Fickle Sports Fan, Movie Reviews

Okay, about two years ago I decided it was just not worth the emotional hassle to be a big  “fan” of any athletic team.  So, since most of my “fan” time is spent on high school, college and professional football I could find myself really frustrated when my chosen teams lost.  With the amount of emotional time I felt I had to spend on my teams I just decided to adopt a new “fan” philosophy, simply that I would pick whoever is winning big as my team.  If it happened to be one of the teams I have never cared for I just picked another winner.  Now here is how this works.  On the pro scene my team had always been the Dallas Cowboys but they have gotten so lousy under Mr. Jones(after he won his three super bowls) that I got tired of watching them lose so I tucked all of my Cowboy blue and silver away or gave it away.  Then I looked to the North and found that the Denver Brocos had signed a new contract with Peyton Manning so I saw a positive opening for adopting them on the pro level.  It has worked out fine since they only lost 2 games in the regular season and made it to the Super bowl but did not win it.  Now the question is do I abandon them and adopt the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks or do I stick with Denver.  My choice is to stick with Denver since they are  still winners and Peyton looks tremendous.  On the college side of the coin I really like Texas Tech since I have been watching them for years, BUT, they really have a tendency to not win the big ones.  Since I went to the University of Houston on a football scholarship it would seem a natural to be a big fan of theirs’, however, they are way too far to travel to see play, and they are never on TV in our area.  Next on my list is my ole high school that I played for and they are close to my residence.  The Littlefield Wildcats have been winning games since they started football in 1922.  They are one of the real examples of West Texas football madness and the famed “Friday Night Lights!”  When people ask me if I ever watched the TV program of the same name, I reply simply, “I never watched Friday Night lights because I lived it!”  So, I am still a big fan of the Wildcats and they always win way more than they lose.  BUT, I do have grandsons playing at other Texas schools so I have to spread my fan madness around just a little bit.  The sum total for wins of my teams this week revealed my pro team won, my college team lost and my high school team lost.  So, I am rooting for some losers here and that creates frustrations I will have to address very seriously if they continue to lose.  Stay tuned!!

Movie Reviews:  

“The Drop”, **, Tom Hardy plays a lonely bartender of a local Brooklyn bar, formerly owned by James Gandolfin(who in real life died before the film was finished), that is also a cash “drop” station for local gangsters.  When it is robbed of the gangster’s money the sparks begin to fly.  Executions, beating, etc., begin to happen since you do not steal from the gangsters and get away with it.  The film was hard to follow and not nearly a waste of time but it did flirt with that a little!  Rated R for some strong violence and pervasive language.

“Guardians of the Galaxy”, ****, For a sci-fi movie this turned out to be very entertaining and well done.  It introduced 5 new Marvel heroes and was fun to watch.  From nothings to somethings these heroes have lots of fun doing what they do.  With names such as Star Lord,  female assassin Ganora, Rocket(voiced by Bradley Cooper) which is a little raccoon looking animal that is an escape artist, Vin Diesel hidden inside a walking tree, these characters round out the hero team of cast offs.  They do show the Galaxy a thing or two.  Very entertaining and some good humor for a sci-fi.  Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and actions, and for some language. 

“Expendables 3”,  ***, While I never figured this movie would keep my attention it turned out to be entertaining, with a descent story line.  Sylvester Stallone and his combination of young and veteran Expendables now trying to survive a battle against bad villain Mel Gibson and the entire army of some unpronounceable country.  The intrigue dropped in when Stallone’s character dropped his old crew for a new modern young crew.  Of course there was a reason for this and you need to go see it to find out what it was.  Lots of battles and lots of shooting down the bad guys.  Stacked with lots of star power including, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas go see this on the matinee ticket.  Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sustained gun battles and fight scenes and for language. 

“Let’s Be Cops”, *, The story of two struggling pals dressing as police officers is not enough to make a good movie(first of all it is against the law and is very mocking to the police office profession).   They do get involved in a real case of cops and robbers but still not enough to go and see.  Rated R for language including sexual references, some graphic nudity, violence and drug use. 

“November Man”, ****, An ex-CIA operative(Pierce Brosan) is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.  Lots of action and great plot.  Brosan is very good in this movie!  Rated R for strong violence including a sexual assault, language, sexuality/nudity and brief drug use.  

“Sin City:  A Dame to Kill For”, ****,  This movie has very cool visuals and the presentation of the story line is very inventive.  Josh Brolin and Mickey Rourke are great and this movie is worth the money.  The scenes are broken down into sequences of act 1, 2 or 2, with a conclusion at the end of each. Possibly check the description of the movie on your I Phone movie lists!   Go see to appreciate!  Rated R for strong, brutal, stylized violence throughout, sexual content, nudity and brief drug use.  

“When the Game Stands Tall”, *****, This is an outstanding true high school football story.  The journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151 game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.  Some very great action football scenes and very good acting.  Rated PG for thematic material, a scene of violence and brief smoking.  

EA, SH......:)!

greerman