Today, on July 31, 2011, Minnesota Twins DH Jim Thome hit his 597th home run. It is likely that he will hit his 600th career home run later this year. Maybe this post is more appropriate when Thome does end up getting three more dingers, but I'm bored right now and I want to make sure this post gets written as opposed to me wanting to write it but then claim I am too busy when that 600th hit comes.
Even though I am a White Sox fan and Thome only played four seasons on The South Side as opposed to 12 with a ChiSox inter division rival (the Indians), I will always love Jim Thome as a baseball fan. It also helps that I really only started getting into baseball in 2005.
The reason for this post is because I feel Thome gets no love. It doesn't help that he played the vast majority of his career in small markets. Cleveland will never get the kind of love on ESPN that Boston or New York gets. He played four seasons on the less covered Chicago team and is currently on his second season for the Twinkies in Minnesota. That is 18 out of his 21 year career on a non-major market team.
Everyone makes the biggest stink in the world about A-Rod's 600th home run and the overrated Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit but when a guy like Jim Thome has a countdown to a monumental feat, nobody (and by nobody I mean ESPN) seems to care.
However, Thome is one of the greatest offensive players of his generation. He played for that great Indians line up in the 90's that included greats like Albert Belle, Manny, Kenny Lofton, and Omar Vizquel. That line up was like the modern day Big Red Machine or the precursor to this 2011 Boston Beast.
For right now, I would like to take a look at Thome's career stats and just stare at awe and wonder at them and hope he gets your respect (if he hasn't already) that he deserves. Thome has a career .277 batting average to go along with his career .403 on base and .960 career OPS (for those of you who can not or do not want to do the math, that is a career .557 SLG).
Thome's 597 home runs are good for 8th best all time and is the 5th best player in history with a 13.8 at-bat per home run.
And Jim Thome did all of this in the steroid era without any whiff or hint that he ever took performance-enhancing drugs.
One last thing / anecdote before I leave. I was watching a White Sox game in 2006 when the camera panned to a young male fan in the stands holding up a sign. The sign read: "My mom thinks Scottie's [Scott Podsednik] a hottie but Thome's my homey" I feel like that's the kind of guy Thome was. He was a guy everyone loved. When Sox GM Kenny Williams shipped Thome off to the Dodgers in 2009, he convinced everyone in Chicago that this was best for the guy and we all seemed to like the move, even though it hurt the team in the long run. Thome had a much better chance at winning a title with playoff bound L.A. as opposed to the struggling White Sox. Even though Thome could and still can produce, we all just wanted what was best for Jim Thome and we didn't care about our silly ol' team.
*double chest pound with right fist* Props to you Jim Thome. May you get the respect you deserve.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
New Podcast Up with Jeffrey Gross
Sexy Rexy and David "MVP" Eckstein have our annual summer movie preview
You can listen to the podcast here
__________________________________________
NOTE: If you want to download these or any of GOI's podcast's via iTunes just follow these instructions. Go to the iTunes store and type "Game Of Inches" into it. If you don't see the GOI logo (the one with the fuzzy black background and bright "GOI" lettering on it) then go to the left where it says "Filter By Media Type" and click on "Podcasts". You should see two logos. The second one has the newer podcasts.
You can listen to the podcast here
__________________________________________
NOTE: If you want to download these or any of GOI's podcast's via iTunes just follow these instructions. Go to the iTunes store and type "Game Of Inches" into it. If you don't see the GOI logo (the one with the fuzzy black background and bright "GOI" lettering on it) then go to the left where it says "Filter By Media Type" and click on "Podcasts". You should see two logos. The second one has the newer podcasts.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
NFL Free Agency Thoughts. Part I.
Maybe this will be like History of the World and not have a Part II. Or maybe this will be like Kill Bill. Who knows. Either way, Part I is awesome.
Was it in the new CBA that 50% of your roster in 2010 was not allowed to be on your roster in 2011? I understand there was a lockout and everything but I can't remember an offseason being this crazy. Ever. Who isn't a free agent? Or got traded? Or flat out released?
New England Patriots
- Chad Ochocinco reminds me a lot of another disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals player who went to New England and transformed the Patriots offense- RB Corey Dillon. Both Dillon and Ochocinco were great players who got bad raps unfairly. Dillon, like Ochocinco, was just upset at being in Cincy and just wanted out. Maybe he shouldn't have created a fuss in the press but ultimately he got his wish- a trade and a playoff ring. But Corey Dillon was 29 and still in his prime when he got traded. Chad is currently 33 and has looked really bad in the past two seasons. Dillon was just injured in his last season in Ohio. What's Ochocinco's excuse? Although having the great Tom Brady can do wonders for a person's career.
- On a recent podcast, Cubsfan said he's rank Braylon Edwards a top 5 wide out in fantasy if he signed with New England. I assume he'd feel pretty strongly about Ochocinco as well. I still don't trust it and won't draft Ochocinco, but I'm risk averse. I"m sure he'll be the next Randy Moss.
- DT Albert Haynesworth has always had the talent to be a top 3 DT in the game since leaving Tennessee. Washington tends to do that to players though- bring out the crapiness in players (Although in Rex Grossman's case, there was nothing to bring out. It was already there). In Belichick we trust. However, I do find it strange that Haynesworth threw a stink when he was forced to play nose tackle in the 3-4 scheme under Shanahan. I really hope Albert knows the Pats play in a 3-4 scheme. Plus the Pats have one of, if not the best, nose tackles in game in Vince Wilfork. This moves seems really strange.
- The Pats mold for winning championships was always having the best offense and defensive lines, linebackers who were hungry and versatile enough to play in Belichick's scheme and Tom Brady to win on the very last drive because the team really wasn't that good throughout the first 3.75 quarters. Didn't the Patriots learn from Adalius Thomas! Paying for free agents will always backfire in your face!
Philadelphia Eagles
- Two years ago Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie was a top two cornerback. Last year he wasn't even close to the mediocrity that his cousin (Antonio Cromartie) was. Gotta think he'll be back to his top self playing next to Asante Samuel. Although he'll still be like his cousin was last year in the sense that quarterbacks will still be targeting him because he's the second best CB on his team. However, very few teams can have the privilege of having the caliber and talent of a guy like ARC as their *number two* corner.
- The sun will rise tomorrow. Bill Belichick will give the most boring press conferences in the world. And Michael Vick will get hurt in 2011. If it was just for draft picks, the Eagles shouldn't have traded QB Kevin Kolb because they will absolutely need him for games next season. However, you could not have passed up a deal like what Arizona gave them.
- DE Jason Babin was one of the best pass rushers (if not the best. How often do you think I can say that phrase in this post? My over/under is 5. I'm at 2 now) in the game in 2010. However, he was on his 5th team last year and had his break out season at age 31. This is also his second go-around with the Eagles. I don't trust him moving forward and thought that was a dumb move signing Babin by the normally smart Eagles.
Quarterbacks
- If Washington Redskins fans hated Donovan McNabb boy they are going to love Rex Grossman
- Kevin Kolb can hit the broad side of a barn. He can throw a ball into the ocean and it will actually hit water. Sounds easy right? Well it was something Derek Anderson, Max Hall, and John Skelton could not do in 2010. Larry Fitzgerald is now a top ten fantasy wide out and will most likely go to the Pro Bowl in 2011. It looks like Early Doucet will play opposite of Fitzy which I don't like as much as if Steve Breaston was there. But hey, Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme went to a Superbowl and Pro Bowls together with less. (Less meaning Jake Delhomme was in the equation)
- McNabb and Christian Ponder both probably have the same skill set right now. McNabb's skill is declining while Ponder's skill is rising and right now they're meeting at the exact same spot. However, both suck and will suck long term. Have fun being in the cellar for the next couple of years Minnesota!
- Matt Hasselbeck will do his best Kerry Collins impression in Tennessee.
- Matt Leinart choose to stay in Houston as opposed to go to Seattle and be reunited with his college coach Pete Carrol. He claims he wanted to have a starting job and with Tavaris Jackson there that shot is lost. It makes sense because Matt Schaub is not even close to what Tavaris Jackson is. Matt Schuab wishes one day he could be Tavaris Jackson. Leinart had/has the talent to be a damn fine, if not great, starting quarterback (Three?). Instead he wants to be a perennial back up so he doesn't actually have to do shit and still gets to say to chicks that he's a professional football player to fuck them. It's a pussy-shit move on Leinart's part and of many in the storied career of the Heisman winner.
- In a post I wrote in February and re-wrote in last July, the best quarterback available this offseason is Kyle Orton. He has proven how good he is in both Chicago and Denver and can adapt to your system. I find it hard to believe that it's difficult to pry him away from Denver right now.
Chicago Bears
- This comes from a facebook status of a friend of mine:
- I actually don't mind getting rid of Greg Olson, it's what we got back that upsets me. Once I saw him get full playing time I started to grow weary and disdainful of him. TBO ragged on me for that for the past two years. Apparently the rest of the league knew what I knew as he gets traded only for a 3rd round draft pick. That's a bit ridiculous.
- With Olson gone I don't know who Jay Cutler is going to have butt sex with now. Is he going to have secret trysts, Brokeback Mountain style, to North Carolina? Maybe breaking up with KC was premature.
- The Bears do not need Olin Kruetz. He's way past his prime and he's 34 years old. He has not been good for years and the Bears do not need him. Being in Chicago I keep hearing the Bears do. ESPN radio host here in Chicago Carmen DeFalco was upset because the Cardinals signed center Kyle Sendlein (???) and he was to be the fall back plan if Kruetz doesn't sign with us. The Bears can trot out right now as an offensive line this year- Gabe Carimi, Chris Williams, Roberto Garza, J'Marcus Webb, and Frank Omiyale and it will still be better than our porous O-line from last year because we have Carimi. Either Webb or Garza an play center just as well as Kruetz did the past few seasons. So can you.
- A sidenote to my previous point- the New York Giants just released center Shaun O'Hara and G Rich Seubert. Both would be upgrades over what Chicago has now. Center Jonathan Goodwin (formerly of New Orleans) is also still available. Plenty of O-lineman still out there for the Bears to get.
- There are plenty of great wide outs still left as well. The Bears will not get any of them. The Rams should get a few if they're smart.
I know there are many, many, many, many more free agent stuff to talk about but I had to delete the word "quick" from the title of my post because this mofo is like three hours long. If I have time maybe some thoughts on guys like Reggie Bush, Takeo Spikes, and Sidney Rice. But for another time.
Was it in the new CBA that 50% of your roster in 2010 was not allowed to be on your roster in 2011? I understand there was a lockout and everything but I can't remember an offseason being this crazy. Ever. Who isn't a free agent? Or got traded? Or flat out released?
New England Patriots
- Chad Ochocinco reminds me a lot of another disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals player who went to New England and transformed the Patriots offense- RB Corey Dillon. Both Dillon and Ochocinco were great players who got bad raps unfairly. Dillon, like Ochocinco, was just upset at being in Cincy and just wanted out. Maybe he shouldn't have created a fuss in the press but ultimately he got his wish- a trade and a playoff ring. But Corey Dillon was 29 and still in his prime when he got traded. Chad is currently 33 and has looked really bad in the past two seasons. Dillon was just injured in his last season in Ohio. What's Ochocinco's excuse? Although having the great Tom Brady can do wonders for a person's career.
- On a recent podcast, Cubsfan said he's rank Braylon Edwards a top 5 wide out in fantasy if he signed with New England. I assume he'd feel pretty strongly about Ochocinco as well. I still don't trust it and won't draft Ochocinco, but I'm risk averse. I"m sure he'll be the next Randy Moss.
- DT Albert Haynesworth has always had the talent to be a top 3 DT in the game since leaving Tennessee. Washington tends to do that to players though- bring out the crapiness in players (Although in Rex Grossman's case, there was nothing to bring out. It was already there). In Belichick we trust. However, I do find it strange that Haynesworth threw a stink when he was forced to play nose tackle in the 3-4 scheme under Shanahan. I really hope Albert knows the Pats play in a 3-4 scheme. Plus the Pats have one of, if not the best, nose tackles in game in Vince Wilfork. This moves seems really strange.
- The Pats mold for winning championships was always having the best offense and defensive lines, linebackers who were hungry and versatile enough to play in Belichick's scheme and Tom Brady to win on the very last drive because the team really wasn't that good throughout the first 3.75 quarters. Didn't the Patriots learn from Adalius Thomas! Paying for free agents will always backfire in your face!
Philadelphia Eagles
- Two years ago Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie was a top two cornerback. Last year he wasn't even close to the mediocrity that his cousin (Antonio Cromartie) was. Gotta think he'll be back to his top self playing next to Asante Samuel. Although he'll still be like his cousin was last year in the sense that quarterbacks will still be targeting him because he's the second best CB on his team. However, very few teams can have the privilege of having the caliber and talent of a guy like ARC as their *number two* corner.
- The sun will rise tomorrow. Bill Belichick will give the most boring press conferences in the world. And Michael Vick will get hurt in 2011. If it was just for draft picks, the Eagles shouldn't have traded QB Kevin Kolb because they will absolutely need him for games next season. However, you could not have passed up a deal like what Arizona gave them.
- DE Jason Babin was one of the best pass rushers (if not the best. How often do you think I can say that phrase in this post? My over/under is 5. I'm at 2 now) in the game in 2010. However, he was on his 5th team last year and had his break out season at age 31. This is also his second go-around with the Eagles. I don't trust him moving forward and thought that was a dumb move signing Babin by the normally smart Eagles.
Quarterbacks
- If Washington Redskins fans hated Donovan McNabb boy they are going to love Rex Grossman
- Kevin Kolb can hit the broad side of a barn. He can throw a ball into the ocean and it will actually hit water. Sounds easy right? Well it was something Derek Anderson, Max Hall, and John Skelton could not do in 2010. Larry Fitzgerald is now a top ten fantasy wide out and will most likely go to the Pro Bowl in 2011. It looks like Early Doucet will play opposite of Fitzy which I don't like as much as if Steve Breaston was there. But hey, Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme went to a Superbowl and Pro Bowls together with less. (Less meaning Jake Delhomme was in the equation)
- McNabb and Christian Ponder both probably have the same skill set right now. McNabb's skill is declining while Ponder's skill is rising and right now they're meeting at the exact same spot. However, both suck and will suck long term. Have fun being in the cellar for the next couple of years Minnesota!
- Matt Hasselbeck will do his best Kerry Collins impression in Tennessee.
- Matt Leinart choose to stay in Houston as opposed to go to Seattle and be reunited with his college coach Pete Carrol. He claims he wanted to have a starting job and with Tavaris Jackson there that shot is lost. It makes sense because Matt Schaub is not even close to what Tavaris Jackson is. Matt Schuab wishes one day he could be Tavaris Jackson. Leinart had/has the talent to be a damn fine, if not great, starting quarterback (Three?). Instead he wants to be a perennial back up so he doesn't actually have to do shit and still gets to say to chicks that he's a professional football player to fuck them. It's a pussy-shit move on Leinart's part and of many in the storied career of the Heisman winner.
