Normally, I do this at the end of the year. But, Why not talk about the first 5 months and see what we come up with? Here are the top 5 movies of 2008…so far. For the record, I have NOT yet seen candidates Iron Man, Prince Caspian, Charlie Bartlett, Cassandra’s Dream. Films that made their debut at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival count towards the list.

1. Snow Angels

From David Gordon Green, soon-to-be-famous as the director of Pineapple Express. Amazing performances from the cast, interesting ensemble lead by the great Sam Rockwell.

2. Just Another Love Story

I saw this neo-noir at Sundance and at some points I forgot that they weren’t speaking English. That’s never happened to me before.

3. Cloverfield

Great thrill ride in theaters, probably not that interesting on the small screen. Made many want to throw up.

4. Choke

Also saw this at Sundance, also starring Sam Rockwell, great adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel. Set for theatrical release in August.

5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls

This shows how poor the selection has been so far this year. Entertaining from start to almost finish. See a few entries below.

So far this year there honestly haven’t been that many great movies. Out of the top 5 i only want to buy snow angels and possibly Indiana Jones just because i have the others. As i said, there were many films that looked good which i haven’t seen yet. We’ll see if the last 7 months of the year will be better…but I had 20 solid films last year.

Who knows

Thats right, i said it. and if you’re not a film person you might not know who i’m talking about. for you guys, this is the genius behind School of Rock and the Bad News Bears remake. i guess we all need that big paycheck every once and awhile.

as for me, a Linklater fan, i try to ignore these films as much as Bryan Singer ignored Superman III and IV.

Anyway, this is a biased commentary. Talking about what is good about your favorite director always is. for those of you who sometimes seek outside of the multiplex, Linklater is also behind the iconic indie films Slackers and Dazed & Confused. He also directed The Newton Boys, Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset, the Fast Food Nation adaptation and others.

I just love the style of his films, especially the realism of the dialogue in each film. In fact, his films are so dialogue-based that Waking Life utilized the Rotoscope (drawing cartoons over live, moving images) technique because Linklater felt that the conversations would be too boring if the film was live action.

A great example of why i love the dialogue is a shot in Before Sunrise. The two main characters get on a trolley and hold a ten minute conversation. This is not only a scene, it is one shot! The camera never cuts away. And the conversation is flawless.

Its sequel, Before Sunset, is almost a better representation. Not only does it feature a similar shot, it also takes place in real time. From opening credits to closing credits nothing happens to the characters that isn’t shown on screen.

The slice-of-life aspect of Dazed & Confused, Linklater’s major breakout film, is another reason why Linklater appeals to me. The ensemble cast and the actions on screen really makes the viewer feel like they are in the 1970’s.

Unfortunately, much of this is hard to put into words. But, a further reason for my loving his style is his “next film,” which will have many films between it and doesn’t come out until 2013. Despite this, he has been shooting the film since 2001.

The film is tentatively called Boyhood and the cast and crew get together once a year to shoot scenes that chronicle the main character from age 6 until his high school graduation. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as the boy’s parents. The obvious risks and potential outcome of this film make me unbelievably excited for 2013. I honestly feel like this is one of the best ideas for a film I’ve ever heard.

I can’t wait. Until then, I’m sure Linklater will give us something to munch on. That is, if he stays away from Jack Black and Billy Bob Thornton

Sigh

I spent my 21st birthday (well, midnight the day of my 21st birthday) watching George Lucas attempt to ruin Indiana Jones. No surprise here, but you could tell what parts were Lucas and what parts were Spielberg. The revelation that it was Lucas himself who pitched the story brings my spirits even lower.

Is it a surprise that the movie was bad? Not really…it was to be expected. It pains me because I see how good it could have been. Easily.

As late as 2005 the Jones camp was saying that, in the spirit of the other films, the new Indiana Jones films would feature minimal to no computer generated images. When something exploded in Raiders of the Lost Ark, it exploded.

Instead the film was built around a plot dependent on CGI. The film took the normal “suspension of disbelief” of the other Indy films to an unbelievable level. Most of this was a result of CGI.

For example, when Shia LaBeouf swings through the trees and catches up to a car chase its bad enough. But the fact that the CGI monkey’s that he met second before attack on his command is just plain stupid.

