New Reviews Coming Soon

I have seen Juno, Charlie Wilson's War, and Sweeney Todd in the last week (all three were solid) and will have reviews up in the next day or two. I also watched Mr. Brooks (flawed but not terrible) and Glengarry Glen Ross (dull) and will have quickie reviews of those two as well. Other than that, with UNC bball and Arsenal games coming at me fast and furious and the Steelers starting another improbable playoff run ala two years ago in a week (I wish), I'm pretty much in sports heaven right now.

Champions League Final 16

The draw for the final 16 of the Champions League was held today so I figured I'd do some power rankings and predictions. The power rankings are based on how strong I think each side is and does not take into account the difficulty of their draw. 1. Inter - With Ibrahimovic taking his game to the next level, Inter really has it all - they have so much depth at striker that they can loan a player as talented as Adriano out (to Sao Paulo) getting nothing in return. So far, they've lost 1 match all season in all competitions and done it without the contributions of Patrick Vieira or Marco Materazzi. With the depth of their squad, they have to be considered favorites. 2. Real Madrid - Real hasn't been quite as impressive as Inter so far this season but they've been on great form as well. They seem to have solved the problem they had with the 'Galacticos' by building a team instead of just a bunch of flashy stars. Don't get me wrong, they do have some offensive stars with guys like Robinho (playing like one of the best in the world currently), Raul, Sneijder, and Ruud van Nistelrooy. But they also have some fantastic role players, like powerhouse midfielder Mahamadou Diarra and Guti, not to mention a very solid defense anchored by Cannavaro, Ramos, and Casillas. They will no doubt be distracted by a tighter league race than it looks like Inter will have to deal with, but they certainly have the quality and the depth to go all the way in the Champions League as well. 3. Manchester United - After a bit of a struggle early in the year, Man U has been playing great recently. With Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs and Tevez they certainly have the offensive firepower while Scholes' return will give them a boost in the center of the midfield where Hargreaves and Anderson are now settled in. What is sometimes overlooked regarding Man U is how good their defense is - Rio, Vidic, Brown, and Evra is currently the best back 4 in the Premiership and one of the best in the world. 4. Barcelona - Barca has struggled a bit away from home and some early season struggles should've been expected from a team with so many new players. I expect them to start gelling some in the second half of the season and they should be a big threat in both La Liga and the Champions League. Messi, Eto'o, and Ronaldinho in attack, Yaya Toure, Xavi, and Iniesta holding down the midfield, and Puyol, Milito, Zambrotta, and Abidal in defense looks like a great first team. The crazy thing is I had to leave out Henry, Deco, Gudjohnsen, Marquez, and Thuram to make that first team. The pieces are there, though to me, the most important player is probably Yaya Toure, someone has to do all the ball-winning in the midfield to let those attacking players shine and Toure is really the only option. An injury to him would be devastating. 5. Arsenal - I have a feeling that Arsenal won't be making too deep a run in the Champions League this year, with Le Boss instead choosing to focus all of his team's attention on winning the Premiership. Not to say they will be fielding weakened sides or anything of the sort but I definitely think the Premier League is priority #1, even more so than any of the teams listed above. With that said, Arsenal can field a side which may not have as many huge stars as other top teams but that is a true team and can compete with anyone. Almunia, Clichy, Toure, Gallas, Sagna, Rosicky, Flamini, Cesc, Hleb, van Persie, and Adebayor (or Eboue instead of Rosicky or van Persie) is a side I am very confident in. 6. Chelsea - Chelsea, who might not be in the Premier League title race, will probably focus on winning that elusive Champions League crown more than any other big club. I would have them rated higher if it weren't for all the injuries - both Drogba and Terry out for extended time periods is a killer to them. But if those two are fully healthy by the quarters, they can certainly beat anyone. I'm just not confident that they'll be at the top of their games with Terry with a serious foot injury and Drogba with knee surgery followed by a month playing at the African Nations Cup. 7. Milan - terrible form in Serie A where they currently sit 11th but that's the same story as last year at this time and they went on to win the whole thing. But this team is certainly aging so it really will take a string of unbelievable performances from Kaka for them to make another run. He's done it before so there's always a chance... 