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RDT World of Sport Hall of Fame Inductee #1: Muhammad Ali

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Resume
Career Boxing Record: 56-5 (37 KO)
Three-Time Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World
Ring Magazine All-Time Ranking: #1
ESPN.com All-Time Ranking: #2
Gold Medalist – 1960 Summer Olympics

With the grace of a butterfly and a sting like a bee Muhammad Ali is arguably the greatest boxer of all-time. He defeated all of his rivals, some in an ironic, dramatic fashion. Everything Ali did in the ring and out was iconic. He got under the skin of Sonny Liston, both literally and figuratively and trash talked him before and after the fight. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, which led to him evading the draft years later. He became a symbol against the Vietnam War. He affected young blacks just as much as Martin Luther King Jr. did. His three fight series with Joe Frazier had taglines such as “Fight of the Century” and “Thrilla in Manilla”. He outboxed (rope-a-dope) George Foreman in “The Rumble in the Jungle”. He was a master showman, arrogant and confident to no end. At the same time so many have called him the greatest person they’ve ever met (George Foreman is one example).

An amazing boxer, showman and ambassador (to not only boxing, but as a black American), Muhammad Ali deserves to be recognized in every way possible.

Poker

RDT Reviews KidPoker

Spoilers because…I’m not sure how to review a documentary otherwise…

KidPoker is the inspiring story of top poker professional Daniel Negreanu. The short version of this review is that this is a great documentary that has me wanting more. Even if you aren’t a poker fan, there’s a lot to be learned from KidPoker.

KidPoker establishes early Negreanu’s super close relationship with his parents…and how Negreanu was a bit of a wild child who seemed to say whatever came out of his mouth with a lack of respect for anyone he thought was wrong. Both points really define the person Negreanu is today for better or for worse (and mostly it is for better). Negreanu telling his teacher that he’s bored in class as he decided to lay down in the back of the class isn’t that different than Negreanu telling a tournament director that his structure isn’t good or blinding himself out as a form of protest. Negreanu also is one to be proud of his accomplishments and his framing of a letter he got from school where his teacher wrote that she basically couldn’t deal with him anymore is definitely a high point.

Negreanu’s background in regards to schooling also justifies a personal belief of mine in regards to the education system. While Negreanu’s in an extreme case (I would never recommend someone dropout of school or not finish to play poker), his success proves that not everyone is going to benefit from learning about Biology or History in the classroom. If I were a parent I’d personally want my student to excel in one area than be above average in all. Give me an A+, C, C, C, C student over a B+, B+, B, B, B student any day. That A+ should be pushed. I sense Negreanu would be an A+ in math and to no surprise at all he excelled in something that required him to be good at numbers. The public education system should take note.

Anyway, back to the documentary we learn about how Negreanu began going back and forth to Vegas, going broke each time. It didn’t take him that long to figure the games out and soon his mother was in 100% support of his career (his father already was) (story about how another parent told Negreanu’s mother that she would be ashamed of him even though her son was selling drugs and stolen radios is also a highlight. You see that every day). This arrives me at point #2, when your parents are in full support of what you do it can only strengthen you. It’s obvious Negreanu drew that support from his parents throughout his career. Negreanu’s relationship with his parents, especially his mother, is the strongest point of the documentary.

Another strong point about the documentary: many of Daniel’s friends and fellow professionals being honest about the pros and cons of Negreanu himself. Jennifer Harman details how after Negreanu broke through with a surprising WSOP bracelet in 1998 he made awful financial decisions. Later in the doc Antonio Esfandiari says there’s something that to this day he still disagrees with Negreanu about but that doesn’t change how much respect he has for him. John Duthie pointed out that sometimes Negreanu said things that may have been over the line…even if he was right. Overall it was nice to see that the entire documentary wasn’t just something to soothe Negreanu’s ego.

After we see Negreanu tear up the poker scene through 2004, disappointingly we jump ahead to Negreanu’s high roller successes of 2013. I do wish there was some more focus on Negreanu’s struggles after 2004 (like his “poor” 2005 tournament results) and how he refocused and captured the Limit Hold’em title in 2008. I’m also curious how a myriad of near misses affected him, such as 2nd places in the WSOP in 2002 and 2003, and especially the 2nd place in the 2009 WSOPE Main Event. We don’t even go over his WSOP-A Main Event title in 2013 either. In fact, we don’t hear anything about his WSOP Main Event shortcomings, especially the 2001 one. Maybe these are unnecessary to the story, but I guess as a poker fan I just want to know everything (I wanted to know how his World Poker Finals run in 1997 helped him too).

