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#51
05-07-2007, 12:23 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
[ QUOTE ]
I thought that just meant that he did some coke with the frat guys. But maybe I was off base there. [/ QUOTE ] lol, that's what I thought too, guess it takes one to know one 
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#52
05-07-2007, 12:27 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] One thing that stuck out to me was Tony giving agent Harris some info about the Arab guys. More than a few of Tony's associates have contacts in various levels of law enforcement. What happens if one of them, Phil for example, gets some info that Tony has been supplying the FBI with tips? He might not know it was about the Arab guys, but even if he did, that cant sit well with him. these guys arent supposed to give the cops anything. Even though those guys have nothing to do with Tony and Phil's dealings, Tony being willing to inform on them just makes it that much more likely he would inform on his associates if push comes to shove. I dont think he ever would, but these guys cant be too careful. I think tony is going down a dangerous path here. [/ QUOTE ] It's post 9/11 NY ... [/ QUOTE ] Even still, you think a guy like Phil Leotardo cares more about the possibilty of the GW Bridge getting blown up than he does spending the rest of his life in prison? Do you think he would ever give the FBI anything, even if it was about two potential terrorists? These guys arent Joe Citizen who lost thier cousin's boyfriend in the WTC bombing. And even if they did, they likely didnt give much of a damn about it.
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#53
05-07-2007, 12:30 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] One thing that stuck out to me was Tony giving agent Harris some info about the Arab guys. More than a few of Tony's associates have contacts in various levels of law enforcement. What happens if one of them, Phil for example, gets some info that Tony has been supplying the FBI with tips? He might not know it was about the Arab guys, but even if he did, that cant sit well with him. these guys arent supposed to give the cops anything. Even though those guys have nothing to do with Tony and Phil's dealings, Tony being willing to inform on them just makes it that much more likely he would inform on his associates if push comes to shove. I dont think he ever would, but these guys cant be too careful. I think tony is going down a dangerous path here. [/ QUOTE ] It's post 9/11 NY ... [/ QUOTE ] Even still, you think a guy like Phil Leotardo cares more about the possibilty of the GW Bridge getting blown up than he does spending the rest of his life in prison? Do you think he would ever give the FBI anything, even if it was about two potential terrorists? These guys arent Joe Citizen who lost thier cousin's boyfriend in the WTC bombing. And even if they did, they likely didnt give much of a damn about it. [/ QUOTE ] Im pretty sure that they wouldnt care too much if tony ratted on some terrorist, there would be some initial anger, but meh, I dont think that will come to a head.
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#54
05-07-2007, 12:32 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
[ QUOTE ]
Christopher seemed really depressed this episode. He has some major issues haunting him and no one to talk to about it, he can't relate to the fools at AA and at work they're gonna rag him either way, not to mention Ade. Him going to JT's house was a way of him venting it out, and getting stuff off his chest. I fully think that he had no plans on letting JT live .. Chris has always used JT as a punching bag (I was rooting for JT to not let Chris in because I knew something bad was gonna happen to him, always does lol). Hopefully Chris feels a little better about his life now, but I think he's going to realize he's stuck in it for life and just go more bat [censored] insane then he ever was before. [/ QUOTE ] I don't disagree with you but I find it hilarious that after falling off the wagon, a MAJOR dispute with Paulie, differences with Tony, then killed a man and then you think Chris might actually feel better about himself now.
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#55
05-07-2007, 12:33 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
I felt the camera return to the chick in the black hair in the AA meeting was portentous - that she was FBI in the AA meeting. I sense that Christuhfuh will snap in one of two ways: Kill Paulie or flip "living the high life in Arizona..."
If he kills Paulie, the whole thing implodes, setting up Phil to take over completely. However, when Christuhfuh arrives home and straightens out the tree he demonstrates an acceptance of the peace offering. So, like all of us, I have no idea where this is going. If Chris continues using, he is going to take some big pieces down with him. He simply carries around too much frustration/anger with his 'work' and wants out. "I could be closer to Hollywood..." really jumped out at me. A very dense, effective episode.
