Blackjack

Blackjack Macquaid Holland
April 17, 1996 - August 7, 2014

Blackjack was born on April 17, 1996 as one of three cats in a litter to our cat to the time, Tobi.  Blackjack got his name, not just from his black fur (the only one of his litter to have black fur), but because he was the only one to survive of the litter.  Therefore, we knew he was lucky and named him Blackjack. 

On September 10, 2002, we lost his mother, Tobi.  She was just 8 years old at the time of her death.  We tried getting Blackjack a new friend, Gabby, but she and him could not get along, so we had to give her away.  For the past 11 years, we lived with Blackjack as our only cat, and boy was he a great cat.

Blackjack had many quirks about him that made him so special to us.  He would get up on his back two legs and stand just for a piece of food.  He would always meow or "urf" as we called it, if you held his tail.  If he was asleep, and you pet him, he would always, without fail, wake up with an "URRRRRF!"  And boy, did he love his tuna.

About two years ago we found out he had kidney disease, so we had to start giving him special treatment the past couple of years, from sub-q (subcutaneous fluids) to medicine and a special diet.  He was semi-close to not making it, but even at 16, we knew it was too soon for him to go.

We lost Blackjack today because of an incident with a coyote, but the fortunate thing is that we were able to recover his body and say goodbye.  He is buried right next to his mother.  Burying him was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. 

Blackjack may have been bothered by things we did to him such as holding his tail, but we all knew we loved him so much.  He was the fifth member of our family.  I feel like a lost a brother or a best friend, because that's kind of like what he was to me.  For 18 of the 25 years of my life, Blackjack was our cat, our friend, our companion, and he will be deeply and greatly missed.  I love you Blackjack.  RIP.

The Mariners Let Me Down... Again (And Z Should Be Fired)

If I were to die suddenly in the next few months, I'd want some of the Seattle Mariners to be my pallbearers, just so they could let me down one last time.  It's the 2014 season and once again, the Mariners let their fans down.  As I'm typing this, the Mariners only sit a 1/2 game out of a wild card spot, but have had a horrible start to the 2nd half.  They've lost 5 of their first 7 to start the 2nd half and lost their wild card spot.  Sure, they're not  far back, but we've seen this before so many times. 

This year felt different.  We had Cano, and Felix is having his best season.  Ever since the 8 game losing streak in late April, the Mariners had been playing really good baseball.  But there are just too many holes in the lineup and on this team to fix overnight.  Currently, there are roles to be filled at shortstop, DH, and ALL outfield positions.  You could almost say catcher as well, because Mike Zunino has struggled mightily at the plate to make contact. 

You would think almost 6 years into being a GM that over half of the team's lineup wouldn't need to be fixed or replaced, but it does.  Jack Zduriencik really has done a poor job of acquiring talent to fill needs.  James Jones is not the answer in centerfield.  He can get on base and wreck havoc, but he has zero power and doesn't play balls in the outfield too well.  He also needs to learn how to take a walk.  Ackley has really done nothing to live up to his #2 overall pick status, and Smoak and Montero continue to flop back and forth between the bigs and minors. 

The hitting on this team the past few seasons has been atrocious.  Since Jack arrived following the 2008 season, the team batting averages have been: .258, .236, .233, .234, .237, and .245 so far this season.  But, if you take out Robinson Cano, easily the team's best hitter and one of the very few competent hitters, the team batting average is just .233 for the year.  Other than Robinson Cano, why can't Jack Zduriencik recruit, find, sign, trade for, or acquire in any way some good hitting? 

Six years is long enough for a GM to put a team together, and the team Jack has put together is not good enough.  If the Mariners continue to slide and he cannot field us a winning (or even exciting) team, then he should be fired.  He has had long enough.  He has lost the faith of many Mariners fans, and he lost my faith long ago, when he signed a utility player to a $36 million contract. 

Hey, I may be wrong to give up on them at this point.  After all, they're only a 1/2 game out.  I could end up looking kinda silly for posting this when they play exciting baseball and maybe even make the playoffs.  But I know the Mariners.  I've watched them year in and year out since the late 90's.  This team is NOT built to win.  I cannot emphasize that enough.  Cano and Felix are elite players, but they are surrounded by cast-offs and minor league all-stars (which isn't a good thing).  Cano is just one man.  He alone cannot give us enough offensive support to stay competitive. 

Maybe help will get here someday with the last two first round picks in DJ Peterson and Alex Jackson.  But that won't be until 2016 at the earliest.  But this team right now is full of hitters who will NEVER be considered above average.  Let's count them, shall we?
Zunino, Sucre, Smoak, Hart, Morrison, Miller, Bloomquist, Romero, Jones, Ackley, Chavez.  That makes 11.  I almost counted Montero, and probably should have, but he's still young and needs to be given another shot.  But the players above are all poor hitters to varying degrees.  How bad, you ask?  Well let's look at their OPS.  A player's OPS is their on-base plus slugging percentage.  It is what I feel best determines a batter's worth to the lineup.  An OPS over .8 is above average, .7 to .8 is average, and under .7 is below average.  The players above have the following OPS's: .665, .364, .630, .626, .615, .599, .643, .557, .638, .653, and .618.  If that many guys are hitting below league average (most of them considerably below), then something is wrong in the front office.  You know what all of those players have in common?  They were all acquired by Jack Zduriencik. 

