Finally a new post

LeLame Rant

Parcour and I have decided that we are not big Lebron James fans, and we'd like to speak our minds about it. Pardon our frankness.

Braves weekend Series

Well, happy Memorial Day to you all.

Great Friday Night in sports

Just a few words about 3 different sports. Let me know if I should do anything different. This video blogging thing is still in the early stages. And I'd love some input. 

Bottle Shock

Just finish watching Bottle Shock with the great Allan Rickman. Below is my review. It is pretty easy to tell I am tired and ready for bed so I apologize for the distant gaze in my eyes.

Terminator salvation

The end of school really ate into any free time I had, but with summer comes new opportunities to write AND a switch over to a video format. I will try to type out some posts as well, but video posts are faster, easier, and (I think) more fun to watch.

Welcome back with some basketball

So I'm going to start video blogging. Sorry if I'm awkward at first, I can't help it.

Hilarity, happy weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSbT1RycDY4&feature=player_embedded

Trailer Alert

Comingsoon.net has posted the international trailers for Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince and Michael Mann's Public Enemies. Unfortunately, each Harry Potter has disappointed except for Azkaban, while Michael Mann's Miami Vice was convoluted and emotionally distant. Both international trailers are excellent in their own right, with Public Enemies especially impressive.

Johnny Depp as John Dillinger

Harry Potter as Harry Potter

Thank you Atlanta Thrashers

I just want to thank the Atlanta Thrashers for playing as well as they did the last third of the season. The Thrashers were 12-21-5 on December 31st. They were widely regarded the worst team in the NHL with no foreseeable success any time soon. They had a star player who seemingly didn't want to be there and a front office that could care less about the team.

Starting in the New Year though the Thrashers were a different team. At the beginning of the season new coach John Anderson said that it was going to take a while for his methods to be successfully implemented, and he wasn't kidding. As a huge hockey fan and Thrashers fan the 1st 3 months of the season were brutally hard to watch. We could stop another teams offense even if we sacrificed any semblance of an offensive game to do it. But things turned around. The Thrashers play their last game of the season tomorrow night at home against Tampa bay and at best they will finish 3rd from the bottom in the conference with 74-76 points. While that may not seem like much, the Thrashers looked like they were going to be way worse. Their record at the moment is 34-41-6 meaning they went 22-20-1 the last half of the season. An incredible turnaround for a team that was mired in apathy before the New Year. The new found success was even better from the middle of February onward where the Thrash went 14-9-1 down the stretch to pull themselves out of the cellar. During this turnaround it is isn't coincidental that Ilya Kovalchuk had been named captain. He went from being talked about for not producing to vaulting into the top ten in goals and points.

All of this change the past couple months has given Thrashers fans hope for the future. There is a rock solid core consisting of Kovalchuk (26) Bryan Little (21) Colby Armstrong (25) Zach Bogosian (18!) Nathan Oystrik (26) Rich Peverly (26) and the rest of the defense in which no one is over 28 years old.

Things are looking up.

Reviews from the Sydney Premiere

Star Trek reviews keep coming in! Granted we still have a little less than a month to go, BUT this particular review got me excited though not especially well written.

"The result is a triumph, certain to be regarded as not just one Trek's better moments, but one of the finest films made in the sci-fi genre."

Potential Desktop Background?

I realize I am obsessed, but everything that is released on Spike Jonze Where the Wild Things Are, I have to post. Along with the poster released yesterday, above is a production still Warner Bro's released as well. COME FAST OCTOBER!

First Star Trek Reviews...

The guys at Aint it Cool News posted their thoughts on the new Trek film and they all seem to be in agreement that J.J. Abrams and crew have just absolutely hit this one out of the park. Other online critics are chiming in at rottentomatoes, and slap me sideways, my excitement level keeps sky rocketing. I'll keep an eye out for additional review postings.

DISCLAIMER: I am personally not reading ANY plot synopsis at all when skimming these reviews. The reviews at Aintitcoolnews are great at labeling sections that contain spoilers, however I cannot vouch for anything else found on the web.
Not to give everything away, but as I continue my top 20 summer countdown, it should be no secret what film will be securely in my top 5.

Braves Start '09 Stong

The first two games are down and out of the way and the Braves have come out with half the win total against the Phils as they had all of last year. The team has responded to the challenge of playing the defending World Series champs as well as I could have possibly imagined.

Pitching: Both Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens were unhittable. They combined for 13 and 2/3 shut out innings against one of the most feared lineups in baseball. Check out these lines for the Phils 3 MVP candidates.

Jimmy Rollins- 1 for 9

Chase Utley- 2 for 7

Ryan Howard- 2 for 8 with 2 Ks

The vaunted Phillies leaders went 5-24 with no RBI against our 2 aces. The entire Phillies team has only been able to scrap together 1 run on 10 hits (with only 3 being for extra bases). Lowe and Jurrjens only gave up 6 hits combined. Unreal! The bullpen has even looked halfway decent. Mike Gonzalez labored through the first few hitters in the 9th on Sunday but shut the door when needed most then had a perfect inning tonight. Soriano pitched a solid inning only allowing a walk. Even Eric O'Flaherty looked promising coming in and protecting the lead after Jeff Bennett allowed the 1st runner on that he faced with 2 outs in the 5th. Now we have to be getting excited since we still have 2 debuts coming with Vasquez and Kawakami. Assuming those go as well as I plan, we should be 4-0 going into Saturday.

Hitting: 5 home runs for this team already. 2 for an outfield that only hit 27 all of last season. WIth that said though, we haven't exactly been hitting the cover off the ball. Chipper has started hot though, and Jordan Schafer gave us a hopeful glimpse into his future hitting a 400+ foot homer to the deepest part of Citizens Bank Ballpark. What the offense did do is stake our starters to 2-run 1st inning leads and added on through out the game.

