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Top Movies By Decade: Part 4 - "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

2012-02-15T16:52:00.000-06:00

Author’s Note: I apparently did this in July of 2009 but didn’t list my top ten favorites. It simply had my favorite film and then a few honorable mentions that would have been in the top five.

I started a series of lists that rank my top ten favorite movies by decade. It began in the 1920s and will be working toward the new millennium.
To compile this list, I took my ranked films from IMDb, which I grade after every movie viewing, and sorted them from highest to lowest. Then, looking at each movie in each decade I came up with my favorite ten.
I have included some honorable mentions to show what the top ten were up against. We will continue with the 1950s.

1950s
Honorable Mentions: All About Eve (1950), Winchester ’73 (1950), High Noon (1952), Shane (1953), Sabrina (1954), Blackboard Jungle (1955), Diabolique (1955), 12 Angry Men (1957), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Paths of Glory (1957), and Vertigo (1958)

10. Cinderella (1950) – Due to World War II and low box office returns, this was the first feature-length, full-bodied animation film in nearly a decade from Walt Disney Studios, which was heavily in debt and had not had a big hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Cinderella is considered the last of the “golden age” of Disney animations that spanned the 1930s and 40s. The generous profits from this film, along with additional money made from record sales, music publishing, and other merchandise, gave Disney a resurgence of cash flow to proceed with new films, both animated and live action, establish his own distribution company, enter television production, and begin building Disneyland. Cinderella received three Academy Award nominations, all in the sound and song categories. At the inaugural Berlin International Film Festival, it won the Golden Bear (Music Film) award and the Big Bronze Plate award. The AFI included Cinderella among its 10 Top 10 Animated films, ranking ninth.

9. Rear Window (1954) – Some viewers are bored by the single set, slow-moving story, however, those fascinated by Rear Window are not alone, as the film received four Oscar nominations, was ranked 42nd and 48th on AFI’s 100 Movies and 100 Movies Anniversary lists, was universally praised by critics, and in 1997 was included in the United States National Film Registry. As the movie is all about voyeurism, Hitchcock’s film exquisitely display’s the human need to look in on other people’s lives, ignoring what is going on right in their own home. With the explosion of Facebook and Twitter, the insatiable need to make a connection with others without ever becoming involved is a successor to Hitchcock’s feature of a man and his camera looking out into an apartment building courtyard. Rear Window uses a natural soundtrack, with diegetic sounds and music stemming from James Stewart’s neighboring apartments. Along with the 100 Movies wins, the AFI also included Rear Window in its 100 Thrills and 10 Top 10 Mystery lists.

8. Seven Samurai (1954) – Possibly better known to American audiences in remakes such as The Magnificent Seven or A Bug’s Life, the idea of recruiting individuals with special skills to perform a specific task was originally seen on the Japanese screen in Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece, Seven Samurai. The now-common plot element introduced in this film can be seen in popular American cinema, such as The Guns of Navarone, Ocean’s Eleven, and The Dirty Dozen. Seven Samurai is described as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, making it on Sight & Sound’s list of the 10 greatest films of all time in 1982 and the directors’ top ten film in 1992 and 2003 polls. It was also ranked number one in Empire magazine’s The 100 Best Films of World Cinema in 2010. Winner of the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, the film was also honored with several nominations and wins for acting and directing at the British Academy Film Awards, Jussi Awards, and Mainichi Film Awards. Seven Samurai received two Academy Award nominations as well.

7. Sleeping Beauty (1959) – The final fairy tale animated feature produced by Walt Disney himself and the last of Disney’s features to use hand-inked cels, Sleeping Beauty was initially a financial failure, resulting in the first annual loss in a decade and leading to massive layoffs in the animation department. It took nearly a decade to get the movie made, with story work beginning eight years prior to its theatrical release and voice recordings taking place seven years before as well. The film was initially met with mixed reviews, most critics claiming poor character development, but with the unique stylized design of the artwork and lavish musical score have resulted in a sustained interest in the movie and ultimately it is now one of the most praised animated features ever made. Sleeping Beauty was nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy for its soundtrack, but lost at both ceremonies.

6. The Killing (1956) – Where Seven Samurai set up the concept of showing the audience the process of hiring a group of mercenaries to do a job, Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing showcased a heist picture from several different viewpoints and the precise planning and undertaking it takes to pull off a multi-million dollar robbery, much like the number one movie for this decade's list. Like many movies considered classics of their genre and decade, this one was a disappointment at the box office. However, The Killing showed off the talent Kubrick had as a director, cinematographer, and storyteller, giving audiences a glimpse into what was to come later in his career. Critics respected the picture, praising Kubrick as the next great director with skills that hadn’t been seen since Orson Welles. The only major award nomination for The Killing was at the BAFTAs for Best Film from any Source, but its legacy has influenced many, including Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

5. Sunset Boulevard (1950) – One of the most well written film noirs, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard is an absorbing movie with an unforgettable leading lady and countless memorable quotes. Told through William Holden’s character, unsuccessful screenwriter Joe Gillis, about his meeting and subsequent tumultuous relationship with former silent-film star Norma Desmond, the film is a disturbed showcase of Desmond’s fantasy world where she believes a comeback to Hollywood stardom is near. Sunset Boulevard was an instant success, nominated for 11 Academy Award nominations, winning three, was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, and saw its inclusion in the top 20 greatest films by the American Film Institute in its 100 Movies and 100 Movies Anniversary lists, at 12 and 16 respectively. It is highly regarded as the greatest movie about Hollywood ever made.

4. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – Another movie about Hollywood, this one takes a much more comedic and light-hearted tone of Tinseltown. Tackling the period of time when films transitioned from silent to talkies, Singin’ in the Rain has become known as one of the greatest musicals to ever be made, but it was not originally accepted so pleasantly. Co-director and star Gene Kelly’s dance number to the titular song with an umbrella in the rainy streets has become an iconic moment in film history, recognized by even those who have not seen the movie. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Supporting Actor and Original Music Score, a Golden Globe for Donald O’Connor’s performance, and recognition for best written American musical at the Writers Guild of America. Singin’ in the Rain has twice appeared on Sight & Sound’s list of the 10 best films of all time. The film was among the United States Library of Congress’s first 25 films chosen for the newly established National Film Registry. The American Film Institute included the musical among its 100 Movies, 100 Laughs, 100 Passions, 100 Songs (three times), 100 Musicals, and 100 Movies Anniversary lists.

3. On the Waterfront (1954) – A tough, gritty look at union violence, corruption, and racketeering among longshoremen in New Jersey, On the Waterfront won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Story. Based on a Pulitzer Prize winning 24-part series in the New York Sun, the film is considered to be the director’s rejoinder to critics for his identifying former Communists in the film industry before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Released to rave reviews from critics, On the Waterfront has since been deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry during its inaugural year and included among many critics top film lists it also made the Vatican’s list of 45 greatest films of all time. AFI included the film among its 100 Movies, 100 Heroes and Villains, 100 Quotes, 100 Film Scores, 100 Cheers, and 100 Movies Anniversary lists.

2. North by Northwest (1959) – My personal favorite of all of Hitchcock’s films, North by Northwest is also one of his most critically favored among the innocent man on the run stories. Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason give commanding performances in this stylish thriller with a finale set amongst one of America’s most historic monuments. Ranking at 98 in Empire magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Films of All Time, North by Northwest is considered a masterpiece in filmmaking for its themes of deception, mistaken identity, and moral relativism. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards and won a 1960 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. In 1995, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Among AFI movie lists, North by Northwest ranked among its 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Movies Anniversary, and 10 Top 10 Mystery lists.

1. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – A film noir caper film with a cast who’s most famous member now, Marilyn Monroe, was at the time unknown to audiences follows a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery. The Asphalt Jungle, directed by John Huston, was nominated for four Academy Awards. Creating a legacy with its style and production, the film is one of the most influential crime films of the decade and presents an impressively staged robbery to be copied for years to come, creating its own subgenre of caper films. The Asphalt Jungle won awards at the Venice Film Festival, National Board of Review, and Edgar Allen Poe Awards, along with nominations at the Golden Globes, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Directors Guild of America, and Writers Guild of America. In 2008, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Included in this list are animated pictures, heist movies, foreign films, and Hollywood movies about Hollywood. The 1950s are the end of the stranglehold Hollywood had on American audiences looking for visual stimulation as television began its competition, resulting in gimmicks and cheap ploys to herd people back into theaters. Big production, spectacle, widescreen techniques, and 3-D became prevalent in moviemaking. the 50s will also be well known for its heightening of interest in science fiction, thanks to Cold War paranoia and a renewed interest in science due to the atomic bomb. The western genre was revitalized and Alfred Hitchcock saw some of his most popular films released in this decade.

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T16:40:00.000-06:00

I'm not really into this holiday, but for those who are I wish you a happy love day.
The origins of Valentine's Day is not quite what it is known to be today and even modern history of this date has been marred by a mafia massacre in Chicago in 1929.
Whatever your reason for celebrating, have a happy one!

Haywire

2012-02-02T16:54:00.000-06:00

I’ve put this review off for about a week because I just didn’t truly know how I felt about the latest directorial effort from Steven Soderbergh, Haywire, which is also his first foray into the action genre.
I had two major thoughts about the movie while walking out of the theater. The first thought was how it reminded me of an opinion people have about the James Bond franchise.
Don’t get me wrong, this is nothing like a James Bond movie. It is slow-paced, low-key, and light on action. So what about Haywire reminded me of the 007 series? The idea of putting a non-action director in charge and letting him focus on the story and characterization while others worry about the action stunts is something that keeps coming up when people discuss the direction the Bond movies need to go. Now is not the time or place to argue the merits of that scheme, but I will say the producers seem to have taken that course, hiring Marc Forster and Sam Mendes for the last two films.
Getting back to Haywire, Soderbergh is certainly not an action director and most will recognize his name as the guy who was in charge of the party during filming the Ocean’s films with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and the rest of the gang. He is also the champion of independent filmmaking, as his movie Sex, Lies, and Videotape began the independent movie push of the 90s.
Although Soderbergh’s credentials were not tailored to action movies, he had the idea to create a project around MMA star Gina Carano. Essentially, it would be an action film (like a James Bond movie) helmed by an artsy director. That is where the thoughts on Bond end though when it comes to comparing it with Haywire.
Soderbergh’s trademarks are all over this movie. In fact, going into it I had no idea he was the director. I simply had seen a preview or two, thought it looked interesting enough, and convinced a buddy to go with me on a Wednesday night. But while watching things progress I couldn’t help wondering what was going on, not because I didn’t understand the plot but instead because it didn’t feel like the movie I thought I was going to see. There was a lot of style to it you just don’t normally see in action movies. It was less like Salt or the Bourne series and more like The American. The characters didn’t make decisions based on the next action sequence they needed to be at but rather the action cropped up when it was necessary.
The Steven Soderbergh style I am talking about is most plainly felt in the flow of the storytelling, seen in the cinematography, and heard in the soundtrack. Immediately when the credits started rolling at the film’s finale and Soderbergh’s name popped up as the director everything made sense to me regarding how the story was told, the photography shot, and the music chosen.
The second opinion I had regarding Haywire was Carano’s acting debut. My initial reaction to Carano was she is cold and unemotional. Actually to be more accurate, I thought every time she opened her mouth she was attempting to avoid any sort of altercation with her opponent by lulling them to sleep with a monotone delivery and expressionless gaze. It was only the next day I learned that Soderbergh had altered Carano’s voice to make it less attractive. In fact, some are reporting it is actress Laura San Giacomo who dubbed Carano, which says something about what Soderbergh thinks of San Giacomo’s beauty or lack thereof I should say.
Generally, I liked what I saw but not so much that I would make a point to sit down and watch it again in full. The performances from the supporting cast, which included Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Fassbender, were generally good and I’m going to give Carano a pass since the dubbing might have skewed the final results. The actor I shall not give a pass to and have never seen a quality performance from is Channing Tatum. That guy is just dreadful.
I have concluded to give Haywire a 6 out of 10 grade.

Investing In TV

2012-02-01T16:54:00.000-06:00

How does a person in today's state of small screen excellence jump into a serialized television show without starting from the beginning?
Obviously a show like Lost would be completely befuddling to someone who caught the fifth episode of season four without ever knowing what happened before, but even normal dramas and action shows are so intricate with character storylines these days that it would seem like the viewer is missing pivotal plot points for several episodes if they picked the series up in midstream unless they went back and watched from the beginning.
I've read a lot of comments lately on entertainment websites regarding television show recommendations that state a person will check out the next episode when they can. How can you give a true opinion of a series if you don't know the origin and backstory of all the characters?
It seems to me that if a person watched a random episode of a random show in today's television programming (not counting reality TV), they lose some of the greatness the show could offer because half their time is spent working out who everyone is and the motivations behind the characters' actions. The viewer might decide the show isn't for them, whereas had they started at the beginning and progressed with the show as it was intended then they might be the number one fan of the series.
Maybe I'm weird, but if I am recommended a show then I have to start at the beginning. It just doesn't feel right to dive in midseason and play catch-up.

Home Oscar Watch Marathon

2012-01-26T11:05:00.003-06:00

Joanna and I normally attend an Oscar viewing at a local theater, but it came up last night at dinner to host our own rotating Academy Award Best Picture marathon. I said I would put together some ideas on the order in which we view the films and here they are.
I personally think Options A and C are the two best and would likely lean toward Option C as my vote since the timing matches the closest for all three days.

Option A:
Danny’s House:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – (129 minutes) 9/11 drama
The Artist – (100 minutes) French black & white silent romantic comedy/drama
Moneyball – (133 minutes) sports drama
362 total minutes of viewing

Matt’s House:
War Horse – (146 minutes) war epic
Midnights in Paris – (94 minutes) romantic comedy
Hugo – (128 minutes) adventure
368 total minutes of viewing

Mystery House:
The Help – (146 minutes) Civil Rights drama
The Tree of Life – (139 minutes) non-linear narrative experimentation drama
The Descendants – (115 minutes) family drama
400 total minutes of viewing

Option B:
Danny’s House:
The Descendants – (115 minutes) family drama
The Tree of Life – (139 minutes) experimental drama
Moneyball – (133 minutes) sports drama
387 total minutes of viewing

Matt’s House:
War Horse – (146 minutes) war epic
The Artist – (100 minutes) French black & white silent romantic comedy/drama
Hugo – (128 minutes) adventure
374 total minutes of viewing

Mystery House:
Midnights in Paris – (94 minutes) romantic comedy
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – (129 minutes) 9/11 drama
The Help – (146 minutes) Civil Rights drama
369 total minutes of viewing

Option C:
Danny’s House:
The Help – (146 minutes) Civil Rights drama
The Artist – (100 minutes) French black & white silent romantic comedy/drama
Moneyball – (133 minutes) sports drama
379 total minutes of viewing

Matt’s House:
Midnights in Paris – (94 minutes) romantic comedy
The Tree of Life – (139 minutes) experimental drama
War Horse – (146 minutes) war epic
379 total minutes of viewing

Mystery House:
The Descendants – (115 minutes) family drama
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – (129 minutes) 9/11 drama
Hugo – (128 minutes) adventure
372 total minutes of viewing

Danny, Brandy, and Joanna, let me know what you think and we can iron out any details.

84th Annual Academy Award Nominations Announced

2012-01-24T09:50:00.002-06:00

Today was the release of Oscar nominees. It was the moment I would find out what films and actors/actresses would forever be known as Academy Award nominees/winners. It is also the day I know how many movies I will be seeing the weekends prior to the award ceremony on February 26. This year it will be a total of nine movies in the AMC Best Picture Nominee Picture Showcase and I have only seen one of the nominees, that being Moneyball.
Hugo received the most nominations with 11. A bit of a surprise is the lack of a Pixar movie in the Best Animated Picture category. Since the inception of the Best Animated Picture category in 2001, Pixar has received a nomination for all eight of its films released, winning six Oscars in that time. Two of those winning films, Up and Toy Story 3, even received Best Picture nominations. The two movies to not win the Best Animated Picture statuette were Monsters, Inc. and Cars. As I didn't think Cars 2 was that great a movie, I was sure it wouldn't win the award this year, but to not even be nominated was not expected.
Below are all the nominees for every category.

Best Picture
The Artist - Thomas Langmann
The Descendants - Jim Burke, Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Scott Rudin
The Help - Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Branathan
Hugo - Graham King, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Moneyball - Michael De Luca, Rachel Horowitz, Brad Pitt
The Tree of Life - Nominees to be determined
War Horse - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life

Best Actor
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as George Smiley
Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane
Jean Dujardin – The Artist as George Valentin
Demian Bichir – A Better Life as Carlos Galindo
George Clooney – The Descendants as Matt King

Best Actress
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help as Aibileen Clarke
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Lisbeth Salander
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

Best Writing – Original Screenplay
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo
Margin Call - J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Hugo - John Logan
The Ides of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan

Best Animated Feature
Une vie de chat
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead - Michael R. Roskam, Belgium
Footnote - Joseph Cedar, Israel
In Darkness - Agnieszka Holland, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar - Philippe Falardeau, Canada
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi, Iran

Best Documentary – Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Best Documentary – Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami

Best Live Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin – John Williams
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Hugo – Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias
War Horse – John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets – Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from Rio – Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Best Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Art Direction
The Artist – Laurence Bennett and Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan
Hugo – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
War Horse – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

Best Cinematography
The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo – Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse – Janusz Kaminski

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

Best Costume Design
Anonymous – Lisy Christl
The Artist – Mark Bridges
Hugo – Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre – Michael O'Connor
W.E – Arianne Phillips

Best Film Editing
The Artist – Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants – Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball – Christopher Tellefsen

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Texas Rangers Close Deal On Yu Darvish

2012-01-18T16:11:00.000-06:00

I will let the link below provide the grit of the story, but my only two opinions on this turn of events are this:
1. I haven't seen many of Darvish's games in Japan, so I don't really know if he can live up to the potential people are wanting. However, I have to trust the Rangers front office and scouting department that they knew what they were getting themselves into.
2. It's only been a few weeks of this and I'm already tired of the bad Yu jokes. I don't know if I can make it six years listening to cringe-worthy puns.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/01/yu-darvish-texas-rangers-contract/1

Now I've Had The Tour Of My Life

2012-01-17T16:58:00.000-06:00

No, I never felt this way before. Yes I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you.
That's goes out to my buddy Brad (in the most heterosexual way possible) for taking my wife and me on a tour of the Ballpark in Arlington where the Texas Rangers play home games. We saw all sorts of things you just don't get to see during the season as a normal fan, such as the media room, press conference room, batting cages, basement tunnels where the players and umpires enter and exit the field, player's parking lot, weight room (although we couldn't go in for legal reasons), Rangers Hall of Fame, and plenty more. We even got to go out on the field and sit in the Rangers dugout. Doing the "Wash" exactly where the manager sits during games was a dream come true.
Our nine-month-old son Jackson joined us on the tour, and while he will never remember the event there were some great photos of him around the stadium that should make a bag this coming Christmas that he will get the chance to look over for all time.
I really appreciate the experience and a special shout out goes to Brad for taking time on his day off (which he gets few of) to lead us around the ballpark (and for carrying Jackson half the time while Brad's sister Brandy, Joanna, and I wandered the hallways staring at all the great things there were to see).

Half Broke Horses By Jeannette Walls

2012-01-17T10:45:00.000-06:00

Her follow-up novel to the best-seller The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls's Half Broke Horses presents the exciting tales of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. From life on a Texas farm breaking horses at the age of 6 to teaching destitute children in the smallest of towns and running a gigantic ranch, Smith's story is a triumphant one. She overcame poverty to make a happy existence for herself, never letting bad times get her down. The woman's outlook on life was, "When God closes a window, He opens a door. But it's up to you to find it."
While Half Broke Horses doesn't amount to the same level of astonishment as to what the author had to go through growing up the way she did in The Glass Castle, this book does have a great insight into life for an independent, tough-as-nails woman growing up in the early 1900s. If you haven't read either book, I recommend starting with Half Broke Horses as it will give you a glimpse into the author's father, Rex Walls, as well as some background of what the author's mother's childhood was like. Both are great books, but if I had to recommend only one it would be The Glass Castle. However, Half Broke Horses is a great, easy read for all lovers of American history and stories about personal triumph.

Through My Eyes By Tim Tebow

2012-01-12T14:44:00.001-06:00

Getting a little too much insight into every game he ever played in college, the book Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow is an adequate book that covers the life of a fascinating sports story. If you haven't heard of the polarizing Denver Broncos quarterback, then what rock have you been living under.
Tebow is an inspiration to young people and Christians everywhere, but has sport pundits shaking their heads stating he can't compete at this level and should be moved to a different position as he mounts another (and another) miracle drive to win games late. Tebow's accomplishments every Sunday has supporters puzzled at how he works his magic, giving fans all the same response to those who say he shouldn't be a starter in that Tebow "just wins games."
His book follows the Heisman winner's story from before his birth until after his rookie season in the NFL, with insightful thoughts from Tebow himself about his faith and how it applied to every single moment in his life. Overall I give the book a B- as I like what he has to say about his faith and where his wisdom and understanding of the Lord comes from, but the middle half of the book about his days at the University of Florida are meticulously detailed. Not being a fan of the Florida Gators, it was not overly interesting to hear about each week's game and what it took to win (or sometimes lose) against every opponent. Some of the highlights from each season could have been touched upon and dissected with how his faith was tested or upheld through those few moments, but it just wasn't necessary to read every single game's outcome and what he did in those games. I'm not going to say that it was all put in there to be self-congratulating, but it did seem unnecessary.
Tebow's story is a really great one to hear about and I think he is a genuine guy. I believe that even more so after reading his book, but without the Florida Gators play-by-play documentation it would have been a more enjoyable read overall.

Top Movies By Decade: Part 3 – "Here's looking at you, kid."

2012-01-10T15:20:00.003-06:00

Author’s Note: I apparently did this in July of 2009 but didn’t list my top ten favorites. It simply had my favorite film and then a few honorable mentions that would have been in the top five.

I started a series of lists that rank my top ten favorite movies by decade. I started with the 1920s and will be working my way toward the new millennium.
To compile this list, I took my ranked films from IMDb, which I grade after every movie viewing, and sorted them from highest to lowest. Then looking at each movie in each decade I came up with my favorite ten.
I have included some honorable mentions to show what the top ten were up against. We will continue with the 1940s.

1940s
Honorable Mentions: The Philadelphia Story (1940), Rebecca (1940), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and Bicycle Thieves (1948)

10. Gilda (1946) – One of the most sensuous characters in movie history, Rita Hayworth oozes sex as the femme fatale title character. Not earning any major award nominations, Gilda is a great mix of tense film noir and hard-edged romance drama with powerful performances from Hayworth and Glenn Ford. Another memorable moment of the movie is Hayworth’s performance (although dubbed by Anita Ellis) during “Put the Blame on Mame.” Although not an award show darling film, critics showed a great liking for the movie and it has increased its legacy through references and being featured in other films since its debut.

9. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – Considered one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, as a stand-alone feel-good drama, Miracle on 34th Street is an audience favorite that shouldn’t be overlooked. Edmund Gwenn gives one of the most convincing performances of all time as the questionable Kris Kringle. Winning Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gwenn), Best Original Story Writing, and Best Screenplay, the film was also up for Best Picture. The American Film Institute included it on the 100 Cheers and 10 Top 10 Fantasy lists. Miracle on 34th Street was also nominated to AFI’s 100 Movies, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition, and 100 Scores lists. In 2005, the Library of Congress selected this film to its National Film Registry for preservation due to it being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

8. Double Indemnity (1944) – Written by detective fictionist Raymond Chandler and director Billy Wilder, this is a paramount example of the film noir genre, setting the standard for decades as to what a gritty crime story should look like. The original story the film is based on was involved in a multi-studio bidding war but wouldn’t be made for eight years after the Hays Office sent out a warning to not make the film due to its “low tone and sordid flavor” that would harden the impressionable audience members. While garnering high praise from critics, Double Indemnity received seven Oscar nominations but lost in all categories. The film entered the National Film Registry in 1992 and was among AFI’s 100 Movies and 100 Movies Anniversary winners. Having to contend with two legends of the screen in Edward G. Robinson and Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck portrays the cold-hearted wife who wants her husband dead for the insurance money with magnificent effect.

7. The Maltese Falcon (1941) – While Double Indemnity set one of the standards that all film noirs would be compared to, John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon is considered the first major work in the genre. Bogart’s representation of the hard-hearted, quick-witted, morally ambiguous detective Sam Spade, Mary Astor as his femme fatale, and Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut, rounding out the characters couldn’t be more perfectly cast. Like another movie included later on this list, the cinematography was ground-breaking at the time. Accomplishing a rare feat in film, this of The Maltese Falcon is actually the third version to be made. The original was released ten years prior to the Hays Code preventing such lewd material from reaching the silver screen and the second, more light-hearted comedy version was released in 1946 under the title Satan Met a Lady. The Maltese Falcon received three Oscar nominations in the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay categories with no wins acquired, was among the inaugural selections to the Library of Congress National Film Registry, and has been hailed as one of the greatest films of all time by critic Roger Ebert and Entertainment Weekly. Among its many other praises from critics and film groups alike, AFI has included this film among its 100 Films, 100 Thrills, 100 Quotes, 100 Films Anniversary Edition, and 10 Top 10 Mystery lists, and it was also nominated for AFI’s 100 Heroes and Villains twice and a second dialogue line for 100 Quotes.

6. The Third Man (1949) – Another film noir to make this list, albeit one from Britain cinema, this Orson Welles-starring, Carol Reed-directing murder mystery sets a perfect tone with its brilliant performances, moody tone and cinematography, and unforgettable music, created with only a zither. All aspects of the film come together to give it the right touch of drabness that personifies post-World War II Vienna. The Third Man received the top prizes at that year’s Cannes Film Festival and British Academy Awards, as well as receiving an Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography. In 1999, the British Film Institute selected it as the best British film of the 20th century. Total Film magazine ranked it the fourth best film of all time. It has also made many AFI lists, including 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Heroes and Villains, and 10 Top 10 Mystery. It also received nominations on AFI’s 100 Quotes, 100 Scores, and 100 Movies Anniversary Edition lists. There is also a Third Man Museum in Vienna dedicated to the movie.

5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – If you haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life yet, stop what you’re doing right now, go to your local Blockbuster (if you can find one), and rent this movie. Forget that it’s generally considered a Christmas movie. Certainly it belongs in the pantheon of holiday favorite films, but it is also a heartfelt and inspiring tear-jerker of a movie. Directed by the iconic Frank Capra, whose filmmaking career garnered a total of 53 Oscar nominations and 14 wins including two Best Picture and three Best Director statues, It’s a Wonderful Life stars James Stewart as George Bailey, who when attempting to commit suicide on Christmas Eve is shown by his guardian angel Clarence what impact George has made because of his existence. Initially a financial disappointment, time has been kind to the feature, with it topping AFI’s most inspirational films list. Other AFI lists acknowledging the importance of It’s a Wonderful Life include 100 Movies, 100 Passions, twice on 100 Heroes and Villains, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition, and 10 Top 10 Fantasy. At the Academy Awards, It’s a Wonderful Life received five nominations, but won none of them. The Library of Congress included the movie among its 1990 inductees to the National Film Registry and for decades it has topped many favorite film lists among national and international media outlets. Seneca Falls holds a It’s a Wonderful Life festival every December, opened The Hotel Clarence named after the guardian angel, and recently opened a It’s a Wonderful Life Museum.

4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) – Another John Huston/Humphrey Bogart collaboration, this is one of the first American films to be shot almost entirely on location outside the United States. The source of one of the most misquoted film lines of all time, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre exemplifies the moral descent mankind will tailspin into when greed and distrust creep into a friendship. Huston won the Academy Award for directing and writing. Walter Huston, the director’s father, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor the same year. It was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost. Director Stanley Kubrick listed The Treasure of the Sierra Madre as his fourth favorite movie of all time. AFI recognized the movie by placing it on its 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Quotes, and 100 Movies Anniversary lists. It also received nominations on the 100 Heroes and Villains and 100 Scores lists. In 1990, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was selected to the National Film Registry.

3. The Great Dictator (1940) – In Charlie Chaplin’s first true “talkie,” the legendary filmmaker wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the first major motion picture to satirize Nazism and Adolph Hitler, resulting in a masterpiece of film. The Great Dictator was also Chaplin’s greatest financial success. The film’s out-of-character plea regarding war and oppression is one of the most moving moments this form of art has ever captured on celluloid. It was winless in five categories at the Academy Awards, losing in Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Outstanding Production. The Library of Congress included The Great Dictator in its 1997 class to the National Film Registry. It was ranked at 37 on AFI’s 100 Laughs list.

