Lee Daniels' The Butler

If it can be said that a movie is a success but also a squandered opportunity, then Lee Daniels' "The Butler" fits the bill perfectly. It is, undeniably, a powerful movie - one with more than a few sublime moments. But at the end of the day, it also feels like less than the sum of its parts. Had it spent just a little more time on some of its segments while dropping others, it could well have been a masterpiece. It is the rare movie that tries to do too much, but feels as if it should have been longer.

The "inspired by a true story" (we'll come back to that later) focuses on the life of Cecil Gaines, who through a series of tragic (and later, opportunistic) circumstances, makes the journey from field hand to head butler on the White House staff, serving under seven Presidents along the way.  Cecil and his wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey, in a very strong, somewhat surprising performance) raise two sons, one of whom, Louis, leaves home to attend Fisk University in Tennessee, where he manages to either witness or become a part of what seems to be every major development that marked the civil rights struggles, accomplishments and tragedies of the 1960s.

As the movie progresses, we observe the parallel tracks of progress being made by Cecil and Louis - the former being made within the confines of accepted (white) society, the latter coming on the front lines of an essential but life-threatening conflict that amounts to no less than a battle between the forces of good and evil.  The movie juxtaposes the parallel tracks to strong effect, but after a while it becomes a bit too much - and the Forrest Gump-like propensity of Louis to be present during so many landmarks of history strains credulity.  I understand and appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do, but after a while I was reminded of what Roger Ebert once wrote about "Titanic," when he said that there were so many real stories among those on the ill-fated liner, he couldn't understand why James Cameron had felt compelled to make one up.

And the thing is, the movie gets so many things right, from the horror of Cecil's early years, to the detail of his work within the White House, but most of all the scenes in the Gaines family's small but welcoming home. You witness the interaction between the members of the family, the dinners and parties with their small circle of friends, and the contrast between Cecil's work life - where he is a leader - and home, where wife Gloria quite clearly "rules the roost" - and it all feels absolutely real, even vital.

This is driven home in two short but effective scenes.  In the first, Louis and his girlfriend pay a surprise visit to Cecil and Gloria's home, and after a while Gloria turns on the girlfriend like a Grizzly might turn on someone threatening her cubs.  The sheer ferocity in that scene, from Gloria's intolerance of disrespect to her aggressive response to an activism that she might be interpreting (at least in the case of the girlfriend) as a pose, makes one wonder what might have happened had Winfrey decided to act over the course of the past two decades instead of building a multimedia empire.  The second scene is even briefer, a short discussion between Louis and his brother, that just nails perfectly the relationship between brothers.  Although the love and respect they have for each other is obvious, it's also clear that deep down, each harbors a small notion that the other is a bit of an idiot.

Overall, the performances should be divided into two categories: those portraying a President, and everyone else.  Let's focus on the latter, and far more important category.  Suffice to say, everyone is outstanding, to the point of being great - Whitaker, Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Colman Domingo, James Owoyele, and several others.  They all bring their A-games to the enterprise, even those in the smaller roles.  As for the Presidents, I don't know what to say except that it all feels like stunt-casting.  Let's just say that I sure would like to have been in the room when the discussion turned to casting Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan.  But even those actors are all seasoned pros, and their presence doesn't pull the movie down too much.

Would this material have benefited from the mini-series format?  I think so.  Could the movie have been constructed in a way that used real figures from the Civil Rights movement to drive home the same points made by the juxtaposition between Cecil and Louis?  Again, I think so.  But that's not the movie we got - and while the one we did get feels as if it could be even stronger, it is still well worth seeing.

Jay Leno

I had to go back into the archive to see if I'd written anything about the last time Jay Leno bid farewell to The Tonight Show, and it turns out I did not.  So, a few words seem to be in order.

I've always liked Jay Leno, and there was a time when I thought he was the best stand-up comedian around.  But I was never a huge fan of his Tonight Show, because he never really seemed to develop a knack for bringing out the best in his guests, and because he spent such an inordinate amount of time on "silly stuff" like filmed videos and the like.  The one exception was "Headlines," which nearly always made me laugh - to the point where I'd want to write at least a couple of them down to share the following morning.

