I'm Sure I'm in the Wrong Here, but...

Donald Sterling is without a doubt not a nice human being. I support nothing of what he said, but I also cannot support Adam Silver revocation of his franchise, at least I don't think so. He still needs to be voted out by other owners, but Silver handed him what would seem to be a death sentence. I realize selling the team he bought for pennies compared to what he's going to sell it for may not seem like a "penalty", but owning a team is an ultimate status symbol. Sterling made a few billion dollars, therefore he can own his own NBA team. Being a racist asshole doesn't revoke that right. Apparently the conversation being used to get him tossed from the NBA was also obtained illegally, at least it's illegal to record a conversation without the other parties consent, or at least knowledge. Once again, Donald Sterling is a fucking asshole, BUT we also live in a country where assholes are afforded constitutional protection. I'm a little torn on this one. I think Sterling is a piece of shit, but he was lured into showing those colors, recorded illegally by, and this is paraphrasing, a prostitute, or something DAMN close that this asshole was "dating". I'm assuming there may have ben something ransom related, or something behind the scenes to further cloud this shitstorm, but I'm not certain we'll ever know. This whole things sucks, but perhaps getting him out of the NBA by any means necessary will be worth it and awesome for long suffering Clippers fans. I don't think it's fair to mention that Sterling was a shitty owner, this is separate to the issue, but it also gets tossed in. I do like that a lifetime of being an asshole is catching up to Sterling, even when he's 81. Larry King even spoke ill of him, which made me smile. Moving forward though does an unpopular owner have to be wary of saying something stupid, racist, irrational, etc. in case his franchise can get pulled from him? Does this give more clout to owner via committee like the Dodgers group? Why own a franchise by yourself if it can be taken away for some racial epitaphs and a lifetime of being a fuck? It's similar to the separation of church and state to me. Private industry, which I'm including team owners in, can't be taken away by others in the same private industry. What if a bigger asshole somehow buys the team? Has Sterling's racism hindered the advancement of minority athletes in his organization? I know Elgin Baylor sued him for racial issues, and he has been sued for being racist to his tenants, but doesn't having a few sexual harassment cases make it all better? Wait, so all those things DON'T get you kicked out, but a running talley eventually catches up with you? What offense is bad enough to get a lifetime ban? Gambling on outcomes? I just think we're treading in ugly water here and I needed to ramble about it for awhile. I still find no clarity for myself, maybe you have. Doubt it.

Gandhi: Ben Kingsley's Epic

When I was sick I decided to try to watch Gandhi and soak in an apparently incredible movie. In the beginning it simply explains that a movie cannot encompass someone's life, especially one as amazing as Gandhi. You are thrown into Gandhi's experience on a train where he essentially gets Rosa Parks'd, only it's a bit more violent. The movie then about 3 more hours of an amazing journey through all of his trails and tribulations. His original non-violent strike in South Africa to the one in India that he's a little more famous for, to his hunger strike to stop violence in the newly free India that I actually never knew about. The movie is all about Ben Kingsley performance and it's also why he's still a sought after actor. He is incredible. It's over 3 hours, so it's not going to excite you very much, but if you can enjoy greatness in film, it's certainly all over this one. The other actors are very good, especially Martin Sheen in his small role as journalist "Walker". The cinematography and story are both incredible as well, but once again this isn't Transformers. It's an older, story driven epic about the most peaceful man the world may have ever known. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. I really enjoyed a great deal of this movie. I fell asleep during a portion, on account that I was pretty sick, but everything else was pretty top notch.

