The Bart Cave

It's 2012 Baby! Time To Get Back To Work...

2012-01-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

After a little rest and relaxation, I am back to bring you some of the best news for Atlanta sports and entertainment. Since our last blog a few things have happened. Whether it was football or baseball; professional or college, it was a crazy end to 2011. Here are some videos to help us remember, because I have a feeling it's going to be a crazy 2012.

The St. Louis Cardinals, who unceremoniously overtook the Atlanta Braves for the National League Wildcard won the World Series.

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The Atlanta Falcons finished the NFL season second in the NFC South to the New Orleans Saints and achieved their 4th straight winning season and 3rd playoff appearance in four years under the current regime. Unfortunately, the Falcons for the 3rd straight playoff appearance have been defeated by the NFC's representative in the Super Bowl (08-Cardinals, 10-Packers, 11-Giants).

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets finished the season 8-5 (5-3 ACC, 3rd ACC Coastal) and earned its 17th straight bowl appearance. Unfortunately, it was also it's fifth straight loss in a bowl as well, this time to the Utah Utes 30-27 in over-time.

The Georgia State Panthers finished it's second full season of collegiate football with a record of 3-8 and looked to take a few steps back from it's prior inaugural season where it finished 6-5 and opened the eyes of everyone nationally, as they were covered by ESPN weekly.

The Georgia Bulldogs finished 10-4 (7-1 SEC) and lost a back and forth game to Michigan State in the Outback Bowl. For other UGA news (Try reading the AJC that's all they cover anyway)

2011 Game Review: Georgia Tech Holds On Against Maryland,,,Now Faces Virginia On The Road!

2011-10-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

The game against Maryland was a game of lessons learned. So, what did the Yellow Jackets learn?

1. Tevin Washington should not carry the load offensively. He has done tremendously well distributing the ball to the team's playmakers. That needs to continue.

2. The defense can be very good when it wants to be.

3. When everyone on offense is doing their job, Ga Tech can score at will.

Highlights

Tevin Washington unfortunately held onto the ball a bit too much, rushing for 120 yards on 32 carries. That is WAY TOO MANY carries. He needs to be confident in the pitch and know that it'll be there. For the third consecutive game the Yellow Jackets won without having a dominant passing game. Washington was only able to complete 6/19 passes for 114 yards and had an interception in the end zone, at the end of the first half. You may look at these stats and say there is no way the Yellow Jackets won this game, but THEY DID.

The running game started out dominant as usual, but tailed off in the second half, mostly due to Washington's keeping the ball. B-back David Sims did have an effective game rushing for 83 yards on 17 carries. The phenomenal A-back Orwin Smith was very effective, but only got 4 touches in the game and rished for 41 yards and a touchdown. The team as a whole accumulated 272 yards on the ground.

The defense showed up big time in this game. Julian Burnett was yet again a tackling machine and recorded over 10 tackles. Both cornerbacks for the Yellow Jackets stepped up and made big plays in the game and both recorded and interception as well. Quayshawn Nealy filled in admirably for the hurt Daniel Drummond and showed that he may be earning a starting spot soon. Defensive Coordinator Al Groh did change his defense up a bit with the injuries on the team, and it seemed to work very well. One can only hope these changes only help progress a young and improving defensive unit.

Next Opponent: @ Virginia (Oct. 15, 2011)

The Yellow Jackets enter the game undefeated and ranked #12 in the country. However, Georgia Tech's history at Charlottesville is not a good one. The Yellow Jackets have won there once since the 1990 National Championship team. However, this is a different Georgia Tech team. If they play up to their abilities and avoid stupid mistakes, then they should win this game fairly easy.

2011 Game Review: Georgia Tech Keeps On Ramblin Beating NC State 45-35!

2011-10-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech entered last Saturday's game in Raleigh, North Carolina looking to extend it's undefeated record to 5-0. You knew what kind of day it was going to be once Paul Johnson decided to fake a punt on Georgia Tech's first offensive drive of the game. The offense did have it's share of problems on the day, but still looked impressive, racking up 413 total yards. The running backs lead the attack by blowing up the field for 296 rushing yards. This was even more impressive by the fact the passing game was not effective at all.

Highlights

Quarterback Tevin Washington only completed 33% of his passes, but still amassed 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the offense still put up 45 points. Imagine what the offense would have done with a better passing performance. Washington also chipped in with the running game with 46 yards on the ground, which helped seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets.

A-back Orwin Smith had another huge day, especially in all-purpose yards. With 104 total yards (74 rushing and 30 receiving) and 3 touchdowns, Smith showed why he may be the best overall player on this Yellow Jacket squad; as well as one of the best running backs in the country. B-back David Sims assisted Smith with 73 rushing yards rushing of his own and a touchdown to boot.

Georgia Tech's defense continued with it's" bend but don't break" strategy. Julian Burnett recorded a big day scoring 12 tackles. Free Safety Isaiah Johnson added to his team leading interception total (3), which is tied for 2nd in the ACC, by picking off Wolfpack QB Mike Glennon in the 3rd quarter. Linebackers Jeremiah Attaochu and Daniel Drummond also played extremely well, but suffered leg injuries that could keep them out for the next game against Maryland.

Next Opponent: vs. Maryland (Oct. 8, 2011)

Georgia Tech will be looking to move to 6-0 against Maryland (2-2), who has struggled so far this season. The Yellow Jackets former offensive co-ordinator (under Chan Gailey) Randy Edsall is now the head coach for the Maryland Terrapins, and will be returning to Bobby Dodd Stadium for only the second time since his departure. Maryland's quarterback Danny O'Brien is the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year, and a tough competitor. However, he tends to make throws into traffic and is prone to interceptions. So, GT's Isaiah Johnson could be looking for yet another pick-off in this ACC matchup. GT's defense will definitely need a big showing for the team is to stay unbeaten.

Movies Coming To A Theater Near You: October 2011

2011-09-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

As we enter into the month of October and the time of All-Hallows Eve, here are some movies to keep an eye out for. If you are a fan of drama, action, adventure, science-fiction, and horror; then this month is for you. (Previews based on synopsis provided by Fandango and Moviefone)

Real Steel (October 7)
This is director Shawn Levy's feature-length adaptation of the Twilight Zone episode "Steel." Retired boxer, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), who was fighting for the title when the sport of boxing suddenly died out. Now, instead of humans fighting it out for the masses, humongous steel robots trade blows in the ring, and Charlie has been forced into the role of two-bit fight promoter and pieces together cut-rate fighting bots from scrap metal. Just when it seems his career is over, Charlie's estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), offers him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a winner by constructing and training a champion robot. Now the stakes are even higher than ever before, and Charlie is fully prepared to coach his robot to victory so that he can finally leave an indelible mark on the sport he once dedicated his life to.

The Thing (October 14)
In this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic, an Antarctic research team has unearthed an alien craft. American paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins a group of Norwegian scientists to explore what secrets the ship might hold. Though by Kate's estimation the creature inside the spaceship has been dead for centuries, it has actually just been lying dormant in the ice. Perfectly preserved, it has awaited the day when it would finally be freed from its frigid prison; now, after eons of lying in wait, that day has finally come. Suddenly revived during a crucial experiment, the malevolent alien begins methodically mimicking each member of the crew undetected. By the time Kate realizes the frightening implications of the creature's unique ability, it may already be too late.

The Big Year (October 14)
David Frankel, the director of 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Marley & Me' teams with Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson in a sophisticated comedy set in the secret, underground world of competitive bird watching. The three comic icons portray the elite of this fervent breed, who face off in a secret competition that will become the biggest year of their lives. These three fanatical bird watchers compete to spot the highest number of species as El Nino sends an extraordinary variety of breeds flying up into the U.S., but they quickly discover that there are more important things than coming out on top of the competition.

Paranormal Activity 3 (October 21)
The Paranormal Activity franchise continues with this third outing from Paramount Pictures. Oren Peli and Jason Blum return to produce the highly secretive film. The story continues as we learn about how sisters Katie and Kristi first encounter the demon as children. Although it appears friendly to them at first, it turns hostile and begins tormenting them and their family. There is supposedly a scene near the start of the film that shows Katie bringing over a box of video tapes to the home of her sister Kristi. As she starts to sort through some of tapes, her husband (Daniel) starts filming which leads the audience into the second film.

The Three Musketeers (October 21)
Set in the 17th-century, the story of famed Musketeers Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Aramis (Luke Evans), and Porthos (Ray Stevenson) is re-imagined. A young boy named D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) journeys to Paris to realize his dream of becoming a Musketeer, but finds the group to be a shadow of their former selves needing a purpose. The dangerous Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and Milady (Milla Jovovich) hatch a deadly plot to overthrow the young King Louis (Freddie Fox) by framing his wife, Queen Anne (Juno Temple), of having an affair with the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) in the hopes of starting a war with England. Thus forcing the people of France to demand a stronger leader namely himself. Peace may still be possible if the Three Musketeers along with D'Artagnan can save the day. This version of the action adventure story is given a state of the art update in 3-D.

The Rum Diary (October 21)
Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, 'The Rum Diary' tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of the late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star. Downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins) runs the paper. Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancee of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), who is a businessman involved in shady property development deals. He is also one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen's financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.

2011 Game Review: GT Moves To 4-0 After Knocking Out UNC 35-28!

2011-09-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

46,849 fans packed Bobby Dodd Stadium to watch the Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech celebrate it's 50th anniversary this past Saturday down on the flats of North Avenue. The Yellow Jacket football team would not disappoint in this celebration after using their home field advantage to take care of ACC Coastal rival the Tar Heels of North Carolina. Paul Johnson's offense would yet again rack up nearly 500 yard of offense and continue its statistical domination on the national scene.

Highlights

Tevin Washington was extremely efficient in the triple option passing game completing 10-14 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown, which could have been even more if Stephen Hill hadn't dropped a sure touchdown pass on late in the third quarter. However, Hill did not let this hiccup effect his day. With 6 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, Hill added to his already staggering totals so far this season in the passing game.

The biggest factor that lead to the win was the offense's execution on third down conversions. Tech converted 10 of 16 third downs and dominated time of possession by over 13 minutes. Much of that domination was because for the fourth consecutive game the Yellow Jackets, as a team, ran for over 300 yards. Quarterback Tevin Washington lead the rushing attack with 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running backs Orwin Smith, David Sims and Roddy Jones also contributed with 215 yards rushing between the three of them.

The Defense needed to come up big in this game and did. North Carolina's offense was very effective at times and gave the Georgia Tech all they could handle, especially in the passing game. But Jeremiah Attaochu's 9 tackles and 3 sacks lead the way for the Rambling Wrecks defense, which racked up 7 sacks and two interceptions total. Attaochu would go on to be named the National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America. Free Safety Isaiah Johnson and cornerback Rod Sweeting had big games yet again and both had interceptions at key moments, which helped the Yellow Jackets to their fourth straight victory on the season.

Finally, GT also showed off some skills in special teams! Place kicker Justin Moore connected on 2 out of 3 field goal attempts on the day, with a long of 40 yards. As bad as this area has been for the Yellow Jackets this was a drastic improvement, and a much needed one. For their sake I hope it continues.

Next Opponent: @ North Carolina State (Oct. 1, 2011)

The Wolfpack are 2-2 on the season and have the 33rd best passing attack in the nation led by senior quarterback Mike Glennon, who has passed for over a 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns already. If Georgia Tech is to going to beat NC State on Saturday, then they will have to shut down star wide receiver T.J. Graham who is averaging nearly 23 yards per reception and accounts for nearly half of the total passing yards so far this season. If the defense can come up with the same pressure in the passing game as they did against UNC, then that should be no problem.

2011 Game Review: Georgia State Loses To Houston 56-0!

2011-09-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Panthers (now 1-3) took the field in Houston last Saturday night hoping to show that they are a team who is ready to play with the big boys. Unfortunately, GSU showed it is definitely not ready to compete against FBS opponents. While the school received a nice pay day for the beating that took place, the resolve of this particular team is now under question. Since opening the season with a huge win, all be it against a lesser opponent, the Panthers have been blown out in three straight games.

Highlights

This past week in Houston, the Cougars racked up 732 yards of total offense. Former Heisman hopeful Case Keenum threw for 415 yards and two touchdowns while Georgia State rotated quarterbacks for a total of 133 yards and two interceptions. Danny Williams did have a decent game picking up four receptions for 70 yards on the day. The Panthers did show some more promise running the football. Tailback Travis Evans picked up 73 yards on just 14 carries while carrying the load for an injured Donald Russell. The big disappointment was the fact that at no time did GSU look to be on the verge of scoring. The Panthers offense was only 4/16 on third down conversions, and on this day were just outmatched.

Defensively speaking this offense was just too much for the team to battle. Houston's prolific passing attack was on display. However, for the third straight game GSU allowed over 200 yards rushing. Kail Singleton and Dexter Moody did chip in with 10 tackles a piece.

There is some good news. The Panthers remaining schedule is not nearly as difficult as has been for the first four games. If there was ever a time to turn this season around and build for the next, when they enter CAA conference play, it is now. What needs to be addressed?

DEFINE THE OFFENSE! If you are going to run the spread option, then run the spread option. If you are going to run a more traditional offense, then stick to the basics. If you want to run the ball more, which you have done pretty well this season, then dedicate the offense to doing that.

CHOOSE A QUARTERBACK! This team switches QB more than anyone I know. Steve Spurrier never swapped this much. Once you choose an offense, then put the QB in that gives you the best chance to win with that offense. Stop alternating every other series! Let the players find so cohesiveness and rhythm.

FIND A DEFENSIVE SCHEME YOUR PLAYERS CAN RUN. Finding a style on defense is not easy. But having seen what this team has on the defensive side of the ball, it is easy to see the 3-4 is not working. It's not a matter of coordinators and play calls. This team lacks the size up front to take on 5 or more 300 lbs offensive lineman weekly. Perhaps a more traditional 4-3 defense or 4-3 nickle would be more productive. Either way, you have to try something, because what the team is running right now isn't working.

Next Opponent: vs Murray State (Oct. 8, 2011)
The game will be broadcast on GPTV and have a new start time of 2pm as the school tries to garner a bigger student turnout. Murray State has a high powered offense and will hard to stop. The Panthers will be coming from a week off and should be more than rested and prepared for the fight in the Georgia Dome.

2011 Game Review: Georgia State Falls To Jacksonville State 37-21!

2011-09-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Panthers traveled to Jacksonville, Alabama looking to avenge the nail-biter loss they suffered last season at the hands of the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, who entered this game as a nationally ranked FCS opponent. The Gamecocks, a well-known passing team, had a new game plan this time around. Georgia State, who suffered a rough game the week before to Old Dominion, was looking to get back on the winning track. Unfortunately it was not to be on this day.

GSU has been shaky so far this season. The defense has been a void at times and the offense has been fairly productive. However, old habits found their way into the game and cost the Panthers. Not enough points, too many penalties, too many rushing yards given up, and too many third down conversions allowed. It was a game of ups and downs.

Offensively, the Panthers finally committed to running the football, and found some well needed production from Donald Russell and Travis Evans. The two split the carries nearly 50/50, had 88 yards rushing together and averaged around 4 yards-per-carry. However, quarterback Bo Schlechter struggled for the second consecutive game.

Wide Receiver/Kick Returner Albert Wilson, who has been the spark plug for this team so far this season, was truly the only highlight from this game on offense. He added to his great start so far this season with a 6 catches for 146 yard effort. Wilson also helped with 51 yards in the return game, but would go down with a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter.

The defense YET AGAIN couldn't stop the run. The Gamecocks ran rough-shot through the middle of the defense for 246 yards rushing. Jacksonville State almost had 3 separate 100 yard rushers on the day. Georgia State has got to get fixed if they want to get back to winning football games. Despite being outplayed, the Panthers kept themselves in the game until half-way through the fourth quarter when personal foul penalties kept the Gamecock offense on the field. This win was just not meant to be.

I hate bringing this up once again, but the coaching staff made no changes (mid-game) to try and correct the run defense. Once they were down enough points, the offense was forced to pass and pass quickly. So they inserted quarterback Drew Little to run the offense. But this was with only a little over 2 minutes left in the game. If he is the guy who should be playing at crunch time, then why does he not start? I will be extremely surprised if Little is not the starter in Houston.

Next Oppenent: @ Houston Cougars (Sept. 24, 2011)

This will be the second time in GSU football history that they face a Division 1-A (FBS) opponent. This time it's a Conference USA member, the Houston Cougars. They will be led by former Heisman Trophy candidate Case Keenum, who has already thrown for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. It is obvious what they will be bringing this Saturday. However, as bad as GSU has been defending the run the Cougars may be running a lot this game. Especially if it gets out of hand early. The Panthers do have a shot to win this game, but it will take lots of discipline, something that they didn't show against Jacksonville State. They also have to come up with a scheme that addresses their defensive troubles. The team also needs to decide what their identity is on offense. Emotion can carry you at times, but it may be hard to find in this game. Especially if they are down early. If they harness that emotion and display it on the field with big plays, then Houston may be in store for a surprise. Local television (CSS) will be broadcasting the game. This will be GSU's third straight televised game this season.

2011 Game Review: Georgia Tech Destroys Kansas 66-24!

2011-09-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

One year! One year was how long the Yellow Jackets had to wait for revenge this past Saturday. The emotions that have been bottled up, finally were allowed to be unleashed...and unleashed they were. By the time the last second came off the game clock, Georgia Tech would set school, conference and NCAA records on the offensive side of the ball. This was a total dismantling of a football team in every facet of the game. 604 yards rushing in the game was a new GT record. That along with the 164 yards passing would account for the highest all-time game total in the schools history (768 yards).

Highlights

The game began as good as it could have for the Yellow Jackets. They forced the Jayhawks to punt on their first possession, but were began the first offensive drive from their own 5-yard line. Georgia Tech had scored on the first play of each game so far this season, and would not disappoint on this day either. Orwin Smith would take a counter option play 95 yards for a touchdown. This put the fans at Bobby Dodd Stadium into a frenzy. Smith would go on to have an even bigger day scoring once more, rushing for 157 yards total and even leading the team with 108 yards receiving.

If you were a Georgia Tech running back, last Saturday was your day. I believe every active player that suited up played. Embry Peebles racked up 110 yards rushing while Roddy Jones (72), David Sims (70), and Synjyn Days (69) would tack on as well. Quarterback Tevin Washington amazed yet again. He would only attempt 7 passes, but completed 4 of them, and 2 of which were for touchdowns. He also ran for 32 yards, but with everyone running the ball well, Washington only needed to distribute the ball on this day. The AJC quoted Washington after the game as saying "We were spreading the love. When everybody's touching the ball, everybody's happy."

The defense had a few difficulties in the first half, mainly stopping Kansas on 3rd down conversions. Julian Burnett once again lead the way with 9 tackles, which added to his team lead of 29. The biggest impact player last Saturday may have been Steven Sylvester, who had 8 tackles, forced a fumble, and kept pressure on Kansas QB Jordan Webb all game long.

With this win the Associated Press voted the Yellow Jackets into the Top 25 (25th) for the first time this season. The Coaches Poll also ranked GT in the Top 25 nationally at 24th.

Offensive Player of the Game: Orwin Smith (5 rushes 157 yards 1 TD, 2 catches 108 yards 1 TD)

Defensive Player of the Game: Steven Sylvester (8 tackles 1 forced fumble)

Next Opponent: vs North Carolina (Sept. 24, 2011)

If the Yellow Jackets are going to pull off this win, then they will need to keep the pace on offense like they have so far this season, control the clock and keep the Tar Heels stud quarterback Bryn Renner off the field. Renner is completing over 80% of his passes and has thrown for almost 700 yards so far this season. The Tar Heels are also undefeated and could be looking to avenge a 30-24 loss last season to the Jackets.

2011 Game Review: Georgia Tech Stings MTSU 49-21!

2011-09-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Middle Tennessee should have known better than to come riding out in their own version of the Ramblin Wreck. Georgia Tech has been playing with a chip on their shoulder so far this season and it only took one play to show how much. Tevin Washington hit running back Tony Zenon down the sideline for a 73 yard touchdown pass, and that was just the start for the Yellow Jackets, who piled up over 600 yards of total offense for the second straight week.

