Fixing Baseball

Baseball season is underway, and already we have seen great moments, great games, great tributes, and great plays. Despite what anyone says, baseball is the best sport out there, and Major League Baseball is the best professional league in the States. While the NBA is becoming more and more a pussified sport, while the NFL has been slowly sucking all the fun out of theirs, there is always major league baseball to depend on for the spring and the summer. But, like all the pro sports, it definitely isn’t perfect. There can be a few changes to enhance what greatness is already there. I have assembled a variety of ideas (this is all free folks) that will be sure to make the game quicker, make the game more effective, and fix all the tiny little bugs MLB has experienced over the years.

To start things off, the playoff format is perfect, just saying. The Wild Card inclusion makes for some great and heavily competitive baseball, right up to the end. However, the season containing 162 games is perhaps a bit much, especially with society having more and more trouble following anything past five seconds. Somewhere between 135-142 games would be more effective. While that is still many more games than the average sport, baseball is the one sport in which anybody can beat anybody on any given day, it’s just that unpredictable. While I have yet to consider 162 games as overkill, minimizing the amount of games would add a bit more weight to every matchup. Another little suggestion, we should have more interleague games, and should have a tiny raffle before every season to randomly place one AL team to take on an NL team. This way, lower-market teams like the Reds and Nationals still have a chance to take on the Yankees and Red Sox.

Now these upcoming changes are to speed up the individual games themselves---just a little. For starters, after seven foul balls, it should equal a strike. I don’t see this rule ever being enforced, but it would definitely destroy those eternal fouling battles we get from time to time. Now, every quarter of play (three innings), only three timeouts on the mound are allowed. If they were to call another timeout when they don’t have any more, it’s automatically a strike. Another thing that should be limited is pitching changes. Personally, I think that only two pitching changes are allowed per team, per inning, no more. The only exception is if the pitcher gets injured. That idea won’t get off the ground either.

Instant replay, I am not a fan of, especially because of the fear that they will use it towards every play out there loosely questionable. Instead, MLB should follow what the NFL does: the challenge flag. Both teams should be allowed three challenges per game. If the call is overturned, they whether reset the play or change the call. Otherwise, if the ruling stands, then the next batter starts off with a strike automatically. The only time the umpires challenge a play without a flag being tossed is on the very last inning. This system isn’t perfect, but it will prevent from an overload of instant replays. After all, with baseball being the slowest sport this side of golf, it doesn’t help the pacing with 5 minutes of replaying a previous moment.

The biggest change is steroids: if you are caught, you are automatically banned. With that being said, to limit and destroy any clouds of questioning, all the names from that damn report should be released. Finally, please, just unveil all the names, just not the major ones. This way, we can see the innocent as well as the guilty. This one is simple; drugs like steroids are cheating and should be banned. Not to mention, they are not healthy at all.

Honestly, that’s about it. Can’t think about much more changing that baseball needs. There is always the salary cap, but I can’t even consider a solution to that one—that one will require true, incredible thinking. If I have a solution, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, if you have other ideas to change the ways of baseball, feel free to present them.

Go Rays!!

Oceans: 10/10

The masterpiece mini-series Planet Earth ushered a new era of technology and technique of filmmaking in the world of animal and life-based documentaries. After years of effort and a much heavier budget than your average documentary, Planet Earth set the benchmark for cinematographers and any programming about animals for years to come. Disney enters the mix by attempting to revive the Real-Life Adventure series that delivered Walt Disney multiple Academy Awards and also put the company on the map on yet another type of entertainment. Earth was Disney’s first new-generation foray into family-appealing documentaries. Well, this Earth Day we receive what just might become the greatest work of documentary since Planet Earth years upon years ago. Four years in the making, Oceans contains some of the best footage ever displayed on the big screen. While it doesn’t educate much in the sense of Planet Earth, the dazzling footage more than makes up for the lack of facts.

In Oceans, we follow the five different oceans of the world and the animals that inhabit it and maneuver around them. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, the film flows from one creature to another with a backdrop of soothing European instrumental music supporting the images. You’ll see the usual lovely whales, dolphins, seals, walruses, but then see creatures rarely before (sometimes never before) seen on film: including blue whales, sheep fish, and much more. Over 50 different locations were used in the filming of this documentary, with some locations obviously requiring weeks to months of patience to deliver the right footage.