8. Liverpool - similar situation to Chelsea where they might be out of the Premier League title race, though unlike Chelsea, as a club the Premiership is absolutely priority #s 1, 2, 3, and 4, so they might not have the same hunger since they have had so much success in the Champions League the past 3 years. With that said, you can't count Liverpool out in a knockout competition after how well they have done in these under Rafa Benitez. With Torres around (and Babel and Benayoun) and Macherano fully entrenched in the team, Liverpool are stronger this year than last so they could easily make a run and win the whole thing. I think these 8 clubs could all legitimately win the CL this season and there's a drop-off after them. 9. Roma - I could see them making a deep run but I can't really see them winning it all. De Rossi, Perrotta, and Pizarro are a good trio in midfield while they also have a pretty good defense. They have very good wing play with the likes of Mancini, Giuly, and Taddei. And of course Totti is always dangerous up top and Mirko Vucinic has been in great form. Good team but not sure I can see them going farther than the semis. 10. Lyon - After 6 straight French titles and never advancing past the quarters in the CL, the Champions League means everything to Lyon. There's still a lot of quality in the team, Juninho, Kallstrom, Govou, et al are established while Benzema, Ben Arfa, and Toulalan are outstanding young players. They could also receive a huge boost if Coupet and Cris return to full health. So it's still a strong side but it's hard not to wonder how good they could be if they could just hold onto all their players. In the past few years they've lost Essien and Malouda to Chelsea, Abidal to Barca, and Diarra to Real Madrid. It's hard to continually lose players of that quality to the clubs that you will be directly competing against in the CL. 11. Porto - I can't see them making a run like they did 4 years ago, but they do have a solid team, as they showed by winning Liverpool's qualifying group. I have particularly been impressed by Quaresma every time I have watched him. 12. Sevilla - so-so to poor form in La Liga but still managed to win Arsenal's qualifying group (granted this group was a joke and the only really impressive game from Sevilla was their 3-1 win over the Gunners). They definitely have some quality players - Kanoute and Fabiano is a great striking pair and Jesus Navas looks to be a great winger, and of course, Dani Alves. When they're playing well, they can play with anybody (as evidenced by that 3-1 win over a weakened Arsenal side and especially their 2-0 win over Real). Unfortunately, they haven't been on top of their game very often so far this year. 13. Schalke 04 - the only German side in the last 16, I can't see them going too far. Kuranyi is a good striker, I like Rafinha, and Pander (if healthy). Quarters is about as far as I could see them going. They should have a great home atmosphere. 14. Celtic - Should also have a great home field advantage but probably don't have enough quality to make any sort of run. 15. Fenerbache - don't know a whole lot about them, except that Turkish crowds are absolutely insane. I'll be rooting for them. 16. Olympiakos - and the last of the not as good sides that will have outstanding home atmospheres. They gave Real a couple of stiff tests and knocked a pretty good Werder Bremen side out so they certainly are not completely hopeless. Predictions Here's the draw and my picks: -Inter over Liverpool - toughest possible draw for Liverpool, Inter is just too good for them, though this will be a really interesting tie to watch. -Chelsea over Olympiakos - Chelsea lucks out with an easier draw when Drogba and Terry might not be at full strength. -Real over Roma - should be very tight but Real slips through. -Schalke over Porto - Schalke 'upsets' Porto and is the team everyone wants to draw in the quarters. -Arsenal over Milan - another great matchup, you really thought I'd pick against the Gunners? -Barca over Celtic - probably the biggest mismatch of this round, Barca will roll. -Sevilla over Fenerbache - Sevilla continues its good form in the CL in what will also be a tight matchup. -Man U over Lyon - I'd love to pick the upset but Man U is just too good a side, maybe if Lyon had Essien and Diarra controlling the midfield I could do it.