- In a post I wrote in February and re-wrote in last July, the best quarterback available this offseason is Kyle Orton. He has proven how good he is in both Chicago and Denver and can adapt to your system. I find it hard to believe that it's difficult to pry him away from Denver right now.
Chicago Bears
- This comes from a facebook status of a friend of mine:
Busy sports day! Getting rid of Maynard, Olsen, Manumaleuna, losing Daniel Manning, and possibly kreutz is not what worries me. What worries me is that many of the players that the Bears initially went after had no interest in the Bears. I think its time for the Bears to do a little Self-reflection and figure out why?Well, we know why- the Bears are a shit organization right now filled with shit leadership going all the way to the top.
- I actually don't mind getting rid of Greg Olson, it's what we got back that upsets me. Once I saw him get full playing time I started to grow weary and disdainful of him. TBO ragged on me for that for the past two years. Apparently the rest of the league knew what I knew as he gets traded only for a 3rd round draft pick. That's a bit ridiculous.
- With Olson gone I don't know who Jay Cutler is going to have butt sex with now. Is he going to have secret trysts, Brokeback Mountain style, to North Carolina? Maybe breaking up with KC was premature.
- The Bears do not need Olin Kruetz. He's way past his prime and he's 34 years old. He has not been good for years and the Bears do not need him. Being in Chicago I keep hearing the Bears do. ESPN radio host here in Chicago Carmen DeFalco was upset because the Cardinals signed center Kyle Sendlein (???) and he was to be the fall back plan if Kruetz doesn't sign with us. The Bears can trot out right now as an offensive line this year- Gabe Carimi, Chris Williams, Roberto Garza, J'Marcus Webb, and Frank Omiyale and it will still be better than our porous O-line from last year because we have Carimi. Either Webb or Garza an play center just as well as Kruetz did the past few seasons. So can you.
- A sidenote to my previous point- the New York Giants just released center Shaun O'Hara and G Rich Seubert. Both would be upgrades over what Chicago has now. Center Jonathan Goodwin (formerly of New Orleans) is also still available. Plenty of O-lineman still out there for the Bears to get.
- There are plenty of great wide outs still left as well. The Bears will not get any of them. The Rams should get a few if they're smart.
I know there are many, many, many, many more free agent stuff to talk about but I had to delete the word "quick" from the title of my post because this mofo is like three hours long. If I have time maybe some thoughts on guys like Reggie Bush, Takeo Spikes, and Sidney Rice. But for another time.
Rasmus The Blue Jay
My latest article for The Hardball Times is up, analyzing Colby Ramsus' future as a Blue Jay. Enjoy. As always, the chart data prevents me from posting it here.
The Overrated Trading Deadline
For some reason we care about the MLB trading deadline. I think partially it is because there’s not a whole lot going on right now. (Normally) NFL is in a lull because it is the time before training camps and after free agency. The NBA and NHL are in their offseason and the MLB has dragged on for so long at this point, the only thing we have to talk about is the baseball trading deadline. When you’re SportsCenter and you run ten new SC’s a day, you start to run out quickly on things to talk about (normally) during this time period.
However, when it is all said and done, the trading deadline in recent years does not affect a whole lot. Sure, it may be the difference maker in some instances of which teams make the playoffs, but it has made a minuscule impact on who wins the World Series. My theory for this, is that you need to put together a good team from the get go and you use the trading deadline to get a few extra cogs here and there. But, if you need to use the trading deadline to get a huge, key component, then you really were not *that* good of a team to begin with.
Here’s a list of the past few World Series winners and their “big” trading deadline piece(s):
- 2010- San Francisco Giants: OF Jose Guillen, INF Mike Fontenot, OF Cody Ross (from waivers)
- 2009- New York Yankees: OF/3B Eric Hinske
- 2008- Philadelphia Phillies: SP Joe Blanton
- 2007- Boston Red Sox: (I personally can’t find what free agency moves the Red Sox made in ’07 but it looks like their opening day line up was their WS line up and the only new major contributors were rookies like Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz)
- 2006- St. Louis Cardinals: SP Jeff Weaver, 2B Ronnie Belliard
- 2005- Chicago White Sox- 1B Geoff Blum
Now don’t get it twisted. Many of the guys on this list were integral to helping their teams win the World Series. Jeff Weaver was somehow phenomenal in the post season to help the Cardinals win. Guillen and Ross were part of the misfit line up San Fran trotted out there to help that anemic offense. Geoff Blum hit the game winning home run in that 14 inning contest between the White Sox and Houston. These guys made a difference but they are scraps compared to some other notable mid-season acquisitions in recent years like Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia.
Speaking of Lee and Sabathia, they were really good moves for their respected clubs. The Milwaukee Brewers rode on C.C.’s back (literally and figuratively) to earn a much needed playoff birth. Cliff Lee helped the Phillies and Rangers get to the World Series. So obvious free agency can help your franchise do something in the year they are acquired, but I think it is fool’s gold to think midseason pick ups can help your club win the whole she-bang.
However, when it is all said and done, the trading deadline in recent years does not affect a whole lot. Sure, it may be the difference maker in some instances of which teams make the playoffs, but it has made a minuscule impact on who wins the World Series. My theory for this, is that you need to put together a good team from the get go and you use the trading deadline to get a few extra cogs here and there. But, if you need to use the trading deadline to get a huge, key component, then you really were not *that* good of a team to begin with.
Here’s a list of the past few World Series winners and their “big” trading deadline piece(s):
- 2010- San Francisco Giants: OF Jose Guillen, INF Mike Fontenot, OF Cody Ross (from waivers)
- 2009- New York Yankees: OF/3B Eric Hinske
- 2008- Philadelphia Phillies: SP Joe Blanton
- 2007- Boston Red Sox: (I personally can’t find what free agency moves the Red Sox made in ’07 but it looks like their opening day line up was their WS line up and the only new major contributors were rookies like Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz)
- 2006- St. Louis Cardinals: SP Jeff Weaver, 2B Ronnie Belliard
- 2005- Chicago White Sox- 1B Geoff Blum
Now don’t get it twisted. Many of the guys on this list were integral to helping their teams win the World Series. Jeff Weaver was somehow phenomenal in the post season to help the Cardinals win. Guillen and Ross were part of the misfit line up San Fran trotted out there to help that anemic offense. Geoff Blum hit the game winning home run in that 14 inning contest between the White Sox and Houston. These guys made a difference but they are scraps compared to some other notable mid-season acquisitions in recent years like Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia.
Speaking of Lee and Sabathia, they were really good moves for their respected clubs. The Milwaukee Brewers rode on C.C.’s back (literally and figuratively) to earn a much needed playoff birth. Cliff Lee helped the Phillies and Rangers get to the World Series. So obvious free agency can help your franchise do something in the year they are acquired, but I think it is fool’s gold to think midseason pick ups can help your club win the whole she-bang.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Quarterback Solutions
Here is a post that I wrote on February 25th, 2011 that I think is applicable today
________________________________________
While every year there are always NFL teams that have quarterback needs, it seems like this year more than any other year that there is an abundance of teams in need of a quarterback. While I am truly under the belief you do not need an elite quarterback if you have a great defense to win playoff games and championships, most teams do not have a great defense and thus a great quarterback becomes necessary.
The Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans (assuming they actually do release Vince Young once the NFL can actually go into free agency), Washington Redskins, and Minnesota Vikings currently do not have a capable short term or long term quarterback solution on their roster. The Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and Oakland Raiders have a fine short term solution but are in desperate need of a long term solution- especially considering these teams have a quarterback that is not very talented and/or are very late in their careers and are on the decline. The Carolina Panthers (Jimmy Claussen), New York Jets (Mark Sanchez) and Detroit Lions (Matthew Stafford) have young guys on their roster that currently look like wild cards. They could become a competent above average quarterback or could become a bust.
That's 12 teams that are in need or could possibly need a quarterback.
Three of these teams will draft Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton, and Ryan Mallet (who I predict will all be drafted in the first round) eliminating this list down to 9 teams and the addition of Jake Locker and Andy Dalton to teams make those respective organizations have high hopes for the future.
But there's still a handful of teams that need a quarterback. So here's my list of available guys (or guys who I think can realistically become available) for teams via free agency or trades
LONG TERM SOLUTIONS
1) Kyle Orton
Current Team: Denver Broncos
I'm fully aware that new Broncos head coach recently stated that Kyle Orton is currently the team's #1 QB- but he did qualify that statement saying that Orton was the team's top guy when he competes in training camp. Orton, and rightfully so, is upset at his organization considering he wants to start, he has the talent to start, yet he's being benched for Tim Tebow. Kyle Orton has done nothing wrong, yet he feels like he's being punished. Denver is fully aware of disgruntled quarterbacks and there's no reason why the organization shouldn't trade him a la Jay Cutler in 2009.
The team drafted Tim Tebow in the first round last year. Granted, that selection was Josh McDaniels' pick and right now Denver is under the John Fox era. But for better or for worse this team is "stuck" with Tebow. Tebow had the highest selling jersey last year and there's no reason to think that this kid can't be the franchise. The logical step for Denver is to trade Orton and build the team around Tebow.
I put Orton as my number one "free agent choice" because he's proven to be a winner, proven to be good, and is only 28 years old. I saw Orton in his rookie year and he looked like the quintessential game manager. He let that elite defense do its thing and his job was just to not turn the ball over. And he did just that. But he's matured and progressed throughout his career. When Orton regained the starting position for the Bears three years later, he looked like a different quarterback. Not only was he not turning the ball over but he was leading his team down to scoring drives.
Orton can still develop some and he still does have some deficiencies- mainly a career QB completion percentage under 60.0% (58.1) and he still doesn't have that elite quality like a Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers where he can personally lead his team on essential scoring drives. However, I see no reason why he can't be like Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco.
2) Kevin Kolb
Current Team: Philadelphia Eagles
I'm going to try to keep these blurbs short and sweet from now on, but I had to express my love for Orton.
The problem with Kolb is that he's still an unknown. He only has 7 career starts and I won't even fully judge a quarterback after 16 straight starts. But Kolb was a high draft pick (second round), learned how to play under the tutelage of the Eagles system, and is only 27 years old. There's still plenty of time for him to develop into a great quarterback .
With the emergence of Michael Vick becoming an elite quarterback, the Eagles don't really need Kolb as much as they thought the did and not only is trading away Kolb more than a theoretical prediction (like with Orton) but I will guarantee you Kevin Kolb will be a starting quarterback for another team besides the Eagles once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.
3) Vince Young
Current Team: Tennessee Titans
Vince Young just wins games. Sure, he has so many turnovers that it forces the opposition to be in the game, but he more than makes up for it with his game winning drives.
Vince Young has the talent to be great but I think there are two main obstacles in his way: turnovers and his maturity. Turnovers are a correctable problems but throughout Young's professional career he has a history of fumbling and forcing interceptions. This could be solved but I fear his immaturity could get in the way of just that. I'm still not 100% sold that Young truly has a maturity problem but when a coach like Jeff Fischer not only says so but leaves the team because of it, it absolutely raises some red flags about this guy.
Now I am operating under the assumption that the Titans will release Young but now with coach Fischer out of the picture and Young being owner Bud Adams' boy, I'm not so sure about this. However, if Young does get released, he's a great addition to another team and there's a chance that not only can another team help Young mature, but like when Cedric Benson got released, humble the man and help him reach his potential.
4) Matt Leinart
Current Team: Houston Texans
I'm very upset at the Arizona Cardinals for putting me in the position to keep praising Matt Leinart over and over again. While I hated him at USC because of all the hype he received, he still has talent.
This is a kid who would have been the number one overall pick (ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith) had he left school early, a kid who was still a first round draft pick, and still learned the game from one of the greats in Kurt Warner. Now he does have maturity issues and I do think his football maturity has been stunted from not being able to be a consistent starter every week, but I still think he still has the potential to be a starter.
While the Houston Texans have not stated anything about trading Leinart nor does it seems any team has inquired about Leinart, I can easily foresee the USC grad pulling a Matt Schaub and going from a perennial back up to a legit starter.
5) Drew Stanton
Current Team: Detroit Lions
It looks very unlikely that the Lions will resign Stanton making him a free agent soon. Even though Stanton has the best win percentage out of any Lions quarterback the past few years, the team still has better options. Even though Matthew Stafford has the body of glass, he still looks like a really good quarterback and, if healthy, has the ceiling to be elite. Shaun Hill looked really good as a back up in Detroit and while I could see the potential that the team could either keep Stanton and release Shaun Hill (placing Hill #3 in the short term category below) or releasing both Hill and Stanton, if the Lions do release Stanton, I think the 26 year old is worth the shot. Hell, he looked good at the end of the season in 2010.
6) Brady Quinn
Current Team: Denver Broncos
Similar to Matt Leinart- Quinn was a high draft pick who never got the chance to be a consistent starter. Say what you will about Charlie Weis but I think he's a damn fine offensive mind and knows his quarterbacks. I truly believe that neither Tom Brady nor Matt Cassel would be where they are today with Wies. So I believe a talented kid learning from Weis could be really good if given a starter job week after week.
While I do find it very hard to believe that Denver would release/trade both Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn when they still have an unknown entity as the starting quarterback, I can't imagine the Broncos organizations thinks *that* highly of Quinn and the guy still is only 26 years old with professional starting experience.
7) Caleb Hanie
Current Team: Chicago Bears
When you have workhorse, tough quarterback like Jay Cutler, you don't really need to worry about who your back up is (a. unless that back up is Todd Collins b. I don't want to hear your crap about why you think Cutler isn't tough c. I know Bears fans are still getting used to the prospect about the back up quarterback being irrelevant). Caleb Hanie really is expendable to the organization.
Even after watching Bears training camp practices, exhibition games, and their full regular season and playoffs, I still can't tell you a whole lot about the talent of Hanie, but based upon the limited playing time he's had and his performance in the NFC Championship game, I think he's worth a flyer if you're truly desperate for a quarterback.
SHORT TERM SOLUTIONS
1) Carson Palmer
Current Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Carson Palmer has talent- I think there's no denying that. But Palmer isn't the same quarterback since his knee surgery. Palmer is not only on the wrong side of 30 but he doesn't really look like the same QB. But with that being said, I can easily foresee Palmer looking like his old self with a new change of scenery.
The biggest hurdle to Palmer changing teams is the Bengals organization themselves. They love Palmer and don't want to trade him. If I was running the team I would jump at the best second round draft pick offer that came my way, but I think Palmer stays (and plays) in Cincinnati for the remainder of his contract.
2) Ryan Fitzpatrick
Current Team: Buffalo Bills
Even though Fitzpatrick is only 28 years old and had a damn fine season in 2010, the reason I put him in the short term category is for the same reason I don't think the Bills should draft a quarterback (or at least a QB who they plan to start in 2011) in the upcoming draft- FItzpatrick to me is a fill-in player. He is an average player who will not only won't hurt your team but will allow your organization to build up other essential positions before the team replaces the quarterback.
With Mel Kiper's latest draft update having Cam Newton going #3 overall to the Bills, Fitzpatrick becomes that much more expendable to the Bills organization and more suited for another starting gig somewhere else.
