The movie hits theaters May 7th and stars Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke.If you are not excited about it yet…check this out!

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First i will comment on a more personal critique on last months George St. Pierre fight. The man personally bored me to death. i feel that he was just taking pleasure in winning every round thoroughly instead of finishing the fight. To be one of the best fighters you should be able to finish fights, especially against an opponent like Dan Hardy (who showed a lot of heart but physically had no business being in the ring). Champions finish fights and that is not something St. Pierre has done lately.

The next pound for pound great I will comment on received some intense feedback from the UFC’s president Dana White. White vowed to punish Anderson Silva for his disrespectful antics towards his opponent. White said that fans pay to much money to see the UFC and Silva’s actions were an embarrassment. If you didn’t here about this fight check out this article.

I think that fights like these are what give UFC haters ground to stand on. They say it is too much guys rolling on the ground which is what St. Pierre focused on doing in the Hardy fight. And haters also say that it is too much like professional wrestling and that is where Silva’s taunting and pathetic antics could be highlighted. I think that these two UFC pound for pound greats need to step their game up or they and the organization will begin to lose fans. Being a UFC fan costs too much money to have fights like this past weekend’s Silva vs. Maia main event.

Many reviews floating around the internet were not too fond of the comedy which starred actors John Cusack, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry. I thought that not only was the movie hilarious, but it was somewhat rewarding to watch for those who grew up in the eighties or like me, were forced to watch the movies made in the eighties by their parents.

The entire film is a nice tribute to the films that were made in the eighties. Beginning with the casting of the main character being John Cusack who was one of the kings of the eighties movies. He was in several popular 80′s flicks such as Better Off Dead and Say Anything. In the movie there are several little and big parts of scenes that emulate  certain parts of popular movies of the 1980′s. Here are just a few.

1. Skiing in the film was one of the main hobbies of the title character Lane in Better Off Dead and when the characters go back in time the first thing they do is hit the slopes.
2. After the group skis in the movie a conversation on an over-sized cell phone has a guy utter the words “I want my two dollars”, which is a famous line that was constantly repeated throughout Better Off Dead.
3. In the film John Cusack’s character and his love interest (played by Lizzy Caplan sit on a counter in front of a candle light in the same position as the characters in the famous scene from Sixteen Candles.
4. The character in the film played by Craig Robinson plays a song from the future with his band, much like the character Marty McFly does in the movie Back to The Future.
5. The bell hop in The Hot Tub Time Machine is played by the same actor who played George McFly in the original Back to the Future movie. Other hidden eighties movie tributes can be seen here.

Overall the film was entertaining and that was all that mattered to me. No it is not as inspiring as Good Will Hunting and it is not as funny as Wedding Crashers, but it is still something you should check out. Rob Corddry’s steals the show in Hot Tub Time Machine. His crazy drunkin perverted character really made the movie for me. He was hilarious, vulgar, and rude…everything you can ask for in a character in a rated R comedy.

I thought that the movie was definitely worth my money and worth yours as well…especially if you are someone who just cannot get enough of the famous tacky movies that were made in the 1980′s.

John Harris says that he came to WVU to help give an answer to the people who question aspiring journalists as to “why the hell they would want to go into the journalism field when it is in such a state of disarray?”

His speech really was inspiring to a young journalist like myself. He showed that in the field of journalism right now there is a move toward a more entrepreneurial era. Traditional journalism gave the most influence and power to the heads of the most prestigious news organizations. But now with the web that is over. There are so many more ways to get journalistic influence out to the masses. It made me feel that now skills and experience I get on this blog that nobody, but my friends really read can be applied to my future career.

It was nice to see that he was one journalist whose  began in the traditional era of journalism that looks optimistically at the future and what new media will have to offer.

Overall, it is nice to hear that the money I am spending for a degree in journalism, has more to offer than just the mainstream of broadcast news and print journalism.

Last month I heard the good news that Batman director Christopher Nolan is helping with the next Superman. But just about a month later I heard news about a superhero movie that I was originally excited about. The news was that for they had found the actor who will play the title character in the Captain America movie that will hit theaters July 22, 2011. Chris Evans will be Captain America.

If you do not know who Evans is and you did not click on the link that I provided…he was the actor who played the Human Torch in those god awful Fantastic Four movies. I have four points I would like to make on my feelings about this casting:

1. He was already a Marvel superhero in a movie!!! That is just stupid! you already have Ryan Reynolds playing Green Lantern and Deadpool, but at least they are in different comic book universes!
2. His previous roles are all comedic, and if he doesn’t change that, I will be angry. Nobody wants a sarcastic Captain America.
3. People are saying that at least he looks the part. A guy in good shape with blond hair? That is like every actor.
4. And lastly the only thing I am glad about is that they did not cast John Krasinski…I could not handle Jim from the office in the Red, White and Blue.