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#56
05-07-2007, 12:35 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
[ QUOTE ]
One thing that stuck out to me was Tony giving agent Harris some info about the Arab guys. More than a few of Tony's associates have contacts in various levels of law enforcement. What happens if one of them, Phil for example, gets some info that Tony has been supplying the FBI with tips? He might not know it was about the Arab guys, but even if he did, that cant sit well with him. these guys arent supposed to give the cops anything. Even though those guys have nothing to do with Tony and Phil's dealings, Tony being willing to inform on them just makes it that much more likely he would inform on his associates if push comes to shove. I dont think he ever would, but these guys cant be too careful. I think tony is going down a dangerous path here. [/ QUOTE ] It's people like you that remind a person like myself how little I pay attention. I never would have thought of that. you make sense
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#58
05-07-2007, 12:42 PM
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WARNING: This column contains major plot spoilers for last night\'s \"So
Could this be all there is?
Monday, May 07, 2007 BY ALAN SEPINWALL STAR-LEDGER STAFF "EVERYTHING TURNS to (excrement)," laments Tony. Funny how often he's the reason for that. Episode Five, "Walk Like a Man," follows the pattern of the Junior/Paulie episode "Remember When," constructing parallel narratives about Tony's biological son (A.J.) and the person he's always treated like a son (Chris). Where "Remember When" was about the pain of growing old alone, "Walk Like a Man" showed the psychological toll of being related, by blood or by bond, to the Family in general and Tony in particular. A.J. and Chris have both inherited unfortunate traits from their fathers: Tony's depression and Dickie's substance abuse. (Tony, naturally, goes about in pity for himself about the former and has no interest in hearing about the latter.) Both are dealing with their problems in their own way -- A.J. by curling up into a weepy little ball, Chris by avoiding the Bing -- but Tony doesn't have patience for any coping mechanism that doesn't involve living up to the episode's title. Chris may have a handle on his problem, but he didn't take the Gary Cooper approach, and Tony dislikes him for it. (Tony's also, as he was when Janice's anger management therapy was briefly working, jealous to see someone getting better when he never does. Witness his frustration when Chris calls him about Paulie trashing his lawn and verbally closes off any avenue Tony might have to yell at him.) Tony may have a point about the face-to-face nature of the business they have chosen, but he's also the one who guilted Chris into drinking some of that wine they stole from the bikers last year. And, sure, there are better ways for A.J. to get over Blanca than watching bad James Franco movies, but what does Tony expect when A.J. has been pampered his entire life? He and Carmela (who was happy about the break-up because of "the culture divide") are awful parents, maybe not Livia and Johnny Boy-level, but terrible at meeting A.J.'s needs in good times and bad. Chris may have his problems with spelling and grammar, but he's not stupid. He can see that Bacala has taken his place in the inner circle -- at the barbecue, Tony and Bobby discuss business over two cold ones, naturally -- and he knows that his problems with Paulie wouldn't be nearly as bad if the two could go out for steak and a shot. So he goes off the wagon again and sees the other wiseguys for what they really are: a pack of cackling animals who take pleasure in other people's misery. He goes to his old AA buddy/punching bag J.T. Dolan for comfort, but J.T. wants no part of Chris' revenge fantasies about turning rat, or of Chris wallowing in self-pity. As he says to Chris, with such force that Chris puts a bullet between J.T.'s eyes in response, "You're in the Mafia!" J.T. means that he, as a civilian, shouldn't be hearing about Ralphie and Adriana, but also, what does Chris expect? How can he ever hope to get better living in such a violent, emotionally twisted world? It's a world that Tony has now pushed A.J. into by forcing him to befriend Patsy and Carlo's sons, a pair of book-making frat boys who are like competent copies of Jackie Jr. Tony has never wanted this life for A.J., but in his impatience for the crying jags to end, he sent his son to hang out with guys who keep a vial of acid handy in case they should run across a deadbeat in need of torturing. Tony can't even plead ignorance, because he knew that the Jasons were running a Family-affiliated sports book. Right now, he and Carm think they've done a wonderful job of helping their son heal, but whatever comes of his new friends is 100 percent on Tony... ... as is whatever happens to Chris. In cutting a deal of nebulous value with Agent Harris about Ahmed and Muhammed, Tony may have sold out Chris -- who, after all, was supplying those guys with credit card numbers and guns. And the pressure by Tony and Paulie has