Don Jon: Love's labors lost

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><i>Don Jon</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/donjon/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b> </b><br /><b>Three stars. Rating: R, for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue, nudity, profanity and drug use</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fledgling writers have a tendency toward overkill, a problem that repeatedly plagues this film.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SKNq2WIT6xG4jOg15jXq-F5twtrhAMWYn-q92QD2s7zIvMRPGePXGO9osQJ3sbWpS0Ill-aWafMwB__0-e9pO__cit2fHtRd0IkwkvZ5QYPad8D_ElIJkpskEvGWdUr0gARul_pwcu8/s1600/Don+Jon+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SKNq2WIT6xG4jOg15jXq-F5twtrhAMWYn-q92QD2s7zIvMRPGePXGO9osQJ3sbWpS0Ill-aWafMwB__0-e9pO__cit2fHtRd0IkwkvZ5QYPad8D_ElIJkpskEvGWdUr0gARul_pwcu8/s400/Don+Jon+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">When Barbara (Scarlett Johansson, standing center) insists on meeting her new lover's<br />friends, Jon (Joseph Gordeon-Levitt, standing center) obliges by arranging a gathering<br />at a local club. Barbara, obviously pleased, is all sweetness and smiles ... but, in truth,<br />this is merely the latest in what will become a string of one-sided little victories.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although dissecting the nature of True Love has been a laudable quest since stories were told via cave paintings, Joseph Gordon-Levitt — making his debut here as a big-screen writer <i>and</i> director — wields a meat cleaver when a scalpel would have sufficed. He has a solid sense of what’s funny, and a good ear for relationship dynamics, but his hammer-handed approach is guaranteed to alienate the very people likely to be most touched by this story’s core moral, and its outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He also falls into another common trap. Repetition rarely enhances a lesson; we merely get bored. Or, in this case, disgusted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this particular case, it simply isn’t necessary to share what his porn-addicted character views during every spare moment; we don’t need to watch <i>with</i>him. The first montage of taut breasts, erect nipples, firm butts and willing mouths is sufficient; from that point forward, we <i>know</i> what he’s watching every time he sits in front of his laptop screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed, all we need is the familiar F-sharp-major start-up chime, which Gordon-Levitt unerringly employs for maximum comic effect ... but then he ruins the moment, each time, with yet another tiresome display of thrusting bodies and naughty bits.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And vulgar off-camera commentary. Gordon-Levitt also beats <i>that</i>affectation to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story, then:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jon Martello Jr. (Gordon-Levitt) is a blue-collar New Jersey late twenty-/early thirtysomething bartender who takes enormous pride in his apartment, his car, his appearance and his ability to score with the ladies. Thanks to this latter talent, guy pals Bobby and Danny (Rob Brown and Jeremy Luke) have nicknamed him “Don Jon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trouble is, Jon doesn’t enjoy women for their companionship or relationship potential; he objectifies them to the extreme and is interested in sex strictly for its own sake. But that isn’t satisfying; he can’t “lose himself” in lovemaking with a flesh-and-blood female partner, the way he experiences a brief “happy zone” with the assistance of an ideal Internet porn clip.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /> <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a deeply submerged level, Jon vaguely realizes that something is wrong with his approach, and with his choices, but he’s too content with the status quo to probe. And so he cheerfully follows this long-established routine, expiating any guilt while dutifully attending church each Sunday morning, cataloguing his list of sins and accepting a penance of Hail Marys and Our Fathers (a cute running gag).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then it’s Sunday lunch with his tempestuous family: boorish, loud-mouthed father Jon Sr. (Tony Danza), who insists on watching football during the meal; forever frazzled mother Angela (Glenne Headly), who’s “ready to be a grandmother” and wishes her only son would settle down with a nice girl; and bored younger sister Monica (Brie Larson), who rolls her eyes a lot, never says a word, and texts during the shouting that invariably punctuates this weekly ritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monica’s silence, an even funnier running gag, eventually builds to an unexpectedly hilarious — and insightful — payoff: further proof that Gordon-Levitt has solid comedy instincts, if he’d simply get out of his own way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dynamic shifts during a typical evening of club trolling, when Jon spots “a perfect dime (10)” loitering near the bar: That would be Barbara Sugerman, played to husky, erotic perfection by Scarlett Johansson. Although just as earthy and crude as Jon — an apparent Jersey girl archetype in this post-Snooki universe — Barbara isn’t “easy,” as she makes abundantly clear by refusing to go home with him that first night.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Intrigued, Jon does some quick research, comes up with her name and Facebook page, and figures out how to wheedle a lunch date. Similarly intrigued — or perhaps only amused — she accepts. They begin a relationship; Jon finds that he can’t get Barbara off his mind. But her refusal to hit the sack does nothing to curb his laptop activities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the same time, Barbara has an odd way of expressing her faux chasteness, since she soon teases Jon with a level of physical contact that builds the poor guy into helpless sexual tension. One hallway encounter, outside her apartment, deserves placement in the list of all-time Sexiest Moments While Fully Clothed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It appears, at first blush, that Barbara is using the only weapon at her disposal to “reform” Jon: to make him a better, kinder, more thoughtful person. Goodness knows, he could use some work. And so she insists on meeting his family and friends, and taking him to meet her family: the sort of stuff that couples do, when they’re starting to think long-term.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it becomes apparent that Barbara is neither altruistic nor benign, and we start to wonder: At what point do attempted refinement and the elimination of bad habits morph into an unhealthy character makeover?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jon couldn’t answer such questions, not being adept at self-analysis (yet). But he understands that this relationship is off-kilter, somehow, because he still can’t shake the porn habit ... not even when Barbara finally consents to become his full-time bedmate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Faint glimmers of perspective arrive with Esther (Julianne Moore), a fellow student — an “older woman” — also taking the night class that Barbara has insisted Jon enroll in. (The subject remains unspecified; we only know that it looks and sounds as dry as chalk dust.) Esther, wise in the way of maturity, also is candid to a fault: a trait that Jon initially finds disconcerting, even alienating. But Esther isn’t destined to be a chance encounter, and therein lies this story’s third — and most satisfying — act.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moore lights up the screen the same way her character invigorates this film. Esther is bright, perky and shrewdly astute; she sizes up Jon with sharp observational skills that Sherlock Holmes would admire. At the same time, Esther is damaged goods herself; we see pain lingering at the edges of Moore’s eyes, and in the subtle slump of her body.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Esther is, in short, a truly genuine person: quite a shock, in a film otherwise littered with stereotypes and shallow, two-dimensional stick-figure characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whether she’s enough to rescue this otherwise clumsy rom-com will depend on the viewer’s tolerance for smut. Needless to say, this is not a film for the easily offended; the R-rating is well deserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gordon-Levitt certainly has a handle on his portrayal of Jon, and (as director) he deftly plays with us throughout this story: Is Jon a sympathetic character, deserving of growth or redemption, or is he simply a shallow lout? He’s certainly not mean-spirited <i>per se</i>, merely self-absorbed. And, let’s face it, the apple clearly didn’t fall far from the tree, given his father’s behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of the story’s comedy elements, Gordon-Levitt knows precisely how to use his wicked sidelong glances and near-smiles of amused suspicion. Given the available evidence here, there’s no question that he can act and direct; I’m less persuaded of his writing skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet he scores some insightful social commentary, as when Jon points out that we all wallow in habitual behavior; his just happens to be socially unacceptable. Barbara is hooked on maudlin romantic melodramas, and who’s to say her taste is any better or worse than his? (One of these big-screen weepers, skewered for maximum hilarity, stars an unbilled Anne Hathaway and Channing Tatum.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Johansson has a wickedly good time as the overtly sensual Barbara, who drips lust while cooing with obviously false innocence; she incessantly calls Jon “Baby,” which — right there — should be enough to make any wary man head for the hills. At first, Johansson cleverly allows only the slightest glimpses of Barbara’s actual personality; her very bearing then shifts once this spider feels she has her fly sufficiently trapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danza and Headly are overplayed burlesques, the family meals having no more relation to reality than Jackie Gleason’s scenery-chewing outbursts more than half a century ago, on TV’s <i>The Honeymooners</i>. Luke and Brown, similarly, remain under-developed as Danny and Bobby ... although Brown tries mightily to layer some depth into his performance. The script simply doesn’t give him enough to work with.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The poster publicizing <i>Don Jon</i> highlights wildly enthusiastic, single-word pull-quotes from various reviews: stellar, hilarious, genuine, emotional, edgy, confident. I’ll give it edgy and hilarious (the latter only at times), but the rest are wishful thinking. Yes, this is an interesting first effort from an actor turned writer/director, and Gordon-Levitt certainly bears watching, should he pursue a broader career as a hyphenate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that doesn’t change the fact that <i>Don Jon</i> is uneven, frequently clumsy and needlessly offensive. Proceed with caution.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->

