Guys think they need to impress women, but they often try way too hard. Here’s Dan Bacon’s take on how to impress a woman:
The key to impressing a woman is to impress her without trying to impress her. If you are trying to impress women in the hope of being chosen, then you are doing it wrong.
Instead of trying to impress her, focus on being an impressive guy by being your real self during conversations, on dates and in life. Then, when you talk to a woman you find attractive, she will have more reason to want to escalate to kissing, sex and a relationship with you. However, if you’re an unimpressive guy who is afraid to be his real self when talking to her, she will have more reason to want to end the interaction as soon as possible.
Read the whole article and start learning how to work on your inner game.
With Veteran’s Day coming up quickly – it’s on Sunday, Nov. 11, in case you don’t tend toward looking at the calendar – now seems like a perfectly appropriate time to take a look back at some of the many sitcoms set in the world of the military. Granted, not all of these are necessarily what you’d describe as military sitcoms, per se, nor is this intended to be perceived as a comprehensive list, but everything that’s on here does feature the military in a significant capacity. Just call it our little tribute to the men and women who’s fought for our country…and to the ones that made us laugh, too, of course.
The Phil Silvers Show (1955-1959): Otherwise known as the adventures of notorious US Army con-man Ernie Bilko, who regularly pulled the wool over the eyes of the perpetually befuddled Col. Hall while trying to earn a fast buck whenever possible. Although consistently ranked as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Silvers’ show had such an extensive ensemble cast that it was also one of the first series to get the axe not because it didn’t get ratings but because it was simply too expensive to maintain.
Ensign O’Toole (1962-1963): Starring future Disney staple Dean Jones as the title character, who was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Appleby. Although it only lasted for a single season, the series had a heck of a cast, featuring former “Phil Silvers Show” regular Harvey Lembeck as well as Jack Albertson and a very young Beau Bridges.
McHale’s Navy (1962-1966): Kids, if the only version of Lt. Commander Quinton McHale you know is the one played by Tom Arnold, you really don’t know “McHale’s Navy” at all. Head for the nearest wayback machine and check out the original series, starring the recently-departed Ernest Borgnine and the still-alive, still-hilarious Tim Conway. With a supporting cast that includes another future Disney stalwart, Joe Flynn, as well as noted prestidigitator Carl Ballantine, the show has, aside from the occasional – and, given the era, somewhat inevitable – politically-incorrect moments, held up well over the years.
Critics and filmmakers may prefer “From Russia With Love” and “Goldfinger,” and many complain about those long underwater sequences but, to a lot of fans, Bond #4 remains the ultimate in spy action, intrigue, gadgets, and girls, girls, girls. It also remains the all-time box office record holder of all the Bonds. It’s also only the second, and so far final, Bond film to ever win an Oscar — for special effects of course.
“Thunderball” (1965)
The Plot
Unperturbed by the 007-related deaths of Dr. No, Red Grant, Rosa Klebb, and countless other operatives, the amalgamated baddies of SPECTRE return with their most diabolical plot yet. The plan this time is nuclear blackmail, as SPECTRE Operative # 2 takes possession of two hydrogen bombs and informs England and the U.S. that they’ll either part with £100 million or kiss one or two of their favorite cities goodbye. Without any viable strategy other than complete capitulation, the only respectable option for the free world seems to be sending Bond to kill, copulate, and skin-dive his way to victory over nuclear terrorism.
The Backstory
With the series chugging along at the rate of roughly one movie a year and a worldwide spy craze underway, an observer might well have expected that the James Bond phenomenon had peaked with the blockbuster success of “Goldfinger.” Then again, a lot of people in 1965 were also figuring that those flash in the pan teen idols, the Beatles, had peaked with “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”
The EON Production team led by producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman knew that their hot streak was still very much in play. They cannily chose to triple-down with a budget roughly three times higher than the already relatively high ($3 million!) “Goldfinger” budget and all-out marketing and cross-promotional blitz. As luck and skill would have it, the most eagerly anticipated Bond film would ultimately top the box-office success of “Goldfinger” by $20 million with a worldwide take of $141.2 million — not quite enough cash to satisfy a Bond villain, but getting there.