Tevin Washington lit up the stat sheet again completing 5/8 passes for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. His favorite target was yet again Stephen Hill who had 3 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown and is turning into one of the most dynamic receivers in the ACC. The teams top-two leading rushers so far this season (Days, Sims) would have big days. Backup quarterback Synjyn Days got plenty of playing time in this blowout, and showed off his athleticism carrying the ball a team high 15 times for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Joining him was B-back David Sims who tallied 94 yards rushing on 12 carries. Senior A-back Roddy Jones also made a big impact on the field with his outstanding blocking (as per usual) and rushing the ball for 63 yards while averaging over 10 yards per-pop. The offense decimated the MTSU defense and controlled the clock, as usual, by nearly a 2-1 ratio.

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets were strong for the first three quarters, but as the reserves were put in the defense became a bit too relaxed and gave up some late scores in the 4th quarter. Linebacker Julian Burnett lead the way again for the young Georgia Tech defense with 8 total tackles. Safety Isaiah Johnson may have had the biggest day on defense registering a fumble recovery and interception.

Special Teams were pretty much a void, outside of extra points and they were all converted. Georgia Tech could do no wrong on this day. If Yellow Jacket fans keep seeing this type of play, then they will be in store for one hell of a season.

Offensive Player of the Game: Tony Zenon - 6 rushes 50 yards, 2 catches 85 yards 1 TD

Defensive Player of the Game: Isaiah Johnson - 4 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, & 1 interception

Next Opponent: vs. Kansas (Sept. 17, 2011)

2011 Game Review: Old Dominion Thumps Georgia State 40-17!

2011-09-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday at the Georgia Dome the Georgia State Panthers didn't display the same fortitude that it had shown against Clark Atlanta the week before. Instead of a blowout victory, it ended with a 40-17 blowout loss to Old Dominion. 11,701 fans, mostly season ticket holders, watched the GSU game plan get dismantled.

Old Dominion took the field on offense and dominated the line of scrimmage from the opening snap. ODU's offensive line vastly outsized GSU's defensive front, and controlled the tempo of the game. The Panthers defense was shredded right up the middle to the tune of 282 rushing yards. The secondary did a fine job against the passing game yet again, but the run defense couldn't keep the Monarchs off the field or out of the end zone. Safety Demazio Skelton did have the highlight of the game when he recovered a fumble in the endzone and returned it 93 yards, which set up one of the two GSU touchdowns on the day.

Georgia State couldn't find any rhythm on offense. It seemed as though offensive coordinator John Bond wanted to attack ODU through the passing game, but 3 ODU interceptions later stopped that plan. The running game was fairly effective at the onset. However, Bond abandoned it completely at times and that forced many third-and-long situations. The offense also ran more effectively from under center rather than shotgun, but that was not factored into the play-calling much. Running-back Travis Evans did rush for 65 yards, which could have been more if the game plan been adjusted at some point. Donald Russell, who dominated the ground game the week prior, had only 5 carries and barely saw any action. He did score a touchdown on what looked like a little bit of a "Wild Panther" formation. This same issue came up many times last season. The Panthers have to get seriously committed to running the football. It will open up their entire offense, and allow for the shotgun-spread (which they love) to be more efficient. It will also keeps the quarterback safe. That was a big problem against ODU. The offensive line was challenged all day, and may have lost starting center Ben Jacoby for a few weeks due to an MCL injury.

The quarterback quandary became even bigger. Starting QB Bo Schlechter was not ready for the speed of ODU, and was taken completely out of the running game as well. He was replaced by former starter Drew Little late in the third quarter, who fared no better and was intercepted twice (once in the end zone). This problem could grow larger if someone doesn't step up to the plate and win this position. Overall, the offensive game plan needs to become more flexible if this team wishes to be able to compete against far more talented opponents. My remedy for this problem = running more two tight-end formations and snaps from under center. Not to mention, running the ball to set up the pass, instead of the opposite.

The special teams needs to be cleaned up as well. As bad as the play was early on, the Panthers were still in this football game until their were 2 blocked punts; each of which lead to ODU scores. GSU also committed seven penalties, which kept the team in bad field position all game long.

Now, if I can go off topic for a minute, I would like to give a personal opinion. Emotion is a big part of football. It provides the players with the adrenaline needed at times. In this instance, I can see how it would be very hard for the Panthers to not be pumped-up for this game after seeing the lack of support from their fellow students. If you didn't see it, the students section was almost empty. You would think that since the Panthers were facing a future CAA opponent at home that the students would have been there for support. This section has a history of being empty at times, but this was a very pitiful showing. The team may have lost on the field, but that could have been different. Nothing can replace that feeling you get when playing at home. I hope the students at Georgia State know they let down their school, alumni and team last Saturday. YOUR TEAM NEEDS YOU! You're not at UGA, GaTech, Auburn or Alabama. Protect you house, your team and your school. SHOW UP & BE LOUD for the team you do have and show some Panther pride.

In other big news, GSU will be traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee next year to face off against the Tennessee Volunteers. This will be the third FBS team that the school will have faced in it's existence. The road trip should be epic.

Next Opponent: @ Jacksonville State (Sept. 17, 2011)

2011 Game Review: Georgia State throttles Clark Atlanta 41-7

2011-09-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

26,273 fans packed the Georgia Dome to watch the start of what could be the birth of a regional rivalry between two schools with Panther mascots. While Georgia State and Clark Atlanta are two different schools, that play in two different leagues, and recruit totally different players they are still very close to each other geographically. I believe the rivalry will only go so far, because as we saw last Friday night, Georgia State is on another level as a football program and are looking for bigger and better things in the future. However, with that said the game was still a fun one to watch.

Georgia State took the field to begin their 2011 campaign and didn't leave any doubters with their on-field performance. Despite playing with what was their third string quarterback from 2010 and several new players at key positions, the Panthers would still score 41 points and barely allow Clark Atlanta time to breath let alone score. The biggest surprise was the ability of quarterback Bo Schlechter, who was filling in for last years starters Drew Little and Kelton Hill. However, this young man may have just shown he is the better of the two. Schlechter was mobile, accurate and showed great poise for his first ever collegiate start.

The running game finally emerged and the Panthers may have a two headed beast at running back with new comer Donald Russell being the thunder to Travis Evans lightning. In the passing game, Albert Wilson showed off his blazing speed and athletic ability. He made one of the best touchdown catches I've personally seen in a long time. The defense really impressed. Clark Atlanta could barely run the ball outside of their quarterback running for his survival. Their were some breakdowns in the pass coverage at times, but mainly our team strength (the secondary) proved to be just as strong as they were in 2010. Newcomer D'Mario Gunn looked especially good.

Highlights

As mentioned quarterback Bo Schlechter was extremely impressive not just with his game, but leadership skills. He would complete 13/18 passes for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Two of those touchdown passes landed in the hands of the talented wide receiver Albert Wilson, who would catch a total 3 passes for 85 yards.

The running backs dominated the game as a whole. Individually they were just as impressive. The top two rushers, Donald Russell (9 rushes 56 yards 2 TD) and Travis Evans (8 rushes 52 yards) combined for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The defense played lights-out, only giving up 7 points. It was truly a team effort as the team combined for 51 tackles 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Jake Muasau had 3 tackles (1 for loss) and a sack. The secondary was tremendous as a group and look to be just as dominant as they were in 2010.

The second best thing from the game in my opinion was the debut of freshman placekicker Christian Benvenuto. He made both of his field goals (44, 45 yards) and connected on all of extra point attempts (4/4) proving that the team has a good replacement for last years kicker, Iain Vance, who was 3rd-Team All-FCS.

Offensive Player of the Game: QB/P - Bo Schlechter - 196 yards passing, 3 TD, 2 punts inside 20

Defensive Player of the Game: DE - A.J. Portee - 4 tackles (team high)

Next Opponent: vs. Old Dominion (Sept. 10, 2011)

2011 Game Review: Georgia Tech vs. Western Carolina

2011-09-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

Football officially kicked off for down at Bobby Dodd Stadium this past Thursday night. 42,132 fans showed up to watch the Yellow Jackets open the 2011 season with the Western Carolina Catamounts, which happens to be the alma mater of GT head coach Paul Johnson. This game was a total mismatch on paper and on the field as well. From the opening kickoff, it was apparent Georgia Tech could do anything they wanted on this night. Despite some sloppy play at times, fumbles mostly, the Yellow Jacket offense was down right dominant. They put up 662 yards of total offense (365 passing, 297 rushing) and would go on to defeat the Catamounts 63-21 and move their record to 1-0 on this new season.

Highlights

The two quarterbacks for the Georgia Tech, Tevin Washington and Synjyn Days, accounted for 365 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, which at the end of the week was Top 10 in the FBS. You read right! The biggest recipient of those yards was Stephen Hill who caught 4 passes for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets had 12 different players rush the ball during the game for 297 yards and 6 touchdowns. The quarterbacks combined for 105 yards rushing and 1 touchdown, while Orwin Smith and David Sims proved to be the most effective rushers on the night. Smith only rushed for 84 yards on only 4 carries, but scored 2 touchdowns. Sims on the other hand punished the Catamounts interior defense for 44 yards on just 9 carries.

On defense the Yellow Jackets allowed two touchdowns. However, one was on a short-field (own 4 yard line) defending after a turnover. Overall, the defense was pretty impressive. With so many players playing, it is hard to get a firm evaluation as to who was the best on the night, but there were definitely some things that stood out. The Georgia Tech defense showed it's not afraid to lay some players out. There were several big hits throughout the game, one of which was by cornerback Rod Sweeting. Starting inside-linebacker Julian Burnett led the team with 12 total tackles, and the team as a whole had 4 sacks on the night.

The Bad

The special teams definitely needs to improve. The field goal unit came out only once and the kick was blocked due to bad protection and a low kick. On the block, WCU picked the ball up and ran it back for an uncontested touchdown. Kickoff coverage will also need some tweaking.

Offensive Player of the Game: WR - Stephen Hill - 4 catches, 181 yards, 2 TD's

Defensive Player of the Game: LB - Julian Burnett - 12 total tackles

Next Opponent: @ Middle Tennessee State (Sept. 10, 2011)

NFL Season Predictions 2011-12

2011-09-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

2011 NFL SEASON PREDICTIONS

Everything from the season, through the playoffs, to the Super Bowl and even predicting the Top 5 Draft order for next season.

NFC

NFC NORTH

Green Bay Packers (14-2)

Detroit Lions (9-7)

Minnesota Vikings (8-8)

Chicago Bears (6-10)

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons (12-4)

New Orleans Saints (11-5)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)

Carolina Panthers (4-12)

NFC EAST

Philadelphia Eagles (12-4)

Washington Redskins (9-7)

Dallas Cowboys (7-9)

New York Giants (6-10)

NFC WEST

St. Louis Rams (10-6)

Arizona Cardinals (7-9)

San Francisco 49ers (4-12)

Seattle Seahawks (2-14)

AFC

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)

Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

Cleveland Browns (8-8)

Cincinnati Bengals (1-15)

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans (11-5)

Tennessee Titans (8-8)

Indianapolis Colts (7-9)

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10)

AFC EAST

New England Patriots (14-2)

New York Jets (10-6)

Buffalo Bills (7-9)

Miami Dolphins (4-12)

AFC WEST

San Diego Chargers (9-7)

Kansas City Chiefs (8-8)

Denver Broncos (7-9)

Oakland Raiders (5-11)

Playoffs

NFC

(3) Atlanta Falcons vs (6) Detroit Lions

(4) St. Louis Rams vs (5) New Orleans Saints

(1) Green Bay Packers vs (5) New Orleans Saints

(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs (3) Atlanta Falcons

Championship

(1) Green Bay Packers vs. (3) Atlanta Falcons

AFC

(3) Houston Texans vs (6) New York Jets

(4) San Diego Chargers vs (5) Baltimore Ravens

(1) New England Patriots vs (6) New York Jets

(2) Pittsburgh Steelers vs (5) Baltimore Ravens

Championship

(1) New England Patriots vs (5) Baltimore Ravens

SUPER BOWL (NFC vs AFC)

Green Bay Packers vs New England Patriots

2011 NFL CHAMPIONS = New England Patriots

2012 NFL DRAFT

1 - Cincinnati Bengals

2 - Seattle Seahawks

3 - Miami Dolphins

4 - San Francisco 49ers

5 - Carolina Panthers

NFL Season Preview 2011-12: NFC South

2011-09-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

What can we expect this coming season from the NFC South? Before answering that let's look back at 2010. It was a breakthrough season for the Atlanta Falcons, who rode a league best record of 13-3 all the way to a first round bye in the playoffs, but would fall to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. The New Orleans Saints made the playoffs and once again proved to be the big time offense they are. The biggest surprise was the season had by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who finished with a very respectable 10-6 record and came close to being in the playoffs as well. The Carolina Panthers suffered through a season of injuries, and bad play. They earned the leagues number one draft pick in return and look forward to better things hopefully.

Atlanta Falcons

Key Additions: DE - Ray Edwards, CB - Kelvin Hayden, S - James Sanders

Key Losses: OG - Harvey Dahl, WR - Michael Jenkins, P - Michael Koenen, DE - Jamaal Anderson

Key Draft Picks: WR - Julio Jones, RB - Jacquizz Rogers, P - Matt Boscher

This is the year that the Falcons hand over the reigns of the offense to Matt Ryan completely. He has an assortment of weapons at his disposal. Roddy White should have as good a season receiving as he did last year, and the addition of Julio Jones should open up passing lanes everywhere for Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas. Running Back Michael Turner should also benefit as he will be looked upon less to carry the burden of the offenses load. He can now stay fresher in-game and make the running attack much more of a threat. This team has the ability to become one of the best offensive juggernauts in the league. However, if the Falcons want to make it to the Super Bowl and win it, then the defense is what must get better. The major factor to last years defeat to the Packers was the lack of pass rush. The Falcons used this off season to address the issue by signing Ray Edwards to play opposite of All Pro defensive end John Abraham. This gives the team it's best pass rush combo in nearly a decade. Secondary help was also acquired to answer the questions surrounding depth on this roster. It also gave the Falcons a few more veterans for the young players to get educated by. If Atlanta ever had a chance to win the Super Bowl, then this is it.

New Orleans Saints

Key Additions: DT - Aubrayo Franklin, DT - Shaun Rogers, RB - Darren Sproles, K - John Kasay

Key Losses: RB - Reggie Bush, TE - Jeremy Shockey

Key Draft Picks: DE - Cameron Jordan, RB - Mark Ingram, LB - Martez Wilson

The Saints have been one of the most dominant teams in the NFL for the last half decade. Led by the general at quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints have given the people of New Orleans something to hold on to. This offseason, the front office dedicated itself to improving the defense, especially on the defensive line. With the additions of Franklin and Rogers, the Saints now have two huge run stoppers up the middle to stop a division that loves to run the football. The team's major issue may have been the consistency on special teams. They signed long time Panthers kicker, John Kasay to bring some stability to the position. The Saints, who are known for the prolific passing game also went out and got tons of depth in the offensive backfield. Darren Sproles will fill Reggie Bush's shoes as the receiving threat and rookie Mark Ingram could be the answer for the Saints as a punishing rusher. The most important part of the team is the mastermind head coach Sean Payton, who enters the last season of his contract. This may be the last time for this team to make a Super Bowl run before Payton is drawn away by the money of larger markets.

Carolina Panthers

Key Additions: TE - Jeremy Shockey, TE - Greg Olson, K - Olindo Mare

Key Losses: QB - Matt Moore, TE - Jeff King, K - John Kasay, CB - Richard Marshall

Key Draft Picks: QB - Cam Newton

The Panthers will be using this season to determine how to proceed with the future. They spent the number one overall draft selection on Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to be their quarterback of the future. However, they are going to be throwing him into the fire immediately. The team went out this off season and signed several players to help in his transition. Tight Ends Greg Olson and Jeremy Shockey will be solid receivers for Newton to check off to and find in the red zone. He also inherits Steve Smith, on of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but he has dealt with injuries over the past few season. The burden will not fall solely on Newton. The running game is the bread and butter of this team and it's thunder/lightning combination of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart both return to give the Panthers an extremely potent ground attack. Defensively speaking, new head coach Ron Rivera will have to whip this old team into shape with a younger squad. Jon Beason and Charles Johnson are All Pro players who will be looked upon to lead talented players like rookie Terrell McClain, as well as veterans Chris Gamble and Thomas Davis. the Panthers could surprise teams this season in the NFC, but it will depend greatly on the team's health and progress made with Cam Newton.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Key Additions: P - Michael Koenen,

Key Losses: RB - Cadillac Williams, WR - Maurice Stovall, LB - Barrett Ruud

Key Draft Picks: DE - Adrian Clayborn, DE - Da'Quan Bowers

The Bucs will be looking to build off a tremendous turn around season last year. Franchise quarterback Josh Freeman was amazing throwing for over 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. He will have to do the same if the Bucs want to be better than 10-6 this season as well. LeGarrette Blount could be the X-Factor for the team's offense. As long as he continues to average around 4 yards per carry, then the team's balance will be good enough to keep them in games. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bucs are young but could well be the best defense on paper in the division. The defensive line is led by Gerald McCoy, last season's first round draft pick. He will have two rookies around him that could be exciting to watch in Adrian Clayborn and Da'Quan Bowers. If they live up to their college performances, then that could mean bad news for opposing quarterbacks. However, the true strength of the team is the experienced secondary led by Ronde Barber, who enters his 16th season and Sean Jones who begins his 9th season in the NFL.

Atlanta Braves 2011 Season: August Review

2011-09-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

With August coming to a close, the Atlanta Braves have firmly placed themselves in the playoff push. Currently they find themselves 8.5 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the Wild Card position in the National League. The team still finds itself 7 games back of the Phillies in the division, but that could change for the better or worse as they enter September (8 games remaining against the Philadelphia Phillies). This past month has been great for the Braves. They posted an17-9 record in August, and that also includes a few postponements due to Hurricane Irene.

The Braves also welcomed two new players via a waivers/trade.

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Matt Diaz (career .297 hitter) back to the Braves which gives additional outfield depth as well as a player who dominates left handed pitching (hitting .306 vs. LHP this season). I think Diaz will be here to stay this time.

Jack Wilson was acquired from the Seattle Mariners who signed Wilson as a free agent two years ago coming off of an All-Star performance. He has dealt with lots of injuries in a starting role, but the Braves have added him for the middle infield insurance they greatly need. Plus, he is an upgrade to current back-up middle infielder Julio Lugo.

August's Best Hitters

His name is DAN UGGLA! This was what Florida Marlins announcers used to say when he would hit a home run for his former team. Now, hitting homeruns for the Braves, Dan has completely left his early on slump and entered into the realm of the Braves Best Hitter. He is doing everything right. He's hitting for power (Hit 10 HR this month), hitting for average (.340), getting on base (.405), and driving in runs (21 RBI's). He has already set offensive records for Braves second basemen All-Time, and it makes you wonder what he could have posted stat wise, if he had been hitting all season long. KINDA SCARY! Chipper Jones came off the disabled list and caught fire around the time the Braves retired Bobby Cox's number at Turner Field. He is hitting (.359, 5 HR, 12 RBI) this month. He is playing with the swagger of a Chipper "in-his-prime". If he continues to produce this way, then the Braves will be adding another flag to the Pennants already hanging in the stadium.

The additions of Michael Bourn and Jose Constanza has helped activate the Braves offense out of neutral and into full gear. They have also helped the Braves add a new element to the team that has lacked all season. Since joining the Braves Bourn, who leads the majors in stolen bases, has stolen 8 bases and Constanza has stolen 7 bags. This amount of speed has helped Braves hitter in the middle of the lineup immensely, as the team has averaged scoring over 4 runs per game this month.

August's Best Pitchers

Tim Hudson yet again has come up big for the Braves. (3-1, 2.27 ERA) and hitters are only hitting .219 against him this month. He is currently pitching at his prime level from when he was a member of the Oalnd A's. Seven wins this past month has firmly placed him as the Braves ace entering the time of year where playoff teams show just how good they are. Brandon Beachy (3-0, 3.41 ERA, 37 SO/29 IP) has also been a savior for the Braves this past month. His ability to dominate hitters has surprised many, but his work ethic is apparent. The most important factor to the success is his amazing control having only walked 32 batters in 114+ innings. Teams are only hitting .234 against Beachy this season.

Craig Kimbrell is impressing everyone in the majors and everyone that follows baseball. He set an Major League baseball record for most saves in a season for a rookie by converting his 41st save opportunity. This month he compiled 23 strike-outs in just 12 2/3 innings pitched. He still has a consecutive innings scoreless streak going, which is the longest in the majors. Kimbrell may have pushed himself far enough in front of teammate Freddie Freeman to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. There is a growing concern over his amount of use, but if he were not producing at the level he is, then the Braves would not find themselves where they are, which is firmly in control of the NL Wild Card. He may be the Braves MVP this season when all is said and done.