Moreso about the missing period as that we don’t explore some of what seems to be significant personal relationships. We see Evelyn Ng multiple times in the documentary but we don’t get one story about her, surprising as it seems considering they are great friends and knew each other since they were about 16 (they were pool hustlers together, and pool is a part of KidPoker). We also don’t hear anything about Daniel being married in 2005, although perhaps when he’s speaking about a relationship in the Choice Center that’s what it’s in reference to (no idea). Also the biggest example of him getting doused with controversy because of his mouth is his feud with Annie Duke. Then again, why would we want her to be publicized through this documentary? So I take it back. Less Annie Duke the better.

Lastly, I’m surprised that I don’t hear the word “Pokerstars” in the entire documentary. We see the software on screen and such, but that relationship surprisingly isn’t explored.

What KidPoker does well though is it makes this larger than life poker World Champion relatable to the normal person. I too used to write sports stats and such just like Negreanu when I was a kid. Who hasn’t had success get to their head a bit and as a result made mistakes (like Negreanu lost 98 bracelet win) and assumed success would be guaranteed year after year? Who hasn’t lost an inspiring figure in their lives? Who hasn’t been criticized and as a result needed to prove themselves (I can’t help but shake my head at the 2+2 Forums references in KidPoker. While I guess it’s the best place for poker discussion most of 2+2 is an embarrassment. Hell I just read today what a fish Phil Hellmuth is in tournament poker as he took down another $1,000,000+ prize. What a joke.)

KidPoker does a great job of explaining how a wild Canadian like Negreanu became a spokesperson and ambassador for the game of poker (Phil Ivey calling it “the game of poker” and not just “poker” is awesome, but that’s another discussion). It’s well done. Sure I wish there were some more stories here…but isn’t that a sign it was a great doc in the first place?

Grade: A-

 

Basketball

2016 NBA Finals Prediction

So long Toronto and Oklahoma City. In Toronto’s case they’ve proved me wrong five different times in these playoffs. Sure they lost in six, but they put up a great fight and Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan definitely earned my respect. Hopefully DeRozan doesn’t leave and Toronto sticks around as a regular playoff team each year.

I don’t know if Oklahoma City fans should consider this season a win or not. They weren’t supposed to get past San Antonio and going up 3-1 on the record breaking Warriors seemed unfathomable. I’m not completely surprised that Golden State came back although I did think Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were playing way too well for it to happen. Unfortunately, Durant will have his clutchness questioned (not unlike LeBron five years ago) and really Westbrook should too. It doesn’t mean it’s right, but eventually top stars need to get the job done. And when you’re up 3-1 that means not losing three straight. Durant is where LeBron five or six years ago and I wouldn’t count him out. We definitely got some great basketball out if it…leading to…

NBA Finals

#1 Golden State Warriors (73-9) vs. #1 Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25)

In the end we have the two #1 seeds. It may have felt like a complicated way to get here but in truth the Eastern Conference side has was always going to be the Cavs despite Toronto’s fight. Golden State, despite the 73-9 record, was always a little less certain as the Spurs loomed. Surprisingly Oklahoma City took Golden State to the limit. That plus Stephen Curry’s playoff injury plus Draymond Green suddenly becoming one of the league’s top villains has made the Warriors look vulnerable. Cleveland meanwhile has marched through the East with a 12-2 record with the highest points differential in the playoffs since the 2001 Lakers.

Let’s make the case for Cavs. First off the Cavs have LeBron James. Only the biggest haters of LeBron at this point can ignore the fact that he’s one of the best ten players of all time, one of the top two players in the league right now (and still arguably #1). Most fans have taken LeBron for granted. The fact of the matter is LeBron almost won the NBA title last year with Matthew Dellavedova as his 2nd best guy. LeBron went for 36-13-9 on AVERAGE (admittedly with a bad shooting %) and wore down the Warriors basically by himself. In fact, LeBron was my pick for Finals MVP even though Cleveland lost. And this year? This year LeBron has weapons. Like Kyrie Irving. Like Kevin Love. If good J.R. Smith shows up then include him too. If they reach their potential this is one scary team. They showed that against the Hawks in these playoffs. LeBron James can turn this series around and this time he doesn’t need to take 28 shots each game to do it.

Let’s talk about Kevin Love. Love seems to be the most inconsistent player on Cleveland. Some nights he’s nailing threes and getting double digit rebounds. Other nights he’s nowhere to be seen and a ghost on defense. His defense probably won’t magically improve, so he’ll have to have consistent big offensive nights in this series. It should be noted that in the two games against the Warriors this year Love has shot 6 for 21. He’ll have to do better than that.

Cleveland will also have to win the offensive rebounding game by a significant margin to win. This is what you were paid to do Tristan Thompson. Kevin Love also grabbed 18 boards against Golden State on Xmas…but it should be noted they still lost that game. Golden State has already beaten three of the best offensive rebounding teams in the NBA in these playoffs. It doesn’t mean Cleveland can’t win this way though.