2013 Brie Larson Comedy Glenne Headley Jeremy Luke Joseph Gordon-Levitt Julianne Moore Rob Brown romantic Scarlett Johansson Tony Danza Vulgar Don Jon: Love's labors lost

Don Jon   (2013) •  View trailer   Three stars. Rating: R, for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue, nudity, profanity and drug use B...

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Enough Said: Whimsical ode to second chances

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><i>Enough Said</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/enoughsaid/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b> </b><br /><b>3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for profanity, sexual candor and partial nudity</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a sweet little dramedy: the gentle saga of two lonely middle-aged people attempting to establish a second act with each other. Despite taking full advantage of its upper-middle-class Los Angeles setting, Nicole Holofcener’s intimate, conversation-laden film easily could be a stage play, where I suspect it might have more success finding an audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a5twzXS15FZR27RbqK1pveWKn3B6V6RseZ7l3U4J395vQwG40b-GaM9CCLWqDr4fQPtghg5rQX3i22p2Mk2O4tFmQIcJuX12ZM2d8QwlCPpixzkMu0saACJ-RF9KGc_aKWR4FAVAjRA/s1600/Enough+Said+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a5twzXS15FZR27RbqK1pveWKn3B6V6RseZ7l3U4J395vQwG40b-GaM9CCLWqDr4fQPtghg5rQX3i22p2Mk2O4tFmQIcJuX12ZM2d8QwlCPpixzkMu0saACJ-RF9KGc_aKWR4FAVAjRA/s400/Enough+Said+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Albert (James Gandolfini) really isn't ready for a new relationship; neither is Eva (Julia<br />Louis-Dreyfus). Somehow, though, not being ready <i>together</i> begins to work. Alas, an<br />unexpected complication is destined to interfere with their growing bond; the question<br />is whether they can survive the fallout.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even during these calmer days of early autumn, with the bombastic summer behind us, films such as <i>Enough Said</i> struggle for viewers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s a shame. Far too few movies explore the quiet isolation of late fortysomethings who worry that life has passed them by: that they’re no longer entitled to the happily-ever-after that once seemed an essential clause in the contract of adulthood. In that respect, Holofcener’s film is refreshing merely by its very existence; that it explores this subject with honesty and candor is a bonus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holofcener has based her artistic career on serio-comic examinations of modern American women in crisis, starting with 1996’s <i>Walking and Talking</i>, and continuing with <i>Lovely & Amazing</i>(2001), <i>Friends with Money</i> (2006) and <i>Please Give</i> (2010). She clearly has an artistic rapport with Catherine Keener, who starred in all four of those films, and also has a strong presence in this new one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Keener takes a supporting role this time; the central character, Eva, is played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a strong TV presence — most famously in <i>Seinfeld</i>, currently in <i>Veep</i> — whose big-screen career has been restricted mostly to voicing characters in animated features. That’s a shame, because her wry, self-deprecating shtick is an ideal defense mechanism for her character here.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(That said, a few of Louis-Dreyfus’ comebacks do sound too much like a stand-up routine; Holofcener could have reined her in just a <i>little</i>bit.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eva works as a professional masseuse and has adapted, if reluctantly, to life as a single mother. She remains on reasonably cordial terms with her ex, and has custody of their teenage daughter, Ellen (Tracey Fairaway). We meet Eva during the strenuous routine of an average day, as she schleps her unwieldy portable massage table from one client to the next, obviously deriving no joy from these regular encounters with often self-absorbed people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it’s a living, and Eva can take solace from regular contact with best friend Sarah (Toni Collette) and her husband, Will (Ben Falcone). And we sense that Eva has worked hard to derive comfort — if not satisfaction — from her workaday schedule. Unfortunately, that stability is about to be shattered, because Ellen is days away from leaving for college. Eva, her very soul wrapped up in her daughter’s constant companionship, is fraying visibly around the edges.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /> <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellen, anticipating the same separation anxiety, has withdrawn slightly in order to minimize her own pain; this naturally causes her mother to fret even more. The territory here is both familiar and unerringly accurate: Parents always foresee this moment, when their baby birds leave the nest, with a mixture of pride and dread. Louis-Dreyfus and Fairaway are excellent together, displaying both the ease and uncertainty of this mother/daughter dynamic.