Review of Avatar
I know I am going to catch some flack from some of my friends for going to see this movie, but oh well.  I did and it’s over with.  I was sort of torn, because when it first came out I said, “That’s looks stupid. Blue people walking around in a forest.” I thought that it’s the same people giving money to the “Scary Movie” series.  But after a few weeks of hearing nothing but good reviews of the movie, I figured I would give it a shot.

I was told if I did see it to see it in 3D, which I would have seen it in 3D anyways because I have been on a 3D kick lately.  Most movies that have come out in 3D (mostly computer animated kids movies), I have seen (with the exception of dumb movies such as Final Destination).  Back to Avatar, I’ll start with the story which boils down to a basic struggle between good and bad.  A group of humans are trying to mine minerals and the people of the planet do not want them there and the struggle ensues with certain characters having to make the moral decisions about what is right and wrong.  Some people compare it to the early Americans handled the Indians or how America is handling the Middle East situation.  But many comparisons can be made and those are some that jump out at me. (The story reminds me of a cartoon movie made in the early 90′s called Fern Gully).

This movie definitely had the potential to be really stupid and a waste of money, but James Cameron’s decision to delay the production of this movie until the technology caught up with the idea was a good one.  Cameron had a new camera that allowed him to see the actors’ virtual counterparts interact in real time, instead of adding the motions later to match the actor.  Pretty freaking cool.  The movie, visually, was fawesome.  I mean it is really hard for me to describe it.  I would say at least two-thirds of the movie was computer generated and it was done very well.  If they did not do this correctly, the movie would have been worthless.

Overall the movie was good.  I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.  The person who loves fantasy will enjoy this movie.  There are some shows/movies I don’t like such as Star Trek, but I love movies like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Spiderwick Chronicles, etc.  I really doubt Josh or Ben would go see it, even though I think they might enjoy it (especially with the great creativity they have), but who knows….Ben has still yet to see Titanic due to a pact he made with some friends in high school.  Scott would like it.

Onto some rants now.  I know college football is over with, but it still bugs me to see people try and put Boise States undefeated season next to Alabama’s.  Some people, like the Senator from Utah wants President Obama to invite them to the White House along with the Crimson Tide.  Give me a freakin’ break!  Are you kidding me?  Lets look at the stats here.

Alabama played and beat six top 25 teams with four of those teams being in the top 10.  Boise State only played two teams in the top 25 and one of those was in the top 10.  Alabama’s opponents have a combined record of 106-71 and Boise St.’s opponents have a combined record of 84-91.  Now you tell me who played the better opponents.  Alabama did…by far.  You give anyone Boise States football schedule every year and their percentage of going undefeated rises tremendously.  I mean it is still ridiculous to try and put those two teams anywhere near the same scale.  Yes they both have records of 14-0, but Alabama’s 14-0 looks ten times better than the 14-0 of the lowly Broncos of Boise St.  So give it up people.  Boise State is not that good.  Listen, Oklahoma and Oklahoma States records of 9-4 is better than Boise States 14-0, because they played better opponents.  Don’t give me that crap about being in a crappy conference.  Deal with it!  Until we get a playoff (and Boise St. wins it), I will refuse and refute that Boise St. deserves to be ranked in the top 20 at any point in time.

Finally, some more football where people know what they are doing when it comes to the post season, the NFL.  There has been some great playoff games so far, even with the blowouts.  [Side note] No, I don’t think that the Vikings scoring again in the waning minutes against Dallas was wrong at all.  Whether it is college, high school, or pro sports, it does not matter.  If you don’t like people scoring on you, do something about it.  Quit whining and suck it up.  There’s a reason, Dallas Cowboys, that you are not in the playoffs…and that’s because you couldn’t keep Minnesota from scoring on you.  So suck it!  [End Side note].  I am really excited for this weekend.  The Colts are playing the party crashing Jets and the Vikings make their trek to New Orleans to play the Saints.

I’ll give my picks in a second, but I really wonder would the Saints and Colts be here at this point if they had tried to keep their undefeated season going?  Personally, I think so. I know that teams want to rest their players for injury purposes, whether to heal or prevent, injuries are going to happen.  The main reason I see is that during college post season, teams go up to three to four weeks in between games and I think it hurts players because they aren’t keeping up with playing.  I know teams practice, but they are not going full power all the time.  In the NFL, teams are playing each week and I think that Colts and Saints should have kept their records in tact.  Start your star players and once they get a decent lead, put in the backups.  If they give up the lead, stick the starters back out there to take the lead back. Simple as that.  It keeps everyone refreshed in their weekly playing, gives the backups some play time, and obviously keeps you undefeated.

Anyways, onto my picks.  I would love to see a Vikings/Colts Superbowl because it is two awesome teams with awesome players that deserve it.

AFC Championship
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
The Colts may have laid over to give the Jets a chance to get in the playoffs, but this is where it ends for the Jets.  They are going to see the Colts team that should have been playing them at the end of the season, smashing the Jets dreams of getting to the playoffs. There is nothing the Jets can do to stop them.  Their defense might be able to keep Peyton Manning and Co. out of the end zone a couple of times, but the Colts offense will not let up and the once the Jets get behind two touchdowns, it is over because they do not have the offense (nor the experience) to comeback and beat the Colts.
Colts – 27
Jets – 10

NFC Championship
Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints
The good thing for the Vikings is that the game is being played in a dome, but unfortunately for Minnesota it is the Superdome, not the Metrodome (where they are undefeated).  The Vikings had a couple of chances to be playing this game at their house, but could not pull out a win when the Saints lost.  This game has the potential to become a shoot out with Brett Favre and Drew Brees at the helm of these two teams, but the Saints do not have what the Vikings havef and that is a number two rated defense.  That is the key to this game and the Vikings have shown that they can stifle high-powered offenses and with Jared Allen and Co. they will.
Vikings –  31
Saints –  21