Michael Clayton (****)
The tone of Michael Clayton is set immediately as the film begins with a voice over from Tom Wilkinson's character, Arthur to the title character played by George Clooney. Off of his medication, Arthur, a manic-depressive, claims to have had a moment of clarity when he steps outside of the huge law firm where he works. After going through several alternate theories, he eventually concludes that as he emerges from the office building, its as if he's emerged from "the asshole of an organism who's sole function is to excrete the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity" (IMDB). This grandiose monologue is a microcosm of the entire movie. It's a biting commentary not just about the greed of corporations or the ruthlessness of the lawyers who represent them, but also about the entire lifestyle and business culture that encapsulates them.
Despite his struggles with his mental illness, Arthur is an absolute genius at what he does, and has made a Arthur has been working on the same case-- the defendant in which is a fictional company that makes agricultural products called uNorth-- for something like six years. Essentially, uNorth is facing a class action lawsuit over the possibility that a weed killer that they produce has posed a risk to humans. As the case has sluggishly played out, Arthur amassed boxes upon boxes full of data breaking down every meticulous detail. At some point, Arthur became simply tired of working on the same case, or realized he couldn't in good conscience defend uNorth any more (maybe both) and appeared to begin to change the way he looked at the case so as to start building a case against uNorth. At the same time, he goes off of his antidepressants which leads to him becoming obsessed with one of the plantiffs, a young girl named Anna who lives on a farm. Everything goes to hell when Arthur naked while rambling about Anna during a routine hearing (no seriously). This would pose an obvious problem for uNorth were it to be disclosed. Enter: Michael Clayton.
Michael is the "cleaner" for the same law firm that employs Arthur (think Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction -- he solves problems). He was a trial attorney before and liked it, but he has shown a knack for being able to handle the dirty work, and his boss, played by Sydney Pollack has every intention to keep him in his current position. He's been friends with Arthur for years and has nothing but respect for him, but its his job to diffuse the situation, and its in his best interest to do his job well at the moment. Michael attempted to open a bar, something he could fall back on in anticipation of the day when he would want out of his current career. To do so, however, he had to borrow money from people who don't like to have debtors. And so Michael has a two-fold dilemma: he has to do his job and do it well if he's to have the money to get out of debt, but as time goes on and shady dealings start to reveal themselves, he has a hard time not sympathizing with Arthur. The antagonist in the film is Karen Krowder, a uNorth employee who wants to keep the company's pristine image in tact no matter what the cost. While her actions are certainly villainous, she's not really portrayed as an evil character, so much as she's portrayed as someone whose worked her way up the corporate ladder to a position with prestige, but that also requires morally bankruptcy, and is too meek to try and change that fact.
I think one of the keys to Michael Clayton is that Arthur, the "crazy" guy, is actually the character who seems most trustworthy to the viewer. It's an important distinction, that while his manic depression is a very real and very serious illness, his revelation about the system in which he and his colleagues work is genuine. That he seems to see the truth that's clouded to everyone else around him is what makes Arthur a great tragic character and it's what makes Michael Clayton stand out so far above and beyond most legal thrillers.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
...to be the best in the National League
As promised, part 2 of my look at the Cubs going into the 2008 season, focusing on hitting.
The Cubs were a so-so hitting team last year. They were 8th in the NL in runs, basically putting them right in the middle. Really, they had a lot of the same problems that they've seemed to have for a lot of years now, even though the roster has complete changed. Even though some of the worst offenders are gone, like Corey Patterson, Juan Pierre, Jerry Hairston Jr., Sammy Sosa, et. al., their plate discipline was still pretty bad, and they were 2nd to last in the NL in walks. They also left guys on base in a lot of key situations, which they were notorious for in the Dusty Baker era. They hit far fewer home runs than they had hit in past years, but in a way that's actually encouraging, because they did find a way to get some runs home regardless, even if they should've been able to score more than they did. So here's a breakdown of the Cubs offensively as they look now:
Outfield
The big free agent move in the off-season for the Cubs was the acquisition of right-fielder Kosuke Fukudome from the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. Fukudome played 8 years in Japan (stats) and had a .300+ average and an OBP close to .400. Who knows how well those numbers will transfer over though. Often times Japanese hitters have really good plate discipline, so hopefully Fukudome is of that ilk. Apparently, Lou is toying with idea of having Fukudome hit 3rd with Lee in clean-up, which would seem to be a big endorsement of his hitting. Soriano is going to be in left again, which leaves center field which is going to be a much less cut and dry situation. It seems like its Felix Pie's job to lose, but if he hits like he did at times last year who knows if he'll stay there. They really don't have as many options at center though. Matt Murton can't really play center with any degree of success, and he may end up being traded before season starts. Apparently Ronny Cedeno spent the winner learning center field in an attempt to stay on the team as a utility guy, but Cedeno in center on any sort of a regular basis isn't really anything I want to see. Then there's Sam Fuld who was called up last September, but didn't really do anything besides pinch run. I have no idea if he can hit or not. So all signs seem to point to Pie starting in center. He needs to show much more consistency than he did last year though. He kept alternating from AAA to MLB, and it seemed like every time he was called up he'd go on a brief hot streak and then all of a sudden not be able to make contact with the ball.
