Damn, I'm Good

Sometime during the year, I kinda quit the whole UFC Picks thing since I wasn't getting out to watch most of the PPVs anymore. But damn, after tonight, maybe I should've stuck with it.

Earlier today, when asked my thoughts on a winner for Brock vs Randy, my text message answer was:

"I think Randy will be suffering from cage rust, make a mistake, get caught with a big punch and then get GNPd to a stoppage."

Wow. I basically nailed that one, right?

So, what's next for both the new champion and the former champ?

Brock gets to wait for the winner of Mir and Noguiera in a unification fight. I really like Nog but part of me is rooting for Mir to see the rematch. But after that... hrm. The UFC Heavy division isn't exactly overflowing with top contenders after those four.

Randy? Well, I can't imagine he'll stay at heavy. Unless they sign Fedor, there doesn't seem to be much there for him. Light heavy? Maybe. There'd probably be money in Forrest/Randy, Silva/Randy, Rampage/Randy, maybe even another Chuck/Randy. I'd see that as more likely at this point.

Brock needs to channel that inner heel though. Now's the time. Buyrates could explode with people paying to see who can take the title off the hated champion - it's the Ric Flair Syndrome.

I didn't get to see the rest of the show since I got home from work just in time to see Ken Flo choke out Joe Daddy - a result that pleases me muchly. But the Main Event was a lot of fun and had that "big match" atmosphere.

Is Brock Lesnar once again "The Next Big Thing?"

Time will tell.

Liveblog: TNA Impact (11-13-08)

Some people say I don't give TNA a fair chance so I thought it might be an interesting Liveblog on my day off.

The "Turning Point" highlight reel looks pretty impressive. Except for Nash. He just looks old. Poor Joe.

Foley and Jarrett kick things off - grrrrreeeeat. I'm going to call Jarrett turning on Foley to join the Main Event Mafia at some point because it just seems like a Vince Russo thing to do. It's weird to see Foley on TNA. His promo comes across forced. He's supposed to be fired-up but it just wasn't there.

Different opening since the last time I watched. It's... okay. This is the first time I've watched since the new set too. I'm not watching in HD so I guess I don't get the full effect but... well, it's better, I think, than it was. But it still looks like a low rent WWE ripoff.

Foley on his way to the ring. PPV recap. God damn, Nash looks old. Everyone else looked okay and if I didn't know better, I might even think I really missed out on a good show. Foley in-ring time. Foley's calling out the kids to give them a peptalk. He's reading off a list. I don't know if that's a work or not. It'd be pretty funny if Foley couldn't remember their names. The TNA video wall you can seen on the hard cam shot looks pretty good.

So, since Petey's not Steiner's Mini-Me anymore, how come he still looks like Steiner? Foley just said you don't win a World Series with four strikeouts. That's... odd. He just asked Shelley if he's "playing with a booger." Wow. I really have been too hard on TNA. I guess Shelley's supposed to be the cocky youngster who doesn't respect his colleagues. Uh oh! Foley threatened to deal with him next week - and I don't care. Foley needs to stop saying "ass" if they're going to keep bleeping it. This promo blows. It's boring and has none of the fire of Foley's best work. Eric Young's getting pushed again, I guess. I like Eric Young outside the ring - not sure how I feel about him inside the ring. Joe and AJ against Beer Money for the titles. That might be fun. Sting ve Lethal... oh, sorry... Black Machismo. I can't believe he's still using that gimmmick.

Parking lot interview with Christian and the Main Event Mafia. Sting looks weird in a suit. Steiner looks like a badass always. I guess it's some kind of a sign that Sting as the World Champ has to stand in the back. Did Nash just smell the interviewer woman? Creepy. Christian threw away the suit they gave him! Ooooooh snap!

ODB is backstage. She called the interview woman "Sugartits" which made me giggle, I must admit. Apparently ODB is getting her own interview show. Pretty sure that won't make me tune in.

Awesome Kong! One of the things about TNA that I actually enjoy. But she's teaming with Steiner's former freak so I'm not happy. I'd love to see Kong in the WWE just tear through the entire women's division to build up to a big showdown with Beth Phoenix. That'd be the most fun women's division angle since the Trish/Mickie angle. Tag match with Roxxi and Taylor Wilde. I can see why the WWE got rid of Taylor. I mean, she's cute enough but she blends in with the rest of the Divas. Plus, she looks like she can actually wrestle and we just can't have that. I do give TNA credit for building a hell of a women's division though. I really enjoy the Beautiful People. Just as I say that, this match fell apart to being barely watchable. Kong wins. She's just too cool. She's wasted in TNA post-Gail feud but Vince probably wouldn't give her the time of day.

MCMGs promo. Alex Shelley is ranting. There was a "Communist Russia" reference as well as a "Ghostbusters" one. Awesome. Sabin's not as fun. He delivers the serious part of the promo and sucks at it.

