Michael Oher was one of these kids that was brought in off the streets into a well Christian based home and given a chance to work hard to make himself great in school and also on the football field.

An American drama comes to life in this movie and really makes you think of how good some of us already have it. Written by John Lee Hancock,and based on the 2006 book ” The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game ” by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.

The film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringing, through his years at Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee), his adoption by Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy, and on to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football.

This movie is not just about football but the hard facts of life that a player has to face in such a way. Oher has to work hard in a school where things are much harder than his last school. He is look down own in many ways by all sorts of people. The teachers look down on him at first and then come to see the more they help him the more he learns.

Oher has also been given help by a private in home tutor to help him make the rite grades he needs to play and stay on the grid iron. He has no place on a football field until Leigh Ann ( Sandra Bullock ) says to him ” protect your men on the field as you protect me off the field. Sean ( Tim McGraw ) doesn’t know what to think to start with until he sees that his wife is serious about the education and lifestyle she tries to give Oher.

I will leave you with this little information. When a movie like this comes out it is always a never miss situation. The movie is so good and so down to earth that it places a country slang voice in my words of writing.But this movie will touch your heart and may even make you cry.But the one thing is greatness that it shows us in more ways than none.

Check out the movie trailer for “The Blind Side” on our movie database collection.Hope you enjoy!

Friday February 19,2010 at 11:00 am CNN gave live footage of golfs famous Tiger Woods. Is his apology doing him good or bad for the sport of golf? Did he do it in order to make things better for his wife and family? Should we want our kids to admire someone like him after the things he has done? Do we as the public accept what Tiger has done as far as his apology go’s?

There is so many good and bad things that go on in the world of sports and we let so many of the bad things pass without notice. I think that the apology Tiger gave we good but should not have been toward the critics that have been criticizing him from the start. His apology was mainly for his wife, kids, family, and friends. There was sincere emotion in his speech even though it was done from paper.

Even if he had to read his feelings we should accept as people. His statements were that he never showed harm or violence to his wife or kids. The statement toward the press about them following his kids to school was directed strictly to the press and was done in a firmly matter.

Tigers Words:

“My apology to Elin will not come in words but from my behavor to come.”

Elin whom is Tigers wife was not on site of the event because she chose not to be. She had that right not to be if she so chose to do so.

One of the women of Tigers allegedly affairs even gave statement on national TV about that she should never had this happen to her. My opinion on her statement is this.

Why did you have the affair with him to start with knowing he was married? Did you not know that it takes two to have an affair?

“I think that what ever this woman gets then she deserves all of it. Rather it be good or bad she should not blame everything on him but should also blame herself for getting herself in this trash.” Only one of the ladies whom was 21 at the time did not know that Tiger was married and she was OK with the apology that Tiger had given.

I would say that Tiger is on a start of trying to change his life around after what has taken place here. He has been through a lot but in his rehab he will continue to go through more before it is over all together. Tiger also had mentioned that he was unsure of how long it will be before he will be back to golf on the PGA Tour. There were only about forty people allowed at the news event for this speaking of Tiger Woods. Most of the people there were family and friends and employs of the PGA Tour.

I wish all becomes well for him and his family and hope to see him back on the greens soon no matter what anyone says. When we make as much money as he has done then that’s when we should be able to hold him to a lower standard than we do today. But for now the damage has been done and has been apologize for so we should let it go. Watch the small clip video below.

EPISODE THREE

We begin Episode three of Hard Knocks 2008 with the coaches evaluating the performance of the players during the San Diego preseason game.  The first team was solid and efficient so coaches are giving them a lot of praise.  However, the second team and beyond had very little praise as they were far less productive compared to the second and third string of the Chargers.  Danny Amendola’s fumble on his first punt return was mentioned.  That’s not good for the fan favorite underdog.

It’s time for more of the T.O. show!  We have shots that go back and forth between coach talking about the Cowboys have one goal of getting to and winning the Super Bowl and T.O. running shirtless (of course) up the side of a mountain all the while the voice of the coach is heard about trying to inspire the players to from being good football players to great football players.  He challenges his team to write down on paper what they need to do to go from “good to great” and then go and do those things.

Let me try: “Good to Great”

1. Drink more water and slow down on the Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper
2. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier
3. Run a mile a day
4. Help an old lady cross the street
5. Watch less television and read more
6. Listen to wife

Okay, this is just ridiculous.  There’s nothing wrong with just being good.  Leave the greatness to someone else.

