HOLY FREAKIN CRAP!

I just watched Avatar in IMAX 3D tonight, and suffice it to say, I was completely blown away.

Going into the movie, all I knew was that a) it was directed by James Cameron, b) it is the most expensive movie ever made (~$500 million budget), and c) the trailers didn't really tell you anything about the movie, other than that there was a lot of computer animation.

The 3D experience was really impressive, but the surround sound and vibration chairs in IMAX made me feel totally immersed in the action. From the very first action scene, I could tell that this movie was going to be amazing.

This has got to be a strong favorite for Best Picture this year---although the story isn't particularly special and gets a little cliche at times, the rest of the movie is just so groundbreaking in terms of the filmmaking. Although I suppose when the Academy sends around the DVD of this movie to the voters, it's probably not going to hold up very well (without the 3D and all).

Don't get me wrong--the story is satisfying enough, but the real reason to for the stunning visuals, awesome action sequences, and just the epicness of it all.

Why do the Jets want me to hate them?

“Give them some credit for being a good team because we know they won’t give us any.” -Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano after beating the Jets on Sunday.

It's not like I've ever really felt too strongly about the Jets before. But I really really dislike them this year. Why? Too much talking. Head coach Rex Ryan likes to run his mouth, so now all the players decide they should run their mouths too. Really annoying--it's exactly the reason I really didn't like Baltimore back in the day.

What was up with Kerry Rhodes going over to the Dolphins' sideline before the game to shove a Miami player? Is that really necessary?

And Bart Scott sarcastically telling the media that the Dolphins were a great team and were Super Bowl bound? Kind of an awkward moment.

And something tells me they're not done with the shenanigans...

Patriots looking thin against the Jets

Let's see....no Jerod Mayo, no Wes Welker, on the road against a fired up Jets team....I don't like the Patriots' chances today.

My fantasy team

I used the autodraft today in one of my fantasy leagues. It's a ten-team league, scoring favors TDs, even passing ones. I have to say, I'm fairly happy with how my team autodrafted. I had the #3 pick, and here is how it shook out (for anyone who cares).

1. (3) Matt Forte RB
2. (18) Peyton Manning QB
3. (23) Greg Jennings WR
4. (38) T.J. Houshmandzadeh WR
5. (43) Tony Gonzalez TE
6. (58) Marshawn Lynch RB
7. (63) Eddie Royal WR
8. (78) Minnesota DEF
9. (83) Stephen Gostkowski K
10. (98) Julius Jones RB
11. (103) Laveranues Coles WR
12. (118) David Garrard QB
13. (123) Chris Chambers WR
14. (138) San Diego DEF
15. (143) Anthony Fasano TE
16. (158) Josh Brown K

District 9 is a cool movie

I heard good things about the movie District 9, so I went to go see it this evening. Wow, was it good. I really really liked it.

It may not be the best movie of the year, but it's got a little bit of everything that you want in a movie: originality, thoughtfulness, suspense, and action/explosions. I walked out of the theater completely satisfied with it, which is pretty rare for me.

Prison consultants?

So NFL wide receiver/asshole Plaxico Burress is going to jail on gun charges. I never knew there was such a thing as a "prison consultant." I'm sure there are a lot of off-color jokes to be made here, but I'll refrain for now.

The Fog of War

While I was on vacation in Hawaii (more on that later), I saw the newspaper headline of Robert McNamara's passing.

I certainly wasn't around during the Vietnam War, so I don't have any firsthand experience of what this man was like while Secretary of Defense (from what my parents have told me in the past, I imagine he was as unpopular as Rumsfeld, but probably a lot smarter).

In any case, I've always been intrigued by the tragic figure of McNamara: an impressively smart and intelligent young man who goes down in US History as the cold, calculating architect of the Vietnam War, one of the biggest US foreign policy disasters of our time.

I am reminded of the fantastic documentary The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara I saw a few years ago. I highly recommend that everyone watch this movie. For those of you who are pinching pennies during this recession (or are just too lazy to run to the video store), a quick Google video search will surprisingly direct you to this grainy full-length video. Lots of disturbing parallels between the mistakes of Vietnam and our current situation in Iraq. One quote from Lesson #8: Be prepared to Reexamine your Reasoning, has stuck with me even today:

"We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should EVER apply that military, political or economic power unilaterally...if we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there!...If we can't convince nations of comparable values of the merit of our cause, we had better examine our reasoning."

There's lots of other good stuff in there, regardless of what your politics are. Everyone should see this movie.