The amazing part is that the film was ever made at all, as the project had been plagued by legal difficulties for years. “Thunderball” began life as a screenplay that James Bond creator Ian Fleming developed with, among others, screenwriter Jack Whittingham and producer Kevin McClory. Fleming eventually tired of the complexities of getting a Bond movie on the screen and abandoned the project. He nevertheless used a great deal of the abortive script’s story in his 1961 novel of “Thunderball.”
Things got complicated when producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman entered the mix. Broccoli and Saltman’s EON team originally initially saw “Thunderball” as the best kick-off for the Bond series, even if its action would have to be scaled back considerably to fit their budget. A lawsuit brought by Kevin McClory nixed the idea, even though writer Richard Maibum had already completed a screenplay.
The suit was eventually settled out of court by an ailing Ian Fleming. With Fleming having passed on and an obvious cash cow of enormous magnitude before him, victorious rights holder McClory agreed to an EON-produced film of “Thunderball” on certain conditions, including that he be the sole credited producer.
With McClory on board, it was time to reassemble the Bond team. Though flush with success, “Goldfinger” director Guy Hamilton pleaded exhaustion. In his stead, original Bond director Terrence Young was induced to return for one final outing, while such key personnel as editor Peter Hunt, director of photography Ted Moore, production designer Ken Adam, stunt man/action choreographer Bob Simmons, and composer John Barry all happily returned. As per the writing MO on the early Bond films, the work of American screenwriter Richard Maibum was given a more English make-over by a Brit, TV scribe John Hopkins. To handle the considerable challenge of filming underwater, EON turned to nature film specialists Ivan Tors Productions, who had achieved great success filming aquatic material for television with their hit shows,”Sea Hunt” and “Flipper.”
As for the stars, while the pressures of true superstardom were starting to weigh on Sean Connery, he was still on board and not yet ready to kill the golden but increasingly painful goose that was Bondage. For his leading lady, EON passed on three actresses soon to become superstars — Raquel Welch, Julie Christie, and Faye Dunaway — before settling on their final choice. More about that below.
The Bond Girls (Rule of 3 + 2)
Bond keeps up his sexual batting average with his usual three trips to home plate in “Thunderball.” Oddly enough, while more than maintaining his rascally ways when it comes to women, he manages what appear to be purely professional relations with two of the film’s five “Bond girls.”
Madame LaPorte (Mitsuoaka): The part was uncredited, and we never find out much about the French operative who assists Bond’s revenge mission against Jacques Bouvar in the opening sequence. Even so, the subtly exotic Madame LaPorte definitely lends an air of intrigue to the opening adventure. The French-Eurasian actress, Mitsuoaka, born Maryse Guy, was a former stripper who seems to have spent a lot of the sixties riding the spy wave around Europe, having already appeared in such early sixties capers as “License to Kill” and “Agente 077 Missione Bloody Mary.” She passed on in 1995.
Paula Caplan (Martine Beswick): Bond’s gorgeous “island girl” assistant appears to be an entirely competent MI6 operative. Even though we’ve barely seen them even flirt, Bond is clearly upset when she meets an unpleasant but honorable end under the custody of SPECTRE — though not so upset that he can’t handily boff an attractive enemy operative. Very much a cult star in her own right, this marks either the second or third and final Bond-girl appearance for actress Martine Beswick. She had also played one of the feisty-but-affectionate Gypsy women in “From Russia with Love” and might have appeared as one the dancing silhouetttes in the “Dr. No” credit sequence.
SPOILER WARNING: This post will appear every Wednesday following a new episode of “Sons of Anarchy.” It is intended to be read after seeing the show’s latest installment as a source of recap and analysis. As such, all aspects and events that have occurred up to and including the episode discussed are fair game.