Bad News

The Braves starting pitching, which has been the strength of this team all season, has begun to show signs of mortality. A few nagging injuries are plaguing several players. Tommy Hanson made just 1 start the entire month and seems to not be returning from a shoulder injury any time soon. Jair Jurrjens came off the disabled list to make 4 starts but did not show the same power and control of earlier in the season. His pension for nagging injuries is starting to become apparent to the fans, as well as the team. Derek Lowe has been less than average lately, but towards the end of the month showed signs of getting into a groove like his did in late 2010.

With the Braves hitting woes now over, only a few corrections remain before this team is post season ready. Jason Heyward has slumped so badly that career-minor leaguer Jose Constanza has supplanted him as the right fielder for now. Heyward will be given every opportunity in September to get out of this funk, but will need to show signs quickly if he plans on being a factor for the playoffs. Martin Prado has also seen a slight drop in his batting average this month and fatigue may be the cause. However, with Prado's history of being the Braves most consistent hitter the past few years; he may be getting some rest this month.

Braves Awards for the Month (as picked by The Bart Cave)

Starting Pitcher of the Month (August): Tim Hudson

Relief Pitcher of the Month (August): Craig Kimbrell

Hitter of the Month (August): Dan Uggla

Defensive Player of the Month (August): Freddie Freeman

Movies Coming To A Theater Near You: September 2011 Edition

2011-08-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

As we enter the end of the Summer movie season, there are very few big budget movies to look forward to. However,there are some that have great potential. Let's take a look at some of these movies coming out this September. (Plot Preview's are based off of information from moviefone and wikipedia)

Apollo 18 (September 2)
Directed by: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego
Screenplay by: Brian Miller

Apollo 17 launched on December 17, 1972 and was officially the last manned mission to the moon. The movie begins one year later, in December of 1973, as two American astronauts are sent on a "secret mission" to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. However, once there they soon find out that they are not alone. The film is being promoted as "real" footage, and that nothing is produced. NASA denies its authenticity, while others say it's the real reason we have never gone back to the moon. Apollo 18 is shot in the same style as Cloverfield and the Blair Witch Project and will stop you from wondering if we are truly alone.

Warrior (September 9)
Directed by: Gavin O'Conner
Written by: Gavin O'Conner and Cliff Dorfman

Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is an ex-Marine from Pittsburgh with a troubled past. When he learns that the purse for an upcoming Mixed-Martial-Arts tournament is the largest in history, Tommy decides to enter the world of professional fighting. He recruits his father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), a former coach and recovering alcoholic, to get him into shape for the competition. Tommy gets stronger as his competition gets better, and ascends to the top. Meanwhile, his brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton), a former MMA fighter, struggles to provide for his family with his job as a public school teacher. Seeing Tommy's success, Brendan begins to wonder if he might also have a shot at winning the coveted purse. Brendan and Tommy both emerge as dark horse contenders in the competition and as they prepare to do battle in the ring and confront the forces that tore their family apart. The battle in the ring, is also being fought in their hearts and minds.

Contagion (September 9)
Directed by: Steven Soderberg
Written by: Scott Z. Burns

This film takes a look at what happens when an infectious airborne virus spreads rapidly and causes massive death within days. As the virus spreads faster and faster around the world, people struggle to survive as society breaks down and humanity comes apart. Watch through different viewpoints of an ensemble cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet.

Moneyball (September 23)
Directed by: Bennett Miller
Written by: Aaron Sorkin

The film is based on the book written by Michael Lewis and tells the true-story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the General Manager of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Left with a minimal budget to work with, Beane and his assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) use statistical data to calculate the best/cheapest way to sign players and build a winning baseball team. Philip Seymour Hoffman also co-stars as former A's manager Art Howe. Together they all turn the baseball world upside down.

50/50 (September 30)
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Written by: Will Reiser

Inspired by the real-life experience of the film's writer Will Reiser, '50/50' is a funny and touching original story of friendship, love, and survival. Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a 27-year-old man is suddenly diagnosed with cancer. He breaks the news to his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) and his mother (Anjelica Huston). Adam wants to tell his father, Richard (Serge Houde) but he is dealing with Alzheimer's disease, which makes it even harder on Adam. In the midst of it all, Adam visits an inexperienced therapist, Katie (Anna Kendrick), while undergoing treatment. There he finds new friends in two older, wisecracking chemotherapy patients Mitch (Matt Frewer) and Alan (Philip Baker Hall). Each person takes the news and deals with it in different ways, while Adam is just trying to live his life.

College Football Preview 2011-12: Georgia State Panthers

2011-08-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

The second season in the history of GSU football begins this fall, and before I break down the positions and the schedule, let's take a look back at the Panthers inaugural season.

No matter how the season would go. No matter what the record was going to be. The season was going to be a success because GSU was taking the field at the Georgia Dome for REAL football games. There was controversy over how the city would react to another football team, and how a traditionally "commuter" school would get behind a project that was collegiate football. It didn't take long at all to prove all the naysayers wrong. The first night of Georgia State Panthers history at the Georgia Dome was lightning in a bottle, in the form of 30,237 fans screaming G-S-U! G-S-U! over and over until the ball was officially kicked off. The crowd didn't sit until the first drive was over. The team could do nothing wrong that night. They went on to destroy Shorter College, a vastly overwhelmed opponent, by a score of 41-7. The rest of the season was filled with opponents that the Panthers could handle and others that would be much more of a challenge. Ultimately ending in the literal battle of "David v. Golaith" when GSU went to Tuscaloosa and battled the defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide. The score was 63-7 and the game was never close. However, the fact that this team showed no fear in hostile territory will make them that much better for the future.
(Check out last season's highlights below)

The Panthers starting quarterback Drew Little took a majority of the snaps, but shared time with back-up Kelton Hill. Little would throw for 2,102 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Hill would account for 480 total yards (mostly rushing). The most effective running back was Travis Evans with 382 yards rushing while splitting a majority of the snaps with fellow RB Rosevelt Watson. The receiving corp was lead by a surprise player, Danny Williams, who accounted for 54 catches, 649 yards and 5 touchdowns. Sidney Haynes and Jordan Giles proved to be very polished receivers, while Albert Wilson (GSU's version of SLASH) accounted for 932 yards of total offense (mostly in kickoff returns) showed the most explosiveness on the squad. The defense was lead by safeties Fred Barnes and Brandon Jones, who would account for a combined 117.5 total tackles 1 interception and 1 forced fumble. The biggest leaders of defense, if not the team, were the brothers, Jake and Louie Muasau, who combined for 83 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. Georgia State's biggest weapon was placekicker Iain Vance, who was named to FCS All American Team (third team). He connected on 15-17 field goal opportunities and 35-37 extra point attempts, while averaging nearly 40 yards per field goal attempt. The team was of course lead by Coach Bill Curry; a legend in the game who the players love and fans are grateful to have. When Coach Curry was drenched in water after the team's first victory, Panthers fan's everywhere could feel the excitement growing for these players and this school's future.

What needs to improve in 2011?

1) Be more effective running the ball! The running game needs to catch up to the progress of the passing game. Don't get me wrong the Panthers are a passing team first, but need some balance to keep defenses on their toes.

2) Don't leave points on the field! The two freshman placekickers need to perform up to Iain Vance's level from 2010. From 30 yards-and-in the kicks need to be near-automatic, especially in the Dome. This will take tons of pressure off the "quarterback issue" early on.

3) Pass Rush MUST IMPROVE! I believe it will, if only because the more experience in the 3-4 defense. The secondary is good enough to cover any receiver on the field, but can't cover forever. Sack production and QB-pressures must get better.

Offense

Quarterbacks

Depth at this position is a great strength for the Panthers. However, due to player discipline issues GSU will be without their top two QB's for the beginning of the season. Drew Little, the starter from last season, will be out for the first four games of 2011 due to violating team rules in the spring. I would fully expect him to be the starter once the suspension ends. Also suspended for the first two games is QB Kelton Hill, who is the team's biggest running threat. Hill saw plenty of playing time in 2010, but is still dealing with a legal issue. He was re-admitted into Georgia State and into the football team, but he will have to do a lot to earn the coaches trust again. Season Factor #1: The team will be lead by Bo Schlechter who was a quarterback last season until converting to wide receiver for more playing time. Schlechter is also the team's 1st string Punter. He will have to come up big for the team for at least 2-4 games if the Panthers want to win any of the bigger games of the season. Schlechter will be pushed by incoming freshman Ben McLane, but Coach Curry will likely try to save his red-shirt.

Runningbacks

Season Factor #2: Production was OK in 2010, but has to get better in 2011. Travis Evans is the returning starter from and will be challenged weekly for playing time by a stable of RB's that are talented and possess big time speed. Roosevelt Watson and Parris Lee both received plenty of carries behind Evans last season. Lee showed big play potential and exceptional receiving skills. Incoming transfer Donald Russell could push Evans for his starting job based off his experience garnered at the University of Kentucky. Junior RB Malcolm Smith impressed all the coaches in the spring session and they will be trying to find ways to incorporate him more into the offense.

Receivers

Danny Williams emerged as the GO-TO receiver last season. His height and route-running ability was a major key to his success. Williams lead all receivers in catches, but this corps is loaded with talent and potential. Returning co-starters Sidney Haynes and Jordan Giles proved to be great compliments to Williams. They possess the break-away speed required from receivers in a spread offense. The "impact player" on this team may just be Albert Wilson, who seems to find the end zone every time he touches the ball. Wilson is that "spark" that seems energizes the crowd with reverses, end-arounds, and kick returns as well. My pick for player to watch out for goes to Darren McCray, who primarily returned kicks in 2010. He has super speed! If the Panthers can get McCray and Wilson on the field at the same time running "go-routes", then one of them will be wide open. Arthur Williams and Emmanuel Ogbuehi are the returning starters at Tight End. They showed promise as a tandom, but the best of the bunch may be a transfer from the University of Kentucky, Alex Smith, who was a highly touted recruit last season for the Wildcats.

Offensive Line

The O-line is the most experienced area on the Panthers football team. Returning seniors C Ben Jacoby, OG Joseph Gilbert, OT Clyde Yandell, and OG Ladeven Kirkland are back! When we look down the roster there are some young lineman to look out for in 2011. OG Michael Davis (who sat out 2010 after undergoing knee surgery) and OT Ramell Davis (who was names the team's Most Improved Player on Offense) will see plenty of playing time, and could push for starting jobs as soon as this season. However, overall depth could be an huge issue if any substantial injuries come into play.

Defense

Defensive Line

The D-line's most impressive player was DE/DT Kalen Jenkins. He played everywhere! This season the coaches have moved him inside to nose-tackle, which could create a lot of mismatches on stunts and blitzes. Aiding him on the line are A.J. Portee (a transfer from UConn) and returning senior Christo Bilukidi. Season Factor #3: This group must improve the team's run defense from last season which averaged giving up 187 yards on the ground per game.

Linebackers

The Panthers vocal leadership comes from two guys, Jake and Louie Muasau. The motor's of these two remind you Troy Polamalu flying around the field and are always involved in making a tackle. The big surprise last season, in my opinion, was the effectiveness of Mark Hogan, the program's first-ever recruit. Hogan is a very undersized linebacker, standing only 5'11 and 202 lbs, but was the fifth leading tackler on the squad. He has a passion for the game that has rubbed off on his teammates. He, much like the Muasau's, is always making a play. The team's senior anchor inside is Olufemi Opanubi and will be looked to in plugging up that hole in the run defense as well. However, the biggest improvement this group must make is getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Season Factor #4: The sack production has got to increase in the 3-4 defense, which is known for it's blitz schemes.

Secondary

In my opinion this is the greatest area of strength on defense. As a whole, they only surrendered 169.5 yards passing per game. The player to watch out for is D'Mario Gunn, an incoming transfer from Georgia Military College. He has the coaches smiling every day with his play-making abilities. Returning starters at CB (Demarius Matthews and Brent McClendon) will be looking to build off a terrific 2010. Coverage was excellent from this group, but the biggest reason for the success may be attributed to the fear brought on by the team's two beasts at safety (Fred Barnes and Brandon Jones). They were the team leaders in tackles with 85 solo and 65 assists combined. While these ball-hawks are wreaking havoc in the secondary, the Panthers only need to find the pass-rush to make the defense a big time threat in the FCS.

Special Teams

Season Factor #5: The strongest part of GSU's football team in 2010 was it's special teams units. Placekicker Iain Vance made almost every field goal attempt last season and several that were game winners. His replacement in 2011 will be one of two talented freshman kickers. Christian Benvenuto and Matt Ehasz were both highly touted kickers in their high school divisions, and possess strong legs. This competition could well go on all season long. Bo Schlechter, the team's current starting quarterback, did all of the punting last season and did a tremendous job at it. He averaged nearly 44.5 yards per kick and dropped 8 inside the opponents 20 yard line. There is chance that Schlechter could challenge for the All FCS team this season. In the return game Albert Wilson and Darren McCray both averaged over 28 yards per kick-off return, and both had kick-off returns for touchdowns. This is where that speed I spoke of earlier comes into play. These guys can take it to the house on any play, and it's very exciting to watch.

Prediction

The Panthers will have the biggest thing needed for a football team. EXPERIENCE! They will also have a well rounded schedule strength-wise with plenty of tough challenges. There are some tough road games early on that could show how far the team has come in two seasons. However, the suspension of the team's top two quarterbacks may pose a huge threat in finding out just how good this team CAN BE. GSU travel's to Houston and Jacksonville State (which could be a nasty game based on last season's barn burner) and have to defend the dome against fellow Colonial member ODU early on. If Bo Schlechter can run the offense effectively, then winning these games is not out of the questions. However, I do think the down field passing game may suffer early on. I fully expect the defense to be better than last season by leaps and bounds. There is way too much talent on that side of the ball to not be in every game. The offense will just have to control the clock and put up the points needed to win. But the biggest determining factor to winning this season may be upon the foot of GSU's two freshman kickers. Iain Vance was clutch last season and kept the Panthers in games, as well as won them. They will have some pressure early on to have quick results. Overall, this Georgia State football team could be as successful as last year's 6-5 team. I am an optimist and predict a 8-3 season for the Panthers, but you never know what to expect. Like Chris Berman says "That's why they play the game."

Sept 2 Clark Atlanta - WIN

Sept 10 Old Dominion - LOSS

Sept 17 @Jacksonville State - WIN

Sept 24 @Houston - LOSS

Oct 8 Murray State -WIN

Oct 15 @South Carolina State - LOSS

Oct 22 South Alabama - WIN

Oct 29 @Texas-San Antonio - WIN

Nov 5 St Francis (PA) - WIN

Nov 12 @West Alabama - WIN

Nov 19 Campbell - WIN

College Football Preview 2011-12: Georgia Tech

2011-08-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

2010 was a season of ups and downs for the Yellow Jacket football team. The started well enough and the team found themselves in first place in the ACC Coastal 7 games through the season. Then, while on the road at Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets lost starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt with a broken arm halfway through the game. Georgia Tech would only go on to win one of the last 6 games and finished with a record of 6-6. They also lost the Independence Bowl game 14-7 to Air Force, a team that runs a similar offense as GT. Lots of things went wrong last season, but 2011 is a new year and brings new promise.

What needs to improve?

1) WIN AT HOME! Outside of the Virginia Tech and UGA game, the Yellow Jackets will likely be favorites to win all their home games. Take care of the teams you should beat and prepare even harder for those you shouldn't. Create packages just for those teams, so that you have a little advantage.

2) NO TURNOVERS on the opponents side of the field. The Yellow Jackets squandered LOTS of points, many inside the "Red Zone". Too many fumbles on Center/QB exchanges. Too many dropped passes. Too many poor decisions with the ball. Much of this was attributed to playing players with no experience at prime positions...like quarterback.

3) HOLD TEAMS TO FIELD GOALS! The defense gave up too many huge plays for scores in 2010. Granted the team was learning a new defensive scheme, but if this team wants to win in 2011 the defense MUST create turnovers and force teams into 4th down and long, which would force teams to settle for 3 instead of always trying to stop long drives near the end zone.

4) USE SPECIAL TEAM TO CREATE GOOD FIELD POSITION. The kick/punt return units last season were not nearly good enough. Too many drives were 70 yards +. Too many times the kicker was forced into long field goal opportunities. If the team gets to start more near mid-field, then the better the offense will produce.

Let's take a look at the team by position and see what the team has to look forward to.

Offense

This is the bread and butter of the Georgia Tech team. Last season, the Yellow Jackets led the nation in total rushing yards and yards averaged per game. The real trick will be developing a passing attack than can enhance that potent ground game.

Quarterbacks

Tevin Washington enters the season as the starting quarterback. He finished the 2010 season for the Yellow Jackets, but had erratic play at times. Washington will be challenged by red-shirt freshman Synjyn Days as soon as school begins. Days is a more polished in the triple option offense than Washington since it was the same thing he ran in high school. However, Days does have a problem with holding onto the ball. Incoming freshman phenom Vad Lee could make the competition interesting come this fall, but he will likely red-shirt. This could be a season in which we see all the quarterbacks spilt many of the snaps. This brings up Season Factor #1: If the Yellow Jackets don't get really good QB play from someone, then this season will be painful to watch.

Runningbacks

This is by far the deepest area of talent on the Georgia Tech team. Senior RB Preston Lyons will begin the season as the feature B-back in Paul Johnson's Triple Option Offense. However, this could change as soon as the first game when red-shirt freshman Charles Perkins is allowed to challenge for the job. Perkins has the most upside when it comes to the B-back position because of his size, speed and allusiveness. Junior B-back Richard Watson will definitely see some playing time in different packages, but will get pushed by converted quarterback turned RB David Sims because he has huge play potential.

The A-back with the most big-play-potential is definitely B.J. Bostic. His speed alone will make him a threat every time he touches the ball. Roddy Jones and Orwin Smith are the every down backs with the most experience and will get the majority of the playing time. I believe all the true freshman will be red-shirted this season, but a few red-shirt freshman like Deon Hill and Tony Zenon could see a some potential snaps this season.

Wide Receivers

Season Factor #2: Can the passing game produce enough to keep the pressure off the running game? This is one of the biggest questions coming into the season. The passing game has been lack luster since Paul Johnson's arrival, granted the quarterbacks have not been the most accurate of passers. Junior WR Stephen Hill, one of the fastest wideouts in the ACC, returns as the #1 target in the receiving corps. Outside of him, the team's receiving are rather unproven. Redshirt freshman Jeremy Moore and senior Tyler Melton will probably get the majority of the snaps along with Hill. However, the true second best option on the team may be some an incoming freshman like Jeff Greene, Darren Waller or Corey Dennis. One wild card available is the recently re-instated WR Chris Jackson, who had transfered to Georgia Tech from Alabama in 2010.

Offensive Line

The offensive line is very experienced but no position is truly set. This is also the one place where the Yellow Jackets have a preseason award winner. Junior O-Lineman Omoregie Uzzi was named to the 2011 Preseason All-ACC Team. He will play one of the Guard positions and sophomore Jay Finch will be the starting center. Phil Smith and Will Jackson will likely start and fill in somewhere on the line, but the last starting position will probably be decided closer to the start of the season. Highly regarded true freshman Errin Joe and Trey Braun could give the upper-classmen a run for their money, in the playing time department.

Defense

Defense is the area that the Yellow Jackets must improve the most if they intend on being a challenger for the ACC title in 2011. This will be the second year in the 3-4 defense with Coach/Coordinator Al Groh leading the way. The team has had two recruiting years to bring in and develop players for this specific scheme. Who will be the play makers this season?

Defensive Line

Season Factor #3: Can the defensive line stop the run consistently?

Seniors Jason Peters and Logan Walls along with DT's T.J. Barnes and Shawn Green will be looked upon to step up big time this season and stop the opposing running game. DE's Izan Cross, Emmanuel Dieke, and Anthony Williams will be counted on for a majority of the pass rush up front. if they don't there are plenty of people waiting in line for their chance.

Linebackers

Julian Burnett, who was the top tackler for GT last season, returns to lead the linebacking corps. He will man the middle with either red-shirt freshman Quayshawn Nealy or sophomore Daniel Drummond. On the outside, linebackers Steven Sylvester and Jeremiah Attaochu will be trying to make every opposing quarterbacks' life a living hell. Other players that may be impacting the corps this coming season are LB's Brandon Watts and Malcolm Munroe, as well as incoming freshman Jabari Hunt-Days (brother to quarterback Synjyn Days) and Tremayne McNair.