There are CGI ants that add nothing and CGI prairie dogs that literally added nothing to the plot. The CGI ending with aliens was fake and, again, plain stupid.

Thank you George Lucas. Please stop making movies.

so i just saw fargo and i was suprised at how easily the Coen brothers played with the basic narrative structure of normal films. This was not a rearranging of time, either. The Coens messed with character structure.

 The antagonist is first set up as the protagonist. The protagonist is not introduced until what i think was the film’s ”point of no return.” After introduction, the protagonist becomes a witness to the events and is not actually present during the major turning points. Also, despite the action-packed first two and a half acts, the climax occurs suddenly and is over quickly.

The set up of the film begins with what would be considered the “opportunity” in most films. Jerry is setting up the kidnapping of his wife in order to pay off his debts. However this is used to establish Jerry’s character and afterwards he returns to his life. The first turning point, or “opportunity,” comes when Jerry seems to be given a way to get out of debt without going forward with his scheme. In most films the protagonist would begin by trying to be honest and would be driven to crime in order to protect his family. This is the first clue that Jerry is actually the antagonist.

When the kidnapper Gaear kills a state trooper and two witnesses, this is the point of no return. The audience sees that the consequences for Jerry’s actions will be great. More importantly, they see that Jerry’s scheme is directly responsible for the deaths of three innocent people. This is too high a price to pay for Jerry’s financial freedom. It becomes obvious that Jerry is no protagonist.

It is at this point that the true hero, Police Chief Marge Gunderson, is introduced. She is quirky, loveable and seven months pregnant. It is quickly established that she is a competent detective as well. With the triple homicide, including the death of a police officer, the stakes are raised and the path of the main characters becomes more obvious. Still, the film is about Jerry even though he is not the protagonist. Therefore, the complications and higher stakes involve him. As Gunderson begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle, Jerry gets into more and more trouble.

Gunderson is considered the protagonist because of how likeable she is and how it is her responsibility to solve the crime and bring the criminals to justice. She is friendly and her motives are pure, unlike almost every other character in the film. Her goal is to solve the crime. The obstacles in solving these crimes are more in her personal life seeing as the criminals are stupid. Her pregnancy is her biggest detractor throughout the film. She is smart and she is also very good at getting things out of people. Her weaknesses, besides her pregnancy, include that she is too trusting. She may not have solved the crime as quickly had Jerry been smarter. She is very endearing to the audience.

            Jerry, though set up as a traditional protagonist, turns out to be the antagonist. His goal is to get out of debt without getting caught. His obstacles are his own stupidity and the lack of his father-in-law’s trust. He also puts himself in a situation where he has absolutely no control over the outcome. He is strong at selling a scheme to people who tend to trust him, but this trust goes away quickly. He does not think through his decisions and is never one step ahead of his enemies. He is a worthy opponent for the protagonist because the audience wants him to pay for his mistakes.  

I’m no expert, so i’ll run under the assumption that the guys who work for the Browns have drafted players that have the talent to be contributors.

This logic comes from Savage’s draft history with the Browns and the Ravens. If there’s one thing he’s proven, Phil Savage knows how to find playmakers.

So, under that assumption, how did the Browns do last weekend?

Round 1 Pick- traded for Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame in 2007

Well, it ended up being the exact same spot for the Browns. clearly, with Derek Anderson’s success they wouldn’t have had a reason to take a quarterback. But, consider this:

1. had the Browns not drafted quinn last year they wouldn’t have been able to afford to part with Charlie Frye. With Frye still in town, Anderson may have been too distracted to stretch his legs all the way to the pro-bowl.

2. Quinn would never had slipped to 22 in this draft, so had the Browns wanted a QB this year they would have had to trade up or wait til round two. either way the value they got in quinn, who by sitting on the bench will make the NFL minimum this year, they have both value in price and talent.

Round 2 Pick traded for Corey Williams, Defensive Lineman, Green Bay

The Browns would have had to pick a defensive lineman this high no matter what. Williams is done with growing pains and will only have to adjust to the 3-4 instead of adjusting to the NFL.

the “experts” always contest that it is very hard to draft 3-4 defensive lineman

Round 3 Pick traded with starting CB Leigh Bodden for Shaun Rogers, Defensive Lineman, Detroit

Again, the Browns need defensive linemen. No doubt. All the reason above apply. He has star-studded talent, but two problems could emerge.

