Monthly Archives: April 2019
What About Bob? His 36 Saves Helped Columbus Earn 2-1 Series Lead
6-1.
That is the current record of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which includes a 4-0 sweep of the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. Earlier tonight, the Blue Jackets held on for a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins for a 2-1 series lead in the second round of the playoffs in front of–and with the support of–a thunderous home crowd of around 20,000 at Nationwide Arena.
A great scene.
Never trailing in Game 3 tonight, the Blue Jackets were opportunistic offensively and determined defensively. It’s quite a relief when one of the best goalies in the NHL, Sergei Bobrovsky (“Bob”), is an absolute beast between the pipes. His mobility has been on full display this postseason.
Blue Jackets Boone Jenner opened up scoring with 1:23 left in the first period. Matt Duchene doubled the lead for Columbus with 7:18 remaining in the second period and Boston’s Jake DeBrusk countered by the skin of his teeth (and an official video review) with 40 seconds left in the second period.
Surviving an offensive barrage by Boston for the full 20 minutes of the third period, Mr. BOBrovsky helped Columbus take the 2-1 series lead.
To any objective NHL fan and analyst, Columbus has been one of the (if not the) best team in this year’s playoffs thus far. With Artemi Panarin (the “Bread Man”) always looking for his shot and Sergei Bobrovsky protecting the goal, the Blue Jackets are a formidable force on both ends of the ice. What’s more is that, at least to an observer who is not in the locker room, it seems head coach John Tortorella has a team with no ego, intense focus to detail defensively and a belief that they can beat any team on any night if given the opportunity.
These characteristics are the differentiating factors that are defining the eye-opening success for the Columbus Blue Jackets right now.
Game 4 is back in Nationwide Arena this Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports.
Happy Monday!
James Bond is returning for his 25th cinematic adventure, which will be the fifth and final film for Daniel Craig as 007. His portrayal has been widely considered one of the best (if not the best) as the iconic British secret agent brought to the world by Ian Fleming. While the title is still unknown, the cast has been revealed:
Daniel Craig, Rami Malek (villain), Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen, Jeffrey Wright, Lashana Lynch, Rory Kinnear, David, Dencik.
Here are Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris and director Cary Fukunaga discussing James Bond.
‘Casino Royale’ => ‘Quantum of Solace’ => ‘Skyfall’ => ‘Spectre’ => ?
What’s the title pattern? Is there a pattern? Lots of questions fit for a spy involving ‘Bond 25.’ Perhaps that’s the way it should be right now.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
Will Smith Meets Will Smith in ‘Gemini Man’
To celebrate National DNA Day, it seems fitting to dive into the intriguingly complex subject of human cloning with a twist.
Despite a variety of biological obstacles, human cloning will remain on the “To Do” list of mankind for the foreseeable future. Success in this field promises exciting (yet dangerous) possibilities for future generations on many levels, known and unknown. The applications for such an achievement are endless. However, considering the fact that there are serious ramifications that can impact the life of the clone and the original copy individual, the gamble seems too steep these days. Take into account the signature adverse effect of cloning animals, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute.
“Reproductive cloning is a very inefficient technique and most cloned animal embryos cannot develop into healthy individuals. For instance, Dolly was the only clone to be born live out of a total of 277 cloned embryos. This very low efficiency, combined with safety concerns, presents a serious obstacle to the application of reproductive cloning.”
This same report stated that Dolly lived half of the expected lifespan for a regular sheep. Even using the term “clone” appears to be in the experimental phase of cloning.
Now enter Hollywood.
And now enter a fictional reality in which human cloning is not only shockingly accurate and lethal but taken to a new level (or back to a level) of personal nostalgia.
Ladies and gentlemen, Will Smith presents the first trailer for his new film ‘Gemini Man’ that will either be really good or it will fall into the undesirable ‘After Earth’ territory.
Visionary director Ang Lee (Life of Pi, The Hulk) and actor Will Smith (we all know his TV and movie resume) will surely bring their signature skills to this action movie centered on next next-level human cloning. The question — and success of ‘Gemini Man’ — rests solely on screenwriters David Benioff (‘Game of Thrones’), Darren Lemke (‘Goosebumps,’ ‘Shazam!’), Billy Ray (‘Hart’s War,’ ‘Shattered Glass,’ ‘Captain Phillips’).
The story’s hook and the final note of its third act just better not be another Hollywood science fiction clone of its own.
‘Gemini Man’ arrives at a theater near you on October 11, 2019.
You Can’t Stream the Movie Theater Experience
Netflix and Oscars Update:
In concert with yesterday’s article here on Jimmy’s Daily Planet that focused on Steven Spielberg’s thoughts regarding the necessity for all Oscar-eligible films to remain within the traditional parameters of a traditional theatrical release, the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts and Sciences has determined that Rule Two — which involves a film’s eligibility for winning — will favor streaming services moving forward in so many words.
The Academy’s Board of Governors voted to maintain Rule Two, Eligibility for the 92nd Oscars. The rule states that to be eligible for awards consideration, a film must have a minimum seven-day theatrical run in a Los Angeles County commercial theater, with at least three screenings per day for paid admission. Motion pictures released in nontheatrical media on or after the first day of their Los Angeles County theatrical qualifying run remain eligible.
That’s a major win for streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. Take ‘Roma’ by director Alfonso Cuarón that streamed on Netflix that won three Oscars at this year’s ceremony:
- Best Director
- Best Foreign Language Film
- Best Cinematography
The argument is not about quality — which ‘Roma’ has — but more about quality of experience. I am a fan of Netflix. It’s a great service for TV and film. But let’s face facts that most people multi-task (or are at least tempted to) with convenient streaming services like Netflix that very easily takes away from the pure movie watching experience. It’s also crucial that Hollywood ensures that all eligible films are having to play by the same rules for the same grand, life-changing prize. As Mr. Spielberg noted yesterday in the New York Times, the theatrical experience must be maintained for the biggest movies of the year. He is 100% right. The Academy’s progressive move towards the “future of TV” is a slippery slope that will exert pain on movie theaters in big cities and small towns alike in the short and long term.
Academy President John Bailey expressed sympathy for the theatrical experience yet fell short with a sanitized non-answer answer for his conclusion.
“We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions. Our rules currently require theatrical exhibition and also allow for a broad selection of films to be submitted for Oscars consideration. We plan to further study the profound changes occurring in our industry and continue discussions with our members about these issues.”
–Academy President John Bailey
In other words, Mr. Bailey supports counting the dollar bills from streaming services.
There is nothing wrong with movie studios and the Academy making lots of money. That’s a good thing if they put out a good product that people want to buy. However, the problem is refusing to take the right, principled stand of where we sit for the best films being released in the future:
Are we on our couch watching a summer blockbuster on our TV or cell phone or laptop? Or are we in a dark, crowded movie theater with strangers for an unforgettable movie experience that simultaneously defines our lives and popular culture with cinematic game-changers like ‘Jaws,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Inception’?
It costs a lot of money to invest, produce and ultimately release a major motion picture. Creating short cuts in this process will cut short what movies mean for us and movie studios moving forward.
Netflix contributed to the downfall of the Blockbuster movie store chain early in the 21st century, transforming the origin of the movie watching experience at home from an excitingly extroverted in-store search and interaction to the introverted in-house mail service. Now it seems the Academy and streaming services like Netflix have its eyes on revolutionizing the summer blockbuster by way of the information superhighway.
When it comes to the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts and Sciences debating issues like Rule Two, movie theaters are gonna need a bigger vote.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 