Captain Phillips

On my journey to attempt to watch every best picture nominee, Captain Phillips was the proverbial next in line. I was able to check it out at my local library (insert cheap library plug). So far I've watched American Hustle, Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club (review coming soon) now Captain Phillips. I still have a lot to watch so if anyone wants to hit up the theaters, let me know.

Captain Phillips is based on a true story of an american freighter ship that was captured by a small band of Somali pirates in 2009. Tom Hanks plays a yankee ship captain from Vermont that is commissioned to sail a ship around the cape of Africa carrying food, water and other supplies to Africa. Phillip's boat is overtaken by four Somali pirates. This was the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in over 200 years. The leader of the "pirates" was played by Somali actor Barkhad Abdi.

The beginning of the movie pictures Hanks and his wife on the way to the airport. He shortly arrives at port and meets his crew. The pacing of this movie is very quick and intense in the beginning and there is a foreboding feeling of doom throughout the entire movie. Seeing the vastness of the freighter ship, it's truly amazing that four people in a small boat can take over this ship. It was true testament to human will and determination. Captain Phillips does everything in his power to stop the pirates from overtaking his ship, but he can't control every aspect of his ship. Once the pirates took control of the freighter, the chess match begins. Captain Phillips is a very smart, decisive character. Muse, Abdi's character, is a very desperate, but wary individual. He knows that Phillips is trying to outsmart him, but he holds the upper hand because of his shear intimidation.

I really enjoyed the intensity of this movie, and the cat and mouse game played between both parties. This is probably my favorite Tom Hanks role since Charlie Wilson's War. Adbi is up for an Oscar for best supporting actor. I can see him winning because it was a great performance for a first time actor.

Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 134 Minutes

I give Captain Phillips 4.25 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

If you have Ghost

Ghost B.C. formally known as Ghost, is a Swedish heavy metal band that really has crossed over and exploded in popularity. I originally picked up their first album a couple years ago, because they were described as the second coming of King Diamond. Who wouldn't get excited about that? Fortunately and unfortunately that description was a bit skewed. Yes Ghost looks like King Diamond. Both bands have a flare for a unique stage show. They both have face paint and costumes that can be seen as offensive to some people. King Diamond regularly drew an upside down cross in his face paint, where the singer of Ghost wears a costume that resembles the Pope or a clergyman of power in the Catholic Church.

The two musical styles vary vastly but that's not a bad thing at all. King Diamond was more of a thrash, traditional heavy metal band. Ghost is more of a trippy band more reminiscent of a Blue Oyster Cult. Regardless both bands are awesome and I was glad I become a fan of Ghost in the process.

If you have Ghost is an EP, drawing off the popularity of their last full length album Infestissumam. This EP has 5 tracks on it, four being covers and one live track. The bands they chose to cover was very interesting. Usually metal bands cover other metal songs or pop songs that are very popular and translate well to metal. Ghost decided to cover bands that they enjoy and have absolutely nothing to do with the heavy metal scene. I see this as very admirable. They cover ABBA, Depeche Mode, Army of Lovers and a gentleman named Roky Erickson. All of the songs translate well into Ghost's musical styling.

Crucified, the Army of Lovers cover, is easily the most evil sounding tune on the record. Waiting for the Night (Depeche Mode) is a beautifully haunting song.

I have been waiting to see Ghost on a live show for a very long time. It was nice to get a glimpse of their live sound with the live Secular Haze track. They are a lot heavier live than their studio sound.

A little side note of this EP. Dave Grohl produced it and actually played some guitar and drums on a few tracks. I know Grohl is a big metal fan and I'm glad to see that he is mixing it up with an up and coming band. His name alone can elevate talent.

Ghost is a band that's heavy enough for metal fans to enjoy and mainstream enough for non-metal fans to enjoy as well. They can be that one band that you can tell your friends and family about, that doesn't make you a complete metal weirdo like myself.

I give If you have Ghost 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

The Piano Guys

This CD was a recommendation by my cousin Walter Cronkite. He was studying for finals and classical music is supposed to help with memory retention. So what better album is there to listen to, than the Piano Guys?

The Piano Guys are a group of five ... guys that love and play classical music. They aren't afraid of new genres and exploring the limits of each instrument. Most of the tracks on this album are covers and remixes of old tunes.

My favorite track is entitled Cello Wars and is an awesome mash-up of Star Wars tunes. It starts with a nice build up of the Imperial March and busts into and often underrated Duel of Fates. Their renditions of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven are unique and incredible. Hell they even cover a One Direction tune and make it very enjoyable.

