The Blind Side...

Finally got around to seeing The Blind Side this weekend.  Good story...good acting...overall, very solid.

But not for me.  Here is why (and please keep in mind that I am a sports junkie.  Sports nuances very rarely escape my grasp):

I tend to be a bit of a hypocrite while evaluating movies.  For some films, I am able to suspend reality and enjoy the movie for what it is, but not very often.  I try really hard to not get caught up in the "spot the imdb goofs" mindset that is pretty prevalent out there.  On the other hand, a plot hole or detail that has been blatantly overlooked will ruin the entire film for me.  A good example is Avatar...I liked the film overall, but you can't tell me that single person (the over-amped jerk played by Giovanni Ribisi) has the authority or the gumption to commit genocide on a race of natives.  The film made it look like it was his decision and his alone, and I didn't think that made one lick of sense....but I digress.

As good as the story of The Blind Side was, the scene where Michael Oher plays his first football game was the most over-produced, Hollywoodized piece of schlock I have ever laid eyes on.  Best example is when Michael gets beat on the very first play by the defensive end, and the redneck white boy hoots and hollers, calling him "fat ass" and completely strips him down in front of everyone.  There is NO WAY, and I repeat this, there is NO WAY that kind of behavior would have been tolerated, and would have at minimum drawn a 15-yard flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.  Hell, that was happening when I was in high school, before this whole culture of "you aren't supposed to talk trash" really got going.  Then, to make matters worse, the head coach of Oher's team gets flagged 15 yards for yelling at the line judge.  So, I am supposed to believe that a coach gets penalized for trying to protect his players, but an overaggressive peice of white trash crap doesn't even get a cross ways look for verbally destroying a player in the field?  Don't believe it, not for a second.

It is little details like that which make me instantly dislike the movie, because it was completely dumbed down for the audience.  Like we needed another reason to cheer for this boy who had nothing...but Hollywood decided that we were too stupid for that, and gave us something to hate, and it made me not like the movie.

Now, I have not read the book...I am going to.  I don't know how much of the movie is true vs. how much was made up to make the film more interesting.  I can't believe for a second that there is an 8 year old kid out there who is like the boy in the movie...but he was entertaining.  I did think that Sandra Bullock did a very good job in her role, but I did have a hard time believing the NCAA investigator dragging a high-school kid into a sterile conference room and GRILLING him about the perceived impropriety of their actions.

Overall, I believe it is a failure of the director in the case.  In an attempt to put too much in his movie, he didn't just let the movie be what it could have been....a great story about a good kid in a bad situation.  This movie was probably focus-grouped to hell and back, and it shows because it tried to be everything when all it had to be was its own.

This movie could have been a strong 9 in my book, but the poor script choices moved it down to more of a 7 or so.

GRAPE KOOL-AID

GRAPE KOOL-AID: "

Beavers Everywhere!!!

This was an odd weekend...because of the beavers.

Let me explain...

ExplosiveSon's first baseball tournament was this weekend, and they did great. They took 2nd place in the tournament, running into a juggernaut in the finals that knocked us silly. It was a team from Corsicana called the "Beavers". They had gaudy orange uniforms, a 13 year old pitcher who looked like he was 17, and a real, stuffed beaver on top of their dugout wearing orange Mardi Gras beads. It was a good game for a few innings, but eventually they just proved to be too good and we couldn't hang on, settling for 2nd. On a side note, our team name is the Trojans, which led to a constant snicker from the coaching staff and parents about this being an epic battle between Trojans and Beavers, which also culminated in a million innuendo jokes. Good times...

So, when we get home, we settled in for a classic 80's comedy, wherein a young man discovers that all his problems are solved when he discovers that being a werewolf runs in his family and he grows 6 inches and can dunk a basketball. The only reason this movie jumped out at me is because the mascot of the high school that this particular werewolf attends is "The Beavers". Ok, this is starting to get weird....

So this morning, I am listening to the radio as they recap the closing ceremonies, and apparently there was a giant, inflatable beaver at the closing ceremonies! What is the deal??? Why is this semi-aquatic mammal haunting me all of a sudden? Is this a sign, or just a coincidence of epic proportions?

By the way, I am sunburned, windburned, have chapped lips and exhausted...and I couldn't be happier. Baseball season is what defines me, and it has finally started!

Update: Here is the giant inflatable beaver....

Stupid, Obsessive Pet Peeve...

Ok, so as you can tell by the title, I have an overly ridiculous pet peeve. It is so bad, that this is the only place I could even try to explain it, so please indulge me for a moment.

I can't stand it when voice actors, specifically in commercials on the radio, pretend to eat and talk at the same time.

If you care, read on...if not, thanks for stopping by.

The NEVER sound like they are eating and talking at the same time. They are always faking it. They probably think that it sounds great, but it doesn't. Oddly enough, people can speak pretty clearly while eating, but when actors pretend, it sounds like they are chewing on their own lips while they talk. Why can't the commercial's director just have them actually eat food while they record their lines? It would sound 100x times more realistic, and actually would be easier to understand.

Ok, I am done...thanks for caring.

A few other points:

• Finally tried the "I am T-Pain" app for the iPhone that I bought a couple of months ago. A lot of fun, and so very, very stupid. You can record your voice and have it sent through AutoTune to get the goofiness of sounding like 97% of all R&B artists.
• Had a GREAT customer service experience this morning, with Pilot Freight. The lady on the phone was as informative and helpful as anyone I have ever talked to. That makes me happy.
• Those of you fellow bloggers...I am on to you...yeah, I am talking about those people who obviously listen to Muse in the News and put those on your blog...I am watching you.
• If you want Photoshop, but can't afford it, try GIMP. It is pretty sweet...and free!

Baseball season is almost here...be ready...hopefully lots of baseball intensive posts for the next few months.

By The Power Of Grey Skull

By The Power Of Grey Skull: "

Comic by: stouty4 via Comix Builder

"

The gift that keeps on giving!

Comixed.com just keeps delivering, day after day:

Butter on the floor...

I have seen a few of these videos floating around the Intertubes...they always seem unneccesarily cruel. The deal is, you spread butter on a tile floor and then videotape someone busting their butt.

This appears to be a girl playing the "prank" on her boyfriend/husband as he gets out of the shower. Notice how his face hits the floor, and the way she laughs and throws the tub of butter at him. I can only imagine that this is payback for something, but the way he smashes his face on the floor leads me to believe that this ended up in a dentist visit.

EMBED-Brutal Buttered Shower Floor Faceplant - Watch more free videos