Epic

Directed by Chris Wedge.

2013. Rated PG, 102 minutes.

Cast:

Amanda Seyfried

Josh Hutcherson

Colin Farrell

Christoph Waltz

Beyonce Knowles

Aziz Ansari

Chris O'Dowd

Pitbull

Jason Sudeikis

Steven Tyler

Blake Anderson

Jim Conroy

John DiMaggio

For the first time in quite a while, Mary Katherine (Seyfried), MK for short, visits her father Professor Bomba (Sudeikis). Her mom has passed away so she understandably wants to spend some time bonding with dad. Unfortunately, dad is totally pre-occupied with his work. For years, he's been trying to prove the existence of an advanced civilization of tiny people located somewhere in the forest around his house. He believes them to be the engine of the ecosystem. He is actually right. We know this because we meet Ronin (Farrell) and his misguided ward Nod (Hutcherson), two Leaf Men, or soldiers, tasked with defending Queen Tara from their rivals, the evil Boggins. Today is when she must choose the pod that will continue to make things grow in the event of her death. The Boggins are after her because they want nothing more than rot and decay. Of course, MK thinks her father nuts. Tired of him neglecting her, she storms out into the woods and bada-boom, bada-bing, she is shrank down to about two inches tall and finds herself in the middle of the war in the forest.

Much of our focus is on the adventure to save the chosen pod, as well as the fish out of water aspects of the tale. Both bring a nice balance of action and comedy that keeps things moving along nicely. Though the jokes are on the obvious side, they work well enough. The action fares better. It is certainly close to what we think of when we hear the word swashbuckling. Just imagine what action scenes in Robin Hood might look like if we replaced horses with birds. There are also some very cool visuals employed during this. the scene where a bunch of bad guys come bursting from beneath the bark of a tree is an amazing sight. Visually, as a whole, the movie works quite well. Lots of flowers and other things you would find in the forest are rendered as somewhat humanoid beings. The scenery is occasionally a bit off as it appears the animators weren't always sure what should look photo-realistic and what should not. Still, it's definitely not enough to be a problem.

Less successfully handled are the emotional aspect of things. The relationship between MK and her dad works okay, but nothing happens that even the kids won't see coming. The same goes for the love story between MK and Nod. It hits every note precisely when we expect it to. More disappointing than either of those story lines is that the movie makes a big deal early on that MK's mom has died and so has Nod's dad yet does nothing with these facts. It approaches them as if there is some exploration of the matter about to take place. Instead, it's merely a ploy to give our lovebirds something in common. Again, none of these are major demerits. They are small dings in the armor that younger viewers will likely ignore, but start to pile up on us old folks.

What the youngsters won't ignore is all the hero/villain stuff. At this, Epic succeeds. The message of it is all a bit heavy-handed, but easy to root for. A lush, green forest is full of life while a gray and brown one is not. They will also like the lovably goofy Nod. Juxtaposed with him is the straight-laced Ronin. More than liking him, he's the one character we actually feel for. We understand he's got just a little bigger stake in the game than the rest. His nemesis Mandrake (Waltz) makes for a pretty good villain. He's properly dark and menacing and seems genuinely prepared to take over the world. The voicing of him by Waltz is very effective in getting this point across. Still, it's the good vs. evil angle that will carry the day for many of the kids watching. With a fairly sizable element of revenge factoring in on both sides we feel how personal things have become without anyone ever saying this explicitly. The other things fill out the movie and are solid enough to stand up and keep things enjoyable. I found it very entertaining and well done.

MY SCORE: 7/10

Shooter

Directed by Antoine Fuqua.

2007. Rated R, 125 minutes.

Cast:

Mark Wahlberg

Danny Glover

Kate Mara

Michael Pena

Rhona Mitra

Ned Beatty

Tate Donovan

Elias Koteas

Justin Louis

Rade Serbedzija

Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg), what a name, is a former military sniper who was part of one of those missions that can't be confirmed nor denied. Rather salty about how the whole thing went down, he's now become a bearded recluse living in the mountains with just his dog. One day, the government comes calling, in the form of Colonel Isaac Johnson (Glover). The colonel says he has reliable intel that an attempt will be made on the President's life during an upcoming speech and that the shot will be fired from an incredible distance. Since our hero is the only one known to have made such a long shot, they are asking his help in figuring out how and from where the deed could be done in order to prevent it from happening. One thing leads to another and before you know it, Bob Lee winds up with a couple bullets in him and is on the run from the authorities.