All three of these reasons (not just one or two) will have to happen in order for Cleveland to win. Even then I’m not quite sure it will be enough.

For one Stephen Curry seems 100% over his injury and doing Stephen Curry things. He’s absolutely unstoppable in this situation and unlike last year I don’t think someone like Dellavedova is going to rattle him. And even so, Klay Thompson is clearly in peak form right now too. If there’s one thing we learned from Cleveland’s series against Toronto it’s that the perimeter defense is suspect. Lowry and DeRozan ran wild when away from Cleveland. And Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are much better than Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. I don’t have much faith in Cleveland’s defense away from Cleveland. And in Cleveland I don’t expect for Curry to get shut down.

I also think Golden State is a strong enough team defensively to at least hold down the Cavs. Of course LeBron will get his, but will Kevin Love? I get that Kyrie Irving was just getting back into rhythm when the regular season games against the Warriors took place but he looked bad in both. Then again he was good against them in Game 1 before he went down. The Cavs may get big contributions from Channing Frye and J.R. Smith and they will need them, but I don’t know if that’s enough to win a seven game series. Defensively Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala will make Cleveland work for their points. Rebounding wise Green can also beat Cleveland as well (as he did on Christmas). Bismack Biyombo’s rebounding performance in the Eastern Conference Finals really puts a damper on the whole “Cleveland will beat Golden State by outrebounding them” strategy.

All of the intangible factors to go Golden State too. They’ve been here before. They’ve been tested and they’ve won. They’re a 73-9 juggernaut. They have the coaching advantage (although Ty Lue is quite a wildcard). They even have Anderson Varejao, who may not be a factor on the court but you can never like it when someone who’s been on one side for so long is suddenly you enemy (see Horace Grant vs. the Bulls in ‘95 or Robert Horry vs the Lakers in ’04…a Phil Jackson story there).

On Cleveland’s side Kyrie Irving’s played in one Finals game total (although in truth I think he’ll be fine). Kevin Love hasn’t yet and really hasn’t shown me he’s ready for that level of intensity. We don’t really know what difference Ty Lue made other than some stories. If anything, Cleveland had a worse regular season record after David Blatt was fired despite getting Irving back.

The Golden State Warriors are just too good to lose four out of seven. Oklahoma City was close, and I sense that was just the kick in the ass they needed too.

Warriors in 6.

Poker

My Three WSOP Trips

I’ve made three trips to Las Vegas over the last few years, each with the intent of playing in the World Series Poker. Before I delve into each trip, just a few notes about just how awesome the World Series of Poker is.

Being able to play in the World Series of Poker is a lot of fun and definitely a must for anyone who plays poker. While its expensive, there are ways to get into events without paying full price. And attendance is few anyway if you just want to be a fan. But playing in the World Series of Poker lets you play among the true greats in the game. I can’t go to a NBA game and play against LeBron James. I can’t go to a NFL game and play against Tom Brady. But I can sit at a WSOP poker table and potentially play against Phil Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu. I can also have a ringside seat…again for free…and watch final tables (or not even) of WSOP bracelet events. It’s pretty cool standing there, watching the 10K HORSE event with about 12 tables in place, watching all the great players I’ve watched on TV over the years play.

And of course there’s always the chance, slim as it may be, of winning that WSOP bracelet for myself. Over the years a lot of people have said that winning a WSOP bracelet doesn’t have the prestige it once was. Two reasons why: there are many other big poker tournament series all over the world now and there are 60+ bracelet events a year, plus another 10 or so in Asia or Europe (quick point on the 2nd point, I kinda disagree with this as there are way more poker players overall. So there are double the bracelet events than 12 years ago. The player pool has probably increased 5 or 6 fold in some events). But I don’t care. Each year I hope I can get lucky enough to win the event I plan on playing.

So, here are short stories about my three Vegas WSOP trips.

2013

I didn’t really think about the 2013 WSOP until March of that year actually. I was in the first year of my professional job. I had a weekend off and decided to travel to Foxwoods to play the Omaha 8 WSOP Circuit event. It was only my 3rd live tournament (still sadly mourning the days of Pokerstars and Full Tilt, although I never played big stakes there anyway) and while I was still playing with basically scared money I had played my way to the Final Table. Unfortunately, the $12,000 1st place prize eluded me as I continued to play afraid and basically got blinded out with a bad call along the way. Still, a live Final Table, 8th place, $1,300 and a chance to play with a professional (Ylon Schwartz) did give me some confidence after some reflection. I decided to target the $1,500 HORSE event (I always liked the limit games, and I couldn’t go broke in one hand which would have devastated me) at the WSOP that year. I thought there was some cool coincidences along the way as Schwartz actually won the $1,500 HORSE in 2012. A bigger coincidence would come up in Vegas actually.