2. Citizen Kane (1941) – Six sentences isn’t enough to extol the litany of great things Orson Welles’s directorial debut provided the history of cinema. A few of the innovations Citizen Kane provided for the film industry include narrative techniques, cinematography, camera angles, use of shadow and light, and experimentation with editing and sound. To be blunt, it completely changed the way movies were watched. A critical darling when first released, the movie did not do well at the box office, but since then it has frequently topped Best Of lists, including AFI’s 100 Movies and 100 Movies Anniversary lists, Sight & Sound, Editorial Jaguar, FIAF Centenary List, France Critics Top 10, Cahiers du cinéma 100 films pour une cinémathèque idéal, Kinovedcheskie Russia Top 10, Romanian Critics Top 10, Time Out Magazine Greatest Films, and Village Voice 100 Greatest Films. Citizen Kane was among the National Film Registry’s inaugural group in 1989. It received nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography, but ended up winning only in the Best Original Screenplay category.

1. Casablanca (1942) – The winner of three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing, Casablanca has become a legendary film due to its flawless characters and memorable dialogue. Shot in sequence due to only half the script being completed at the start of filming, the movie reunites The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre with Ingrid Bergman, Claude Raines, and Paul Henreid. While not a true film noir, the movie does implement many of director Michael Curtiz’s lighting and camera styles to give it a brooding tone. Casablanca expertly combines elements of romance, drama, suspense, and humor resulting in a classic for audiences of both sexes and all ages. Due to its wide audience appeal, the film finds itself on countless lists of great films. Along with the three Oscars it received, it was nominated in another five categories. In its first year of induction, the National Film Registry included Casablanca amongst the films deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The Writers Guild of America deemed the screenplay the best of all time. AFI repeatedly have selected Casablanca to its 100 Years lists, including 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Passions, 100 Heroes and Villains, 100 Songs, 100 Quotes (with six lines making it on the list), 100 Cheers, and 100 Movies Anniversary.

Despite restrictions from the Hays Office and having to endure budget cuts due to the war, Hollywood was still able to make some remarkable movies that have endured and become greater as time marches on. Some of the most memorable and paramount films were produced during this period. Legends of the big screen struck it big in this decade and are still considered the most identifiable products of Tinseltown to this day. With the advent of television, the decline of the studio system, and the unclear threats of a Cold War, Hollywood would never again see the height of theater attendance as it did during the 1930s and 40s.

Finally, Some Modern Art I Can Get Behind

2012-01-06T15:32:00.001-06:00

Not really understanding or ever enjoying what is considered normal, classical art, it has been impossible for me to get modern art. Painting a red square on a blue canvass or reconstructing an outhouse from the mid 1800s but installing the latest Japanese toilet technology isn't art in my opinion. As Muppet Sam the Eagle would put it, "You are all weirdos!"
However, recently doing some research on my favorite movies by decade unearthed a project from two bloggers from the Walker Art Center who are deconstructing a single frame from every 62 seconds of film from the 1949 movie The Third Man. The two will be analyzing each frame twice a week until they reach the end of the movie. The project began last year and is expected to wrap up in December.
The project is called Still Dots and will consist of 102 blog posts. The blog can be found at http://blogs.walkerart.org/filmvideo/category/still-dots/.
To most this sounds like an epic waste of time, which normally I would argue isn't all modern art an epic waste of time, but since I'm a nut about movies this interests me ... a lot. I will be spending the next year anticipating every Tuesday and Thursday post, getting two people's perspectives on one of the greatest movies of all time. If you have seen The Third Man and loved it like I do, please visit the site and see what it is all about. If you have deprived yourself so far by not viewing this movie yet, go check it out. It is not only worth the 104 minutes of your life that it will take to watch the movie in one sitting, but it will be worth then visiting the Still Dots blog and analyzing the movie frame by frame.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2012-01-04T17:09:00.000-06:00

Not counting the second installment of the Mission: Impossible movies (which is a big pile of goat manure), the series is quite thrilling. While the first is my favorite and the third comes in second place for me, the latest offering, Ghost Protocol, is an action-packed, insanely over-the-top spy thriller with stunning action-sets and awe-inspiring scenery of Budapest and Dubai.
Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise's character and star of the Mission: Impossible series, has gradually morphed into an Americanized version of James Bond. He knows everything, can do anything, has a gadget for all scenarios, and always supplies a witty retort in whatever situation he finds himself. Ghost Protocol is likely the most 007-like of all the movies yet as Hunt and his team globe trot from the Kremlin in Moscow to the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai to a wealthy Indian mansion in Mumbai, encountering along the way the most attractive of people the world has to offer.
Ghost Protocol stars Cruise, Jeremy Renner (who is believed to be the heir apparent for when Cruise decides to step away from the franchise), Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Michael Nyqvist. Pegg returns from the third film and is likely known for his roles in the 2009 Star Trek reboot or the zombie-comedy Shaun of the Dead. Brad Bird, director of Pixar favorites The Incredibles and Ratatouille, makes his live-action directorial debut.
As long as you are willing to suspend all disbelief, leaving no room for doubt that the human race has limitations to pain or technological advancement, Ghost Protocol is a two-hour-long action sequence that forgoes story or characterization for intense fights, mind-blowing explosions, and infeasible stunts. The solo climb outside the Burj Khalifa tower and a rousing battle in an automated multi-level parking garage are alone worth the admission price.
The Mission: Impossible movies will never be serious award contenders (excluding the possibility of visual and sound effects praise), but what they deliver in cheap stimulation and heart-racing good times is what the audience should be wanting from this kind of movie. And in my estimation, Ghost Protocol delivers on a grandiose scale.

Ulysses By James Joyce

2012-01-03T16:01:00.001-06:00

Having spent countless hours reading and unknown time limits re-reading the so-called masterpiece Ulysses, I can now say I have finished the toughest novel I've ever had the displeasure to lay eyes on. Ignoring that the plot itself is painfully boring, the narrative styles are nearly impossible to follow.
If you haven't read the book then a tiny glimpse into the torture that is Ulysses is that the final chapter is eight paragraphs long over about 40 pages with absolutely no punctuation. You read that correctly. For 40-something pages you have to constantly decipher stream-of-consciousness narrative with no end and no beginning in between paragraphs. A "well" could be well or we'll, but you have to read the line through to figure out if it is necessary to go back and re-read it so that it makes some sort of logical sense.
Should you happen to attempt reading this novel, all I can say is good luck. You are going to need it. I suggest getting a copy of Cliff Notes to help you understand what the heck is going on.

2012: The Year Of Apocalarious

2012-01-03T11:05:00.000-06:00

There are only 353 days left until the world ends (according to the Mayan calendar). How will you spend your final months on Earth?

Happy Holidays

2011-12-28T12:19:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not one of those people who is attempting to include all religious holidays in my title greeting. I simply am late in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and early with a Happy New Year message. Simply saying "Happy Holidays" encompasses all the season tidings I wish to convey.

New Brake Pads On Moby

2011-12-20T12:28:00.002-06:00

This past weekend I got in my grunge clothes and did some grease work in the garage. The brakes on Moby D (my 2000 Toyota Camry) were grinding as I had gone way too long with changing my pads. The main reason for going so long in having my car maintained was due to lack of funds to pay for the service. So I decided to save some money and use my big brain to accomplish something that many men (some better, some not) have seemed to figure out on their own. Therefore, I changed the two front brake pads on my car all by myself. I needed a little assistance from my father-in-law as he had to provide a set of sockets because my set didn't go large enough to take off a bolt I was having some trouble with.
Overall, the process wasn't that difficult and from now on I will be changing brake pads on my own and my wife's car. It feels really good to accomplish something that before doing you thought was some special auto garage secret. I also changed out the wipers on Moby and tried to fix the CD player (when I insert the disc the player can't seem to read anything and then spits the disc back out 15 seconds later). I will have to either have someone look at the CD player or buy a used player to replace mine.
Moby has returned to running smooth, which is a good thing as I have to keep that car in tip-top shape until Emery turns 16 and needs her first car. That is only 12 years from now.

Top Movies By Decade: Part 2 – "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

2011-12-15T17:09:00.003-06:00

Author's Note: I apparently did a similar list in July of 2009 but didn’t include my top ten favorites. It simply had my favorite film and then a few honorable mentions that would have been in the top five.
I've started a series of lists that rank my top ten favorite movies by decade. I started with the 1920s and will be working my way toward the new millennium.
To compile this list, I took my ranked films from IMDb, which I grade after every movie viewing, and sorted them from highest to lowest. Then looking at each movie in each decade I came up with my favorite ten.
I have included some honorable mentions to show what the top ten were up against. We will continue with the 1930s.

1930s
Honorable Mentions: M (1931), The Thin Man (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and Wuthering Heights (1939)

10. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – Watching this movie for the first time was a seminal moment in my life as it helped me realize the individual soldier my country is at war with doesn’t necessarily have the same ideals as what we are led to believe when fighting whomever. Often our enemy is a scared, disillusioned boy who got wrapped up in the idea of patriotism and is now trapped in a war he regrets joining. All Quiet on the Western Front illustrates the realism of what a human being went through during World War I. It received instant praise from critics and audiences alike, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and receiving nominations for Best Writing and Best Cinematography as well. It has since made many lists for best film, including the American Film Institute’s 100 Years 100 Movies and 10 Top 10 lists. It was also selected in 1990 to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

9. Grand Illusion (1937) – Feeling like a prison escape movie but having overtones that deal with social classes and race relations, Le grande illuision, or Grand Illusion, is unique in that it is a war film with no battle scenes. Set during World War I, the film follows a group of French soldiers trying to escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp. As well as being named by critics as one of the great masterpieces of French cinema and ranking at #35 in Empire magazine’s The 100 Best Films of World Cinema in 2010, Grand Illusion was honored by director Orson Wells when he stated it was one of the films he would take with him “on the ark.” Despite winning Best Artistic Ensemble at the Venice Film Festival, the movie was banned in both Germany, for obvious reasons, and France, so as not to lower soldiers’ morale.

8. Bringing Up Baby (1938) – Screwball comedies are a mixed bag for me because I sometimes can’t get past the implausible situations the characters find themselves in, but Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant give such sharp performances in Bringing Up Baby that the entire plot seems to flow effortlessly. Considered a failure when initially released and leading theater owners to label Hepburn “box office poison,” its popularity has grown to become one of the most memorable of the screwball comedy genre. AFI placed it on its 100 Movies, 100 Laughs, 100 Passions, 100 Quotes, and 100 Movies 10th Anniversary lists. Bringing Up Baby had an influence on comedy films later in the decade.

7. It Happened One Night (1934) – You might be scratching your head after I made the proclamation about screwball comedies not being my favorite genre of film and then I list another such movie in the very next spot, but this Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Frank Capra hit is a special kind of movie. It Happened One Night was the first to win the “Big Five” of Oscar (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay), which has only happened three times in Academy Award history. The film was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress in 1993. It was also selected to AFI’s 100 Movies, 100 Laughs, 100 Passions, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition, and 10 Top 10 lists.

6. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – This was the pioneering first full-length animated feature production from Walt Disney Studios that resulted in a string of cartoon classics that have lasted decades and entertained countless children. The American Film Institute listed it as one of two animated movies in its 100 Movies list, the only animated film in its 10th Anniversary list and later named it the greatest American animated film of all time. AFI also listed the film among its 100 Heroes and Villains and 100 Songs lists. In 1989, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the United States National Film Registry. Prior to being a box office smash, the film premiered to a standing ovation from numerous Hollywood celebrities and a week later Walt Disney and the seven dwarfs made the cover of Time magazine. During its original theatrical run, it was the most financially successful film up to that time. Disney received an Academy Honorary Award for providing a “significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field.”

5. Stagecoach (1939) – The first of many westerns directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, and featuring Monument Valley, Stagecoach is a thrilling adventure with memorable performances and has influenced directors for decades. During his time directing Citizen Kane, Orson Welles claims to have watched this movie about 40 times, claiming it is a perfect textbook of filmmaking. It won Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Music and was nominated in five other categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. Ford did end up winning for Best Director at the New York Film Critics Awards. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1995 and AFI listed it among its 100 Movies and 10 Top 10 westerns lists.

4. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – The quintessential idea of how film can take its viewer to a fantastical new world while never leaving their seat in the movie theater or couch at home, The Wizard of Oz combines the use of special effects, Technicolor, musical hits, and standout characters to create one of the most beloved motion pictures of all time. Due to being such an expensive production, the film started out as a box office failure, however, it went on to receive encouraging reviews, two Academy Awards wins, and numerous nominations including Best Picture of the year, losing to a movie yet to be mentioned on this list. The Wizard of Oz, thanks to annual telecasts beginning in 1956, has become the most-watched film in history and is often among the highest ranked movies in critics’ polls. It made the AFI lists 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Heroes and Villains, 100 songs (twice), 100 Quotes (three times), 100 Musicals, 100 Cheers, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition, and 10 Top 10 Fantasy. Other notable honors include rankings in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Maverick Movies, Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Greatest Films, The Village Voice’s 100 Best films of the 20th Century, Sight & Sound’s Greatest Film Poll of Directors, Total Film’s 100 Greatest Films and 23 Weirdest Films lists, and The Observer’s 50 greatest film soundtracks. It was selected to the National Film Registry its first year of eligibility in 1989.

3. Frankenstein (1931) – Launching the career of Boris Karloff as the Monster, Frankenstein is a historic film that, along with the help of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, helped launch Universal’s monster movie genre popular until the late 50s. The titular monster is portrayed as a hapless individual who is more of a misunderstood creature than the horrifying villain of the book. Considered to be one of the best movies of the year, Frankenstein was received to universal acclaim and is ranked among AFI’s 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, and 100 Quotes lists. It also ranked on The New York Times Best 1000 Movies Ever list, Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments list, and is among the Chicago Film Critics Association’s scariest films ever made. The United States National Film Registry selected it for preservation in 1991.

2. Gone With the Wind (1939) – An epic that rivals all epic films, producer David O. Selznick and director Victor Fleming made a movie that garnered 10 Academy Awards, a record at the time, and won the Best Picture Oscar in a year that is considered the greatest individual season of filmmaking ever that included such nominees as Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights. The movie premiere was such a big event, it was shown at the end of a three-day climax of festivities in Atlanta, which included a parade of limousines featuring stars from the film, false antebellum fronts on stores and homes, and a costume ball. Becoming the highest-grossing film of all time and holding the position until 1966, Gone With the Wind was the longest running American sound film made up to that point, coming in at 3 hours 44 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. When inflation is taken into account, it still holds the record for most money earned in theaters. The AFI listed it fourth on its 100 Movies and 10 To 10 Epic, second on its 100 Passions and 100 Film Scores, first, 31st, and 59th, on its 100 Quotes, 43rd on its 100 Cheers, and sixth on its 100 Movies Anniversary lists. This classic was among the inaugural films to be deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.

1. King Kong (1933) – Being filmed nearly 80 years ago, shooting in black-and-white, and use of stop-motion animation, this monster adventure film still stands up today as an exciting story with sentiment running throughout. Not the first movie to follow a formula of having a scientist or explorer test a theory in some strange, new land only to discover a monstrous aberration, with its solid casting, impressive animation, and striking soundtrack, King Kong is now a legendary Hollywood icon with unforgettable scenes at the top of the Empire State Building and battling a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Among the many accolades, AFI included it among its 100 Movies, 100 Thrills, 100 Passions, 100 Quotes, 100 Film Scores, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition, and 10 Top 10 Fantasy lists. In 1991, King Kong was preserved by the Library of Congress in its National Film Registry.

The year 1939 is considered to be the most outstanding 365 days in Hollywood's history, with releases including Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach (all of which make my top ten list), Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Mice and Men, and other fabulous motion pictures. Coupled with other great titles that made their way to theaters throughout the decade, the 1930s is one of the most celebrated decades regarding the film industry.

A Facelift

2011-12-13T15:34:00.000-06:00

While recently going through my archive of posts and labeling most of the entries to make things easier on myself if I want to go back and find an old post, I decided to make a few changes to the design of my blog. The template is different, I swapped where the posts and the gadgets are positioned, and I changed the font of my title. Nothing drastic, but something to give me a new look.

A Joyous And Grinchy Weekend

2011-12-12T12:12:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was both a blessing and a bummer as I received a Christmas gift early from my mom but then the Dallas Cowboys game resulted in a loss to division rival New York Giants.
The present I was given was a new bicycle. I told my mom last summer Joanna and I wanted bikes for the holidays to ride around our neighborhood and get in better shape. As good as her word, my mom delivered. Joanna and I both went out Friday night and Saturday morning to find our new bikes at local Wal-Mart and Target stores. We both selected Schwinns, Joanna's being a one-speed ladies comfort ride and mine a hybrid with 21 gears.
I have already ridden the new gift twice, despite chilly weather. My legs woke me up with a burning sensation Sunday morning after my first ride, which lasted only 15 minutes due to my heart wanting to explode from the pressure I had put it under during the excercise. This morning my legs felt much better, which is probably because my ride on Sunday was only a quick five-minute ride down the street due to the cold weather early yesterday morning.
I hope to ride my bike every day once the weather warms up, but during the winter I will try to get in a session of excercise on my new bicycle a few times a week. I still have some accessories to add like a water bottle holder and we need to buy helmets (yes, we rode without helmets this weekend), a bike rack to transport the bikes when we go camping or want to ride them at a park that is far away, and a bike carrier for Jackson to travel in.
So far, this Christmas is going great.

Really How Good (Or Bad) Is Tony Romo?

2011-11-29T14:43:00.001-06:00

As expected during my family’s Thanksgiving get-together this past week, our debates turned to Dallas Cowboys quarterback and local sports punching bag Tony Romo. I am a Romo supporter and my cousin thinks he is awful. During the discussion it was brought up about where Romo would rank in the current list of quarterbacks in the National Football League. I said easily top ten, Clint didn’t give a number but made it clear he isn’t even average (meaning he is ranked less than 16th as there are 32 starting quarterbacks; for the purpose of our discussion Peyton Manning is still considered the Indianapolis Colts quarterback), and my brother said he probably wouldn’t put Romo in the top ten (making it sound as if he is right outside of that group).
Realistically, Romo is certainly behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. After those four QBs the list will start to become more personal for every fan. The rest of the pack that is even in discussion to be among the top ten in the league include (in no particular order) Romo, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Matt Schaub, Michael Vick, Jay Cutler, and Joe Flacco. That's a total of 14 quarterbacks and three of those have to be grouped with Romo to be among the ones not good enough to be considered the top third in the sport if my brother and cousin are correct.
I have compiled some statistics from this year’s season that will show how Romo is faring among his peers. Obviously, stats alone don’t make an argument for an athlete’s merits. There are other intangibles that can’t be put onto paper that weigh in favor and against a player in the minds of the public, but this will give you an idea of how Romo’s year is going. The numbers listed include passing yardage, yards per attempt, completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions, sacks, and QB rating, both by the NFL’s standard system and ESPN’s new QBR system.
Because Peyton Manning has not played this year due to a neck injury, no stats are available for him. It should also be noted that some players like Vick, Schaub, and Cutler have missed a few games due to injury and rookie Cam Newton has been omitted from the discussion despite putting up some impressive numbers, but he has to be around for more than half a season to be considered for best in the league. After 11 games this will be a good litmus test for Romo.

Passing Yardage
Romo ranks ninth in yards with the Elite 3 (Rodgers, Brady, and Brees) taking the top three spots:
Brees – 3,689
Brady – 3,627
Rodgers – 3,475
Manning – 3,358 (4th)
Rivers – 3,211 (5th)
Stafford – 3,119 (6th)
Roethlisberger – 3,070 (8th)
Romo – 3,026
Ryan – 2,887 (10th)
Flacco – 2,737 (11th)
Schaub – 2,479 (17th)
Cutler – 2,319 (19th)
Vick – 2,193 (20th)

Yards Per Attempt
Romo is seventh in passing yardage per attempted throw:
Rodgers – 9.6 (1st)
Brady – 8.62 (2nd)
Schaub – 8.49 (3rd)
Manning – 8.35 (4th)
Brees – 8.02 (5th)
Roethlisberger – 7.97 (6th)
Romo – 7.96
Rivers – 7.66 (9th)
Cutler – 7.39 (11th)
Ryan – 7.33 (13th)
Vick – 7.31 (14th)
Stafford – 7.04 (18th)
Flacco – 6.66 (25th)

Completion Percentage
Ranked behind the Elite 3, Romo comes in at fourth:
Rodgers – 71.8%
Brees – 70.2%
Brady – 65.8%
Romo – 64.5%
Roethlisberger – 63.6% (6th)
Manning – 62.9% (8th)
Ryan – 62.4% (9th)
Stafford – 62.3% (11th)
Rivers – 61.1% (13th)
Schaub – 61% (15th)
Vick – 60.3% (19th)
Cutler – 58% (26th)
Flacco – 56% (29th)

Touchdowns
Again trailing the Elite 3, Romo is ranked fifth:
Rodgers – 33
Brady – 28
Brees – 27
Stafford – 26 (4th)
Romo – 21
Manning – 20 (6th)
Ryan – 18 (tied for 8th)
Roethlisberger – 17 (10th)
Rivers – 16 (tied for 11th)
Schaub – 15 (tied for 13th)
Cutler – 13 (tied for 15th)
Flacco – 13 (tied for 15th)
Vick – 11 (21st)

Interceptions
Despite a reputation for coughing up the ball too much, Romo has kept his picks down to only nine thus far, which is good enough for tied at 17th (a lower ranking is better):
Rivers – 17 in 419 attempts (1st)
Stafford – 13 in 443 attempts (6th)
Vick – 11 in 300 attempts (tied for 9th)
Brees – 11 in 460 attempts (tied for 9th)
Brady – 10 in 421 attempts (tied for 12th)
Manning – 10 in 402 attempts (tied for 12th)
Roethlisberger – 10 in 385 attempts (tied for 12th)
Ryan – 10 in 394 attempts (tied for 12th)
Romo – 9 in 380 attempts
Flacco – 8 in 411 attempts (tied for 20th)
Cutler – 7 in 314 attempts (tied for 24th)
Schaub – 6 in 292 attempts (tied for 27th)
Rodgers – 4 in 362 attempts (tied for 35th)

Sacks
Romo’s scrambling gets him out of a few hits every game, giving him a lower ranking at tied for 18th than other immobile quarterbacks (again, low rank is preferred):
Roethlisberger – 32 (2nd)
Rivers – 28 (tied for 4th)
Rodgers – 27 (7th)
Cutler – 23 (tied for 12th)
Ryan – 22 (tied for 14th)
Flacco – 21 (tied for 16th)
Stafford – 21 (tied for 16th)
Brady – 20 (tied for 18th)
Romo – 20
Manning – 20 (tied for 18th)
Brees – 19 (21st)
Schaub – 16 (tied for 24th)
Vick – 15 (tied for 30th)

NFL QB Rating
Romo is right behind the Elite 3 at fourth:
Rodgers – 127.7
Brady – 105.1
Brees – 103.6
Romo – 97.5
Schaub – 96.8 (5th)
Manning – 95.5 (6th)
Roethlisberger – 92.2 (7th)
Stafford – 90.7 (9th)
Ryan – 89.3 (10th)
Cutler – 85.7 (12th)
Rivers – 80.8 (20th)
Vick – 79.8 (21st)
Flacco – 78.9 (22nd)

ESPN QBR
Again, Romo comes in fourth behind the Elite 3:
Rodgers – 85.6
Brees – 79.1
Brady – 74.7
Romo – 73.1
Schaub – 66.7 (5th)
Ryan – 66.2 (6th)
Roethlisberger – 65.8 (8th)
Manning – 64 (9th)
Cutler – 59.5 (11th)
Vick – 58.1 (14th)
Flacco – 55.6 (16th)
Stafford – 54.5 (17th)
Rivers – 49.6 (19th)

In total, Romo’s rankings include three fourths, a fifth, a seventh, and a ninth, excluding the interceptions and sack rankings due to being inverted.
If you exclude all quarterbacks who have attempted less than 250 passes and rank by fewest interceptions thrown, Romo would be considered tied for ninth, with only Rodgers, Cutler, Schaub, and Flacco (listed in order of best to worst) being the quarterbacks included in this discussion of best in the league throwing fewer picks.
Utilizing the same criteria of 250 pass attempts or more and inverting the rankings of sacks taken, Romo would come in at a tie with Brady and Manning at ninth. The quarterbacks ahead of these three and in the top 10 discussion include Vick, Schaub, and Brees (listed from best to worst).
Looking at all of the information above, Romo consistently falls in the top ten. He makes the top five of more than half those rankings.
So let’s consider all the information above and find a reasonable spot for Romo to be placed among NFL quarterbacks. Obviously, Rodgers, Brady, and Brees make out the top three. Even without playing a single down this season, Peyton Manning is included in the most elite of quarterbacks. This leaves six spots left.
Roethlisberger is considered a bus driver for his offense and many don’t give him much credit for the Steelers success. I think he is a bit overrated, but two Super Bowl rings and a third trip to the championship game is one of those things you cannot rank. I would put Roethlisberger ahead of Romo at least until Romo shows more postseason success. We are down to five spots left.
Philip Rivers is having an awful season. I don’t know what is going on in San Diego, but Rivers has not lived up to the expectations his talent level gives the Chargers fan base. If Rivers continues to tank the rest of this year and shows no sign of turning things around in 2012, I will move Romo up, but for now I have to give Rivers the nod. That leaves four spots.
With a Super Bowl win on his resume, many would position Eli Manning ahead of Romo. I think Manning has a lot of skill, but like Romo, his mistakes are given the biggest headlines due to where he plays, and Manning has some really awful stinkers throughout any given season. Among the quarterbacks left in the pool, I think little Manning is the closest in competition with Romo.
Schaub is a gifted quarterback who shows signs of brilliance in a season, but those signs usually are short-lived as he is always injured. Since 2005, in the seven seasons he has been the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans, he has only stayed healthy for 16 games in four of those. His shortened seasons include 2007 (11 games played), 2008 (11), and 2011 (10). Other than a three-game absence in 2008 and last year’s season-ending injury after only six games, Romo has been a gamer, working on his sixth complete season this year and even having to tough it out through broken ribs and a punctured lung to do so. Even if Schaub is the better quarterback in mechanics, I can’t put the fragile Texan ahead of the tough Cowboy.
Like Schaub, Stafford isn’t reliable enough to complete an entire season. Stafford was put on injured reserve in both his rookie and sophomore seasons. His talent is obvious, but until he starts contributing for an entire season it is impossible to rank him higher.
I would like my team’s future if Ryan were the Cowboys quarterback. He is young, has a lot of the key components it takes to be a winner in the NFL, and seems to be improving as each season concludes. There isn’t a lot to dislike about Ryan, but when it comes down to it, I think Romo right now is the better player.
Vick isn’t a great quarterback. He is a great athlete who plays quarterback. He can make some big plays, but he also performs with reckless abandon which can result in costly mistakes. His style of play is also a recipe for injury, much like this season is showing.
Flacco, Flacco, Flacco. He isn’t flashy. He doesn’t put up gaudy numbers. He just goes and gets the job done. If he were the recipient of Super Bowl championships like Roethlisberger I might rank him above Romo, but without the skins on the wall he just isn’t good enough to be counted among the greats in the league right now.
I see a lot of Romo in what Cutler does every Sunday. You take the good with the bad. But it seems like Cutler’s bad is so much worse. He turns the ball over at a rate that would make Brett Favre proud. He was actually looking very good for the start of this season, but his injury has put things on hiatus for now. Until he shows better decision making, Cutler doesn’t crack the top 10 for me.
So my list looks something like this:
1a. Tom Brady
1b. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Peyton Manning
5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Philip Rivers
7. Tony Romo
8. Eli Manning
9. Matt Schaub
10. Matthew Stafford
11. Mat Ryan
12. Michael Vick
13. Joe Flacco
14. Jay Cutler

Top Movies By Decade: Part 1 - "You ain't heard nothing yet!"

2011-11-22T16:18:00.000-06:00

As many of my friends know, I am a movie freak. I have seen thousands of movies numerous times and love all genres of film. While bored at work today, I decided to rank my favorite movies by decade and post them in a series.
To compile this list, I took all of the ranked films from my IMDb account, which I grade after every movie I see, and sorted them from highest to lowest. I then looked at every movie in each decade and came up with my favorite ten.
I have included some honorable mentions for each decade to show what the top ten were up against. We will begin with the 1920s.