Overall, everything is goign according to plan (my plan) thus far. The Braves have started off like they were playing in the spring. Don't expect them to fall off. We're here to stay.

BEST DAY EVER?

OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN. Summer came early today. Star Trek screened last night. And the reviews have been OVERWHELMINGLY positive...not from the big wig boys (they haven't weighed in yet) but from the people who count, the fans of Star Trek. At some point today, I will make sure to link up some reviews...but for now...OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN.

Been a While

It has been a hellacious week for me. I have been a slave to night shoots (8pm-2am) for the past couple of days, but the emergence of Where The Wild Things Are poster has temporarily brought me out of my temporary hibernation. It's no secret the recently released trailer immediately put the film at the top of my "must see list", but with the release of this poster, I might just have to stage a campaign and try to steal a print from Warner Bros. October 16th CAN NOT come soon enough...Midnight screening anyone?

Braves 2009: Corner Outfielders and final analysis

Many pundits around the country say that the success of the Braves really comes down to Jeff Francouer. As many people know and have read about, and cried about, Francouer had a miserable season. He put up numbers that friends of mine here at UGA could rival if given the chance at the major league level (an exaggeration). Frenchy is supposed to be the "next one" instead, McCann has embraced that role and Jeff is stuck in 2nd gear trying to find his way back to prominence.

RF

With all that said. Francouer is critical to the success and balance of this offense. He will bat 6th or 7th in a left-handed heavy line-up. Having his right-handed power show up again would be an immense lift to the squads overall balance 1-8. While Frenchy struggled at the plate last year he rarely let it affect his gold glove caliber defense. Francouer still had 14 outfield assists and only made 4 errors all season. Braves fans just might start getting restless about Jeff if he gets off to another slow start. But he had a solid spring in which he batted .328, walked 7 times (tied for 2nd on the team during the spring) and only struck out 6 times in 67 at-bats. Those are hte kind of numbers that we have always expected from Jeff. I believe that he will jet right back into stardom this year. Don't expect absurd numbers, but a batting average at least over .270. 20 homers and close to 100 RBI

LF

Some may see LF as a wild card for the Braves, I see it as a source of solid production. Newcomer Garrett Anderson will try and continue hitting like he has for the past 15 years out in Anaheim. Last year he hit .293 which is better than anything the Braves got in Left Field all of last season. Granted he doesn't hit for much power anymore, but a 15-20 HR season is definitely not out of the question. Joining him in left in a possible platoon role is Matt Diaz. Diaz was poised for a breakout season last year when a knee injury kept him limited to just 135 at-bats last season. He's a career .309 hitter with gap power and will poke a few home runs. He's one of the most reliable hitters on the entire time. He's definitely one of the top 5 guys on the team I'd want up there in a pinch. Both play adequate defense, nothing special, but wont do anything stupid. There is a slight concer with Anderson because he played less than 90 games in the outfield last season. But that could be more attributed to the crowded outfield situation in Anaheim more than his age or inability to play the field every day.

2009 Season Outlook

The Braves struggled last season. A perfect storm of bad things happened that ruined any chance of success last year. With all the injuries to the Old pitchers we had, lack of power production in the outfield, and the wear down of the bullpen, the team jsut wasn't deep enough last season for a sustained run. This year things are far brighter. With a revamped rotation, the addition of Garrett Anderson, and the hopeful resurgence of Jeff Francouer, the Braves have every reason to believe that they are going to be legitimate contenders for the NL East crown.

These aren't the Braves that won 15 divisions in a row, it will take time for this team to round into shape. They have to learn how to win. With Chipper now the elder statesman in the lockers room, he is essentially passing the torch to our young core of players (McCann, Francouer, Johnson, Escobar, Schafer, Kotchman). Our team is deep and balanced from 1-5 and 1-9. If we play our game offensively, we will score enough runs. If our starting rotation stays healthy and throws their innings, our bullpen wont get taxed. There are definitely a lot of questions to be answered, but we are in far better shape than last year and the future beyond 2009 looks even brighter (Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Brandon Hicks).

This team should win somewhere between 85-90 games. They're going to contend for the NL East and wild card well into September. I wont be surprised if they make it to the playoff. A world series is not out of the question because if we make it through our division there is no other team in the NL East that is better than the winner of our division and I think the Sox Yankees and Rays are grossly overrated (along with the Phils and Mets). In the end I think a NL east crown is definitely achievable, but the best years for this club are not even back yet. 2010-2011 are the years to really look forward too.

2009 Braves: Up the Middle.

On the second to last installment I'm going to go in depth about middle infield (2nd base and SS), catcher, and CF. All four positions are critical to the Braves success. Well I guess it goes with out saying that any four positions are critical to success, but production from these 4 spots is essential either way.

Catcher:

We have our rock behind the plate. Brian McCann has really solidified himself as a bona fide leader on the Braves. In my mind he is the best player on hte team. Offensively and defensively he is head and shoulders above the rest of the Major League catchers out there. Pitchers love to pitch to him, and the Braves love to have him as a cog in the middle of the lineup. As long as him and Chipper stay healthy, we will get all the power and run producing this line up will need. McCann is such an advanced game-manager behind the plate that John Smoltz said he was the best he's ever had, definitely saying something. His game-management behind the plate will prevent him from having too much trouble catching up with our new pitchers. McCann is the de facto captain of this young Braves team and will be the face of the franchise for years to come (hopefully he's is joined by Jeff Francouer)

Middle infield:

This is a pretty dynamic place. Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson have established themselves as decent fielders and solid top or bottom of the lineup guys. Kelly Johnson ended last season on a tear hitting .398 with 9 doubles and 3 home runs in September. If he brings even a microcosm of that performance in to the season he might be an all-star this year considering how weak NL 2nd basemen are. Outside of Chase Utley in Philley, I really believe that Kelly Johnson is the best hitting 2nd baseman in the NL and I think people will finally notice this year. I wont be surprise if Kelly drives in 90 runs with 20+ home runs this season and gets some major all star/silver slugger considerations. Next is the Gold Glove, right guys?