Now it’s time to focus on Tony Romo’s friendship with TE Jason Witten.  Although, Witten states that he is not a part of Tony’s entourage.  Everyone agrees, including Romo, that Romo can’t sing.  You could also search for a video of him singing at a Chicago Cubs game to verify this fact.  Still, Tony maintains that his new found fame of being the Quarterback of “America’s Team” has not changed him.  Well, except for dating blondes in the music industry with hot bodies and tons of money.  Yeah, nothing’s changed.  Anyway, there is a pretty funny moment where Troy Aikman sends a text message asking Jerry Jones where his retirement installment is after finding out the Green Bay Packers offered Brett Favre $25 Mil to stay retired.

Get your popcorn ready.  We find out that Jerry Jones likes popcorn himself and offers sports writer Peter King a bucket full of popcorn.  Peter then proceeds to start stuffing his mouth.  I wish that would stop him from writing sometimes.  We are reminded a game last year when Owens grabbed popcorn from someone in the stands (probably staged prior to game) after he scored a touchdown.  But this year is a new T.O.  The younger receivers are calling Terrell Owens the Godfather of the receivers.  He is seen given some solid instruction and advice to the younger receivers just simply trying to make the team.  How would you like Mr. Owens to be teaching your child?  If it’s teaching my son how to play football, then I’m all in.

NFL reinstatement hopeful Adam Jones is a great man on man cover guy, but struggles mightily with zone coverages.  After the first preseason game against the Chargers, he said that he couldn’t call his momma because she would have griped him out for the way he played.  You can always count on momma to tell it lke it is.  He was also trying to show Dave Campo how to dance and that is worse than watching me dance… well, maybe not.  White boyz 4 life foo’.  Represent!

As the Cowboys are getting ready to scrimmage against the Denver Broncos in preparation for their second preseason game, a funny moment involving head coach Wade Phillips and T.O. occurred.  Wade Phillips was telling his players not to wear shorts like T.O. was wearing.  He then asked him where he got those shorts so that he would make sure never to shop there.  At the same time, you see that T.O. is also wearing a shirt that says “I heart Haters” and Wade says, “yeah, see, you love me.”  Get your own “I heart Haters” shirt here.

We find out Demarcus Ware and his wife have lost 3 babies so they decided to adopt.  The child is still a baby and Ware signs on to iChat for a little video conference with his wife and baby.  I’m not sure there is nothing better than seeing a giant football player singing “Knees and toes” to a little baby in a lap top screen.  As a father, you just understand no matter how ridiculous it looks.  Sing it with me now:

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

And eyes, and ears, and mouth,
And nose.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

It’s scrimmage time against Denver.   Apparently, excuses still come up with great players.  Romo overthrew T.O. a bit and asked him what was going on.  Romo said that he used to be able to get those and that he would take a little off if T.O. couldn’t catch up anymore.  T.O. started giving the excuse of the thin Denver air, so Romo was able to throw it farther than normal.  T.O. still claims that Romo can’t overthrow him at normal altitudes.  Gotta love the back and forth bantering.

Uh oh.  The players are getting better, but dropped balls seem to occurring more frequently this episode.  Players have to do 50 push ups for dropped passes and 25 for mental mistakes.  There are a lot of drops during this episode.  Ouch.  Two-a-days are wearing the players down.  The players legs are getting tired and some don’t feel the need to follow all the treatments to keep the muscles from getting sore.  It’s hard to unteach stubborn I guess.

Amendola gets praise for his natural punt returning ability, but talks always go back to his fumble on his first return in the preseason game.  Todd Lowber is starting to get better and learning his role as a receiver and the coaches are noticing.  Martellus Bennett is finally getting praise for working harder and taking his game to the “next level”.  Keon Lattimore is still not getting many reps and struggling with the assignments when time is given to him.  He’s got talent.  We’ll just have to see if it’s NFL talent.

Tempers flare up during the practice with Denver Broncos.  Oooo, fight, fight, fight!  Ah, sissies.  No drama, just a bunch of pushing going on.  Apparently, it was supposed to be light workout with touching instead of tackling.  Cowboys safety Roy Williams was upset about that, but the Broncos seem to be taking it a little more seriously so Cowboys decide to try to “touch” back.  The scuffle is short lived and quickly broken up by teammates.

