Zootopia: A Review

Posted on by commbro

Zootopia

Runtime: 1 hours 48 minutes
Budget: Actually Classified?! I am getting tired of this crap.

Disney’s latest film, Zootopia is a thinly veiled social and political commentary on race relations. Other than layering an animal kingdom filter over everything, the film doesn’t really try to hide their agenda pushing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it led to some cringe worthy moments.

Nothing stuck out to me as overtly wrong in the message, but there were some peripherals that I might not agree with. Some parts weren’t consistent either. As long as they didn’t intend it as an allegory, a lot can be forgivable. The topic of race relations can be extremely nuanced and the movie risked oversimplifying at some points.

All in all, the story was well-crafted and they kept it moving along. The characters were believable and their dialogue was especially competent. They even left some room for subtlety in their banter.

CommBro Breaker

The movie attempted to target kids, but how much of it would they really understand? Sure, some of the jokes and slapstick could intrigue them, but so much of the film is dependent on an understanding of the world. And all the implications of the film like:

Did they all become vegetarians/vegans?

Everything involving interspecies couples…

If there is a canine equivalent of UFC, do the dogs all get arrested for dog fighting?

If Pokemon were to evolve and make contact, would they treat the animals like humans treated them?

Etc. Maybe someone with kids can tell me what they thought.

Also, I think almost all of Shakira’s parts could have been removed and it would’ve taken nothing away from the movie.

USC Football: Info Dump

Posted on by commbro

Yeah, so I’ve been slacking in the football department lately. The past few weeks have been slightly eventful and I sure as heck wasn’t talking about the Super Bowl. National Signing Day, Pat Haden’s announced retirement, even the NFL combine were each more individually interesting than that six turnover AFL-NFL championship game. Maybe it’s because I’m bitter that the Seahawks didn’t make it three straight appearances to the “Big Game” (which, incidentally, makes me think of Cal vs. Stanford more than anything). Okay, that’s really just my opinion. Either way, you get a USC football info dump.

We’ll go one by one on each topic. I’ll make it brief because who has the attention span for long posts? I sure don’t!

Recruiting class

A highly ranked recruiting class to be sure. It’s a slight dip from what we’re used to, but hey, given the circumstances, I’ll take it.

Scout #11 overall, Avg.3.90 stars (tied #1)
Rivals #8 overall, Avg. 3.75 stars (tied #3)
247 sports #8 overall
ESPN #11 overall

They got some people for positions of need and tied for highest star ranking on Scout.com (not that stars are that accruate of predictors of sucess).

miniCommBro Breaker

We got Jack Jones!!! Now we won’t even need to pipe music through the speakers during practice.

He may have aged a bit...

He may have aged a bit…

Pat Haden

It’s been quite a ride for Pat Haden since he entered as the athletic directory in 2010. He had been a trustee of the university basically from when I was born until stepping down to take the AD role. Since then the football team has been:

2010: 8-5
2011: 10-2
2012: 7-6
2013: 10-4
2014: 9-4
2015: 8-6

If you looked purely at records, you might believe they languished a bit under Haden’s watch, but in reality, it was something worse: wasted potential. In virtually every game, the Trojans had a shot (or more) of beating their opponent. Sometimes they would follow through and win. Other times they would fall comically short.Haden can’t and shouldn’t take all the blame for it.

He’s made a lot of decisions that left people scratching their heads. Some have left people outraged.

None of them were made within a vacuum. He answers to the president, board of trustees, the Pac-12 conference, and, yes, even the NCAA. No, I’m not being an apologist. I’m just saying not to be unduly harsh on him. We are looking at all of this in hindsight and without pressure. Yes, he’s made bad decisions, but those shouldn’t completely define him. It would take some combination of naivety or patent dishonesty to make his decisions out to be so single-faceted.

His administration should be remembered for exactly what it is: a mixed legacy.

NFL Combine
CommBro Breaker

I’ll talk about it after the USC Pro Day so I can lump it all together. Try not to feel too cheated.