The botched situation in 2009-10 between Leno and Conan O'Brien will probably always be a black spot on his resume, but looking at it now the blame seems much better assigned to NBC then it does to Leno.  They a) made a very successful Leno leave before he wanted to, b) failed to provide O'Brien with the support and time needed to develop his own version of the show, c) compounded the problem by bringing Leno back to do what was essentially "The Tonight Show" at 10 p.m., creating a situation where what ultimately happened was inevitable - both shows failed, and NBC decided that it needed Leno on board more than it needed Conan.  So yeah, NBC really screwed the pooch on that one, but I'm not sure that Conan's bitterness towards Leno (which still seems to be there, based on his joke last night - a funny joke, I might add) is properly directed.  Leno still wanted to work and NBC wanted the best of both worlds by keeping him, and I'm not sure Leno "owed" Conan anything.  Whatever; it doesn't really matter now.  Everybody involved made a lot of money, and did pretty well for themselves.

So now the questions become - how long will it be before Jay makes an appearance on Dave's show?  I predict it will happen within the next three months.  Will Jimmy Fallon succeed where Conan O'Brien could not?  I predict he will.  Fallon's show is currently my favorite of the late night offerings, mostly because he - almost alone among his contemporaries - seems to actually have fun at work.  And that makes all the difference.

But Jay deserves a fond farewell - he clearly could have kept going; his show was successful and his work ethic never wavered.  For what he's done (and clearly he's not done yet), he deserves a spot in the modern comedy pantheon.

Just Like the Old Days

So let's see...the last time there was a Super Bowl with as little drama as this one?  That would be January of 2003, Raiders vs. Buccaneers, two jobs ago, two kids still at home, jeez...even two cats ago.  OK, you get the idea - we've been spoiled with an era of competitive Super Bowls that had never happened before, and may never happen again.  Sigh.

Tonight's game was about as thorough an ass-whipping as we've seen in any game between two good teams in quite a while.  And unlike some, it was pretty evident from the first play of the game.  Denver played scared and as if they were unprepared, and Seattle was sharp, hitting hard, and clearly the best team on the field.  If it weren't for some uncharacteristic Pete Carroll conservatism (4th and a foot, and you don't go for it when you have Marshawn Lynch in the backfield?) and some early Russell Wilson jitters, it could have been worse.  

So now the talk of dynasty begins.  We shall see.  Football in the 21st century is a little different than what us old timers became accustomed to back in the dark ages of the 70s and 80s.

January Flix

In roughly reverse chronological order, the movies watched in January on Netflix:

Hyde Park on Hudson.  An interesting, fun movie when it focused on the relationship between FDR and the King and Queen, not so interesting when the focus was on his complicated relationships with the women in his life.  And Daisy had to be more interesting in real life than Laura Linney made her seem.

Blue Jasmine.  Very good, but I wouldn't put it in the category of top-tier Woody Allen.  And setting the movie in San Francisco was a waste, unless he was trying to make the point that the city by the bay can't match New York City in sophistication.  Both Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins deserved their Oscar nominations, but the men were pretty good too (Andrew Dice Clay!? Who would've thunk it?) - although they didn't seem like any San Francisco dweller I've ever met.

No Direction Home.  Very well made Scorsese biopic of Dylan, beginning with his earliest days and ending with the first time in his long career that he disappointed his more conservative fans by trying something new - going electric, in this case.  The clips of angry fans from his famous 1966 tour of England alone are worth the price of admission.  And kudos to Scorsese for coaxing Dylan into sounding very comprehensible.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  Really interesting documentary focusing on Jiro, an 85-year old master sushi chef and owner of a 3-star Michelin restaurant with 10 seats, where reservations are made months in advance and the meals cost $300 a plate.  The sections of the film about the restaurant and how the fish is selected and prepared are interesting enough, but there's also quite a bit of meaty material about Jiro's relationship with his sons and the honor of working hard every day of one's life.