If you are looking for a nice twist on the classical genre, give the Piano Guys a listen.

I give Piano Guys 3.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

American Hustle

I saw American Hustle a few weeks ago in the theater. I had my $5 movie ticket, free bucket of popcorn and XL cup of blue raspberry Icee. I knew I was in for a great night of entertainment. I just want to mention that I'm glad Marcus theaters has wised up and given people a chance to watch movies for $5. I know it's only on Tuesdays, but it's a smart move that benefits both sides. The free popcorn promotion was a nice touch as well. Kudos Marcus.

Now to the movie. I'm a huge Christian Bale fan, so this movie and Out of the Furnace has been on my radar for a while now. Christian Bale playing an overweight con man was only sweetened by his fellow cast mates. Amy Adams provides a spectacular performance as Bale's partner in crime. I've never been the biggest Bradley Cooper fan, but he's proven me wrong with his performance in Silver Linings Playbook and now this movie. Jennifer Lawrence played a very repugnant character, which is a nice change of pace. She usually plays the hero or someone that you can at least like. I love Jennifer Lawrence, but her role in American Hustle makes me hate her guts. This just shows how convincing she can be, and how great of an actress she really is. Finally Jeremy Renner caps off this well rounded cast as a well loved politician from New Jersey. He comes across as a man of the people and it serves him well in this role.

The movie itself is remarkable. It follows Irving Rosenfeld, played by Christian Bale, who has been fighting and scraping for everything in his life. He cons people out of their money and shadows it with a legitimate dry cleaning business. He eventually moves into more risky business with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and is looking for a bigger score. The two have amazing chemistry both as characters and actors. The two eventually get caught and the feds use them to catch the proverbial "bigger fish." Many parties get involved and things escalate quickly. Everyone seems to be conning everyone and no one realizes what's what until the end.

I would compare it to a modern day Goodfellas on the comparison of on screen talent, plot and tempo. This is a must see movie. I'm glad it was nominated for best picture and I'm equally glad that the four cast members were individually nominated for their respective roles. This years best picture category is very stiff when it comes to competition so we'll see if they prevail.

I give American Hustle 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Battle of Los Angeles 2013

PWG is easily the best wrestling company in the United States right now. I can't claim that its the best in the world, because I can't really watch a lot from Japan, Canada, and Europe, and I don't really understand Lucha Libre from Mexico. That being said, the greatest American wrestlers get together once a year in Reseda, California for the annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. Former winners include Low Ki, Kenny Omega, El Generico and Davey Richards. All wrestlers that have gone on to big promotions and made some money.

This year held a 16 man single elimination format which included some PWG regulars and some new faces to the company. The participants were Kevin Steen, Chuck Taylor, Brian Cage, Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Willie Mack, Roderick Strong, AR Fox, Drake Younger, Joey Ryan, ACH, Anthony Nese, Kyle O'Reilly, Rich Swann, Trent? and Michael Elgin. If you follow independent wrestling, this is a who's who of young talent. When I saw the lineup last fall, I was foaming at the mouth with excitement. The match-ups didn't disappoint. The first night of the tournament eliminates half the guys and features a tag team match usually spotlighting the tag-team champions. Night two spotlights the rest of the tournament and the intense singles matches.

Highlights of Night One:
Kevin Steen vs Chuck Taylor - This wasn't your traditional opener. It was very comedy heavy, and was very entertaining from bell to bell.
Brian Cage vs Tomasso Ciampa - The match was very bland and slow at points, but the high point was Ciampa powerbombing Cage on his neck on the floor of the arena. After some research and listening to a podcast with Cage, he was legit injured from this spot and finished a 15 minute match and wrestled the second night.
Roderick Strong vs AR Fox - It's always cool to see Roderick wrestle high flyers, his crazy strength and ability to pull off crazy moves makes this one exciting. It also helps that AR Fox seems to have no regard to his own well being.
Michael Elgin vs Rich Swann - I'm a big fan of Rich Swann on the basis of his Chris Jericho impression. He is a truly talented wrestler and deserves a shot at the big leagues. This was a great way to cap off tournament action for night one.
Adam Cole and the Young Bucks vs The Forever Hooligans and TJ Perkins - Great action from the greatest tag-team in wrestling right now. The Young Bucks can do no wrong in my eyes. TJ Perkins is crazy good and I would like to see him wrestle more on TNA as himself instead of the character Manik.