1920s
Honorable Mention: The Kid (1921), The Navigator (1924), and Wings (1927)

10. The Jazz Singer (1927) – While finding the first movie to be filmed in color is a bit muddled, the beginning of sound pictures can be pinpointed to the Al Jolson musical The Jazz Singer. Featuring synchronized dialogue sequences, The Jazz Singer had such an immediate impact on the film industry, eccentric aviator and film producer/director Howard Hughes incorporated the new technology into his half-completed silent movie, Hell’s Angels, and converted the movie into a talkie at an increased cost. Another memorable footnote from The Jazz Singer is Jolson’s performance in blackface, which in today’s society almost always is looked upon as racist. The Jazz Singer received Academy Award nominations for Writing Adapted Screenplay and Engineering Effects and Warner Bros. production chief Darryl F. Zanuck received a special Academy Award for producing “the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry.” It is included among the group of films preserved in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) – This French silent film chronicles the imprisonment, trial, and execution of the controversial religious warrioress. What makes The Passion of Joan of Arc such a historically important film, both in regard to textbooks and moviemaking, is how closely the script follows the trial records and the camera-work that highlights the actors facial expressions through close-ups. Richard Einhorn’s soundtrack to the film, titled Voices of Light, is also a powerfully chilling score that accentuates the gripping performances, which are made even more eerie by actors with no makeup applied. The Passion of Joan of Arc has consistently made it on (credible) top ten lists, including Sight & Sound magazine and the Village Voice, and is considered to contain one of the greatest performances on film of any era from Renée Jeanne Falconetti.

8. Safety Last! (1923) – The most lasting image from this silent romantic comedy is star Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock several stories up on a skyscraper. Besides the impressive stunts Lloyd does throughout the final sequence climbing a 12-story building, the comedic bits are also a hoot-and-a-half. Unlike some movies in this list that were panned by critics to begin with and later found a cult following that grew to become sincere appreciation, Safety Last! was a critical and financial success and is still a hit at revivals. It was selected in 1994 to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

7. Battleship Potemkin (1925) – This is a dramatization of the 1905 mutiny by the crew of the Russian Battleship Potemkin against its czarist regime. However, it is not simply a propaganda film from Sergei Eisenstein, but an experiment in the art of montage. Eisenstein wanted to edit the film in such a way as to invoke sympathy for the rebels and abhorrence for the upper class. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you might have seen its most famous scene, which is of the czar’s soldiers marching in unison down the Odessa Steps and firing into the crowd, killing men, women, and children at random. Eisenstein’s montage theory is executed flawlessly in the Odessa Steps scene, creating some today to believe the made-for-film scene was a historically accurate event. Along with being one of the finest propaganda films ever, The Battleship Potemkin has garnered praise for more than 85 years as one of the greatest films of all time. Empire magazine listed it at #3 in its 100 Best Films of World Cinema in 2010.

6. The General (1926) – Originally panned by critics and a flop at the box office, The General has gone on to become one of the greatest silent-era films of all time. Both thrilling and comedic, Buster Keaton’s stunts and direction are still compelling, even in today’s action-heavy movie world. Keaton was not only the star, but also contributed to writing, editing, producing, and directing the picture as well. Despite its poor financial run, thus resulting in Keaton having to abandon his dream to be an independent filmmaker and enter into a restrictive contract deal with MGM, it has since gained much favor with both critics and audiences. The American Film Institute celebrated The General on both its 100 Laughs and 100 Films 10th Anniversary Edition lists. The National Congress included it among the first selections in 1989 to the National Film Registry.

5. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) – The first ever Academy Award winner for Unique and Artistic Production, which the next year would be combined with another category to become the Best Picture award, Sunrise was an American production from director F.W. Murnau in the style of German Expressionism, which features distorted art design for symbolic effect. The silent film used few title cards and experimented in long tracking shots, with the longest ever being filmed up to that point at more than four minutes for one take. Sunrise was immediately loved and was nominated in four categories at the Academy Awards, winning three Oscars for best actress, best cinematography, and best picture. It was also among the original films included in the National Film Registry, Sight & Sound magazine’s critics’ poll for Top 10 best films ever made, and the American Film Industry’s Top 100 Passions film list.

4. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) – Being one of the most influential German Expressionist movies and among the earliest examples of executing the frame story in film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari also introduced another aspect of film that is highly common today, which I am not going to state here as it will spoil some of the movie for those who have yet to see it. The art design of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is unique in that shadows and light were painted directly on the sets’ walls, floors, and backgrounds. This movie inspired directors for decades afterward, is considered to be among the first horror films, and had a great influence on the genre film noir.

3. Nosferatu (1922) – Another exceptional example of German Expressionism in the 1920s, Nosferatu is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, resulting in the bankruptcy of the company as Stoker’s estate sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement. Even to this day, Max Schrek’s Count Orlock, substituting for the more famous Count Dracula, is one of the most horrifying and iconic portrayals of a vampire. In a time where vampires are written to be sexy, misunderstood creatures who only want to find true love among the humans instead of utilizing our species like cattle for their unending bloodlust, it is Schrek’s ghastly makeup and eerie performance that reminds us vampires were originally created to be our enemy. In 2010, Empire magazine listed Nosferatu at number 21 among its 100 Best Films of World Cinema.

2. The Gold Rush (1925) – Any list of early cinema is not complete without a Charlie Chaplin film, and this one isn’t going to be the last in my rankings. Not only starring as his Little Tramp character, who debuted in 1914 and continued to star in silent movies until 1936’s Modern Times, but also writing, producing, and directing, some of Chaplin’s most memorable sequences can be found in The Gold Rush, including the roll dance. The Gold Rush is the fifth highest grossing silent film and the most successful silent comedy in cinema history. The American Film Institute includes The Gold Rush among its 100 Movies (at #74), 100 Laughs (#25), and 100 Movies 10th Anniversary Edition list (#58). It was also selected to the National Film Registry for preservation in 1992.

1. Metropolis (1927) – German filmmakers knew what they were doing in the 20s as this is the fourth Expressionist film to be in the top four of my best of the decade list. A dystopian study of social upheaval between the workers and owners of capitalism set in a science-fiction world, Metropolis is the most expensive silent film ever made, and its lavishness can be appreciated in each viewing. The film is still impressive, even by today’s standards, in its art direction and special effects. Following its premiere in Germany, Metropolis was drastically altered and many never saw the same footage or at the correct speed (as not all movies were filmed at 24 frames per second like they are today) that director Fritz Lang intended. Until 2008, a portion of the film was believed lost, but a copy of the original film was discovered in Argentina. Despite being a classic today, when it was initially released Metropolis was not the darling of the silent era like it is now. Ranked 12th in Empire magazine’s list of the Best 100 Films of World Cinema, it came in second in a list of the greatest movies of the silent era.

The 1920s is easily one of the weaker decades in film history, but that is not really the fault of the filmmakers of the era. As technology improved, so did the movies. People today find it very hard to sit through silent movies that don’t explain everything to them through dialogue. In the 20s, movies were still learning what could and couldn’t be done, and with the discovery of sound on film with 1927’s The Jazz Singer the medium changed forever. While this decade is probably my least favorite when it comes to all movies made during that time period, the ones on this list are among some of the best and most iconic in all of film history.

Stanley Kubrick: A Life Of Films

2011-11-21T14:52:00.002-06:00

Recently I watched Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and with how much I enjoy that film I realized there were at least three others off the top of my head that I liked even more from director Kubrick (and it ends up it is really four). I then considered how few feature films Kubrick made in his career (13 total; a miniscule amount compared to other legendary filmmakers like John Ford [140], Alfred Hitchcock [53], Woody Allen [45 thus far], and Steven Spielberg [32 thus far]) and how vast the genres were. His filmography includes war, history epic, dark comedy, science fiction, period piece drama, and horror.
Listed below is my ranking from worst to best of Kubrick's films.

13. Fear and Desire (1953)
12. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
11. Barry Lyndon (1975)
10. Killer's Kiss (1955)
9. Lolita (1962)
8. Spartacus (1960)
7. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
6. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
5. Paths of Glory (1957)
4. The Shining (1980)
3. The Killing (1956)
2. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Official Press Release Held For Bond 23

2011-11-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

The new title and additional cast and crew information was released today for what has been known as Bond 23. The following is the official press release from the regular Bond team:

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today presented the cast of the 23rd James Bond adventure, titled Skyfall. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. Skyfall, which goes into production on Monday, November 7, will begin its worldwide roll-out in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 26, 2012, and in North America on November 9, 2012.
Joining Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Director Sam Mendes were members of the cast of Skyfall, including: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, and Berenice Marlohe. The filmmakers also announced Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, and Ben Whishaw.
In Skyfall, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
"We're so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct Skyfall and be working once again with Daniel Craig. We've a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure," said Wilson and Broccoli.
The director of photography is Roger Deakins, a nine-time Oscar nominee who previously shot the films Jarhead and Revolutionary Road for Mendes. The production designer is Oscar winner Dennis Gassner, who previously designed Quantum of Solace and collaborated with Mendes on the films Road to Perdition and Jarhead. The editor is Stuart Baird, A.C.E., whose many credits include Casino Royale. Jany Temime, whose many credits include the Harry Potter series, In Bruges, and Children of Men, is the costume designer. Action specialist Alexander Witt is the second unit director. Gary Powell is stunt co-ordinator, Chris Corbould is SFX supervisor and Steve Begg is visual effects supervisor, all of whom have worked on previous Bond films.

Come On America!

2011-10-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

I heard today the World Series is not being watched with the same amount of interest as it has in the past when the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox are in the Fall Classic and that makes me weep a little on the inside. I know I am biased because it is my hometown favorite Texas Rangers competing for a championship, but through four games we have had some very exciting, and differing, ball games.
Game Two of the series is one for the ages as defensively we saw Elvis Andrus make a dive, scoop for an out that could be highlighted in 50 years as one of the most impressive feats of baseball ever in a World Series (notice I said "one of the most" and not "the most" because it is still fresh in our minds; I will let time decide where it falls in the annals of World Series history). This game was also decided in the final inning when the Rangers, down 1-0 going into the ninth, set up a extremely close steal by Ian Kinsler, clutch hit from Andrus that sent Kinsler to third and eventually got Andrus to second with some heads-up baserunning, and two sacrifice fly balls to take the lead from Josh Hamilton, who is already dealing with a possible sports hearnia, and Michael Young.
Game Three was a stereotypical Ballpark in Arlington affair with multiple home runs and high scores. It became almost absurd as Albert Pujols hit three homers of his own.
Game Four was the polar opposite of its predeccesor as only one long ball was driven out of the park and instead the night was a time for young, tiny-mustachioed Rangers pitcher Derek Holland to become a man as his baseball father Ron Washington sent his little boy to the mound for 8 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
Who knows what games five and six, and possibly a seventh, will bring, but what we do know is it will be highly improbable to match the drama thus far this World Series has already delivered. Here is to hoping for the highly improbable.

Packers Throwback Uniforms

2011-10-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one who think the throwback jerseys for Green Bay look awesome? They are a dark blue with a yellow circle and number in the middle of the jersey. It looks like something you would see in an NFL Films archive photo from the 60s. I just love it. Maybe it is just me.

Welcome Back

2011-10-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Last year's trip to the World Series for the Texas Rangers was a euphoric time for the DFW metroplex. Local residents and fans were all just happy to experience the thrill of competing for a championship with this baseball team that in 40 years had only experienced one playoff win ever, win or lose.
Well, things have changed in a year. Not only do we want to win it all this year, we expect a greater performance from our hometown team. And they have not disappointed. Nelson Cruz alone has put on quite the show with his big bat. He set league championship series records with six home runs and 13 RBIs. But the other members of this ball club have also shown the nation that they weren't a one-and-done team last year. This Rangers team was improved in the offseason, improved at the trade deadline, and have become a force that hopefully will be a contender for years to come.
Go Rangers!

Fall TV Interest List

2011-09-07T15:16:00.002-05:00

Lots of complaints are made about how terrible television is these days. A common statement overheard in TV talk is, “All those channels and still nothing is on.” But if you really search for something you are interested in, then chances are you will find a show that interests you.
I for one am a big fan of television right now. For the past decade or so television has become a quality medium that rivals what is seen in movie theaters. Budgets have increased, the talent level has improved , and writers are actually putting forth effort in telling season-long stories, as opposed to shows in the past where each episode’s focus was simply to entertain for that time slot and had no bearing on the next week’s plot.
In the next year, I will already be setting aside precious life hours for 14 television shows, so adding new shows each season is something I have to take seriously and can’t allow every new show that is slated for the fall season to be downloaded to my DVR. If I am going to commit to a new show, I have to be sure it is going to be something I am interested in and will entertain me for the entire season. I don’t want to get caught in a trap like I did with the CW’s Smallville where I felt obligated to continue watching until the end, long after it got bad. Although, I have become a bit more resolute with my television standards as recently I gave up on The Event and V after half a season of the former and a full season of the latter.
My current roster of shows that I will stop down for each week includes Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Dexter, Community, The Office, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, Supernatural, and psych.
Premiering this fall are six new shows I will give some attention in order to see whether they make the rotation. These include FX’s American Horror Story, AMC’s Hell on Wheels, CBS’s Person of Interest, Fox’s Terra Nova, and NBC’s newest comedies Up All Night and Whitney.
The synopsis for American Horror Story isn’t overly intriguing, which is basically that a family moves in a new home that is haunted and creepy things follow, but it is FX and they have hosted some pretty great programs in the past. Therefore I will give it a look on network cred alone. American Horror Story premieres October 5 at 10/9 central.
Hell on Wheels has been touted as a reincarnation of HBO’s Deadwood, which is the next completed series I plan to watch on DVD after I finish the one I’m currently working on. Hell on Wheels would fall under the western genre, which I love, and is on AMC, which is a network new to original programming but has already put out great ones like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The Walking Dead is also fantastic, but after only one season I want to give it a little time before giving it the same acclaim that Mad Men and Breaking Bad have garnered. Given AMC’s recent track record for programs, I will give Hell on Wheels some consideration. The program premieres November 6 at 10/9 central.
The only reason I’m willing to check out Person of Interest is because of Michael Emerson, who played Benjamin Linus on Lost. The premise is a lot like Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report, where future crimes can be prevented with technology provided by the wealthy character Emerson will portray. The series also stars Jim Caviezel as a former CIA agent hired to help stop the crimes before they happen. Person of Interest premieres September 22 at 9/8 central.
Jurassic Par … Oh, I mean Terra Nova has been in the making for a long time and will finally see the light of TV day when it begins September 26 at 8/7 central. The Shannon family is sent back in time to a colony of humans who must flee from the year 2149 due to overpopulation and poor air quality. What the Shannon family will soon find out is the colony is placed in the middle of a group of carnivorous dinosaurs.
Being a new parent myself and able to relate a little to Up All Night, Christina Applegate and Will Arnett star in this comedy as parents with a newborn baby trying to juggle work and home life. The premise isn’t too original, but the previews look funny, I am a fan of both stars, and I feel like a lot of the jokes will have been written with me in mind specifically since I am only a few months from going through the same situations. Up All Night will start September 14 at 10/9 central.
Whitney is the wildcard show for me. It probably has the shortest leash and will need to get me laughing in the first few episodes and keep it up all season long if it is going to make the cut. The show stars comedienne Whitney Cummings and will be about her real-life experiences and stand-up routines. Whitney premieres September 22 at 9:30/8:30 central.
I would also like to add Boardwalk Empire to the list, which is in its second season already, but without HBO it makes it difficult.

F-A-N-S, FANS! FANS! FANS!

2011-09-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

Yesterday’s Labor Day was spent with the wife and children at my mom’s house. The weather was so nice we left the back door open all day and let Emery and my nephew and niece run in and out at their pleasure.
With such nice weather coming and autumn being right around the corner that means it is football time. And when it is football time, it is also fantasy football time.
My softball teammate Jared is a big fantasy football nut, so we got a league together at the last minute with the wives involved. Although my wife is interested and knowledgeable in football, the three other women in the league are not. They received help from their spouses, but it will be interesting to see how this goes for 16 weeks.
Overall, my drafting went okay. I got into a bit of trouble in the early rounds with not taking a running back early, but hopefully with the talent taken in their place it will make up for it.
I had the ninth pick of the draft and here is my roster in order of the round they were taken:
1. QB – Michael Vick
2. WR – Calvin Johnson
3. WR – Vincent Jackson
4. RB – LeGarrette Blount
5. RB – Jahvid Best
6. RB – Knowshon Moreno
7. TE – Vernon Davis
8. WR – Anquan Boldin
9. RB – Marshawn Lynch
10. QB – Joe Flacco
11. WR – Mike Thomas
12. DEF – Baltimore
13. RB – Ryan Torain
14. WR – Jacoby Ford
15. WR – Antonio Brown
16. K – Matt Bryant

A few notes from the draft:
The fun in doing a live draft with your friends is enjoying the camaraderie over pizza and junk food, laughing at the bad picks, and reveling in the theft of a player one or two spots early while your buddy had his heart set on that guy. Watching someone anguish over losing a top tier pick or sleeper project they had targeted is possibly the highlight of the entire night, depending on which side of the theft you happen to be on.
We had a few of those moments last night, the funniest being when Jeff snatched Nate Burleson one pick before Jared could get him. Jared’s prolonged torment was priceless. I was on both sides of a steal. My pick of Vernon Davis was one of those types of picks, which resulted in James, who picked one spot after me, being left to fret over what to do next. I was especially happy with the Davis snatch because James had the last pick of the round, which means he then had the first pick of the following round and then I came after him. So I had the option to pass on Davis and select Anquan Boldin, who I had my eye on the entire time, needing to only wait three spots until it would be back on me. However, I knew James didn’t have a tight end yet, so I took a chance with getting Davis first and hoping he wouldn’t get Boldin with his next two picks. My planning paid off because as soon as I said Vernon Davis, James was heard huffing and puffing about what to do since Davis was gone.
Being the one who lost the opportunity to get who I really wanted happened prior to the Davis selection. It was in the third round when my brother-in-law Tony picked Frank Gore with the 28th pick of the draft. Somehow Gore had fallen that far and I didn’t have a running back yet, so Gore was a golden nugget in my eyes. Yet, Tony stole Gore from me and that put my entire draft in jeopardy.
The most prescribed draft strategy out there currently is grabbing a running back with your first pick of the draft, if not getting two running backs with the first and second picks. Some people follow that strategy to a fault, taking talented running backs who should be second- or even third-round selections over transcendent quarterbacks or wide receivers simply because they are under the belief that running backs have to be taken early.
This year I was going with the “most talented player on the board” strategy. As long as I had a spot available for him, I was taking the highest rated player on my board when it got to me, within reason. I made an alteration with the Davis, Boldin selections, but that was because of the situation. I also made exceptions as it got later into the draft because I would need extra running backs and wide receivers over back-up tight ends or a third quarterback.
Because of my strategy, at the ninth pick I was looking at Philadelphia’s quarterback Michael Vick as the best player available because all the elite running backs had been taken and Andre Johnson was also off the board. I decided to stick with my strategy of going with the best player available instead of taking a running back because the fantasy football blogger says that is what you have to do. And so, the dog-killing parolee was now the starting quarterback for team Moby D. After James took Maurice Jones-Drew and Michael Turner with back-to-back picks I was on the board at pick 12 and took Detroit’s Calvin Johnson.
In rounds three and four, I lost out on Gore and was then left with another wide receiver as the best available option for the 29th pick of the draft, so I took it and picked San Diego’s Vincent Jackson. It only took three rounds for me to panic. Since I didn’t have a running back at this point, which I didn’t think would happen but I had to live with the strategy I had implemented, I decided round four was the time to get a solid running back. The best running back on the board at that point was LeGarrette Blount of Tampa Bay. I toyed with the idea of skipping Blount and going with Peyton Hillis, who has the potential to accrue more points but is also riskier as he is more likely to injure himself because of his running style, but I stuck with my strategy and took the best player available with the 32nd pick.
Rounds five and six were used to get two more running backs. I had three choices between Detroit’s Jahvid Best, Denver’s Knowshon Moreno, and the New York Jet’s Shonn Greene. I have high hopes for Best this year so he was a lock among the three, and getting him at pick 49 was a great bit of value in my opinion. I passed on Greene and went with Moreno for the 52nd pick of the draft because I just wasn’t sure of the timeshare that Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson would get.
Rounds seven and eight were discussed earlier as that is when I stole Vernon Davis from James in round seven and followed it up with Anquan Boldin in the eighth round. They were picks 69 and 72, respectively.
In round nine, I started looking at bench players. This was also where I started to veer from the best player strategy and take what I thought was either good value or necessary because of what I had already done before. With the 89th pick I got another running back, but since Seattle is the place for players to die in the NFL, I don’t expect much from Marshawn Lynch. He could surprise me and end up producing, but I am not holding my breath. The tenth round was a reach pick because I had to find a solid back-up quarterback for Vick. The ex-con is a tremendous player and his value could be astronomical this season, but I also need to have a plan B should it not work out. I went back and forth between Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford. Both quarterbacks are projected at about the same with Stafford having a bit more potential and both quarterbacks also didn’t have a conflicting bye week with Vick. Another thing I looked at was that both of the main receivers for Baltimore and Detroit were already on my roster, so there was no advantage to getting one quarterback over another in that regard. I decided to go with Flacco because he is a little more proven and I have had him in previous seasons. He is a bit more solid of a choice and I know what I can expect from him each week.
Jared knew the dilemma I was having during this round and even wrote down Stafford’s name on a sheet of scrap paper to show that he was confident he knew what I was thinking. He ended up taking Stafford a few picks after me and said in my position with Vick as his starter he would have done the same thing in picking Flacco as his backup.
The last six rounds went by without a lot of fanfare. These final players included a defense, kicker, insurance policies should starters go down during the season, and sleepers that could have a decent season and become trade bait down the line.
Only the top four teams make the playoffs, so I will need a lot of things to go right this season in order to win the championship. But luck is as much a part of fantasy football as solid drafting and in-season waiver wire moves.

I Feel Like A Kid Again

2011-08-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

It is significant that today was the first day of the new school year for many boys and girls as I will be utilizing my brand new lunch box at work. Lately to save money I have been taking a lunch to work and it is packed in a plastic grocery bag. While that is a "green" way to reuse the bags instead of just chunking them in the trash when we get home, it is rather boring, doesn’t have much personality to it, and is what many people do already in my office.
However, now that I have a lunch box in the refrigerator at work I will know exactly which bag is mine. My lunch box is really just a green cloth cooler to keep the items inside insulated and big enough for a couple things to be stored. I hope in the future to get a retro box, possibly made of metal, with an old cartoon character on it or possibly a James Bond lunch box. That would be sweet! Maybe for Christmas.

Food Blog Is Up

2011-08-13T11:19:00.000-05:00

Joanna has completed setting up her new food blog and has a few posts already published. The website is kissacook.wordpress.com. Go check it out.

A Family Of Bloggers

2011-08-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

I am very proud of my wife. She has decided to start up a food blog. She has always been into cooking and we commonly joke that I married her simply for her cooking and the great insurance she gets with her job. While her taste buds are different than mine, she always makes a great meal. I am excited to see what she comes up with and it will make dining out a little different knowing we are critiquing the experience.
As soon as she comes up with an address for her blog I will post it here for anyone interested in food like my wife is.

Happy Birthday ...

2011-08-09T22:04:00.000-05:00

to me!
It's my 31st birthday today. Yah. Spent it celebrating my daughter's 4-year-old birthday at Pump It Up. Had fun, but my legs are killing me. Just saying, I feel 31 after jumping, running, and vaulting through bounce house obstacle courses.

Apparent Netflix Greed Doesn't Upset Me

2011-07-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

Following the recent announcement that Netflix would be hiking their subscription rates up led to massive revolts on the Internet with users screaming about the increase and threatening cancellation. As of two days later, several acted on their threats, moving to Redbox or going back to brick-and-mortar video stores like Blockbuster. I completely understand the outrage, but I’m just not a part of it and the reason is twofold.
The first reason is the pricing increase actually is going to benefit me. I have been complaining for a little while about the lack of options for streaming through Netflix and the service on my blu-ray player is very hit and miss. With Netflix raising prices for my option, which is unlimited discs through the mail one at a time and unlimited streaming, I will drop the streaming side of the service and stick with the DVDs through mail only. By changing my plan and sticking with the portion of service that I have no problem with I will be saving $2 a month from what I currently spend. Works for me.
The second reason I won’t be cancelling my service and moving to another company is that the selection of classic films is nowhere near as great as with Netflix. I can’t find silent, black-and-white, German expressionism films anywhere but Netflix and occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. Redbox’s catalogue doesn’t go further back than about 2008 and Blockbuster is lucky to have the most popular classic films, which I either own or have seen several times already.
For the service I desire, Netflix is for me. I can see why people are upset about the price increase, but it just doesn’t have the impact on me that it will for others. So for now I am sticking with Netflix.

Ranking Harry Potter Films Thus Far

2011-07-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

Prior to seeing the final installment in the Harry Potter movie universe I wanted to get down on paper my order of the first seven films.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The first two films are a little too childish for me, but they were written with pre-teens and young teens in mind. The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a great movie, but it is too much of a cliffhanger for me to vault it above some of the other great Potter movies that give closure at the end of their respective movies.
The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of all the films probably because it can stand on its own and doesn't rely heavily on the rest of the series to be a great movie. While the threat of Voldemort is still looming throughout the film and certain plot lines make more sense if the previous movies have been seen, it is not essential to watch the other films in order to enjoy The Prisoner of Azkaban.

A Pixar First

2011-07-06T15:28:00.000-05:00

After 11 marvelous, ground-breaking, history-making films, Pixar has raised its standards extremely high. From the perspective of storytelling and animation, Pixar films have been unbeatable. That is what makes the disappointment that is Cars 2 such a unique event.
I, along with several other moviegoers, have always said Cars was Pixar’s weakest movie. Therefore, making a sequel of that film always left a question mark in my mind and putting more of a focus on Mater, the stalest character of the production company’s plethora of casts, felt like a big mistake. However, it was Pixar and they had earned enough respect to be given a little latitude.
After going to the drive-in theater in Ennis last night to watch Cars 2, I can safely say it really is Pixar’s first flop. Financially it will probably still be considered a success and kids are going to love it because of the increase in action, but from the perspective of an adult viewer it was pretty unfulfilling.
I don’t have an official one-to-ten scale score for the movie as I was busy watching over a 3-year-old little girl wanting numerous snacks, pillows, and position changes in the back of our Xterra. The film was also shown in 3D, which is not ideal for a drive-in theater. I will give the film another chance where I can give it my full attention, but for now the following is my rank of the Pixar animated feature-length films.

1. The Incredibles
2. Toy Story
3. Finding Nemo
4. Up
5. WALL-E
6. Toy Story 3
7. Monsters, Inc.
8. Toy Story 2
9. Ratatouille
10. A Bug’s Life
11. Cars
12. Cars 2

Michael Bay: Menace to Moviemaking or Messiah of Masculinity

2011-07-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

Next to Uwe Boll, Michael Bay is a director most film critics and fans feel epitomize bad directing in Hollywood. His bit is to blow enough stuff up that the men in the audience are pleased and will shell out another $9 to see again the following weekend in theaters. Another M.O. of Bay’s is to feature scantily clad women who are either currently or will soon become (likely because of the popularity of Bay’s movies) a highly searched Internet queen.
As a movie fan, I am very torn on Michael Bay. I’m fully aware he is a hack at making quality pictures. Nothing he ever does will win a Best Picture Oscar. However, he is good at what he is driving at, which is entertaining the eye with spectacular visuals and non-stop thrills. Sometimes I find his antics appealing and then other times he takes it too far.
With the release of the third installment in the Transformers series, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I recently heard one critic call Bay’s latest effort his best yet. My initial thought was, “Is that really so hard?” But let’s be fair and actually take a look at the eight feature films Michael Bay has helmed as director and rank them from worst to best. I have included the year the movie was released, the IMDb rating, and my personal rating of the movie.

8.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009/5.9/3) – When I went back to look at my rating for this movie I was shocked, shocked I say, to discover how generous I was to give it three stars. I was also astonished that this wasn’t Bay’s worst rated on IMDb, but that distinction is saved for another bad movie. This movie is a complete mess. It is long, the plot makes no sense, characterization is nonexistent, and the Autobot twins are quite possibly the most annoying characters ever created for the silver screen. Normally, prior to watching a new sequel in theaters I will re-watch the previous movies in the series, but I’m not sure any amount of money or other motivation could make me sit through this garbage ever again.

7. The Island (2005/6.9/3) – This movie actually had a lot of potential, but it ended up resorting to one action set after another where the characters found themselves dangling from tall buildings or driving recklessly in hot rod futuristic vehicles. It never really explored the most appealing part of the movie, the characters’ journeys of self-realization. What should have been a great homage to “escape-from-dystopia” science-fiction films like Logan’s Run ends up like every other Michael Bay movie with explosions every 15 minutes and hot women showing off their sexy bodies.

