Should Jason Bateman be One of Your Favorite Actors?

I just finished watching the Netflix original series Ozark featuring Jason Bateman and it brought up the question "Should Jason Bateman be One of Your Favorite Actors?" When people mention their favorite actors I have never heard anyone mention Bateman, most people name Leo, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, etc. I did a little research and I think Jason Bateman is extremely underrated and should be mentioned among the top actors of today.

Little House on the Prairie, Starsky & Hutch, Smoking Aces, Juno...who do you think all these movies have in common? You got it, Jason Batman plays a role in all of them and more. The variety of roles he has played ranges from comedy to animation to drama to TV to action, he has done everything. He has also had a variety of lead roles and cameos which he has nailed; none of us will ever forget Pepper Brooks from Dodgeball. How many times have you said "It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see how it plays out for them." Well, you can thank Jason Bateman for that delivery. Starting with his TV roles, he has played in some hugely successful shows, Little House on the Prairie, Arrested Development, and Ozark are the three biggest ones. They are all big shows and all three roles he played were very different; Little House is a drama, Arrested Development is a comedy, and Ozark is a gritty, dark crime thriller. Arrested Development and Ozark he was the lead role and really set the table for the show to be successful. Watching Ozark I realized he has never really had this type of role before but he absolutely nails it in my opinion. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it.

Bateman has starred in some extremely successful movies. His top 5 box office movies are: 1. Zootopia ($341 million), 2. Hancock ($227 million), 3. Juno ($143 million), 4. Identity Thief ($134 million), and 5. The Break Up ($118 million). That list doesn't include Necessary Roughness, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball, Smokin' Aces, The Kingdom, or Horrible Bosses. (2 interesting bits of information I found: 1. He was the lead in Teen Wolf Too which was his first movie and has a 3.2 rating on IMDB, way to bounce back from that one. 2. He was in a movie titled Love Stinks in 1999, the reason this is interesting is because French Stewart was the lead and I had no idea he ever had a leading role.) He has played a variety of characters and had a variety of roles, in Starsky & Hutch he plays a supporting role to Vince Vaughn's drug dealing character, in The Kingdom he is a special agent in Saudi Arabia, and in Dodgeball he stars in a cameo role as Pepper Brooks announcer for ESPN 8: The Ocho. Sure he has had his duds but since Teen Wolf Too most of his movies have been successful and good movies.

He has a Golden Globe for his role in Arrested Development and also has a Kids Choice Award for Zootopia. He has also began producing and directing both TV shows and movies. I think he is one of the most reliable actors in Hollywood right now from TV to movie roles. For these reasons I think Jason Bateman should be included in the list of best actors, so next time someone asks you "Who are your favorite actors?" I hope you think back to this article and include Jason Bateman in your list.

A Packers Dynasty: What Could Have Been

With Aaron Rodgers suffering a broken collarbone in week 5 of the NFL season and looking like he will miss the rest of the season, I started thinking about all the injuries the Packers have suffered over the years. Without Rodgers the Packers Super Bowl chances take a major hit which shows how important he is to this franchise. This specific NFL season has been a strange one to start out with no dominant team coming out of the first 6 weeks. Most experts liked the Packers to win the NFC because they had Rodgers behind center. I knew it was a lot but the amount the Packers franchise has suffered has been incredible and its even more incredible how they continue to be a perennial Super Bowl contender. I am going to start with Rodgers rookie year and show the team record and where their season ended. Then I will show all the injuries the team suffered and how long they were without that player. I will be showing major players for that team and players that missed at least 3 weeks of the season. After I show the Packers season I will show Rodgers stats and where they ranked in the NFL. Rodgers entered the NFL in 2005 but did not start until 2008 so we will start there.

-2008: Packers Record: 6-10, did not make playoffs Injuries: Nick Barnett MLB(Injured Reserve), Atari Bigby DB(IR), Cullen Jenkins DE(IR), Mark Tauscher OT(IR), Scott Wells C(3 games missed). Even in Rodgers first year the Pack had significant injuries with 2 offensive lineman missing significant time and 3 defensive starters. Rodgers had a great year (which you will notice is an every year thing), he finished 4th in the NFL with 4,038 yards and 4th in touchdowns with 28.

