Game Of Inches' Final List
25) Lock, Stock, And Two Smocking Barrels (1998)
24) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
23) Back To The Future Part II (1989)
22) For Love Of The Game (1999)
21) In Bruges (2008)
20) Mullholland Drive (2000)
19) Saving Private Ryan (1998)
18) Jurassic Park (1993)
17) Casino Royale (2006)
16) My Cousin Vinny (1992)
15) Superbad (2007)
14) The Rock (1996)
13) Inception (2010)
12) Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
11) Toy Story (1995)
10) Good Will Hunting (1997)
9) Forrest Gump (1994)
8) Die Hard (1988)
7) Goodfellas (1990)
6) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
5) The Dark Knight (2008)
4) The Departed (2006)
3) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
2) The Matrix (1999)
1) Pulp Fiction (1994)
Adam Kaplan's Final List
25) Saw (2004)
24) Mean Girls (2004)
23) My Cousin Vinny (1992)
22) The Social Network (2010)
21) The Sixth Sense (1999)
20) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
19) Inception (2010)
18) Sin City (2005)
17) Wall-E (2008)
16) Taken (2008)
15) Se7en (1995)
14) The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
13) Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
12) Forrest Gump (1994)
11) Stepbrothers (2009)
10) Saving Private Ryan (1998)
9) Good Will Hunting (1997)
8) Toy Story (1995)
7) Requiem For A Dream (2000)
6) Pulp Fiction (1994)
5) Superbad (2007)
4) Die Hard (1988)
3) The Matrix (1999)
2) The Dark Knight (2008)
1) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
David "MVP" Eckstein's Final List
25) Schindler's List (1993)
24) Wall-E (2008)
23) Trainspotting (1996)
22) Spiderman II (2004)
21) Children Of Men (2006)
20) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
19) Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
18) The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
17) Match Point (2005)
16) Mystic River (2003)
15) The Pianist (2002)
14) Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
13) Spirited Away (2001)
12) The Matrix (1999)
11) Jurassic Park (1993)
10) Toy Story (1995)
9) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
8) Pulp Fiction (1994)
7) Goodfellas (1990)
6) Inception (2010)
5) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
4) The Departed (2006)
3) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
2) The Dark Knight (2008)
1) Mullholland Drive (2000)
Cubsfan4evr's Final List
25) The Fugitive (1993)
24) The Italian Job (2003)
23) The Blind Side (2009)
22) Remember The Titans (2000)
21) Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
20) The Matrix (1999)
19) As Good As It Gets (1997)
18) The Hunt For Red October (1990)
17) Deep Impact (1998)
16) The American President (1995)
15) Pulp Fiction (1994)
14) Good Will Hunting (1997)
13) Catch Me If You Can (2002)
12) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
11) Apollo 13 (1995)
10) Con Air (1997)
9) The Rock (1996)
8) Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
7) The King's Speech (2010)
6) Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
5) The Prophet (1999)
4) Forrest Gump (1994)
3) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
1) For Love Of The Game (1999)
The Bright One's Final List
25) Major League (1989)
24) Vegas Vacation (1997)
23) Ocean's Eleven (2001)
22) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
21) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
20) There Will Be Blood (2007)
19) Sin City (2005)
18) Edward Scissorhands (1990)
17) Dumb And Dumber (1995)
16) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
15) The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
14) Superbad (2007)
13) The Departed (2006)
12) Field Of Dreams (1989)
11) Home Alone (1990)
10) Casino Royale (2006)
9) Die Hard (1988)
8) Titanic (1997)
7) Forrest Gump (1994)
6) Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
5) The Matrix (1999)
4) Speed (1994)
3) The Rock (1996)
2) Good Will Hunting (1997)
1) Back To The Future II (1989)
Daniel Bennett's Final List
25) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
24) Forrest Gump (1994)
23) Scream (1996)
22) Mean Girls (2004)
21) The Social Network (2010)
20) The Lion King (1994)
19) Se7en (1995)
18) The Sixth Sense (1999)
17) Aladdin (1992)
16) Batman (1989)
15) My Cousin Vinny (1992)
14) Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
13) Taken (2008)
12) Remember The Titans (2000)
11) Men In Black (1997)
10) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
9) The Departed (2006)
8) Toy Story (1995)
7) Inception (2010)
6) Die Hard (1988)
5) Pulp Fiction (1994)
4) The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
3) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2) The Dark Knight (2008)
1) Goodfellas (1990)
Bryan Hernandez's Final List
25-11 (in no particular order)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Snatch (2000)
- Gangs Of New York (2002)
- UHF (1989)
- Ocean's Eleven (2001)
- The Addams Family (1991)
- Big Fish (2003)
- I Love You Philip Morris (2009)
- Get Shorty (1995)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
- Green Street Hooligans (2005)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Moulin Rogue (2001)
- Lethal Weapon (1987)
10) Jurassic Park (1993)
9) Casino Royale (2006)
8) Pulp Fiction (1994)
7) Goodfellas (1990)
6) My Cousin Vinny (1992)
5) The Matrix (1999)
4) The Departed (2006)
3) Gladiator (2000)
2) Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
1) In Bruges (2008)
Adam Kaplan's Best Movies From Each Of The 25 Years
1987: Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)
1988: Die Hard (John McTiernan)
1989: Batman (Tim Burton)
1990: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)
1991: The Silence Of The Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
1992: My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn)
1993: Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
1994: The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
1995: Toy Story (John Lasseter)
1996: Fargo (Joel Coen)
1997: Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant)
1998: Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
1999: The Matrix (Andy and Lana Wachowski)
2000: Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
2001: Memento (Christopher Nolan)
2002: Minority Report (Steven Spielberg)
2003: Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)
2004: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
2005: Sin City (Robert Rodriguez)
2006: Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)
2007: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2008: The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
2009: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
2010: Inception (Christopher Nolan)
2011: Young Adult (Jason Reitman)
Wrap Up For GOI's 25 Movies 25 Years Special
Thank you to all the Game Of Inches authors and special guests for participating in my brain child of trying to come up with the 25 greatest films of of the past 25 years. I know we all could come up with more movies and there were many movies past 1987 that we would have wanted to talk about but we could not. What we do have though is a comprehensive list of what we here at Game Of Inches feel is the 25 best movies between 1987 - 2011.
For a complete list and a review for all of the movies you can either hit the link of the left side of the page to see all 25 films or you can search "25 Greatest Movies Of The Past 25 Years" or you can hit the Label with the same title.
Now that the 25 List has been completed here are some things I have noticed:
- This list does not include either Titanic or any of the Lord Of The Rings flicks. Only one author put Titanic on his list and only one other author put any of the LOTR flicks on his list (The Fellowship Of The Ring). I'm very pleased neither of these films made it on GOI's list. These are movies that seem to make it on everybody else's list and I'm glad to report they did not make it on our list.
- No David Fincher film made this list. That's good because Fight Club is overrated and I'm glad to not see that film on the list (Re-watch the film a second time after knowing the twist and tell me it makes sense). However, I am saddened because Se7en and The Social Network were amazing yet did not make the list.
- There is no film that all six of the voters put on their list. Three movies (#1- Pulp Fiction, #2- The Matrix, and #3- Inglourious Basterds) were voted on by five of the six authors.
- No movie starring Tom Cruise made this list. Part of the reason is because most of his great movies like Risky Business and Top Gun were made before 1987 and the other part of the reason is that his best movies since 1987 were good just not good enough. That is not to say he's made bad movies in the past 25 years it is just that when you limit yourself to only 25 flicks, Cruise films like Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Mission: Impossible, Magnolia, and Collateral are really good but just fell short.
- The actor that had the most film on this list was Tom Hanks with 3 (Forrest Gump, Toy Story, and Saving Private).
- Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future Part II, Forrest Gump), Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park), Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed), Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction) all tied for first with 2 movies each on this list
For a complete list and a review for all of the movies you can either hit the link of the left side of the page to see all 25 films or you can search "25 Greatest Movies Of The Past 25 Years" or you can hit the Label with the same title.
Now that the 25 List has been completed here are some things I have noticed:
- This list does not include either Titanic or any of the Lord Of The Rings flicks. Only one author put Titanic on his list and only one other author put any of the LOTR flicks on his list (The Fellowship Of The Ring). I'm very pleased neither of these films made it on GOI's list. These are movies that seem to make it on everybody else's list and I'm glad to report they did not make it on our list.
- No David Fincher film made this list. That's good because Fight Club is overrated and I'm glad to not see that film on the list (Re-watch the film a second time after knowing the twist and tell me it makes sense). However, I am saddened because Se7en and The Social Network were amazing yet did not make the list.
- There is no film that all six of the voters put on their list. Three movies (#1- Pulp Fiction, #2- The Matrix, and #3- Inglourious Basterds) were voted on by five of the six authors.
- No movie starring Tom Cruise made this list. Part of the reason is because most of his great movies like Risky Business and Top Gun were made before 1987 and the other part of the reason is that his best movies since 1987 were good just not good enough. That is not to say he's made bad movies in the past 25 years it is just that when you limit yourself to only 25 flicks, Cruise films like Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Mission: Impossible, Magnolia, and Collateral are really good but just fell short.
- The actor that had the most film on this list was Tom Hanks with 3 (Forrest Gump, Toy Story, and Saving Private).
- Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future Part II, Forrest Gump), Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park), Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed), Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction) all tied for first with 2 movies each on this list
Luol Deng Makes His First All Star Game
Luol Deng was drafted by the Chicagio Bulls with the 7th overall pick in the 2004 draft. If you have been following my post's for a while you know for the longest time I was down on Luol Deng because he never lived up to his potential. He was always good, but never great and lived up to all the athleticism that Bulls fans thought he could. This was early on in his career when he was trying to develop into the type of player he wanted to be. Now, he has found the right style to his game being a slasher, jump shooter, and even adding the three pointer to his game. The movement he means to an offense you can only understand by watching Bulls games.
His defense can also not be underrated. He can guard so many 2's or 3's and keep with the top shooter's in the game. Now under his second year under Tom Thibodeau he has really come into his own. With all the nagging injuries that he experienced early on in his career behind him, the mentorship of a good coach has had a endless impact on Deng (and Rose for that matter).
His defense can also not be underrated. He can guard so many 2's or 3's and keep with the top shooter's in the game. Now under his second year under Tom Thibodeau he has really come into his own. With all the nagging injuries that he experienced early on in his career behind him, the mentorship of a good coach has had a endless impact on Deng (and Rose for that matter).
Deng is putting up pretty similar numbers compared to the last few years, but he finally got recognized by the other coach's in the league for his effort and all the little things he does that impact a game. Deng is the glue of the Bulls and deserves to be an All Star!
Converse "React Juice" Shoes
On the ESPN NBA Today Podcast Mike Yam and Tim Legler talk about Converse "React Juice" Shoes (about 14 minutes in) which was a popular shoe during the late 1990’s. What made the shoe popular was the green juice in the shoe, which was under the heel of the shoe. The shoe was endorsed by Larry Johnson. You can see the popular commercial here:
No one knew if the juice was toxic or not as Tim Legler discussed on the podcast. He started wearing the shoe during the 1995 season when he received a shipment of them. In a preseason game there was an incident where Danny Ferry’s “React Juice” Shoes started leaking and they had to stop the game and clean it up. They thought it was an isolated incident and only one defected pair. Then during a practice in the 1995 season when Tim Legler was wearing the "React Juice" Shoes, it started leaking and almost injured teammate Chris Webber. Webber did a split because the juice was all over the court. They stopped the practice when Legler realized his shoes were leaking. Eventually the shoes had to be recalled.
You can check out Pictures of Converse "React Juice" Shoes.
No one knew if the juice was toxic or not as Tim Legler discussed on the podcast. He started wearing the shoe during the 1995 season when he received a shipment of them. In a preseason game there was an incident where Danny Ferry’s “React Juice” Shoes started leaking and they had to stop the game and clean it up. They thought it was an isolated incident and only one defected pair. Then during a practice in the 1995 season when Tim Legler was wearing the "React Juice" Shoes, it started leaking and almost injured teammate Chris Webber. Webber did a split because the juice was all over the court. They stopped the practice when Legler realized his shoes were leaking. Eventually the shoes had to be recalled.
You can check out Pictures of Converse "React Juice" Shoes.
#1- Pulp Fiction (1994)
Who's List Was This On
- Dan Bennett: #5
- Adam Kaplan: #6
- Bryan Hernandez: #8
- David "MVP" Eckstein: #8
- Cubsfan4ever1: #15
Directed By; Quentin Tarantino
Written By: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Eric Roth, Amanda Plummer, and Harvey Keitel
The Plot
The lives of two mob hit met (Travolta and Jackson), a boxer (Willis), a gangster's wife (Thurman), and a pair of dinner bandits (Roth and Plummer) intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Why This Movie Is Great
Pulp n.This is the title card that first appears when the film starts and if you have to explain what Pulp Fiction is really all about, this is what you should tell them.
1. A soft, moist, shapeless mass of matter
2. A magazine or book containing lurid subject matter and being characteristically printed on rough, unfinished paper
American Heritage Dictionary
New College Edition
Quentin Tarantino has a special place in not only the hearts of the GOI authors as his films holds both the #1 spot as well as the #3 spot as the best movies within the past 25 years but also a special place in the hearts of this generation and Americana.
As I mentioned in my Inglourious Basterds post, it is extremely difficult to explain why Tarantino films are so great. However, I think the real reason is because Tarantino's vision is just so unique and wonderful. Tarantino creates great three dimensional characters with such amazing dialogue and has amazing action to go along with it. Tarantino is such a brilliant storyteller that you are enthralled with his films from beginning to end.
What makes Pulp Fiction so amazing though is Tarantino's vision of messing with time and space. He revolutionized script writing. Not only is Tarantino able to tell you all these complex stories with a huge cast but he's able to take you in a wild ride without you knowing where exactly you are. It is not until you see the film for a few times that you can accurately take each scene and place it where it correctly goes chronologically.
Other Notes
- Pulp Fiction is all about perception. Nobody sees the same exact event the same exact way. That's why the conversation between Pumpkin (Roth) and Hunny Bunny (Plummer) are purposefully not the same words in the beginning of the film as they are at the end of the film even though it's portraying the exact same event.
- Many have speculated what is in the suitcase Vincent (Travolta) and Jules (Jackson) go to collect. The most common theory is that it's Marcellus Wallace's (Rhames) soul. The theory goes that when the Devil takes your soul he takes it through the back of your head which helps explain why there is a band aid on the back of Marcellus' head and why the code to open up the suitcase is "666". Here's the thing: It does not matter what is in the suitcase. It's a MacGuffin - like the money taken in the beginning of Psycho. It doesn't mean anything except gives the gangsters a reason to be in the apartment to begin with. If Tarantino wanted you to know what's in the suitcase, he would have showed the viewers.
- Speaking of this scene, Jules is having a conversation with Brett. This is the main guy he's talking to in this scene (Do they speak English in What?). During this scene he asks Brett what Vincent asks him earlier about why the Quarter Pounder is called a Royale With Cheese in France. Brett responds "Because of the metric system?" which causes Jules to say "Check out the big brain on Brad!". Many people claim that Jules calling Brett "Brad" is another example of changed perceptions but I always took it as Jules just not giving a fuck. He's going into some dude's apartment to kill them and take a suitcase and he doesn't actually care what people's names are or if he even heard Brett say his name at all.
The Two Sides Of Dennis Haysbert
I will always know Dennis Haysbert as Pedro Cerrano in the 1989 movie Major League. This is how I remember him from the movie:
Recently I found out that Dennis Haysbert is also in the All State commercials. I was very surprised to find out that that the man I remember as Pedro Cerrano from Major League is the same man. I never recognized him at all.
Dennis Haysbert in All State Commercials:
Did you know Dennis Haysbert was in both?
Preparing for Fantasy Basketball 2011-2012
Were over a month into the basketball season and I never posted anything about players I like for fantasy basketball this season. It’s too late to draft a team, but you can still try to trade for some of these players. I was hoping to post this before the draft, but December was a busy time at work, busy creating the GOI fantasy league, and many other reasons, including not wanting to give all of my fantasy basketball secrets to the other GOI authors and readers playing in our fantasy league. Now that I have some time I decided to post it anyways so you can see the players I was targeting at the beginning of the season.
I don't go in depth on every player and why I like them, but it's a number of things taken into account. Here are the main things I look at:
1) Where they are being drafted or bought in an auction league. Value is one the main things I look at and where you can get the best value, early and late in a draft.
2) Well rounded players that can help you in as many areas as possible. As we get down the list and more to late fliers they more get more one dimensional, but for the value and potential they are worth it.
These were players I was targeting in the pre-season and as you can see I was right on some, missed on others so far who may turn it around, and some are injured for the season. Players you should or try to trade for:
1. Kevin Durant (OKC)- A MVP candidate and worth taking number one overall or buying in an auction league if you had the chance. This is an player you build a team around.
2. Russell Westbrook (OKC) – When it comes to PG he doesn’t have the health risk that Chris Paul seems to have or the bad FG % that Rajon Rondo has even though Rondo does so much else well. Westbrook is an elite PG you can build your team around.
3. Deron Williams (NJ)- Along with Westbrook, Williams can be a elite PG to build your team around. He has potential to take it to that next level and be a top 10 player, but always seems to disappoint in that regards. This year he has been asked to do too much and his FG% has been suffering, but helping your team in all of the other areas he always does if you have him.
4. Al Horford (ATL)- Out for the season which hurts me because I drafted him on all my teams. I was building my teams around Horford and expecting a big season.
5. LaMarcus Aldridge (POR)- Having a great season, and I would have rated him higher if it wasn’t for TBO pointing out his recently diagnosed heart condition to me which hasn’t effect him.
6. Blake Griffin (LAC)- I loved the value here because I was surprised he was being drafted as late as he was for how he finished last year.
7. Eric Gordon (LAC)- Shooting guard is very weak so I was very big season out of Eric Gordon. He is a very efficient scorer and going to be the best player on the team, but injuries have derailed his season.
8. David Lee (GS)- I was expecting a rebound season.
9. Rajon Rondo – A down year for the man who is always a leader in assist and steals.
10. Serge Ibaka (OKC)- He could be the best shot blocker in the league and I thought he would take it to that next level on offense, but with inconsistent minutes that hasn’t happened.