It should be noted that I’ve never flown before and I was quite nervous about that. Once I got through that (I still hate flying) I’ll never forget just how hot it was when I went outside. Despite that I hate the heat, the dry heat didn’t bother me that much. I rode in a cab and was amazed at the big lights for all the big casinos that I’ve only heard of before. I was amazed that I was amazed actually, since living in New York means I go to Times Square pretty much all the time. Well, now I understood how those who’ve visited Times Square for the first time felt. Even though I got there at night I decided to walk to the Rio from my hotel (the Clarion, it was a bit of a walk but I did not care. I was excited). I’ll never forget walking into the Rio Convention Center. I felt like I was home. Tables everywhere. All I heard were the sounds of chips clashing against one another. I walked around some more and saw some tournaments going on. I knew I had to get some sleep since the HORSE was the next day. But I was excited.

The $1,500 HORSE event didn’t go well for me. I was quite card dead and ultimately lost a Stud hand where I had 10h, 9h, 8h, 7h in my first five cards. I finished somewhere in the middle of the field. I was disappointed (and at first, quite bothered as that was the biggest poker tournament I had ever played up until that point) but I didn’t feel outclassed or anything. That night though I decided to sit in the stands and watch Mike Matusow win his 4th gold bracelet. Mike’s one of my favorite poker players of all time, so that was a cool experience for me. If you watch his Pokernews interview with Kristy Arnett, you can kinda see me in the background with a green basketball jersey on.

Throughout the day I was still in astonishment. I remember the first top level pro I walked by (Michael Mizrachi) and was just another fan as I saw all these guys all over the Rio. Greg Raymer, Phil Hellmuth etc.

Anyway, I was off to the Binion’s Poker Classic the next day and…to the surprise of myself for sure, decided to walk it. I don’t understand how I was able to walk three miles in 110 degree heat. I had a lot of later and don’t find dry heat that bad I guess. Anyway, 80 people put up $200 to play Omaha 8. I was pretty card dead and played way too tight (not out of fear though, I just thought that made sense and this strategy did get me to the Final Table in March). I also made a really bad mistake in misreading my hand once, and also lost a half of a big pot on a two outer. I was down to a half a bet at dinner. I got pretty lucky to get back to about 3.5 bets (A-3-8-8 over A-2-10-J), was able to double up a couple of more times and then suddenly loosened up (any fear that I may have had went away when I was down to a half a bet). I remember playing really well when we were down to 20; making good re-raises and bluffs. I was among the chipleaders as we got to the Final Table. A few things I remember. There was a player at the table who had a big stack for what seemed like forever that tried to run over everyone. I got in a good trap on him to get a lot of my chips. Later I found out that this player had a 2nd place in a WSOP PLO 8 event a few years prior. Another player was a tigher, older man who had hit the two outer on me a lot earlier. He was tough to get chips from. Also at the table was that big coincidence I wrote of earlier: Brian Scholl. Scholl has also been at the Final Table back at Foxwoods and I thought it was a crazy coincidence that we were both in this tournament. He had won the event at Foxwoods. I won a huge pot against him at the Final Table (my A-3-4-5 against his A-2-3-4 on A-6-K board). The hand is significant as I was able to get past the mistakes I made at Foxwoods (being too conservative). I had the chiplead after this and eventually went heads up with Brian, where I caught better overall and won the event. Scholl was a great sport too, taking my victory picture and congratulating me. First was also $4,300, so I was pretty pumped that my first trip through Vegas meant I was coming up with a profit. It also meant a lot to me that I won an event in the same building where legends like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan had won tournaments. It was also 17 hours long.

I played a little cash the next day to try that out (lost $100). I watched the Final Table of the event I came to play in the first place (another favorite of mine, Tom Schneider won). I went home counting the days till I could come back.

2014

I didn’t cash in anything else from the Omaha 8 event at Binion’s until my 2014 trip. I had played when I could and trying to get better. Unfortunately, I had an air of over-confidence. I played a few smaller events before the $1,500 HORSE this year. Two at the Golden Nugget (I think it was an Omaha 8/Stud 8 split and a HORSE) and I think another Omaha 8 at Binion’s. The only things I remember there was that the Binion’s poker room wasn’t used for poker anymore and we played downstairs, and that I ended up at the same table as someone twice. Also, Gavin Smith was playing at Binion’s which was pretty cool too. I struck out in all three events and really wasn’t focused on them. For some reason I thought it come to me. My focus did return for the $1,500 HORSE event though.