Yunel Escobar, my cuban brethren. He's a hot-tempered, strong armed, with a sweet stroke at the plate. Yunel had a solid season last year, providing solid d with that rocket arm of his and hit .288 last year. His 10 home runs and 2 SB are rather dissappointing but the guy knows how to drive in runs. His 60 RBI from the leadoff or # 2 spot is killer production from a relatively "light" hitting SS. Another 10-15 homer performace with 65-70 RBI the Braves will be in good shape.

CF

There's a lot of talk about how the competition isn't over. But the truth is Jordan Schafer won it weeks ago. The trade of Josh Anderson only solidified that notion. Schafer is going to be an absolutely star in this league. He's a 4 and a half tool player (not the most powerful) who made a mistake with the whole HGH allegations. But less than a year after his suspension, Bobby Cox has already given him his blessing. Schafer is just too good not to start. He immediately advances the offense by his presence. He'll immediately improve upon Gregor Blancos .251 average and add a ton of stolen bases and stellar defense. People have already compared his d to Andruw Jones. High praise for such a brash young fellow. With all that said. I still love Gregor, but his lack of power and SB potential kill his chances to be any where near as affective as I believe Schafer will be.

Tomorrow I'm goign to finish up the preview with Corner outfielders and then just give a full, passionate, rundown of how I think the season is going to go. How we will finish in the NL east and what I think about the Mets.

What's not cool anymore

Ok, so it's April of 2009 and here's a list of stuff that used to be kind of (maybe) cool, but has now run its course, and is no longer cool.

Top 5

1. Uggs/Crocs- take your pick, they're both not cool. Actually, if you have to pick, go with the Uggs (ladies), because Crocs are simply unsightly eye sores. "But Jack, they're comfortable and weather-proof!" Lies. They are not that comfortable, and if you want weather-proof, go with some nice manly-man boots. Just not Uggs.

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2. Croakies- Ok, some might argue that these are the perfect companion to a nice pair of shades. Such a person might say, "Jack, I need croakies for my sunglasses because I take them off so much, and when I do this, I enjoy hanging them fashionably around my neck." Yes, it's soon going to be summer time. But, unless you feel the unwaivering urge to shine frat-astically for all to see, leave the ole 'croaks at home.

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3. The word "dude"- "But d00d! I love to say dude!" I'm as guilty as anyone of saying this term that survived the stain-on-history that was the 1980s. Now, it's true, the 80s were a crazy time. Men wore makeup and women's clothes. Women wore men's clothes and touted unreasonably horrible hair styles. Neon was cool. So- how did we, as a smart sophisticated people of the modern day, let "dude" survive? There's hope. Let's all make a conscious effort to work on ending the reign of terror. Maybe then, we can just forget that the 80s even existed! Maybe?

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4. Saying "buddy"- "Jack! I understand that dude is an unclever, unsophisticated, and overused word, but surely not the word buddy!?!" Yes. And I'll tell you why. I hate it when somebody calls me "buddy". For a few reasons:

a. It makes you sound like my perverted uncle.

b. I am an adult and would like to be addressed by a proper name.

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5. Trying too hard- Take it easy there, buddy (see #4). Life gave you some lemons, but why're you already making the lemonade? No need to rush through everything. Stressed? Relax. Going to miss the bus? They'll be another. Going to miss the bar exam? Plumbing pays well, I hear.

Well, It's been a while.

With a combination of a busy, but awesome, weekend and being sick the last 4 days, twogging has not been on the top of my list of things to do. But fortunately I'm back for the time being.

Im going to touch on sports video games. The post will be short and I'll hopefully be able to go back to my Braves preview before Sunday's season opener.

Okay so all my life I really haven't played all that many video games, mostly cause I just get bored. But one exception has been sports video games. My favorite games are definitely Ken Griffey Junior Baseball from '97, ESPN Football, and NCAA 09. But since Griffey Junior 12 years ago there hasn't been a baseball game that I could play all weekend. But I know there is one out there, unfortunately it's on the PS3. First off I'm going to talk about the poor excuse for a baseball title called MLB 2K8, which is what I'm stuck with on the 360. MLB 2K8 looks okay, but in the end you just find yourself incredibly frustrated by the unbelievably lazy production value. Keep in mind that the 2K8 series is the only baseball title available for the 360, so the most played next-gen system is stuck with this POS.

Things that infuriate me about this game:

1) The incredibly small text on all the menu screens. Think of a windows screen with size 8 font, on every single important screen. It makes playing in bed, which is a mere 4 feet from the screen) absolutely impossible, and I must play video games in comfort.

2) Jon Miller and Joe Morgan: my absolute least favorite announcers on earth. Joe Morgan manages to make me angry even though I know I'm not actually listening to him talk.

3) The opposing pitchers never throw balls. I was facing Johan Santana and I let every pitch through for 5 innings and he through 2 balls. 2!!!!!!

4) Elite players will hit a home run every time you throw the ball in the strike zone. Well, not every time. But when facing Manny Ramirez I threw him 3 unhittable 89mph sliders down and in, and he hit 2 of them for Home Runs and the other to the gap for a double. Same goes for Pujols, Justin Morneau, Alex Rodriguez and so on.