Highlights of Night Two:
Johnny Gargano vs Kevin Steen - The unpredictability of this match was my favorite aspect. A little spoiler here, I never expected Kevin Steen to tap out to a submission move from Gargano.
Kyle O'Reilly vs ACH - These two really tore it up for a second round match. I don't know how O'Reilly was able to wrestle two more matches after this spot fest.
Adam Cole and the Young Bucks vs Candice Larae, AR Fox and Rich Swann - Candice Larae shows that she can hang with the big boys and pulls off some awesome moves.
Joey Ryan, Trent?, and Chuck Taylor vs B-Boy, Tomasso Ciampa, and Willie Mack - Is it bad that my favorite match was not a part of the tournament? This was a full blown comedy match that had everything. Great wrestling, hilarious spots and amazing chemistry. Brian Cage even came out to return a powerbomb to Ciampa on the floor. The best spot came with Chuck Taylor's imaginary grenade. Every wrestler played into it, and the crowd exploded for it.

Overall this weekend was pure wrestling euphoria. The tournament matches were great, the only one that didn't have the best chemistry was ACH vs Anthony Nese from night one. Their performances on night two more than made up for that. You can tell the crowd was tired when the final match came around, but it still held a really special moment for Kyle O'Reilly.

I give PWG: Battle of Los Angeles 2013 4.25 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

If you want to buy these DVDs or stream them visit PWG Merch or High Spots PWG video on demand

Royal Rumble 2014 Predictions

It's officially my favorite time of year. Royal Rumble time. Once a year 30 wrestlers get a chance to outlast their competitors and a chance at the world championship at Wrestlemania. Business picks up within the next three months. Wrestlers make their returns, they plant the storyline seeds and speed towards wrestling's biggest event. So who is my pick to win the 30 man over the top rope rumble match? That's a great question. This year is a bit tricky. Last year was very easy to predict. We all knew that John Cena was going to win and face the Rock again for the championship. It made sense. This year is a bit different. My man Daniel Bryan is red hot and has the potential to reach new heights with a rumble win. CM Punk is a great pick this year, leading off in the number one position. We can't forget about the returning Batista. It looks like WWE has the Wrestlemania main event set to Batista vs Randy Orton. There are a lot of possibilities and that makes this coming Pay Per View exciting. I can't give you a solid pick, and that's a good thing. Here are my three scenarios for Sunday's event.

Batista: This could be the most obvious pick since the WWE has pretty much set up Batista vs Orton as a rivalry. It would make sense if Batista entered the rumble match around number 30 and clear the ring, showing his dominance and setting his sights on the championship and Orton at the same time. I don't see Orton losing to Cena since Cena main evented the last couple Wrestlemanias. If Batista wins the rumble, he's winning the title at Wrestlemania.

CM Punk: People may consider this a long shot, since Punk is entering the match at number one and must last over an hour to win. He's involved with a feud with the Authority and a lot of HHH's friends are in the rumble, looking to eliminate him. Punk could be the biggest underdog to win since Rey Mysterio, and it would be a great story to see him overcome the odds. My gut feeling is that he'll last a long time, show a glimpse of hope and get thrown out by the Shield. I'm hoping he wins the rumble, Orton retains the title, then loses it to Lesnar at Elimination Chamber, and Punk gets his redemption at Wrestlemania.

Daniel Bryan: Considering Daniel Bryan is not even announced for the rumble match, this prediction doesn't have a lot validity behind it. The Royal Rumble should be unpredictable. How cool would it be if Bryan enters the rumble after beating Bray Wyatt and becoming the biggest babyface the company has had. He can finally get his revenge on Orton at Wrestlemania and prove that he can be the face of the company. My fingers are crossed on this one. If Bryan doesn't enter or win the rumble, I can see him face the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

Regardless what happens, this Sunday's Royal Rumble is going to be a great all around Pay Per View.

Graphic Novels of 2013

This was intended to be a best of 2013 graphic novels. but I didn't get to finish reading until after the new year. So here is a list of the graphic novels I've read over the last month.

Saints and Boxers by Gene Yang
People always save the "best" for last, but I think you should start with your best foot forward. Hands down, Saints and Boxers was the best graphic novel I've read recently and there has been some really stiff competition. Saints and Boxers is actually two books and is historical fiction. It covers the events of the Boxer Rebellion in the late 1800's. The two books each take a different perspective of the rebellion. Each side has its own beliefs and convictions. Its hard to tell who was right in this conflict because of the extremes both sides take to get their beliefs across. If you read any graphic novel, read these two books. The art may look a bit young, but the story and emotion definitely outshines the drawing.