Unless the Mariners can miraculously start hitting and winning, it's time to fire Jack Zduriencik.  He may have saved our farm system, but he did not save the big league club.  Time for you to go, Jack. 


Update:

9/3/14: The Mariners still aren't out of it, being only 1 and 1/2 games out, but have given Jack Zduriencik a contract extension.  If this comes back to bite them in the bit, I refuse to be a fan of a team that hires boneheads like Z and Bavasi.  But, time will tell.  The Mariners still have issues, including hitting.  They gave Jack an extension just because he got lucky and the team is generating interest.  You wait until the season is over to assess.  If the Mariners slide in September, we'll all be thinking the same thing.  If they make the playoffs somehow, then call me wrong.  But this is not a playoff calibur team.  

My Thoughts on the Cast of Star Wars Episode VII and the Roles I think They'll Play

The filming for Star Wars Episode VII is underway, with pretty much all of the principal cast having been announced.  The cast includes Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, Oscar Isaac, and recently announced Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendolyn Christie.  I really like this cast.  I don't think it's perfect, but I'll hold my judgment for after having seen the film.  So for now, since no plot or character names have been revealed, I will predict the role each actor will have to see how close I get. 

Adam Driver: Main Bad Guy/Sith (Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus?)
Adam Driver has been rumored to be cast as the main villain, so I'll go with that.  Obviously, it would be near impossible for his character to compare to the legendary Darth Vader, but if he comes close, his acting and JJ/Kasdan's writing will be well-commended.  If I wrote the script, however, I would have Adam eventually be revealed to be the son of Han and Leia.  In the expanded universe novels, one of Han and Leia's sons (they had two sons and a daughter) turns to the dark side.  I would love to see Adam reveal to someone (his sister...?) that he is their brother.  If he is a bad guy, he will more than likely be a Sith and fight a few lightsaber battles. 

Daisy Ridley: Lead female, daughter of Han and Leia (Jaina Solo?)
Daisy Ridley is one of the unknowns to be cast, and seeing as the bears a resemblance to Carrie Fisher as well as the fact that in the cast release photo, seen below, she is in between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, I believe she will be playing their daughter.  Also, I'd like to point out each Star Wars trilogy has had a trio be the main stars, which included two guys and a girl (Han, Luke and Leia for the original trilogy, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme for the prequel trilogy).  I think she'll definitely be the girl in the trio for this trilogy, more than likely continuing down the female line of Skywalkers. 

John Boyega: Member of trio, descendant of Mace/Lando?
John Boyega, another unknown (at least to me) cast, has a role that is hard to predict.  He is rumored to be one of the stars, so I'm guessing a good guy and one of the trio.  To add to his character, I think he'll be either a descendant of Mace Windu (Great-nephew?) or Lando Calrissian (Son/Nephew/Grandson).  He's got to have some connection to the rest of the characters, so being a relative of Lando's would be the most logical choice.  The fact that Billy Dee Williams has yet to be cast might mean the character of Lando is dead for this trilogy, meaning Boyega might be seeking vengeance or redemption.  But, if he's a Jedi, the most logical thing would be to have him be a descendant of Mace Windu.  I just can't pinpoint it. 

Domhnall Gleeson: Luke's son (Ben Skywalker?)
I love Dohnall Gleeson.  He was awesome in Harry Potter and he was brilliant in About Time.  He will make a fantastic addition to the cast.  His role is slightly hard to predict, but I'm going to go on a limb here.  I predict he will be Luke Skywalker's son, therefore completing the trio with Ridley and Boyega.  I could be completely wrong and his role could be just as a supporting character, like Bail Organa was in the prequel trilogy.  But the resemblance with his actor-father Mark Hamill is there, albeit slightly, and what's a Star Wars movie without a Skywalker as part of the main cast? 

Andy Serkis: Alien Creature (Bothan?)
Andy is arguably the best motion capture actor today, playing Gollum, King Kong, and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.  So it would be safe to assume he'd have another motion caption role.  Since this is a Star Wars film, he'll probably be an alien creature.  If I had to pick a species from the Star Wars universe, I'd say he'll play a Bothan, because they were mentioned in the original trilogy, but never shown.  Andy Serkis isn't tall enough to play a Wookiee, so that's not really a possibility.  He won't be the lead star of the film, but his role certainly will be interesting and will more than likely use the best in technology available.

Max Von Sydow: Evil Leader (that is killed off)
Many legendary actors have appeared in Star Wars, from Peter Cushing to Alec Guinness to Christopher Lee.  Most of them have played bad guys.  My best guess is that Max too will play a bad guy.  I think his role will be similar to Peter Cushing's in A New Hope.  He'll only be in one film and be killed off, but he will have an evil presence.  Someone is bound to arise 30 years after the fall of the Empire to try to bring it back, and maybe that could be Max's character that leads it.  I am pretty confident that they will kill off Max's character in Episode VII, because of Max's age and not wanting to commit to him for a full trilogy. 

Oscar Isaac: Evil apprentice
It is very hard to pinpoint what Oscar Isaac's role will be.  I loved him in Inside Llewyn Davis, but I don't think he'll have that large of a role for the new trilogy.  I think he'll be like a Darth Maul/General Grievous type villain, not really being the main villain but certainly one the heroes will have trouble with.  I would guess that he will also be a Sith and not just an Imperial Officer or anything.  I'll just say he'll be Adam Driver's apprentice that is probably killed off before Adam, but hopefully not in Episode VII.