Away From Her - 7.5

Away From Her tells the story of a married couple torn apart when the wife (Julie Christie) moves into a rest home after being diagnosed with Alzheimers. It really is a well-done, heartbreaking story that brutally portrays the horrors of Alzheimers. Julie Christie shines and has been getting well-deserved hype but her male counterpart Gordon Pinsent also does his part carrying the film. There's a side story between Pinsent and the wife of another Alzheimer victim (played by Olympia Dukakis) that didn't necessarily work for me, but outside of that, I have very few complaints. Oscar Outlook Will probably be overlooked in all the major categories besides Best Actress, where it seems that Julie Christie is currently a front-runner. She's probably a lock for at least a nomination. Predictions Best Actress Win - Christie deservedly wins her 2nd Oscar for doing one of the Academy's favorite things - playing a character with a mental illness. A former star turning in a fantastic performance at an old(er) age also should greatly help her chances (think Katharine Hepburn in On Golden Pond).

Rescue Dawn - 7.0

Warner Herzog's gritty Vietnam P.O.W. film benefits from some beautiful shots and very good performances from Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. Herzog does a good job of presenting a realistic portrayal of life beyond enemy lines and never falling into the trap of glamorizing any part of warfare. My only complaint was an overly (and unnecessarily) sappy final scene, but overall, this was a pretty good movie. Oscar Outlook Bale and Zahn's performances are worthy of nominations but there's just so much competition. Bale, in particular, is due for his first nomination and with this and 3:10 to Yuma both being so well-received this year, it would seem he has at least an outside shot of slipping in there for a Best Actor nomination for one or the other. Rescue Dawn could also easily receive a nomination for Best Cinematography. Predictions Not enough hype surrounding it and too many other good performances out there, so no acting nominations. And of course no nominations in any of the other major categories.

More Praise for Lupe

From a New York Times review: Lupe Fiasco could easily dumb it down. Instead he earns every bit of his self-righteousness.

Atonement - 9.0

I've waited a few days to review Atonement since I saw it, partly because I'm lazy but also to see if my enthusiasm for it has died down at all ... it hasn't. It's a pretty amazing movie that I briefly considered giving a perfect 10 before I made up a new reviewing rule that I can't give 10s to movies upon first viewing. Anyways, Atonement's set-up of a falsely accused young man being torn away from his love and sent off to World War II reminded me of a cross between The English Patient and Cold Mountain, it really did seem like Anthony Minghella belonged behind the camera for this one. But parallels to those two Minghella epics mostly ended there as Atonement went in different directions and did different things than either of those two (very good) films could have dreamed of. Atonement speaks to the power of jealousy and the imagination and is an extraordinarily powerful story. It starts off in a pretty straightforward fashion but when an argument between the two soon to be lovers Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy) is seen through a window by Cecilia's little sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) and then in the next scene the same 'argument' is shown from Cecilia and Robbie's points of view, you know this film is different. This particular scene is crucial as it gives the viewer a glimpse into how Briony could becomes confused by what she is seeing. As the movie progresses, imagined moments and real-life are seamlessly intertwined as the plot continues to effortlessly shift through time until finally concluding with one of the best endings to a movie in recent years. The story is so good, this was always going to be a good movie as long as nobody screwed up too much. But instead of just not messing it up, the main players in Atonement raised their games to the level of the material. The production is superb - the upper class '30s British family life and the World War II scenes feel equally authentic. The pacing is perfect and some of the shots are breathtaking. In particular, there is one 5 minute long shot (with not a single cut) of the British army's retreat in northern France that is worthy of a masterpiece. To top it all off, the acting in general is brilliant while Keira Knightley and James McAvoy both turn in virtuoso performances. I really can't think of a single thing this movie didn't do well. There are a lot of movies I'm looking forward to seeing before the end of the year (I'm Not There, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Charlie Wilson's War, among others) but I'll be shocked if anything knocks Atonement off its lofty perch as my #1 movie of 2007. Oscar Outlook This movie is certainly good enough, and has the hype, to be nominated in all the big categories. A Best Picture nomination seems to be a lock, as do Best Director and Adapted Screenplay (not to mention a bunch of other smaller categories like cinematography, costume design, art direction, etc). As for the acting categories, three actors seem to have a chance at nominations, Keira Knightley for Best Actress, James McAvoy for Best Actor, and Saoirse Ronan for Best Supporting Actress. Knightley looks like a good bet to get nominated and perhaps challenge for a win, while the other two's nominations look to be more up in the air. The Academy seems to like when child and teenage actors give adult performances, so this should help Ronan, as does the quality of the overall film. McAvoy's performance is certainly Oscar-worthy but he has stiff competition with Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) a lock for one spot, and Denzel Washington (American Gangster), George Clooney (Michael Clayton), and Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd) all looking like good bets for nominations as well. So assuming he can't knock off any of those 4, McAvoy will be left fighting every other good performance from this year for the last spot, obviously a tough situation to overcome. Predictions Best Picture win - period piece, epic nature, overall quality of the film scream Best Picture Best Direction nomination - Joe Wright, only 35 making his 2nd film, loses to one of his more experienced counterparts Best Actress nomination - Knightley will get nominated but won't win Best Supporting Actress nomination - same thing for Ronan Best Adapted Screenplay nomination - loses out to No Country for Old Men in this category Best Actor snub - the 4 established stars listed above all get nominations while the 5th comes out of left field, like Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson last year