1.  he was a problem in Detroits locker room, but he has never played for a winner

2.  in losing your starting CB, either Daven Holly or Brandon McDonald are your third round pick this year. i can live with that, as long as they continue to produce at the level they gave as the backups last year.

Round 4 Picks

Beu Bell, Inside Linebacker, UNLV

Bell will try to fill the void left by Andra Davis’ drop-off. He was one of two players left from Savage’s top 40, which is why they traded up to get him at 104. That means that Savage knows something the rest of the NFL doesnt, which may be true since they concentrated on players they could take with their late round picks.

Martin Rucker, Tight End, Missouri

Rucker will provide more options for Chud when he draws up plays and provides insurance for the oft-injured Kellen Winslow, as he is a similar player. This was a suprise, but the Browns must think highly of him as he was the other player left from their top 40 and they gave up a third rounder in 2009 to take him. 

Savage AGAIN traded with Dallas (after doing it twice last year) twice in this round. They gave up their 2008 4 and 5 to move up to play Bell and their 2009 THIRD rounder for Rucker. will Savage actually pick in the Browns regular spot this draft? not at least until the 7th round. They love Dallas.

Round 6 picks

Ahtyba Rubin, Nose Tackle, Iowa State

Rubin solidifies the defensive line by giving the team competition at Nose Tackle

Paul Hubbard, Wide Receiver, Wisconsin

Hubbard likely spells the end for Travis Wilson. He will compete for the final receiver position.

the Browns aquired BOTH these picks through trades. they were picked back-to-back. they used to draft pick aquired from Seattle for Charlie Frye to take Rubin. THEN they traded their 5th round pick in 2009 to the Eagles the pick they originally traded to philadelphia for center hank fraley. So, technically, Hubbard is the first pick taken in the browns natural slot, but the browns still had to make a trade to take him.

Round 7 Pick

Alex Hall, Outside Linebacker, St. Augustine’s (N.C.)

Hall will compete for a special teams job in his rookie year. By God, there were no trades involved with taking him.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

with the trades included, this was a draft that could push the Browns over the top. unfortunatly, defending AFC North Champion Pittsburgh had a slightly better draft.

Go Browns!

The Miami Dolphins, under new GM Bill Parcells, had first-overall-pick-to-be offensive tackle Jake Long sign on the dotted line earlier this week. the move, last seen in 2006 with the Houston Texans and defensive lineman Mario Williams, is designed to save money and provide security for the picking team.

In both cases a lineman is taken over  “cant miss future star running backs.” In both cases the fans are robbed of the drama over who is taken first overall. As for the decision to sign the player early, it seems to be the way to go. Williams and Long’s signings are sandwiched around 2007’s Jamarcus Russell,  who held out so long his rookie season was a wash. In William’s case, after one year the decision to pass on Reggie Bush seemed terrible. after two years it seems like the Texans are geniuses.

Jake Long will be the first offensive tackle taken first overall since future-hall-of-famer-and-former-Buckeye Orlando Pace. The only other tackle taken first overall was hall-of-famer Ron Yary in 1968. Since Pace 8 quaterbacks and 2 defensive ends have been taken. Long will be the first Michigan player taken first since 1941 and he will enter the NFL as the highest paid tackle in the league.

Taking a tackle in the top 5 is, in a word, unsexy. Most true fans agree, however, that left tackle is the second most pivotal position on the offense after quarterback. In fact, its arguable that it is the MOST important since few top quarterbacks can survive without an offensive line while many mediocre quarterbacks have thrived behind a great line.

 

The question is do great tackles really deserve to be taken in the top 10? do top 10 tackles hit? well, in last year’s probowl 4 of the nine tackles selected were top 10 picks. But, its an imperfect science since 4 were 2nd round picks and one went undrafted.

 

Also, offensive lineman are able to stay in the league much longer than any position besides kickers and punters. This means that if you hit on the player you get longevity at the position. But, the downside is that the list below only includes one of the 4 players selected to the last probowl. Where as for the AFC, 12 of the 15 quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers were taken since 2000.