6. Bad Boys II (2003/6.2/4) – The childish high jinks that resulted in disastrous comedy and/or gunplay from the first installment did not last in its sequel. Bad Boys II is mind-numbing and the partnership-on-the-rocks between the main characters is played out far too long. Since 1995 when the first movie came out, detectives Lowrey and Burnett have apparently been trained by CIA-level spies and their jurisdiction is just as far-reaching as the CIA. The jokes aren’t as funny as before, the drama isn’t as real as before, and the brotherhood between Lowrey and Burnett doesn’t feel the same as before. In fact, really the only thing that is better than the first is the amount of action (which ends up not being a good thing) and the level of hotness from the female cast (a Michael Bay specialty). Gabrielle Union is in a close race with Megan Fox and Kate Beckinsale for hottest sexpot in a Michael Bay movie.

5. Pearl Harbor (2001/5.5/5) – Visually spectacular middle-third, while the other two-thirds are wasted on a played-out love story. There is very little to like about this movie, but what Bay does right in it he does very well. The action sequences during the Japanese attack are amazing. This movie, which is not a good one but better than the ones listed before it, gets an extra one-point vote from me for personal reasons as my grandfather was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and therefore I feel a connection to him when watching a piece of history that gives me some sort of sense of the horrors he went through on that day, even if it is pumped full of historically inaccurate testosterone.

4. Bad Boys (1995/6.6/7) – This is where the line in the sand is drawn for me between crowd-pleasing popcorn action thrillers and illogical mess of a movie. What Bad Boys II did wrong, the first in the series got right. The comedic chemistry is spot on between the two leads. The gunfights are exciting and somewhat believable. The soundtrack is catchy. And a pre-Sopranos Michael Imperioli supporting role is quite memorable. Bad Boys is just another buddy-cop movie with new actors replacing the roles of those that had come before them, but the energy is high and everything gels together well, resulting in an enjoyable two hours of fast cars, hot women, foul-language humor, and tense action.

3. Transformers (2007/7.2/7) – Keep in mind that none of Michael Bay’s work that get positive reviews from me is actually a finely made film by industry standards. They aren’t going to win awards for acting, directing, or writing, but what they will do is entertain. Transformers, despite all of its obvious flaws, is one of those entertaining blockbusters. Maybe it is childhood nostalgia or possibly I just find fast cars morphing into killer robots appealing, but Transformers is one of those movies that anytime I see it on television I have to stop whatever I’m doing and watch. Shia LeBeouf’s shtick isn’t annoying yet. Megan Fox is an unknown hotness waiting to be discovered. Optimus Prime’s introductory transformation nearly brings a tear to the eyes of all those young men who grew up on the Hasbro toy.

2. Armageddon (1998/6.1/8) – This is the movie I think of when somebody says the name Michael Bay: ludicrously dumb plot, over-the-top scenarios that lead to explosions and mayhem, greatly timed delivery of funny lines by the cast, shoehorned love story, solid supporting characters. I never saw Deep Impact (another space impact movie like Armageddon that came out two months prior), but I have to believe it tackled deeper issues than what Bay worried about with his natural disaster snuff film. The impossibilities this movie presents as “just another day at the office for meteor-drilling astronauts” is countless, however, it is reported that NASA has prospective managers point out all the inaccuracies in the film and a total of 168 have so far been found. In other words, is this movie unbelievable? Absolutely. Does it matter? Not one bit.

1. The Rock (1996/7.3/9) – There isn’t a better example of the things Michael Bay does well than in The Rock. An obligatory car chase is included in the first half of the film. The buddy cop routine is executed well between the two main leads. Comedic lines are spot on. The pacing of each gunfight is well-timed. The story isn’t too outlandish, but still intriguing enough to peak our interest. It is no wonder that this movie is Bay’s highest rated on IMDb. It is a fun thrill-ride with lots of laughs, suspense, and memorable quotes.

Go Mavs

2011-06-12T22:18:00.001-05:00

Yeah!

Your Argument Is Invalid

2011-05-25T16:44:00.000-05:00

During some downtime at work today I was reading from about The Beatles in where an excerpt from the book Living Life Without Loving the Beatles by Gary Hall expressed the author’s general disdain for those who are considered massive Beatles fans but have no general knowledge of what good music really is, given the moniker of a Grade One. Hall doesn’t blame these people for following a massive group like The Beatles because they just don’t know any better.
In his chapter about a Grade One and how to cope with their high opinions of the Fab Four, he nullifies an argument made in favor of The Beatles with an entirely moronic premise regarding lasagna. Hall claims that by stating The Beatles are the best band ever because they sold millions upon millions of albums is like believing a Marks and Spencer pasta meal is better than one from a certain mom and pop café in Italy. This mentality is beyond ridiculous.
I’m in complete agreement that record sales does not equate to quality product. Comparing the music industry to a similarly distributed, yet differently experienced medium, just because Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace made money hand over fist does not mean it is a good movie. In fact, it is God-awful and was drafting off of the legacy that the original trilogy had built over time.
However, to compare record sales to meal sales is an apples-to-oranges argument. It is not hard to believe that a homemade dish of lasagna is going to be tastier than a frozen TV dinner version of the meal. But that homemade meal doesn’t have the same outlet to sell its dish that the store-bought version does, so therefore of course it is not going to make as much money.
Yet, all bands and musicians have the same opportunity for the world to hear their music. Sure, some lesser talented artists get better management, better recording gigs, and better publicity than others and therefore reap the benefits of more records sold than those with more music aptitude and song-writing quality, but the outlet is all the same. Musical notes are put down on vinyl/CD/Internet download/whatever, and the entire masses have an opportunity to evaluate the music for themselves. Good music will likely attract the most listeners and in turn generate more records from a particular group/singer. It is a level playing field for every musician who strives for their music to be heard.
Grandma Lucella from Milan, Italy, isn’t going to stand a chance at competing with a brand name TV dinner company. Sure, anyone who tastes her meal will undoubtedly give the thumbs up when comparing it to a Marks and Spencer product, but how can she be fairly judged when her only outlet is a small café in Milan? It is not possible to bring every person in the world to her shop for a taste of lasagna, but Marks and Spencer do have the capability to reach the masses through neighborhood grocery stores. So what about packaging the Italian café meal? Then you lose the flavor of making it in-house and therefore the product is not the same.
The lasagna argument is just not the same when comparing it to music. The Beatles certainly were lucky to hit the big time when they did and many of their songs probably came in higher on the charts because of name recognition during the middle and later parts of their group’s career, but to fairly deny The Beatles as greatest band ever is going to take a greater line of reasoning than Hall’s lasagna parable.

What To Do? What To Do?

2011-05-20T16:15:00.001-05:00

I'm freaking out over what my last movie will be before the rapture hits tomorrow at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time. My wife and I are planning to go to a movie in the early part of the day, so I have to figure out whether my final cinema-going experience will be remembered as following Jack Sparrow's swashbuckling adventures in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean picture or fulfilling my geek need with the comic book movie Thor.
But to be honest, it is the movie that I will be watching as the flames and earthquakes erupt to take me up to heaven. Should I be a good Christian person and partake in a family-friendly Pixar or Disney film like Toy Story or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or should it be something I respect as a movie aficionado like The Godfather or Citizen Kane? Of course, an entry in the James Bond franchise would certainly be suitable. I just don't know.
I do have John Huston's gritty crime film noir The Asphalt Jungle on my DVR. That would certainly be an acceptable bow out film. I have about 24 hours to figure this out. Maybe I will make a list of the final experience I want to savor when I check out of this crazy, doomed world.

The Long Search Comes To An End

2011-05-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Since abandoning my barber in Ennis 18 months ago and searching for a new one I think I finally found the place. After trying out my new barber shop, which is located in my childhood town of Rendon, I found it has all the amenities I enjoy plus an additional one I didn't expect. Besides the serviceable cut I expect from a barber for a valuable price, this particular coiffeur also offered a straight razor shave on the back of my neck, a warm towel wrapped around my head following the cut, and a brief electric massage on the upper back and neck. It was wonderful. The only downside I saw was the barber's a little chatty, but since the whole process took less than 15 minutes it's not that big of a deal. I am pleased with the outcome and plan on making this my new haircut home.

The Origins Of Energy

2011-05-17T09:34:00.001-05:00

I don’t know what made me think about this today but for some reason I asked myself the question, “If God doesn’t exist and the Big Bang Theory really is the way things started for our universe, then where did that energy come from in the first place?”
This post probably stems from the recent remark made by physicist Stephen Hawking about Heaven being a “fairy story,” but whatever the reason for my pondering it still begs the question of how our entire existence came to be if a higher power doesn’t exist. I will not hide the fact that I believe in God, have faith that He created us, and my faith will one day result in me spending eternity in that fairy story place called Heaven. My feelings on this subject have been tested in the past and I eventually decided I do believe what I was taught as a child in Sunday school.
As for my question about where the energy that started the Big Bang came from, I’m still asking. Those who disbelieve creationism, not wanting to buy into the idea that the only thing Christians have to go on in trusting that God exists is faith, in actuality have to have the same form of faith. The best answer right now to where the matter came from for the Big Bang is that it has always existed. It may have been in a different form, but since energy can neither be created nor destroyed it has to have always been in existence, so where did it come from in the first place? It is the same conundrum that Christians have when atheists ask where God came from. Our best answer is He has always been there.
However, the difference in our two answers is that with our faith we can trust that our answer is true and God will reveal how things began once we are in Heaven, whereas those who put their faith in science will never be able to answer that question with any certainty and will ultimately be forced to have the same amount of faith as Christians, just directed in a different direction.
And I’m not stating I am entirely against the idea that the universe began as the result of a Big Bang. Where I differ from those who don’t believe in a higher power is that I think God instigated the Big Bang and created the energy necessary for such an event. Again, I don’t have all the answers and am not sure where I stand on the Big Bang Theory, but what I do know is that if that is the way things began in our universe then it was God who directed the thing.

Summer Movie Preview

2011-05-06T10:06:00.001-05:00

With the release of Thor this weekend, summer movie blockbusters have officially begun. My wife and I have made our yearly bet as to what movie will make the most money, which with Harry Potter being a candidate and Joanna getting the first pick I am likely the loser this year.
A lot of sequels and comic book films are available to viewers this season, but there is an original idea or two out there that don’t involve robots pummeling one another or mutant/Norse God/magical ring heroes saving the planet. I have counted 13 films my wife, 3-year-old daughter, and I will be attempting to see in the next three months, not necessarily all together as The Hangover Part II is a Daddy movie only. First is the list of films available worth seeing. I include Fast Five as, oddly, my wife loves that film series and swoons when she sees Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, so we will be going to the theater this Saturday for a fast cars, hot bodies watching date night.

For me:
Thor – opened May 6
The Hangover Part II – opening May 26
Super 8 – opening June 10
Green Lantern – opening June 17
Captain America: The First Avenger – opening July 22
Cowboys and Aliens – opening July 29

For my wife and me:
Fast Five – opened April 29
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – opening May 20
X-men: First Class – opening June 3
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – opening July 1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II – opening July 15

For both parents and child:
Cars 2 – opening June 24
Winnie the Pooh – opening July 15

You might have noticed I have omitted Kung Fu Panda 2. I never saw the first one and will likely wait to see this one as well. But it is opening on May 26 if you are interested.
The film I’m probably most excited about is Harry Potter, not because I expect it to be the best of all these other blockbusters, but because it will bring to a close a story I have vested countless hours of interest in through previous movie viewings. My most anticipated release, thinking I'll be the most entertained from them, is either Super 8 or Cowboys and Aliens. I have a lot of trust in what J.J. Abrams does and Super 8 looks similar in style and substance to what Steven Spielberg was doing in his heyday of moviemaking. Cowboys and Aliens is a guilty pleasure. While the premise is stupid, I will checkout mentally and simply enjoy James Bond and Indiana Jones in the Old West kicking some alien butt.
I am afraid The Hangover Part II is going to simply rehash old jokes from the original and try to squeeze every last funny dime out of the hype that the first film created, but the previews do look entertaining enough.
Thor, X-men, Green Lantern, and Captain America are all going to be the same thing. Christopher Nolan so far is the only one to make a comic book movie dramatic and suspenseful enough to transcend the genre it falls under.
Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers 3 have to rebound from crappy sequels, and in the case of Pirates it is two crappy sequels, but I am willing to give them a chance at redemption.
Cars 2 is questionable as it is a sequel to the weakest of all Pixar movies. While Cars is still good, it does not come close to the greatness of the Toy Story franchise or anything else the computer-animated company released in the new millennium.
While I was not a Winnie-the-Pooh fan growing up, I am excited to introduce my daughter to the characters who live in Hundred Acre Wood.

Late-April Update

2011-04-27T16:46:00.001-05:00

With a new baby in the house, catching up on work after being out for a week, repairing damage from the North Texas storms that have been passing through, and a new series to catch up on, I haven’t had much time to do anything too interesting for a blog post. However, I feel like something is needed, so I will give a brief update.
Baby Jackson (or Buddy as I keep calling him when he is in my arms) is doing well. The disgusting dead skin on his belly button finally fell off and we gave him his first real bath last night in the kitchen sink, instead of the normal washing with a damp cloth to get dry skin to shed. He has good nights and bad nights, but a schedule is starting to be maintained with him sleeping for four or five hours at night. That isn’t too bad. I especially appreciate Joanna, who is getting up to feed him so I can get my rest for work while she is a stay-at-home mom for two more months. There is nothing abnormal to report on the little one. He is growing at an ordinary rate, eating a little more, pooping a little more.
The first set of storms that came in at the beginning of the month flipped some shingles off the roof and knocked sections of our fence down. I spent most of the vacation that was taken in order to have quality time with Jack repairing my fence and roof. I still have a few sections of fence down, but they are in the front yard and don’t affect Mona being outside. I hopefully will finish my roof work tonight before it gets too dark.
As far as that new television series I am watching, my buddy Danny lent me all five seasons of Dexter and I have thoroughly enjoyed the first season so far. I am going slower than normal when I am really into a show, but since most of my life is spent at work or watching over a newborn son or 3-year-old little girl I haven’t had much free time to enjoy TV like I used to. Such is parenthood. However, the show is great and the character Dexter Morgan might be the most interesting one TV has seen since George Costanza. I really like the show and can’t wait to watch another episode or two tonight.
While I am here, I figured I would include a brief analysis of a movie I watched last night that seems to be adored by film noir fans but to me was a second-rate B movie thriller. The movie in question was This Gun for Hire, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. It seems that those who are in love with the film cite Ladd and Lake’s performances and the quick pace of the picture as its high points. Yes, Ladd does a pretty good job of playing a cold, ruthless killer and the pace moves along well, but how hard is it to accomplish that feat when the movie is only 80 minutes long.
In general, Lake looks fantastic as the blonde bombshell of the picture, but her performance, along with nearly everyone else’s excluding Ladd’s, is wooden at best. The plot is forgettable, dialogue laughable, and I was left with a feeling that it was bad, but not so bad to be enjoyable like sci-fi B movies of the 50s or Snakes on a Plane cringeworthy. The relationship between Ladd and Lake’s characters is so unrealistic as genuine characterization would have had Lake spewing hateful obscenities at Ladd for the things he does to her and those she loves. Trust me in that if you had seen this movie you would know what I was talking about.
I had heard good things about This Gun for Hire, but ultimately it was unsatisfying and quite a letdown.
That is about it I guess. When something interesting happens I will throw it up here, but maybe I will generate something of interest to talk about before then.

Hello Jack!

2011-04-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it took 13 hours of labor, two full hours of pushing during every contraction, and a vacuum to pull him out, but Jackson Harris Cook is here. He came into this world at 8:11 p.m. and weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. His length was 19 1/4 inches.
Hopefully we will be released soon, not because I want to spend father-son time at home or am anxious to see what normal life will be like with our new son. No, I want out of this hospital because of the fold-out bed. It is awful.
Joanna did an incredible job and fought through pain and exhaustion to keep pushing. I was so proud of her. I even cried when he was finally pulled out. It wasn't just because of the birth of Jack that I teared up, but I was overjoyed that Joanna was finally done pushing and it was also a complete release of the anxiety and tension I had felt for the day.
So far Jack has been doing well. He spent most of the night in the nursery, unless he was feeding with Joanna. I liked that he was there because it gave Joanna a chance to get some rest, which she needed.

It's Go Time

2011-04-07T06:22:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we bring Jack into the world. Pray for Joanna as she is very anxious about the labor process she will be put through today. I will give updates when I can.

Rangers Continue Successful Run

2011-04-05T13:51:00.001-05:00

Last night’s game was historic for a number of reasons.
First, it marked only the third time ever for a player to have homered in each of the first four games of the season. Nelson Cruz is now in the same category as Willie Mays and Mark McGwire, who should be discounted as he has admitted to using steroids during his career.
Secondly, little Elvis Andrus hit his first major league home run after 705 plate appearances. It was only Saturday I was telling my wife that Andrus would not hit for the cycle as he was short a home run and had never before hit one. Also, I loved that the team momentarily ignored Andrus when he made it back to the dugout. The players are having a lot of fun with each other and it shows.
Lastly, Michael Young moved into second place as the all-time games played as a Texas Ranger leader, only 60-ish games behind Rafael Palmeiro’s total of 1,573.
Include that the Rangers are now 4-0, which is something that hasn’t happened since the 1996 season, where they continued into the postseason for the first time ever in franchise history, and last night’s game against the Seattle Mariners was a great event.
I am loving the 2011 Texas Rangers.

Wow! Just, Wow!

2011-04-03T17:49:00.000-05:00

I know it is only three games, but sweeping the American League darling Boston Red Sox (and handily I might add) is a great way to start this season. It gives the team and its fans the confidence going forward needed for another great, competitive season.
Go Rangers!

High Hopes, High Marks For Rangers

2011-04-02T13:02:00.000-05:00

Opening Day in Arlington was not exactly a perfect outing for the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers, but showing they are still the resilient, tough team who will continue to be a force in the West is what most fans were hoping for during the 2011 season. Beating the Boston Red Sox 9 to 5 and David Murphy's pinch-hitting double to give the Rangers the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning was about as exciting of a moment the metroplex has had on Opening Day (even taking into consideration last year's ninth-inning walk-off hit from Jarrod Saltalamacchia). What made yesterday so special was the residual expectations fans have after making it to the World Series last year.
The few downer moments from yesterday included an error on the first play of the game from centerfielder Julio Borbon, who is not endearing himself with the metroplex as manager Ron Washington's purported heir apparent to the position, and a pretty good outing from pitcher C.J. Wilson, but not quite the lights-out work everyone wanted.
Yesterday was only one of 162 games and overreactions, both good and bad, should be kept in check, but what yesterday did show was that it likely is going to be another long season with this team staying competitive long into the season.

A Shoutout To Jamerin!

2011-03-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

My buddy James and his new bride Erin are in Santorini, Greece, right now and I hope they are having an excellent time.

250 Reasons Not To Trust IMDb Blog Not Reliable

2011-03-22T09:53:00.001-05:00

The other day I came across a person’s movie blog created to determine whether the films listed on IMDb’s Top 250 list deserved the status as best movies in the world. First off, the IMDb list is more of a popularity movie list than a credible “best of” list when it comes to moviemaking, so celebrating it as some be-all, end-all registry of great films isn’t exactly the best idea. However, for argument’s sake let’s pretend the IMDb 250 list is influential.
To claim to be a fan of film and exclude some of the movies this girl did is quite appalling. I’m not saying she had to fall in love with every movie, but even if you don’t like the content of the picture you still need to recognize the value certain movies had on the industry and the way in which they changed Hollywood for all time. I can’t stand films like Easy Rider or The Deer Hunter, but I acknowledge that they were a reflection of the times America was going through and consequently deserve a certain amount of respect.
The author’s posts consisted of the top 250 movies as of June 30, 2010. She approved of 157 movies on the list. Therefore, of the other 93 movies she considered not of quality standards to be the best in the world, some showed how naïve and subjective she was being with the appraisals. Certainly nobody is going to agree with all 250 films, but to discredit a handful of the ones she did was a crime.

A few examples include:
Pulp Fiction – gave Independent filmmakers a voice and popularized the genre
The Dark Knight – despite flaws in the movie, the best superhero film to date enhanced by bringing costumed heroes and out-of-this-world villains into a real world
The Seven Samurai – a legendary Japanese director’s epic film
Goodfellas – Martin Scorcese’s best movie with a brilliant cast, soundtrack, screenplay, and flow
North by Northwest – a classic from Alfred Hitchcock that bested its predecessors of the “innocent man on the run” theme and influenced the genre’s successors
Citizen Kane – considered to be the greatest film of all time and inspired filmmaking for all time afterward; the influence this movie has had on Hollywood is too great to tackle in only a few sentences
Saving Private Ryan – the opening scene of soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy is enough to merit this movie as one of the greatest films ever made
To Kill a Mockingbird – a pretty authentic adaptation of the novel and Atticus Finch is a legendary character played to perfection by Gregory Peck
Braveheart – Some arguments could be made as to whether the historical inaccuracies should hinder this as a great movie, but from storytelling, acting, and all other moviemaking aspects it is a celebrated entry in film
The Maltese Falcon – possibly the greatest film noir movie ever made with remarkable dialogue and strong performances from all the cast
Metropolis – this is an example of giving a little leeway to a film due to the constrictions of the time period; made in 1927 as a silent film, it could still stand up to other science-fiction movies of today in many categories of filmmaking
Jaws – the first of its kind in that it created the summer blockbuster and every year since audiences have been bombarded from Memorial Day to mid-August with action, explosions, gunplay, and car chases
On the Waterfront – one of Brando’s most inspiring performances
Scarface – another example of a movie I don't necessarily like, but respect; it oozes 80s, and that is what makes it such a classic
Toy Story 2 – one of the greatest sequels of all time that continued to prove computer animation was a new, valid form of storytelling
The Adventures of Robin Hood – today it looks over-sentimental, but Errol Flynn’s iconic role has had a huge influence, not just on the story of Robin Hood, but in Looney Tunes cartoons, a Mel Brooks comedy, and other forms of spoofery.

Some of these movies are products of the decade they were filmed in, but they are still vital to the history of cinema. A certain respect needs to be shown to these movies and others like them on the IMDb Top 250 list, even if you personally didn’t find them an enjoyable watch.

Star Trek Movies Ranked

2011-03-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

No introduction. Just a list of the Star Trek films, my rating along with IMDb's rating for each film, and what makes them (not) great.

11. Star Trek: Insurrection (4/6.3; released in 1998)
Choosing to watch the ninth or tenth Star Trek movies is like having to decide between drinking your own urine or French kissing your sister: neither would kill you, but you could surely find better things to do with your time. Insurrection, the ninth entry in the series and third movie mission for The Next Generation cast, is a 103-minute morality tale updating the question of whether displacing the few for the betterment of the many is morally justified into an alien sci-fi world. Think Avatar without the mind-blowing 3D visual effects. Very little redeeming qualities can be found in this movie and it would have been better served as an hour-long TV episode for the second Trek series.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (4/6.4; released in 2002)
Whether Insurrection turned out to be the pee-drinking or the incestuous sister-kissing example in the above metaphor, Nemesis is the other one. Deciding that Enterprise’s next generation had only four movies in them, this turned out to be the crew’s final mission on the silver screen, nearly killing the franchise. The storyline for Nemesis, the tenth movie of the series, involves a clone of Picard created by the Romulans who needs Picard’s blood to survive. A principal theme in the film is how nature vs. nurture plays out among alien races. The presence of a Picard clone, inane chase sequences, lots of action, and satisfactory visual effects can’t equate to engaging storytelling or enjoyable viewing. Even a shocking plot development is negated when it’s revealed a backdoor was left open to right the (space)ship. Nemesis was a disappointing bow out for Picard and crew.

9. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (4/6.5; released in 1984)
Kirk and the gang hijack a wrecked Enterprise after returning to Earth from their confrontation with Khan, minus Spock who was left behind on a Genesis-transformed planet. A Klingon commander races to the same destination in hopes of turning the Genesis Device into a weapon. The Search for Spock, the third feature film of the series given a green light the day after release of The Wrath of Khan, has some elements that make it watchable. This includes good performances from the cast, a few key surprises and twists throughout the film, and plot points that contribute to the setting up of future films in the series. However, regarding said plot, it seems to trudge along at times never getting the viewer’s heart racing like its predecessor or other subsequent films of the series.

8. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (6/5; released in 1989)
Panned by critics and fans alike as the worst movie in the series, I give the fifth Star Trek film, The Final Frontier, more credit than most. The Enterprise crew is dispatched to rescue hostages on a planet, only to find Spock’s Vulcan half-brother Sybok is behind the incident. Sybok’s true plan is to use the Enterprise and travel to the center of the galaxy in order to find the creator of all things on the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree. While everything loathed about the film, such as the dialogue, special effects, and William Shatner’s narcissistic directing, without a doubt make The Final Frontier a tough watch, the idea of searching for God in space intrigues me. There are so many groups of people who want to find our Creator and seek His presence here on Earth, so why is it such a lame concept for an alien to have the same desire?

7. Star Trek: Generations (6/6.4; released in 1994)
The potential for greatest Star Trek movie was there. Pitting two Enterprise captains against a former A Clockwork Orange maniac, what could possibly go wrong? Generations proved combining the leadership methods of James T. Kirk’s reckless endangerment and Jean-Luc Picard’s disciplined common sense did not make for good movie watching. Generations, the series seventh film, begins with The Original Series members Kirk, Montgomery Scott, and Pavel Chekov assisting in a rescue mission aboard USS Enterprise-B. Kirk is believed dead after being transported into a strip of energy called the Nexus. More than 75 years later, Picard’s The Next Generation crew, along with Kirk, must stop Dr. Tolian Soran from destroying a civilization in his attempt to re-enter the Nexus, as he was one of the ones rescued by the Enterprise-B. I can’t say exactly what makes Generations an average movie because I’m not sure what it is that hinders it. It simply doesn’t excite and intrigue like other Star Trek films.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (7/6.2; released in 1979)
The pioneer mission that took Star Trek to the big screen proved that, unlike movies such as The Godfather or Jaws, the first is not always the best. The Motion Picture is an adapted storyline from the abandoned continuation series, Star Trek: Phase II. The Enterprise must determine how to stop a massive cloud of energy with a living machine at its center that is destroying all life in its path to find its maker. The Motion Picture is a smart story that unfolds slowly, which is something a lot of moviegoers weren’t interested in after the popularity of sci-fi, action hits like Star Wars and Alien. Many argue the plot is too similar to an episode of The Original Series titled “The Changeling,” but never having seen that episode I feel the film is a pleasant addition and breathed life into the series again allowing for future films and television series.

5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (7/7.3; released in 1986)
The fourth film of the series and final part of a trilogy-arc storyline, The Voyage Home sends the Enterprise crew back in time to San Francisco in order to find now-extinct humpback whales that can answer the call of a deadly alien probe threatening Earth in their present time. As director, Leonard Nimoy does a superior job balancing the environmental message with the comedy that comes from the future crews’ mishaps with what is perceived as primitive technology and people. You can really tell the cast let loose with this movie and saw it as an opportunity to be more relaxed than in previous Trek films. The Voyage Home is a fun movie that Trekkies and non-Trek fans alike can enjoy, proving Star Trek doesn’t have to have space battles, photon torpedoes, and alien villains to entertain.

4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (8/7.7; released in 1982)
Many believe the greatest movie of the series is the second, The Wrath of Khan. Not only a sequel to The Motion Picture, but also a continuation of the 1967 Original Series episode “Space Seed,” genetically-engineered Khan Noonien Singh seeks revenge on Kirk for deserting him and his people on an isolated planet. Where Star Trek films like The Final Frontier and Nemesis nearly killed the franchise, The Wrath of Khan had a complete opposite outcome, giving new life to the series. Ricardo Montalban’s Khan is a welcome return to the series as main antagonist and the parallel to Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is well-suited for a swashbuckling space adventure. What hurts this movie is the acting, discounting Montalban and Leonard Nimoy, and the battle sequences, which have not aged well as computer technology and graphics continue to improve.

3. Star Trek: First Contact (8/7.6; released in 1996)
First Contact is the eighth movie in the series but a first in many categories, including first to feature no cast member of The Original Series and first to highlight the cybernetic organisms known as the Borg as the villain, which had been done on television but not in film. The Borg travel back in time to colonize and conquer Earth, leading Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E to stop it, while at the same time ensuring that the first test of a warp-drive vessel undertakes its mission without any interference. First Contact combines great action, visual effects, and time travel and ends up being one of the most thrilling adventures Star Trek has ever offered. A glaring misstep for the film is how heavily it relies on Trek-verse history and verbiage, leaving non-fans a bit in the dark on all the details, but not so much that a good time can’t still be had.