Lupe

I liked this glowing Boston Globe review of The Cool. Also, here's EW's take (A-). I've now listened to the complete album about 4 or 5 times and I'm starting to pick out my favorite songs ("Hip Hop Saved My Life" and "Dumb It Down" currently top the list). I'm also now confident enough to say I like this album better than Lupe's outstanding debut Food and Liquor - though I still haven't found a single track quite as good as "Hurt Me Soul" on The Cool, which really isn't much of a criticism since "Hurt Me Soul" was always going to be pretty impossible to top. Bottom line, Lupe is incredible.

Danny Green

Here's a good article from SI about Danny Green dealing with his father's imprisonment.

George R.R. Martin

Here's a pretty good interview from Entertainment Weekly with good old GRR. There's some (not too encouraging) info about the next book, A Dance With Dragons, (surprise surprise he's still working on it) and the potential HBO series (a script has been submitted but not yet greenlit). It's a good read but also a bit depressing to think that the next book and the TV series are both a long ways off.

NYC

There's a picture of me and my mom in the bottom of the Empire State Building from this weekend in New York. It was my first time in NYC other than once when I was little and one day for a Yankee game a few years back. We spent all of our time in Manhattan and I had a great time. Among other things I saw the World Trade Center Memorial, which was really quite moving, the Christmas tree/lights at Rockefeller center, had lunch in Little Italy, saw a Knicks game at MSG, and saw Atonement right off of Times Square (which was excellent and won't be coming out in NC for a few weeks ... I'll have a review up tomorrow probably). Despite some bad weather, it was really just fun walking throughout the city. Overall, New York made a very favorable impression on me, it's definitely a place I'd like to come back to.

Rocky II - 7.0

Rocky II was slow at the beginning during Rocky's 'retirement' period and especially suffered during this section of the movie due to a complete lack of chemistry between Rocky and Adrian. I suppose it's partly intentional but in every scene Rocky and Adrian seemed like they had just randomly met each other a few minutes before. I will say that the story with Adrian and her coma and her telling Rocky she just wanted him to win when she woke up did set up Rocky's motivation during the training montage and fight scene very well. And this last 45 minutes to hour was awesome. Great montage, though all the kids running along with Rocky was pretty goofy, and the fight scene was one of the more exciting and suspenseful sports movie scenes I can remember, right up there with the fight in the original Rocky. So basically this movie didn't work at all as a drama but once it got into gear as a sports movie, it was extremely entertaining.

