Posts by Donna Sullivan6

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Thanks for the info.

It makes sense, I guess, but the reality is that neither Duffy nor anyone else could have really known if Stephen was doing anything behind Paul's back. At the end of the day, maybe it was just the fact that Paul's phone was unreachable that stopped Stephen from letting him know Duffy had reached out for a drink.
It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around why Stephen wouldn't have followed up that conversation with a meeting invite after Paul called him. I mean, seriously? What exactly is he gaining by keeping things under wraps like that? I guess there might be some reason, maybe, but it just seems... off.

If I recall correctly, Stephen's chat with Duffy happened right after that Paul-Thompson meeting, so I guess Stephen wouldn't have had his info ready for him just yet.
This info should be pretty useful for Morris's team once they sit down to talk. They finally figured out exactly what Duffy's offer for Thompson looks like, and honestly, it seems like there's practically no downside at all. I guess it's a clean deal.

Well, look—Duffy was gambling and he won... he didn't know what would happen, when, or if at all, and honestly, Stephen didn't tell his colleagues anything either; he just put money on the table and figured if he won, great, and if not, then nobody gets anything.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Thanks for the info.

It makes sense, I guess, but the reality is that neither Duffy nor anyone else could have really known if Stephen was doing anything behind Paul's back. At the end of the day, maybe it was just the fact that Paul's phone was unreachable that stopped Stephen from letting him know Duffy had reached out for a drink.
It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around why Stephen wouldn't have followed up that conversation with a meeting invite after Paul called him. I mean, seriously? What exactly is he gaining by keeping things under wraps like that? I guess there might be some reason, maybe, but it just seems... off.

If I recall correctly, Stephen's chat with Duffy happened right after that Paul-Thompson meeting, so I guess Stephen wouldn't have had his info ready for him just yet.
This info should be pretty useful for Morris's team once they sit down to talk. They finally figured out exactly what Duffy's offer for Thompson looks like, and honestly, it seems like there's practically no downside at all. I guess it's a clean deal.

He could have left a message, though. And even after the fact, he had the chance to mention it, so he didn't. At that moment, it wasn't some technicality preventing Stephen from telling Paul everything—it was just his own ego and a bit of bad timing.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Thanks for the info.

It makes sense, I guess, but the reality is that neither Duffy nor anyone else could have really known if Stephen was doing anything behind Paul's back. At the end of the day, maybe it was just the fact that Paul's phone was unreachable that stopped Stephen from letting him know Duffy had reached out for a drink.
It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around why Stephen wouldn't have followed up that conversation with a meeting invite after Paul called him. I mean, seriously? What exactly is he gaining by keeping things under wraps like that? I guess there might be some reason, maybe, but it just seems... off.

If I recall correctly, Stephen's chat with Duffy happened right after that Paul-Thompson meeting, so I guess Stephen wouldn't have had his info ready for him just yet.
This info should be pretty useful for Morris's team once they sit down to talk. They finally figured out exactly what Duffy's offer for Thompson looks like, and honestly, it seems like there's practically no downside at all. I guess it's a clean deal.

Well, he was intrigued. He saw a young woman and got curious. He wanted to hear what Duffy had to say. Even if common sense told Stephen that showing up to the meeting wasn't exactly the best idea, his curiosity was piqued simply because the head of the opposition was scheduling a meeting in such a high-stakes, gambling sort of way. Duffy struck a chord and kept him interested enough to show up. Then, once he was there, Duffy starts showering him with praise—calling him a "top professional, capable, young, handsome, blah blah blah... and how all the competitors fear him"—and finally offers him a job transfer. It’s enough to make anyone's instincts go numb and drop their guard entirely.

To me, it seems perfectly plausible that a young, self-important little manager gets carried away and bites at the sweet words of an old pro, choosing to stay silent with his own people. We're all flawed creatures, I guess; no one is immune to flattery. Especially when that flattery is packaged nicely... you'll bite just like a fish.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Thanks for the info.

It makes sense, I guess, but the reality is that neither Duffy nor anyone else could have really known if Stephen was doing anything behind Paul's back. At the end of the day, maybe it was just the fact that Paul's phone was unreachable that stopped Stephen from letting him know Duffy had reached out for a drink.
It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around why Stephen wouldn't have followed up that conversation with a meeting invite after Paul called him. I mean, seriously? What exactly is he gaining by keeping things under wraps like that? I guess there might be some reason, maybe, but it just seems... off.