Chris drinking again, his resentment over Adriana now doubled with his realization that his "friends" have put him back in the grips of his disease. And I really do hope something is coming of all this. Since this final season began, I've been warning everyone that Chase and company may not be going for an earth-shattering conclusion, but more of a life-goes-on finish. But the writers have spent so much time over the last five episodes hinting that some apocalypse is coming -- whether it's Phil making war with New Jersey, Tony taking out Chris or vice versa, the FBI completing their RICO case, Muhammed and Ahmed up to no good -- that if none of that comes to pass, every bit of anger from the fans is going to be justified. There comes a point when the storytelling stops being daring and unconventional and starts being sloppy and cruel. The character moments this episode -- and this season -- have been superb, but if the plot just comes to an abrupt halt at the end of Episode Nine, a lot of viewers are going to be echoing Tony's line to Melfi: "After all the complaining and crying and (expletives deleted) -- is this all there is?' Some other thoughts on "Walk Like a Man': Longtime "Sopranos" writer Terence Winter did a fine job in his directorial debut, helping himself by penning the best therapy scene in a long time. When Tony and Melfi are getting along, it's because he doesn't need help and is just shining her on as part of his "oasis." Whenever he's really in trouble, though, he gets hostile with her, and the tension brings out the best in Melfi the therapist -- and Gandolfini and Bracco the actors. Speaking of that scene, Tony doesn't want Melfi to make a referral for A.J. after the therapist she sent Meadow to in season four almost convinced Meadow to drop out of school. It's a good thing he doesn't know about the referral Melfi gave to Carmela -- the elderly shrink who tried to convince Carm to leave Tony and his "blood money" -- else their sessions would go beyond hostile and into a very dangerous area. Squint-or-you'd-miss-it cameo: in the scene where Tony's hitting on one of the Bing girls, you can just barely see Georgie working behind the bar again (actor Frank Santorelli was also in the closing credits), even though he apparently quit for good after a beating from Tony gave him permanent hearing loss in Season Five's "Cold Cuts." Theories from last week that need putting to rest: Hesh's girlfriend Renata died of natural causes (per one of the writers and HBO.com), and Blanca doesn't appear to be pregnant. She's just not that into A.J., or it's like A.J. told his shrink: she was uncomfortable around all of his family's money. How many young Jasons has this show featured? Both Patsy and Carlo's kids are named Jason, Little Paulie's sidekick is Jason Molinaro, Melfi's son is Jason La Penna, Lorraine Caluzzo's partner/boytoy was Jason Evanina, one of the Blundetto twins was a Jason, Dick Barone's son was Jason... Is this the 2007 version of that "Goodfellas" joke about all of the kids being named either Peter or Paul?
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#60
05-07-2007, 12:47 PM
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Re: Sopranos 5/06
 Could this be all there is? Monday, May 07, 2007 BY ALAN SEPINWALL STAR-LEDGER STAFF WARNING: This column contains major plot spoilers for last night's "Sopranos" episode. "EVERYTHING TURNS to (excrement)," laments Tony. Funny how often he's the reason for that. Episode Five, "Walk Like a Man," follows the pattern of the Junior/Paulie episode "Remember When," constructing parallel narratives about Tony's biological son (A.J.) and the person he's always treated like a son (Chris). Where "Remember When" was about the pain of growing old alone, "Walk Like a Man" showed the psychological toll of being related, by blood or by bond, to the Family in general and Tony in particular. A.J. and Chris have both inherited unfortunate traits from their fathers: Tony's depression and Dickie's substance abuse. (Tony, naturally, goes about in pity for himself about the former and has no interest in hearing about the latter.) Both are dealing with their problems in their own way -- A.J. by curling up into a weepy little ball, Chris by avoiding the Bing -- but Tony doesn't have patience for any coping mechanism that doesn't involve living up to the episode's title. Chris may have a handle on his problem, but he didn't take the Gary Cooper approach, and Tony dislikes him for it. (Tony's also, as he was when Janice's anger management therapy was briefly working, jealous to see someone getting better when he never does. Witness his frustration when Chris calls him about Paulie trashing his lawn and verbally closes off any avenue Tony might have to yell at him.) Tony may have a point about the face-to-face nature of the business they have chosen, but he's also the one who guilted Chris into drinking some of that wine they stole from the bikers last year. And, sure, there are better ways for A.J. to get over Blanca than watching bad James Franco movies, but what does Tony expect when A.J. has been pampered his entire life? He and Carmela (who was happy about the