Sports: NFL Picks, Week 17

Well, I did pretty well last week. Overall, it's a bit of a down year for me, although I wouldn't say I'm ever fantastic at picking these games; and who can be, with the NFL's parity? Oh well, it's fun. Last week, only two games really shocked me. One was the Chargers getting blown out by the Bungles, who had neither TO nor Ochocinco healthy. What happened? Second was the Philly-Minnesota game, an even bigger shock. Looking ahead, most playoff seeds are set at this point, and a number of them are virtual locks (see Falcons, Steelers, etc.). Next week, I'm going to make my playoff predictions through the Super Bowl rather than week by week, and after that I may return to comment on the actual outcomes.

Carolina at Atlanta: Atlanta, 28-20
The final score may be close-ish, but it will be a mirage: the Falcons' starters will crush the Panthers early to lock up the 1st-round bye, then allow the bench to close it while they rest.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland: Pittsburgh, 17-14
I think the Steelers' starters will have to play the whole game here. The Browns hate our guts and are intensely jealous of us, and thus will do their worst to trip us up.

Minnesota at Detroit: Minnesota, 24-20
This could be entertaining. Both teams are far from the playoffs, but both could be testing for next season. The Lions will, naturally, lose this one at the end of the game.

Oakland at Kansas City: Kansas City, 31-17
The Chiefs are definitely in, but could fall to the 4th seed if they lose and the Colts win; plus, they probably want revenge for their loss earlier this season.

Miami at TTSNBN: TTSNBN, x-x
They'll probably sit their starters, but I can still try to jinx them.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans: New Orleans, 24-14
The Saints can still get a first round bye, if Atlanta loses (unlikely). But, I also wouldn't be surprised to see them rest their starters, which would screw this pick.

Buffalo at NY Jets: Buffalo, 17-10
The Jets are locked into their seed, and if they want to do ANYTHING in the postseason, they desperately need to rest and regroup.

Cincinnati at Baltimore: Baltimore, 24-17
The Ravens will try desperately to get the first round bye, despite the unlikelihood. Bungles were unexpectedly good last week, but the Ravens will be prepared.

Jacksonville at Houston: Houston, 28-21
If the Jags couldn't get a must-win against the lowly Redskins with David Garard, how can they get one against the Texans without Garard?

NY Giants at Washington: NY Giants, 28-13
The Giants will need will to get in the playoffs, but first they have to win. And the Redskins could not stop them last time, so I expect the same this week.

Dallas at Philadelphia: Dallas, 20-13
Locked in at the #3 seed, Philly will rest most starters (and definitely Vick), so the Cowboys get a garbage time win.

Arizona at San Francisco: Arizona, 17-16
The loser of this one will have the ignominy of being the NFC's worst team. Ouch. The 49ers I expect will be in some disarray after the firing of their head coach.

Chicago at Green Bay: Green Bay, 28-27
The Bears could still get the #1 seed (but like the Saints, they have to hope the Falcons lose, which is unlikely). But the Packers are playing great right now, and still have to get in.

Tennessee at Indianapolis: 31-21
The old Colts are starting to creep back in, just in time. The Titans are already looking ahead to next year, and shouldn't pose much of a threat.

San Diego at Denver: San Diego, 35-28
Of course, this prediction is dependent on whether the Chargers decide to show up. It doesn't really matter, either way.

St. Louis at Seattle: St. Louis, 24-21
The "game of the week". Winner takes the NFC West and squeaks into the playoffs. Go Rams!

2010 Picks: 143-97

Sports: NFL Picks, Week 16

Oh boy, even worse last week, an even 8-8. There were quite a few close games, though. The NFL's move to put more divisional games has been very effective so far this year, as there are still a lot of games that are critical to the playoffs to be played. More and more playoff spots are being cleared up, but there are still a number up in the air, especially the AFC West, NFC West, NFC wildcard, and AFC South. Hopefully I can salvage some pride in these last two weeks.

Carolina at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, x-x
Another easy-to-pick Thursday night game.

Dallas at Arizona: Dallas, 28-14
It's pretty sad when your opponent's second-string, 38-yr old QB (Kitna) is better than ANY of your QBs. The Cardinals better hope there are some good ones to draft in the spring.