11. Brook Lopez (NJ)- He was my second round pick last year who majorly disappointed me. I loved the value for where he was falling this year, but with him missing so much time to injuries it is not good in this shortened season. If you can pick him up on waivers then you should do that ASAP.
12. Kevin Martin (HOU)- As I mentioned SG is very shallow and he is the second best option after Gordon, but turned out to be the safest.
13. Zach Randolph (MEM)- He has been my sleeper for the last few years because I was able to get him in the 4th or 5th round, but now he finally was getting recognition for being as good as he is. Another guy on my list hit by injuries.
14. Andre Iguodala (PHI)- He does a little of everything. After the marquee small forwards he is the best option.
15. Jrue Holiday (PHI)- I was big on him and Lowry, but was bigger on him when I was forced to choose. Rarely was I able to draft both of them and a marquee point guard. Only in my dreams!
16. Kyle Lowry (HOU)- He has been in the league for a few years, but looked like he was ready to break out this season given a chance and he did.
17. Greg Monroe (DET)- A young center who hasn’t disappointed. He is averaging a double double, and passes the ball well for a big man. He also helps is steals.
18. Marcin Gortat (PHO)- Also having a good season and block shots.
19. Channing Frye (PHO)- A disappointing season and is you can try to unload him if doesn’t look like he will rebound in the second half.
20. Mike Conley, Jr. (MEM)- He is having a strong season and helps in all the typical point guard categories.
21. Danilo Gallinari (DEN)- He just had an injury which will cost him a month, but he was having a monster season and a top 5 player before the injury. He started coming into his own this season as a elite efficient scorer.
22. Marc Gasol (MEM)- Right now he is the second best fantasy center. Besides for averaging a double double he passes well and blocks shots.
23. Tyreke Evans (SAC)- For where he was being drafted he is having a nice season, but he didn’t improve like I thought he could. It looks like what we see is what we get with Tyreke Evans.
24. Andrew Bogut (MIL)- Injuries seem to plague him every year which is why he was ranked as low as he was, and this year is no different. Before his injury this year, he was on pace for a big season carrying your team.
25. JaVale McGee (WAS)- A great value for where he was drafted. He will anchor your team is blocks and help in rebounds.
26. Andray Blatche (WAS)-Talk about bust. This is the last year I will ever be high on him. I am officially off the Andray Blatche bandwagon.
27. Ty Lawson (DEN)- A very good season in his second year.
28. Wesley Matthews (POR)- He reminded me as a cheap man’s version of Danilo Gallinari. Having a very good season.
29. Hedo Turkoglu (ORL)- After the few other small forwards I have on this list there aren’t many I like and he was being drafted very late so I liked the low risk.
30. Luis Scola (HOU)- Scola is always solid, but not this year.
31. Roy Hibbert (IND)- There was several centers I liked this year and Hibbert was one of them. He didn’t disappoint making the All star team.
32. Darren Collison (IND)- I drafted him last year over Westbrook and it didn’t work out. Towards the end of last season he seemed to learn his role on the team under his new coach so I liked him again this year.
33. Michael Beasley (MIN)
34. Jose Calderon (TOR)- I like Calderon every year if nothing else for the assist’s.
35. Anderson Varejao (CLE)- Every team need’s a go to need a go to man and I thought it could be Varejao having some help in rookie Kyle Irving. Varejao has been good, especially for the late pickup.
36. Paul George (IND)- I liked the potential of George as a scorer and slasher. He reminded me a lot of Luol Deng.
37. DeAndre Jordan (LAC)- He’s a one dimensional guy for block’s, but can be a difference maker.
38. Jeff Teague (ATL)- Hinrich’s injury opened the door and he took advantage. He shoot’s first which has been the knock on him, but he still averages almost 5 assist per game.
39. Samuel Dalembert - I thought he would just anchor your team in blocks, but surprisingly his resurgence occurred this season and he has helped your team in other areas.
40. Nick Young (WAS)
41. Evan Turner (PHI)
I don't go in depth on every player and why I like them, but it's a number of things taken into account. Here are the main things I look at:
1) Where they are being drafted or bought in an auction league. Value is one the main things I look at and where you can get the best value, early and late in a draft.
2) Well rounded players that can help you in as many areas as possible. As we get down the list and more to late fliers they more get more one dimensional, but for the value and potential they are worth it.
These were players I was targeting in the pre-season and as you can see I was right on some, missed on others so far who may turn it around, and some are injured for the season. Players you should or try to trade for:
1. Kevin Durant (OKC)- A MVP candidate and worth taking number one overall or buying in an auction league if you had the chance. This is an player you build a team around.
2. Russell Westbrook (OKC) – When it comes to PG he doesn’t have the health risk that Chris Paul seems to have or the bad FG % that Rajon Rondo has even though Rondo does so much else well. Westbrook is an elite PG you can build your team around.
3. Deron Williams (NJ)- Along with Westbrook, Williams can be a elite PG to build your team around. He has potential to take it to that next level and be a top 10 player, but always seems to disappoint in that regards. This year he has been asked to do too much and his FG% has been suffering, but helping your team in all of the other areas he always does if you have him.
4. Al Horford (ATL)- Out for the season which hurts me because I drafted him on all my teams. I was building my teams around Horford and expecting a big season.
5. LaMarcus Aldridge (POR)- Having a great season, and I would have rated him higher if it wasn’t for TBO pointing out his recently diagnosed heart condition to me which hasn’t effect him.
6. Blake Griffin (LAC)- I loved the value here because I was surprised he was being drafted as late as he was for how he finished last year.
7. Eric Gordon (LAC)- Shooting guard is very weak so I was very big season out of Eric Gordon. He is a very efficient scorer and going to be the best player on the team, but injuries have derailed his season.
8. David Lee (GS)- I was expecting a rebound season.
9. Rajon Rondo – A down year for the man who is always a leader in assist and steals.
10. Serge Ibaka (OKC)- He could be the best shot blocker in the league and I thought he would take it to that next level on offense, but with inconsistent minutes that hasn’t happened.
11. Brook Lopez (NJ)- He was my second round pick last year who majorly disappointed me. I loved the value for where he was falling this year, but with him missing so much time to injuries it is not good in this shortened season. If you can pick him up on waivers then you should do that ASAP.
12. Kevin Martin (HOU)- As I mentioned SG is very shallow and he is the second best option after Gordon, but turned out to be the safest.
13. Zach Randolph (MEM)- He has been my sleeper for the last few years because I was able to get him in the 4th or 5th round, but now he finally was getting recognition for being as good as he is. Another guy on my list hit by injuries.
14. Andre Iguodala (PHI)- He does a little of everything. After the marquee small forwards he is the best option.
15. Jrue Holiday (PHI)- I was big on him and Lowry, but was bigger on him when I was forced to choose. Rarely was I able to draft both of them and a marquee point guard. Only in my dreams!
16. Kyle Lowry (HOU)- He has been in the league for a few years, but looked like he was ready to break out this season given a chance and he did.
17. Greg Monroe (DET)- A young center who hasn’t disappointed. He is averaging a double double, and passes the ball well for a big man. He also helps is steals.
18. Marcin Gortat (PHO)- Also having a good season and block shots.
19. Channing Frye (PHO)- A disappointing season and is you can try to unload him if doesn’t look like he will rebound in the second half.
20. Mike Conley, Jr. (MEM)- He is having a strong season and helps in all the typical point guard categories.
21. Danilo Gallinari (DEN)- He just had an injury which will cost him a month, but he was having a monster season and a top 5 player before the injury. He started coming into his own this season as a elite efficient scorer.
22. Marc Gasol (MEM)- Right now he is the second best fantasy center. Besides for averaging a double double he passes well and blocks shots.
23. Tyreke Evans (SAC)- For where he was being drafted he is having a nice season, but he didn’t improve like I thought he could. It looks like what we see is what we get with Tyreke Evans.
24. Andrew Bogut (MIL)- Injuries seem to plague him every year which is why he was ranked as low as he was, and this year is no different. Before his injury this year, he was on pace for a big season carrying your team.
25. JaVale McGee (WAS)- A great value for where he was drafted. He will anchor your team is blocks and help in rebounds.
26. Andray Blatche (WAS)-Talk about bust. This is the last year I will ever be high on him. I am officially off the Andray Blatche bandwagon.
27. Ty Lawson (DEN)- A very good season in his second year.
28. Wesley Matthews (POR)- He reminded me as a cheap man’s version of Danilo Gallinari. Having a very good season.
29. Hedo Turkoglu (ORL)- After the few other small forwards I have on this list there aren’t many I like and he was being drafted very late so I liked the low risk.
30. Luis Scola (HOU)- Scola is always solid, but not this year.
31. Roy Hibbert (IND)- There was several centers I liked this year and Hibbert was one of them. He didn’t disappoint making the All star team.
32. Darren Collison (IND)- I drafted him last year over Westbrook and it didn’t work out. Towards the end of last season he seemed to learn his role on the team under his new coach so I liked him again this year.
33. Michael Beasley (MIN)
34. Jose Calderon (TOR)- I like Calderon every year if nothing else for the assist’s.
35. Anderson Varejao (CLE)- Every team need’s a go to need a go to man and I thought it could be Varejao having some help in rookie Kyle Irving. Varejao has been good, especially for the late pickup.