London Has Fallen: A Review

Posted on by commbro

London Has Fallen

Runtime: 1 hours 39 minutes
Budget: Apparently classified because of how hard it is to find a reliable number. Estimated to be anywhere between $60-105 million.

Nothing about London Has Fallen’s plot is special. In fact, the last time something revolutionary was produced from a combination of Americans, British and lots of shooting was the U.S itself. Not only was the story generic, but there were a lot of cliches and cheesy one-liners.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers also decided to carry over a distracting gimmick from the previous film, Olympus Has Fallen. The superimposed text took away more than it contributed. It draws attention away and torwards minor characters that just plain don’t need it. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart aren’t even close to fully utilized.

After that two paragraph hatefest, you’d think the film was a summer action movie cash grab. Well, I’m here to tell you that March doesn’t count as summer—not even in California. Sorry folks (CommBro Breaker)1; this movie actually contributes some cinematic value.

While the setting of its predecessor provided a much better backdrop for the carnage, London Has Fallen provided a more memorable experience. Employing the ‘ole Whiskey Hotel brings an almost cheap sense of national pride. It’s like TurnItIn.com being 5% short of alerting your professor that you cheated. Yes, London Has Fallen overcame near-cheating to be the better film.

You could tell they actually put some thought into the thing. The action was satisfying. Fights had respectable choreography. Soldiers actually made use of cover. The highlight of the film was its continuous shot towards the end.

IF you enjoy action, the film definitely has enough merits to outweigh the drawbacks. That is unless you absolutely hate America.

CommBro Breaker

Refer to 1

By the way, I was pretty much right. Gerard Butler was almost superhuman.

Deadpool: A Review

Posted on by commbro

Deadpool

Runtime: 1 hours 48 minutes
Budget: Estimated to be $58 million

deadpool

Deadpool would probably read my blog and talk crap about it.

Despite the concensus flop of an apperance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds reprises his role as Wade Wilson in Deadpool. Nobody is safe from this Merc with a Mouth—physically or verbally. Mr. Pool’s jokes are unrelenting from the opening credits until the film reel snaps off the projector. The shots just keep coming.

Many of you may groan and say not “another superhero movie!” The only problem is he’s not even close to being a hero. True to Deadpool’s character, you can expect lots of death, crude humor, antics, and fourth wall breaking—things you probably aren’t accustomed to seeing in the same sentence.

With that being said, Deadpool is a hard film to place. While everything is presented in a format rarely seen, it simultaneously cannot escape the forumlaic nature of popular stories (notice I didn’t say superhero movies, comic book movies, etc.). Given the unique personality, I would dub this film an esteemed “worth a watch.” However, my certification comes with a caveat: if you can’t stand foul language, lewd jokes, and violence in general, you should probably sit this one out because they earned their ‘R’ rating and then some. And don’t even consider bringing your kids.

CommBro Breaker

If you find yourself missing the superhero movies, there’s always:

March 25: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
May 6: Captain America: Civil War
May 27: X-Men: Apocalypse
August 5: Suicide Squad
November 4: Dr. Strange

And that’s just the Marvel and DC characters. You could definitely include guys like the Ninja Turtles if you wanted. With the way these bad dudes have been like I’d be inclined to count Jason Bourne or Gerard Butler in London has Fallen. Hell, even the Ouija board in Ouija 2. You know what, I’m not even sure what my agenda is anymore.

deadpool

I can almost hear his criticism…

2016 USC Coaching Staff

Posted on by commbro

For the first time since October 2015, the USC coaching staff is no longer in flux. Since that nasty October day the Trojans have terminated Steve Sarkisian, Justin Wilcox, Keith Heyward, Chris Wilson, and Bob Connelly. They also lost Peter Sirmon to Mississippi State and Marques Tuiasosopo to UCLA. Now, after three months, the staff has officially been finalized.

