Thoughts on The Last Jedi

After two weeks, I finally was able to go and see Episode VIII with the family. 

Here's my background. I'm in my 40s and grew up with the original trilogy. I've seen all of them dozens of times. I was an avid collector of the action figures from about 1982 to 1984. I read the first Timothy Zahn book that came out but that's about as far as I went with the expanded universe material. I find the attempt to replace the original stories with the special editions abominable. The prequels are okay, I'm not as down on them as some folks, but they just aren't as rewatchable as the originals. I've only been to see one of the Star Wars movies on opening night (Attack of the Clones). I'm far too busy these days to spend too much time thinking about Star Wars.

I spent some time reading some of the criticisms after seeing the movie, and I wanted to react to some of those opinions and give some of my own thoughts on the movie. Before too much time passes and I don't care anymore.

Entertainment-wise, The Last Jedi delivered. So I won't be one of those who says it was a waste of money. I paid $60 for the movie to entertain my family for a couple of hours and I received what I paid for. I think if I go see it again on the big screen, and I most likely will, I would be entertained again. But beyond that. . . I'm not sure. Is it a movie that I would thirst to watch over and over on DVD? 

Visually, TLJ is great to look at. The great triumph of The Force Awakens was that it wasn't as fake-looking as some of the prequels. Could be advances in technology, could be better filmmaking. I'm not sure. I'm just the audience and I like what I see.

They did well in casting Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. You can say whatever about the flaws in the story behind their characters, and there are some valid criticisms, but if they are on screen, I pay attention. A big step up from having to watch the awkward Hayden Christensen/Natalie Portman/Ewan McGregor triumvirate.

I'm okay with what they did with Luke in this movie. What did people expect? That he's just been anxiously waiting years for someone to come after him? No, of course not! He didn't want to be found. So of course he'd be a little annoyed at Rey for showing up unannounced and it would take some time for him to come around.

I love that there were no desert planets. We got a casino planet and a salt planet.

A lot of criticisms out there about the humor. The crank-call to the Star Destroyer seemed a bit out of place, but then again it does seem consistent with Poe's character as he did the same sort of clowning to Kylo Ren early in Episode VII.

Luke milking the weird creature for a blue beverage? I liked it. It seemed like a reference to dinner with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in Episode IV.

Chewbacca guilted into not eating the Porgs? It's okay to have a few lighter moments.

Leia's force-float? I guess so, but why? If I'd been in charge, I would have done something different. But I'm not in charge.

What's the point of Captain Phasma? It seems like we're meant to feel in awe of her mighty strength, but up to this point she's about as incompetent as every other stormtrooper, just with a little better armor.

What's the point of the Finn character? It seems like in the Force Awakens he was positioned to be maybe a love interest for Rey or maybe someone who possessed some force capabilities (he did wield a lightsaber). And in this movie, he's back to the guy who wants to run away. He gets a plot thread where he gets to ride the space horses through the casino. I really wanted him to drive into the big cannon at the end of the movie, partially because he's kind of a pointless character to still be dragging around, but also because it would provide some sort of resolution for the character. He told Rose earlier that he wasn't a Resistance Hero. But that was his chance to really become one! By sacrificing himself for the cause! But no, Rose knocked him off course so she could deliver her peace & love message.

And Rose! What was that kiss? If you're going to kiss him, KISS him. I've seen people kiss their mom more passionately than that. It made me think, oh, maybe Rose doesn't actually like boys. 

Which brings me to another point. These movies are totally devoid of any romance. I mean, I realize it's sci-fi/fantasy, but the tension between Han and Leia really added some wonderful flavor to the original trilogy. Maybe after the disastrous scenes between Anakin and Padme they don't even want to chance it. But seriously, they haven't even left open any possibilities. Who in the Disney version of Star Wars would ever get together?

Finn and Rey? I guess not.

Kylo and Rey? No way, and kind of gross. Very sibling-eque vibe between them.

Hux and Phasma? That would have been something. And then she files a workplace sexual harassment suit against him.

Finn and Rose? Could've been, until the lame kiss.

Poe and BB-8? I mean, this is clearly the most viable love story going.