TTSNBN at Buffalo: TTSNBN, x-x
Despite a surprisingly competitive game the first time around, I don't expect the same this time.

NY Jets at Chicago: Chicago, 24-10
Kind of similar teams here. However, the Jets' defense clearly has some issues this year, and Jay Cutler is a much better QB than Sanchez. There are playoff implications, however.

Baltimore at Cleveland: Baltimore, 31-16
The Brownies stopped being frisky a few weeks ago, now having lost to the Bills and Bungles in consecutive weeks. And the Ravens are playing better than they have all year.

Tennessee at Kansas City: Kansas City, 13-10
Here's a game with major implications for my fantasy team - and, I suppose, the real playoffs. I predict a low score here in the hopes of a shoot-out.

San Francisco at St. Louis: St. Louis, 21-14
I've supported the Rams three weeks in a row now - and they've spit in my face twice. But the Saints and Chiefs are just a little better than the Rams' inconsistent division rivals.

Detroit at Miami: Detroit, 28-21
The Dolphins are 1-6 at home and 6-1 on the road; I don't think LeBron picked Miami out of any admiration for its clearly pathetic fans. Go Lions.

Washington at Jacksonville: Jacksonville, 34-3
Wow, the Redskins just get more and more pathetic, what with the McNabb benching controversy. Plus, the Jags are still fighting to get in the playoffs.

Indianapolis at Oakland: Indianapolis, 31-27
I hope I get to see this game, as these teams will be at each other's throats for a playoff spot. But I trust Peyton over the occasionally-hungry Black Hole.

Houston at Denver: Houston, 100-99
Defense, anyone? This one might be entertaining for the points that should be scored. And if they aren't, it will be torture.

San Diego at Cincinnati: San Diego, 40-10
Nice schedule for the Chargers' last three games: 49ers (W 34-7), Bungles, and Broncos. I'll be counting on their defense for my fantasy team again.

NY Giants at Green Bay: Green Bay, 27-21
Another huge game. If the Packers win, they can control their playoff destiny with a win in the last game. Plus, Rodgers is back and the Giants are reeling from a devastating loss to the Eagles.

Seattle at Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay, 20-10
Props to the Bucs for returning to respectability this year. A home game against the Seahawks makes it possible for them to get to a 10-win season.

Minnesota at Philadelphia: Philadelphia, 35-10
In the preseason, this looked like a good matchup. Not so much anymore.

New Orleans at Atlanta: Atlanta, 30-27
Since I think the Saints still have a chance to win the division, the Falcons will do their best here. And they're pretty tough at home. Should be a good MNF game (finally).

2010 Picks: 133-91

Movies: Megamind

Score: ****1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: Megamind is an excellent animated film, a DreamWorks production on par with the usually-superior Pixar films. It has it all: an original, genre-flipping idea; great characters brought to life by a perfect cast of voice actors led by Will Ferrell; a great sense of humor (see Ferrell, Will); and so on. Your eyes will be delighted by the fun CGI (even if it's standard fare these days), your brain will have some things to work on, and your heart will take a nice ride. Enjoy!


Once again, I'm late in seeing this one, by about a month and a half. Thus, I saw it in a "cheap" theater, which unfortunately had awful audio - quiet to the point of somewhat hard to hear, and bad quality. Anyway, this one was directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar) and produced by DreamWorks, Pixar's main "competitor." Despite the lousy audio, I enjoyed it a lot, and so on to the specifics.

The film starts with some cleverly animated exposition: Megamind (Ferrell) and Metro Man (Pitt) are both aliens sent by their parents to Earth, a la Superman. However, while Metro Man ends up in a great home and is one of the "popular kids," in addition to having all kinds of superpowers, Megamind literally is raised in a jail, and when sent to school is left behind by his peers, thus causing him to take up his evil occupation. Megamind and Metro Man continue to go at it through the years, with Metro Man always winning and rescuing an increasingly exasperated reporter Roxanne (Fey). One day, however, to everyone's surprise, Megamind finally eliminates Metro Man.

