83rd Academy Awards Preview

On February 27, ABC will proudly air the 83rd Academy Awards, which will feature, in my humble opinion, the most deserving nominees for every category since the 90s. But will it be watched? With recent developments in the NBA, expect everyone to instead watch the Miami Heat take on Carmelo Anthony's first nationally televised game as a New York Knick. You can expect me to do the same despite how much I love these nominees. The following are my picks for winner, as well as a potential spoiler pick, in each of the 6 major categories and why.

Best Actor:
Colin Firth in The King's Speech
Spoiler Pick:
James Franco in 127 Hours

Firth is widely being seen as the favorite to win this category, but Franco is looking to be a potential spoiler in the category as 127 Hours is a more general audience friendly film in terms of tone and subject matter. Even though both films are based on real events, 127 Hours is much more appealing to the 15-30 target demographic. The Academy has taken great steps acknowledging how out of touch it appears to be, so it just may give Franco the award.

Best Actress:
Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
Spoiler Pick:
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
 
Like Firth, Bening is being seen as the obvious pick, and will more than likely win with the heavy weight of her entire career behind her. If, however, the Academy does not fall for Bening's illustrious career, Portman will win for the same reason that DeNiro won an award for Raging Bull; she sacrificed her body and lived her role, aka the Trope known as Dying For Your Art.

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale in The Fighter
Spoiler Pick:
Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech

Bale has been Dying For His Art for basically his entire adult career, exercising religiously for American Psycho, losing nearly half his weight for The Machinist, then putting back on all his weight and then some for Batman Begins, and now losing some weight once again for The Fighter. If Rush pulls off the shocker, expect this to be the big upset of the night.

Best Supporting Actress:
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Spoiler Pick:
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit


If there's any reason at all that Leo will not win this award, it will be because of her ridiculous "Consider..." ads that she once lambasted only a few months ago. She definitely deserves to win, but those "Consider..." ads may have caused some voters to turn their heads towards Steinfeld who appears to be the next Anna Paquin.

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Spoiler Pick:
David O. Russell for The Fighter

It's not so much of a spoiler pick, but rather a toss-up. Aronofsky deserves to win not only for Black Swan, but for being snubbed for Requiem for a Dream. Russell has a good shot at winning, but his decision to direct and write the film adaptation of Uncharted has many people worrying about his decision making.

Best Picture:
The Social Network
Spoiler Pick:
The Fighter 

I hated The Social Network, but the Academy are a bunch of suckers for Aaron Sorkin dialogue (which will win Best Adapted Screenplay) and with so many critics calling it the "defining movie of a generation," the older voters will take this to mean that The Social Network is to the Nintendo Generation what Forrest Gump was to Baby Boomers, or The Breakfast Club to Gen-Xers. No, we already had our generation defining movie and it was called Scott Pilgrim vs The World. The Fighter will be the upset pick and also the most likely movie to win other than The Social Network. The other movie that has every right to win Best Picture, but most likely won't, is Toy Story 3. Color me absolutely shocked if it wins the first Best Picture for an animated movie.

Danny Ainge is Either a Moron or a Magnificent Bastard, and Other Trade Deadline Stories

Today was quite possibly the wildest Trade Deadline action that has ever been seen in the NBA. After finally seeing the end of the 'Melo Drama, it was a huge shock to everyone to see the Jazz trade away Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets. At the time, it was thought that no more significant trades would be made and only expiring contract players would move. Ha ha! If only we knew what GMs were planning to do! This is a full breakdown on which teams get what (excluding the Carmelo and D-Williams trades):

• Chicago Bulls Get:
• 2011 1st Round Pick (from Heat)
• Toronto Raptors Get:
• F James Johnson
• New Orleans Hornets Get:
• F Carl Landry
• Sacramento Kings Get:
• Marcus Thornton
• G/F Marquis Daniels
• Cash Considerations
• Atlanta Hawks Get:
• G Kirk Hinrich
• F Hilton Armstrong
• Washington Wizards Get:
• G Mike Bibby
• G Jordan Crawford
• G Maurice Evans
• 2011 1st Round Pick (from Hawks)
• Cleveland Cavaliers Get:
• G Baron Davis
• F Luke Harangody
• C Semih Erdan
• 2011 1st Round Pick (from Clippers)
• Los Angeles Clippers Get:
• F Jamario Moon
• G Mo Williams
• Oklahoma City Thunder Get:
• G Nate Robinson
• C Kendrick Perkins
• C Nazr Mohammed
• Boston Celtics Get:
• F Jeff Green
• C Nenad Krstic
• 2013 2nd Round Pick (from Cavaliers)
• 2017 (Yes you read that right) 2nd Round Pick (from Kings)
• Memphis Grizzlies Get:
• G Ish Smith
• F Shane Battier
• Rockets Get:
• G Goran Dragic
• C Hasheem Thabeet
• 2 Undisclosed Future 1st Round Pick (from Grizzlies and Suns)
• Charlotte Bobcats Get:
• G Morris Peterson
• F D.J. White
• F Dante Cunningham
• C Joel Przybilla
• C Sean Marks
• 2011 1st Round Pick (from Hornets)
• 2013 1st Round Pick (from Blazers)
• Cash Considerations
• Phoenix Suns Get:
• G Aaron Brooks
• Portland Trail Blazers Get:
• F Gerald Wallace