Lupita Nyong'o: Asajj Ventress

One of the more recent additions to the cast was Lupita Nyong'o, the Oscar-winning actress from 12 Years a Slave.  There have been rumors that she could play Asajj Ventress, one of the main villains from the Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series.  I'll go with the rumors yet again, feeling that I might be wrong this time.  Asajj Ventress would be quite a few years older (approximately 60 years have passed since the Clone Wars).  But they curiously did not kill off Ventress in that series, because perhaps they were saving her for something else.  I could be wrong and Lupita could end up playing a descendant of Mace Windu or Lando Calrissian, or an entirely new character, but whatever role she has will be a very interesting one.

Gwendolyn Christie: Mon Mothma-type leader
I haven't seen Game of Thrones (yet) or anything else Gwendolyn Christie has been in, so it's hard to say what she's capable of as an actress.  She's more than likely playing a supporting character, and I will predict she'll play a role very similar to Caroline Blakiston/Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi.  She could even play her daughter or granddaughter.

Well, those are my thoughts on the cast and predictions for the roles they'll have.  Things will start to become clearer as things get leaked or announcements are made about the plot or characters.  I'm going to go back to this post after having seen Episode VII and see how bad or good I was at predicting the characters for each of the actors.  I can't wait!   

My Idea for Fixing the DH Rule

For years, Major League Baseball has dealt with having the designated hitter in the American League and the pitchers hitting in the National League.  There has been some talk of abolishing the DH, some talk of enacting the DH in the National League, but nothing too serious.  Many people want a change, but no one can agree on one. 

My proposal (or compromise, if you want to call it) is to have the DH in the first 3-5 innings of a game.  I'll go with 3, because the game of baseball likes to do things in multiples of 3.  What this would mean is that any team, whether they be a National League or American League team, would have a DH for the first 3 innings of a game.  Then, with the start of the 4th inning, the DH position becomes the pitcher's spot and the player who was the designated hitter gets sent to the bench, but can be used again, but only one more time, such as pinch-hitting for the pitcher when the pitcher's turn comes up in the order.

This would be good for multiple reasons. 

1) It would keep the DH and allow hitting numbers to go up, which is good for baseball, having high-scoring games.
2) It would keep the chess game that the National League currently has.  Managers would have to decide whether to use up their DH to pinch-hit for the pitcher, or to have their starting pitcher take one or two at-bats. 
3) Players on the bench would appear in a lot more games.  Some bench players I've seen can go weeks at a time without any playing time. 
4) Players who become too old to field (Think Jason Giambi, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas) don't have to go to an American League team, they can DH on the team they're currently on.  They also wouldn't have to play a full game ever, slightly prolonging the careers of some players.

I'm not completely set at the 3rd/4th inning as the time to make the switch from DH to pitcher, but I do believe the DH should be in the first part of the game and not the end.  The DH being used early means that starting pitchers usually wouldn't have to worry about hitting, unless they're going the distance.  No one really wants to see starting pitchers hit, and with this rule in place it would mean the average 6 inning starter would only get a plate appearance once every couple starts, on average. 

I also think baseball rosters should expand to 27 players (keeping with the rule of 3) because of the rash of injuries happening, and if they enforce this DH rule I am proposing.  There would be more possibilities for each manager, with a bench of 5, not counting the DH.

This is quite a radical change, but it's something to consider.  Obviously, the time in which the designated hitter would stop being used is debatable.  But if you let the DH come back into the game, then the switch-over can be made early.  If you don't let the DH come back into the game, the switch-over should probably be made later, such as the 6th or 7th inning.  I'm usually not a huge fan of rule changes when it comes to my favorite sports leagues, but this one I would certainly be in favor of.  

My Movie May Reviews, Awards, and More!

Well, I did it.  I completed Movie May.  I watched a movie every day in the month of May.  I will admit sometimes I got too tired to finish a movie on the day I started it, but I would always end up finishing it the next morning.  I always started watching a new movie each day, and in the month of May I fully watched 31 films from start to finish.

The combined runtimes of every film I watched is 3,306 minutes, or 55 hours and 6 minutes.  I spent two and 1/3 days in the month of May, just watching movies.  I watched 11 films that I rented (7 from Safeway, 4 from Redbox), 11 films on Netflix, six that I had already owned, and 3 in theaters.  The average rating I gave these films was a 6.67.

I also found myself watching a few films I hadn't put on my list to begin with.  I only watched 24 of the 41 films on my list, meaning there were 7 I watched that I hadn't planned on, those with asterisks after the title.  So here are the films with a rating out of 10, plus a short review.

Red = Netflix
Black = Own
Blue = Rent
Green = Theater


May 1: Star Trek Into Darkness - 8/10
Great sequel to the JJ Abrams reboot.  Benedict Cumberbatch, albeit not the smartest casting, was brilliant nonetheless.  Exciting action and good chemistry between the actors. 

May 2: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - 9/10
Brilliant special effects, and this is definitely better than the first in the Spider-Man reboot series.  They didn't hold back in *SPOILER ALERT* killing off Gwen Stacy, opening the door for MJ in the next film.  Solid effort and a very good superhero film all-around.

