​There's something magical that happens when you see something from your childhood completely come to life, especially on the big screen. In fact, few things bring us nerds and geeks more joy than knowing that filmmakers got it just right by making sure all those perfect moments that kept that comic firmly in our hands as the story sucked us in have finally reached the silver screen.  

It's something that Marvel has managed to accomplish over the past ten years with little to no effort, to the point where they’ve flat out set the standard when it comes to superhero themed motion pictures, and while it brings me infinite joy to see incredible characters come to life on film, nothing beats the first time Marvel got it completely right back in 2008, when Iron Man hit the scene.

Tony Stark has it all. His company, Stark Industries, makes only the finest weapons technology and their innovations have made Tony an extremely rich man. But a trip to Afghanistan turns Tony's world upside down when militants injure him and capture him, demanding he build them his latest super weapon. With nothing to lose, Tony builds a super suit that not only allows him to escape, but essentially changes his life, transforming him into a new kind of superhero, Iron Man.  

So, the first thing that got me completely and utterly excited for this film was the casting of Robert Downey Jr. and the hype over his casting was well deserved. In fact, his performance is what truly brings this film to life. Robert simply plays the part so well, sure his Tony Stark can be a jerk sometimes, but it is never done in an over the top way that loses the audience because by the time he dons the armor to escape, we're rooting for him to get free.

Not to mention, one cannot forget that this is the Marvel movie that set up so much more for all us. This is the movie that introduced us to Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D., it featured the first epic end credits sequence, one that featured a surprise cameo from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and really all of this was just a dream come true. Plus, it left us wanting more when it came to the Marvel universe and we all know now how well they delivered on that since…

But most importantly, this motion picture along with The Dark Knight (yes, I mentioned a DC movie in a Marvel review) are both responsible for the wonderful and incredible golden era of comic book movies we are all enjoying thanks to characters we could finally relate to and stories that had a feeling of the real world to it. Check it out if you haven't and if you don't own it, buy it, because this is a movie that should be celebrated as often as possible and is always worth another look.  

​The power of dreams and the wonder and reward that goes along with pursuing them is often the subject matter of a great many films and well, storytelling as a whole, and with good reason. Because let’s be honest, we come to the theater, or pick up a book or watch a particular show, to be entertained and escape everything for a couple of hours and enjoy a compelling story that may in fact lift our spirts up and motivate us to do more when it comes to where we currently are in life, which makes motion pictures quite the wholesome and worthwhile experience when all is said and done.
 
But there is an inherent danger in only watching movies that offer a supremely positive message and also feature simple roadblocks for their characters to overcome in that, some people will come to believe that chasing and achieving their respective dreams in life will be an easy task. And while we can rip on people who find that kind of hope from a film ad nauseum, the fact of the matter is, a lot of people turn to fiction for life advice and direction, which is why I’m so supremely grateful when a motion picture offers up a more honest look about life and our dreams and how difficult it can be to achieve them and one such story in 2005 provided us with that honest look, in the most unique way imaginable, by making us laugh while we learned in, Waiting…
 
Now this particular cult classic is one that just about everyone knows, so we won’t be rehashing the plot today. No, instead, I want to talk about how this film offers up an honest take on life and pursuing one’s dreams, and that’s all accomplished by way of our main character in this tale, Dean, who hasn’t a clue as to how to find what his purpose is in life, or what dream he wants to pursue and that…is painfully relatable and accurate. Because so many of us are or have been clueless when it comes to such matters, and we’ve worked jobs that we can’t stand in the hopes that somehow, an epiphany will drop itself into our laps, finally giving us direction and it is just so refreshing to find a film that features characters that are just outright getting by and trying to do their best to make it to a better tomorrow.
 
Yet, while those elements are supremely philosophical in their own right, one cannot forget to celebrate the fact that this is a dynamic and delightful comedy. The jokes just keep coming in this one and the cast’s magnificent comedic timing allows for so many memorable and powerful jokes to resonate with the audience and of course, in some ways this movie is a freakin’ documentary when it comes to the food industry. Because anyone who has worked in a restaurant knows some of the customers that walk into Shenaniganz and can recognize or relate to some of the people that work there, and that’s no small feat and all the credit for making this film feel so natural deservedly goes to the writer and director of the film, Rob McKittrick, whose work on this story was downright incredible to say the least since he really did capture a slice of restaurant life.
 
If anything, this is that rare comedy, the kind that knows how to reach its audience on a fundamental level, while keeping a smile on their faces and while some of the jokes don’t quite work as well now, since the times have changed, the good here far outweighs the bad. And some of the moments that happen here, like what Dean says to the cheapskate couple that leave him a teeny, tiny tip, is a dream come true for food service workers and retail employees abound and if by chance you haven’t seen this one, please do so, as quickly as you can. Because this one, is a lot of fun, and it’s one that truly sticks with you long after it’s come to an end since it makes you wonder if you’ve done enough in life to chase what you really want, or if you need to make a change, like Dean, and it also leaves you wondering, what kind of day does someone have to have to flat out yell at a server? 

​I think we often forget, especially when it comes to sports, just how much goes on behind the scenes to make wonders happen for fans around the world. Because in reality, we only see the finished product when it comes to any particular sport since we are privy to the game day broadcast and nothing more, and much of what we feel or believe about our favorite teams is grounded in what happens on the field over anything else. But the fact of the matter is, so much happens behind closed doors when it comes to the teams whose colors we proudly wear in front of the television or at the stadium when we root for them to win and win big.
 
