Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Lebron, All Stars and 2009 movies...
We're kind of in a holding pattern right now. I don't have any doctor appointments scheduled until later this month and I'm actually feeling as good as I have in a while. Last weekend we went to Hocking Hills with all of Julie's siblings and their kids...27 people in one house and as cramped as it sounds it really wasn't too bad. We all had a great time and next year is already booked. We did some hiking, many in the group went zip lining in a downpour and had a great time doing it while Jimmy Judd and I went golfing on what can only be described as a goat pasture...the scores weren't impressive but we can say we've played one of the worst golf courses in America.
I have to comment on the recent Lebron James news. I think Lebron has been great for the NBA and the City of Cleveland. He is a wonderful basketball player and has the right to play where ever he wants. But the way he went about announcing where he will be playing was a complete embarrassment. Add to that the way Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh rubbed it in everyone's faces the next day at that pathetic introduction to the City of Miami and there is no doubt King James has cost himself a great deal of respect. Given his background, I’ve always felt that LeBron has been fairly level headed. If any player ever had a reason to be arrogant, boastful and self serving it would be LeBron and yet despite the attention he’s received since he was a teenager he always appeared to handle his fame pretty well ...that all changed last Thursday evening. The one hour special to announce his decision was nothing but an ego fest, not telling the Cleveland owner of his decision prior to the one hour special was cowardly and solid evidence that LeBron has a lot of maturing to do and the scene of James, Wade and Bosh styling in their Heat uniforms was the equivalent of bullies strutting on a playground. I could care where these guys play, it's just too bad they couldn't have carried themselves with a little more class.
Congrats to the NL for winning last night's All Star game - it's about time! And it was also nice to see some Reds playing in the game for a change. Hopefully, Cincinnati will hang in the division race and make August and September interesting for a change but if not at least they got us closer to football season! Ohio State's opening game is just a month and a half away!
Finally, I finally got a chance to see District 9 so I can now rank the 10 movies nominated for the Best Picture of 2009. You may recall that The Hurt Locker took home the top prize last February but if I was voting here is how I would have ranked the competition....
10. a Serious Man - I usually like the Coen Brother's movies but I didn't get this one. A dark comedy set in the mid-1960's about a Jewish man going through a very difficult stretch in his professional and personal life, A Serious Man is the best argument I can come up with to not nominate 10 movies for best picture.
9. The Blindside - There have been far better football movies and Sandra Bullock's Academy Award winning role had to be for lifetime achievement because there were definitely better female performances in 2009. And the scene where she calls the coach on her cell phone during a game and he answers it is the worst scene of any of the top ten movies.
8. An Education - Coming of age story about a teenage girl who finds herself dating a much older, and married, man. Carey Mulligan gives a breakthrough performance that was among the best of 2009.
7. Avatar - A visually spectacular retelling of 'Dances With Wolves' that made about a gazillion dollars.
6. Precious - Disturbing tale about a poor, teenaged girl who is able to survive and triumph over her abusive and evil mother, chillingly portrayed by comedian, Monique.
5. District 9 - I thought this might battle it out with 'A Serious Man' for the bottom spot but I thoroughly enjoyed this Sci-Fi thriller about a concentration camp filled with alien creatures. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Definitely worthy of the nomination.
4. The Hurt Locker - a graphic illustration of an American bomb deactivating unit in Iraq. Jeremy Renner is tremendous as the soldier who snips the wires on the bombs and the supporting cast is equally good. Very realistic depiction of what the soldiers go through every day and you feel like you are right there with them as the bombs tick down to potentially exploding and wiping the entire unit out.
3. Up in the Air - George Clooney plays a man who spends his life flying from city to city to lay people off until a recent college grad, played very well by Anna Kendrick, encourages the company they could save a ton of money if they did all the dirty work on-line. Throw in Clooney's affair with another woman (Vera Farmiga) who also spends her days flying from airport to airport and you had a very entertaining night at the movies.
2. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarentino's tale about a group of Jewish hit men looking to wipeout Nazis - including the Fuhrer himself - was bloody, funny and sometimes difficult to watch but it was also easily one of the top 2 movies of the year. Christoph Waitz steals the show as a Nazi who is willing to trade his allegiance for the American dream.