Apparently whassherface is the "Commissioner" of the women's division now. That's lame. Raesha Saed says Kong is going to hurt civilians next week if she doesn't get competition - even if it means vacationers who worship "that stupid mouse." That's awesome. I wish I could pick and choose the good parts of TNA into like... a thirty minute show.

X-Division Title match with Eric Young against the former Daivari who they've turned into a terrorist gimmmick. Stay classy, Orlando. This'll sound bad but was Daivari always this dark? Do they have chairs in the Impact Zone? The ringside people always appear to be standing. I remember seeing Daivari in a dark match at a WWE show years ago when he was doing the Flying Carpet gimmick. Eric Young is pretty dull inside the ring. Not exactly the kind of wrestler I'd choose to represent the X-Division. Uh oh. It's a face ref! The ref is hulking up! That's a pretty big pop for the ref. Young wins the title when the ref beats up Daivari... and I don't care. So, the ring fills up with people to celebrate. And by "fills up" I mean Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, and ODB. Three guys who should be after that same title - and ODB. Oh, the Guns come out too and subtly golf clap. They rule.

EY gives a post-match peptalk to the others. Blah. AJ looks sorta into it. Joe just looks annoyed and the Guns seem to be mocking him. I don't know if it's too early to have infighting within the "TNA Originals" but at least the reactions of those three seem to fit their characters.

"Rough Cut" with LAX. That's kind of a cool idea. I'll give them props for that. Hernandez lifting weights - the guy is a monster. I guess it was just about Hernandez since Homicide didn't speak. Still a pretty cool segment.

Main Event Mafia promo. Kurt speaks for the group which seems weird to me with Sting holding the big gold. Petey shows up to talk to Steiner. Steiner kicks him out of the room and says he'll talk to him later. Whatever.

Jay Lethal promo. The Savage gimmick has to go. If you want to put the Originals over as taking this seriously, have Lethal give up the gimmick and say it's time to get serious? Give the guy a chance to get over on his own. If he bombs, put him back in the gimmick. Petey's buddies with him now. Weren't they just feuding? The interviewer chick warns Petey to be careful when he talks to Steiner. Petey says Steiner's got his hook-up. Yeah. He's gonna get taken out by the Mafia.

Tenay says, "There's never been a faction in the history of pro wrestling where every member has been a former World Champion." That could be true. I'd have to think about it for a while. Steiner vs Rhino. Good lord. Rhino's fallen a long way from when I used to really look forward to his matches. He's lost the in-ring intensity that really made him fun. Steiner's wrestling in a shirt now. His arms are still huge though so I don't think he's getting off the juice. Wow. Steiner has to cheat to beat Rhino. Interesting.

Interview with Sting. That wasn't a bad promo. Mr. Borden's still got a little in the tank.

Sting vs Lethal for the gold. The match isn't bad but it's nothing great so far. The MCMGs come out to ringside which interests me a little bit. Botched spot too close to the ropes. Sabin holds Sting for Lethal. Jay doesn't want to do it. He's a good guy! He throws Sabin out of the ring. And Sting takes advantage to win. If nothing else, this proves Dark Helmet was right when he said, "Evil will always beat good because good is dumb." AJ and Joe come out to yell at the Guns. If we get a Joe/AJ vs Guns feud out of this, I'm in.

The Mafia is beating up Petey. Nash should Mysterio him into a wall. But no. Just trash cans and a breakaway 2x4. Steiner's beating the crap out of him while wearing his sunglasses. That's pretty cool. Tenay says, "I've never seen anything like this from any faction at any time in wrestling history." Really? A backstage beatdown? Hasn't pretty much every faction at every time in wrestling history done something like that?

Petey's "in a pool of his own blood." The announcers should lay out in those segments. It might have more... impact... no pun intended.

Backstage promo with Beer Money. Apparently they are neither Main Event nor Original. For now anyways. Eventually it'll probably be nWo style where everyone is either in the Mafia or against them. Wow. Miss Jackie looks old. That was a nice, effective, simple promo.

Ok. So, there's a Jarrett hype piece that starts with, "I have been a World Champion everywhere I've been." Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure Vince never got that nutty when Dubba J was up in New York.

Joe's music is pretty awesome. It's quite ominous. I guess it's Main Event time. I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict this'll be a fun match until some wacky overbooking takes control and ruins it.

It's a pretty solid match but the Dudleys on commentary bugs me. Wow. There was a DQ because Bubba spit beer on someone. Fuck TNA.

Oh, so the Main Event is actually Christian joining the Mafia. Well, that's sure to have some great work in it.

THEY'RE SHOOTING, MY GOD! THEY'RE SHOOTING! So, the Main Event is the Mafia beating down Christian because he may be "jumping ship." To me, that only makes sense if Christian's staying with the company.

Anyways... show's over. It was okay but I wouldn't have been sad if I missed it.

