Deadpool: 7/10

Finally we have a decent X-Men origin story with plenty of heart, spirit, chemistry, and good connections with the original source. The baffling thing is that we receive this gift in the form of the most incoherent and random Marvel character in the entire universe. The character that least requires an explanation gets the most structured and most engaging Fox Marvel film since X-Men 2. But of course, the behind-the-scenes licensing drama and the infuriatingly small budget (compared to what the storyline demands) entangle the film quite a bit.

Ryan Reynolds might be the only man in the history of film to totally mess up a cinematic character, and then get a second chance at getting it right by starting entirely from scratch. With the rated R guaranteed and a looser approach to Deadpool, Reynolds knocks it out of the park with a much more accurate performance, and one with plenty of depth and sympathetic pull. His chemistry with the rest of the cast reminds you why he’s much better unhinged and uncut (Waiting, Adventureland).

Reynolds has actually been the main catalyst at making sure that he helped right the wrongs caused by X-Men Origins. He helped fight to keep the R rating, helped increase the (already small) budget to make this a reality, and has helped craft the flood of social media hype. The hard R rating was the biggest requirement in making this film work; the story and mannerisms of Deadpool are not for the faint of heart. Deadpool is far more in the realm of Spawn as opposed to Fantastic Four in terms of adult content.

The script is formulaic in nature, but fresh with crisp dialogue, great one-liners, constant shifts in timeline, and plenty of fun sidekicks to be entertained by. Sadly, because of obvious budget constraints, we are treated to only two major action sequences (the first one overshadows the finale by a long shot), not a single major X-Men cameo, throwaway villains, and most of the time being spent on the creating of Deadpool as opposed to the anarchy that follows. 10 years of production hell and dozens of re-writes could doom most screenplays, but Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick do a great job saving whatever was left.

The biggest achievement of Deadpool is how closely it resembles the source material and personality despite getting less money. If you enjoy Deadpool in the comics, you’ll enjoy him here as well---even if the eccentricity is toned down just slightly enough to keep the plot structured. The action is intense, the injuries are gruesome, the humor is dark and crude, and the movie never really takes itself seriously. Fourth walls go down, it reveals its own production setbacks within the film, and it has this kinetic comic book flavored energy that hardly ever slows.

It might be a case of less money = more freedom, but the lack of funding really tarnishes the movie. Part of the glee of Deadpool in the Marvel universe is his wild interactions with other characters, especially the X-Men. But to put Deadpool in the same supposed Marvel universe as the X-Men and then refuse to have any of the popular characters join in on the fun is baffling and infuriating. Even worse is that we have long-unused X-Men like Gambit (especially) and Cable available. In a tragic case of the production team having more faith than the studio itself, the limitations aren’t obvious but become apparent once the final act rolls in and you are left desiring more Deadpool chaos.

As a risqué, adult version of The Little Engine That Could, this was a comic book film that was supposedly doomed, expected to fail, and was released with minimal hope---only to be saved because of the strength of the Marvel brand, the incredible online/Reynolds marketing campaign, and a legitimate effort to stay true to the source. Great cast, great energy, and great humor is restricted because of Fox and the ridiculous guidelines everyone has been forced to follow since Disney purchased the property. Deadpool can become a successful franchise as long as they are willing to tie him closer to the rest of the X-Men and Marvel movies---and as long as we keep the same dedicated staff. Don’t expect pure unadulterated crazy here; but do expect a great blend of crazy, heart, and entertainment---wrapped together in a limited budget.

Most importantly, this is much, much better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 

Peyton Manning and the Laid Out Final Ride

Time to retire, Peyton Manning.



This will never happen again.



After the complete destruction that Denver faced in the hands of the Seahawks two years ago, I was convinced that the once-mighty Manning was no more. I thought he was too hurt, too washed up, and far too old to ever hold another championship trophy unless he was dishing high-fives from the bench all season. Instead John Elway and Friends had a new strategy: completely beef up the defense, ensure a great offensive line, and allow Peyton to ride out this wave and just keep the team in the matchup. The strategy would ensure a good regular season, but in the playoffs it would be a crapshoot.

After they got beat at home to the lowly Colts one year ago, my opinion on Manning remained true: excellent quarterback, Father Time has caught up, and it’s time to go before you embarrass yourself some more (Brett Favre anyone?).



Then the Broncos were handed a beautiful gift: the worst regular season in the history of the NFL.



I mean this from the bottom of my heart—after seeing all the ridiculous plays, cowardly moves, awful refereeing, questionable playcalling, mishandling of simple football fundamentals, and a total collective meltdown of defenses everywhere. We also saw tons of major injuries; ranging from the Patriots losing literally everybody, to the Cowboys losing an emerging Tony Romo, to the sneaky-good Bengals losing their quarterback at the very end of the season and forced to give up the top seed. Injuries, awful play (Thursday Night Football was abysmal to watch), and millions of wasted opportunities (as well as a dozen franchises at least making strange decisions) would open the door for the Denver Broncos to grab the top seed and have a direct path towards the championship.