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Eva remains a jumble of mixed emotions, her mounting agitation manifesting in nervous chatter and ill-advised attempts at humor. Hoping to distract her, Sarah and Will drag Eva to a party: a ploy that proves unexpectedly successful. Eva first garners a new client, establishing an immediate simpatico bond with Marianne (Keener), a successful poet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A bit later, Eva meets Albert (James Gandolfini), equally ill at ease in this social setting. Their connection seems so tenuous that it almost doesn’t take; we’re not sure it’ll lead anywhere until the scene shifts to a subsequent first date, Albert embarrassed because even his reservations haven’t prevented an unexpected wait at this particular restaurant, before being seated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The subsequent dinner is a masterpiece of awkward tension and groaningly awful attempts at conversation; we hope to sink through the floor, not wanting to eavesdrop on such a painful first date (which, of course, merely reinforces Holofcener’s skill at depicting such an encounter). But Eva and Albert also delight in their shared clumsiness: the beginnings of a bond.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The relationship settles; they begin to spend time together. Albert, it turns out, also suffers the angst of a single parent whose only child is about to enter college. But his divorce was anything but amicable, and their daughter, Tess (Eve Hewson), is an entitled, stuck-up snot (a curious detail that never goes anywhere).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marianne, in turn, blossoms from mere client to grateful companion, just as charmed by Eva, as she is by this sophisticated new friend. Unlike most struggling writers, Marianne has made a lucrative career of her poetry, and has become famous enough to be stopped by admiring fans. Eva marvels at her entry into this artistic side of Southern California life, spending time with a woman who casually acknowledges knowing icons such as Joni Mitchell.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right about this point, as Holofcener builds to the end of her first act, we wonder where this story will go. Certainly the characters are interesting, even provocative, but there’s a sense of some hidden shoe waiting to drop. And, indeed, that’s true ... and the arrival of this little hiccup sets the tone for the rest of the film. But you’ll not get that detail here; too much delight comes from its discovery (assuming nobody lets the cat out of the bag, before you see this film).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, we’re further occupied by sidebar relationships, most notably the unexpected bond that develops between Eva and Chloe (Tavi Gevinson), one of Ellen’s school friends. At first blush, Chloe appears to be the needy one, finding a comfortable warmth in Eva that she doesn’t get from her own mother. But as an increasingly irritated Ellen more accurately realizes, Eva seems to be nurturing a “substitute daughter” as a self-defense mechanism, a dynamic that Chloe is only too happy to accommodate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other hand, the passive/aggressive dance between the overly fussy Sarah and her maid (Anjelah Johnson-Reyes) is simply strange: a bizarre interaction that seems inserted solely to create some artificial tension. Holofcener is similarly erratic about the way she depicts Sarah and her husband; at times, Collette and Falcone are prickly enough that we wonder about the stability of <i>their</i> relationship ... and yet this, too, sorta just drifts off.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louis-Dreyfus hasn’t had a big-screen dramatic role since appearing in Woody Allen’s <i>Deconstructing Harry</i>, back in 1997; it’s easy to see why he would have been drawn to her brand of angst, which feels right at home in his universe. Eva is similarly insecure here, although such anxieties invariably are buried beneath another of Louis-Dreyfus’ chirpy smiles. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted, at times Eva is too quick with a witty comeback — people in real life rarely execute such well-timed retorts — but, in fairness, we also see pain and vulnerability in Louis-Dreyfus’ expression. Eva may smile readily, but the mirth rarely rises to her eyes ... and when it does, usually in Albert’s company, we rejoice at the moment’s sincerity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gandolfini, playing <i>so</i> strongly against type, is a revelation. Albert is a huge teddy bear of a guy who, in a delightful twist, seems wholly unaware of the advantage his size and strength should bestow. He’s charming but self-conscious, quick to feel injured at a perceived slight ... which occurs fairly frequently, given Eva’s tendency toward defensive, slightly-<i>too</i>-critical jests.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At such moments — Albert’s wounded, gently chiding expression signifying betrayal — we want to just slap her. And hug him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing Gandolfini in such a calmly tender role, and doing it so well, merely reinforces the tragedy of his unexpected death, just a few months ago, at the age of 51. This isn’t his final film — that honor belongs to <i>Animal Rescue</i>, a Dennis Lehane-scripted crime drama more typical of Gandolfini’s usual <i>oeuvre</i>, scheduled for release next year — but it is, nonetheless, a delightful epitaph.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Enough Said</i> displays both the virtues and weaknesses of Holofcener’s various films. In great part, the character interactions are engaging and well handled by accomplished actors who fit nicely into their roles. At the same time, Holofcener’s touch is uneven, her ability to weave a complete tapestry not quite as skilled as the care she takes with individual threads.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->

2013 Ben Falcone Catherine Keener Comedy James Gandolfini Julia Louis-Dreyfus Nicole Holofcener romantic Tavi Gevinson Toni Collette Tracey Fairaway Enough Said: Whimsical ode to second chances

Enough Said   (2013) •  View trailer   3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for profanity, sexual candor and partial nudity By  Derrick Bang ...