I have never seen such massive player movement in one day outside of Draft Day. The trade that obviously stands out the most is sending Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Thunder in exchange for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to the Celtics. Danny AInge either has no clue what the hell he's doing anymore, or he thinks that if the Celtics can't compete, then he won't allow the Lakers to compete against the Thunder. The Celtics also picked up 2 draft picks, one for 2013, but one for 2017 of all years. Trading 2 years ahead makes sense for collateral and for scouting freshman in college, but a draft pick 6 years ahead of time is just ludicrous; the Celtics must have been desperate to get rid of Marquis Daniels.

Another team that stands out are the Bobcats, who had just added an entire roster in exchange for trading away their franchise player, Gerald Wallace. With 2 future first round picks and a massively overhauled roster full of free agents, it's obvious Michael Jordan wants to get in on the free agency class of 2012. As far as Wallace going to the Blazers, he could possibly be the component they need to progress past the 1st round of the playoffs.

Although many people are saying that the Carmelo and Williams trades now make the East more competitive, the trade deadline deals have just made the race to #8 out West MUCH wilder. With Denver and Utah expected to drop out, it's anyone's game between the Blazers, Suns, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Clippers. In time, the idiots saying the East is the better conference will eat their words. Just because the Knicks are a bit better does not make an entire conference better, especially if Deron Williams hilariously decides to leave the Nets.

Two Blockbuster Trades Tip the Scales of East vs West

The 'Melo Drama is officially over. The New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets have finally completed their season long dance and traded away Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. While many felt that Carmelo was holding up the trade, it turns out that Denver was holding up the trade because they were unwilling to part with Chauncey Billups, a Denver native. With the trade completed, the following teams get the following:

• Knicks Get:
• G Chauncey Billups
• G Anthony Carter
• F Renaldo Balkman
• F Carmelo Anthony
• C Shelden Williams
• G/F Corey Brewer
• Nuggets Get:
• G Raymond Felton
• F Danilo Gallinari
• F Wilson Chandler
• C Timofey Mozgov
• $3 Million in Cash
• 2014 1st Round Pick
• 2012 2nd Round Pick (From Warriors)
• 2013 2nd Round Pick (From Warriors)
• Timberwolves Get:
• G Eddy Curry
• F Anthony Randolph
• $3 Million in Cash

In this trade, the Knicks traded away four of their starting five in order to land Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. The Nuggets aren't totally screwed out of this deal, but they definitely will not be progressing anywhere in the playoffs if they make it that far. Another blockbuster trade happened this morning, and it's going to cause much more hatred than the LeBron deal did. The Utah Jazz have just completed a trade to send Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets. Here's how the trade went down:

• Nets Get:
• G Deron Williams
• C Dan Gadzuric
• F Brandan Wright
• Jazz Get:
• G Devin Harris
• F Derrick Favors
• 2011 1st Round Pick
• 2012 1st Round Pick (From Warriors)
• Warriors Get:
• F/C Troy Murphy

This move is incredibly surprising, mostly because of how easily it went down. The Nets have received a player in Williams who is arguably a much better player than Anthony, and they gave up a lot less to get him. The Nets also got two rookies that they can keep or give away as trade bait in this deal. The person most disappointed by this deal however, has to be Jordan Farmar, former Lakers backup Guard who signed with the Nets in order to land the starting PG position. Quite hilariously, this exact same situation happened to Derek Fisher when he left the Lakers to sign with the Warriors. He signed hoping to become a starting PG, but the Warriors drafted Baron Davis anyway, relegating Fisher to the bench. Fisher eventually was traded to the Jazz before returning to the Lakers. Hopefully this trade will bring Farmar down to Earth and make him realize he will never be a starting PG in the NBA and should accept his role on the bench.

The trade stories aren't over, though. There are rumors that the Washington Wizards have put Kirk Heinrich on the market for an official asking price of 1 young player and 1 1st Round Pick. As good as Heinrich is, the contract he signed is unbelievably expensive and worth far more than he is. Even so, there are plenty of teams that could work well with Heinrich, the former captain of the Chicago Bulls before departing for free agency. One of those teams is the Atlanta Hawks, but they are unwilling to trade away a 1st Round Pick, preferring to trade away the rapidly declining and aging veteran, Mike Bibby. If the Hawks really want Heinrich, they're going to have to hurry up, because the trade deadline is Thursday at Noon PST.