5) They mispronounce at least 30 players names. I mean, come on.

6) The whole pregame thing that they do. THe Screen is unnecessarily busy. There are far too many things to look at and think about. I like simplicity on-screen, and I think everyone else does as well.

There are still a bunch of things that are wrong with the game. But to be honest I'm getting frustrated thinking about them. So I'm going to move on to the game that has been said to be good enough to get inducted into Cooperstown. MLB the Show 09 improves upon the Show 08 and makes me want to buy a PS3 as soon as I have $400. I played it on my brothers system back home and it was incredible. Realistic graphics (unlike the cartoonish 2K8), incredibly fluid gameplay, engaging play calling, and plays like the script of the game wasn't written prior to opening the box.

Either way, I'll have a PS3 soon. My roommates will be happy for Blu-Ray, I'll be happy for the Show.

So it begins...

April begins the inevitable summer movie season. In preparation of Hollywood's biggest couple of months, I have taken a look at the next couple of months and picked 20 films I plan on seeing.  The numbers correlate with my level of excitement. The list represents everything from high profile sequels to smaller arthouse fair. Bring on April and August!

20.  Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24th)

Why it could be good: Transformers, though needlessly convoluted, did offer exactly what it promised: Robots destroying robots. On that front, Transformers 2 looks to up the robot destruction ante. 

Why it could suck: As mentioned, Transformers had FAR too much exposition and, well...plot. I could care less how they got their power. Shia Labeuf and his family problems? Cut it. Any other movie I'd welcome narrative complexity, but with Transformers, keep it simple and clear. Quickly set the stage and let your Bots go to work, or you run the risk of having yawns outweigh the eye pops.

19. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st)

Why it could be good: The first two X-men films were superb examples of comic book adaptation. By staying faithful to the tone and characters of the comic, but not inhibited by preexisting story lines, X-Men 1 and 2 provided gravitas to melodrama. Hugh Jackman brought to the character of Wolverine a nice blend of "fist pumping", action hero swagger and touching humanity. A movie based completely around him? Why not.

Why it might suck: The trailers it look more like the insipid X-Men 3 than anything else. Boring and bland, the advertising campaign alone has pushed Wolverine all the way up to my 19th slot. Rumors of endless script revisions and massive reshoots should also cause a few eye brows to raise.

18.  The Taking of Pelham 123 (June 12th)

Why it Could be Good: Tony Scott and Denzel have previously teamed up for two very slick, but overall entertaining films. Man on Fire and Deja Vu, had Denzel doing what he does best--being Denzel. Scott meanwhile excels with flashy, self aware cinematography keeping the pacing and momentum high from frame 1.

Why it Might Suck: Though entertaining, Man on Fire and Deja Vu both come dangerously close to being guilty pleasures. Thematic simplicity is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you keep it that way. Pelham 123 looks dangerously close at taking itself too seriously. If Scott, Denzel, and company treat the material as a summer film, all should be fine. Turn the script into heavy social commentary, and we might have a problem. 

17. All the Good Things (July 24th)

Why it Could be Good: The cast. Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Half-Nelson), Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), and Kristin Whig (SNL). Any film with this...random and eclectic of a cast deserves a spot on the list. Oh, and the film's director ,Andrew Jarecki's, also directed one of the all time great documentaries Capturing the Friedmans.

Why it Could Suck: Until this afternoon, I had not heard anything about All the Good Thing. The plot as taken from IMDB ( A detective begins to unravel a missing persons case that looks to spell doom for the heir to a New York real estate dynasty) doesn't do any favors.

16. Terminator Salvation (May 21st)

Why it Could be Good: Christian Bale and his muscular, immersive style of acting looks to be a revelation as the iconic character of John Connor. The ad campaign promises a gritty reboot to the Terminator series, rather than a strict continuation.  The film looks tailor made for the season in which it is being released. 

Why it Could Suck: Try as I might, I simply cannot believe that the creative minds behind Charlies Angels and Aeon Flux will be able to deliver a quality product. There is no other film in my top 20 that I want more to be great, yet expect to be terrible. 

Braves 2009: Corner Infielders

This year is kind of going to be the first year in a major transition in Braves culture. Starting with 3rd base and Chipper Jones. Chipper is on the downslope of his career, which actually hard to say considering he won his first batting title last year. But there is no denying that Chipper, who turns 37 April 27th, isn't entirely reliable as a full time player anymore. Although, the Braves are a better team with him in the lineup. He is a terror for opposing pitchers around the national league and there is no reason to think that wont continue into this season. For the days he will inevitably be out ( he hasn't played more than 134 games since 2003) the braves will be lucky enough to dig into their deep and talented bench. Omar Infante and Martin Prado offer solid at-bats and superb defense at 3rd. The offensive production from 3rd base should be great, Chipper walks a lot, hits for high average, and when healthy has prodigious power. Sooner or later though the Braves are going to have to move on from the Chipper and there is no obvious person ready to step in for Chipper once he retires, or falls apart. 

At 1st base is going to be Casey Kotchman. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Kotchman. He plays solid Defense, and makes contact all the time.  He may not have the power of Tiexiera or the RBI production, but Kotchman will be a rock in the 5 or 6 spot for us this year. He started off slow last year, having difficulty accommodating himself to NL pitching and being 2500 miles from his old stomping grounds in Anaheim.But he hit .321 in his last 22 games as a brave. Which were the type of numbers he boasted while playing for the Angels. Kotchman is only 25 and is under contract with the Braves until 2011. It's fantastic that we have a player of his caliber under contract. He's a Brave of the future and I'm pumped up about it.

