You'll Never Make It At The Next Level... "Greater"

Greater (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Christopher Severio, Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook, Peter Gray Lewis, Frederic Lehne, M.C. Gainey, Mark Dobies,

Directed by David Hunt

The Story:

Brandon Bulsworth (Severio) dreamed of playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks since he was little. He lacked the size, but he had the heart. If only he could get his chance, he could show the coaches, and the world, what he could do.

Naturally, based on a true story.

Bulsworth's life is probably part of Arkansas lore at this point, but for the rest of us, it's a nice movie that flashes back to Brandon's life as he struggles to become...well... greater than what he is.

His high school coach believes in him, and gets him a tryout at Arkansas. They are unimpressed, but Brandon foregoes a full scholarship at a junior college to instead walk on at Arkansas. The financial impact will likely cripple his mother (Easterbrook) and his big brother (McDonough) is frustrated that Brandon's heart is overruling his head.

However, you can probably tell where this movie is headed.

After all, they rarely make movies about has beens, or never weres.

Of course all of this is told via flashback as we prepare for Brandon's funeral.

Because on top of the inspirational football life, Brandon was a devout Christian, whose faith and determination helped him become the man that he was.

Which of course leads his brother to the awful question of why do bad things happen to good people.

It's a fine balance that the film walks, as it is neither a complete sports movie nor is it a complete faith movie.  Both are presented equally, fairly, and are well done.

Even though you know what the movie is building up to, you may still find yourself with a lump in your throat by the end.

Final Grade: B+

Trying Too Hard..."Concussion"

Concussion (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse,

Directed by Peter Landesman

The Story:

Dr. Bennett Omalu (Smith) is a forensic neuropathologist in Pittsburgh who happens to be on duty when the body of former Steelers great Mike Webster (Morse) arrives at the morgue. As Bennett attempts to discover what really killed Webster, he makes the discovery of CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This discovery should be heralded as a scientific breakthrough, but instead threatens the very nature of the NFL.

In the 2015 edition of Trivial Pursuit, this will be the answer for why Jada Pinkett Smith boycotted the Oscars.

This was Will Smith's Hail Mary (see what I did there?) at an Oscar nab.

The problem is, the movie is rather uneven and therefore not worthy of Oscar buzz.

He gives a fine performance, but when he spoke for the first time with his accent, all I could think about was Eddie Murphy doing a similar accent decades earlier and laughed.

Probably not the correct first reaction to a riveting drama!

The science, the football, it's all good.

The sad decline of some of the NFL's fiercest warriors and the grim realization that Dr. Bennett was right years after bringing it to the attention of the NFL, and largely being ignored, brings the movie to a somber close.

What really isn't that great is the relationship with Prema (Raw). Whether it happened in real life like it does in the movie, I'm chalking that portion up to "who cares?" .

It seems tacked on and very poorly conceived, almost a tender romance bone to throw to the ladies in the audience that have to endure a football movie with their husbands.

Hands down, the best character in the movie is Bennett's boss, played by Albert Brooks. When he's onscreen, the movie picks up and hums along nicely. Sadly, he's not there nearly enough.

Still, no discounting the subject matter.

There was much potential here, but just like the NFL, the opportunity to do something historic was fumbled.

Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

A Tale Of Two Coaches... "The '85 Bears"

The 85 Bears (2016)

Directed by Jason Hehir

The Story:

The Chicago Bears have fired their coaching staff, but the defense begs the owners not to let Buddy Ryan go. They feel they are on the verge of something great. Ryan isn't fired, but he isn't promoted to head coach. Instead, they bring in Mike Ditka to lead the team. This doesn't sit very well with Ryan, but he focuses on the defense, and his players rally around him to form quite possibly the greatest defensive team ever in the history of the NFL.

Another excellent installment from ESPNs 30 For 30, the focus on the Bears is an amazing tale of two coaches, and really, two different teams that were playing on the same field.

There was Buddy Ryan's defense and that amazing wall of talent: Dent. Singletary. McMichael. Etc.

Then there was the rest of the team, anchored by the legendary Walter Payton that was under the leadership of Mike Ditka who brought in Jim McMahon to lead the team to greatness.

A good number of the players are on hand to talk about that season and how special it was.

And it's amazing to think that the Bears would only win 1 championship with that amount of talent.

Most of that is owed to the fact that perhaps Ditka wasn't that great of a coach after all. He needed Ryan, and Ryan didn't have the talent when he left town to ever really build anything that was Super Bowl worthy.

Ditka was never able to duplicate his success elsewhere either, and looking back through this documentary, he basically got handed lightning in a bottle, so it was more the team than the coach that brought Chicago the trophy.

The other likely reason they didn't repeat was that late-season injury to McMahon with one of the dirtiest plays you'll ever see.

If that were to happen in today's game, Goodell would probably have the culprit executed for such a vicious attack on a quarterback long after the play was over.

But then when Ditka turned outside of his own team to bring in Doug Flutie to try and save the game...