Secondary

Cornerbacks Rod Sweeting and Louis Young, who have huge playmaking potential, enter the fall season as the probable starters. Jemea Thomas and Michael Peterson will be challenging for playing time this fall along with incoming freshmen Jamal Golden and Dominique Noble. The Safety positions will be maned by returning impact player Isaiah Johnson, who could very well be set for an All-ACC caliber year. Rashaad Reid and Fred Holton will be looked upon as well to support this squad.

Special Teams

Season Factor #4: Will Paul Johnson's inability to recruit a kicker finally come back to haunt the Yellow Jackets? Sophomore Justin Moore is the only scholarship placekicker on the roster. He will be replacing long time kicker Scott Blair who graduated last season. Moore has not nailed down the job yet. Kicker David Scully is still in the competition, which never seems to end. Coach Johnson seems to not like kicking much anyways. Also, neither one has performed well enough in practice or scrimmage to win the job, which begs the question...Does Georgia Tech even have a placekicker? The punting job is more set. Sean Poole will be the punter if healthy, but if not then Chandler Anderson will be ready to step up.

Season Factor #5: Can GT improve its kick returning, which was ranked near the bottom nationally? B.J. Bostic is an exciting player to watch in the open field. Given the proper blocking he could return a kick every time out, but the blocking must improve. RB Orwin Smith has shown potential at times as well. However, I feel the longer Paul Johnson refuses to hire a special teams coach, then the longer production will always be an issue.

Prediction

GT has a lot of questions to answer this season. This season will come down to efficient quarterback play and the defense coming around to the 3-4 scheme. If these two factors are met, then the Yellow Jackets will have a chance to win every game this season. The schedule is not that difficult and home field advantage will help with some of the bigger opponents. I think either Synjyn Days or Vad Lee will be the QB for this team before the season is out. I foresee a huge season for Charles Perkins at RB and Roddy Jones will likely go out as a senior in style. The defense has got to be better than last season. Experience should help fix that, and time to become accustomed to the vernacular. Special teams will have to be addressed as much as Coach Johnson persists on ignoring it. No team wins in Division 1A without a good kicking game. Justin Moore needs to take the reigns of this job and make it his own, otherwise the team's success and failure will fall on his shoulders in close games.

Record Prediction (8-4 and Bowl Bound)

*Pending everything plays out right with the Season Factors*

Sept 1 Western Carolina = WIN

Sept 10 at Middle Tennessee = WIN

Sept 17 Kansas = WIN

Sept 24 North Carolina = WIN

Oct 1 at North Carolina State = LOSE

Oct 8 Maryland = WIN

Oct 15 at Virginia = WIN

Oct 22 at Miami (FL) = LOSE

Oct 29 Clemson = WIN

Nov 10 Virginia Tech = LOSE

Nov 19 at Duke = WIN

Nov 26 Georgia = LOSE

Atlanta Braves 2011 Season: July Review (Plus...Trade Deadline News)

2011-08-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

The month July was just as kind as June for the Atlanta Braves. They continued their great work on the mound and finished up with a 16-11 record. However, they have fallen behind the Philadelphia Phillies even more, and are now 6 games back in the National League East. This could be attributed to the fact that their lineup showed a bit of mortality after the All-Star break. Chipper Jones came off the disabled list only to be put right back out of action with a pulled muscle in his leg. The Braves All-Star Catcher, Brian McCann is entering August on the disabled list along with Center Fielders Nate McLouth and Jordan Schafer. With so much offense out for an indefinite period of time, it made the decision at the trade deadline an easy one. Frank Wren, the Braves GM, struck a deal with the Houston Astros for All-Star lead-off hitter and Center Fielder Michael Bourn.

This automatically gives the Braves something they have lacked since the days of Rafael Furcal, a leadoff hitter with huge base stealing potential. I wouldn't be surprised if Wren also looks to add a couple more pieces to the lineup during the playoff push through waivers. As we enter the last third of the season, lets look back at the month that was July.

July's Best Hitters

Freddie Freeman built off of a good June to have an even better July where he hit (.362 6 HR 18 RBI). Mainly hitting third and fourth in the lineup has been a blessing for the rookie First Baseman. Freeman has come up with clutch hits the past two months, and is becoming the teams most consistent bat in the lineup. He also enters August on a 15 game hitting streak, which is very good. But not as good as one of his team mates, who truly kicked it into another gear.

Dan Uggla did it! He was finally able to get out of his season so-far slump, and start producing the way Frank Wren thought he would when they traded for him. Uggla began the month hitting (.176 12 HR 28 RBI), but in only 30 days has nearly doubled his output for the first three months of the season. He hit (.293 8 HR 19 RBI) for the entire month of July and enters August in the midst of a 22 game hitting streak, longest active streak in the majors. Way to go Dan!

July's Best Pitchers

Tim Hudson showed why he is the veteran pitcher on this staff. The Cy Young candidate of 2010 found the form that nearly won him the award last season. His 4W-1L, 2.83 ERA, 41 IP / 34 SO were tops on the staff. If he continues this way into August, then perhaps there is a chance for him to sneak back into CY Young discussion.

What can I say about the back end of the Braves bullpen that their stats don't show already. The combination of Eric O'Flaherty/Jonny Venters/Craig Kimbrel had 36 IP, 43 SO, 0.00 ERA, and was 8/8 Saves. That's not dominant that's indestructible. Superman couldn't have stopped the bullets these three were throwing. There is growing concern over the amount of innings these three are racking up. However, they are young and hopefully can maintain this through October. If they do, then the rest of the Majors needs to look out.

Bad News

Less than adequate hitting from one-third of the starting lineup. The combination of Alex Gonzalez (.208), Jason Heyward (.211), and Nate McLouth (.221) have accounted for just 6 HR's and 24 RBI's this past month. You can't win pennants if you can't score runs. They will have to pick up their production as we get closer and closer to the end of the season and playoffs.

The starting pitching, which has been the Braves ultimate power this season is starting to get a bit tired. Derek Lowe is 38 years old and starting to show his age a bit. His 5.85 ERA in last 5 starts is the highest it has been all season. Tommy Hanson has been dealing with serious shoulder problems all season long, and has gotten hit hard his last 6 starts, posting a high 4.58 ERA, with 65 IP and 53 SO. He may need some rest before we hit September.

Braves Awards for the Month (as picked by The Bart Cave)

Starting Pitcher of the Month (July): Tim Hudson

Relief Pitcher of the Month (July): Craig Kimbrel

Hitter of the Month (July): Dan Uggla

Defensive Player of the Month (July): Freddie Freeman

Movies Coming To A Theater Near You: August 2011 Edition

2011-07-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a peak at some movies that coming out this August that you all might be interested in checking out. The movies plot previews are provided by Fandango.com

What movies are you looking forward to seeing this August?

The Change-Up (August 5)
Directed by: David Dobkin
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin

Dave (Jason Bateman) and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) grew up together. They used to be inseparable, but these days they're lucky if they cross paths every few months. Dave is a successful lawyer and happily married father of three; Mitch is a single sexual dynamo locked in a perpetual state of arrested adolescence. And while Mitch admires Dave for having a gorgeous wife (Leslie Mann), happy kids, and a high-paying job, Dave envies his unhitched pal's freewheeling lifestyle and his ability to bed any woman who shoots him a seductive glance. Then one night, after having a few too many, Mitch and Dave voice their mutual admiration for one another, never once suspecting they might be about to find out how the other half lives. However, upon waking up the following morning, the two lifelong pals discover that they have somehow traded places. At first the thought of getting a momentary reprieve from their regular routines is an amusing novelty, but the longer it lasts, the more they just want their old lives back. Just when it seems that things can't get any more complicated, Dave's stunning legal associate Sabrina (Olivia Wilde) drops a bombshell, and Mitch gets a surprise visit from his estranged father (Alan Arkin).

(WARNING: Trailer is Rated-R)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (August 5)
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox

Rupert Wyatt, director of The Escapist, takes the helm for this Planet of the Apes prequel centering on the genetically engineered chimp Caesar (Andy Serkis), who was created in a San Francisco lab by an ambitious father/son scientist team (John Lithgow and James Franco). Caesar uses his powerful intellect to lead an ape uprising against all of humankind.

30 Minutes or Less (August 12)
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Michael Peña

Small-town pizza delivery driver Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) stumbles into an elaborate crime scheme when he's abducted by a pair of ambitious criminals (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) who coerce him into robbing a bank on a strict timeline. Desperate, Nick implores his former best friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) to help him out of the predicament. But with each attempt to thwart the would-be criminal geniuses, Nick and Chet find their dire situation spinning faster out of control.

(WARNING: Trailer is Rated-R)

Fright Night (August 19)
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

A suburban teenager realizes that his new neighbor is a charismatic vampire in this remake of the 1985 horror comedy hit. After years of climbing to reach the top of the social ladder, high school senior Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally rules the roost. Just as Charley ditches his best pal, "Evil" Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and starts dating the most popular girl in their class, however, a handsome new face appears in the neighborhood. It belongs to Charley's new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell), an outwardly amiable guy with a quick smile and a sharp wit. But when Charley sees a side of Jerry that everyone else seems to miss, he quickly becomes convinced that the nice-guy act is a cover for something truly sinister. Unable to convince his charmed mother (Toni Collette) that Jerry is a genuine bloodsucker, the suspicious teen turns to Las Vegas magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant) to help exterminate the demon before he drinks the entire neighborhood dry.

Conan The Barbarian (August 19)
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Starring: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui

Remake of the 1982 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When a powerful force of supernatural evil threatens to destroy Hyboria, legendary Cimmerian warrior Conan (Jason Momoa) raises his sword against mythical monsters and treacherous enemies. Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, and Rachel Nichols co-star in a sweeping fantasy adventure based on the character created by Robert E. Howard, and directed by Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th).

(WARNING: Trailer is Rated-R)

Movie Review: Captain America - The First Avenger

2011-07-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

After getting some ideas from several readers. I will be taking a new approach from now on with my movie reviews. My personal reviews will start at the beginning for you all to see whether the movie is a must see, and the plot synopsis will be at the end for those who do not intend on going to see it in theaters. I hope this makes it more enjoyable for you all. Always feel free to let me know of ideas to make the blog better. Thanks and enjoy!

Review

Joe Johnston did an amazing job with this movie. This is the same guy who directed The Wolfman starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. That film horribly disappointed me, and made me very skeptical that he could pull off the new brand of superhero movies that Marvel has been releasing. After leaving the theater I had two feelings. One, I was emotionally attached to the character he had presented the audience with. And two, I had my mind blown away with a post credit scene that was absolutely kick ass, for however brief it was. Johnston gave us a great period piece. Everything seem to feel like it would have in America during WWII. The amount of patriotism represented was a flashback to a period when service, pride and respect were things actually performed and not talked about as the "good ole days".

For one of the first times ever, we are given an character that is absolutely deserving of the power given. Chris Evans gave an exemplary performance that made us all forget about that drab piece of acting called The Fantastic Four.

The way he transitions from a brave yet timid young man into a unstoppable and heroic superhero is played to perfection. I can't wait to see the way he and Robert Downey Jr. relate to each others characters when they release the Avengers movie in 2012.

I loved the way they integrated every single version of the Captain America uniform. They are introduced in a way that's not cheesy but practical. It allows the character to realistically exist in our world, because that's what we are going for now in superhero movies. The way Steve Rogers integrates a form of shield throughout the beginning of the film forshadows just how important a that part is to the Captain America ideal.

I know for a fact that Tommy Lee Jones thought his character wasn't important to the Captain America plot, but I bed to differ. He was entirely necessary. He is in fact the catalyst to Captain America being born. His character's decisions bring about everything we know Captain America is and should be.

The Red Skull, for being so vital to the Captain America universe, as his arch nemesis, is actually not very difficult a task for our hero in the red, white, and blue. That was the only draw back I saw. For him being a super villain, he was quite easy to defeat on several occasions. I wish he had been a more dark villain instead of the scientist/historian gone insane.

But by far the best part of the movie is how everything that has been given to you in Iron Man and Thor are related back to this film in some form or fashion. We can see how the pieces fit and why the Avengers were put together the way they were. Wait, I am sorry. Am I still awake??? I may have just passed out from all the AWESOMENESS.

Well, these are just a few opinions on the movie from my point of view. I loved this movie, and it will be a joy to go see for anyone. Get you butts to the theater and see it. NOW!

I grade this movie a solid...A

Plot Synopsis (Spoilers included)

The movie begins in the Arctic, where a team of U.S. officials have been called on to uncover the truth surrounding a mysterious ship that has been found lodged in ice. As a team enters the ship they find an red, white and blue object frozen within, and radio back that they "have found it".

Flashback, March 1942 (in the middle of World War II), Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) leads a Nazi invasion squad into Norway. Their goal is to find a mysterious artifact in Norse mythology, Odin's tesseract, or also known in comic book lore as the Cosmic Cube. It has unlimited power properties. Inside a castle, the keepers of the cube are sworn to protect it, but Schmidt follows hidden clues to discover its location.

Meanwhile, in New York City, a young man named Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is in line waiting to enlist for the U.S. Army. The doctor reviews his physical chart, and declares that he is too sick and frail for war and is rejected. An upset Steve decides to take in a movie and watch the news on the war overseas. An emotional audience watch footage of the war effort and see U.S. soldiers being shot at and hurt. However, there is one jerk in the audience that complains about the movie not starting yet, and won't shut up. Steve tells the man to have some respect and to be quiet, but the jerk tells him to "make him". They take the matter outside and have a fist fight in an alley. Steve is being pummeled by the bigger man, but shows resilience and continues to get up and fight. He is saved by Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan), his best friend, who stomps the bully cold. A grateful Steve, learns that Bucky has been given his service orders and will be leaving soon. Steve tells Bucky of another failed attempt at enlisting.

Being his last night home, Bucky takes Steve to the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition, where the technology of the future is on display and famous inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) is demonstrating an experimental flying car. Steve sees that there is also a recruitment center there and tries yet again at enlisting. Bucky tries to convince him to not saying he shouldn't go, but Steve talks about how important serving his country means to him and decides to still try. The inspirational speech is overheard by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a scientist for the U.S. government's Strategic Scientific Reserve. He asks Steve if "he wants to kill Nazi's", to which Steve replies that "he doesn't want to kill anyone, but someone has got to stop them". Seeing something in him that he truly admires, Dr. Erskine gives Steve a passing grade on his physical, and enlists him with a squad of specifically chosen soldiers at Camp Lehigh.

At the camp, the soldiers meet Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and SSR officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). They will be choosing one man for the "super-soldier" experiment. Col. Phillips doesn't see what Dr. Erskine sees in Steve, because he doesn't have what is needed to be a solider. However, after an act of self-sacrifice and bravery, Steve is chosen for the experiment.

The night before the procedure, Dr. Erskine visits Steve and tells the story of the first time he performed the experiment. While captured, head Nazi scientist Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) used Dr. Erskine's formula to give Johann Schimidt God-like powers. However, it left him horribly disfigured. It was apparent that the formula, in a way, reflects a persons soul as well. Dr. Erskine tells Steve that he was chosen because a weak man understands the true meaning of power. He also asks that he be nit just a good soldier but remain a good man.

The next morning, Peggy rides with Steve to a secret government lab, hidden in a Brooklyn. Dr. Erskine is there working with Howard Stark on the experiment, while Col. Phillips, Senator Brandt (Michael Brandon) and U.S. State Department liaison Fred Clemson (Richard Armitage) are there to observe. Steve is placed into a chamber where he's given injections of the serum. He is them bombarded with vita-rays which amplify the serums effects. As the experiment starts, Steve is put through enormous pain, but is able to withstand it and finish. He emerges from the chamber taller, stronger and more muscular. His new abilities are instantly put to the test when Clemson is exposed as Nazi assassin Heinz Kruger. Kruger shoots and kills Erskine, and is able to escape the lab. Steve goes to Erskine's side as he dies, and is reminded to stay the man he was. Steve chases down Kruger, who is in a car. Steve saves Peggy from being run over by him. Steve eventually catches Kruger pulls him out of an advanced submarine. As Steve questions who sent him, Kruger commits suicide with a cyanide capsule.

With Dr. Erskine now dead, no one can reproduce the formula. So, Steve is declared too important to put into the line of fire. He is yet again rejected for service. Senator Brandt asks him if he really wants to support his country. Steve is asked to wear an American themed costume (the comic book version of the Captain America uniform) and tour the nation selling war bonds as a character called Captain America. In Italy 1943, while performing at a USO Show for U.S. soldiers, Steve is booed off stage for his optimism of victory. He is greeted by Peggy, who asks Steve if this is what he wants to do with the gift that was given to him. When he hears that the soldiers he was performing for were Bucky's regiment, Steve goes to see Col. Phillips who informs him that Bucky and a number of soldiers were captured by Johann Schmidt's organization called HYDRA.

Seeing there is no rescue plan, Steve takes matters into his own hands. He dresses in a combination of his costume and military issue equipment. Peggy and Stark fly him behind enemy lines for a rescue mission. Steve fights his way into one of the Red Skull's bases, and sees that there is an advanced technology being used. The Cosmic Cube is actually being used to power all the new technology. Schmidt has broken away from Hitler, and has his own mission; to kill everyone and take over the world. Steve frees all of the soldiers being held prisoner. Steve eventually finds Bucky, who had been tortured by HYDRA for some time. They are able to escape, but not before confronting Schmidt and Zola. This is where we meet the Red Skull for the first time.

As Col. Phillips is writing a report of Steve's death, we see him returning with most of the POW's and examples of HYDRA new technology. He is greeted as Captain America and enlisted to help destroy HYDRA's bases across Europe. Steve recruits a team consisting of Bucky, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan (Neal McDonough), Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James Montgomery Falsworth (J. J. Feild), and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci). Steve also consults with Stark about his weaponry and designing a new uniform. He chooses a circular shield that is made of vibranium, which is the hardest metal on Earth and absorbs all vibrations.

Rogers and his squad, the Howling Commandos, embark on Europe and take out all of the Red Skull's HYDRA bases except for one. On a mission to capture Arnim Zola from a train, Captain America is unable to rescue Bucky from falling to his death. Zola is captured, but Steve is extremely broken by the loss of his best friend. Peggy comes to comfort Steve and they speak about life after the war, particularly dancing. They hope to someday dance with each other.

Col. Phillips finds out that Red Skull's to attack the entire eastern seaboard of the USA and use the power from the Cosmic Cube to activate weapons Zola has created to force the world into submission. Captain America suits up one last time and leads the Howling Commandos into the final battle. They infiltrate his base. Red Skull escapes on his jet to begin his assault on the USA. Using a car, Col. Phillips and Peggy are able to get Steve close enough to the jet for him to jump. Before leaping, Steve kisses Peggy goodbye. He is able to grab one of the jet's landing gears and climb inside. The jet contains several mini-jets that have bombs that are going to drop bombs on specific US cities. As the pilots of the mini-jets are about to take off, Steve disables them all except for one that he uses to crash into the jet's cockpit. Captain America confronts Red Skull. Steve is told that they are the one's with the power and that he is fighting for nothing. Schmidt says that in the future there will be no flags and that his patriotism is useless. Steve disagrees, and disables the ships power supply. Red Skull attempts to use the Cosmic Cube, but is instead slowly disintegrates and teleported into the cosmos. The cube falls to the floor and the energy melts through the plane and it falls into the ocean.

The jet, which was powered by the cube, is now falling with no way of it stopping. Steve tries to fly the jet to safety, but there is only one option and that is to crash it before it hits New York. Steve decides to take it down somewhere over the Arctic and hope for the best. Peggy gets on the radio and has a final conversation with Steve. They set a date to go dancing. As he says yes to the date, the ship crashes into ice and the radio goes silent. Stark is next seen out on a ship. He follows the energy signal created by the Cosmic Cube but the HYDRA jet is not located anywhere near it. Stark says the search will continue. However, Captain America is declared killed in action.

Fast-forward back to present-day, Steve wakes up in a hospital room in New York City. He hears a baseball game being played over the radio as a nurse walks in and tells him that he is ok. Steve doesn't believe her seeing as though he attended the game being broadcasted back in 1941. Security enters the room and tries to calm Steve down, but he fights them all off and escapes the fake hospital and discovers it's a government building. Exiting he discovers that he is in New York, Time Square to be exact. He calms down and is greeted by Col. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve is told that he's been asleep for nearly 70 years, and they were trying to acclimate him to modern times slowly. A saddened Steve realizes that everyone he knew was gone and that he missed his date with Peggy.

