The Dark Knight…RETURNS!

 

So there is a little more than a month left till Batman The Dark Knight comes to theatres and it sparked a conversation between me and my friend Ari about a movie adaptation of Frank Miller’s classic The Dark Night Returns (Yes we’re dorks but he has a girlfriend and I’m married. Take that you crazy basement Dungeons And Dragons freaks!) If you don’t know the premise of the book then here it is…

Batman is 15 years retired and Gothom is falling back into dismay. The city is being taken over by a gang called the Mutants and crime is on a drastic rise. Bruce Wayne, now in his fifties, comes out of retirement to purge Gothom of it’s evil. Two face shows up with a brand new matching face and the Joker breaks out of Arkham Asylum to murder in the masses like only the Joker can do. And it all ends with a legendary showdown between Batman and Superman, turned government patsy. “The finest piece of comic art ever to be published in a popular edition…” (Stephen King) I think this kicks the crap out of Watchmen but that’s just me… And if they can get a film made…

This movie would be impossible to make though. It would have to be at least a two or three part film of two and half to three hours long each. Who would fund it being such a huge undertaking and time consumer? Lord of the Rings took two years to film! Like I said, this would be near impossible. But if it weren’t, this is my cast…

Bruce Wayne/Batman-Clive Owen

I know what you’re thinking…WHAT! Ok. Just think about it. prosthetic makeup to make him look a little bit older and some American accent classes and he would be perfect. Dark enough to play Bats and suave enough to be Bruce Wayne.Plus he’s big enough to be the Batman Miller drew. Just picture the first scene with him on the news after his Farris 6000 pin wheels across the finish line, (his flaming coffin,) and then there he is; all mustached up. Come on!… You’re loving it, right?

Carrie Kelley/Robin-Ellen Page

Cute enough to give a little sex appeal and tom boy enough to pull off Robin. She already knows how to be a superhero playing Kitty Pride in X3.

 

 

 

James Gordon-Dennis Farina

Don’t get me wrong, Gary Oldman is awesome, but this Gordon needs to have a bit more attitude. Farina would be awesome. Just imagine him giving Yindel his speech about Roosevelt and pearl Harbor.

 

Ellen Yindel-Jodi Foster

Jodi Foster is just great. She would give so much to this part. Kinda butch when she wants to be so that goes along with Yindel’s severe exterior.

 

 

That’s it for the good guys! Next time I try to crack The Joker, Harvey Dent, The Mutant leader and, of course, Superman…

(Hope I did ok. If not, I don’t really care! My blog, my cast! Take that!)

Reflections on 9/11 and David Letterman

 

The state of America is sad to me. Almost seven years after the attacks on the World Trade Center and our nations capitol, we are back at square one. Forget the fact that a muslim could be our next president or that we’ve turned our back on our present nations leader (who days after 9/11 had a 90% plus approval rate). How quickly our minds change. America was burning copies of the Dixie Chick’s albums and now they have a Grammy for record of the year!?! For a song that states ‘we’re not backing down’ (after they backed down and disappeared for a few years until it was cool to hate President Bush.  Way to stand up for what you believe girls).

Why am I so upset? I just watched a video on youtube of

Letterman and his first show after 9/11 and he spoke of the spirit of our great nation and how a small struggling town held a fund raiser to send money to a hurting city even though their city was hurting too. Where is America’s spirit? We care more about global warming and we’re forgetting about the individual person. Our neighbors. Our co-workers. That guy you see everyday that you can’t stand. They are people just like you or me. And I’m guilty too! I’m the worst offender! We have forgotten how it feels to be a broken people and we have forgotten how to help our fellow American.

I know this feels like preaching. And I’M in danger of ignoring my OWN words. But maybe, just maybe, I can do something to better the mood of the people around me by the way I act. That maybe all I can do. Good luck America. I love you. I always will.

LeBron vs. the Celtics

 

Watching the playoffs this year, I couldn’t help but wonder how Kobe gets such great looks and LeBron gets shut off in the lane. Then it hits me! It’s the offence! Kobe exist in maybe the best offensive schemes ever conceived: the Triangle Offence.

Kobe has the same amount of defenders converging on him but the spacing and execution of the Lakers is superior because of the execution of the triangle. You seen the same thing with Jordan during the Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls era. Kobe may not even be the first option in the offense, but it creates more looks for every one on the team thus opening the floor up to penetrate to the rim. (It also helps if your teammates hit shots.) Plus the triangle works in almost every situation and makes every player a threat.

At least the Cavs won game 4 and LeBron hit the shots that counted. Boobie Gibson stepped up too. On to game 5!

(The picture to the right is what you would call being poterized.)

Where The Light Is Trailer

 

Game 5 - Cavs 87 - Wizards 88

 

I feel like I’ve been punched in the eye. I haven’t felt this way since  the Utah Jazz beat the Bulls in game one of the 1998 NBA Finals. I forgot what it was like. I remember now. I hate it.