I mean, there's really just absolutely nothing going on. I thought Disney was good at princesses and romance and stuff. I guess not. . .

It was kind of annoying at the end where Finn and Rose are seconds away from being executed, and then the whole deck and everyone on it are blasted to smithereens. Oh, except for Finn and Rose, who are rescued by BB-8 who was inexplicably able to get up into and pilot one of the Imperial Walkers from Endor.

I thought TLJ was a little bit too long. The throne room conflict was pretty epic. But would that have been better saved for the next movie, or at the very least, been the end of this one? 

And what was the point of Snoke? It seems like they thought, hey, we need an Emperor-like figure who's pulling all the strings. Let's give him a name that sounds like something out of Harry Potter and plug him in there! It was super cool to see him get sawed in half though.

I'm not sure where they go from here. What's left?

Han dead. Luke dead. Leia will be dead. Snoke dead, Laura Dern also dead. Unless she too, was able to use the force-float to save herself.

Rey has already faced Snoke and Kylo Ren and resisted the dark side.

I guess the questions still out there are:

1) will Kylo Ren turn away from the dark side or will he be destroyed? It has to be one or the other.

2) what will happen with the Resistance? They are depleted, but I'm guessing they eventually triumph.

3) Is it true that Rey's parents were nobodies, or was Kylo Ren making up stuff? And does it even matter? 

4) Perhaps most importantly. . . will Rose live? (I'm being facetious)

TLJ showcases a fair amount of Girl Power! and Equality! We already had Leia, then we add Rey, the next generation of Jedi. We have Finn, the black escapee Stormtrooper, and Phasma, the robust lady stormtrooper (however lame she may be). And now we have Rose freeing the space horses and Laura Dern using light speed to slice the First Order ship in half. It seems like they are really eager to  introduce these diverse characters into the Star Wars universe even though there's really no place for many of them to go in the overall story. 

And the overall story isn't great. Making a case that it's anything other than the story from the original trilogy dressed up a little differently is hard to do.

But if you think about it from a business perspective, Disney didn't pay 4 billion dollars to tell a story that speaks to the souls of Star Wars fans. They paid it to make money, and lots of it. They probably don't care about recycled plot lines or poor character development. A little nostalgia, lots of explosions, and if in the end it doesn't all make sense, they probably don't really care as long as there are butts in the seats. 

Star Wars was born out of George Lucas's desire to tell a story. The prequels were born out of a desire to showcase new filmmaking technology. And the Disney versions are born out of a desire to make gobs off money off a proven franchise. We can take it or leave it. They aren't in it to make art. 

As Han said to Leia in the original film: Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money. 

And Leia responds: You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all you love, then that is what you shall receive.

Disney is getting their reward.

Middle of the Pack

Another fantasy season has come and gone. And again, I finished middle-of-the-pack, fifth place out of ten. Overall, not a bad season. If you look at it from a rotisserie-style point of view, I was second overall in points scored.

So many decisions have to be made over the course of a fantasy season. And you can put a numerical value on everything, so it is very easy to second guess yourself. If I had only drafted this guy, or passed on this guy, or known to start this guy or bench that guy, or had added this guy before he got hot. There's no way to know.

But really, the pivotal week of my season was the first week of the playoffs, week 14. I'd earned the third seed on the basis of my 7-6 record. I lost 131-124, knocking me from title contention. The ball did not bounce my way, so to speak, in four key ways that week.

Number 1: Rob Gronkowski, my #2 scorer, was suspended for week 14 due to his late hit the previous week. I picked up Jason Witten to be my TE for that week, and he was solid, getting me 9 points. But if Gronkowski had been on the field, would he have been able to get me the additional 8 points I needed for the win? Considering he scored 17 or more in 7 of his 14 games on the season, there was at least a 50% chance he would have.

Number 2: The Thursday night matchup that week was Falcons v. Saints. I had three Falcons on my roster at that time: RB Devonta Freeman, K Matt Bryant, and WR Mohamed Sanu. I seriously considered starting all three. But since it was the first game of the week, I didn't want to hinder my chances of competing if the Falcons laid out a stinker. I started Freeman, who put up 15 points in his best performance since week 4. Win! Bryant put up a solid 10 points. Win! But I left Sanu on the bench instead of plugging him in as my flex for the week. He matched his best fantasy performance of the season, scoring 20, and I didn't get any of it. If he'd been in there, those 20 points would have given me a narrow win.