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Head of horse

<span style="font-size: large;">As I drove home from work yesterday a horse and cart came up beside me in traffic.</span><br><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It was a busy day in the city with lots of tourists and Dubliners in town celebrating Arthur's Day.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgc0pR5xNHBhLWwbcYiJiUNuEndxhb_HQRVBHmkcmxRsli8QOHoJbdfkeEIASQd0JC2BpA1mrnhtnk7KY1faJGPn6PDADhyP9OFByGMdhCXYZ4EgUmlDljUD4vbEHCDCDF8mwCU59wfue/s640/blogger-image-762409090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgc0pR5xNHBhLWwbcYiJiUNuEndxhb_HQRVBHmkcmxRsli8QOHoJbdfkeEIASQd0JC2BpA1mrnhtnk7KY1faJGPn6PDADhyP9OFByGMdhCXYZ4EgUmlDljUD4vbEHCDCDF8mwCU59wfue/s640/blogger-image-762409090.jpg"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">I rarely go to my work canteen but I did yesterday.  The options were Bangers & Mash or Chicken in Red Wine Jus.  I chose the chicken.  It was very tasty but probably too filling - I had a bad yoga class afterwards and I blame the fact that I ate such a big meal at lunch!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGruroCy84EQfA8csdG1J8Jg8KFRx1wMSYQQMKQR-Dhs9UWxuTPuTc31bA9kPnr1-AMmOaHO-qWwahVbdo3SeKI2kL0w_zifp7Tc9ya3cKWkQ0SgPz5c3VkYcCg5zMa26Uoxq-BK1Z222/s640/blogger-image-1442736175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGruroCy84EQfA8csdG1J8Jg8KFRx1wMSYQQMKQR-Dhs9UWxuTPuTc31bA9kPnr1-AMmOaHO-qWwahVbdo3SeKI2kL0w_zifp7Tc9ya3cKWkQ0SgPz5c3VkYcCg5zMa26Uoxq-BK1Z222/s640/blogger-image-1442736175.jpg"></a></div><br><br></div>

Head of horse

As I drove home from work yesterday a horse and cart came up beside me in traffic. It was a busy day in the city with lots of tourists and D...

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No Wonder I'm So Burnt Out

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYtq5lo3a09FkUromfh0caGviyuQ_9A3W8terYlZ8uX_Qdmps3wYlqb62DUzBlchnlslyXowk6gJlKp68WGnZexRbcsCyX2O5YBUJilcNq_VuCquWwecvK4c9akG8M5ZIQOp8RWTln8Cy/s1600/http:__acelebrationofwomen.org_wp-content_uploads_2011_04_candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYtq5lo3a09FkUromfh0caGviyuQ_9A3W8terYlZ8uX_Qdmps3wYlqb62DUzBlchnlslyXowk6gJlKp68WGnZexRbcsCyX2O5YBUJilcNq_VuCquWwecvK4c9akG8M5ZIQOp8RWTln8Cy/s640/http:__acelebrationofwomen.org_wp-content_uploads_2011_04_candle.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Lordy.<br />As of last Sunday I had put in over 230 hours at work in 4 weeks. 110 hours this pay period and a little over 120 last pay period.<br /><br />A month of normal 40 hours a week is 160.<br />That means I put in 70 fucking hours of overtime.<br /><br />Of course good ol' Uncle Sam loves my ass right now.<br /><br />I have about two weeks of time off I need to burn before the end of the year and I am going to do just that here real soon.<br /><br />I see either a week off straight or a whole bunch of four day weekends in my future.<br /><br />The fucking bastards even woke me up calling me on the phone at nine thirty this morning when I didn't get to bed until four A.M. .<br /><br />Trust me when I say that some dickhead got an earful before I hung up.<br /><br />I'm taking tomorrow and Saturday off for starters.<br /><br />Now I am going to relax and catch up on my browsing.<br /><br />Update.<br /><br />I'm so fucking tired I can't even do basic addition tonight.<br /><br />I posted fucked up numbers originally and it took a good five minutes of staring at them to see where I messed up.<br /><br />

No Wonder I'm So Burnt Out

Lordy. As of last Sunday I had put in over 230 hours at work in 4 weeks. 110 hours this pay period and a little over 120 last pay period. A ...

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Eric Mccandless/ABC Troy Gentile, left, and Jeff Garlin as an ’80s son and father in the new comedy “The Goldbergs.”