3) Donovan McNabb
Current Team: Washington Redskins
I'm not 100& convinced McNabb is done but the biggest hurdle will not be McNabb's age or skill set but that awful contract the Redskins signed him to. Because of that I think Donovan stays a Redskin in 2011.
________________________________________
While every year there are always NFL teams that have quarterback needs, it seems like this year more than any other year that there is an abundance of teams in need of a quarterback. While I am truly under the belief you do not need an elite quarterback if you have a great defense to win playoff games and championships, most teams do not have a great defense and thus a great quarterback becomes necessary.
The Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans (assuming they actually do release Vince Young once the NFL can actually go into free agency), Washington Redskins, and Minnesota Vikings currently do not have a capable short term or long term quarterback solution on their roster. The Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and Oakland Raiders have a fine short term solution but are in desperate need of a long term solution- especially considering these teams have a quarterback that is not very talented and/or are very late in their careers and are on the decline. The Carolina Panthers (Jimmy Claussen), New York Jets (Mark Sanchez) and Detroit Lions (Matthew Stafford) have young guys on their roster that currently look like wild cards. They could become a competent above average quarterback or could become a bust.
That's 12 teams that are in need or could possibly need a quarterback.
Three of these teams will draft Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton, and Ryan Mallet (who I predict will all be drafted in the first round) eliminating this list down to 9 teams and the addition of Jake Locker and Andy Dalton to teams make those respective organizations have high hopes for the future.
But there's still a handful of teams that need a quarterback. So here's my list of available guys (or guys who I think can realistically become available) for teams via free agency or trades
LONG TERM SOLUTIONS
1) Kyle OrtonCurrent Team: Denver Broncos
I'm fully aware that new Broncos head coach recently stated that Kyle Orton is currently the team's #1 QB- but he did qualify that statement saying that Orton was the team's top guy when he competes in training camp. Orton, and rightfully so, is upset at his organization considering he wants to start, he has the talent to start, yet he's being benched for Tim Tebow. Kyle Orton has done nothing wrong, yet he feels like he's being punished. Denver is fully aware of disgruntled quarterbacks and there's no reason why the organization shouldn't trade him a la Jay Cutler in 2009.
The team drafted Tim Tebow in the first round last year. Granted, that selection was Josh McDaniels' pick and right now Denver is under the John Fox era. But for better or for worse this team is "stuck" with Tebow. Tebow had the highest selling jersey last year and there's no reason to think that this kid can't be the franchise. The logical step for Denver is to trade Orton and build the team around Tebow.
I put Orton as my number one "free agent choice" because he's proven to be a winner, proven to be good, and is only 28 years old. I saw Orton in his rookie year and he looked like the quintessential game manager. He let that elite defense do its thing and his job was just to not turn the ball over. And he did just that. But he's matured and progressed throughout his career. When Orton regained the starting position for the Bears three years later, he looked like a different quarterback. Not only was he not turning the ball over but he was leading his team down to scoring drives.
Orton can still develop some and he still does have some deficiencies- mainly a career QB completion percentage under 60.0% (58.1) and he still doesn't have that elite quality like a Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers where he can personally lead his team on essential scoring drives. However, I see no reason why he can't be like Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco.
2) Kevin KolbCurrent Team: Philadelphia Eagles
I'm going to try to keep these blurbs short and sweet from now on, but I had to express my love for Orton.
The problem with Kolb is that he's still an unknown. He only has 7 career starts and I won't even fully judge a quarterback after 16 straight starts. But Kolb was a high draft pick (second round), learned how to play under the tutelage of the Eagles system, and is only 27 years old. There's still plenty of time for him to develop into a great quarterback .
With the emergence of Michael Vick becoming an elite quarterback, the Eagles don't really need Kolb as much as they thought the did and not only is trading away Kolb more than a theoretical prediction (like with Orton) but I will guarantee you Kevin Kolb will be a starting quarterback for another team besides the Eagles once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.
3) Vince YoungCurrent Team: Tennessee Titans
Vince Young just wins games. Sure, he has so many turnovers that it forces the opposition to be in the game, but he more than makes up for it with his game winning drives.
Vince Young has the talent to be great but I think there are two main obstacles in his way: turnovers and his maturity. Turnovers are a correctable problems but throughout Young's professional career he has a history of fumbling and forcing interceptions. This could be solved but I fear his immaturity could get in the way of just that. I'm still not 100% sold that Young truly has a maturity problem but when a coach like Jeff Fischer not only says so but leaves the team because of it, it absolutely raises some red flags about this guy.
Now I am operating under the assumption that the Titans will release Young but now with coach Fischer out of the picture and Young being owner Bud Adams' boy, I'm not so sure about this. However, if Young does get released, he's a great addition to another team and there's a chance that not only can another team help Young mature, but like when Cedric Benson got released, humble the man and help him reach his potential.
4) Matt LeinartCurrent Team: Houston Texans
I'm very upset at the Arizona Cardinals for putting me in the position to keep praising Matt Leinart over and over again. While I hated him at USC because of all the hype he received, he still has talent.
This is a kid who would have been the number one overall pick (ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith) had he left school early, a kid who was still a first round draft pick, and still learned the game from one of the greats in Kurt Warner. Now he does have maturity issues and I do think his football maturity has been stunted from not being able to be a consistent starter every week, but I still think he still has the potential to be a starter.
While the Houston Texans have not stated anything about trading Leinart nor does it seems any team has inquired about Leinart, I can easily foresee the USC grad pulling a Matt Schaub and going from a perennial back up to a legit starter.
5) Drew StantonCurrent Team: Detroit Lions
It looks very unlikely that the Lions will resign Stanton making him a free agent soon. Even though Stanton has the best win percentage out of any Lions quarterback the past few years, the team still has better options. Even though Matthew Stafford has the body of glass, he still looks like a really good quarterback and, if healthy, has the ceiling to be elite. Shaun Hill looked really good as a back up in Detroit and while I could see the potential that the team could either keep Stanton and release Shaun Hill (placing Hill #3 in the short term category below) or releasing both Hill and Stanton, if the Lions do release Stanton, I think the 26 year old is worth the shot. Hell, he looked good at the end of the season in 2010.
6) Brady QuinnCurrent Team: Denver Broncos
Similar to Matt Leinart- Quinn was a high draft pick who never got the chance to be a consistent starter. Say what you will about Charlie Weis but I think he's a damn fine offensive mind and knows his quarterbacks. I truly believe that neither Tom Brady nor Matt Cassel would be where they are today with Wies. So I believe a talented kid learning from Weis could be really good if given a starter job week after week.
While I do find it very hard to believe that Denver would release/trade both Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn when they still have an unknown entity as the starting quarterback, I can't imagine the Broncos organizations thinks *that* highly of Quinn and the guy still is only 26 years old with professional starting experience.
7) Caleb HanieCurrent Team: Chicago Bears
When you have workhorse, tough quarterback like Jay Cutler, you don't really need to worry about who your back up is (a. unless that back up is Todd Collins b. I don't want to hear your crap about why you think Cutler isn't tough c. I know Bears fans are still getting used to the prospect about the back up quarterback being irrelevant). Caleb Hanie really is expendable to the organization.
Even after watching Bears training camp practices, exhibition games, and their full regular season and playoffs, I still can't tell you a whole lot about the talent of Hanie, but based upon the limited playing time he's had and his performance in the NFC Championship game, I think he's worth a flyer if you're truly desperate for a quarterback.
SHORT TERM SOLUTIONS
1) Carson PalmerCurrent Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Carson Palmer has talent- I think there's no denying that. But Palmer isn't the same quarterback since his knee surgery. Palmer is not only on the wrong side of 30 but he doesn't really look like the same QB. But with that being said, I can easily foresee Palmer looking like his old self with a new change of scenery.
The biggest hurdle to Palmer changing teams is the Bengals organization themselves. They love Palmer and don't want to trade him. If I was running the team I would jump at the best second round draft pick offer that came my way, but I think Palmer stays (and plays) in Cincinnati for the remainder of his contract.
2) Ryan FitzpatrickCurrent Team: Buffalo Bills
Even though Fitzpatrick is only 28 years old and had a damn fine season in 2010, the reason I put him in the short term category is for the same reason I don't think the Bills should draft a quarterback (or at least a QB who they plan to start in 2011) in the upcoming draft- FItzpatrick to me is a fill-in player. He is an average player who will not only won't hurt your team but will allow your organization to build up other essential positions before the team replaces the quarterback.
With Mel Kiper's latest draft update having Cam Newton going #3 overall to the Bills, Fitzpatrick becomes that much more expendable to the Bills organization and more suited for another starting gig somewhere else.
3) Donovan McNabbCurrent Team: Washington Redskins
I'm not 100& convinced McNabb is done but the biggest hurdle will not be McNabb's age or skill set but that awful contract the Redskins signed him to. Because of that I think Donovan stays a Redskin in 2011.
DME's Top 50 Beers
UGH. Ok. So I ranked my top 40 beers but then I forgot a few, and had some changes of heart. So here's my real top 50 based on what I have drank to date, sans bourbon stouts:
- Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Thick, heavy, complex. A brilliant mix of Vanilla, Oak, Tobacco, Chocolate and Coffee hides the alcohol well, and creating nothing but smooth flavor and only a taste of bitterness. This beer is very hard to find, and only comes out once a year. Equally tasty is the regular Breakfast Stout, which tends to be easier to find, though it is also a once-a-year brew.
- Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. The Old Rasputin XII, a one-time brew, is infinitely better, but infinitely more expensive (and hard to find).
- Wild Little Sumpin'. This stuff is ridiculously drinkable for an 8.5% ABV beer. It's a limited brew, but I am stocked up. After I run out, I'll have to regulate myself to the regular Little Sumpin'.
- Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA. A malty hop bomb of the highest order. A must drink for imperial IPA lovers everywhere, though it's hardly cheap...
- Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Like Dreadnaught, this beer is a bit pricey ($10-15 dollars a bomber), but well worth the cost. This Russian imperial stout has a smooth/subtle coffee flavor to complement the dark chocolate/roasted malts flavor and the finish is to die for.
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. The guy who brews this stuff wrote my favorite beer book of all-time, the only beer book I have ever read, The Brewmaster's Table.
- Surly Furious. I drove to Minneapolis just to have a pint of this delicious APA. Furious is simply that good a beer, and likely the best APA I will ever have the pleasure of drinking.
- Schneider Aventinus. Simply the best wheat-style beer. Their Weizen-Eisbock is just as good, though more boozy.
- Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA. An aggressive hop bomb that always hits the right spot. Not for those who hate bitter flavors.
- Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale. Simply delicious, this brilliant year-round pale ale is perfectly bitter and always ripe for drinking.
- Goose Island Imperial IPA. One of my favorite beers by one of my favorite breweries.
The Midway IPA is pretty good too. - Great Lakes Glockenspiel Weizenbock. This full of alcohol, wheat flavor and some bitterness, but is smooth to the taste. Incredibly drinkable.
- Unibroue La Fin Du Monde. Can only be described as banana bread beer. It always hits the spot.
- Three Floyds Gumballhead. My favorite American wheat ale. Refreshing, with a perfectly bitter bite.
- Port Brewing Co.'s Santa's Little Helper. This drink is ridiculously delicious and drinkably boozy, with a huge malty nose. This beer captures the perfect blend of dark fruit and chocolate flavors with a roasted malts balance. The after taste is to die for.
- Stone Double Bastard Ale. As if Arrogant Bastard was not good enough, Stone decided to one-up themselves with an even stronger, thicker, more complex, and more boozy (11.3% ABV) strong ale. Not for the faint of heart or the light/casual beer drinker.
- Founders' Double Trouble. My undying affinity for IPAs probably has me biased on how high I regard this beer, but Double Trouble is probably my favorite beer on tap in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Sam Adams Dopple Bock. I can't particularly explain why, but this beer is brilliant. It is even better slightly warm.
- Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary. I just had this beer for the first time earlier this week, but it impressed me enough that I was sipping on it exclusively for the evening. This is a darn good dark-chocolate-fused-with-coffee-flavored beer.
- Founders' Devil Dancer Imperial IPA. This beer is as bitter and alcoholic as they get with a heavy malt flavoring. Not for the casual beer drinker.
- Three Floyds Blackheart. My first foray into the English-style IPA, but it certainly won't be my last.
- Bells Hopslam. A simple name for a complex imperial IPA that lingers and makes you want to order more courtesy of its citrusy hop aroma.
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A perfect blend of citrus aroma and hoppy flavor. It is my "oh you have this at your bar?" staple when all else fails and the second best beer on tap is Guinness or Fat Tire, which is like 50% of the time.
- Half-Acre Daisy Cutter. In the style of Sierra Nevada's citrusy bitterness, this locally brewed APA is a great beer from an up-and-coming brewery that you can increasingly find on-tap.
- Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. The undisputed king of all traditionally-flavored Wheat beers.
- Founders' Dirty Bastard. A smokey, caramel-sweet scotch ale (a style I generally tend to avoid) whose flavor lingers forever. Yum!
- Ayinger Bräu Weisse. If not Weinhenstephaner, than this.
- Goose Island IPA. A staple and a classic. My six-pack of choice when I can't decide.
- Storm King. An entirely too drinkable Russian Imperial Stout that will have you wondering where all the beer went the next morning.
- Three Floyds Robert The Bruce. Normally, I hate scotch ales. But this is the exception to the rule.
- Victory HopDevil. Impressive...most impressive.
- Stone Smoked Porter. Surprisingly light finish for the style of beer, but nonetheless jam-packed with roasted flavors and subdued aromas that entice you to keep sipping.
- Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen. A sweet beer with a crisp, refreshing banana and bread flavor.
- Victory Moonglow. Weizenbocks are an entirely underrated style of beer that mixes boozy with drinkability, and Moonglow is easily one of the best in its class.
- Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. Infinitely better than both the 60 minute and 120 minute IPAs in my strange opinion.
- Founders Red's Rye. Citrusy, spicey goodness with a great, lingering finish.
- Founders' Porter. Deep, dark, and infinitely tastier than the over-hyped Edmund Fitzgerald.
- Southern Tier Choklat. Like a booze-laden Hershey's chocolate bar that melts in your mouth, Choklat has a slight dark chocolate bitterness to it that perfectly complements the beer's roasted sweetness.
- Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald. An undeniably tasty porter, though I do not understand most of this beer's hype. It's cheap, dry, but not as boozy as most porter-styles.
- Unibrou Maudite. Have not drank in forever, but I remember it as distinctly delicious.
- Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. This beer is a stupidly good, hopped up double IPA with plenty of bitterness from taste to finish.
- Founders' Centennial IPA. Can Founders do any wrong? A simple, but classic IPA.
- Goose Island Night Stalker. Yummy yummy yummy in my tummy ummy ummy, gimme, gimme gimme, gimme more.
- Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. Only one word can describe this black-coffee-with-a-hint-of-chocolate flavored beer: "smooth."
- Victory Old Horizontal. A surprisingly delicious mix of intense fruit flavors and malty-sweetness. Best described as a warm, aromatic beer that challenges the palette.
- Goose Island Matilda. I can't put my finger on this beer (it's uber complex in flavor), but I love it.
- Central Waters Illumination. A very good double IPA, and perhaps Wisconsin's only good in-state brewed beer.