-2009: Record: 11-5, lost in NFC Championship Game Injuries: Atari Bigby DB(3), Jermichael Finley TE(3), Al Harris (who had some great dreads) DB(IR), Jordy Nelson WR(3), Jason Spitz OL(IR), Chad Clifton OL(4). It seems like every season the Packers lose an offensive lineman for a major part of the season and this is what makes Rodgers that much more special.
Rodgers: 4,434 yards (4th in NFL) 30 TDs (4th)

-2010: Record: 10-6, Super Bowl Champs Injuries: Nick Barnett MLB(IR), Atari Bigby DB(PUP), Morgan Burnett DB(IR), Jermichael Finley TE(IR), Ryan Grant HB(IR), Al Harris DB(PUP), Cullen Jenkins DE(5), Brady Poppinga LB(IR), James Starks HB(PUP), Mark Tauscher OT(IR). They won the Super Bowl in a season where they arguably lost the most players and some very valuable ones as well but all that matter is having that ring.
Rodgers: 3,922 yards (7th) 28 TDs (6th)

-2011: Record: 15-1, lost in Divisional Round Injuries: Chad Clifton OT(10), Desmond Bishop LB(3), Bryan Bulaga OT(4), Nick Collins DB(14 and career ending), Greg Jennings WR(3). This was probably their best year regarding injuries but the ones they suffered were major and cost these guys games late in the season.
Rodgers: 4, 643 yards (5th) 45 TDs (2nd)

-2012: Record: 11-4, lost in Divisional Round Injuries: Desmond Bishop LB(IR), Bryan Bulaga OT(IR), Cedric Benson HB(11), Davon House DB(7), Greg Jennings WR(8), Clay Matthews LB(4), Jordy Nelson WR(4), Sam Shields DB(6), Charles Woodson DB(9). This looks like a pro bowl roster not an injury report, going 11-5 seems impossible after looking at this list.
Rodgers: 4,295 yards (8th) 39 TDs (2nd)

-2013: Record: 8-7-1, lost Wild Card game Injuries: Bryan Bulaga OT(IR), Randall Cobb WR(IR), Jermichael Finley TE(IR), Morgan Burnett DB(3), Casey Hayward DB(13), Clay Matthews LB(5), JC Tretter OG (PUP), Aaron Rodgers QB(7). The Pack were 5-2 prior to Rodgers injury but once he went out the season was basically over.
Rodgers: 2,536 yards 17 TDs in 9 games

-2014: Record: 12-4, lost in NFC Championship game Injuries: BJ Raji DT(IR), Davon House DB(3), JC Tretter OG(IR) This was probably a year where the Packers should have won the Super Bowl, they had a great regular season, did not suffer many injuries but lost in overtime to the Seahawks.
Rodgers: 4,381 yards (7th) 38 TDs (3rd)

-2015: Record: 10-6, lost in Divisional Round Injuries: Davante Adams WR(3), Bryan Bulaga OT(4), Morgan Burnett DB(5), Corey Linsley C(3), Ty Montgomery WR(IR), Jordy Nelson WR(IR) Damarious Randall DB(7), Same Shields DB(4). Rodgers lost 3 WRs and still carried the team to the  Divisional Round....have I proven the point that Rodgers is incredible and could/should win MVP every year?
Rodgers: 3,821 yards (17th) 31 TDs (11th)

-2016: Record: 10-6, lost in NFC Championship game Injuries: Demetri Goodson DB(IR), Eddie Lacy RB(IR), Randall Cobb WR(3), Corey Linsley C(IR), Same Shields DB(IR), JC Tretter OG(IR), Blake Martinez LB(3), Clay Matthews LB(4), Damarious Randall DB(7), Quinten Rollins DB(3). The Packers had absolutely no defense and it showed when they lost to the Falcons in the NFC Championship game.
Rodgers: 4,428 yards (4th) 40 TDs (1st)

-2017: Record: 4-2 Injuries: Demetri Goodson DB(PUP), Quinten Rollins DB(IR), Aaron Rodgers QB(Season), Bryan Bulaga OT(3), David Bakhtiari OT(4), Davon House DB(3), Mike Daniels DT(2). 6 games in the season and the Packers are already behind the 8 ball with injuries. With Rodgers being out of the season it appears the season is over for the Packers but maybe Brett Hundley and the dynamic offense can sneak in the playoffs.