Euro 2008

So Euro 2008 qualifying is over and the draw was made a few weeks ago. Here are the groups: Group A - Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Turkey Group B - Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland Group C - Holland, Italy, Romania, France Group D - Greece, Sweden, Spain, Russia Here's how I would rank the 16 teams (not taking into account the difficulty of their group): 1. Italy - defending World Cup champions have to be ranked #1, though with Totti's retirement, they'll really have to rely on Toni to be a top striker. Outlook - obviously an incredibly tough draw, and maybe as WC champions won't be as hungry as France (who will want more revenge - France already beat Italy once in qualifying) and Holland. I still expect they'll advance and possibly make a deep run, though once you're in the knockout rounds of a tournament with this many quality teams, it really is a toss-up. Easily could win it all or get knocked out in the quarters (if they do manage to make it out of their group). 2. France - if I give Italy credit as WC champs, I gotta give France credit as the beaten runners up (in PKs no less, in a game they outplayed the Italians I'll remind you). They struggled a bit in qualifying, losing to Scotland 1-0 twice, but they did beat Italy 3-1 at home and draw 0-0 away, both very good results. First major tournament in 10 years without Zidane will be interesting but they'll have several players at the ends of their primes who will no doubt be looking for one last major trophy like Henry, Vieira, Makelele, Thuram, and Gallas. These still very capable players should form the backbone of the team with younger guys providing support (and possibly outshining them) like Ribery, Malouda, and Abidal (all part of the last WC) and Nasri (the new Zidane at Marseille?), Benzema (tearing it up for Lyon), and Toulalan (also a key player for Lyon). I'm also hopeful that Domenech will be smart enough to bring a large Arsenal contingent to Euro 08 - Gallas is a no-brainer and Diarra is currently France's first choice right back. Strangely, Sagna is Arsenal's first choice right back ahead of Diarra but Diarra's backup for France. Either way, Sagna has been in the picture for France and has a decent shot to be part of the team. Flamini and Diaby have both been called-up for France recently as well, though I'd say with his recent form, Flamini has a much much better shot of making the team than Diaby. And if Domenech is smart, he'll consider Clichy, who hasn't received a French cap yet, but imo, is one of the best left backs in the world. Outlook - Also an extremely tough draw, but I still like their chances to provide a performance similar to the last WC - struggle in qualifying, pull it together at the tournament and make a good run, hopefully they'll go one step further than they did that time. 3. Spain - they are notorious underachievers at major tournaments but maybe this will be the time they put all their talent together (I feel like this has probably been said before...). They have a great striking pair in Torres and Villa and plenty of creative midfielders with Cesc, Iniesta, and Xavi, among others. I'm not as sure about their defense, but Casillas, Puyol, and Ramos should provide a solid backbone there. Outlook - a manageable 1st round draw, they should top their group. Unfortunately for them, in the quarters, they'll have to face the runner-up in the group of death, so either France, Italy, or Holland. Then if they get past that, the semis will most likely be whichever team won the group of death. I like their team, but it'll be tough (understatement) to make it through potentially France and Italy (in some order, or Holland if one of those teams slip up) to even make the final. 4. Germany - breezed through qualifying, but on paper, don't look as good as Italy, France, or Spain. Ballack can't get on the field at Chelsea and Schweinsteiger and Podolski aren't automatic starters at Bayern. Frings, Borowski, and Schneider have been struggling with injuries. They just don't seem to have as much firepower as the other top teams but they're still Germany, no matter who they put out there, they'll no doubt somehow end up making a run. It's like the complete opposite of Spain. Outlook - Shockingly, Germany received a very favorable draw. They won't have to face Italy, France, or Spain until the final and have probably the easiest group. Barring upsets, they will have to go through Portugal and Czech Republic to make the final, but that looks much more manageable than Spain's potential route. 