Because there are hundreds of employees that handle so much before and after game day, and these are the people that are responsible for making sure the heroes on the field have everything they need, or are responsible for putting them there in the first place, and speaking of those people, the decision makers, those are the guys and gals who have it rougher than say the quarterback who had a bad game. For if things don’t go well, there is plenty of pressure and heat from the hardcore fans. But their stories are rarely known, for it’s what happens on the field that matters most. But once in a while, the opportunity arises to tell their tales and share in their day to day struggles, and one such film that does a fine job of providing us with a taste of all that is 2011’s, Moneyball.
 
Now this is a movie that is grounded in reality since it takes us back in time to 2002, wherein we are introduced to Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics and Billy, has quite a problem on his hands. Because his team is what is known as a small market team, and they simply don’t have the money to retain top tier talent year in and year out. But Billy, wants to find a way to make this team competitive and great on the field and thanks to a chance encounter with a man named Peter Brand, Billy finally gets his shot at greatness. Because Peter has a grand plan in mind for baseball, by way of a grand statistical analysis known as Sabermetrics and he believes that stats can get Billy and the A’s players that will produce wonders at a fraction of the price the team normally pays and with nothing to lose, Billy takes a gamble on Peter’s plan in the hopes of finally bringing home a World Series Championship to the city of Oakland.
 
So, I made mention of the fact that this movie is grounded in reality, and that’s no joke. Billy Beane is real, and while he is now the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the A’s, he really was the GM back in ’02 and was one of the pioneers of Sabermetrics in Major League Baseball, since it is widely used today, and well, it’s quite cool to know you’re learning a bit of baseball history when watching this film, but if offers up so much more. For Moneyball really does dive deep into the passion and the resolve of the people who work behind the scenes to try and put together the best team imaginable for the fans, and the roadblocks and joy they find along the way when it comes to that process and that makes for a compelling story when all is said and done. Because you truly want to see Billy and Peter succeed in their quest to win a title and you also want to see their new line of thinking work since the movie does such a fine job of establishing the status quo of baseball and how people in the sport at the time were unwilling to embrace a new idea.
 
Yet while all of this is fascinating in its own right, in many ways it seems as though this film is only for diehard fans of baseball since we spend more time in Billy’s office than on the field and thankfully that’s not the case. Because everything baseball wise here is accessible and explained to the audience in simple fashion so that the casual movie goer and non-baseball fan can understand what is going on with ease and well, for the hardcore fans, this is just a treat  through and through and really, this is a movie that is definitely worth your while if you haven’t seen it before. Because not only does it offer up a lovely re-telling of a pivotal point in baseball’s storied history, it also provides us with a great human interest story, and it features phenomenal performances and it’s just a great ride through and through, one that gives everyone a new found appreciation for the men and women who are working late into the night to give the fans the glory we so appreciate.   

​There are many fears that people have in life, for themselves and for others. One of the greatest fears I have had is that none of our youth seems to care about history. How are you supposed to know where you want to go if you do not know where we have been? So many of our youth is under the understanding that if it did not happen to them, then it did not happen at all, and although I love to joke about this with my friends, it is not the way to understand, well anything. I am unsure what happened to our history classes in the school system, but something seems to be falling apart and even though it might involve teaching a touchy subject, it is better that our youth understands it now, rather than waiting to see it come out in a movie that is trying to make money instead of informing you of the truth.  

Joe Bauers is a stand out of the way individual who just wants to get on with his life with no problems. This is all well and good in his mind since he does what he is told and will never get in trouble for doing so. With such a calm demeanor, Joe has been picked for an army experiment that will change his outlook on life forever. Being joined by working girl Rita, Joe is about to be put to sleep for a year in a steel coffin, not to awaken until someone hits the button. But shortly after the experiment starts, the project is shut down and Joe and Rita are in for the shock of a lifetime when they wake up again.

Waking up five hundred years in the future, Joe finds himself in a society that does not seem to understand what taking responsibility is. As Joe wanders around the city, he is looking for help and when going to the hospital, he finds that everything has been dumbed down. Although he talks different and acts different, Joe is accepted as a special person in this society, but what he does not know is that when his I.Q. test comes back, he is the smartest man in the world. But this does not matter to Joe as he just wants to utilize the future technology and get back home with the help of a Time Machine that should have been created during his hibernation.  

Being out of place and out of time does not help the slacker from the past as even though the people are stupid, their technology is well beyond their means. While trying to get to the time machine, Joe encounters problems at every corner, but when he is finally captured by the police, he is made the Secretary of the Interior and is appointed to take care of all of the country’s problems. Joe has never considered himself a smart man, much less a leader but has to take a crack at solving at least one problem. With one thing that he knows for sure, crops need water to grow, Joe makes a massive change of removing the previous fertilizing liquid, Brawndo from the equation, but his change is costly as half of the country is employed by the massive company and they all automatically lose their jobs when the Thirst Quencher is no longer required. Being sentenced to rehabilitation, Joe has to fight for his life against an onslaught of oversized machines and the famed Beef Supreme. But Joe still has friends and when they see that crops have started to grow in previous dead fields, it is just a race against time to make it known.

After the first time I watched this movie, I was impressed, but when I watch it now, I think Mike Judge might be on to something. There are so many improvements that the world has made, even over my lifetime, but we seem to take it all for granted. Not needing to know things that happen behind the scenes in any process is a dangerous thing. Depending too much on technology and not enough on knowledge can lead to bad things, especially if the system shuts down. This could lead to one of the greatest downfalls of the race, if we don’t know how to fix the problem, read the manual that comes with the machine, much less write a set of instructions for someone else to follow. Happy Viewing.