Megamind and his sidekick Minion (Cross) run rampant through Metro City (which Ferrell pronounces as rhyming with "atrocity"), but the evil-doer soon grows bored with the lack of a challenge. By accident, he starts to develop a relationship with Roxanne via an alter ego of a "normal" person (using his gizmos). Meanwhile, Megamind also attempts to create a superhero of his own to make things fun again in the city, and Hal, Roxanne's doting partner, is the target. I'll finish off by saying, things don't go quite as planned for Megamind, as you might imagine, but I won't spoil any more of it.

Typically, acting is not a big concern when it comes to animated films; here, however, the cast is just about perfect, and certainly worth discussing. As you know, I'm a huge fan of Will Ferrell, and he does a phenomenal job voicing Megamind. It is easy to recognize his voice, but he also doesn't go over the top with it; he just does a great job of portraying a somewhat sinister, funny, and relatable villain. Tina Fey as Roxanne the reporter was also an excellent choice; she gives her character strength, intelligence, and also plenty of charm through her performance. David Cross, whose voice I recognized (although I'm not sure why, because I'm not really familiar with his past work) is a fun sidekick to Ferrell; Jonah Hill is perfect as a fawning partner to Roxanne; and Pitt is appropriate as an everything-goes-my-way hero. Yeah, they got the stars for this movie - but they got the PERFECT stars.

At this point in cinematic technology, it's kind of hard to separate one film's CGI from all the rest. And I wouldn't say Megamind manages to do so, but the visuals are simply a pleasant side dish to the other rich elements of the film. The first third or so is certainly where they decided to pack most of the laughs, a good decision by which to accompany the exposition, and Ferrell leads the humor naturally. As you can probably tell from the plot synopsis, this is a film that sort of turns a genre upside down; when done well, I really like this. And Megamind succeeds in doing so; I knew the basic premise of the movie coming into it, but there's enough going on that it never really feels like it's slipping into cliche. The film also imparts some thoughtful messages, without overly emphasizing them.

***

Four and a half stars may seem pretty high for a film like this; but it's just such a strong film all around, in my opinion. It is creative, has great characters, a fun plot, good messages, and an emotional core. What more can you ask for? I think it may be my favorite DreamWorks animated film; it's certainly a lot better than the spectacularly overrated How To Train Your Dragon from earlier this year. I hope to watch this again on Netflix later, so I can hear it better - this might even be a DVD purchase!

Sports: NFL Picks, Week 15

Ick, barely over .500 last week :-P although I did get close with a couple picks (Tampa, 17-13). I'd like to give Denver a shout-out for their spectacular FAIL, which contributed greatly to my demise in the first week of fantasy playoffs and reduced my respect for them to nil. Poor Vikings. Not only are they forced to play Tavaris "Short-Arm" Jackson, even HE gets hurt and I think they had to grab somebody from the stands to play QB; oh, and they weren't even playing at home, since their inflatable (?!?!) stadium roof COLLAPSED. Oy. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the GB score... of course, I didn't know Rodgers had been injured. And props to Houston for their near comeback; it was very entertaining to watch, at least. On to the picks:

San Francisco at San Diego: San Diego, x-x
You'll have to believe me again; but I did have the Chargers' D/ST on my fantasy team, which would be silly if I thought they would lose.

Detroit at Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay, 20-13
The Bucs continue to play for pride, even though their playoff hopes are gone (I think?). Meanwhile, I haven't even heard of the Lions' QB. Bad news.

Philadelphia at NY Giants: NY Giants, 28-24
Wow, what a game - that's both for how important it is and how close it should be. The Giants' running game is really clicking, and I think that will be the difference.

New Orleans at Baltimore: New Orleans, 30-21
The Ravens showed last week that while their defense is still good, it can blow a lead. And the Saints' D can get crucial turnovers when needed.

Arizona at Carolina: Carolina, x-x
Who cares?

Kansas City at St. Louis: St. Louis, 27-24
Another game with huge playoff implications. This one is almost entirely dependent on if Matt Cassel can play (well). I think the Chiefs' defense will have too many lapses.

Buffalo at Miami: Miami, 16-10
Almost "who cares" range here, but Miami just barely qualifies for a decent team.

