Lincoln: 7/10

One of Spielberg's ultimate dreams was to be able to make a Lincoln film. And after over a decade of speculation, we finally see the master director's vision come true---albeit in a manner we didn't really expect. While the film focuses mainly on Lincoln it narrows the structure down to his final months of the presidency and his life. Instead of the log cabin child to lawyer to president timeline, we get the end of war to 13th amendment timeline. But although it is masterfully acted and directed, it's a tough pill to swallow because of the length and because of its focus on the bare-knuckle politics of the time period.

To keep it simple: if you dislike politics this will not be your cup of tea.

This film however isn't without its assortment of strengths. For starters, let's please give the Oscars to Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones, because they did phenomenal in their perspective roles. The rest of the cast did outstanding, ranging from Sally Field to James Spader to Hal Holbrook. Arguably the best ensemble cast within the past year, Lincoln is a movie that could have posed as a Broadway show because it was the acting that stole the show and maintained the film.

However I can almost bet you anything that Steven Spielberg would have preferred a superior script that focused much more on Lincoln's life and less on the politics surrounding it. Nonetheless, he did a grand job with the script on the table and doesn't overdue or overblow the film with an abundance of style. It was framed like a high-budget play, and was paced like one. And this is where the audience can become alienated; in terms of content politics covets about eight-tenths of the movie.

And this is where the film becomes to unravel mildly. If Lincoln had found a good balance between the president's personal life, political life, and life dealing with the war, we would have had ourselves a loaded movie that will push for the Best Picture prize. Instead, we have a movie that doubles-down heavily on politics and the maneuvers done to accomplish what Lincoln set out to do---while sacrificing a few key moments in the president's life. The ending in particular comes off as awkward because of the clunky catharsis and unique editing choices.

After a slow start and a grand second act, Lincoln winds up mere inches from becoming one of the better movies of 2012 because it stumbles towards the end. Great performances and simplistically quality directing was marred by questionable editing choices and a final act that couldn't decide what ending to choose from. This most likely isn't the Lincoln film Spielberg wanted, but nearly crafted a diamond out of coal.

A few Oscars are in place here, but Best Picture isn't one of them. Nonetheless, it's still an entertaining political drama that is sure to cement Day-Lewis and Spielberg as among the best in their proper craft.

The Empty Hall of Fame Class of 2012

So the writers in the Hall of Fame decided to pull the act that your middle school teacher pulls when she decides to punish the entire class for something a couple of students did.

Nobody is in the Hall of Fame this year although there were plenty of wonderful candidates. And this is only, solely because the likes of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa were in that same ballot. So we now have legends like Tim Raines and Jack Morris as well as instant classics like Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio missing out on baseball immortality because of the slew of controversial figures being in the mix. And just like in that middle school class, unfortunately everyone suffers, everyone is grumbling, and it really doesn’t solve much of anything.

I am going to be very blunt here: Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, Palmerio do not deserve to be in the Hall, end of story. Not now, not ever. No questions asked. It is over. I am not going to change my mind about this. Not at all. Clemens is the only unique case because the United States Government couldn’t convince the courts he’s a liar. There have been plenty of clean players with magnificent and similar numbers at around the same time like Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and of course, the players I have already mentioned in this article.




But…………


How can you deny a player that has over 3,000 hits and is the ONLY member of the 50 doubles-50 stolen bases club? How can you deny a man that was a beast as a catcher AND a 2nd baseman? Denying Craig Biggio a Hall of Fame entry is a pure travesty. One would only wonder what had happened if he was a Yankee or a Red Sox as opposed to the low-key Houston Astros.


How can you deny the most offensively dominating catcher in the history of baseball? How can you deny the catcher with the most home runs in history? 12-time All Star. .306 career batting average? 2,100 hits? As a catcher!!!!?!?!? Mike Piazza is a New York legend and hands-down one of the best players of his position ever.


Worst of all, Tim Raines. And I have written about this inexcusable travesty before. Tim Raines is the second greatest leadoff man in the last 50 years, with more runs then oodles of actual Hall of Famers while posting numbers that people can only dream of reaching. My favorite: 808 stolen bases. How many players nowadays with 500 stolen bases? One.

Yes, there are lots of players that cheated their way into the record books. But the writers did not have to also shun those that played the game correctly. Dale Murphy, Curt Shilling, Lee Smith, Alan Trammal is other examples of players that played the game with plenty of class and have numbers decent enough to be enshrined in the Hall. The voting process needs fixing. And so do the writers. The Hall of Fame should be reserved for the players that best represented the sport. Underneath the shadows of PED users is plenty of worthy talent that unfortunately is intertwined in this scenario.


Don’t punish them for playing and existing at the same time period as the guilty. It should be innocent until proven guilty, not guilty by association. Worthy players did not make it into the Hall of Fame today. And today, the legacy of baseball took a hit.