Behold! Your 2016 USC coaching staff…unless someone gets poached a week later:

Position Name College College Position
Head Coach Clay Helton Houston Quarterback
Offensive Coordinator/WR Tee Martin Tennessee Quarterback
Quarterbacks Tyson Helton Houston Quarterback
Running Backs Tommie Robinson Troy State Safety
Offensive Line Neil Callaway Alabama Multiple
Special Teams/TE John Baxter Loras College
Defensive Coordinator Clancy Pendergast Arizona
Defensive Line Kenechi Udeze USC Defensive End
Linebackers Johnny Nansen Wash St. Linebacker
Defensive Backs Ronnie Bradford Colorado Cornerback

Not a terrible group, but quite a few unproven people. Tee Martin, Ronnie Bradford, and Kenechi Udeze may turn out to be absolutely great at their jobs, but, much like Helton, they don’t have enough of a record to give a fair evaluation. With four out of ten of the coaches looking to make a name for themselves and some more on the fringe, the best you can really be is cautiously optimistic. However, once you place that in context of the 2016 season opener against the defending national champion, Alabama, it’s hard to stay that way.

Pretty much describes the coaching situation. One piece moves out of place and this could all fall apart.

Pretty much describes the coaching situation. One piece moves out of place and this could all fall apart.

Meanwhile, Alabama hasn’t had nearly as much turnover. They’ve had stability that produced four national titles in seven season and 10+ wins for the past eight seasons. They also feature two former Trojan coaches.

Everybody remembers Lane Kiffin, but what about Bo Davis? Davis was the one that was a USC defensive line coach for all of one week before being hired away to Alabama. I bet HR was pretty mad about dealing with his paperwork. He remains at the same position in Tuscaloosa alongside Kiffin. It’ll be a fun game against those two…

Let’s hope that the playcalling won’t be sponsored by this Yogurtland flavor:

Confession: I actually like vanilla in my yogurt. Not so much in my team's playcalling.

Confession: I actually like vanilla in my yogurt. Not so much in my team’s playcalling.

CommBro Breaker

Apparently, Ronnie Bradford is a huge supporter of the blog! HAH.

Rep that City of Angles, man! This guy already has my support.

The Infamous Escape Pod Plothole

Posted on by commbro

To no one’s surprise, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has awoken much discussion regarding original trilogy and prequels. Of course, putting it all under a microscope brought back some nagging issues.

We’re only going to focus on one such issue from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

You might remember the scene near the beginning. R2-D2 convinces C-3PO to climb into the escape pod with it, setting off a sequence of events spanning all the way through Episode VII.

The Rebellion would’ve been short-lived had the droids not made it onto the surface of Tatooine. As some have aptly pointed out, if the Imperial Empire had just decided to fire on the escape pod, the movie series could’ve ended quite anti-climatically right then and there. I mean, were they trying to save bullets or something? They use lasers, dawg. Just fire the damn thing.This was a plothole for sure! Plot armor to the highest degree. A convenient story-telling gloss over. A nasty trope.

CommBro Breaker

Nay, I tell ya. An answer so simple robs the essence of an entire argument. Those of such an ilk ought not to sully the reputation of their forefathers by mere mention of a notion given with nary a thought. I beseech you to search harder for the truth. Verily, I declare the answer is but one thing:

Paper work.

When some cops have to fill out paperwork just for unholstering their gun, a large organization like the Imperial Empire would necessitate something like that in a report. How else would they keep strict control over a government spanning hundreds of planets across a galaxy?

Nothing can stop the wheels of bureaucracy from turning.

When you, TK-421, and your homie TK-420blazeit want to chill out after work and some…stuff, do you really want to spend an extra second filling out some forms? The officer on deck made the bro move and saved everyone from all that extra crap. Did we see him getting choked out? Nope. Things worked out for them. Good going officer joe shmoe.

