Frank Whaley Books

The bad news first: this is NOT in widescreen.

Aside from that, (and the fact it's not available on DVD), this is an AWESOME movie for Dragnet fans. That is, for fans of the ORIGINAL Dragnet (1951). Joe Friday is a little bit rougher than the clean-cut model of decency who crossed the TV screen in the late 1960s. Here we have a tough, hard-hitting crime fighter who is not afraid to push some serious boundaries to get the job done (and it's stuff you could NEVER get away with today). But - no spoiling! - you've got to see it to believe it.

A bonus for those who grew up seeing the broadcast TV version is that this is a COMPLETE version (there were several scenes cut from the broadcast version - some of which are critical to the plot). But once again - no spoiling - you'll have to see it yourself.

A definite must-have for the hard core Dragnet fan!

The bad news first: this is NOT in widescreen.

Aside from that, (and the fact it's not available on DVD), this is an AWESOME movie for Dragnet fans. That is, for fans of the ORIGINAL Dragnet (1951). Joe Friday is a little bit rougher than the clean-cut model of decency who crossed the TV screen in the late 1960s. Here we have a tough, hard-hitting crime fighter who is not afraid to push some serious boundaries to get the job done (and it's stuff you could NEVER get away with today). But - no spoiling! - you've got to see it to believe it.

A bonus for those who grew up seeing the broadcast TV version is that this is a COMPLETE version (there were several scenes cut from the broadcast version - some of which are critical to the plot). But once again - no spoiling - you'll have to see it yourself.

A definite must-have for the hard core Dragnet fan!

Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.

Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.

This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.

Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.

It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.

Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.

A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.

This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.

To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.

Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.

Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.

This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.

Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...

The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...

Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...

Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...

The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...

Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...

Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...

If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...

Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.

Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.

This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.

Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.

It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.

Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.

A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.

This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.

To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.

Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.

Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.

This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.

Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...

The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...

Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...

Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...

The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...

Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...

Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...

If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...

It's 2 am and I have a 7 am golf tee time. I'm on page 243 and I am wide awake. Why? Because I can't turn the pages to the Up and Comer fast enough. Am I getting my point across? Absolutely one of the finest pieces of fiction to come along. Great character development, perfect plot, a little bit of spice -- all this adds up to the perfect book. Word of advice -- make sure you've got an uninterupted 8 to 12 hours because once you start, you won't stop. Make it 10 Stars for Up and Comer!!!!!!!

Like a lot of people, I never heard of Howard Roughan until I read James Patterson's novel HONEYMOON, which Roughan co-wrote. I thought HONEYMOON was better written than the average Patterson novel, so I thought I would give one of Roughan's earlier novels I shot. I'm glad I did.

THE UP AND COMER is a very witty, darkly comic novel. It is also a novel that features an remarkably unlikable character as its protagnoist. New York attorney Philip Randall has married his wife Tracy for her family money, while at the same time having an extramarital affair with his best friend's wife. He is also very smug and offers a lot of acerbic (yet funny) commentary about city life in New York. Eventually, something goes terribly wrong with Randall's life. The way he handles this crisis, and the violent complications that ensue, lead to a very suspenseful read. In some ways, this novel reminds me of another novel, James Siegel's DERAILED.

I must admit that I found Randall to be very off-putting at first, because he is such a louse. However, this book gets better as it goes along, and Randall is a very different person at the end of this book than he is at the beginning. In the end, this novel is something of a morality tale, and I enjoyed it immensely.

In short, I highly recommend this book to people who like their suspense mixed with a little dark comedy. I sincrely hope that Roughan writes more books.

I first read this book several years ago, but I can't stop re-reading it. The protagoinst of this book, Phillip Randall, is, to put it mildly, ethically challenged. Basically, Phillip is just a guy who already has it all and is willing to do whatever it takes to get more, more, and more. He's perfectly happy to take advantage of the opulent lifestyle provided by his wife's father's money, to climb the corporate ladder at his law firm no matter what the ethical cost, and, when the mood strikes him, to sleep with his best friend's wife. He does these things with no remorse - Phillip is a pretty happy guy and believes, in his very Manhattan WASPY upper-middle-class way, that he is entitled to all of these things, and more.

