My 2012 All-Star Picks

American League Starters:



1B - Paul Konkero -- Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are surprisingly in first place at the writing of this blog. Konkero is a great player who often goes overlooked but should be starting at first because of the amazing first half he has had. Konkero is batting .337 with 13HR and 39 RBI's.

Also deserving: Prince Fielder, Tigers. Mark Teixeira, Yankees. Albert Pujols, Angels.


2B - Jason Kipnis -- Cleveland Indians
The best player no one has heard about is Kipnis. I know that Cano will most likely get the start but Kipnis is just as deserving. He has more RBI's and a ton more stolen bases then Cano as well. Indians are also having a pretty good season so far and should have some representation. Kipnis is batting .274 with 11 HR's w/ 42 RBI's and an impressive 17 SB's.

Also deserving: Robinson Cano, Yankees. Ian Kinsler, Rangers.



SS - Elvis Andrus -- Texas Rangers
I will vote for Andrus even though it seems obvious Derek Jeter will get the nod as starter. While Jeter is having another good season I pick Andrus because he is faster, has a better glove, and has more runs, RBI's, and SB's then Jeter. I like a fast speedy guy as SS so Andrus fits my need here, plus the Rangers are on of the best teams in baseball and deserve a few starters.

Also deserving: Mike Alvies, Red Sox. Derek Jeter, Yankees. Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians.



3B - Miguel Cabrera -- Detroit Tigers

A personal favorite player who is very consistent. Cabrera made the move to 3B so Prince Fielder could take over at 1B. It hasn't been the easiest move for the vet but he seems to hold his own at 3B. Cabrera is having another big season for the struggling Tigers batting .307 w/ 15 HR and 59 RBI's.

Also Deserving: Mark Trumbo, Angels. Adrian Beltre, Rangers.



C - A.J. Pierzynski -- Chicago White Sox
Another White Sox player cracks my starters here, I really didn't expect to have him starting but looking over the stats he seemed like an obvious choice. As stated the Sox are having a good season. A.J. has caught a perfect game and is batting .284 w/ 12 HR and 41 RBI's...his HR and RBI are comparable to Konkero even.

Also deserving: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox. Joe Mauer, Twins.








DH - David Ortiz -- Boston Red Sox

Ortiz continues to impress hitting .304 w/ 20 HR and 52 RBI's. He is the perfect player to have at DH and is also a fan favorite. I think he is a great choice to have starting at DH for the game.

Also deserving: Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays, Adam Dunn, White Sox.

OF -

Josh Hamilton -- Texas Ranges

Hamilton was tearing the snot out of the ball earlier in the season but has somewhat cooled off since. He is still great with the glove and is helping his Rangers stay in first in the AL West and is an early MVP favorite. He is hitting .318 w/ 23 HR's and 66 RBI's.




Jose Bautista -- Toronto Blue Jays

Even though Bautista has a low batting average I feel his power number make him a starter for the game. He compares power wise to Josh Hamilton despite batting only .237. He is also a fan favorite and will delight the crowd in Kansas City. He's currently batting .237 w/ 24 HR and 57 RBI's.

Adam Jones -- Baltimore Orioles
Mr. Jones has led the surprise Orioles to 2nd place in one of toughest divisions in all of baseball. He is also having a monster season and showing the potential he always had batting .300 w/ 19HR and 40 RBI's to go along with 9 steals and 49 Runs. He is also very impressive in the field, it would be nice to see him starting and represent the Orioles.

Also deserving: Curtis Granderson, Yankees. Josh Willingham, Twins. Josh Reddick, A's.






National League Starters:

1B - Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds
I feel this is a pretty clear cut choice. Votto is now the man an first base in the NL since Fielder and Pujols are no longer around. The stats more then back up what a fantastic first half Votto has had. Batting .355 w/ 14 HR and 47 RBI's.

Also deserving: Adam LaRoche, Nationals.








2B - Brandon Phillps -- Cincinnati Reds

Two Reds in a row but both are the best at their position. Phillips is always slick with the glove and it was a tough choice between him and Dan Uggla but I went with Phillips because he has a better average, more RBI's and SB's. Plus the Reds are in a tight race for first place.

