Ridley Scott is back at it again after his last success with American Gangster. Ridley Scott has been my favorite director/producer for some time now. He hasn’t let me down so far.

As my expectations were very high, I was not disappointed. The screenplay hooks you in from the beginning. The action is fierce and fast paced as you travel along on a ground operation by the C.I.A. DiCaprio plays the ground agent while Russell Crowe plays the very distant office agent who makes the calls. The both have authority in their own right, but Russell is higher ranking and uses his position to get what he wants. There is even some comedy while Crowe tries to balance his career with kids and a wife. Not very practical as one would already guess.

The setting takes place all over the middle east and you really get a feel for the culture and tense atmosphere. The film does a great job not preaching on whether Americans should be there or not. It just calls it like it sees it. DiCaprio’s character does a good job getting the point across to why it so hard for a distant figure to understand the ground situation. He puts his life on the line while Crowe is thousands of miles away.

Who can you trust when your a white American in a middle eastern setting? This film depicts how you have to blend in as an agent and never let your guard down for a second. DiCaprio has to grow out his beard and look a lot scruffier to not stick out like a sore thumb. His Arabic is actually very convincing unlike his Australian accent in Blood Diamond.

The interaction between Crowe and DiCaprio is as good as actor chemistry gets. They play off each other like Riggs and Murtah (Lethal Weapon) but with more hate. There is a hate there, but because of the dialogue it is almost a banter or playful kind of speech. The way some coworkers have, but life is on the line. So a bit more intense.

This is definitely a movie you must see in the theatres. There is plenty of awesome special effects and big time action secquences. You will want the surround sound, silver screen, and some popcorn or candy. The story, dialogue, acting, directing are all near perfect. The only flaw I can find is you want the movie to last a little longer.

I am very pumped about this matchup tommorow. This is the highest cumulative rank the two teams have been in over six years. #1 versus #5 in one of the toughest conferences this. Both teams have amazing quarterbacks with over 180 passer ratings. Texas has a different and better defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp. Each team has dominated it’s opponents thus far and now has a real test to their schedules. The Rivalry is as hot as molten steel and about to get hotter.

This is the game I am most looking forward to. It is released in 2009 which is a ways off, but it is good to have the heads up. This is a MMO coming out first for the PC then for other consoles. It is very similar to Grand Theft Auto in that it is open ended game play and an enforcers vs criminals environment. The creator David Jones is actually the creator of the original Grand Theft Auto and wants to get Rockstar Games who publishes the GTA series to buy this game and change the name to Grand Theft Auto Online. This would ensure the name recognition and boost sales.

The game is very different from most MMO’s which are based on leveling and buying/finding the best armor and weapons. This video game is a third person shooter where there is no leveling per say. As a criminal or gangster you gain turf for your gang and respect or rank for yourself. You can get better weapons, but you can loose them as well. The lower ‘respected’ criminals have to rob convenience stores and do small bit crimes. The higher ranking criminals rob banks and have ‘grand scheme’ plans. I should also mention that there is fighting between rival gangs.

As for the cops, they patrol the streets looking for these gangsters and can have shoot outs with them in high speed pursuits. The police system works similar in that the more crimes you stop, the higher ranking and more equipment you are allocated by the Police Force.

A unique aspect is that you can do simultaneous missions. For example the gangsters could be doing a drug deal while the cops are sent out to bust it up. Whoever completes the mission wins more money to buy better weapons. Now that’s real mmo competition! There is also the fact that you can jump in and play this game and not feel like you have to stay for long amounts of time. There is no grind where you work on leveling your character for most of the game. It is more similar to a shooter game where you jump in and play and can leave at any time without remorse. It is also a cool game for hardcore gamers and easy going gamers in that respect. They will also have character and vehicle customization which is always interesting and keeps the in-game world from looking replicated.

It uses the Unreal Engine 3.0, and from the game clips I’ve seen it looks quite impressive. So whether your into Grand Theft Auto, shooter games, turf games or cops vs robbers games, this is the game for you.

This film has a great cast of Deniro, Pacino, Donnie Walhberg, among others. Deniro plays Turk a cop who is a hothead but follows the law and keeps protecting the people. Pacino plays his sarcastic chess playing partner, who is loyal like a brother.

In the start of the film they have to ‘bend’ the rules to put away a child killer. They both have no qualms about it and follow through and let it be. Then later there are bunch of serial killings of basically guys that pimp, deal dope or any other vile act. Pacino and Deniro see these acts as good for society but their chief wants them to solve them regardless of the fact it keeps streets clean. The killer also leaves poems at each crime scene relating to what the people did to deserve this.

The premise is okay but comes out a little weak with the slow pacing. Deniro and Pacino have good chemistry as always, but that doesn’t really redeem the film for me. I expected it to be a faced past murder mystery thriller. Not a take your time roll it over ‘Law and Order’ style film. I think the producers thought if they had this acting duo they wouldn’t need to perfect the screenplay. They didn’t use a lot of special effects or crazy car chase scenes.