2. Star Trek (9/8.1; released in 2009)
Partly prequel, partly reboot, the eleventh film in the Star Trek series, appropriately named Star Trek, relates the origins of characters from The Original Series. The plot involves a Romulan named Nero traveling back in time and seeking revenge on the Federation planets Earth and Vulcan for events that have not yet happened. Providing a compelling story with plenty of action and humor makes this movie a well-received film by all moviegoers, but that the writers were able to seamlessly restart the series and provide an outlet for new stories is an amazing achievement. Another benefit to this film is the stellar casting for every single Enterprise crew member, especially Karl Urban’s Dr. McCoy. Obviously, Trekkies were going to compare the old and new actors, but the cast does a great job recreating the characters and adding fresh nuances to the characters.

1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (9/7.2; released in 1991)
One of the elements that made Star Trek such a hit in the 60s was taking real-world events and putting them into science-fiction scenarios, leading to society looking through a microscope at the problems going on around the globe. The sixth Star Trek film is in the vein of classic The Original Series episodes in that it chronicles what it would be like if the Berlin Wall coming down had taken place between alien races. The Enterprise must oversee peaceful talks between the Federation of Planets and Klingons when an environmental disaster forces the two to work with one another. The Undiscovered Country is well-paced, suspenseful as a whodunit plot unfolds, visually stunning, filled with action and comedy, and has great performances from the main cast and supporting characters, particularly Christopher Plummer as a Klingon general.

Tragic Story Out Of Japan

2011-03-11T09:33:00.000-06:00

My prayers go out to those in Japan affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit the country's shores earlier today. It is a tragic event that gave the Japanese people little to no warning.
Even with a rush of overwhelming footage taken of the destruction in Japan that has happened thus far, it is hard to fathom what an 8.9 earthquake would feel like when some of the most devastating quakes in history measured in the sevens on the Richter magnitude scale, such as last year's Haitian shock or the great San Francisco quake of 1906.
I hope Japan is able to recover soon during the aftermath and the death toll is lower than some are predicting. As far as the U.S. goes, with any luck the amount of time we have had to prepare and the great distance the waves have traveled with lessen the impact and destructive force of the tsunami in Hawaii and the west coast of America.

Ten Defining 20th Century Dates In American History

2011-03-09T15:38:00.001-06:00

While watching a documentary last night on Operation Valkyrie and the attempt to assassinate Adolph Hitler, an interviewee stated July 20, 1944, as one of the top 10 dates in German history in the 20th century. It got me to thinking what the same criteria would result in for American history. Some are very obvious, but others I think are more subtle in their lasting effects on our current society.
The following are a list of 10 dates I believe to be monumental in our history set between January 1, 1901 and December 31, 2000. The list is in chronological order as I didn’t want to try and rank them in ascending order of consequence.

September 25, 1926: Henry Ford employs the 40-hour workweek
Though certainly not a saint and the reasons for doing so were self-serving, Henry Ford’s decision to go to an eight-hour, five-day a week work schedule revolutionized America’s labor force. The idea of working six days is hardly fathomable today and instead is seen as going far above and beyond the call of duty. This date also serves as a symbol of Ford’s other influences on the working class such as paying double the standard wage a decade earlier and implementing the assembly line, which began in 1908.

October 29, 1929: Black Tuesday
If there is any singular date in American history that defined a century, this would likely be it for the twentieth. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, began a decade-long Great Depression in America, leading to an unemployment rate of 25 percent by 1933, rapid rise in crime, mass migrations, and realization of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Not a single person could avoid feeling the effects of Black Tuesday and many were never able to fully recover from the financial ruin the country had suffered.

December 7, 1941: “A date which will live in infamy.”
As Roosevelt put it, “the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Said attack sent America headlong into World War II, which had already been going on for two years among European and Asian countries. The attack on Pearl Harbor represents several important dates throughout the timeline of the Second World War, including D-day’s June 6, 1944, but what brought the war to a monstrous conclusion has its own spot on this list.

August 6/August 9, 1945: Dropping Little Boy and Fat Man
Although the conclusion of World War II was officially brought about by the Japanese Emperor’s declaration of surrender on August 12, it was the setting off of two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki a week prior that signifies the end of the war. It is estimated that approximately 240,000 casualties were reported following the bombings. The decision to use atomic weapons on Japan was obviously not universally accepted and it has been debated ad nauseum as to whether President Harry Truman was justified in doing so. The effects of nuclear armament would create a Mexican standoff for centuries to come between America and the U.S.S.R.

December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks takes a stand by staying seated
Her defiant act against a ridiculous command to give up her seat to a white passenger because she was black wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was a symbol of the ongoing African-American Civil Rights Movement that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. There are plenty of moments from this period of our history I could have chosen, including Martin Luther King’s August 28, 1963 “I have a dream speech,” the desegregation of the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963, or King’s assassination on April 4, 1968, but Rosa Parks rebelliousness and the resulting boycott gave the Civil Rights Movement its initial victory and made King a standout leader of the cause.

November 22, 1963: Kennedy assassination
Not being born until 1980, I’ve never understood the fascination America had with the Kennedy family. The president's record as a leader was a bit underwhelming, but he was able to quell the Cuban missile crisis and he had a charisma that exuded security giving the American people a spirit of idealism. The allure of Camelot and a stable family life was rocked when Lee Harvey Oswald shot two bullets into the president while traveling through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. It is said people can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard of the assassination, some even crying, losing their appetites, or suffering nausea.

February 9, 1964: The British are coming!
Some might think I’m over-estimating the influence the Beatles had in America on rock and roll music, but when Nielsen ratings show that 45 percent of televisions in the United States were tuned in to the band’s performance on The Ed Sullivan Show it is safe to assume that a large portion of the country were interested in the new sound. Beatlemania paved an international path for other UK bands like The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Kinks, The Who, and countless others from the same era of music up to today’s hit musical acts.

July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong’s message to earthlings was the culmination of a mission by President Kennedy to win a peaceful, but intense, space race between the United States and Soviet Union, hard work among the nation’s top scientists and aviators, and a national dream that mankind would travel above the heavens and explore outer space. It was a good feeling to be American because of NASA’s accomplishment and it made science fiction a reality. Everything going on in the country from the Vietnam War to the debate over free love could be forgotten for a moment and national pride reigned.

August 15-18, 1969: Woodstock/Vietnam War
The Woodstock Festival that featured such acts as Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, The Band, and Janis Joplin isn’t here simply because of what it was, but more because of the time period it represents. With the Vietnam War lasting nearly a full two decades and numerous monumental historic events taking place during that time period, including the Tet offensive on January 31, 1968, the June 17, 1972, Watergate scandal, or Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, the Woodstock Festival encapsulates the varied mindsets Americans had at the time. These attitudes included the idea of peace, love, and rock and roll, fighting the man, and disapproval of the war. The concert became a symbol of the decade.

November 9, 1989: A city divided no more
As Woodstock was a symbol of an entire decade, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of an undefined war between capitalism and communism. Once the wall began construction in 1961, for nearly three decades the city of Berlin was split in two and it remained that way until after peaceful demonstrations beginning in September 1989 and mass departures by East German refugees the Socialist Unity Party of Germany declared the checkpoints along the Wall open for private travel. The fall of the Berlin Wall represented the downfall and end to communism for Eastern Germany and surrounding countries. Although not the complete end of communism and not an event that directly involved the United States, it was a major moment in American history nonetheless.

Work-related Newsie Item

2011-03-04T12:14:00.001-06:00

Some possible good news came my way today. While speaking with my boss about a friend’s upcoming wedding we veered to the topic of giving me some additional responsibilities regarding our company’s newsletter. Apparently the human resources department has been too busy to work on the newsletter, titled Factual Rumors, for the past three months. With my background in journalism and the underwriting department’s quick turnaround cycle creating plenty of spare time for me, it seemed logical to take over the newsletter.
It isn’t finalized yet, but my boss is looking into the idea. This would be a good springboard for me to continue working in a journalism capacity in case I ever am able to get back in the writing world. Since my resume has nothing regarding writing, editing, or other journalistic characteristics on it since 2009, this will be a great opportunity for me. I have gotten a lot more excited about the prospect of writing the company newsletter after thinking about it for a couple of hours. But again, it is not a done deal.

Reviewing The Town

2011-03-03T12:08:00.002-06:00

From now on, I will lower my expectations going into every movie I see, no matter how promising and exciting a trailer looks. I will fight the urge to let my adrenaline start pumping and put a hold on my imagination running wild with a movie’s potential because, ultimately, after 100 years of moviemaking Hollywood has few new and electrifying ideas to offer the general public. Sure, technology occasionally progresses enough to provide us a new outlet, like Avatar did with 3D or The Matrix with bullet time photography, but in general it is the same plots being regurgitated with new actors for a new generation of viewers. That’s not to say movies with rehashed plots and predictable outcomes can’t be enjoyable. Take this year’s Academy Award nominated film The Fighter. The acting in that movie is so stupendous that I could look past the fact that yet another boxing movie had been made.
I state all of this because I watched Ben Affleck’s The Town last night and was underwhelmed at the final product. The story seemed very reminiscent of Michael Mann’s 1995 crime thriller Heat. The acting ranged from average to pretty good. The accents of the Bostonian characters seemed too preposterous to be believed for anyone who hasn’t resided in Charlestown. It doesn’t matter if they were so authentic one couldn’t recognize who was really from the area, like Affleck, and who wasn’t, like Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively, at times it seemed like a Saturday Night Live sketch was going on and the joke was the over-the-top accents. The characterization of supporting characters was weak and the relationship between Affleck and Renner’s parts was never really fleshed out fully.
Overall, it just wasn’t the heist/crime/relationship drama I was expecting and only one scene really had me tense up wondering what was going to happen next. This is not to say Affleck didn’t do a serviceable job both in front of and behind the camera. It just never seemed like his creation, instead picking and choosing moments and ideas from previous movies and intertwining them into a new creation. Had I been given a little more insight into Renner’s psyche, some more scenes showing the relationship between Affleck and Renner, and a smidgen more enlightenment on the work the FBI was doing to hunt the bad guys it might have been a more complete film. I realize the movie was more about the relationship between a bank robber and the unknowing hostage he begins to date after the crime, but you still need some additional plotlines to help flesh out the movie more.
On a scale of 10, The Town gets a 6, putting it on par with movies like The Departed, Ocean’s Thirteen, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The Town is slightly above average, worth watching once.

Reaction To 83rd Academy Awards

2011-02-28T13:41:00.001-06:00

The Internet is abuzz today about the hosting job, who wore what, and winners and losers at the Academy Awards last night.
If you didn’t already know, The King’s Speech won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Colin Firth). Inception also took home four wins, but they were in the less popular categories of Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. The Social Network came in third with three awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing.
I’ll agree with the consensus that the hosts, nominee James Franco and Anne Hathaway, were not near the quality of past comedians such as Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, or even Steve Martin, but at least Hathaway tried. It seemed Franco was high the entire time and had little interest in the gig. That is not to say there weren’t a few good lines throughout the night, but mostly the ceremony was a forgettable one. It was especially not helpful that no acceptance speech was memorable, minus Melissa Leo’s, but that was because of the naughty word dropped in the middle.
What I will not agree with is that The King’s Speech was the best movie of the year. I found Firth’s acting to be stellar and the movie was well made as a historical drama, but I felt there were multiple other films in the Best Picture category that should have deserved the Oscar over The King’s Speech.
Amongst my family and friends I came in first for the guessing game we play each year. I tied an all-time self best with 18 correct selections out of 24 categories, missing Best Picture (I picked The Social Network), Best Director (again, The Social Network), Best Cinematography (True Grit), Best Costume Design (The King’s Speech), Best Animated Short Film (Day & Night), and Best Live Action Short Film (Na Wewe).
Since I had The Social Network winning the Best Picture category, obviously that was one of the films I thought was more deserving than The King’s Speech. Another was The Fighter. The overall performances were better in The Fighter than The King’s Speech. I also would have accepted Black Swan or Toy Story 3 over the eventual winner.
Although I liked nearly ever nominated movie more than The King’s Speech, I knew it had a good chance of winning Best Picture. Yet, I still feel it was fifth best as far as moviemaking goes. The following are lists of how the Academy should have ranked the movies if more than just the winner was announced and showing my personal favorites regarding watchability and enjoyment.

Academy criterion:
The Social Network
The Fighter
Black Swan
Toy Story 3
The King’s Speech
Inception
True Grit
127 Hours
Winter’s Bone
The Kids Are All Right

Personal Favorites:
Inception
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
The Fighter
Black Swan
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
127 Hours
The King’s Speech
The Kids Are All Right

Correlation Between Oscars Best Film/Director

2011-02-25T15:43:00.000-06:00

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are only two days away and I am complete Oscar mode. While prepping for tomorrow’s movie marathon, where I will see the final nominees up for Best Picture this year, I was wondering in the 81-year history of the awards how many Best Picture winners didn’t correspond with its filmmaker in the Best Director category. As of last year’s ceremony honoring the best movies made in 2009, there have been 21 mismatches when it came to the best picture and best director winners, which is to say that slightly more than 25 percent of ceremonies end with the unmatched Best Picture/Director combination. While the first few years it was quite normal for the Best Director to not see the movie he helmed win the most coveted Best Picture Oscar, since about the fourteenth annual event on it has become quite sporadic.
The most disappointing example of this phenomenon was in 1998 when Saving Private Ryan didn’t win Best Picture, despite being the superior film to Shakespeare in Love, although Steven Spielberg was named Best Director of the year. Another shocking case was in 1972 when Francis Ford Coppola didn’t win Best Director for The Godfather, my favorite film of all time. However, the Academy made up for that oversight two years later with the sequel.
Below is a list of the years in which the winning director didn’t see his film win the top prize.

1928 (1st Annual Academy Awards Ceremony):
Picture – Wings (William A. Wellman)
Director – Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven)
Note: Frank Borzage was the winner for Best Director of a dramatic film; Lewis Milestone won Best Director of a comedy for Two Arabian Knights; this was the only year the Academy separated the director awards into genres.

1929 (2nd):
Picture – The Broadway Melody (Harry Beaumont)
Director – Frank Lloyd (The Divine Lady)

1931 (4th):
Picture – Cimarron (Wesley Ruggles)
Director – Norman Taurog (Skippy)

1932 (5th):
Picture – Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding)
Director – Frank Borzage (Bad Girl)
Note: Edmund Goulding was not up for a Best Director nomination.

1936 (9th):
Picture – Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd)
Director – John Ford (The Informer)

1937 (10th):
Picture – The Great Ziegfeld (Robert Z. Leonard)
Director – Frank Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)
Note: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was not up for a Best Picture nomination.

1938 (11th):
Picture – The Life of Emile Zola (William Dieterle)
Director – Leo McCarey (The Awful Truth)
Note: The Awful Truth was not up for a Best Picture nomination.

1940 (13th):
Picture – Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock)
Director – John Ford (The Grapes of Wrath)

1948 (21st):
Picture – Hamlet (Laurence Olivier)
Director – John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

1949 (22nd):
Picture – All the King’s Men (Robert Rossen)
Director – Joseph L. Mankiewicz (A Letter to Three Wives)

1951 (24th):
Picture – An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli)
Director – George Stevens (A Place in the Sun)

1952 (25th):
Picture – The Greatest Show on Earth (Cecil B. DeMille)
Director – John Ford (The Quiet Man)

1956 (29th):
Picture – Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson)
Director – George Stevens (Giant)

1967 (40th):
Picture – In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison)
Director – Mike Nichols (The Graduate)

1972 (45th):
Picture – The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
Director – Bob Fosse (Cabaret)

1981 (54th):
Picture – Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson)
Director – Warren Beatty (Reds)

1989 (62nd):
Picture – Driving Miss Daisy (Bruce Beresford)
Director – Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July)
Note: Bruce Beresford not up for Best Director nomination.

1998 (71st):
Picture – Shakespeare in Love (John Madden)
Director – Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan)

2000 (73rd):
Picture – Gladiator (Ridley Scott)
Director – Steven Soderbergh (Traffic)

2002 (75th):
Picture – Chicago (Rob Marshall)
Director – Roman Polanski (The Pianist)

2005 (78th):
Picture – Crash (Paul Haggis)
Director – Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

Top 10 Scariest Movies

2011-02-23T14:37:00.000-06:00

Recently watching Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In and its American remake Let Me In and thoroughly enjoying both, I was curious what my favorite horror movies were. Going off of my IMDb ratings for the myriad of scary movies I’ve seen in years past, I was able to narrow things down to a list of the best ten movies to get your blood pumping.
While most of these films would sit solely in the horror genre, some cross over into other fields like science fiction or suspense. However, the entries below are my favorite examples of movies that get viewers holding tight to one another, covering their eyes in order to not see the pain and gore coming next, or even leaving a bathroom light on or double-checking a closet for monsters after the final credits have rolled. Some of the movies are the best in producing screams during the film and others have lasting effects from childhood that still haunt our dreams.
It should be noted that the title is a little misleading. While most of these movies received high marks because of the literal fright experienced from the footage onscreen, a few were simply well-made, landmark movies that replaces cheap thrills and bloodcurdling violence with quote-worthy dialogue, iconic villains, unforgettable scenes, and award-worthy performances. They aren’t on the list because they will have you crawling to your parents’ bed at night for comfort, but they are superbly done films that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Next to each title I have listed the IMDb rating for the film from myself first and then the general consensus rating.

Honorable Mention:
Some great horror movies that just didn’t quite make the list were The Innocents (8/8), Friday the 13th (8/6.3), and Misery (8/7.8).
Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw was superbly formatted for cinemas in 1961 as The Innocents with Deborah Kerr as governess Miss Giddens, who watches over two small children at a country estate in England. It is a splendid psychological thriller as you never are sure whether the events in the movie are actually happening or if Giddens is mad.
Although the series is a punchline now and has spawned countless copycats that have made a farce of the horror genre, the original Friday the 13th is quite chilling for a first-time viewer.
What makes Misery so great is Kathy Bates’s performance. As psychotic nurse Annie Wilkes, Bates alone is worth watching over and over again, making the rest of the film futile as all the viewer wants is more scenes with Wilkes in it.

10. Halloween (9/7.9)
Like Friday the 13th, the Halloween series, including the Rob Zombie revamp, is not worth the material it’s filmed on, minus the first in each group. After more than three decades and 10 films, the sight of an immortal, knife-wielding maniac wearing a painted William Shatner mask doesn’t get the thrills like it did in 1978. Popularizing the slasher film, John Carpenter made a “scream queen” out of then-unknown Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of a famous actress who stars in another movie on this list. The characteristics of this film that made it so unsettling were the lack of motive for the killer, Michael Myers never uttering a word of dialogue, the first-person camera shots to represent the killer’s point of view, and the moody soundtrack. Halloween started a new trend of moviemaking that was followed by popular hits like the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Child’s Play series, and not so great slasher movies such as Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, Sleepaway Camp, and countless others.

9. The Birds (9/7.9)
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 suspense movie The Birds is loosely based on the book by the same name from Daphne du Maurier. Certainly not loaded with heart-stopping thrills and gore, The Birds is more of a thriller that has the viewer questioning the “what ifs?” What if birds decided to turn on us and attack? What if a town was suddenly turned upside down by the natural inhabitants that humans tend to so easily forget they coexist with? What if there was no foreseeable end to the madness our former feathered friends would bring down upon us? It is not the movie itself that is horrifying, but the impression it leaves behind that has us curious as to whether the animals we take for granted as friendly really are as safe to domesticate as we think they are.

8. Se7en (9/8.7)
Psychological manhunt films that have police detectives chasing after a themed serial killer are normally cheesy and the payoff is a bit of a letdown. However, the Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey starring, David Fincher directing film is outstanding. The seven the title is making reference to is the deadly sins: lust, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, pride, and gluttony. Despite some overacting at the end of the film, each bizarre crime scene trumps the previous one in terms of the horrors and pain each victim must have suffered at the hands of his or her killer. As the aftermath of each sin is realized and police learn more about the man they are chasing, we start to realize this John Doe character is the greatest psychopath movie audiences have seen since Norman Bates with possibly the most twisted criminal mind ever.

7. 28 Days Later (9/7.6)
Combining the two elements of zombies running fast and a virus infecting its host, which had been used before in zombie movies but never together, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later is a frightening tale of life in a lifeless world. By 2003, zombie movies were played out and unoriginal in every way. But Boyle put the focus back on what George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead had done so well, and that was the relationship between people during a living-dead catastrophe. Instead of trying to come up with interesting zombie deaths and mutilations that hadn’t been seen before, Boyle’s story centered around three survivors who link up with a military unit and the broken system an apocalyptic world creates.

6. Night of the Living Dead (9/8)
Let’s just get this out of the way right now: Night of the Living Dead is a terrible movie. There. I said it. If you’ve actually seen the 1968 independently made movie from George Romero and you objectively reviewed it you would have the same outlook as I do. The acting is beyond lame. The zombies are dumb, slow-moving, and generally not that scary. The makeup is poorly done. It is a B-movie like so many bad science fiction films before it, but the thing that made this B-movie stand out among the others was the characterization. It is hard to use that word characterization in a zombie movie, but if you can get past the stiff performances and shoddy dialogue and take a look at the subtext of what is taking place in the film between zombie attacks then the viewer will see that this film is an allegory for the fears and bigotry that was going on at the time. Since the original became such a hit, every director, including Romero himself, has used the allegory excuse to try and make their zombie movie stand out, but nothing has ever beat the original.

5. The Shining (9/8.5)
Jack Nicholson’s axe-wielding chase through a hedge maze. A downpour of blood emptying out of an elevator. Jack’s “Here’s Johnny” introduction in the broken door. Ghost twins eerily standing in the middle of a hotel hallway. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Redrum! This movie is chock-full of great moments. Slowly watching Jack’s descent into madness and the supernatural occurrences throughout the hotel hypnotically entrances the viewer. The film is open to a number of interpretations as to what is actually the cause and outcome of the film, but one shouldn’t worry too much about this and instead enjoy what is in front of them, that being some of the most bizarre happenings ever captured onscreen and a batty performance from Nicholson.

4. Psycho (10/8.7)
Another Hitchcock entry, this movie starts out as a standard dramatic film about a woman, played by Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother Janet Leigh, who steals money from her place of employment and hits the road for her boyfriend’s place. It isn’t until midway through the movie that we realize what is being viewed is a horror thriller film about a motel-running nutcase with unresolved mommy issues. The shower scene alone is worthy of getting Psycho on any top ten list when talking about suspense and horror. The soundtrack also is quite famous today, even among listeners who have not ever seen the film. Psycho also benefits from being one of the first movies to be made after the lifting of the Production Code, popularly known as the Hays Code, which allowed for scenes like the opening one with unmarried people sharing a bed giving the movie an authentic feel about it. Tame by today’s standards of horror moviemaking where gore and mutilation is substituted for substance and suspense, Psycho is considered one of Hitchcock’s best films he ever made.

3. Jaws (10/8.3)
Like Hitchcock’s The Birds, this film is terrifying because of the what if factor. I never once thought about what was out in the ocean when swimming at the beach as a kid until after seeing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Like so many other great horror and suspense movies, the music is what sets the chilling mood whenever the shark comes around for a bite to eat. One of the great benefits to this movie, which was unintended on Spielberg’s part, was not seeing what the antagonist looked like for most of the movie. Robert Shaw delivered one of the greatest characters ever for cinema and Spielberg crafted a sensational picture that left audience members afraid to go into the water.

2. Alien (10/8.5)
So effective was Jaws in 1975 that Ridley Scott pitched his 1979 science fiction horror film as “Jaws in space.” Trapped in the confines of a space craft as a monstrous extraterrestrial life form terrorizes the crew, Alien delivered on every level as a great science fiction, horror, suspense, and/or action movie. Like nothing audiences had ever seen before, the alien that the film’s title is speaking of is a lizard-like creature with a blade-tipped tail and elongated, cylindrical skull with secondary jaw that acts as a tongue. As if the appearance of the alien weren’t terrifying enough, the beast also has acidic blood running through its veins that eats through metal and nearly all other substances. Alien appeals to all types of audiences, ranging from the slow-paced thriller types to gore-fest enthusiasts.

1. The Exorcist (10/8.1)
Maybe it’s my religious beliefs, maybe it’s that I’m a big weenie when it comes to the horror genre, but The Exorcist is by far the most unsettling movie I’ve ever seen. The dreadful acts a demon does while possessing a 12-year-old girl have upset me so much I’ve only been able to watch the movie once. In conjunction with the disturbing premise and tremendous execution of the film itself, urban legends of mishaps on the set, some of which are claimed to be true and others were surely popularized to help promote the film, make this movie seem as if it is in fact cursed by the devil himself. An appalling shocker that should be viewed, even if once is the only number of times you can take it, The Exorcist is the greatest horror movie to ever be seen in theaters.

Really Colin? Really?!

2011-02-11T15:48:00.002-06:00

I don’t listen to Colin Cowherd very much. Any listening that does take place in the Herd is normally for the few minutes during a commercial break on 1310 The Ticket’s BAD Radio program during my lunch break. Since I don’t hear much of what Cowherd says I haven’t a real opinion on whether he knows what he is talking about, but my general opinion of his show is that his opinions come across as though they are supreme and anyone who disagrees is a lesser-thinking being.
During Monday's show following Super Bowl XLV Cowherd made a statement I felt pretty sure was ludicrous and after some research I have come to the decision that Cowherd’s argument, while not completely preposterous, is null.
The argument in question is that in the NFL, defenses win championships. Cowherd’s claim is he thinks that is the way things may have been in the past, but in today’s league it is all about elite quarterbacks. His wording was something similar to, “If you gave me a choice between a great defense and a great quarterback I will take the quarterback 100 times out of 100.”
While I’m one who lives under the defense wins championships mentality, I have not ever ruled out that having a great quarterback is also important to winning Lombardi Trophies. In fact, I personally think a team has to have elite, great, and better than good players in every single position to be a championship-caliber team. So where does history stand on the quarterback vs. defense argument. Let’s take a look.
I have researched all quarterbacks, offenses, and defenses since the 2000 season. I figure going back all the way to the Packers and Steelers of the 60s and 70s wouldn’t be completely fair, as Cowherd pointed out the league has changed and is now a passer-friendly game. So looking at the two teams who played in every Big Game since Baltimore and New York battled one another in 2001, here is a breakdown of the regular season statistics for every AFC and NFC championship teams. I have included the rating for each quarterback and yards gained and given up and points scored and allowed by the offensive and defensive units.

2000 Season:
QB:
Trent Dilfer (Baltimore Ravens) – Only starting eight regular season games Dilfer was ranked the 20th best quarterback in the league with a rating of 76.6.
Kerry Collins (New York Giants) – Ranked 12th among quarterbacks with an 83.1 rating.
Offense:
Baltimore – Under the leadership of two quarterbacks, the Ravens were in the middle of the pack offensively at 16th in yards gained and 14th in scoring.
New York Giants –Ranked 13th in yards gained and 15th in scoring.
Defense:
Baltimore – Considered by some to be the greatest defensive unit ever in football, this group was ranked second in yards allowed and 1st in points given up.
New York Giants – A solid group, ranking fifth in both yards and points allowed.
Summary:
It is no secret the Ravens defense won them the Lombardi Trophy and nobody denies that. Dilfer, who took over for a benched Tony Banks midway through the season, was no elite quarterback. Like Kerry Collins, the quarterbacks who led the Ravens and Giants were just good enough to get wins with the defenses doing the brunt of the work to hold opposing offenses to the bare minimum in points. This season certainly was one in favor of the “defenses wins championships” motto.

2001 Season:
QB:
Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – Not the starter at the beginning of the season but taking over for an injured Drew Bledsoe in week 2, Brady's 86.5 passer rating ranked him sixth among the leagues quarterbacks.
Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams) – Was the highest ranked quarterback with a 101.4 rating for the regular season.
Offense:
New England – The Patriots struggled to get yards, ranking 19th in the league, but were able to put points on the board, ranking sixth overall.
St. Louis – The Greatest Show on Turf had their way with defenses, as they ranked first in yards gained and scoring.
Defense:
New England – Like the offense’s divergence in yards and scoring, the Patriot defense was mediocre in stopping teams from going up and down the field, ranking 24th in yards allowed, but were able to keep teams out of the end zone, ranking sixth in points allowed.
St. Louis – The Rams defense didn’t slack off despite knowing their offensive counterparts would have no problem scoring enough to win games, as the defensive unit was ranked third in yards allowed and seventh in points allowed.
Summary:
It is certainly clear that from the regular season’s stats St. Louis was the better team with the best quarterback, the best offense, and the better defense. New England had what would become an elite quarterback, but its offense and defense had some warts. I would say that this season likely goes to the quarterbacks, but the defenses certainly weren’t slumming it.