Adam Jones prepares his formal written request for reinstatement into the NFL and sends it to commissioner Roger Goodell prior to game against Denver.  We are still waiting for his decision which is supposed to come before August 30th.  The Cowboys are sluggish in their second preseason game.  They don’t appear to be in it mentally.  The Cowboys aren’t tackling; they are committing too many penalties.  Greg Ellis holds an impromptu players meeting with his fellow defensive players.  They respond.  The players get fired up and play better and stop the Broncos from driving down the field.  The second team moves the ball down the field and scores thanks mainly to Miles Austin.  Unfortunately Austin gets hurt on the ensuing kick off.

Adam Jones hasn’t played since the NFL added the rule that players can’t spike the football after a play except for touchdowns so he gets penalized for doing just that.  I hate that rule among a few others.  It’s stupid just like the excessive celebration rule.  It is what it is though and all the players are fully aware of them.  It’s considered a “Delay of Game” penalty, so I kind of understand, but it’s still stupid.  Martellus Bennett has a strong game.  He had some good blocks and great catches with several broken tackles.  Aggies might actually be good for something after all.  LOL!  Anyway, Denver wins 23-13.

The game is over and the team is headed back to Dallas.  Training camp in Oxnard, CA is over and it’s time to make final preparations for the season.  We’re getting close to the time where Dallas has to make some cuts so we’ll see how many of these players that the show is focusing on actually make the team.  it’s starting to get good, not that it wasn’t already.

Author’s note:  My quick apologies for the delay of this post in regards to when the show actually aired.  I had a weekend full of fantasy football drafts and time went by faster than I anticipated.  With that being said, if any of you enjoy fantasy games then allow me to offer you some of my challenges that are free to participate in.  Just visit my latest post – Thinkbox issues Fantasy Challenges for 2008.

EPISODE TWO

This show begins with some shots of Jerry Jones’ grandkids. As if Jerry Jones reads PopCritics, he then proceeds to participate in Slapface – the game from The Office promo that we posted about. T.O. also plays with the Jerry’s grandchildren by torturing one in an ice bath. It looks like the producers want to make sure Owens has plenty of camera time.

The Cowboys are a family. They are supposed to look out for each other according to head coach Wade Phillips. There are several flashbacks throughout this episode. I’m not going to bore you with the specific details but I particularly enjoyed the videos from the 60s/ 70s of Wade’s dad Bum Phillips. I went to High School in the Houston area so I was a huge Oilers fan and while I never knew Bum as a coach, I did know him as an awesome announcer. We would turn the tv on, mute it, and listen to Bum Phillips call the game. Good times! Anyway, this episode is getting a little too lovey dovey for me. Families fight and there was only one minor temper tantrum between some defensive and offensive players. Boring! The roster includes the strong personalities of Terrell Owens, Tank Johnson, and Adam Jones. I know they won’t be best friends forever.

T.O. seems to take a shot at Bill Parcells when he talks about how Wade treats people like men without yelling like they were pieces of meat. The intent of the interview is to lift of Wade’s coaching style, but there is little doubt of who Owens is referring to by that comment. Can’t we just all get along? Parcells is in Miami now and has no chance of challenging the Cowboys for the Super Bowl title anytime soon.

There are celebrities galore that seem to want to check in on Cowboys camp. Magic Johnson makes an appearance as a guest speaker and talks about winning a championship and working together. I love me some Magic Johnson. Others like Jamie Foxx, Rob Lowe, and Dennis Miller make quick appearances. Who doesn’t love the Dallas Cowboys? Oh yeah… people in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Pittsburgh, Houston, Green Bay, Minnesota… I guess the list can go on.

The second episode focuses on a few main guys that include Felix Jones, Danny Amendola, Zach Thomas, Keon Lattimore, Tank Johnson, and Martellus Bennett. Danny Amendola seems to be the fan favorite dark horse to make the team. T.O. loves him. Many have compared him to Wes Welker. They both are versatile, both played wide receiver and punt returner, and both played for Texas Tech. Owens says his money is on the table however. If Amendola doesn’t make the Cowboys squad, then he’ll make another team. Let’s hope he makes this team.

There was a funny moment involving Zach Thomas catching punts. In case any of you didn’t know, Zach Thomas is a 35 year old linebacker and has no chance ever to serve as a punt returner. Patrick Crayton was making fun of him. On one he had to run a bit and Crayton said that he probably pulled every ass muscle he had. The narrator quickly stated that Zach has someone to pull his ass muscles for him as they cut to a scene where he is being massaged. You will actually see this on the video below. Later on, Zach gives Keon Lattimore a pretty good shot that knocked him back and off his feet during a practice play. It was not as solid as the hit Marion Barber did in episode one, but it was a de-cleater nonetheless. Too bad it wasn’t included in the video.

Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett’s dad has run every day for 26 years straight and has not missed a day. One of the funniest scenes of the show is watching him run across the screen – well, I use “run” loosely for a 78 year old man. It seemed to take 5 mins to go what looked like 15 yards. That’s great entertainment from something that really has nothing to do with Dallas Cowboys training camp.

Oh, Lord.. Mrs. Price! Fans are fanatical. I realize that. But OMG! You’ll briefly see what I mean in the video, but that lady is flat out crazy. Keep your children locked and stowed away in their upright position. I think all she does is yell. Sam Hurd did a pretty funny impression of her when he described her grandma kiss on the show.

A little bit more on the T.O. show. Roy Williams makes fun of a camera shot of T.O. running on the beach then throwing a rock. Roy Williams was mimicking T.O. in dramatic fashion like he had a Zoolander worthy model look. He emphasized that T.O. was flexing his muscles while he ran and posed as he threw the rock in the ocean. Funny stuff.

Game time. It’s time for highlights of the preseason game versus San Diego. Amendola returns the first punt, but then quickly fumbles it. Doh! That’s not going to help make T.O.’s prediction come true. Zach Thomas busts up a few plays like he has done for so long in the NFL. He was a solid free agent pick up this year. Felix Jones looked impressive with his speed and cuts. Martellus Bennett struggled. First team offense and defense look strong. The second team faltered and the depth may not be as strong as originally thought. Cowboys lose 31-17 but starters were only in for one series each.

Overall, the second episode was not as good as the first. There must not have been much going on as there were a lot of side stories relating to relatives of the coaches. However, the funny moments were really funny and Mrs. Price… well, I’m speechless. Enjoy this short video of one person’s opinion of the highlights of this episode and I’ll let the ice bath shrinkage scene speak for itself. I just wish a few more scenes were included.

EPISODE ONE

We begin episode one of Hard Knocks (2008) Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys with shots of Jason Witten, Tony Romo, and Martellus Bennett leaving their homes and families. Blah, blah, blah. They have more money than you and I do combined so their houses are big and fancy. Yada yada yada… yeah, your families will miss you but not your money.

The players arrive at training camp in Oxnard, CA. Yeah, Oxnard. I know. It’s the most ridiculous name for a city. It was probably named after someone so I’m sorry if I offended the Oxnard family, but yo, seriously… that’s a ridiculous name. Anyway, there’s a pretty funny moment when Terrell Owens, or T.O. as I like to call him (original I know) arrives and a couple of the players are asking what his reporting weight is. So they ask, “2 what? 2 what?” As in two hundred and how many pounds. T.O. calmly replies, “Too sexy.” Good stuff.

Say what you want about Mr. Owens, but the guy just cracks me up. My favorite quote of his is, “I love me some me!” Classic. That being said, T.O. knows how to market himself and has a line of sporting T-shirts that he is selling on his website – TO Tees where you can buy the iLove Me Some Me T-shirt among several others. Check it out! Coming soon: a photo of me lovin’ me some me.

One impressive piece of footage included Adam Jones catching 6 punts without letting go of any of the footballs. Patrick Crayton tries and falls down while trying to catch his fifth. I’m not sure I could hold 6 footballs at one time, much less catch a punt while holding multiple footballs. That’s crazy talent that can never be used in the course of an actual football game. Kind of like my uncanny ability to dance like a white boy. Totally useless skill. It never got me any girls. FYI, Crayton was able to tie Jones with 6 punts caught without dropping a football by the end of the episode.

We also get to meet Keon Lattimore and find out he’s All-Pro Linebacker Ray Lewis’s little brother. That’s really not a big deal to me. I could care less who his brother is. The question is whether or not he can play. So far in this camp, it seems he has been less than impressive. I say he will get cut and not make the team. He would have had absolutely zero impact anyway as a back up to Marion Barber and Felix Jones. The good news is that the Cowboys are upgraded at running back compared to last year. You can definitely quote me on that.

When Felix Jones reported to camp after finally getting his contract “issue” resolved, he quickly got manhandled by a linebacker blitzing in the backfield. The show then cuts to Marion Barber to show his experience in blocking. As you’ll see in the video, Marion Barber takes on a linebacker in a blocking drill and blows him up. Second year linebacker Tyson Smith couldn’t stand up after that hit. Oh snap!

