Summer Movie Preview?

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I love sports. It's probably the thing (not person) that I love most in this world. I am about to graduate with a meteorology degree, but my love for weather falls far short of sports. The only thing that comes even close for me, is movies. I am a sucker for a $5 small coke. a $6 bag of popcorn and a $10 ticket to two hours of mindless entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I love the deep and intellectual movies (Slumdog Millionaire was my favorite movie last year), but summer movies are usually straight-up action and comedy with no global message attached. And I like that.

Now I know this is a sports blog, but we include hot chicks, so I'll include pictures of hot chicks. But please bear with me as we take a break from the NBA and NHL playoffs and MLB ... and

take a look at what looks to be a fantastic season of entertainment that makes you dumber.

I'll highlight movies I am looking forward to, and include dud movies that may have hot chicks in them.

MAY:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I never was an X-Men fan growing up. I didn't watch the cartoons or read the comics, but I did play the arcade game every now and then. However, I enjoyed the trilogy over the past few years and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine character was the best part of those movies ... BY FAR. So yes, I am on board to see this movie. Not to mention we finally get a look at Gambit played by Taylor Kitsch, who stars in one of my favorite TV shows, Friday Night Lights. He gets to hook up with this:

Lucky SOB.

Yes, I don't really care about Gambit, but I got to throw in that image, so don't complain.

Star Trek:

Like X-Men, I was never a Trekkie. I didn't watch any Star Trek growing up. However, this movie looks pretty bad A$$. The action looks fantastic. J.J. Abrams knows how to create suspense and include good action, so count me in.

Terminator Salvation:

Even though Christian Bale is freaking crazy... he is still a fantastic actor and a great action star. I always loved the Terminator franchise (yes, even Terminator 3), and I am greatly looking forward to this.

UP:

Does Pixar ever miss? When I first saw the teaser trailers for this movie, I thought "That is going to be boring." The full-length trailer came out in February, and WOW this looks good. Did we expect anything less from Pixar?

Other notable May movies:

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: NO THANK YOU

Angels and Demons: Never read the books, but probably will be dragged to this one

Night at the Museum II: Enjoyed the first one but could see this getting old quickly

Dance Flick: PLEASE GOD STOP WITH THESE AWFUL SPOOFS

JUNE:

Land of the Lost:

Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Jorma (The Lonely Island)... count me in. I am always down for a Will Ferrell movie... it just hasn't gotten old yet. Throw in the two other guys and this has a chance at comic gold.

Year One:

I think the combination of the shennanigans of Jack Black and Michael Cera's calm comedy is going to be fantastic. Throw in the caveman theme and a cameo from Paul Rudd and I'm in heaven.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen:

Megan Fox. I was dumber after seeing it, but was sufficiently entertained after the first one. So I'll see this one. Oh and did I mention sex-addicted Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. Megan Fox. MEGAN FOXXXXXXX.

Another June notable:

Taking of Pelham 123: Denzel and Travolta can never be a losing combination.

JULY:

Public Enemies:

Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in a crime thriller. Michael Mann directs (HEAT). I don't think any other explanation is necessary.

I Love You Beth Cooper:

Hayden Panettiere. Again, I...I don't think any other explanation is necessary.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:

Yes, I am a fan. The movies have gotten darker and stronger in my opinion. This should be a good one and will possibly have the biggest release of the summer.

Funny People:

Adam Sandler returns. This movie will be strong. Directed by Judd Apatow (40 Year old Virgin, Knocked Up), and also starring Seth Rogen and Eric Bana. Not only a good comedy, but will have a great plot-line and looks to be a tear jerker as well.

Other July notables:

Bruno: Borat's counterpart.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Should be fun to watch on cable some day

G-Force: Hamsters working for the government starring the voice of Nic Cage.... uhhhh No

The Ugly Truth: Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl star in this romantic comedy that I will never see.

AUGUST:

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

I have a bromanctic crush on Jeremy Piven (Entourage). Starring in a comedy produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (Anchorman). Sign ... ME ... UP.

Inglorious Bastards;

Quentin Tarantino directs Brad Pitt and others as a bunch of Nazis are slaughtered. Sounds like my kind of movie.

Other August notables:

G.I. Joe: NOPE

The Boat that Rocked: Ensemble comedy featuring Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman... hmmm intriguing.

Well, maybe I brought some movies into the limelight that you had never heard of. If not, sorry for wasting your time.

A few sports notes:

Dallas loses Game 5 but finishes the Spurs in Game 6.

The Denver Nuggets have showed that they will take the Lakers to at least 6 games, but LA still wins the West.

Nobody is beating Cleveland in the East.

Al Davis needs to die of "natural causes."

Tiger is back this weekend!!!!

I have no idea what has happened to the Dallas Cowboys ... oh, wait, they got rid of their best talent evaluator (Parcells).

Actually enjoyed watching some Texas Ranger baseball last night.

I am ready to graduate... 18 DAYS!!!

Stay classy,

B-Dubs

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays

The first Tribute installment of Mile High Musings, for the final Monday of March Madness...