There’s a lot of things I’ll never forget about the $1,500 HORSE event on Day 1. For one, I was a table away from both Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey and even Phil Ivey’s stare can be intimidating from there. Jesse Sylvia, a runner-up of the WSOP Main Event, complimented my Nintendo hat and was pretty cool to talk to. I played some Stud hands with former WSOP World Champion Tom McEvoy. Two players were criticizing a Stud 8 play of mine when I got them both to put bets in when I had the high and the low (and I was confident I played it correctly, which only gave me confidence). I re-raised Jan Fisher when I had nothing to win a hand in Omaha 8. I had a pretty good run of cards overall. And I had a Top 5 chipstack (or close. Top 10 for sure) about 7 hours in. Unfortunately, I got tired as well, spewed many chips and barely made Day 2. I was excited to make Day 2, but with a small stack I didn’t get far. Cashing was top 80 and I finished approximately 144th. I was pretty disappointed overall with how I played.

2015

I had actually started watching Jason Somerville in early 2014 and I slowly was working on my NLH game. I had Final Tabled a small tournament at the Borgata in late 2014. In 2015 I decided I would play the $1,500 Stud 8 as scheduling only permit me to go to the WSOP during that week. I thought about going to play a NLH, but still wasn’t sure about how I’d feel playing a No Limit tournament with huge buy-ins. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I played two small events at the Borgata a couple weeks prior. I played really well in both. I just got knocked out of the money in the first event as a four to one favorite of being close to the chiplead, and I cashed the 2nd and got KOed on my AK vs. J9. But overall I thought I played great in both events. It gave me to confidence to try playing a couple of 1K No Limits at the WSOP. I played a $1,000 NLH, the $1,111 Little One For One Drop and the $1,500 Stud 8. I played some smaller events as well.

I do regret playing the $1Ks though. I clearly wasn’t ready for them and busting out early in the first 1K…which was my first day in Vegas, put me in a mindset that wasn’t good. I didn’t play anything well until the very last event. I blew a good position in a small Omaha Hi tournament at Planet Hollywood. I busted out early in the Little One. I played poorly in the HORSE at Binions. I felt defeated right after Day 1 for some reason. I remember playing the Stud 8 and playing terribly the whole time.

I finally did get into gear in the last event on my schedule: a $400, 200K GTD at Planet Hollywood. I was able to cash in the event, although I recognize mistakes I made along the way. Still, I felt like I could play better and there were definitely paths to winning these events.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the 2016 WSOP but I am confident. Since the 2015 WSOP I’ve made two Final Tables in small events. I’m happier in my personal life than I’ve been in a while and I think that’s going to lead me into playing great. I finally get to play the $1,500 WSOP Omaha 8 event as well. Maybe this will be my year?

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Captain America: The First Avenger

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for five years now

Captain America: The First Avenger has one goal and it accomplishes it: provide an origin story for Captain America (I suppose it sets up some things for The Avengers as well). It accomplishes this goal in a straightforward manner in a very good but not quite great way.

The First Avenger is a classic zero to hero story. Steve Rogers is a skinny kid in Brooklyn with a great heart and fighting spirit. He’s found by a scientist for the U.S. military who’s directing a project to create the ultimate super solider and thinks Rogers the right choice because of his personality. It turns out he’s right, as Rogers is transformed into Captain America, proves his worth, and takes down the Nazi organization HYDRA, led by the Red Skull. It’s a basic but good story that gets the point across.

The First Avenger is made up of several mini-arcs that work, yet are rushed. He starts off as that skinny kid that no one believes in (and may be smarter than everyone else too), but rather early in the film he’s transformed into Captain America. He’s stuck as a symbol of the American effort in World War II, another interesting direction, but then decides to go on his own and free soldiers (including his friend “Bucky” Barnes). Agent Carter falls for him, sees him kissing someone else, gets mad then falls for him again. It works…but again it’s rushed. Admittedly his friendship with Bucky is underdeveloped…but still good enough.

Some of the performances work really well here. Tommy Lee Jones is great as Colonel Chester Phillips and Hayley Atwell is just as great as Agent Carter. Hugo Weaving is a very good villain as well as his Red Skull is one of the more memorable Marvel villains in the MCU (whatever that’s saying). Chris Evans wasn’t bad either.

Perhaps I didn’t say much in this review but in turn there’s not a lot to say. There’s much more good than bad and we get a good origin story for Captain America. There’s nothing in this film I would particularly classify as bad other than it being a bit rushed.

We also had one of the better final scenes of the MCU…when Cap wakes up in modern day NY, setting up the Avengers. Just a great scene.

Pros:

+Agent Carter is great, and the Red Skull is one of the more memorable MCU villains.

+Zero to Hero story done quite well.

+Establishes the Captain America character well.

+It was cool to see Howard Stark in action.

Cons:

-Some plot points are a bit rushed.

A good film that establishes Captain America for the MCU. There’s not much bad here at all and a whole lot of good.