The Repetitive Production of the New Super Mario Bros. Franchise

New Super Mario Bros. U is an enigma of a game, perhaps one of the biggest I have ever experienced in my years of playing. This game is fun, its entertaining, its clever, its creative, it cements Mario as one of the most dependable franchises for gamers worldwide----but something is missing. Something is lacking. Something is off. Something isn’t clicking. And all this can be blamed solely, mainly in the presentation.

The New Mario Bros. series has been a proven success time and time again, with the DS installment selling 29 million copies and the Wii version selling 26 million copies. And no doubt this version will sell to those numbers when and if the WiiU takes off to the gaming public. But throughout this franchise, the look, style, and tone have remained eerily consistent. The only new feature brought to the table is a couple new power-ups and the ability to play with others. While this was a great new addition to the Wii version---which ultimately saved the game, it gives us a major sense of déjà vu in the WiiU iteration.

The graphics look the same, the soundtrack is practically the same, the plot doesn’t change, the layout of the levels are pretty much cookie-cutter copies, and there just isn’t a drastic change unlike what we experienced in the Mario Bros. trilogy in the NES and the Mario World duo in the SNES days. Even the 3-D platforming path from Mario 64 to Galaxy 2 involved a cluster of obvious transitions—with Yoshi’s Island and Mario Sunshine being the most deviant-from-the-formula. But the WiiU version looks almost exactly like the Wii version except for the HD and a few nice-looking levels.

Now, this game is fun, entertaining, and life in gaming should not be about the pretty colors and ascetics. But this isn’t the 90s, in which gamers were down to a few options. Nowadays, we have awesomely cheap games that can provide valuable levels of entertainment in the forms of phones, tablets, and even in the online shops attached to the Big 3 systems. For the price of one WiiU game, you can get 6 good games, 12 random assorted ones, or dozens of entertaining apps to occupy the time.

You need to entice the consumers and convince them that the $60 will be worth it. New Super Mario Bros. U fails to do so in every aspect of the word, as it looks like a polished Wii game and plays almost toe-to-toe like a Wii game released several years ago. There is no drastic obvious change in the game, so why fork over the money when you still have the Wii version and the cheaper 3DS version to refer to?

Nintendo dropped the ball extensively here because underneath the extremely shoddy presentation is a very good game with plenty of challenge, and great level design. If Nintendo ever plans on winning the eighth generation, they need to step up on their presentation of games. Relying on reputation can get you only so far.



The 2-D Mario franchise is stuck on neutral, and its up to the staff at Nintendo to switch the gears.

Django Unchained: 9/10

In a sometimes-boring world of American Cinema, one can always count on the works of Tarantino to deliver some adrenaline to audiences everywhere. His style of zaniness, violence, and gleeful unpredictability has delivered some of the best movies in the past 25 years. Django Unchained is most certainly a Tarantino work, so if you love his antics, then you will not be disappointed. One little difference:

This film is quite mature.

Yes, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill are spectacular movies, but they don't contain the subtle maturity of a Spielberg, Scorsese, or a Nolan. But with Django, it feels like a true-blue bloody Western with adult themes, superb storytelling, and fantastic performances and drama. It is all just mixed in with the special Tarantino touch. And yes, that touch includes Rick Ross blasting over the speakers during a backdrop of 1800s Mississippi.

Django Unchained is about a bounty hunter that recruits a slave that knows the physical appearances of his next targets and all the adventures that follow. In the meantime the slave is on a hunt to locate his wife that was separated from him because of the slave trade. Essentially, this is like a revenge fairy tale for the folks who have had family that suffered from the harsh event in American history.

Quentin Tarantino is one of the best screenwriters as well as best directors in this generation. There was a subtle worry that surrounded how he could handle a period piece without the crutches of clever pop culture and hipster dialogue. But just like Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained is a pleasure to the ears with the great one-liners and dozens of wonderful moments that could have you laughing or could have you on the edge of your seat.

This film is just an overall delight in nearly every sense of the word, from the cinematography to the acting (Christoph Waltz is absolutely amazing) to the editing to the content. There are no clichés in Tarantino's world. And yes, some of his small, small weaknesses do also pop up like when some scenes feel incomplete or when the movie as a whole drags just a bit too thin. However this film is just too much fun for those setbacks top let you down.

Django Unchained is typical Tarantino, pure and simple. A little more mature, a little more subdued, but still delightfully out of control.

15 Potential Expansion Spots for the Big Four Pro Sports

So the NFL is considering expansion to Europe, with the audacious idea of transforming the Jacksonville Jaguars into the London Jaguars. Now, while I am strongly against the idea of moving a small fraction of the league to Europe---I am all in favor of expanding the league to previously uncharted territory---within the North America range.


Here are 15 places within the borders of the Americas where professional sports should reach out their hand to. Some are obvious, some are obscure, and I shall admit some are impossibly ridiculous.


#15: NFL in Alabama

For those of you that have not noticed yet, football is huge in Alabama. There is even a college football rivalry within the borders of the state itself. But, this football-invaded state is missing a professional team---having to whether become Atlanta Falcons fans or New Orleans Saints fans. I am sure rooting for a team in Georgia or Louisiana secretly bugs the Alabamians. Giving them their own team however would definitely increase the exposure and popularity of the NFL in the Southeast, especially with fleeting attendance numbers in Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville.