5. Portugal - Figo, Rui Costa, et al are gone but Cristiano Ronaldo is currently one of the 2 or 3 best players in the world. He has some support with Deco, Maniche, Nuno Gomes, and Tiago still around and Nani and Quaresma as promising younger players. They should have a very solid defense with Carvalho and probably Pepe at the center of it and one of my favorites, Miguel at right back. Outlook - not as hard as the Italy, France, Holland group but still very tough draw with Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Turkey. I think this is the team most likely to challenge Germany on this side of the bracket for a spot in the finals against the whoever survives between France, Italy, Spain, and Holland. 6. Czech Republic - also qualified easily (including a 3-0 win over Germany). There's a lot of talent here, best keeper in the world in Cech, Rosicky, Galasek, Plasil, Rozehnal, and Ujfalusi. I'm not sure about the aging Koller, Baros combo up top, but if they perform, the Czechs look good. Outlook - tough group with Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey, I could easily see them getting bounced in the group stage if they aren't on top of their game or making a run all the way to the final. 7. Holland - a pretty uninspiring qualifying campaign that included narrow 1 goal wins over Luxembourg, (twice), Albania (twice), and Slovenia, a draw against Bulgaria, and a loss to Belarus. They have a ton of attacking players at top clubs - Ruud, Robben, and Sneijder at Real, van Persie at Arsenal, Babel and Kuyt at Liverpool, and Seedorf at Milan (will be interesting to see if he'll be involved or not). van der Vaart is also having a great season at Hamburg, so on paper, they should have a great attack, but in qualifying they only scored more than 2 goals once, and this was obviously against much weaker competition than they will face in the actual tournament. I also think their defense can be exploited against top teams. It'll also be interesting to see which of the players from their U21 Euro championship squad make a difference in the real thing - Babel looks like a good bet and Rosyton Drenthe has gotten some playing time at Real so maybe he as well. Outlook - extremely tough draw, will do great to make it out of the group. If they do manage that, but finish 2nd, they'll probably be up against Spain. Making it to the quarters will be a good tournament. 8. Croatia - looked good in qualifying, especially in beating England at Wembley in a game they didn't need to win (after losing a few days earlier to Macedonia, go figure). They don't have any huge stars but instead solid players at basically every position. My guess is Eduardo and Kranjcar will be the key players, if they play well, they can compete with just about anyone. Outlook - pretty good draw, should advance out of their group and then face a tough, but not impossible, matchup with Portugal, Czech Republic, or Switzerland. Good bet to make it to, and lose in, the quarters. 9. Switzerland - they had a very good World Cup, could've easily been in the quarterfinals. Should have most of that team back in Euro 08, and will have a big advantage as hosts. Barnetta looks like the key to their attack but it will be more interesting to see how their defense holds up. It isn't hard to imagine the always shaky Senderos being taken advantage of by a speedy attacker. Outlook - unfortunately for the Swiss, they will be facing some of the quickest-paced attacks in the world in the first round in Portugal and Czech Republic. They have the talent to make it to the quarters, but it will be tough given their draw. 10. Sweden - Sweden is always there, not too threatening, never looks likely to make a run at winning it, but normally advances out of their group. They have one of the best strikers in the world in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, currently on top of his game at Inter. They also have a solid anchor for their defense in Villa's Olof Mellberg and solid guys like Kim Kallstrom in the midfield. It looks like a normal Swedish team, solid but not spectacular (outside of Ibra that is). Outlook - should fight for the 2nd spot in group D with Greece and then get knocked out by whoever comes out on top in Group C. 11. Greece - the defending champs looked like flukes when they didn't qualify for the World Cup but they were much more impressive in qualifying this time around, qualifying with room to spare. I still believe that their Euro 04 title was a fluke and hate them for ruining so many potentially