In the post-credits scene, Steve is taking his aggression out on a punching bag when he is approached by Fury. He tells Steve that there is a mission for him. Next we get a view of scenes from the up and coming AVENGERS movie. (THIS IS KICK ASS!!!!)

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

2011-07-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

The end of young Harry Potter's journey has finally come. The final film in the Harry Potter legacy debuted last week and drew amazing crowds. The movie set the record for most money made on an opening weekend worldwide with $483.2 Million and is still pulling in money as we speak. It is safe to assume this movie may well draw near $1 Billion worldwide before it's all said and done. I remember the first time I watched a Harry Potter movie, from then on I was hooked. I actually didn't see it in the theater because I thought the story was for children. However, what I learned quickly was that this was a story for everyone. It is about witches, wizards, elves, goblins, giants and dragons, but what the story is truly about is good and evil, right and wrong, and ultimately love and friendship. Harry Potter is yet another example of the hero's journey, and the power of mythology. J.K. Rowling, the writer and creator of the book series, has definitely made Joseph Campbell happy with this tale of a young boy who would be forced to carry the burden of saving the world from the darkest of evil. If you have not seen these films, you must! They are not just great stories, but inspirational for even the oldest reader/viewer. Enjoy the rest of the blog and be sure to go see this movie in the theater. It was worth it!

Plot Synopsis (Video, Pics and Spoilers Included)

We pick up right where we left off in The Deathly Hallows Part I, Lord Voldemort has discovered the location and retrieved the Elder Wand (one of the Deathly Hallows) from former Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's grave. Severus Snape, the killer of Dumbledore, has become the new Headmaster of Hogwarts and is running it more like a prison than a school. Meanwhile, after burying the house elf Dobby, Harry speaks with the goblin Griphook, who works at Gringotts bank, about breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. He thinks a Horcrux, a piece of Voldemort's soul, may be hidden there. Griphook agrees to take Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the vault in exchange for the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry then goes to see Ollivander, a wandmaker who was rescued in Part I, for identification of two wands they took from Malfoy Manor. Ollivander reminds Harry that wands choose the owner and that the wands he found belong to Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy, but that Malfoy's wand now only listens to Harry since he disarmed Draco in battle. Harry also asks about the Deathly Hallows. When Ollivander explains that it is just a story, Harry informs him that Voldemort has found the Elder Wand.

Next our three heroes put there plan for getting into Gringotts into action. Hermione creates a polyjuice potion to transform into Bellatrix and gain access to her vault. Ron disguises as a Death Eater and Harry and Griphook use the cloak of invisibility to sneak in with them. Once inside, Harry, who can feel the horcruxes, discovers the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff in the vault. It's the Horcrux. They all soon discover that the vault is itself bewitched. After fighting off the spell, Harry gets the cup Just as he is about escape Griphook takes the cup and forces the exchange Harry promised. Griphook then tell the three that he only promised to get them in the vault, not escape. He leaves them cornered in the vault by the alerted security. Hermione releases a dragon that was guarding the vault, which the three ride to escape the bank. Once, they are safe Harry has a vision of Voldemort at Gringotts. The Dark Lord knows that the Cup has been taken and learns that Harry knows of the Horcruxes. In the vision, he also sees that Griphook is dead and the sword of Gryffindor disappears. Finally, there is a vision of a Horcrux at Hogwarts, and it is related to Rowena Ravenclaw somehow.

They all decide the only safe way to sneak into Hogwarts is through the cellar in Hogsmeade, and apparate there. This sets off an alarm that alerts Death Eaters, but the kids are rescued by their former headmaster's brother, Aberforth Dumbledore. He gets the ghost portrait of his younger sister, Ariana, to brings their friend Neville Longbottom to their aid. Neville leads them to Hogwarts through a new secret passageway.

The classmates of Harry, Ron and Hermione are very happy to see that they are still alive. They try to help them in finding the Horcrux, but Snape overhears rumors of Harry's return and calls a mandatory assembly with all of the students. He says there will be severe punishment for anyone caught aiding Mr. Potter. Harry decides to confront Snape, along with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix members. Minerva McGonagall comes to Harry's aid and challenges Snape to a duel. Not wanting to fight, he apparates away, presumably to inform Voldemort of Harry's return. McGonagall gathers the students and professors of Hogwarts to secure the castle and prepare for an attack.

The school becomes the site for the epic final battle. Soon after Voldemort and his followers arrive, they begin their attack. They find the school to be protected with charms and harder to penetrate that originally thought. Neville and Sheamus are placed in charge of blowing up the bridge on the backside of the castle. This gives Harry, Ron and Hermione enough time to go on the search for the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, which Luna Lovegood believes to be the Horcrux they are seeking. She advises Harry to speak with the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw. She reveals that Voldemort used "dark magic" on her mother's diadem, and gives him a clue to where it's hidden. Harry deduces that it's in the Room of Requirement. However, before he leaves she says that Harry reminds her of Tom Riddle (aka Voldemort).

Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione are on a mission to find something to destroy the Horcrux with. Since they don't have the sword anymore, they believe that a basilisk fang (which was used to destroy Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets) will destroy other Horcruxes as well. Inside the Chamber, Ron helps Hermione destroy the Horcrux within the cup. It unleashes a huge wave of water that engulfs them both. Having survived, the two share their first on screen kiss (much to everyone in the audience's joy). The destruction of the Horcrux causes Voldemort and Harry a great deal of pain. Voldemort then uses the Elder Wand to destroy the protection spells guarding the school, but it also causes the wand to crack. This makes the Dark Lord wonder if he is the wands true master.

Draco, who has snuck into the school as well, has followed Harry to the Room of Requirement. With the aid of his fellow Slytherin members Goyle and Blaise, he confronts Harry, but Draco can't kill him. Harry asks why he didn't turn him in at Malfoy Manor. Before the other Slytherin can attack Harry, Ron and Hermione show up and save him. Harry goes on to find the Horcrux hidden in the room, while the others protect him. Goyle casts a Fiendfyre curse and accidentally sets fire to the entire room. While Harry, Ron and Hermione escape on brooms; Goyle is burned to death. They do return to save Draco and Blaise; and right as they escape the fire, Harry destroys the Ravenclaw diadem with the basilisk fang. This destorys yet another piece of the Dark Lord's soul, and yet again causes him great pain. Harry uses his connection to Voldemort to find out the location of the last Horcrux. Turns out it's Voldemort's snake Nagini, and they are hiding in the Hogwart's boathouse.

As the three arrive to the boathouse, they witness Voldemort telling Snape that the Elder Wand cannot serve him fully because he was not the one to disarm its master. Since Snape killed Dumbledore, the Dark Lord decides to kill him so he can use its full power. Snape tries to plead for his life, but Voldemort has no compassion and slashes Snapes throat. Nagini finishes him off. After they apparate away, Harry comes to Snape's aid. Dieing, he grabs Harry and looks into his eyes. H says "you have your mothers eyes", and also tells Harry to take his memories (which are stored in his tears) to the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office.

Voldemort calls off the attack so that the school can gather their dead. He challenges Harry to meet him in the forbidden forest and to meet his fate so no more innocent blood is spilled on his behalf. Upon returning to the castle, we see the casualties of the battle so far. Ron's brother Fred, Lupin and Tonks have been killed, as well as many others. While everyone grieves for the lost, a distraught Harry heads to Dumbledore's office. He uses the Pensieve to view Snape's memories. He sees that Snape grew up with his mother and that they were best friends. He also learns that Snape was in love with her, but she was in love with Harry's father James. Dumbledore enlisted Snape as a spy into Volemort's Death Eaters, and learned of his plan to kill Harry based on a prophecy. Snape pleaded for them to be protected. After Lily's death, Snape was asked to stay on as a spy, in case the Dark Lord returned. He did it so to ensure Harry would be safe. We also see that Snape had been protecting Harry all of his years at Hogwarts. Next, Snape examines Dumbledore's hand after he tried to destroy a Horcrux. The curse from it is slowly killing him. So he tells Snape to not allow Draco Malfoy to kill him as the Dark Lord has ordered. Instead, he asks Snape to kill him so Draco won't have to. Lastly, Harry learns that the night his parents died, he himself became a Horcrux when Voldemort's killing curse rebounded. What was left of the Dark Lord's soul attached itself to Harry. To defeat Voldemort, Harry must die first. This realization is surreal for Harry.

A scared Harry says his goodbyes to Ron and Hermione and heads off to the forbidden forrest. On the way he realizes what the snitch Dumbledore left for him was really for. The inscription on it, "It Opens At The Close", foretold of his death and would open when he was ready to die. Once open, he finds the final Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone. He uses it to see the spirits of his dead parents and friends. They tell him how brave he has been and that it's almost over. They comfort him in his final moments and promise to be there with him until the end. Finally, Harry meets the Dark Lord in front of his Dead Eaters and a captured Hagrid. Voldemort casts the Killing Curse, and Harry awakens in a train station bathed in white light (limbo) where he sees Dumbledore. He tells Harry how braves he has been, and explains that he's not dead. The part of Voldemort within Harry was what was killed by Voldemort's curse. Harry, who has the choice to return or not, decides to come back. Back in the forest, Draco's mother checks to see if Harry is still alive. She asks if Draco is safe, to which Harry nods Yes. In return, Draco's mother tells the Dark Lord that Harry is dead.

Voldemort and his followers carry Harry's body back to Hogwarts to show the battle has been won. He announces Harry's death to everyone and implies that anyone who defies him will be killed. Neville confronts him and gives a speech about not giving up. Harry reveals that he is still alive much to Voldemort's surprise and displeasure. Many of his followers apparate away in fear. Neville finds the school's Sorting Hat and draws out the Sword of Godric Gryffindor from it. Harry begins his final duel with Voldemort across the school grounds. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione try to kill Nagini with a basilisk fang, but fail. Just as Nagini strikes at them, Neville appears and destroys it with the sword. This destroys the final Horcrux making Voldemort mortal. The end comes for the rest of his followers as well. Bellatrix tries to kill Jenny Weasley, but is saved by her mother Molly. She duels Bellatrix, and kills her. Back in the courtyard, the battle is coming to an end. Since Voldemort is using a wand that is not his, The Elder Wand's effects rebound onto the Dark Lord and causes him to die, but not before Harry disarms him.

After the battle, Harry explains to Ron and Hermione that he was able to kill Voldemort because the Elder Wand recognized him as its master. Draco was the Elder Wand's true master after he disarmed Dumbledore, that is before Snape killed him. Then at Malfoy Manor, when Harry disarmed Draco, he became the Elder Wand's new master. Realizing the power this holds Harry snaps the Elder Wand in half and throws the pieces off the bridge. As the sun rises over Hogwarts School of Wizardry, the three join hands and realize their journey is over.

Lastly, we get a glimpse Nineteen years into the future. Harry and Ginny Potter are taking their kids to King's Cross Station for the train bound for Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione Weasley are as well. On the same platform we watched Harry meet Ron and Hermione for the first time, we watch as their children leave for school. Before seeing the kids off, Harry speaks with his youngest son Albus Severus, who is worried the Sorting Hat will place him into Slytherin. Harry reminds him that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of which was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever met. However, if he wants to be in Gryffindor that the Sorting Hat will take that into consideration.

Review

This movie was my favorite of the series, which was hard to do. I have a special place in my heart for The Prisoner of Azkaban. This series is a progression of Harry's life. The end appropriately is the most mature film of the series and tackled some pretty tough subjects especially for the kids that have grown up reading these stories. I thought the director did an amazing job giving us everything we needed out of the books to complete the story. Did he change some things plot wise? Yes. However, what we are given are the most important pieces. Is everything explained? No, but that's what the director's cut is for! Everything about this movie made me happy. The build up to the ultimate confrontation, the sacrifice, the emotion, the twist and the view of the future filled me with a lot of gratitude that I got to watch such an epic piece of work. It's hard to evaluate one above another. However, this movie speaks for itself. I could go on and on, but I will leave it as that. Much like Dumbledore says to Harry in limbo when he asks where this will take him, he responds...On. And we all move on from here, but will always be able to enjoy this masterpiece.

I grade this movie an A+

Movie Review: Horrible Bosses

2011-07-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

I recently got a chance to go watch Horrible Bosses, an original comedy written by Michael Markowitz and directed by Seth Gordon. It's about 3 best friends, each with a job and a boss they can't stand. One might think quitting the job and finding new work is the best solution, but unfortunately for these guys killing their bosses may be the only way out.

(Plot Synopsis with Spoilers - Review is Below)

The film opens to us meeting Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman). He works at a financial firm for Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) who constantly abuses him with long hours and harsh treatment. Nick puts up with it in the hopes of being promoted to VP.

Next we meet Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) who is a dental assistant for Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Dale, who is engaged to his girlfriend Stacy, is constantly being sexually harassed by Julia. Some might see this as a bonus, but not Dale. As long as he can remember all he has ever wanted was to be married. Dale fights off Julia the best he can without getting himself fired. Finding work for him is hard because he has a police record.

Lastly, we meet Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) who loves his job working at an industrial company for Jack Pellitt who treats him like a son; much to the dislike of Jack's actual son Bobby (Colin Farrell). One day Jack dies of a heart attack, and his cocaine/hooker addicted son is placed in charge. Immediately after the funeral, Bobby explains to Kurt that he plans to milk the company for what it's worth. His work life becomes hell on Earth.

One night the guys get together for drinks and Kurt suggests the world would be happier if their bosses weren't alive. The hypothetical conversation continues but Dale insists it's a silly idea to kill their bosses and leaves. However, the next day, much to Dale's dismay, Julia invites Stacy in for a free dental checkup. While she is unconscious, Julia threatens to show Stacy illicit photos of an unconscious Dale having sex with Julia unless he has sex with her for real. Later that night, Dale finally agrees that they should kill their bosses. Nick reluctantly agrees when he finds out that he was passed up for the VP position. Instead of promoting him, like Harken said he would. The money and additional title is absorbed by Harken himself. When Nick confronts Harken about being passed over for the job, he is informed that he is Harken's property, and that he can't quit because he'll make sure no other firm hires him. So, with the fear of having to start his professional life completely over, Nick decides that he too wants to kill his boss.

Dale takes the initiative to find a Hitman, but screws up. While driving home, Kurt uses his car's live navigation operator to direct him to the worst part of town. Once there, they find a shady bar and meet Dean "Motherfucker" Jones (Jamie Foxx), a paroled ex-con. "Motherfucker" won't kill the bosses, but agrees to be their murder consultant and make sure they do it right. "Motherfucker" suggests that the they kill each others' boss so that they look like accidents and can't be traced back to each other.

The guys decide to begin with some reconnaissance at Bobby's house. Once he leaves for the night, the three break in and begin to search his place. Nick and Dale find a huge cocaine stash just laying out in the living room but accidentally spill it on the carpet. In the process of cleaning it up they get high. Meanwhile, Kurt goes into Bobby's bathroom and does very nasty things to his toiletries, but finds a cell phone on the nightstand and takes it. The three then head to Harken's house and make Dale wait in the car as a lookout. While waiting, he eats a peanut butter sandwich and throws the bag out the car window. Harken, just returning home from a jog, picks it up and berates Dale for littering. Harken then suffers an allergic reaction to the bag because of the peanuts. Instead of just letting him die, Dale finds his epinephrine shot and revives him. Nick and Kurt watch all of this through a window and think Dale is stabbing Harken to death and run away. While leaving, Kurt accidentally drops Bobby's phone under the bed. Dale catches up with the guys and tells them what really happened. They decide to use Harken's peanut allergy to poison him while he's taking a shower and also plan to spike Bobby's cocaine with rat poison.

The next night, Harken finds the cell phone under his bed and suspects his wife of having an affair with Bobby. Meanwhile, Nick and Dale are sitting outside each others respective boss' house waiting for an opportunity to sneak in. Just as they are about to call it a night, Harken shows up at Bobby's and kills him; shooting him at the door. With Harken gone, Dale sneaks into his house but he can't bring himself to kill him. Nick, after seeing Harken kill Bobby, decides to get out there quickly and drives off like a maniac. He sets off a nearby traffic camera in the process. The three meet up and discuss the details of the night. Kurt tells the others that while doing reconnaissance at Julia's, she saw him. Instead of calling the police, she actually seduces him and they have sex. This also shows he is incapable of killing her as well. They decide to call the whole thing off, but are confronted by the police; who want to bring them in for questioning.

Nick explains his speeding away from Bobby's house was the act of drag racing. The detectives don't believe him, seeing as though Kurt is one of Bobby's employees. Dale (a Law & Order fanatic) points out that since they are not under arrest, that they can't be held onto without a warrant and leave. However, one of the detective's (Ron White) points out that they will check Bobby's house for DNA, and will find something. Kurt then remembers what he did to all of the toiletries and believes he will be implicated in the murder. The three consult "Motherfucker" again, but leave when they learn that he was only in jail for copyright infringement for recording a film in a theater with a video camera. In fact, he has never actually killed anyone before. They decide the only way to clear themselves is to get Harken to confess to killing Bobby.

The three next crash a surprise birthday party for Harken. While Nick and Dale talk to Harken and tell him that they know he killed Bobby, Kurt (who has the audio recorder) is having sex with Harken's wife Rhonda in the bathroom. Harken openly confesses to killing Bobby and says he is about to kill them as well. Realizing they have no recording the guys escape as Harken goes for his gun. Unable to shake him in their car, Kurt once again asks his live operator on his navigation system for help. However, the operator this time shuts down the engine believing he has committed a crime. Harken catches up with them and tells them that he has a plan to pin the murder on them when the police arrive. He even shoots himself to implicate them. Once the cops arrive, they arrest the guys and see to Harken. Having no evidence of the confession, the guys believe it's over. However, the navigation operator recorded the entire confession right before the police arrived. Hearing the replay, the police arrest Harken and the guys use their testimony against him to bargain for no jail time.

In the aftermath, Nick is promoted to President of his company. Kurt's company is now being run by the former Secretary, much to his delight. Dale turns the tables on Julia by suggesting they take advantage of a patient. As Julia begins her advances, she discovers the patient is actually awake and "Motherfucker" has recorded the entire thing. Now with the upper hand, Dale blackmails Julia to stop the harassment and give him a two-week paid vacation for his honeymoon.

Review

This was a breath of fresh air comedy wise. I haven't seen a really good dark comedy in a long time. The plot was original and there was rarely a spot I didn't laugh. With that said, the only draw back from my point of view was the predictability of the movie. The entire time, I was thinking if my boss was like this I would just quit...RECESSION BE DAMNED. However, this movie was lead by a great cast and everyone played their roles perfectly. When I originally saw the trailer the thing that drew me in was Colin Farrell playing a bald jerk of a boss. It reminded me of Tropic Thunder and seeing Tom Cruise play a similar role. Farrell's character makes the movie worth seeing alone, but you will be drawn in by everyone. Charlie Day stole the show in my opinion. He played Dale, the loveable loser that you root for, but he can't help but do something to make a bad situation worse. I recommend this movie to all age-eligible adults that need a good laugh. The raunchiness of the comedy is way over the top, but it nothing that can't be enjoyed. Just be sure to go into the theater with an open mind.

I grade this movie a B+

Movie Review: Transformers - Dark of the Moon

2011-07-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I watched the last movie of Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS trilogy. Before I begin the review I wanted to give my opinion on the series as a whole. The first movie was done well enough to satisfy even the most fickle of fans. However, the second movie was written and released right after the Writers Guild Strike of 2009. The layoff caused the final product to be less than satisfactory. It irritated many fans and it didn't live up to the hope the first film had given the series. However, this movie pulled off what the second failed to do. It found a way to bring both stories together and make the series a gigantic success.

Titled the Dark of the Moon, the movie takes place in several different time periods and locations. It is a pretty dark film for a PG-13 movie and pulls no punches when relating to today's current events and politics. The military is yet again a big focus point. Critics have come out by the dozens condemning this movie for anything they can find. I find it rather odd this would happen. 1) It's a Michael Bay production, and when have his movies ever been broken down so thoroughly for their "plot". 2) It's a mix of action, adventure, comedy and YES even drama. This movie is made for a broad audience. It's not shooting for an Oscar. 3) The public that has watched the movie, and that has been A LOT of people, has given it overwhelmingly positive reviews. Personally, I came into the theater waiting to be disappointed, but I wasn't at all. I thought it was very well written, and told a good story. It's action sequences, which were a large portion of the movie, kept me on the edge of my seat. Aside from the "Hollywood" critics, everyone has shown this movie lots of love. It's a "Pro-American" action giant that completed my 4th of July weekend! GO SEE IT! Especially in 3-D.