It makes sense, then, that when someone threatens the pleasant lifestyle he's grown so accustomed to exploiting, Phillip takes action in a way that most of us would be horrified about in real life. The beauty of this book is that the author puts you right inside his head and makes you part of what Phillip is doing - and while you find Phillip disgusting, you also can't help but like him. You will live vicariously as Phillip's life starts to snowball, and you will alternate between hoping Phillip gets caught, and then hoping he gets away with it.

It's a plot that's been done before, but in my opinion, this author does it better than almost any of his contemporaries (except possibly Jason Starr). Roughan does an amazing job capturing a certain psychology of a certain type of guy most of us have come across in life. The narrator's voice is readable, darkly funny, and infectious. This book has a fantastic plot, great characterization, and a perfect ending. Roughan presents us with a traditionally unsympathetic character, takes us with him to do unspeakable things, and even makes us identify with him, all without compromising the moral center of the book.

I loved this book in every way. My only complaint is that Roughan isn't writing more books just like this one. This author is a great talent with a unique voice and I recommend all his books, but this one is by far his best.

The main character, Philip, is an anti-hero that is amoral, complex and intriguing all at the same time. The book is an easy page turner and the ending is very fitting.

Simply put, if you like books that move quickly but still are well written, have very clever satire, and still have a good plot with strange but believable characters, you will like Howard Roughan's "The Up and Comer". I don't know how I missed this book when it was released but Mr. Roughan truly can write in this genre. I often find books of this type to be simply trash, ones you might finish but never really admit to having read. This one is different. Someone who willingly allows their life to get out of control and thinks they can always put it back on the rails. That AND is very funny along the way. Read this book. On the beach, on a plane. It is not serious literature but it is seriously good.

I do most of my reading on the train commuting to and from work. This book did not give me that luxury because I was so into the story of how this kid became rich and invested for well known celebrities. I read it in three days because I kept wondering how and when this guy was going to get whacked by the mafia. The real life photos in the book make the stories more justifiable. Also, these pictures help keep the reliability of the book in tact.

Business mostly draws my interest for reading material, so that was the reason I bought the book at an airport one day. If you like business success stories and real life mafia drama, then this book will knock you off your feet.

If you can imagine a book written that blended these two movies together, bada-bing, there's your book. There's your review.

It nevers ceases to amaze me that people could be so gullible as to send a check for a large sum of money because some guy with a great line of BS says he can make you rich and he represents an official sounding brokerage house. Wow.

The story is very captivating. Reading about Louis spiral out of control, hooking up with organized crime "Guys", the drugs, the lies, the scamming. Pretty entertaining.

This book really makes me wonder what all those regulatory agencies actually do. Its obvious they are not running around trying to protect the average consumer. Too bad, cause with people like Louis manning the phones, many people out there need protection.

I found myself looking for excuses during the day to get back to reading this book. I really enjoyed it.

Mr. Weiss shows us how he has been able to capture his Pulitzer. The author "lets the hood tell his story" as one reviewer complains, but I would assert that this is a BIG asset to this book. Yes, we find out the "banality of evil" but that is beside the point.

You may find yourself dealing with this part of society in one shape or another eventually and you may be surprised to find that the Mafia is NOT so dead as it is being assumed to be. Of course, if you really read between the lines of this book you realize that this is an example of Organized Crime ADAPTING. The penny stock industry (Yes. .it is an ongoing industry . . and NOT going the way of the buggy whip, if my FAX machine is any indication. . .filled as it is with unsolicited stock BS) was the place to be if you wanted to rub shoulders with mobsters in the 1990s. Weiss acts as narrator as the life story of Pasciuto unfolds.