36. Paul George (IND)- I liked the potential of George as a scorer and slasher. He reminded me a lot of Luol Deng.
37. DeAndre Jordan (LAC)- He’s a one dimensional guy for block’s, but can be a difference maker.
38. Jeff Teague (ATL)- Hinrich’s injury opened the door and he took advantage. He shoot’s first which has been the knock on him, but he still averages almost 5 assist per game.
39. Samuel Dalembert - I thought he would just anchor your team in blocks, but surprisingly his resurgence occurred this season and he has helped your team in other areas.
40. Nick Young (WAS)
41. Evan Turner (PHI)
There will be more to come on Fantasy basketball this season.
Why doesn't Dwight Howard want to come to Bulls?
Dwight Howard originally said he didn't want to come to play for the Chicago Bulls. No one understood why he wouldn't want to play alongside MVP Derek Rose and the other great role players we have in Chicago. With a great point guard and Howard the Bulls would have a great chance to win some Ring's for years to come. With a young dominant point guard in Rose (23 years old) and Dwight Howard (26 years old) the most dominant defensive center and a great inside scorer, the Bulls would have a great combination. With the right role players, like the Bulls have now, it’s hard to imagine what the Bulls could do.
The one obstacle was Dwight Howard said he only wanted to be traded to five teams and the Bulls were not one of those five teams. It came out from this Yahoo Article that it was because Howard and Rose are both Addias big endorsers. It wouldn't be good for Addias to have two of their young superstars on the same team. It would be harder to reach more markets if there in the same market!
Later he backed on his statement in the public and said he would go to the Bulls, but we don't know if he actually changed the list he gave the Magic on the Teams he would play for. Adding a player of Howard's Caliber would bring the Bulls to the next level if they don't have to give up Loul Deng who is the glue of the team. The Bull's have a lot to offer the Magic so let's make this deal happen.
The one obstacle was Dwight Howard said he only wanted to be traded to five teams and the Bulls were not one of those five teams. It came out from this Yahoo Article that it was because Howard and Rose are both Addias big endorsers. It wouldn't be good for Addias to have two of their young superstars on the same team. It would be harder to reach more markets if there in the same market!
Later he backed on his statement in the public and said he would go to the Bulls, but we don't know if he actually changed the list he gave the Magic on the Teams he would play for. Adding a player of Howard's Caliber would bring the Bulls to the next level if they don't have to give up Loul Deng who is the glue of the team. The Bull's have a lot to offer the Magic so let's make this deal happen.
Name this baseball Star?
As you see by his clothing and background he was always around the game.
Bulls Should Have All Star game
Recently Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the Chicago Bulls came out and said he doesn't want the Chicago Bulls to host an All star game. The Bulls have not hosted an All Star game in 24 years and he wants to keep it that way. He said Chicago would not host the All Star game unless he was forced to. In this article he explains all the positives for the city, but doesn't think there are many benefits for the team, season ticket holders, and fans. As a Bulls fan I was taken back to hear that they don't want to host the All Star game. I don't know if I would go to the festivities if it was at the United Center, chances are probably not, but it would be cool to see Chicago have it again.
Will Ferrell introduces the Bulls vs Hornets
In case you missed it on Wednesday night Will Ferrell introduced the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Hornets. I was watching the game and taken back when he started introducing the Chicago Bulls who were on the road. He introduced the Bulls like I have never seen an NBA team introduced before, or any professional team for that matter. Then the Hornets took the floor and he used the same style. It was a fun and interesting way to see a team take the floor. He took some shots at the players, especially the center for the Hornets...............
In case you missed it here is the video:
Why "How I Met Your Mother" Is A Terrible Name For The Show
Let me start off by saying I love CBS's show How I Met Your Mother. I've been on a HIMYM kick this weekend and probably have been watching every old episode on Netflix that I have never seen or have not seen in awhile. It's probably one of my all-time favorite television comedies. But the show has run its course and/or we need to fucking meet The Mother already.
The reason the show is poorly titled is because it sets up a premise it did not and does not need to. The whole premise of the show is Ted (slash Bob Saget) is telling his kids the story of how he and his wife met. Therefore, we have episode after episode and season after season of Ted explaining to his children how he met their mother. Think about this logically. Ask anyone how they met their significant other. Ask yourself how you met your significant other. It's a five minute story at most. Realistically, these kids (a.k.a. stock footage) would have walked out on this story four seasons ago.
The writers and creators of the show tried to extend the meeting of The Mother by explaining Ted's past relationships and how those relationships brought Ted in a place he needed to be in to where he could meet The Mother. This could make some sense. Still realistically kind of silly, but at least logical. However, at this point in the show's series, that ship has sailed.
The two relationships that are most important to Ted are Robin and Stella. Especially Stella. Leaving Ted at the alter was one of the most crushing experiences of his life. And Ted is madly in love with Robin but that relationship will never work out because the two just want different things out of life. Sure, Victoria telling Ted this in Season 7 was a good cue to the audience to hear this, but completely and utterly unnecessary.
After Ted dated Robin in Season 2 and Stella in Season 3 the show should have forced Ted to meet The Mother. We later learned that Ted meets The Mother at Barney's wedding and so the show the needed to put Barney at a place where he could not only be in a monogamous relationship but also willing to get married. It's extremely realistic to spend 7 or 8 seasons getting Barney to a place where he's willing to get married. It is extremely UNrealistic to put Ted in a similar situation. It was silly of the writers to have Ted meet his wife at a wedding and then it turns out to be a wedding that wasn't Marshall and Lilly's. Why did they choose that scenario for Ted to meet The Mother? He could have met her in any other way but they choose to make it a wedding and then choose not to make it Marshall and Lilly's. It just prolongs the inevitable and makes the audience furious when they don't need to be.
______________
SIDENOTE: As a man who is soon to be wed, how is Ted the best man in BOTH Barney and Marshall's wedding as opposed to their brothers? Maybe it makes sense for Ted to be the best man in Marshall's because Marshall has two brothers and so choosing Ted wouldn't upset either brother but Barney only has one brother. It's a dick move on Barney's part not to make James his best man and Marshall should have made one his brothers Best Man. My mom has two sisters and she still chose ONE of them to be her Maid Of Honor. Sorry. That is all.
______________
This brings me back to my point why "How I Met Your Mother" is a terrible name for the show. If the show only lasted four seasons or so then, yes, it's a fine name. Eventually by the 4th season we would meet The Mother and Ted's past relationships would make sense in his 2030 story. But since the show is going to at least last for eight seasons, if not more, it is a horrible name.
The reason the show works so well is because of the group dynamic. The show is just a reincarnation of Friends- and that show had a great name. The title of that show told you that it is just six friends hanging out and for 30 minutes every week you got to see a window into these characters lives. That's exactly how HIMYM is. You care deeply about these characters and enjoy how they interact with each other and the relationships they encounter.
But not only did HIMYM go on a tangent and give itself a name that really does not give the audience a good idea of what the show actually is, it gave it a name surrounding one of the "worst" characters of the show. Ted's character and storyline is probably the worst storyline of the series- no matter what the show's title is.
The best two characters on the show are Marshall and Barney. Some of the best episodes in the past two, terrible seasons of the show (A point I will get to later) are ones centering around Marshall and Barney- especially their relationship with their respected father.
Ted works the same way as J.D. did on Scrubs. He is the glue that holds everything together. You may not like the glue and really want to see everything the glue is sticking to, but you need the glue in order to see the other objects around it. It is because of him that he interacts with the rest of the other characters on the show and binds everyone and everything.
If the show had just some generic title, like Friends, then all of Ted's relationships do not matter, per se. In fact, the audience would care MORE about his later relationships. The show could work the exact same way except just take out the premise that Older Ted is telling his kids this story of how he met his wife. If Older Ted was just explaining to someone (hell, it could have been his kids) the story of his late 20's and early 30's and the fun and goofy things that happened in his life and we had the same plot lines then the show would still be growing strong in its later seasons. But it is not.
Part of the reason Season 7 was so bad was because of Ted's relationship with Zoey. If she is not The Mother then why do we care about this relationship? What's even more frustrating with these later seasons is that they are discounting everything they set up in the earlier seasons. Throughout the episodes where Ted is not in a relationship, the show alludes to how he met The Mother or how a particular event caused him to meet The Mother. For example, we learn that The Mother was a student in the Economics class Ted accidentally taught during his first day of teaching. We learn the fact that Ted runs into Stella and Tony with his yellow umbrella is an important milestone in his life (which did cause Ted to get the teaching job). Every episode ends with Ted explaining why this is some amazing event this in his life. But as we trek further and further along, these major plot points start to become irrelevant.
As we watch Seasons 7 and 8, the train is officially off the track and what we as an audience want to see- Ted meeting The Mother- isn't happening yet. We get a great insight into further delving into Barney's psyche that fact that he's willing to settle down and that he's reconciling with his father and we further develop Marshall's character stemming from the death of his father but the story lines revolving around Ted and Robin (nobody cares about Lily) in the later seasons are strenuous to watch. We know Barney is going to marry Robin so this relationship with Kal Penn and the fact that Robin is STILL staying with Penn is asinine.