- Bell's Expedition Stout. A well-hyped beer that does not stack up to its reputation, but is nonetheless delicious with a good hamburger or steak. Certainly worth a try if seeking something new, or the above mentioned Russian Imperial Stouts are nowhere to be found.
- Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock. Heavy body, malty, rich, and distinctive. Cheers.
- Unibroue Éphémère (Apple). I am probably the only person on this planet that truly enjoys this beer as much as I do. It will always hold a special affinity with me for weening me off of Miller Lite and my college-beer days, and acting as a gateway into craft beer.
- Goose Island 312. Ol' Reliable. This is what you drink at a bar, when you have no clue what anything else in bottle at a bar tastes like or when a bar only otherwise has Miller/Bud/Coors on tap.
New Podcasts Up!
Sexy Rexy and Cubsfan4evr1 discuss all things NFL with the details of the new lockout, evaluating the FA wide receivers, and discuss teams like the Tampa Bay Bucs, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears
NOTE: To the sole GOI fan Bryan Hernandez, listen to the first 15 minutes of Part II as we discuss your beloved NY Jets
You can listen to Part One here
You can listen to Part Two here
NOTE: To the sole GOI fan Bryan Hernandez, listen to the first 15 minutes of Part II as we discuss your beloved NY Jets
You can listen to Part One here
You can listen to Part Two here
Friday, July 22, 2011
Top Ten Boston Movies, Part II: 5-1
You can read my intro and movies 10-6 here
Now we start getting into the meat and potatoes of Boston movies. The cream if the crop. The creme de la creme. Or any other cliche you find fitting
5) The Fighter (2010)
While not technically set in Boston you get the "Boston feel" right off the bat in the opening sequence with boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother Dicky (Christian Bale) walking down the street and everybody in town cheering for them and giving them high fives. In my experience very few actors can pull off the Boston accent but I think by 2010 actors are starting to realize the subtlety in the dialect as Bale and Ward mother (Melissa Leo) pull it off very well.
While there have been a bajillion boxing movies from Raging Bull to Rocky to Cinderella Man, what The Fighter actually lands a few punches and brings something new to the genre. Director David O. Russell used special cameras to film the boxing scenes to make the fights look like an HBO fight you would watch on Pay-Per-View.
The Fighter follows the story of the rise of Mickey Ward and his addict trainer/brother Dickey as Mickey struggles between gaining respect in the boxing world and trying to balance his family dragging him down with his super hot girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams) with wanting his brother (who really is a phenomenal trainer) to be in his life.
The Fighter follows in the decade long trend of being that gritty, blue collar, salt-of-the-earth Boston movie that we've come to grow and love over the years. Plus, you know, its got those great accents which includes Wahlberg as being one of the best actors in Hollywood to do a Boston accent (him being from Boston certainly helps)
4) Mystic River (2003)
The movie that really started the whole Boston movie trend and the first of two author Dennis Lehane who sets his stories in Boston and the surrounding area.
Mystic River, directed by the great Clint Eastwood, follows the story of Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) as he deals with the murder of his daughter and Jimmy's relationship between two of his childhood friends now-cop Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) and local blue collar guy and victim of childhood rape Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins).
The movie follows both Penn and Bacon as they search for Jimmy's daughters murderer, Bacon with his partner played by Laurence Fishburne use their legal resources while Penn and his gang of thugs use their underground resources and the movie is a slow burn as the mystery unravels with some of the acting performance of not only 2003 but of the decade.
If you still did not understand what "the city of Boston as a character" means look no further than this movie. I think you could set this same exact story in another city but I don't think it would have had the same powerful effect. The streets shape this movie and the characters and I think it's just a great movie.
3) Gone Baby Gone (2007)
I'm sure I am in the small minority who likes Gone Baby Gone over Mystic River but out of the two Dennis Lehane stories on this list, I prefer this story better.
Directed by Ben Affleck, who was raised in Cambirdge, Massachusetts and starring his little brother Casey (who plays Patrick Kenzie) I like this movie as a Boston movie better because I think the Affleck brothers add their unique experience to this movie which enhances the Boston-ness.
The best non-Bostonian Boston accent comes from Amy Ryan (who plays Helene McCready. You may know her as Michael Scott's girlfriend in The Office). The movie was filmed on location in Massachusetts neighborhoods and one day on set Amy Ryan, who was in full character, tried to get on set and the security guards wouldn't let her on because they thought she was just a local who showed up for the day and tried to weasel her way on to a Hollywood movie set.
The movie follows Patrick and his girlfriend Angie (played by the atrocious Michelle Monaghan. Seriously, she's awful in this movie and far and away the worst part of this movie) and their search for Helene's daughter along with police officer Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and chief of police Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman). In true Dennis Lehane fashion, the movie is a mystery of what happened to this little girl and as the movie progresses the more strings get unraveled.
The movie is great because it wrestles with the question, "What is best for a child?" Is it a shitty parent who happens to be the child's biological parent and does care for the child or a non-shitty non-biological person who also cares for the child. You may not agree with what Patrick does in the end or if Helene really does change, but I think it's an interesting argument the movie makes.
2) The Departed (2006)
The second greatest Scorsese movie ever behind Goodfellas? Maybe, maybe not but there is no doubt how awesome this movie is. On of the best most awesome bad-ass scene comes a shot in the beginning of the movie between Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a barfly
If there was ever any doubt that The Departed was a Boston Movie then look no further than Nicholson's source for his character: the recently captured Whitey Bulger.
The movie, based on the Hong Kong flick Infernal Affairs follows the story of two moles (one from the police force into Costello's gang and another from Costello's gang in the police force) as they search to find each other. And in true Scorsese fashion, lots of violence and awesomeness ensues.
1) Good Will Hunting (1997)
In one of the first scenes in the movies the group of friends Will Hunting (Matt Damon), Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck), Morgan O'Mally (Casey Affleck), and Billy McBride (Cole Houser) are watching a little league baseball game when one of the friends state, "Let's go to Kelly's" In the very next scene the boys are driving and Chuckie is hassling Morgan about Morgan's roast beef sandwich and how Morgan can't pay for his sandwich right now.
I bring up this scene because there is nothing more Boston than Kelly's. Whenever I visit another buddy of mine's college I always want to try local cuisine and not some chain restaurant. If you ever go up to Boston, go to Kelly's. A few weeks ago my family and I went up to Boston to visit family and we ate Kelly's as much as we could. They have the best lobster rolls ever which is one of the greatest sandwiches ever. Also, its just a great anecdote to show you (as if you needed explaining) how GWH is a Boston Movie.
The movie was written by Affleck and Damon and directed by Gus Van Sant (who hasn't done anything good since, or really before). The movie follows Will Hunting who is a genius and one of the smartest people in the world but he refuses to be anything more than a janitor solving the hardest math problems ever at M.I.T. Through his relationship with his therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) and his girlfriend Skylar (Minnie Driver) Damon attempts to overcome years of physical and emotional childhood abuse and to reach his genius potential. The movie is not cliche and Damon gives the best performance of his career. The story doesn't feel sappy or overdone or like a "typical Hollywood" movie and The 'Bright' One considers this movie the best movie ever made.
___________________________________________
There are not many Boston movies and I have seen most of them. If I did not see the movie, I did not put it in on the list. Two movies that will probably make this list once I see them are The Friends of Eddie Coyle (19973) [thank you for the suggestion by GOI fan Bryan Hernandez] and The Verdict (1982) [A movie that have come up on essentially every single list I have researched].
Now we start getting into the meat and potatoes of Boston movies. The cream if the crop. The creme de la creme. Or any other cliche you find fitting
5) The Fighter (2010)While not technically set in Boston you get the "Boston feel" right off the bat in the opening sequence with boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother Dicky (Christian Bale) walking down the street and everybody in town cheering for them and giving them high fives. In my experience very few actors can pull off the Boston accent but I think by 2010 actors are starting to realize the subtlety in the dialect as Bale and Ward mother (Melissa Leo) pull it off very well.
While there have been a bajillion boxing movies from Raging Bull to Rocky to Cinderella Man, what The Fighter actually lands a few punches and brings something new to the genre. Director David O. Russell used special cameras to film the boxing scenes to make the fights look like an HBO fight you would watch on Pay-Per-View.
The Fighter follows the story of the rise of Mickey Ward and his addict trainer/brother Dickey as Mickey struggles between gaining respect in the boxing world and trying to balance his family dragging him down with his super hot girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams) with wanting his brother (who really is a phenomenal trainer) to be in his life.
The Fighter follows in the decade long trend of being that gritty, blue collar, salt-of-the-earth Boston movie that we've come to grow and love over the years. Plus, you know, its got those great accents which includes Wahlberg as being one of the best actors in Hollywood to do a Boston accent (him being from Boston certainly helps)
4) Mystic River (2003)The movie that really started the whole Boston movie trend and the first of two author Dennis Lehane who sets his stories in Boston and the surrounding area.
Mystic River, directed by the great Clint Eastwood, follows the story of Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) as he deals with the murder of his daughter and Jimmy's relationship between two of his childhood friends now-cop Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) and local blue collar guy and victim of childhood rape Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins).
The movie follows both Penn and Bacon as they search for Jimmy's daughters murderer, Bacon with his partner played by Laurence Fishburne use their legal resources while Penn and his gang of thugs use their underground resources and the movie is a slow burn as the mystery unravels with some of the acting performance of not only 2003 but of the decade.
If you still did not understand what "the city of Boston as a character" means look no further than this movie. I think you could set this same exact story in another city but I don't think it would have had the same powerful effect. The streets shape this movie and the characters and I think it's just a great movie.
3) Gone Baby Gone (2007)I'm sure I am in the small minority who likes Gone Baby Gone over Mystic River but out of the two Dennis Lehane stories on this list, I prefer this story better.
Directed by Ben Affleck, who was raised in Cambirdge, Massachusetts and starring his little brother Casey (who plays Patrick Kenzie) I like this movie as a Boston movie better because I think the Affleck brothers add their unique experience to this movie which enhances the Boston-ness.
The best non-Bostonian Boston accent comes from Amy Ryan (who plays Helene McCready. You may know her as Michael Scott's girlfriend in The Office). The movie was filmed on location in Massachusetts neighborhoods and one day on set Amy Ryan, who was in full character, tried to get on set and the security guards wouldn't let her on because they thought she was just a local who showed up for the day and tried to weasel her way on to a Hollywood movie set.
The movie follows Patrick and his girlfriend Angie (played by the atrocious Michelle Monaghan. Seriously, she's awful in this movie and far and away the worst part of this movie) and their search for Helene's daughter along with police officer Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and chief of police Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman). In true Dennis Lehane fashion, the movie is a mystery of what happened to this little girl and as the movie progresses the more strings get unraveled.
The movie is great because it wrestles with the question, "What is best for a child?" Is it a shitty parent who happens to be the child's biological parent and does care for the child or a non-shitty non-biological person who also cares for the child. You may not agree with what Patrick does in the end or if Helene really does change, but I think it's an interesting argument the movie makes.
2) The Departed (2006)The second greatest Scorsese movie ever behind Goodfellas? Maybe, maybe not but there is no doubt how awesome this movie is. On of the best most awesome bad-ass scene comes a shot in the beginning of the movie between Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a barfly
Barfly: What are you drinking?I think DiCaprio's a great actor but good lord is that man horrible at accents (see: This movie, Blood Diamonds) and Jack Nicholson (Frank Costello) didn't even attempt a Boston accen. However, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg put on great Boston accents (as always).
Billy: Cranberry juice
Barfly: It's a natural diuretic. My girlfriend drinks it when she's got her period. What, do you got your period?
Billy then stares at his drink, stares back at the barfly, and then smashes his drink full of cranberry juice in the barfly's face
If there was ever any doubt that The Departed was a Boston Movie then look no further than Nicholson's source for his character: the recently captured Whitey Bulger.
The movie, based on the Hong Kong flick Infernal Affairs follows the story of two moles (one from the police force into Costello's gang and another from Costello's gang in the police force) as they search to find each other. And in true Scorsese fashion, lots of violence and awesomeness ensues.
1) Good Will Hunting (1997)In one of the first scenes in the movies the group of friends Will Hunting (Matt Damon), Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck), Morgan O'Mally (Casey Affleck), and Billy McBride (Cole Houser) are watching a little league baseball game when one of the friends state, "Let's go to Kelly's" In the very next scene the boys are driving and Chuckie is hassling Morgan about Morgan's roast beef sandwich and how Morgan can't pay for his sandwich right now.
I bring up this scene because there is nothing more Boston than Kelly's. Whenever I visit another buddy of mine's college I always want to try local cuisine and not some chain restaurant. If you ever go up to Boston, go to Kelly's. A few weeks ago my family and I went up to Boston to visit family and we ate Kelly's as much as we could. They have the best lobster rolls ever which is one of the greatest sandwiches ever. Also, its just a great anecdote to show you (as if you needed explaining) how GWH is a Boston Movie.
The movie was written by Affleck and Damon and directed by Gus Van Sant (who hasn't done anything good since, or really before). The movie follows Will Hunting who is a genius and one of the smartest people in the world but he refuses to be anything more than a janitor solving the hardest math problems ever at M.I.T. Through his relationship with his therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) and his girlfriend Skylar (Minnie Driver) Damon attempts to overcome years of physical and emotional childhood abuse and to reach his genius potential. The movie is not cliche and Damon gives the best performance of his career. The story doesn't feel sappy or overdone or like a "typical Hollywood" movie and The 'Bright' One considers this movie the best movie ever made.
___________________________________________
There are not many Boston movies and I have seen most of them. If I did not see the movie, I did not put it in on the list. Two movies that will probably make this list once I see them are The Friends of Eddie Coyle (19973) [thank you for the suggestion by GOI fan Bryan Hernandez] and The Verdict (1982) [A movie that have come up on essentially every single list I have researched].
Danny Duffy: The AL's Covert Ace
My latest article for The Hardball Times takes a look at Danny Duffy's past five starts, compares them to his first six starts, and postulates whether it's Duff Time.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Top Ten Most Evil Movie Villains
There are plenty of lists out there that have compiled a list of the greatest bad guys in movie history. AFI has a list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains. TIME has a list of the 25 greatest villains. A podcast I enjoy listening to on Adam Carolla’s podcast network called The Film Vault did their top five villains of all time.
I want to make this list different.
I don’t want this to be a list of the best and most entertaining bad guys and villains in movies; I want this list to be the most evil bad guys and villains. Let me try and explain myself and explain this subtle difference.
I think the main difference is that there are antagonists that are dicks and antagonists that are evil. I’m looking to weed out the dicks and solely focus on the evil ones. In order to tell the difference between a dick and one who is evil is their motivation. Many bad guys and many of the ones you see pop up on these lists are motivated to do their bad actions by something other than their evil self- the obvious two being money and love. Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) in Spiderman II did some pretty bad and shitty things. However, he’s not evil. He was just lonely and frustrated and took out that frustration on others. He’s a bully, but he’s not evil. I loved Die Hard and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) was a fantastic antagonist. He’s a guy that shows up on every top villain list because he was great in Die Hard. But he wasn’t evil in the sense I am defining it. He just wanted money. He killed people, he tortured them, and he was a terrorist, but he wasn’t evil. To me, he was just a dick.