With the Nuggets and Jazz dealing away their superstars, the 7th and 8th slots in the playoffs just got a lot more competitive. While Denver and Utah are the current #7 and #8, Memphis is only a half game behind the Jazz and with the Jazz and Nuggets expected to drop out of playoff contention, the chances for the Suns, Rockets, Warriors, or even Clippers making the #8 seed have increased. In the East, the Nets could possibly make a late season push to make the #8 seed, but that isn't very likely.

Stay tuned...

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Mahou Sentai Magiranger (Magic Task Force) was the first Super Sentai I saw from beginning to end. I watched the Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger movie back in 2002, but nothing beyond that until one day I punched into Youtube "Japanese Power Rangers" and got a video of the opening of Magiranger.



It was ridiculous, it was over-the-top, it was downright silly, and holy shit it made me want to see more. The video I saw actually had subtitles and I was able to locate the name of a website that specialized in doing fansubs for tokusatsu shows like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. After watching Magiranger, I was hooked on Sentai and could never again watch Power Rangers the same way. I quickly discovered the past Sentai shows and how things had been changed for the American versions as well as researching how successful some shows were compared to others. For example, Choriki Sentai Ohranger, adapted in America as Power Rangers Zeo, actually almost got Super Sentai cancelled because of how atrocious it was. It was Gekisou Sentai Carranger, adapted here as Power Rangers Turbo, that actually saved Super Sentai because of how utterly ridiculous it was and totally self-referential without getting overtly serious or incredibly stupid like Ohranger did.

By the time Magiranger rolled around, Super Sentai was pretty much cemented as something that would not easily go away, since it was only one season away from the 30th Anniversary show, expected to be gigantic. At the time, I greatly enjoyed Magiranger and I hoped that Boukenger would be just as good.

It's been 5 years since I originally watched Magiranger, and hoo boy, that show had tons of pacing issues. Believe it or not, but Power Rangers Mystic Force ended up being a better show. Magiranger featured incredibly dull characters to the point that the most interesting character on the show was Wolzard, the main bad guy's right hand man. The only Magiranger who was even remotely interesting was MagiGreen, Makito, but he only got one episode dedicated to him and a scene of an episode dedicated to showing off the actor's English fluency.

This isn't saying that Magiranger was bad per se, only slightly above average. It wasn't really that special and featured probably my least favorite ensemble of any Sentai show I've seen. Next up, I'll review the show that got my interest in Super Sentai locked in forever, GoGo Sentai Boukenger.

Super Sentai and Kamen Rider

Today, I'm going to be covering something that I haven't before, and something that doesn't get a lot of attention from Western audiences: Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.

Super Sentai is more commonly known as Power Rangers outside of Japan, but don't be deceived, Super Sentai is not simply Power Rangers in Japanese. On the above picture is the newest Super Sentai, the 35th Anniversary show, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (Pirate Task Force Gokaiger, and yes, Gokaiger is a totally made up word). The Gokaigers are space pirates from another planet with, of course, the ability to speak perfect Japanese. Besides simply being a pirate-themed Sentai, they also possess the unique ability to transform into any previous Sentai, regardless of color or gender. Already demonstrated in the 2nd episode was the entire team transforming into red rangers with the two girls gaining skirts when they transform. Gokaiger is also notable for being... well incredibly violent even by Sentai standards. While it's normal for Sentai to feature blood and on-screen permanent character deaths, it's still rare for Sentai guns to fire blanks rather than lasers. Gokaiger is only 2 episodes in, but the series is quickly moving forward to feature what seems to be as many previous Sentai actors as possible.

On the top left is the latest Kamen Rider show, Kamen Rider OOO. Kamen Rider has received two American adaptations: Saban's Masked Rider, adapted from Kamen Rider Black RX, and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, adapted from Kamen Rider Ryuki. Masked Rider was an incredibly poor and cheap adaptation of Black RX, cancelled because Saban ran out of Black RX footage and because ratings were downright atrocious. Dragon Knight was the 2nd attempt to bring Kamen Rider to the US, but while it featured good ratings and good reviews by Kamen Rider fans, CW's incredibly stupid policies led to the show being cancelled with 2 episodes left to air. It seems that the CW 4Kids requires seasons to end before December 31. If a season does not finish airing by then, it will not be considered for renewal and will be automatically cancelled. This fallout has led most to speculate that Kamen Rider may never again see the light of day on American television.

Kamen Rider follows a similar format to Super Sentai/Power Rangers, but varies in having typically only one hero and a few supporting cast members that typically total around 3-5 cast members (Kamen Rider Ryuki being an extremely notable exception). They are called "Riders" because they ride motorcycles, although some Kamen Riders have become notorious for rarely riding their bikes and some Riders (typically the secondary or evil Riders) not having motorcycles. Kamen Rider also typically has a darker and more mature tone than that of Super Sentai, even though both are targeted towards children. Not like you'd notice of course, since Japan has very different standards than the US does.