May 3: The Dictator - 6/10
Culturally and racially offensive, but very funny at times.  Some of the jokes have already gotten old, but if you're looking for a film to turn your brain off to, this isn't a bad choice.  Sacha Baron-Cohen is a chameleon, able to play a character of almost any race.

May 4: Kick-Ass 2 - 7/10
Violent and exciting, but predictable and cringe-worthy at times.  Jim Carrey was great, of course, but his role was cut too short.  Chloe Grace Moretz shined as well, often taking the spotlight away from Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  But this film suffers from believability (or lack thereof) and in technical aspects.

May 5: Pacific Rim - 6/10
Neat concept, not so great execution.  Special effects were indeed top-notch, but acting was only so-so and the characters were given little depth.  I'd say this film might've been better under a different production studio and with a different cast.

May 6: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - 7/10
Yet another sequel and yet another decent one.  It never shines, but I can't find too many flaws with it, either.  Fans of the book series will not look at this film too favorably, but I thought as a standalone film, it was enjoyable throughout.  Predictable in spots, though.

May 7: Seattle Superstorm: 3/10
Where to begin?  I'd say my biggest flaw is why a family of four ends up with the responsibility of having to save the entire world.  Where were the police, armed forces, military and political leaders?  The special effects were bad, I cared very little for the characters, and they really did not capture Seattle well.  The acting was actually somewhat decent at times, but their dialogue and poor setting choices made it boring quite often. 

May 8: Frozen: 8/10
Another Disney hit.  It was a solid animated film, but I didn't get excited or wowed by it in any way.  The singing for the musical numbers was really good.  I don't know if it's better than Tangled, but it's close.  I'd definitely watch it again.

May 9: The Benchwarmers*: 5/10
Cheesy, lame, and somewhat boring.  I liked all the Star Wars references, but I didn't like the message the movie sent.  With the main character (played by Robb Schneider) being a former bully, it made it really hard to root for him or his team.  I thought I'd enjoy a baseball movie more.

May 10: What to Expect When You're Expecting: 6/10
I don't think this film captured the process of a pregnancy very well.  It was more about the relationships between each of the characters.  However, it did keep me interested throughout because of the cast, who all did fairly decent jobs.

May 11: Oblivion: 6/10
For an action film it sure was boring.  I thought the film had a nice set-up and narrative by Tom Cruise, but then it just went downhill from there.  I'd much rather have seen a film about the scavs trying to take over and destroying the moon, instead of what I actually saw.  Morgan Freeman was underused.  Decent effects and acting. 

May 12: The Arroyo: 5/10
This film wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It was very slow at first, but it picked up over halfway through and wasn't half bad.  You could tell it was a low-budget film, but they did the best with what they had. 

May 13: That Awkward Moment: 6/10
I don't think it's the best idea for guys to write romantic comedies.  Was this even a comedy?  I didn't laugh much.  Efron, Teller, and Jordan were all great in their roles, but they didn't have the best material.  They'd be great as a threesome of guys on a sitcom, but in this film, meh. 

May 14: Dirty Dancing*: 6/10
I will say I liked it, but nothing about it stood out.  I liked a lot of the oldies songs and the dances, but I didn't really like the plot or acting much.  I just can't say I enjoyed it that much.  I also didn't buy in to Johnny and Baby's romance too much, either.

May 15: The Lorax: 7/10
Gotta say I liked this more than I thought I would.  It sends a good message, saying that greedy companies will do anything for profit, even destroying the planet.  Loved some of the castings, such as Betty White as Grammy and Danny Devito as the Lorax and Ed Helms as the Once-ler. 

May 16: The Cabin in the Woods: 6/10
So many questions went through my mind during this.  Who should I root for?  Why are those young adults being put through that?  But I realized once I stopped asking myself questions, it actually got kind of good.  I liked the massacre at the end with all the monsters. 

May 17: Shutter Island: 9/10
Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese work so well together.  And not many people talk about Shutter Island being one of Leo's best roles, but it is.  Leo was phenomenal, as was the rest of the supporting cast.  The twist even had me fooled.  But it's one of those movies that (since you know the twist) isn't as fun the next time you watch it.

May 18: Don Jon*: 7/10
Joseph Gordon-Levitt pulled off the hat trick, starring, writing, and directing this flick, and I think he did a fairly decent job in all three aspects.  He certainly conveys male sexuality pretty well.  But I feel like this may have been just a reason for him to make out with Scarlett Johansson.  Or Julianne Moore.  If he's into that.  It's a merely passable film that really didn't wow me in any way.

May 19: Godzilla: 9/10
This is about as much as you can ask for from a Godzilla movie.  They got it right in having Godzilla battle other monsters.  The visuals: top notch.  I just wish Bryan Cranston *Spoiler Alert* hadn't been killed off so early.  He's such a terrific actor and I feel they kind of wasted his talents, but boy was he good in the opening acts.  This will be one of my favorite films of the year, no matter what else comes out.

May 20: Flight: 7/10
I liked this film, but I feel it's a bit misleading.  You would think this film would be about a particular flight, and it was, but only 25 minutes of it was the flight.  The film goes over 2 hours, and only a fifth of it, if that, gets devoted to the flight.  The rest is about how Whip (Denzel Washington) deals with alcoholism in the wake of the plane crash.  I actually did like the ending, how he came clean, which is something I wasn't expecting. 

May 21: Ghostbusters: 7/10
Basically what I expected.  I'll admit to seeing bits and pieces of it throughout my life, but never had I sat down and watched the whole thing.  It had a decent enough plot, and it kept me interested.  The special effects do not really hold up too well, but the classic Ghostbusters theme and the 80s stars of Murray, Aykroyd, and Weaver made this compelling enough.

May 22: Wreck-It Ralph*: 8/10
I'm pretty mad at myself for not having watched this sooner.  The idea of having a video game bad guy trying to be good in itself is worth a few brownie points.  The voice casting was very good, especially with Jack McBrayer as Fix-It Felix.  I grew a little weary of this flick in some of the Ralph and Vanellope moments, which I didn't find too compelling, but it had a decent plot and good finish. 

May 23: Inside Llewyn Davis*: 8/10
All I can really say about this is yet another well-made film by the Coen brothers.  Oscar Isaac was really fun to watch, and he made me care about his character.  I felt sad when he got rejected and happy when something good happened for him.  To be honest, I only decided to watch this because two of the actors cast in the upcoming Star Wars sequel (Isaac and Adam Driver) were in this.  Adam's role was small, but entertaining.  It got a bit slow at times, and in the end it leaves a little to be desired, but it's a quality film with few flaws. 

May 24: Spring Breakers: 5/10
I don't really see the point of this movie.  To show the dark side of spring break in Florida?  It just didn't keep me hooked in any way, except for the very beautiful actresses in it.  Also, James Franco showed how great of an actor he is, playing the very interesting character of "Alien".  This movie wasn't poorly made, but it just fell flat for me.

May 25: The Human Centipede (First Sequence): 4/10
This movie actually wasn't as bad as I thought, or how I rated it.  I rated it so low because of the stupidity of one of the girls, Lindsay.  She easily could have saved herself and gone for help, but she chose to try to save her friend, and it cost them both.  This film is grotesque but it kept me on the edge of my seat and even had me laughing a few times.  But the logic of the characters and their decisions was just way too much of a put-off for me.

May 26: Warm Bodies: 7/10
One of the least believable films I've seen this month (which kind of says a lot), but I still enjoyed it.  Corpses coming back to life... just not physically possible.  But if you look past that, the acting was decent, and I really cared for "R" and Julie.  I can see some people hating this film for its lack of believability, but that's not what the film is about.  It's about a girl and a zombie managing to connect with one another.

May 27: Spaceballs*: 6/10
I've never before seen a movie that promoted itself this much.  But then again, it's a parody film, so it can't be taken too seriously.  For its time, the special effects weren't that bad, but the acting was lacking at times.  I was expecting a bit more, but it did keep me interested for most of it.  John Candy as Barf the "Mawg" (Half man, half dog) was probably my favorite character.

May 28: Delivery Man: 7/10
I feel the best rating for this picture is a 6.5, but since I'm sticking to a whole number scale, I rounded up to 7 because I enjoyed more than other 6's like That Awkward Moment and Spaceballs.  Vince Vaughn will never wow in the acting department, and he was just all right in this.  I liked the concept, but my questions is why would only 100-some kids out of 533 want to know who their father is?  I'd expect a few to not want to know, but over two-thirds?  Chris Pratt was probably the best thing about this film. 

May 29: What's Eating Gilbert Grape: 8/10
The movie that jump-started Leonardo DiCaprio's film career.  He got nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Arnie Grape, the mentally handicapped brother of Gilbert Grape.  He should have won.  Anyway, this was a well-made picture with very few flaws, other than really anything interesting happening.  Sure, the mom dies, but I was expecting more.  But the acting in this film was very good, especially from Leo and Johnny Depp. 

May 30: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: 7/10
This film taught me a lot about being courageous and chasing after what we want, but I didn't feel like it was that well-made.  I certainly liked it, but nothing stood out for me.  Acting was only ok, visuals were decent but not spectacular (Although I loved the Icelandic landscape).  The best part was definitely Stiller skateboarding down that one Icelandic road.

May 31: A Million Ways to Die in the West: 7/10
I certainly got a few laughs out of this.  Most would agree this wasn't as big of a hit as Ted was, but McFarlane and company all did a really good job.  It was unnecessarily vulgar at times, but they sometimes used the vulgarity to great effect, such as after Foy poo's himself, and Albert can only say "Holy S***!"  This is a film I definitely wouldn't mind seeing again someday.  The best parts may have been the cameos, which included Ryan Reynolds, Jamie Foxx, and Bill Maher. 


And now that you've heard my reviews for my Movie May Movies, it's now time for me to hand out awards from the films I watched.  First, we'll start with the good awards, including those that are handed out at every Academy Award ceremony. 

Best Picture:
Shutter Island
Frozen
Godzilla
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Inside Llewyn Davis

I rated the pictures harshly, handing out no tens, only 3 9's, and only a handful of 8's.  I wasn't overly impressed really with any of them.  However, my award for best picture goes to...

SHUTTER ISLAND

It's well-deserved.  Scorsese and Leo work so well together, I'm sure they could make a decent film about Leo reading the phone book.  It's the film that I thought was the best.


Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio - Shutter Island
Denzel Washington - Flight
James Franco - Spring Breakers
Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis
Johnny Depp - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

A lot of strong candidates.  Denzel was actually nominated for his role in Flight for an Academy Award.  So he is the front-runner.  I even included Franco from a not so great picture, but he did such a great job in it.  However, the award for Best Actor goes to...

Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis!

This man single-handedly CARRIED this film.  You could almost say that about Denzel in Flight, but I felt Isaac's musical performances helped him as  well.  He certainly will be a great addition to the Star Wars cast.

Best Actress:
Jennifer Grey - Dirty Dancing
Kelly Reilly - Flight
Scarlett Johansson - Don Jon
Chloe Grace Moretz - Kick Ass 2

I really didn't see any films with a strong female lead and I regret that.  So this is a tough vote that I don't think any is particularly deserving of, but the award for best actress goes to...

Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing!

I thought Jennifer's performance in Dirty Dancing was very commendable.  Dirty Dancing just so happened to be one of the few (if only) chick-flicks I saw.  And her performance is one of the reasons Dirty Dancing has become a cult classic.

Best Supporting Actor:
Jim Carrey - Kick Ass 2
Bryan Cranston - Godzilla
John Goodman - Inside Llewyn Davis
John Goodman - Flight
Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's this, John Goodman nominated twice?  That's right.  His roles were small but extremely memorable in both pictures.  Carrey and Cranston's roles were cut way too short, but of course, were very memorable as well.  But the award for best supporting actor goes to...

Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape!

It just so happens that Leo's performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape earned him his very first Oscar nomination.  His portrayal of the mentally handicapped "Arnie", was very moving.  Leo still may not have won an Oscar yet, but he earns my Oscar.


Best Supporting Actress:
Carrie Mulligan - Inside Llewyn Davis
Sally Field - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Kristen Wiig - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Cobie Smulders - Delivery Man

Again, not too many strong candidates, but these four performances were all pretty good in their own way.  The award for best supporting actress goes to...

Carrie Mulligan in Inside Llewyn Davis!

Carrie was top-notch in her performance.  This wasn't even close.  Her role should have been larger, but that's why she was in the supporting actress category.

Best Song:
Let it Go - Frozen
Please Mr. Kennedy - Inside Llewyn Davis
How Bad Can I Be - The Lorax
In Summer - Frozen

What a great selection of songs.  Let it Go is the popular choice.  Please Mr. Kennedy was an unexpected surprise: a song performed by a former N'Sync member and two future Star Wars actors.  How Bad Can I Be was the highlight of the Lorax, performed extremely well by Ed Helms.  And In Summer was another hit from Frozen.  But what was the best?  The award for best song goes to...

Let it Go - Frozen!

How could I not pick this?  It won the Oscar for best song so it had to win here too. 

Best Special Effects:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Godzilla
Pacific Rim
Star Trek into Darkness

Some strong candidates here.  Two of these films I saw in theaters, so that does affect the result a bit.  The award for best special effects goes to...

The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

I couldn't pick against Spidey.  Not only did I see it in theaters but I saw it in 3D.  The effects when Electro was using his powers, just breathtaking. 


Now, for some Non-Oscar Awards that I'd like to hand out, which includes best kiss, death scene, and best couple. 

Best Death Scene:
Emma Stone - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Jim Carrey - Kick-Ass 2
Chris Hemsworth - Cabin in the Woods
Liam Neeson - A Million Ways to Die in the West

Very mixed bag here.  Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy dying was very unexpected, at least for me.  Jim Carrey's was off-screen, so it loses points there.  Hemsworth's was just comical.  And Neeson, well Liam Neeson always dies in a legendary way.  The award for best death scene goes to...

Chris Hemsworth - Cabin in the Woods! 

I couldn't pick against it.  I laughed so hard when he drove his dirt bike straight into the invisible barrier and plummeted to his death.  His female friend's reaction only made it that much funnier.  He thought he could get away!

Best Kiss:
Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Kick-Ass 2
Anna (Kristen Bell) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) - Frozen
Teresa Palmer and Nicolas Hoult - Warm Bodies
Johnny Depp and Mary Steenburgen - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Again, another mixed bag.  Chloe's and Aaron's kiss in Kick-Ass 2 was memorable, but weird, as the actors were 23 and 16 when the film came out.  Anna and Kristoff's kiss was animated.  Teresa's and Nicolas's was kinda gross, seeing as he was JUST a zombie and hadn't had any recent oral hygiene.  And then Depp's and Steenburgen's was also with an age difference, with her being 10 years his senior.  But the award for best kiss goes to...

Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kick-Ass 2!

This kiss was years in the making.  If you have a female and male leads in an action flick, they're bound to have some romantic chemistry, right? 

Best Couple:
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy - Spider-Man 2
Johnny Castle and Baby Houseman - Dirty Dancing
R and Julie - Warm Bodies
Albert and Anna - A Million Ways to Die in the West

All strong couples that evolved over the course of the film.  All but Peter and Gwen's didn't start UNTIL partway into their films.  The award for best couple goes to...

R and Julie - Warm Bodies!

The way their relationship evolved made this film.  They went from "Don't kill me!" to "Kiss me!" in a manner of an hour and a half, and they did it well.  The fact that a zombie could come back to life is a little hard to believe, but their relationship was the highlight of the film. 

Best Fight/Action Scene:
Spider-Man vs. Electro and Harry Osborn - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Kick-Ass vs. The Motherf***er - Kick-Ass 2
Godzilla vs. the MUTO's - Godzilla
Dark Helmet vs. Lone Starr - Spaceballs

Another mixed bag of candidates.  I certainly enjoyed all of these scenes, but one in particular stood out to me.  And that is...

Spider-Man vs. Electro and Harry Osborn - The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

The visuals, top notch, and it certainly had me invested.  Their fights even resulted in a main character's death, which totally took me by surprise.

Well, with all the good films you see, you're bound to see some bad ones.  For the final four awards, I will be picking my worst or least favorite from each category in these Razzie style awards.

Worst Picture:
Seattle Superstorm
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
Spring Breakers
The Arroyo
The Benchwarmers

Not one of these films had me invested in it.  Not one made be care about any character.  The award for worst picture goes to...

Seattle Superstorm

It's lucky it got a 3/10 from me, because it may have deserved a 2 or 1.  Acting, visuals, plot, all bad. 

Worst Actor:
Esai Morales - Seattle Superstorm
Tom Cruise - Oblivion
Rob Schneider - The Benchwarmers
Rick Moranis - Spaceballs/Ghostbusters

Rick Moranis gets nominated twice and I couldn't decide which role because both were cringe-worthy.  He's always so awkward and stiff as an actor, which is probably why he stopped acting.  The only real good role he had was "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and it's sequels.  However, the award for worst acting goes to...

Esai Morales - Seattle Superstorm

I wouldn't say his acting was AWFUL, because I've seen worse, but of this bunch, it was the worst.  I tried really hard to care for his character, but I couldn't.  I wanted his character "Tom" to die. 

Worst Actress:
Anna Faris - The Dictator
Ona Grauer - Seattle Superstorm
Ashlynn Yennie - The Human Centipede
Ashley C. Williams - The Human Centipede

In this, we have only one real notable actress in Anna Faris, whose role was a bit over-the-top in The Dictator.  We also have a pair of actresses from the Human Centipede.  The award for worst actress goes to...

Ashlynn Yennie - The Human Centipede

The reason her role stood out as the worst performance over her co-stars is that Ashlynn made her character out to be extremely whiny, stupid, and just so hard to watch.  Sure, he co-star character is the one that made the biggest blunder, but Ashlynn's performance was just awful.

Worst Special Effects:
Seattle Superstorm
Ghostbusters
Kick-Ass 2
Spaceballs

I'm not even going to delay this one.  Award goes to...

Seattle Superstorm

Sure, the other three had some cheesy special effects at times, but Seattle Superstorm's special effects were just downright laughable.  The Space Needle after it fell, not realistically sized.  Not even the weather they had in the film looked real.  Just awful.


Well, there you have it.  I hoped you could sit through this MASSIVE post.  I think I might do this again someday, maybe next year in May of 2015.  

Survivor Cagayan Predictions at Final Seven

Results done in red, after show.

Survivor Cagayan, Survivor's 28th season, is entering its final two episodes (already!) and they are down to the final seven.  Here I will predict the boot order, and give my chances of winning to each contestant.  Basically, I'm predicting how the rest of the show goes.

7th: Tasha Fox (Chance of winning: 10%)
Tasha has won the last two immunities, and if she doesn't win a third in a row, I don't see her being able to get herself out of being voted out.  Tony and co. will see that she is actually a bigger challenge threat than Spencer, and Spencer will also save himself because he has a good rapport going with Tony.  If Tasha can somehow weasel her way to the finals (or go on an immunity streak), she has a very decent shot at winning.  The problem is getting there.

Actual Finish: 6th
Tasha almost finished in the spot I predicted for her.  I knew that she would go soon because not only was she a challenge threat, but she didn't have a core alliance.  Not a recipe for success on Survivor.  

6th: Spencer Bledsoe (Chance of winning: 15%)
Spencer will be giving it everything he's got at immunity, but I don't think it will be enough.  I think Spencer's one of the most likeable castaways in recent seasons, which is why the others won't take him to the finals, or even that close.  Spencer will undoubtedly win if he makes the finals.  But like with Tasha, he has to get there first.

Actual Finish: 4th
Spencer did better than I thought he did, but not as good as I was hoping he would do.  Again, he didn't have a core alliance and while he was able to win an immunity which furthered him, he wasn't able to win another.  

5th: Yung "Woo" Hwang (Chance of winning: 20%)
If they get rid of Spencer and Tasha in the next two votes, this tribal will determine everything.  I think it will either be Tony or Woo.  Tony has the "Super Idol" which I believe he can use in any vote up to the final five vote, meaning he is almost a lock for final four, at least.  I think that idol will come into play, and Tony will be gunning for Woo and hard.

Actual Finish: 2nd
Woo played so quiet of a game it was hard for him not to get to the end, because he not only wasn't a huge threat and didn't make moves, but he just followed in Tony's footsteps.  Even if he hadn't won the final immunity challenge he probably still would have made it to the end.

4th: Tony Vlachos (Chance of winning: 20%)
Tony has played some game, I tell ya.  The final four immunity challenge will be huge.  My prediction is that the girls (Kass, Trish, Jeffra) will be gunning for Tony to be voted out.  If Tony doesn't win, he's gone.  Tony has yet to prove himself in challenges, so if it's endurance or focus or stamina, I don't see him winning immunity.  We'll have an all female final three.

Actual Finish: 1st (Winner)
Now if this final four had happened, Tony would probably have been out of there.  However, he did trick everyone into thinking his idol was good for one more vote than it actually was, which I didn't see coming.  Tony's actually pretty lucky they didn't see through that, because if they did, he'd have been voted out.

3rd (fewest votes at final Tribal Council): Kass McQuillen (Chance of winning: less than 5%)
Kass is almost a lock for the final three, because she has no shot at winning.  Whoever is in control will take her to the end.  She won't get votes from any of the former Aparri tribe (Sarah, Morgan, Jeremiah).  I give her at least a small shot, because she is an attorney, and her job is trying to persuade a jury.  If she does a good enough job, you never know what could happen.

Actual Finish: 3rd
Yay!  Someone who I predicted in the right spot, but not for the right reason.  When I did these predictions, I was pretty sure there was going to be a final three vote.  But alas, there was two.  

2nd (2nd fewest votes at final Tribal Council): Jeffra Bland (Chance of winning: less than 5%)
Jeffra, like Kass, has viritually no shot at winning, but a very good shot at the finals.  But unlike Kass, it's her inability to make moves that will cost her.  Kass has just always voted with the majority, not making a single big move.  She had an opportunity to and save Jeremiah, but she didn't.  She's finals bait.

Actual Finish: 7th
In my defense, Jeffra could have made it this far if she played the game right.  She just had to flip-flop between Spencer/Tasha and Tony/Trish.  Flip-floppers tend to not do too well on Survivor.  

Winner: Trish Hegarty (Chance of winning: 25-30%)
Trish has been the dark horse the entire season.  No one has even THOUGHT of voting for her, and she has yet to receive a single vote.  Not only do I predict her to win, but she'll win in a landslide (8-0 or 7-1) with possibly Tony casting a vote towards Jeffra to spite Trish.  Hate to say it, but using Tony as a shield to take the heat for anything her alliance does, is not only incredibly smart, but makes her game look pretty much flawless. 

Actual Finish: 5th
Two things: 1) I didn't see Spencer winning Final 5 immunity, thus forcing the core alliance to turn on each other.  And 2) I was so sure no one would see Trish as a threat to win, as she really hadn't done too much.  However, I should have seen she hadn't made anyone mad or done anything stupid like Kass did.  But if Spencer hadn't won final five immunity, I'm pretty confident in saying Trish would either have gotten 1st or 2nd.  She was that close.  

Final Tribal Council Vote Predictions: Sarah, Morgan, LJ, Jeremiah, Tasha, Spencer, Woo: Trish
Tony: Jefra

There you have it.  So far, I am 2 for 2 when it comes to predicting the winner of Survivor around the final 7.  I correctly predicted Sophie and Fabio winning.  Also, if this final three happens, it would mean a member of each the beauty, brains, and brawn tribe made it to the end.  I'm rooting for Spencer, but pretty sure Trish is going to be crowned Sole Survivor. 

Results Summary:
Wow, usually I'm not too far off on my predictions but this time I was.  But hey, predicting the correct winner 2 out of 3 times isn't bad.  And having a final two instead of final three didn't help.  It's also very hard to predict who wins immunity, because that usually determines the vote, and you can't tell what kind of challenges are forthcoming.  I knew Tony had a decent shot of winning.  All he had to do was get to the finals, which he almost didn't.  If his idol bluff hadn't worked, or if Woo's desire for victory had been greater, he would not have won.  But it was a good game and I'm looking forward to Blood vs. Water... 2!

Movie May

This month of May, 2014, I will be watching one film each day for all 31 days of the month.  I want to do this for a few reasons:
- I have a lot of movies to catch up on
- A lot of good movies coming out in theaters in the month of May
- Teach myself commitment and determination

The list of films is below, and with there being more than 31 (43 actually) I will not be able to watch all of them.  But they are:

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
The Arroyo
Blended (May 23) 
The Cabin in the Woods
Delivery Man 
The Dictator
Ender's Game
Flight
Frozen 
Ghostbusters
Godzilla (May 16)
A Good Day to Die Hard
The Green Lantern
The Green Mile
Grown Ups 2
The Human Centipede: First Sequence
Jack Reacher
Kick-Ass 2
The Last Stand
The Lone Ranger
The Lorax
Million Dollar Arm (May 16)
A Million Ways to Die in the West (May 30) 
Neighbors (May 9) 
Oblivion
Oz the Great and Powerful
Pacific Rim
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
R.I.P.D.
Scream 2
Scream 3
Seattle Superstorm
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 
Shutter Island
Spring Break
Star Trek into Darkness
Thor 2: The Dark World
Warm Bodies
What to Expect when You're Expecting
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
The Wolf of Wall Street 
World War Z


These films are easily accessible for a number of reasons.  I either already own them (white), they are available on Netflix instant (red), they are available to rent at my work (blue), or they will be coming out in theaters soon (green).  I am also not restricted to just these movies.  If I happen to see a movie at work for rent or appear on Netflix that I want to watch, then I'll watch that.

I want to teach myself commitment so that I can perhaps do June Book Month, reading a good amount each day in the month of June.  I realize that at points I can be pretty busy, so this will mean having to watch some of these films at work on my portable DVD player (on my breaks of course), and perhaps sacrificing a bit of sleep.

After this month is over, I will post quick reviews for each film I watched with ratings and for the fun of it, give awards from all the films I watched, such as best film I saw, worst film, funniest, scariest, best acting performance, etc.  Should be fun!