If I recall correctly, Stephen's chat with Duffy happened right after that Paul-Thompson meeting, so I guess Stephen wouldn't have had his info ready for him just yet.
This info should be pretty useful for Morris's team once they sit down to talk. They finally figured out exactly what Duffy's offer for Thompson looks like, and honestly, it seems like there's practically no downside at all. I guess it's a clean deal.

Well, nothing concrete was actually settled during that initial meeting between Paul and Thompson—aside from the fact that the charade continues and they just kept testing each other. Paul merely had this impression that Thompson would offer his support, but that was just an impression; Thompson hasn't actually promised anything tangible. And Paul went into that follow-up meeting with Thompson at the exact moment Stephen withheld the news about the talk with Duffy—specifically, the info that Duffy's candidate offered Thompson the Secretary of State position. That information would have meant everything to Paul at that specific juncture.

Quote:>>

Kimberly Anderson22 says: >> This intel is useful for Morris's team following the discussion, since they now know the scale of Duffy's offer to Thompson, and there's practically no downside.

The damage lies in the fact that Paul spoke quite openly to Thompson about Morris's campaign plans—all while being completely certain that Thompson was on their side. If Paul had known that Thompson already had a Secretary of State offer sitting in his pocket from the opposition, he never would have been that candid, nor would he have wasted time offering him those trivial positions that don't even come close to the rank of Secretary of State.

As for any actual benefit this info brings to Morris's campaign following the Paul-Thompson talk... well, not much. Since Thompson has an offer for Secretary of State from the rival camp, there is a strong possibility he's already lost to Morris—either because Morris can't or won't match such an offer—and now they face the added problem that Thompson knows their entire roadmap while playing for the opposition. I suppose the information would have been far more valuable to them prior to that meeting.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Does anyone actually know what "Drudge" or "Roll Call" even refers to?
It seems like Ida was trying to leverage something over Stephen by threatening to leak details about his meeting with Duffy to those... well, those outlets that monitor the election process, I suppose.
(“She’s gonna take this to Drudge or Roll Call or some shit.”)

I mean, how would news of a meeting like that really hurt Stephen more than it would hurt Duffy?

And why would Paul say something like, "I made a fucking ass of myself and I gave away our game plan," after hearing from Stephen about what he and Duffy (Thompson...) had discussed?

They're talking about the Drudge Report—that web portal that obsessively covers high-level American politics (it leans Republican, so any dirt coming out of the Democratic camp would be treated like pure gold)....

Roll Call is one of those Washington publications catering to the army of political insiders—you know, the party delegates and various other bureaucrats who live for this stuff—while the general public mostly ignores it because they focus on niche, hyper-specific American domestic policy issues. It's a classic trade industry paper. Think of it like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, but strictly for the political circuit.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Does anyone actually know what "Drudge" or "Roll Call" even refers to?
It seems like Ida was trying to leverage something over Stephen by threatening to leak details about his meeting with Duffy to those... well, those outlets that monitor the election process, I suppose.
(“She’s gonna take this to Drudge or Roll Call or some shit.”)

I mean, how would news of a meeting like that really hurt Stephen more than it would hurt Duffy?

And why would Paul say something like, "I made a fucking ass of myself and I gave away our game plan," after hearing from Stephen about what he and Duffy (Thompson...) had discussed?

It really comes down to the tone and the angle used to frame the story. Since Paul was the one who passed that info to Ida, the story would be framed specifically to undermine Stephen. Something along the lines of, "Stephen, a key figure in Governor Morris's campaign, met privately with the campaign manager for Morris's opponent—all behind the backs of his own colleagues, including Governor Morris himself."

Basically, it's media groundwork being laid to justify kicking Stephen out of the campaign, which is scheduled to happen later that same day.

Kimberly Anderson22 said:Does anyone actually know what "Drudge" or "Roll Call" even refers to?
It seems like Ida was trying to leverage something over Stephen by threatening to leak details about his meeting with Duffy to those... well, those outlets that monitor the election process, I suppose.
(“She’s gonna take this to Drudge or Roll Call or some shit.”)

I mean, how would news of a meeting like that really hurt Stephen more than it would hurt Duffy?