2002 Season:
QB:
Brad Johnson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – As a Cowboys fan who saw what a decrepit figure this guy was late in his career, it amazes me he was ranked the third best quarterback in the league at one time, with a 92.9 rating.
Rich Gannon (Oakland Raiders) – Doing slightly better than his Super Bowl rival, Gannon had a 97.3 regular season passerrating, putting him at second in the league.
Offense:
Tampa Bay – Despite having the third best quarterback in the league, moving the ball and scoring was difficult for the Buccaneers, ranking 24th in yards gained and 18th in scoring.
Oakland – It is odd to see the Raiders successful in the new millennium, but during this season they had a prolific offense ranking first in yards and second in scoring.
Defense:
Tampa Bay – This unit was the personification of great, ranking first in yards and points allowed.
Oakland – The defensive side of the ball for the Raiders wasn't quite as stellar as the offense, but they were able to rank 11th in yards allowed and sixth in points allowed.
Summary:
For the eventual champion Buccaneers, this is a case of having an elite squad on one side of the ball and a legitimately productive quarterback under center. Both units worked hand-in-hand to become the best team in the NFL. The Raiders mostly profited from their offense and Gannon as quarterback, but the defense was nothing to slough off. This season would go down as a tie for both the quarterback and the defense being essential to winning a championship.

2003 Season:
QB:
Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – Barely cracking the top ten, Brady finished with an 85.9 passer rating.
Jake Delhomme (Carolina Panthers) – With an 80.6 passer rating, Delhomme finished the regular season as the 14th best quarterback in the league.
Offense:
New England – Both of the conference champion teams were in the middle of the pack by the end of the regular season, with the Patriots ranked 17th in yards gained and 12th in scoring.
Carolina – The Panthers were slightly more consistent and mediocre than the Patriots, ranking 16th in yards gained and 15th in scoring.
Defense:
New England – Brady didn’t have to throw 50 touchdowns during the regular season, a feat he would accomplish later in his career, as the defensive unit was mighty good, ranking seventh in yards gained against them and allowing the fewest points per game in the league.
Carolina – The Panthers defense was functional, making it in the top third of the league in yards allowed at eighth and points allowed at 10th.
Summary:
Having Brady would lead one to assume the team’s offense was a powerhouse juggernaut, but he, along with Delhomme, were not the best passers the league had to offer and the offenses suffered for it. However, the defenses were better than average and if a winner had to be decided I would say this season goes to the defenses. While they certainly weren’t elite, they had to be better than the team they were up against since the offenses were so run of the mill.

2004 Season:
QB:
Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – Another season, another top ten finish for Brady, who ranked ninth among quarterbacks with a 92.6 passer rating.
Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) – Prior to the very public T.O. break-up, McNabb was able to have a superstar season in 2004, ending up with a 104.7 rating that was good enough for being fourth best in the NFL.
Offense:
New England – Brady helped improve the offense from the prior season, finishing the regular season as the seventh best in yards gained and fourth best in scoring.
Philadelphia – Although the better passer according to the QB rating system, McNabb and the Eagles offense ranked lower than the Patriots, at ninth in yards and eighth in scoring.
Defense:
New England – Opposed to what the team’s offense did, the defense took a slight dip in productivity from the prior season finishing the year out as ninth best in yards allowed and tied for second place in points allowed.
Philadelphia – The Eagles were the team the Patriots tied for second in points allowed and they were slightly worse off in yards against, finishing 10th.
Summary:
Top ten finishes in every category, this season will go down as a tie for quarterback and defense.

2005 Season:
QB:
Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) – A controversial figure on and off the field, Roethlisberger quickly established himself as one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, finishing his second regular season as the third best quarterback with a 98.6 rating.
Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) – Coming within four-tenths of a point of Roethlisberger’s passer rating at 98.2, Hasselbeck ranked as the fourth best in the league.
Offense:
Pittsburgh – The Steelers offense generated under Roethlisberger’s leadership couldn’t quite match his individual statistics around the league as the unit was 15th in yards gained and ninth in scoring.
Seattle – The Seahawks offense was best in the league in 2005, ranking second in yards and first in scoring.
Defense:
Pittsburgh – Ultimately known for a smash-mouth defense, this Steelers unit did not disappoint, ranking fourth in yards allowed and tied for third in points allowed.
Seattle – Not being able to keep up with the team’s offense, the defensive side of the ball was 16th in yards and seventh in points allowed.
Summary:
On the surface this looks like a winner for the quarterbacks, both being in the top five for the season and generating good-to-great offenses, but if you look at the statistical line for Super Bowl XL you will see the winning quarterback played terribly. Roethlisberger went 9 for 21, threw for 123 yards total, had two interceptions and one rush touchdown. For a Super Bowl-winning performance that is dreadful and the team ultimately won because the Steelers defense was able to contain the Seahawks offense and prevent a lot of points from being scored. By doing that the Steelers scored three times and ultimately won the game. By Colin’s pretext, Hasselbeck and Roethlisberger should have been the deciding factors in the championship game because they were elite quarterbacks that year, but ultimately the Steelers defense held the Seahawks superior offense to 10 points and that was the difference in the two teams. I would have to say defense won the Lombardi Trophy that year, not elite quarterbacking.

2006 Season:
QB:
Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) – Manning was the best quarterback the league had to offer, finishing with a 101 rating.
Rex Grossman (Chicago Bears) – A Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde season for Grossman resulted in the quarterback ranking 24th among passers with a season rating of 73.9.
Offense:
Indianapolis – Manning was an essential part in leading the offense to be the third best team in gaining yards and tied the Bears for second in scoring.
Chicago – Despite Grossman’s rollercoaster ride of a season and the 15th ranked offense in yards gained, the Bears found enough ways to score that they were tied with the Colts at second.
Defense:
Indianapolis – Like so many of Manning’s teams, the defense played poor all season long, ranking 21st in yards allowed and 23rd in points scored against.
Chicago – Holding themselves to a very high standard, the Bears finished fifth in yards against and third in points allowed.
Summary:
Like the previous year’s Big Game, it came down to an elite quarterback against a superb defense and this year the quarterback came out on top. Therefore the quarterback will get the vote this time. I have to be fair.

2007 Season:
QB:
Eli Manning (New York Giants) – If you recall anything from this season it is likely the helmet catch Manning, who ranked 25th among quarterbacks with a regular season passer rating of 73.9, threw to David Tyree during the winning drive in the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – If you recall anything from this season it is likely Brady, the best quarterback in the league with a 117.2 rating, going for perfect and falling short because of a helmet catch in the Super Bowl.
Offense:
New York Giants – Not surprising since Manning was middling, the offense was middling and ranked 16th in yards gained and 14th in scoring.
New England – Setting a record for touchdown passes, Brady torched defenses, sometimes running up scores on opponents, and had the best ranked offense in numerous categories, including yards and scoring.
Defense:
New York Giants – Considering the weak offense, one would think the defense is what helped win this team a championship, however, the best it could do was come in at seventh in yards allowed and 17th in points against.
New England – Despite not really needing to do too much since Brady's offense was decimating opponents, the defense was still able to come in at fourth in yards and points against, which could have been a result of teams getting behind early and becoming one-dimensional in order to play catch-up.
Summary:
Possibly one of the most favored teams to win a championship in sports history, nobody truly gave the Giants a chance to win against the Patriots, despite a close game the two teams had played in the final week of the regular season. Statistically the Patriots were the better team and had a championship been won it would have been because of quarterback Brady. Since the Giants won the game and had neither a great quarterback nor defense to do it with, I can’t honestly grade this season. I am going to have to say the championship was won because of fate, destiny, God’s will, or whatever you wish to call it. Neither side gets the vote.

2008 Season:
QB:Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) – One of two down years for Roethlisberger, 2008 saw him as the 24th best quarterback in the regular season with an 80.1 passer rating.
Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) – Continuing his Cinderella story of grocery store stocker to NFL quarterback star, Warner had a 96.9 passer rating, good enough to be the third best quarterback in the league.
Offense:
Pittsburgh – With a quarterback playing poorly, it is no surprise the offense didn’t generate much to be proud of, resulting in being 22nd in yards and 20th in scoring.
Arizona – Polar opposite to the Steelers, Warner and the Cardinals offense went on the attack and finished fourth in yards gained and tied for third in scoring.
Defense:
Pittsburgh – Coming through for Big Ben, the stereotypical Steelers defense ranked first in both yards allowed and points against.
Arizona – Again differing as much as possible to the Steelers, the Cardinals defensive unit ranked 19th in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed.
Summary:
Even though the defense nearly gave the game up in the fourth quarter and Roethlisberger was Superman-like during the winning drive to victory, I still have to give the defense credit for this year’s championship. Had it not been for the defense the Steelers wouldn’t have even been in the Big Game and had the chance for the come-from-behind win. While the Cardinals offense was instrumental in getting to the championship game, it was the lack of a great defense that prevented them from holding on for the win.

2009 Season:
QB:
Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – Not quite Brady in ’07, but certainly was a logistical nightmare for opposing defenses, Brees was the highest rated quarterback in the league with a 109.6 passer rating.
Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) – Another solid season for Manning, who was sixth best with a 99.9 passer rating for the regular season.
Offense:
New Orleans – Having the best quarterback, it is no surprise the team had the best executed offense being first in yards and scoring.
Indianapolis – Not shabby in their own right, the Colts finished the regular season at ninth in yards gained and seventh in scoring.
Defense:
New Orleans – Not exactly feeding off the offenses’ talent and electricity, the Saints defense ranked 25th in yards allowed and 20th in points against.
Indianapolis – About par for the Manning-led Colts, the ordinary defense finished at 18th in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed.
Summary:
There is no question this is a quarterback wins championships year. No debating that.

2010 Season:
QB:
Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – Answering the question of whether he is the real deal, Rodgers was the third best passer in the league with a 101.2 rating.
Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Missing four games didn’t mess with Roethlisberger’s feel for the game or his connection with receivers and he finished as the fifth best quarterback, with a 97 passer rating.
Offense:
Green Bay – Despite losing a starting running back and tight end, the offense remained in the playoff hunt and finished at a respectable ninth in yards gained and 10th in points scored.
Pittsburgh – Including the four games without Roethlisberger, where the Steelers ran out quarterbacks Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch, the offense ranked 14th in yards and 12th in scoring.
Defense:
Green Bay – If the loss of some offensive starters due to injury was tough to bear, the defensive injury hit list was soul crushing, but the team kept fighting and ultimately ranked fifth in yards given up and second in points allowed.
Pittsburgh – Not surprising the defensive unit ended the regular season as the second best in yards allowed and first in points scored against.
Summary:
After putting up outstanding numbers in 2010 and an MVP performance in Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers now has a little bit of a reason to be the cockiest player in the NFL. Yet, he was not the sole reason for bringing a fourth Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay. The defense certainly deserves some credit and ultimately the vote for who won the championship in 2010 is going to go to both.

After hours of exhaustive research and typing it has been determined that you need both a great defense and quarterback (in essence, the offense) to be a championship contender and winner. Sometimes a quarterback can overcome the failings of an entire unit, and other times it is the opposite. From 2000 to 2010, there were four votes for the defense alone winning championships, three for the quarterback alone, three for it taking both, and one no vote being tallied.
While it is close and having an elite quarterback or elite defense is going to give you a good chance at making a championship run, I would rather have 11 guys who will carry my team than one. Should the quarterback go down for a long period of time there is little hope of salvaging the season, but if you lose one defensive player, no matter how great they are, the other 10 can step up to make up the difference.
Like many of the opinions Cowherd spews on his program that sound as if they are fact, the idea that defenses don’t win championships and elite quarterbacks do is not the end all, say all. Sometimes one man can lead a team to ultimate victory, but in general you need every single guy on the team playing to their full potential.

Cavs Make History, Really Are That Bad

2011-02-08T10:55:00.000-06:00

The Dallas Mavericks helped the Cleveland Cavaliers become an answer to a future Trivial Pursuit question in that the Lebron-less Cavs have lost 25 straight games, setting an NBA record. The funny thing is the team broke its own record of 24 games, set in 1982.
Following the loss, Mavs Guard Jason Terry, likely trying to be kind and soften the blow to Cavaliers’ fans, stated the team’s record wasn’t a reflection of how bad they really are. He backed up his claim with the fact that the Mavericks had several chances to put the game away but the Cavs refused to go away, ultimately losing by only three points.
While the Cavs have been competitive the last four games, keeping the final score within seven points or less, the last 36 games show nothing but failure for Ohio’s NBA fans.
Starting the season off, the Cavaliers went 7-9 proving that without Lebron James they were an average team. However, since that time they have had only one win and their losses range from close finishes to complete meltdowns. The following is a breakdown of the past 36 games.

Feb. 7 – at Dallas – L – 99-96
Feb. 5 – Portland – L – 111-105
Feb. 4 – at Memphis – L – 112-105
Feb. 2 – Indiana – L – 117-112
Jan. 31 – at Miami – L – 117-90
Jan. 30 – at Orland – L – 103-87
Jan. 28 – Denver – L – 117-103
Jan. 25 – at Boston – L – 112-95
Jan. 24 – at New Jersey – L – 103-101
Jan. 22 – at Chicago – L – 92-79
Jan. 21 – Milwaukee – L 102-88
Jan. 19 – Phoenix – L – 106-98
Jan. 15 – at Denver – L – 127-99
Jan. 14 – at Utah – L – 121-99
Jan. 11 – at LA Lakers – L – 112-57
Jan. 9 – at Phoenix – L – 108-100
Jan. 7 – at Golden State – L – 116-98
Jan. 5 – Toronto – L – 120-105
Jan. 2 – Dallas – L – 104-95
Jan. 1 – at Chicago – L – 100-91
Dec. 29 – at Charlotte – L – 101-92
Dec. 28 – Orlando – L – 110-95
Dec. 26 – Minnesota – L – 98-97
Dec. 22 – at Atlanta – L – 98-84
Dec. 20 – Utah – L – 101-90
Dec. 18 – New York – W – 109-102
Dec. 17 – at Indiana – L – 108-99
Dec. 15 – at Miami – L – 101-95
Dec. 12 – at Oklahoma City – L – 106-77
Dec. 11 – at Houston – L – 110-95
Dec. 8 – Chicago – L – 88-83
Dec. 7 – at Philadelphia – L – 117-97
Dec. 5 – at Detroit – L – 102-92
Dec. 4 – at Minnesota – L – 129-95
Dec. 2 – Miami – L – 118-90
Nov. 30 – Boston – L – 106-87

Among those 36 games, the Cavaliers won only one and scored 100 points or more in eight. Of the 35 losses, they finished within 10 points in 16 games, and among those only five games ended with the Cavs losing by five points or less. Of the other 19 losses that saw a point differential of 11 or more, the worst loss was by 55 points to the Lakers on Jan. 11. Another seven games were lost by 20 points or more.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are just not being competitive and I truly feel sorry for that team now that Lebron has left. Truly it should be the fans we feel sorry for, who are being spared to death not only by the Cavs, who have only been to the NBA Finals once in their entire history where they were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs, but by every sports franchise the city has to offer. Since 1964, when the Cleveland Browns won an NFL Championship, a title has never been achieved in any major sporting arena.

I Watch Too Many Movies

2011-01-28T15:36:00.006-06:00

During the month between the announcement of Academy Award nominations and the ceremony, I get a little too focused on the Oscars. What that means for you is a lot of Academy Award and movie posts for the next few weeks.
As I have seen every motion picture the Academy Awards have ever bestowed the Best Picture title to, I was curious to know how many of the nominees I’ve seen. Including the winners and other nominees from the previous 82 ceremonies beginning in 1928, there have been a total of 475 movies nominated for the Best Picture category. Of that group I have watched at least once, and in some cases too many to count like The Godfather series, Star Wars or Casablanca, a grand total of 272. That equates to more than half of the nominees. The exact percentage would be a shade over 57 percent.
That is not bad. Following this year’s Best Picture Showcase event I will be taking part in I will have seen nearly 58 percent of the nominees and that number is constantly rising as I continue to watch new movies weekly. In my Netflix queue right now I have an additional four nominated films to watch that were put there prior to the idea of this post.
Maybe someday I will shoot to see every movie ever nominated for Best Picture, but that is a mighty big task to take on.

Oscar Nominations Revealed

2011-01-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

When it was announced a couple years ago that the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be expanding their Oscar nominations for the Best Picture category from five to 10 films, I had mixed feelings about it. The knee-jerk reaction was it incorporated too many movies and the field no longer consisted of the cream of the crop, but at the same time it was nice to see a throwback to the beginnings of the Academy Awards when a lot of nominations was the norm at each Oscar ceremony. Beginning with the 5th Academy Awards, the Best Picture category allowed eight movies or more to be nominated and it wasn’t until the 17th Academy Awards that it went back to five nominees, like the second, third, and fourth year ceremonies had been. The inaugural ceremony only included three nominees for Outstanding Picture or Production and three nominees for Unique and Artistic Production. Those were combined the following year to become Best Picture.
After two years of seeing what it is like to have 10 movies nominated for the Best Picture category I have to say I completely support it, and my reasons are twofold. The first, and foremost, reason is it brings to the attention of moviegoers films that normally have been critically praised but publicly overlooked. Take for example last year’s nominees. Obviously everyone had heard of Avatar, The Hurt Locker, The Blind Side, Inglourious Basterds, Up, and Up in the Air. But the less popular films that would not have been as well publicized had it not been for the nomination included District 9, An Education, Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, and A Serious Man. I like that less popular films come to the forefront of everyone’s minds once the nominations are announced and those movies get some extra buzz, even if there is a miniscule chance they are going to win the award.
The second reason for liking the increase in nominations is it allows me the chance to see more movies at the special screenings prior to the ceremony where certain theaters show all of the Best Picture nominees. With 10 movies nominated, the theaters break the event up into two days and show five movies each day. Last year I was only able to get to one day of the event and I saw for the first time The Hurt Locker, The Blind Side, An Education, and Up in the Air. I also watched Inglourious Basterds, but that was a repeat for me.
This year’s nominees are Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone. I have already seen Inception (twice), The Social Network, and Toy Story 3 (own it on DVD), but watching these movies again will not be a bore. I had every interest in seeing Black Swan and True Grit when they were first released, but by the time I would have gotten around to seeing them I decided I could just wait until this special screening since I was confident they would be included in the list of 10. Others of the 10 I am looking forward to watching include The Fighter, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, and Winter’s Bone. The only one I am sort of dreading is The Kids Are All Right, but I did not want to see Atonement a few years ago when my wife and I did this and that turned out to definitely be worth the two hours.
I am saddened a bit that The Town got no love from the Academy for any sort of nomination in any category of significance. I was hoping that would be among the 10 nominees since I had missed out on its initial release.
It is interesting to speculate what would have been left out had the nominees been limited to five. My guess is Inception, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, and Winter’s Bone would certainly not have made it and the fifth nomination would have been between The Fighter and The Kids Are All Right.
We’ll find out the winners on February 27, so until then enjoy the movies.

A Defense For Tony Romo (Not That It Should Be Needed)

2011-01-19T15:52:00.000-06:00

Following a heated debate at Thanksgiving and then a repeat performance a week ago with my cousin about the merits of Tony Romo vs. Jon Kitna, I decided to embark on some statistical research regarding both Cowboy quarterbacks.

I will preface this post by publicly declaring my undying fandom for Romo. I appreciate Kitna and think he was the second-best back-up quarterback in 2010, behind Michael Vick who really shouldn’t count but did technically start the season as second string. Obviously my bias for Romo is what has fueled this rant. Yet being the ex-journalist I am, I have gone into this with some objectivity and wanted to find out the true stats of each quarterback for the 2010 season.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this post, I want to prelude once more with some background information on each player. Romo only played five full games and part of a sixth. Kitna played the other portion of Romo’s sixth game, eight full games, and half of a game in week 16. It should also be noted that all of Romo’s statistics were attained under Wade Phillips, whereas Kitna played under both Phillips and interim coach Jason Garrett, which I think everyone can agree should be considered when comparing these two quarterbacks.

Beginning with Romo’s seasonal stats, after six games he finished the year with 1,605 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He went 148 for 213, resulting in a 69.5 completion percentage and averaging 7.5 yards per pass attempt. He was sacked seven times and rushed for 38 yards, gaining 6.3 yards per rush. Romo had a QB rating of 94.9.

In the ten games Kitna was a part of, he passed for 2,365 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. His completion percentage at the end of the season was 65.7, completing 209 of 318 passes and averaging 7.4 yards per pass attempt. Kitna was sacked 21 times, rushed for 147 yards, attained 4.7 yards per rush attempt, and rushed for one touchdown. His passer rating for the season was 88.9.

In every statistic that is averaged out for the season Romo was the favorite and where Kitna’s numbers were higher it was mostly due to playing more games than Romo and being involved in an offense that had more spark under interim coach Garrett. To get an idea of how much more effective the offense was under Garrett than Wade Phillips, who each coached eight games apiece, Garrett got the team to score an average of 29.125 points per contest while Phillips scoring average was 20.125. One might argue that Garrett was the same guying leading the offense under both regimes, but it was clear to see that the team had given up under Wade Phillips and Garrett sparked a renewed fire inside of them once Phillips had been fired.

To take things a step further and look at two individual games from each quarterback under Wade Phillips, it is clear that on Romo’s worst days he was still a better option than Kitna. Regarding the only two games Kitna started for Phillips in weeks eight and nine, the team lost both games to Jacksonville and Green Bay by 18 and 38 points respectively. Against Jacksonville, Kitna three for 379 yards, went 34 for 49, had 12 rushing yards and was sacked only once. However, hit touchdown to interception ratio is what led to the 18-point thumping by Jacksonville, as he threw only one touchdown and four picks. In Green Bay he improved slightly in one area and faltered drastically in others. His touchdown/interception ration decreased to 1:2, but he only threw 19 completions on 30 attempts, amassed a measly 183 passing yards and was sacked four times.

Of the five full games Romo played, his worst two games were against Washington in week 1 and Minnesota in week 6. The team lost by a total of nine points combined. In Washington, Romo threw for 282 yards, with 31 completions on 47 attempts. He had one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and was sacked once. In Minnesota, he went 24 for 32 with 220 passing yards, 31 rushing yards, three touchdown throws and two picks.

Like my cousin, many Romo haters are going to dismiss the numbers in this article and either state that “stats are for losers” or claim that Romo should be benched over Kitna because of the way he wears his cap backwards. It is useless to argue with such people because until Romo wins three championships for the Dallas Cowboys he will never get his due.

Digital Killed The Everything Star

2011-01-11T15:29:00.002-06:00

What’s wrong with the right now?
My wife and friends are constantly getting on me for not progressing with technology and embracing the “next thing.” I don’t understand why I can’t keep what is available now and hang on to it for longer than a couple of years.
Take CDs of the 90s for example. They are smaller than records of the 70s, easier to manage than cassette tapes of the 80s, but people are abandoning it for digital music on iPods. I am fine with the iPod. My wife has one and I think it is great that you can listen to thousands of songs at random while doing literally anything in the world, from mowing the lawn and driving a car to sitting in your living room or cooking in the kitchen. That is great. But why do we have to turn our back on the previous source of technology? Why can’t I hang on to CDs and everything that entails, which includes browsing for them in music stores and holding the liner notes in my hand as I read about who the band is that made this album.
An argument I’ve heard against the CD is it takes up too much space. I have four folders full of CDs in my car for different genres of music and those cases take up less space than my daughter’s toys that are strewn across the backseat of the car. The same argument is made about DVDs and books that are on our shelves at home. Having movies and literature on our laptops is the future. Well I like having a bookshelf full of books. I enjoy standing in front of my DVD collection, wondering what movie I want to pick out.
I just don’t get why we have to be so attached to our computers for everything we do. My wife’s relentless reading of Facebook status updates and comments in the car drives me bonkers. How about you look out the window at the world going on around you instead of burying yourself in a digital world that is all about self-promotion and egotism? Amassing a small colony of Twitter followers and Facebook friends is the newest form of status symbol, like wearing Abercrombie & Fitch was in the new millennium or being a fat socialite in the early 18th century.
While I may seem to be against technology, that is not completely true. I am all for finding ways to make life easier, but having an electronic book is not easier. It is a parallel move from holding paper on your couch to holding a machine on your couch. That doesn’t improve our lifestyle in any way, so why do away with books.
What I really want is for the world around me to continue progressing with technology while preserving the older forms of things so that I can keep my CDs, books, DVDs and other stuff for more than five years at a time before upgrading to the next “latest and greatest thing.”
Oh, and I also don’t want 3D televisions to succeed. I think 3D is a stupid gimmick that should have died with disco music and Jim Morrison.

Thank You Nessa Roo

2011-01-10T14:55:00.000-06:00

Since leaving the newspaper in 2009 I haven't done much writing. Outside of the occasional post on here or on my other blog about poker, my writings have been nonexistent. I have some ideas that I start an outline on or think up an entire plot in my head, but when it comes time to put those thoughts down on paper I lose steam.
Normally I tell myself that nobody is going to like what I am writing about or it isn't going to be good enough to get published. However, after reading a fellow blogger's post that revealed an excerpt from a book she had started last summer I decided I shouldn't care what others are going to think about my writings. I would be writing for myself. If I were to author a dozen books and none of them got published, then that is okay. At least I found an outlet for my ideas. Those ideas don't have to be critiqued and approved by the masses.
Should my children or grandchildren someday read any future books I finish then that would be fine, but I am not going write with the idea of becoming the next J.K. Rowling. I simply want to express myself in the best way I know how, and that is through writing.

New Pixar Rankings

2011-01-08T07:44:00.000-06:00

With Emery old enough to watch, and understand, all the Pixar movies I have been watching them a lot lately. At Christmas my 3-year-old daughter got Toy Story 3 and we have already watched it a couple of times. Since viewing the Pixar films I have a new order of the best to the worst, which the worst is still better than most animated movies ever released.

The Incredibles
Toy Story
Finding Nemo
Up
WALL-E
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 2
Monsters, Inc.
Ratatouille
A Bug's Life
Cars

Can Jason Garrett Succeed As Head Coach And Offensive Coordinator?

2011-01-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

After the official announcement yesterday that Jason Garrett would be getting the head coaching job full-time next season (if there is a next season), it has been repeatedly announced that Garrett planned on remaining the offensive coordinator despite the promotion. At first I was in agreement with most sports talk pundits that it was a bad idea to not hire an offensive coordinator as the head coaching position requires a lot of attention and responsibilities. I even did some research to see how many Super Bowl winning teams had a head coach and an offensive coordinator, which is something all the reporters in television, radio, and print had said was the case but I wanted to see for myself. After going as far back as the 1992 Dallas Cowboys I verified that in the past 18 seasons the team that won the Lombardi Trophy had split the jobs of head coach and offensive coordinator between two people.
However, then I started thinking about this season's playoff-bound teams and realized something. The New England Patriots, who many think are a favorite to win it all, don't have either an offensive or defensive coordinator. Now, they have people doing the job of those positions, but not the title. Head Coach Bill Belichick appointed himself defensive coordinator at the start of the season and the team's quarterbacks coach is the offensive play caller.
Now I am not saying Jason Garrett is as great as Belichick in that he can be the team's master and commander as well as call plays while on offense, but what I am saying is that it is possible to do both and achieve a high level of success. I am behind the Jason Garrett hire completely as he showed in the final eight games a fire and passion in the team that was lacking under Wade Phillips, but as for continuing to be the offensive coordinator I will wait on passing judgement until I see how things are rolling in 2011.

Happy 2011

2010-12-31T16:50:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone's 2010 was as spectacular as mine. I wish you all a festive evening and a Happy New Year!

Funny To Me

2010-12-27T14:24:00.000-06:00

While watching television this afternoon while my wife and daughter nap, I suddenly found something chuckle-worthy and thought I would throw it up on here for anyone who might stumble along to this site. I am viewing a History Channel program called "The Last Stand of the 300" about the famous battle of Thermopylae made famous a few years ago by the Gerard Butler-starring, Zach Snyder-directed film from the Frank Miller graphic novel. What makes my situation so funny is my flip channel is old episodes of Tom and Jerry.
I go from an educational documentary on a famous battle where 300 Spartans faced off with Xerxes to an animated classic show about a violent stand-off between cat and mouse. I found it funny. I don't know about you.

A Vegas-Style Christmas

2010-12-17T10:47:00.000-06:00

I won't exactly be spending Christmas in Las Vegas, but I will be spending the next four days there. I, along with three of my friends, leave for Vegas today and I am getting really antsy about the trip. Ever since last night I haven't been able to sleep and all I am thinking about is our plane leaving for Sin City. It is going to be great. Hopefully I will have some fun stories from our trip to share.