Houston at Tennessee: Houston, 35-24
See Colts vs. Titans from last week. Except the Titans won't really have a chance to win this one.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis: Indy, 31-30
I know, all signs point to the Jags in this one... but until you drive the stake through Peyton's heart, you can't count him out. Jags will have to take it from them.

Washington at Dallas: Dallas, 70-0
The Redskins are equal parts pathetic and amusing. Even Dallas should have no trouble with these clowns.

Cleveland at Cincinnati: Cleveland, 27-17
Here's all you need to know: Jake Delhomme is no longer the Browns' starting QB, but Carson Palmer is still the Bengals' starting QB.

Atlanta at Seattle: Atlanta, 35-10
You can't even say that the Falcons could have a letdown here, because they have the Saints breathing down their necks for the division.

NY Jets at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, 10-6
This will not be pretty. Both teams have badly struggling offenses and fearsome defenses. But I trust Big Ben a lot more than Mark Sanchez.

Denver at Oakland: Oakland, 100-0
Screw you, Denver. Screw you.

Green Bay at TTSNBN: TTSNBN, x-x
Damn it, this is the Sunday night game?!?! I'll pass, thanks.

Chicago at Minnesota: Chicago, 30-3
This isn't even a home game for the Vikings, AND I don't even know who their QB is.

2010 Picks: 125-83

Movies: Unstoppable

Score: ***1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: Unstoppable is one of the best films of its genre in recent years, although I might argue "disaster event" could be appended to the "action-thriller" label. Denzel is as good a leading man as ever, but he also makes room for co-star Chris Pine (Star Trek). You'll probably have the plot mapped out pretty quickly in this one, but the setting is unique enough, and the twists thrown in interesting enough, that you'll still have a great time watching it.


Well, this review is pretty late too; I think this movie is now out of most theaters, but maybe you can Netflix it later. Anyway, the movie in question, Unstoppable was directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide, etc.) and released in late November. This film is labeled an action-thriller, and you could almost call it a pseudo-disaster, too. It was "inspired" by true events 2001 in Ohio. Here, director Tony Scott teams up with Denzel Washington again for another fun ride at the cinema, so let's get into it.

The plot for this film, as you might expect, is not very elaborate, but still enjoyable. It starts off with scenes involving several different trains. One is a, well, "training" train, where Frank (Denzel) is the old veteran is working with Will (Chris Pine); there's tension, as Denzel feels his job is threatened by youngsters like Will (and Will has his own marriage problems back home). The other is focused on the train itself, which soon becomes unmanned thanks to a bumbling engineer. Meanwhile, yardmaster Connie (Rosario Dawson) is looking after a group of kids on another train for a field trip when she starts monitoring this unmanned train. Believed to be a "coaster" (not accelerating), the huge train is in fact going quite fast.

From here, the plot is fairly predictable. Connie's superior Galvin steps in and tries to make decisions about the runaway train based on A) company profits and B) theories that Denzel debunks with his practical experience. As luck would have it, Frank and Will are on the same line as the runaway train, and so they violate direct orders and try to slow it down themselves (after several failed attempts by others). I don't think I'm spoiling it for anyone when I say that they do, indeed, bring the runaway train to a stop by the end.

Despite not being an Oscar contender, Unstoppable includes some pretty nice acting. Denzel Washington is obviously the biggest star here, but he keeps his character pretty subdued and under control, very much like what I'd expect such a train conductor to be. Don't worry, though, he's still able to bring out all the Denzel traits we've come to know and love to one degree or another. His co-star Chris Pine (Capt. Kirk from the new Star Trek) does a pretty good job too, as he's both likable (see Star Trek) and still clearly affected by his character's problems. Rosario Dawson does a fine job as the stereotypical middle(wo)man working for the greater good rather than company image/profit, and similarly Kevin Dunn is a suitably slimy corporate man. There are also some fun minor parts, including Lew Temple, a train-chasing redneck and the Ethan Suplee (Boy Meets World) as the idiot engineer.