This list was not an easy one to complete. There were a lot of great villains and characters out there and ones as characters I liked and were better antagonists than the ones I put on this list, but they weren’t evil enough for me. To collect a list of ten evil villains was a challenge for me.
Before we begin, I’d like to start off discussing a few great movie bad guys who I purposefully left off this list because they did not fit the definition I was going with.
Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest: The movie is never as good as the book if you’ve read the book first and I think that holds true for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. And maybe I should have seen the movie first to truly evaluate its merits but I was in 11th grade and I didn’t want to complete the book as my assigned homework so I watched the movie instead. The reason I left Nurse Ratched off this list is because I remember watching the movie and thinking, “This is it!? All this hype about one of the meanest persons ever in movies and all I get is some crabby old nurse with her panties in a bunch?” I remember reading the book and thinking this character is one of the most evil antagonists I had known up to that point but I remember seeing the movies and being extremely disappointed with Louise Fletcher’s portrayal of the iconic nurse.
Col. SS Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) from Inglorious Basterds: He’s one of my personal favorite all time villains but as the story progressed he changed and got less evil. In the fantastic opening scene where Landa is talking to the Frenchman hiding the Jews he boasts how he revels in his menacing nickname but towards the end when he meets Brad Pitt he talks about he singlehandedly wants to take down the evil empire and how he hates his nickname. This is (purposefully) symboli of how less evil Col. Landa became. The final scene of the movie, after he meets Pitt and that dude from The Office, forced me to take Col. Landa off of my list because he showed me some compassion and that he was just doing this for a paycheck.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in Psycho: Truthfully, he probably should have made the list and is probably number eleven but because he has glaring mommy issues made me want to leave him off. He does not kill because he enjoys the thrill of the kill or the hunt like many others on this list. He kills because his mommy told him to. There are many legit crazy people on this list but Bates seems like the wrong kind of crazy to warrant a spot on this list for me.
Some other notable just bad guys but who were just “dicks” and not really evil are: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) from Wall Street, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) from It’s A Wonderful Life, Cruela De Vil from 101 Dalmatians, and Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) from Training Day. I also left off any besats (the monsters from Jaws, Alien(s), and Predators) and horror bad guys (Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers) because they don’t really seem to fit the bill. I also left off Man from Bambi because that’s just a retarded selection that AFI chose. Lastly, I left off many other choices just because although I’ve seen a lot of movies, I have not seen every single one and if I have not seen the movie yet, I refuse the judge the merit of how evil the character in the movie is.
***NOTE: Reviews contain spoilers***
10) HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain) from 2001: A Space Odyssey
I actually really wanted to leave HAL off of this list. I actually saw 2001 for the first time and was really unimpressed with just how evil the machine truly was. I have heard for my entire lifetime that HAL 9000 was one of the most evil things out there in movies. And along the same lines of watching Nurse Ratchet I was like, “This is all I get?” But the more I thought about, the more HAL fits this list. It’s cold, calculating, ruthless, spiteful, and wants to destroy all mankind. Even though it’s not human it has all the characteristics I am looking for in an evil villain.
9) Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from No Country for Old Men
Come on, anyone that lugs around a giant air pressure cannon as a weapon has to earn a spot on this list. Sure, Chigurh was a hired gun and mercenary in order to retrieve some money back, but the ways in which he chose to do that were just great and evil. He blows up cars and kills anyone who gets in his path. He has that right amount of crazy in him to help him blur the line between right and wrong. Or rather, he just doesn’t give a shit if what he is doing is wrong. He almost kills a local convenience store owner just for the hell of it (which made for a great scene- “Call it- friendo”) He is the character Col. Landa could have been. He is just menacing throughout the movie and a great movie character.
8) Kaiser Soze from The Usual Suspects
I know who the actor who played Kaiser Soze is but for those readers who are just reading the title of the character and movie and do not want the movie ruined for them, I will be nice to them. Soze could fall under the “dick” category. He’s just a man who wants money and power and is just a drug lord willing to take that extra step. But in the middle of the movie Soze’s enemies rape his family and hold them hostage. Instead of being “dragged down” by his family he murders his own family, murders the would-be attackers, and then murders anyone associated with the would be attackers. That’s cold. That’s what it takes to earn a spot on this list, none of that “love” or “compassion” bullshit that holds those Italian mob bosses down.
7) Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) from Saw
I’m not talking any of those other sequels that, like The Matrix Revolutions and Reloaded, took a giant dump on everything they worked hard to create. I’m talking about the original Saw, the masterpiece that shows that Cary Elwes (who?) has acting chops. That movie. Although the sequels do in a way show Jigsaw’s true personality. The main factor holding Jigsaw back is that he wants his prisoners to escape. He doesn’t *want* them to die but rather he wants them to go through hell in order to come out for the better on the other side. In fact, in later movies, he scolds his protégé (I’m not going to bother taking the time to look up what her character or actual name is) for making the tasks impossible so that the prisoners can never escape. But what that being said, Jigsaw still takes (somewhat) random people tortures them in the worst possible way knowing full well they’re going to die. Or if not die, being hurt in the most excruciating way. Plus, Jigsaw really doesn’t *truly* care about these people. He’s just a psychopath.
6) Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) from Reservoir Dogs
Hear me out on this. Remember, this is not a list of the greatest villains ever. This is a list of the most evil villains ever. When I think about what an evil character is, Mr. Blonde fits the description. In the middle of running away from the cops, out of the blue, he kidnaps a cop. Not some high ranking police official but some Joe Schmo cop. AND he kidnaps him for the sole purpose of torturing him. Sure, he wants to find out who double-crossed him, but he does it with such glee. It’s hard to watch the infamous ear-cutting scene as a viewer so if I was actually there I couldn’t imagine how gruesome that would actually be. But in a scene improvised by Madsen himself, Mr. Blonde tortures a young cop with such happiness and delight which makes for a quintessential evil person. He didn’t squeal on his bosses once while in jail because he wanted to live this glamorous life of crime and violence that he loves so much.
5) Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) from Blue Velvet
If you ever had any question about how ruthless and messed up Frank Booth is then you have not seen Blue Velvet. But to put to rest any qualms anyone might have had about this movie, let me pull just one paragraph from Booth’s Wikipedia page to prove it to you.
“Frank's most prized asset is Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rosselini), a beautiful torch singer who brings huge crowds into the local nightclub, and over who he takes complete control when he kidnaps her son and husband. He extorts sadomasochistic sexual favors from Dorothy by mutilating her husband and threatening to kill the child if she does not give in. He makes her his slave, to the point that after pretending to enjoy his abuse for so long, she begins to derive masochistic pleasure from it”
Booth is just a great movie villain in general with his weird ether-esque gas tank he uses before he rapes Dorothy and he is so eccentric and just fun to watch on the screen.
There are movies (Brian De Palma’s Scarface comes to mind) where there is a guy who earns his way to the top and does so by stepping on a few toes, bribing a few cops, and killing a few people, but very few characters will do what Frank Booth does in order to get to the top and its that cold-heartedness that makes Frank Booth so evil.
4) Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) from Star Wars IV: A New Hope
If you watch all six episodes of Star Wars you start to see the evil sith lord created in Episode IV start to become less and less evil. In the first Star Wars Darth Vader is great. He chokes his underlings just because they slightly irk him and he destroys an entire planet and race of people just to torture his daughter (even though we as an audience did not know Leai was Darth Vader’s daughter, Darth Vader sure did). He is involved in a machine the size of a planet just to destroy anyone and anything that gets in his way. Hell, he’s part of The Dark Side of the Force which is a (not so subtle) reference to everything evil and bad. The other five movies tarnish the evil reputation Darth Vader earned for being pure evil and that is why he is *only* number four on this list.
Senator Palpatine probably deserved a spot on this list as well (in fact if we're talking about pure evil he might have deserved Darth Vader's spot) but you have to give it to the main antagonist. You just have to. Sure, creating a clone army to start a war in order to get yourself elected to the head of the Senate so you have so much power that you kill all the Jedi's or force them into hiding in order to become the darkest force in the universe is pretty evil but... OK, I have just talked myself into a tie between Vader and Palpatine but Vader is much more iconic which is why he gets top billing.
3) Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from The Silence of the Lambs
One could actually make a great argument that Dr. Lecter isn’t even the creepiest villain in the movie, but who can anyone deny the awesomeness and evilness of Hannibal Lecter. Think about some of the creepiest and most evil people we have in today’s society. On the top of that list is Jeffrey Dahmer- a charming, smart man who killed and ate people. That is Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Lecter isn’t motivated by greed or because his mommy didn’t love him enough, he’s motivated by his own crazy self-desire to inflict harm on others just for his benefit. He toys with Clarisse and everyone he comes across in the movie and does what he can (including cutting off a man’s face) in order to continue killing and reeking havoc on anyone and everyone.
2) Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) from A Clockwork Orange
The first half of A Clockwork Orange is one of the weirdest, most messed up things in a movie you will ever see. The movie is full of bullying, killing, fighting, fucking and brutal raping. In one horrifying scene, Alex and his drooges charge into a home, bind the husband on the ground, hold the wife against her will and then, with a great dichotomy, Alex starts singing the song “Singin’ In The Rain” while simultaneously beating the husband and cutting off the wife’s clothing before raping her. When I think of pure evil, Alex DeLarge fits the bill. Alex never feels sorry for what he’s done, even after he’s caught and out in prison. While in prison he still has a goofy grin on his face. The point of A Clockwork Orange is the tension and difficulty between people’s actions and their innate nature. Society tries to train Alex’s actions but his thoughts remain the same. He still wants to go out and kill and rape, just now he physically can’t. The movie tries to make inferences that Alex is the way he is because of social upbringing or the world around him, but I think it is pretty clear that he’s just evil and nothing can be done about it.
1) The Joker (Heath Ledger) from The Dark Knight
I want to make this list different.
I don’t want this to be a list of the best and most entertaining bad guys and villains in movies; I want this list to be the most evil bad guys and villains. Let me try and explain myself and explain this subtle difference.
I think the main difference is that there are antagonists that are dicks and antagonists that are evil. I’m looking to weed out the dicks and solely focus on the evil ones. In order to tell the difference between a dick and one who is evil is their motivation. Many bad guys and many of the ones you see pop up on these lists are motivated to do their bad actions by something other than their evil self- the obvious two being money and love. Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) in Spiderman II did some pretty bad and shitty things. However, he’s not evil. He was just lonely and frustrated and took out that frustration on others. He’s a bully, but he’s not evil. I loved Die Hard and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) was a fantastic antagonist. He’s a guy that shows up on every top villain list because he was great in Die Hard. But he wasn’t evil in the sense I am defining it. He just wanted money. He killed people, he tortured them, and he was a terrorist, but he wasn’t evil. To me, he was just a dick.
This list was not an easy one to complete. There were a lot of great villains and characters out there and ones as characters I liked and were better antagonists than the ones I put on this list, but they weren’t evil enough for me. To collect a list of ten evil villains was a challenge for me.
Before we begin, I’d like to start off discussing a few great movie bad guys who I purposefully left off this list because they did not fit the definition I was going with.
Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest: The movie is never as good as the book if you’ve read the book first and I think that holds true for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. And maybe I should have seen the movie first to truly evaluate its merits but I was in 11th grade and I didn’t want to complete the book as my assigned homework so I watched the movie instead. The reason I left Nurse Ratched off this list is because I remember watching the movie and thinking, “This is it!? All this hype about one of the meanest persons ever in movies and all I get is some crabby old nurse with her panties in a bunch?” I remember reading the book and thinking this character is one of the most evil antagonists I had known up to that point but I remember seeing the movies and being extremely disappointed with Louise Fletcher’s portrayal of the iconic nurse.
Col. SS Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) from Inglorious Basterds: He’s one of my personal favorite all time villains but as the story progressed he changed and got less evil. In the fantastic opening scene where Landa is talking to the Frenchman hiding the Jews he boasts how he revels in his menacing nickname but towards the end when he meets Brad Pitt he talks about he singlehandedly wants to take down the evil empire and how he hates his nickname. This is (purposefully) symboli of how less evil Col. Landa became. The final scene of the movie, after he meets Pitt and that dude from The Office, forced me to take Col. Landa off of my list because he showed me some compassion and that he was just doing this for a paycheck.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in Psycho: Truthfully, he probably should have made the list and is probably number eleven but because he has glaring mommy issues made me want to leave him off. He does not kill because he enjoys the thrill of the kill or the hunt like many others on this list. He kills because his mommy told him to. There are many legit crazy people on this list but Bates seems like the wrong kind of crazy to warrant a spot on this list for me.
Some other notable just bad guys but who were just “dicks” and not really evil are: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) from Wall Street, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) from It’s A Wonderful Life, Cruela De Vil from 101 Dalmatians, and Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) from Training Day. I also left off any besats (the monsters from Jaws, Alien(s), and Predators) and horror bad guys (Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers) because they don’t really seem to fit the bill. I also left off Man from Bambi because that’s just a retarded selection that AFI chose. Lastly, I left off many other choices just because although I’ve seen a lot of movies, I have not seen every single one and if I have not seen the movie yet, I refuse the judge the merit of how evil the character in the movie is.
***NOTE: Reviews contain spoilers***
10) HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain) from 2001: A Space Odyssey
I actually really wanted to leave HAL off of this list. I actually saw 2001 for the first time and was really unimpressed with just how evil the machine truly was. I have heard for my entire lifetime that HAL 9000 was one of the most evil things out there in movies. And along the same lines of watching Nurse Ratchet I was like, “This is all I get?” But the more I thought about, the more HAL fits this list. It’s cold, calculating, ruthless, spiteful, and wants to destroy all mankind. Even though it’s not human it has all the characteristics I am looking for in an evil villain.
9) Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from No Country for Old Men
Come on, anyone that lugs around a giant air pressure cannon as a weapon has to earn a spot on this list. Sure, Chigurh was a hired gun and mercenary in order to retrieve some money back, but the ways in which he chose to do that were just great and evil. He blows up cars and kills anyone who gets in his path. He has that right amount of crazy in him to help him blur the line between right and wrong. Or rather, he just doesn’t give a shit if what he is doing is wrong. He almost kills a local convenience store owner just for the hell of it (which made for a great scene- “Call it- friendo”) He is the character Col. Landa could have been. He is just menacing throughout the movie and a great movie character.
8) Kaiser Soze from The Usual Suspects
I know who the actor who played Kaiser Soze is but for those readers who are just reading the title of the character and movie and do not want the movie ruined for them, I will be nice to them. Soze could fall under the “dick” category. He’s just a man who wants money and power and is just a drug lord willing to take that extra step. But in the middle of the movie Soze’s enemies rape his family and hold them hostage. Instead of being “dragged down” by his family he murders his own family, murders the would-be attackers, and then murders anyone associated with the would be attackers. That’s cold. That’s what it takes to earn a spot on this list, none of that “love” or “compassion” bullshit that holds those Italian mob bosses down.
7) Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) from Saw
I’m not talking any of those other sequels that, like The Matrix Revolutions and Reloaded, took a giant dump on everything they worked hard to create. I’m talking about the original Saw, the masterpiece that shows that Cary Elwes (who?) has acting chops. That movie. Although the sequels do in a way show Jigsaw’s true personality. The main factor holding Jigsaw back is that he wants his prisoners to escape. He doesn’t *want* them to die but rather he wants them to go through hell in order to come out for the better on the other side. In fact, in later movies, he scolds his protégé (I’m not going to bother taking the time to look up what her character or actual name is) for making the tasks impossible so that the prisoners can never escape. But what that being said, Jigsaw still takes (somewhat) random people tortures them in the worst possible way knowing full well they’re going to die. Or if not die, being hurt in the most excruciating way. Plus, Jigsaw really doesn’t *truly* care about these people. He’s just a psychopath.
6) Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) from Reservoir Dogs
Hear me out on this. Remember, this is not a list of the greatest villains ever. This is a list of the most evil villains ever. When I think about what an evil character is, Mr. Blonde fits the description. In the middle of running away from the cops, out of the blue, he kidnaps a cop. Not some high ranking police official but some Joe Schmo cop. AND he kidnaps him for the sole purpose of torturing him. Sure, he wants to find out who double-crossed him, but he does it with such glee. It’s hard to watch the infamous ear-cutting scene as a viewer so if I was actually there I couldn’t imagine how gruesome that would actually be. But in a scene improvised by Madsen himself, Mr. Blonde tortures a young cop with such happiness and delight which makes for a quintessential evil person. He didn’t squeal on his bosses once while in jail because he wanted to live this glamorous life of crime and violence that he loves so much.
5) Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) from Blue Velvet
If you ever had any question about how ruthless and messed up Frank Booth is then you have not seen Blue Velvet. But to put to rest any qualms anyone might have had about this movie, let me pull just one paragraph from Booth’s Wikipedia page to prove it to you.
“Frank's most prized asset is Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rosselini), a beautiful torch singer who brings huge crowds into the local nightclub, and over who he takes complete control when he kidnaps her son and husband. He extorts sadomasochistic sexual favors from Dorothy by mutilating her husband and threatening to kill the child if she does not give in. He makes her his slave, to the point that after pretending to enjoy his abuse for so long, she begins to derive masochistic pleasure from it”
Booth is just a great movie villain in general with his weird ether-esque gas tank he uses before he rapes Dorothy and he is so eccentric and just fun to watch on the screen.
There are movies (Brian De Palma’s Scarface comes to mind) where there is a guy who earns his way to the top and does so by stepping on a few toes, bribing a few cops, and killing a few people, but very few characters will do what Frank Booth does in order to get to the top and its that cold-heartedness that makes Frank Booth so evil.
4) Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) from Star Wars IV: A New Hope
If you watch all six episodes of Star Wars you start to see the evil sith lord created in Episode IV start to become less and less evil. In the first Star Wars Darth Vader is great. He chokes his underlings just because they slightly irk him and he destroys an entire planet and race of people just to torture his daughter (even though we as an audience did not know Leai was Darth Vader’s daughter, Darth Vader sure did). He is involved in a machine the size of a planet just to destroy anyone and anything that gets in his way. Hell, he’s part of The Dark Side of the Force which is a (not so subtle) reference to everything evil and bad. The other five movies tarnish the evil reputation Darth Vader earned for being pure evil and that is why he is *only* number four on this list.
Senator Palpatine probably deserved a spot on this list as well (in fact if we're talking about pure evil he might have deserved Darth Vader's spot) but you have to give it to the main antagonist. You just have to. Sure, creating a clone army to start a war in order to get yourself elected to the head of the Senate so you have so much power that you kill all the Jedi's or force them into hiding in order to become the darkest force in the universe is pretty evil but... OK, I have just talked myself into a tie between Vader and Palpatine but Vader is much more iconic which is why he gets top billing.
3) Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from The Silence of the Lambs
One could actually make a great argument that Dr. Lecter isn’t even the creepiest villain in the movie, but who can anyone deny the awesomeness and evilness of Hannibal Lecter. Think about some of the creepiest and most evil people we have in today’s society. On the top of that list is Jeffrey Dahmer- a charming, smart man who killed and ate people. That is Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Lecter isn’t motivated by greed or because his mommy didn’t love him enough, he’s motivated by his own crazy self-desire to inflict harm on others just for his benefit. He toys with Clarisse and everyone he comes across in the movie and does what he can (including cutting off a man’s face) in order to continue killing and reeking havoc on anyone and everyone.
2) Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) from A Clockwork Orange
The first half of A Clockwork Orange is one of the weirdest, most messed up things in a movie you will ever see. The movie is full of bullying, killing, fighting, fucking and brutal raping. In one horrifying scene, Alex and his drooges charge into a home, bind the husband on the ground, hold the wife against her will and then, with a great dichotomy, Alex starts singing the song “Singin’ In The Rain” while simultaneously beating the husband and cutting off the wife’s clothing before raping her. When I think of pure evil, Alex DeLarge fits the bill. Alex never feels sorry for what he’s done, even after he’s caught and out in prison. While in prison he still has a goofy grin on his face. The point of A Clockwork Orange is the tension and difficulty between people’s actions and their innate nature. Society tries to train Alex’s actions but his thoughts remain the same. He still wants to go out and kill and rape, just now he physically can’t. The movie tries to make inferences that Alex is the way he is because of social upbringing or the world around him, but I think it is pretty clear that he’s just evil and nothing can be done about it.
1) The Joker (Heath Ledger) from The Dark Knight
Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burnThis is what I mean by pure evil. This quote right here that Alfred says to Bruce Wayne with an implicit indication of who The Joker is. Why does The Joker do what he does? Why he does kill people? Why does he blow shit up? Why does he take bombs, place it on two boats and tell the other boat they have to detonate the other boat to survive? Because that is just who The Joker is. He just wants to watch the world burn. There is no good or bad in The Joker’s mind. Sure, he starts off working for the mob, but in the end he takes over the mob, kills most of the higher ups, and burns their money. Why? Because gas and TNT are cheap he says. All The Joker wants to do is add a little chaos to Gotham City. Hell, he also killed a person a dya in Gotham and instead of blaming the killer, the city got pissed at The Joker. Haven't hey heard the phrase you don't negotiate with terrorists? That’s it. He has no motivations about money or love. Hell, he really doesn’t have any about power. It just comes with a side effect with this plan.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Top Ten Boston Movies, Part I: 10-6
This is a post I have wanted to write for a while now but have never done before for a variety of reasons- the main one being it has just slipped my memory. But I've been extremely bored these past few days ans I have finally gotten around to compiling a list of the best movies set in or around the Boston area. In the past few years and now decade there have been an influx of movies centered around Boston (and you will see, below, that the vast majority of this list are post 2003) and having been born in Boston and love ranking things I always wanted to create this post.
"What is a Boston Movie?" you may ask yourself. Well, good sir, here is my criteria. A few years back I came across a list of the best L.A. movies and one of their criteria was that the city itself had to be a character. This is my main factor I look for. There are movies in the bottom half of this list that I consider to be better films as a whole than some of the top half movies but because the city of Boston is not really a character in those movies, I chose to not rank them as high.
What I mean by the city of Boston as a character is that the actual characters in the movie are shaped because of their association with the city and the events, plot, and story line are advanced because of what the city has to offer. But mainly, the characters just have to have that stereotypical Boston accent where they say they have to p-ah-k the c-ah in H-ah-v-ah-d Y-ah-d. I think as you read through my list you'll get a better understanding of what I mean by this.
The other minor factor I included was how much did the movie take place in Boston. One last note: The movie itself did not have to take place in the actual city but the suburbs of the city sufficed and you still got the feel that it was a "Boston Movie" even though it took place in a surrounding neighborhood and not technically within the city limits.
The first three movies (movies 8-10) take place at Harvard and really do not fit within the typical "Boston Movie" mold that I believe the next seven do. With that being said, Boston has the greatest amount of Universities per square mile than anywhere else in the country. Even though the first three movies are not nearly as gritty as the rest, it is ignorant to think that just because a movie takes place at a college means that the movie does not exemplify what Boston is about.
10) Legally Blonde (2001)
While I am not a personal fan of this movie, I am also not closed minded to cut off its merit just because of my own tastes. I detest bluegrass music but I would put the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" in my top five greatest movie soundtracks because I can differentiate between enjoyable and good. In an earlier episode of The Office, guest star and super hottie Amy Adams (who was playing Jim's girlfriend at the time) said the number one movie she would watch if she were stranded on a desert island was Legally Blonde. This was after Jim accosted Pam for saying the same thing earlier in the episode. Chicks love this movie and for that it earned the last spot on this list.
That reason plus I came up with the first nine and struggled to come up with a tenth that I had seen.
Legally Blonde follows Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) as she goes from college sorority ditz to super smart lawyer at Harvard Law. Even if you don't like this movie or its appeal you still know the plot of the movie so I'm not going to go into it now (especially considering the movie became so popular it spawned a sequel and a Broadway musical where Christina Applegate played the role of Elle Woods). The one last thing I'll say about this movie is that the premise where Woods earns one of the highest LSAT scores a person can get just because there was a small montage of her studying pissed me off. As a person who is in law school and who studied his ass off to get the LSAT grade I did, a lot of studying does not equal a 179. But whatever, it's a movie.
9) The Paper Chase (1973)
Again, another movie about Harvard Law School but this was one I actually enjoyed. Maybe I liked this movie because I empathized with the character a lot. I don't know how much non-law school people would enjoy this movie, but considering how surprisingly little Boston movie choices there are and how much I liked this movie, I believe The Paper Chase deserves a spot on this list.
The movie mainly follows first year law student James Hart (Timothy Bottoms) as he struggles to balance law school under his strict Contracts professor Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman) with his personal life and sanity. As someone who had strict, sarcastic Contracts professor like a Professor Kingsfield and as someone who struggled to learn Contracts like James Hart did I felt for the main character and it made me really enjoy this movie.
In terms of a Boston Movie I think it exemplifies the academia side of Boston very well. Some of the best universities like Harvard, Tufts, Boston College, and Boston University are in Boston and are not easy to get into or stay in to and that struggle exists within The Paper Chase.
8) The Social Network (2010)
I love this movie.
But in terms of a Boston Movie it's probably the worst selection on the list. Once I got to these list picks I probably should have given up on the topic but what can I say, I'm not a quitter. Plus, the vast majority of the movie takes place at Harvard which is Boston.
I first thought that when we look back on the 2010 Oscars that we'll see just how screwed The Social Network got. I thought there was a generational gap where the younger generation loved The Social Network and the older generation loved The King's Speech but after talking to a lot of people my own age who loved The King's Speech over The Social Network I may be mistaken on how history will view this past Oscar.
Either way, I still love this movie and after seeing it 3 or 4 times I still can not stop raving about it.
7) The Town (2010)
Now we start getting into the "true" Boston Movies. Although I think out of all the movies on this list I liked The Town the least (and that includes Legally Blonde) and even though most of this movie takes place within the suburbs of Boston, the reason I put The Town #7 is because this is a true Boston Movie, through and through.
The movie follows a group of four friends / bank robbers as the leader of the gang Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) struggles to leave his gang of friends and best friend / fellow gang member James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) while falling in love with a bank teller (Rebecca Hall) whom the gang robbed and emotionally assaulted in a pretty cool opening shot (Although the greatest bank robbery / opening shot / opening shot with a bank robbery still belongs to The Dark Knight, but The Town has a pretty cool one nonetheless)
Throughout the movie the gang is being chased by FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm a.k.a. Don Draper) and the biggest part of the problem I had with this movie was Hamm's character. I love Mad Men and Hamm's guest spots on SNL, 30 Rock, and the movie Bridesmaids but I couldn't stand his FBI character. He was too cliche and it felt like Hamm phoned in his performance. I also have become a big fan of Affleck post Bennifer (and we'll see an example of this later in the list) but I thought the directing was good, just not good enough. There was just something off about this movie that made me want to like it but not able to like it.
The best part of this movie was Jeremy Renner who was on an acting hot streak with this and The Hurt Locker the year before. Renner earned the movie's sole Oscar nomination and I thought that was the only nomination the movie truly deserved.
As just a movie to see with your friends I do not recommend The Town, but in terms of a Boston Movie, this one is one of the best (and only).
6) The Boondock Saints (1999)
Let's do some gratuitous violence
-Murphy MacManus-
True, this quote actually comes from the Boondock Saints sequel, All Saints Day, but still holds true for its predecessor.
The movie follows two brothers Murphy (Norman Reedus) and Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery) MacManus as they destroy the mafia and gangs within Boston while being chased by FBI agent Paul Smeckler (Willem Dafoe). Does this plot sound familiar? All the awesome-ness The Town wanted to have turned up in Boondock Saints.
I feel everything Dafoe does is just amazing (sans Spider-Man where he was just OK and his creepy self). There are certain guys like Gary Oldman and John Malkovich that have just played creepy and awesome and weird characters throughout their entire career and yet have gone under the radar and Willem Dafoe I feel falls under that umbrella. I loved his character and my favorite line (and extremely politically incorrect) from this movie was said by Willem Dafoe. Dafoe's character is homosexual and after his partner /lover tries to cuddle with him as Dafoe goes to leave to catch Connor and Murphy he turns to his partner as says, "Cuddle? What a fag."
But the main part of the movie are the two brothers as there are many scenes with them filled with shoot outs, explosions, and killings. When you think of a quintessential guy movie The Boondock Saints have to be at the top of the list just because of all the aforementioned violence. Sometimes the character's thick Irish brood may be tough to hear but so was Brad Pitt in Snatch and I loved his character as well.
There are historically two main sects within Boston: The Irish and The Italians and the movie has the Irish attacking the Italians in true Boston fashion and does so to help The Boondock Saints to earn the #6 spot on this list.
Coming Up Next: Movies 1-5.
Considering how few Boston movies there are I'm sure you can guess at least what the five movies at least are, so now comments like, "How could you put Legally Blonde on this list and not so and so." Chances are "so and so" will be in the top five. Although I do expect some criticism, especially with a selection like Legally Blonde on the list and that's fine. Whatever. Haters gonna hate. Just please limit your comments to the selections themselves and no personal attacks will be tolerated.
"What is a Boston Movie?" you may ask yourself. Well, good sir, here is my criteria. A few years back I came across a list of the best L.A. movies and one of their criteria was that the city itself had to be a character. This is my main factor I look for. There are movies in the bottom half of this list that I consider to be better films as a whole than some of the top half movies but because the city of Boston is not really a character in those movies, I chose to not rank them as high.
What I mean by the city of Boston as a character is that the actual characters in the movie are shaped because of their association with the city and the events, plot, and story line are advanced because of what the city has to offer. But mainly, the characters just have to have that stereotypical Boston accent where they say they have to p-ah-k the c-ah in H-ah-v-ah-d Y-ah-d. I think as you read through my list you'll get a better understanding of what I mean by this.
The other minor factor I included was how much did the movie take place in Boston. One last note: The movie itself did not have to take place in the actual city but the suburbs of the city sufficed and you still got the feel that it was a "Boston Movie" even though it took place in a surrounding neighborhood and not technically within the city limits.