Also deserving: Dan Uggla, Braves. Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks.


SS - Starlin Castro -- Chicago Cubs

The one standout for the Cubs in what has been a terrible season so far is Castro who is swinging a nice bat. His numbers: .301 w/ 6 HR and 39 RBI's as well as 16 SB's. The SS position has a few good candidates but I think Castro is the best hitter of the group as of now, his defense might not be all that great.

Also deserving: Ian Desmond, Nationals. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies.


3B - David Wright -- New York Mets

The Mets have stayed above .500 for most of the year and one reason is the able hitting David Wright who is hitting an amazing .358 w/ 8 HR and 41 RBI's and 8 sb's. Wright is always fun to watch field and is a great choice to start given his amazing first half.

Also deserving: David Freese, Cardinals. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins.


C - Buster Posey -- San Francisco Giants
A hometown favorite, yes....but also Posey is having one hell of a rebound season. Posey has kept the Giants steady and his hitting continues to impress just as much as his ability to catch a perfect game. Posey's numbers also speak for themselves: .295 w/ 10 HR and 40 RBI's. I know I would love to see him starting.

Also deserving: Carlos Ruiz, Phillies. Yadir Molina, Cardinals. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks.





OF -
Carlos Gonzalez - Colorado Rockies

Despite the struggles of the Rockies Gonzalez has been a huge bright spot for the young team. He is currently batting .327 w/ 17 HR and 53 RBI...he is currently just tearing up the ball and deserves to start for what may be many years to come.



Carlos Beltran - St. Louis Cardinals

Beltran has loved his new team so far and is off to a monster start with the Cardinals. He is hitting .313 w/ 20 HR and 57 RBI's. Beltran is showing other teams that this old guy had a lot left in his legs and continues to do well for the defending champs.





Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers

Braun is having just a typical year for the Brewers, hitting very well and showing he is one of the primer talents in the game. Braun is hitting .314 w/ 20 HR and 52 RBI and rounds out what should be a really great starting outfield.


Also deserving:  Andre Either & Matt Kemp, Dodgers (one could DH). Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Melky Cabrera, Giants.


* all stats as of 6/26/12

Underrated Movies Presents: Duel

"When the headlights of a truck become the eyes of a psychopath."




Never a feature movie in the U.S. Duel (1971) was a made for TV movie directed by none other then Steven Spielberg. Working on a low budget Duel showcases that you do not need a lot of money to make a movie that leaves you in awe with suspense. Duel is about one man, actually David Mann played brilliantly by Dennis Weaver. I figure they named him David Mann because this is the story of man vs. man and David is sort of an everyday man type character here, this story could just as easily happen to anyone watching because we all (mostly) travel to work via car daily.

The story is that Mann is going to work and gets cut off by a huge semi truck. Like everyone Mann gets a tad upset and repays the favor by speeding up and getting in front of the huge semi, a task that he has most likely done before (as we all have probably done once or twice). This time though the driver of the semi truck take it personal. The rest of the movie is an amazing and very tense show down between Mann and well...machine. I believe the movie works so well because all drivers have at one point been in a similar situation driving. I know I have cut off or broke suddenly and upset someone but it usually results in them giving you a look or honking. Duel explores the what if situation of if you upset a driver and they just cannot let it go.

Besides having a young and ambitious Spielberg directing you also have a script written by classic novelist Richard Matheson, who has a long and storied history with movies. His books have been used for many movies (I Am Legend, Stir of Echoes, Real Steel, etc...) and he has wrote many episodes of The Twilight Zone, suffice to say the man knows how to write suspense.

Since the entire movie basically takes place on the road with many close ups of  Mann as he drives Spielberg had to really think outside the box of how to make the movie work. I think my personal favorite part about the movie is that you never see the person in the semi truck and better yet you really never know why he is chasing down Mann. If this was to be remade now, they would probably make the semi truck driver the co-star and explain how he just lost his job as a truck driver and was out looking for some revenge. I am pleased that we just have this unstoppable force coming after Mann with no real reasoning behind it. He just wants to kill him for reasons we can only ponder in our heads.