#14: MLB in the Dakotas

The Dakotas carries not a single major professional team---we are including all the sports besides baseball. But in the case of baseball, who else could the Dakotas possibly turn to besides the Minnesota Twins? The Dakota area is consisting of 1.5 million, and I don't include the potential appeal of Iowa, Nebraska, and Montana. The Great Plains in general is missing a professional baseball team, and pitting one in South Dakota can definitely benefit the league by reaching an area rarely explored by the pro teams.


#13: MLB in Carolina

The Carolinas have the basketball, have the football, and even the hockey. So its rather odd that the North/South Carolina area is lacking a baseball team, especially considering the enjoyable weather, decent sports fanbase, and proximity to major cities. I am sure if you pitched something to Michael Jordan, he would not mind getting a baseball team close to his mildly rising basketball club.


#12: NFL in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has proven that they can definitely support a team as the Oklahoma City Thunder has emerged as one of the favorite teams in the NBA with one of the wildest fanbases around. Oklahoma getting a team can definitely begin a rivalry against the fellow Texas teams Texans and the Cowboys. Better yet, Oklahoma is another state utterly dominated by football, so the transition to rooting for an NFL team would be seamless.


#11: NFL in Los Angeles

Yea....they've been trying. And we all know the advantages here. Move on.


#10: NFL in Mexico City

Name a city that has 22 million people within the metropolitan area, one of the largest stadiums in the world, but no pro team. Well...besides soccer. Mexico City not being considered a pro team when it has access to so many people and is so much closer than London is quite silly. I am sure distance within the Mexican borders causes some of the issues with creating a team there, but don't let the media reputation fool you---this city is passionate about their sports and would love to see the Americans allow the Mexicans to compete in one of their leagues.

#9: MLB in the Mississippi Basin

Alabama is one of the biggest states without a professional team. Mississippi and Louisiana are also decently populated states with no baseball. Building a baseball team to represent the Cajun Area would be delightful news for the South. This area experiences beautiful summer weather usually and with plenty of land to pick from, can provide a beautiful stadium for the locals in the area.


#8: NHL in Alaska

Let's see....the NHL is willing to travel to Edmonton, Vancouver, and other frigid and far-reaching Canadian cities. So why not give Alaska a shot a a hockey team? They have no pro teams, but plenty of ice, and a small population desperate for some sports exposure. Who do the Alaskans root for in the four major sports?


#7: MLB in Hawaii

The weather is fantastic, the Asian-heavy population would probably love to see this done, and the chance to see baseball in Hawaii is just too good to resist. The amazing weather, the youthful culture, and potential ability to conquer the fanbase of the entire Pacific west of California are great ingredients to creating a successful team. While it would definitely be a tough sell to head out West west west to play some baseball, who wouldn't want to partake in that travel? Play ball then lounge at the beach. Sounds fun to me.


#6: MLB in Mexico City

Mexico's biggest sport after soccer, soccer (bears repeating) and potentially boxing is baseball. And throw in the Hispanic population which overall chooses baseball after soccer in a general consensus and you have yourself a team that can represent Mexico, Central America, and potentially the Caribbean (if my other choices never pan out, hint hint). MLB has always been the Hispanic-friendliest league, and going to Mexico would do nothing more than improve the relations.


#5: MLB in San Juan

The Caribbean loves baseball, and in some parts even more than soccer. So why not the professional leagues head a bit overseas to play some baseball? The Puerto Rican Expos was a successful experiment, that for some reason never became a permanent fixture. Pitting a ballclub in the territory would be a major boost to the league that already boasts the best Hispanic population amongst the four major sports. It just makes sense.


#4: NBA in San Juan

.....except, this would make even more sense. Basketball is on the rise in Puerto Rico with a successful basketball squad, more Puerto Ricans in the NBA, and the best way to increase this momentum is to create a basketball team that can represent the Hispanic population and the entire Caribbean. And they would make a great rivalry with the current leading team for the Hispanics--the Miami Heat.


#3: MLB in Santo Domingo

We have teams in the United States and Canada---why not an island in the Caribbean? Why not the Dominican Republic? This country loves baseball in ways you couldn't believe, and the representation in the MLB is phenomenal. Then there's the amazing weather and great culture that would absorb their team easily and quickly.





#2: NFL in Canada

Instead of going overseas for football, why not reach out to the Canadians? They have a freakin' football league for crying out loud. If you can't try to merge the 8 teams, why not try to get some NFL teams up there? Clearly there is a future in football up north with a so-so successful league, so the NFL heading to the confides of Montreal, Toronto, etc. would only make too much sense....






#1: MLS in Mexico (Anywhere)

This is stupid. Why this has not happened yet makes no sense whatsoever. I am done, seriously, done. Don't even have to explain myself.