Director Tony Scott does an excellent job of keeping up the suspense through this film. It's kind of odd to think of runaway trains as objects of potential disaster in these times, but it also provides a unique, down-to-earth touch. The director uses a great combination of the new style of helter-skelter filming with more broad, stable views to give the film impressive and varied visuals. The film gives a nice set-up of the necessary elements without lingering too long, and while as mentioned the plot is fairly predictable, it throws in plenty of bumps and warts to keep things interesting. Some films like this tend to turn ordinary characters into hero types in the blink of an eye, but Unstoppable resists that; Frank (especially) and Will are simply train people, and to them it's almost more about fixing a train problem than saving a city. Toward the end, more things tend to just start going right inexplicably, but for most of the way, there are fascinating challenges and situations to overcome.

***

In the end, Unstoppable is simply trying to be an exciting adventure at the movies. And at this, it succeeds quite well. The cast is a very likable ensemble, and while the plot structure is far from new, the specific elements make up for it and give a glimpse into an oft-ignored world. I did feel a bit disappointed with the ending, in being a little too formulaic; but I think it's more to do with my being tired of those endings than this one being particularly poor. I suggest you treat this like Knight and Day, which I reviewed earlier this year: if you want a fun film to watch, but not necessarily one to think over for days, then give it a try.

NFL Picks, Week 14

Another ho-hum week of picks. I suppose I didn't do badly, but I'm lacking the a truly good sense of the NFL this year, it seems. I was very impressed with the Steelers and, begrudgingly, Big Ben especially. Is this the win that Pittsburgh needed to get their D back to dominance, and their offense back to getting all the scores they need? The only truly big surprise to me was the Chargers getting rolled by the Raiders again. I'm not sure where San Diego stands at this point, now. Amazingly, every single divisional race is still up for grabs at this point, especially the NFC East (Eagles-Giants), NFC West (Seahawks-Rams) and AFC South (Jags-Colts); but no leader has more than 2 games over the second place team. On to the picks:

Indianapolis at Tennessee: Indy, x-x
I wasn't sure what the score would be, but sure enough, the Titans made just enough plays to lose the game.

Cleveland at Buffalo: Cleveland, 20-13
After hanging close in a bunch of games, the Bills finally got shellacked again last week. The Browns keep playing hard, and should win in an ugly one.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, 27-13
If the Steelers get a lead early, look out. But turnovers could keep this one tight, so Pitt can't take this one for granted.

Green Bay at Detroit: Green Bay, 31-17
Rodgers is on fire, and the Packers won't mind playing a game in a cozy little dome as the cold sets in in the NFC North.

NY Giants at Minnesota: Minnesota, 28-27
Both teams are coming off blow-out wins, but both have been (wildly?) inconsistent this year. I'll take the home team.

Tampa Bay at Washington: Tampa Bay, 17-13
Some point to a let down game for the Bucs, who basically lost a chance at the playoffs by losing to Atlanta last week. But Washington is just bad.

Atlanta at Carolina: Atlanta, 21-10
I tried to give the Panthers a little credit last week, and they lost by 17 to the Seahawks. Thus, they have little chance against the mighty Falcons.

Oakland at Jacksonville: Jacksonville, 28-17
It's hard to deny it now: the Jags are in the hunt, even if I'm not ready to call them "good" yet. The Raiders play their division foes well, but then fold against others.

Seattle at San Francisco: San Francisco, x-x
Who cares?

St. Louis at New Orleans: St. Louis, 31-30
Here's my upset of the week. The Rams are on the road, but they'll still be playing in their favored conditions: a dome. Plus, I want them to win the NFC West.

Miami at NY Jets: NY Jets, 14-9
Boy did the Jets look silly last Monday night. But Miami doesn't have the tools to beat them, even if it can prevent it from being a blow-out.

Denver at Arizona: Denver, 24-13
Coaching change may give the Broncos a brief boost. At the very least, they have a competent QB, something Arizona lacks.

Kansas City at San Diego: San Diego, 27-24
HUGE game. The Chiefs' running attack is great, but they'll be one-dimensional without Matt Cassel. And the Chargers will want to forget last week's embarrassment.

TTSNBN at Chicago: TTSNBN, x-x
I'll keep trying.

Philadelphia at Dallas: Philadelphia, 31-17
Dallas won't be able to contain Vick, and the Cowboys offense won't be able to score enough to keep up. I think it's as simple as that.