Well, the rest of that story is history.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade:  A-

This Is What It Sounds Like When We All Cry... R.I.P. Prince 1958-2016

 

 

What the $%&@* ?!?!

I would say that was probably the collective reaction to most of America and most of the music-loving world yesterday when we found out that Prince Rogers Nelson passed away.

Prince.

Surely it had to be a mistake, another internet hoax that people would debunk shortly.

I was driving home yesterday and was halfway through a Prince song, it ended, and then another Prince song started.

I looked at my radio and thought, maybe this station is doing rock block Thursday?

Then the song ended and the announcer repeated that the breaking news from 45 minutes earlier, Prince had passed away.

WTF!!!???

Well, one doesn't just spontaneously burst into tears while driving, but I was crying hard on the inside.

Trying to wrap my head around the fact that one of the greatest musical artists of all time, and most importantly for me, one of the pillars of my 80s musical childhood was gone.

Takes the wind right out of your sails.

I now have 2 musical regrets in my life:

I had concert tickets to see David Bowie back in 1989/1990. We ended up not going because Tacoma was a long way from Scio and college and life... so we didn't go see him.

About 5 years ago, Prince was coming to North Charleston, and I got tickets! But with little Ari on the way, momma didn't want to risk damaging little ones ears by attending the concert, and I really didn't want to go without her.  In hindsight, I wish I had taken one of my daughters and gone, because I know the concert would have been amazing. But we didn't go.

You always think, well, I'll get to their concert the next time they come around.

Sadly, eventually they stop coming around.

So if you ever get the chance to see your favorites, do it. Don't have any musical regrets in life!

Thankfully, I have the music. I can pull up life footage on YouTube or watch his amazing SuperBowl halftime show again.

Sure, it's not the same, but at least it's something.

The man was a creative force of genius and the world is a better place for having him in it, and we are now worse off for him no longer being here.

But oh, the music he did leave for us.

Pick the best Prince song.

It's nearly impossible.

Sure you can try and pick a favorite, but then you go, oh but there's this one, and there's that one...

He was incredible.

Take the Purple Rain Soundtrack out of the equation, and he still had a mountain of memorable hits.

Heck, I never even saw the movie until it was celebrating it's 20th, or 25th Anniversary. I had the soundtrack, I never even bothered with the film!

And yes, the film was as energetic and full of life as the star of the movie.

Prince created a mountain of music.

Then he became "The Artist Formerly Known As..."

Then he finally reconciled with the studio and reclaimed his name and was set to release new material.

My hope, that while his long fight with his record label may have slowed the output of released material, I have a feeling that Prince has a back catalog that could be released posthumously.

In addition to all of the music he gave us personally, we also have some Prince hits out there that he wrote but didn't perform.

Everyone remembers Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Conner.

But there was Stand Back by Stevie Nicks;  I Feel For You by Chaka Khan; Sugar Walls by Sheena Easton; and Manic Monday by the Bangles, among others.

Like I said, he's one of the pillars that gave us great 80s music, and his legacy will never be forgotten.

As for that best Prince song?

I really love Raspberry Beret.

But man, Kiss sure is great and lots of fun.

The awesome duet U Got The Look with Sheena Easton.

Then there's the hauntingly sorrowful guitar on Purple Rain that chokes you up.

And who can forget the ultimate party anthem, 1999?

So many great songs.

Thankfully I'm not behind the wheel of a car right now, so I guess it's okay to finally cry.

Thanks for a lifetime of musical memories, Prince.

Always A Bridesmaid... "Four Falls of Buffalo"

The Four Falls of Buffalo (2015)

Directed by Ken Rodgers

The Story:

In 1991, the Buffalo Bills played in Super Bowl 25. They would play again in the next 3 Super Bowls, the only team to ever make it to 4 straight Super Bowls.

However, they also have lived in infamy for failing to win any of them.

This is their story of how things didn't go so well for them, and yet, they may very well be the greatest team to never win the big game.

Another fine entry in the ESPN 30 for 30 series, but that is becoming a redundant statement.

This time, the focus is on the 1991-1994 version of the Buffalo Bills.  Perhaps some of these names ring a bell:

Marv Levy
Jim Kelly
Thurman Thomas
Bruce Smith
Andre Reed
Don Beebe
Steve Tasker
Scott Norwood
Frank Reich

They're all here, and they all reflect on what it took to get them to 4 straight Super Bowls.
This team was good.
Really good.

I wasn't even that big of a fan of the team back in the day, and I was amazed by how many names and faces I instantly recognized. It was an amazing group that looked like it could beat anyone on paper.

But in the NFL, on any given Sunday, well, that's why they play the game.

All of that said, if you like the NFL, you'll love this documentary.

Even if you don't (cue the thumbs up from my wife) you'll still be captivated by what this team went through and how the team and the fans responded to the situation.

For those that lived through those times, the Bills became the butt of the joke, but 25 years later, what they did was an amazing accomplishment.

When teams can't even get back to repeat Super Bowls (win or lose) and some can't even make it to the playoffs the following season, the Bills are one of the greatest underdog stories of all times.