Sorry to be so brief on this one. But tomorrow is the rest of hte infield and Catcher. I'm excited about it, and you should be too. 

Adventureland interview

Following on the heels of the previous Adventureland entry, here is comingsoon.net's interview with Writer-Director Greg Mottola. He talks a little about his experiences pre, during, and post Superbad that's pretty fascinating.

I highly recommend reading this fairly short interview if you plan on seeing Adventureland in theaters next week. A really sweet, simple flick.

Click Here

Braves 2009: Bullpen and Bench

The bullpen and the bench will be an interesting situations for the Braves to figure out going in to the beginning of the season. Both are seemingly deep with the bench having far more experience than the bullpen.

Bench: The Braves are very wealthy when is comes to bench players. At least three of our bench players could start on other major league teams. Omar Infante hit .293 last season in 317 at-bats no less, Martin Prado hit .320!! in 228 at-bats, Greg Norton was one of hte best pinch hitters in the game, Josh Anderson or Gregor Blanco provide crazy speed off the bench and solid defense. Then Matt Diaz is probably one of hte top 5 hitters on the squad. In all honestly I would be happy with a lineup that included those 5 guys. With that kind of depth and skill the Thrashers have incredible protection from injury devastation. Which we all know is incredibly important. Another fantastic thing we have going is that Corky Miller is no longer our 2nd catcher. His paltry .083 batting average p[retty much guaranteed an out in the 8th AND 9th spots of hte lineup, killing many possible rallies at the end of games. He's replaced with David Ross who played and hit .225 with Boston and Cincinnati last season. In short, I'm super pumped about the bench. They have a legitimate shot at collective .275 this season. If they provide some power, we could add another huge dynamic to our offense in the late innings.

Bullpen: This is a worrisome area for me. On paper we have a chance to be dominant on the back end with Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan and Mike Gonzalez. But all three have dealt with severe injuries and have had major surgeries with in the last 18 months. Gonzalez was inconsistent in his return at the end of last season, Moylan has been solid in the spring, but had his tommy john surgery only 10 months ago(usually a 12 month recovery), and Soriano has already been dealing with injury in the spring. And outside of those three there isn't much. Charlie morton, Buddy Carlyle, Blaine Boyer and Jeff bennett look to be incumbents(JoJo got sent down to Gwinnett today Bobby wants him to get more starting work, JoJo looked unstoppable in hte spring). Carlyle has been solid, so has Boyer but Morton and Bennett have been nothing too short of terrible. Kris Melden has been spotty, but good in a couple situations. THe lefties are beginning to look more and more questionable though. Going into spring, newcomers Eric O'Flaherty and Boone Logan looked to be shoe-ins for the pen, but they've sucked. Especially Logan who has struggled mightily in two consecutive appearances against late inning players (mostly minor leaguers). Either way, the bullpen is the biggest question mark for hte entire Braves team. But as long as our starters dominate like I think they will, the bullpen wont get taxed liek they did last year.

Also, hopefully we give good ole Will Ohman a call. He's still sitting at home waiting to get signed. He's a solid lefty who's just demanding far too much money for teams to spend. But if he lowers his price tag just a tad, we might see him in a Braves uniform again next year.

Tomorrow, Corner Infielders.

And "The Slumdog" Goes to..

I really enjoy Judd Apatow's work. I think 40 Year Old Virgin was one of the freshest films to come out in its year. While Knocked Up proved even better, with Apatow's pacing and technical skills improved. Naturally, Superbad seemed like the next logically step in the Apatow cannon. The redband trailer looked great, along with stellar word of mouth proceeding the August release date. I vividly remember Superbads release, as it coincided with my first week of college. Judging by reviews,trailers,and the current context of my life, I was already in love with Superbad ready to proclaim it THE movie of my generation (genre wise). I gathered on a Friday evening my budding group of three day old friends. We sat in the theatre. Collectively cheered at the first glimpse of The Dark Knight. And all laughed hysterically at Jonah Hill's porn tirade, which opens the film. Then something happened, while every ones laughter continued, mine stopped. It wasn't my girlfriends look of disgust and it wasn't even my initial thought the the movie was suffering from my sky high expectations. The film just didn't seem...right. I GOT it. I begrudgingly understand WHY Superbad is my generations cat nip. But I never understood exactly WHY the film left me cold. That was until I saw Superbad director's Greg Motolla's follow up-- Adventureland. So, the first recipient of "The Slumdog" is somewhat controversial. Come on up to the podium Superbad.

Now Superbad, I know you have an 87% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes along with legions of adoring college fans and old, left over yuppies. I realize you see yourself as a microcosm of today's highschool culture, where actual morality arises from the profane. But I got something on you Superbad, I've seen the movie your director wanted you to be. And what he wanted you to be, and what your four letter minded writer Mr. Seth Rogen had in mind...well, they don't fit.

Seth Rogen wanted you to be fast, cutloose, alot of "dick jokes". Essentially his highschool experience hyper realized. Greg Motolla meanwhile saw you as a meandering onslaught of articulate emotions professed in drunken, insecure highschool stupor. Adventureland, Greg Motolla as the sole writer, shows the film that I could feel trapped inside of you. An Apatow film meanwhile is fast and loose, shrugging through the pitfalls of life with either a marriage or a baby...then a marriage. While your characters are about to leave behind their best friends. These Kids who by worrying about the minutia of life rather than seeing the big picture are accidentally experiencing...life. This is melancholy stuff that needs to be dealt with, yes with humor (even filthy humor...hey highschool is filthy), but also understated gravitas. By undercutting feeling with four letter words, puke/fart/phallic jokes, or broad grandstanding by your actors, you betray what your proclaimed to be "an authentic take on the awkwardness of the high school experience."