Ender's Game

My Sister wouldn't leave me alone for a few years to read Ender's Game. It's a very successful series of children's books that have been around for quite some time. The tale is set in our future that has been forever changed by the invasion of a bug-like alien race that almost destroyed Earth. Kids are taken into special military programs for training and tactics from a very young age. From that group the "best and brightest" are taken from Earth to train in a more exclusive environment under direct military supervision on a spaceship closer to the alien homeworld. The goal is to train better commanders to lead Earth's fleet in the cosmic war against the bug-like aliens. Ender is one of the special ones and his brother and sister were both "special", but withdrew from the program for extreme violence (brother) and too much kindness/empathy (Sister). Ender is the perfect blending of the two and a natural leader, etc. The story follows him through the trainings preparing him to lead an invasion against the alien homeworld to hopefully end the war and keep Earth forever safe. Harrison Ford, who long ago gave up turning down work apparently, plays the General in charge of the training/recruiting program. He's the eternal hard-ass who does the "necessary" down and dirty things that other people aren't willing to do since it's essentially genocide. Somehow Ben Kingsley was convince of having a very minor role, in which he's excellent in (Standard). There's wayyyyy too much for a movie in here, but it does an alright job. It feels a little rushed, but it weighs in at almost two hours. Bottom Line: 6.9 out of 10. The book is probably much better, but this wasn't that bad. Great special effects and an interesting futuristic story with decent child actors makes this watchable. You may want to get on board since I'm pretty sure there will be some sequels getting stacked on to this one.

The Heat: Girl Buddy Cop's

Just in case the "buddy" cop movie with one who is by the book and the other a rogue wasn't beaten to death in the 80's we re-spawned the female version in 2013. Sandra Bullock= Straight laced FBI agent, Melissa McCarthy= Rough around the edges rogue. McCarthy is extremely foul-mouthed and that donates some cheap laughs along the way. Bullock is solid, of course, as the nerdy cop. What was really surprising was the supporting cast of Jane Curtain, Michael McDonald (in a pretty serious role), Michael Rappaport, and Marlon Wayans. I came in with VERY low expectations and was pretty pleased that it wasn't completely awful. Cheap laughs, some surprisingly well done serious moments, and a decent story with plenty of opportunity for side jokes that don't all tank left me pretty happy when it was all over. Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. If there's a PG-13 version, don't watch that one. It needs the horrible language to pull you through the boring parts. It's worth a rental, but WAYYYY down the list with all the great stuff that just came out.

The Lone Ranger

Knowing that nobody spoke of this highly, I still watched the Lone Ranger. The story is told from Johnny Depp's perspective as Tonto, though he is currently an old man on display in a museum talking to a kid in a Lone Ranger mask. The story goes through the "freeing" of a prisoner from a train who Tonto is trying to kill, the train crashing, the prisoner being brought back to justice by the Lone Ranger's brother, the "Freeing" again of the same asshole, but this time they kill everyone, except the LONE RANGER. He is dug out by Tonto and their journey begins together. It's pretty ridiculous WAY too much of the time. They do fabricate an interesting story around the bad guys and connect them, which actually surprised me. THe movie just has too much going on and it really didn't hold my attention. I'm amazed this thing got put through with Armie Hammer as the lead, but he's just one of the many things wrong with this pile of shit. Bottom Line: 4.1 out of 10. Tons of money thrown into this thing, but you don't understand how it's possible to suck so badly. Don't watch, it's simply not worth it.

All is Lost: A.K.A. Robert Redford's Sailing Trip

All is Lost got a lot of publicity when Redford was nominated for Best Actor. The film is ALL about him out on the ocean in a sailboat. It follows him for two weeks, or so, and follows the downward spiral of what can all happen when you're BY YOURSELF sailing in the middle of AN OCEAN! It should come as no surprise to anyone that things start going badly. I'm frankly amazed that all of the "stunts" were done by Redford (He's 77!!). There are no frills except the sunset on the ocean. It's just a boat and Redford. He says very little and really is the entire movie. His emotions and struggles are it. It's like a Survivorman episode with better film equipment and more supplies. Redford deserves a ton of credit, so I'm glad he got a nomination on it. Bottom Line: 7.3 out of 10. I really wasn't an enormous fan of watching Redford struggle with the ocean for two hours. It's impressive, but I really didn't dig it a ton. Worth watching when it's on TV for free sometime in the near future, but not worth running out for.