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://tv.nytimes.com/">http://tv.nytimes.com</a><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #909090; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.223em; text-align: right;">Eric Mccandless/ABC</span>Troy Gentile, left, and Jeff Garlin as an ’80s son and father in the new comedy “The Goldbergs.”</h2><div><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/25/arts/0925CRAZY/0925CRAZY-articleLarge.jpg" /></div><div><h2 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="alternativeHeadline" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 2.4em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.083em; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">Children Examine Fathers, and They See Trouble</h2><h1 class="articleSubHeadline" itemprop="headline" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: -7px 0px 17px;">‘Goldbergs,’ ‘Back in the Game,’ ‘Crazy Ones’ Make Debuts</h1><h6 class="byline" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 2px 0px;">By <span itemid="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/alessandra_stanley/index.html" itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/alessandra_stanley/index.html" rel="author" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;" title="More Articles by ALESSANDRA STANLEY">ALESSANDRA STANLEY</a></span></h6><h6 class="dateline" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px;">Published: September 24, 2013</h6><div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic articleShareToolsTop shareToolsInstance" data-description="Three sitcoms with different angles on parent-child relationships have their premieres: “The Goldbergs,” “Back in the Game” and “The Crazy Ones.”" data-shares="facebook,twitter,google,save,email,showall|Share,print,singlepage,reprints,ad" data-title="Children Examine Fathers, and They See Trouble" data-url="http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/arts/television/goldbergs-back-in-the-game-crazy-ones-make-debuts.html" style="background-color: white; 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text-decoration: none;">Arts Twitter List: Critics, Reporters and Editors</a></div></div><div class="doubleRuleDivider" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/global/borders/doubleRule.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-width: 0px !important; clear: both; height: 4px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 12px; overflow: hidden;"></div><div class="story" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px;"><div style="padding-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Arts & Entertainment Guide" border="0" height="41" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/arts/events/events190.png" style="border: none;" width="190" /></a></div><div class="summary" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">A sortable calendar</a> of noteworthy cultural events in the New York region, selected by Times critics.</div><ul class="refer" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 2px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/bullet4x4.gif); background-position: 0% 0.45em; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.182em; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/events/index.html" style="color: #666699; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: none;">Go to Event Listings »</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="inlineImage module" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 12px; width: 190px;"><div class="image" style="margin-bottom: 2px;"><div class="icon enlargeThis" style="background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 16px; text-align: right;"><a href="" style="background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/icons/multimedia/enlarge_icon.gif); background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #666699; display: inline; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; padding-left: 15px;">Enlarge This Image</a></div><a href="" style="color: #666699; display: block;"><span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/25/arts/jpcrazy1/jpcrazy1-articleInline.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><img alt="" height="168" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/25/arts/jpcrazy1/jpcrazy1-articleInline.jpg" style="border: none;" width="190" /></span></a></div><h6 class="credit" style="color: #909090; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.223em; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right;">Randy Holmes/ABC</h6><div class="caption" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.2727em;">Maggie Lawson and James Caan in “Back in the Game,” in which daughter and father bond over youth baseball.</div></div><div class="inlineImage module" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 12px; width: 190px;"><div class="image" style="margin-bottom: 2px;"><div class="icon enlargeThis" style="background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 16px; text-align: right;"><a href="" style="background-image: url(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/icons/multimedia/enlarge_icon.gif); background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #666699; display: inline; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; padding-left: 15px;">Enlarge This Image</a></div><a href="" style="color: #666699; display: block;"><span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/25/arts/jpcrazy2/jpcrazy2-articleInline.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><img alt="" height="190" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/25/arts/jpcrazy2/jpcrazy2-articleInline.jpg" style="border: none;" width="190" /></span></a></div><h6 class="credit" style="color: #909090; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.223em; margin: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right;">Richard Cartwright/CBS</h6><div class="caption" style="color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.2727em;">Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, playing his daughter and business partner, in “The Crazy Ones.”</div></div></div><div class="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.7em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><div data-key="IaiCan" data-num="1" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">It’s almost impossible to be a good parent anymore — offspring, once grown, seem to have an endless appetite for reproach. An alarming number of new TV comedies this season focus on the strain that annoying parents put on their resentful progeny. Children are never satisfied: a neglectful father ruins his child’s self-worth and ability to trust; a doting, successful father is impossible to live up to.</div><div data-key="TaaTaa" data-num="2" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Those axioms are the basis of two comedies that begin this week: “Back in the Game” and “The Crazy Ones,” both father-daughter sitcoms that act out the discontents of Generation Xers who “journal” and use “parenting” as a verb.</div><div data-key="TGwTGw" data-num="3" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">“The Goldbergs,” which began Tuesday on ABC, is the counterpoint: It’s a nostalgic look back at a simpler time long ago — the 1980s — when, as the narrator puts it, “there were no parenting blogs or peanut allergies, just a whole lot of crazy.”</div><div data-key="IwbIwb" data-num="4" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">It would be great if <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/the-goldbergs" style="color: #666699;" title="ABC s Web page for the show">“The Goldbergs”</a> were the wittier show of the three — Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) plays the kind of dad who hollers, tells his children they are morons and proudly gives his middle son an REO Speedwagon tape for his birthday, which his son, who favors Flavor Flav, takes as an insult.