Plot Description below (w/ SPOILERS). Fast-forward to the end for the end of my review.

We open on Cybertron, home to the Transformers. It is during time of the Great War, which destroyed their planet. The Autobots, who were fighting for freedom from tyranny, were losing the war. In a last ditch effort to win, the Autobots sent a ship called the ARK into space. On board was a secret weapon that could help end the war, but the ship never escaped. It was thought destroyed as it drifted into space. The ship would eventually crash on the far side of Earth's moon in 1961. NASA discovered the crash first and thus set into motion the space race between the USA and Russia. President John F. Kennedy authorizes a mission to get a man on the moon and investigate the craft. In 1969, the mission (Apollo 11) lead by Neil Armstrong, lands on the Moon and explores the craft. What they find was more shocking that previously thought, a giant robot. For the next thirty years, the government organized missions to the moon to retrieve effects from the crash, of which were long metal tubes.

Fast forward to the present day, the Autobots and N.E.S.T. are still working together to track down Decepticons throughout the globe. But mainly helping keep the peace between humans as well. While on a mission in Chernobyl to investigate an old nuclear power plant, Optimus Prime discovers a fuel cell hidden that once belonged to the ARK. They also discover Shockwave, a Decepticon General, has been protecting it and keeping it secret. This causes a stir within the Autobots. Wondering what the US may know of the ARK, Optimus demands the US government be fully truthful. They learn about the secrecy surrounding the space race and how the ARK is on the moon. The Autobots head off for the moon and find the ARK's remains, as well as their former leader, Sentinel Prime. They also find the secret weapon Sentinel had been holding onto, the long metal tubes called the Pillars. Upon returning to Earth, Optimus uses the energy of his "Matrix of Leadership" to revive Sentinel Prime. Once awake, Sentinel tells everyone about the pillars and their purpose. When utilized they form a Space Bridge, a way of transporting matter between two fixed points in space.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), our human hero from the previous two movies is now out of college and living with his new girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whitely). Sam has had a hard time finding a job despite all the work he has done in saving Earth twice from annihilation. As he heads out for a day of job interviews, Sam finds his options dwindling. On his final interview of the day, he learns the position is for a mail room assistant (entry level). This sets Sam off and he rejects the offer, seeing it as beneath him. As he vents his frustration out on the CEO, the boss comes to love his spirit and offer him the position again after explaining how the corporate ladder works. Sam accepts the job and heads to Carly's office to tell her. He finally gets to meet her millionaire boss Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey), who likes Carly VERY MUCH. This makes Sam jealous and feel a bit unworthy of his girlfriend.

On his first day of work, while delivering mail to different offices, Sam meets Jerry Wang (Ken Jeong). Wang apparently knows who he is and tries to give him clues to some secret plot. Before Wang can give him more info, he is killed by Laserbeak, a bird-like Decepticon. Sam tries to get the US government the information on the Decepticon threat, but they have no interest in listening to him. So, he contacts the former Sector 7 Agent Simmons (John Turturro) to help gather more intel. Together they discover that Megatron and the Decepticons have been murdering people connected to the space race in the 1960's. They are able to locate the two surviving Russian cosmonauts who went to the moon, and are given satellite photos of hundreds of "Pillars" being stockpiled on the moon for some purpose. Sam figures out that the Decepticons found the Ark remains long ago, and have been working with humans all this time. He heads off to tell the Autobots, but is stopped by Carly who wonders if he can live a normal life. She leaves Sam, who refuses to go with her to Dylan's dinner party. He then deduces that the Decepticons left Sentinel and five Pillars behind on purpose to lure the Autobots into reviving Sentinel with the Matrix of Leadership, thus giving them a way to activate the Space Bridge. Sam tells the Autobots and N.E.S.T. about the new info. They try to get Sentinel back to their base for protection, but just as the Decepticons begin their attack, Sentinel kills Ironhide shooting him through the back and reveals to everyone that he has been working with Decepticon's since the ship left Cybertron. He saw it as the only way to end the war and keep their race alive.

Sentinel and Megatron use the Pillars to transport hundreds of Decepticons to Earth. As this is all going down, Sam heads to Dylan's home to get Carly. Upon his arrival he discovers that Dlyan, is one of the humans that's been working for the Decepticons. With no real way to stop the invasion the Decepticon's lead by Megatron and Sentinel give humanity one option; tell the Autobots to leave Earth forever or face extinction. The Autobots are exiled by the United Nations to avoid war, but as their ship leaves Earth it is destroyed by Starscream. With the Autobots all dead, the Decepticons begin a full scale invasion and begin by destroying the city of Chicago and beginning their true plan. They place the hundreds of Pillars around the world and Sentinel will activate the space bridge, which will allow them to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit. Dylan, who has taken Carly prisoner, reveals that the Decepticons plan to enslave the human race to rebuild Cybertron. He figures it's better to be on the side that wins that to stand for what's right. Sam teams with a group of former N.E.S.T. soldiers lead by Epps (Tyrese Gibson) to sneak into Chicago, save Carly, and give the military a chance to stop the Decepticons. Right before they are killed by Decepticon forces, the Autobots miraculously show up and save them. They reveal that they hid in a portion of the shuttle that was not blown up. They had to convince the Decepticons they were destroyed to show humanity the true motives behind their exile.

Together again, the Autobots and human manage to rescue Carly, and kill off several Decepticons including Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave. Just as Cybertron begins to appear in Earth's atmosphere Optimus uses Shockwave's arm-cannon to disable the Space Bridge. Dylan sees no way for him to live if the Autobot's win, and races to reactivate the main pillar. But just as he is about to succeed, Sam knocks him into the main Pillar; killing him. Bumblebee and Ratchet shoot blast the main Pillar, which destroys the Bridge and causes the partially transported Cybertron to be sucked into the wormhole from whence it came.

In the finale, Optimus and Sentinel fight it out and exchange dialogue over what freedom truly is. It becomes apparent Optimus can't kill his former leader. So, Carly uses her powers of persuasion to make Megatron think Sentinel will replace him. Just as Sentinel prepares to kill Optimus, Megatron intervenes and wounds Sentinel. Optimus gets up and has enough in him to attack Megatron, and rip his head off. Sentinel pleads for his life and tries to convince Optimus that his efforts were in the Transformers best interest, but Optimus understands what he must do and make the hard choice to execute Sentinel.

Now at peace and the Decepticons defeated, Carly and Sam reunite and promise to never let each other down again. Bumblebee tries to get Sam to pop the question to Carly with a gasket for a ring, but Sam tells Bumblebee it's way too early. N.E.S.T. and the government officials celebrate and the Autobots accept the fact that Cybertron is gone and Earth is now their only home.

Final Review

If you are trying to decide if you should go see this movie, then please do not read "professional" reviews. Read reviews by regular people who just went to see this movie for what it was. Do not pay attention to the political discourse brought on by this movie. I really think the reason critics gave this movie negative reviews was because they saw it as an over the top piece of Pro-American propaganda. Even if it were is that such a horrible thing? However, we do know how liberal Hollywood and the Hollywood-ites are. They get mad at the American flag being in a movie, unless it's burning. Why can't some movies just be critiqued on the scale they deserve. When Michael Bay began this series he had a certain focus in mind. He wasn't trying to win Picture of the Year. He wanted to make movies about giant robots kicking ass and give everyone a movie to enjoy, now just a select group. Now, Michael Bay does love the American military, and loves to exude liberty and freedom in his work. It has been shown in all of his career work, but that is no reason to degrade a movie for trying to be a little inspirational. Ever since political discourse became impossible in this country, apparently so did reviewing movies. This is the same reason Atlas Shrugged Part 1 was so negatively reviewed by critics. If you can't sway your political beliefs to give an honest review of the art form, then why do it to begin with? I mean Avatar is a horribly acted movie with a humongous liberal agenda, but these same critics didn't blast Avatar for that same short coming. They saw it as a marvel of movie history. It was a huge step in the way we visually go about making movies, which Transformers benefited from tremendously. The scene with Bumblebee and Sam getting shot at on the highway was proof alone. This movie should have been commended more than it was. The series is based off a comic and children's cartoon, what were they really expecting? Hamlet???

Transformers: The Dark of the Moon was a joy to watch. It may be the best movie of the year so far. It certainly was the most enjoyable. I expected to be disappointed, but this had everything the last movie should have had and more. Now, I am reviewing this based on what it is. It's a great action movie. It had a pretty good plot in my opinion, with a great twist that I even didn't see coming. This was Shia LaBouef's best acting in the series by far and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was a 100% upgrade from Megan Fox. She actually surprised me with her acting ability in this movie. I was expecting cliche-filled lines and droll dialogue while robots destroyed the city and saved the universe. That is the crux of what the series is, but the plot drove this movie not humor or random acts of Transformer fights. I wonder if they will continue the story in the future. Bay has said this will be his last Transformers film, and most of the cast has said the same. I smell re-boot, but you never know. There is rumor out that Steven Spielberg, who has been an executive producer on this series, may be up for taking the directing chair. I hope so, everything can be improved under the right circumstances. But if your looking for pure fun at the movies, I recommend Transformers 3 to everyone!

I grade this movie an...A

Atlanta Braves 2011 Season: June Review

2011-07-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Braves have been chasing the Philadelphia Phillies all season. When the month started, Atlanta was 4 games back and at the end of the month they finds themselves still 4 games back in the NL East; even after a 17-9 record this month. However, the Braves are now leading the race for the Wild Card by 3 games and own the leagues second best record at (47-35). They are also 12 games over .500 for the first time this season and have won 8 of the last 10 games. Here are just some of the highlights from this last four weeks.

June's Best Hitters

Brian McCann hit (.342 8 HR 18 RBI) for the month of June. He's been the best player by far in the National League, and could be well on his way to an MVP season. McCann has taken the role of team leader by the horns and has been the most consistent player on a team littered with offensive struggles.

Freddie Freeman joined in on the fun this past month hitting (.287 4 HR 17 RBI). June has been filled with injuries for the Braves. With Martin Prado on the DL with a staph infection and Jason Heyward out with a shoulder injury, Freeman has been placed into several spots in the lineup where he can make the most impact. He has come up huge knocking in 17 RBI's in that time span and playing top notch defense as well. Freeman has shown a propensity for making great defensive plays. There is even a chance he could make the NL All Star team.

June's Best Pitchers

Tommy Hanson has been down right dominant this past month. His (4-0 2.16 ERA 32 K/25 IP) will put him in competition for pitcher of the month in MLB. The best part of his starts the last four weeks has been his control. He is using his fastball to setup his super curve and even throwing a change-up every now and then. if he continues as this rate, then there is a change Tommy Hanson could end up with as many wins as Jair Jurrjens. Both are on pace for between 18-20 wins, if the team stays on it's current course.

Craig Kimbrell had a little bit of a setback in May, but blew the roof off in June. His (1-0 1.93 ERA 25 K/14 IP 8 SV) has earned him some big respect around the league. He is slowly becoming the national league's premier closer. This past month, Kimbrell broke the MLB rookie record for saves and it's only halfway through the season. He also reached 100 K/season mark fastest of any Braves pitcher in history, breaking John Rocker's team record.

Bad News

The team's hitting has been cyclical, and frankly unreliable. Either the entire team hits or they all struggle. Which has made it even much harder on the pitching staff to throw as perfect as possible. If this continues, then the Braves will have to make some changes to the roster to help run production. Dan Uggla, the team's biggest free agent acquisition, is still underperforming and hitting under (.200). Towards the end of June he's shown signs of coming out of the long slump, and the team needs it desperately. However, the biggest change has been the addition of Jordan Schafer to the starting lineup in CF. Hitting at the top of the order, he has given what the team needs, patience and aggressive base-running. But it hasn't been consistent enough. So, as we enter July the Braves hitting has got to improve, or wins are going to get harder to come by. It is good to know that the Braves are winning despite such poor hitting. Just imagine what this team will do once the offense kicks it up to normal production.

Braves Awards for the Month: as selected by The Bart Cave

Starting Pitcher of the Month (June): Tommy Hanson

Relief Pitcher of the Month (June): Craig Kimbrell

Hitter of the Month (June): Brian McCann

Defensive Player of the Month (June): Freddie Freeman

The Braves also took part in the 2011 MLB Draft which was held earlier this month. Here are a few names you might want to keep an eye out for in the coming years.

1st Round

Sean Gilmartin - LHP (Florida State)

6'2 190lbs, + Fastball (90-92 MPH) ++ Changup (82-85 MPH) Sean is a very polished pitcher and style wise resembles 2009 Braves draftee Mike Minor in many ways. He 12-2, 2.09 ERA, 130/21 K/BB in 120 IP.He won't need a lot of time in the minors. It is being said he could start as high as AA Mississippi. The Braves have a huge stock pile of pitchers and are in no rush right now to push him along. Gilmartin could end up in the bullpen within the next few years. Some even project as high as a #3 starter in the rotation.

2nd Round

Nick Ahmed - SS (Connecticut)

6'3 180lbs, Bats-right and Throws-right. A very solid all-around player. A poor man's Derek Jeter is how I've heard him described. He has a very strong throwing arm and average range at shortstop. His defense will never be an issue, but his hitting is still up for debate. He is a speed guy, who projects as a top of the order hitter. At UCONN this season, Ahmed hit (.326 35 RBI 23 SB). But it was his .425 OBP that really impressed the Braves in my opinion, who are still searching for a true leadoff hitter.

3rd Round

Kyle Kubitza - 3B (Texas State)

6'4 190lbs, Bats-left and Throws-right. Lots of power and a very disciplined hitter, Kubitza could end up as the third baseman on the future, if his defense holds up. They say he has very good range and great arm strength for third base, but that hitting is his strong point.

Movies Coming To A Theater Near You: July 2011 Edition

2011-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

This month we have some big time movies to look forward to. Comedy, action, adventure, drama; we have it all. Here are some of the one's I'm looking forward to seeing.

Horrible Bosses (July 8)

Directed by: Seth Gordon

Starring: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Anniston, and Jamie Fox

Working at their jobs is near intolerable for Nick, Kurt and Dale. Their bosses are evil, manipulative down right nasty people. When quitting becomes a non-option, the group gets a crazy idea from an ex-con. They decide to help kill each others boss! The three friends come up with a fool proof ideas to rid themselves of their respective employers. Can the guys get out of their own way long enough to get the job done, or will they be forced to suffer these people forever?. (WARNING! THIS IS AN R-RATED TRAILER)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (July 15)

Directed by: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Ralph Fiennes

After 7 films, the time has come for the the epic conclusion to the series that has captivated the world. The time for the final battle between good and evil is at hand. Harry Potter holds the fate of not just the wizarding world, but the muggle world as well. Can Harry, Ron and Hermione locate the remaining horcruxes and finally destroy Lord Voldemort forever. As the group endures love and loss, they also discover things are NOT as they appear to be!

Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22)

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, and Tommy Lee Jones

Marvel and Paramount team together again to bring the origin story of one of the most well-known super heroes ever. What would you give to fight evil? During WWII, the United States saw volunteering for military service as the best way to do just that. It was a great service and civil duty. For a brave, young man named Steve Rogers, it becomes his passion. Unfortunately, his physical condition prohibits him from being enlisting. Willing to do whatever it takes, Rogers signs up for an experimental military program. The goal is to create the world's first Super Soldier and thus Captain America is born. Rogers joins forces with lifelong friend Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos to destroy the villainous Nazi organization called HYDRA. However, the group quickly discovers they are not the only one's being led by an "extraordinary" man. The Nazi's are being commanded by the evil Johann Schmidt (aka Red Skull). This film will be the final comic book adaptation until it culminates with the merging of its universe with The Avengers (2012).

Attack The Block (July 29)

Directed by: Joe Cornish

Starring: Nick Frost, and Jodi Whittaker

From the same people that brought you zombie cult-comedy-classic Shawn Of The Dead comes Attack The Block, a story about what happens when Aliens invade Earth but forget what neighborhood they are messing with. One night, an attractive young woman is walking home on dangerous streets in South London. She is an ambushed by five hooded youths with masks on. Just as they move in on her, a fireball explodes out of the sky and destroys a nearby parked car. From the wreckage emerges an alien. Being the ill-tempered youths they are, they decide to hunt and kill it. Allowing the woman to escape. When they get back to their block the real adventure begins. (WARNING THIS IS A RATED-R TRAILER)

Cowboys and Aliens (July 29)

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell

This film is based on the 2006 graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley from Image Comics. Set in 1873, a stranger awakes in the Arizona Territory with no memory of his past. As he stumbles into the desert town of Absolution, the finds that the only hint to his history is a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist. He soon learns the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers and is confronted by several of its residents. The town lives in fear, as it is run by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde . However, Absolution is about to experience something it can hardly comprehend. The desolate city is attacked by visitors from the sky as they call it. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights, they abduct the helpless one by one and challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the man that Absolution rejected is their only salvation. Using the device strapped to his wrist, the stranger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been. He also realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of a fellow traveler, Ella, the stranger forms a posse comprised of townsfolk, Col. Dolarhyde, outlaws, and Apache warriors. They united against a common enemy and prepare for an epic showdown for their very survival.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (July 29)

Directed by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Starring: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Kevin Bacon

Cal is a devoted family man who married his high school sweetheart. He had everything when all of a sudden his wife, Emily, leaves him to be with another man. When she files for divorce, Cal is thrust into the modern dating scene. Saddened and depressed, Cal find this to be tougher than expected. Then he meets the ultimate bachelor Jacob, who decides to help Cal find some the excitement of being single. While Cal is transformed into a new man, Jacob finds someone who makes him question his bachelor mentality. Cal also discovers that perhaps he wanted something else all along.

What movie are you looking forward to seeing this month? Be sure to let me know below!

Movie Review: Green Lantern

2011-06-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

This past week Warner Brothers released it's next DC based comic book adaptation, Green Lantern. The movie is based off the Hal Jordan original series created by John Broome in 1959. The origin story was recently updated by artist Geoff Johns, who is currently in charge of the character. The film is directed by Martin Campbell, who recently directed two 007 (James Bond) films (GoldenEye and Casino Royal).

(Movie Synopsis w/ Lots of Spoilers Ahead, Movie Review is Below)

The film opens with a narration by one of the Green Lanterns, Tomar-Re. In the beginning of time a group of immortals called the Guardians created a planet to oversee the Universe. They called it Oa. To protect all life, the Guardians decided to harness an energy, since the Universe is composed of different types of energy based on emotion. And every emotion gives off a color to represent it. The Guardians decided to harness the Green energy of Willpower, as Will is the most common emotion in the Universe. They also created an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. Using Oa as its base of operations, the Guardians built a central power battery inside the planet to store the Green energy. To choose members of the Corp, the Guardians divided the universe into 3,600 sectors and a Green Lantern would be chosen to defend each one. Every Lantern was given a ring to wear. Through it they can manipulate the energy into anything they can create in their mind. The Guardians originally toyed with the idea of using the Yellow energy of Fear as it is one of the strongest emotions in the Universe. However, seeing the energy was uncontrollable, the Guardians decided against it. In the process, they accidentally created an Fear based entity called Parallax. It was nearly indestructible. Feeding off fear throughout the Universe, Parallax escaped only to be defeated by Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. The Guardians imprisoned the entity in the Lost Sector (Sector 666) on planet Ryut, which was uninhabited.

Flash-forward to present day. A group of aliens have crashed on Ryut and accidentally awaken Parallax. Their fear feeds it enough to escape the planet. Seeking revenge against Abin Sur, the entity searched the galaxy; killing four Green Lanterns and two planets in the process. Parallax catches Abin Sur aboard his ship and mortally wounds him. Before being killed Abin Sur reaches an escape pod. Once safe, he commands the ring to seek out a replacement before he dies.

Meanwhile on Earth, we meet Hal Jordan, a pilot for Ferris Air Force Base. He is cocky and arrogant, but seems fearless. After crashing a plane during a government test, many on the base are fired. But Hal's job was saved by lifelong friend and love interest Carol Ferris. She is also a pilot and helps run the Air base with her father. Wanting to know what caused Hal to crash, she seeks to find the truth. Next we see Hal head over to his brother's house for his nephew's birthday party. Once he arrives, Hal notices his family around the TV watching news of his plane crash. Hal's brother, Jason, asks if he is trying to die just like their Dad did. On his way back home, Hal is surrounded by a green glow. It picks him up and transports him to a waterfront where he finds someone in the water and needing help. Hal runs to their aid and finds Abin Sur, who tells him that he has been chosen by the ring to become a Green Lantern. Before dying, Hal is told that being a Green Lantern is a great responsibility and to take the ring, place it into the lantern and speak the oath. Saddened by his death, Hal buries Abin Sur in hopes no one can find him.