We're The Millers

We're the Millers is the fun tale of a drug dealer, stripper, high school nerdy kid, and a runaway and how they band together to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the good 'ol U.S.A. I do like Jason Sudekis, so that helps. Jennifer Aniston is gorgeous, Emma Roberts is too, so all these things help. The story is a little crazy, but it plays out well and is not far-fetched enough to bother you a ton. The back & Forth banter is pretty solid and really the highlight of the film. The insults are quick and fun and everything moves along at a nice pace. Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson) and Kathryn Hahn really are awesome bit characters when the story starts to drag and they help pick it back up and move it along. The outtakes are excellent and certainly worth a look. Bottom Line: 7.8 out of 10. Funny people with a good script that are allowed some room to work and improvise= a good movie. It's certainly worth a rental, or possibly buying since the extras are pretty solid. You're going to laugh, that's very likely.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I jumped on the bandwagon following the advice of critics and fans alike on Rotten Tomatoes and saw the new Capt. America movie. FIrst off, make sure to re-watch the first one. I forgot pretty much everything and, though it wasn't extremely important, there were some things you'll want a refresher on. The movie takes place in the present, C.A. is trying to stay fit and active, he's an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, but disgruntled, and Black Widow is still his Wing-woman. He isn't happy with S.H.I.E.L.D. witholding information, etc. from him and Nick Fury remains the same guy he always has been. Things take awhile to get crazy, but they certainly go batshit insane, and it's pretty cool. I can't throw any spoilers, but the chaos is pretty cool. Sam Jackson, ScarJo, Chris Evans, and Cobie Smulders (ROBIN SCHERBOTZKY from HIMYM!) are joined by Anthony Mackie of Hurt Locker fame and Sebastian Stan playing the WINTER SOLDIER, a relative unknown who I thought was excellent. Cast is solid, story was unique and pretty cool actually. It still had a few moments where you can't help but question them, like all action/superhero movies, but thre aren't too many and they are manageable. I recommend not reading much/watching trailers beforehand. There could be potential spoilers you'll want to avoid, though I feel like it did a pretty good job of avoiding that. Bottom Line: 8.2 out of 10. Probably higher than I'd normally put it, but it was a refreshingly unique story off the old tales of Capt. America that I was surprised about, so I was entertained for 2.5 hours and that warrants a pretty high rating. I didn't see it in 3D, but I can't imagine it making a big difference. It's worth seeing in theatres if you're looking to go see something since most other things currently playing aren't too special.

Rush- Why didn't Ron Howard Advertise More?

Rush is the story of two Formula One driver's (and previously Formula 3 & 2 driver's, which I never knew existed before this movie) and their incredible fued and rivalry for the 1976 Championship. It's just awesome in terms of realism (I presume) and story. It surprised me that I'd never heard the names James Hunt or Niki Lauda, but this movie certainly glorifies them to new heights. Perhaps it's from a different time, or because it's a more European sport, but I've never heard of either driver before. The acting is very solid and as I said before, the story is dynamite. Hunt is perfect for Hemsworth and relatively uncelebrated Daniel Bruhl is very good in his role as UBER serious Lauda. I knew this movie got rave critic reviews and struggled at the box office, but I still knew very little about it other than it was about Formula One racing. The fact that it's based on a true story just makes it SO much better. I learned some things about Formula One during the 70's and in general. I enjoyed everything about the movie and ended up being surprised it didn't catch more fanfare. Bottom Line: 8.7 out of 10. Very solid movie that tells an incredibly interesting, yet unknown story about sports, which everyone always loves (Air Bud, am I right?) I recommend renting, or even buying it, since I'm fairly sure it's going to be very affordable shortly, if it isn't already. I paid $7 at Family Video for the blu-ray, so that's the way to go.