Number 3: Carson Wentz was my sterling free-agent pickup of the year at QB, and was injured in the third quarter of the Eagles' shootout win over the Rams. He put up 26 points and was my high scorer for the week. But what if he hadn't been hurt and had played the fourth quarter? Would he have put up my additional 8 points? Perhaps. This is perhaps my weakest what-if argument, as I was also starting the Eagles defense and benefited from a late fumble-return for a touchdown which netted me 7 points, and maybe that doesn't happen if Wentz is still in there. 

Number 4: I was left with three running backs to choose from for my flex play. Latavius Murray, Samaje Perine, and Dion Lewis. Lewis was playing on Monday night. I decided to bench Murray and Perine. It was a good choice as Murray only put up 3 and Perine only managed 8. I knew after Sunday's games that I needed 18 points from Lewis to get the win. And although he'd put up 17 and 18 in the past two weeks, I didn't feel great about the odds of him doing so on a Monday night in Miami. I scanned the other available players and noticed Dolphin RB Kenyan Drake. I'd never heard of him before, but he seemed to be a player on the rise. His last five weeks had produced totals of 15, 17, 2, 11, and 23 just the last week. I considered the boom-or-bust possibilities of handing my playoff life to an anonymous running back. The Dolphins were at home, and the Patriots defense hadn't been great all season. But the projections seemed to be optimistic for Patriot running backs as Gronkowski was not going to be playing. I stayed with Lewis. He got me 11 and no more. Drake rushed for 114 yards and caught 5 passes for 79 yards in Miami's victory. A total of 23 fantasy points.

So I lost and went into the consolation bracket. If I had advanced to the semifinal round, I would have comfortably beaten the #2 seed in week 15. And in the just-concluded week 16, I put up 114 points. The team that won the championship put up 115, but you never know. I may have put more effort into my lineup if I was in title contention. My point is, I very well could have won the title if I had gone the other way on the Lewis vs. Drake decision.

My top four scorers on the season at the "flex" positions of RB/WR/TE were all players I drafted:

Round 4, #36 overall: Larry Fitzgerald, #11 in the league with 241 points

Round 3, #25 overall: Rob Gronkowski, #17 in the league with 221 points

Round 6, #56 overall: Carlos Hyde, #24 in the league with 198 points

Round 5, #45 overall: Golden Tate, #29 in the league with 189 points

So not a bad draft rounds three through six - all those guys were on my roster the entire season and all performed above their draft position. I can't complain.

My draft strategy was "autopick" partially due to circumstances on draft day but also the computer generally does a better job than me. I only picked a couple players manually. 

 

One of those "manual" picks was WR Odell Beckham, at #5 overall. He played only four games on the season due to injury. It's wrong to ponder on the what ifs, but RB LeSean McCoy was #6 overall. He finished the year with 247 points.

Instead, my first RB selection was Devonta Freeman at #16 overall. He finished as the #46 flex player in the league with 164 points, partially due to scoring zero points in three weeks due to injury. Even after adjusting for that factor, he was a little bit of a disappointment, only tallying double digits in three of the last 11 weeks of the season. 

So I didn't get a lot out of my top two picks. 

I wound up with nothing of value in rounds 7 through 10, and my draft strategy was to not select a QB, K, or DEF until the last three rounds because good value can always be found on the free agent market unless you just have your heart set on Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.

I picked up QB Jameis Winston in round 11, and he was my starter for five of the first weeks of the season, until I went to Carson Wentz. He averaged 22 points a game for the seven weeks he was my starter, and likely would have finished the season as the top-scoring fantasy QB if not for his week 14 injury

.

When the season is over, and you don't end up on top, fantasy football seems like a fantastic waste of time. But when you're in the midst, it's a fun diversion, and I'll probably be back to play again next year.

Book on the Montreal Expos

Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos by Jonah Keri

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I thought it was a great book. I'm not Canadian or an Expos fan, just a guy who grew up in the 80's and 90's a baseball fan who had some familiarity with the Expos' almost-but-not-quite success during that era.