Before any of you start screaming how I’m not giving any credit to the Denver defense, continue to hear me out. At no point did anyone feel like the Broncos were the best team in the NFL. The Steelers, Patriots, Bengals, Cardinals, Packers and (eventually) the Panthers throughout the season were considered superior teams before injuries crippled their quality. The Broncos peaked mainly in the playoffs when it most mattered, but a lot had to fall apart for them to pave the path to glory.

Even Manning himself got hurt and left for several weeks. This was far and beyond among his worst seasons (it might be the worst ever, truthfully), as his backup quarterback Brock Osweiler looked better in certain spurts. It feels so long ago that Manning had a near-negative quarterback rating as he even got pulled after throwing 4 ridiculous interceptions. Amazing how quickly people forget. If it wasn’t for Brock filling in during the injury/rest/mental recovery/relax until playoffs period, the Broncos would have been pushed out of the postseason entirely.

Injuries, terrible collapses, amazing Denver defense, and surprisingly competent backup quarterback was all the essential ingredients needed to give Manning this final chance at redemption and that long-eluded second Super Bowl ring. Too much had gone right for Denver to mess this up again, and I haven’t even mentioned how Oakland and San Diego within the same division weren’t even sure of their future during the season. And if you think that doesn't have much of an effect, look at the final seasons of any team that wound up relocating---including the St. Louis Rams.

Look, winning a Super Bowl does require much more skill and talent than luck, but can you honestly claim a team with less than 200 offense yards in its most important game deserves to be considered the best? What really happened is that underneath all the garbage that happened in 2015/2016, Denver rose up from the ashes emerging as the last team standing. The Steelers fell apart on a game they weren’t supposed to even be participating in (Bengals absolutely tanked the final two minutes of their Wild Card game), the Patriots’ offensive line was in shambles, and the Carolina Panthers got too cocky and may have underestimated the defense that was the main factor in Denver’s appearance in Santa Clara.

Peyton Manning, this is your peak, you will not be able to obtain this height again. You didn’t even play as a Top 10 quarterback in 2015. You are playing on house money and managed to win. But just like in Vegas, you can never push your luck in the NFL. The Broncos are a well-oiled machine on defense yet still looked shaky until it mattered the most. Retiring is the best option; for you, for your family, and for your legacy.





It has been a great ride. Don’t overdo it.

The Duo that has Shaken the 2016 Presidential Election

A tale of two radical presidential candidates conquering the headlines of the upcoming election.

On this corner, you have a successful northeastern entrepreneur that has held ties with WWE, NBC, and every facet of business you can think of. He has wealth far beyond the eye can see, and has used his connections solely to be able to make a good run towards a potential presidential nomination. With no political experience whatsoever, he has won over Midwestern America with his rock star persona, uncut approach, and inability to sound like the average politician. Most people with his personality would have stumbled out of the gate gunning for president, but his 15 minutes of political fame has seemingly been extended to 30.

On this corner we have a politician from Vermont who came out of practically nowhere and has split the Democratic field in half, while trampling everyone else not named Hillary along the way (Poor Martin O’Malley). Being neck and neck against a Clinton without major supporters but instead a rising army of millennials and 20-somethings is quite a daunting surprise, even more so that he is managing this without directly attacking any of the competitors.

Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are making great strides, won’t be going away for a while, and this scares both political parties.

The Republicans know that if Trump wins, they will be destroyed in the main election, and it won’t even be close. There’s no chance he could win California, New York, Florida, or even Illinois. He has upset far too many groups, especially the Hispanic crowd (mainly the Mexicans, which dominate the Hispanic population in the U.S) and women overall. The Republican Party knows this, and would much rather roll the dice with Ted Cruz or even Rubio. That being said, the popular votes is still keeping Trump around. Trump would lose against Sanders, and would be destroyed by Clinton.

The Democrats have secretly been plumping up the Hillary Clinton campaign since the tailend of Obama’s second term. They have pretty much set all their sights on Clinton, as the Dems love that name almost as much as the Republicans love Reagan. They weren’t anticipating the youngster wave of support for Sanders, and weren’t anticipating the white democrat voters flocking to him as well. Sanders definitely has a long way to go, especially with minorities, but the damage has already been done. The momentum of Hillary that began under the Obama administration has grinded to a halt. And if Sanders takes the nomination, except a hellish fight with Wall Street and the 1% as he battles to try to improve the middle class.

Odds are, both Trump and Bernie will fade out as the races heat up. Hillary Clinton has far too much support from the Obama fans and people that remember the 90s (Honestly, that last name adds a lot of votes). And on the other side, there’s no way the rest of America can fall for the idiotic shtick of Trump. Ultimately the politics will even itself out.



But both parties are still quite, quite nervous.