Grade: B+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Thor

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for five years now

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first began watching Thor. Thor is a bit of an outsider when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he, unlike the others (up until this point) isn’t an Earth-based being. He’s a god set to become King of Asgard, his home planet. And that’s how our story starts. Thor is just about to be bestowed the kingship before Asgard is attacked by the Frost Giants of of Jotunheim, a enemy of Asgard that had lost a war to Thor’s father years ago.

Sounds like a far cry from Iron Man or even the Hulk right? Well, it still works. Thor shows that he isn’t worthy to the crown (I actually don’t understand why his father, Odin, thought he was worthy of it in the first place) by attacking Jotunheim and disobeying his father in doing so. So Odin banished him to Earth and throws the Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer) there too. It’s up to Thor to learn humility and become worthy to wield the Mjolnir. During all this, Thor’s brother Loki has been plotting behind the scenes to obtain the crown of Asgard himself and looks to keep Thor on Earth forever.

The opening 30 minutes, with Thor disobeying his father and battling the Frost Giants does feel out of place with the rest of the MCU so far, but it’s still entertaining enough. The film really picks up though when Thor is sent to Earth. He meets Dr. Erik Selvig, Darcy Lewis and Dr. Jane Foster and they both want to know what they just discovered.  While Lewis and Selvig dismiss him as a crazy man, Foster doesn’t give up on him and tries to learn more about him. S.H.I.E.L.D. is also out to find out more about Thor as they’ve found the Mjolnir. Everything from Thor landing on Earth to him finally reaching the Mjolnir but not being able to lift it is really good.

Unfortunately after that the film suffers a bit as it tries to tie up too many stories. After Thor fails to lift the hammer, his transition from crazy man pretending to be a god to normal good man is a bit off, and his love relationship with Jane is rushed. I wouldn’t say any of it is bad, it just isn’t as good as the hour proceeding it. There’s also the matter of Loki telling Thor that his father’s dead (a lie) and that he wants Thor banished forever (also a lie). Loki says he’s king now but can’t unbanish Thor, which really should have rang alarm bells in Thor’s head. We also learn that Loki is a child of the Frost Giants, which is a bit unnecessary as a story element but works just fine.

The film does hit another high point after that, as Thor proves he’s worthy and regains use of the Mjolnir. While the final battles are disappointing, everything works well enough that I can still say I enjoyed the film and wasn’t let down.

Most of the performances were good as I liked Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins. Refreshingly, Tom Hiddleston gives us a memorable MCU villain, and his presence in the end credits scene assures we see more of him in the future.

It’s worth noting that Asgard looks great as well.

Pros:

+Good performances from the main characters.

+Thor as a crazy man works really well.

+Story is solid.

+Loki is our first memorable MCU villain.

+S.H.I.E.L.D. tie-in works a lot better than in Iron Man 2.

Cons:

-Film drags a bit after Thor learns he isn’t worthy.

-Jane Foster-Thor relationship rather lacking.

A good film here. While nothing mind blowingly special, it works well enough to establish Thor and Loki in the MCU.

Grade: B

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Iron Man 2

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for six years now.

Unfortunately, Iron Man 2 undoes a lot of the good will the Tony Stark character developed in Iron Man 1. That’s probably my best explanation. There’s two stories going on concurrently in Iron Man 2 and they’re both quite weak with little payoffs. Story #1: After developing the Iron Man “weapon”, Tony Stark is forced to testify in Congress about possession of such weapon and whether or not it should be turned over to the American people. The big argument going for Stark is that no one else in the world is even close to developing the technology that powers the Iron Man suit. Of course, someone has (Whiplash). Instead of going toward a direction that focuses on the character who has built the tech, he’s overshadowed by Stark’s rival Justin Hammer and story #2.

Story #2 revolves around Tony Stark dealing with his mortality as the chest piece that powers the Iron Man suit is also killing him. This is the weakest story in the entire MCU, as this makes Stark regress from a maturity standpoint. He becomes reckless and endangers others. While becoming reckless to a point is fine from a character standpoint (justifying the race car part), becoming drunk in the Iron Man suit during a party is embarrassing and disappointing. After seeing what Tony Stark went through and overcame in Iron Man 1, I expect more from Stark. I don’t really care to see a mirror image of who he was before Iron Man 1, but for some reason we see it here.

Worst yet, story #2 comes to lame end as Nick Fury and the Black Widow cure (or help Stark find the cure, same idea) Stark and get him back on track as Iron Man. Overall this story arc led to several embarrassing moments and a less than stellar reason for Fury and Widow to be involved. It all feels forced, although Black Widow definitely has her moments here.