This is a movie built on the cat-and-mouse between Bob Lee and the colonel. It works pretty well as the two make formidable adversaries. Wahlberg gives us the scowling hero look which has served him nicely in the past. It does here, as well. Glover is really a slimy sort. He gives the most interesting performance in the film. I don't think he gets enough credit for playing bad guys. I've seen him give audiences a good one a few times. I guess it's tough to escape the long shadow he himself cast as half of the Lethal Weapon duo. Ned Beatty is also solid as a crooked politician. Meanwhile, Kate Mara does nice work as the girl who believes our hero.

Besides Glover, the standouts are Michael Pena and Rhona Mitra. Pena plays the rookie FBI agent who smells a rat and is determined to get to the bottom of things. Mitra is a fellow agent who slowly comes around to the right side of things. They have their own little cat-and-mouse going with the agency at large as they do their snooping from within the system. Neither is doing award-worthy work her, but they provide some nice interludes between the scenes involving our stars.

In all, Shooter is a passable flick. It's solid action fare that provides enough excitement and suspense for us to make it through no worse for the wear. The ending that's better than the rest of the movie may elevate it in some people's mind beyond what it likely deserves. It deserves to be thought of as decent, definitely worth a watch, but not something that really stands out.

MY SCORE: 6/10

Blackfish

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite.

2013. Rated PG-13, 83 minutes.

Cast:

John Hargrove

Samantha Berg

Mark Simmons

Kim Ashdown

Dean Gomersall

Carol Ray

John Jett

Jeffrey Ventre

Thomas Tobin

Dave Duffus

I've never been to SeaWorld. It seems like such a happy place in all those commercials. Sure, I know there has been the occasional accident, but that's a hazard of working with killer whales, right? I mean, "killer" is in their name, isn't it? Okay, so watching Blackfish convinces me that this is an ignorant point of view. What the movie attempts to show is how much Sea World itself is culpable for these accidents due to the way the animals are treated. In particular, we focus on a whale named Tilikum, who has been responsible for the deaths of several humans.

The short story is that everything about the way whales are kept runs completely counter to the way they live in their natural habitat. We learn how this breeds frustration and aggression in them. With regards to Tilikum, we get accounts of various incidents from his life which continue to influence his behavior. Expanding the story to include reasons for these things taking place, it becomes a tale of corporate greed. It becomes clear that the whales are viewed merely as product by the powers that be.

What helps the documentary's effectiveness is that a number of our talking heads are people who dealt with the whales first hand. They are former SeaWorld trainers who, in many cases, worked directly with Tilikum. Things they were tasked to do weren't anything they immediately thought of as cruel, especially as young people with no prior experience with whales. In hindsight, they have a greater understanding of things, no longer work for SeaWorld, and are speaking out against them. Other people who appear have studied killer whales and/or worked with them in some capacity for decades.

Predictably, no representatives of SeaWorld agreed to be interviewed. Speaking for them is old court testimony, quotes given to various media outlets over the years, company handbooks, and anything else the filmmakers could get their hands on. We get the distinct impression they are hiding behind their legal team. However, there is one brave soul, on former trainer who still tows the company line. In his mind, or at least his words, SeaWorld has done nothing wrong. Agree or disagree, I must give him credit for having the courage to say so on camera.

Blackfish succeeds on three important fronts. First, it paints SeaWorld as the quintessential sinister organization, doling out misinformation to justify questionable tactics. We become outraged at the goings on behind the scenes. As is often the case, seeing how the sausage is made turns our stomach. Second, the movie educates us about killer whales. It points out many of the flaws in our perception of these creatures. It even humanizes them, to some degree. All of this builds tremendous sympathy for them that becomes very powerful when mixed with our anger at SeaWorld. third, even if the other things aren't life changing for you, at the very least you will never look at one of those commercials the same way ever again.

MY SCORE: 9/10

Red Hook Summer

Directed by Spike Lee.