Infield
Derrek Lee obviously has the 1st base position locked up. Darryl Ward will see be around to back him up there. At 2nd, it looks like DeRosa is the starter for now (at least he's first on the depth chart on cubs.com), but if Fontenot goes on a tear again maybe he'll win the job. Shortstop would seemingly belong to Theriot who was very good for most of 2007 before slowing down at the end, and Ramirez will be back at 3rd, at least until he gets hurt again. 2007 was awful for the Cubs at the catching position. They began with Michael Barrett, who was promptly traded after fighting Carlos Zambrano in the dugout and playing generally terrible defense. They then went through a clusterf*** of Rob Bowen, Koyie Hill, and Jason Kendall, until they finally brought up Geovany Soto at the very end of the year and, as it turned out, the kid could hit. I'm very exciting to seeing more of Soto this year. I've seen him on a couple of different top prospects lists, and who knows, maybe he could make a run for rookie of the year.
So it seems like the lineup is going to look something like this going into 2008:
1. Soriano
2. Theriot
3. Fukudome
4. Lee
5. Ramirez
6. DeRosa
7. Soto
8. Pie
9. (pitcher)
That has the potential to be a very good lineup if Fukudome makes the adjustment to MLB pitching well enough to hit 3rd effectively. I like the idea of Ramirez down a spot. Obviously, he has a ton of power, but he also has a habit of grounding into double plays at inopportune times and I think Fukudome and Lee will be better at ensuring that runs get home. If The Riot doesn't return to the form he showed in the middle of last year and just sort of hovers in the ~.250-.260 range and doesn't draw that many walks, I'd like to see him possibly moved down to 7th, with Soto bumped up a spot, and DeRosa or Pie in 2nd depending on which one of them is hitting better. If he hits close to .300 again though, obviously you want his base stealing ability high up in the order.
So yeah, that's what I think. But then again, the last time I played baseball was coach pitch in like 2nd grade, so what do I know really?
Next update: Thoughts on the first few spring training games that are going to start at the end of the month.
The Cubs were a so-so hitting team last year. They were 8th in the NL in runs, basically putting them right in the middle. Really, they had a lot of the same problems that they've seemed to have for a lot of years now, even though the roster has complete changed. Even though some of the worst offenders are gone, like Corey Patterson, Juan Pierre, Jerry Hairston Jr., Sammy Sosa, et. al., their plate discipline was still pretty bad, and they were 2nd to last in the NL in walks. They also left guys on base in a lot of key situations, which they were notorious for in the Dusty Baker era. They hit far fewer home runs than they had hit in past years, but in a way that's actually encouraging, because they did find a way to get some runs home regardless, even if they should've been able to score more than they did. So here's a breakdown of the Cubs offensively as they look now:
Outfield
The big free agent move in the off-season for the Cubs was the acquisition of right-fielder Kosuke Fukudome from the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. Fukudome played 8 years in Japan (stats) and had a .300+ average and an OBP close to .400. Who knows how well those numbers will transfer over though. Often times Japanese hitters have really good plate discipline, so hopefully Fukudome is of that ilk. Apparently, Lou is toying with idea of having Fukudome hit 3rd with Lee in clean-up, which would seem to be a big endorsement of his hitting. Soriano is going to be in left again, which leaves center field which is going to be a much less cut and dry situation. It seems like its Felix Pie's job to lose, but if he hits like he did at times last year who knows if he'll stay there. They really don't have as many options at center though. Matt Murton can't really play center with any degree of success, and he may end up being traded before season starts. Apparently Ronny Cedeno spent the winner learning center field in an attempt to stay on the team as a utility guy, but Cedeno in center on any sort of a regular basis isn't really anything I want to see. Then there's Sam Fuld who was called up last September, but didn't really do anything besides pinch run. I have no idea if he can hit or not. So all signs seem to point to Pie starting in center. He needs to show much more consistency than he did last year though. He kept alternating from AAA to MLB, and it seemed like every time he was called up he'd go on a brief hot streak and then all of a sudden not be able to make contact with the ball.