The expectations on the Cowboys are basically Super Bowl or bust. Yet, the past two seasons they have lost the very first playoff game in which they participated. That would normally be a tall order, but the Cowboys return an NFL record 13 Pro-Bowlers. While the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl, we learn that only two current Cowboys have Super Bowl rings. Backup quarterback Brad Johnson when he was with Tampa Bay and wide receiver Todd Lowber who was on the New York Giants practice squad last year.

The best part of the show was the rookie hazing. The veterans took bananad and added what looks like two tomatoes and attached them at the base to form a falic symbol microphone. The rookies had to say their name, school, signing bonus, and sing a song. Drew Atchison stole the show, but I don’t want to ruin it so just watch the video below and you’ll be laughing.

Overall, the first episode was very entertaining. I’m excited to see the rest of the episodes and see how they treat the emotions of those that get cut and of those that still have a chance. Stay tuned!

• A big thanks to Awful Announcing for putting together the highlights of this season of Hard Knocks.

Sports isn’t a normal topic around here, but since we reported Brett Favre’s retirement back in March, it seems only fitting that we also report his potential un-retirement.

Chris Mortensen from ESPN just posted an article in which he states that sources confirm Favre’s desire to play again. Favre has even supposedly talked directly to Mike McCarthy about returning to training camp this fall.

His family is apparently “tugging” at him to play and he has an “itch” for it once more.

I love Brett Favre. He’s one of my all-time favorite sports figures ever. But I think it was time for him to go. He had one last great season which almost turned amazing, but fell two wins short. A good time to head on out to the pasture of retired superstars.

Should he come back? Are there any sports fans out there who care either way? Do you just laugh at the fact that everyone pretty much thought this would happen and now here we are?

I actually figured he was really done, so this sort of surprises me.

We rarely talk about sports on Pop Critics, but when interesting news arises from that world, it must be passed on.

Especially because I love sports. I love ESPN, Pardon the Interruption, ESPNews and of course, SportsCenter.

Well, SportsCenter is about to get a revamping, and one that I think is kind of cool. Usually, when you watch SportsCenter during the day, it’s a repeat episode from a previous broadcast. They only update bits and pieces of the telecast for new or breaking news.

That’s going to change on August 11th, when ESPN starts shooting the show live during the day, from 6 AM to 3 PM EST. There will be three shifts responsible for the airings, including the talents of Linda Cohn, Josh Elliot, Robert Flores, Chris McKendry and the newly added Hannah Storm.

If you have ever telecommuted and had ESPN during the day, you probably got sick of the repeats of SportsCenter, so this is a welcomed change in my opinion.

The Essentials

Title: Leatherheads (official site)
Directed by George Clooney
Written by Duncan Brantley & Rick Reilly (and George Clooney if he’s telling the truth)
Running Time: 1 hr. 54 min
Release Date: April 4th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language

The Plot of “Leatherheads”

An aging professional football player in 1925 is forced to recruit a college football star and WWI war hero to play for his team in order to save the team from bankruptcy. Complications ensure, however, when a lady reporter comes between the two men and attempts to discover the truth of the young football star’s war record.

The Story of “Leatherheads”

In 1925, Dodge Connolly is a charming and brash football hero who is determined to save his team from going under and to guide them from bar brawls to packed stadiums. But after the players lose their sponsor and the entire league faces certain collapse, Dodge convinces a college football star to join his ragtag ranks. The team captain hopes his latest move will help the struggling sport finally capture the country’s attention.

Carter Rutherford, America’s favorite son, is golden-boy war hero who single-handedly forced multiple German soldiers to surrender in WWI. Carter has dashing good looks and unparalleled speed on the field. This new champ is almost too good to be true, and Lexie Littleton aims to prove that’s the case.

Lexie Littleton is a cub journalist ready to play in the big leagues. Lexie is a spitfire newswoman who is assigned to find proof that Rutherford’s war stories are bogus in exchange for an assistant editor’s job. But while she digs, the two new teammates start to become serious off-field rivals for her fickle affections.

As the new game of pro-football becomes less like the freewheeling sport he knew and loved, Dodge must both fight to keep his guys together and to get the girl of his dreams. Meanwhile, Dodge’s attempts to legitimize football start to backfire, as rules are formalized, taking away much of the improvisational antics that made the game fun for many of its players.

