Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York, but she doesn’t really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she¹s not really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named Sophie, but they aren’t really speaking anymore. Frances throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles. Frances wants so much more than she has but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. FRANCES HA is a modern comic fable that explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption.
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner Director: Noah Baumbach
Frances Ha opens Friday, May 24!
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Winners will be chosen at random from all entries. Supplies are limited. Limit one (1) pass per person, passes admit (2) two. Sponsor’s employees and their dependants are ineligible. Screening is overbooked to ensure capacity. Please refer to passes for any other possible restrictions. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
Screening will take place Thursday, May 23 at Landmark Tivoli (7pm).
The Four Horsemen, a magic super-group led by the charismatic J.Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), perform a pair of high-tech, high-profile magic shows, first amazing audiences by remotely robbing a Paris bank while in Las Vegas, and then exposing a white-collar criminal and funneling his millions into the audience members’ bank accounts, baffling the authorities with their intricately planned capers.
FBI Special Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is determined to make the magicians pay for their crimes—and to stop them before they pull off what promises to be an even more audacious heist. But he’s forced to partner with Alma (Mélanie Laurent), an Interpol detective about whom he is instantly suspicious. Out of desperation, he turns to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a famed magic debunker, who claims the Paris bank trick was actually a meticulously planned illusion. Dylan and Alma begin to wonder if the Horsemen have an outside point person. If so, finding him (or her) would be the key to ending the magicians’ crime spree. But who could it be? Or could it really be… magic?
As pressure mounts and the world awaits the Horsemen’s spectacular final trick, Dylan and Alma race to stay one step ahead of the magicians. But it soon becomes clear that outmaneuvering these masters of illusion is beyond the skills of any one man—or woman.
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Melanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Common, Michael Kelly, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman Director: Louis Leterrier
NOW YOU SEE ME opens Friday, May 31!
Use the contest app below to “like” ReviewSTL on Facebook - then tweet, share, or comment for additional entries!
Winners will be chosen at random from all entries. Supplies are limited. Limit one (1) pass per person, passes admit (2) two. Sponsor’s employees and their dependants are ineligible. Screening is overbooked to ensure capacity. Please refer to passes for any other possible restrictions. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
Screening will take place Wednesday, May 29 at Regal Gravois Bluffs (7pm).
Microsoft’s vision of the future revealed; and here’s why it has me worried.
This was Microsoft’s big day; their chance to show the world what the future of Xbox had in store for us. A lot of info was spilled, but sadly, we were left with more questions than answers. For those keeping track, we’ve had a pretty good run with our current crop of systems from the big three – Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Nintendo in predictable fashion entered the game early with the Wii U system, last year. Back in February Sony spilled the details on its future, and this May Microsoft was prepared to ‘wow’ the world with its vision.
People were exited. I was excited. The gaming world was excited. And how did Microsoft do? Well, to put it simply – miserably. Microsoft should really hire a better PR team.
We’ll come back to that, but first thing’s first, here’s what we know (we think). Getting a solid answer from Microsoft seems to be a challenge in itself. But here’s what was revealed at the event that was held live across blogs and TV.
It’s not Xbox 720, Infinity, or X-Bawks Tres. The new Xbox and the brand name Microsoft has committed to is simply:
Xbox One.
This is to symbolize the Xbox as a one-stop source of all your entertainment. And that’s understandable, and I admire that. Microsoft sees a future where there is no need for 4 or 5 big black boxes below your TV. They want to integrate, minimize, and socialize where and how you get your entertainment. Microsoft wants you to use your Xbox One for everything – TV, games, and social media. The better part of the hour long reveal was spent introducing and explaining the Xbox One’s capability to replace your cable/satellite TV box. You will soon have the ability to use the Xbox One to browse and watch your favorite programs. There are some really neat features to this. For starters, you’re able to categorize and even see what’s popular among your friends and the public. Theoretically you will be able to see what your friends watch, what strangers are watching, or discover new shows that are trending.
XBOX One showcasing “Snap Mode” to Skype while watching a movie.
