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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Kevin Costner loves the Tampa Bay Rays

Remember how you endocringed the first time you heard Robert Mitchum sing “I Learn a Merengue, Mama”?  Well…get ready.

No worries that Kevin Costner will ever star in a musical remake of Bull Durham or Field of Dreams. Because as a singer, Costner makes for a really great actor.

Costner and his band Modern West have just recorded a song for the Tampa Bay Rays to celebrate their AL East division title.

Called It’s All Up To You, the song sounds like a typical honky-tonk rocker and features lyrics that begin, “You got to swing for the fence. Give a hundred percent. Dust yourself off. Get up and do it again.”

Here’s the Filburt McClinton tune…

Repoz Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:12 PM | 121 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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   1. robinred Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:30 PM (#2961426)
That thunder you hear in the distance is BTFers jumping off of and running away from the Rays' bandwagon.
   2. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:33 PM (#2961430)
Not to be outdone, Coster's buddy Dane Cook is furiously working up a cool hand gesture to commemorate the Rays stellar season.
   3. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:36 PM (#2961434)
Damn, I wanted to root for the Rays.

Go Brewers!
   4. Rocco's Not-so Malfunctioning Mitochondria Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:38 PM (#2961438)
Costner's just grateful that the team let his band play in the team's concert series.
   5. Bobby Bonilla's Annuity (Matt) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:41 PM (#2961444)
Rolando Arrojo is rolling over in his grave.
   6. Big Train Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:49 PM (#2961450)
I like many of Costners movies.
   7. MexicanGabe Posted: September 30, 2008 at 07:53 PM (#2961453)
Liar.
   8. Dingbat Charlie Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:05 PM (#2961457)
the price of success, I guess. If the O's ever turn it around I'm hoping we get a resurgent Richard Simmons as our insufferable celeb cheerleader.
   9. Big Train Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:07 PM (#2961458)
Watchable Kevin Costner movies.

Upside of Anger (he is really good in that)
Thirteen Days (watchable)
Tin Cup (watchable)
Wyatt Earp (watchable)
A Perfect World (one of the most underrated movies of the 90s)
Field of Dreams (great)
Bull Durham (classic)
No Way Out (watchable)
Untouchables (very good)
   10. _ Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:09 PM (#2961459)
Well, the Rays do have the hottest wives. I assume.
   11. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:12 PM (#2961462)
No Way Out (watchable)

Would have been even more watchable with more Sean Young.
   12. fra paolo Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:14 PM (#2961467)
A Perfect World (one of the most underrated movies of the 90s)

I don't know about 'most', but it is a real gem of a movie.

I think I'd take away Tin Cup and add Open Range.

I'll bet, in years to come, Costner will be recognized more for his good films than his bad ones.
   13. 3Com Park Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:21 PM (#2961479)
I'll bet, in years to come, Costner will be recognized more for his good films than his bad ones.
I'll bet, in years to come, John McCain will be recognized more as The Maverick than as The Crabby Old Man.
   14. Mike Green Posted: September 30, 2008 at 08:47 PM (#2961492)
The list of decent actor/musicians is pretty short: Tom Waits and Roland Gift are the only two names that spring to mind, and they might be controversial. Waits as an actor basically plays Waits, so in a sense that doesn't count. Gift as a singer is a good mimic, but doesn't do anything really distinctive.
   15. A triple short of the cycle Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:05 PM (#2961504)
Would have been even more watchable with more Sean Young

Seconded!
   16. A triple short of the cycle Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:10 PM (#2961505)
The list of decent actor/musicians is pretty short: Tom Waits and Roland Gift are the only two names that spring to mind...

Kris Kristofferson?
   17. Esoteric Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:14 PM (#2961507)
To be fair to Costner, he's not a mere bandwagon jumper. He's been a Rays fan for quite a long time now, and even recorded radio commercials to advocate on behalf of the new stadium deal that was tabled mid-season.

And to be perfectly honest, I think he's an underrated actor. Open Range is hands-down one of the best Westerns I've seen (the final gunfight is perhaps my favorite film gunfight ever), and The Upside Of Anger is, as sj said, a fantastic film precisely because of Costner. He carried two of the all-time classic baseball films (Bull Durham, Field Of Dreams) and did a third that I enjoy as a guilty pleasure (For The Love Of The Game). Hell, I even get a goofy kick out of The Postman.
   18. Esoteric Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:15 PM (#2961508)
The list of decent actor/musicians is pretty short: Tom Waits and Roland Gift are the only two names that spring to mind...