break-up because of "the culture divide") are awful parents, maybe not Livia and Johnny Boy-level, but terrible at meeting A.J.'s needs in good times and bad. Chris may have his problems with spelling and grammar, but he's not stupid. He can see that Bacala has taken his place in the inner circle -- at the barbecue, Tony and Bobby discuss business over two cold ones, naturally -- and he knows that his problems with Paulie wouldn't be nearly as bad if the two could go out for steak and a shot. So he goes off the wagon again and sees the other wiseguys for what they really are: a pack of cackling animals who take pleasure in other people's misery. He goes to his old AA buddy/punching bag J.T. Dolan for comfort, but J.T. wants no part of Chris' revenge fantasies about turning rat, or of Chris wallowing in self-pity. As he says to Chris, with such force that Chris puts a bullet between J.T.'s eyes in response, "You're in the Mafia!" J.T. means that he, as a civilian, shouldn't be hearing about Ralphie and Adriana, but also, what does Chris expect? How can he ever hope to get better living in such a violent, emotionally twisted world? It's a world that Tony has now pushed A.J. into by forcing him to befriend Patsy and Carlo's sons, a pair of book-making frat boys who are like competent copies of Jackie Jr. Tony has never wanted this life for A.J., but in his impatience for the crying jags to end, he sent his son to hang out with guys who keep a vial of acid handy in case they should run across a deadbeat in need of torturing. Tony can't even plead ignorance, because he knew that the Jasons were running a Family-affiliated sports book. Right now, he and Carm think they've done a wonderful job of helping their son heal, but whatever comes of his new friends is 100 percent on Tony... ... as is whatever happens to Chris. In cutting a deal of nebulous value with Agent Harris about Ahmed and Muhammed, Tony may have sold out Chris -- who, after all, was supplying those guys with credit card numbers and guns. And the pressure by Tony and Paulie has Chris drinking again, his resentment over Adriana now doubled with his realization that his "friends" have put him back in the grips of his disease. And I really do hope something is coming of all this. Since this final season began, I've been warning everyone that Chase and company may not be going for an earth-shattering conclusion, but more of a life-goes-on finish. But the writers have spent so much time over the last five episodes hinting that some apocalypse is coming -- whether it's Phil making war with New Jersey, Tony taking out Chris or vice versa, the FBI completing their RICO case, Muhammed and Ahmed up to no good -- that if none of that comes to pass, every bit of anger from the fans is going to be justified. There comes a point when the storytelling stops being daring and unconventional and starts being sloppy and cruel. The character moments this episode -- and this season -- have been superb, but if the plot just comes to an abrupt halt at the end of Episode Nine, a lot of viewers are going to be echoing Tony's line to Melfi: "After all the complaining and crying and (expletives deleted) -- is this all there is?' Some other thoughts on "Walk Like a Man': Longtime "Sopranos" writer Terence Winter did a fine job in his directorial debut, helping himself by penning the best therapy scene in a long time. When Tony and Melfi are getting along, it's because he doesn't need help and is just shining her on as part of his "oasis." Whenever he's really in trouble, though, he gets hostile with her, and the tension brings out the best in Melfi the therapist -- and Gandolfini and Bracco the actors. Speaking of that scene, Tony doesn't want Melfi to make a referral for A.J. after the therapist she sent Meadow to in season four almost convinced Meadow to drop out of school. It's a good thing he doesn't know about the referral Melfi gave to Carmela -- the elderly shrink who tried to convince Carm to leave Tony and his "blood money" -- else their sessions would go beyond hostile and into a very dangerous area. Squint-or-you'd-miss-it cameo: in the scene where Tony's hitting on one of the Bing girls, you can just barely see Georgie working behind the bar again (actor Frank Santorelli was also in the closing credits), even though he apparently quit for good after a beating from Tony gave him permanent hearing loss in Season Five's "Cold Cuts." Theories from last week that need putting to rest: Hesh's girlfriend Renata died of natural causes (per one of the writers and HBO.com), and Blanca doesn't appear to be pregnant. She's just not that into A.J., or it's like A.J. told his shrink: she was uncomfortable around all of his family's money. How many young Jasons has this show featured? Both Patsy and Carlo's kids are named Jason, Little Paulie's sidekick is Jason Molinaro, Melfi's son is Jason La Penna, Lorraine Caluzzo's partner/boytoy was Jason Evanina, one of the Blundetto twins was a Jason, Dick Barone's son was Jason... Is this the 2007 version of that "Goodfellas" joke about all of the kids being named either Peter or Paul?
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