Shows want to prolong relationships because audience love the tension between two characters who will soon be together but are not together yet. However, at some point, the tension becomes too unbearable for the audience and the writers need to shit or get off the pot. They need to make the characters come together. The Office (successfully) managed to keep Jim and Pam apart for three seasons but as Karen left and as the fourth season started to roll around, the writers realized they needed to make them come together. The show is trying to recapture that with Andy and Erin to get their old spark back (talk about another show that needs to end, but that's for another post) but that is not coming off as successfully as they would like. Parks and Rec (successfully) kept Leslie and Ben apart but after a season and half the show realized the two needed to come together and it's working very well. But for seven plus LONG seasons, the show has kept Ted and The Mother apart. The reason the other shows put characters together is because that was just the natural order to things and that is what the audience wanted and needed. When the show is entitled "How I Met Your Mother" the natural course of events should have been that sooner rather than later The Father and The Mother should meet. What a crazy notion!
A big part of me wants Jason Segel (Marshall) to leave the show and focus full time in movies. The Muppets was a great success and Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my all time favorite movies. With The Five Year Engagement and Jeff Who Lives At Home coming out soon and both looking great, I hope Segel has such great success that he chooses not to resign with CBS after his contract ends and the show comes to its natural resting place. Plus, it's extremely hard for any television program to last more than eight seasons and be good. Jokes and story lines eventually dry the well. I love the show as a whole but I would rather see it conclude properly than keep going on being mediocre at best.
The reason the show is poorly titled is because it sets up a premise it did not and does not need to. The whole premise of the show is Ted (slash Bob Saget) is telling his kids the story of how he and his wife met. Therefore, we have episode after episode and season after season of Ted explaining to his children how he met their mother. Think about this logically. Ask anyone how they met their significant other. Ask yourself how you met your significant other. It's a five minute story at most. Realistically, these kids (a.k.a. stock footage) would have walked out on this story four seasons ago.
The writers and creators of the show tried to extend the meeting of The Mother by explaining Ted's past relationships and how those relationships brought Ted in a place he needed to be in to where he could meet The Mother. This could make some sense. Still realistically kind of silly, but at least logical. However, at this point in the show's series, that ship has sailed.
The two relationships that are most important to Ted are Robin and Stella. Especially Stella. Leaving Ted at the alter was one of the most crushing experiences of his life. And Ted is madly in love with Robin but that relationship will never work out because the two just want different things out of life. Sure, Victoria telling Ted this in Season 7 was a good cue to the audience to hear this, but completely and utterly unnecessary.
After Ted dated Robin in Season 2 and Stella in Season 3 the show should have forced Ted to meet The Mother. We later learned that Ted meets The Mother at Barney's wedding and so the show the needed to put Barney at a place where he could not only be in a monogamous relationship but also willing to get married. It's extremely realistic to spend 7 or 8 seasons getting Barney to a place where he's willing to get married. It is extremely UNrealistic to put Ted in a similar situation. It was silly of the writers to have Ted meet his wife at a wedding and then it turns out to be a wedding that wasn't Marshall and Lilly's. Why did they choose that scenario for Ted to meet The Mother? He could have met her in any other way but they choose to make it a wedding and then choose not to make it Marshall and Lilly's. It just prolongs the inevitable and makes the audience furious when they don't need to be.
______________
SIDENOTE: As a man who is soon to be wed, how is Ted the best man in BOTH Barney and Marshall's wedding as opposed to their brothers? Maybe it makes sense for Ted to be the best man in Marshall's because Marshall has two brothers and so choosing Ted wouldn't upset either brother but Barney only has one brother. It's a dick move on Barney's part not to make James his best man and Marshall should have made one his brothers Best Man. My mom has two sisters and she still chose ONE of them to be her Maid Of Honor. Sorry. That is all.
______________
This brings me back to my point why "How I Met Your Mother" is a terrible name for the show. If the show only lasted four seasons or so then, yes, it's a fine name. Eventually by the 4th season we would meet The Mother and Ted's past relationships would make sense in his 2030 story. But since the show is going to at least last for eight seasons, if not more, it is a horrible name.
The reason the show works so well is because of the group dynamic. The show is just a reincarnation of Friends- and that show had a great name. The title of that show told you that it is just six friends hanging out and for 30 minutes every week you got to see a window into these characters lives. That's exactly how HIMYM is. You care deeply about these characters and enjoy how they interact with each other and the relationships they encounter.
But not only did HIMYM go on a tangent and give itself a name that really does not give the audience a good idea of what the show actually is, it gave it a name surrounding one of the "worst" characters of the show. Ted's character and storyline is probably the worst storyline of the series- no matter what the show's title is.
The best two characters on the show are Marshall and Barney. Some of the best episodes in the past two, terrible seasons of the show (A point I will get to later) are ones centering around Marshall and Barney- especially their relationship with their respected father.
Ted works the same way as J.D. did on Scrubs. He is the glue that holds everything together. You may not like the glue and really want to see everything the glue is sticking to, but you need the glue in order to see the other objects around it. It is because of him that he interacts with the rest of the other characters on the show and binds everyone and everything.
If the show had just some generic title, like Friends, then all of Ted's relationships do not matter, per se. In fact, the audience would care MORE about his later relationships. The show could work the exact same way except just take out the premise that Older Ted is telling his kids this story of how he met his wife. If Older Ted was just explaining to someone (hell, it could have been his kids) the story of his late 20's and early 30's and the fun and goofy things that happened in his life and we had the same plot lines then the show would still be growing strong in its later seasons. But it is not.
Part of the reason Season 7 was so bad was because of Ted's relationship with Zoey. If she is not The Mother then why do we care about this relationship? What's even more frustrating with these later seasons is that they are discounting everything they set up in the earlier seasons. Throughout the episodes where Ted is not in a relationship, the show alludes to how he met The Mother or how a particular event caused him to meet The Mother. For example, we learn that The Mother was a student in the Economics class Ted accidentally taught during his first day of teaching. We learn the fact that Ted runs into Stella and Tony with his yellow umbrella is an important milestone in his life (which did cause Ted to get the teaching job). Every episode ends with Ted explaining why this is some amazing event this in his life. But as we trek further and further along, these major plot points start to become irrelevant.
As we watch Seasons 7 and 8, the train is officially off the track and what we as an audience want to see- Ted meeting The Mother- isn't happening yet. We get a great insight into further delving into Barney's psyche that fact that he's willing to settle down and that he's reconciling with his father and we further develop Marshall's character stemming from the death of his father but the story lines revolving around Ted and Robin (nobody cares about Lily) in the later seasons are strenuous to watch. We know Barney is going to marry Robin so this relationship with Kal Penn and the fact that Robin is STILL staying with Penn is asinine.
Shows want to prolong relationships because audience love the tension between two characters who will soon be together but are not together yet. However, at some point, the tension becomes too unbearable for the audience and the writers need to shit or get off the pot. They need to make the characters come together. The Office (successfully) managed to keep Jim and Pam apart for three seasons but as Karen left and as the fourth season started to roll around, the writers realized they needed to make them come together. The show is trying to recapture that with Andy and Erin to get their old spark back (talk about another show that needs to end, but that's for another post) but that is not coming off as successfully as they would like. Parks and Rec (successfully) kept Leslie and Ben apart but after a season and half the show realized the two needed to come together and it's working very well. But for seven plus LONG seasons, the show has kept Ted and The Mother apart. The reason the other shows put characters together is because that was just the natural order to things and that is what the audience wanted and needed. When the show is entitled "How I Met Your Mother" the natural course of events should have been that sooner rather than later The Father and The Mother should meet. What a crazy notion!
A big part of me wants Jason Segel (Marshall) to leave the show and focus full time in movies. The Muppets was a great success and Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my all time favorite movies. With The Five Year Engagement and Jeff Who Lives At Home coming out soon and both looking great, I hope Segel has such great success that he chooses not to resign with CBS after his contract ends and the show comes to its natural resting place. Plus, it's extremely hard for any television program to last more than eight seasons and be good. Jokes and story lines eventually dry the well. I love the show as a whole but I would rather see it conclude properly than keep going on being mediocre at best.
Who Will Win The 2012 Oscars?
