Gomorrah

This Italian film with English subtitles relies on the contrast between innocent youth and the guilty actions of the members of the Camorra crime syndicate in the region of Campania to make its dramatic point. The insidious organization, supposedly larger than the Cosa Nostra, recruits young people to fill its ranks, which deplete rapidly due to an enormous number of homicides. Two teenaged friends realize that they must become mortal enemies because one of them joined a separatist faction. Two dim-witted young men go from playing Scarface to stealing weapons. A grocery delivery boy uses his position to trick a woman to open her door so she can be killed.

Symbolism is frequent throughout the film. After gunfire erupts on the highway, a car of a rival organization crashes into a cemetery filled with angelic sculptures. The film in a microcosm is symbolized by a wide-angle shot from an apartment complex where children play in a kiddie pool on one level while Camorra members search for someone on the roof.

The film follows different storylines that illustrate different aspects of the Camorra: a designer of counterfeit clothing, the elderly paymaster, a developer dumping toxic waste in a quarry, and more. To a degree, the film lacks both a beginning and an ending but it illustrates tragically how the group constantly pervades life (and death) in Campania.

Why Not?

One can record a maximum break in snooker in less than five and a half minutes. So why not make 147 every time? Since the balls are always arranged identically, how did the first player in this clip botch the break so badly, without potting any balls, so that Ronnie O’Sullivan was able to easily run the table, averaging one shot every nine seconds?

Why does a curler slip pushing off the hack at the Brier and therefore compromise their release? How does a collegiate wrestler lose their first match against an unranked opponent when expected to win the national championship?

The key characteristic is the formation of good habits. Whether the situation occurs during the General Preparation phase or a Peak during the Main Season, an athlete’s mentality should be the same.

The Carleton Ravens never overwhelm a team with skill. Winners of six of the past seven Canadian National Championships, it seems logical that they would have a much higher talent level than their opposition but they rarely win in a rout and often put forth poor shooting performances. However, the Ravens’ defence is always consistent and carries them through tough games.

It is evident throughout the game - from warm-up to post-game, during all of the huddles - that they don’t find the circumstances out of the ordinary. Even after they won a tough National Semi-Final against Western on a buzzer beating shot, stars Aaron Doornekamp and Stu Turnbull still took the time to clean up their bench area, showing respect and responsibility.

Coaches should continuously promote Intensity and Quality in practice in order to simulate games. Athletes must always display this work ethic during workouts (individual or team). Coaches should instruct effective emotional and attentional control in addition to sport-specific physical performance factors. Athletes should spend time finding their Ideal Performance State before all competitions, from the N.C.A.A. Tournament to Intramural Playoff Games.

Coaches could call timeout and tell athletes to “calm down” but both groups have responsibility. Mike Krzyzewski, in his cursory work Beyond Basketball, talks of the importance of visualization for himself as a youth growing up in Chicago and for players at Duke. Some of the advice in that particular book may be incredibly obvious to anybody with a quantum of common sense but the anecdotes may inspire fans with higher aspirations.

For example, Krzyzewski relates how diligent Michael Jordan was regarding his individual workouts during the preparation for the 1992 Olympics. Although Jordan was the best player in the world, he was still respectful and allowed the college coach to work him out at game-like Intensity and Quality. Even the best must invest time to maintain their physical and mental levels so that they do not slip or stumble during a critical moment.

The Watchmen

There is a fine line between satire and parody and various reviews of The Watchmen that I have read disagree on where to place the movie. I thought that scenes from a war room that mimicked Dr. Strangelove and a helicopter sequence from Vietnam set to the Ride of the Valkyries enhanced the movie. One theme of the Watchmen is how pop culture and sensationalism have replaced meaningful discourse and although the film is set in an alternate universe, it seemed appropriate to include elements from the pop culture in this timeline.

The film is visually spectacular and most of the soundtrack is appropriate. Some of the sequences set to a seminal song like Unforgettable and The Times They Are A-Changin’ are very memorable but other scenes are horrendous. The screenplay includes some good lines but many of the lines which worked well in a limited space like a comic book bubble do not succeed in live action.

The protagonist, Rosarch symbolizes the entire plot. Citizens tolerate his sociopathic behaviour because all things considered, he does more good than harm. For a moral absolutist, the superhero is blind to his own faults as his own conduct - and the actions of the other Watchmen - fall into a grey area. In the end, Rosarch’s determination to stick to his principles leads to his demise as a perverse and pragmatic genre of moral relativism triumphs.

The film highlights how relativism rules the world. Nobody is truly good or bad but people are willing to compromise anyways. The citizens, fearing their own demise from Soviet missiles or gang violence, are directionless and willing to lash out at any convenient target. It’s only at the end when they believe that armageddon is upon them that everyone comes together.

The film is entertaining enough but not excellent. The political themes make the Watchmen a more intelligent picture than The Dark Knight but the latter is probably a better overall picture because it is a total package. Some storylines are unnecessary and not given any meaning by the director. If we don’t care about the Comedian, what is the significance of his death (or any of his actions)? The Watchmen is not boring but the storyline becomes convoluted midway through, choosing action and special effects over substance, and the conclusion, like this blog entry, is less than satisfying.

On Snooker

I was positively uncertain about the content of this tiny tome when I purchased it at the used book store. Reading the synopsis on the reverse, I gathered that Mordecair Richler was an avid fan of the game who would include anecdotes from throughout his life. Perhaps the author would delve into the kinship between the literati and elite athletes or outline the importance of competition in a young man’s life. Perhaps he admired a professional athlete from afar or found similarities between creativity on paper and canvas and creativity on felt (and by extension grass or hardwood since certain skills permeate all sports). I bought On Snooker anyways because I knew only one fact about the volume: that it would be well-written.

Accomplished author Richler weaves a myriad of player profiles together to describe the typical snooker athlete. Despite the formal nature of the sport, the black-tie attire, and the complex rules, snooker players face as much pressure as any other athlete. The sport possesses such a fine margin of error that minute miscues can trigger a run by the opponent and the end of match. Each frame begins with the same setup and players aim to make a similar sequence of shots. However, matches are always unique, a characteristic attributable to the mental not the physical aspect of snooker. Complete concentration during competition and practice is required for success.

Snooker players seem to have problems with gambling and substance abuse. Irrespective of the nature of the match, players must be able to leave the outcome on the table and move on. The skill level has risen so dramatically that the life of a champion snooker player is almost as short as an N.F.L. running back.

Lastly, Richler ruminates about the role sport plays in life. Even the most erudite character can take pleasure by supporting the Montreal Canadiens or boxing from Madison Square Garden. For many, it’s necessary to enter the playing field and prove their abilities to themselves, more than anyone else.