During the above mentioned demonstration, Microsoft took the chance to show how versatile and unique the Xbox One can be. While watching a program you can engage something called, ‘Snap Mode.’ This feature allows you to pull up a second window to do whatever your heart desires. Want to look up the actress on IMDB for the show you’re watching? Now you can, but you don’t ever have to leave the show to do so (but I have my smart phone for that). Want to reply to a message or simply search the net and multitask while you watch TV (wish I had a way to do that, oh yeah my smartphone)? Or perhaps chat with your friend on Skype as you watch the newest episode of Game of Thrones? Now you can with the new Snap Mode feature. It was very slick and worked nicely, but I felt it was almost unnecessary.
Much to my dismay, Microsoft has gone full steam ahead with the Kinect. Now this little piece of hardware can do more than ever – in fact, I feel this is what Microsoft originally envisioned with the first Kinect. New additions include a 1080p camera, wider field of view, much higher light sensitivity, (it can reportedly work in complete darkness) and the ability to pick up all the subtle movements of your fingers, toes and even the rotation of your joints. In one of the more impressive – and weird – features was the Kinect’s ability to detect your heart rate. Imagine playing a workout game that tailors to your endurance using your heart rate as a guide. Or perhaps a horror game that monitors your heart rate and uses that info to tell when you’re actually scared – tossing out creepy sounds or monsters at just the right time.
One of the biggest surprises out of the event wasn’t a game or a shiny new feature. It was the surprise announcement of a TV show between 343 Studios and Steven Spielberg to produce a new Halo TV series, available exclusively on – you guessed it – Xbox Live. This was a seriously cool announcement. Mainly because I adored 343′s Forward Unto Dawn mini-series. With Spielberg’s penchant for sci-fi drama and 343′s commitment to Halo, this could turn out awesome.
Technical Specs
Despite screaming fan boys, the PS4 isn’t technologically superior. In fact, both machines are pretty much matched. As far as we know, the Xbox One is actually a little more complicated/cluttered. The Xbox One will feature 3 operating systems; one to play games, one for the TV experience, and a third to allow the seamless transition between the first two. The system will feature 8 GB of system memory, an 8 Core CPU, 500 GB HDD, USB 3.0, Blu-ray drive, 802.11n Wireless and WiFi-direct connectivity. You can also tell Microsoft is trying to reach a larger audience than just its core gamer crowd. The box itself is black, sleek and contemporary. The controller has also been slightly tweaked and improved with over 40 alterations. Things like a more tactile d-pad, rumble motors within the triggers, and less deadzone on the joysticks should make players happy.
What about the games, boss, the games?!
Well the press knew that this event wasn’t really about the games, but instead, was more about the hardware and software. The games will be saved for E3 in June. But not to leave their core demographic – and probably 90% of people actually watching the event – out of the picture, Microsoft revealed the following information
- Microsoft’s premier racing series – and direct competitor to Sony’s Gran Turismo series – Forza is seeing its 5th incarnation, Forza Motorsport 5. The game will be a same-day release for the Xbox One.
- Microsoft has partnered with Activision to release the first in-game trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Relating to the trailer, all DLC for the game will see itself on Xbox Live first before becoming available to the PS4 and PC.
- Microsoft is working with EA Sports to bring a new level of immersion and connection with its fans. EA took this opportunity to show off its new engine named, Ignite. Ignite promises better visuals, crazy detail, life-like animations and bringing more to the fans of FIFA, Madden, and NBA Live.
- A very weird, vague and not so revealing trailer for Remedy’s (creator of Max Payne and Alan Wake) new game, Quantum Break.
- Perhaps the best bit of news regarding, you know, games, was Microsoft’s commitment to expanding the Xbox One’s library. They confirmed 15 new games over the next year, 8 of those being original IPs. Nice.
This all sounds great, what’s the catch?
Editor’s note: Due to the sketchy nature of Microsoft’s PR team, please take the information below in good spirit.
The console won’t require an always online connection. We think. Honestly, we don’t really know. There has been a lot of hit and miss information regarding the true details of the situation. Some outlets are reporting one thing, while another says the opposite, all while Microsoft PR fumbles and provides no real answers. This event would have been a perfect time to denounce all those nasty always-online rumors. I guess Microsoft didn’t get the memo.