Sweet Tooth Vol. 6 - Wild Game by Jeff Lemire
This was a very weird book, but not the most odd book on the list. The description was a cross between Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Bambi, so naturally I had to give it a read. Sweet Tooth follows Gus, a human deer hybrid. There has been an apocalyptic event, and Gus and his group are trying to find the origin of human/ animal hybrids. I wish I started at volume 1 because I had a few questions. Volume six was very good though and it wrapped up the story really nicely. The characters are likeable and the villains are heinous. I will be reading the first five volumes very soon.

Walking Dead Vol. 19 - March to War by Robert Kirkman
I've been reading the Walking Dead since day one and loved every moment of it. Volume 18 had some excitement but 19 kind of lulled for the most part. I really like the villain and where they are going, but it has taken too long to get there. It's kind of like season 2 of the Walking Dead on AMC. Usually the comic is very fast paced. I am definitely looking forward to volume 20.

The March - Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
The March is another historical fiction graphic novel, but a much more modern book compared to Boxers and Saints. The March is the story of Congressman John Lewis and his first hand experience of the Civil Rights Movement. Its presented in current time, with flashbacks to his childhood and young adulthood. I would recommend this book to any history teacher looking to explore the Civil Rights Movement in a different way. The art is fantastic and the message of non-violent resistance comes through in volumes.



Batman by Scott Snyder
The two volumes of Batman released in 2013 are incredible. I was worried when DC completely rebooted their universe and started the New 52. You can tell they pooled their resources and hired the right guy for Batman. The City of Owls and Death of the family are some of the best Batman stories ever told. The Talons are a new group of villains that really push Batman to be his best. The newest Joker story is haunting and truly psychotic. READ THEM ALL!

My Dirty Dumb Eyes by Lisa Hanawalt
My Dirty Dumb eyes was the weirdest book I've read, graphic or not. It has some pretty hilarious sections, namely the movie reviews done in drawings. My favorite being watching the Rise of the Planet of the Apes if you aren't a fan of monkeys. It gets a little odd after that. A lot of  "adult" sketches, some of them being hilarious with others being utterly ridiculous. Not a book for the kiddies.

Dark Tower: Last Shots by Robin Furth and Stephen King
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is my favorite series of all time. Marvel and Robin Furth have done an amazing job bringing King's tale to the comics arena. This book is a collection of one shots and just fills in some gaps in the series. Some questions are answered, but nothing really happens to further the story. I hope they keep releasing the books in comic version, only the Gunslinger has a graphic adaptation. If you haven't read the books or comics, this book will make very little sense to you.



Honorable Mention:

Locke and Key: Volume 5 - Clockworks by Joe Hill
This was technically released in 2012, but I love this series so much I can't not not mention it. Joe Hill has really come into his own in this series. Locke and Key is the most original series in a long time, and has nothing to do with superheroes. I would recommend starting with volume one and working your way all the way through five. You will not regret it.

I'mmmmm backkkkkkkkk

It's been a crazy, crazy month but I am back in the saddle and ready to sail into the sunset.... ?

Christmas, New Years, St. Nicholas Day, Krampus Day, and Boxing Day have all come and gone. I've been busy with work, you know a librarians' got to eat, and all sorts of winter storms. I could have been writing while cozied up in my pajamas, but I decided to watch the entire Star Wars trilogy instead. I've actually read, watched and listened to a lot in the last month, so I have plenty to write about.

A little preview to what's ahead. I tried to read as many new graphic novels I could before year's end to compile a best of 2013 graphic novel list, but I had to wait for my turn at the library. I did finish a decent amount though, and you'll see how those fared. You'll see my first wrestling DVD review coming up. PWG's Battle of Los Angeles 2013 to be exact. If you're a wrestling fan and haven't heard of PWG, you need to re-think your life.

It's officially Wrestlemania season with the Royal Rumble coming up. I've been watching the first 15 Wrestlemanias over the past few months and I've been working on a write up on those since number 30 is on the horizon. I plan on watching the next 15 as well.

I had a very nice and generous Christmas. Received a handful of movies and books. I have viewed a few of them recently, but still have a lot of reading and watching to do. Awards season is coming up, so I will try to get my hands on some buzzworthy flicks.

Thanks for all of those who follow or read or even acknowledge that I write this Blog. I apologize to those faithful who have been waiting an eternity for my next post. I'm looking forward to an exciting year. My brother is getting married, along with my cousin. Hopefully starting a full time librarian position.  The new Iced Earth CD comes out. Lots of exciting things happening. Cheers to the new year and cheers to you all!