Kris Kristofferson?
What about Sting's classic turn in David Lynch's Dune? "I WILL KILL HIM!!!"
   19. Harry Balsagne's transparent jealousy Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:22 PM (#2961511)
The list of decent actor/musicians is pretty short: Tom Waits and Roland Gift are the only two names that spring to mind...

Kris Kristofferson?

What about Sting's classic turn in David Lynch's Dune? "I WILL KILL HIM!!!"


Mick Jagger in Freejack?
   20. Not The Real Fausto Carmona (Dan Lee) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:22 PM (#2961512)
Jenny Lewis.

Zooey Deschanel's album is pretty good too.
   21. Hack Wilson Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:24 PM (#2961517)
They can have him. The Cubs have the great actor Jim Beluschi leading their bandwagon. Jim costarred with Sean Young in "Once Upon a Crime."

Even with her it was an awful movie maybe even Costneresque.
   22. Boots Day Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:25 PM (#2961519)
Now obviously, it's fashionable on BTF to deride anyone else's musical tastes, but there are an awful lot of people who have managed to build successful careers as both musicians and actors, from Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand to Will Smith and Ice Cube. Dwight Yoakam. Beyonce. Dean Martin. Bette Midler. David Bowie. Cher, of all people, won an Oscar, for pity's sake.
   23. Harry Balsagne's transparent jealousy Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:27 PM (#2961521)
Hell, I even get a goofy kick out of The Postman.

I'll see your The Postman and raise you Waterworld.

"I've sailed farther than most have dreamed!"
   24. Al Kaline Trio Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:33 PM (#2961522)
Elvis!
   25. RMc's grumbling has gone far enough Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:35 PM (#2961523)
No Way Out (watchable)

Would have been even more watchable with more Sean Young.


Specifically, more Sean Young with less clothing.

So when does Costner get his ### kicked for sleeping with Evan Longoria's wife?
   26. jwb Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:37 PM (#2961524)
You're forgetting the recording careers of David Hasselhoff and Pia Zadora.
   27. Golfing Great Mitch Cumstein Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:40 PM (#2961527)
Kris Kristofferson?

Leads the list. End of debate. Flying a helicopter onto JC's estate, "Sunday Morning Coming Down", and "A Star is Born" cannot top anyone.
   28. An Athletic in Powderhorn Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:45 PM (#2961530)
If you limit it to people who are good at both, the list of actor/musicians is very short. If we include all musicians who are good actors, off of the top of my head:

Billie Piper
Tupac
Frank Sinatra (possibly my most-hated singer of all time, but I liked his acting.)
Jason Schwartzman
   29. The Most Interesting Man In The World Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:46 PM (#2961533)
No love for Jennifer Lopez? (ducks)
   30. A triple short of the cycle Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:51 PM (#2961536)
You're forgetting the recording careers of David Hasselhoff and Pia Zadora.

Not to mention, William Shatner.
   31. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:56 PM (#2961538)
Thirteen Days (watchable)

Watchable, but I almost turned it off after 20 minutes because Costner was sofa king bad. Eventually I was able to tune him out and focus on everything else.

Untouchables (very good)

I agreed when I was younger. Last time I saw it it didn't do as much for me. Costner is tolerable.

Wyatt Earp (watchable)
Field of Dreams (great)
Bull Durham (classic)


I don't remember any of these well enough. I'm sure I'd find Field of Dreams really lame now. Bull Durham is good, no classic. Maybe Costner's best performance. I saw Wyatt Earp in the theater and probably never thought about it again.

I haven't watched Dances With Wolves since I saw it in the theater. Is it as bad a Best Movie pick as I think it is?


