THE BEST MOVIES…..IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW

For those who listen to us every morning and on the weekend, you know that we love movies around here.  Michael Patrick Shiels is always talking about which movie he is going to try to take in, we’re quoting movies on a daily basis, we keep an eye on the box office totals and we celebrate the Oscars.  We all know a good film when we see it.

But then I’m reminded of what Obi-wan Kenobi’s ghost told Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi: “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”  So true. I’ve been thinking about what movies really make a difference in my life.  Some of my favorites are “Hoosiers”, “the Hunt for Red October”, “Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life”, and “Lillies in the Field”.  These are the really good ones that a lot of people will agree with me on.

And then there are those that depend largely on your own point of view.

 

 

Tim’s Favorite Movies that need to be taken in the spirit they were intended.

In no particular order.

 

1.Starship Troopers (1997)—I spent a decade being angry at this movie for ruining three days of college for me. I watched the trailer, thought it looked awesome, rallied everyone I possibly could find to go to the theatre with me, invited a girl I was trying to impress and get next to, and then the opening scene hit.

What I (and the entire audience) didn’t realize was that this was essentially the pinnacle of the unintentional comedy genre.  It seems so obvious now…I mean, Doogie Howser was supposed to be the bad-ass lieutenant that saves humanity.  C’mon, Doogie Howser?!?  Hilarious.

 

2. Gymkata (1985)—For those who don’t know, this movie recruits a gold medal winning gymnast to become the country’s best hope to win a to-the-death martial arts competition/race.  At one point, a mysterious stone pommel horse inexplicably appears so the hero can show off his moves.  Priceless.

 

3. You’ve Got Mail (1998)—billed as a romantic comedy with two of the hottest stars at the time, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The interesting thing is that for a comedy….it really didn’t have any jokes in it.  What you get instead is a really boring, sappy, overly-sweet drama without any type of tension.   What this really is is an incredibly well-developed, highly researched, ultra-potent seditative.  It makes you feel warm and fuzzy and sleepy and then all of a sudden, you’re out.  Amazing.

 

4. Snakes on a plane (2006)—-Supposed to be a tense, taunt action movie with a dash of tongue in cheek humor about a federal marshal trying to get a witness against the mob, so naturally you put him on a plane with only one law enforcement officer to protect him….and make that guy Samuel L Jackson.  This is actually a pseudo-documentary on what would actually happen if there were, in fact, hundreds of poisonous snakes on a plane.  Why this isn’t on Animal Planet with Robert Redford as the narrarator, I’ll never know.

 

5. Tron (1982)—This is the movie that was supposed to be an action movie about video games, super-powered computers, and the power of humanity fighting against the big, bad machine.  You need to watch it with the same wonderment of a 9 year old child in a time which anyone could log in to the highest levels of secured computers and take down the man.  It’s social commentary, Disney style.  I still watch this movie once a year and will continue to pledge myself to fighting the “Master Control Program”.

 

6. Red Dawn (1984)—released during Cold War hysteria, this movie was the first ever PG-13 wide-release feature.  Critics have widely panned the thin plot, bad acting, poor editing, poor special effects, etc.  What they fail to realize is that this movie showed one of the universal truths that we all secretly know: that even when we are out numbered by vicious, highly-trained, blood-thirsty communists, a bunch of pretty slacker teenagers can win in open warfare simply because they are Americans.  Possibly the best piece of American propaganda ever crafted.  USA!! USA!! USA!! WOLVERINES!!!

 

7. Rocky IV (1985)—See previous entry, but substitute washed-up boxer for slacker teenagers and ROCKY!!! For WOLVERINES!!

 

8. Kung-Fu Panda (2008)—On the surface, a light-hearted animated comedy about the oft-hilarious adventures of a fat Panda who yearns to be a martial arts warrior.  It is, in fact, a subtle tribute to the human spirit in which the hero shakes off lifetime of mockery to become what he was always destined to become, the savior of the world.  Sure it will be overlooked come Oscar time, but we all know what this year’s true Best Picture really is.  Jack Black’s opus will be recognized by later generations as the masterwork that it is.  Dustin Hoffman delivers his finest performance to date as the gruff, tough kung-fu master.  “I’m not a big fat Panda…..I’m THE big fat Panda.” will become the most heavily quoted line in movie history at some future point.