</div><div data-key="BtcGSp" data-num="5" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">But the characters and mishaps on “The Goldbergs” are predicable, and the writing isn’t clever enough to overcome clichés: the pushy, overbearing mother; the sulky teenage son who wants his driver’s license; the popular older sister who finds her brothers unbearable. George Segal plays the roguish grandpa who helps the children get around parents who don’t understand them.</div><div data-key="TGmTee" data-num="6" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">“The Goldbergs” mostly serves as a contradiction to the rule that writers should draw on what they know. Like “The Wonder Years,” this is a coming-of-age comedy told in the first person. The show’s creator, Adam F. Goldberg, modeled it so closely on his own childhood that his family photos are next to shots of the actors at the end of the pilot. The entire episode feels like a home movie that a dinner host insists on showing his guests — it’s only funny to those in it.</div><div data-key="BitTML" data-num="7" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">“<a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/back-in-the-game" style="color: #666699;" title="show site">Back in the Game</a>,” an ABC show that begins on Wednesday, has a better start, even if it’s not all that inventive, either. The show puts the kind of father-daughter conflict that Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams explored in the movie <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/movies/trouble-with-the-curve-with-clint-eastwood-and-amy-adams.html?_r=0" style="color: #666699;" title="a Times review of "Trouble With the Curve" ">“Trouble With the Curve”</a> into a “Bad News Bears” setting. Terry (Maggie Lawson), a single mother, is broke and has to move in with her crabby, estranged father, who is also called Terry but goes by “the Cannon” and is played by James Caan.</div><div data-key="TibTri" data-num="8" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Terry is bitter about her tough childhood — her father was a minor league coach who left her with relatives after her mother died. To please him, she became a college all-star softball player and still resents that she never saw the Cannon at any of her games. Their relationship is tense, but after Terry volunteers to coach her son’s losing baseball team, she needs her father’s help.</div><div data-key="TfcTfc" data-num="9" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The family conflicts are facile and easily resolved on “Back in the Game,” but Terry is an appealing heroine, and she has an amusing new best friend, Lulu (Lenora Crichlow), a rich widow, and an appalling new enemy, Dick (Ben Koldyke), a rival coach with an ego as big as a baseball diamond.</div><div data-key="TCOHfr" data-num="10" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">“<a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-crazy-ones/" style="color: #666699;" title="show site">The Crazy Ones</a>” is a CBS show that begins on Thursday and features a heroine, Sydney (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who cannot complain that her successful, doting father doesn’t take care of her. Robin Williams plays her father, Simon Roberts, a senior partner at a big-time advertising firm who brought Sydney into the business and made her a partner. When Simon improvises a pitch to Coca-Cola, Sydney reminds him that she is his business partner by noting that the company is called Lewis, Roberts & Roberts. Her father replies: “Really? I thought that was my name twice.”</div><div data-key="SahSah" data-num="11" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Simon adores his cautious, conscientious daughter, but he communes better with a dashing, confident protégé, Zach, played by James Wolk (Bob Benson on “Mad Men”), who shares Simon’s high spirits and recklessness.</div><div data-key="TfdAwM" data-num="12" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The filial dynamic is similar to the father-daughter mismatch in “<a href="http://www.tbs.com/shows/justshootme/" style="color: #666699;" title="more on the show">Just Shoot Me</a>,” a ’90s show that starred Mr. Segal. Sydney is as much a scolding nanny as she is a collaborator. Simon is supposed to be a genuinely mad Mad Man, a childlike creative genius who delights in jokes, funny voices and inspired nonsense. And watching Mr. Williams return to the kind of improvisation-style routines that made him famous in the 1970s is bittersweet, like watching Jimmy Connors play tennis again: they are still impressive, but audiences can’t help recalling how much more elastic and powerful they were at their peak.</div><div data-key="MFbBit" data-num="13" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">“Modern Family” became a hit by focusing on family units that are unconventional but harmonious and loving. “Back in the Game” and “The Crazy Ones” are sitcoms that seek the cracks in less modern but perhaps more commonplace kinfolk.</div><div data-key="TGTG" data-num="14" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><strong>The Goldbergs</strong></div><div data-key="ATnATn" data-num="15" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><em>ABC, Tuesday nights at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.</em></div><div data-key="PbHMGD" data-num="16" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Produced by Happy Madison and Sony Pictures Television. Written by Adam F. Goldberg. Mr. Goldberg, Doug Robinson and Seth Gordon, executive producers.</div><div data-key="WWMWWM" data-num="17" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">WITH: Wendi McLendon-Covey (Beverly Goldberg), Patton Oswalt (adult Adam Goldberg), Sean Giambrone (Adam Goldberg), Troy Gentile (Barry Goldberg), Hayley Orrantia (Erica Goldberg), George Segal (Pops Solomon) and Jeff Garlin (Murray Goldberg).</div><div data-key="BitBit" data-num="18" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><strong>Back in the Game</strong></div><div data-key="AWnAWn" data-num="19" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><em>ABC, Wednesday nights at 8:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 7:30, Central time.</em></div><div data-key="PbtMaR" data-num="20" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Kapital Entertainment. Written by Mark and Robb Cullen. Mark and Robb Cullen, John Requa, Glenn Ficarra and Aaron Kaplan, executive producers.</div><div data-key="WJCWJC" data-num="21" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;">WITH: James Caan (Terry “the Cannon” Gannon Sr.), Maggie Lawson (Terry Gannon Jr.), / Ben Koldyke (Dick Slingbaugh), Griffin Gluck (Danny Gannon), Lenora Crichlow (Lulu Lovette), J J Totah (Michael Lovette), Kennedy Waite (Vanessa Leeds), Cooper Roth (David Slingbaugh) and Brandon Salgado (Dudley Douglas).</div><div data-key="TCOTCO" data-num="22" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><strong>The Crazy Ones</strong></div><div data-key="CTnCTn" data-num="23" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><em>CBS, Thursday nights at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.</em></div><div class="emActive emReady" data-key="PbtDEK" data-num="24" data-sentences="2" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.467em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span data-num="1" style="background-color: #f2f4f5;">Produced by 20th Century Fox Television.</span> <span data-num="2" style="background-color: #f2f4f5;">David E. Kelley, Bill D’Elia, Jason Winer, Tracy Poust, Jon Kinnally, Dean Lorey, John Montgomery and Mark Teitelbaum, executive producers</span></div></div></div></div>