From what I can gather, the Xbox One will require a sort of “handshake” to Microsoft’s servers every 24 hours for the console to function like you expect – playing games and watching movies, even single player games. Not as bad as some reports would have suggested, but remember, not everyone has reliable internet. It would suck if I lost internet for more than 24 hours and I wasn’t even allowed to enjoy my own bought and paid for games.
Another bit of news apparently said during a post-show interview, was Microsoft’s stance against used and borrowed games. When you buy a new shiny game for your new shiny Xbox One, you must install it. Once installed, you will have to connect to the internet to allow the game to authenticate and tie itself to your Xbox Live ID before you can play. This means if you beat a game and want to let your friend, brother or roommate play it – they can’t, unless you log in with your Xbox Live ID on their console, but when you log on your console at home, it will sign you out on their console, and as a result, will render the game useless to them.
When the borrowed game is installed you will be prompted to buy an unlock code (which is speculated to be the full price of the game if it’s a newer title). Gone will be the days of lending games to family and friends. There are two things very wrong this: One, it alienates your core demographic of people – gamers. Some of my purchases are simply based off of a borrowed or rented game. Two, Microsoft is a global product, not only with the problems mentioned in the above paragraph, but what happens when soldiers on deployment or people in remote locations get a new game and can’t activate it? Has your new game just become a $60 paperweight? Microsoft would be silly to implement a system like this. Hopefully developers have the say in how this DRM is implemented and Xbox Live just provides the service.
The Xbox One is also reportedly said to have a non-removable HDD. This is beyond stupid. HDD’s have moving parts and sometimes they fail. With the Xbox 360, if our hard drive goes bad we can buy a new one and simply install it ourselves. With this new setup we won’t be allowed to swap hard drives if something goes bad (or we might break our warranty). Apparently you will be able to save any kind of information to removable flash drives, but what happens if you lose those? Not a good move, Microsoft.
To top it all off, Microsoft has decided to not let the Xbox One function at all if the Kinect isn’t connected. This wouldn’t really bother me, but it does simply because of this: the new Kinect is always in a low power state and never fully turned off. It’s designed this way so you can walk in to your living room and turn on the system and start up your favorite game or application with only your voice. Let’s recap: camera, microphone, internet, always on. What could possibly go wrong? Microsoft says they’re taking the necessary security measures so users’ privacy is top priority, call me a skeptic, but nothing is ever 100% secure. The idea of a stranger observing and hearing you without your permission makes me uneasy.
Price.
The price of Microsoft’s XBOX One was not revealed during the announcement, but is speculated to be somewhere in the $500-$600 range. Console makers have been losing money on their hardware for a long time, and the high-end specs of the XBOX One make this no exception. We will have to wait and see if they decide to push the higher price point, or if they cave in – fearing a high price-tag will hurt sales.
Analysts are also saying that games could be priced at $70 or higher – so prepare yourself before you get sticker shock.
Future.
In closing, I’m very excited for the future of games. In particular, Microsoft’s vision and where it will lead us. However, I feel Microsoft may be losing sight or trying to do too much at once. People who buy consoles on release day are most likely your hardcore or dedicated group of fans –- the same people who watch E3 and press events. I’m not the only person who feels like this. The social media world is blowing up, expressing that Microsoft has lost sight of gamers’ interests – and further expressing their interest in Sony’s PS4. After the event Sony’s stock rose 9%, while Microsoft’s dropped 0.66%. That’s real folks. Hopefully, Microsoft listens to the players and makes some changes before they release it in gamers’ hands.
Your move, Microsoft.
For more information about the XBOX One, visit the official site at xbox.com.
In part one of this series, I talked about a few of the stat lines for hitting, so I thought in part two, I’d talk about my favorite aspect of the game: pitching. Again, please note this isn’t meant to be an all-encompassing breakdown of sabermetrics; rather, just an intro to a few of the stats I use when talking about a pitcher’s effectiveness. Now, pitching has its share of sabermetrics and such, but a lot of them aren’t generally used by anyone but the most advanced websites and publications, so this entry may not be as long.
Again, if you can figure out what player’s statistics are in the cover of this story, I’ll give you free…something.