Actors who have appeared in Super Sentai and Kamen Rider have admitted that because of the deep storytelling, mature themes, and permanent character death, the two shows really should be considered family shows, as opposed to children's shows. Because of the mature themes compared to what Americans get with Power Rangers, Americans tend to view the two shows as being for a teenage audience.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting my reviews of the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider shows I've seen and I'll even post my thoughts on who did it better: Super Sentai or Power Rangers.

Activision Cancels Yet Another Popular Series

It was just recently announced that Activision Blizzard has decided to retire Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, which along with MTV Games disbanding Harmonix, thus ending the Rockband series, means that the music genre is now effectively dead. You can blame it all on the man in the picture, CEO Bobby Kotick, known by fans as the Joe Quesada of video games. Or alternatively, you could blame it on Activision's long-standing company policies. Or just maybe, you can blame it on yourselves.

When Guitar Hero was first created video game studio Harmonix (now the studio behind Rockband), nobody expected Guitar Hero to be the overwhelming success it became mostly because it was a game that required a peripheral, bumping the price up to around $100, far more money than most parents would pay for a single game. Through word of mouth, Guitar Hero became a cult hit and made enough money to warrant a sequel, Guitar Hero II. The sequel was really the game that exploded the genre. With GH2's success, Activision took a move only Activision could possibly think of and officially declared Harmonix no longer part of Activision and decided to develop the franchise in-house. While Activision then took steps to churn out as many versions of Guitar Hero as possible, similar to their strategy with every successful franchise Activision has ever had, Harmonix was then bought out by MTV Games who proceeded to make the Rockband series.

Activision has quite the interesting past to say the least. You may not know this, but Activision is actually the oldest 3rd party video game company in the USA, originally created by a group of programmers who left Atari when it was purchased by Warner Communications. The programmers who left Atari were basically responsible for every major hit that Atari developed in-house, including titles like Centipede and Asteroids. In essence, Activision was the true Atari, developing hit games after the split like Pitfall!

Needless to say, Activision has become a shell of its former self, abiding by a company policy of churning out as many iterations of a franchise as possible, regardless of quality. This has led to franchises being developed simultaneously by 2 different studios in the case of Call of Duty, and franchises dying under the weight of how many different versions were developed. Activision has also grabbed developers and tossed them as quickly as possible, leading to sequels featuring drastically different gameplay and quality, most notably in the case of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, the first being developed by Neversoft and the second being developed by Vicarious Visions. Who the hell makes a Spider-Man game where you have to constantly run on the ground and have little to no web-slinging?

Activision and Blizzard recently merged together, becoming the largest 3rd party company in the world. Along with the news that Guitar Hero will end, another idiotic announcement came, no new Blizzard games would come out in 2011.

Here's to hoping Activision chokes under their own ego.

An End of an Era

Sad news has hit NBA fans from the late 80s and 90s, Jerry Sloan announced today his resignation from head coach of the Utah Jazz after having led the team for 23 years. 21 of those 23 years, Sloan led the Jazz to winning seasons, the highest number of winning seasons by any coach ever. 2 years in a row in the 90s they went to the NBA Finals where they lost twice to the Chicago Bulls in two 6-game series. Sloan has had the privilege of coaching two of the most talented point guards ever, John Stockton and Deron Williams. Sloan retires as the coach with the 3rd highest amount of wins as an NBA coach, 111 games behind Don Nelson.

With Sloan's retirement, the longest tenured coach in the NBA now goes to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, having coached the team since 1996. After Phil Jackson retires at the end of the 2010-11 season, Popovich will be the final coach currently in the league who experienced any type of success in the 90s. Truly, Sloan's surprise decision to retire now rather than at the end of the season is going to be viewed as a huge blow for the Utah Jazz organization, right now struggling to maintain a playoff berth. There are confirmed reports that the main reason Sloan retired is because he simply cannot get along with Deron Williams and he hopes that by retiring, Williams will be more willing to re-sign with the Jazz rather than become the next LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony.

It's a move that speaks of how unselfish Sloan always has been and always will be. As a player, most notably for the Chicago Bulls for 10 years, Sloan racked up 10,571 points, 5,615 rebounds, and 1,925 assists. Sloan today is still ranked 10th in steals per game, with 2.15 spg, just behind John Stockton's 2.17 spg. Sloan's play was good enough for him to be selected to 2 All-Star games, and he helped earn the Bulls' only division win before the Jordan era.

Here's to hoping this is only a partial loss for the NBA and Sloan continues to live a long and healthy life for many years to come. He's only 68, so hopefully we can look forward to Coach Sloan joining TNT or ESPN as an analyst.