At home, Hal tries to figure the ring and lantern out, but is interrupted by Carol. They share an intimate moment at a bar, but she starts talking about the plane crash. This upsets Hal and he leaves, but is jumped in the parking lot by some of the fired workers from the base. In self defense, he accidentally uses the ring to knock out all the attackers. Confused, Hal is once again surrounded by a green glow and this time transported into space to the planet Oa. He awakens to find his skin covered by a green energy, like a uniform. Hal is greeted by Tomar-Re, Green Lantern of sector 2813, and given the history of Oa and the Green Lantern Corp. All 3,600 Green Lanterns happen to be on Oa for an important meeting. The Corps leader, Sinestro, details the death of Abin Sur and other Lanterns at the hands of the entity Parallax. After the meeting, Hal's training begins. Kilowog, another Green Lantern shows Hal the basics of fighting with the ring. Sinestro interrupts the training to meet the man who is replacing his mentor. Not pleased the ring has chosen a human, he tells Hal that Green Lanterns must have no fear and breaks his confidence. Not seeing himself worthy of the responsibility, Hal quits. Tomar-Re reminds him that the ring never makes a mistake, and he was chosen for a reason.

Meanwhile, a secret government agency, lead by Amanda Waller, finds the body of Abin Sur. They recruit Hector Hammond, a scientist and teacher, to lead the autopsy, much to his surprise. During the examination, Hammond is infected by a piece of residue from Parallax. The infection causes a mutation with Hammond that gives him a form of telepathy and telekinetic powers, but also causes him to slowly go crazy. After discovering that the only reason he was chosen for the autopsy was by his father, Senator Robert Hammond, influence; Hector tries to kill his father at a party on the Ferris Air Base. He uses his newly found powers to cause a helicopter crash, but Hal, who was also at the party, uses the ring to become Green Lantern and save everyone from possible death. This exposes Green Lantern to the world and Hal flies away, only to visit Carol later. He tries to disguise himself by deepening his voice and saying very cheesy lines but, Carol sees instantly that it's Hal under the eye mask. Later that night, Hector's mutation continues to worsen. The government becomes aware and takes Hector into custody, but he's gone mad with power. Hal's ring alerts him to the trouble at the secret base. Once there, Hal finds a deformed Hector trying once again to kill his father and Waller. He stops Hector from killing Waller, but is unable to save the Senator's life. Hal escapes back to his apartment and talks with Carol about how he is not meant to be a Green Lantern because he is afraid and that was what caused the plane crash. She tells Hal perhaps the ring chose him because he has the power to overcome fear, and can destroy Parallax.

A now stoic and confident Hal returns to Oa, where the Guardians have decided to harness the Yellow power of Fear into a yellow ring in hopes of fighting fear with fear. Hal tells Sinestro and the Guardians not to use it because he has seen what the power of fear does to someone (Hector). He asks the Guardians to help save Earth from Parallax's destruction, but they refuse to send any Lanterns to an unnecessary death. They do allows him to return to Earth and try to save it himself and prove that the power of Will is strong enough. Hal leaves intending to show the Guardians that overcoming fear is the only way to defeat it. Hal returns to discover Hector has kidnapped Carol and intends to infect her with Parallax, as he was. He stops Hector and saves Carol just as Parallax arrives to Earth. It consumes Hector's soul for failing to kill Green Lantern. Just as the entity is about to kill Hal, Carol saves the day by shooting a missile at it. Green Lantern grabs Carol and flies to safety. He returns to Coast City, where Parallax is killing hundreds, and finds the inner strength to overcome his fear and lures the entity away from Earth. As the fight moves closer-and-closer to the Sun, gravity starts to pull in Parallax and destroys it. Mission accomplished, Hal loses consciousness from the long fight, but is saved by his Green Lantern brothers. Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar-Re bring him before the entire Green Lantern Corps and celebrate his bravery and legendary victory.

Returning to Earth, Hal talks with Carol about his new responsibilities of protecting the entire sector. His new job will take him away from home a lot, but reassures her that he will always be there for her. Alerted by his ring, Hal flies off into the heavens. During the end credits, we see Sinestro take the yellow ring out of it's containment and put it on, it instantly becoming consumed with the power of fear. Thus referenceing the beginning of the Sinestro Corps!

My Review

The opening sequence gave me chills, even though I saw all of the contents in a trailer prior to the movie. There is something about watching great CGI on the big theater screen than makes you smile. Much of what was shown on Oa was already shown to us in trailers as well, which disappointed me greatly. I was hoping for a lot more action from the Corp. Understandably, these scenes were nearly all CGI and cost a pretty penny. This same issue was a big topic of debate when the first trailer released in 2010. The effects appeared shoddy, but the final product ended up being quite excellent. All of the scenes on Oa were amazing, but this movie did the opposite of what the movie Thor in regards to Asgard. The movie barely uses Oa and the Lanterns at all! The Guardians, a major character in the Green Lantern plot, really have only one scene in the whole movie. These areas are the crux of the Green Lantern story and were vastly underutilized.

Acting wise, Ryan Reynolds slowly transitions into the comic book interpretation of Hal Jordan. Reynolds is a really good actor, but I had reservations when he was cast for this role. Almost every movie he's starred in was as a comedic role. Hal Jordan is a more stoic and mature character. He did much better that I was expecting, but his sarcasm (which I love) is used way too much in the movie. Blake Lively performed up to her standard, but I still believe she was still not worthy of this role. The best actors used for the film are Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Geoffery Rush, and Tim Robbins and they were only in the movie for a few scenes and had a few lines of dialogue each. This is the major area where the movie let me down.

Emotionally speaking, the film had little built into it. You can't do this this and expect the characters to come off very well. I thought the the writers would give us more of Hal being tormented by his father's death and the effect that had on his life. But it was only touched upon briefly. I think the writers were trying too hard to make Hal seem charismatic and confident, but always self-doubting. The scene at the Jordan family birthday scene was the best non-Green Lantern scene in the entire movie. I wish they had used this tone more instead of always trying to make us laugh every 5 minutes. The relationship between Jordan and Ferris also lacks intensity. There is more of a best friend dynamic used than actual love. But I will say, Reynolds and Lively did have chemistry and shared the funniest scene in the movie when Carol is visited by the Green Lantern at her place. The reaction of Carol was perfect. She referenced that she's seen Hal naked before and asks if he really thought a little mask covering his cheek bones would conceal his identity from her. That scene was fantastic! As a whole though, the writers did not give us their best effort here. At no point are you on the edge of you seat waiting for something to happen. This is an action movie for Pete's sake.

Overall the film was a satisfactory comic book adaptation. It was similar in quality to films like the Fantastic Four and the Punisher. They took a step back for comic book adaptations in my opinion. The trend has been to use more realism or make the story be about the characters personal struggle/morality in a more fantastical scenario. Martin Campbell is a brilliant director, and I love what he did with the 007 (Bond) series. However, he and his writing staff will take a bit of blame for this underachievement. If there is a sequel, I pray the script is improved. I don't want to see them reboot the movie, just build off this one and find a more well-rounded story, and please! please! please! integrate the Corps more. This can be a huge property for Warner Brothers.

I grade this film a ... C-

Honestly, it should be a D, but there was a lot in the movie I enjoyed. It's perfect for young kids who don't know the characters that much. If you have $10 laying around, then check it out. Otherwise, wait for DVD.

What did you think of Green Lantern? Be sure to tell me below.

Atlanta Thrashers - The End

2011-06-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

I have held off on writing anything about this situation until all the cards were played at the table and we knew just what the truth was regarding the NHL's decision surrounding the Atlanta Thrashers hockey franchise.

Here is the link to the audio of John Kincaid interviewing Atlanta Spirit rep Michael Gerrin after sale is announced.

I was very sad to hear that the NHL approved the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise to True North Sports and the city of Winnipeg. I've grown up with this team. The announcement of the league's expansion in 1997 was a thrill to every sports fan in Atlanta. Once again having professional hockey enhanced the city's stature as one of the best sports towns in the country. The addition also fed the northern transplant's desire to see the indoor ice sport. The NHL also found new fans of the sport, born in a city that didn't see snow but a few times per year. The kids of Atlanta, many that have never even ice skated before, became instant fans and broadened the development of hockey players nationwide.

When the NHL initially decided to start expanding the traditionally northern sport to the southern United States, it showed that the league was truly serious about competing with the big three sports (NFL, MLB, NBA) for national notoriety. The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered for over 10 years until finding the winning ways of the past decade. They were given the opportunity to show that hockey can thrive in the South. The Carolina Hurricanes (aka: Hartford Whalers) proved that even the most rural of areas, such as Raleigh NC, could be a market for NHL success. The Nashville Predators, who have suffered just as much as the Atlanta Thrashers, have shown through STABLE OWNERSHIP that even the most awkward of locals can be a market for the largely Canadian sport.

However, the Atlanta Thrashers were never given the real shot they deserved. The team, which was originally owned by Time Warner, was sold within 5 years of existence to the Atlanta Spirit; who showed no desire to run a hockey team. I say "no desire" because it was proven through court documentation that the Atlanta Spirit, who bought the team in 2003, were looking to sell the hockey asset as early as 2004. The team, was regularly near the league minimum for team salaries. The only exception was the one year the team went to the NHL playoffs. Go figure, investing in a team lead to success. Another point is that the team's average attendance was well over 16,000 for that season and in the top half of the league. Attendance was always an issue for the Thrashers franchise, but it was always corollary to the winning nature of the team. The ownership group showed its fans and the league through it's budgeting that they were more concerned with making the Atlanta Hawks franchise a more competitive and financially solvent product than actually learning how to make hockey work in Atlanta. Finally, in 2010 the ownership group decided it was tired of losing money and hired a firm to aid in the selling of the Thrashers. At first the ASG stated they were looking to sell all three properties, but its apparent they only wanted to get rid of one. Coincidentally, no ownership group was ever found to even offer for the franchise (not without including the Hawks and Philips Arena of course). If this doesn't show what the Atlanta Spirit wanted, then what would? It wanted to own Philips, the Hawks ONLY. They now have their wish.

The only thing that could save the franchise from moving was the NHL and particularly Commissioner Gary Bettman. Coincidentally, once the 2010-2011 season ended the Atlanta Thrashers and Phoenix Coyotes (formerly Winnipeg Jets) were both in enough financial duress it was determined that one of these teams were going to be relocated to Winnipeg. Who practically paid off the league to get a team again. Instead of giving the city of Winnipeg its original team back, the NHL decided it would be better business to allow Phoenix to stay, seeing as though the NHL are the acting owners for the franchise. Looking to make money off their investment, for bailing out Phoenix, Atlanta was thrown under the bus. The city of Glendale approved a payment to the NHL to cover the fiscal losses for the past season, and were allowed to keep their team for at least one more season. Did Atlanta do the same for the Thrashers? Were they even given the chance? No! Understandably so, the Thrashers are a privately owned property, unlike the Coyotes. So, ladies and gentleman it came down to money. The Thrashers and the city of Atlanta were sold out by the league because of the almighty dollar. I honestly wonder if they were paid in Canadian dollars.

True North Sports and the city of Winnipeg were desperate to buy a hockey team. Having nearly unlimited financial capabilities, they offered $170 Million for the Atlanta Thrashers franchise. No other buyer out there, if there was one, was ever going to match or beat this offer. The league agreed to the purchase in return for a $60 Million "Relocation Fee". The league was bought off yet again, this time by the Atlanta Spirit.

True North and Winnipeg won, they got a hockey team. The NHL won, they got paid Millions of dollars by two hockey teams to get the deal pushed through. But who lost? Who was hurt by this? What damage was done?

The City of Atlanta

Over half of the metro area of Atlanta is comprised of transplant residents of other cities, largely northern. These are a lot of hockey fans who love watching and playing the sport. They now have to find other ways of enjoying the sport on a professional level. The city was benefiting greatly from the revenue created from tourists who would come into town and stay to watch their team face the Thrashers. The hotels and restaurants are going to have to find ways to make up that money as well. Philips Arena itself will be hurt, it now has one less product to make money off of. Not to mention this move now makes Atlanta the first city in the United States to lose the same professional sport TWICE (1979, 2011). This does nothing for your PR as a sports town.

The NHL

The league has been trying to grow all over the United States in hopes of getting a better television contract. They also hoped to grow the sport in general, and bring in a broader demographic. Atlanta is a Top 10 media market in the United States. It in composed of over 5 Million people and very diverse. It is the largest city in the southeast, but now has no hockey team to speak of. Moving the team to Winnipeg will gain greater stability with its Canadian fan base, where it was already high to begin with. This will only keep a mark on the sport that it was looking to be looked at differently in the United States to begin with. However, taking a team out of a largely populated Top 10 media market did not help their cause. I am sure TSN will be happy to talk more Canadian hockey, but not gain one new subscriber because of this move. I am not sure that the broadcasting revenue for a city made up of less than 650,000 people in an arena that holds 15,000 max will make the NHL bow in awe.

The Fans in Atlanta

I was 17 when the Thrashers started up in Atlanta. The closest I had come to seeing professional hockey was the Atlanta Knights, who were a very successful minor league franchise. But it was nothing like seeing an NHL team for the first time. I became an instant fan. The speed of the sport, the intensity on the ice, and the skill shown was something I had never seen before. My hometown, which didn't know much about ice other than it was something you put in sweet tea, learned to love a sport that not many had ever played let alone watched. Kids all around the state were wearing hockey sweaters and asking parents for hockey sticks for Christmas now instead of footballs and baseball gloves. The sport brought us all together. But, the sport will never be the same in this city. Many are left jaded by the NHL and will not ever pay attention to its product. Many will root for another team. Many will root for the Winnipeg players (Our Thrashers). Many will never watch the sport again.

Do I think hockey can exist in Atlanta? It can and I hope the fans continue to embrace our remaining hockey team, the Gwinnett Gladiators. The Thrashers are gone, but not forgotten. The causes for this loss are numerous, and fault can be found in many places. But on the bright side I want to be thankful for what I was given. I was given the chance to learn a new sport. I made lots of friends from it and created relationships to last a lifetime. Those are the real rewards and are things the Atlanta Spirit can never sell! I will remember all the great games, the great moments, the great times and even the saddest time; our last game.

THANK YOU THRASHERS FOR ALL THE MEMORIES!

Movie Review: Super8

2011-06-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

If you were born in the 1980's or were young enough to enjoy classic movies like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goonies, or Stand By me; then this movie is DEFINITELY up your alley! I am a huge fan of J.J. Abrams who wrote and directed Super8. His writing always gets me emotionally involved, which makes the movie/show that much better in my opinion. For those of you who don't know who Abrams is; he is the creator of the TV shows LOST and FRINGE and most recently the writer/director of the movies Cloverfield and Star Trek (reboot). This movie from minute-one grabs you and transports you to a time in your life when all things were possible. The way the music integrates into each scenes is classic Abrams. I even caught several hints of LOST in the background. That wouldn't be too far off a guess, seeing as though the LOST music composer, Michael Giacchino, produced the music for this movie as well. Easter-Eggs could be found in almost every scene. Easter-Eggs, for those that don't know, are hidden references to prior work to pay tribute or get you excited about an up-and-coming project. The easiest example of this was one of the title characters. The deputy sheriff was named Jack Lamb, not too far off from LOST's title character Jack Sheppard. This is not your classic alien/monster movie. It's more than that. It's a story about how a mysterious creature's presence in a small town brings all of it's locals together and reunites many conflicted souls with one another; mainly the towns deputy Sheriff and young son who suffer through a tremendous loss together and try to find a way to heal the wounds.

For those that are interested in reading the synopsis enjoy the further reading. If you are planning on going to the theater for the film, then enjoy and check back, read the review and be sure to let me know what you thought of this J.J. Abrams creation.

(Lots of SPOILERS ahead! Be sure to let me know what you thought of the movie below.)

The film begins winter of 1979, in a small Ohio city named Lillian. A sign says that it had been 784 days since the last accident at the town factory. We see one of the workers taking down the numbers and placing a 1. This is where we meet 13 year old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), sitting distraught on a swing outside his house holding a locket. Many people are inside talking and wondering how Joe will be with his father, Jack, having to raise him now. Apparently Jack has not been around a lot for Joe since he is a police officer. We also learn through the conversations that Joe's mother is dead, and everyone is over at the house post funeral. A man, Louis Dainard (Ron Eldard), drives up to the house and heads up the driveway where he sees Joe sitting. He says nothing. Looking sick, he enters the house. Seconds later we hear fighting and dishes breaking. The front door opens with Joe's father, Jack Lamb (Kyle Chandler) shoving Louis down the steps in handcuffs. He tells Joe to stay home and that he would be back shortly. A frightened Joe watches Louis being put in the back seat of his Dad's cop car.

Fast forward four months later, and school has let out for the summer. Joe and his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) are discussing details of filming a zombie movie that Charles hopes to enter into an amateur film contest. The boys meet up with the rest of their friends Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso), and Carey (Ryan Lee). Charles tells everyone that he has found a replacement for the female lead in the movie, Louis Dainard's daughter Alice (Elle Fanning). They ride their bikes across town to Charles' house where his family is setting up for dinner. Feeling sad for Joe's situation, they invite him to dinner. He thankfully declines, but is happy to know that he is always welcome at their house. Joe instead heads home and meets his dad, who is talking with several other police officers about work. Jack hasn't prepared any dinner and ends up taking Joe to a small restaurant. There he let's him know that he will be going to Baseball camp this summer. This does not sit well with Joe, who has promised to help Charles finish his movie. Jack tells him that there are a lot of things that they all had planned and are changing, referencing the still painful loss in their family.

After all adults have gone to sleep, the boys meet and are picked up by Alice, who stole her fathers car so they could film at an abandoned railway station. Once there they start shooting a scene with a Super 8 camera. During the shoot, a train starts to head their way and see it as a great time to get some better footage. While filming the scene Joe sees a pick-up truck drive onto the train tracks and head straight into the train causing a massive catastrophe. With explosions going off everywhere, the kids try to find somewhere safe to hide. All the while, the Super8 camera is still recording. Joe ends up alone where he witnesses one of the compartments shaking. Something breaks out of one of the cargo holds, but we never see what. The kids find Joe and try to figure out what just happened. There are thousands of small cubes laying all over the ground and Joe takes one with him. After getting the camera back, the see that half of the truck is still together. The kids go to investigate and find the driver was one of their science teachers, Dr. Woodward. Woodward tells them all to forget everything they have seen, or that all of their families would die. Scaring them with a gun, the kids run to the car where they drive off just before the Air Force shows up to secure the crash site. However, Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich) finds one of their used Super8 film boxes and begins to suspect someone witnessed the crash. The military also finds Woodward and ask him what he thought he was going to accomplish. Apparently, the train was transporting a creature that Woodward was once in charge of studying. After an incident where it made contact with Woodward, he discovered (through some form of telepathy) that it just wanted to go home. However, the Colonel would never allow it.

The kids return home and wake the next day to news of the Air Force train crash. Trying not to think of it, the kids continue making the zombie movie. Jack heads off to work and visits the crash site. Colonel Nelec tells him that they have it under control, but there methods make Jack a little suspicious. As days pass, strange things begin to occur. All of the dogs in town run away, mechanical devices are reported stolen, power outages become more frequent, and people are disappearing. One of the townsfolk informs Jack of the military feed that is bleeding over onto his CB radio. "Operation Walking Distance" is mentioned.

In the meantime, Alice and Joe begin to hang out more frequently. One day, at her house, Louis sees Joe and tells him to never come over to his house again, and that he is never to hang out with his daughter again either. We find out that Alice's home life has been horrible, with her father's alcoholism at the root of it. Later that night, Alice sneaks over to Joe's house and they talk. He shows her a Super8 recording of his Mom and him at happy moments in his life. As the video plays, Alice reveals that her father once worked at the factory and that she knew his Mom. She says that his Mom was kind and always saw the best in people. However one morning, her Dad had been drinking and missed his shift. Not wanting Louis to get fired, she covered for him. Unfortunately, later that day a steel beam fell and killed her. This was all news to Joe, who had never been told. This brings Alice and Joe very close. They witness his mysterious cube start to move on its own and shoots off through his house. The two split up for the night. Joe heads off to a cemetery where he visit's his mother's grave, holding her locket close. He hears a noise coming from a shed in the distance. It sounds like something is digging. In fear, Joe takes off. Alice headed home only to find her father drunk and waiting. A fight ensues and Alice takes off down the street. An drunk and upset Louis tries to catch up to Alice in his car, but crashes instead. Just as Alice is about to go check on him; she is captured by the creature.