Earned Run Average (ERA)
Other than wins, this is by far the most widely used metric that people use when determining a pitcher’s effectiveness, but it may be a little confusing. “3.52 ERA…is that good?”
Let’s say Shelby Miller has a solid outing in his next start and gives up two earned runs (we’ll discuss earned runs when we talk about fielding) in six innings. Not too shabby. ERA is a measurement of how many earned runs a pitcher gives up every nine innings of work. So since he gave up two runs in six innings, you would divide 2/6 and then multiply by nine, giving him a tidy ERA of 3.00
What’s a good ERA?
Generally speaking, if a pitcher’s ERA is under 4.00, it’s pretty good. Under 3.50 is very good. Any starting pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 is likely one of the best pitchers in the league, and anything under 2.00 pretty much puts the pitcher in contention for a Cy Young.
Quality Start (QS)
A lot of people aren’t big on the quality start statistic, but it’s at least a starting point. Basically, if a pitcher goes six or more innings and gives up three or fewer earned runs, it’s a quality start.
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.
AFTER EARTH opens Friday, May 31!
Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith Director: M. Night Shyamalan
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So, on my way to Illinois this weekend, I had some time (ok, a lot) to ponder baseball. One of my good friends who I knows reads this column was asking me a few questions about the game, and I realized that at times, I probably present stats and acronyms that not everyone will comprehend.
Not wanting to be completely esoteric, I thought I’d do a basic entry on a few of the terms and statistics that you might see me write about. If you’re a big baseball nut, you’ll likely know what all of these terms are, so this entry may not be as informative to you; if so, disregard. But if you’ve read any of my posts and wondered what a slashline is, read on, you handsome man/pretty lady, you! This first post will cover batting statistics; I’ll cover pitching and fielding in another entry, assuming this one goes over well.
Sidenote, anyone who can guess what player’s statistics are in the cover of this article will get a free…something. I dunno. A free hug. I’ll give you a hint; he won the triple crown (most home runs, RBI, and batting average) for an entire decade.
Batting Average (BA or AVG)
This one’s pretty simple, but I won’t take anything for granted. Say Matt Carpenter leads the game off with a single. Not a bad start. Then in his next at-bat, he strikes out, which is not so bueno.
Were this the very beginning of the season and these were the first two at-bats he took, his batting average would be .500, as average is simply the amount of hits you have divided by the amount of at-bats you take, which in this case would be 1/2.
What’s a good batting average?
.300 is normally considered the defining line of a very good hitter, although if you’re hitting .280 or above, you’re usually doing something right. Stan Musial retired with a .331 career average, which is phenomenal. The career record holder is Ty Cobb, who hit .367 in his lifetime.
On-Base Percentage (OBP)
Ok, so say Matt walks in his third at-bat. This is where things start to get confusing. Because he didn’t get a hit or get out, it doesn’t count as an at-bat, but it DOES count as a plate appearance, which you may see written as PA on some sites. Therefore, his batting average would stay at .500, but because he got on base, his on-base percentage would be .667, as he has been on base twice in three plate appearances.
What’s a good on-base percentage?
Depending on the hitter, about .350. Generally if you have an OBP of .350 or above, you’re either getting a lot of hits, you’re drawing a lot of walks (or hit by pitches), or both.
Extreme Rules may have received mixed reactions from several of the wrestling column writers from around the nation, but I, for one, was very impressed with the show. Now, I don’t know how it came across on television, but the action from the fifth row of the Scottrade Center was pretty impressive. To make things clear, I had low expectations going into the pay per view, so that may have also played into my positive review of the show.
Things started off with a quick, solid match on the pre-show, as the Miz defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Just quick notes on this match; because it seems as if WWE writers don’t quite know what to do with the Miz. He’s very skilled on the microphone, and has greatly improved in the ring. It would be a shame for them to waste him. I’m not sure how I feel about him as a face, but he could have some solid mid to upper-mid card matches. This is the company’s chance to make the Intercontinental title relevant again.