Some here have complained about the prose style. I found it very accessible. The story is an easy read and you are not supposed to wind up "compelled" by any character. They are almost all bad guys. This time, Weiss didn't complain about how incompetent the legal watch dogs must be to simply let this all unfold without being much hindrance, but if you think this stuff through fully, you would wind up wondering that. . .WHERE IS THE SEC??? . . .the NASD?

Anyway, if you want to get a feel for the chop stock industry you should read this book. If you feel compelled to invest in those ULTRA LOW CAP stocks that you see in your fax machine or in unsolicited e-mails. . .you MUST read this book!

Caveat Emptor!

Chris Tune

A really fascinating, jarring look at a corner of Wall Street that I did not know existed. Takes you back to the days of the Roaring Nineties when the Internet bubble and IPO mania was driving stocks skyward. Working around the edges of the market were criminals in Armani suits like the subject of this book, Louis Pasciuto.

Pasciuto was a sharp kid from the streets of Staten Island, and he was a cinch for the sharp talk of a hoodlum named Roy Ageloff, who ran the brokers at a crooked firm called Hanover Sterling. Pasciuto had a talent for ripping off investors, and he used that talent first at Hanover and then 17 other firms.

Watching Pasciuto on his rise and then fall is a truly unbelievable experience. Amazing that as a teenager he was already running an entire crew of other young thieves.

The book unveils the Mafia aspects of the book slowly and naturally, without sensationalizing. So we get realistic glimpses of what the Mafia has become in the later part of the 20th century. Through it all we get into the psyche of the Mafia gangsters, particularly the one who was principally shaking down Pasciuto, Charles Ricottone.

By the end of the book you come away with a deep appreciation of two things:

One is that the Mafia is definitely on its way out. I just finished reading Selwyn Raab's book Five Families, and that book, though also very good, failed to depict the Mafia's current state in quite as vivid a way as this one. Raab failed to adequately explore the personnel weaknesses that have decayed the Mafia. They become very obvious in reading Born to Steal. Obviously the people left in the Mob are low-level hoods without imagination or drive.

Second, you get a real sense of how Wall Street operates. Even though the book concentrates on on the lower rungs of the Street, you get a good appreciation of the kind of money-grubbing nature of the people who run Wall Street generally.

The epilogue, recounting what happened after the hardcover edition came out, is cynical and very funny.

In all, a very strong and readable book.

The only thing I dont like about this show is the love story all around it. Other then that, I believe that this is a pretty good season with some unexpected twists and turns

When will Amazon make Season One available? I downloaded an episode of NCIS from Season Two, but I haven't watched it yet because I think I have to see the pilot episode to really understand the show, kind of like reading the introduction to a story.

This is a great show. I just wish that the rating for it wasn't full of people complaining about the unbox service. I for one have not had any problems with the service but then I know what I am doing. By the way Abby is the best character ever on any show.

I thought this series (Season 2) was well-written and well-acted. If you buy the episodes as I did, watch #22 last.

I *love* NCIS. This is the only show on TV that I actually make an effort to watch. Having said that... the Unbox format is like communism: good in theory; falls apart in practice. I just went through a whole lot of effort to download the Unbox program, install it, register and begin downloading the files. It takes over an hour to download one episode using a DSL wifi connection. The program says "ready to watch in 33 minutes" but after those 33 minutes, it still has another half hour or more to download.... and if you actually try to WATCH it when it says it is "ready to watch," you just end up with garbled audio and video that looks like you ate some bad mushrooms. After I patiently wait for the hour to download the first of two episodes that I just bought, it begins downloading the second episode - no choice in doing so, and no "pause" option, merely a "cancel download" option. Unfortunately, this means the already downloaded episode continues to be worthless in terms of viewing pleasure. In fact, even after all the episodes have been downloaded, I am *still* unable to watch the episodes with appropriate sound and video quality (and I have a 64 bit processor, 1gig RAM and minimized running programs). I love NCIS and I love the idea of downloading individual episodes.... but since the idea behind Unbox seems to be immediate gratification, they desperately need to make some changes to this format in order for it to live up to that promise.