I will do three categories for each nomination. The first one is "What Will Win" which will be out of all the actual nominations which one do I think will actually take home the award. The second one is "What Should Win (Oscar Nominated)" which means out of all the actual nominations which one do I think deserves to take home the golden statue. The third one will be "What Should Win (All Movies)" which means out of every single movie of 2011 which movie or person do I think should take home the award, whether or not they were nominated.*
Best Picture
What Will Win: The Artist
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): The Descendants or Moneyball
What Should Win (All Movies): Young Adult
Best Director
What Will Win: Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
What Should Win (All Movies): Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Best Actor
What Will Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
* Really though, I have no problem if anyone in this category wins it. All were great and no one really stood out above the rest
What Should Win (All Movies): Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
* I personally am a Brad Pitt fan and I would like to see him take home an Oscar
Best Actress
What Will Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): N/A
*I've only seen The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I don't (along with the rest of America) watch movies that have Best Actress nominees in them
What Should Win (All Movies): Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
Best Supporting Actor
What Will Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Nick Nolte (Warrior)
What Should Win (All Movies): Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Best Supporting Actress
What Will Win: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
What Should Win (All Movies): Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Best Original Screenplay
What Will Win: Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids)
What Should Win (All Movies): Diablo Cody (Young Adult)
Best Adapted Screenplay
What Will Win: Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon (The Descendants)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin (Moneyball)
What Should Win (All Movies): Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin (Moneyball)
Best Cinematography
What Will Win: Robert Richardson (Hugo)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Robert Richardson (Hugo)
What Should Win (All Movies): Magdalena Gorka (Paranormal Activity 3)
Best Animated Film
What Will Win: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film
What Will Win: Iran (A Separation)
Best Original Score
What Will Win: Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
Best Original Song
What Will Win: "Man Or Muppet" by Bret McKenzie (The Muppets)
Best Costume Design
What Will Win: Mark Bridges (The Artist)
Best Make Up
What Will Win: Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, and Lisa Tomblin (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II)
Best Visual Effects
What Will Win: Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, and John Richardson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II)
Best Sound Editing
What Will Win: Ethan van der Ryn and; Erik Aadahl (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon)
Best Sound Mixing
What Will Win: Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Peter J. Devlin (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon)
*NOTE: While I have not seen every movie in 2011 nor every Oscar nominated movie in 2011 I have seen most. The ones I actually will see from 2011 are: Drive, The Help, and Shame. This list will get updated accordingly once I have seen those flicks.
Best Picture
What Will Win: The Artist
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): The Descendants or Moneyball
What Should Win (All Movies): Young Adult
Best Director
What Will Win: Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
What Should Win (All Movies): Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Best Actor
What Will Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
* Really though, I have no problem if anyone in this category wins it. All were great and no one really stood out above the rest
What Should Win (All Movies): Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
* I personally am a Brad Pitt fan and I would like to see him take home an Oscar
Best Actress
What Will Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): N/A
*I've only seen The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I don't (along with the rest of America) watch movies that have Best Actress nominees in them
What Should Win (All Movies): Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
Best Supporting Actor
What Will Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Nick Nolte (Warrior)
What Should Win (All Movies): Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Best Supporting Actress
What Will Win: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
What Should Win (All Movies): Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Best Original Screenplay
What Will Win: Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids)
What Should Win (All Movies): Diablo Cody (Young Adult)
Best Adapted Screenplay
What Will Win: Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon (The Descendants)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin (Moneyball)
What Should Win (All Movies): Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin (Moneyball)
Best Cinematography
What Will Win: Robert Richardson (Hugo)
What Should Win (Oscar Nominated): Robert Richardson (Hugo)
What Should Win (All Movies): Magdalena Gorka (Paranormal Activity 3)
Best Animated Film
What Will Win: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film
What Will Win: Iran (A Separation)
Best Original Score
What Will Win: Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
Best Original Song
What Will Win: "Man Or Muppet" by Bret McKenzie (The Muppets)
Best Costume Design
What Will Win: Mark Bridges (The Artist)
Best Make Up
What Will Win: Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, and Lisa Tomblin (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II)
Best Visual Effects
What Will Win: Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, and John Richardson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II)
Best Sound Editing
What Will Win: Ethan van der Ryn and; Erik Aadahl (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon)
Best Sound Mixing
What Will Win: Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Peter J. Devlin (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon)
*NOTE: While I have not seen every movie in 2011 nor every Oscar nominated movie in 2011 I have seen most. The ones I actually will see from 2011 are: Drive, The Help, and Shame. This list will get updated accordingly once I have seen those flicks.
#2- The Matrix (1999)
Who's List Was This On
- Adam Kaplan: #3
- Bryan Hernandez: #5
- The 'Bright' One: #5
- David "MVP" Eckstien: #12
- Cubsfan4evr1: #20
Directed By: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Written By: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano
The Plot
Infamous computer hacker Neo (Reeves) is "freed" from what we call the real world but is in actuality a computer program called the Matrix generated by robots to keep humans complicit while they use our energy to survive. A group of rebels in the actual world led by by their leader Morpheus (Fishburne) to try and find "The One" (and be believes Neo is "The One") to help stop the reign by the robots.
Why This Movie Is Great
I think The Matrix is great because it is the best science fiction movie of the past 25 years (and maybe ever). After first viewing of the film you loved what you saw but you're not quite sure what really just happened. The movie is purposefully complicated and full of symbolism (besides the obvious Alice in Wonderland references in the beginning of the film).
The Matrix toys with the idea of what is real and what is not. The world that we all know turns out just to be a computer program and a creation of our minds. The themes of reality versus dreaming run throughout the film and makes you question your existence.
Plus, the movie revolutionized special effects with "bullet time."
There's so much jam packed into one two-hour film that I could spend many posts and many paragraphs talking about the nuances of it. So I'm just going to spend some time talking about the symbolism of the names and an explanation of the end which is very confusing on first viewing.
Explanation Of The Names
- Neo: "Neo" in Latin means "new" and is an anagram for "one". Thomas Anderson (Neo's real name) relates to "doubting Thomas" in the Bible when he doesn't believe he is the One. Anderson also means "son of man" which is a messianic title.
- Trinity: An obvious religious reference to the Holy Trinity and actually means "three". The themes of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost run rampant throughout the film.
- Morpheus: In classic mythology it means "fashioner" or "molder" because of the shapes he calls up before the sleeper. He is the God of Dreams which ties into the theme of sleep and dreams throughout the film as well as Morpheus being responsible for "waking people up".
- Cypher: The classical betrayer, the Judas Iscariot. The word refers to a mathematical symbol denoting an absence of quantity, a zero. Also, someone with no value, a nonentity. Cypher can also be short for "Lucipher" which explains the Satan imagery Cypher has towards the beginning of the film when he's the only one wearing red and sporting a goatee.
- The Oracle: In Greek history, The Oracle was an intermediary between God and Man (instead in the movie God is robots). People could ask The Oracle questions and would often get answers in riddle format. Also, in The Matrix The Oracle says, "Do you know what that means? It's Latin. Means 'Know Thyself'" "Know thyself" is inscribed upon the Oracle of Apollo and attributed to the Delphic Oracle.
Explanation of the Ending
***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Obviously
On the surface, The Matrix is about Neo's journey to become The One. Morpheus frees Neo from the Matrix because he believes that Neo is the only one that can stop the computer's reign of terror. Morpheus takes Neo to see The Oracle (Gloria Foster) to make sure Neo is The One.
The problem most people have on first viewing is that after the meeting we learn that Neo is not The One. However, as Morpheus tells Neo before the meeting:
Try not to think of it in terms of right or wrong. She is a guide Neo. She can help you find your path.So let's dissect this conversation between The Oracle and Neo because the key to understanding this conversation is the key to understanding the ending.
First, we know going into it that we can not take everything she says verbatim, and we shouldn't. The Oracle's purpose is to guide her subject, not outright tell them. As we have learned from classic literature, mainly from MacBeth, being told the future could end up shaping it. If The Witches had not told MacBeth that he would have become king, would he have become king? MacBeth doesn't become king by waiting it out. He takes steps to kill all those in his way to become king and makes the conscious effort to become king only because of what The Witches prophesied. The same holds true in The Matrix. The Oracle can't just tell you the future but she can see into the future and she can help guide the person down the correct path. In fact, towards the beginning of Neo's conversation, The Oracle says don't worry about the vase. This causes Neo to turn and immediately breaks her vase. The Oracle then says, "What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken the vase is I hadn't said anything?"
So now that we have established we can't take everything The Oracle says as face value, let's deconstruct this conversation (and other conversations with other members of the crew) to help explain the ending.
In fact, let's jump to the end of the movie. After Cyphus (Pantoliano) betrays the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar, Agents chase Neo throughout the city and eventually catch up with him. In the end they actually kill Neo.
But then Trinity (Moss) comes over the console the body of Neo and says:
Neo I'm not afraid anymore. The Oracle told me I would fall in love and that... that man... the man that I loved would be The One. So you see, you can't be dead. You can't be... because I love you. You hear me? I love you!This scene ties back in to two things The Oracle told Neo.
The first is that she says:
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Being The One is like being in love. No one can tell you you're in love, you just know it. Through and through. Balls to bones.She also earlier tells Neo, "You're cuter than I thought. I can see why she likes you."
We learn for sure that "she" refers to Trinity and we see throughout the film that Neo and Trinity both like each other and flirt with each other but it isn't until the end of the film that both fall in love with each other. (Maybe more appropriately Trinity knows for sure that she loves Neo).
But this still begs the question, "Neo died, how can he still come back to life?" Good question. First, keep in mind that we are still in the Matrix. While earlier we learn that if you die in the Matrix you die in real life because the body can not live without the mind. However, also keep in mind that The One can not die in the Matrix as well. As we learn from later movies, The One is the constant and a reincarnation and Neo is just the current reincarnation. This also brings us back to Neo's conversation with The Oracle. She says to him:
Sorry kid, you got the gift it looks like you're waiting for somethingas it turns out its love
Your next life maybe who knows? That's the way these things go.I believe that last line is literal. While Neo needs to fall in love first to become The One, I also believe he needs to die. In works of Friedrich Nietzsche, he says that one must climb an impossible mountain of thorns to become immortal, but in order to become immortal you must die. The same must happen to Neo. Plus, Neo's death triggers Trinity's love for him. It isn't until Neo is dead that her true feelings come out for him. Because Neo is a reincarnation of The One and because we're in the Matrix, after Neo's death he comes back to life as The One and kills all agents in his path.