The Goldbergs Eric Mccandless/ABC Troy Gentile, left, and Jeff Garlin as an ’80s son and father in the new comedy “The Goldbergs.”

http://tv.nytimes.com Eric Mccandless/ABC Troy Gentile, left, and Jeff Garlin as an ’80s son and father in the new comedy “The Goldbergs.” C...

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FIFA 14 review: Plateau

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/">http://www.joystiq.com</a><br /><div class="post-head" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 8px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><h1 class="headline" style="border: 0px; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 35px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 550px;"><span id="ppt20727510" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14 review: Plateau</span></h1><div class="byline" style="border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;">by <a class="byline-author" href="http://www.joystiq.com/editor/mike-suszek" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mike Suszek</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/editor/mike-suszek/rss.xml" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Writer RSS" height="16" src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="border: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 11px;" width="16" /></a> on Sep 24th 2013 3:00AM</div><div class="comment-count" style="background-image: url(data:image/png; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 23px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 7px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-align: center; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="livefyre-commentcount" data-lf-article-id="20727510" data-lf-site-id="301101" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/24/fifa-14-review-plateau/#" style="background-color: #3d3d3f; border: 0px; color: white; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0.7em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">33</a><span class="tail" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div></div><div class="post-body" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/24/fifa-14-review-plateau/" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev1.jpg" style="border: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-7c829f6e-4b2e-a5ea-5bb9-b60d64c4703a" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apparently following an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" methodology, the FIFA team hasn't introduced any large, game-changing features this year. Heading into the next console generation, this is very much a "tune-up" year in regards to <a href="http://joystiq.com/game/fifa-14" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em></a>, and for good reason: It's pretty hard to top EA Canada's efforts with the FIFA series in recent years. Each iteration of the soccer sim has gradually tapered off its impactful improvements, with the introduction of physics in <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/game/fifa-12" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 12</em></a> and then First Touch Control in <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/game/fifa-13" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em></a>.</span><br /><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-7c829f6e-4b2e-a5ea-5bb9-b60d64c4703a" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Continuing the trend, the biggest on-field changes in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> revolve around one of the first things players will notice: The game feels a bit slower. The fact is, the game's actual speed may not be any slower than before, but the continual tweaking of passing and dribbling mechanics has lead to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> becoming a much more methodical game than before. Your team's progressions seem to take a little longer since the defense plays your attackers tighter, resulting in passing lanes that are a tad harder to find. The dribbling mechanics added in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em> have been altered – no longer requiring players to hold the left trigger – and effectively performing some of the fun combinations from last year is more difficult and confusing now.</span><div class="postgallery" style="border: 8px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 7px 0px 7px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h3 class="clearfix" style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14 (6/6/13)</a></h3><ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720326/#!slide=720326" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3geprecisionmovement1wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720327/#!slide=720327" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3geprecisionmovement2wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720328/#!slide=720328" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3itpureshotwm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720329/#!slide=720329" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3ukpureshotflickwm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720330/#!slide=720330" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14x360frpureshot2wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720331/#!slide=720331" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14x360naphysicalplaywm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li></ul></div><a href="" id="continued" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a>The left trigger is now used mostly for protecting the ball from defenders. Holding the trigger causes your player to shield the ball, a strategy that seems especially effective along the wings, yet otherwise ineffective against even a mediocre defense. Still, it causes your player to slow down and wait for teammates to better position themselves to receive a pass, which also happened much slower than I would like. When sprinting, the ball gets knocked a little further away than it did a year ago, lending more vulnerability to faster styles of play, especially when considering tweaks made to First Touch Control.<br /><br />Introduced last year, First Touch Control causes more unpredictability in the ball's movements, and this year it's more sensitive to less skillful athletes. This causes a much clearer differentiation in how teams play and how players effectively move the ball around the pitch. While I can't necessarily say that Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo feel different from one another, they certainly perform better than a no-name player from some two-star Chilean club. The former two superstars might be able to get away with sprinting around the field a little and still avoid confrontation, but with the majority of teams you'll need to employ a slower, more tactical strategy, as less skilled athletes are more likely to lose control of the ball.<br /><br />If EA Canada's goal is to eradicate the arguably cheap "sprint and through pass" tactic employed by some in the past, they've done an admirable job in doing so with the game's AI alone. In the mid-to-high difficulty levels, the opposition snuffs out passes and makes tackles with ease, and then knocks the ball around your challenges when on the attack. It seemed as if opponents, regardless of their supposed skill level, navigated the field and the openings in my defense much easier than my team could. Additionally, don't bother trying to tackle a CPU-controlled player that is sprinting along the sideline while shielding the ball; it seems downright impossible to get the ball away from them until they're already in the box and approaching the net. The saving grace here is that slide tackling is more viable this year and no longer a guaranteed penalty, thanks in part to a slightly cleaned-up physics engine that doesn't have players falling over one other as much.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="337" data-src-width="599" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev3.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div><div class="review-diary" style="border: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;"><h3 style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 12px; margin-bottom: -5px !important; 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If the ball fell dead in open space, my team would show almost no effort, merely jogging in the ball's direction and allowing a CPU opponent to regain possession first. If an attacker approached my CPU-controlled defenders, they would offer a nice cushion of space with lots of room to pass the ball. When I locked to an individual player on the field in career mode and timed a run to get past the defense, my teammates were almost always off by a beat, performing late passes often enough that we'd rack up double-digit offsides penalties in every game. My best bet for success was to carefully control every player on my team and trap attackers myself, which certainly slows things down.<br /><br /><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>'s AI is polarizing. The game's smarter defense offers a new challenge and forces players to think more tactically. Your CPU teammates, however, are frustrating and practically useless roughly 75 percent of the time, creating more offsides penalties than scoring chances. Yet shaky AI is just one slice of the game's on-field play, the majority of which remains as rewarding and fun as ever, and ultimately doesn't feel too far removed from <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em>. For instance, the sheer unpredictability of the ball's movements in last year's game and the excitement it brought is still there in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>, so it's worth putting up with a few brain-dead teammates.<br /><br />The manager side of career mode, meanwhile, receives a nice addition in the form of the Global Transfer Network. Players now have more control in managing a team of scouts, giving instructions on what types of players to search for in their assigned countries. Using the Global Transfer Network, I was able to discover a 19-year-old striker with plenty of speed stuck on a Brazilian club, and all the while the system was intuitive as can be. That's a credit to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>'s overhauled user interface, which is nearly identical to the excellent system in <a href="http://joystiq.com/game/madden-nfl-25" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Madden 25</em></a>. The majority of the game's menus are now large tiles that have more pop, and even with the occasional stutter, navigation is exactly as easy as it should be. It's especially nice to have that in a mode with as much nuance as career mode or FIFA Ultimate Team.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="337" data-src-width="599" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev2.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>As for EA's favorite money-making and card-collecting mode, Ultimate Team has its share of improvements, including changes to team chemistry. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em>'s version of Ultimate Team brought chemistry into the mix, in which players would perform better if their given club, nationality or league matched with those near them on the team. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> takes team chemistry a step further by introducing loyalty and player style bonuses, the latter offering a variety of player skill boosts for your team. Cards that are fresh from an opened pack start out with a "basic" chemistry style, and can be upgraded to others like "sniper," which markedly improves a player's shooting and dribbling abilities. By requiring you to take more specifics into account when building your team, Ultimate Team becomes much more enjoyable and challenging.<br /><br />While online play in various modes went off without a hitch, the game froze twice within the career mode menus, and my system locked up once when booting up the game. Those instances, in addition to the clear balance issues with opposition and teammate AI will likely warrant some attention from EA in future updates.<br /><br />That aside, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> carries on the tradition of being one of the cleanest experiences in the publisher's sports lineup. It mixes up the formula a touch by slowing the pace of the game down and forcing players to think more tactically by using adjusted dribbling mechanics. The result is a more deliberate, challenging game with less forgiveness, though it still mostly resembles the FIFA we're used to. It's better in some ways, especially with the fresh menu system and added strategic depth in both manager career mode and Ultimate Team.<br /><br /><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em> took larger strides than this year's offering, but even with only minor improvements and changes, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> remains an excellent soccer sim.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2010/06/review-four-stars.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div><hr /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This review is based on a retail copy of the Xbox 360 version of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>, provided by Electronic Arts.<br /><br />Joystiq's review scores are based on a scale of whether the game in question is worth your time -- a five-star being a definitive "yes," and a one-star being a definitive "no." <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/11/welcome-to-the-latest-joystiq-we-call-it-futurestiq/#4" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Read here for more information</a> on our ratings guidelines.</span></div></div>

