And Speaking of Amy Adams....

I mentioned actress Amy Adams in  a previous post, and it brought to mind a story about her, or, actually, a story about research methods now in place in the 21st century.

A few years back, I was putting together a research presentation for SABR about the 1909 World Series between the Pirates and Tigers.  I used Google Images to find pictures of long ago ballplayers like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Pirates rookie pitcher Babe Adams.  And if you have used Google Images yourself, you will  not be surprised that it was possible to find many pictures of Babe Adams, but it also led me to a picture file of "a Hollywood babe, Amy Adams".  Well, I couldn't resist, and I included, not this exact picture, but one very similar to it, in my 1909 World Series power point presentation of

HOLLYWOOD BABE, AMY ADAMS

I am not sure that some of the more sober-sided SABR members appreciated it, but I think that most people did!

Movie Review: "Her"

So, we took in the movie, "Her", yesterday.  Set in the "future", this is a story about, well, let me turn it over to my friend Mark Matera for his description of the movie:

" Very telling exposition of current and future relationship between man and machine."

Yes, it is about a lonely guy, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls in love with his computer's new artificially intelligent Operation System, voiced, and very sexily, I might add, by Scarlett Johansson.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a "sci-fi guy", and this movie, I believe falls very much in the realm of science fiction.

Very good acting by Phoenix and by Johansson, even if it is only her voice that you hear, and getting a chance to see Amy Adams is always well worth it in my book, so on that level, I'm glad I saw this movie.  On the other hand, when it comes out on DVD, I will not be rushing down to the Redbox so I can see it again.

Movie Review: "American Hustle"

We took in the flick "American Hustle" yesterday afternoon.  It is a flick that is popping up on lots of Best Ten lists and is getting lots of Oscar buzz.  It is loosely based ("Some of these events actually happened" is the on-screen prelude to the movie) on events surrounding the ABSCAM scandals of the late 1970's.    

Hard to classify this movie.  Part drama, part comedy, but entertaining.  Insofar as movies about con artists go, it's not "The Sting", and  it could have been about 15 minutes shorter, but we still liked it a lot.  The acting by all five principals - Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence - was really good, and makes for a worthwhile movie going experience.

And you've got to love the '70's music, fashions, and, especially, hair styles.  Not everything was good about the good old days!  Although I've got to say, Amy Adams sure looked great!

In case you are wondering, the Traditional Sproule New Years Eve Movie Date will be to see "Saving Mr. Banks".