 

9. 300 (2006)—I still think that this is one helluva action film that was visually stunning, fast paced and answered the age-old question of what the Spartans profession is.  Upon further review, it is the action genres answer to “Brokeback Mountain”.  A tremendous amount of gay subtext and costumes straight out of a San Francisco pride parade make this easily a cult favorite amongst the Fire Island crowd.  You can still watch it as an action movie, I’m just saying that people will talk.

 

 

 

What do you think?  Email and let me know at tim.nester@citcomm.com, or catch me on Facebook.

Tim Nester is the Operations Manager of the Michigan Talk Network, WJIM and WVFN radio in Lansing, co-host of the Michigan Week in Review, contributing sports and news commentator on MPS in the morning and author of the daily feature “The Big Story from the Big Talker” heard on 97.5 WJIM FM in Lansing.

Who’s Going to be the Veep?

And now it’s time for the final run in the presidential nominating process. Hilary and Barrack are going down to the final buzzer. McCain is on to the next round of the playoffs. And the world waits with baited breath to see if Al Gore will screw everything up again by throwing his name in as a third-party candidate. The conventions should be pretty exciting. (riots, anyone?) But let’s pause for a second and examine another issue of the race, who will be the vice-president candidate for the one party that’s decided?

Let’s take a look at the McCain ticket. All sorts of names have been thrown around, with a vast difference in experience, strength, and geography. First of all, Mitt Romney. I personally think that these two can not possibly co-exist in the same county, let alone the same ticket. Romney wanted to be president, he dragged McCain through the fire from time-to-time during the campaign, he seems to be positioning himself for another run next time through, and now he’s supposed to be the guy who preaches the gospel of John McCain’s America? Not bloody likely, if you ask me.

How about Florida Governor Charlie Crist? Swing state, charismatic, relatively young, popular, and somewhat more conservative than McCain. But let’s look at the one issue that will tank Crist, and possibly the Republican Party in this election: the housing market’s effect on the economy. Florida’s housing market is going into the tank faster than the Lions do at the midway point of the season. They are consistently in the top three of house foreclosures, and the average price keeps going down. This could doom Florida’s economy come November and would cast a huge shadow over what Crist brings to the ticket. He’s also a bachelor, and how will that play with “Family-Values” conservatives.

There’s South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Though they most likely suffer from the worst ailment a potential VP can have: low-voltage names. You want someone a little sexy on the ticket, and while Pawlenty and Sanford are up-and-comers in the party, they are probably another election cycle away from being house-hold names.

Then there are the hard-core party conservatives. Hailey Barbour from Mississippi, Rob Portman from Ohio, Condoleezza Rice, and assorted others. They all have baggage left over from the Bush administration, and McCain may want another centrist on the ticket depending on who he’s running against. Nobody knows who Portman is, Barbour is too much of a wild-card from a small state, and Rice has far too much of an association with W for McCain to put her in the number two spot. (Though it would defuse the “First-Woman” “First African-American” argument)

Which could leave McCain with the seemingly logical choice, according to some conservatives: Senator from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Pretty conservative, can woo a few moderate and Republican women if they are running against Hilary Clinton, FROM TEXAS, popular, fiscally-responsible, and did I mention she’s FROM TEXAS. The lone-star state is absolutely vital for the Republicans in this election and with McCain as the candidate; it is far from a given. Hutchinson would all but sew that up, and probably gets votes in California and most parts of the South. Seems like it would be a good choice, though she has said that she doesn’t have a lot of interest in leaving her Senate seat.

This is certainly a varied field. Only Senator McCain knows who’s on the short list and who will ultimately give him the best balance, and the best chance to win.

I personally like two of the “dark-horse” candidates: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindall and Alaska Governor Sara Palin.

Jindall is young (35), popular, charismatic, and does well in conservative circles. His major flaw, according to insiders, is his relative lack of experience. While this could be a bit of a drag on the ticket, McCain has experience galore. This could easily be spun as an energizing, a youthful face for the GOP. Off-setting the age factor and bringing southern-conservative voters to the polls could be very important for the Republicans.

And that brings me to my favorite candidate: the woman from the North, Sara Palin. She’s young (44), very popular, a fantastic public speaker, conservative, pro-life (5 kids!!), and stacks-up very well against Hilary Clinton amongst female voters. She brings a tremendous amount of Energy Policy experience, a key issue. And those who mention her name in Republican circles have been glowingly positive about her, with the exception of her relative lack of experience and small-state residence. She would be a very strong running mate, and she’s kind of a babe. Truly a woman that could garner some cross-gender support.