Jack confronts Colonel Nelec about "Operation Walking Distance", only to be taken prisoner by the Air Force. Once at the base, Nelec interrogates Woodward. Getting no information, he kills him. The Air Force then begins their operation by deliberately setting fire to the town. An evacuation is ordered so they can re-capture the creature. Joe goes to Charles and tells him what he just saw, but Charles wants nothing to do with it. He is not happy with Joe and blames him for the movie being a disaster. However, we learn he is really mad at Joe because Alice "likes" him. Charles asked Alice to do the movie to begin with because he had a crush on her. The boys talk it out and realize they are friends no matter what. When they learn of the evacuation, everyone is loaded on to military buses and taken to an evacuation site. Once there, Joe runs into Louis; who tells him that Alice was taken by a creature. Believing him, Joe gets all of his friends together and tells them that they have to go back and find Alice before it's too late. The kids convince the film store clerk, who they know likes Charles' sister, to drive them back to their school. They hoped to find some evidence of where the monster may be from Dr. Woodward's personal office. They find Woodward's hidden research in papers, film, and audio recordings. They learn that the government captured an alien that crashed on Earth in 1958. It only wished to rebuild its ship and return home, but was instead imprisoned and by the Air Force in order to learn the creature's advanced technology. One film shows Woodward, a government researcher at the time, attacked by the alien. The physical contact caused a telepathic bond with the alien, which allowed Woodward to learn the truth. By colliding with the train, Woodward had hoped to set the alien free.

Before they can start searching for Alice, the military swarms the school and take the kids into custody. One of the officers searches the kids for evidence and finds Joe's locket, and takes it from him. While imprisoned, Jack tricks one of the soldiers holding him, steals his uniform and escapes. He heads to the evacuation site to find help, but is told of his son being taken by Nelec. Jack uses his uniform to sneak Louis out of custody with him. They head off to save their kids. As the two fathers head into town, Louis takes this chance to apologize to Jack. Joe, emotionally drained and trying to hold back tears tells Louis that it was an accident and forgives him.

On the way back to the evacuation site, the bus holding the kids, Nelec and his soldiers is attacked by the creature. Nelec and his men are killed while Joe and his friends escape through a broken window. Once safe, Joe recovers his mother's locket from the dead soldiers body. The kids head to town and find that the military is in full assault against the creature. After a near by explosion, Martin's leg is broken. Charles stays behind to take care of him while Joe and Carey go on to save Alice.

Inside the shed, they find a massive hole which leads to the creature's lair. Joe and Carey see that it had been stealing all of the town's technology to rebuild his ship. The missing people are strung upside down unconscious. The boys devise a plan to rescue Alice. Carey uses his fireworks to distract the creature long enough for Joe cut Alice down and wake her. Alice grabs Joe, thanking him for coming to save her. Joe also finds the police chief and another woman alive as well. While escaping, the sheriff and woman are killed. The kids run themselves into a corner, and Joe is grabbed by the creature. While in it's hands he tells the creature that he knows it's angry and wants to go home. Joe says "Bad things happen…I'm sorry." The creature, able to understand through telepathy, lets Joe and his friends go.

All of a sudden the creature has raised enough power to get his ship off. All of the remaining cubes start to reappear, and rebuild the ship around the town's water tower. Jack and Louis find the kids and reconcile with them. Everyone stands around and watches the creature enter his ship. All of the towns metal is being magnetically drawn into the ship's mass, including Joe's locket. As it is about to be taken into the ship and Joe reaches out to save it. After a moment of reflection, he understands that he needs to let it go and move on with his Dad. The ship, now whole, blasts off towards the heavens while Joe and Alice hold hands.

While the end credits play, the zombie movie that Charles and his friends were working on "The Case" is shown in it's entirety.

Review

I really loved this movie. However, I had to evaluate it in two parts. 1) As the movie dealing with the relationships between the characters. 2) As a sci-fi film dealing with the alien creature. There were times while watching the movie, I got a little teary eyed. The emotion you feel from Jack and Joe is enough to make anyone cry. Especially if you have lost someone that close to you in your life. The way the group of friends relate to one another reminds me of when I was younger and during summer breaks from school we would have our own adventures. Granted without an ALIEN! The sci-fi action of this film was pretty good. I loved how they used Super8 film throughout to view different aspects from the discovery, to the research, and ultimately the zombie film in the end. The research film reminded me a lot of the Dharma Initiative films used in LOST. However, The alien as a whole, I didn't like. It reminded me too much of Cloverfield and when I saw it's face close up, I didn't feel pity for it anymore. I felt nothing actually. I believe that the film would have been better served if we'd not seen the creature until it entered the ship in the end. Overall, this film is a throwback to the unique style that made films great in the 70's and 80's. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves emotional plot. As a sci-fi film, it was just ok.

I grade this movie a ... A-

It would have been an A+ if not for some corny dialogue at points and the way the alien ultimately was used.

Movie Review: X-Men - First Class

2011-06-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

X Men - First Class is the latest film release in the "X-Men" series, and a prequel to the first film made in 2000. It gives us the story of how the X-Men were originally formed. Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men films, is back to rebuild the franchise he created over a decade ago. There are tons of references to the first film in this movie, some more subtle than others. There are new twists and background of characters we know and love. There is also a darker/more serious tone here that it's predecessors lacked. It also hits on some pretty heavy social issues and stigmas, metaphorically of course.

(LONG AND DETAILED MOVIE BREAKDOWN, LOTS OF SPOILERS ENJOY!)

The film opens just like the first X-Men movie did; at a Concentration Camp in Poland 1944. We see the same scene where a young Erik Lensherr, a Jew, is being separated from his family. As he cries out for his mother and father, the gates of the camp are closed but are somehow being bent by the emergence of Erik's mutant powers. A German scientist, Dr. Schmidt (Kevin Bacon), sees this tremendous feat and orders him brought to his office. There, Erik is asked to move a Nazi coin while it rests on his desk. Unable to reproduce the same effects as before, Dr. Schmidt has soldiers bring in Erik's mother. He is told to move the coin or she will be shot. With tears streaming from his eyes, Erik fails to do so by a count of three, and watches his mother die. In a fit of complete rage his magnetic power manifests yet again. This time Erik uses them to kill two guards and destroy an operating room. Delighted by the horror, Dr. Schmidt insinuates that he is going to train Erik to use his powers.

Back in the US, we see a mansion in Westchester County, New York. It is the home of a young boy named Charles Xavier, who wakes one night after hearing sounds. However, he heard them telepathically of course. Charles goes down stairs and sees his mother in the kitchen. She asks if he would like some hot chocolate, but he sees right through this. Charles says that his mother is not the cooking type and relies on servants for that. His mother body transforms in a blue scaly shape-shifter named Raven, who is homeless and trying to steal food. Happy to know he is not the only "different" person in the world, Charles invites Raven to live with his family and not ever have to need for anything again.

Fast-forward to 1962, right smack in the middle of the Cold War. The United States and Russia are on the verge of a nuclear war. We see a grown-up and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) has learned to use his powers and has been hunting former Nazis in the hopes of finding Dr. Schmidt, the man who killed his mother. Erik heads into a bank where he speaks with the owner about depositing some Nazi gold. When the banker asks how Erik knew to come there, he mentions Schmidt, which causes the banker to pause. Erik uses his powers to threaten the bank owner to attain more information, which leads him to Argentina.

While Erik is hunting down the demons from his past, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is about to graduate from Oxford University in England and publish his thesis on genetic mutation. His foster sister, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), has also traveled to England with him and spends her time working as a waitress.

The next clue sends Erik to a South American bar, where the owners are shown in a picture to know Schmidt. This picture is all the motivation Erik needs. He sits with the owners and has a beer. After which he shows the numbers tattooed on his wrist from the camps. Before the men can get to him, Erik uses his powers to kill one and steal a Nazi knife from the other, which he uses to stab one in his hand...twice. Through this Erk learns that Schmidt is living in America but goes by another name.

Back in the USA, we meet CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne). She has followed Colonel Hendry of the US Army to the Hellfire Club in Las Vegas on the suspicion that he is aiding communists with classified information. She sneaks her way into the club by posing as a scantily clad dancer. Hendry is meeting with Sabastian Shaw, the owner of Hellfire. Moira follows them to a secret room and finds information to prove her theory, but also witnesses Shaw and his assistants Emma Frost (January Jones) and Riptide try to persuade Hendry to push the conflict of the Cold War further by arming nuclear missiles in Turkey. Frost uses her telepathy to show Hendry that through nuclear war humans will be eradicated and mutants would ascend to the top species. Shaw would also be elected President of the World. Pretty much all the bad parts of the Bible. Knowing they would kill him with their mutant powers, Hendry is forced to cooperate. Moira now knows that mutants exist and tries to warn her superiors at the CIA, but they don't believe her since Hendry is in the room with them. Shaw's assistant Azazel (Jason Flemyng), a mutant with the ability to disappear and reappear anywhere he desires, transported the Colonel to the War Room in the Pentagon. Once there, he votes for advocating U.S. nuclear missiles installation in Turkey.

Moira now needing someone to prove mutants exist to the CIA, seeks Charles Xavier, who has just graduated and is about to become a professor. She finds him celebrating in a pub where he is using his vast intelligence to hit on girls. Moira introduces herself, but Charles (a bit drunk) interrupts and tries to hit on her. Explaining that she has come for his help not a date. Charles uses his telepathy to sees what she is wanting and decides to help. Charles and Raven are taken to the CIA, where they convince CIA Director McCone and Agent Stryker (Yes, that Stryker from X-2 and Wolverine) that mutants exist, through a little show of powers. Not trusting them, the agency refuses the aid of mutants and says they can handle Shaw on their own. They are taken seriously by an unnamed CIA executive in the room who invites the group to a secure offsite facility called Division X.

Charles is able to use his telepathy to track Shaw down on his Yacht, where he has just used his power (ability to absorb energy and use it as a weapon) to kill Colonel Hendry. The CIA, lead by Charles, tries to arrest Shaw but he escapes in a submarine. At the same time Erik shows up to kill Shaw (aka Dr. Schmidt). He tries using his magnetic powers to stop the submarine, but all he is able to do is stay with the sub and is dragged under water. Charles dives into the water to save him from drowning as Shaw escapes. Afterwards, Erik is recruited into the CIA's secret Division X by Charles after stating that "You don't have to do it alone. Even Shaw has friends". The two are introduced to scientist Hank McCoy. Charles outs Hank in front of everyone, not knowing he has kept it a secret to the CIA. Hank shows that his feet are mutated to look more like hands or animal feet. Hank develops a bond with Raven and confides to her that he actually feels better now that his secret is out. He also promises her that he will find a way to normalize both of their appearances permanently. Hank then goes on to show Charles and Erik his plane design, a stealth jet (the same stealth jet that the X-Men use in the prior movies). He also shows them his invention called Cerebro, which Hank believes a telepath could use to locate people worldwide. Even mutants! In this case to locate Shaw. Charles and Erik instead use the machine to locate and recruit new mutant members of Division X. First stop is a bar where a bearded man is sitting alone. Who is it? WOLVERINE himself! Before they can even ask, Logan tells them to "Go fuck yourself". They leave and head to a club where they meet a stripper named Angel Salvadore. After calling for a taxi, they meet a young man named Armando Muñoz. Next stop was to a Canadian detention center where they get Alex Summers released. Lastly, they find a high school student named Sean Cassidy at an aquarium.

The kids are brought to the Division X facility to train and help face Sebastian Shaw and his cohorts. When put together for the first time, they introduce themselves by their "gifts". Raven comes up with the idea that since they are CIA Agents now, that they should have code names. Raven chooses Mystique, Angel says her stage name was good enough since she can fly (and spit acid BTW), Sean chooses the name Banshee because of his power to scream at extreme decibels. Armando chooses the name Darwin because of his ability to adapt to whatever environment his body is introduced into (ie: water = grows gills, heat = body turns to rocks), Alex is given the name Havok from the group after shooting a laser blast from his chest, which can't be controlled. When Raven asks what Hank's name is going to be, the others just see him as a nerd and nothing special. Raven comes to his defense and basically tells Hank she thinks his powers are sexy, which he blushes over. As the adults arrive, Raven explains that they have new names now and how they are calling Charles (Professor X) and Erik (Magneto). This doesn't impress the adults who tell the kids to grow up and be more responsible.

Seeing that the kids aren't ready for a fight, Charles and Erik decide go on a secret mission with Moira and others Division X agents to arrest what they believe to be Shaw. However, they find Emma Frost instead. She apparently felt Charles use of Cerebro, and told Shaw that the CIA is recruiting mutants. They decide to act before more can be done. Frost is sent to meet with a Soviet general, to make sure he moves his missiles to Cuba. Meanwhile, Shaw leads Azazel and Riptide in an attack on Division X. They slowly kill every agent, but do nothing to the young mutants, as they do not harm their own. He gives a speech about unity and the world not understanding them. He offers them all the chance to join him. Angel accepts because she is tired of being looked down upon by humans. Darwin looks at the others and last minute tells Shaw that he to will join. When Shaw asks about his power, Darwin tells Alex to blast them both (as Darwin would adapt to survive the blast). Alex's blast has no effect on Shaw who absorbs the energy and uses it to kill Darwin. Charles and Erik take Emma Frost prisoner, only to learn about the attack from her. It was too late.

They return to a destroyed facility and no where to go. Charles decides to take everyone to his family mansion in Westchester (the future home of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters), so they can train. Havoc is shown how to control his powers through a device created by McCoy. Banshee is shown that he can manipulate his voice supersonic and fly using a glider suit. Erik tries to get Charles to shoot him with a gun point blank in the head, to show that he can stop the bullet. This scene foreshadows the scene in X1 where the same plot device was used and Erik could stop a bullet from that range. Charles shows Erik that finding an emotion somewhere in the middle would allow him to control his powers more. Charles then uses his telepathy to help Erik find a time in his life where he was most happy. He unlocks a memory where Erik is lighting a menorah with his parents. This gives Erik the strength needed to control his powers to their full potential. I believe this is where they became the closest of friends. Later Raven is shown strength training but Erik interrupts and asks her why she is using her power to look "normal" when she looks fine in her blue scaly form. He tells her to be proud of who she really is. Later, Raven tries to seduce Erik in his bedroom, but is turned down. He says she is too young and that he wouldn't want her if she wasn't being her true self. He convinces her to embrace her mutant side and see it as beautiful.

By this time Hank has used Raven's blood to develop a serum that can fix their appearance permanently. Raven tells him that being who they are should be enough, but Hank dismisses her opinion and says that she will never be seen as normal to anyone. He then uses the serum on himself and but it doesn't have the desired effects. It actually makes the mutation more extensive. Hank destroys his lab and leaves a note for everyone to meet him at the CIA hanger. The group finds the note and a box with a big X on it. Inside the box are the traditional blue-yellow uniforms from the X-Men comics. Each tailored specifically to everyone's specific powers. At the hanger the group finds out that Hank has become this blue hairy cat like creature, which everyone nicknames Beast (after he growls at Erik for knocking his appearance). They all board the Stealth Jet and head out to face Shaw.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy instituted a blockade to stop a Soviet freighter from moving nuclear missiles to Cuba. As the fleet approaches, Shaw (who is wearing a helmet that prevents people from using telepathy on him) and his followers are following via sub to ensure the missiles arrive. The X Division shows up to the blockade and goes to work on stopping the boats from attacking each other, and get to the sub. Unable to locate Shaw because of the helmet. They utilize Banshee's screams to act as sonar to find the sub. Erik uses his powers to pull the sub out of the water and onto the island's shore. Riptide uses his control of the wind to force the X-Jet to crash on the beach as well. Beast and Azazel fight it out. Havoc is saved by Banshee who flies to the beach for the main fight. They know Shaw is in the sub but don't know where. They also don't know that he has been absorbing the nuclear energy in a plan B effort to start WWIII. Erik uses his powers to get in the sub and Charles guides him to a spot on the sub Charles see telepathically. He is able to disable the nuclear power in the sub and finds Shaw. Once in front of his, Shaw is surprised to see his former pupil in front of him. Erik removes his helmet giving Charles the chance to stop Shaw from using his powers. Shaw tells Erik that he was using the Nazi's to help Mutant kind. He talks about how humans would always try to destroy what they don't understand, and that they will see him as a monster. Erik agrees that he indeed is a monster, but Shaw created him when he still killed his mother. Charles tries to talk Erik out of killing Shaw, but he puts the helmet on to block out Charles. He pulls out the coin from the beginning of the movie and propels it through Shaw's skull, killing him. (This is where Erik attains the helmet that we see in the Magneto costume)

Erik emerges from the sub and talks with Charles about how the humans will try to destroy them. Charles doesn't believe they will, but after using his telepathy he discovers Erik is right. Once the battle ends, both governments tell their fleets to fire missiles at the mutants on the shore. Erik is able to stop the missiles and fires them back at the ships. Charles pleads with Erik to stop to no avail. Moira sees what he is doing and tries to shoot Erik to stop him. However, Erik deflects them away, but one of the ricochets hits Charles in the back. Alarming everyone then missiles fall into the ocean as Erik, Raven and Moira go to his side. Erik, upset that his friend is hurt, blames Moira and begins to choke her using her dog tags. But Charles he is hurt because he wouldn't listen to reason. Erik, remorseful for having hurt his dearest friend, leaves. He asks if anyone would join him in his efforts to save mutants "his way". Charles tells Raven to go because that is what she truly wants. Angel, Riptide and Azazel also join Erik. As they disappear, Beast, Havoc, Banshee and Moira attend to Charles. However, the damage had been done.

A now paralyzed and wheelchair-bound Charles Xavier is being pushed around by Moira on his mansion property. He talks about intentions to turn his home into a school to help mutants find their way in the world. He asks Moira for her silence. She kisses him and promises she will say nothing. To make sure he uses his telepathy to block out some of her memory. Later at the CIA, as she is being debriefed, Moira says she has no clear memory of recent events. The next we see Erik, he has broken into the CIA cell holding Emma Frost and is dressed in his original comic uniform. He asks Frost to join his brotherhood of mutants. She accepts and calls him by Erik, but he tells her to call him MAGNETO!

In my opinion this is the best written X-Men film of the series so far. It did have its corny moments, but ultimately it was more than I expected. The scenes with Erik and Charles just blew me away. Michael Fassbender did an amazing job. He played a troubled soul perfectly and you really felt the emotion of what Erik endured and how it impacted his life. It was the total opposite from his character in later films of the series, who has embraced being the same monster that Shaw was. The film was originally going to be a Magneto origins story, much like they did X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and now I wish it would have been. This was an epic Anakin Skywalker style tragedy and would have been awesome to see more of it. This film didn't have the bigger named X-Men that everyone loves, but it did have some great characters not used prior. Emma Frost came off just as I thought she would, SUPER HOT! Hank McCoy was well acted, but his Beast character was really bad. Jason Flemyng was AWESOME as Azazel! James McAvoy did an admirable job as Charles Xavier, but it's hard to beat Patrick Stewart mark on the character. The metaphorical issues addressed were much more prevalent than in the prior films. The obvious issues being segregation, racial division, sexual identity, as well as personal rights and liberties. Everyone just wishing they could be normal and suffering via the public eye as a result. The fight prophesied by Magneto in the end could be speaking metaphorically for the civil rights movement with Young Charles Xavier being seen as a non-violence Martin Luther King Jr. type of figure and Erik Lensherr as a more violent Malcom X type figure. The dialogue was also just as obvious. For example, there is a scene where Raven tells Beast to embrace his "real self" as well as "Mutant and Proud". As much as metaphors make for a good story telling device, the one thing this film lacked was true action. Outside of the fight scene in the end, much of what we see is limited to dialogue and snippets of mutants using their abilities. Nothing wrong with that but it make the "mutant issues" seem a little bit over the top. I do hope they make a sequel to this. Some things I would like if there is a sequel would be the beginning of the school, a reunion of young Havoc and young Cyclops (who are brothers), Jean Grey's introduction, and Beast's emergence as leader of the X-Men.

I grade this movie a...B+