Ordinary People.  I've written about this before, and don't really have anything more to add.  Just wanted to catch it once before it cycled off of Netflix streaming at the end of the month.

Jack Reacher.  OK, so Tom Cruise isn't anywhere close to 6'5", but he still manages to be a credible Reacher.  No matter what one thinks of him, it's hard to argue with his ability to produce and star in well-made if mostly unspectacular genre exercises.

The Place Beyond the Pines.  Probably wins the title for the most misleading trailer of the year, but I'd read enough about it to know that it was essentially two movies in one, with the Ryan Gosling character featured at the beginning and the Bradley Cooper character starring in the second half.  Although it's a bit of a narrative mess, it's also very clear that Derek Cianfrance knows how to make a movie, and even in its most melodramatic moments, it's well worth watching.

Much Ado About Nothing.  I probably need to see this again, because the night we watched it I was having a little trouble staying awake (old man's disease), but what I did see I enjoyed a great deal.  With me and Shakespeare, it's always the same - up until a certain point I have trouble understanding the dialogue, and then all of a sudden everything clicks into place.

Blackfish.  Sad and sometimes haunting documentary about the treatment of Orcas at SeaWorld and other, similar parks, with a focus on one particular Orca with a tragic history.  Nothing spectacular in the film-making, but it achieves effectively what it sets out to do.

Zoolander.  A tad uneven, like most Ben Stiller comedies, but pretty damn funny throughout, with more than its share of laugh out loud scenes.

To the Wonder.  In a cruel twist of fate, the HD on Streaming was not working well the night we watched this, and the cinematography is really the only reason to see it.  I get that Terence Malick is a visual genius and all that, but this was practically unwatchable, unless you made fun of it a la Rocky Horror or Mystery Science Theater 3000.  But it had its fans, most notably Roger Ebert.

Shame.  The first Steve McQueen-directed movie I've seen, and even with the massively depressing storyline, it's easy to see that McQueen is well on his way to becoming a master.  Kudos also to Michael Fassbender, who in what could have been an entirely thankless role, turns a sad and somewhat disturbed man into someone who feels real.

Super Prediction

If I believe that Seattle and San Francisco were the two best teams in the league, then it follows that I should pick the Seahawks to win the big one, right?

Of course, there's also that little matter of Peyton Manning, in what could be his last, best chance at the "greatest of all time" title.  I can't think of any other reason that the Broncos would be favored in this game.  Great defenses beat great offenses most of the time, and the Seahawks had the more difficult schedule.  Even with all that, it's hard to pick against Peyton.

But even though I'll be rooting for the Broncos, that's exactly what I'm going to do.  Seattle 23, Denver 20.

It’s Beyoncé’s world, we just live in it

In a way, it doesn't even matter how good an album Beyoncé is, because the execution of its release was so damn brilliant.  I’ve been around for a while, and I can’t remember anything like this happening before.  You’ve got one of the biggest stars in the world, someone familiar even to people who aren’t huge fans of her work, dropping an album on an unsuspecting public on December 20, with no pre-release advertising campaign, and well after most people had already filled up the Christmas stockings of their loved ones (or themselves).  Not to mention, way too late to make the best of year lists at Rolling Stone or Pitchfork.

Oh yeah, and a new, lushly produced video to go along with each song on the album.

I’ve never bought one of her albums before, and in all honesty I’m not sure I’d know one of her older songs if it played on the radio right now.  But I’m not stupid, and I can recognize and appreciate a great performer even if I’m not particularly into their music.  But there was no question about it – just for the sheer audacity of the concept, I was going to get my hands on this one.  Ostensibly I bought it for son #2, but knew that once he ripped it onto his iPod, it was likely to stay in Elk Grove.