Baltimore at Houston: Houston, 28-20
Here's a second upset pick for you. It's mostly because I think the Ravens will be deflated from their loss to the Steelers last week, and the Texans are a dangerous team.

2010 Picks: 116-76

Movies: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part One

Score: ****1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: Here it is, the "beginning of the end" of the Harry Potter saga. Boy, does it deliver. The tension is there throughout the film; sometimes subdued, as the young stars sit around in frustration, sometimes red-hot, as the Death Eaters blast away at them and their friends. Given the extra time to develop these intriguing characters and the clever plot, as well as add in some much-needed comic relief and lighter moments, Deathly Hallows Part One succeeds brilliantly, both satisfying the audience and making them crave the finale.


At last, another movie review! It's been far too long. Fortunately, my first trip back to the theater was a very good one. This is a review of part 1 of the film adaptation of the book "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows"; and unless you've been living under a rock for the last decade, you are probably familiar with the series. The penultimate Potter film is directed by David Yates, who also directed the previous two films. All the series regulars are back, and I think no further introduction is necessary for this blockbuster.

Although I can't remember the book perfectly, I believe that the film follows it quite closely; splitting the book into two films obviously gave the screenwriter(s) more room with which to work. For those who have not read the book, I'll give a synopsis while trying not give away too much. The film starts with Bill Nighy (remember Davy Jones in the Pirates movies?) as a grizzled-looking Minister of Magic and the trio (by which I'll refer to Harry, Ron and Hermione as) not exactly preparing to go back to Hogwarts. The action picks up quickly, as Hagrid, Lupin, and other friends use a familiar and amusing trick to bring Harry to safety via convoy. Not all goes perfectly, but the trio arrives safely intact. At Ron's place, the trio get a visit from the Minister and attend Ron's brother's wedding (briefly).

The wedding comes under attack, the Ministry of Magic having fallen to the Death Eaters (bad guys, of course). The trio apparates (teleports) away, and Harry decides it's time to take care of Voldemort's horcruxes (random items that contain pieces of his soul, making him immortal). They sneak their way into the Ministry to steal the first horcrux, and barely escape. Following their escape is an extended stretch in which the trio is on the run whilst attempting to destroy the sturdy (and One Ring-like) horcrux; Ron even leaves for a time. A strange symbol that the trio keeps finding leads them to Luna Lovegood's (a classmate) home, where they learn of a strange tale (involving the titular Deathly Hallows). However, the meeting is a set up and the trio is captured. While they manage to escape, they do so at great personal cost, and the film ends with Voldemort capturing a very powerful object.

The Deathly Hallows, Part One puts the young trio into their most difficult acting roles yet, and they show how much they've learned over the last decade of work. Each one of them shows considerable improvement. I always thought Rupert Grint did the best job, and he continues to do quite well here as Ron. Daniel Radcliffe has also improved steadily in the last few films, and feels more comfortable than ever in his role as the main character. Even Emma Watson, who I feel has overacted significantly in earlier films, is much, much improved. The plot of this story demanded that the trio raise their performances significantly, and overall they were able to do so. Of course, the supporting cast is superb as it has been throughout the series, filled with some of the best British actors. Unfortunately, most of them get little screen time; most notably, Voldemort at last gets to do more than just hiss, and Ralph Fiennes plays him with a perfect combination of creepiness and power.

The structure of this film, as mentioned, is far different from any of the other Potter films. Hogwarts is nowhere to be seen, and other series symbols are gone as well. And it continues the trend of the previous two films of a descent into darkness; the kids (young adults?) are now on their own. A scene with Voldemort and his Death Eaters at the beginning, along with a reptilian encounter near the end, shocked me by how far the director was willing to take a Potter film. However, there are still plenty of light moments to get a chuckle or lift the spirits a bit. The trio's polyjuice disguise in the Ministry is particularly delightful; and there's even a spontaneous little Harry-Hermione dance in the depths of their despair evading capture. The suspense holds up well through most of the movie - though it's a little slow in a few places - despite not a lot of direct action. It's the fear of failure, or capture, that keeps the trio, and the audience, on edge.