Well all I have to say is that I will still see this opening weekend and I hope that Chris Evans and the casting director prove me wrong.

For the most part the Oscars were extremely predictable. Only one award came as a surprise to me and that was Kathryn Bigalow winning Best Director. She deserved it, but I thought that it was going to James Cameron for sure. I thought Jeff Bridges was well deserving and almost a lock for the award about three months before the ceremony. BTW…the man talks like The Dude in real life. Christoph Waltz deserved that award more than anyone and he was another actor that was a lock for the award.

The woman winners were not shocking either. Sandra Bullock played a very emotional role based on a real life woman who was aggressive in trying to make a difference (similar to Julia Roberts first Oscar winning performance in Erin Brokavich). Monique was also not a very surprising winner because that story required a lot of great heart felt performances in order for it to be successful..and news flash it was!

Lastly, the Hurt Locker won and although I loved Inglorious Basterds, I was not disappointed. The movie was awesome and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. After the film I felt drained from the roller coaster the movie puts you through.

Overall, it was an average year at the Oscars. Predictable, the hosts were not as funny as I thought, and my favorite actor still has not taken home the gold (Sorry Woody, but the Jew Hunter deserved it).

Last year Ben was accused of sexual assault, and he is still dealing with legal problems from the incident. Many of my friends (especially dirty Ravens fans) would say things like “well at least my quarterback is not a rapist.” But from the beginning I would stand up for my quarterback and defend his honor. Why would a millionaire superbowl winning star quarterback have to force himself on a female? He could have any girl he wants. I truly believed that the man was innocent.

My logic to defend my favorite football players good name could be crumbling in my face as the quarterback is once again under fire for sexual assault. A TMZ report says that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has been accused of sexual assault by a young woman in Georgia. The incident occurred this morning at a club in Milledgeville, Georgia called Capital City. The sexual assault victim was taken to the hospital and Roethlisberger was already questioned by police. No formal charges have been filed.

Hopefully for the Steelers organization and the fans that Big Ben is not only found innocent, but that he also lays low for a while and stops getting into these stick situations.

The movie offered everything that you could ever want in a film. It had action, drama and a little bit of horror. The eerie music played throughout the film really helped to set the mood. Martin Scorsese, I feel rarely directs a bad movie and Shutter Island was no different. Some of the scenes were so engaging that I would lose myself in the story. It had a very noir/Hitchcock influence. The film did not only make you jump at times, but it had the ability to bring a tear to your eyes.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in the movie was one of his best. Throughout the film he plays a U.S. Marshall from Boston in the 1950′s. He plays a man hardened from a life filled with war and tragedy. Leo truly took on the character and played the part perfectly. It could have been the best performance of his career, in my honest opinion.

The film has many twists and turns that always keep you on your feet. And the twists in this movie are not hollow and poorly executed like many other films that have attempted mystery/thrillers in the past few years. Shutter Island for me served its purpose. It was an awesome movie that left me feeling satisfied as I left the theater. I would say that the two highlights of the film were Leo’s performance and the imagery in the main character Teddy Edwards dream scenes.

This movie is definitely worth your time and money.

My cousin used to order all of the pay-per-views just for an excuse to throw a party. He would order any event that was on pay-per-view, whether it was Holyfield vs. Tyson boxing in the ring or it was Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock grappling in the octagon. At these parties it would turn into me and my brother Mike (Chad) being the only two with our eyes glued to the entire event, while drunken adults could care less. As two youngsters who watched Van Damme movies on a daily basis, it would be obvious that we would love to see this type of sport.

Since then I have always enjoyed watching the sport. Even now as it has grown into a more mainstream event, I still try to keep up on the sport.

Although I enjoy the sport, it is difficult to afford the pay-per-views that seem to come out once a month. So if I do get the chance to legally watch events live, it is by pitching in with friends or going to a bar.

This past Saturday a pretty good card was on UFC 110. The main event featured, the legend Antonio Nogueira and the sensational undefeated Cain Velasquez. Luckily for me I was able to catch this fight the next day and I was overly impressed with Cain’s performance.

Velasquez was able to do something that only one person has accomplished before him…he knocked out the legend. And he did it in a little over two minutes. Cain Velasquez improved to 8-0 professionally and Nogueira fell to 32-6-1.

Velasquez has yet to face anyone in the UFC to have given him a close fight and after defeating a high profile fighter like Nogueira, he will surely be in the running for a title shot.

My honest opinion is that by the end of this year he will be the UFC Heavyweight champion. The guy has never lost and out of three of his fights that I was able to watch the man looked truly unstoppable on the ground and his striking. He seems to only continue to get better.

If all things fall into place fans of the UFC could see a war between Velasquez and the monster that is Brock Lesnar before the year is over. I predict this match-up going the distance with Velasquez stealing a unanimous decision, but only time will tell.

With football season at its end, prepare to see more boxing/MMA posts.