With that being said, it’ll be Mike Huckabee.

But it’s fun to talk about though.

Don’t talk to me this Saturday… Draft Day

My day has finally come. This Saturday, my national holiday is here. At 4PM, Roger Goodell will stride to the podium and utter the words, “Welcome to the 2008 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins are now on the clock”. I can’t wait!!

Of all the sporting events, this is my favorite, and it doesn’t even involve any actual athletic performance. It is the one event where there aren’t any clear winners or losers, just open debate on who did well and why the Lions are still garbage. (Matt Millen, a personal hero of mine, remains proof that you can be completely incompetent in this world and still make out like a bandit. Inspiring.)

On Saturday I will hunker down at Rookies sports bar near DeWitt with a bunch of other “draftniks” and start charting who will go where. I’ve heard the arguments about why the draft is stupid; my wife calls it pointless, several of my friends call it boring, and even my dog tends to leave the room after the first hour. A lot of people compare it to a political summit in which a lot is discussed and ultimately nothing of measurable progress is accomplished. And some people point out that it takes a total nerd to obsess about who goes where, who has the biggest up-side, and who ran what time in the 40. They are all partially right, of course.

But here’s the deal on why this is special. The draft for me is wonderful because it’s about potential. It’s all about looking forward, dreaming, projecting, and imagining what may be. We can all remember the picks of years’ past that we thought were can’t-miss slam-dunks for the teams, only to watch it all crumble. I love that fact that, more often than not, my preditictions stack up pretty well against the General Managers and Scouts who do this for a living. What other sporting event allows for that?

Let’s take a look back at some memorable moments of the last decade.

1998—We’ll start with everyone’s favorite. “With the second pick overall the San Diego Chargers select….Ryan Leaf. Quarterback. Washington State.” This after months of speculation over who was the better quarterback, Leaf or Peyton Manning (who went 1st overall to Indy). 10 years later, it makes you wonder how all the experts could have misjudged this so badly. For the record, I always thought Leaf was over-rated (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) (by the way, the Lions got CB Terry Fair with pick #20…..remember him? Neither does anyone else)

1999—-The year of the Quarterback. “With the first pick in the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select…Tim Couch. Quarterback. Kentucky.” Hall-of-Famer for sure. Cleveland’s first pick as they brought back the Browns. He was supposed to lift the franchise up and give them a signature star. It was between him and Akli Smith from Oregon, who went third overall to Cincinnati. (OOOpppss.) Donovan McNabb went to Philadelphia second overall and was booed by Eagle fans. (2nd oppss, by the Eagles fans I mean.) They wanted their team to draft…..Ricky Williams. (3rd ooppss.) Ricky went to New Orleans at #5. They gave up their entire draft for him. (4th ooppss) And the Bears selected QB Cade McNown with the 12th pick. (Oh dear God) DE Jevon Kearse waited until #16 to go to Tennessee, and went on to have one of the best rookie seasons ever. The Lions meanwhile picked up LB Chris Claiborne, who got out of town at the first opportunity, and OT/fat-waste-of-space Aarron Gibson who once weighed in at 420 lbs. (And we wonder why the Lions are always picking high up in the first round) An absolute grab-bag of talent, so much misjudged. I wonder how many GMs lost their jobs.

2000—First pick. Courtney Brown. DE. Penn State to Cleveland. Bust. Cincinnati picked up Peter Warrick from Florida State with the 4th pick which everyone thought was a steal. Bust. The Lions select Stockar McDougle from Oklahoma with the 20th pick, because they really needed another OT/big-fat-waste-of-space. (Stupid Lions) And the Raiders picked a kicker in the first-round with Florida State’s original party boy, Sebastion Janikowski. (He likes the Vodka, by the way) Meanwhile, New England took a flyer in Round 6 and selected a part-time starting quarterback from U-of-M, who most scouts thought was too slow, too skinny, and didn’t have a big enough arm. His name was Tom Brady. Shows you what the scouts know, I suppose.