So how is it?  Pretty darn good, and certainly a huge improvement over the album that Mr. Carter released earlier this year.  Her voice is so good that at times it threatens to overpower the songs, and on some tracks it suffers from what I’d call “Justin Timberlake syndrome” – meaning, a good song that might have been a great song had it been a couple of minutes shorter.  And while I can appreciate the value of an album that lasts over an hour, you’ll have to argue hard and long to convince me that the best albums aren’t somewhere between 40 and 45 minutes long.

And while this is probably more a function of my age than anything else, I’m not sure how many details about Mr. and Mrs. Carter’s love life I really need (or want) to know.  There’s plenty to enjoy about a song like “Blow,” but I’m not sure I’d want to listen to it in mixed company (having said that, I’d rather listen to this song than watch Kanye’s video for “Bound 2.”).

To these ears, there really isn’t a bad cut on the entire album, but things really pick up at the end, from “XO” on to “Blue” at the end.  It may not be perfect, but given the talent behind it and the genius of its inception, there’s no reason to quibble with anyone who calls “Beyoncé” the album of the year.

Richard Sherman

Because life isn't scheduled around my sports viewing needs, I happened to be in a car driving to the airport during the last two minutes of the NFC Championship game.  So I missed the "interview of infamy" as it was happening, but was able to get caught up fairly quickly when it was obvious from my Twitter feed that something had happened.

What bothers me most about it is that we're now going to have to live and relive the moment for the two weeks leading into the Super Bowl, all the while debating over what it signifies about a) Richard Sherman's character; b) the state of the NFL in 2014; c) the notion of sportsmanship in general; d) the state of race relations in the United States (and the subset of "what does it mean if I root for Peyton Manning and against Richard Sherman"); and e) whatever I'm inadvertently leaving off of this list.

So here are a few random thoughts for the record, while wishing that the game was being played next Sunday instead of on Groundhog Day.  Have at it; judge as you will.

- Bud Grant, the coach of the Minnesota Vikings during the era when they were good at making it to Super Bowls but bad at winning them, once commented to a player after a particularly exuberant touchdown celebration, "try to act like you've been there before."  To this day, it's one of my favorite football quotes.  Today, we live in an era where celebrations take place after virtually every play, regardless of the score and whether the celebrant's team is actually winning the game.  It drives me nuts, and it strikes me as unnecessary.  There's a line, and it may be a fine one, between celebrating and demeaning your opponent, and Sherman crossed it last night.

- In this morning's Monday Morning Quarterback, Sherman has a column that speaks to the issue.  I have a feeling that it will just add more fuel to the fire.  Particularly with these two paragraphs:

"Erin Andrews interviewed me after the game and I yelled what was obvious: If you put a subpar player across from a great one, most of the time you’re going to get one result. As far as Crabtree being a top-20 NFL receiver, you’d have a hard time making that argument to me. There are a lot of receivers playing good ball out there, and Josh Gordon needed 14 games to produce almost double what Crabtree can do in a full season. And Gordon had Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell playing quarterback."


For all I know, Michael Crabtree is a horrible human being, and perhaps to blame for all of this since he apparently said something to Sherman at an event earlier this year (something that Sherman seems determined not to share).  There's obviously some really bad blood between the two.  I don't like what Sherman wrote here - notwithstanding Jim Harbaugh's comments, Crabtree is no Jerry Rice, but "subpar?"  And let's not forget that he spent most of the season recovering from a severe injury himself.  In any event, I would like to hear Crabtree's point of view about all of this.

But this is the one that bugs me:
 
I threw a choking sign at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Why? Because he decided he was going to try the guy he was avoiding all game, because, I don’t know, he’s probably not paying attention for the game-winning play. C’mon, you’re better than that.

I don't know, it just feels like this one is way over the top. Someone can tell me whether they think this comparison is apt or not, but imagine LeBron James saying something like that about Tim Duncan last June when Duncan missed an easy shot that might have won the NBA title for the Spurs - a shot he'd probably made 99 times out of 100 during his career.  "I threw a choking sign at Tim Duncan.  Why?  Because he got a little too cute and missed a shot that no professional should ever miss, because, I don't know, he's probably not paying attention for the game-winning play.  C'mon, you're better than that."

