The Curious Cse of Benjamin Button is one of this seasons most hyped movies.  Based of a F. Scott Fitzgerald short and boasting a cast of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, I believed that this movie was sure to live up to its reputation.  However, when the movier opened to an old woman lying in a hospital bed, being read a story from her former lovers diary, I knew I was duped once again.  It only got worse, with countless cliches, a long drawn out story, and an eerily similar storyline of Forest Gump.  To make matters worse, I came home to find out that Eric Roth wrote both screenplays!  Besides for the main character and the bus bench being swapped for a hospital bed, I saw almost no difference.  He even threw in a few historical moments, exactly as he did in Gump, including JFK’s “A Day That Will Live in Infamy” speech, The Beatles on American Bandstand, and launches from Cape Canaveral (though they were in the Florida Keys…Curious how they saw the launch from so far away…).  And the corniest of all was that they set this movie during Hurricane Katrina, in order to jerk a few more cheap tears out of people.  Critics said that the length of te movie was acceptable, becaus it was able to hold your interest, but I had to catch myself from falling asleep several times.  I do not agree with these critics, nor do I believe this movie was Oscar worthy, which brings me to my next point.

As I walked out of the theatre, I saw a line of almost one-hundred people (mind you this is christmas day at 6 pm).  The hype of this movie had drawn such large crowds, but admittedly, I was one of these people.  But, I also heard others ranting and raving about how great the movie was.  I believe that these are “Zombies,” because they just want to seem sophisticated and like movies that are “supposed” to win Oscars.  There was no chance that they would not like the movie, because they had made up their mids even before they saw the movie.  It happened with this movie and others (most notably The Dark Knight).  I wish people could break free from this and form opinions for themselves.

Unfortunately, this also works the other way.  Another movie that I saw on Christmas was Valkyrie.  My friends and I went into this movie knowing that the critics were not impressed and that Tom Cruise is a maniac.  However, from the first scene to the last, I could not control my heart rate and had to calm myself down at certain points.  The movie was able to keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, even though I already knew the outcome.  Still, I was left wondering and hoping that Cruise would be able to pull of his impossible mission (no pun intended).  I felt he was able to capture his bad-ass-ed-ness that he had lost since Top Gun and resembled Jerry McGuire when making phone calls.  I know that is a bold call, but it what I truly believe.  I understand that they did not show enough Nazi’s who were actually evil, but I do not care.  It was NOT Schindler’s List.  It may not quite be an Oscar worthy film, but I was extremely impressed.  On the other hand, my friends once again went with the critics and hated the movie.

I am not trying to be different for the sake of being different, rather I am following my heart, rather than listening to critics.  I wish more people would do this and not fall into the trap so many others do.  Critics are not there to tell us what to think, rather to assist us in deciding which movie to go to on a Friday night or to point out a few things we may have missed in a film.  Allow yourself to give the final rating on a movie and do not let others do it for you.

Bush needs to go, because he simply does not have any support–either from democrats or republicans. Not only did he put us in this crisis in the first place, but he has also been unable to put together any reasonable plan to help get us out or slow it down. His latest failed attempt comes with the $700 billion dollar “bailout plan,” which was rejected this afternoon. Contrary to Fox News’s “reporting,” it was Bush and McCain–Not Obama– who were not able to receive their party’s backing. Only one-third of house republicans (65) voted for the bill, while 140 democrats voted “yes,” including Obama himself. This is despicable, seeing as it was Bush’s initial idea to write this bill. If our president, along with the republican nominee cannot get even half of all republicans to vote for a bill that they feel so strongly for, then there is something terribly wrong.

I turn my frustration now to Ben Bernanke, who took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2006. While Bernanke has attempted some fairly radical things over the past year, he has not been cautious enough. Time after time, he has cut the borrowing rate, without any consideration of the inflation rate. If he had started these cuts when he first entered his position, then it may have helped, but instead he ignored the huge problem staring him directly in the face for an entire year.

While there are many others to be blamed for the curent situation that our economy is in, these are two extremely obvious people to hold accountable. I understand that they will not resign, but instead, I propose that we be more careful when we choose the people who run our country. Additionally, I am not trashing anything else that these two people have done–I am not endorsing them either. Rather, I am saying that we must understand that the people who we vote for really do have a great affect on our lives.

While I did not completely understand the reason for the lecture, I came across a disturbing fact. That being that only 4 students considered themselves theist. This number is out of 400 total students. This is only one percent of teens. While I did not think that most teens believed in god, I did not think that the number was this low.

I do not think that this is purely a religious problem. I believe that many teens are just not interested in things that are really important to their futures and their quality of life. Many people I know do not care about the upcoming election at all. I was forced to turn off CNN’s coverage of the DNC yesterday in order to watch a repeat of Seinfeld. My friend will not vote because he “doesn’t really care about who wins the election.” My girlfriend wants to vote for McCain, because “Bill Clinton is ugly.”

These thoughts are mind boggling. I do not understand how people can have such little concern about their future’s and their country! The work ethic of teens is almost non-existent! I do not know how this has happened.

I hope that this way of thinking changes very soon and parents are able to distill better values in their children, so that the future of this country  can be better for everyone.

Back home in America, millions will watch with the same enthusiasm as they did when Tiger Woods limped up the 18th of Torry Pines in the US open earlier this year. And after the events are over, they will cease to watch the sport entirely.

