Guys
Grim, WTF opening line from an article by Patrick O’Reilly at nypost.com: “A sailor aboard the USS George Washington in Virginia fatally shot himself last week — the third sailor assigned to the ship to take their own life this month, and the 7th this year.” Seems the world is becoming more mad each day.
It will be tough top this NYP headline in terms of humor in today’s news: “I stayed in a haunted hotel and saw a ghost pee in my closet.” All together now: “Who ya gonna call?”
RIP NHL legend Guy Lafleur, 70. Born in Quebec, he was the number one pick in the 1971 draft and went on to become the top scorer on the great Montreal Canadiens teams of the ‘70’s, member of five Stanley Cup champions. He was the first player in league history to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons as well as 100 points in six consecutive seasons. He led the NHL in scoring three times, was twice named MVP, once of the Stanley Cup finals. In 1998 he was ranked number eleven on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. In 2017 he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players by the league as part of its centennial celebration. He retired in 1985, was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and came of retirement in ’88, playing until ’91 in stints with the Rangers and Nordiques. He scored 560 goals and currently ranks 27th all-time in total points, 1353. He is Les Habitants’ all-time leader in points, second in goals to Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. After his playing days, he operated a helicopter rental company in Montreal and was occasionally at the controls himself. He had his own brand of fruit juice energy drink, aptly dubbed Flower Power. He also opened a couple of restaurants. He was appointed an honorary colonel in two Canadian air force units, serving three years in each role. Awesome, sir.
Friday night’s movie fix courtesy of Netlfix did not rise above interesting. I enjoy flicks about gambling, although I don’t consider any I’ve seen to be more than good. Mississippi Grind (2015) doubles as a buddy road movie. Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds are excellent as the gambler and his backer. The odyssey begins in Iowa and climaxes in New Orleans. The dialogue is solid, intelligent, the situations believable. It reminded me of California Split (1974), starring George Segal and Elliot Gould. I don’t recall any profanity, so it’s not overdone. There is minimal violence. Alfre Woodard does a brief turn as what is probably the most congenial loan shark ever, as does Sienna Miller as Reynolds’ love interest. Jane McNeil, who did eleven episodes of The Walking Dead early in its run, is outstanding as Reynolds’ mom, a salon singer. The film was co-written and co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, frequent collaborators. 23,000+ users at IMDb have rated Mississippi Grind, forging to a consensus of 6.4 on a scale of ten. The title refers to a race horse. I’d guess the film’s appeal is restricted to those interested in character studies, particularly those studying acting. It flopped at the box office, returning less than a half million against a budget of six million. Here are the leads in character:
My thanks to Viktor, who donated a bunch of DVDs and Russian books late in today’s session of the floating book shop, and to the gentlemen who each bought a hardcover in Russian; and to the sweet elderly woman who purchased a paperback in Russian and several kids’ books for her grandchildren.
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