2001—“With the first pick overall in the NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons select…Michael Vick. Quarterback. Virginia Tech.” At one point, one of the analysts actually says, “the best athlete bar-none. And a solid character kid off-the-field.” (Hindsight is holding its sides and laughing hysterically) Great player but we all know what happened. (Cue the song, “He’s in the jailhouse now”) Top two wide receivers, David Terrel from Michigan to Chicago at #8 and Koren Robinson to Seattle at #9….yikes! Biggest Bust, Coin Flip between Leonard Davis, Tackle from Texas to Arizona at #2 who did nothing for them and DT Gerard Warren from Florida to Cleveland at #3, he didn’t do anything for Cleveland either. Biggest Steal: Carolina picked up an under-sized player at WR named Steve Smith in the 4th round. The Lions picked up Jeff Backus, Tackle, Michigan. (Matt Millen still remains in his job, by the way)

2002—“With the 3rd pick of the NFL draft the Detroit Lions select…..Joey Harrington. Quarterback. Oregon.” And I erupt with glee that the Lions finally pick my guy, the player to lead them out of the cellar and onto glory. A true leader of men. Old school football and all that as “Joey Ball-Game” puts on the Honolulu Blue and Silver and leads the Lions to the Super-Bowl. GEUGH!@!?? This may go down as the worst pick Detroit has ever made in the draft. Joey tried, Joey played as hard as he could, Joey had a good attitude, and he acted like a true gentleman. And he lost and lost and lost. This pick set the tone for my poor Lions and perhaps has saddled them for decades to come. Other first round picks this year: TE Jeremy Shockey to New York, DE Dwight Freeney to Indy, S and future MVP Ed Reed to Baltimore, and CB Lito Sheppard to Philadelphia. (I hate Matt Millen.)

2003—This is the year I started drinking about three hours in advance because Detroit was picking 2nd overall and I was sure that they would screw things up. The first pick, Carson Palmer to Cincinnati. That’s worked out pretty well. “With the 2nd pick in the NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select….Charles Rogers. Wide Reciever. Michigan State University.” Again, I cheer. Again, I say that they got the guy. Guess we should of paid attention to the suspicious drug-test during the NFL combine. I watched every down Charles Rogers played at MSU. I thought that this would be the next Randy Moss. I can’t pick ‘em any better than Matt Millen as it turns out. In the first round, Minnesota waits to long at pick #7 and has to wait to #9 before selecting DT Kevin Williams. Everyone laughs at how inept the Vikings are, until Kevin Williams turns out to be a pro-bowl performer. By the way, the Colts select Pro-bowler Cato June from Michigan in the 6th round. Meanwhile the Lions select David Kircus from GVSU. I still hate Matt Millen.

2004—-Still love the draft. Still hate Millen. The first pick is San Diego, who selects Eli Manning from Ole Miss. Only thing is, Manning said before the draft that he would not play for the Chargers. So San Diego trades him to New York and picks up Phillip Rivers, QB. One of the rare times that it works out for everyone involved. Raiders grab Robert Gallery 2nd overall and wish they had that one back. The Lions start a trend and select WR Roy Williams from Texas at #7. Pretty good pick, pretty solid player, they still have a bad team. They trade up for Kevin Jones RB from Virginia Tech, good player, can’t stay healthy and is now gone. The Lions also waste a pick on LB Teddy Lehman in the second round, and pretty much swing and miss with the rest of the draft. Bob Sanders, S from Iowa goes to Indy in the 2nd round and becomes one of the best DBs in the NFL. Good one Millen.

2005—Pounding my head into the wall as the Lions select with the 10th overall pick……..Mike Williams!?!?! Wide Receiver?!?! Who’s been out of football for a year?!?! HOW DOES MATT MILLEN STILL HAVE A JOB?!?! Not only do they pick the guy who hasn’t been in football for a year, but we pick up another wide receiver who can’t get on the field, can’t run a route and can’t catch the darn ball. 2nd and 3rd round, Shaun Cody and Stanley Wilson. Yawn. Shaun Merriman goes at #12 and becomes one of the best defenders in the league. Heath Miller to Pittsburgh at #30, solid TE. LB Lofa Totupa to Seattle in the 2nd round. No wonder the Lions stink. Meanwhile, Aaron Rogers, who was supposed to be one of the first 3 players selected, waits uncomfortably for what seems for 12 hours before Green Bay selects the QB to back-up Brett Favre at #24. He seems relieved and not-at-all upset that he’ll be sitting on the bench for the next 3 years.