1. Up - this tale about an old widower out to live the adventure he never got to take with wife packed more emotion into the first 10 minutes of the movie than many films can in 2 hours. One day an animated feature will win the Best Picture Oscar and I would have been very perfectly happy if 'Up' would have been the first one!
That's all for now. Hope all is well with all of you and I'll be sure to update you after my doctor visits.
I have to comment on the recent Lebron James news. I think Lebron has been great for the NBA and the City of Cleveland. He is a wonderful basketball player and has the right to play where ever he wants. But the way he went about announcing where he will be playing was a complete embarrassment. Add to that the way Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh rubbed it in everyone's faces the next day at that pathetic introduction to the City of Miami and there is no doubt King James has cost himself a great deal of respect. Given his background, I’ve always felt that LeBron has been fairly level headed. If any player ever had a reason to be arrogant, boastful and self serving it would be LeBron and yet despite the attention he’s received since he was a teenager he always appeared to handle his fame pretty well ...that all changed last Thursday evening. The one hour special to announce his decision was nothing but an ego fest, not telling the Cleveland owner of his decision prior to the one hour special was cowardly and solid evidence that LeBron has a lot of maturing to do and the scene of James, Wade and Bosh styling in their Heat uniforms was the equivalent of bullies strutting on a playground. I could care where these guys play, it's just too bad they couldn't have carried themselves with a little more class.
Congrats to the NL for winning last night's All Star game - it's about time! And it was also nice to see some Reds playing in the game for a change. Hopefully, Cincinnati will hang in the division race and make August and September interesting for a change but if not at least they got us closer to football season! Ohio State's opening game is just a month and a half away!
Finally, I finally got a chance to see District 9 so I can now rank the 10 movies nominated for the Best Picture of 2009. You may recall that The Hurt Locker took home the top prize last February but if I was voting here is how I would have ranked the competition....
10. a Serious Man - I usually like the Coen Brother's movies but I didn't get this one. A dark comedy set in the mid-1960's about a Jewish man going through a very difficult stretch in his professional and personal life, A Serious Man is the best argument I can come up with to not nominate 10 movies for best picture.
9. The Blindside - There have been far better football movies and Sandra Bullock's Academy Award winning role had to be for lifetime achievement because there were definitely better female performances in 2009. And the scene where she calls the coach on her cell phone during a game and he answers it is the worst scene of any of the top ten movies.
8. An Education - Coming of age story about a teenage girl who finds herself dating a much older, and married, man. Carey Mulligan gives a breakthrough performance that was among the best of 2009.
7. Avatar - A visually spectacular retelling of 'Dances With Wolves' that made about a gazillion dollars.
6. Precious - Disturbing tale about a poor, teenaged girl who is able to survive and triumph over her abusive and evil mother, chillingly portrayed by comedian, Monique.
5. District 9 - I thought this might battle it out with 'A Serious Man' for the bottom spot but I thoroughly enjoyed this Sci-Fi thriller about a concentration camp filled with alien creatures. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Definitely worthy of the nomination.
4. The Hurt Locker - a graphic illustration of an American bomb deactivating unit in Iraq. Jeremy Renner is tremendous as the soldier who snips the wires on the bombs and the supporting cast is equally good. Very realistic depiction of what the soldiers go through every day and you feel like you are right there with them as the bombs tick down to potentially exploding and wiping the entire unit out.
3. Up in the Air - George Clooney plays a man who spends his life flying from city to city to lay people off until a recent college grad, played very well by Anna Kendrick, encourages the company they could save a ton of money if they did all the dirty work on-line. Throw in Clooney's affair with another woman (Vera Farmiga) who also spends her days flying from airport to airport and you had a very entertaining night at the movies.
2. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarentino's tale about a group of Jewish hit men looking to wipeout Nazis - including the Fuhrer himself - was bloody, funny and sometimes difficult to watch but it was also easily one of the top 2 movies of the year. Christoph Waitz steals the show as a Nazi who is willing to trade his allegiance for the American dream.
1. Up - this tale about an old widower out to live the adventure he never got to take with wife packed more emotion into the first 10 minutes of the movie than many films can in 2 hours. One day an animated feature will win the Best Picture Oscar and I would have been very perfectly happy if 'Up' would have been the first one!
That's all for now. Hope all is well with all of you and I'll be sure to update you after my doctor visits.
# posted by Vince Hopkins @ 6:00 PM 