Money Shot is a slang term in film which describes a difficult-to-create sequence that tries to sell the film. Let’s just say that Oceans has at least a dozen of those. Some things displayed on screen are no magnificent, so beautiful, so mesmerizing, you almost question the authenticity of it all. The cynic in me finds it sometimes hard to believe that the French filmmakers and cinematographers were able to capture footage of whales, sharks, dolphins, and birds all feeding on the same schools of fish at the same time; or come up with footage of dozens of dolphins leaping out of the water and flipping multiple times before landing again. Or even thousands of crabs fighting against each other in the bottom of the ocean. These are just small examples of the incredible moments of nature that you get to see throughout the too-short 85 minutes. There are other examples but I refuse to reveal for the sake of not spoiling; let’s just
say there’s a sequence involving a deadly storm and its capabilities.

In order to fully appreciate and receive the full entertainment value of this beautiful display of nature, you must see it on the big screen. Unlike the previous Disneymentary Earth, Oceans slows very well, is edited much tighter, and doesn’t jump all over the place. Then there’s the superior soundtrack, superior narration, and superior amount of footage. They range from fearsome, to beautiful; to sometimes even sentimental (the scene with the walrus will water your eyes). Walt Disney would be absolutely proud of this work, even if technically Disney wasn’t responsible for the actual film. The overseas team headed by Jacques Perrin (responsible for Winged Migration) deserves all the credit for the effort given and the result.

Bottom Line: Oceans may be a movie merely displaying the beauty of the oceans and what lies underneath, but this film is far too gorgeous for you to avoid. If you have any affection towards nature and the millions of stories carried underneath it, you must see this movie while it has its short run in movie theaters nationwide. The footage is amazing, the images are spectacular, and the overall production is nearly flawless. It is a beautiful documentary for the ages, and hopefully will pave the way for more films with as much effort as this one. With four years to craft the quintessential film about animals, this all paid off magnificently. If you love animals, watching this is a major requirement, not even a recommendation.

Enjoy the movie. Save the oceans.

The DIAC Summer Movie Preview feat. 10 Movies You Must Watch

Welcome to the unofficial official movie summer guide for watching movies. In this guide, I will provide a list of the 10 movies that you absolutely, positively must see in order to enjoy your summer travels to the movies. Judging by the trailers, who is behind the camera, the concept, originality, and coolness factor, I have assembled an essential viewing guide that I hope will suit everybody. If it doesn’t, you are wrong and there honestly isn’t much you can do about it. Eh, enough introduction, it’s not like any of you read this anyway, here are the ten movies you absolutely must watch.

But before we do that, I must hand you the list of movies that I predict will ultimately disappoint:

1) Twilight: Eclipse: Looks like crap from a distance. Plus, I am on Team Jacob allllll the way--and we all know he is going to lose

2) Shrek Forever After: Shrek stopped being funny years ago....glad this is supposedly the last installment

3) Killers: Katherine Heigl....please stop.

4) Despicable Me: Eh...meh....eh...

5) Get Him to the Greek: Watch the trailer...looks like a movie trying way too hard for raunchy humor...

Now, on to the top 10!


#10: Salt
Star: Angelina Jolie
This movie is about an employee in the CIA that apparently is going to kill the president because secretly she is a spy. One tiny catch though, she has absolutely no idea she is going to perform such a feat and has no idea she even has the ability to become a spy. It looks like a nice hybrid of action and suspense and mystery all blended in with a nice---rather original concept. Comes out July 23rd

#9: The Last Airbender
Star: None
While M. Night may be the laughing stock of the movie industry (See: The Happening), he does have a chance to redeem himself (again) with a screenplay that does not totally belong to him. Based off the cult hit Nickelodeon show that was cast under the shadow of Spongebob (forever and always), The Last Airbender looks like a live-action look into the first couple of seasons. As long as they can capture the magic and majesty of the show, there’s no reason why this film could fail. But..it is M. Night……Releases July 2nd

#8: Sex and the City 2
Star: Sarah Jessica Parker
Yes, this is on the list. The original television show was incredible writing mixed with great acting. The movie, while morally bankrupt, was still a fun movie to watch. In the sequel, we yet again get to see the lives of the four women with a lot of money and fashion sense, while never really showing what it is they do exactly. This time, they pick a totally obscure location, find some long-lost friends, and a long-lost love is thrown in the mix. If its anything like the original, it will be the premiere chick flick to watch in the summer. Releases early June.