The actual pay per view kicked off with Fandango against Chris Jericho. The crowd was hot for both guys. I was rocking my Fandango shirt, which countless people inquired about through the evening. I also had 5 year-old kid come up to me and tell me Fandango sucked and needed to learn some better dance moves. Nonetheless, both wrestlers delivered a solid opener. Jericho got the win with an impressive code breaker. While, I am not sure why you would have a match with no extreme rules stipulation at Extreme Rules, this will likely lead to another rematch.
The next match was for the the United States Title. As I predicted, Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston. This match was probably the weakest of all of them. It had a number of botched moves. Ambrose clearly wasn’t on page with Kingston. I would imagine we will see a rematch of this very soon.
The Mark Henry and Sheamus strap match was next. I was probably looking forward to this match least of all. That is really because, Sheamus does nothing for me. Pretty much, everyone in the arena knew he would win, which he did. Both men worked well together in the strap-match, as they were tied together by a leather strap.
Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger was probably the most surprising match of the night. It turned out to be a solid match. Swagger’s manager, Zeb Colter cut a pretty serious promo before the match. It grabbed a lot of heat from the audience. It was a very solid job by Colter, in garnering a solid negative reaction from the crowd. The only negative with this match was the constant questioning of the wrestlers by the referee. Every time they were put in a hold, he would ask them if they wanted to quit. Overall, though, a very solid wrestling match by the men.
Team Hell No battled The Shield in the next match. It was chaotic, as it was a tornado match. There were some great spots in the match, which can be expected with Daniel Bryan. The Shield got the win on an impressive finisher, as Roman Reigns held Bryan in a torture rack position while Seth Rollins hit him with a flying knee off the top rope. The Shield now owns a lot of gold, as they much-deserved push continues.
The loudest pop of the night came in the next match, as Randy Orton entered the ring to face the big show in an extreme rules match. This was one of the top matches of the night, if not the number one match. Orton played to the crowd, better than he has in months. I’ve been waiting for The Viper to re-appear, and he finally has. I hope he can keep this momentum up and get back into the title picture. Seeing Big Show up close is a mind-blowing thing. The man is absolutely gigantic. Another thing about Orton, the fact that he went to his head-kick to end the match, could signal a heel-turn. That’s really where Orton is at his best. Let’s hope that it happens.
The first main-event of the night was John Cena against Ryback for the WWE title. I had been very critical of this feud leading up to the pay per view, but both men delivered a great match. It went back and forth, as it spilled out into the crowd. The crowd went absolutely insane when Ryback put Cena through part of the stage, sending and explosion of electricity across the stage. It was an awesome and scary sight to see. Both men were played off to be critically hurt, and neither could get to their feet in the last man standing match, so it was a draw. One of the best endings I have seen to a title match in a while. It was brutally violent. The ending also means that both men are protected for another match in the future. It also means that C.M. Punk may not be returning for a while.
The main event was the match I had been looking forward to all night. Triple H against Brock Lesnar ended the show. I was very worried that Triple H was going to get the win, which would not have been the smart thing to do. Having Lesnar win in such a violent way, sledgehammer to the head, was the right way to go. This will build him up as more of an unstoppable monster, while Triple H can go back to his office job, running the company. Seeing Lesnar up close is also very impressive. He is a large man, to say the least.
Overall, Extreme Rules was a great pay per view. I spotted Orton’s brother in the section next to me, as well as legendary UFC fighter Matt Hughes in front of him. Hughes seemed to really pay attention to the Lesnar match.
Granted, it may have been different to see in person, but I would give Extreme Rules an 8.5 out of 10.
For more info on Extreme Rules, and for pictures and results, visit WWE.com.
And not just because I have a huge house, six-figure income, and a gorgeous ladyfriend who will cook me bacon any time I ask.
Because I don’t have any of those things.
No, I’m spoiled because I’m a Cardinals fan. And if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve been spoiled as well.
You see, we root for a winning team. This team, since 2000, has won 1,205 games and lost 943 for a tidy winning percentage of .561, which would be good enough to win 91 games a year. Only once has the team not been .500 or over in that stretch (2007, when the Cardinals had Adam Kennedy at second base while giving 26 starts to the indomitable Kip Wells).