Kaepernick, needless to say, has far to go to achieve the stature of a Tim Duncan.  But I'm not sure he deserves a comment like that.  He didn't come through when the game was on the line.  But whether you think what Sherman said was an honest appraisal or not, do we really want our best athletes to be rendering judgment in public the way that Sherman did? 

I've read nearly everything Richard Sherman has written this year for MMQB, I'm familiar with his story, and admire his efforts for charity and support for the community.  I think he's a good guy.  Further, I think sideline interviews are among the biggest wastes of time in the history of sports, and have made fun of them on this site on numerous occasions. And finally, this is far from the most serious issue facing the NFL today - there's the question of that $765 million settlement that a judge has just questioned because it may not cover all those who have suffered harm from brain injuries, and the question of whether it is really possible for human beings to be the size of NFL players (and recover from injuries in miraculous timelines) without a steady diet of performance-enhancing drugs?

But it is what it is; this is the issue that will be in front of us for the next two weeks.  And even though I think he's a good guy, I don't think Sherman should get a pass for last night.  A dick move is a dick move, and he was being a dick.  At the very least, it should make next year's games between Seattle and San Francisco really interesting.

The Older You Get, The More It Means

"The older you get, the more it means."

Bruce Springsteen said those words last summer in Kilkenny, Ireland, wrapping up one leg of what is fast turning into his version of Dylan's "never ending tour."  He was talking about singing and performing, but he could easily have been talking about his fans.  Even at this late date, with Bruce's spot in the rock pantheon secure, there's a little thrill with the release of each new album, not to mention a little anxiety.  After all these years, will this finally be the lousy album?  Will this be the one where you think to yourself, "man, he should have left that one in the studio?"  Right now he's immersed in what is probably the most prolific phase of his recording career, on a fairly set schedule of one new album every two years.  He wouldn't be the first great artist to release a piece of crap; it happens.

I'm happy to say that "High Hopes" is not that album.  I tend to overrate Springsteen albums upon their release, but this one is really a pleasant surprise.  I'll admit to having been a little worried upon reading that the album would be comprised of unreleased songs, cover versions, and re-recordings of a couple of songs in the Springsteen pantheon.  Spanning two producers, even (Brendan O'Brien and Ron Aniello), and two producers whose earlier Springsteen recordings sounded markedly different.

O ye of little faith.

I'll wait a while before assigning this classic status, but there's little doubt that it's a damn good album.  It flows together well, and it certainly sounds radio-friendly, although in this day and age I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to say something like that.  The cover versions ("High Hopes," "Just Like Fire Would," "Dream Baby Dream") sound like Bruce could have written them, and they fit in just fine.  Their importance to the album can't be underestimated; it can't be a coincidence that Bruce bookends the album with the first and third songs on the list.

The garage rock of "Frankie Fell in Love" would have fit in just fine on side two of "The River," and its lightness and brevity help balance some of the album's deeper new songs like "Down in the Hole" (from "The Rising" era, with the lines "The sun upon your shoulder/Empty city skyline/The day rips apart/A dark and bloody arrow pierced my heart") and "The Wall," a song (based on an idea from Joe Grushecky) about visiting the Vietnam Memorial and remembering an old friend.

Songs as powerful as "American Skin (41 Shots)" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" could easily have overwhelmed the album with their power, but they don't feel out of place.  The recording of the former pays tribute to the magnificent live version, while sounding fresh and modern.  The latter is a Tom Morello-driven powerhouse that gives this great song the recording it deserves.  I'm a bigger fan of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" album than most, but there's little doubt that this is the version that I'll turn to first from now on.  The things that Morello can do with his guitar are beyond my comprehension, and his vocal is a nice counterpart to Bruce's - emphasizing the bleak landscape of the song.