2012. Rated R, 121 minutes.

Cast:

Clarke Peters

Jules Brown

Nate Parker

Toni Lysaith

Heather Simms

Thomas Jefferson Byrd

De'Adre Aziza

Colman Domingo

Tracy Camilla Johns
James Ransone

Spike Lee

Silas (Brown), aka Flik, has lived all of his very young life in Atlanta with his mom. This summer he's going to spend his vacation from school with his grandfather Bishop Enoch (Peters), whom he's never met before. To say the two are different is a massive understatement. The bishop lives in Brooklyn's Red Hook housing projects, is an intensely devout Christian, pastors Little Piece of Heaven, the neighborhood church, and is fully embedded in the community. He is also most definitely old school in his ways. All of them. Silas' house in Atlanta is in the suburbs, it seems he's never been to church, he walks around recording everything on his iPad and wants nothing more than to go back home. Nonetheless, he's stuck for a couple months. The two trying to understand each other while Silas learns the ropes of surviving in Red Hook ensues.

For director Spike Lee, it's a return to his Brooklyn roots. He even includes a brief reprisal of his role as Mookie from the classic Do the Right Thing. It's a place he knows exceedingly well and loves despite whatever blemishes it may have. This much is evident throughout the film. It is most easily identifiable during the totally unnecessary montage that closes the movie. Spike lets his cameras take longing looks at both his beloved borough and the entire city of New York. However, where Spike's movie really shines is when he's using that camera to create statements and metaphors. Simply put, there are some amazing shots in Red Hook Summer. The most poignant of these deal with the ceiling lights at Little Heaven. A section of them forms a cross and figures prominently in three very powerful shots. Between these shots is perhaps Lee's most frightening double-dolly sequence ever. If you're familiar with the director's work then you've seen the double-dolly shots, the portions of his films where the camera will be in tight enough on a character, or characters, that only the upper portion of their body is visible. He/she will be moving toward us viewers in a way that makes it seem as if they are floating. This is his signature move. Here, the movement is more subtle than usual, but grows in intensity, and has just a bit of shaky cam thrown in. It may only be ten or fifteen seconds of the movie, but it is a brutal moment.

Camera tricks are nice, but most people will be more concerned with the story and whether or not it holds their interest long enough for us to care by the time we get to the finale. The answer is yes...and no. The yes part is easy. Bishop Enoch is a rich character, full of faith, stubbornness, fear, and mystery. To many in the movie, he represents what's good about the community and he has uncompromising values. Still, he's leery of the local rif-raf even as he occasionally approaches them and tries to nudge them in the right direction. However, the most anyone knows of him before his arrival in Red Hook is that he came from "down south." Clarke Peters wraps all of this up into one dynamite package. He plays the role perfectly, both in the bishop's quieter moments and at his most boisterous, brandishing fire and brimstone.

The no part is a bit trickier. Much of it has to do with Silas and Chazz (Lysaith), the girl he hangs around. For starters, his story isn't sufficiently explored. After his mom drops him off in Brooklyn during the film's opening scene, she disappears from the movie for all but one brief scene an hour or so later. She could potentially add much in the way of context for Silas, but gives almost none. Similarly, little is done with what is revealed about his father. All we really get is that the boy is homesick. That's fine, but he whines so much about it, he's tough to like. Chazz is a much more fun personality with her unmistakably Brooklyn attitude and an interesting take on the world around her. The biggest problem with both of these characters is that they are poorly acted. Brown and Lysaith sound like they're using what they think to be their acting voices, like you might here in a school play. Many of their movements are too deliberate, artificial looking. It feels like Spike should have told them in rehearsals to just speak and act naturally. Since their exploits comprise a large chunk of the movie, it can be quite distracting.

The climax of the movie is where it will completely grab you or totally lose you. While this is true of lots of movies, the feeling is amplified here. The shot I spoke of earlier, which contains the big reveal, is the lightning rod moment. It may seem over the top and coming in from way out deep in left field. If that fits your line of thinking, you might just tune it out right then and there. If this is an "oh wow" moment for you, you'll be pulled into the fold, far more invested than you were before this instant. It turns into the sort of harsh social commentary Spike Lee is known for.

But is it too harsh? Viewed through the prism of the director's public distaste for Tyler Perry, it is hard not to see this as at least a partial backlash against the message Perry aggressively pushes throughout his body of work, a deconstruction, if you will. In that vein, it may feel heavy-handed and overly reactionary. However, I believe in judging each film on its own merit. Red Hook Summer makes no overt references to anyone else's work, so what I've written is pure speculation. Juicy, it may be, but still speculation. As a stand-alone, it ultimately succeeds by offering Bishop Enoch up for debate. Is his story one of redemption or does it end in eternal damnation? There is also the nagging question of how all of this affects Silas. While not among his best work, it is far from his worst. His return to Brooklyn seems to have re-invigorated him. RHS is intriguing, yet uneven. It is also the most passionate film he's made in years.