 

the following list provides an analysis of the top 10 offensive tackles taken since 2000.

 

2000

#3 Washington Redskins (from San Francisco)

      Chris Samuels, Tackle, Alabama (pro-bowler)

 

2001

#2 Arizona Cardinals

      Leonard Davis, Tackle, Texas (pro-bowler)

 

2002

(zero pro-bowl tackles so far from this class)

#4 Buffalo Bills

      Mike Williams, Tackle, Texas (bust)

#7 Minnesota Vikings

      Bryant McKinnie, Tackle, Miami (FL) (starter)

#10 Cincinnati Bengals

       Levi Jones, Tackle, Arizona State (was an alternate for the pro-bowl)

 

2003

#8 Carolina Panthers

       Jordan Gross, Tackle, Utah (Carolina’s 2008 franchise player)

 

2004

#2 Oakland Raiders

Robert Gallery, Tackle, Iowa (solid guard on a bad team, but picks 3-8 are pro-bowlers)

 

2005 (none selected top ten)

#13 New Orleans Saints (from Houston)

       Jammal Brown, Tackle, Oklahoma (pro-bowler)

 

2006

#4 New York Jets

       D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Tackle, Virginia (has played well, will continue to start)

 

2007

#3 Cleveland Browns

       Joe Thomas, Tackle, Wisconsin (pro-bowler)

#5 Arizona Cardinals

       Levi Brown, Tackle, Penn State (solid starter so far)

 

the most interesting thing to note is that the only year with three taken in the top ten is the shakiest year.

 

Decision:

Offensive linemen, despite the many misses above, still statistically hit more times than skill positions. Miami now has a player who could possibly anchor their line for 15 years. They will give their current quarterback and running back corps a try. They could have drafted a defensive lineman, but they decided that offensive line will better equip their quarterbacks and running backs to succeed. Offensive lineman are essential to every play so the tape on them in college is a lot more extensive than any other offensive position.

 

Miami made a smart pick by position its just a matter of Long’s talent. The only knock against him is that he may not be as polished as previous top 10 tackles, including rookie probowler Joe Thomas, who also came out of the Big 10 and was selected #3 in last year’s draft. Thomas is the highest-drafted probowler from that class so far.

 

another note: Jake Long will also get $30 million guaranteed, which is DOUBLE what probowl quarterback Carson Palmer got in 2003.

 

It’s early.

Nobody should panic.

there are 150ish games left.

But, The American League is full of surprises so far.

Its too early for conclusions, but not to early for some fun pontificating.  If the playoffs started tomorrow, Baltimore or Toronto would be the champion of the east (they have the same record and they meet tonight), Oakland would come out of the West, Chicago from the Central and Kansas City would be the Wild Card (this is assuming that all three teams win tonight). None, i repeat, NONE were projected by the national media to go to the playoffs.  

In fact, Baltimore and Kansas City were consensus picks to finish dead last in the league. Baltimore was thought by some to be competing with cross-town national leaguers Washington for the crown of worst team in baseball. In fact, even the Nationals looked to surprise early in the senior circuit, winning their first three before promptly losing nine straight. 

So if these teams are winning, where are the supposed contenders?

In the Central Division they occupy the basement.

The Indians have lost almost every series they’ve played so far this year. They stand at 5-7. They’re not as bad as rival Detroit, who are whopping 2-10 thus far. But, they’ve certainly shown some alarming trends.

First and foremost is the performance of staff ace, reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and blockbuster-free-agent-to-be C.C. Sabathia.

In three starts C.C. has gone from mediocre to downright awful. He has gone 0-2 with a ridiculous 11.57 ERA in only 14 innings. By far his worst start was his last one, where he went 3.1 innings and gave up 12 hits and NINE earned runs. Nine.  last year he averaged just over 7 innings per start, another ridiculous stat in today’s baseball atmosphere but on the opposite spectrum.

His turnaround is perplexing, but with the performance of the other starters, it may turn out to be a good thing for the Indians in the long run. If Sabathia has an average-poor year, either the Indians will be better-able to afford him or more comfortable with letting him walk. 