The conclusion to all of this is quite disappointing too, as Tony Stark accepts Col. Rhodes as his partner in what’s basically a throw away scene. They dispatch the drones Ivan Vanko had been working on in relative ease, then dispatch Vanko himself in a couple of minutes afterwards. It’s all a let down.

The biggest shame is that I think the actors do a great job overall with the limited material they are given. It’s probably not Robert Downey’s strongest performance, but it works. Mickey Rourke is pretty much wasted as Whiplash. Don Cheadle is an improvement over Terrence Howard as Rhodey. I really liked Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts here too and her role as someone trying to keep the spiraling Stark in check is a highlight. Sam Rockwell makes the most out of what otherwise would have just been an annoying character in Justin Hammer. Scarlett Johansson doesn’t show much emotion here, but that might have been the intent. I always get a kick out of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury though. The performances in this film save an otherwise weak film.

Pros:

+Performances from the actors are very good all around and make the most out of poorly drawn characters.

+A really good first half hour or so, it basically goes downhill once Vanko survives a car to the groin.

Cons:

-We went from believing in Tony Stark to being stupid we did so. Getting drunk in the Iron Man suit? Really?

-Whiplash is wasted.

-Avengers tie in is a bit forced.

A huge step back from Iron Man 1, but nothing Marvel couldn’t come back from.

Grade: C

 

Basketball

NBA Playoff Predictions: Conference Finals!

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So long Portland, San Antonio, Atlanta and Miami. Gotta hand it to Portland, Damian Lillard is a star and definitely the leader Portland needs. If they get some more talent surrounding them watch out. The Spurs going down is a shocker, but kudos to Billy Donovan for outcoaching Gregg Popovich. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard are great players, but Aldridge doesn’t seem to have the leadership qualities of a top guy and Leonard may be more of a Scottie Pippen type. I guess we’ll see. I don’t think anyone had Atlanta winning a game against Cleveland, although Cleveland suddenly looking like the Warriors in terms of shooting the basketball is terrifying. I was basically one quarter away from calling Miami-Toronto correctly, but Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan proved that they can perform in the playoffs. 2-2, 7-5 total.

Western Conference

#1 Golden State Warriors (73-9) vs. #3 Oklahoma City Thunder (55-27)

I would love as a fan to see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook upset Golden State and make it back to the Finals. I was just watching the 30 for 30 Magic Moment documentary on the mid 90’s Magic and its crazy how many parallels are here with OKC. They’ve tasted Finals glory. They had one clear star and one up and coming star, only that up and coming star became so good it’s arguable that he’s on the same level as the clear star. Injuries to the top star only furthered that opinion. They are in a smaller market and relatively new (OKC moved from Seattle, Orlando was new). And now that top star is debating leaving (Durant might, Shaq did). The year before that decision, they face a 70+ win juggernaut in the Conference Finals. I don’t want to see this OKC team break up and I feel like only a shot in the Finals might prevent that. This OKC team is fun and great for basketball, just like the mid 90s Magic were.

But the Warriors are running on all cylinders. Somehow the injury to Curry feels like a long time ago. I guess 17 point overtimes from one player will do that. Each time in the regular season Oklahoma City was just plays away from beating Golden State but could never do it. Durant can go for 40 and Westbrook with the 20-10-10, and still Curry might drop 45 and the Warriors will still win. I think there will be a lot of close games and I don’t want to count out OKC since they absolutely shocked me with their victory over the Spurs. But GS has answers to the match-up problems OKC caused in the previous series. Draymond Green won’t allow the Kanter-Adams lineup to flourish. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry can score with Durant and Westbrook. Iguodala can hound Durant. There’s too much to ignore. Get exicted for five games with scores like 118-110 though. Even if the Warriors win four of them.

Warriors in 5

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) vs. #2 Toronto Raptors (56-26)

I’ve counted Toronto out three times so far as I had them missing the playoffs, losing to Indiana then losing to Miami. I’m obviously continuing the trend here but this time it has less to do with Toronto. The Cavaliers are playing the type of basketball I expected from them when they got together last year. As for Toronto, bravo, Lowry and DeRozan are playing great and they should be proud of a great season. No Jonas and a semi-injured DeMarre Carrol is just way too much for Toronto to overcome on their side.

Cavs in 4.

 

Basketball

2016 NBA Playoff Predictions: Round 2!

So long Houston, LA, Memphis, Dallas, Detroit, Indiana, Charlotte and Boston. Boston and LA just had a rough deal with injuries. Dallas just doesn’t have enough talent and their best player is just about at the end. It’s too early for Detroit. Indiana had the series in the palm of their hand, but lineups without Paul George were just too awful for Indiana to survive with. George is like the poor man’s LeBron, which really isn’t intended as an insult. Memphis gets some credit for getting to the playoffs with all of their injuries, but this is a team that’s window has closed and is on its way down. Houston of course, is an embarrassment this year and that only continued with their poor playoff showing. Anyway, series wise we went 5-3 last round. Let’s see how we do here.