__________
One last thing before I go. I was reading Roger Ebert's review of this film and he originally gave it three stars- mainly because it turned into a Shoot 'Em Up movie in the third act. It's weird to hear him say that because when Inception originally came out my cousin had the same critique of that film as well. There's a lot (I mean A LOT) of similarities between The Matrix and Inception (besides that critique) and I just think it's extremely difficult to create a pure science fiction movie without having a Shoot 'Em Up climax. A lot of what The Matrix is is Morpheus explaining to Neo (and the audience) the construct of the world that currently exists and that can only go so far. You can only explain the trippy-ness of the situation before the movie starts to become boring and stale. While the film is a critique on modern society it is still a movie nonetheless and it still needs to keep audiences entertained. I think the Shoot 'Em Up aspect of The Matrix worked really well because the Agents capture of Morpheus is the trigger Neo needed to help him lead down a path to become The One. Plus, it fit into the double cross of Cyphus. Lastly, it was just cool.
Sexy Rexy's 2012 Oscar Nominations Rants
Like all my Oscar rants, I will say I have not seen all the nominated films and in this terrible, terrible year for films I probably will not see any more except for Drive (I'll see it when it comes out this weekend on DVD). But nevertheless considering I'm able to write posts on the best television shows of the year and some music and fantasy sports and able to hold my own in an Oscar conversation, I think the fact that I have not seen Albert Nobbs and We Need To Talk About Kevin should give me a pass.
- Young Adult was by far and away the best film of 2011. It was made by Oscar veterans Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air) and Diablo Cody (Juno) and starred Oscar veteran Charlize Theron (Monster). Yet it garnered absolutely no nominations. Hollywood hated the film which is absurd. The movie is not for everyone because it is purposefully not a feel good movie and purposefully left a sour taste in people's mouths at the end but so did No Country For Old Men and yet that swept the Oscars. I knew Hollywood hated the film so I knew Reitman would get screwed for Best Director and the film would get screwed for Best Picture but at minimum I thought it would get Best Original Screenplay and I had hoped Theron would squeak in as the 5th Best Actress slot. Instead, that went to Rooney Mara for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Clearly, Hollywood did not see the great Sweedish original. Patton Osawlt also got fucked for his great, nuanced performance in YA. Overall, the film is walking funny, Lisbeth Salander style because of what the Academy did to it (Sorry, that might have crossed the line. My bad.)
- I knew Brad Pitt was going to get nominated for his portrayal of Billy Beane in Moneyball and while it wasn't a lock, no one was surprised to see Jonah Hill get nominated for his portrayal of Peter Brand/ Paul DePodesta. But I was pleasantly surprised to see Moneyball get nominated for Best Picture as well. I know my fellow GOI authors disagree with me on the film and all four of us are biased by the movie because of our intense love of the Michael Lewis book but the film was great. All sports movies are about the underdog willing their way to win at all in the end but Moneyball was different. It took the GM's perspective and (spoiler alert) they lost in the first round of the playoffs. It redefined sports movies and I'm glad it got its due. I would have liked to have seen Bennett Miller get nominated for Best Director because I loved his style but after all the other nominations I knew that was too much to ask.
- I love Gary Oldman and I'm glad he got his due for his years of great work by getting a Best Actor nomination for his role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I also love Michael Fassbender but he did not get a Best Actor nomination for his role as a sex addict in the NC-17 rated Shame despite getting a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination for his work. While I haven't seen Shame (it's extremely hard to see NC-17 rated movies because mainstream theaters refuse to show them and mainstream stores like Wal-Mart refuse to sell them) but when I do end up seeing Shame I'm sure I will say Fassbender got snubbed.
- Kristen Wiig can say she has an Oscar nomination! She and her writing partner Annie Mumolo get nominated for writing Bridesmaids. While I'm glad to see the Academy broadened their scope and nominated a raunchy comedy, I'm still a little bitter that it took them this long. Writers for The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and especially Superbad did not get nominated for Best Original Screenplay and all were much more deserving than Wiig and Mumolo. Melissa McCarthy also got nominated for her role in Bridesmaids for Best Supporting Actress although this was no surprise. Not only did she get nominated in everything before this and stole the movie but the Academy has always looked kindly towards comedic actors getting nominated in supporting roles. Robert Downey Jr. got nominated in 2009 for his portrayal of an actor undergoing surgery to become a black man in Tropic Thunder and Marisa Tomei won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1992 for her work in My Cousin Vinny.
- To much of people's dismay, Tilda Swinton did not get anything for her role in We Need To Talk About Kevin. Not that I was going to see the film anyways but now I definitely do not have to see it because it didn't get any nominations.
- The Artist is going to sweep the Oscars this year and to be honest it's hard to argue with it. It was very well made, the acting (especially by its two leads) were great, and I was surprisingly entertained by it. No one is going to get Hurt Locker'd this year. I will say that as good as The Artist is, I never want to see it again. It's a one and done for me.
- My girlfriend was trying to force me to see The Help when it came out in theaters. I said "no" because it looked stupid and cheezy and I said the only way I will see it is if it gets nominated for Oscars. Thinking only chicks would like the film and it wouldn't get anything, I was fairly confident I wouldn't have to see it. Now I have to go see it as it got nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, and two Best Supporting Actresses. Damn.
- Young Adult was by far and away the best film of 2011. It was made by Oscar veterans Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air) and Diablo Cody (Juno) and starred Oscar veteran Charlize Theron (Monster). Yet it garnered absolutely no nominations. Hollywood hated the film which is absurd. The movie is not for everyone because it is purposefully not a feel good movie and purposefully left a sour taste in people's mouths at the end but so did No Country For Old Men and yet that swept the Oscars. I knew Hollywood hated the film so I knew Reitman would get screwed for Best Director and the film would get screwed for Best Picture but at minimum I thought it would get Best Original Screenplay and I had hoped Theron would squeak in as the 5th Best Actress slot. Instead, that went to Rooney Mara for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Clearly, Hollywood did not see the great Sweedish original. Patton Osawlt also got fucked for his great, nuanced performance in YA. Overall, the film is walking funny, Lisbeth Salander style because of what the Academy did to it (Sorry, that might have crossed the line. My bad.)
- I knew Brad Pitt was going to get nominated for his portrayal of Billy Beane in Moneyball and while it wasn't a lock, no one was surprised to see Jonah Hill get nominated for his portrayal of Peter Brand/ Paul DePodesta. But I was pleasantly surprised to see Moneyball get nominated for Best Picture as well. I know my fellow GOI authors disagree with me on the film and all four of us are biased by the movie because of our intense love of the Michael Lewis book but the film was great. All sports movies are about the underdog willing their way to win at all in the end but Moneyball was different. It took the GM's perspective and (spoiler alert) they lost in the first round of the playoffs. It redefined sports movies and I'm glad it got its due. I would have liked to have seen Bennett Miller get nominated for Best Director because I loved his style but after all the other nominations I knew that was too much to ask.
- I love Gary Oldman and I'm glad he got his due for his years of great work by getting a Best Actor nomination for his role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I also love Michael Fassbender but he did not get a Best Actor nomination for his role as a sex addict in the NC-17 rated Shame despite getting a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination for his work. While I haven't seen Shame (it's extremely hard to see NC-17 rated movies because mainstream theaters refuse to show them and mainstream stores like Wal-Mart refuse to sell them) but when I do end up seeing Shame I'm sure I will say Fassbender got snubbed.
- Kristen Wiig can say she has an Oscar nomination! She and her writing partner Annie Mumolo get nominated for writing Bridesmaids. While I'm glad to see the Academy broadened their scope and nominated a raunchy comedy, I'm still a little bitter that it took them this long. Writers for The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and especially Superbad did not get nominated for Best Original Screenplay and all were much more deserving than Wiig and Mumolo. Melissa McCarthy also got nominated for her role in Bridesmaids for Best Supporting Actress although this was no surprise. Not only did she get nominated in everything before this and stole the movie but the Academy has always looked kindly towards comedic actors getting nominated in supporting roles. Robert Downey Jr. got nominated in 2009 for his portrayal of an actor undergoing surgery to become a black man in Tropic Thunder and Marisa Tomei won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1992 for her work in My Cousin Vinny.
- To much of people's dismay, Tilda Swinton did not get anything for her role in We Need To Talk About Kevin. Not that I was going to see the film anyways but now I definitely do not have to see it because it didn't get any nominations.
- The Artist is going to sweep the Oscars this year and to be honest it's hard to argue with it. It was very well made, the acting (especially by its two leads) were great, and I was surprisingly entertained by it. No one is going to get Hurt Locker'd this year. I will say that as good as The Artist is, I never want to see it again. It's a one and done for me.
- My girlfriend was trying to force me to see The Help when it came out in theaters. I said "no" because it looked stupid and cheezy and I said the only way I will see it is if it gets nominated for Oscars. Thinking only chicks would like the film and it wouldn't get anything, I was fairly confident I wouldn't have to see it. Now I have to go see it as it got nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, and two Best Supporting Actresses. Damn.