 

The Revenant: A Review

Posted on by commbro

The Revenant

Runtime: 2 hours 36 minutes
Budget: Estimated to be $135 million

Leonardo DiCaprio, again, finds himself hanging onto a piece of wood to survive the waters—only this time, Kate Winslet isn’t there to hog his spot. DiCaprio takes on the role of Hugh Glass, tackling the wilderness in Castaway: American Frontier Edition.

Enough with the jokes. The Revenant brings quality cinematography to the table. In a sense, it was like poetry as moving pictures. At the very least, it was much better poetry than that junk I put out on the previous movie review CommBro Breaker. But really, it was beautifully shot.

The captivating story portrays how quickly man can fall to a primal state and how relatable that is across cultures. That, however, means that they bring a level of brutality and butchery that may unsettle some viewers. Personally, I didn’t find it to be excessive or gratuitious by any stretch. Each person should decide on their own whether they’d be able/willing to stomach that. I think it would be worth it to experience this film.

CommBro Breaker

Maybe this was actually an alternate ending to Inception. Cobb (DiCaprio) and Eames (Hardy) are just hanging out in a frozen hell after dropping into limbo. They’ll probably wake up at some point.

 

Creed: A Review

Posted on by commbro

Creed

Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes
Budget: Estimated to be $35 million

First off, I gotta be honest. I haven’t watched any previous Rocky movie from beginning to end. Now that we got that out of the way…

Nothing about Creed’s plot is particularly superb. It’s actually quite predictable. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie though. Creed has that great underdog story that America can’t seem to get enough of.

The film features top notch acting, including great performances from Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. Jordan actually put on a pound or two—or 24, reportedly—to take the role of Adonis.

Everything seemed plausible (except maybe for the number of hits they took), but I don’t claim to be an expert in physiology nor a student of the boxing game. At most, I have a novice to basic understanding of the sport of boxing. Despite that, I found the movie to be compelling enough for me to sit through its 2+ hour length.

 CommBro Breaker

Sadly, I’m not feeling up to snuff on the jokes right now. So here’s a really bad poem for you guys:

This long sequel
ain’t just for sheeple
Some crazy kid
who could’ve hid
might’ve been a bit cocky
but got trained by Rocky

I’ll show myself out.

USC vs. UW: There’s a first time for everything

Posted on by commbro

Wisconsin vs. USC (National Funding Holiday Bowl)
December 30, 2015 at 7:40pm
Qualcomm Stadium: 48,329 (of 71,500)
Total Time: 3 hours 28 minutes

In the Trojans’ longest game of the season, USC fell to Wisconsin in a struggle of a match. The Badgers experienced their first win against a Trojan team after seven tries, spanning over 60 years. It’s funny how a team USC was undefeated against ends the Trojans’ 13-game winning streak against Big Ten teams. USC continues to set a lot of unfortunate firsts in this decade. Like the final 8-6 record—which looks really bad.

Most teams have not ever gotten an 8-6 record because having a 14-game season is already uncommon. Wisconsin joined the uncommon crowd back in 2012 when they went to a Rose Bowl with an 8-5 record. They eventually lost to Stanford, ending their season 8-6.

There’s not a whole lot I want to say about this game, so I’ll get it over with quickly.

I refrained from commenting on the light practice schedule heading into the bowl game, but now with the benefit of hindsight reinforcing my opinion, I can say that was probably a major mistake. Wisconsin’s team is physically tough and boasts one of the best defenses that USC has faced this season.

Instead of showing up, USC continued to showcase that everything wrong with the Trojans in 2015. It’s sad that the same issues from the first few games were still alive and well in the 14th game of the season. Stupid penalties from lack of discipline, an absurd number of tackles for loss allowed, wasted timeouts, and plain incomprehensible decision-making.

Wisconsin did better in most statistical categories, including time of possession. For a USC team that’s supposed to be tough, physical, and focus on the power run, failing at an almost 2:1 ratio is beyond disappointing.