Infield
Derrek Lee obviously has the 1st base position locked up. Darryl Ward will see be around to back him up there. At 2nd, it looks like DeRosa is the starter for now (at least he's first on the depth chart on cubs.com), but if Fontenot goes on a tear again maybe he'll win the job. Shortstop would seemingly belong to Theriot who was very good for most of 2007 before slowing down at the end, and Ramirez will be back at 3rd, at least until he gets hurt again. 2007 was awful for the Cubs at the catching position. They began with Michael Barrett, who was promptly traded after fighting Carlos Zambrano in the dugout and playing generally terrible defense. They then went through a clusterf*** of Rob Bowen, Koyie Hill, and Jason Kendall, until they finally brought up Geovany Soto at the very end of the year and, as it turned out, the kid could hit. I'm very exciting to seeing more of Soto this year. I've seen him on a couple of different top prospects lists, and who knows, maybe he could make a run for rookie of the year.
So it seems like the lineup is going to look something like this going into 2008:
1. Soriano
2. Theriot
3. Fukudome
4. Lee
5. Ramirez
6. DeRosa
7. Soto
8. Pie
9. (pitcher)
That has the potential to be a very good lineup if Fukudome makes the adjustment to MLB pitching well enough to hit 3rd effectively. I like the idea of Ramirez down a spot. Obviously, he has a ton of power, but he also has a habit of grounding into double plays at inopportune times and I think Fukudome and Lee will be better at ensuring that runs get home. If The Riot doesn't return to the form he showed in the middle of last year and just sort of hovers in the ~.250-.260 range and doesn't draw that many walks, I'd like to see him possibly moved down to 7th, with Soto bumped up a spot, and DeRosa or Pie in 2nd depending on which one of them is hitting better. If he hits close to .300 again though, obviously you want his base stealing ability high up in the order.
So yeah, that's what I think. But then again, the last time I played baseball was coach pitch in like 2nd grade, so what do I know really?
Next update: Thoughts on the first few spring training games that are going to start at the end of the month.
Monday, February 18, 2008
They got the power, they got the speed...
Alright, so this year I decided I'm going to blog about the Cubs this season. We'll see how long this lasts. Anyway, it seems like a big thing in the media this year is going to be the fact that this is "year 100" since the Cubs won the World Series. People in the media seem to be playing this up to be way more significant than it actually is, and I'm sure it won't be long before people start talking about how they're destined to win it all this year. That's not to say that I don't think they're capable of winning the World Series this year, because they very well could. At the same time though, people have to reign in their excitement and realize that this is a team that was 85-77 and reached the playoffs largely because the NL Central was a terrible, terrible division. They have made some good additions, but none of them seem to scream "this makes them the frontrunners!" especially with the Mets acquiring Johan Santana, making their rotation a pretty damn good one if it can stay reasonably healthy.
So let's break down exactly how the Cubs are looking going into Spring Training:
Starting Pitching
For the first time since 2003, the Cubs had a rotation that stayed healthy and, for the most part, effective for the entire year. They had 4 guys make 30+ starts, and Sean Marshall made 19 after being inserted into the rotation after Wade Miller started off the year in awful fashion. Jason Marquis was pretty erratic, and finished with a so-so ERA of 4.60, but the rest of the rotation had ERAs under 4. Carlos Zambrano had a down year by his standards and had some serious issues like the fist-fight with Michael Barrett, and yet still managed to win a career high 18 games. With Kerry Wood, Bob Howry, and Carlos Marmol in the running for the closer's spot, the Cubs are trying to work Ryan Dempster back into the rotation. Dempster made 6 starts at the beginning of 2005 and was bad in that role, but we'll see what happens this year. They also acquired the one time ace of the Cubs staff Jon Lieber, who has battled injury since leaving the Cubs, but is still a solid pitcher when healthy. On top of that they have guys who spent most of 2007 in AAA like Sean Gallagher who could come in in a pinch. So the Cubs might have somewhat of a logjam at starting pitcher, but better too many than not enough. Personally I think a rotation of Zambrano/Lilly/Hill/Marshall/Lieber sounds good to me. I don't know if the Cubs will be willing to have Marquis as the odd man out though, as they paid a good amount of money for him.