• I wake up this morning, cook my usual breakfast of cereal (Lucky Charms today. For those who care, they were magically delicious.) and flip on SportsCenter before I head to Monday morning class. I figure it'll be a quality show; we just finished with the Elite Eight, with some great games (Pitt-Nova and State-L'Ville) and enjoyable storylines (Spartans get home court, Tar Heels and Huskies clicking on all cylinders, Blake Griffin coming up juuuuuust short). The NBA conference races are heating up, and Opening Day (or Christmas come early, as some like to call it) is just around the corner. Oh, and that golfer guy that used to be good did something good yesterday. Rawr.
  
  
• But instead, I'm watching full-blown coverage of Kentucky Head Coach Watch: Day 37. Now they're saying Memphis boss John Calipari might - might! - be interested in the gig. (Since when are People Magazine gossip writers doubling as ESPN producers? Oh, wait, forever...that's right.) They've brought in three consecutive talking heads (Dickie V, Steve Lavin and a writer from the Lexington paper) to speculate: "how would Coach Cal fit in at Kentucky?"



• I turn to my roommate Justin, and boldly predict: "The moment Calipari agrees to work at Kentucky, the coverage will shift to, 'how will Coach Cal fit in at Kentucky?', and SportsCenter will basically reuse the same scripts again because they think we're idiots." To this, Justin nodded.



• Or maybe he was just nodding off*. All this Kentucky talk - you know, discussing the future of a program that, uh, hasn't made a Final Four in a decade - was putting this tried-and-true college basketball fan to sleep.
  *not actually my roommate, but sort of resembles him after a long night of Grand Marnier
  
  
• Sure enough, sources say Kentucky is working on an eight-year deal for Mr. "Free Throws Don't Matter" himself. It's a good move for him; he's accomplished everything he could at Memphis, and now gets a chance to show he can do it consistently in the big boy conference.
  


• I just didn't need to hear it 89 times today, ESPN. We got it. Especially with everything else going on in sports right now.
  


• If you hadn't had a chance to catch B-dubs' eugoogoly on the 08-09 Sooners, it's a great read, even if you don't bleed cream and crimson.



• Here's my personal eugoogoly of the Badgers' season: They came. They started. They did not finish. And thus, they did not conquer.



• Anything else you needed to know?



• First and only fantasy baseball draft of the year is Sunday. I had four football drafts last fall, and spent approximately 68 hours slaving over big boards and draft lists.



• Which is approximately 68 hours more than I've spent on the baseball draft.

• And it's an auction draft. Never been in one of those. We'll see how it goes, but I got a feeling I'm gonna end up being a worse GM than Chris Wallace.



• Sounds like somebody took Jay Cutler's pacifier away from him. They also took 100,000 grand from his wallet today for missing 10 days of workouts.



• I still think he'll be a Bronco on Opening Day in September. Not wishful thinking, just looking at it objectively.



• Because if he does get traded, and Denver doesn't get equal value, Josh McDaniels' stay in the Mile High City will be quicker than Antonio McDyess' third tour of duty.



• Speaking of which - and not to squeeze sour grapes on this magical Nuggets season - if Dice stays a Nugget, then LA's got some company up there on its lofty perch. Too bad.



• Believe it or not: Birdman > Marcus Camby. Ya heard me.



• I was close to tears the night Denver gave away Marcus for an expired grocery coupon. Wanted to throw away my Nuggets allegiance. But while the Chauncey trade officially turned things around, and rightfully got the pub for doing so, it's the addition of Chris Andersen that pushed Denver over the top. He's got the same defensive presence and a little bit more energy, for less than 10 percent of the price.



• That all being said, I'm still scared you-know-whatless of playing Utah in the first round and getting knocked out AGAIN before the playoffs really get started.



• Oh, wait...just saw that Utah is 1-14 on the road against winning teams this season. And they nearly blew second-half leads of more than 20 points in their last two home games, to less-than-awe-inspiring Phoenix and New York. Never mind.
  
  
• Apparently, Andrew "Out 8-12 weeks with a knee" Bynum is back in action, scoring left and right once again. But not for the Lakers.
  
  
• The Los Angeles big man, who was hurt on Jan. 31 and was hoping to be back before the end of March, was seen clubbing it at the Playboy Mansion over the weekend. Bynum was allegedly hoisting up models on his shoulders, jumping velvet ropes and playing the life of the party, doing everything but doing a cannonball into Hef's pool.
  
  
• I got no problem with mackin' on Playmates any chance you get. But seriously, man, can't it wait til' the end of the season? Way to support your teammates and get back out on that court for a few garbage games before the playoffs start.
  
  
• But hey, any friend of Nuggets Finals chances is a friend of mine. And we share initials. Attaboy, AB.
  


• Obligatory "Heroes" update of the week: Sylar's been quiet this season. With the new skill he just acquired, though, I'd say he's about to become Comeback Bad Dude of the Year. The good guys are in BIG trouble...as is Danko. I give him two, maybe three, more weeks of life.



• LATER THIS WEEK: A scintillating nomination for TNEA of the Week (Wednesday; hot babe alert!), B-dubs' Immediate Reactions (Thursday), and our Preseason MLB Power Rankinsg (TBD), final thoughts on the overall seasons of Wisconsin and Oklahoma sports (TBD) and Final Four stuff throughout the weekend.

Have a good one.

-AJ