Last night, my brother and I headed over to the Cedar-Lee to see "Control". I liked it very much. "Control" is the story of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the English band Joy Division, who famously offed himself on the eve of their first American tour. He was 23. There were only two albums and probably less than 70 recorded songs out there, but the band was a major influence. Of course, they reformed after Curtis' suicide as New Order.

What voices this guy must have had in his head. He seemed alternately the coolest guy in the room and then could be so quiet and distant, alone with his thoughts and writings. Definitely a major talent, influenced by all the usual suspects: Bowie, Morrison, Iggy Pop, the Velvets.

The movie was filmed in delicious black and white and obviously had a great soundtrack. Great juxtaposition of the scenes and the choices of music. The "Love Will Tear Us Apart" sequence was a killer, pain absolutely oozing from the screen. The story goes into fair detail of how Curtis was trying to cope with the impending breakup of his marriage, an affair, and his never-ending battle with epilepsy. Plus, being the main creative force and front man of a band headed for stardom.

Besides the rather gloomy material, there are laughs to be had in the film. I thought the casting was excellent. Sam Riley was spot on as Curtis. Samantha Morton played his wife and was superb. It's difficult to remember a movie where she wasn't. Toby Kebbell was outstanding as their manager, Rob Gretton, and supplied most of the comedy. My favorite line while Curtis was recovering during the immediate aftermath of a seizure: "Chin up, Ian. You could be the lead singer of The Fall." The Fall being another band from Manchester. Not sure if that was reality, since my brother pointed out Riley played the lead singer of The Fall in "24 Hour Party People". Funny nonetheless. But my favorite was this week's new girlfriend, Alexandra Maria Lara, who played the other woman. She worked in the Belgian embassy and had that Belgique thing going on.
















The first time she appeared in the audience to listen to the band was unbelievable. I could not get over how awesome she looked. No wonder he fell for her. Of course, I kinda know how that artist/audience member thing works, since Shelby Lynne directed all of her "I hate men" songs at me one night.

"Control" is definitely worth a view. One of the better movies this year.

Meal of Links

BTW, the Cedar-Lee was packed last night. We were in one of the "Film Closets" with maybe 20 others, but the roster of movies they have was packing them in. Post-movie, we stopped atExpressway Diner. Typical diner fare, but always a societal hodge-podge happening. For some reason after 10:30, one booth had an infant, another a little kid. But, as Kramer would say, there was an incident. Guy and girl sat in booth behind us. We decided to leave. I'm heading for the car, Jeff is paying the bill. He then witnessed baggy-pant, bulky-coat, thug-walkin' guy throw his newly poured drink all over his female companion and then proceed to leave after declaring, "Fuck you, bitch." Lucky for me, because while I was there, my back was to the victim and I would have been wearing some. Did I mention how I love my neighborhood?

A good brown rice recipe. Tip of the hat to Drew on that one.

I had a shoe blow out on me last Thursday and I can't say enough about the quick turnaround from Zappos.com. I ordered mid-afternoon that day and they arrived by the time I got home from work on Friday. Always excellent service and selection.

This Friday is Black Friday. Here are the Black Friday ads, thus far, to get a jump on what will be available. Don't forget the online deals.

Exercise Yard

"Coach, trust me, my field goal was good. Your pizza's over there."

















With today's Browns win, I think we can officially start talking about the "P-word". What a rollercoaster that was today. Another decent start, another shaky second half, Vegas going back and forth with the Browns as 2.5-point favorites, another couple of Josh Cribbs kickoff returns to setup two Phil Dawson field goals for an overtime win.

Dawson's tying field goal was something I had never seen. I think he called "bank", because it not only hit the upright, it hit that "curved support thingy" behind the crossbar and came back into the field of play. Gary immediately sent it went through, while the rest of us were as dumbfounded as the refs. And let me say this, how did they blow that call when they had the best view? Especially in a game where the Ravens lost a replay challenge because of a "replay malfunction". That was a first. Thankfully, they reviewed it and saw what everyone else did after the replay...it was good. Then the Browns made quick work of the Ravens in OT for the game-winner.

Good things today:

A road win.

Two Cribbs returns to set up drives for the tie and win, when the Browns looked liked they had given the game away.

Browns' record 100-yard TD interception return by Brodney Pool.

Browns won the turnover battle, 4-2.

Nice game from Jamal Lewis, 92 rushing and 30 passing yards.

Holding the Ravens to 2-12 on third downs.

A very physical game, probably the most physical this year. Big hits all around with the Browns getting six sacks.

Bad things today:

In the second half, the Ravens realized who they were playing and ended up running for over 5 yards a carry.

104 yards in penalties. Many for illegal motion.

Another middling second half by Derek Anderson.

Awful second half defense against the pass, especially when the Browns decided to stop blitzing for some reason late.

An injury to Eric Wright. We are starting to get thin on defense and it is showing even more.

So, there you have it, a bizarre finish. From what I understand, the announcers were right. A field goal is not reviewable by NFL rules, but they had to check the replay because as Paul said, whatever method they need to get that obviously wrong call correct, they have to do it. It would have been a cheap way to lose. Let the NFL make the apology later in the week for blowing that.

Visitor

None, a sad post OSU-Michigan Sunday.