#3- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Who's List Was This On
- Cubsfan4evr1: #2
- David "MVP" Eckstein: #9
- Daniel Bennett: #10
- Bryan Hernandez: t-#11
- Adam Kaplan: #20
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Written By: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, and Michael Fassbender
The Plot
The movie centers around three main characters: American Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) and his misfit team of Jewish-American soldiers who call themselves "The Basterds". This guerrilla group is dropped into war torn Europe during the Nazi's reign in WWII and whose sole goal is to cause havoc on the Nazi's and to eventually take down Adolf Hitler. Raine's second in command is Sgt. Donny Donowitz (a.k.a. The Bear Jew) played by Eli Roth, a local boy from Boston, Massachusetts who's main purpose in the group is to beat the hell out of Nazi's with a baseball bat.
The second story line centers around Col. Hans Landa (Waltz), a fairly high ranking officer in The Third Reich. The Colonel's nickname is The Jew Hunter and it is his mission to help wipe out the Jewish race and to stop The Basterds.
The last main story line follows the life of Shoshanna Dreyfus (Laurent), a young Jewish girl who has managed to escape the grasps of the Nazi's and ended up owning a movie theater in Paris. Shoshanna is then befriended by a young Nazi soldier by the name of Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) who's recent courageous acts have caused Joseph Goebbles (Sylvester Groth) to create a movie about him and Zoller wants his movie to be premiered in Shoshanna's theater.
Why This Movie Is Great
Tarantino movies are probably the hardest movies to analyze. After you first see the movie you love it. The film is so engaging and so exciting and so thrilling that you just can't help leave the theater with a smile on your face. The inherent problem (at least for me when trying to write a movie review) is to help explain the "why"? Why was the film so engaging and exciting and thrilling? Why did you leave the theater with a smile on your face?
Tarantino films do not delve deep into the human psyche like say a Martin Scorsese or Darren Aronofsky film would and his films do not portray a deeper message about the society we live in like a Steven Spielberg or Stanley Kubrick film does. In fact, his movies are most comparable to action movies where you like it because it's awesome. Tarantino gets most his influences from the crappy B movies he saw from his youth. But Tarantino makes the movie all his own.
If you saw any of Tarantino's films, especially Inglourious Basterds, you'd know it was a Tarantino film without seeing any of the credits whatsoever. QT has a movie style brand all of his own. It can not be copied or duplicated. You may try, but you will not succeed.
I think the real reason Inglourious Basterds is such a fantastic film is because Tarantino creates characters and scenes that are just so engaging and entertaining that you can't helped but be sucked in waiting for more. The scenes and characters may not necessarily have anything to do with the overarching plot, but because characters are so well developed and because they are so witty and engaging that you don't care. Two scenes from the film stick out to me that fit this description.
The first scene is the film's opening sequence between the French farmer (Denis Menochet) and Col. Hans Landa where the audience is introduced to the evil German. We get a sense of what makes this man tick and what his job entails. Truth be told, this scene is way too long if all the director wanted to accomplish was introduce characters but as the audience you love this scene. You don't care what another director would have done, you love what Quentin Tarantino did do. Plus, the length in the scene helps build tension for the final minutes of it. The build up and anticipation was not only fun to watch but well worth the wait.
The second scene is the entire sequence where Sgt Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), Archie Hicox (Fassbender), and Wilhelm Wicki (Gedeon Burkhard) meet up with the famous actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Kruger) in the basement of a local pub. Upon my last viewing of the film I timed how long the scene was and it went north of thirty minutes. The last five to ten minutes of the scene are the most important elements of it in order to advance the plot but you don't care how long the scene goes because these characters- especially Major Deiter Hellstrom (August Diehl), the Nazi soldier's commander- are so engaging and entertaining that you never want the fun to end. The vast majority of the scene are just people playing 20 questions but because of Tarantino's genius you love every minute of it.
The actor that steals the movie is Christoph Waltz who beautifully plays Col. Handa. Waltz's award for Best Supporting Actor was the only Academy Award the film received (because the film got Hurt Locker'd by Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker. The next year The Social Network got Hurt Locker'd by The King's Speech). If it wasn't for The Joker the year before in The Dark Knight Col. Hans Landa would be my personal favorite movie villain of all time. Col Landa's actions are reprehensible but he's so much fun to have a conversation with. ("That's a BINGO!") He's so playful and smart and witty and I throughly enjoyed every minute he was on screen.
Tarantino also adds his love of movies into Inglorious Basterds as it becomes a motif throughout the entire film. Archie Hicox is an English soldier who also happens to be a film historian and discusses in length to General Ed Fenech (Mike Myers) the history of German cinema, The Basterds mole within the German society is an German actress, and Shoshanna owns a movie theater and there is interest to have Fredrick Zoller's movie shown in her hall- just name a few examples of this motif. It's very meta and nerdy of Tarantino and I love it.
One last thing I'll say about Inglourious Basterds is that it was genius of Tarantino to make most of the movie in another language. Col. Landa is awesome in three languages. I think it's a cop out (most notably in Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Scorsese's Hugo) to set a movie in another country and yet all the actors speak English. Moviegoers are smart enough and well equipped enough to handle reading subtitles. When Landa is talking to Goebbles, he appropriately talks in German. When Landa initially meets the French farmer, he appropriately talks in French. What a novel concept! I appreciated the movie much more because it was in three languages as opposed to the entire thing being in English.
Inglourious Basterds is just a classic Tarantino picture and one that anyone can enjoy. He re-writes history that only Quentin Tarantino can and for that we here at Game Of Inches thank him by putting this 2009 epic #3 on our list of the 25 Greatest Films In The Past 25 Years.
#4- The Departed (2006)
Who's List Was This On
- David "MVP" Eckstein: #4
- Bryan Hernandez: #4
- Daniel Bennett: #9
- The 'Bright' One: #12
TOTAL VOTES RECEIVED: 75
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: William Monahan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, and Martin Sheen
Based Upon: The Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs directed by Alan Mak and Andrew Lau.
The Plot
The Boston Police Department is on a manhunt to stop one of the city's most powerful gangs led by Frank Costello (Nicholson). To help stop Costello, the BDP places Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) as a mole in Costello's gang. On the other hand Frank Costello has a mole in the BDP- Colin Sullivan (Damon). The Boston Police Department promotes Sullivan to search for Costello's mole within the BDP. While leading the task force Sullivan searches out for the BDP mole within Costello's gang while Billy Costigan searches for Frank Costello's mole within the BDP. The movie turns into a double cat and mouse chase as Cositgan and Sullivan each search out to find the true identity of other one.
Why This Movie Is Great
Martin Scorsese's second appearance on this list (or first which ever way you want to look at it) is a certifiable bad ass movie. During one of the first scenes of the film, Billy Costigan gets accosted for drinking cranberry juice by a bar patron. "It's a natural diuretic. My girlfriend drinks it when she's get her period. What, do you got your period?" DiCaprio looks at the patron and then proceeds to smash his glass in the man's face and beat the crap out of him. The film slam on the gas and never lets up until the ending credits role.
The Departed is the ultimate cat and mouse movie. Billy Costigan is on the look out for Colin Sullivan while Colin Sullivan is on the look out for Billy Costigan while at the same time each men is on a search to find the mole: themselves.
Sullivan was raised by Frank Costello and was bred to be a gangster. In order to fulfill his "gangster duties" Costello sends Sullivan to be his personal spy within the Boston Police Department. On the other side, all Billy Costigan wants to do is be a police officer. After excelling in the Academy but before even becoming remotely entrenched within the BDP (therefore no cops will be able to recognize Costigan which makes Costigan the perfect mole) Billy's first assignment as a police officer is to become a gangster.
Not only does Scorsese tell an amazing story and keeps you on the edge of your seat as he navigates you through the twists and turns of this cat and mouse chase but the film gets another dynamic layer as Scorsese smartly chooses to set the film in Boston. Recently I ranked The Departed as the second best Boston movie of all time. The reason the film works so well in Boston is because the film has a motif of guilt running through it. Boston has one of the biggest percentages of Irish-Catholics in America and what are Irish-Catholics known for: guilt. Plus, Colin tells Madolyn one night, "what Freud said about the Irish is we're the only people impervious to psychoanalysis." The story works so well because the main characters are Irish-Catholic and there's no better place to set a story about Irish-Catholics (other than Ireland itself) than Boston, Massachusetts.
Both Sullivan and Billy struggle with their newfound roles that they have and both have to confide in police therapist Madolyn (Farmiga). Both men have grown up knowing one thing and now each one is conflicted by living a lie in a world in which they don't belong in while having that Irish-Catholic guilt wash over them.
Martin Scorsese FINALLY won an Academy Award for Best Director for his work on The Departed (the second best film he's ever made behind Goodfellas) which helped propel the movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
Other Notes
- Jack Nicholson's character, Frank Costello, was based after the most infamous man in Boston's history: Whitey Bulger . Bulger was finally captured in the summer of 2011 at the age of 81.
- I love Leo DiCapro but he's terrible at accents. He couldn't do one in Blood Diamonds and he couldn't do a Boston accent in The Departed. Jack Nicholson realized he couldn't do one so he just said "fuck it" and spoke normally.
