Friday, 17 August 2012
WWE SmackDown 8/3/12 Spoilers — Vince McMahon kicks off the show by announcing that Booker T is the new General Manager for Friday Night SmackDown. Cut to Alberto Del Rio, who comes out and says he won’t wrestle until SummerSlam. Sheamus interrupts and then Booker comes out to make his first orders as GM. Alberto Del Rio will face Randy Orton, and Sheamus will battle Tensai … tonight!
Booker T names Teddy Long Senior Advisor to the GM and then lets Teddy tell Eve there are no further openings in his administration.
Match 3. Antonio Cesaro def. Santino Marella (non-title match).
Backstage, Matt Striker interviews Daniel Bryan about being psychoanalyzed on Raw. Bryan reveals a No! No! No! t-shirt and says he wants the crowd to stop chanting Yes! Interesting.
Match 3. Daniel Bryan, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler def. Chris Jericho, Kane, and Christian — Bryan rolls up Jericho for the pin and the win.
Randy Orton tells Matt Striker he’ll beat Del Rio tonight.
Match 4. Ryback def. Jinder Mahal by Disqualification. Mahal popped Ryback with a microphone and then ran off.
A.W. and the PTP’ers are backstage.
Match 5. Darren Young def. R-Truth — A.W. was there doing his normal routine, so I guess his reprimand wasn’t related to TV time.
Layla chats up Booker and Cody Rhodes steps in. Cody hopes there are no hard feeling since he ended Booker’s career. Booker books Cody vs. Sin Cara for next week.
Match 6. Randy Orton def. Alberto Del Rio by Disqualification. Ricardo interfered to stop an RKO, and RR and Del Rio retreated. Sheamus came back and threw Del Rio back into the ring to eat the RKO anyway. Orton stands tall to close the show.
This is actually the brain child of my tag team partner on Aftermath TV/Radio, former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas. DX kicks off Raw in style with their regular hijinks, until things turn serious when Brock Lesnar appears. His answer to Triple H will be a yes: he will face him at Summerslam, but not before he lays out his friend Shawn Michaels, who will undoubtedly make Brock look like a killer, as he has done so many countless times before for so many superstars.
Weddings in WWE are like contract signings in WWE – something always seems to happen. I just don’t see Daniel Bryan and AJ together at the very end, whether it’s because one of them gets cold feet, or Daniel Bryan was trying to dupe her all along for costing him the WWE title. Or Kane could get involved and steal AJ from Daniel Bryan. I see this going far worse than Uncle Elmer’s wedding on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Daniel Bryan doesn’t have an opponent for Summerslam, and neither does Kane. The two could very well be paired for a dance at WWE’s second biggest event.
I would like to see a qualification for this match and not just a non-descript opponent – perhaps a battle royal, much like how Christian earned his IC title match against Cody Rhodes and subsequently beat the second-generation star for the gold. I am happy that this title will be defended on such an important show, but was a little put off by the “poll” on Raw asking viewers to pick between an IC / US / Divas title defense. Why not all three defended on Raw 1,000, being that it’s a three-hour show? Whomever the opponent is, I see Christian retaining and continuing on as champion
It really was going to be either Summerslam or Raw where John Cena was going to honorably cash in his briefcase against CM Punk. When this match plays out in my head, I see two scenarios: the first is John Cena winning the WWE title and the last image we see from Raw 1,000 is Cena holding the title high, with The Rock staring him in the face saying “I want the gold.” The second, the one I’m leaning more towards, is that John Cena becomes the first WWE superstar in history to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and lose his title match. I don’t expect it to be a clean victory for CM Punk. I certainly expect someone to interfere, whether it’s a returning John Laurinaitis, Big Show or The Rock himself.
This will be an important promo for The Rock. To me, we need to know at the end of the night when he will be in action next. If The Rock returns, gives his “Rock-esque” monologue and possibly interferes in a match without any indication on when he will return, this will be a let-down to me. At the end of Raw, WWE fans should know exactly when and where The Rock will step into the ring next, and possibly who he will face.
Other predictions:
With WWE’s partnership with Tout in full force, and their history of aggressive social networking, I wouldn’t be surprised to see several fan Touts during the show. This doesn’t bother me too much, so long as it’s not a complete focus of the show, rather than being sprinkled in at non-invasive times. The WWE Universe is likely the group of fans that want to interact most with the product they are consuming, and WWE has acknowledged this and is giving them an even bigger platform to do so.
This is more of a request than a prediction: R Truth and Kofi Kingston will lose the tag team titles to the Prime Time Players. After all, what’s the biggest Raw in history without at least one title change, right?
What better time than to change the look and feel of Raw? From the set design to the ring rope color to the theme song, I could see changes being made in time for this monumental moment. This show is so important that, much like pay-per-view events, it has its own theme song (Outasight's "Tonight is The Night"). This won’t necessarily be the song that will becomes Raw’s official weekly theme; it just might be for the 1,000th edition of Raw, but I could still see a new theme song. “Burn it to the Ground” by Nickelback has been the Raw theme since November 2009. Before that, “To Be Loved” by Papa Roach held the position from October 2006-November 2009. Theme songs seem to change every three-to-four years. Who knows, maybe even the WWE championship title will have a new look. It's long overdue given that the design symbolizes John Cena, perhaps now is the best time to reveal a more inclusive design.
We’ve seen a bunch return leading up to Raw, and I think Heath Slater will have one mega name waiting for him at the end of the tunnel ... someone bigger than his past opponents. I also expect a lot of familiar faces, legends that have recently been on WWE TV and haven’t been on WWE TV in a long time. On-camera Raw will be loaded, but imagine the backstage area, with so many superstars and legends present! One name you can almost guarantee to be a part of Raw is good ol' JR. He is in an interesting position right now, providing commentary on NXT as well as the biggest matches and moments on a sporadic basis (Triple H vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 28). If JR lends his voice to the show, as well as return occasionally to call an important match here and there on Raw or PPV, I think many fans will be kept happy. Raw 1,000 is a perfect opportunity for that, especially since CM Punk has been lobbying for it on Twitter.
