Out of print for more than 30 years, now available for the first time as
an eBook, this is the controversial story of John Wooden's first 25
years and first 8 NCAA Championships as UCLA Head Basketball Coach.
Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps said, "I used this book as an inspiration
for the biggest win of my career when we ended UCLA's all-time 88-game
winning streak in 1974."
Compiled with
more than 40 hours of interviews with Coach Wooden, learn about the man behind the coach.
Click the Book to read
the players telling their stories in their own words. This is the book
that UCLA Athletic Director J.D. Morgan tried to ban.
Click the book to read the first chapter and for
ordering information.
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We Own the Night (5/10)
by Tony Medley
I went to this with the
thought that I’d be watching a Mark Wahlberg movie. Alas, Wahlberg has
little more than a supporting role. This is a film about Bobby Green
(Joaquin Phoenix), the brother of Police Captain Joseph Grusinsky (Wahlberg),
and the son of Chief Burt Grusinski (Robert Duvall). Bobby is introduced
as a black sheep son who changed his last name to his mother’s maiden
name. He’s the manager of a night club owned by Russians where lots of
bad things happen, like drug deals. But Bobby is probably the only
person in the world who can’t see it, even though Joseph and Burt warn
Bobby about what’s going on and what they are planning. That ticks Bobby
off, so he leaves to jump his girlfriend, Amanda (Eva Mendes). Even in
the throes of ecstasy, Bobby’s not a happy camper.
This is another film
directed by the guy who wrote the script, this time James Gray. As such, it follows other auteur-created
films
who in that it is far too wordy and, at a little over
two hours, too long. It looks like it’s going to be a slam-bang action
film, and there is some action, but it’s mostly talk. Actually a large
portion of the film is Bobby appearing unhappy and troubled.
The main problem is that
the film just doesn’t measure up to its potential. Just about everything
tried falls short. As an example, the bad guy, Vadim Nezhinski
(Alex Veadow), is bland when compared with some of the more well-drawn
bad guys who have appeared in recent movies.
The opening scenes of Bobby
necking with Amanda are grotesque, poorly directed, and poorly acted.
There’s no reason why Amanda has to be shown pleasuring herself while
Bobby kisses and fondles her. I felt uncomfortable throughout the
lovemaking scenes which linger far too long. Even though she flashes her
nipple, the scenes, which include her blatantly sticking her tongue into his
mouth, are more off-putting than erotic.
Gray has made a movie that
is defined by its derivativity. We've seen the car chases and shootouts
countless times before, although the car chase is pretty well done. Gray
couldn't even come up with an original ending. The final dénouement was
originally done almost 200 years ago. It is based on an incident
described in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Prairie (1827) and Natty
Bumpo. I don’t guess there’s anything wrong with copying from a master,
but it just doesn’t have the tension that Cooper’s story had and that
the film requires. The climax is, well, anti-climactic. It happens, and
I felt, well, so what; all this for that?
My watch got a real workout
in this one.
October 14, 2007
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