We need to develop an actor-musician score, akin to BJ's Power/Speed #, to recognize those with the best combination of talents. Anyone who sucks in one of the fields does not score well overall. Those who would do the best are Sinatra and Kristofferson. Ice Cube might be up there but he's now made so many stupid movies I don't watch it's hard to assess where he's at as an actor. I'd almost like to list Andre Benjamin just for the "Hey Ya" video. Unfortunately, Idlewild was a horrible, horrible movie, and I haven't seen 4 Brothers, so I can't quite rank him as an actor yet.
   32. Vida Blew Over the Legal Limit Posted: September 30, 2008 at 09:57 PM (#2961539)
"She's Like the Wind?"
   33. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:00 PM (#2961541)
Jennifer Lopez was decent to pretty good in a few '90s movies. "Waiting for Tonight" was a tolerable neo-disco/club joint. "Jenny from the Block" was dope strictly for the BDP/Beatnuts beats. That's about all I can say on her music.
   34. Harry Balsagne's transparent jealousy Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:06 PM (#2961547)
I like JFK. While most of it is BS and Oliver Stone is reckless, it's a damn compelling film. Costner's performance is very good, especially considering the heft of his role. His accent is horrible, however.
   35. MM1f Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:09 PM (#2961550)
Hey now, that last Shatner album was completely awesome.
   36. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:10 PM (#2961553)
Costner's accents are always horrible, to the point that they really detract from the films.

Will Smith was nominated for Oscars? For what? He's competent, he's not good.

2Pac was great in Juice, but unfortunately he never stopped acting the part when the cameras stopped rolling.

Ice-T is just awful (not musically).
   37. Long John McCaine Mutiny on the Bounty (scott) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:15 PM (#2961558)
Ice-T in New Jack City was the ####.
   38. The Most Interesting Man In The World Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:16 PM (#2961559)
Any nominees for best ballplayer/actor? I'll start with Danny Tartabull.
   39. Chrysler Town & Country Slaughter (Walewander) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:23 PM (#2961562)
Damn, I can't believe Will Smith hasn't been mentioned yet.

I second Ice Cube. Levon Helm. There are a fair number.
   40. Swoboda is freedom Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:24 PM (#2961564)
If the song is anything like Costner, it will start off with a bang, they quickly get kind of bland, banal and unlistenable. It will also have thinning hair.
   41. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:28 PM (#2961569)
Any nominees for best ballplayer/actor? I'll start with Danny Tartabull.


Kurt Russell. Chuck Connors. Johnny Beradino.
   42. The Most Interesting Man In The World Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:29 PM (#2961571)
Tom Selleck looks like he'd fit in on a real baseball diamond.
   43. Elston Gunn Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:39 PM (#2961597)
I can't think of anything with Mos Def right now, but I have an impression of him as a decent to good actor. And he's a great rapper.

Will Smith doesn't count. He is a bad bad rapper. Though I suppose Big Willy Style does have a certain charm.
   44. dingo powered war machine (CoB) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:47 PM (#2961615)
Watchable Kevin Costner movies.

Upside of Anger (he is really good in that)
Thirteen Days (watchable)
Tin Cup (watchable)
Wyatt Earp (watchable)
A Perfect World (one of the most underrated movies of the 90s)
Field of Dreams (great)
Bull Durham (classic)
No Way Out (watchable)
Untouchables (very good)


sweet jumping baby jesus on a teeny-tiny pogo stick, The Postman is awesome.

You get Costner doing Shakespeare.

You get Tom Petty AS TOM PETTY, telling Costner's The Postman, "naw, i'm not famous, not famous like you!"

You get scenes where The Postman can gallop past a lonely mailbox and KNOW there's mail to garnered ... like he's got Postal Spidey Sense!

You get an ending where everyone stands around a giant statue of KEVIN COSTNER and then you watch the end credits to the strains of a closing song WRITTEN AND SUNG BY KEVIN COSTNER!!!
   45. dingo powered war machine (CoB) Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:50 PM (#2961629)
Tom Selleck looks like he'd fit in on a real baseball diamond.


1st 6 minutes of Mr. Baseball were stone-cold great ... everything after that ... wasn't.
   46. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: September 30, 2008 at 10:53 PM (#2961637)
Will Smith doesn't count. He is a bad bad rapper.

His 2nd album is a classic.
   47. Booey Posted: September 30, 2008 at 11:18 PM (#2961700)
You're forgetting the recording careers of David Hasselhoff and Pia Zadora.

Not to mention, William Shatner.



Anyone check out Steven Segal's CD, "The Crystal Cave"?

