Top Ten... Ish Movies of 2011

Really personal opinion and there were still a few a movies I wanted to see (My Week with Marylin, Albert Nobbs, A Separation, just to name a few) but I did see around 30 movies that came out this year and I think that's pretty good.

11. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I was intrigued. Serkis deserves some sort of honorary Oscar or something. The work he does is borderline brilliance. Franco was bland at times, but I didn't think it hurt the film. And the story line was really accessible to current day with the Alzheimer's storyline. I know that science fiction isn't a very artsy genre but the work done in this movie deserves recognition. While the main actor was a CGI ape, I never lost interest. That has to mean some sort of good work was done, right?

2012 Oscars Picks and Predictions

Greetings one and all. I've been to the movies more this past year than in any other year in my life. Why? I'm not entirely sure. I've always loved movies but strongly disliked going to the movies. Strange? Yes. Anyways, basically I've seen my fair share of films from the past year and have enjoyed many good films. However, I didn't LOVE anything. I thought the year was full of some very solid films but nothing really blew my mind. I wanted to preface my analysis and picks with that thought because I definitely don't have a "cause" that I am rooting for this year (like I did with Inception last year).

Without further ado, picks and commentary on the categories I can actual speak about without embarrassing myself.

World Series Game 2 Diary: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers

6:27 - Put a cheeseburger pizza in the oven. It's gonna be a good night. The girlfriend is also in attendance on the basement couch for tonight's game. Hopefully, this doesn't throw off the loner karma that worked so well for the Cards in Game 1.

World Series Game 1 Diary: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers

6:45 - The story has been repeated over and over. Improbable September comeback. Improbable post season wins, etc, etc. This diary will be heavily biased in favor of the Cardinals, just as a head's up. A. I can't believe I'm here, watching the World Series with my favor team in the world about to play. B. My initial reactions to playing Texas in the Series were definitely very middle of the road. I didn't think we'd kill them and I didn't think they'd kill us. I guess we'll see...

The Agony That Will Belong to the Aggies

Before I start this rant, let us establish a few statements first.

1. Every movement by a college to another conference in the last couple years is entirely motivated by football. This is because every Division I school that has a football team receives more revenue from said football team than any other sport.

2. Just because a school is moving to another conference, doesn't mean that school is any more or less important than it was before said move.

3. There are only about ten or so schools who really matter when it comes to football. I would say some of those are (in no particular order)Texas, Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, and Michigan. (You may or may not agree with this entirely, but a part of it is true. Don't get hung up on this point too much.)

I set these points up so I can bash Texas A & M.

A Cinematic Top Ten... Er Seven: Christopher Nolan Edition

I have found in my cinematic travels through Middle Earth, Oz, and beyond that I thoroughly enjoy movies with ambiguity amongst the protagonists and antagonists. At times, this confusion bleeds into moral ambiguity. I prefer the former over the ladder, because discussions of morality get too intense and off the point. I like when traditional "bad" or "good" characters are not necessarily as they seem.

The example I most often use to illustrate this point is one of my top, if not favorite, characters in film history: Hannibal Lector. He is obviously a deplorable human being full of violence, cannibalism, and severe psychological problems. But in the Silence of the Lambs, he acts as a guide for the protagonist, though with heavy pseudo-sexual overtones that not only confuses Clarice Starling, but the audience as well. While he is disgusting and horrific, he is still an essential piece in finding and killing Buffalo Bill, a serial killer on the loose. Hence the protagonist/antagonist line blur.

Viva La Revolution!

Do you ever get the feeling that college football is like pre-Revolution France. Like your team is a peasant eating rotten fruits and vegetables like three star recruits, luke-warm fan bases, and coaches who use your college as a stepping stone rather than a destination? Do you picture Texas or Florida or Oklahoma as Louis XIV, hanging out at Versailles sitting on a golden toilet, sleeping on silk sheets, and playing catch with his pet peacocks? Do you pray and hope for an uprising, lead by the Jacobin-esque Boise State Broncos?

I know I do.

A Quick Analysis of the Harry Potter Movie Series

Currently, I am waiting around to go see the final installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise. I have always been of the opinion that the books are way better but the movies were always a nice way to relive the glory that was the books. And the movies become increasingly more important in the summer of 2007, when there were no more books to be read.

But I'm going to be brutally honest and say that, as far as movies go, the Harry Potter movies aren't all that good. Many may think this is blasphemy but lets look at a few points.

The Few, The Proud, The Lifers

They are the ones who stayed. They are those who have known one city, one fanbase, and one arena (usually) as home in their professional careers. In today's sports' world, full of greed, free agency, and egotistical athletes who insist on clashing with their coaches, GMs, or fellow players, constant movement from one franchise to the next is considered the norm rather than the exception. The exception now is staying with a team for one's entire career. In fact, it's a down-right rarity. So this post is dedicated to those players whether they fought to stay with their team or because circumstances allowed them to.

A Cinematic Top Ten: CROPCIMS Edition

Hopefully, this will be a continuing type of post which considers an interesting (sometimes unusual, sometimes pretty basic) top ten list concerning films, actor/actresses, directors, basically anything within the realm of cinema. I hope to mix it up so it's not always the same thing.

For the first rendition of this post series, I want to focus on an idea I came up with after hearing Baby Got Back while flipping through the radio. What the heck? That is what you are probably thinking right now. How does Baby Got Back relate to movies? Well, name one other song Sir-Mix-A-Lot has done. Waiting..... Still waiting.... Wait, you can't name another song he's done? Neither can I. Surprise, surprise. He's the epitome of the one-hit wonder in music. Now, this cinema theme relates to that. One hit wonder actors don't really exist because you can be really bad and still get jobs in Hollywood or an Indie film or on stage or anywhere really.