Draft Day

THE PITCH

WORTH

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THE VIEWING

" No one can stop the clock from ticking, but the great ones know how to slow it down."

Sympathy for Cleveland .  I’m glad they decided to do a film with this organization in mind.  I’m not a Cleveland fan but can’t help but pity what that city had to endure through the years….

• Michael Jordan single handedly destroying their Championship run with the greatest NBA team THAT city has ever had.
• Having Bill Belichick and letting him go only to become one of the greatest coaches ever in the history of the NFL.
• Cleveland Indians hasn’t won a World Series since 1948
• Art Modell [owner] moves the beloved Browns team to Baltimore then wins the SuperBowl.
• “The Decision”. Ohio’s own LeBron James opting to leave his “home” for brighter pastures down in South Beach Florida, now a  2 time NBA Champion with the Miami Heat.

     With such great fans it seems the people of Cleveland can not catch a break.  I noticed that all the teams showcased or highlighted in this film were teams that have a rich fan base but have fell short of glory in this celebrated league that is the NFL.  The Bills, Jacksonville, Texans, Cardinals, Kansas City, although they did manage to have the Seahawks as one of the franchises that was featured. The film had probably finished production by the time the Seahawks won the Superbowl this year…. Maybe had they waited to shoot the scenes with the Seahawk insignia on it, this movie may have showcased the Detroit Lions, Anyways…

    The entire movie is paced around 12 hours on the actual Draft Day for the NFL. Which made the story development happen at a good pace.  You can imagine as the hours wind down the story get’s more intense. Before the last couple of hours ticked away I was prepared to give Draft Day a C+, which isn’t bad.  After the final 2 hours ticked away in the last 20 minutes of the film, it earned a B-.  That small part elevated my whole viewing experience.

     Kevin Costner did a very good job as the GM for the Browns but not as good as Denis Leary.  Denis played the Head Coach for the Cleveland Browns and did an outstanding job.  I used to think Al Pacino played the best coach in Any Given Sunday, or even Samuel L. Jackson in Coach Carter.  Denis is now in that conversation.    

     Worth Watching!

      grade: B-

Man of Steel

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$$$

THE VIEWING


Clark Kent - age 9: The world's too big, Mom.
Martha Kent: Then make it small. Focus on my voice. Pretend it's an island out in the ocean. Can you see it?
Clark Kent - age 9: I see it...

    Man of Steel accomplished everything that it set out to do.  Wholly ‘apart’ from any Superman movie in the past.  Which is why, I believe, they didn’t use the words ‘Superman’ in the title and hardly in the story... I digress. Darker than your conventional Superman movies, although I didn’t feel the word “dark” is truly accurate.  It was a more desolate or outcast type themed that really worked.  Competitive; If Marvel truly wanted competition, it has it.  If DC COMICS decides to combine just the two, Henry Cavil & Christian Bale, for an answer to Marvel’s  Avengers movie(s)... well, I shudder to think.  Man of Steel alone matched all the action in Avengers plus some.  Even as I type this fresh out the theater I still see residue images of destruction and planetary chaos involuntarily skating around in my brain. I shake my head to focus on what I’m writing but it remains... terrible part is I like it.

        The imagination and ingenuity used here is just amazing, specifically on planet Krypton. The sheer wonder saturated me to the point where I almost lost myself and may have missed some of the story.  Re-watch value really didn't need any help but I just added that onto the list for a second reason to visit the theater.   

         Just when you thought you’ve seen everything you realize that you haven’t.  All you've learned in the past is just a precursor to what the future holds: limitlessness.  The work done with CGI, especially on the planet Krypton, is just unbelievable! The function between science, design, physics, form  all looks and feels foreign, alien and not an ounce of human or earthly familiarity resides in those scenes besides the actors and actresses themselves.

         I liked the direction of the story but did not love it.  I feel some character introductions may have been too short.  Most of the collateral characters barely got established before they were thrust into the peak of the plot but again, the course that the film took to get from beginning to middle to close justifies the minimal personage build up.

     I have to talk about the score music.  Again, being a film void of any prior franchise influences the music had to be original.  This will mark the first Superman movie since Superman(1978) that didn’t use any of the original score music from the great[est] film composer John Williams.  The baton now rest in the very capable hands of Hans Zimmer.  He is, right now, my most favorite composer and it is not going to be fair to compare the two.  As iconic of work Hans did for the Batman movies he just barely fell short of a great, or should I say, ‘classic’ sound for this new Superman series under Zack Snyder.   Don’t get me wrong, the music was powerful, riveting, and extremely good... just not great.  At least not yet, perhaps I should give it some time.

                 Is Man of Steel worth your money? Emphatically yes!!!  I can see myself not only going back to theater next week to view it without the 3D but purchasing the bluray the very Tuesday it get’s released.  

   

            letter grade: A