Other problems exist with the film such as the PAINFULLY long, creepy party sequence and the unnecessary amount of scenes with Seth Rogen and Bill Hader. Mainly, Superbad treads dangerous cinematic waters, as a film that causes and will continue to cause an entire generation to actually believe that THIS was their highschool experience.

Hockey

So I was squeezing my mind grapes and I want to talk about Hockey. It boggles me that hockey isn't huge. Sure they have a professional sport here in the US. But it's always pushed to back page news every where, especially here in Georgia. Sure the Thrashers suck, but it's a shame that they aren't adored in this state. Hockey is a sport that appreciates pure speed, agility and grit. In a sport where fighting is virtually legal and hitting/physical play is more than encouraged. People in this country are forever starved for fast paced hard hitting action. Hockey offers it all. People here in the south need to get over the whole idea that it is played on a cold surface, something us here in the south seem to care very little for. Hockey is an unbelievable sport and the NHL houses some of the greatest athletes on the planet. I would take Ilya Kovalchuk (6'1" 225) over most any athlete on the planet. These guys are fast, agile and haft incredible hand eye coordination. Forget the fact that you cannot pronounce the majority of their names and just sit down and watch a hockey game, allow yourself to get immersed the beauty that is hockey.

Where the Wild Things Are...

A film that started with great promise but quickly descended into rumors and speculations of possibly being shut down due to insane budget inflation and flares of temper on the set by Spike Jonz (director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation) finally has itself a trailer...

Where the Wild Things Are, was such a crucial part of my child hood that even the possibility of seeing a screen adaptation has me giddy. Now after seeing the newly released trailer, this is by far the film I am most anticipating this year. I have seen the trailer 4 times and it still gets to me.

In every person there is something WILD

2009 Braves: Pitching Staff

Okay so we've got only a couple weeks before that magical day. MLB Opening Day. Lucky for us Braves fans the Bravos are playing the World Champion Phillies before the rest of the league even starts playing. The game is April 5th and Im going to do what I can to get you prepared.

Hopefully I can get a somewhat coherent run-down of the Braves, who I expect from the team and what I expect from each position player. Also you out there should know that I am going to be overly optimistic. Consider my predictions with a grain of salt. But chances are that I'll be close to right, considering I'm a genius.

Lets start with the Pitching Staff

1. Derek Lowe

2. Javier Vasquez

3. Jair Jurrjens

4. Kenshin Kawakami

5. Tom Glavine

At first glance the obvious is that it is completely made over from last year. Last year the Brave depended on 3 old(er) injury prone pitchers to anchor their rotation in Smoltz (traitor) Glavine (the good guy) and Mike Hampton (waste) which failed miserably. Well now Smoltz left us in the dust for his new digs in Boston (gross), Hampton went back to Houston( finally) and Glavine stayed with us for a discount (woohoo). But now Glavine is at the bottom, as you can see, which is where a 43 year old pitcher should be. The Braves went into the offseason hoping to get 3 quality starters, and we got three. Kawakami Lowe and Vasquez join Jurrjens and Glavine to form one of the most solid top-to-bottom rotations in the show. Vasquez was solid for Puerto Rico in the WBC and Lowe has dazzled, along with Kawakami showing that he's going to be accurate and durable. With Lowe being the most likely candidate for Opening Day our 1-4 pitchers have a legitimate shot of all reaching 200 innings. An unbelievable feat considering last year Jurrjens led the Braves in innings with 188 and 2/3. I feel like this rotation is not going to disappoint in the least bit. Lowe is a deadly sinker-baller with impeccable control and produces an incredible amount of sweat on the mound. Im am incredibly excited about Vasquez, he's pitched at least 200 innings in 6 of his major league seasons, including the last two. Vasquez also has been in the top 10 in strikeouts each of the last 3 years, and those were spent in the AL. Last year Jair Jurrjens proved to the world that the Detroit Tigers are idiots. Before last season Jurrjens was traded to the Braves along with super prospect Gorkys Hernandez for Edgar Renteria. Renteria is already gone from Detroit and the Braves might end up with two starting players from the trade. Anyway Jurrjens proved is metal last year and went 13-10 with a 3.86 ERA and finished 3rd in the rookie of the year balloting. He can only improve and is having a terrific spring thus far. Kawakami is sort of the unknown commodity. He won a Japanese version of the Cy Young award a few years ago and is a proven vet in Japanese baseball leagues (which turns out to have some decent players). If Kawakami can give us some solid innings and 10-15 wins we will be in fantastic shape. Next is the wily vet Tom Glavine. Glavine was supremely disappointed with his injury situation last year. He had NEVER been on the DL until last year (looking at you Chipper) and wound up having elbow and shoulder surgery. But he is on his way back and pitched 3 shutout innings against the Mets last week. Any sort of production from Glavine will be added bonus on top of an already rock-solid top 4. Although Glavine will be pushed all season by uber prospect Tommy Hanson. Hanson is giving Bobby Cox a very difficult decision to make. Hanson has made it difficult by his well documented domination of hte hitters dominated Arizona Fall League and his continued success against major league hitters in spring training. When all said and done though, the Braves have one thing they didnt have last year, and that is incredible depth. And on top of all of that, we expect Tim Hudson back by August. Things are looking up.

Predictions:

Lowe- 18-9 3.40ERA

Vasquez- 15-10 3.75 ERA

Jurrjens- 16-11 3.30 ERA

Kawakami- 12-8 4.10 ERA

Glavine- 8-8 4.40 ERA

Hanson- 6-1 3.10 ERA

Well that was fun. I was planning on knocking out the whole team in one post but looks like that will be too long. Tomorrow I'll do Bullpen and Bench.