And why would Paul say something like, "I made a fucking ass of myself and I gave away our game plan," after hearing from Stephen about what he and Duffy (Thompson...) had discussed?

He's angry because Stephen failed to relay Duffy's intel—specifically, that Duffy's side is holding Thompson in their grip by dangling a Secretary of State position if he supports their candidate. If he had known that sooner, Paul would have handled Thompson differently; he wouldn't have leaked confidential details regarding Morris's future plans, nor would he have wasted time offering him trivial positions that don't carry nearly the prestige of a Secretary of State role.

I absolutely loved this film. There’s no messing around when it comes to the underworld hierarchy.

Basically—Viggo Mortensen is fantastic, and the veteran godfather is just as good. As has already been noted, the plot is fairly linear—so I suppose some people might miss having a massive, epochal twist in the middle of the story. Not me, though. In this genre, things can go sideways at literally any moment, but Kroneberg managed to pull everything together seamlessly from start to finish.

Highly recommended!!!

A legendary film. Pure, adorable communist propaganda at its finest.

Bata Živojinović is rappelling down a clock tower in Boston with a girl in one hand and a machine gun in the other—all while dozens of Germans on the ground open fire on them below.

It’s like nobody bothered to tell them that he and the girl are perfectly safe—they can just duck behind a corner and shoot. It's honestly pathetic how uninformed those Nazi thugs are; they just keep popping out from behind corners right into his sights—which, I guess, isn't much of a challenge for a guy who can hit moving targets with a machine gun while dangling in mid-air with a girl in tow.

😁 There's no denying it—Hajrudin Krvavac has always had a penchant for subtle realism.

Eh, Marina Perazić, my unrequledged love.

By the way, is it actually true that Milan kicked Fircija out of Ekv—partly because he couldn't stand how much time the guy was spending with Marina instead of pulling his weight in the band?

from the CNN forums


Bad Boys 2


Kill Bill


The Matrix Revolutions

[
Men in Black 2


Troy

I absolutely loathe movies that build up my expectations only to leave me feeling utterly let down—it’s even worse than being skeptical from the get-go.

God, they just completely phoned it in during the second half. The decline starts around the midpoint, and by the end, the whole thing has gone completely off the rails—three times over, actually. What a total waste of time!

When you really look at it, this plot should have been a ten-to-fifteen-minute sketch on a late-night comedy show—though, honestly, I doubt even that would have worked—rather than a full two-hour feature.

Quite an interesting film. It’s definitely worth a watch. While it doesn't share much substance with Pulp Fiction, the style, structure, and attention to detail are certainly reminiscent of it. One can also see the influence of Buñuel—especially in that segment involving the model and the businessman 🙂—but those comparisons don't take away from the fact that the movie itself is incredibly sharp and richly executed.

I see everyone losing their minds over that restaurant bathroom scene. Look, the scene works, but let’s be honest—it’s basically a beat-for-beat remake of Spike Lee’s masterpiece, "Do the Right Thing," from 1989.

Actually, the whole of "25th Hour" is essentially just a visual remix of his previous work: specifically "Do the Right Thing," "Clockers," and "Summer of Sam"—only this time, it's layered over the aftermath of 9/11, which adds a certain dimension to it, I suppose.

That said, I wouldn't say I agree with it entirely—not without noting the sheer sentimentality. It feels like they’re aggressively shoving the characters' backgrounds down our throats; they’re all Americans, yet the film constantly insists on reminding us that the English professor is a Jew, Monty (Norton) is Irish, his girlfriend is Puerto Rican, the girl he's obsessed with is Italian, and his business partner is Ukrainian. It's meant to illustrate the "melting pot" ideal of the US, I guess, even though those specific details don't actually add much to the core narrative.

Still, the best part—and the one thing that ultimately makes the movie worth watching—is the implicit comparison between Monty and America. It's almost as if... well, both are fundamentally good people (whatever that means), but they've both done enough bad things in their pasts that they're finally being forced to pay the price. For him, it's prison; for America, it's 9/11.

Both react violently to this new reality—turning to friends and family, searching for someone to blame, lashing out at everything in sight, and preparing some kind of vengeance by shouting "fuck you" at anyone who crosses their path. But Monty delivers the ultimate "fuck you"—first to the mirror, then through his actions—to himself, finally acknowledging his own guilt. And America...