Carla Gugino is Deniro’s lover, a little disturbing for the twenty something audiences. It’s not the most romantic relationship’s; she seems to be using him just cause he wears a badge.

There is a dynamic turn in the story when Walhberg and Leguizamo are introduced as two rival cops. They have it out for Deniro and make his life a living hell. It seems you don’t know who to trust in the story and anyone could be the suspect.

The misdirections are okay but not enough to throw most people off the scent of who it really is. If you pick up on little clues you will figure it out about halfway through. I think if you wait for it to come out on DVD you should be fine. It’s worth a rental but not quite worth a movie ticket purchase for two or more. It’s not a film where you walk out or feel horrible seeing. My thought was okay that wasn’t very complicated or intense. Would I see it again? Probably not, once is enough. There is plenty of other great vigilante films.

This game has photo realistic graphics from the WW II era. Not to mention realistic firing of weaponry and vehicle mechanics that are flawless. It has an easier interface for ordering your troops. The A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) is superior to other games. The German troops flank, attack and hide in ways that the real Wehrmacht were trained in tactics. This is making me want to run out and buy it right now as I write. The game was just realease yesterday. The game already has a large following as it is the third in it’s series. The game is built on the Unreal Engine3 and the Windows version takes advantage of the features in Direct X 10 which allows for an enhanced graphical experience for more life like gameplay. It is released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as PC.

The Mavericks are looking as dominate as ever as they closed out the Washington Wizards last night. I was at this game, which was the first game of the pre-season. The first quarter was close because the Mavs were having way too much trouble shooting their free throws. I think they were 1-20 in the first quarter, (just guessing). Even Dirk Nowitzki was missing from the charity stripe. The Mavs shot 53 percent as a team vs Washington who was shooting 82 percent. They can’t keep that up if they want to be NBA champs.

Antwan Jamison went down in the first quarter with a sprained knee injury. Jamison was actually a former Maverick during the 03-04 season coincidentally. Also, John Hollinger of ESPN wrote during his Player Effiency Ratings that “His(Jamison) game has held up very well the past few years, he never gets hurt..”. If you don’t believe in jinxing people, it’s time to start. The Wizards had also just given Jamison a 50 million dollar extension on his contract, I’m sure they’d like part of that back now. For the Wizards, having Jamison and Gilbert Arenas out for the game devastated their lineup. Although the Mavericks were likely to win it is good that they didn’t play down to their opponents as they sometimes do. They pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back.

Brandon Bass was surprisingly dominate with 17 points and three rebounds wich is higher than his 8.3 points per game average of last year. DeSagana Diop is back in Dallas and contributed 7 rebounds and three blocks. His defense is much appreciated in Big D. Dirk had 17 points as well as 7 boards. Jason Kidd played well with 7 assists and 6 points. Caron Butler of the Wizards had 11 points. A lesser known player Andray Blatche had 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Some of the Mavs younger players are stepping it up to get playing time. Antoine Wright played considerably well racking up 9 points, 3 steals, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. He should see more playing time as well as J.J. Barea who played excellent at guard and did not turn the ball over.

I don’t get why we are paying 10.5 million to Eric Dampier. Is there no one else we can find at the post position? He plays soft defense 9/10 games he plays. He looks like a powerhouse but plays like the Easter Bunny. I would trade him in a heartbeat.

In the fourth quarter the Mavs were up by as much as 36! The Mavs were very quick and all the gears were moving well. Washington might have to start worrying with their two biggest stars out. They may need to trade some draft picks for some decent players.

This film is coming out soon and looks to be one of the best films left in the year. James Bond is back again and this time it’s personal. With the fast paced editing and gritty style, fans are gonna love this one more than the last. Now the series should focus more on espionage since there are already plenty of fast car driving, martial arts fighting movies aka Bourne series and Jason Statham flicks. The trailer doesn’t really reveal much other than Bond is in a bind and will be hard pressed to get out of it.

Nothing dramatic or crazy has really happened so far. Who will step up and be the Mr.October? The Cubs are out, there goes that interesting story. The Brewers who haven’t been in the playoffs since the year I was born, are out as well. That leaves the Red Sox who have won a couple of times recently. The Rays who don’t have much of a following besides the phony Tampa Bay residents who didn’t go to any of their games until the playoffs. Band wagon is too nice a word for those people. They didn’t have sell out crowds when they were on top of one of the hardest divisions! The Dodgers are good because of Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre which is to be expected. The White Sox and Angels are gonna lose as most teams down 2-1 don’t come back. If I’m wrong sue me, but its a safe assumption. A comeback might actually make me watch these games.

I think once we get to the ALCS the Rays vs Red Sox series may be interesting due to the divisional rivalry and high powered hitting. The NLCS will be the Dodgers vs Phillies, already making me yawn. I’m guessing the Dodgers win 4-2 in the series. If these series get anymore predictable I may start placing bets.

It’s not many times I get to go to Dallas cowboys games. I had been to one about 5 years ago for the Thanksgiving game and then also a preseason game two years ago. Tickets are getting more and more expensive and they are only going to get worse when the new stadium arrives next year.