The biggest problem, the American public (and Buffalo players and fans especially) never got the Hollywood happy ending of seeing the underdog win.

Time heals all wounds and a lot of time has passed and hopefully the wounds in Buffalo are mostly healed.

The interviews with Scott Norwood are especially painful. He still takes that first loss so hard, bearing it all on his shoulders alone, and you can't help but feel for him.

The wonderful thing though, is his teammates and city don't blame him. As they say in the interviews, the game never should have been decided by that kick. There were plenty of other plays that failed that cost Buffalo that win.

The following year, Harry Connick Jr.'s band was the culprit behind Thurman Thomas' missing helmet which when you watch the replays may very well have cost them that entire game.

So many things to relive and to get a new appreciation for in this one.

Highly recommended and well worth your time.

Streaming on Netflix as of this writing, and still airing on ESPN, check your local listings.

Final Grade: A

Believe The Hype... "Super Bowl 49"

Super Bowl 49

Because I don't feel like typing Roman Numerals right now.

:)

New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks in Arizona.

How about that, that was a heckuva game!

If you want a good game, you want back and forth action where both teams seem capable of winning.

With a tie score at halftime, I was excited because about this time last year, I actually offered to take my wife to the craft store because the game was sooooo bad.

If you want to sum up the game, simply watch the last three minutes, you're not going to get much more action packed that that.

With the Seahawks on the verge of beating New England with a ridiculous end of game catch reminiscent of the helmet catch the last time the Patriots were in this stadium for a Super Bowl.

Yet Seattle takes the ball out of the hands of Lynch at the end. The man was unstoppable.

My thoughts? They didn't want him to be Super Bowl MVP and have to pay the contract commensurate with those accolades.

Whoops.

Bad call.

Then the Seahawks decided to come out swinging, literally, on the last play and sullied an otherwise great game from both sides.

Congratulations New England, you earned and deserved it.

Now, unlike the halftime show last year which was better than the game, this year's featuring Katy Perry was okay.

My favorite part was the dancing and singing sharks!

When Missy Elliot came out, I became instantly bored and went to the kitchen to put the 7 layer dip away instead.

Finally, the commercials.

The best?

Easily belongs to the Brady Bunch Snickers commercial with Danny Trejo. Hilarious and fun!

Runner-up?

Where can I go to play that full-size Pac Man game!!1

:)

The worst?

Hands down the Nationwide Dead Kid commercial.

Totally inappropriate for just about any occasion, but especially so for the Super Bowl.

Not sure who should get the blame on this one, Nationwide, the advertising agency or the NFL for selecting this one.

Really took the excitement of the game and crushed it.

Looking at comments on Social Media, that commercial really, really, really upset a lot of families who had lost kids due to accidents.

Someone wasn't thinking, and heads really should roll.

Too bad the damage is already done.


Final Grade for The Game: A
Halftime: C+
Commercials: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll be back to watch again next year, I hope it's as exciting of a game!

More Excitement Than The Real NFL "Draft Day"

Draft Day (2014)

Rated R (language)

Starring Kevin Costner, Chadwick Boseman, Jennifer Garner, Arian Foster, Frank Langella, Denis Leary, Josh Pence, Ellen Burstyn, Tom Welling

Directed by Ivan Reitman

The Story:

It's Draft Day for the NFL and the Cleveland Browns General Manager, Sonny Weaver (Costner) needs to make a splash in the draft.  To do that, he makes a fateful decision to move from # 7 to # 1 by giving up 3 First Round draft picks to Seattle for a new QB (Pence).  The Coach (Leary) is furious, and so is their current QB (Welling). The owner (Langella) is pleased to no end.  However, as the countdown to the draft continues, Sonny isn't sure whether he made the right decision or not. 

What a great movie.

Strangely, I didn't realize it was rated R at all.  I'm wondering if that's a typo? 

Aside from a bit of language sprinkled throughout, there was nothing in here worth slapping that rating on the film.

Cleveland. 

If you need to pick a franchise for a down on their luck sports story, Cleveland is the go-to city of choice.

My hope?

That this film will do for the Browns what Major League did for the Indians.

Shortly after the release of that film, the Indians finally started winning and making a run in the playoffs.

If any franchise ever needed a return to greatness, this is it.

Stolen from the city and moved to Baltimore, the Ohio fans could only watch in horror as their team won it all, under the banner of the Ravens.

For a nearly 2 hour movie, Draft Day moves along at a great clip, never dragging nor spending too much time on anything that could slow the pace.

You'll bounce from person to person, city to city, all the while Costner anchors the film as the  beleaguered misunderstood figure at the helm.

By the time the draft begins, you will be engrossed by what has happened, but know that the movie isn't done.

Not just yet anyway.

There's still a surprise or two up Sonny's sleeves.

If only the real NFL Draft was this much fun.

Final Grade: B+ maybe even an A-.  Either works.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would happily own this one, and it is definitely a contender for Best of the Year status.

"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+

:)