Western Conference

#1 Golden State Warriors (73-9) vs. #5 Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)

Portland got a huge gift in the first round with both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin went down. In fact, they became the 2nd team ever to come back down 0-2 when they lost both of those games by 20+ points. But you gotta win them however you can.

The Stephen Curry injury might allow Portland to sneak one, and of course I always want to give Damian Lillard a game where he goes off (like he did against the Warriors during the regular season). Take a bow Portland, you’ve gotten a lot farther than anyone gave you credit for.

Warriors in 6

#2 San Antonio Spurs (67-15) vs. #3 Oklahoma City Thunder (55-27)

Too bad I can’t change the amount of games right now after the Game 1 beat down San Antonio put on OKC.

I think Gregg Popovich figured out the Thunder years ago to be honest (while Billy Donovan’s still in his rookie year, remember). They need to find a way to cover LeMarcus Aldridge from mid range and hope Kawhi Leonard can’t cover Westbrook and/or Durant. Unfortunately as Game 1 told, Leonard absolutely can shut down Westbrook. Spurs are too deep and too good and it needs to be remembered that they were a historical team too this year.

Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) vs. #4 Atlanta Hawks (48-34)

Ever think that LeBron gets bored of beating these Eastern Conference teams? He’s 8-0 against the Hawks in his playoff career, and last year he basically won 4 in a row by himself. The Cavs are better this year while the Hawks clearly aren’t. Only storyline here is if the Cavs can convince me they can win the title this year.

Cavs in 4

#2 Toronto Raptors (56-26) vs. #3 Miami Heat (48-34)

Yeah still don’t believe in the Raptors at all. They barely survived a one man Paul George team. Miami beat Charlotte just as I thought they would, in 7 because one of their guys made big shots (Wade in Game 6). I think this goes 7 though, but Miami steals it in Toronto.

Heat in 7

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Big spoilers here…it’s pretty early in the MCU and you probably know what happens anyway.

                The Incredible Hulk is an okay film that doesn’t really stand out. It’s just there. Considering the titular character and the lead actor playing him (Edward Norton),the film being nothing special has to be considered as a big disappointment.

The film is made up of three stories. First of which is about Bruce Banner and his search for a cure to the gamma ray radiation that’s plagued his body. If this film does one thing right, it’s the opening sequence which brilliantly kinda-sorta references the previous Hulk film released in 2003. That scene gives us a great visual of just why Banner feels like he has to hide and how much pain he feels in regards to hurting anyone. But after that, his entire story arc is as follows: hide, get found, run, fight, hide, get found, run, fight, suddenly possibly unable to turn into Hulk, suddenly is needed to turn into Hulk, does so and fights. In between we see him working on his breathing exercises and working on his determination to make sure his heart rate doesn’t hit 200. It’s a good story, but not exactly a compelling one and unfortunately Norton isn’t able to shine in this role.

The second story is General Thunderbolt Ross’ goal to recapture Banner. William Hurt’s performance as Ross is my favorite part of the film as he effortlessly can go from a calm, even fatherly figure to someone barking orders and commanding an army to take down the Hulk. Unfortunately, Ross’ story is quite simplistic too, as he tries to capture the Hulk, fails, attacks again, argues with daughter, then eventually is forced to align himself with the Hulk. It’s so systematic that it’s just not that compelling.

Ross plays a big part in the third story which had the highest upside but turns out to be the biggest dud. Ross helps solider Emil Blonsky gain abilities to help him battle the Hulk. While Blonsky’s character starts off strong and has a compelling battle with the Hulk during his super speed and agility phase (where the Hulk shows off perhaps his best moment: kicking Blonsky into a tree, “killing” him), his arc takes a really disappointing turn as he becomes Abomination, a big monster that leads to a monster vs. monster confrontation. Iron Man did it better with a suit vs. suit battle to be fair.

There’s also the love interest for Banner, Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. While it’s not bad at all, once again she can be described as “just there”. I was honestly more interested in her interactions with her father than Banner overall.

When a film called The Incredible Hulk fails to stand out, that means it’s failed to meet expectations. It’s the Incredible Hulk! It should probably have been the most over the top Marvel film ever. Perhaps the Hulk just isn’t the type of character to have a whole film dedicated to him.

Pros:

+General Ross is a strong character for the most part. At least in the first two acts.

+There’s nothing really bad about the film, but…

Cons:

-Nothing particularly good either.

-Abomination is a disappointing route to go for Emil Blonsky.

A decent film with no real stand out moments. Well, except when Tony Stark shows up at the end.

Grade C+