Yeah, me neither...
   48. baseclog Posted: September 30, 2008 at 11:54 PM (#2961796)
I second Dwight Yoakam. His role in Slingblade is up there with Gary Oldman (True Romance and The Professional) and DeNiro (Cape Fear). I am not saying he is as good of an actor as Oldman or DeNiro, but playing the villain, a total scumbag villain at that, and pretty much making the movie (IMO) is not an easy thing to do.
   49. Lassus: Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:04 AM (#2961819)
John Lurie was AWESOME in Down By Law.
   50. fra paolo Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:12 AM (#2961835)
Selleck is a brutally bad actor.

He and Bob Hoskins appear together in a film entitled <u>Lassiter</u>. Comparing Hoskins and Selleck in that film is like the 1927 Yankees taking on the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

I saw Wyatt Earp in the theater and probably never thought about it again.

Well, that's a shame. It's self-indulgent, but far more weighty fare than the comic book <u>Tombstone</u>. If you set Dennis Hopper's Doc Holliday against Val Kilmer's, the only thing Kilmer's has going for him is the chance to talk Latin.

I like JFK. While most of it is BS and Oliver Stone is reckless, it's a damn compelling film. Costner's performance is very good, especially considering the heft of his role.

Well said.
   51. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:21 AM (#2961874)
Hmm, now that you mention the other Earp movie, I don't even remember which one I saw.
   52. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:23 AM (#2961882)
Tupac spent his high school years at a school for the performing arts. He studied acting, appeared in Shakespeare plays, etc. He could have had a long career in films, I believe.

Will Oldham is a pretty decent actor.
   53. aleskel Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:50 AM (#2961943)
I can't think of anything with Mos Def right now, but I have an impression of him as a decent to good actor

I liked him in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He was also good in that HBO movie with Alan Rickman. The guy can hold his own on screen.
   54. fra paolo Posted: October 01, 2008 at 01:15 AM (#2961994)
And all did it better.

I don't agree with that, but Burt's possibly the best of that bunch. And you left out James Garner, who may well have been best of all.
   55. Sexy Lizard Posted: October 01, 2008 at 01:23 AM (#2962001)
There are plenty of great singer/actors from the musicals era. Julie Andrews did both well. Fred Astaire wasn't much of an actor or a singer, but generally did a very good job choosing the roles and songs he could pull off. Etc etc etc.

I like both the acting and music of Huey Lewis more than they deserve. Paul Simon is perfect in Annie Hall and always good as a Saturday Night Live host, which isn't necessarily to say that he's a good actor.

This seems to be a pretty exhaustive actor-singer album list. Who could forget #159, Keir Dullea's 1968 self-titled work?

He and Bob Hoskins appear together in a film entitled Lassiter. Comparing Hoskins and Selleck in that film is like the 1927 Yankees taking on the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.


Hoskins has been great as both Kruschev and Manuel Noriega, which is 2/3 of the way to some sort of trifecta.
   56. McCoy Posted: October 01, 2008 at 01:39 AM (#2962010)
Mr. Brooks was probably Costner's best work.
   57. J. Michael Neal Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:32 AM (#2962047)
The list of decent actor/musicians is pretty short: Tom Waits and Roland Gift are the only two names that spring to mind...

I'd say David Bowie, but I don't like him as a musician. I do think that he's a great actor. I loved The Prestige for a lot of reasons, but how can you not like a movie with David Bowie as Nikolai Tesla? The Man Who Fell to Earth is also very good.

I haven't watched Dances With Wolves since I saw it in the theater. Is it as bad a Best Movie pick as I think it is?

Yes, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that it beat Goodfellas, which is stone cold brilliant. Best mob movie ever.

Kevin Costner has been in a lot of movies I like, but his acting always grates on me. Even in Bull Durham he gets on my nerves. It's his voice, and the way he delivers his lines. He always reminds me of someone who has a great joke to tell, and mangles it.

The Postman is on the short list for the largest gap between a great book and a terrible movie ever.
   58. EB Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:54 AM (#2962065)
What a disappointment. The song wasn't that bad. I was hoping it would be terrible so I could mock it.

Does Steve Van Zandt count as someone with career as a singer and an actor?

Did anyone mention Lyle Lovett? He was pretty good as a cop in "The Player".

Do Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Leaf Phoenix count for their roles in "Beyond the Sea","Ray" and "Walk the Line"? They did their own singing. Or so we're told.
   59. Swoboda is freedom Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:58 AM (#2962070)
Speaking of a bad Selleck movie, Gene Simmons from Kiss was ok in Runaway. Played a creepy bad guy. Real stretch.
   60. J. Michael Neal Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:03 AM (#2962071)
I haven't read The Postman, but I have trouble imagining a bigger gap than the one that exists between the book and the movie The Bonfire of the Vanities.