The Cowboys must have listen to my last post about them. I wrote they needed to give the ball to Felix Jones more. Well sure enough he got it plenty of times and scored a touchdown. He average 10.7 yards a carry. I would be running him 20 times a game with those numbers.

The Bengals were struggling in the first half and the score was 17-6 Cowboys in the first half. They couldn’t get in the end zone due to the relentless defense by the Cowboys. Chad Johnson had promised if he scored he would kiss the star at the 50 yard line and take the fine. It wasn’t looking like this would happen as he rarely got the ball. He was booed every time he got the ball as well. Plus the last time someone tried to kneel in the star they got hit very hard!

I believe it was lack of offense by the Cowboys that let the Bengals come back in the game in the second half. Tony Romo just didn’t look motivated and they didn’t get the ball to Terrell Owens enough, I mean 2 receptions c’mon! He gained a 33 yard average on each of those returns. I think Wade Phillips fell asleep at the wheel. I also found out that a relative of Owen’s passed away on Sunday. That most likely affected his game play.

Because the Bengals kept getting the ball back in the second half they started to capitalize. T.J. Houshmandzadeh scored in the 3rd and 4th quarter. A surprise onside kick by the Bengals in the third quarter was actually recovered by them. But they fumbled on the consequent drive thanks to Chris Perry who has fumbled 5 times this year. Watch out for your job Perry! The Bengals attempted the two point conversion on their second touchdown when the score was 22-24 and fell short. After one more change of possession the Cowboys got the ball and threw it to none other than T.O. who finally got the attention he deserves(craves)-same thing with a touchdown to put away the Bengals! The final score was 31-22.

Here is my description of the top ten defenses in the NFL. This was written after week three so things may change from now to later in the season.

10. Arizona Cardinals: They have some of the sickest safeties in the league. We’re talking Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle. The corners are not bad either. I mean they got Rodgers Cromartie as well as other consistent players. They would be higher on this list but they’re run defense is suspect. I haven’t heard of any of their linebackers or defensive lineman. And I’m sure you haven’t either. They are allowing 100 yards per game rushing which is not bad but they have played San Fran, Miami, and Washington. So not the toughest foes just yet.

9. Green Bay Packers: They would also be much higher if they hadn’t just lost Al Harris for a couple games. They have a great secondary and just couldn’t keep it together against a great Cowboys offense last weekend. They gave up 48 points against the Lions, come on it’s the Lions. They fired their coach this past week cause he’s so horrible. They may be a playoff team but that is partly because of their offense.

8. N.Y. Giants: Here is a team with tons of big name lineman and linebackers. Plus that is without Michael Strahan. Can I just say Daaang! They are holding teams to 84 yards per game rushing and 167 through the air. Not bad week in and week out. They blitz hard and they seem to get like 6 to 8 sacks a game. Their secondary keeps opponents in check and doesn’t get beat deep.

7. Philadelphia Eagles: Solid defense all around. Yes they gave up 40 plus against the Cowboys. But that is a stellar offense on that Dallas team. It was literally the two best teams going at it, but I digress. They have been holding their other opponents scoring to a minimum and will dominate throughout the year. Held Pittsburgh to six points and St. Louis to three! As Borat once said “Very Nice!”

6. Tennessee Titans: As hard as it to not talk about the offense, I will attempt it. Well, they’re defense is going to be on the field a lot longer which will lead to more teams scoring on them once they get tired. They are in the top ten because they have done all right so far. However maintaining this will take a miracle. Good luck Titans!

5. Dallas Cowboys: This team I would like to put higher but everyone above of them is just outrageous on defense. They have a stellar backfield now with Pacman Jones and Terrence Newman. Linebackers like Zach Thomas and Demarcus Ware make up a viscous pass and run stopping team.

4. Buffalo Bills: With Donte Whitner at Strong Safety and other all around players on D these Bills keep shutting down opponents. They also have Marcus Shroud at Defensive Tackle, that guy can play! They could stay at the top of their division if they keep playing like this. Out with the old(New England) in with the new(Bills). Who knows we could get a repeat of the Cowboys Bills Super Bowls.

3. Minnesota Vikings: Holding teams to 70.3 rushing yards per game, that is second best in the league. On top of that their pass defense is ridiculously good. They have Darren Sharper at Safety and Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin for Corners. Their defensive line is the one Coaches drool over. If they can get their offense clicking that would benefit their defense so they have some time to sip some Gatorade and cool off.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: I can’t remember a time in my lifetime where they weren’t amazing on defense. They might have trouble keeping it together though this season as Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel of the defensive line are out for the season.

1. Baltimore Ravens: Wow. Maybe I should stop right there. They are holding their opponents to 70 yards per game on the ground and 90 yards through the dark sky their foe must be seeing. Yes I know what your all thinking, why didn’t I get them on my fantasy team, well I’m in the same boat but lets move on. Now yes you could say they only played 2 opponents thus far. But still, the Browns and Bengals are struggling, but they still have threats on offense like Chad Johnson that were contained by the Ravens.