Saturday, August 1, 2015

It"s not just cool, its Mission: Impossible cool


Mission: Impossible Ultimate Legacy Trailer (2015) HD

Rebecca Ferguson is Ilsa and Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation.

With the new Mission: Impossible movie, even if its the most assured and satisfying of the five so far, it sounds foolish to even mention the things the characters say in between screeching tires, gunfights, knife fights, motorcycle derring-do, and the opening act featuring Tom Cruise dangling for real (real enough to make it look cool, and frightening) on the outside of a plane high over a Belarus airstrip.

But it isnt foolish. One of the many pleasures of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is the snap and tension of writer-director Christopher McQuarries dialogue. At one point, a character describes Cruises Ethan Hunt as an unstoppable force of destiny in such wittily florid terms, its like a love letter crossed with a term paper, dropped into a spy movie.

McQuarrie won an Oscar for the highly verbal ensemble foray The Usual Suspects. Then, for a long while, his Hollywood career cooled. Now its hot again, thanks to Cruise, who hired McQuarrie for Jack Reacher and then to rewrite the troubled (and ultimately entertaining) science fiction thriller Edge of Tomorrow.

As a storyteller McQuarrie is smart enough to treat each character as the smartest person in any given room, in his or her own way. Even the disposable goons in Rogue Nation are rewarded with a line or two betraying some verifiable human intelligence before they get scissor-kicked in the face.

Mission: Impossible Rogue NationRATED: PG-13 (for sequences of action and violence, and brief partial nudity)WHEN: Now showingWHERE: Century 14 Downtown, Century Rio 24, Cottonwood, High Ridge, Icon Cinemas, Winrock 16, Starlight (Los Lunas), Premiere (Rio Rancho), Regal Santa Fe Stadium 14

McQuarrie joins the tony list of Mission: Impossible directors past: Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird. His facility for straight-up, relatively traditional violent action takes on a new swagger in Rogue Nation. He has a mind, and an eye, for intricate set-ups, and if the results arent quite in the realm of movie heaven (the editing by Eddie Hamilton sometimes devolves into chaos), neither do they settle for generic head-bashing.

As photographed in rich, gleaming light and shadow in London, Vienna and Casablanca by the great cinematographer Robert Elswit, Oscar winner for There Will Be Blood, the showcase scenes such as a lengthy Man Who Knew Too Much-inspired assassination attempt inside the Vienna State Opera House harken back to swank, consciously exotic Cold War thrillers, in the locales as well as the spirit.

The super-secret espionage agency known as the Impossible Mission Force becomes de-funded in Rogue Nation by the grumpy, competitive C.I.A. director played by Alec Baldwin, lightening the load with extraordinarily dry line readings. This leaves Hunt and the gang without the leeway they need to capture the vicious head of an international terrorist syndicate known, expediently, as The Syndicate.

Sean Harris, whose vocal intonations suggest a lifetime of cigarettes and helium intake, is genuinely chilling as Hunts quarry. The IMF crew, familiar and welcome faces all, includes Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames. Rebecca Ferguson, Swedish-born, makes a formidable addition to the team (sub-group: frenemy) in the role of a British spy working every side of every street with her mad fighting skills and inevitable if extremely cautious interest in Cruises Hunt.

It almost seems as if Tom Cruise, playing Ethan Hunt, has a death wish, judging from the stunts in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation.

Rogue Nation has only a fleeting, theoretical interest in s*x. Its more interested in Cruise, running, or Cruise, leaping, or Cruise, holding his breath underwater for a long time, in a genuinely tense tour-de-force.

The IMF oversight committee cites wanton brinksmanship as the reason for closing down the throwback that is the IMF. Rogue Nation revels in both those qualities. Its daring of McQuarrie, in a big-budget internationally financed action picture such as this, to turn over a fair amount of narrative acreage to a lengthy, methodical scene cutting between a performance of Puccinis Turandot and not one, not two, but three assassins lurking in the opera house wings.

Other filmmakers wouldve condensed such a sequence down to a couple of minutes; this one presumes a little patience on the audiences behalf. Lest we mistake Rogue Nation for Graham Greene, theres a Moroccan car chase leading into a motorcycle chase leading into a telling moment of betrayal.