#7: The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Star: Jake Gynlehallwhatchamacallit
While video game movies have failed miserably quality-wise on the most part (With nothing acting as an exception), Disney is going to give it another go with the biggest-budgeted gaming movie since Tomb Raider years ago. This time, we have a great director, great acting cast, and a grand producer behind the wheel. If its containing any of the magic of the original Pirates of the Caribbean (mix of action, humor, and adventure), then we have our potentially first grand gaming movie. And yes, I am including the overrated Resident Evil franchise in the list of misery. Releases May 28th

#6: The Other Guys
Star: Will Ferrell
While Will has many hit-and-miss moments, his work with director Adam McKay has been definitely on the successful end. This director was responsible for three of Ferrell’s best movies (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers). Whatever the reason, when these two team up, comedic sparks fly. Now, add Mark Wahlberg, the Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez, Steve Coogan, and Will in a sudden action flick, and we have the potential for sheer epicness. The trailer for the movie featured your usual Will humor, but this time gunfights and chases following behind. This just might be the surprise-surprise hit of the summer season. Releases August 16th

#5: Knight and Day
Star: Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise
This movie has all the potential in the world, especially with the whimsical comedic timing of Tom Cruise (who can be funny when he needs to be) and Cameron Diaz (immortalized in There’s Something About Mary). Add a fun concept (that mixes mayhem with romance), good-looking action sequences, great director (James Mangold), and just a fresh action flick in a sequel-filled summer season. Basically it’s about a woman who meets a mysterious man that seems to be a fugitive of the law. Releases June 25th

#4: Inception
Star: Leonardo DiCaprio
We have no idea what the plot is yet. What we do know is that it looks like a heist film—but stealing ideas of the mind. Crazy concept? I know. But, the trailer looked amazing, Christopher Nolan is an established star in the directing/writing world, and it will most certainly be the most unique movie of the entire year. Let’s not also forget the excellent-sounding score of Hans Zimmer. Releases July 16th

#3: Toy Story 3
Star: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Pixar has literally had a perfect record, with A Bug’s Life and Cars being their weakest movie but still managed to deliver the entertainment and heart necessary to be worthy of the movie theater prices. And now we have the final installment to one of the greatest cinematic 1-2 punches in history: Toy Story 1 and 2. While the trailers aren’t as good as the first two, there are still major hopes that this will tug at the heartstrings and deliver just as many laughs as Toy Story 2 did back in 1999. With almost the entire cast returning and many new characters joining in, how can this movie possibly fail? But, the question is, just how good will it is when compared to the first two…Releases June 18th

#2: Iron Man 2
Star: Robert Downey Jr.
This movie will whether suffer the Spider-Man 3 effect (too much, not enough time), or deliver the X-Men 2 effect (effective use of massive cast). Iron Man 2 looks like it will have all the humor, fun, and action of the first installment, which was a surprise smash in 2008. And with glimpses of War Machine, Whiplash, Nick Fury, and Natasha Romanoff, there is no reason why comic book fans should skip out on this opening weekend. Please don’t let it suffer from Spider-Man 3 syndrome…please…Releases May 7th

#1: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Star: Michael Cera
Now, not everyone loves fanboyism movies, but I personally do. Fanboy movies are some of the best you’ll ever see, with Zombieland, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Kick-Ass, Shoot Em Up being great examples of great filmmaking that screws over the rating system by delivering crazy action and content that can usually find only in the comic books and underground cartoons. And now we have this epic-looking movie with an epic-looking trailer and an epic-looking concept. Scott must fight several ex-boyfriends in gaming-related contests to win the heart of a beautiful woman. Then, we have Edgar Wright, whom was responsible for the nearly-flawless Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, behind the director’s chair. How can you possibly go wrong with a mesh of the deadpan humor of Cera with the directing details of Wright? Of all the good-looking summer movies coming out, this one looks the most fun by far. Releases in August.