I began last week’s post with a bit of analysis on the episode’s title. Given the newest episode’s intriguing name, “Andare Pescare,” I’d be foolish not to follow that formula again here. The title is a (grammatically incorrect, apparently) take on an Italian phrase meaning “gone fishing.” Just like last week, that could refer to a number of things. None of them involve actual fish.
One possible interpretation is as a reference to Frankie Diamonds hiding out in a Tahoe fishing cabin. Another, given the involvement of the Italian mob in the plot, is that it alludes to the famous “Godfather” quote, “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.” After that, we have to get metaphorical up in this bitch. Jax continues to fish for tangible evidence that Clay was behind the break-ins, as well as information about the “rat at the table” Roosevelt spoke of.
The list goes on, but let’s get into the Frankie plot. The meat and potatoes of the episode came from the club’s search for the last of the trio of ex-Nomad traitors. After leaving Chibs with a nasty bump on the head, Frankie met up with some mobsters he paid for protection. The club finds the mob boss at a restaurant and, after a bit of a scuffle, they’re able to get the information they need thanks to some trademark Jax ingenuity. Apparently, Frankie’s deal stipulated he give his guardians all the money he stole from the club. But Jax tells the Don Frankie stole half a mil rather than the $150 thousand he actually took. It’s a smart play, better to appeal to Mafia greed than rely on honor among thieves.
Meanwhile, Clay’s still on a mission to silence anyone who can prove he was involved with the Nomads, and Juice is still his butt boy. Clay gets a tip on the fugitive Nomad’s whereabouts from some (other) mobsters and uses it in the hopes he can find and kill Frankie before Jax and company show up. He doesn’t get that opportunity, as the guys show up just in time to stop him. Fortunately for Clay, the mob boss kills Frankie before Jax gets a chance to talk to him. However, perhaps fortunately for Jax (and by extension, the rest of us), Frankie tells Juice, “Clay put this whole Nomad shit storm in motion… We stole a safe, gave him back all that legal shit.”
Which brings us to Juice, whose initial reaction is to call Frankie a liar. But given the way the episode ended, with Jax following Juice home after figuring out he’s the rat, being privy to Frankie’s last words might be what saves Juice’s life. We still don’t know exactly why Clay is trying so hard to protect the documents in the safe, but the fact that he’s trying tells us all we need to know: they contain the information Jax needs to put Clay out commission with the club’s consent. As was the case with Frankie, Jax will need a unanimous vote in order for Clay to “meet Mr. Mayhem,” and whatever’s in that safe is how he’s going to get it.
The remaining question then is whether Juice is smart enough to realize that a man in Frankie’s situation, with a gun to his head, about to be executed for betraying his brothers, has no reason to lie. It didn’t look like it at the end of the episode, as Juice was still playing Clay’s bitch. Here’s my prediction: things will click for Juice when he’s the one looking down a barrel. He’ll tell Jax the truth, all of it. This episode seemed to be a turning point for our young president, for a while there, Opie’s death turned him into a bloodthirsty revenge addict, but the wisdom and leadership he displayed this week indicates a return to form. As such, Jax will let Juice live, but use him the same way he’s using Gemma. At least that’s what I’m hoping for anyway. If this season ends with Opie and Juice in the ground, but not Clay, well, that’d suck.
Speaking of Gemma, she took a whole episode to make essentially the same decision she made last week. More often than not in “Sons of Anarchy,” all that time she spent “thinking” and hanging out with Nero to reach that same conclusion would’ve seemed liked filler (when it comes to Gemma’s storylines in particular). But this time, this one time, it worked. This episode made Gemma (and us) realize just how well she and Nero work together. Although I think he was right when he said the whole “lovebirds” thing was “too on the nose,” if not for Gemma, than for the audience. Anyway, what it all goes to show is despite how happy Nero makes Gemma, her family, her son and grandchildren, are things she simply cannot live without. By putting some distance between the final decision and the car accident, it makes both Jax and the audience understand just what she’s risking, but more importantly giving up, to spy on Clay, and without all the anger that was clouding our judgment after she put Abel and Thomas in danger. Hopefully, Gemma will have Juice on her side next week, both in terms of getting dirt on Clay and in case her old man decides to bounce her around like a basketball again.