The history of the Montreal Expos provides a unique subject matter in that there are very few baseball clubs for which you can write a beginning-to-end story. As the first Canadian entrant into major U.S. professional sports, the Expos entered the National League as an expansion franchise in 1969 and played 36 seasons in Montreal before departing for Washington, D.C. in 2005 and taking upon themselves the dreadful moniker of "Nationals". Montreal remains the only MLB team to lose their team in the last 45 years.

Jonah Keri takes you from their humble beginnings playing in Jarry Park (a supposed short-term solution which wound up hosting the team for nearly a decade), through their prosperous years in the 1980s and 1990s, and on through their ultimate demise in the early part of the century. Throughout the book, he provides various reasons for the Expos' failure which prove that although fielding a talented ballclub is an important element, it doesn't necessarily guarantee success. A successful franchise needs political support, investment from the business community, and a thriving fan base. When the Expos didn't have any of the three, it was time to go. A little luck also helps, and the Expos certainly didn't have much of that, as proved by the 1994 team which most certainly would have won the World Series, if only it had been played. . .

Keri is not an impartial party to this tale - he grew up an Expos fan and in many cases inserts his first-person accounts of the proceedings. I felt like his fan's perspective made the book come alive. Written by anyone else, it may have just been a dull retelling of news accounts.

The book is more interesting than you would expect for a team that never won anything. If nothing else, you'll learn what the story is behind that mysterious "lb" logo. I had been wondering about that for years.



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These Are a Few of My Favorite Movies: The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - I love this movie a little more every time I watch it. As a kid, maybe I didn't enjoy it as much because it's darker and a little more nuanced than the other two films in the original trilogy. But my appreciation has really grown to the point that I can't help but pin superlatives on it such as "spectacular" or "masterpiece".

I love that it portrays the Empire as serious business, not just a bunch of bumbling fools who will eventually be outsmarted by the good guys. Darth Vader was perhaps his most villainous in this film . Tracking down the rebels on Hoth. Force-choking two Imperial officers. Hiring a crew of sketchy bounty hunters. Forcing Lando Calrissian to betray his friend. Kicking the crap out of an overconfident Luke. Altering the terms of the deal.

I love that it uses some creative locales. Let's face it. . . Star Wars is in kind of a rut with the desert scenery. Tatooine features prominently in Ep. I, Ep. IV, and Ep. VI, and makes cameos in the other two prequels. The Force Awakens takes place partially on Jakku, another desert planet, albeit not Tatooine. But in The Empire Strikes back, we see an ice planet, a swamp planet, an asteroid, and a city in the clouds. No deserts anywhere.

I love that there's still a little romantic tension. Although the momentum swings in the direction of Han + Leia during the course of this film, as it ends, Han is temporarily out of the picture and Luke has his arm around Leia. The fact of Luke and Leia's familial relationship hasn't yet been revealed (or created, depending on how cynical you are).

I love Leia in this movie. She gets more attention for the hair buns of Ep. IV and the metal bikini of Ep. VI, but she really dazzles as the female presence throughout Empire, whether she's wearing the snowsuit or the Bespin gown.

I love that the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is palpable. Every interaction between them throughout the film is fantastic, culminating with the classic "I love you/I know" exchange before Han enters the carbon freeze.

I love when Luke insists that he's not afraid, and Yoda stares at him and says, "You will be. You. . . will. . . be."

I love that it's the least screwed-with of the "special editions". Not really anything major added other than the full-body Wampa monster.

I love this deleted scene. Trilogy-making is dynamic. One sequel a crush, the next sequel  your twin sister.

I love "Stop that, my hands are dirty/My hands are dirty too, what are you afraid of?"

I love "Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker/Then I'll see you in hell!"

I love Bossk and all three seconds of his screen time. I love C-3PO with his head on backwards. I love tauntauns.

I love Yoda and his bits of wisdom. "Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter."

I love that we briefly see Yoda's sense of humor before he morphs into ultra-serious mode. "How do you get so big eating food of this kind?"

I love, "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee."