The Dark Knight for Best Picture Oscar?

Ok, ok, so I know what you're thinking: "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Yes, it is a VERY outside chance for The Dark Knight to be nominated for Best Picture, but I feel it is deserving. Of course, pencil it in for the usual nominations that go to action movies, such as sound editing and sound mixing. The beautiful part about The Dark Knight is that it is so much more than a comic book superhero film. Behind "the mask," if you will, lies a well written and directed crime drama with believable characters the audience actually cares about. So, let's take a closer look at the crime drama aspect of the film. First, the cinematography was mesmerizing. Batman Begins received a nom for its cinematography, so I think this is an Oscar that TDK can realistically take home this year. Then, there's Heath Ledger. All of the reviews on his performance are true. He deserves an Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actor. No, it has nothing to do with his death. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Heath Ledger. When they casted him for the Joker, I said "You mean that gay guy from Brokeback Mountain?" I was wrong, however, as he embodies the role of the Joker in TDK. I did not feel that I was watching Heath Ledger as the Joker, but as if I was watching only the Joker. I saw no traces of Ledger in this performance. The music was great and I've read that a lot of critics agree with me on that. Maybe a nom for Best Score? Let's face it; Chris Nolan deserves a nom for his directing. He probably won't get it here, but you never know. So, let's recap the Oscar nominations I feel this movie deserves: Sound editing, Sound mixing, Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger, Best Score, Best Director, and since we're nominating it for all that let's throw in Best Picture. Come Oscar time, we'll be talking about Oscar snubs and TDK will undoubtedly be mentioned. What do I think it may realistically get noms for? Sound editing, Sound mixing, Cinematography, and Best Score. As much as I think Ledger deserves not only a nom but a win for Best Supporting Actor, I just have a feeling he won't get it.

So you may ask, "Why all this Oscar talk now? It's July." Well, my friends, I promised a review on TDK. It took me a couple of days to write it because the film itself left me speechless. I figured if I wrote a review I'd end up giving out spoilers. All I'm going to say is that it surpasses all the hype and you need to see it for yourself.

So, like I said TDK was amazing. It's even more amazing when you go with a guy dressed up like the Joker. I had the opportunity to see TDK in iMax at the Pittsburgh Mills with two of my best friends from home, Damon Hardin and Randy Straitiff. What I've learned? First, if you wear face paint in the mall, security will be on edge the whole time watching you. Second, you're not allowed to wear face paint in the mall. Finally, if you come to TDK dressed like the Joker and are forced to stand in front of the theater for two hours because you're not allowed in the mall with face paint, people will, in fact, want their picture taken with you. As I waited anxiously outside the iMax for TDK like a child on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa Clause, I got my entertainment by watching random people get their picture taken with Straitiff.





...also, here is the Joker playing DDR. This is one of my personal favorites.






...And finally Damon, Straitiff as the Joker, and me after watching easily the best movie of the summer.




...Final thoughts: The Dark Knight is definitely a masterpiece. It's not flawless, but it does set the bar for comic book movies. As of today, The Dark Knight is #1 on IMDB's top 250 list with a 9.7 rating. Keep in mind it is above movies like The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption which is impressive. Now, all we can do is hope and wait for the Nolan brothers to write and direct a third installment in this Batman series.

Brett Favre vs. Green Bay Packers vs. The Media : Hard to Stomach

As most of you know I am a die hard Brett Favre/Green Bay Packers fan. Sadly, I now have to separate the two. It used to be if you were a Packers fan you were automatically a Favre fan. Because of Ted Thompson, Brett Favre's unretiring, and the media salivating at a Favre comeback, one has to pick a side whether it be Favre or Green Bay. Now, a disclaimer on what I'm about to say: I'm not an NFL insider by any means. I'm just a fan who is seeing all this play out on ESPN who wants to share his opinion. Yes, I know what they say, "Opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one." Nonetheless, here's my Favre/Packers rant.

On Brett Favre:
Brett, I love ya bro, but you've made a couple of mistakes here. The biggest one being repeating the conversation between you and offensive line coach James Campen in an interview with "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren."

From an NFL.com article: "He says, 'You know, I know they told you they're moving on and playing there's not an option,"' Favre said, according to a full transcript of the interview obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Playing here in Green Bay is not an option, which that's what they want. They want to move on. But I'm telling you, if you reinstate or you force their hand, back them in a corner, they feel like they have no other option, they're going to accept you back."'

Personally, he should've taken the info for what it was worth and not sell out a friend.

On the Green Bay Packers:
As I said before, I'm not an NFL insider. Alot of things happen behind closed doors that the public doesn't know about. Let's say Brett Favre was forced into retirement. In that case, you created this circus, Ted. Favre has been the face of the Packers organization for years. He's a future Hall of Famer. Treat the guy with some respect. I can understand the organization thinking about the future and wanting to see what they have in Aaron Rodgers as he is in the last year of his contract. I can also understand not releasing Favre. Obviously, you're worried about him going to the Vikes. If that wasn't the case you wouldn't have filed tampering charges against them for Bevell talking to him. All I'm saying is if you don't want the guy then trade him. If he has a no trade clause in his contract, rework the deal. Worried about a Favre fan uproar for trading the legend? Don't be. The attendance at Favre rallies were slim. I really think the fans just want this to have a resolution. I know I do.

On the media:
I know it's the offseason, so there's not alot to report. Let the Packers and Favre work this one out. Why all of a sudden are these "unaired portions of interviews" coming out now? All this "Favre criticizes Ted Thompson for not signing Randy Moss, not re-signing Whale and Rivera, and not considering Mariucci for the head coaching job." Eh, it's their job. What can you say?

Final Thoughts:
I can see both sides here. The Packers want to see if Aaron Rodgers is their QB of the future. Favre just wants to play football. Something that I don't think alot of people realize is that Favre sees football for what it is, a game. His attitude towards the game is shown in the way he plays. He just looks like a kid out there playing in his backyard. My thoughts are let the man play. Thompson obviously doesn't want to put up with Favre's "I may retire, I may not retire" annual offseason fiasco. Find some sort of loophole, trade him somewhere in the AFC, and let the man play. It's as simple as that.


.....Barring some catistropic event tonight, I will be reviewing The Dark Knight tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Greetings

Hello all. So, I've finally decided to start a blog by popular request. I've had some interesting times in my life in the state of Pennylvania. Rather than updating you on the past 21 years of my life, I'll sum it up both literally and figuratively with the video below...



...yup... that is my ex-girlfriend waxing my chest... now, overall I'd like to explain what exactly happened that evening. I had the intensions of getting ONLY my back waxed simply because I was, in fact, a beast at the time and felt better going swimming over the summer with a smooth back. Well, a few glasses of caribbean liquor later, I found myself with a smooth upper body. I definitely have to hand it to my good friend, Mike Martin, for documenting it all and advertising it internationally (Don't eat too much kraut in Germany son). What have I learned from this evening of waxing? Never let your ex-girlfriend wax you because she's only there to see you in pain. Also, if a woman jumps out of your truck on the highway while in motion, chances are she's not much more sane two years later, she's worse if anything.

Alright, so we got off track there. Back to this whole "greetings" thing. My name is Matt Korona. I'm 21. I'm currently a senior at Cal U working on a dual major in Secondary Education with a concentration in Communications and Comm Studies with a concentration in Radio/TV. I enjoy football, movies, music, blah blah blah. I'm just an easy going guy that ends up in really odd situations. I'll be blogging about my thoughts on anything really whether it be sports, movies, or life in general.

So why is this titled Pot Pie? Well, pot pies have a little bit of everything all wrapped up in a flakey crust. My thoughts are the ingredients and this blog is the flakey crust. Yeah, pretty corney eh, but oh well. Enjoy the blog everyone!