amazing matchups by upsetting a 'better' team 1-0. In my eyes, they still have a lot to prove. Outlook - my guess is they finish 3rd in their group, behind Spain and Sweden 12. Romania - won Holland's group in qualifying - Mutu gives them a star in attack and Chivu an anchor for the defense. Outlook - would be a threat to make the quarters but not in this group. What a horrendous draw for them. 13. Turkey - qualified on the last day with a superb 2-1 away win over Norway. I thought their passing and movement looked great that day and think they could provide some problems for their opponents on the big stage. Outlook - tough draw, will do great if they could pick up a few points. I am looking forward to their games against Portugal and Czech Republic though, as they should be extremely open, entertaining matches. 14. Poland - qualified ahead of Portugal in their group, I might underrate them due to their lack of players playing for clubs in the better leagues in Europe. Outlook - doable draw, if they can get 3 points off Austria, and don't manage anything against Germany, it will come down to their game against Croatia. I think they'll lose but they're an underdog who actually has a chance to sneak into the quarters unlike a better team like Romania. 15. Russia - can thank England's choke job for even being here. They had a good start to qualifying and a great 2-1 home win over England, but losing to Israel, then struggling at Andorra in their last two games aren't the most inspiring results. They do have Guus Hiddink though, so that'll give them a fighting chance at least. Outlook - could conceivably take points in the games against Sweden and Greece. My guess is they end up with a draw and two losses. 16. Austria - didn't even come close to qualifying for the last World Cup, though they did have a nice 2-2 draw with England and no absolutely terrible results. Even with homefield advantage, they look like a much weaker side than the Switzerland and the other 14 teams who had to go through the very difficult qualifying process. Outlook - should have a chance for points against Croatia and especially Russia, hopefully they can pick up something from one of those games. There's obviously one notable absence from these 16 teams - England. I watched more of England's qualifying matches than any other team, including their 2-1 loss to Russia and 3-2 loss to Croatia (though the 0-0 home draw to Macedonia proved to be just as important). For most of the qualifying process, injuries to Owen and Rooney left them with not enough quality attackers. It's sad that England doesn't have any good strikers after these two (and Owen isn't that great to begin with) but what ended up letting them down in the end was their defense. Without Terry (huge loss), Ferdinand, or Ashely Cole against Croatia, they gave up early goals and then couldn't hold on for the draw after making a nice comeback. Not having a quality goalkeeper also came back to haunt them in this game, with Croatia's first goal being a huge Scott Carson error. England should be fine, for the next World Cup, the back 4 of Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, and Richards (an absolute beast) looks great. Gerrard and Rooney should provide the heart of the attack (please Capello, do not try to play Lampard and Gerrard together - Gerrard is 10x the all around player, just go with him and a holding midfielder like Carrick or Hargreaves) and hopefully for them some of the young wingers like Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Ashley Young will be ready to start opposite Joe Cole (or instead of him who knows?), while another striker will emerge - Agbonhalor looks great or maybe Theo, who looks great until he has to make the final pass or shot. England was pretty unlucky not to qualify but have nobody to blame but themselves. If a striker or two and a keeper will emerge, they should be a threat in South Africa. And finally, here's my predictions for Euro 08: Group A - winners - Portugal, runner up - Czech Rep. Group B - winners - Germany, runner up - Croatia Group C - winners - France, runner up - Italy Group D - winners - Spain, runner up - Sweden Quarters - Portugal over Croatia, Germany over Czech Rep., France over Sweden, Spain over Italy Semis - Portugal over Germany, Spain over France Finals - Spain over Portugal So there you have it, Spain (finally) puts it all together, and on the back of one Cesc Fabregas, win a major tournament (Cesc takes down the Premiership, Champions League, and Euro in the same year ... what a player...)