Top Five Christmas Movies

2010-12-15T11:31:00.000-06:00

A person’s favorite Christmas movies is an unavoidable talking point at holiday parties every year. Like the weather, local sports teams, “what is new with you,” people who hardly know one another at public social gatherings hit these hot topics because they have only so much they can talk about. When the theme of the party is Christmas, your most liked holiday movies naturally get thrown into the rotation of compulsory questions.
Each year my answers were always the same, but this past summer I watched a Christmas classic that now is in my top five favorites. After going to Grapevine’s Palace Arts Theatre to view Frank Capra’s 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life last night, I felt it necessary to throw up my favorite Christmas movies of all time. One reason for the trip to Grapevine last night was because It’s a Wonderful Life is my most beloved of Christmas movies. The superb acting, laugh-out-loud comedy, and heart-tugging drama make this a must watch, whether for Christmas or otherwise. It is just a great film in general. It is amazing that when initially released it was a financial failure. However, thanks to numerous broadcasts at Christmas in the 1970s and 80s it has grown in popularity to become a staple of holiday viewing, right alongside A Christmas Story, which also makes the list.
Coming in second on my favorite holiday-themed films list is the Chevy Chase masterpiece National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. My favorite of the Lampoon Vacation movies is certainly the funniest of all Christmas movies, but Wonderful Life has it beat out as the emotional swings you go through in the James Stewart film is so much more poignant.
My next pick might be a controversial one for the elder generation as it is too new to be considered a classic, but it certainly will reach that status after another 15 years or so. The film I speak of is Elf, the 2003 comedy starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, and Ed Asner. Although the film is chock-full of the slapstick antics of Ferrell, at its core is a sentimental story where family, no matter how nutty they may be, comes first. Elf has given the general public new quotes to exclaim during the holiday season, such as screaming out “I know that guy!” when someone mentions Santa Claus or calling a person a cotton headed ninny muggings as a insult, and it also reminds us that Christmas spirit is magical and contagious.
The fourth best Christmas movie is what was mentioned before that sees a 24-hour marathon on Christmas Day. It is 1983’s A Christmas Story. The memorable moments are too many to count, but some highlights include a kid sticking his tongue to a frozen pole, the Chinese carolers, female leg lampshade, secret society decoder ring, the Queen Mother of Dirty Words, and, of course, the Red Ryder BB gun. Plus, my brother has always looked like Ralphie, so I felt a personal connection to the movie.
We come to the newest member of my Top 5 Christmas Movies list. After a single viewing this past summer, the original 1947-version of Miracle on 34th Street, starring Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn, has catapulted itself into the top echelon of Christmas movies for me. Like It’s a Wonderful Life, this movie isn’t just a great Christmas movie, but a fine film by itself that can be viewed at any time during the year without the need of the holiday as reason enough. However, unlike It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street was a financial and critical success, winning three Academy Awards for supporting actor and writing and being nominated for Best Picture, but ultimately losing. This season, I suggest picking one of these top five Christmas movies and sharing them with your family. Start a tradition of watching a Christmas movie with your kids every year and choose a new film each season.

Super Bowl Loser Curse Is Real

2010-12-01T16:46:00.001-06:00

With the Dallas Cowboys set to play a struggling and injury-laden Indianapolis Colts team this weekend, I was curious about the myth of a Super Bowl Hangover, also called a curse, for the losing team of the previous NFL season’s Championship Game. It is a no-brainer that the Colts have problems and are looking for any way possible to get back in the playoffs this year while currently having the same record as the 6-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. Yet, is there really a curse to blame for this. History seems to back that theory up.
As of the end of the 2009 season with 43 Super Bowl losers declared, there have been 14 teams to lose the Big Game and not make the playoffs the next year. However, of the 14 losing teams, nine of those have come in the past 16 years since the salary cap was introduced in 1994. Those teams include 1994 Buffalo Bills (who were coming off their fourth Super Bowl loss in a row), 1999 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Jets, 2002 St. Louis Rams, 2003 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Carolina Panthers, 2005 Philadelphia Eagles, 2007 Chicago Bears, and 2008 New England Patriots. Only the 2008 Patriots team was able to post a winning record the next season at 11-5, and that was even after quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the first game.
Among the seven teams to lose the Super Bowl one year and manage to make the playoffs the next, none of those teams made it past the divisional round of the post-season.
It seems that should you want to make a bet on whether the loser of the Super Bowl makes an appearance in the playoffs the following year you have a little better than 50-50 on that happening. Find a sucker to take the bet and give yourself some odds. It wouldn’t be hard to do. Say something like, “Come on! This team made the Super Bowl. As long as they bring back the core group then it should be easy for them to make the playoffs.” Take some odds and count the money as it rolls in at the end of the regular season when that team fails to clinch a spot in the tournament.

It's A Boy!

2010-11-29T10:06:00.000-06:00

Title says it all. Joanna and I found out last week we are going to have a son. We aren't 100 percent sure about what the name will be just yet, but we are leaning toward Jackson for the first name.
Joanna said finding out the sex of the child has made her pregnancy much more real and she feels that calling the child "he" instead of "it" has been a great help also personalizing her pregnancy. I'm just happy to have a boy. I have always wanted a son ever since I was a little kid myself. Of course, I can't imagine that I would love Emery any more even if she were a boy.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T16:34:00.000-06:00

This really shouldn't be posted until tomorrow, but I will be busy putting up our Christmas decorations and cleaning the house for the in-laws visit on Saturday. So here it is now.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Christmas Came Early For Cook Household

2010-11-18T09:54:00.002-06:00

My amazing mother took Joanna and me shopping last night for a new television and we got a 46-inch Samsung LCD that looks glorious in our living room. After making sure I had all the hookups right and wires in the correct spot we popped in a test movie to check out the quality. Of course it was a Bond movie and so the first thing to be tested on our new TV was Quantum of Solace.
While I am not one of those that wants my family’s focus to be set around a television set, this certainly is a great thing to have in the house and I can’t wait to get some movie watching going on it.
Another thank you goes out to my mom for the gift and letting us take it home early.

Garrett Top Gets First Win

2010-11-17T09:36:00.000-06:00

The Jason Garrett experiment went very well for the Dallas Cowboys after his first week of head coaching. While I don't necessarily think a dress code and being on time for meetings as Valley Ranch is the sole reason for the team's success, it certainly gives them more structure and discipline that was in existence under Wade Phillips. I am just glad to see the Cowboys get back to winning and hopefully this sparks something in them that keeps going for the rest of the season. Like I told Danny on Sunday, it is like a new eight-game season has begun and right now the Cowboys are 1-0.

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips Fired

2010-11-08T13:25:00.001-06:00

YES!!!!!

Bond Series Back On Track

2010-11-05T16:48:00.001-05:00

Anyone who knows me is aware of my affinity for film. And those who know that probably know my favorite series is the James Bond movies. It is a guilty pleasure of mine and the 22 films released through the Broccoli/Saltzman group are ones I can watch again and again. So I recently received some great news regarding the 007 series as it has recently been in limbo due to financial concerns for MGM.
Following a Manhattan federal bankruptcy court judge’s ruling yesterday, MGM 30 days to seek final approval of its reorganization plan. The former movie making giant has been the financier and distributor of the film series, despite EON Productions owning the rights.
The courtroom hearing scene comes a day after MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to a report from unofficial James Bond website mi6.co.uk, the company’s prepackaged plan proposes to eliminate $5 billion in debt by converting a loan through JPMorgan into the new stock in the reorganized company. Spyglass Entertainment chiefs will be overseeing MGM with a holding of less than 1% of the new company once it crawls out of its bankruptcy woes.
The good news for me in all of this is that the 23rd James Bond film is slated to open in November of 2012, with additional adventures for the English spy to continue every two years after that. I did not become a fan of the series until my senior year in high school, so I was not on the regular schedule of two years in between films like it was in the late 60s, 70s and early 80s.
Mi6.co.uk said, “Two potential suitors for Bond 23 financing and distribution are Paramount and Sony. Sony distributed the last two James Bond outings under the agreement reached when the company was part of the consortium that took over MGM in 2005. Sony have made it public that they would love to be involved again, but it looks like a bidding war between rival distributors will be taking place before Bond 23 is officially green-lit.”
Along with the Bond franchise, MGM’s assets include a half interest in “The Hobbit” films, its name and logo, the United Artists operations, and a library with more than 4,000 titles.
2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the EON Productions series of James Bond films.

Keep Your Heads Held High Metroplexians

2010-11-02T12:36:00.001-05:00

As disappointing and gut-wrenching as it was to watch the Texas Rangers lose Game 5 of the World Series last night, it was still a fantastic season that had many firsts for the ball club. Although the ultimate goal every season is to win a championship in whatever sport, I consider this year's Texas Ranger's season a success and can't wait for the developments with Cliff Lee's free agency and the other moves the Rangers will have to make in the offseason to keep this organization together.

Joe Buck's 'The Jerk' Reference

2010-10-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

Watching the San Francisco Giants wallop on the Texas Rangers last night in Game 1 of the World Series, Joe Buck made me laugh hysterically as he referenced Steve Martin's 1979 film "The Jerk." It was during a long at-bat by one of the Giants players who kept fouling the ball back to the camera behind home plate. After two or three of these balls came near the equipment set up to film the action, Buck uttered, "He hates these cameras." This could easily be taken as nothing more than a statement made off the cuff and Buck was not thinking of Martin's first starring film role as an idiotic white man raised by a black family, but it was just too similar to the famous line, "He hates these cans," to not be an out-and-out reference. I already liked Buck before as an announcer, but now I love him. Greatness!

I Love Midlothian

2010-10-21T19:23:00.000-05:00

Just finished playing three-man baseball with two kids from the neighborhood in my back yard. I saw them playing in the next door neighbor's front yard when I got home from work and got the baseball bug. I asked if they would like to add a third and when they said they were cool with it I told them to ask their parents and make sure it was okay. We got the good to go and were using ghost runners and patio furniture bases.
First of all, in a larger community you wouldn't see kids playing outside, let alone being welcome to an adult tagging along. Secondly, it would be frowned upon by the jaded parents of big city families who would think my longing for a kid-like afternoon of America's pasttime was some sort of pedophile ploy.
Every day that passes I find some new reason to love Midlothian more and more.

Looking Back On 'A Legend Is Born'

2010-09-09T18:53:00.002-05:00

What with tonight being the start of a new season for both the NFL and fantasy football geeks like myself, I decided to look back on a 10-man, 23-player-per-team league I took part in last year.

While drafting is probably the most fun part of a fantasy football league for most participants, it is only one aspect of managing a team for an entire season. A championship-caliber owner doesn’t just have to draft well, but he (or she) must make smart trades, know who to sit and start each week, and decide when it is the right time to drop or add a player. With such deep rosters in the league I am in, called “A Legend is Born,” the draft is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly because you must decide who the top 200 skill position players, 20 kickers and 20 defenses are going to be that year, as well as knowing the average draft position of said players and likely spot where they will be chosen at in this particular draft.

Drafts can go great for a team and result in a bench full of star-studded talent, but smart moves and luck must be in one’s corner to have a successful year as well. Take a look at my initial roster from 2009 and it is clear I was one of the teams who did not have a successful draft day. However, Brett Favre came out of retirement soon after our draft and I picked up the future hall-of-famer off the waiver wire for a glorious 453.08 points in the season. He outscored my second drafted quarterback Jake Delhomme by 302.48 points. Favre single-handedly saved my season and helped secure a third place finish for me. So what I am trying to say is that drafting is not everything in this game, but it certainly is something, and it is something we are going to break down and dissect to the smallest detail like a Cowboys preseason loss.

The following are the 10 teams who participated last year, the place they finished (with the difference between ninth and tenth place not available) and the players they selected with the total points scored in 2009. I have listed the players in order of their selection, so the first player on the team is the guy who was selected in round one, second guy is from round two, and so on and so forth. I also listed the teams in order of their draft pick, so Biscuits selected first in the draft and American Autopickers chose tenth.

Following the list, I will break down some trends that I noticed with certain teams.

Biscuits: 4th place

Adrian Peterson – 333.9

Clinton Portis – 77.1

Steve Slaton – 164.4

Jason Witten – 222

Antonio Gates – 255.7

LenDale White – 36.6

Vincent Jackson – 265.8

Jerricho Cotchery – 183.67

Kevin Walter – 128.7

David Garrard – 344.18

Baltimore Defense – 239

Joe Flacco – 340.62

NY Jets Defense – 281

David Akers – 166

Ryan Longwell – 155

Sammy Morris – 78.9

Ricky Williams – 259.5

Mark Bradley – 79.74

Visanthe Shiancoe – 178.6

Earl Bennett – 157.91

Shaun Hill – 84.22

Joe Nedney – 104

Buffalo Defense – 202

Total – 4,338.54

The Hardliners:

Michael Turner – 171.6

Brandon Jacobs – 153.9

Steve Smith (Car) – 219.4

Terrell Owens – 191.3

Thomas Jones – 270

Braylon Edwards – 140

Chad Ochocinco – 238.9

Carson Palmer – 327.06

Bernard Berrian – 141.67

Dustin Keller – 109.9

Kyle Orton – 369.18

Marc Bulger – 122.96

Jason Campbell – 348.82

Seattle Defense – 126

Fred Jackson – 323.08

Arizona Defense – 212

Nate Burleson – 181.68

Justin Fargas – 95.4

Tony Scheffler – 87.6

Matt Prater – 148

Keenan Burton – 50.3

Washington Defense - 153

Olindo Mare – 119

Total – 4,300.75

Convicts: 1st place

Maurice Jones-Drew – 350.57

Chris Johnson – 452.9

Reggie Wayne – 307.4

Philip Rivers – 430.66

T.J. Houshmandzadeh – 196.1

Dallas Clark – 286.7

Santana Moss – 187.47

DeSean Jackson – 319.8

Lance Moore – 41.3

Eli Manning – 376.84

Minnesota Defense – 212

Devin Hester – 177.46

New England Defense – 202

Chester Taylor – 128.7

Mason Crosby – 145

Tim Hightower – 211.6

Vernon Davis – 261.5

Hakeem Nicks – 169.87

Laurence Maroney – 167.2

Neil Rackers – 101

Fred Taylor – 55.6

Chase Coffman – 0

Juaquin Iglesias – 0

Total – 4,781.67

Slumdog Millionaire: 2nd place

Matt Forte – 226

Frank Gore – 306.6

Marion Barber – 182.3

Brandon Marshall – 294.9

Eddie Royal – 162.36

Anthony Gonzalez – 0

Matt Schaub – 500.5

Knowshon Moreno – 190

Percy Harvin – 300.57

Matt Hasselbeck – 281.56

Derrick Mason – 228

LeSean McCoy – 158.5

Daunte Culpepper – In UFL (no score available)

Ray Rice – 343.1

Jamal Lewis – Not in league (no score available)

Kevin Curtis – Not in league (no score available)

Chris Henry – Died during season (no score available)

Garrett Hartley – 38

Robbie Gould – 131

Jacksonville Defense – 63

Houston Defense – 169

Brandon Pettigrew – 76.6

Matthew Stafford – 213.98

Total – 3,865.97 (missing four scores)

Shockers: 7th place

Drew Brees – 496.92

Calvin Johnson – 211.7

Roddy White – 287.5

Wes Welker – 345.91

Tony Gonzalez – 205.7

Derrick Ward – 93.9

Matt Ryan – 299.04

Willie Parker – 55.3

Rashard Mendenhall – 221.43

Jeremy Shockey – 125.9

Chad Pennington – 32.72

Miami Defense – 145

Deion Branch – 99.9

Tampa Bay Defense – 137

Nick Folk – 105

Earnest Graham – 34.03

Heath Miller – 193.9

Josh Brown – 107.94

Atlanta Defense – 171

Correll Buckhalter – 139.46

Kerry Collins – 114

Oakland Defense – 108

Jamaal Charles – 330.37

Total – 4,061.62

Catfish Stunter: 5th place

Larry Fitzgerald – 297.2

Randy Moss – 314.4

Anquan Boldin – 222.6

Aaron Rodgers – 494.96

Darren McFadden – 81.2

Darren Sproles – 304.88

Jay Cutler – 373.94

Leon Washington – 88.93

Greg Olsen – 169.2

Pittsburgh Defense – 199

Jerious Norwood – 69.4

Donald Brown – 75.4

Ahmad Bradshaw – 167.17

Ted Ginn Jr. – 209.46

Green Bay Defense – 252

Jeremy Maclin – 171.78

Mark Sanchez – 204.36

Josh Morgan – 153.27

Johnnie Lee Higgins – 57.2

Kevin Faulk – 130.27

Lawrence Tynes – 144

Shayne Graham – 111

Sage Rosenfels – 0

Total – 4,291.62

Hundred Dollar Baby:

Andre Johnson – 354.9

Kurt Warner – 372.62

Dwayne Bowe – 132.9

Tony Romo – 449.32

Reggie Bush – 172.16

Larry Johnson – 82.1

Felix Jones – 161.59

Chris Cooley – 74.2

Matt Cassel – 260.36

Laveranues Coles – 126.33

Dallas Defense – 227

Steve Breaston – 163.47

Michael Crabtree – 120.5

Cedric Benson – 211.2

Le’Ron McClain – 66.25

Brady Quinn – 136.16

Indianapolis Defense – 176

Steve Smith (NYG) – 280

Matt Bryant – 38

Isaac Bruce – 46.6

Davone Bess – 175.82

Adam Vinatieri – 39

Darrius Heyward-Bey – 39

Total – 3,905.48

Chinese Cats: 8th place

DeAngelo Williams – 223.9

Steven Jackson – 265.8

Pierre Thomas – 198.77

Kevin Smith – 189.2

Antonio Bryant – 126

Donovan McNabb – 351.72

Hines Ward – 264.7

Donnie Avery – 136.17

Torry Holt – 124.2

John Carlson – 150.4

Tennessee Defense – 150

Trent Edwards – 99.36

San Diego Defense – 183

Kris Brown – 113

John Kasay – 116

Shonn Greene – 63

Chris Chambers – 154

Miles Austin – 321.26

Nate Washington – 141.4

Kevin Boss – 130.3

Rian Lindell – 132

Tyler Thigpen – 5.62

Cleveland Defense – 137

Total – 3,776.8

Moby D: 3rd place

Brian Westbrook – 82.5

LaDainian Tomlinson – 176.4

Greg Jennings – 222.3

Ryan Grant – 243

Joseph Addai – 248.78

Roy Williams – 140.6

Santonio Holmes – 245.8

Lee Evans – 147.2

Kellen Winslow – 202.1

Ben Roethlisberger – 426.82

Philadelphia Defense – 241

Jake Delhomme – 150.6

Carolina Defense – 222

Rob Bironas – 155

Jason Elam – Retired (no score available)

Willis McGahee – 166.9

Muhsin Muhammad – Retired (no score available)

T.J. Duckett – Released after season (no score available)

Brian Robiskie – 17.6

Brent Celek – 230.1

Pat White – 7.1

Jeff Reed – 143

Cincinnati Defense – 206

Total – 3,674.8 (missing three scores)

America’s Autopickers: 6th place

Tom Brady – 476.82

Peyton Manning – 500.2

Marques Colston – 238.4

Ronnie Brown – 145.48

Marshawn Lynch – 100.9

Jonathan Stewart – 232.33

Beanie Wells – 146.6

Owen Daniels – 124.9

Zach Miller (Oak) – 170.55

NY Giants Defense – 122

Chicago Defense – 137

Donald Driver – 221.4

Domenik Hixon – 179.83

Stephen Gostkowski – 152

Nate Kaeding – 167

Julius Jones – 151.5

Michael Jenkins – 119.5

Mark Clayton – 98.3

Anthony Fasano – 72.9

Sidney Rice – 285.2

JaMarcus Russell – 60.88

Phil Dawson – 82.9

San Francisco Defense – 273

Total – 4,259.59

The lowest total scored by drafted players was my own team, Moby D, at 3,674.8 points. However, I am lacking three players’ scores, so if you discount that then the lowest team with a full roster of scores would be Chinese Cats, who finished eighth with 3,776.8 points. Surely my three unknown scores would have equated to more than 102 points so that I didn’t finish with the worst draft. Right?

The highest scoring drafted team was first place Convicts at 4,781.67. A solid draft and keeping 14 of those original 23 players helped Convicts secure the championship in 2009, especially when those 14 players included Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Reggie Wayne, DeSean Jackson, and Dallas Clark, and the average seasonal score of the Fabulous 14 was 268.84 points. It didn’t even hurt that his final two picks of the draft combined for a total of 0 points.

Something that has no pattern whatsoever but is fun to know, the two teams to keep the most players from their draft throughout the entire season were Shockers and The Hardliners with 16 of its original players, finishing seventh and either ninth or last.

Second place Slumdog Millionaire kept the least amount of its original drafted team, ending the season with only seven of his original players. You might think the pattern of keeping more of your original drafted players leads to a losing record, but Convicts kept his Fabulous 14 and won the league, so there goes that theory.

But Matt, what do all of these players and their point totals look like in context of the actual draft that took place a year ago? Well reader, I’m glad you asked, because below is the draft order round by round with all the teams, the players who were taken and their points. I will do a brief summary of the round giving my take of who got the most valuable pick and who got fleeced.

Keep in mind that just because you selected the player with the most points in a specific round doesn’t necessarily mean you had the best pick. This doesn’t take into account the players who were selected too early for where they could have gone had you waited a round or two (or three in some cases).

Round 1

Biscuits – Adrian Peterson – 333.9

The Hardliners – Michael Turner – 171.6

Convicts – Maurice Jones-Drew – 350.57

Slumdog Millionaire – Matt Forte – 226

Shockers – Drew Brees – 496.92

Catfish Stunter – Larry Fitzgerald – 297.2

Hundred Dollar Baby – Andre Johnson – 354.9

Chinese Cats – DeAngelo Williams – 223.9

Moby D – Brian Westbrook – 82.5

America’s Autopickers – Tom Brady – 476.82

Most Valuable Pick: Quarterbacks are certainly valuable in this league and taking Drew Brees with the fifth pick of the draft might not have been a bad idea for Shockers considering the point totals among some of the other players in round one.

Biggest Sucker: Without question that would be me. I took a chance on the main back in Philadelphia ignoring the signs of wear-and-tear on the man and I paid dearly for it.

Round 2

America’s Autopickers – Peyton Manning – 500.2

Moby D – LaDainian Tomlinson – 176.4

Chinese Cats – Steven Jackson – 265.8

Hundred Dollar Baby – Kurt Warner – 372.62

Catfish Stunter – Randy Moss – 314.4

Shockers – Calvin Johnson – 211.7

Slumdog Millionaire – Frank Gore – 306.6

Convicts – Chris Johnson – 452.9

The Hardliners – Brandon Jacobs – 153.9

Biscuits – Clinton Portis – 77.1

Most Valuable Pick: I know I just said in the previous round that quarterbacks were valuable in this league and taking Drew Brees was not a poor decision, but taking back-to-back quarterbacks like America’s Autopickers did I do not condone. He could have had his elite tier-one QB in Brady (or Manning since he had back-to-back selections and it wouldn’t have mattered) and then gone for one of the premier wide receivers or running backs that was still available at the time. But Manning certainly was the most valuable pick here.

Biggest Sucker: Biscuits may have had the no-brainer selection with the first pick of Adrian Peterson, but when it came time for him to actually choose for himself he did not produce. Portis, like my Westbrook selection in the previous round, was a gamble on an aging running back (sad when 28 years old is considered on the decline) and it didn’t pay off.

Round 3

Biscuits – Steve Slaton – 164.4

The Hardliners – Steve Smith (Car) – 219.4

Convicts – Reggie Wayne – 307.4

Slumdog Millionaire – Marion Barber – 182.3

Shockers – Roddy White – 287.5

Catfish Stunter – Anquan Boldin – 222.6

Hundred Dollar Baby – Dwayne Bowe – 132.9

Chinese Cats – Pierre Thomas – 198.77

Moby D – Greg Jennings – 222.3

America’s Autopickers – Marques Colston – 238.4

Most Valuable Pick: Convicts landed a great wide receiver who week-in and week-out gave him valuable points.

Biggest Sucker: Biscuits followed up his flop of a second-round pick with another bust. At this point, Biscuits had three running backs, two of which wouldn’t hit 175 for the season.

Round 4

America’s Autopickers – Ronnie Brown – 145.48

Moby D – Ryan Grant – 243

Chinese Cats – Kevin Smith – 189.2

Hundred Dollar Baby – Tony Romo – 449.32

Catfish Stunter – Aaron Rodgers – 494.96

Shockers – Wes Welker – 345.91

Slumdog Millionaire – Brandon Marshall – 294.9

Convicts – Philip Rivers – 430.66

The Hardliners – Terrell Owens – 191.3

Biscuits – Jason Witten – 222

Most Valuable Pick: With the top two quarterbacks and Tom Brady (bouncing back from surgery had many questioning his productivity that year) off the board, it was time for a rush on the next tier of QBs. Catfish Stunter landed the top thrower in round four.

Biggest Sucker: Since injury is something no one can predict, America’s Autopickers selection of Ronnie Brown wasn’t necessarily a “sucker pick,” but he certainly had the worst value in the round.

Round 5

Biscuits – Antonio Gates – 255.7

The Hardliners – Thomas Jones – 270

Convicts – T.J. Houshmandzadeh – 196.1

Slumdog Millionaire – Eddie Royal – 162.36

Shockers – Tony Gonzalez – 205.7

Catfish Stunter – Darren McFadden – 81.2

Hundred Dollar Baby – Reggie Bush – 172.16

Chinese Cats – Antonio Bryant – 126

Moby D – Joseph Addai – 248.78

America’s Autopickers – Marshawn Lynch – 100.9

Most Valuable Pick: The Hardliners made a good selection with Thomas Jones.

Biggest Sucker: Catfish Stunter cannot say the same about Darren McFadden.

Round 6

America’s Autopickers – Jonathan Stewart – 232.33

Moby D – Roy Williams – 140.6

Chinese Cats – Donovan McNabb – 351.72

Hundred Dollar Baby – Larry Johnson – 82.1

Catfish Stunter – Darren Sproles – 304.88

Shockers – Derrick Ward – 93.9

Slumdog Millionaire – Anthony Gonzalez – 0

Convicts – Dallas Clark – 286.7

The Hardliners – Braylon Edwards – 140

Biscuits – LenDale White – 36.6

Most Valuable Pick: Although Donovan McNabb scored the most points in this particular round, it is probably Catfish Stunter who gets the nod for best pick in Darren Sproles. Although, he maybe could have had him a round later and gotten even better value out of him, but who knows at this point.

Biggest Sucker: The zero points for Anthony Gonzalez was definitely the worst thing in this round, but because he should have been a solid pick in round six I will instead give Hundred Dollar Baby and Biscuits the tie because they should have known what they were getting into with Larry “My Best is Behind Me” Johnson and LenDale “I Get to Build a New Me” White.

Round 7

Biscuits – Vincent Jackson – 265.8

The Hardliners – Chad Ochocinco – 238.9

Convicts – Santana Moss – 187.47

Slumdog Millionaire – Matt Schaub – 500.5

Shockers – Matt Ryan – 299.04

Catfish Stunter – Jay Cutler – 373.94

Hundred Dollar Baby – Felix Jones – 161.59

Chinese Cats – Hines Ward – 264.7

Moby D – Santonio Holmes – 245.8

America’s Autopickers – Beanie Wells – 146.6

Most Valuable Pick: Amazing value out of Matt Schaub at this point in the draft. Bravo Slumdog Millionaire.

Biggest Sucker: Here is the first group of picks that didn’t have a season-ending injury to completely skew the numbers. So America’s Autopickers loses out with Beanie Wells.

Round 8

America’s Autopickers – Owen Daniels – 124.9

Moby D – Lee Evans – 147.2

Chinese Cats – Donnie Avery – 136.17

Hundred Dollar Baby – Chris Cooley – 74.2

Catfish Stunter – Leon Washington – 88.93

Shockers – Willie Parker – 55.3

Slumdog Millionaire – Knowshon Moreno – 190

Convicts – DeSean Jackson – 319.8

The Hardliners – Carson Palmer – 327.06

Biscuits – Jerricho Cotchery – 183.67

Most Valuable Pick: The only two shining picks in this round were DeSean Jackson (a steal) and Carson Palmer (about normal for a quarterback of his caliber). So the applause goes to Convicts.

Biggest Sucker: Shockers and Hundred Dollar Baby both missed in this round.

Round 9

Biscuits – Kevin Walter – 128.7

The Hardliners – Bernard Berrian – 141.67

Convicts – Lance Moore – 41.3

Slumdog Millionaire – Percy Harvin – 300.57

Shockers – Rashard Mendenhall – 221.43

Catfish Stunter – Greg Olsen – 169.2

Hundred Dollar Baby – Matt Cassel – 260.36

Chinese Cats – Torry Holt – 124.2

Moby D – Kellen Winslow – 202.1

America’s Autopickers – Zach Miller (Oak) – 170.55

Most Valuable Pick: Thanks to Brett Favre’s return, Slumdog Millionaire hit the jackpot. Without Favre this round would have sadly gone to Hundred Dollar Baby for Matt Cassel. Certainly a down round.