If you are in the mood for a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, I highly recommend you watch Duel. It has some great acting by Dennis Weaver to go along with a really well done movie that should have been released at the theaters in the U.S. I know it was released as a full length movie in some other countries. The movie is available on DVD as of now, I am hoping for a bluray release in the future.

What I'll be doing August 14th 2012

love the classic cover!

With my upcoming busy summer (wedding, honeymoon, etc) I really am not sure how much time I will have to myself. One thing I can always look forward to is seeing a movie to give me a small 1 to 2 hour break from reality. I have just learned that one of my top three all time movies is making its bluray debut. JAWS has long been a favorite of mine ever since I went on the tram tour an Universal Studios and was scared half to death when the shark would pop out of the water. To be the best horror has to be something you are actually scared of, and a huge man eating sharks has always been tops on that list for me!

JAWS will be released August 14, 2012. Universal is doing a pretty cool tie in coinciding with the companies 100th anniversary by releasing (or re-releasing) a lot of their classic titles on bluray. I have long been waiting for JAWS on bluray especially with many of Spielberg's other movies recently being released in the format. I received the Jurassic Park trilogy as a Christmas present (2 out of 3 of the movies being good and one average). I have also heard rumblings of E.T. being released on bluray soon with possibly both versions of the movie. If you weren't in the loop Spielberg went all Lucas on E.T. and changed some things with CGI. Two notable changes were that police officers guns were replaced with walkie talkies and E.T. was made all CGI in some scenes. Spielberg eventually admitted he made a slight mistake with the changes and would make the original (and unaltered) version available on bluray. The Indiana Jones collection (all 4 movies...3 out of 4 ain't bad!) is also being released on bluray and is on amazon but with no exact release date yet.

I read a great article about the JAWS bluray on Entertainment Weekly's web site. They go more in depth on how they really fixed up the old negatives of the film to make it look extra awesome and original. The bluray will be remastered and restored. There will even be a feature about how Spielberg fixed up the old negatives of the film to make them look their best for the bluray release. They have a video on the same page but I decided to save it to watch when the bluray is released in August. If you cannot wait click HERE and check it out, it looks like a really cool process. The bluray also has 4 hours of extras, including the documentary The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of JAWS. I have long heard of this documentary and am really happy they decided to include this with the bluray. If you want to join me watching it on August 14th come on over, but I'm gonna need a bigger couch!

what a difference

Underrated Movies Presents: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I thought it was time to shed light on some of my personal list of movies which I think are underrated. What does underrated even mean to me? I am saying that the movie was not a big financial success and was not nominated for many awards. Also these movies might have a following because they are so well done and if you are a movie fiend like me I am sure you already know about the movie.

From the mind of writer/director Shane Black (writer of Lethal Weapon, Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and Monster Squad....Black is also set to write/direct Iron Man 3!) came this little movie in 2005 starring a then not yet Iron Man famous Robert Downey Jr. Downey was on his come back trail at this point. He has been in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Good Night and Good Luck in 2005 both 3 years before he would star in Iron Man. The cast also includes the ever so cute/hot Michelle Monaghan as well as Val Kilmer who goes back to his comic roots and gives one of his finest performances.

The actors all do very fine jobs and the movie but with the amazing script even Hayden Christensen couldn't mess up this movie. You have a very fast paced dialogue that never really stops. The dialogue is so fast paced and full of good moments that a repeat viewing is a must. It sort of reminded me of an old Bogart detective movie. If you ever go back and watch those the dialogue is very fast and full of information.

You also get a really nice mystery/ detective movie here. Black seemingly took his time fleshing out the characters. Downey Jr. is Harry Lockhart (the name just sounds like someone from an old pulp fiction paperback). Harry is not a cop but an actor who gets mixed up in a murder case and is getting help from real cop Gay Perry (Kilmer). The duo have instant chemistry and shine together. It's rare lately in cinema to have such a good buddy cop movie that doesn't come off cheesy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of those movies.

