Ink

The list: Why World Cup is the best 'world' event

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - 5:21pm

If you were to compare mega athletic events to comic book superheroes (and really, why wouldn’t you?), the World Cup, which kicks off Friday in South Africa, would be Superman.

It’s got incredible longevity — every four years since 1930. It’s nearly indestructible, even though scandals and wars have tried to interject. It’s predictable: Brazil and Germany have been involved in 11 of the last 13 World Cup title games, and England can only win on home soil. And the event is vastly more...

The list: 10 ways to beat the summer suck

Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 1:34pm

It’s only just the beginning of June and the doldrums of summer have already arrived. Well, at least they have for pop-culture consumers.

The end of long-standing nerd faves “Lost” and “24” brought to a close a dramatic and alarmingly good spring TV season (“The Pacific,” “Treme,” “Breaking Bad” and “Caprica,” to name a few). The summer slate is pretty dreary, as usual. “Mad Men” and “Weeds” don’t return until August.

It doesn’t get better in the movie realm. The summer “...

The list: 'SNL' skits that (thankfully) weren't made into movies

Thursday, May 27, 2010 - 11:57am

When it comes to delivering quality skits and somewhat consistent recurring characters, “Saturday Night Live” has a phenomenal batting average.

I wish you could say the same about turning recurring skits into major motion pictures. The show’s batting average on movie adaptations would make Tony Peña Jr. feel good about himself.

By most counts, there are two good “SNL” movies: “The Blues Brothers” (one of the 10 greatest movies ever) and “Wayne’s World” (one of the 10 greatest...

The list: Surviving life without 'Lost'

Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 10:17am

I never thought it was going to happen. But it is.

No, Miley Cyrus hasn’t covered Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day.” I’m talking about that other thing no one thought would happen: “Lost” ending.

After years of questions and plot holes, the world’s preeminent pseudo sci-fi, pseudo soap opera about time-traveling hotties sort of stranded on a deserted island closes at 8 p.m. Sunday with a 2 1/2- hour finale on ABC.

The episode caps a fast-paced and answer-packed final season...

The list: The best sequels ever made

Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 11:52am

A good sequel is hard to find. It’s so much easier to stumble across their bad and (often) worse counterparts.

Any trip to the DVD racks will show you that a bad sequel is as common as a sex scandal involving a professional athlete or a striped button-up shirt at the Power & Light District on a Saturday night.

The sequel pitfalls are numerous: Expectations (from audiences and studio executives) are too high, character fatigue sets in, the wow factor disappears, the plot...

The list: 10 reasons why 3-D is overrated

Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 1:05pm

The 1904 silent film “The Great Train Robbery” ended with a robber pointing a gun at the audience. The simple trick cost almost nothing, but it freaked people the hell out.

Those people seem like rubes, don’t they? What sort of simpleton is scared or enthralled by the image of someone on a giant screen pointing a gun at them?

Smash cut to present day, where the third dimension is the big thing. If a movie ain’t in 3-D, it’s crap.

James Cameron should be punched for this...

The List: 10 worst comic book movies

Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 12:07pm

The movie adaptation of Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass hits theaters this weekend, and it’s almost unfathomable that it will be anything less than kick-ass.

It’s ultra-violent, touching, unbelievably ultra-violent, R-rated and has great characters. And director Matthew Vaughn, who helmed “Layer Cake” and produced “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” is solid.

The only thing that could hold back the movie is Nicolas Cage starring as Big Daddy. But because Big Daddy isn’t the...

The List: Baseball's broken, let's fix it

Thursday, April 8, 2010 - 10:41am

Baseball, as a sport, needs some serious surgery.

The games are too long, the seasons are too long, the designated-hitter rule sucks, the TV coverage is lame, and you need a Ph.D. in advanced statistics to understand acronyms like VORP, WARP or WHIP. This is before we delve into the predictability, rampant salary discrepancy and latent horribleness of at least a quarter of the major-league teams.

I used to love baseball. It was my scene.

Ken Griffey Jr., baseball cards,...

The List: 10 movies that do musicians right

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 9:47pm

Musicians are a source of endless fascination. Some are eccentric, obsessive, drug-addled, self-destructive and, at their best, surreal manifestations of pure id and/or the American Dream. So it’s no surprise that many great films have replicated the exploits of musicians — especially those who died in tragic accidents. — on the big screen.

I was a little surprised to see a movie about The Runaways*, who were better known for what they represented — the origins of grrl power — than...

The List: 10 ways to rule your bracket pool

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 1:02pm

Spring is almost here. Which means the weather is getting warmer, tube-top season is almost here, and there’s enough college basketball on TV the next three weeks to choke a Beluga whale.

I’m a tube-top fan, a basketball junkie and a bracket addict. If it’s March Madness-related, I’m in. I’ll join office pools, online pools, family pools — even with my own family.

I've been doing this long enough that I've learned a thing or two or ten that I'd like to share with you. I wrote a...