Then there’s the tackles for a loss. Redshirt sopohomore linebacker, Jack Cichy, picked up three sacks in a row—bolstered by a 5-yard penalty—to bring up a 4th-and-38. At least it wasn’t 4th-and-40. By the way, Cichy only had 2 sacks his entire career. That helped them total an astounding 9 tackles for a loss against USC.

Meanwhile, USC failed to sack any Wisconsin QB. Not even the backup QB after Joel Stave got cleated in the face. Speaking of Stave, he was mediocre to subpar for most of his games. Throughout his career, he tended to throw about as many interceptions as touchdowns. The game against USC turned out to be arguably his best performances against a Power 5 team this season.

The penalty problem didn’t go away either. None being worse than that last one. I don’t really like calling individual players out, but come on Don Hill. That was a dumb penalty at the end that played a large factor in costing the team the game. It wasn’t some kind of subjective call or a failing to make a tough play. It was just hot-headness, ego or whatever that led to a stupid personal foul penalty. It was completely unnecessary and avoidable.

Through it all, USC still had a chance down the stretch. The offense had possession with 2:27 remaining. The ball is in your hands with 2 minutes left and only down by 2. This is where legends are made! Oh, interception? That’s cool too, I guess.

Ah, but destiny grants you another chance! Throw to an 8-yard out route on 4th-and-10 with 7 seconds left? Hi, this is fate calling. I’m giving up on you. Bye. Seriously though, that was excrutiating to watch.

Saturday night and we in the spot Don’t believe me just watch

Saturday Wedensday night and we in the spot
Don’t believe me just watch

After a preseason #8 ranking, the Trojans will fall to unranked after the bowl season ends.

CommBro Breaker

Wisconsin’s scoring defense led the nation in allowing only 13.1 points per game. USC scored 21—above average!

Misleading Stat of the Week: USC is undefeated against team names that start with the vowels A, E, I , and U. Their only vowel loss was to Oregon.

Arkansas State W
Idaho W
Arizona State W
Utah W
Arizona W
Oregon L
UCLA W

Real Stats: If you want to play apologist, the combined number of losses of USC’s opponents in 2015 is the fewest in a decade. You’d have to reach back a decade to 2005, when USC played six ranked teams with a combined record of 88-65. The combined record for 2015 is 116-67 and they faced five ranked teams. Only two of those teams were not bowl eligible. No matter how you cut it, it was a difficult season even before coaching changes and sanction effects

Star Wars – The Force Awakens: A Review

Posted on by commbro

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Runtime: 2 hours 15 minutes
Budget: Estimated to be $200 million

After 10 years, one of the biggest movie franchises is back. Star Wars Episode VII features some of your favorite returning characters, but just a wee bit more ‘seasoned’—except for Chewbacca. He only used some Just for Wookies – Touch of Gray, but otherwise just as spry as ever.

Overall, I found it to be an outstanding film. I seem to always harp on pacing, but this film did a fine job in keeping its 2 hour, 15 minute runtime from becoming slow and plodding. While the scope of the film tended to focus very personally on a few characters, they never forgot to remind the audience of the scale of the rest of the galaxy.

The movie felt like a sequel yet avoided the pitfalls of the Star Wars prequels and the Hobbit trilogy. There were little to no unnecessary shoehorned references. The dialogue was definitely a cut above either of the aforementioned trilogies.

However, no film is perfect and this one certainly had its flaws. There were some moments that were straight up ridiculous. Since I won’t go into spoilers, I will just say those moments were forced, badly done, and corny. Surely, that is not what they meant by “use the Force.” There were definitely better ways to get the same point across, which might’ve made the movie 30 seconds longer, but that much better.

CommBro Breaker

J.J. Abrams sinks his teeth into another science fiction classic—perhaps seeking only to further confuse those that already had trouble discerning the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars. “Oh, Abrams made other Star Whatzits movie?” Abrams has gone full meta with Lost.

Something like that.

Something like that.

It’s also funny how he stole some minor characters from Lost and a few main characters, wholesale, from movies like Ex Machina and The Raid: Redemption.