R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman

1967-2014

Unfortunately, we have to bid farewell to another one. This time, the great Philip Seymour Hoffman has left us prematurely. He was not a household name, but a household face. People who watch an average number of movies have seen him in something. This is no surprise since imdb.com gives him 62 cinematic credits (plus one TV show). More people learned his name this past summer as he became part of the Hunger Games franchise. His arrow was pointed up.

Those of us who call ourselves movie buffs know that Hoffman was no mere character actor popping up with bit roles in a lot of films. He was a master thespian, one of the finest actors of his generation. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for playing the titular role in 2005's Capote. He was also nominated for three other Oscars during his career.

Of those 62 movies he made, I've personally seen about a third of them. In nearly every one of them, he stood out to me as giving an enjoyable performance. This is true even in the films I didn't enjoy. For instance, take Synecdoche, New York. Lots of people love this movie. I could launch into a diatribe about why I hate it, but that's beside the point. The point is he was brilliant in the lead role. For that reason, I always look forward to seeing movies in which he is cast. Since starting this blog, I've reviewed a number of his movies and in most of them, I speak glowingly about his work. Click here to read my reviews of his work.

So long, friend Philip. You will be missed.

Pointless Lists: Fictional Movie Football Team, Part II

Yesterday, I gave you the special teams and defense for my fictional football team. Now, on Super Bowl Sunday, I'm going to give you the guys people come to see, the ones that put points on the board.

I did give myself some rules to go by. As a reminder, here they are...

1. I really do mean "fictional." None of these players are directly based on a real person. That means no Rudy, no one from Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, The Express, or any other "based on a true story" football flick.

2. This one goes hand-in-hand with the first rule and makes things even trickier. Characters played by people with NFL experience are not eligible. My apologies to Luther Lavay from Any Given Sunday (Lawrence Taylor), Deacon Moss from the remake of The Longest Yard (Michael Irvin), Bogdanski from the original The Longest Yard (Ray Nitschke) and all the other pros who took their talents to the silver screen.

3. The player doesn't have to be from a football movie, but there should be at least one actual football scene in their movie during which I can reasonably assume he/she is on the field. You're outta here, Johnny Utah from Point Break.

4. Players are to be judged as they are during the movie. Past success be damned, Jack "Cap" Rooney from Any Given Sunday is an old man!

5. The player should at least have a speaking part. Okay, this is more of a guideline than a hard rule.

Offense

Offensive Line

Starters:

Tackles - Bud "Lite" Kaminsky (Abraham Benrubi), The Program and Patrick "Madman" Kelly (Andrew Bryniarsky), Any Given Sunday

Guards - Billy Bob (Ron Lester), Varsity Blues and Andre "Action" Jackson (Michael Taliferro), The Replacements

Center - Manumana the Slender (Peter Tuiasosopo), Necessary Roughness

Back-ups - Jamal Jackson (Faizon Love), The Replacements...Jumbo (Ace Yonamine), The Replacements...Rudy "The Gas Man" Zoltek (Michael Zweiner), Little Giants...Turley (The Great Khali), The Longest Yard (2005)

Bud "Lite" Kaminsky will be an absolute anchor at left tackle. "Madman" Kelly, on the opposite side, is nearly as good. He also bears a striking resemblance to defensive end Steve Lattimer. Manumana is a massive center who can take on multiple blockers even while handling snap duties. We're taking some chances with our guards, though. Billy Bob isn't in the best shape and is prone to concussions, but he's hard to move. He also might be able to sneak out and catch a pass or two. "Action" Jackson works best when his brother Jamal is on the field, who isn't starting. However, due to Billy Bob's issues we can foresee him getting a lot of time. Jumbo will also see some time, if for no other reason than he's, well, jumbo. Turley has an extremely low football IQ, or regular IQ, for that matter. Still, he's a mountain of a man who can play some d-line, also. "The Gas Man" will fill-in if we really get in a pinch. He is undersized, but has a rather potent secret weapon.

