UEFA Champions League Final 2011, Predicting a Manchester United Victory!

I'm back in the prediction game. Did I get the Super Bowl right? NO!

The Oscars? NO!

The NCAA Basketball Championship? NO!

I'm due to get one right, soooooo...

Don't know why, and I certainly don't have a logical justification for this pick.

I have a gut feeling, with the UEFA Champions League Final being played at Wembley Stadium in London, England that Manchester United is going to beat FC Barcelona 2-1!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! NCAA Final Four Predictions

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I just can't help myself...I have to predict the NCAA Final Four!
I know I blew the Super Bowl and the Oscar's, but this time I'm prepared and ready.

2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four:
Ohio State
University of Connecticut
Purdue
University of Pittsburgh

Finals:
Ohio State
University of Pittsburgh

2011 NCAA Champion:
Ohio State!

Go Bucks!
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I Think I Need to Get Out of the Prediction Game

I picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to win this year's Super Bowl.

I only predicted two of tonight's Oscar winners correctly. Aaron Sorkin for adapted screenplay (The Social Network) and a lucky guess on Natalie Portman for best actress in Black Swan. I didn't even see her performance.

I suck at predictions. Based on my track record, I am not picking the Cincinnati Reds for this year's National League Central Division Champs.

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My Oscar Picks! Best Actors and Picture (and some random thoughts)

OK, some more picks:

Best Actress: This is a big guess, as I didn't see any of the actresses this year, so going with Natalie Portman, Black Swan based on my son Brian's review

Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network (tough pick over Colin Firth in The King's Speech and Jeff Bridges in True Grit)

Best Picture: The Social Network (True Grit is my second pick)

Rooting for Aaron Sorkin to win for Adapted Screenplay, The Social Network.

Finally, it would be very cool if Exit Through The Gift Shop would win for Best Documentary. One of the most original concepts for a documentary film I have ever seen. He has been invited to the ceremony, and as I understand it, can show up masked to keep his identity a secret.

My Oscar Picks! Supporting Actors and Director

Here are my picks for Supporting Actors and Director for tonight's Oscar broadcast on ABC:

Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit (loved Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech too)

Supporting Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Town (shout out to Geoffrey Rush of The King's Speech)

Director: David Fincher, The Social Network (Joel and Ethan Coen of True Grit could win)

Movie Review-Toy Story 3 (2010)

I've done my best to try to see all the movies that have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year, but I'm not going to make it. I have The Kids Are All Right DVD is sitting on the counter via my Netflix subscription and I might get a chance to watch it before tomorrow night's Oscar broadcast, but I did recently watch Toy Story 3, so a review is in order.

Andy has turned 18 and is headed off to college. The Toys are accidentally donated to a day care center as Andy is cleaning out his room as he prepares to leave home. Woody, Buzz and the gang run into a gang of rogue toys at the day care center led by Lotso, a stuffed bear who accidentally was lost by his former owner and is jaded by the experience.

Typical of the Toy Story franchise, #3 is has a great screenplay, with very smart dialog between the characters. For those of us who have seen all three of the Toy Story movies, the ending is bittersweet, but ultimately works well as is typical of a Disney/Pixar production.

My son Brian is 20 and grew up with the Toy Story movies. Anyone with a son in the 17-20 age group will find this movie to have real significance as they have watched their sons grow up.

Movie Review-Inception (2010)

I realize Inception was released in theaters this past July, but having just seen the movie and based on the fact that it has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture I thought it would still be relevant to write a review.

This movie takes work to watch. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the concept of the movie is that a technology exists that allows a person to invade the human mind through another person's dreams. Cool concept and the special effects in the movie are outstanding, especially at the outset when Mr. DiCaprio's character, Cobb is explaining the concepts to Ariadne (played by Ellen Page of Juno fame) as he is recruiting her for a major corporate espionage effort.

My initial comment about "work" was based on the fact that one has to really concentrate on this movie as the characters work through multiple layers of their target's dreams to plant an idea which will lead to their final goal. It can get complicated. Don't multi-task while you are watching.

Ultimately Inception is a story of redemption, with a very interesting and heartfelt ending.

Is Inception a good movie? Yes. Does it deserve the Oscar for Best Picture? No. But definitely worth the effort to watch.

Movie Review-Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

My son Brian turned me on to the street artist Banksy a couple of years ago. His work is amazing.

He is well known for satirical street art with a purpose (social and political commentary). His work has shown up all over the World.

A book highlighting his work was published in 2007. Aptly named Wall and Piece, it highlights Banksy's work over the years. As you can imagine, much of his work doesn't survive, either having been painted over or washed off within hours of it appearing.

Exit Through The Gift Shop is a documentary film released this past summer (2010) that was meant to be a look at the street art culture through the eyes of Thierry Guetta (aka Mr. Brainwash) a Frenchman living in Los Angeles. He befriends many of the World's most famous street artists including Shepard Fairey, Space Invader and Banksy himself. They let him follow them as they create their art. Most of the time these are covert operations done under cover of darkness.

Ultimately the tables get turned when Banksy realizes that Mr. Guetta has no idea how to take all the footage he has filmed and put it into a cohesive story.

I missed Exit Through The Gift Shop when it was released this past summer. The film wasn't shown in mainstream theaters, but luckily it is now streaming on Netflix.

One of my favorite Banksy works!

Exit Through The Gift Shop is very entertaining, not only for it's revealing look into the street art culture, but also for the story of Thierry Guetta and his ineptitude as a filmmaker. It has been nominated for an Oscar this year for Best Feature Documentary.

A closing thought. Banksy's actual identity is not known. It struck me as I was watching the film that it was a hoax, and that Thierry Guetta was actually Banksy himself. Quite a bit of speculation on this matter has been published on the Internet. Makes the film itself even more interesting!

Movie Review-The King's Speech (2010)

I have a special affinity for movies that have an historical context.

My wife Tammy and I saw The King's Speech this past Saturday night (1/29/11).

A few things attracted me to this movie. First the reviews have been outstanding. Second was the fact it was based on historical events surrounding England's King George VI sudden ascension to the throne following his brother Edward's abdication in 1936. Third was that is stars Colin Firth, who was brilliant in 2009's A Single Man.

The movie did not disappoint. I was very impressed with Geoffrey Rush in the role of Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helped King George VI overcome a debilitating stammer. The interaction between Mr. Rush and Mr. Firth in their scenes together were both funny and emotional. David Seidler, who wrote the screenplay, delivered a wonderful story by weaving the intimate relationship between King George VI and Lionel Logue with the events leading up to World War II.

As Tammy and I left the theater, I mentioned how beautiful Helena Bonham Carter looked in the movie playing King George VI's wife Queen Elizabeth. I am used to seeing her in roles such as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series and Marla Singer in The Fight Club. This role seemed like a departure from the typical roles I have seen Ms. Carter take on, and she was outstanding.

The King's Speech is a very good movie. I'm not sure it is the best of the 2011 Oscar nominees, but just like Chariots of Fire (another well-written and acted movie based in England) in 1982, it may just win Best Picture in 2011.