Browns57

On 12/8/2023 at 6:22 AM, Westside Steve said:

Napoleon

Columbia/Apple

R. 157 min

Okay gang, a few thoughts just off the top of my head. I will pretty much go to see anything starring Joaquin Phoenix. Since 1993 he's gone from being the younger brother of River Phoenix who died of a drug overdose to one of the best actors in the business and regardless of the quality of the film you can [usually] bet that his role will be outstanding. Well hopefully you read this before you make your way to the betting parlor with your life savings because this is absolutely the worst performance Phoenix has turned in, and that shocked me. Director Ridley Scott who does have some talent and a lot of influence is perfectly capable of releasing two or three hours of crap and Napoleon is one of the weakest to snag a holiday opening. First of all I didn't go to this one for a history lesson and I figured if there were some inconsistencies with facts, well what the heck? Quentin Tarantino is famous for completely ignoing it as in INGLOURIOUS BASTARDS and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD so I can overlook a little artistic license. Sure some of the BS didn't matter to the story, but it was stupid and unnecessary in most cases, for instance Napoleon was nowhere near the beheading of Marie Antoinette nor did she have a giant shock of white hair. He also never fired on the pyramids while on a campaign to Egypt nor is the tagline “he came from nowhere to conquer everything.” From an upper class Corsican family he never actually did conquer everything. Including England thanks to the Grand Old Duke of Wellington. But those aren’t really the problems with the movie; it’s events that may or may not have happened (who knows) but made one of history's all-time great personalities seem like a dimwit. Most of the film dwells on his relationship with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) who has been accused of infidelity in the past but here is portrayed as a full-blown sh*t house whore who jumps in the sack with every Tom Dick and Pierre the minute is back is turned. Also, Josephine was six years older than Napoleon which led to at least one of the conflicts in their relationship; her inability to bear him an heir. Kirby, on the other hand, is 15 years younger than her co-star who is as the film begins, almost the same age as Napoleon was when he died. Phoenix doesn't even bother to give the character a commanding voice or dialect but chooses to play one of the world's most dynamic personalities like Rainman on Thorazine. As for Scott he doesn't bother to give any of the characters a proper accent making the British, Russians, Prussians, French and Austrians all sound pretty much the same.

The rest of the story, I'm assuming, is fairly accurate, i.e. his military and personal successes, failures, promotions and demotions with periods of exile in between. The battle scenes were big and sprawling and just a little bit dull considering the amount of money spent. At least they got the British and the allies correct when they were fighting in a square. Plus, since almost everything was shot in the rain or in the snow or in a gray stone castle, the cinematography was almost consistently drab. The costuming was pretty extravagant but come on, who goes to a movie for that?

In the words of Alexander Dumas , ‘Ce film est l'une des plus grosses morseau de merde de l'année.’

D

WSS

PS Phoenix reportedly walked out of the Paris premier without doing any interviews or posing for any photos.

 

 

 

I cannot read your full review because I haven't seen the movie yet. But I agree about Joaquin Phoenix. Anything he is in I will watch. He is such a great actor. I look forward to reading your full review after I watch the movie.

On 11/10/2023 at 9:10 AM, Flugel said:

It used to crack me up when he called his 1st wife "The Toothless Hag" and Kathy, his 2nd wife, "Hag2."  

One of the last times I went to Cleveland, he called me and said "Listen, get the Warden to sign your permission slip to come to Cleveland this weekend for the game.  I got you a ticket; and someone's gotta help me try to keep Zombo out of jail here!"

 

He was so funny. And so many funny stories too. 

Stefanski leaves a lot to be desired with his play-calling, and I am still convinced he must be stripped of his duties. Nothing has changed. There were many examples even today. The biggest one was with 7 seconds left before halftime; he had them line up for a field goal and then called a timeout and put PJ Walker in to throw a Hail Mary. WHY? Hopkins made a 58-yarder recently. Kick the damn field goal. What was he worried about? Did he think if there was a miss, the Ravens would score a TD in the two or three seconds left with their own Hail Mary? 

The bottom line is that we won today the same way we have all year. Our defense refused to lose the game. 

I guess some people here have already forgotten the COVID game where we lit up the scoreboard while Stefanski was at home sitting in his Lazy Boy.

The Browns should win this game, however, how often do they actually win in week 1?

I don't know who this kid is, but I think he picked quite a few of these wrong. I do not see us losing to the Steelers even if it is in Pittsburgh on a Monday night. We also beat Denver, and probably lose to the Jets. The Seahawks game is too close to call. I say 12-5 or 11-6

1 hour ago, nickers said:

So in reality... we really didn't fix the problem... We just do what the Browns always does... Stick a band-aid on it and hope it sticks...  Typical with limited choices...

What could they have done to "fix" the problem? It seems like bringing in a kicker who has a better field goal percentage than York, and another to the practice squad is a much better situation than going into the season with a kicker who made 50% of his kicks in the preseason and 74-75% last year for the entire season. We lost games last year because York couldn't convert. It seems to be at least that the Browns addressed the situation as well as they could for a short-term solution. It will be interesting to see if there is anything to the Bjorkas as a bad holder theory. Hopefully not. But maybe they should start training DTR or one of our receivers on how to hold for a FG just in case. 