Those of you who are my age or younger, it’s been an incredible run of awesome. It hasn’t always been this great, though. Save for one solid season in 1996 and the magic home run chase of ’98, the team went through some pretty lean years during the ’90s. From 1988 until 1999, the team was 920-956. Now, they weren’t awful; none of the teams approached 100 losses (a feat no Cardinals team has accomplished in the last century, thankfully). Still, for a fanbase that’s come to expect to compete every year, the last 13 years have to be considered a golden era for the team, along with ’26-34, when the team won two World Series in four trips and set the NL record for most runs scored in the live-ball era with 1,004 in 1930; ’64-68, when the team won two Series in three trips in five years; and of course ’42-46, when the Cardinals went to four World Series in five years and won three of them.
When the Cardinals fired Walt Jocketty, like many fans I was pretty sad. The man helped bring a World Series title to St. Louis. Who couldn’t love the MV3 of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen? The acquisition of Chris Carpenter? This man was a genius, right?
Well, yes and no. The team replaced him with a more sabermetric-minded gentleman named John Mozeliak, who completely re-tooled the team and its minor league club. Focusing on building its depleted farm club rather than trying to do a quick-fix with expensive veterans, the team slowly built a minor league system that ranked dead last in 2007 to one that is now ranked at the top of the list this season.
Look at the roster. So far, thirty players have played or pitched for the team this season. 23 of them made their major league debut as a Cardinal.
The team can hit. After a relatively slow start, the Cardinals’ .266 team average ranks fifth. More importantly, they’re scoring runs without depending on the longball. The Cardinals are third in the NL in runs scored per game even though they rank 22nd in slugging.
So how’re they doing it? Well, they’re eight in the majors in on-base (.329), and they’re the best team in the league when hitting with runners on (.315), and they’re even better when the runners are in scoring position (.334). On the flip side, the Cardinals’ staff owns the best ERA in baseball (3.16) thanks in large part to their starting rotation (2.63).
This is a team that’s had the luxury of reloading rather than rebuilding.
Pujols is gone? No worries. Allen Craig has had a torrid May and his average (.312) and on-base (.360) are back in line with his career averages. His slugging is down, but he’s still 14th in the majors in RBI (30).
Second base has been a quagmire in recent years? Matt Carpenter has done better than anyone could have expected him to. He’s not only hitting (.296/.378/.440), he’s playing above-average defense at second base. The plan had originally been for him to hold down second until the arrival of vaunted prospect Kolten Wong, but if he keeps this up, he may establish himself as the starting second baseman.
The outfield has taken its share of criticism at times, but you can’t argue that offensively, it’s been one of the best. Combined, the Cardinals’ outfield has a higher batting average (.280) than the average NL outfield (.261), a higher slugging percentage (.451 to .422), more home runs (20 to 16), and more RBI (82 to 55). What’s that? You still don’t like them very much? Well, Oscar Taveras is waiting in the wings.
Yadier is, well, Yadier. He leads the team in average (.333) and is still pretty much the best defensive catcher in baseball. His caught stealing percentage is down a bit (38%), but it’s likely that’s a result of some of the rookie pitchers failing to hold runners at first.
Who is John Gast? (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America)
The pitching’s where the team depth has really been on display. The Cardinals’ rotation boasts the best ERA in the majors (2.63), and they still lead the majors in complete games and shutouts, and they’ve done it while dealing with injuries. Jake Westbrook may miss more than 15 days on the DL, but rookie John Gast (2-0) has filled in nicely. Gast has thrown shutouts in the first five innings of both his starts before running into trouble in the sixth.
Seth Maness has also been a pleasant surprise addition to the roster; he doesn’t throw nearly as hard as Trevor Rosenthal or Carlos Martinez, but his ridiculous control (he’s yet to walk anyone in 8.1 innings this year; in the minors, his career walk rate 0f 0.7 per 9 innings is less than half of the legendary Greg Maddux’s career 1.8 [yes, I know, you can't really compare the two like that, but it's still interesting to see]) has allowed him to develop into a bright spot for the team. Michael Wacha remains yet another option at Memphis.
In the bullpen, Edward Mujica has comfortably established himself as the closer (13 saves in 13 opportunities, 1.42 ERA, a ridiculous 0.526 WHIP), while Trevor Rosenthal has settled down after a rough start; since April 18, he’s given up just one earned run in 13.1 innings while striking out 21.