The Bonfire of the Vanities is a very good book, but it's not in the class of The Postman. Some of that will be taste. As a stylist, Tom Wolfe is in rarefied air, but for ideas, David Brin is ******* brilliant. Wolfe was better when he was doing non-fiction.
   61. Not The Real Fausto Carmona (Dan Lee) Posted: October 01, 2008 at 06:53 AM (#2962156)
I'm pretty sure there's only one person on the list of the worst actor-singers.
   62. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: October 01, 2008 at 07:47 AM (#2962160)
Fred Astaire wasn't much of an actor or a singer, but generally did a very good job choosing the roles and songs he could pull off.

You just made my head go all Scanners. Fred Astaire wasn't a good singer, Fred Astaire was a great singer.
   63. PreservedFish Posted: October 01, 2008 at 08:20 AM (#2962163)
The Postman is on the short list for the largest gap between a great book and a terrible movie ever.


I am more fascinated by the opposite combo. But it's an impossible topic to debate because nobody has read them
   64. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: October 01, 2008 at 08:30 AM (#2962164)
Mr. Brooks was probably Costner's best work.


That is an ok movie - nothing special though. I think an episode of Dexter kicks its ass to be honest...
   65. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: October 01, 2008 at 10:33 AM (#2962179)
If Hollywood does a solid job of that adaptation of Atlas Shrugged that's been kicking around for a while, that'll be a strong contender for best movie - worst book. They've got the book part nailed, so they just need to pull out everything but the title and make it into something a rational person would pay to watch.
   66. Don't want the truth; just wanna see some dingers Posted: October 01, 2008 at 11:05 AM (#2962190)
Will Smith was nominated for Oscars? For what? He's competent, he's not good.


"Ali"

"He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" won the first-ever Grammy for Rap Performance. It was controversial, because Pubic Enemy was the critics' choice. I think it was the same year Metallica lost the first-ever Grammy for Metal Performance to Jethro Tull, of all performers.
   67. Lassus: Posted: October 01, 2008 at 11:13 AM (#2962194)
You just made my head go all Scanners. Fred Astaire wasn't a good singer, Fred Astaire was a great singer.

Hell yes.

Jason Alexander never sings in anything he's in, but he's a great singer, did some Gershwin work on the stage. (Although now that I think about it, he may be a better performer than singer, I'd have to revsisit.) And there's always Mandy Patinkin.
   68. Sexy Lizard Posted: October 01, 2008 at 11:13 AM (#2962195)
You just made my head go all Scanners. Fred Astaire wasn't a good singer, Fred Astaire was a great singer.


Technically, no, he wasn't that good of a singer. This was a common criticism of him at his height, so it's not just me making it up. He didn't have a lot of range, he didn't have much depth or weight to his voice. What he had was phrasing, diction, and expressiveness, and an outstanding ability to choose songs that fit his talents (and it didn't hurt that he had people like Cole Porter and George Gershwin writing for him). You might say that he had excellent training and a stage actor's ability to deliver lines, and that overcame a pretty limited physical gift. A different way to put it would be to say that Astaire could do a great job with the right piece of music, while a truly great singer like Perry Como can do a credible job with almost anything you put in front of him.

Another way to put it is that Perry Como had 5 tools and Astaire was a scrapper who played the game the right way.
   69. Cooperstown Schtick Posted: October 01, 2008 at 11:47 AM (#2962217)
Meat Loaf was good in Wayne's World, very good in Fight Club, and outstanding in Focus.

And I'll second Dwight Yoakem, purely on his performance in Sling Blade.

Also, if you're going to be discussing baseball, acting and singing together, Gene Kelly deserves a mention. (Sinatra, too, but he's already been so.)
   70. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:03 PM (#2962233)
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a very good book, but it's not in the class of The Postman. Some of that will be taste. As a stylist, Tom Wolfe is in rarefied air, but for ideas, David Brin is ******* brilliant. Wolfe was better when he was doing non-fiction.

I thought the book was better than the movie, but nothing special. The ending was pretty silly.