Receivers

Starters:

Wide Receivers - Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Jerry Maguire and Jimmy Sanderson (Bill Bellamy), Any Given Sunday

Back-ups - Charlie Tweeter (Scott Caan), Varsity Blues...Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones), The Replacements...Phil Elliot (Nick Nolte), North Dallas Forty

Tight End - Brian Murphy (David Denman), The Replacements

Tidwell is a money receiver. Literally. His recent willingness to go over the middle has elevated him to elite status. All I have to say about Sanderson is that he was the go-to-guy on a team that included Terrell Owens, and T.O. didn't even complain about it. Tweeter will work the slots. We just need to make sure we keep him out of the bars the night before games. Franklin is a little iffy in the hands department, but can stretch the field. We're not sure how much we can get out of Elliot. He goes through more than seems humanly possibly just to make it onto the field, but age is catching up with him. He still has great hands, though, so he'll be out there in key third-down situations. Plus, we might line him up at tight end from time to time, a position he's more suited to these days. We will have to. Brian Murphy is the team's only true tight end. We think we've got a good one despite the fact that he's deaf.

Running Backs

Starters:

Tailback - Julian "J-Man" Washington (LL Cool J), Any Given Sunday

Fullback - Ray Griffen (Leon Pridgen), The Program

Back-ups - Earl Megget (Nelly), The Longest Yard (2005)...Darnell Jefferson (Omar Epps), The Program...Wendell Brown (Eliel Swinton), Varsity Blues

We are absolutely loaded at this spot! Washington will be our workhorse. This includes getting the rock in most short yardage situations. No worries, there will be plenty of carries for Megget and Jefferson who both have game changing speed. Megget is inexperienced so we might not have him in on too many obvious passing downs and we'll have to keep an eye on Jefferson who has some fumbling issues in the past. Brown will be there to spell Washington and get the bulk of the carries should Washington go down. At the fullback spot, Griffen is actually a former tailback. After a tenuous adjustment period, he's taken quite nicely to delivering some crushing blocks. Every now and again we'll reward him with a carry or two.

Quarterbacks

Normally, I favor drop-back quarterbacks. I have to begrudgingly admit times are changing. I need someone who can make plays with his arm AND his legs. Maybe we can even put in some read-option and other new-fangled stuff. For this, there is no better option than...

"Steamin'" Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx), Any Given Sunday

To back him up, we worked out everyone available. Of course, they all had some issues. Levander "Bird" Williams (Mykelti Williams, Wildcats) had some character issues. Johnny Moxon (James Van Der Beek, Varsity Blues) is not really all that into football. Lance Harbor (Paul Walker, Varsity Blues went into coaching. Joe Kingman (Dwayne Johnson, The Game Plan) doesn't have his heart in it anymore. Frank Cushman (Jerry O'Connell, Jerry Maguire) wants too much money. Seth Maxwell (Mac Davis) was too much of a wild-card. We even worked out two guys named Paul Crewe (Burt Reynolds and Adam Sandler, both versions of The Longest Yard). The older one was extremely close to locking down that third string spot. The younger one was just as good, but looks too much like linebacker Bobby Boucher for our tastes. In the end we went with...

Shane "Footsteps" Falco (Keanu Reeves), The Replacements and Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), Heaven Can Wait

Falco has shown some unbelievable leadership skills and has just gotten over his big-game jitters. Pendleton is also quite the leader. Like I said, he and the two Crewes were close. In the end, Joe gets the nod because he has divine intervention on his side. After all, not only did the guy win a Super Bowl, he came back from the dead to do it!

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Pointless Lists: Fictional Movie Football Team, Part I

It's Super Bowl Weekend! Weather permitting, of course, tomorrow is the final chance I will have to watch gladiators collide on the gridiron until fall rolls around again. Well, since I started the season with a list, I will end the season with one.This time, I've scrolled through my massive mental database, and did some good ol' internet research to remind me of a few things, and formulated my all-time team comprised strictly of fictional football players from movies. And since I'm a football nut, and injuries happen, I'm not only going to give you starters, but back-ups wherever possible.

To make it a challenge, I've imposed a few rules upon myself:

1. I really do mean "fictional." None of these players are directly based on a real person. That means no Rudy, no one from Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, The Express, or any other "based on a true story" football flick.

2. This one goes hand-in-hand with the first rule and makes things even trickier. Characters played by people with NFL experience are not eligible. My apologies to Luther Lavay from Any Given Sunday (Lawrence Taylor), Deacon Moss from the remake of The Longest Yard (Michael Irvin), Bogdanski from the original The Longest Yard (Ray Nitschke) and all the other pros who took their talents to the silver screen.