Cruise clearly has a death wish, judging from how he throws himself into Mission: Improbable stunts every time out. The opening gambit with the plane recalls Sean Connery atop the moving locomotive in the 70s adventure The Great Train Robbery. For whatever sick reason, we enjoy seeing our stars in some degree of actual physical peril.

Half of Rogue Nation belongs to the digital realm of trickery; the other half delivers a more gratifying combination of bodies in space, usually going at each other, along with crosses, double-crosses and settings reminiscent of everything from the 1966-1973 TV show to Hitchcock to Stanley Donens Charade.

As for Lalo Schifrins famous 5/4 theme one of the greatest of all danger themes in TV or the movies welltheres cool. And then theres Theme from Mission: Impossible cool.

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/621432/entertainment/its-not-just-cool.html

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Friday, July 31, 2015

White Sox reportedly in on Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes


Yoenis Cespedes 2013 Highlights

Updated JUL 31, 2015 at 1:34a ET

The Chicago White Sox finally lost Thursday night, halting their seven-game winning streak.

Despite the loss, the White Sox suddenly look like contenders.

Two weeks ago, pitcher Jeff Samardzija was as good as gone and the team looked every bit like sellers.

Now? Not so much.

According to a report from Jon Heyman, the White Sox could look to make a splash in the trade market before the non-waiver deadline:

Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton represent two of the more elite (and expensive) trade pieces this season.

Following Thursday"s games, the Sox sat at 50-52, 3.5 games back in the wild card with 60 games left to play.

Source: http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/white-sox-reportedly-in-on-justin-upton-yoenis-cespedes-073115

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Drake Talks About Nicki Minaj In Another Meek Mill Diss Track


Meek Mill - Wanna Know [Drake Diss]

When it comes to Drakes feelings about Meek Mill, one diss track is not enough.

The Toronto rapper responded to Meek Mills recent ghostwriting allegations this weekend with a diss track called Charged Up, which he debuted during his Beats 1 radio show on Apple Music. As far as diss tracks go, it was pretty tameDrake alluded to Mills accusations but mostly stuck to boasting about his own accomplishments.

Perhaps he was saving the rest of his feelings for part two. In another diss track posted to SoundCloud on Wednesday, Drake escalates the beef byuh oh!dragging Meek Mills girlfriend and Mills current touring partner Nicki Minaj into the drama: You love her then you gotta give the world to her/ Is that a world tour or your girls tour?/ I know that you gotta be a thug for her/ This aint what she meant when she told you to open up more. If her apparent jabs at Drake during Sundays Barclays Center show are indication, Minaj likely wont be pleased.

Hear the track below:

Source: http://time.com/3976620/drake-meek-mill-diss-track-nicki-minaj/

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Ohio State"s Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall suspended for season opener


Joey Bosa Super Sophomore 2014 Highlights

Ohio State has suspended four players, including defensive end JoeyBosaand H-backJalinMarshall, for the Buckeyes season opener against Virginia Tech, the school announced Thursday.

Senior receiver Corey Smith and junior H-back Dontre Wilson are the other two players. The school said they violated athletic department policy.

The violation was some combination of marijuana and academics, ESPNs Joe Schad reports.

Bosa, a rising junior, was a unanimous All-America selection last season after leading the Big Ten with 13.5 sacks and 21 tackles-for-loss. He has received numerous preseason honors this year and was named to several award watch lists. SI.coms Chris Burke named Bosa the top 2016 NFL draft prospect in the Big Ten.

Marshall was OSUs second-leading receiver last season as a true freshman, with 38 catches for 499 yards and six touchdowns.

Ohio State ranked No. 1 in Amway Preseason Coaches Poll

Smith, a fifth-year senior, joined Ohio State as a junior college transfer in 2013 and saw his first action with the Buckeyes last season. He caught 20 passes for 255 yards.

Wilson broke his ankle against Michigan State last November and had two surgeries to repair the injury. He had 21 receptions for 300 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014.

Last season, the Hokies were the only team to defeat the eventual champion Buckeyes.

Update: Head coach Urban Meyer has commented on Bosa"s suspension.

Braxton Miller to move from quarterback to receiver

Ohio State"s Braxton Miller toldSI"s Pete Thamel Thursday night that he will move from quarterback to receiver for the upcoming season. Miller had been slated to compete against Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett for the Buckeyes" starting QB job.