The movie also has a great payoff, you are not let down in the final act of the movie in any way. I am glad I somehow saw this movie. I think I was able to see it at the theater but no matter how make sure you can find this movie and see it. Shane Black is a writer who doesn't do too many films and takes his time when he writes. Since Kiss Kiss Bang Bang he hasn't written or directed for 7 years! I think he can really make Iron Man 3 something special. He knows how to get the best out of Downey Jr. and I can see him instantly becoming a famous director if Iron Man 3 is the hit we all know it will be.

Whatever you do go and see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you can thank me later. In fact I think I am going to go put the movie in my DVD player right now.

More Underrated Movies to come...

Baseball Predictions for 2012

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST

New York Yankees.... 94-68
Tampa Bay Rays ....90-72*
Boston Red Sox .... 88-74
Toronto Blue Jays ...83-79
Baltimore Orioles ...71-92

Yankees always seem to win and with their offense and added starting pitching of Pineda and Kuroda I like them to take this divison. The Rays and Red Sox will battle for a wild card spot with the Sox falling just a few games shy of making it due to below average starting pitching. Blue Jays continue to get better but the competition in this division proves too much for a serious run...this year.


AL CENTRAL

Detroit Tigers .... 97-65
Chicago White Sox.... 81-81
Kansas City Royals.... 77-85
Cleveland Indians... 71-91
Minnesota Twins.... 66-96

The Tigers easily win the central because the division is weak overall and they have added Prince Fielder and get a full season out of Doug Fister. They could be the only team to finish over .500. The White Sox will be a decent team. Indians take a step back from the season they had last season and the Royals make some strides but still have too many young players to make it over .500. Twins could be the worst team in baseball but Mauer will have a good year (if healthy).


AL West

Anaheim Angels....98-64
Texas Rangers ....91-71*
Oakland Athletics....72-90
Seattle Mariners ....62-100

I think the Angels will take the west with somewhat ease. They added the best player in baseball (on offense) and a solid starter to what was already an impressive starting 5 in C.J. Wilson (who also knows the West already). The Rangers are still easily in the playoff hunt and I have them going to the wild card game. A's and Mariners will pile up a lot of losses against the far superior Angels and Rangers. At least Manny Ramirez will give the A's fans a quick thrill but will be cut before the season ends.


NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL EAST

Philadelphia Phillies....94-68
Miami Marlins .....87-75*
Atlanta Braves.....83-79
Washington Nationals....79-83
New York Mets....73-91

The Phillies are still a strong team and should be one of the best in baseball. They have somewhat shifted from a strong hitting team to a strong pitching team. They have the best starting 3 in the bigs and a new closer in Johnathan Papelbon. Marlins will have a new stadium, players (Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell), and atmosphere. They will actually have crowds at their games and I believe the changes are enough for a surprise wild card spot for them.

AL CENTRAL

Cincinnati Reds ....89-73
Milwaukee Brewers....85-77
St Louis Cardinals....85-77
Chicago Cubs ....76-86
Pittsburgh Pirates....74-88
Houston Astros....63-99

With no more Pujols and Fielder the central is up for grabs but still very competitive. I picked the Reds because Votto is now the big man in the central and their pitching added a few nice pieces (Latos and new closer Ryan Madson). Brewers still have good hitting but lost a lot with Fielder departing but they have a nice rotation. Cardinals have a new manager and no more Pujols but they have a nice rotation as well. It will be a fun season in the central and no doubt a very close race between the Reds, Brewers, and Cardinals. Astros eagerly await a switch the AL.

NL WEST

San Francisco Giants ....92-70
Arizona Diamondbacks....90-72*
Los Angeles Dodgers....82-80
Colorado Rockies....70-92
San Diego Padres....66-96

Giants continue to have the pitching (starting and in relief) that helps them squeak by the D-backs this year. Giants also added a few bats (Pagan and Melky Carbera) that make the team better, younger, faster, and better on defense. It will be a close race with the D-back and even Dodgers contending. I foresee a bad season for Rockies and Padres due to bad pitching.