So yeah. It’s good to be a Cardinals fan. Whereas the team in previous years took a more win-now mentality, Mozeliak and company have taken a more resourceful approach. While the team does have some high-priced talent, they’re showing the baseball world with a little building and investing, money can’t buy everything.
Cardinals’ current payroll: $116,790,787
Cardinals’ winning percentage: .651
Current payroll of Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies: $632,888,050
Combined winning percentage of Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies: .416
Coming up, after a 7-3 homestand, the Cardinals head west to face the Padres, Dodgers, and Royals before coming back home.
Fun notes and anecdotes
Kyle Lohse lost all of three games last year. He’s lost three games this year to the Cardinals alone.
With Jaime Garcia on the DL for the foreseeable future (it’s not out of the question his season is over), the Cardinals have called up yet another rookie, Tyler Lyons. Lyons has made eight starts at Memphis this year, going 2-1 with a 4.47 ERA. Lyons reportedly has a low-90′s fastball and a decent curveball. He’ll make the start on Wednesday in San Diego. Lyons will be the seventh Cardinals pitcher to start a game this season; last year the team had eight pitchers start games.
This weekend, drove up to the small town of Pekin, Illinois for a wedding. A great time was had by all. On the way back, my friend Beth and I hit up Charlie Parker’s Diner in Springfield. It’s hard to top a place whose motto is “Eat it and Beat it.” If you’re ever in the area, I recommend the Breakfast Shoe. It’s pretty much just a mound of awesome breakfast food.
I also got to stop by WICS 20, the ABC affiliate in Springfield, and take a tour of the station thanks to my friend Chrissy, who is a weather reporter there. If you’re in the area, be sure and check out her weather reports on the weekend. I got to meet a few of the other anchors and reporters, and they were all friendly and are without a doubt top-notch.
This week sees the release of the Star Trek Into Darkness. Unless you’ve been living in cave (instead of your parents’ basement) then you know that Star Trek is cult show from the ‘60s that just keeps chugging along. Lasting for three seasons (1966-1969) the series was revived theatrically in 1979 due the success of Star Wars. These days, with a few notable exceptions (The Simpson, The X-Files, Firefly), most big-screen adaptations of TV shows are reboots. And while the current incarnation of Star Trek is a reboot (and a damn fine one at that) originally it was a continuation of the series featuring the same actors.
But it wasn’t the first time Hollywood had tried this nor would it be the last. It was, however, the most successful. This got me thinking about other times we’ve seen small-screen stars try to make the jump to the big-screen. So here’s your list… Movies Based on TV Shows featuring their Original Casts.
While it became popular in reruns, The Munsters was never much of a hit when it aired originally. It only ran for two season and didn’t even break the Top 30 its second season. Their debut as a feature film came a mere month after the airing of (what would be) their last episode. The original cast returns with the exception of Debbie Watson replacing Pat Priest in the role of Marilyn (but that was almost a tradition at this point since she had replaced Beverley Owen).
At first blush you might have assumed the film was about The Munsters returning to Transylvania. However, this isn’t “Munster Go Home” it’s “Munster, Go Home”. Damn you, comma! No, apparently sending The Munster to the epicenter of the Universal Monsters was deemed too interesting. Instead the film’s story was standard sitcom fare. Herman inherits a castle. His cousins, feeling that they’re rightful heirs, attempt to convince them that the manor is haunted but if you’re a Munster that’s actually a net-positive.
The film’s biggest selling point seems to be that you finally get to see The Munsters in glorious Technicolor. And I’m sure in 1966 that would have been quite enticing. But ultimately the film was deemed such a failure that it scuttled a third season and prevented a theatrical foray from our next TV show.
Come Sunday, things will get “Extreme” over at Scottrade Center, as the WWE invades St. Louis for the pay per view event. Now, I know that this pay per view has been heavily scrutinized by myself and other wrestling fans for being filled with a lot of rematches and missing some key stars. However, I think this could be a great pay per view if the WWE play their cards right.