The first three movies (movies 8-10) take place at Harvard and really do not fit within the typical "Boston Movie" mold that I believe the next seven do. With that being said, Boston has the greatest amount of Universities per square mile than anywhere else in the country. Even though the first three movies are not nearly as gritty as the rest, it is ignorant to think that just because a movie takes place at a college means that the movie does not exemplify what Boston is about.
10) Legally Blonde (2001) While I am not a personal fan of this movie, I am also not closed minded to cut off its merit just because of my own tastes. I detest bluegrass music but I would put the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" in my top five greatest movie soundtracks because I can differentiate between enjoyable and good. In an earlier episode of The Office, guest star and super hottie Amy Adams (who was playing Jim's girlfriend at the time) said the number one movie she would watch if she were stranded on a desert island was Legally Blonde. This was after Jim accosted Pam for saying the same thing earlier in the episode. Chicks love this movie and for that it earned the last spot on this list.
That reason plus I came up with the first nine and struggled to come up with a tenth that I had seen.
Legally Blonde follows Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) as she goes from college sorority ditz to super smart lawyer at Harvard Law. Even if you don't like this movie or its appeal you still know the plot of the movie so I'm not going to go into it now (especially considering the movie became so popular it spawned a sequel and a Broadway musical where Christina Applegate played the role of Elle Woods). The one last thing I'll say about this movie is that the premise where Woods earns one of the highest LSAT scores a person can get just because there was a small montage of her studying pissed me off. As a person who is in law school and who studied his ass off to get the LSAT grade I did, a lot of studying does not equal a 179. But whatever, it's a movie.
9) The Paper Chase (1973) Again, another movie about Harvard Law School but this was one I actually enjoyed. Maybe I liked this movie because I empathized with the character a lot. I don't know how much non-law school people would enjoy this movie, but considering how surprisingly little Boston movie choices there are and how much I liked this movie, I believe The Paper Chase deserves a spot on this list.
The movie mainly follows first year law student James Hart (Timothy Bottoms) as he struggles to balance law school under his strict Contracts professor Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman) with his personal life and sanity. As someone who had strict, sarcastic Contracts professor like a Professor Kingsfield and as someone who struggled to learn Contracts like James Hart did I felt for the main character and it made me really enjoy this movie.
In terms of a Boston Movie I think it exemplifies the academia side of Boston very well. Some of the best universities like Harvard, Tufts, Boston College, and Boston University are in Boston and are not easy to get into or stay in to and that struggle exists within The Paper Chase.
8) The Social Network (2010)I love this movie.
But in terms of a Boston Movie it's probably the worst selection on the list. Once I got to these list picks I probably should have given up on the topic but what can I say, I'm not a quitter. Plus, the vast majority of the movie takes place at Harvard which is Boston.
I first thought that when we look back on the 2010 Oscars that we'll see just how screwed The Social Network got. I thought there was a generational gap where the younger generation loved The Social Network and the older generation loved The King's Speech but after talking to a lot of people my own age who loved The King's Speech over The Social Network I may be mistaken on how history will view this past Oscar.
Either way, I still love this movie and after seeing it 3 or 4 times I still can not stop raving about it.
7) The Town (2010)Now we start getting into the "true" Boston Movies. Although I think out of all the movies on this list I liked The Town the least (and that includes Legally Blonde) and even though most of this movie takes place within the suburbs of Boston, the reason I put The Town #7 is because this is a true Boston Movie, through and through.
The movie follows a group of four friends / bank robbers as the leader of the gang Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) struggles to leave his gang of friends and best friend / fellow gang member James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) while falling in love with a bank teller (Rebecca Hall) whom the gang robbed and emotionally assaulted in a pretty cool opening shot (Although the greatest bank robbery / opening shot / opening shot with a bank robbery still belongs to The Dark Knight, but The Town has a pretty cool one nonetheless)
Throughout the movie the gang is being chased by FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm a.k.a. Don Draper) and the biggest part of the problem I had with this movie was Hamm's character. I love Mad Men and Hamm's guest spots on SNL, 30 Rock, and the movie Bridesmaids but I couldn't stand his FBI character. He was too cliche and it felt like Hamm phoned in his performance. I also have become a big fan of Affleck post Bennifer (and we'll see an example of this later in the list) but I thought the directing was good, just not good enough. There was just something off about this movie that made me want to like it but not able to like it.
The best part of this movie was Jeremy Renner who was on an acting hot streak with this and The Hurt Locker the year before. Renner earned the movie's sole Oscar nomination and I thought that was the only nomination the movie truly deserved.
As just a movie to see with your friends I do not recommend The Town, but in terms of a Boston Movie, this one is one of the best (and only).
6) The Boondock Saints (1999) Let's do some gratuitous violence
-Murphy MacManus-
True, this quote actually comes from the Boondock Saints sequel, All Saints Day, but still holds true for its predecessor.
The movie follows two brothers Murphy (Norman Reedus) and Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery) MacManus as they destroy the mafia and gangs within Boston while being chased by FBI agent Paul Smeckler (Willem Dafoe). Does this plot sound familiar? All the awesome-ness The Town wanted to have turned up in Boondock Saints.
I feel everything Dafoe does is just amazing (sans Spider-Man where he was just OK and his creepy self). There are certain guys like Gary Oldman and John Malkovich that have just played creepy and awesome and weird characters throughout their entire career and yet have gone under the radar and Willem Dafoe I feel falls under that umbrella. I loved his character and my favorite line (and extremely politically incorrect) from this movie was said by Willem Dafoe. Dafoe's character is homosexual and after his partner /lover tries to cuddle with him as Dafoe goes to leave to catch Connor and Murphy he turns to his partner as says, "Cuddle? What a fag."
But the main part of the movie are the two brothers as there are many scenes with them filled with shoot outs, explosions, and killings. When you think of a quintessential guy movie The Boondock Saints have to be at the top of the list just because of all the aforementioned violence. Sometimes the character's thick Irish brood may be tough to hear but so was Brad Pitt in Snatch and I loved his character as well.
There are historically two main sects within Boston: The Irish and The Italians and the movie has the Irish attacking the Italians in true Boston fashion and does so to help The Boondock Saints to earn the #6 spot on this list.
Coming Up Next: Movies 1-5.
Considering how few Boston movies there are I'm sure you can guess at least what the five movies at least are, so now comments like, "How could you put Legally Blonde on this list and not so and so." Chances are "so and so" will be in the top five. Although I do expect some criticism, especially with a selection like Legally Blonde on the list and that's fine. Whatever. Haters gonna hate. Just please limit your comments to the selections themselves and no personal attacks will be tolerated.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cubs Podcast with Cubsfan and TBO
New Cubs podcast is up! Enjoy it here
http://hundley21.podbean.com/2011/07/16/cubs-with-cubsfan-and-tbo/
http://hundley21.podbean.com/2011/07/16/cubs-with-cubsfan-and-tbo/
Friday, July 15, 2011
Help A Football Player In Need
Hat tip to Cubsfan4ever for directing this open letter to my attention:
My friends,
Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in
our generation. We have banded together to overcome adversity. We have
weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas,
corporate/government scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges,
droughts, fires, mad cow, SARS, high gasoline prices, and a myriad of
economic and physical disasters both great and small. But now, we must come
together once again to overcome one of our greatest challenges yet.
Hundreds of Professional Football players in our very own nation are going
to be locked out, living at well below their seven-figure salary level. And
as if that weren't bad enough they could be deprived of their life
sustaining pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the
upcoming lockout situation. But you can help!
For only $27,080 a month, about $902.75 a day (that's less than the cost of
a large screen projection TV), you can help an NFL player remain economically
viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the
problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and
every little bit will help!
Although $900 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a football player
it could mean the difference between spending the lockout golfing in Florida
or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, nine hundred dollars is nothing more
than a month's rent, a mortgage payment, or a month of medical insurance,
but to a football player, $900 will partially replace his daily salary.
Your commitment of less than $900 a day will enable a player to buy that
home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari, or
enjoy a weekend in Rio.
HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?
Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you
sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate,
and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon
signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the
player lounging during the lockout on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean
(for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on
your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.
HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?
Your NFL player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to
help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be
able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case
additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.
Remember, a lifestyle is a horrible thing to waste...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YES, I WANT TO HELP!
I would like to sponsor a locked out NFL player. My preference is (check
below):
[ ] Offense [ ] Defense [ ] Special Teams [ ] Entire team
Please charge the account listed below $902.75 per day for the duration of
the lockout. Please send me a picture of the player and my very own Roger
Goodell (NFL Commissioner) pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for
hat).
Your Name: ____________________Telephone Number: ___________________
Account Number: __________________ Exp.Date:_______
[ ] Master Card [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Other
Signature: _______________________
Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit):
Account Number: _______________________ Exp.Date:_______
[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Other
Signature: ______________________
My friends,
Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in
our generation. We have banded together to overcome adversity. We have
weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas,
corporate/government scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges,
droughts, fires, mad cow, SARS, high gasoline prices, and a myriad of
economic and physical disasters both great and small. But now, we must come
together once again to overcome one of our greatest challenges yet.
Hundreds of Professional Football players in our very own nation are going
to be locked out, living at well below their seven-figure salary level. And
as if that weren't bad enough they could be deprived of their life
sustaining pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the
upcoming lockout situation. But you can help!
For only $27,080 a month, about $902.75 a day (that's less than the cost of
a large screen projection TV), you can help an NFL player remain economically
viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the
problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and
every little bit will help!
Although $900 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a football player
it could mean the difference between spending the lockout golfing in Florida
or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, nine hundred dollars is nothing more
than a month's rent, a mortgage payment, or a month of medical insurance,
but to a football player, $900 will partially replace his daily salary.
Your commitment of less than $900 a day will enable a player to buy that
home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari, or
enjoy a weekend in Rio.
HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?
Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you
sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate,
and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon
signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the
player lounging during the lockout on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean
(for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on
your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.
HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?
Your NFL player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to
help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be
able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case
additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.
Remember, a lifestyle is a horrible thing to waste...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YES, I WANT TO HELP!
I would like to sponsor a locked out NFL player. My preference is (check
below):
[ ] Offense [ ] Defense [ ] Special Teams [ ] Entire team
Please charge the account listed below $902.75 per day for the duration of
the lockout. Please send me a picture of the player and my very own Roger
Goodell (NFL Commissioner) pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for
hat).
Your Name: ____________________Telephone Number: ___________________
Account Number: __________________ Exp.Date:_______
[ ] Master Card [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Other
Signature: _______________________
Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit):
Account Number: _______________________ Exp.Date:_______
[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Other
Signature: ______________________
Monday, July 11, 2011
Five proposed changes to the Home Run Derby
Baseball tried to make the Home Run Derby more interesting this year by allowing the 2009 (Prince Fielder) and 2010 (David Ortiz) Derby winners to pick their respective league representatives in what is supposed to be a showcase of baseball's most fun batted ball -- the home run. However, if I were in charge, I would propose the following five changes.
1. Pitching machines. Poor Jose Bautista had the outside corner painted all night by his pitcher, and Sammy Sosa got a bellyful of cutters back in 2001. If the derby is supposed to be a showcase of massive, impressive blasts, then why not cut out the guessing game of where the pitch is going to locate across the plate, and how fast it is going to approach the plate? Let the hitters focus on one thing: hitting home runs. This will also eliminate batters taking 10 straight pitches. The only substitute for this proposal I will accept is Greg Maddux throws all the pitches.
2. Fastballs only. A big component of home run distance and propensity has to go with the speed of the ball off of the bat. The more speed, the more likely a ball is to carry farther. The slower the incoming speed of the ball, however, the more kinetic energy the batter has to supply to provide. Accordingly, change-ups tend to be harder to drive farther than fastballs. Change-ups are also less likely to get "pulled" on average than fastballs, and hence more likely to go dead center (bad for home runs) than fastballs. Plus, how many hitters have better runs values off change-ups compared to fastballs anyways? Without looking, I would have to guess few, if any, power hitters so qualify.
3. Good home run hitters only. Prince Fielder selecting teammate Rickie Weeks was a total joke. So was the selection of Matt Holliday, who is more of a line drive hitter, and whose home run total is more than 70 percent comprised of "lucky" and "just enough" home runs. Snubbed were youngsters Justin Upton, who leads the majors with four 450 foot blasts, and Mike Stanton, whose power is prolific and still developing. What about Bryce Harper, who put on his own home run showcase at Tropicana Field a couple of years ago? Where are our Russell Branyans? Our Wily Mo Penas? Our Mark Reynolds? Our Adam Dunns (OK, maybe not Adam Dunn, as U.S. Cellular's 125 home run park factor for lefties is not helping him much)? Heck, what about Ichiro Suzuki, who is the self-proclaimed king of the batting practice home run. I want to see Ichiro put his money where his mouth is.
4. "Open the roof" and play at home run happy parks. I get that the Home Run Derby is a pre-All-Star Game exhibition, but why hold it in places like PETCO Park and SafeCo Field? The next two All-Star Games/Home Run Derbies will be at Kaufmann Stadium and Citi Field, but I would move the Derbies to happier homer havens like Chicago (either park). Heck, had the roof at Chase Field been open, participants' flyballs could have gone some 10 feet further and Chase Field's surprisingly noninflationary home run park factor index have been bolstered by an extra 5 points. If the Derby was at Coors, I would demand they turn off the humidifier. Heck, I'd probably demand they turn on a dehumidifier.
5. Mandatory steroid usage. OK, so this last one is clearly a joke, but only half-halfheartedly so. Maybe metal bats could be a "legal" alternative. Remember back in the day when home runs used to routinely sail 450 feet, and only Juan Pierre/Luis Castillo could not hit 30 in a season? Ah, those were the days. Don't lie to yourself and believe that an MVP* who can't hit a 400 foot home run, let alone 20 in a season, is satisfying -- irrespective of "the under-appreciated value of defense."
*I'm referring of course to Dustin Pedroia. Interesting factoid: per Fangraphs, Pedroia's 2008 WAR total was +6.8. Jose Bautista already has +6.6 WAR through just the first half this season.
1. Pitching machines. Poor Jose Bautista had the outside corner painted all night by his pitcher, and Sammy Sosa got a bellyful of cutters back in 2001. If the derby is supposed to be a showcase of massive, impressive blasts, then why not cut out the guessing game of where the pitch is going to locate across the plate, and how fast it is going to approach the plate? Let the hitters focus on one thing: hitting home runs. This will also eliminate batters taking 10 straight pitches. The only substitute for this proposal I will accept is Greg Maddux throws all the pitches.
2. Fastballs only. A big component of home run distance and propensity has to go with the speed of the ball off of the bat. The more speed, the more likely a ball is to carry farther. The slower the incoming speed of the ball, however, the more kinetic energy the batter has to supply to provide. Accordingly, change-ups tend to be harder to drive farther than fastballs. Change-ups are also less likely to get "pulled" on average than fastballs, and hence more likely to go dead center (bad for home runs) than fastballs. Plus, how many hitters have better runs values off change-ups compared to fastballs anyways? Without looking, I would have to guess few, if any, power hitters so qualify.