The old Browns would have started the season with York anyway. 

1 hour ago, ballpeen said:

It probably means they don't want to take any chances and are more or less having a kicking competition.  Hopkins is proven, but why take a chance?  This way Havrisik gets to kick in Cleveland weather, gets to know the other players and can be elevated at a moments notice.  Also, maybe Havrisik has a big leg.  We know Hopkins doesn't.  Maybe we decide to go with 2 active kickers on gameday.  If we have to kick a 55 yarder, Hopkins isn't the guy.

They would look pretty bad if they traded for a kicker and then that kicker cannot make field goals for whatever reason (weather, distance, etc.) It is good to have another option that you can track progress with. If he doesn't look great they can remove him from the practice squad with very little loss. 

My question is, do the kickers actually kick out in the weather in Cleveland other than during games or during warmups? Is there an outdoor field at the practice facility? If I were the special teams coach I would have my two kickers kicking in the stadium in the actual weather conditions that they would face in a game whenever possible. 

Today, I heard a guy asking, What would you think of the Browns organization if they didn't bring in another kicker and move on from York? I thought that was a great question because that would show a complete lack of awareness and send a message that they were not really doing everything they could to win this year. Kind of like when they kept Shwartz last year. 

1 hour ago, Unsympathetic said:

ESPN

Resisting the urge to be cynical about Hopkins.. who if he's not in the top tier of league K, he's at least in the tier of very-good.

Hopkins salary

No need to be cynical. Any way you look at it, this is an upgrade. York was the worst full-time kicker in the NFL last year. And he only made 50% in the preseason. This move will probably equate to 2 or 3 extra wins this year.

3 minutes ago, gumby73 said:

The swartz wrist to hand coordination is awful to ball catching location w/hands.. lets try body catch.. ball strip always brings ball out.. he's cooked as a WR

Maybe with his speed somebody will give him a shot on defense. He has worse hands than Braylon Edwards did.

4 minutes ago, Orion said:

Were they catchable?

Do you really have to ask? It is Swartz! 

That was some great concentration on that TD catch. 

3 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Drinking game: 

Do a shot every time "Wide 9" is mentioned. 

If we did that somebody might end up in the hospital.

I am on delay but that has to be a safety!

1 minute ago, Dutch Oven said:

Those were some odd calls on 3rd and 4th down, still, offense looked crisp. 

Stefanski is still calling the plays. He constantly struggles in those situations.

Just now, mjp28 said:

Friday  7:52  still rain.

I am glad I sold my tickets. Standing around waiting for a game when I have a buzz on is not my idea of a good time.

16 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Talk about a great after-football job to get. He could do it for 30+ years. 

He could do it for 40 if he were good enough. He is only 38, which is crazy.

On 8/7/2023 at 6:33 PM, Orion said:

He was drafted.  Drafted because he was one of the best in college.  Unless he starts to show that he just can't get it through the uprights I should think he deserves more than the one season.  This is a key season for the future employment of more than a few in the Browns organization...whether they wear a helmet, a tie, or a headset.

I understand your points however, he was the second-worst full-time kicker in the league last year. So he hasn't been getting it through the uprights 25% of the time. 

On 8/5/2023 at 4:48 PM, nickers said:

Yeah but didn't Chubb sit behind Saquan Barkley in college if I'm not mistaken?.. Who became the better,available back again?

Chubb played at Georgia with Sony Michel. Maybe that is what you are thinking of. I didn't know much about Chubb coming into the NFL, but I have a friend who played RB in High School and College and is a serious FB junkie and he told me when we picked Chubb that we just got the best RB in the draft. Thus far he is right. Great pick. 

But back to York. How long do we give him? I mean really? A project at kicker is not really a good thing.

5 minutes ago, mjp28 said:

Just what I was thinking. 

How did they not call that PI at the 1 yard line? Browns got lucky.

1 minute ago, mjp28 said:

CLE 21  NYJ  16  ..... and can the BROWNS  stall this thing out to win it ?    (Down time not included. )

I wouldn't bet on it.

8 minutes ago, 5150k9 said:

I'm a left coast guy, but am a true Browns fan. I can tell you DTR is the real deal. He may not be a HOF'r but he's got skills.

 

I have never seen him play until tonight. He looks great against backups. You are probably right.

4 minutes ago, Unsympathetic said:

That DTR block before the TD was more exciting than the run itself, it's hard to deny Kelly RB3

I think Felton has shown a decent amount in this game. If he keeps it up throughout the preseason I would think the spot will be his. 

That was an impressive drive by both DTR and Felton. A big difference from the first half. I love seeing a QB throwing a block!

1 minute ago, Browns149 said:

And the kicker is a problem

Absolutely. Sorry, I forgot that one. Ugh.