Arda Ocal is an on air personality at theScore Television Network. Follow him on Twitter here and watch his video interviews with WWE Superstars past and present here.
Savages (2012) DVDRip Re-Upload
Entrepreneurs Ben, a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer, and friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL, run a lucrative, homegrown industry - raising some of the best weed ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with Ophelia. Life is idyllic in their Southern California town... until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena and her enforcer, Lado, underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends, Ben and Chon - with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent - wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.
This was not a great movie. It could have been a great movie, but it was let down in two major ways.
First off, two of the three lead characters are awful. Blake Lively makes for good eye candy, but she just isn't a good actress. She's not bad in smaller supporting roles (like her part in The Town), but she simply cannot carry a lead. Unfortunately the entire film basically revolves around her (and she narrates), so her shortcomings are brought front and center. Every time her voice-over came on, I cringed. It really was not a good choice.
Taylor Kitsch is no better. Again... good eye candy, poor acting. Very poor acting. He just has no soul, and brings absolutely nothing to his character whatsoever. He should be in a brainless Fast & Furious movie playing opposite Vin Diesel, not an Oliver Stone drama.
The second major failure of this film is even more serious, and that is the story structure. We are never really given the opportunity to understand why the three lead characters (Chon, Ben and Ophelia) have such strong feelings for each other. We're told that they do, but never given any real reason to believe it. This is extremely important, because literally the entire premise of the film hangs on their relationship. If you're going to build a dramatic story around an unorthodox three- way relationship, you had better explain in more than one quick scene exactly how this relationship happened, otherwise the audience won't know why they should care about the characters. Especially when the actors portraying these characters aren't very good to begin with.
I know that I kept asking myself why these two guys share a girl, how they have absolutely zero jealousy, why they never once thought of double-crossing each other, and why either of them care so deeply for her -- to the point of being willing to risk their lives and commit horrible atrocities to save her. Where did all this love and loyalty come from? It was never adequately explained, and the entire movie suffers tremendously for it.
On a slightly more positive note, the veteran actors did a fine job. Benicio Del Toro was wonderful as a psychotic cartel underboss, John Travolta chewed the scenery to bits, and Salma Hayek was entirely believable in her role as well. Unfortunately, their competence only served to underscore the incompetence of the younger leads. It's telling that the best scene in the entire film was between Del Toro and Travolta, with none of the three lead actors anywhere to be found, and hinted at the promise this movie squandered.
A lot of reviews took issue with the violence portrayed in the film, but I didn't have a problem with that. You really can't make a movie about Mexican drug cartels without violence, so I didn't feel it was gratuitous. Unfortunately, however, it also didn't make the movie any more believable from a plot perspective.
Overall, I just don't think this was a very good film. I don't think that Stone felt entirely comfortable with what he was doing here, trying at times to be Tarantino but failing miserably. And likewise, I think that if this film had been in the hands of Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, it likely would have come out much better, perhaps even great.
This was not a great movie. It could have been a great movie, but it was let down in two major ways.
First off, two of the three lead characters are awful. Blake Lively makes for good eye candy, but she just isn't a good actress. She's not bad in smaller supporting roles (like her part in The Town), but she simply cannot carry a lead. Unfortunately the entire film basically revolves around her (and she narrates), so her shortcomings are brought front and center. Every time her voice-over came on, I cringed. It really was not a good choice.
Taylor Kitsch is no better. Again... good eye candy, poor acting. Very poor acting. He just has no soul, and brings absolutely nothing to his character whatsoever. He should be in a brainless Fast & Furious movie playing opposite Vin Diesel, not an Oliver Stone drama.
The second major failure of this film is even more serious, and that is the story structure. We are never really given the opportunity to understand why the three lead characters (Chon, Ben and Ophelia) have such strong feelings for each other. We're told that they do, but never given any real reason to believe it. This is extremely important, because literally the entire premise of the film hangs on their relationship. If you're going to build a dramatic story around an unorthodox three- way relationship, you had better explain in more than one quick scene exactly how this relationship happened, otherwise the audience won't know why they should care about the characters. Especially when the actors portraying these characters aren't very good to begin with.
I know that I kept asking myself why these two guys share a girl, how they have absolutely zero jealousy, why they never once thought of double-crossing each other, and why either of them care so deeply for her -- to the point of being willing to risk their lives and commit horrible atrocities to save her. Where did all this love and loyalty come from? It was never adequately explained, and the entire movie suffers tremendously for it.
On a slightly more positive note, the veteran actors did a fine job. Benicio Del Toro was wonderful as a psychotic cartel underboss, John Travolta chewed the scenery to bits, and Salma Hayek was entirely believable in her role as well. Unfortunately, their competence only served to underscore the incompetence of the younger leads. It's telling that the best scene in the entire film was between Del Toro and Travolta, with none of the three lead actors anywhere to be found, and hinted at the promise this movie squandered.
A lot of reviews took issue with the violence portrayed in the film, but I didn't have a problem with that. You really can't make a movie about Mexican drug cartels without violence, so I didn't feel it was gratuitous. Unfortunately, however, it also didn't make the movie any more believable from a plot perspective.
Overall, I just don't think this was a very good film. I don't think that Stone felt entirely comfortable with what he was doing here, trying at times to be Tarantino but failing miserably. And likewise, I think that if this film had been in the hands of Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, it likely would have come out much better, perhaps even great.
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