Oh the Dog Days of Summer

My days at the 'Depot have finally dwindled to two, and I couldn't be happier to get out of that God-forsaken place and back into the greuling classes at the U of M. Boo Sociology and Environtmental Policies, Hooray American Political Thought and Japanese! Enough of my status, onto my Musings of the Day!

Sports:
The Twins - 5 games out of first place? Wha?! What in the bowels of hell has happened to this team? Our starting pitching staff has rotated approximately 573 players since the season began and only one is a completely reliable starter, but somehow we are 50 and 19 since the All-Star break. Morneau would be a contender for the Triple Crown if not for his dismal start, and Joe Mauer is baseball's favorite hometown hero.

The Timberwolves - Mike James + Kevin Garnett + Randy Foye = Championship? Hell no, not with Kevin McHale still at the helm of that disagrace of an organization. The slew of mistakes leading up to this season culminating in Kevin Garnett's newly found God-complex just makes me sad. The amount of squandered talent on my formerly beloved TImberwolves is astounding, and I fear for Mike James' bright future now that he has alligned himself with this organization. Management changes are sorely needed, and if the 2005-2006 season wasn't the last straw for Glenn Taylor then we can kiss our once-great Timberwolves team goodbye.

Entertainment:
The Emmys - TWENTY FOUR!!!!!!! Now that the snub-fest is over and Keifer and 24 finally have their Emmys I can quit my bitchin' about the greatest show on television getting screwed over and over and over again (4 years in a row to be exact... well, 3 if you discount that abysmal 4th season). I fear for its chances next year with the eyeball-explodingly great line-up of new shows premiering this year, including NBC's Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Kidnapped, CBS's Smith, Jericho and Shark and ABC's The Nine, along with continuing powerhouses like House, Lost, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, The Sopranos, Grey's Anatomy and Boston Legal, I believe 24's wins to be at an end, although Keifer Sutherland should still be able to acquire another acting Emmy or two.

At The Movies: Fall of 2006 - Oscar seasons beings a little early this year. Its time for a breakdown of the must-see movies for the fall of this year:

Hollywoodland - Releases on September 8th
A stellar cast including Adrien Brody, Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins should help first-time movie director Allen Coulter's crime drama about the murder of "Superman" actor George Reeves. Hype for this film is high, despite the fact that Ben Affleck is one of the top-billed actors.
Excitement level: 2.5 out of 5

The Black Dahlia - Releases on September 15th
Brian de Palma, director of crime classics such as Scarface, The Untouchables and Carlito's Way, at the helm of a James Ellroy (the writer of L.A. Confidential) story? What more can a movie aficionado ask for? Oh, I seem to have forgetten the absolutely amazing cast consisting of Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Hillary Swank, Mia Kirshner and Scarlett Johansson. Here's hoping the explosion of young talent in veteran de Palma's hands helps make this crime thriller a future classic.
Excitement level: 5 out of 5

The Departed - Releases on October 6th
Martin Scorsese directs Jack Nicholson, Leo Dicaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin in this undercover crime thriller. Scorsese's resume should automatically ignite fierce hype for this film, but its the addition of the superb ensemble cast that is going to truly make this film great.
Excitement Level: 4 out of 5

The Prestige - Releases on October 27th
Christopher Nolan (or as I like to call him, "The Man Who Can Do No Wrong"), director of the wildly entertaining and amazing films Batman Begins, Memento and Insomnia, is helming this drama set amongst competing stage magicians in the 1870's. Nolan, a directing genious and who I believe is destined to be remembered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, has assembled yet another great cast, including Christain Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlet Johansson, Michael Caine and, yes, David Bowie. This is a film that ought to keep even the most astute of viewiers guessing and should prove to be one of the best films of the year.
Excitement level: 4.5 out of 5

A Good Year - Releases on November 10th
Ridley Scott directing a romance film with Russel Crowe? I am there. Ridley Scott's venture into new territory is enough to get me excited about this film that follows a New York business man who inherits a family property in Provence.
Excitement level: 2.5 out of 5

Casino Royale - Releases on November 17th
The fact that this is a new Bond film already ups the excitement level, but the casting of Daniel Craig as James Bond and the return of director Martin Campbell (director of the greatest Bond film, Goldeneye) pushes my excitement to all new heights. This return-to-the-roots Bond film ought to bring a lost glory back into the series and revitalize it for many years to come.
Excitement level: 4.5 out of 5

Babel - Releases on November 17th
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu directs this film following three seperate stories taking place in Japan, Morocco, Tunisia and Mexico. Inarritu is an amazing visual director (showcased in 21 Grams and Amores Perros) and he loves weaving his complex story webs. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star, leaving Inarritu little work in the actor-directing category. My understanding is that language barriers will have a huge impact on the events of the story, which intrigues me fully.
Excitement level: 4 out of 5

And to close, some quick ratings for my most recently viewed films:
Snakes on a Plane - 6.5 out of 10
Silent Hill - 6.5 out of 10
Miami Vice - 7.5 out of 10
Lady in the Water - 7.5 out of 10
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 8.5 out of 10
Superman Returns - 4 out of 10

These musings would normally be much more varied in their content but since I have made this post ridiculously long I will end here. Goodnight and farewell.

- Maverick

It has begun....

Well everyone, this is my first adventure into the blogging world, and I must say I am pretty excited to get started. The posting will be very random and sporadic, so don't expect updates every day. Before anyone asks, the blog is named after a short-lived 3-man paintball team named the Whirlwind of Doom. Maverick was my callsign, and my teammates were Mark Zeitler (Iceman) and Peter Shuneman (Hollywood). . . and if you haven't been able to tell, yes we named ourselves after the characters from Top Gun.

Come prepared to discuss a myriad of topics; nothing is off limits (well, not everything... lets just say if you want to talk about stupid shit it better be damn funny.

Happy Blogging everyone!