*-denotes wild card


PLAYOFFS

Wild Card Games:

Arizona defeats Miami
Tampa Bay defeats Texas

ALDS:

Detroit defeats Tampa Bay (3-2)
Anaheim defeats New York (3-2)

NLDS:

Philadelphia defeats Arizona (3-1)
San Francisco defeats Cincinnati (3-1)

ALCS:

Anaheim defeats Detroit (4-2)

NLCS:

Philadelphia defeats San Francisco (4-3)

World Series:

Philadelphia defeats Anaheim (4-3)

Deadfall

I recently saw the movie Deadfall. I saw it because I saw a few clips from legendary actor Nicolas Cage in the movie and it just looked amazing. Not amazingly good but as for entertainment purposes Cage looked like he lost his shit and went with it for the role.

In the movie Cage plays the #2 man to a mob boss who is played by James Coburn.In fact the movie does have some good talent to go along with Coburn, Michael Biehn, Peter Fonda, Charlie Sheen, and Talia Shire(of Rocky fame) have roles in the movie. Cage was being directed by his own brother who must have decided to let his bigger brother act however he wanted in the role. Cage decided to play the role bat shit crazy and I must say turns in what has to be the "cageist" performance of his career.

The following clips will help you better understand what I am trying to convey in this blog. This role has to be seen to be believed. The following clips show a range of emotion that Cage used in Deadfall.

Warning does contain major spoilers:



Of course these clips are out of context so please to do judge the movie on them alone. The rest of the movie, in fact, is much worse and not worth watching. By far my favorite scene take place 6:07 into the clip.

Keep in mind Cage won an Oscar for best Actor a mere two years after the release of Deadfall. If you have an interest in seeing the movie and getting the entire Cage experience I believe it is available on netflix instant watch.

Adios Netflix

I have had on and off affair with Netflix for sometime now. A week or so I decided again that it was no longer time to be a member of netflix. Sure the service has a lot of great features but for me, I am no longer a member.

When I first joined Netflix they seemed to have everything....you could add friends and get recommendations from them. I really enjoyed this feature the most because my friends could tell me what they liked and I could easily add them to my future watching lists. Without any notification (at least to me and all my friends) they slowly dismantled the feature. Soon it became really hard to find out how to recommend films, then all my friends on my list just disappeared, then the entire feature was gone with no mention to me of any kind.

Soon new releases wouldn't be available right when they came out. Big studios wanted you to actually buy the DVD's and they decided netflix would have to wait a while to get their hands on the new releases. The wait for some studios new movies is very long (28 days for Warner Bros.). Ok I could somewhat live with that, I would just make sure to put the newer releases on the back burner for a while longer.

What really upset me takes a while to get too. See I was a member of netflix and all of the sudden they offered instant streaming for free, absolutely no additional cost to me. I could use or not use the feature and not pay anything more, I never signed up for anything asking me if I didn't want to use the feature so I thought it was a great little extra to what I already had. Then most recently they decided to charge for the instant streaming. Excuse me, I never asked for this in the first place so why are you charging me for this now? So now you have the choice to pay for instant streaming or just pay for the dvd's (or blurays for an additional cost). I was pretty upset about this, sure they lowered the cost of the DVD's to make up somewhat for the loss. I guess the whole time they were offering the instant streaming to get you hooked and then say, oh sorry...you will now pay us for this because you are used to it. I was pretty upset, but still decided to stick with the program because they had a lot of movies I wanted to see.

The main reasons I am leaving this time is because I am finding that I can rent a lot of the same movies they have at the library I work at. Working for the library has its perks, we have lately been getting all the new DVD's and now blurays the day after they are released. I was noticing the movies I rented from netflix would show up at the library a few days after I watched them. I just finally decided that I would be giving up netflix yet again because I can get the new releases from the library.

The instant watch feature is also being reduced in many ways. Starz movies on netflix are going to soon be gone as well, at the end of this month Starz is planning to not renew its contact with netflix instant watch. My fiance has decided to keep her instant watch, for now. I can tell you it is a good service if used to watch past seasons of TV shows. They have seemed to step up with the new TV shows but lost focus on the movies. I think the feature would be lowering its costs to stay worth the price.

If you love netflix I can honestly say I was there once. They offer some great movies and some off titles you will not find at most places (including the library). They are also lacking many titles, do not let you get your hands on new movies without a wait (then you have to wait again for the high demand to go down), don't mind that they charge for a once free service that they included (no one made them do that!). I might come back to netflix, but not anytime soon.