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

I've listened to Lupe's new album 1.5 times since downloading it last night and so far, so good. Good might actually be an understatement, more like so far, so great. Lupe is incredible.

Superbad - 8.0

Upon a second viewing of Superbad, my opinion has more or less remained the same. McLovin is definitely the funniest character, the interactions between Seth and Evan are hilarious, and the scenes with the cops are hit or miss. It loses a little bit from not seeing it in theaters (as do all comedies) but it still holds up well. I still haven't decided what I like more between this and Knocked Up however. Right now, I'm leaning towards Knocked Up but I really should watch it again. Either way, a big thanks to Judd Apatow for giving us a year with two legitimately good comedies - almost more than the last 5 years combined.

300 - 8.0

Upon a second viewing of 300 (in beautiful bluray), I'm knocking half a point off of my original rating. There are certainly some problems here, namely some cringe-worthy cheesy dialogue and heavy-handed freedom and democracy triumphing over tyranny moments. But overall the movie still undeniably works. It's fast-paced, action-packed, and has some well-choreographed, badass fight scenes. Like Sin City, there isn't much depth to it, but it is still extremely entertaining.

Bottle Rocket - 8.0

Wes Anderson's feature debut about a couple of bumbling wannabe 'thieves' (played by Owen and Luke Wilson) is quirky (how shocking for a Wes Anderson movie to be quirky...) but not overly so, and the characters grew on me so much that I actually ended up caring about what happened to them by the end of the movie. As such, I think it is now my favorite Wes Anderson movie. I would rank them as follows: 1. Bottle Rocket 2. The Royal Tenenbaums 3. Rushmore - need to see this one again, only saw it once and that was years ago 4. The Life Aquatic I'm not the biggest Wes Anderson fan but I have liked 3 of the 4 movies of his I've seen now (I thought Life Aquatic was terrible) so he's definitely growing on me. I'll probably wait for The Darjeeling Limited to come out on dvd though, so I guess I'm still not that big a fan.

Alpha Dog - 2.0

Only half watched this Justin Timberlake movie about a teenage boy who is kidnapped as collateral for a drug debt his brother owed some thugs - and from what I could tell, it sucked. Tons of bad dialogue and laughable acting screwed up a potentially decent story. Definitely pass on it if for some strange reason you ever have the urge to watch it.

Michael Bradley hat trick

Michael Bradley had a hat trick today in Heerenveen's 4-2 win over Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie. Bradley plays a more defensive role for the US so it's nice to see him showing potential as a goal scorer for his club (though out of all the European leagues, the Dutch league is probably the easiest to score in...but a hat trick is a hat trick, impressive either way). My guess is this is the first time an American has a had a hat trick in a league game in one of Europe's better leagues (Eredivisie would be in the 2nd tier probably in terms of quality). Pretty good and Bradley's still only 20...

Artificial Intelligence: A.I. - 5.0

Other than The Lost World, this is probably the least favorite Spielberg movie I've seen (and I've seen about 20 of them). The pacing was pretty bad and there seemed to be a lack of cohesion between the separate sections. It was also heavy-handed at times, a common complaint of Spielberg films but one I have rarely agreed with. Even with its faults, it was not a complete failure - the overall plot was interesting (though it was a bit drawn out), it was visually quite impressive, and Jude Law in particular gave a good performance. So I didn't hate it, but it's hard not to be disappointed when a film conceived by Stanley Kubrick and brought to life by Steven Spielberg is anything less than stellar.

Half Nelson - 5.0

I watched this one from Netflix as part of my attempt to finish off watching all the Oscar nominations from last year. Ryan Gosling certainly turned in a very good performance and the movie was well-done and all, it was just kind of boring. It was a small indie movie that felt half an hour too long. I should have some reviews of new movies up soon - I plan to see I'm Not There this week and Atonement at some point in the near future, and maybe Enchanted too, though right now I'm leaning towards avoiding the public embarrassment of seeing that one in theaters and waiting for it to come out on DVD. I also put La Vie En Rose and Away From Her at the top of my Netlfix queue because it looks like the lead actresses from each (Marion Cotillard and Julie Christie) currently look like frontrunners for Best Actress.