FIFA 14 review: Plateau FIFA 14 review: Plateau

http://www.joystiq.com FIFA 14 review: Plateau by  Mike Suszek    on Sep 24th 2013 3:00AM 33 Apparently following an "if it ain't b...

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Hay season

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVLCCslik1w_C0ZHre-i4OWsnbvhsunQVuW62_liNkqlBnBkyu6ziYfrv7kyvMZur4hM55ULJOtFT7LETk5nLpRgkUFYVymI8DLrVKI3hDPKtcqkmdYb7bPSxe1sq5hm293EnpSPDOuq-/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVLCCslik1w_C0ZHre-i4OWsnbvhsunQVuW62_liNkqlBnBkyu6ziYfrv7kyvMZur4hM55ULJOtFT7LETk5nLpRgkUFYVymI8DLrVKI3hDPKtcqkmdYb7bPSxe1sq5hm293EnpSPDOuq-/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><br />Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

Hay season

  Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

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Blue Ridge Parkway: Lunch at Peaks of Otter

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZqZzZQIh21xowW1GzA7AN8Em0pMmMVodW_47AMGDJdYeGCq0IKcFUIfW5jR9KK_PeBRKE2kHAHGHYkgNnJvEnwVt0B0uqFnsceS85geP6YftETfzkSUlXwaIKiEBOw8aAbVfikXj0xoo/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZqZzZQIh21xowW1GzA7AN8Em0pMmMVodW_47AMGDJdYeGCq0IKcFUIfW5jR9KK_PeBRKE2kHAHGHYkgNnJvEnwVt0B0uqFnsceS85geP6YftETfzkSUlXwaIKiEBOw8aAbVfikXj0xoo/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.peaksofotter.com/">Peaks of Otter</a> at MP 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can get <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/sero/appalachian/sec3.htm">lost in the history</a> of this scenic area of Virginia. The dining room is nice place to meet friends and enjoy the beauty outside the ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking Sharp Top and the lake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7nTlaelTB2Gtn5JjJKkHNYJ-fQul3OTouTBTvi__HbjBfMGM2MbWOUAkPKpaCb4jvc5pAYmlX5CNFXl8K-KX3lo395I895O0kM4jNYOo8ScnBhLQPUKdVBBQyyYckQl73kQkQoy0QLZv/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7nTlaelTB2Gtn5JjJKkHNYJ-fQul3OTouTBTvi__HbjBfMGM2MbWOUAkPKpaCb4jvc5pAYmlX5CNFXl8K-KX3lo395I895O0kM4jNYOo8ScnBhLQPUKdVBBQyyYckQl73kQkQoy0QLZv/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I tried the Peaks Quesadilla with cheddar jack cheese, onions, peppers, cilantro, and served with fresh salsa ... one of the best I've had.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCXa8WeWyff-uZlkwIume16eBeDzuEOu7cOnyZtW2QvJVJ-v4lKE3aOYpIshqdCSZLa2SnZ2u1DaYXTncxGlttaeWkpNkPc7TioKZ2RlrZH5sIimIUqzSS03Zn1ti8GbDgMSMsjx8gVOC/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCXa8WeWyff-uZlkwIume16eBeDzuEOu7cOnyZtW2QvJVJ-v4lKE3aOYpIshqdCSZLa2SnZ2u1DaYXTncxGlttaeWkpNkPc7TioKZ2RlrZH5sIimIUqzSS03Zn1ti8GbDgMSMsjx8gVOC/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Classic BLT on toasted white bread with steak fries.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S_SzW1hvgMcL7ZTikAS3Cj5YSSwo4rsiI6p4hRSlGJwOb9pINzCWai6JtaHR_A9MjSw06kp0UQM3bfvQhDMqoVyOZ4j5xjpMb-HtvvHGLOFvhPrlgSHzvF3gsGWRBUQnigAQ18ri-o4d/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S_SzW1hvgMcL7ZTikAS3Cj5YSSwo4rsiI6p4hRSlGJwOb9pINzCWai6JtaHR_A9MjSw06kp0UQM3bfvQhDMqoVyOZ4j5xjpMb-HtvvHGLOFvhPrlgSHzvF3gsGWRBUQnigAQ18ri-o4d/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The meal was very reasonable. The view of Sharp Top was priceless.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell<br /><br />

Bedford Blue Ridge Mountains Blue Ridge Parkway Peaks of Otter tourism Virginia Is For Lovers western Virginia Blue Ridge Parkway: Lunch at Peaks of Otter

  Peaks of Otter at MP 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can get lost in the history of this scenic area of Virginia. The dining room is n...

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