Blue's Reviews: Zack And Miri Make A Porno

After some debate, we decided to go see Zack And Miri tonight rather than stay up late on a school night to go to a midnight Bond showing. Hopefully we'll make it out to see Bond sometime this weekend.

As an aspiring screenwriter, I continue to be awed by Kevin Smith.

He'll always take his beatings from the mainstream media and the critics. Everyone likes to denigrate him for having the same characters over and over, for being all about dick and fart jokes, and his pop culture obsession. I mean, the guy's writing skill [or lack thereof] was a punchline on Entourage for crying out loud.

But he really is damn good at what he does.

First, the comedy. A lot of people find it crass or what have you but I guess I'm in that select few that felt that things like the donkey show or Jay's tribute to Silence Of The Lambs in Clerks 2 was damn funny. He writes scripts filled with language that would make you pretty embarrassed to see it with your mother. For that, he'll always take a lot of heat from most. But... as Wyatt Earp says in Tombstone, "he makes me laugh." That's all I need.

Second, the characters. Somehow in the middle of all those poop jokes and sex humor, he manages to get you emotionally invested in the characters. Whether it's Randall and Dante in Clerks or even Affleck in the much-maligned Jersey Girl, by the end of the flick, you have a little bit of a soft spot in your heart for them and their stories.

Which brings us to...

Finally, the heart.

While many comedies these days settle for the cheap laughs and that's all, Kevin Smith continues to impress me by finding a way to get heart in all of his flicks. We're talking about a movie where the main characters decide to shoot a porno to pay their bills. On the surface, there should be nothing but cheap laughs and a shallow plot. But by the end, you find yourself interested to see how things are going to turn out and get a little bit of a warm, funny feeling when it's all said and done.

Chasing amy is the top of the list for me for Kevin Smith movies and while Zack And Miri doesn't get near that, it's funny enough and has enough heart to merit inclusion high on the list and should be on your list of movies to see in the coming weeks.

It's Not Over Yet

The week following Election Day has been filled with protests of all shapes, sorts, and sizes. I remain confident that the California Supreme Court will do the right thing and strike the sumbitch down. The good folks over at LA Observed had this collection of Prop 8 newsbits.

In case you don't have time, here are a few of my favorites from that list:

** National protests by opponents of Prop. 8 are planned for Saturday, the largest locally at Los Angeles City Hall at 10:30 am.

** 57% of Los Angeles African Americans voted for Proposition 8, according to the Loyola Marymount exit poll. Citywide, all voters opposed the measure 54%-31%. Tim Rutten

** The LAT breaks out the vote data in various ways, showing that the measure won biggest in inland areas and lost in coastal areas and cities — except for among Latinos and blacks.

** An LAT editorial yesterday asked where the protesters were before the election?: "Opponents of the measure ran a disorganized campaign that consistently underestimated the strength of the other side."

** Forty-three Democratic legislators, including leaders of the California Senate and Assembly, filed a brief Monday urging the California Supreme Court to void Proposition 8.

** Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed support for opponents and says he hopes the California Supreme Court will void the measure.

** Satire from Jewish Journal editor Rob Eshman: "A coalition of black and Mormon leaders have begun laying the groundwork for a 2012 California ballot initiative that would ban Jews from marrying Jews. Flush from the passage of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, the leaders say they want to extend the ban to Jews whose emphasis on in-marriage, they say, contravenes Scripture and promotes intolerance and segregation. 'In-marriage is against Scripture,' said one organizer. 'We are all God's children.'"

** The Times got many more letters on Prop. 8 than on Obama's election.

Why Don't They Make Movies Like This Anymore?

Cinematic Torture

I came home from a hard day of work to learn the tragic, horrific news that Jaden Smith [Will's son] has been cast to star in a "re-imagining" of the Karate Kid.

...

Okay, first - I don't understand the obsession of Hollywood with remakes or "re-imaginings." Recently at work, we were discussing the trend of Hollywood completely avoiding original material anymore. There was a recent Top 10 list of the Most Anticipated Films of 2009 and I believe 8 out of the 10 were either prequels, sequels, or in some other way based on already created material including Transformers 2, Wolverine, Harry Potter, etc. Now, while I have no problem with adapting good material, there's got to be room in there for original work as well.

Second - some things don't need to be redone. Do we really need a new Karate Kid series? Aren't our memories of the first one good enough? If you want to base something loosely off it, fine. But is it really necessary to just flat out rip it off?

And don't get me started on nepotism. Has Jaden Smith even acted in a non-Will Smith movie? Where the hell is Jake Lloyd? That kid looked like he could take a convincing ass kicking by some Cobra Kai.

It's not going to be the same - it's not going to be anywhere near the same and in the end, we'll have another collective outcry of late 20-early 30 year olds screaming about their childhoods being raped.

Ahhh, Hollywood. You're a cruel mistress.

Bringin' Tha Bling