The only remaining plot thread then is Tara and Otto’s. Not much to say on that account, the show did a good job of putting it all out there. Although while I understand why the perfume made Otto cry and masturbate, I’m not so sure what it meant for Tara.
Anyway, things keep getting better and better in the fifth season of “Sons of Anarchy,” and 90-minute episodes start next week.
A few more things:
-Regardless of who you voted for yesterday, Jax Teller is the one president we can all support. Sorry, I just couldn’t allow a punpportunity like that to pass me by.
-Quinn, the Nomad who tips the club off to Frankie’s whereabouts, was played by Rusty Coones, the founder of the Orange County chapter of the Hells Angels.
-A theory on Tara diddling herself: Along with not telling Jax about the offer from the hospital in Oregon, it’s further representation of her transformation from doctor to old lady, with less middle ground as time passes. Going along with that, as she gets deeper into the nitty gritty, legal gray areas of being queen of bikerville, she hopes that her relationship with Jax will have the same raw emotion, that almost physical dependency, that Otto and Luann’s still has despite her death and his incarceration. Or maybe I’m way off, that scene was seriously confusing.
Check out the preview for next week’s episode below and follow the writer on Twitter @NateKreichman.
It’s been a little busy around the office this week with my wedding fast approaching, so I haven’t had the chance to review everything that I would have liked. But don’t let that stand in the way of you enjoying all the fantastic new releases, because in addition to the films featured below, there are a handful of other titles worth checking out, like Criterion’s “Rashomon,” “Your Sister’s Sister” and “Entourage: The Complete Series.”
“The Amazing Spider-Man”
There was a lot of criticism regarding Sony’s decision to reboot the Spider-Man franchise only a decade after Sam Raimi’s first film was released, but it was time for a change. Though Peter Parker’s origin story feels a bit repetitive to sit through all over again, once the movie frees itself from those chains, it never looks back. The action scenes are entertaining if not exactly memorable, and the campier aspects of Raimi’s trilogy have been removed. Director Marc Webb does a really good job of juggling the action, comedy and drama, but his most important contribution to the movie is providing more emotional depth to the characters, which makes Peter’s various relationships a lot more interesting. It certainly helps that Webb has rounded up such an impressive cast of actors to fill every major role, and that begins with his two leads. Emma Stone is perfectly cast as the smart and sexy Gwen Stacy, while Andrew Garfield easily outshines Tobey Maguire’s geeky portrayal of the wall-crawler. Though “The Amazing Spider-Man” isn’t quite the radical reboot that “Batman Begins” proved to be, it’s not that kind of film. It’s a little darker and more grounded in reality, but for the most part, it’s the same Spider-Man that everyone knows and loves.
Blu-ray Highlight: Sony has assembled an impressive collection of bonus material for the Blu-ray release, including a nearly two hour making-of featurette called “Rite of Passage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn” that covers a variety of topics like casting, creating the Spidey costume, the Lizard’s creature design, visual effects and more.
“They Live”
While not as popular as “Halloween” or “The Thing,” John Carpenter’s “They Live” remains as timely and relevant today as it was back in 1988, especially when viewed in the context of social movements like Occupy Wall Street. It’s actually really surprising that Hollywood hasn’t tried remaking the film, because although the original is entertaining as a B-movie guilty pleasure with some hilarious quotes (“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum.”) and one of the best knock-down-drag-out fight sequences in history, there’s plenty of room for improvement. The first act is painfully slow as it builds to the reveal of the aliens, the effects haven’t aged particularly well, and though Roddy Piper is good in the more physical aspects of the role, he leaves a lot to be desired in the acting department. Still, the movie is a cult classic for a reason, and Shout! Factory has done a great job with the new video transfer, making this a must-buy for fans of ‘80s cinema.
Blu-ray Highlight: In addition to the old commentary with director John Carpenter and star Roddy Piper, there’s also a new interview with Carpenter where he discusses the idea behind the film, casting his leads, and filming the infamous alley fight sequence.