Speaking of walks, his fellow-ace Fausto Carmona started out well despite walking 9 in his first 13 innings (covering two starts). He only gave up one earned run in those two starts combined and stood at 1-0. Then came the other day’s implosion. Two days ago he walked 8 in 3 innings. EIGHT in THREE. included here was a walk with the bases loaded. and how did the bases get loaded? you guessed it! he walked all three of them.

here there is less cause to worry. His breaking pitches have been downright nasty this year. he only needs to control them. The indians recently signed him to a cheap cheap cheap deal in which they can pay him potatoes for four years and then hold club options for the following three years. gotta love that language barrier. Fausto could be the indians Ace for the next 7 years while being paid like the 4th or 5th starter on most teams. brilliant.

So if Sabathia and Carmona are struggling, why did i say it would be OK if CC struggled throughout the year? because of the bounce-back efforts of Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook.

Both pitchers spent the early part of last year on the DL. Westbrook took most of the first half to recover and never really got back on track. Lee never recovered and despite being one of three AL pitchers to win 44 games or more from 2004-2006 (westbrook was in there too) he found himself in the minor leagues for most of the second half and competing for a job in spring training this year.

So far, Westbrook and Lee have combined to go 3-1 with a 1.74 ERA. They have combined for 31 innings pitched in 4 total starts. neither pitcher can keep up this torrid pace, but their return to competence has to be a comfort for Indians fans.

The bullpen is the other area of concern. Though much less easy to predict, and much less experienced so far this year, the bullpen was seen as a strength heading into this season.  Reigning AL saves champion Joe Borowski and set-up men Rafael Bentancourt and Rafael Perez (who were the best set-up combo in baseball last season) have the three worst ERAs in their own bullpen, of 13.50, 5.06 and 9.00 respectively.

None of their ERAs are in any way respectable on last-place teams let alone contenders. Bentancourt would be the only pitcher to survive on a last-place team at this pace. It is ridiculous to jump to conclusions about the bullpen yet, but its deficiencies are worth pointing out.

i’ll try to give the hitters another week before i jump on them.

We’ll see how the upcoming Tigers series goes.

 

This last week in Paris and London the Olympic torch has undergone harassment from those who don’t like Olympic host China’s treatment of Tibet. Protesters prepared for the torch’s arrival to its only North American stop by climbing the Golden Gate Bridge. Look, the Olympic Committee must be proud of the tradition of protesting during the Olympics. This is proof. They have to go to London and Paris, where protests happen daily, because they are the two capitals of Western Europe. But to make your only stop in North America the hippie capital of the world means you’re doing something on purpose. 

I love this sort of thing. Some sports people say ”why the Olympics. Why don’t these people care about Tibet in the off years?” I say this is their chance to protest, with the media actually paying attention. Maybe they won’t change anything…probably this is downplayed as much as possible in Communist China and their restricted internet. But, at least the international awareness (or at least dumb American awareness) will go up.

As for the people who think that the tradition of the Olympics is being compromised, I’ll even leave alone the history of protests and boycotts of the Olympics, I’ll simply point out that the passing of the torch as it is today was a tradition started by the Nazis in 1936. We wouldn’t want to damage Hitler’s legacy, after all.

As long as nobody gets hurt, I say protest on. Make as much noise as possible! Free Tibet, etc…

 

Tonight the illustrious Ohio State basketball team will take on UMass for the title of the Not Invited Tournament, the Not Interesting Tournament, or the National Invitation Tournament.  And i am excited for it!

Look, here’s the sad part: people forget that the last time Ohio State won a national title, 1960, the NIT was considered by many to be the top tournament around. It was simply that the NCAA tournament crowned the national champion because it was sponsored by the NCAA. Even in 1966 when Don Haskins lead Texas Western to the title with an all-black starting lineup the historical significance was diminished due to the presence of the other tournament. even until the mid 1970s some still made the argument for the NIT. The expansion to 32 teams in 1975 put the NCAA on top and the expansion to 64 in 1985 killed the NIT. Today, many of my friends who are casual sports fans had never heard of the NIT until the Buckeyes were selected this year.