The Review of “Leatherheads”

I found Leatherheads to be yet another movie on which I and the mainstream critics (and audiences it seems) simply do not agree. Leatherheads has been getting very mixed reviews, but it is currently receiving on a 53% at Rotten Tomatoes and has only grossed $26.6M after a dismal weekend in which it only did $3M in box office. After watching the film this weekend with my wife, I find these numbers to be a travesty.

I simply do not understand the critics who are saying that this film doesn’t work. I see countless movies and have seen thousands of films in my lifetime so I feel that I have a fairly good feel for what works in a film and what doesn’t. Although this movie certainly couldn’t be labeled a masterpiece I found it to be far superior to much of the dredge I see coming out of Hollywood on a regular basis.

Leatherheads is a wonderful kickback to a past era in film, reminding me much of the great screwball comedies of the ’30s and early ’40s. Clooney did an outstanding job of not only recreating the feel of the mid-1920s, the time in which the movie took place, but also in recreating the feel of those early films that often depicted that time period. One should pay special attention to the music by Randy Newman which is almost perfect and goes a long way in helping Clooney create the feel of the film.

The direction was absolutely top-notch. We already knew Clooney is a good director, but there were a lot of scenes in this film that I felt really showcased a keen director’s eye and a natural instinct that many directors lack. There were numerous shots that I thought were just perfect for what he was trying to accomplish. It was also obvious that he studied some of the early films because he seemed to replicate some of the shots that were often seen in those movies which I thought was a nice touch.

Now, in all fairness, this movie couldn’t actually be labeled a screwball comedy. The pacing is much too slow and the banter between characters isn’t rapid fire enough to qualify under that heading, but it’s about as close as I’ve seen anyone come in recent years to the classic screwball comedies such as It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, and His Girl Friday. I think it’s probably not accident that the closest I’ve seen anyone come before this recently is the Coen Brothers with Intolerable Cruelty in which George Clooney starred.

If there is a better substitute for Cary Grant in today’s cinema than George Clooney I have no idea who it could be. In fact, it was easy to picture this film being made with Cary Grant in George Clooney’s role, Katherine Hepburn in Renee Zellwegger’s role, and Jimmy Stewart in John Krasinski’s role. Don’t get me wrong. Zellwegger and Krasinski are no Hepburn and Stewart, but I felt that the two of them, Krasinski especially, did an excellent job in their roles. I’m not a huge Zellwegger fan and this film did little to change my mind, but I thought she was adequate. The supporting cast was top notch with pretty much everyone being perfectly cast. I didn’t see a weak link in the chain at all.

I have read multiple reviews that comment on the lack of comedy in this film and so I feel I must address that as well. Rubbish. I laughed all through the movie, out loud on many occasions. The dialogue was witty and the situations were as crazy and as fully of comedy as you’d expect. Perhaps the popular reviewers need to stop watching so many parody films like Epic Movie and Scary Movie and start watching some of the movies that are actually funny such as those I mentioned above.

Overall I found the film charming and funny. The likability and charm of the lead actors is undeniable and their charisma helps bring out the playfulness of the script. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a film strictly about football. Although football is the backdrop for the story, it is only the setting and should in no way impede those who have no love for the game from enjoying the romantic comedy aspects of the story. There are plenty of laughs and surprises to keep the whole family entertained.

Watch “Leatherheads” If…

You enjoy the old screwball comedies of early Hollywood, romantic comedies that don’t involve people sleeping together five minutes after they meet, or stories told by great directors with wonderful casts that make you laugh and forget about the world for a couple of hours.

I usually end up falling asleep once I turn golf on, but some of you may not and if you stay awake for the entire tournament, you SHOULD try to watch it in style.

I stumbled across this yesterday when I wanted to see the leaderboard. Direct TV has put up a high definition Masters MIX channel that comes complete with a leaderboard and four picture-in-picture displays that are 16:9 ration (high-def) and a selectable audio feed.

The PIP displays show different holes and tournament highlights.

The HD version is on 706, the SD one is 701. The SD one is basically the same, and you should still be able to select the audio feed and also interact with the leaderboard and other such tools.

So if you plan on watching it this weekend and have Direct TV, then make sure you check out these channels. You can easily select one of the PIP displays and tune to that specific channel full screen too.

It’s pretty sweet.

They start the show off with breaking news about the Kansas-Davidson NCAA game needing to be replayed, and it just felt so real, their arguments so good, that I totally forgot what day it was.

Enjoy.

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