3. The player doesn't have to be from a football movie, but there should be at least one actual football scene in their movie during which I can reasonably assume he/she is on the field. You're outta here, Johnny Utah from Point Break.

4. Players are to be judged as they are during the movie. Past success be damned, Jack "Cap" Rooney from Any Given Sunday is an old man!

5. The player should at least have a speaking part. Okay, this is more of a guideline than a hard rule.

We'll save the glamour boys on offense for last. Let's start with the least heralded players on any football roster.

Special Teams

Place-Kicker - Lucy Draper (Kathy Ireland), Necessary Roughness

Punter - Derek Wallace (Larry Gilliard Jr.), The Waterboy

Kick/Punt Returner - Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), Forrest Gump

One small issue, our team doesn't have a true punter. Wallace is really a place-kicker, but since punters are much more likely to be called on to actually hit someone, I'll slide him over instead of Lucy Draper and let him handle kickoff duties, as well. All Draper will have to do is keep putting the ball through the uprights, or Wallace will take over that job, too. These two beat out Nigel "The Leg" Gruff of The Replacements. Nice guy, but too willing to throw a game due to his gambling problems. Gump will handle the return game. He's not always locked in, but just hand him the ball and say "Run Forest, run!"

Let's move on...

Defense

Defensive Line

Starters:

Ends - Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski), The Program and Sgt. Engleheart (Kevin Nash), The Longest Yard (2005)

Tackles - Phillip Finch (Tab Thacker), Wildcats and Samson (Richard Kiel), The Longest Yard (1974)

Back-up - Andre Krimm (Sinbad), Necessary Roughness

Going with a 4-3 defense, here. Once you apply the criteria I'm using, the pool of linebackers thins out tremendously. That said, I'm excited about what we have up front. Sgt. Engleheart can be a little soft, but Lattimer more than makes up for him with his 'roided out insanity and passion for having a place at the table. Finch is a gentleman and a scholar, but at something like 400 lbs., he clogs the middle like nobody's business. Beside him, Samson is the d-line's secret weapon, but we have to be careful with him due to the fact he can go overboard. He might literally break your f'ing neck. Krimm will keep things light in the locker-room and get spot duty.

Linebackers

Starters:

 

Charles Jefferson (Forest Whitaker), Fast Times at Ridgemont High...Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler), The Waterboy...Daniel Bateman (Jon Favreau), The Replacements

Back-ups - Becky "Icebox" O'Shea (Shawna Waldron), Little Giants and Alvin Mack (Duane Davis), The Program

We have some issues with this unit, mainly a lack of depth and some odd mental quirks. Charles Jefferson is a certified stud and will man the middle. If he suspects the opposite team messed with his car then he is guaranteed to destroy them. Bates is just as vicious, even more so if we're playing someone wearing red. Bobby Boucher is the wildcard. As long as he can conjure up visions of all the things that have angered him, including his own mother, he's unblockable. He also has a thing about the water the team drinks. "Icebox" O'Shea is decidedly undersized, but she's also absolutely ferocious and will get plenty of snaps. As a bonus, she can fill in at fullback on offense, too, and maybe even play a little QB if we really get in a bind. We're saving a spot for Alvin Mack who suffered a knee injury that was thought to be career-ending. We're hoping the advances in medical technology since 1993 will get him back on the field.

Defensive Backfield

Starters:

 

Cornerbacks - Earl Wilkinson aka "Ray Smith" (Michael Jace), The Replacements and Trumaine (Wesley Snipes), Wildcats

 

Safeties - Guard Papajohn (Michael Papajohn), The Longest Yard (2005) and Stefan Djordjevic (Tom Cruise), All the Right Moves

Back-up - Spike Hammersmith (Sam Horrigan), Little Giants

We have four solid DBs. Earl...ahem...Ray and Trumaine are a pair of ball hawks at the corners. Ray can help return kicks, too. We might be a bit shy on technique at the safety spot since both Papajohn and Djordjevic are actually corners, as well. Still, they are good players so they should pick things up nicely. Depth is a bit of a problem. We're going with the humongous-for-his-age, but still small Spike Hammersmith. He's best known as a tailback, but he's logged plenty of time in the secondary, has a serious mean streak, and is already built like a safety which is where he'll get the most time. Sure, his habit of referring to himself in the third person gets annoying rather quickly, but there's no denying raw talent.




That's all for today. Tomorrow, I'll finish things off with the offense.

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