"Super" May Have Been An Exaggeration This Year... "Super Bowl XLVIII"

Oh Super Bowl...

How you vex me as I write this.

I'm taking notes as the game plays, so I hope my chaotic rambling isn't too chaotic, or rambling for your taste.

My first thoughts about this matchup...

How Is This Possible?

I'm old enough to remember a time when a game between the Broncos and the Seahawks meant an AFC West slugfest.

I feel like Marty McFly... How can Denver and Seattle be in a Super Bowl against each other?

God Bless realignment...

So as we sit back and celebrate the new World Champions...of a sport played solely in North America... it's a chance when all NFL fans hope for a good game, fans of the two remaining teams trash talk a lot online, and everyone else tunes in for the commercials.

So how was it?

Are You Serious?!?

The opening snap for a Safety... ah yes, it's now all uphill, or down, depends on perspective for the Broncos.

I'm thinking if I would have been a bundle on that in Vegas, I'd be rich! ;)

The first commercial that I enjoyed airs during the first quarter.

Darn You Shawn!

This is the Turbo Tax commercial where the Super Bowl for non-fans of Denver and Seattle is compared to watching another guy take your girlfriend to prom.  Hysterical, and I love John C. Reilly's narration.

Back into the second quarter and  a Manning interception, and I'm beginning to think that Eli has suited up by mistake for the Broncos!

More commercial goodness:

Battle of the Network Stars!

Radio Shack's Goodbye to the 80s is filled with retro goodness.

Oh, and a Transformers sequel that has zero Shia LeBeouf and apparently much, much less giant robot fighting in darkness.  I might actually enjoy this installment.

15-0... I'm hoping the Broncos can do something, anything, positive at this point.

My standing rule for Super Bowls: I just want a competitive game.

Blowouts are only fun if it's your team doing the blowing out.

Oh goody... a terrible pick by Manning... and I'm reminded that I really don't want the Seahawks to win because I dislike Pete Carroll.

:)

22-0 and I'm seriously considering turning this nonsense off.

Okay, the Volkswagen commercial with German engineers getting wings is actually pretty funny.  I'll stick around a bit longer.

Birdy!

Back from commercial and... a fumble??!!

Shoot me now.

Manning is good, but he's going to need a miracle to come back from this hole.

Yay...Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks great!  Hopefully the "too many villains" doesn't crush the franchise like has happened for other super hero movies.

It's now the 2 minute warning... the Broncos are driving, if they can at least make this 22-7 at halftime, we've still got a game!

But no...

Oh, a Seinfeld mini-reunion.  That's cute, but when I realize that it's up to Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to save the Super Bowl...

Yeah, we're in trouble!

Thought of the moment:

Where does the crowd on the field come from?  Do they buy special tickets just to come to the halftime show?  Free tickets?  Shuffle down from the stands?


I'm actually curious.

Gold Jacket Or No Jacket?

Nice to see that Kiedis and Flea dressed up for the show... ;)

Nice shout out from the troops for She's So Beautiful.

This was way better than the Black Eyed Peas show, that's for sure!


Mythbusters was pretty cool... but I'm not switching back to Comcast.

Ever.

Jerry Ricecake? Comedy gold!

The 2nd half begins....with a runback for a touchdown.

The score is now 87-0.  No, that's not a typo. ;)

I'm not sure what Coach Fox said to the Broncos at halftime, but I'm pretty sure that letting them score quick so we can get the ball back was not it.

Not even close.

And at the end of 3 Quarters, the Broncos finally scored, and I decided I had seen enough, and jumped in the car and drove back to MUSC to visit with my baby boy instead!

That was the best part of the Big Game!

:)

Congratulations to the Seahawks.

Also, Peyton's legacy is not tarnished with this loss.  He's a great quarterback, one of the best to ever play the position.

That's his legacy.

Hopefully next year's game lives up to the hype.

Or is at least competitive.

Super Bowl Final Grade: D+
Super Bowl Commercials: C-
Super Bowl Visit With My Son: A+

:)

Gotta Get Back in Time... "Back to the Future"

To put it simply, one of the greatest movies ever made...

The Story:

The year is 1985.  Young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is startled to learn that his friend and eccentric inventor, Doctor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has built a time machine out of a car!  When terrorists come to find Doc Brown, Marty flees in the vehicle and vanishes 30 years into the past... to 1955!  There he meets his parents before they ever met each other, and this random occurrence begins altering the space-time continuum.  Unless Marty finds and convinces Doc Brown in the past to help him get back... to the future.... Marty will cease to exist!!

Odds are, you've seen this film already, and it needs no introduction or anything else for that matter.

If you've been reading my reviews since I started this thing last year, you already know that Back to the Future is one of the 100 Greatest Films Ever Made...That I Own.  It's in the Top 10.

Yep, it's that good.

Pick any aspect of the film, and it is so above anything else, it's not even funny.

The acting?  You cannot do any better than the Michael J. Fox/Christopher Lloyd pairing.  So great is their chemistry, that Eric Stoltz was replaced as Marty because he just didn't bring the charm, fun, spark or chemistry that Fox brought to the role.  Lloyd was already an accomplished comedic actor, and this was his signature role for all time.

You can't utter the line "Great Scott!" without thinking of Doc Brown.  Come to think of it, it's because of Doc Brown that people still utter Great Scott!... nearly 30 years later!

Rounding out the cast as Marty's parents are Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson who both get to play old and young in the time travel caper.

It's hilarious, especially listening to his mom talk about how life was when she was a girl, then to go back with Marty and see that she's an absolute liar! : )

Finally, as I've mentioned before, a hero is often only as good as his villain.  Thomas F. Wilson is the unsung hero of this film by making Biff Tannen possibly the biggest jerk ever filmed in cinematic history.  No small feat, to be sure, and he owns the role.

Director Robert Zemeckis has made a lot of good movies in his career.  This is his best, by far.

The writing?  How about Zemeckis teaming with Bob Gale to craft a time traveling story that not just worked, but transcends generations.  I dare you to find anyone of any age who doesn't like this film.

I'm sure there is someone, but I bet you'll be hard-pressed to find them.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've watched it so often, I've lost count.  I have put the Blu Ray Trilogy upgrade on my wish list for this Christmas, as I fear that the DVD will eventually wear out.