On another note, there is this guy David Hale who writes for the Macon Telegraph, if you want to know anything concerning UGA athletics, he'll have it on his site. Check it out

Adventureland

One of the great things about UGA (and really any big college campus) are the free movie screenings. Around 6 times a semester, a studio will role into Athens and test out a new tentpole summer movie or try and build buzz around a smaller release. The movies vary wildly in quality from dismal teen movie rip offs like Sex Drive to the critically respected albeit college friendly film Knocked Up.

Well last night was one of those nights, where you line up an hour early with your printed out admit one pass, eager to grab free crap already in a fairly forgiving mindset. I have to say I was fairly excited about last nights screening of Adventureland.

Adventureland is director Greg Mottola's followup to his smash hit Superbad, and instead of it being a raunchy successor, it proved to be a much more low key film then I ,needless to say the audience, was expecting. Instead of a fast paced Judd Apatow raunchfest with heart, it felt more like a pleasant John Hughes film fused with Linklater's Slackers. Here's the plot summary:

It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Eisenberg) has just graduated college. James is all set to embark on his dream tour of Europe when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) suddenly announce that they won't be able to subsidize the trip. Now the only things James has to look forward to this summer are sugar-fueled children, belligerent dads, and an endless parade of giant stuffed animals. When James strikes up a relationship with captivating co-worker Em (Stewart), however, he finally starts to loosen up. Suddenly, the worst summer ever doesn't seem quite so bad. (wikipedia)

Eisenberg is effective with his Woody Allen ramblings, while Stewart still impresses as a mildly destructive undergrad. Hader and Whig supply the film with its only Apatow appropriate scenes, as the film gently and pleasantly meanders from interaction to interaction, taking a few plot pit stops along the way.

If I sound a bit underwhelmed...well perhaps I am, however a day after seeing Adventureland I feel as if I am looking back on a lazy summer filled with unremarkable events but memorable people. I believe that's its biggest achievement. When remembering important summers in my past, I struggle with the specifics while vidly remembering the feelings. Alot of Adventureland I felt, while the rest with the whole "plot" thing, I could have done without. Grade: B

Hawks and Spurs Tonight

first off let me get you in the Basketball mood by sharing with you this hilarious video I found yesterday. Link to hilarity

Okay so now that you are all greased up and ready to go (if you haven't watched the video you are not allowed to continue reading, rules are rules) lets get down to business. The Hawks finally get their first legitimate home test in a while. A lot of people are beginning to make the assumption that the Hawks are unbeatable at home. Which is definitely a fair assumption considering the fact that the hawks have only lost 7 times in 35 tries at home. The Spurs come to Phillips Arena tonight. The Spurs are No. 2 in the West but come in losers in 4 of their last 7 and in the 2nd game of a back-to-back. The Spurs look to be a prime suspect for a beating tonight. A big win against such a high profile opponent will keep the Hawks momentum and spirits sky high. And they need it considering they have 2 huge games this weekend against the Celtics and Lakers. If the Hawks win tonight convincingly (Josh Smith will have to be a huge factor) I feel like they'll have all the momentum they would ever need going into the Celtics game. While trying not to get ahead of myself, imagine if the Hawks beat the Celtics and Lakers this weekend. The media will have a field day and the Hawks will be able to ride that wave into the playoffs. With all that said, the next 3 games for the Hawks will be able to let us know whether or not they are legitimate challengers and could somehow find their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, or a team that will win their first series against the Heat 76ers or Pistons and then get pummeled by the Cavs.

AP Preview of the game

Dealing With Tuesday

Tuesday is just about the worst day I could ever imagine. It kicks my behind on a regular basis, and I do not appreciate it. Screw you Tuesday.

What I really wanted to talk about is how incredible sports statistics are. The amount of statistical analysis and data available to us is unbelievable. Anything you could ever imagine wanting to know. What I'd like to focus on right now is this guy John Hollinger from ESPN. Hollinger has what he calls the Player Efficiency Rating (PER). According to the PER rankings LeBron James is having an historic season. When I say historic I do not mean one of the better seasons in the last couple years, I'm talking one of the top 2 seasons in the last 35 years. According to statistics John Hollinger has compiled in to is PER formulas all the way back to the 1972-1973 season Michael Jordan has had the greatest season since 1972-73 (the PER formula necessitates turnover stats which weren't recorded on an individual basis until the '72-'73 season). His PER number was 31.89, in a season which had the incredible line of 35 points 5.5 rebounds 5.9 assists in 40.4 minutes per game. Those numbers show unparalleled scored, defense and ball distribution skills. In history only 1 player has broken 31 points on the PER scale (Jordan 4 times). This season LeBron has a 31.69 PER. Hollinger goes on in more depth about how impressive James's stats really are.

Check out this link to Hollingers article.

Also if you are in to stats check these out. Endless browsing available:

Basketball-Reference

Baseball-Reference

Pro-Football Reference

Really? Really?!

Following last years, or this years depending how you look at it, Academy Awards was a frustrating experience, but not for the reasons you think. Of course the wrong things win (Slumdog). Of course the right things do not even get nominated (Dark Knight). I am not here to camp out in Academy award past, instead I want to address Slumdog Millionaire, but again not for the reasons that you think. Every year, NAY every month a movie comes out that really gets people,friends, parents, or critics excited about the cinematic world in which we live. "Did you see Little Miss Sunshine?! Alan Arkin really just captured the everyday life of a heroin drug addict grandfather...what a charming slice of life!" Or "Wow, Slumdog Millionaire really opened my eyes to the plight of India in the face of Globalization!" Sure enough, every year and/or every month that same film irritates the living tar out of me. Remember that Seinfeld episode? Where everyone keeps talking about the English Patient. Not only that, but keeps forcing Elaine to see it again and again? This and other posts like it, hope to deal with the English Patients living among us. Together we can route out the films that unfortunately take the praise and run! Or I can..and you can comment.