Morello appears on 7 of the album's 12 tunes, and his signature sound definitely gives the E Street band a dimension that it hasn't had before, even with the great Nils Lofgren.  You're never going to mistake Morello for another guitarist, but he doesn't sound out of place.  It's almost scary to think about what the band might sound like if he, Stevie Van Zandt, Lofgren and Bruce all play together during the upcoming tours, but if you're moving closer to advanced decrepitude like me, you'll want to have your earplugs handy.

And then there's "Dream Baby Dream."  In Bruce's version, it's a very simple song, but it is a wonderful coda to the album.  It's a beautiful song, and you can almost imagine Bruce singing it in a small saloon somewhere, eyes fixed on his baby out in the audience.  I'm not sure why I find it so moving, but I can certainly imagine it closing a few shows this year.

Discussions about where this fits into the Springsteen pantheon can wait.  For now, there's little doubt that come year's end, "High Hopes" will be among the year's best albums.  And that's good enough.

Come on, we gotta keep the light burning.

Predictions

Well, so much for the New Year's resolution to write more and read more.  Let's just say the first two weeks of "Work 2014" were a little busy.

You'll just have to take my word for it that last week, I would have gone 3 for 4.  The only game I missed was Denver-San Diego; I really thought the Chargers would pull that one out.

So here goes nothing:

Patriots 28, Broncos 24.  I'm not going to root for this outcome, but I've just got this feeling.  It's unfortunate that this game is going to be a referendum on Peyton Manning's career, but if the Broncos lose, that pretty much settles the "Brady vs. Manning" debate over which one is the greatest quarterback of his generation.

49ers 20, Seahawks 17.  I admit that this is little more than wishful thinking - I really have no idea who will win this game.  The 49ers are playing better right now, but overcoming that historic home field advantage will be tough.  If they don't get out of the blocks with a lead, it's probably all over.

We shall see.

Wild Card Weekend

I didn't have my act together in time to get my predictions posted, but I would have gone 3/4, missing only the Saints-Eagles game.  However, in the spirit of full disclosure I had no idea we'd see what happened in Indy, even though I'd pegged them as a 31-24 winner.  The Chargers have got a vibe going right now, and until the Bengals prove they can win a playoff game, I'm going to keep picking them to lose.

As for the 49ers, this stretch of last-second triumphs, now three and running, is taking years off my life.  I thought it would be a little easier in Green Bay, but should have known it was a mistake to underestimate Aaron Rodgers.  And that Eddie Lacy?  He can run a little.

I've got a pretty good idea who I'm going with in next week's games, but I'll wait a couple of days to post my picks, just to see if I change my mind.

Albums of 2013

An excellent year, as noted below.

• Silver and Gold - Sufjan Stevens
• Beyonce
• Quality Street - Nick Lowe
• Shangri La - Jake Bugg
• Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow - Counting Crows
• Reflektor - Arcade Fire
• Lightning Bolt - Pearl Jam
• Magpie and the Dandelion - The Avett Brothers
• Days Are Gone - Haim
• Mechanical Bull - Kings of Leon
• The Diving Board - Elton John
• The Last Ship - Sting
• Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs - Elvis Costello/The Roots
• The Electric Lady - Janelle Monae
• Hesitation Marks - Nine Inch Nails
• Another Self Portrait - Bob Dylan
• Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon - KT Tunstall
• The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars
• Southeastern - Jason Isbell
• Yeezus - Kanye West
• Ghost Brothers of Darkland County - Mellencamp, Burnett and King
• Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
• Wrote a Song For Everyone - John Fogerty
• Trouble Will Find Me - The National
• Annie Up - Pistol Annies
• Monomania - Deerhunter
• Modern Vampires of the City - Vampire Weekend
• Same Trailer, Different Park - Kacey Musgraves
• Bankrupt! - Phoenix
• American Kid - Patty Griffin
• Stories Don't End - Dawes
• Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
• Old Yellow Moon - Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
• The Jazz Age - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
• Comedown Machine - The Strokes
• Sound City - Real to Reel - Dave Grohl and Friends
• Fade - Yo La Tengo
• Nuggets - Various Artists
• Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables - Todd Snider
• Three Chords Good - Graham Parker and the Rumour
• 19 - Adele
• Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys

Books of 2013

This is pretty pathetic; hence my New Year's Resolution to read more.  In fairness, I reread several books I didn't include on the list, and right before year's end finished Kate Atkinson's "Started Early, Took My Dog."

