misprint.

As we get ready to embark on another action-packed Cleveland Browns season, let’s take a trip down memory lane at the previous 16 season openers. Continue reading “A Season Worth of Season Openers” →