3. Good home run hitters only. Prince Fielder selecting teammate Rickie Weeks was a total joke. So was the selection of Matt Holliday, who is more of a line drive hitter, and whose home run total is more than 70 percent comprised of "lucky" and "just enough" home runs. Snubbed were youngsters Justin Upton, who leads the majors with four 450 foot blasts, and Mike Stanton, whose power is prolific and still developing. What about Bryce Harper, who put on his own home run showcase at Tropicana Field a couple of years ago? Where are our Russell Branyans? Our Wily Mo Penas? Our Mark Reynolds? Our Adam Dunns (OK, maybe not Adam Dunn, as U.S. Cellular's 125 home run park factor for lefties is not helping him much)? Heck, what about Ichiro Suzuki, who is the self-proclaimed king of the batting practice home run. I want to see Ichiro put his money where his mouth is.
4. "Open the roof" and play at home run happy parks. I get that the Home Run Derby is a pre-All-Star Game exhibition, but why hold it in places like PETCO Park and SafeCo Field? The next two All-Star Games/Home Run Derbies will be at Kaufmann Stadium and Citi Field, but I would move the Derbies to happier homer havens like Chicago (either park). Heck, had the roof at Chase Field been open, participants' flyballs could have gone some 10 feet further and Chase Field's surprisingly noninflationary home run park factor index have been bolstered by an extra 5 points. If the Derby was at Coors, I would demand they turn off the humidifier. Heck, I'd probably demand they turn on a dehumidifier.
5. Mandatory steroid usage. OK, so this last one is clearly a joke, but only half-halfheartedly so. Maybe metal bats could be a "legal" alternative. Remember back in the day when home runs used to routinely sail 450 feet, and only Juan Pierre/Luis Castillo could not hit 30 in a season? Ah, those were the days. Don't lie to yourself and believe that an MVP* who can't hit a 400 foot home run, let alone 20 in a season, is satisfying -- irrespective of "the under-appreciated value of defense."
*I'm referring of course to Dustin Pedroia. Interesting factoid: per Fangraphs, Pedroia's 2008 WAR total was +6.8. Jose Bautista already has +6.6 WAR through just the first half this season.
On The Derby: DME's ESPN Radio Appearance
In case you missed it, earlier today I was on ESPN Radio discussing the Home Run Derby. You can listen to the audio by clicking here (you can hear a better audio quality here, albeit only the first 8 minutes). The audio is a bit soft, so you will likely to need headphones, but there is a lot of good chatter, so it is totally worth it. Thank you Paul Singman for recording this for me.
Hope you enjoy my ramblings. Below are a few of my specific liner notes of interest.
Open or closed roof?
Derby Players' Vegas Odds [per BoDog]
Final note: Jonny Venters is the NL’s secret weapon this year. A lefty who gets strikeouts and tons of grounders (over 75 percent groundball rate this year) is going to be the key to getting out of a high-leverage jam. Craig Kimbrell is equally as filthy a pitcher from the right side, a testament to just how disgusting the Braves bullpen is. Imagine if Billy Wagner didn’t retire.
Hope you enjoy my ramblings. Below are a few of my specific liner notes of interest.
Open or closed roof?
- A 10-degree change in temperature tends to have a 1% or so effect on flyball distance, and every 10 degrees over 70 tends to bolster park factors by 2.6 points.
- The average MLB home run is about 395 feet, so each ten-degree change likely has a 4-5 foot effect on home run distance.
- The projected temperature at Chase Field tonight is 95, versus somewhere in the mid-70s or so if they close the roof and air-condition the park. The forecast for tonight in Arizona is thunderstorms, so the roof will probably be closed. Given the heat/humidity, odds are the roof would have been closed even if the forecast was sans storms.
- A closed roof could chop off up to 10 feet from tonights’ flyball distances compared to an open roof, making those “just enough” homers harder to attain, and those Slammin' Sammy/Josh Hamilton bombs unlikely.
- Wind can also affect flyball distance, so a closed roof might also further affect flyball distance beyond just temperature.
Derby Players' Vegas Odds [per BoDog]
- Jose Bautista: 3/1
- Prince Fielder: 15/4
- David Ortiz: 9/2
- Matt Holliday: 9/2
- Adrian Gonzalez: 11/2
- Matt Kemp: 15/2
- Robinson Cano: 15/2
- Rickie Weeks: 12/1
Final note: Jonny Venters is the NL’s secret weapon this year. A lefty who gets strikeouts and tons of grounders (over 75 percent groundball rate this year) is going to be the key to getting out of a high-leverage jam. Craig Kimbrell is equally as filthy a pitcher from the right side, a testament to just how disgusting the Braves bullpen is. Imagine if Billy Wagner didn’t retire.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
I'm At The 40/40 Club With Ryan Braun On The Screen
Currently there are only four players ever to be a part of the 40/40 Club (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season): Jose Conseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano. Soon after Soriano joined the club in 2006, it seemed that the next logical choice to join the club was Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore. Sizemore came the closest he has has ever been in 2008 when he hit 33 home runs and stole 38 bases. Sizemore's career seemed to be on the up and up and it seemed to be that if anyone could do it, Grady could. But injury and ineffectiveness derailed any chance the Indians outfielder had to go 40/40.
While it's extremely rare to be a part of this prestigious group and no one really expects or predicts anyone else to do it, I think Ryan Braun could be the next to do it.
In the first half of the 2011 season, Ryan Braun currently has 16 home runs and stole 19 bases. While he is not on pace to go 40/40 this year (he is on pace to hit 31 home runs and steal 37 bases), Braun's stolen base surge this year under new manager Ron Roenicke makes Braun look like Juan Pierre (2010 Pierre, not 2011 Pierre).
In Braun's past four seasons, the most bases he stole was 20 which was in 2009. Braun is clearly going to surpass his career high this year. And Braun has always been pretty successful and efficient when stealing bases. This year he is stealing bases at a 83% clip and has been successful 79% of the time in his career.
Along with his speed, Braun has always had the power potential to hit home runs. He set the rookie record for slugging percentage in 2007 and hit 37 home runs in his sophomore season. However since his sophomore season Braun's home run totals have been steadily declining (although he will make a huge bounce back this year barring any major setbacks) but I still believe in his raw power potential. Braun is only 27 years old and is now just entering into his prime. While I actually think hitting 40 home runs will be Braun's biggest obstacle, I have faith that he can do it (NOTE: Not that he WILL do it, but that he CAN do it).
If The Hebrew Hammer is allowed to run for the next few years like he has so far this season, then I think Braun can join the 40/40 club within the next few years.
Lastly, for those of you who do not understand the title reference, a bonus for you (see at 1:50)
_____________________________________
EDITORS NOTE: As the comments suggest I did mistakenly overlook Matt Kemp going 40/40 and he will probably do it this year but the main purpose of me writing this article was to showcase Braun's new found speed and Braun overall and using the 40/40 back drop as a McGuffin / I really love that line from Jay-Z and created an excuse to use it.
While it's extremely rare to be a part of this prestigious group and no one really expects or predicts anyone else to do it, I think Ryan Braun could be the next to do it.
In the first half of the 2011 season, Ryan Braun currently has 16 home runs and stole 19 bases. While he is not on pace to go 40/40 this year (he is on pace to hit 31 home runs and steal 37 bases), Braun's stolen base surge this year under new manager Ron Roenicke makes Braun look like Juan Pierre (2010 Pierre, not 2011 Pierre).
In Braun's past four seasons, the most bases he stole was 20 which was in 2009. Braun is clearly going to surpass his career high this year. And Braun has always been pretty successful and efficient when stealing bases. This year he is stealing bases at a 83% clip and has been successful 79% of the time in his career.
Along with his speed, Braun has always had the power potential to hit home runs. He set the rookie record for slugging percentage in 2007 and hit 37 home runs in his sophomore season. However since his sophomore season Braun's home run totals have been steadily declining (although he will make a huge bounce back this year barring any major setbacks) but I still believe in his raw power potential. Braun is only 27 years old and is now just entering into his prime. While I actually think hitting 40 home runs will be Braun's biggest obstacle, I have faith that he can do it (NOTE: Not that he WILL do it, but that he CAN do it).
If The Hebrew Hammer is allowed to run for the next few years like he has so far this season, then I think Braun can join the 40/40 club within the next few years.
Lastly, for those of you who do not understand the title reference, a bonus for you (see at 1:50)
_____________________________________
EDITORS NOTE: As the comments suggest I did mistakenly overlook Matt Kemp going 40/40 and he will probably do it this year but the main purpose of me writing this article was to showcase Braun's new found speed and Braun overall and using the 40/40 back drop as a McGuffin / I really love that line from Jay-Z and created an excuse to use it.
DME's Updated Favorite 40 Beers
About six months ago, I created a list of some of my favorite brews. Since then, I have tasted a few new brews that I have come to love, and changed the original ordering slightly. In making a few new changes earlier today, I simply decided to create a new list, which you will find below. Please keep in mind that I only rank what I have drank and that I hate Borbon/Whiskey flavors. You'll probably notice a recurring theme with my two favorite beer styles: IPAs and Russian Imperial Stouts. Remember, I am not a real beer connoisseur, even if I periodically hold myself out as one...
- Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Thick, heavy, complex. A brilliant mix of Vanilla, Oak, Tobacco, Chocolate and Coffee hides the alcohol well, and creating nothing but smooth flavor and only a taste of bitterness. This beer is very hard to find, and only comes out once a year. Equally tasty is the regular Breakfast Stout, which tends to be easier to find, though it is also a once-a-year brew.
- Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. The Old Rasputin XII, a one-time brew, is infinitely better, but infinitely more expensive (and hard to find).
- Wild Little Sumpin'. This stuff is ridiculously drinkable for an 8.5% ABV beer. It's a limited brew, but I am stocked up. After I run out, I'll have to regulate myself to the regular Little Sumpin'.
- Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA. A malty hop bomb of the highest order. A must drink for imperial IPA lovers everywhere, though it's hardly cheap...
- Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Like Dreadnaught, this beer is a bit pricey ($10-15 dollars a bomber), but well worth the cost. This Russian imperial stout has a smooth/subtle coffee flavor to complement the dark chocolate/roasted malts flavor and the finish is to die for.
- Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA. An aggressive hop bomb that always hits the right spot. Not for those who hate bitter flavors.
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. The guy who brews this stuff wrote my favorite beer book of all-time, the only beer book I have ever read, The Brewmaster's Table.
- Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale. Simply delicious, this brilliant year-round pale ale is perfectly bitter and always ripe for drinking.
- Goose Island Imperial IPA. One of my favorite beers by one of my favorite breweries.
- Surly Furious. I drove to Minneapolis just to have a pint of this delicious APA. Furious is simply that good a beer, and likely the best APA I will ever have the pleasure of drinking.
- Great Lakes Glockenspiel Weizenbock. This full of alcohol, wheat flavor and some bitterness, but is smooth to the taste. Incredibly drinkable.
- Three Floyds Gumballhead. My favorite American wheat ale. Refreshing, with a perfectly bitter bite.
- Unibroue La Fin Du Monde. Can only be described as banana bread beer. It always hits the spot.
- Port Brewing Co.'s Santa's Little Helper. This drink is ridiculously delicious and drinkably boozy, with a huge malty nose. This beer captures the perfect blend of dark fruit and chocolate flavors with a roasted malts balance. The after taste is to die for.
- Stone Double Bastard Ale. As if Arrogant Bastard was not good enough, Stone decided to one-up themselves with an even stronger, thicker, more complex, and more boozy (11.3% ABV) strong ale. Not for the faint of heart or the light/casual beer drinker.
- Sam Adams Dopple Bock. I can't particularly explain why, but this beer is brilliant. It is even better slightly warm.
- Founders' Double Trouble. My undying affinity for IPAs probably has me biased on how high I regard this beer, but Double Trouble is probably my favorite beer on tap in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary. I just had this beer for the first time earlier this week, but it impressed me enough that I was sipping on it exclusively for the evening. This is a darn good dark-chocolate-fused-with-coffee-flavored beer.
- Founders' Devil Dancer Imperial IPA. This beer is as bitter and alcoholic as they get. Not for the casual beer drinker.
- Three Floyds Blackheart. My first foray into the English-style IPA, but it certainly won't be my last.
- Goose Island IPA. A staple and a classic. My six-pack of choice when I can't decide.
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A perfect blend of citrus aroma and hoppy flavor. It is my "oh you have this at your bar?" staple when all else fails and the second best beer on tap is Guinness or Fat Tire, which is like 50% of the time.
- Half-Acre Daisy Cutter. In the style of Sierra Nevada's citrusy bitterness, this locally brewed APA is a great beer from an up-and-coming brewery that you can increasingly find on-tap.
- Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. The undisputed king of all traditionally-flavored Wheat beers.
- Founders' Dirty Bastard. A smokey, caramel-sweet beer whose flavor lingers forever. Yum!
- Storm King. An entirely too drinkable Russian Imperial Stout that will have you wondering where all the beer went the next morning.
- Three Floyds Robert The Bruce. Normally, I hate scotch ales. But this is the exception to the rule.
- Victory HopDevil. Impressive...most impressive.
- Stone Smoked Porter. Surprisingly light finish for the style of beer, but nonetheless jam-packed with roasted flavors and subdued aromas that entice you to keep sipping.
- Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen. A sweet beer with a crisp, refreshing banana and bread flavor.
- Victory Moonglow. Weizenbocks are an entirely underrated style of beer that mixes boozy with drinkability, and Moonglow is easily one of the best in its class.
- Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA. Infinitely better than both the 60 minute and 120 minute IPAs in my strange opinion.
- Southern Tier Choklat. Like a booze-laden Hershey's chocolate bar that melts in your mouth, Choklat has a slight dark chocolate bitterness to it that perfectly complements the beer's roasted sweetness.
- Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. This beer is a stupidly good, hopped up double IPA with plenty of bitterness from taste to finish.
- Founders' Centennial IPA. Can Founders do any wrong? A simple, but classic IPA.
- Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald. An undeniably tasty porter, though I do not understand most of this beer's hype.
- Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. Only one word can describe this black-coffee-with-a-hint-of-chocolate flavored beer: "smooth."
- Victory Old Horizontal. A surprisingly delicious mix of intense fruit flavors and malty-sweetness. Best described as a warm, aromatic beer that challenges the palette.
- Goose Island Matilda. I can't put my finger on this beer, but I love it.
- Bell's Expedition Stout. A well-hyped beer that does not stack up to its reputation, but is nonetheless delicious with a good hamburger or steak. Certainly worth a try if seeking something new, or the above mentioned Russian Imperial Stouts are nowhere to be found.
- Unibroue Éphémère (Apple). I am probably the only person on this planet that truly enjoys this beer as much as I do. It will always hold a special affinity with me for weening me off of Miller Lite and my college-beer days, and acting as a gateway into craft beer.
- Goose Island 312. Ol' Reliable. This is what you drink at a bar, when you have no clue what anything else in bottle at a bar tastes like or when a bar only otherwise has Miller/Bud/Coors on tap.