2006—Reggie Bush is the best football player ever to step foot on a field. He’s superman minus the cape. So the Texans pass on him in favor of the freakish DE Mario Williams. (Turns out to be pretty smart because Reggie apparently can’t stay healthy) Lions select Ernie Sims, LB Florida State, and at last it seems like we’re getting somewhere. This is how I look at the Lions. If we’re picking in the top 4, get a RB (examine Billy Sims and Barry Sanders, good track record). If we’re picking in the mid first round, select a LB, Safety, or Offensive Guard. (Reggie Brown, Jeff Hartings, Bennie Blades, Ernie Sims) If we’re picking in the late first round……for the love of Pete, trade down!!! And under no-circumstances select a quarterback in the first round!!!! (Chuck Long, Andre Ware, Joey Harrington…pretty much demonstrates the point) Anyway, back to the draft. Laurence Maroney at #20 to New England, file under the rich-get-richer. Nick Mangold, center Ohio State to New York Jets at #29. We couldn’t have traded up at some point instead of staying put for Daniel Bullocks and Brain Calhoun?

2007—#2 pick again. No way we can screw this one up. We’ll obviously trade-down and grab some defense, or get the best running back in the last decade with Adrian Peterson. So many options how can we lose? “With the second pick in the NFL Draft the Detroit Lions select…..Calvin Johnson. Wide Receiver. Georgia Tech.” Of course, there was a highly ranked receiver available, I forgot about that. Now don’t get me wrong, Calvin Johnson may well be a physical freak. He may go on to be the best receiver ever. But we could have traded down and still had a shot at Adrian Peterson, Leon Hall, Patrick Willis, etc. So, of course, we get Drew Stanton in the 2nd round. He better pan-out. I love Drew, but we need D-line, O-line and secondary. Please, of please fire Millen. I want to win sometime in my lifetime.

2008—This Saturday I look forward to a spirited draft. It’s a toss up who will go first. (I’m routing for Jake Long from Michigan #1 overall) And the Lions don’t go until the 15th. I’m praying for the miracle scenario of trading up and getting Darren McFadden from Arkansas. I’m content with a DE or LB at #15. Having said all of that, I’m ready for the following: “with the 15th pick in the NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select……Devin Thomas. Wide Receiver. Michigan State.”

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Spring time… Again?

It’s spring time again in Mid-Michigan and it’s easy to see when you look around at the glorious signs of the season. The robins are returning, the trees are starting to bud, the weather is getting warmer, baseball is back on TV, and smell of tear-gas drifts playfully around East Lansing.

For those who didn’t get a chance to see any of the footage or read any of the reports on “Cedar-Fest ‘08″, I encourage you to check out the story under the Local News section of this website. It is a great demonstration of the out-of-control behavior that too many college students are once again exhibiting. To be sure, the riot that ensued early Sunday morning, April 6th was perpetrated by a minority of MSU students (almost 50% of the arrests were people who don’t go to Michigan State). But far too many students were involved for this issue not to be addressed.

Perhaps the most discouraging aspect of this is that a lot of people were openly taunting the Police and basically pleading to be tear-gassed. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never stood in front of someone with a gun and asked them when they were going to shoot me. What kind of mind-set exists when this is considered a typical occurrence?

My view on this is that the culture surrounding parties at MSU, and many other college campuses as well, has changed; and not for the better. This is no longer about drinking a little, dancing a little, screaming at the top of your lungs and playing music too loud. That is pretty much expected and can be dealt with. What is occurring now is malicious destruction of property, disrespect for authority, and a complete lack of regard for others. Every time something like this happens, East Lansing suffers. Rioting is now synonymous with MSU and East Lansing. That’s a shame, and it’s time we hold those who perpetrate this responsible.

I would propose that authorities take a look at the you-tube videos and the news footage and arrest or fine absolutely everyone who appears, regardless of whether they were “innocent bystanders” or not. Until there is a severe penalty for this, this kind of thing will continue to happen. I think we can all agree that this is unacceptable.

For those students who feel they are being painted as riotous and disrespectful unfairly, I sympathize. But if you truly believe this, then it is time for you to mobilize and put a stop to this type of behavior. The underlying principle in almost all aspects of life should be to treat others with the respect that you in turn wish to be treated. I think I remember my kindergarten teacher telling me something like that. Perhaps a good lesson for today’s MSU community to embrace.