Relief Pitching
As mentioned above, the closer's role is going to be openly contested between Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry, and Kerry Wood. Kerry Wood made 22 relief appearances last year, and looked somewhat shaky at first, but managed to post a 3.33 ERA. If he's as healthy as is being claimed now going into the season, I'd say there's a really good chance he'd get the job. The biggest question mark would be how he would be able to handle pitching on consecutive days if the Cubs had a big string of close games. Carlos Marmol was fantastic last year as a set-up man and has shown he could handle the workload, appearing in 59 games last year despite the fact that they didn't call him up until about a month or so into the season. Bob Howry has also been very good in the back of the bullpen, with a 3.32 ERA last year, but may not be overpowering enough to be a "lights out" closer at this point in his career. Personally, I'd like to see Marmol get a shot, but I'd understand if they went with a more veteran option. Will Ohman and the Cubs parted ways at the end of last season, so the Cubs are probably going to have to find another left-hander to go along with Scott Eyre in the bullpen, who had a down year last year. The Cubs resigned Neal Cotts, so he might be an option, even though spent most of last season in AAA. They also have Carmen Pignatiello who appeared in some games scattered throughout last year. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Kevin Hart, who was called up in September and looked very good in 11 innings pitched. They also still have Angel Guzman and Michael Wuertz available. I dunno if this is going to be an overpowering bullpen, but it will probably be reasonably deep in the case of injuries.
Next update: Hitters
So let's break down exactly how the Cubs are looking going into Spring Training:
Starting Pitching
For the first time since 2003, the Cubs had a rotation that stayed healthy and, for the most part, effective for the entire year. They had 4 guys make 30+ starts, and Sean Marshall made 19 after being inserted into the rotation after Wade Miller started off the year in awful fashion. Jason Marquis was pretty erratic, and finished with a so-so ERA of 4.60, but the rest of the rotation had ERAs under 4. Carlos Zambrano had a down year by his standards and had some serious issues like the fist-fight with Michael Barrett, and yet still managed to win a career high 18 games. With Kerry Wood, Bob Howry, and Carlos Marmol in the running for the closer's spot, the Cubs are trying to work Ryan Dempster back into the rotation. Dempster made 6 starts at the beginning of 2005 and was bad in that role, but we'll see what happens this year. They also acquired the one time ace of the Cubs staff Jon Lieber, who has battled injury since leaving the Cubs, but is still a solid pitcher when healthy. On top of that they have guys who spent most of 2007 in AAA like Sean Gallagher who could come in in a pinch. So the Cubs might have somewhat of a logjam at starting pitcher, but better too many than not enough. Personally I think a rotation of Zambrano/Lilly/Hill/Marshall/Lieber sounds good to me. I don't know if the Cubs will be willing to have Marquis as the odd man out though, as they paid a good amount of money for him.
Relief Pitching
As mentioned above, the closer's role is going to be openly contested between Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry, and Kerry Wood. Kerry Wood made 22 relief appearances last year, and looked somewhat shaky at first, but managed to post a 3.33 ERA. If he's as healthy as is being claimed now going into the season, I'd say there's a really good chance he'd get the job. The biggest question mark would be how he would be able to handle pitching on consecutive days if the Cubs had a big string of close games. Carlos Marmol was fantastic last year as a set-up man and has shown he could handle the workload, appearing in 59 games last year despite the fact that they didn't call him up until about a month or so into the season. Bob Howry has also been very good in the back of the bullpen, with a 3.32 ERA last year, but may not be overpowering enough to be a "lights out" closer at this point in his career. Personally, I'd like to see Marmol get a shot, but I'd understand if they went with a more veteran option. Will Ohman and the Cubs parted ways at the end of last season, so the Cubs are probably going to have to find another left-hander to go along with Scott Eyre in the bullpen, who had a down year last year. The Cubs resigned Neal Cotts, so he might be an option, even though spent most of last season in AAA. They also have Carmen Pignatiello who appeared in some games scattered throughout last year. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Kevin Hart, who was called up in September and looked very good in 11 innings pitched. They also still have Angel Guzman and Michael Wuertz available. I dunno if this is going to be an overpowering bullpen, but it will probably be reasonably deep in the case of injuries.
Next update: Hitters
Juno
Juno (****)
I've been neglecting this again, and now it's been a while since I saw Juno so this review isn't really going to do the movie justice. In short, it's the best movie released in 2007 to this point (still have a lot of work to do there though). The title character as well as Michael Cera's character are both fantastic, it's brilliantly written (by a first-time screenwriter), and the movie has a Wes Anderson-ish quirkyness to it that absolutely sells the whole thing. Juno represents the same sort of celebration of non-conformity that Napolean Dynamite did, except Juno is a much more complete and much less annoying character.
I've been neglecting this again, and now it's been a while since I saw Juno so this review isn't really going to do the movie justice. In short, it's the best movie released in 2007 to this point (still have a lot of work to do there though). The title character as well as Michael Cera's character are both fantastic, it's brilliantly written (by a first-time screenwriter), and the movie has a Wes Anderson-ish quirkyness to it that absolutely sells the whole thing. Juno represents the same sort of celebration of non-conformity that Napolean Dynamite did, except Juno is a much more complete and much less annoying character.
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