- Dan Gartland

Source: http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/07/30/ohio-state-joey-bosa-jalin-marshall-suspended-virginia-tech

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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Service restored to most Staten Island customers who lost power in heat


Five For Fighting - NYC Weather Report (Live)
De Blasio urgers NYers to stay inside because of heat

Service had been restored to most of the 19,000Staten Island customers who lost power in the heat by Tuesday morning, Con Edison reported. Only about 175 customers were still without electricity.

A power outagedue to equipment failure at about 2 p.m. on Monday was most likely caused by the extreme heat, and knocked out power to about 19,000 customers.The areas where customers were without powerincluded St. George, New Brighton, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, Mariners Harbor, and Travis, said Philip O"Brien, a spokesman for Con Edison.

A heat advisory was in effect until 6 p.m. Monday, with the high for the day expected to be well into the 90s. It"s the hottest day of the year so far.

A total of 36 NYPD traffic agents and supervisors were headed to Staten Island on Monday night to manage the evening commute. Police were also placing 24 light towers at "critical intersections and locations including Hylan Blvd. and Father Capodanno Blvd.," according to the mayor"s office.

Customers in the affected Staten Islandareas that didn"t lose power were experiencing a 5% reduction in the voltage, O"Brien said. Richmond Hill in Queens, and an area west of Times Square were experiencing a reduction of 8%.

It was not immediately clear when power would be restored to customers on Staten Island. Con Ed was transporting eight generators -- three are already there -- to support the affected areas.

The city"s Office of Emergency Management was extending the hours of operation for three cooling centers on Staten Island until 11PM: the Todt Hill Community Center, the Richmond Terrace Community Center, and the West Brighton Community Center. MTA buses were also being brought in to help provide air conditioning.

Source: http://www.amny.com/news/weather-nyc-staten-island-customer-without-power-likely-due-to-heat-1.10661152

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Trending Tonight: #CecilTheLion, Tearful Trades, Airplane Debris


Big Game, Little Penis (Cecil the Lion)

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Source: http://www.kdlt.com/news/local-news/trending-tonight-cecilthelion-tearful-trades-airplane-debris/34433128

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Why You Should Skip Labor Day and Vacation the Weekend After


Vacation - Official Theatrical Trailer [HD]

Labor Day can be a nightmare. Expectations are high since everyone is traveling with the hopes of having as much fun before the grind begins again. Factor in the crowds and high-prices and having a stay-cation might sound like the best choice for the holiday.

But, thanks to a longer summer season Labor Day lands nearly a week later than usual prices for domestic airfare are down 14 percent, at around $310 round-trip, according to Hopper, a trip planning engine that uses data to help travelers make smart vacation decisions. Americans have shown a higher tendency to travel when Labor Day weekend begins in August, according to historical data from AAA, which means that this year there might not be as many people slurping sno cones on the boardwalk.

This great beach destination that rhymes with Lamptons is much better after Labor Day. Photo credit: Alexandra Talty.

If you are set on flying, the busiest airports, and therefore the ones to avoid, are New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, according to Kayak. The online travel agency also estimates that the most popular Labor Day destinations are New York, Las Vegas and Chicago. The top international destinations are London, Paris and Cancun.

Last year, only 8 percent of Labor Day travel was by air, which means that the trains, buses and interstates will be clogged that weekend. One good tactic for your last summer hurrah is to travel the weekend before or after, avoiding the high-prices, crowds and traffic that come with the public holiday. Hopper estimates that if you travel the weekend before or after the holiday, you can save about 10 percent on airfare. Factor in the reduced crowds and lower-hotel rates, and a mid-September vacation is a pretty sweet deal.

After growing up in a summer-town, my recommendation would be to travel the weekend after. All along the Eastern seaboard September is a great month as the crowds die down, the temperatures are a bit more moderate and the ocean is still warm, thanks to the Gulf Stream.

Alexandra Talty is a freelance journalist living in Southampton, New York.After leaving New York City in 2013, she used her personal finance (and journalism) skills to travel the world, before settling back where it all started: her hometown. The founding Editor-in-Chief of StepFeed, her work has appeared in Techonomy, Publishers Weekly and The Southampton Press, among others.She is also onTwitter.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2015/07/29/why-you-should-skip-labor-day-and-vacation-the-weekend-after/

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