Keep an eye out for the first recipient of "The English Patient Award" soon to be renamed the "Slumdog Millionaire Award".

I Love You Man?

I am a little perturbed on just how little credit the new movie I Love You, Man is getting. Let me explain.

Judd Apatow and his crew of cronies have really dominated the recent comedic marketplace. Starting with 40 Year Old Virgin, everything Apatow has slapped his name on has gotten Great reviews (Virgin and Knocked Up...his directorial efforts, and Superbad-produced), Good reviews (Forgetting Sarah Marshall..produced and Walk Hard...wrote and produced), and one straight up bust (Drillbit Taylor...produced but denies having any artistic control in the development process.) The new film I Love you Man that came in a respectable third place this weekend, features two Apatow regulars Paul Rudd and Jason Seigel, the film however does not have Apatow any where in sight. I want to make this clear to show one, just how far reaching Apatows influence already is in the marketplace that a film having nothing to do with him is already being compared to his brief film repertoire and two, show how a majority of critics are praising the performances (Rudd and Seigel are spectacular) but brutally criticising either the generic structure, or the shear laziness of the script writing, heaping a crumbling mess on the shoulders of two gifted thesps.

Any other negative reviews out there that does not criticize I love you man based on the above criteria are excused, the rest of you see me right now.

Ok, the MAIN idea, the MAIN concept of the film, the KERNEL of an idea that popped into the writers head was to inject a heterosexual (or bromance) love story into the largely critically panned "chick flick genre". Instead of having boy meets girl, girl and boy fall in love,(INHALE) huge misunderstanding happens that could be cleared up with a phone call that leads to 15 minutes of irreparable damage, which then leads to a 45 second montage set to a whiny star 94 pop song, then leading to a moment of truth brought upon by a quirky best friends sudden moment of contrived sanity, THEN leading to boy and/or girl running to each other (hopefully jumping over or into something in the process) falling happily into each others arms for the rest of eternity (or at least until the sequel or worst, a dancing title sequence) (EXHALE) Why not have a boy who has already found a girl, meet a boy. If you are unclear of the plot synopsis still visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155056/.

SO if you attack the film based on it being a formula flick, you are missing the brilliance of the overall idea. I love you man simultaneously critiques and elevates the genre in which it belongs.

Now, as for it being a "mess" ...ok, call it a mess..it is. But so has EVERY Judd Apatow film. Here is the formula: Funny character banter, simplistic conflict introduced, man conflicts lame! lets have more funny character banter, 3/4's through throw in some sly insight, resolve conflict, end with funny character banter. Do not misunderstand, big fan of what Mr. Apatow is doing to the genre, however don't fault I Love You Man for what you praise in Mr. Apatow's films.

Attack it all or put them on a scale from favorite to not my favorite. But don't disrespect a genuine comedic surprise for being formulaic (when that's its foundation and ace in the hole) or structurally messy (you fault it for that, change your opinion on Superbad which you have seen 15 times!)

Check out the mostly positive but also frustratingly lukewarm reviews at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_love_you_man/?page=2&critic=creamcrop&sortby=date&name_order=asc&view=

The Japanese

So last night I sat down thinking I was going to enjoy a nice competitive baseball game between the U.S and Japan. In the end we lost. I never really fully anticipated a win. But what I didn't expect was to leave my couch furious at the way the Japanese play baseball.

Well, while watching the WBC semifinal last night I realized it was the first time I had sat down to watch Japanese play a game. My whole life I have respected the way they play ball, but never really knew how they went about playing. I always assumed they all played like Ichiro, Dice-k, and Kenji Jojima. Great players with funky mechanics but baseball players nonetheless.

While watching the game I found out that they play an entirely different brand of baseball than we do, and it's infuriating to watch. It's kinda like when you are a die hard college football fan and you're watching a game with an option quarterback who leaves you saying, "throw the damn ball, this is football you f-ing pansy." He never throws the ball and you end up losing to that guy and he finishes the game with a line like this, 1/6 22yards no TDs. Thats not football. Just like the way Japanese players play baseball. Its some warped version that is as infuriated as the 5-dollar footlong commercials. Pitchers who don't base their repertoire on a fastball, hitters who have one foot out side the batters box before they leave, and infielders who spend countless hours a week practicing fundamentals. Their incredible efficiency at the game really chaps my behind. It makes me furious that someone can be better at our game. How is it that a country half way around the world has taken our sport and transformed it into this version that is superior to ours?

First Post/A dose of Woody

This is Parker functioning as your irate (or ecstatic depending on the film) movie critic. There really is no form or function to my cinematic musings. I see a flick I enjoy or possibly hate, I'll pop a squat and write about it.

Example: I re watched Vicky Christina Barcelona last night. I described it on my twitter account (find me at cpcouch) as Frothy beach novel fused with Sartre and Shakespeare, with a little Woody Allen thrown in of course.

At this junction of the post/review/musing/rant/praise I will possibly continue on with plot synopsis, character critique or aesthetics dissection. For the casual film goer however, the above two sentence summary will prob. be enough, and for the casual,casual film goer, I will add letter grade (Vicky Christina Barcelona would rank around the A- area par example)

Other than that, the posts will come fast and furious when I am watching alot of film. And not so much when work and school are consuming me.

Until then Go to your local store, or online pirating, movie streaming websites (for you cheaters) and check out Woody Allen's newest.