The Miz and Cody Rhodes will open the even with a pre-show match. Looking at this match, it shows just how much the WWE could use a solid match to open the show. I think it also shows just how unhappy the WWE is with Rhodes and The Miz, especially. The Miz has main event talent that was evident as he headlined WrestleMania 27 with John Cena. He is as gifted on the mic as any superstar in the WWE, but he seems to have had a falling out with WWE writers. The poor guy can’t get a decent storyline. I’m going with The Miz in this match. I think the crowd will be hot and he will draw from their energy. Afterall, St. Louis is a big wrestling city and the fans know when they are watching good wrestling. Rhodes and The Miz will put on a great opening match, there’s no doubt about that.
One match that most fans are bummed out about is Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger for the number one contender to Dolph Ziggler’s title. I feel the WWE handled this poorly. There’s no doubt that Ziggler needs to sit this one out, but why not throw Big E Langston into the match. This could create a good storyline between Langston and Ziggler. Ziggler suffered a concussion that was pretty serious. He suffered memory loss and still has lingering effects from the kick to the head he took on Smackdown. I hate to say it, but I don’t really care who wins this match. Neither opponent does much for me. I will go with Del Rio, because I expect Swagger to fall back down the ranks to lower mid-card status.
I honestly believe that Extreme Rules will be remembered for The Shield. The most exciting thing going in the WWE will go home with some hardware, as two members, Roman Reigns and Seth Ambrose, will battle Team Hell No, made up of Daniel Bryan and Kane. Kane and Bryan need to go their separate ways. Bryan can actually give Ziggler some great title matches once Ziggler is healthy. Kane can go back to being a mid-card monster.
Fellow Shield member, and leader in my eyes, Dean Ambrose will battle Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship. There’s no doubt in my mind Ambrose wins this belt. I love Ambrose’s character. He is the unquestionable leader of The Shield. With all three members having gold, this will make The Shield even that much more powerful and dangerous.
With those two matches keeping my interest, I now will turn to the matches that do not interest me whatsoever. Randy Orton vs. Big Show in an Extreme Rules match could be interesting if it gets violent. Both men have the potential to be major players in the WWE, but both are in need of a character makeover. This match could do that for one of them. With Orton being in his hometown, this could be the place for a change.
Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a strap match. This match has “bathroom break” written all over it. I like the fact that Sheamus is over with the kids. He’s a great character for children, but I’m not a child so he bores me. I do like Mark Henry, for the lone fact that I think he looks like my English bulldog.
One of the two matches I am really looking forward to is Chris Jericho vs. Fandango. I think Fandango is going to be a star. Jericho can help make him a star. He’s great in the ring and not bad on the microphone either. I also like the fact that his dancer has been placed into the storyline. Summer Rae could play a role in the outcome of this match. This one could be match of the night, as both men are great performers. It will be interesting to see which man gets more pop from the crowd.
The other match I’m psyched for is the Triple H/Brock Lesnar steel cage match. I don’t like the storyline the WWE has used. I would have thrown Stephanie, Triple H’s wife into the mix, but I’m not that bummed about it. It’s widely known that WWE just resigned Lesnar to a big money deal, so it makes sense for him to win this match, building his reputation as a violent monster back up. Triple H is 43, but still at the top of his game. Lesnar is perfect for a steel cage. I’m hoping for a violent bloodbath. If the WWE has any balls left, they will make this one a bloody affair, but if they stay “PG,” we will get a lame finish with a likely Triple H win. I’m hoping they still have some balls left.
The last match of Extreme Rules is John Cena going against Ryback. Ryback bores me. He’s a retread of Bill Goldberg. He’s terrible on the microphone and lame in the ring. I’m actually rooting for Cena to dispose of him and move on to the next opponent, hopefully C.M. Punk or someone with a little more talent. That being said, the storyline hasn’t been terrible. We have seen the champ take a beating from Ryback, injure his Achilles, and get taken out by The Shield. Speaking of The Shield, I’m predicting they interfere in this last man standing match. I have no doubt that Cena will be victorious. I just hope the crowd will atleast be somewhat into this match.
Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York, but she doesn’t really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she¹s not really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named Sophie, but they aren’t really speaking anymore. Frances throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles. Frances wants so much more than she has but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. FRANCES HA is a modern comic fable that explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption.