I second Bonfire for best book/worst movie combo.
   71. Austin Kearns: The Spy Who Shagged Flies Posted: October 01, 2008 at 12:07 PM (#2962237)
I'm pretty sure there's only one person on the list of the worst actor-singers.


I see your Jerry Springer and raise you a "Glitter."
   72. Dave Spiwak Posted: October 01, 2008 at 01:53 PM (#2962373)
Kris Kristofferson?

Kenny Rogers was pretty good in "Six Pack," which also stars a young Diane Lane.
   73. Tom Nawrocki Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:02 PM (#2962387)
I haven't read it, but The Godfather is supposedly nothing special as a novel.
   74. The Bones McCoy of THT Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:19 PM (#2962422)
If you set Dennis Hopper's Doc Holliday against Val Kilmer's, the only thing Kilmer's has going for him is the chance to talk Latin.


Wasn't it Dennis Quaid that played Holliday?

Whomever it was--his performance makes the whole movie. That will always be my mental picture of Holliday.

Best Regards

John
   75. AJM Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:32 PM (#2962440)
Jared Leto?
   76. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:50 PM (#2962473)
"He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" won the first-ever Grammy for Rap Performance. It was controversial, because Pubic Enemy was the critics' choice.

There's probably at least 10 albums which would have been better choices for best rap album. But 1988 was an incredible year. He's the DJ is a great album, even if it's not on the level of It Takes a Nation of Millions....
   77. Big Train Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:51 PM (#2962477)
Chris Isaak was pretty funny on the Chris Isaak show, but he was playing himself.
   78. McCoy Posted: October 01, 2008 at 02:56 PM (#2962486)
You just made my head go all Scanners. Fred Astaire wasn't a good singer, Fred Astaire was a great singer.

I think if Fred Astaire was truly a great singer his body of work would be around today and yet it really isn't.
   79. McCoy Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:03 PM (#2962509)
Best book/worst movie contains a lot of Vonnegut's work and really almost that whole genre seem to fall flat on the big screen. Great Gatsby is another great book/bad movie.


The Natural might qualify for bad to ok book/great movie.
   80. Moses Taylor demands to be housewarmed Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:30 PM (#2962555)
Wasn't it Dennis Quaid that played Holliday?

Nope, it was Kilmer in Tombstone. I love that movie, but I hate Kurt Russell and Kim Delaney in their roles. It would have been a great movie with different actors in those 2 roles.

Jared Leto?

Ugh, his band is TERRIBLE.
   81. Gern Blanston Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:33 PM (#2962559)
And I'll second Dwight Yoakem, purely on his performance in Sling Blade.

He's a got a good cameo in "Red Rock West," too. But yeah, he and Thornton *make* Sling Blade.

Dennis Quaid's "Closer to You" on the Big Easy soundtrack is the worst song in the history of civilization. (Well, at least the worst on my iTunes.)
   82. Moses Taylor demands to be housewarmed Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:47 PM (#2962589)
Yoakem is also good in Panic Room, as is Leto.

I enjoyed Yoakem in Crank as well, an all-time great bad movie.
   83. McCoy Posted: October 01, 2008 at 03:52 PM (#2962601)
He is talking about Wyatt Earp in which Dennis Quaid played Doc.

Dennis Hopper did play Doc Holliday once though way back in 1980.
   84. Big Train Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:01 PM (#2962603)
Dennis Quaid is one of my all time favorite actors.
   85. villainx Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:10 PM (#2962610)
Tupac spent his high school years at a school for the performing arts. He studied acting, appeared in Shakespeare plays, etc. He could have had a long career in films, I believe.


So you think Tupac would have a shot, huh?
   86. Gern Blanston Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:27 PM (#2962626)
I like Quaid as an actor too, but he should stick to acting.
   87. Cooperstown Schtick Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:36 PM (#2962635)
I liked Quaid in Frequency, which was a decent movie with some baseball undertones.
   88. AJM Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:54 PM (#2962671)
"Ali" (as mentioned above) and also apparently he was one of the producers of "The Pursuit of Happyness". I guess that one shouldn't count as an acting nomination.

Didn't he get a Best Actor nom for Happyness?
   89. Golfing Great Mitch Cumstein Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:58 PM (#2962676)
I have neither read the book nor seen the movie, but Bridges of Madison County was supposed to be a good movie. There is a recent critically acclaimed movie that was made from a bad book, but it escapes me.