The point is that the NIT does happen to have a rich history and it is NOT a competition for the 66th best team in the country. OSU could easily beat any 12-16 seed team in the tournament, teams that recieved automatic bids from smaller conferences. Clearly, the NIT is still a joke. I agree that it brings no glory and that nobody outside of Columbus and New England will watch this game tonight. but, as a fan of basketball, i prefer this to a first or second round exit in the big dance.

1. as a high seed we got to play games at home, which actually brought some life to the basketball fanbase in columbus. the Dayton game, with a quarter of the crowd in blue and red, was electric. fans couldnt hear themselves think at the Cal game in St. John’s arena. personally, i wish the buckeyes played every game there.

2. we are today one of four d-1 teams still playing college basketball. this gives us time to develop our young players and allows them to gain confidence for what is hopefully a deep run in the real tournament next year

3. the team gets to go to Madison Square Garden and the bright lights of NYC instead of bowing out in some gym in Topica, Kansas after losing by 20 to a top 10 team.

4. we get to watch a winner against some great competition (later in the tournament). these top seeds are all teams that could have made the tournament with just one more quality win.

basically, i love watching my team win. i think thad matta will be able to instill more confidence next year with a win tonight rather than a blowout loss two weeks ago. too bad we’re not facing florida again…

 from the perspective of a lifetime fan: 

with the start of the baseball season this week, my cleveland indians begin a season-long race for the division with the detroit tigers. they are two of the best teams in baseball, by most accounts, but their strengths and weaknesses couldnt seem to differ more. where do the advantages lie?

This begins with the overall salaries of the major market tigers and the mid-market indians

(figures come from the USA Today salary database)

Cleveland $78,970,066 (16th in baseball, and 14th out of the 16 legitimate contenders)

Detroit     $137,685,196 (3rd in baseball and 3rd out of the 16 legitimate contenders)

 position by position analysis:

POS	Indians	advantage	Tigers
C	Martinez	←big	Rodriguez
1B	Garko	even	Guillen
2B	Cabrera	even	Polanco
3B	Blake	big→	Cabrera
SS	Peralta	moderate→	Renteria
LF	Dellucci	big→	Jones
CF	Sizemore	←moderate	Granderson
RF	Gutierrez	big→	Ordonez
DH	Hafner	←moderate	Sheffield
SP1	Sabathia	←moderate	Verlander
SP2	Carmona	←big	Rogers
SP3	Westbrook	even	Bonderman
SP4	Byrd	←moderate	Robertson
SP5	Lee	even	Willis
CL	Borowski	even	Jones
BPEN		←big

 Dark Horse Candidates

Indians: Franklin Gutierrez, Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera

These three all have their first full years under their belts and all have the talent and are of the typical age of to have “break-out” years. If just one of them takes that next step into stardom the indians lineup will improve exponentially

Tigers: Dontrelle Willis

 He lead the Marlins to the World Series not so long ago, if he can even approach that form the Tigers will have the legitimate rotation that they lost when Kenny Rogers’ age caught up to him.

Potential Downfall:

Indians: C.C. Sabathia’s contract

This could be a distraction for the young team, who will most likely lose their ace to a large market team at the end of the year. Sabathia has cut off negotiations until the end of the year but this will not stop the press from asking him about it every day.

Tigers: too many big personalities on one team

In Cabrera the Tigers have a quiet superstar who can gel with Granderson. However Ordonez, Rogers, Willis and especially Sheffield have larger-than-life egos that have the potential to tear apart a veteran team during tough times. We saw it last year with the White Sox, will we see it here again?

The Skinny: 

 both teams will beat up on each other so often that it is unlikely the loser of this battle will win the wildcard. the road to the post season most likely lies in the division, especially with Boston and New York looming in the east.

Prediction:

Miguel Cabrera has his finest year in a new city with a new contract, despite that big ballpark, and wins the MVP. The tigers score 1000 runs but cant quite make up the ground they lost early in the year when their only solid relievers were on the disabled list (both may miss april)

The Indians get solid years from Sabathia and Carmona, not up to par with last year, and are picked up with comeback years from Lee and Westbrook. They handle a transition at closer halfway through the year to Japanese import Masahide Kobayashi. Their young team gels down the stretch and they win the division by 3 games despite only having 94 wins