***

It's pretty amusing to read some critics who call The Deathly Hallows Part One boring, when they're usually the ones who criticize blockbuster movies for having too much action. I suppose you might be bored with this if you haven't seen the other Potter films; but then, I wouldn't really recommend this one until you have seen them. The bottom line is, money grab or not, I now completely agree that it was the right decision to split the last Potter book into two films. There was so much more room for this film not only to touch on more parts of the book, but also to dig deeper into the three main characters. This is by far the closest that one of the movies has come to truly capturing the spirit of the novels, and that is high praise in my book.

Didn't get to post last week's picks on here. I did put them up elsewhere quickly, and finished 11-5, a slight improvement over week 11's 10-6. Those are pretty average numbers; I guess things are starting to even themselves out in the NFL. There are a number of different storylines from last week, but Tennessee's game just floored me. Houston shut them out?!?!? Really?!?!? OK, so your head coach and starting QB just had a spat the week before, and you're down to some rookie named Rusty Smith. You still have one of the three best RBs in the league!!! And he gets 7 carries for 5 yards?!?!? Unbelievable. They should all donate their paychecks to college student loan repayment programs. My incredulity is fueled only slightly by the fact that I had CJ2K on my fantasy team... Anyway, on to the picks.

Houston at Philadelphia: Philadelphia, x-x
You'll just have to trust me here again... but that shouldn't be much of a stretch, despite the aforementioned shut out of the Titans last week.

New Orleans at Cincinnati: New Orleans, 27-17
Cincy's defense has really fallen apart... bad news when the Saints come marching in. Carson Palmer likes to give the ball away... bad news when the Saints come marching in.

Chicago at Detroit: Chicago, 31-16
The Bears' defense is getting scary, and the Lions simply can't play well for an entire game. Cutler's improvement makes it even worse for poor Detroit.

San Francisco at Green Bay: Green Bay, 34-13
I used to get riled up for this one when Jerry Rice was my favorite player and I hated the Packers. There's no rivalry here anymore.

Jacksonville at Tennessee: Tennessee, 24-20
There's only one way for the Titan's offense to go. And their defense did OK considering the offense couldn't keep them off the field.

Denver at Kansas City: Kansas City, 35-21
The Chiefs are a great home team, Denver's defense is terrible, and Matt Cassel is finally a slightly competent QB.

Cleveland at Miami: Miami, 17-14
If Jake Delhomme is still the Browns' QB, he gives the Dolphins a great chance to win this one. Plus, Henne returned in fine form last week against the suddenly-respectable Raiders.

Buffalo at Minnesota: Minnesota, 21-20
I don't have any idea what the heck is going on with the Vikings, and the Bills are improved but still 2-9, so I wouldn't be surprised by any outcome in this one.

Washington at NY Giants: NY Giants, 20-17
The Giants had a good comeback last week, and are still in the hunt. Washington is quickly reverting to its usual miserable state of inconsistency and blandness.

Oakland at San Diego: San Diego, 35-10
Everyone is talking about Philip Rivers, and with good reason. But the Chargers' defense is looking really good too, and won't give up 35 points to the Raiders again.

Carolina at Seattle: Carolina, 27-24
The home-strong Seahawks (relatively speaking) have lost their last two home games 83-31. Even injury-riddled Carolina should be able to score on these cupcakes.

Atlanta at Tampa Bay: Atlanta, 21-17
The Bucs are fighting to stay alive for the playoffs. But the Falcons are fighting to get home field advantage, with which they would have an excellent chance to reach the Super Bowl.

St. Louis at Arizona: St. Louis, 34-21
The Rams are the only team with any respect in the NFC West... when was the last time you could say that?!?!?! Go Rams!!!

Dallas at Indianapolis: Indy, 31-21
Peyton is going to be PISSED after last week. And the Cowboys' faint hopes for the playoffs were dashed last week. I smell a potential blow out.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Baltimore, 20-17
HUGE. It pains me to say it, but I think the Ravens will get it. Pitt's offensive line makes me want to puke everytime I watch them, Ben's banged up, and the defense isn't getting enough pressure on the QB recently.

NY Jets at TTSNBN: TTSNBN, x-x
Speaking of puking, I will be worshiping the porcelain gods if my jinx pick continues to fail much longer.

2010 Picks: 106-70