Fandango and For the Love of the Game were watchable Costner movies.
   90. SoSH U at work Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:58 PM (#2962677)
I think if Fred Astaire was truly a great singer his body of work would be around today and yet it really isn't.


Well, except for songs like "New York, New York" and that one about Chicago, which I understand is a toddling town. And "My Way". And a half dozen other standards. Oh, and the entire channel on Sirius Radio devoted to nothing but Frank Sinatra music 24 hours a day.

Am I missing something here?
   91. Swoboda is freedom Posted: October 01, 2008 at 04:59 PM (#2962679)
I haven't read it, but The Godfather is supposedly nothing special as a novel.

It wasn't a very good book, standard crime drama.

A very mediocre book that became a much better movie was Jaws. Also, anything by Tom Clancy, who creates great plots, but is an awful writer.
   92. Boots Day Posted: October 01, 2008 at 05:00 PM (#2962683)
There is a recent critically acclaimed movie that was made from a bad book, but it escapes me.

The Devil Wears Prada?
   93. Swoboda is freedom Posted: October 01, 2008 at 05:05 PM (#2962692)
There needs to be a category of bad books to good movies for Stanley Kubrick. He took some ok or bad books and made some really great movies, The Killing, The Sentinal-2001, Dr. Strangelove.

Others are Gone With the Wind and The Magnificent Ambersons both really lousy books. Also, Die Hard is based on a awful pot-boiler Nothing Lasts Forever.
   94. McCoy Posted: October 01, 2008 at 05:08 PM (#2962698)
There is a recent critically acclaimed movie that was made from a bad book, but it escapes me.

Pluto Nash?
   95. PreservedFish Posted: October 01, 2008 at 05:47 PM (#2962749)
When you run down any "best movies" list, there are invariably films that are adapted from books much more obscure than the movie.

The Graduate. The French Connection. Bridge over the River Kwai. The African Queen. Raging Bull. Midnight Cowboy.

Some of those books are probably great. But I have no idea. I assume that There Will Be Blood is about a thousands times better than the obscure book it is loosely based on, but I will probably never find out for sure. I assume that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is better than the Chinese novel upon which it is based, but given that it has yet to be translated I am sure I will never find out.
   96. Zach Posted: October 02, 2008 at 01:44 AM (#2963956)
The Godfather is pretty great as a book. The movies are probably better, but that's just because they execute so well. The characters, plot and motivation are all taken pretty directly from the book. (The Cuba subplot from the second movie is new.)

As a book, Fight Club is pretty meh. The Horse Whisperer starts out ok, but goes completely off the rails halfway through.
   97. Repoz Posted: October 02, 2008 at 02:15 AM (#2964032)
Fred Astaire wasn't much of an actor...


I totally disagree...!
   98. Lassus: Posted: October 02, 2008 at 02:22 AM (#2964038)
The criticism of Astaire by the Judges' Bullpen is well-written and not entirely inaccurate, but I think it sells him far too short. As he is competing against other popular singers, it makes sense to rank him highly specifically BECAUSE of his gifts with phrasing and performance rather than the pure quality of his instrument. Especially when those gifts were so much better than a huge majority of his contemporaries. It is not incorrect to say he's a great singer.

I'm sure Nat King Cole did something other than Cat Ballou, and I don't really know anything about his acting chops. I hope he's good, though, for this list, because I would have to rank him somewhere in my top three singers of all time. The first time I heard his voice and was paying attention, I was so stunned at the sound I rewound and listened to the cassette about 10 times in a row. Maybe more.
   99. Best Dressed Chicken in Town Posted: October 02, 2008 at 02:24 AM (#2964041)
I assume that There Will Be Blood is about a thousands times better than the obscure book it is loosely based on

It was based on an Upton Sinclair book, if I remember correctly. I haven't read it, and I hadn't heard of it before the movie, but I assume it wasn't too obscure (or too bad) if Sinclair wrote it.
   100. Golfing Great Mitch Cumstein Posted: October 02, 2008 at 03:08 AM (#2964153)
What #110 said about Upton Sinclair.

The well regarded movie bad book I was thinking about was No Country for Old Men. Roeper thought nothing of the book, but loved the movie. Is Cormac McCarthy any good? I know his last book was well reviewed, but I haven't heard anything good about him otherwise.
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