Biggest Sucker: With so many touchdowns thrown to multiple receivers, it is amazing Convicts didn’t get at least a little love with the New Orleans pass catcher.

Round 10

America’s Autpickers – NY Giants Defense – 122

Moby D – Ben Roethlisberger – 426.82

Chinese Cats – John Carlson – 150.4

Hundred Dollar Baby – Laveranues Coles – 126.33

Catfish Stunter – Pittsburgh Defense – 199

Shockers – Jeremy Shockey – 125.9

Slumdog Millionaire – Matt Hasselbeck – 281.56

Convicts – Eli Manning – 376.84

The Hardliners – Dustin Keller – 109.9

Biscuits – David Garrard – 344.18

Most Valuable Pick: There is no question that quarterbacks are valuable in this league when a spare like David Garrard can throw up 344 points and be a viable option each week. But I finally hit pay dirt with Ben “The Accused Rapist” Roethlisberger. Thanks for waiting until this year to get caught buddy.

Biggest Sucker: The Hardliners technically is the pick for this round, but what do you really expect from Dustin Keller. I could argue America’s Autopickers gets the award for taking the first defense off the board and it couldn’t crack 125 (the league average was 185).

Round 11

Biscuits – Baltimore Defense – 239

The Hardliners – Kyle Orton – 369.18

Convicts – Minnesota Defense – 212

Slumdog Millionaire – Derrick Mason – 228

Shockers – Chad Pennington – 32.72

Catfish Stunter – Jerious Norwood – 69.4

Hundred Dollar Baby – Dallas Defense – 227

Chinese Cats – Tennessee Defense – 150

Moby D – Philadelphia Defense – 241

America’s Autopickers – Chicago Defense – 137

Most Valuable Pick: Surprise, it’s another quarterback. The Hardliners gets props for selecting a QB in round 11 that got the same point total as one taken five round earlier.

Biggest Sucker: Shockers and Catfish Stunter get a pass here because America’s Autopickers follows up his crappy defensive selection with another crappy defensive selection.

Round 12

America’s Autopickers – Donald Driver – 221.4

Moby D – Jake Delhomme – 150.6

Chinese Cats – Trent Edwards – 99.36

Hundred Dollar Baby – Steve Breaston – 163.47

Catfish Stunter – Donald Brown – 75.4

Shockers – Miami Defense – 145

Slumdog Millionaire – LeSean McCoy – 158.5

Convicts – Devin Hester – 177.46

The Hardliners – Marc Bulger – 122.96

Biscuits – Joe Flacco – 340.62

Most Valuable Pick: America’s Autopickers redeems himself with the Donald Driver pick, but it is Biscuits that scores best with the Joe Flacco pickup.

Biggest Sucker: I’m giving this one to Chinese Cats for the Trent Edwards selection, because although Donald Brown scored fewer points, he was given much less of an opportunity to shine.

Round 13

Biscuits – NY Jets Defense – 281

The Hardliners – Jason Campbell – 348.82

Convicts – New England Defense – 202

Slumdog Millionaire – Daunte Culpepper – N/A

Shockers – Deion Branch – 99.9

Catfish Stunter – Ahmad Bradshaw – 167.17

Hundred Dollar Baby – Michael Crabtree – 120.5

Chinese Cats – San Diego Defense – 183

Moby D – Carolina Defense – 222

America’s Autopickers – Domenik Hixon – 179.83

Most Valuable Pick: Another solid QB performance found in the thirteenth round. Great selection from The Hardliners.

Biggest Sucker: Without knowing Culpepper’s final numbers, I am going to give this one to Shockers. However, I think Hundred Dollar Baby might deserve it more. That might be surprising considering Deion Branch scored less points than Crabtree and the 49er receiver’s points came in only the second half of the season due to a holdout, but Hundred Dollar Baby gets the honorable mention nod because he let Crabtree sit on his bench all season long and then traded him only days prior to him actually playing. While that is an in-season move that shouldn’t reflect the draft selecting awards, I have to mention it for wasting the roster spot.

Round 14

America’s Autopickers – Stephen Gostkowski – 152

Moby D – Rob Bironas – 155

Chinese Cats – Kris Brown – 113

Hundred Dollar Baby – Cedric Benson – 211.2

Catfish Stunter – Ted Ginn Jr. – 209.46

Shockers – Tampa Bay Defense – 137

Slumdog Millionaire – Ray Rice – 343.1

Convicts – Chester Taylor – 128.7

The Hardliners – Seattle Defense – 126

Biscuits – David Akers – 166

Most Valuable Pick: For picking up the guy in round 14 who this year is going somewhere between third and fifth overall, this one is most certainly a Slumdog Millionaire vote.

Biggest Sucker: There really isn’t a clear cut loser here. It is mostly defense and kicker selections. Hundred Dollar Baby and Catfish Stunter avoid being in this group with their solid selections.

Round 15

Biscuits – Ryan Longwell – 155

The Hardliners – Fred Jackson – 323.08

Convicts – Mason Crosby – 145

Slumdog Millionaire – Jamal Lewis – N/A

Shockers – Nick Folk – 105

Catfish Stunter – Green Bay Defense – 252

Hundred Dollar Baby – Le’Ron McClain – 66.25

Chinese Cats – John Kasay – 116

Moby D – Jason Elam – N/A

America’s Autopickers – Nate Kaeding – 167

Most Valuable Pick: Way to go Hardliners for picking a running back in the fifteenth round that could have the same value as one in the first or second round.

Biggest Sucker: With no score for Jamal Lewis or Jason Elam, I have to give this one to Hundred Dollar Baby.

Round 16

America’s Autopickers – Julius Jones – 151.5

Moby D – Willis McGahee – 166.9

Chinese Cats – Shonn Greene – 63

Hundred Dollar Baby – Brady Quinn – 136.16

Catfish Stunter – Jeremy Maclin – 171.78

Shockers – Earnest Graham – 34.03

Slumdog Millionaire – Kevin Curtis – N/A

Convicts – Tim Hightower – 211.6

The Hardliners – Arizona Defense – 212

Biscuits – Sammy Morris – 78.9

Most Valuable Pick: Convicts and The Hardliners win this round with their selections that netted more than 200 points each while everyone else was ranging from 30-170.

Biggest Sucker: Shockers and Chinese Cats both whiffed on their running backs in round 16.

Round 17

Biscuits – Ricky Williams – 259.5

The Hardliners – Nate Burleson – 181.68

Convicts – Vernon Davis – 261.5

Slumdog Millionaire – Chris Henry – N/A

Shockers – Heath Miller – 193.9

Catfish Stunter – Mark Sanchez – 204.36

Hundred Dollar Baby – Indianapolis Defense – 176

Chinese Cats – Chris Chambers – 154

Moby D – Muhsin Muhammad – N/A

America’s Autopickers – Michael Jenkins – 119.5

Most Valuable Pick: Biscuits and Convicts tied with their selections. Both got great value in this round.

Biggest Sucker: Since a player dying is not foreseeable, Slumdog Millionaire gets immunity. America’s Autopickers might get the vote for Michael Jenkins, but even without knowing his final score, I think I might deserve it for Muhsin Muhammad.

Round 18

America’s Autopickers – Mark Clayton – 98.3

Moby D – T.J. Duckett – N/A

Chinese Cats – Miles Austin – 321.26

Hundred Dollar Baby – Steve Smith (NYG) – 280

Catfish Stunter – Josh Morgan – 153.27

Shockers – Josh Brown – 107.94

Slumdog Millionaire – Garrett Hartley – 38

Convicts – Hakeem Nicks – 169.87

The Hardliners – Justin Fargas – 95.4

Biscuits – Mark Bradley – 79.74

Most Valuable Pick: Chinese Cats should be thanking Roy Williams for his injury. Otherwise he and every other Cowboy fan out there would not know the true greatness that is Miles Austin.

Biggest Sucker: Even for a kicker 38 points is terrible. Slumdog Millionaire wins (loses?) this round.

Round 19

Biscuits – Visanthe Shiancoe – 178.6

The Hardliners – Tony Scheffler – 87.6

Convicts – Laurence Maroney – 167.2

Slumdog Millionaire – Robbie Gould – 131

Shockers – Atlanta Defense – 171

Catfish Stunter – Johnnie Lee Higgins – 57.2

Hundred Dollar Baby – Matt Bryant – 38

Chinese Cats – Nate Washington – 141.4

Moby D – Brian Robiskie – 17.6

America’s Autopickers – Anthony Fasano – 72.9

Most Valuable Pick: Another benefactor of Favre’s un-retirement, Biscuits hit it big with a nineteenth round tight end.

Biggest Sucker: Without a doubt I am the culprit with a 17.6 point selection, but another 30-something total from a kicker gets Hundred Dollar Baby put in a corner (Wait, wrong movie reference).

Round 20

America’s Autopickers – Sidney Rice – 285.2

Moby D – Brent Celek – 230.1

Chinese Cats – Kevin Boss – 130.3

Hundred Dollar Baby – Isaac Bruce – 46.6

Catfish Stunter – Kevin Faulk – 130.27

Shockers – Correll Buckhalter – 139.46

Slumdog Millionaire – Jacksonville Defense – 63

Convicts – Neil Rackers – 101

The Hardliners – Matt Prater – 148

Biscuits – Earl Bennett – 157.91

Most Valuable Pick: For the second round in a row, a Favre clinger-oner has great value late in the draft. Way to autopick America’s Autopickers.

Biggest Sucker: Two poor selections in a row for Hundred Dollar Baby. Maybe you should have just pulled the plug and ended your misery (Aha! I knew I would come around to the right movie).

Round 21

Biscuits – Shaun Hill – 84.22

The Hardliners – Keenan Burton – 50.3

Convicts – Fred Taylor – 55.6

Slumdog Millionaire – Houston Defense – 169

Shockers – Kerry Collins – 114

Catfish Stunter – Lawrence Tynes – 144

Hundred Dollar Baby – Davone Bess – 175.82

Chinese Cats – Rian Lindell – 132

Moby D – Pat White – 7.1

America’s Autopickers – JaMarcus Russell – 60.88

Most Valuable Pick: Hundred Dollar Baby redeems himself with this round’s selection. Way to turn it around.

Biggest Sucker: A whopping 7.1 points is going to get me to the winner’s circle on this one. I happily dropped Pat White once Favre said he was a go.

Round 22

America’s Autopickers – Phil Dawson – 82.9

Moby D – Jeff Reed – 143

Chinese Cats – Tyler Thigpen – 5.62

Hundred Dollar Baby – Adam Vinatieri – 39

Catfish Stunter – Shayne Graham – 111

Shockers – Oakland Defense – 108

Slumdog Millionaire – Brandon Pettigrew – 76.6

Convicts – Chase Coffman – 0

The Hardliners – Washington Defense – 153

Biscuits – Joe Nedney – 104

Most Valuable Pick: Nothing really jumps out as the two best picks were a kicker and defense, but I guess The Hardliners and I deserve the wins.

Biggest Sucker: It is quite amazing that Convicts manhandled this league when he completely missed on his last two selections.

Round 23

Biscuits – Buffalo Defense – 202

The Hardliners – Olindo Mare – 119

Convicts – Juaquin Iglesias – 0

Slumdog Millionaire – Matthew Stafford – 213.98

Shockers – Jamaal Charles – 330.37

Catfish Stunter – Sage Rosenfels – 0

Hundred Dollar Baby – Darrius Heyward-Bey – 39

Chinese Cats – Cleveland Defense – 137

Moby D – Cincinnati Defense – 206

America’s Autopickers – San Francisco Defense – 273

Most Valuable Pick: Pick of the entire draft, Shockers hits a grand slam with Jamaal Charles in round 23.

Biggest Sucker: See same category in round 22. Catfish Stunter gets additional love for laying an egg.

A Rekindled Pastime (Veteran's Park: August 30)

2010-09-01T21:07:00.001-05:00

Monday after work I met up with some friends and played a round of Frisbee golf at Veteran’s Park. The occasion was special because Danny has decided to pick up the game. Since we might be playing the “sport” a little more, I’ve come to the conclusion I should keep track of my playing and record any progress. I do so with poker and softball, so why not this also.

After doing some research online and finding a website with statistics on every possible course in the country available, I printed off a scorecard and will be keeping track of my scores on a hole-by-hole basis. I will then transfer those numbers to this blog so I can always go back and see my progress on different courses.

The scorecard I printed says every hole is a par 3 from the blue tee box, but that is simply ridiculous. There is no way you can say that hole 4 and holes 1 and 12 are all the same when the distances range from 167 feet to 541 and 557 feet each. So I tweaked with the official score of 54 and have decided a total of 59 at Veteran’s Park is more accurate. It is still challenging, but birdies are now actually possible.

By my scoring, holes 1, 3, and 7 are par 4 and hole 12 is a par 5. This adds three to the front nine and two to the back nine. With the thick woods and long distances on certain holes that remained par 3, it is still a challenging course for beginners and pros.

My score yesterday ended up being 69, resulting in a +10 for the course. Not good at all, but if that is the worst I ever shoot out there as of keeping track from here on out then I will be okay with that. I birdied hole 15. I shot six pars on holes 1-2, 4, and 11-12, and 16. My 11 bogies came on holes 3, 5-10, 13-14, and 17-18.

My official score looked like the following:

Hole 1 (4) – 4

Hole 2 (3) – 3

Hole 3 (4) – 5

Hole 4 (3) – 3

Hole 5 (3) – 4

Hole 6 (3) – 4

Hole 7 (4) – 5

Hole 8 (3) – 4

Hole 9 (3) – 4

Out (30) – 36

Hole 10 (3) – 4

Hole 11 (3) – 3

Hole 12 (5) – 5

Hole 13 (3) – 4

Hole 14 (3) – 4

Hole 15 (3) – 2

Hole 16 (3) – 3

Hole 17 (3) – 4

Hole 18 (3) – 4

In (29) – 33

Total (59) – 69 (+10)

Big News Delayed

2010-08-18T22:50:00.001-05:00

I teased some big news earlier this month and then forgot to follow up. Everyone who cares already knows, but Joanna is pregnant. Yah!!! That is all. Move along.

Michael Irvin's Hall Of Fame Status Questioned

2010-08-10T15:15:00.004-05:00

Reading some football notes today during lunch I came across something that took me aback for a moment about former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin. It was from a blog called Sobering Thoughts, written by Paul Tuns yesterday. Tuns was talking about the Hall of Fame inductees, including Irvin's former teammate Emmitt Smith. In the post, he made the claim, “I'm not sure that Michael Irvin really is a Canton-worthy WR and way too much was made of The Triplets finally being in the Hall of Fame together.”
Since Tuns’s declaration was not prefaced with something regarding Irvin’s off-the-field issues being the reason for his Hall of Fame exclusion, I have to assume he actually means that The Playmaker didn’t rack up enough statistics to make it into Canton. I was not the biggest football fan up until about three years ago (thank you fantasy football league), so since my memory can’t help with this article I decided I would need to do some research on whether Irvin’s numbers were Hall of Fame worthy.
Michael Irvin became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2005, but he was not selected to forever be enshrined in the Hall until 2007, his third year of eligibility. His 750 career receptions, 11,904 reception yards and 47 100+ yard receiving games put him at 27th, 17th and third on the NFL’s all-time records. He amassed 65 receiving touchdowns and was elected to five Pro Bowls, earning the MVP honor in the 1992 Pro Bowl game. Irvin was also selected to the second team of the 1990s All Decade Team.
These are all great facts and figures, but what does it mean when compared to other Hall of Fame wide receivers? We’ll start with the most recent addition to the Hall, which included the all-time leading wide receiver in multiple categories.
Jerry Rice is a terrible person to compare Irvin to, only because Rice’s statistics will diminish the great things Irvin did in Dallas. However, to be fair I must compare Irvin to as many types of Hall of Famers as possible.
Prior to the announcement of who would be in the 2010 Class, it was a no-brainer that Rice would be among them as a first-year inductee, meaning he was selected in the first year of eligibility. Since his retirement, Rice has led the league in receptions (1,549; 447 ahead of second place), receiving yards (22,895; 7,961 ahead of second place), and receiving touchdowns (197; 65 ahead of second place). Along with all the accolades thrust upon him throughout the years as one of the greatest to ever play the game, Rice was selected to the first team for both the 1980s and 1990s All Decade Teams.
Now that we’ve gotten the greatest wide receiver of all time out of the way, let us move on to more common Hall of Fame players.
Another first-year inductee, who Irvin comes close to in a few categories, is Seahawks great Steve Largent. At the time of Largent’s retirement, he had recorded 819 receptions, 13,089 receiving yards, and 100 touchdowns, which were all records for a wide receiver at the time. Largent was also selected to seven Pro Bowls. As impressive as Largent’s career was, his receptions and receiving yards are so far out of reach of where Irvin sat. Largent had 69 more receptions and a little more than 1,000 yards. Had Irvin’s career not been cut short by a hard hit in Philadelphia, he might have been able to surpass those numbers.
A first-year Hall of Fame inductee whose only statistics greater than Irvin’s were touchdowns (85 to 65) was Paul Warfield, however, Irvin more than surpassed Warfield’s 427 receptions and 8,565 receiving yards. There may be other reasons Warfield was selected in his first year of eligibility that I overlooked, but from a statistical viewpoint there is nothing so outstanding that Irvin can’t be in the same category.
Two names synonymous with wide receiver greatness who share Irvin’s disappointment with not being named a first-year inductee are Art Monk and Lynn Swann. Monk’s numbers vastly outweigh Swann’s, but Swann has four Super Bowl rings to fall back on.
Monk currently sits at ninth on the all-time reception leader board with 940, 14th all time in receiving yards with 12,721, and tied at 34th all-time in receiving touchdowns with 68. The former Redskin was the first in NFL history to record a 100-reception season. He finished with five 1,000+ yard seasons, 33 100+ yard regular season games and five 100+ yard playoff games. In comparison, Irvin had six career 100+ yard receiving postseason games.
With the Steelers, Swann was selected to three Pro Bowls during a career that resulted in 336 receptions, 5,462 receiving yards and 51 touchdowns. In Swann’s defense, the Pittsburgh teams of the 1970s were a run-heavy offense that didn’t rely on the wide receiver talents as much as in today’s game.
A few other Hall of Fame pass catchers who don’t come even close to Irvin’s numbers are Fred Biletnikoff and former Cowboy Bob Hayes. Biletnikoff’s reception total sits at 589, but like Swann he was on a run-based offense. In 11 years with the Cowboys, Hayes had 371 reception and 7,414 receiving yards. His 71 receiving touchdowns do beat out Irvin though.
It is impossible to compare the greatness of one wide receiver to another from different teams, let alone different decades, but I think it’s slightly wacko to claim that Irvin doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. His numbers speak for themselves.

All Is Right Again In The World

2010-08-05T09:27:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning to some spectacular news that included Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan putting in the winning bid at the Texas Rangers auction sale. Everything that worried and depressed me yesterday about Mark Cuban possibly controlling my local baseball club was for naught.
This news was coupled with some other things that I will get into detail about later, but I was also pleasantly surprised to hear the Rangers had rallied in Seattle to win last night, which was news to me since I went to sleep with the Mariners leading 5-2. Everything is going swimmingly well right now.

My Uneducated, Unnecessary Thoughts On The Sale Of The Texas Rangers

2010-08-04T16:50:00.001-05:00

I have not been keeping up with every detail of this ludicrous, three-ring circus act that has been the sale of my hometown Texas Rangers, but constantly today I’ve checked as many websites as my work computer will allow so I can know what is going on with the auction that will result in a new owner of the team.
Since Nolan Ryan has become president of the team, a swell of support has grown around the Texas Rangers that I honestly believe has helped make the players on the field better. Of course, it hasn’t hurt that since Ryan’s takeover of on-the-field decisions (and even a bit before that when General Manager Jon Daniels started making some pretty amazing trades) this team has become a true contender for post-season success. Take for example Ryan ignoring pitch counts and working the starting pitchers longer innings in order to give some relief to the bullpen. In the short-term that mantra of thinking seems to be working and it has even been copied by other teams around the league.
Since learning of Mark Cuban’s interest in putting in a bid to purchase the Rangers with Houston businessman Jim Crane, my crush on baseball has started to wane. I just don’t want to think of a world where Nolan Ryan isn’t a part of this team again, and I can only imagine how it would be for me if I had taken an interest in the former pitcher when he was still a player for the Arlington-based team, recalling his great moments like throwing his seventh no-hitter or putting a batter in a headlock during a fight on the mound.
Who is not to say Cuban wouldn’t leave Ryan as the president of the team when he takes over, but I have a feeling if the Greenberg Sports Group, which includes Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan, doesn’t win at the auction, Ryan will bow out as leader of the team.
It is also speculated Cuban would eventually move the Rangers to Dallas, where his basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks, currently reside. Being from Arlington, I love having the Ballpark in the city I grew up in. It is in a central location of the metroplex, provides easy access to and from the stadium, and it now sits right next door to Jerry Jones’s Cowboys Stadium. It has become a true sports complex.
I’m not saying Mark Cuban would be a bad owner. He would be an owner totally committed to winning a World Series who does anything it takes to accomplish that goal, which includes throwing money at top players like Cliff Lee to keep them at the Ballpark and away from the hated Yankees. But by doing such a thing, doesn’t that in essence make you a copy of the Steinbrenner-way-of-thinking and in essence turn you in to a mini-Yankee team? I don’t want that to be the Texas Rangers. This team has proven that you can build a farm system full of potentially great major league stars with solid drafting and smart trades. Sure, it took years of abysmal seasons that essentially ended in June (sometimes May) for things to start looking bright for our Texas Rangers. However, once the boat was set on the right course and the entire team, from management on down to the fan base, got on board, it didn’t take long for the seats to start filling and a competitive team to show up day in and day out.
I fear we lose this mentality if Nolan Ryan says goodbye to the Texas Rangers again. My sports knowledge is nothing when it comes to the grand schemes of baseball teams, but my gut tells me that Mark Cuban as the owner of the Texas Rangers will not be a better outcome than the Greenberg Sports Group owning the team.

Just Dropped By To Say Hi

2010-07-29T15:53:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would pop in and give a few updates.
I am being given a raise at work, which was highly unexpected and even more highly appreciated. My boss is wonderful.
I'm going to Weatherford this weekend to play cards. Hopefully, I have a decent night and get some extra money to help pay for new tires my car badly needs.
My daughter's third birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, which means my thirtieth is also on the way. Joanna and I are planning to rent a bounce house for the kids to play on and order pizza for everyone to enjoy. Should be a good time.
Football is right around the corner, but the Texas Rangers have made life very interesting around the metroplex as they continue to fight for a chance at a championship, all while going through an ownership change/debacle. With football coming, that means fantasy football is also here. I am already signed up for four leagues. It will be the most I've ever been a part of. Two of my teams are a part of keeper leagues. My group of friends tried this a couple seasons ago, but it didn't stick. We'll see how these two leagues go.
That is about it. Hopefully something worth writing about happens soon that I can post more frequently. Check out my Living the Dream blog to see how Saturday night goes.

A Nostalgic Find

2010-06-30T13:23:00.001-05:00

While on my lunch break today, I found a Web site that contained a written history of the Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions, or TOC as it was better known, was designed to develop the poker skills of our group of friends and find out who the best player was. It certainly helped with our game, but I don't think we ever conceded that it determined the true "Great One."

The site can be found at http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/t/to/tournament_of_champions.htm. I have a feeling I wrote the article at one time, but I don't remember where I posted it to where it would show up at this site.

New Pixar Movie, New Rankings

2010-06-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

Every time a new Pixar movie is released I rank the films in order of my preference. This doesn't necessarily mean that I believe my ranking is superior to anyone else's and it certainly doesn't list the movies in order of their greatness. It is simply a list of my most to least favorite of Pixar's work. While the movie that comes in at number one is not necessarily their best effort or story, it does entertain me the most and therefore gets the top spot.
And on to the list, which I have included next to each movie the IMDb ranking I have assigned to each movie.

1. The Incredibles - 10
2. Toy Story - 10
3. Finding Nemo - 10
4. Up - 10
5. WALL-E - 9
6. Toy Story 3 - 9
7. Ratatouille - 8
8. Monsters, Inc. - 8
9. Toy Story 2 - 8
10. A Bug's Life - 8
11. Cars - 7

"Deep Thoughts" by Sean Pamphilon

2010-04-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

I'm watching ESPN's 30 for 30 episode about Ricky Williams right now, and while the content is interesting and it gives a great first-hand account of why the polarizing athlete is the way he is, I can't get past the director. Sean Pamphilon is behind the camera asking the questions of the interviewee and commenting throughout the program, but all I think about when he speaks is the voice of SNL's "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" skits. I keep thinking he is at some point going to finish a monologue with how he took his kid to what he said would be Disneyland, but instead was a burned down building and how although the child was sad the joke was appreciated deep down by both.

Check This Out

2010-04-30T18:45:00.000-05:00

The two people who check this blog out not only already know what I am about to talk about, but one of them is directly involved in it, but I'm still going to bring it up. My buddy James is on a trip to the Holy Lands right now and he is writing down his experience. If you are interested then go to thejamesmiller.wordpress.com.

Lost Prediction Updates

2010-04-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

As each week passes and we come closer to finishing the phenomenon that is Lost, I will continue to see how close I come with certain guesses at how the show will end and what will happen with episode cliffhangers. So let's see where we stand.

Jack becoming the new Jacob: Considering his conversation with Sawyer about feeling a void when he left the island the first time and choosing not to go home on the submarine with the rest of the group, it looks more likely that he is staying behind. I'm feeling more confident in this prediction.

The rest of the Oceanic 815 group and friends leave: With Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Sun, Jin, Claire, and Lapidus all being held at gunpoint at the end of "The Last Recruit" this idea doesn't look good, but they will get out of this somehow. Sawyer will probably talk them out of it if I had to guess.

Desmond hit Locke to get him with Jack: That happened just as I guessed it would. Might not have been a shocking guess to get right, but still was good of me to put two and two together. Now how does Desmond know that doing all these things is going to get the results he wants, I have no idea.

Smoke monster takes form of dead on the island: Nailed that one. Again, not earth shattering, but still nice to know I am keeping up.

New predictions:
I don't really have any. I am pretty confident Sayid did't kill Desmond and probably even let him out of the hole, but that is probably obvious. The real question is what is going on inside Sayid. I really don't know anything about that.

Got A New Job

2010-04-20T19:37:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. I got a new job working at the corporate office of Colonial National Mortgage. It might be just temporary though, so I could be back in this position again soon. We will see.

My LOST Prediction

2010-04-14T18:00:00.001-05:00

As the sensational series Lost is wrapping up its final story with the battle between good and evil coming to a head, I wanted to get down on paper what I believe will occur in the end. I truly don't expect this prediction to actually turn out to be correct, but it will be fun to see how close I come. This should go without saying, but the following is going to contain some spoilers. So if you haven't seen up to the episode "Happily Ever After" then don't read on.
Okay. After last night's episode of Hurley becoming a leader on the island and even lying to members of his group in order to get his way, Desmond is taking initiative in the flash-sideways world by getting members of Oceanic 815 to see memories of their lives on the island (despite never really ever being on the island in that particular timeline), and Jacob's ultimate wish to find a replacement among the candidates to watch over the island now that he is gone.
My overall guess as to what the ending is going to be is that the flash-sideways timeline will merge back with the original timeline. The fact that Desmond, Hurley and Libby have had visions of the original timeline makes me believe that is where they belong. I think Jack will become the island's protector as he has fought so hard to not believe in fate or that the island is where he belongs, but his being a man of science is coming to an end and he will ultimately be the man of faith who makes sure that the smoke monster cannot leave the island like Jacob did before. The rest of the Oceanic 815 group and friends will leave the island after stopping the smoke monster's plans.
As to why Desmond hit Locke in the flash-sideways timeline from last night, I think it was to get him in the hospital where Jack will perform surgery on him, saving his life, which will get their memories kickstarted just like Hurley's did when he kissed Libby.
I also think that smoke monster can take the form of people who die on the island such as Christian Shepherd (Jack's dad) and send people on tasks that they think are for the greater good. Take for example when John Locke went in Jacob's cabin but the ash circle had been broken and Christian was inside to tell him he needed to bring back the Oceanic Six and he would have to die to do it. I believe that was smoke monster getting Locke to do what he needed in order to then take his form later.
With that belief, I think Michael showed up last night to get Hurley to do what he did so the plane wouldn't be blown up and to get the rest of the people smoke monster needed in order to leave the island.
We will see how I do on these predictions as the final episodes play out. I will update as each week passes with how close I am coming to being accurate or way wrong (which will likely end of the latter).