Where was the desperation? The urgency?

LeBron shot well from the stripe last night but missed one with a minute and a half left that would have potentially left the game tied when the buzzer sounded. And a toss up 3 with a minute left? DRIVE THE BALL!!! Oh well. We still have game 6 (and Lord willing, not game 7). And if Songaila isn’t suspended for game 6 I’m going to punch someone in the throat! I don’t know who exactly, but someone is gonna get it!

(P.S. I blame Charles Barkley for calling the game to the Cavs even before the game started. Blast him!)

The Office Is BACK!

 

And back with a vengence! Last nights episode was one of the funniest episodes I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness the strike is over and the Office is back!

Coming Soon…7-1-08

 

At long last!

Go Cavs!

Someone must have read my last blog because the Cavs role players stepped up!

LeBron fouls out of the game vs. the Bobcats and the Cavs still close the game out! Devin Brown looks better every time he steps on the floor! Andy had an awesome game too! Z hit some huge shots and everyone played great D! (Do you think it had anything to do with Sasha NOT playing? We’ll have to find out.)

Great job. Beat the Bulls!

AARRRGH! (A.K.A. Why I Love The Cavs)

(Click HERE to read a great article by a Detroit News columnist for the case of LeBron James as MVP.)

Alright! Who watched the Cavs get destroyed by the Pistons on March 29? The same team they blew out of Cleveland 10 days prior! Why does this happen!?! Why you ask? WHY!?! Because the Cavs suck*!

Let me explain. I love the Cavs, but LeBron is the only guy who looks good night after night after night. Most of the time Daniel Gibson does, but he’s been on the bench a HUGE part of the season and now has to get his legs back under him and insert himself into an ever changing line up. After the All-Star break, he was on fire! (thanks Indiana Pacers for sprained ankles!) Other than that, the Cavs have issues!

They can beat any team in the league, they’ve shown that. But sometimes they loose easy games because no one wants to play.

The other night vs. the Pistons, LeBron had 13 points. Most would say, “James had a horrible night!” Not 100% true.

1. How many times have the Cavs gone into the second quarter with James having points in the single digits and end up with close to 30 or more? Against the 76ers two nights ago he had something like 8 points in the first half and ended up with 26-9-9.

2. At the Pistons game, he kept distributing the ball to players who didn’t hit shots and then sat out most of the forth quarter. A quarter he’s scoring 9 points or more in. His passing is the reason he averages close to a triple double every night. His teammates are what’s holding him back. And some say that he’s wrong to pass so much. How so!?! Good players get their team involved. Period!

I love the Cavs as well as ever player on the team (with, like, two exceptions). They are an amazing team on the nights they want to play. The Cavs CAN make it to the Finals again this year but they WONT do it unless EVERYONE on the team SHOWS UP!!! So come on guys! Put some heart into it! Please! Or else I’ll end up throwing something through my new flat screen TV…

*By suck, I mean sometimes. And by sometimes, I mean more often than not.

M.V.P. or LeBron VS. Kobe

So here it is. The two best players in the league (and two of the best ever for that matter) in a race for the M.V.P. Who wins? Chris Paul is amazing this year but I’m not sure he exist in this conversation. My opinion? (The only opinion that counts!) LeBron. And I’ll tell you why.

I’m a Cleveland fan. If someone else deserves credit for something , I’ll give it to them. I despise Tom Brady. Yet I believe he is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. Kobe is amazing. 81 points!?! Are you kidding me!?! But lets get down to it. Here are three reasons I believe LeBron is M.V.P. and not Kobe.

1. 0-6. That’s what the Cavs are without LeBron This year. You take Kobe out and you have either Bynum (early in the year) or Gasol (later in the year). And the Lakers are still a decent team.  LeBron has a handful of inconsistent teammates who could put up good numbers or no numbers depending on the night. And without LeBron’s leadership during that 6 game stretch he was out, no one stepped up their game. LeBron is more valuable to his team than Kobe is to his.

2. I can understand the argument for the two teams records. But just look at the injury reports for the year. If it wasn’t one person it was another person. And if it wasn’t that, LeBron was hurt or the team goes into a huge trade and 4 of the Cavs main players weren’t used to the offence. For the Lakers, they loose Bynum but have others who have game and are there every night (and then soon after, they get Gasol) If the Cavs were 100% all year and the players knew what was going on, they would be in 3rd place in the east. easily. Maybe even knocking on Detroit’s door.

3. Just look at the stats.

LeBron PPG-30.8  APG-7.3  RPG-8.2

Kobe    PPG-28.3  APG-5.3  RPG-6.2

The only people you can compare LeBron to is Oscar Robinson and Wilt Chamberlain. That’s ridiculous. And look at the last game the Cavs and Lakers played. Who made key DEFENSIVE stops at the end of the game? Who made BIG SHOTS when their team needed them? Just saying…

So let me hear ya! M.V.P.! M.V.P.! M.V.P.! (Go Cavs!)