While I understand that it may be difficult to find a good 3m diving competition or Judo match throughout the year, I am annoyed at how people immediately become experts on the sport during the Olympics. They try to explain rules to others, when they only understand a fraction of them their selves. I must admit however, that I am one of these people. I am a golfer myself, so I do know most of the rules and watch more than one tournament a year. However, with events such as the Olympics, Worlds Cup, and X-Games, I immediately turn into the expert. I find the main sport to be curling in the winter Olympics. I can’t stop the transformation, even though I know that it is happening. I always say that I will continue to watch the sport even after the event is over, but this never happens.

While I may not how I or others act during these sporting events, I do believe that there are many positive outcomes. Mainly, we are opened up to many sports that we would not frequently watch. This allows us to view other cultures and enjoy the same sport that people halfway around the world enjoy all year long.

So in the end i must tip my hat and give kudos to those pseudo Handball or Floor Exercise experts. Because although you may not know it, you are helping to bring human kind one step closer, even if it is only for two weeks.

I have not yet been able to see The Dark Knight, but I have heard from many friends, reviews, and critics that it is by far the best Batman to ever hit the silver screen. I am not going to lie, I am very distraught over the fact that the first time I will be able to view the movie is this upcoming friday. But thats what happens when you are a working man.

So here is why I have a beef with the movie. First of all, before the death of the “dreamy” Heath Ledger, half of the people that flocked to theaters this passed weekend did not care or know about the movie. Only after Heath went “crazy” from his role and “committed suicide” did people begin to anticipate this film. (By the way he did not go insane. He was just another Hollywood OD case. Don’t get me wrong, I wish it did not happen, because he is a very talented actor.) However, when i went to get tickets to a sunday night imax viewing, I was unsuccessful, due to these 10 things i hate about you fans.

Second, while his movie was making 25 mill. on a Monday, Christian Bale was in London smacking around his sister and mom. I can’t stand these people who are looked up to as role models act. There are kids who grow up thinking that if they make enough money, then it is ok to do whatever they want. This is not something i would want my kids to learn.

Finally, something that really gets under my skin is the fact that people want to give Heath a posthumous best actor academy award. I fact 75% of voters on todays Variety poll believe that he should win this award. While I understand that he totally nailed the role and made the movie what it is, he should not win a best actor award. The reason being that the movie is called “Batman” and not “Joker.” He is not the main character. No matter how good he is he should not be given a best actor award as a supporting actor. Now if were talking best supporting actor, then that is another thing. I just hope they don’t make an exception just because of his tragic death.

With all of this said, this is sure to be one of the best Batmans of all times. Even with its few flaws, I believe it is a very well made movie and Christopher Nolan deserves a lot of credit for all is innovations in this film. It is sure to be remembered for years to com.

P.S. Please don’t hate on me for talking bad about Heath. I do think his death was tragic and he was a great actor.

Added 8/4/08

Finally, someone agrees with me and can actually put into words what i have been thinking all along!
http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/48514/

As the draft approached, I began to take an interest in where he would be going. I got excited as I heard he would be a mid first-round pick. This is also where the 76ers were positioned. I began to have thoughts of seeing Greene once again, however this time in a different uniform.

Like all other Syracuse faithfuls, this yesterday was not as great as I had hoped. As the mid-round picks came and went, Greene’s name was not called.

It was not until the 28th overall pick that Memphis finally decided to pull the trigger on Greene. I was extremely disappointed to see this happen. Both for me and him. For me, because Syracuse will not be as good as they could have been next season. For him, because he will not receive the contract that was used to lure him away from college life.

One positive is that after the blockbuster trade between Memphis and Minnesota, Greene will have the chance to play with OJ Mayo. I believe that this could be a fierce twosome in years to come. Though their supporting cast is not very good, these two young and talented players could be used to build a very dominant team.

It will be interesting to see just how these two are used and whether or not they will make a large impact in the NBA. The only thing that worries me is the Syracuse team of next year. Will Jonny Flynn be able to rise to the role of team leader? Will Rautins and Devendorf be healthy and productive? Only time will tell how everything plays out.

By the way, I didn’t spell the title wrong, its spelled like his first name. Like the “Don’te Leave” shirts that were made.

As a kid, I grew up frequently attending Phillies games and sitting right behind home plate. Though I was young, I do remember Curt Schilling very clearly. Even as a kid, I knew there was something special about him and more than a decade later, my childhood beliefs have been confirmed. Curt Schilling has gone on from his early to days as a Philly, to become an elite pitcher of his time.

Throughout his career, Schilling has won three World Series, has been selected to the all star team six times, led the league in wins twice, and has had over 3000 strikeouts. Additionally, there are many memorable moments, such as the bloody sock game, in which Schilling has demonstrated his sheer grit and determination. While he does not poses the best resume of all time, I believe that it is more than sufficient enough to get him into the hall of fame.

On today’s PTI, I heard that Curt himself does not believe that he is a hall of fame player. Curt Schilling has had a very strong career and has entertained fans across the country. He deserves the honor to be remember for all that he has done for the sport. While he is probably not a contender on his first ballot, I believe that his numbers, tenacious attitude, and love for the game are enough to get him into the hall of fame very soon.