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
• Six Years, by Harlan Coben
• Suspect, by Robert Crais
• The Black Box, by Michael Connelly
• The Book of Basketball, by Bill Simmons
• Live by Night, by Dennis Lehane

Movies of 2013

Memorializing, since I'm about to retire the 2013 sidebars.

• The Wolf of Wall Street (12/30/13)
• American Hustle (12/26/13)
• The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug (12/21/13)
• Thor - The Dark World (11/8/13)
• Gravity (10/21/13)
• The World's End (8/23/13)
• Elysium (8/22/13)
• The Wolverine (7/29/13)
• The To Do List (7/28/13)
• The Way, Way Back (7/22/13)
• Only God Forgives (7/20/13)
• Pacific Rim (7/19/13)
• World War Z (7/6/13)
• This Is the End (6/29/13)
• Man of Steel (6/16/13)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (5/27/13)
• The Hangover, Part 3 (5/24/13)
• Iron Man 3 (5/19/13)
• Life of Pi (2/15/13)
• Zero Dark Thirty (1/13/13)
• Lincoln (1/2/13)

Of course, this doesn't include the dozens of movies we watched on Netflix.  In a separate post, I'll list the best of those.

Bowled Over

After years of general disappointment, frustration and controversy, it seems strangely appropriate that the BCS go out in spectacular fashion.  Underdogs prevailed in all four games (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange), with two massive upsets (Oklahoma over Auburn in the Sugar, UCF over Baylor in the Fiesta) thrown in for good measure.  And most importantly, all four games were entertaining, putting the entire spectrum of college styles on display.

The Rose Bowl was great (even though I was hoping for a Stanford win), but for me the clear winner among the big four was the Sugar - watching Oklahoma take it to Alabama was about as good as it gets, and it was especially fun to see Jalen Saunders have such a great game.  Saunders is from Elk Grove, and in age is between my two kids, so I was fortunate to see him play for three years at Pleasant Grove High School, even filling in at quarterback one season when the starter went down.  He's not big, but I'm hoping he can find a home in the pros.

Adding to the fun of this year's big games (and yes, I know there's one big game left) is the speculation over how the College Football Playoff will impact the game next Fall.  The committee tasked with selecting the four participants is probably more nervous about that job today than it was a week ago, because if this past week has proven anything, it's that there isn't a lot to distinguish the #5 team from the #12 team in the nation.  If anything, expanding to four teams will just add to the controversy.  It should be fun, and that's even before the Playoff seeks to reinvent New Year's Eve in December 2015.

The Songs That Defined 2013

#3:



Damn near close to omnipresent by the end of the year, after being used for commercials, movie trailers ("Wolf of Wall Street") and as the background music for, oh, about a million sports clips.  If the entire album had been this brilliant, it might have been my #1.

#2:



A groove and a sound that Elvis has been working towards for a very, very long time.

#1:



What else could it be? 

Rose Bowl

A couple of quick thoughts:

- We definitely saw Stanford's weakness exposed yesterday - the total lack of an intermediate passing game.  Either that, or Stanford's coaching staff is unable to make the appropriate adjustments when playing a team that matches up with them perfectly, strength vs. strength.  There aren't a lot of ways to explain the Cardinal's play calling in the second half, unless they just don't have that option to go to.  And if they did, that was some horrible play calling.

- For anyone who thinks a four-team playoff is going to resolve controversy over crowning a champion, ask yourself two questions:

1. Can Michigan State play with any team in the country right now?  Obviously, yes.

2. Would Michigan State have been one of the four teams in a playoff, had the new system begun this year?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.   Either way, there would have been a lot of screaming.