I know that every team suffers injuries and has to overcome them but every single year the Packers loose a lot of guys and a lot of them are really important to the team. Their offensive line always seems like a jigsaw puzzle with guys playing out of position and having to fill in for injuries. If the Packers could have avoided some of these injuries I believe they could have won 3 or more Super Bowls and we might be talking about another Packers dynasty.

Shelf Life of a Stand Up Comedian

A few nights ago before falling asleep Ellen and I had a very interesting discussion about stand up comedians. For some reason I asked, "Whatever happened to Carrot Top?" Neither of us knew the answer so Ellen pulled grabbed her phone and we found out that he is still performing stand up in Vegas. So next time you are in Vegas, you can see Britney Spears one night and Carrot Top the next. This brought up another question, "What is the average shelf life of a stand up comedian?" Like Dane Cook, he ruled the world for a few years and I don't remember the last time I heard from him, do you? I am by no means an expert in the world of comedy but I did some research and found some really interesting things about some of the best comedians.

Dane Cook was one of the best comedians when we were in high school, we got tickets and went to see him live. It was awesome and he was hilarious, he burst on the scene in 2003 with his CD/DVD Harmful if Swallowed. The album went platinum and features some of his best work featuring "Umm, Hellllo?", "The BK Lounge", "Slip N' Bleed", "Not So Kool-Aid" and many other classic skits. He then released Retaliation which went double platinum and led to his first HBO special, Dane Cook: Vicious Circle. He hosted Saturday Night Live twice and starred in some pretty good movies, Employee of the Month, Mr. Brooks, Good Luck Chuck, and My Best Friend's Girl. It seemed like he was on top of the world, so what happened? In 2012 Cook made a joke referencing the movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO which really hurt his following (understandably so... not okay). He also has been named by numerous other comedians as someone who steals their jokes and someone they do not find all that funny. He was also popular before the age of YouTube and Social Media which made it more difficult to spread his comedy and interact with fans. In my opinion it seems like he struggled to adapt into other medias, such as podcasting and the other factors really hurt his credibility. 

Another guy I looked at was Kevin Hart, who has been huge for a few years now. After a slow start to his stand up career he began to switch the focus of his stand up and jokes, he started using his own insecurities and life experiences in his routines. Starting in 2009 Hart had a great run with stand up tours; I'm a Grown Little Man (2009), Seriously Funny (2010), Laugh at my Pain (2011), and Let Me Explain (2013). After his last tour in 2013 Hart extended his career by venturing into film and has been a big success. With films like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Death at a Funeral, Little Fockers, Think Like a Man, Ride Along, among a few others. In most of these movies Hart is not the lead role or even the supporting actor, he usually plays a secondary character but he plays them perfectly. You walk out of the movie talking about his role. He has also played alongside some of the biggest actors of this time like Will Ferrell, the Rock, Ice Cube, Ben Stiller, etc. He has also hosted Saturday Night Live a number of times. Hart also benefits by being in the social media age, he is one of the biggest social media stars and has one of the largest followings online. After his stand up "career" Hart is arguably a bigger star now then he was during that time. 

One last comedian I will bring up is Richard Pryor who was popular long before either of the previous two guys I mentioned. Pryor is considered by many to be the greatest stand up comedian of all time, and for good reason (if you have not watched any of his material, I recommend you finish reading this and immediately go to YouTube). He got his start by performing in New York City nightclubs by opening for musical acts and other comedians. In 1966, Pryor started performing on TV, doing his skits on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, Johnny Carson, and Merv Griffin. After his TV performances he ended up in Vegas opening up for the likes of Bobby Darin, however Pryor was not fond of the rules in Vegas so he went to Hollywood. He starred in a few films, had his own NBC show, and hosted Saturday Night Live during this time. He also began writing for shows like Sanford and Son and worked with Mel Gibson on Blazing Saddles. Pryor was successful in everything he did, from his stand up to his film roles. In 1986, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and even that would not hold him down as he kept performing. Pryor is a prime example of a comedian branching out into other mediums and being extremely successful. He was extremely popular long before the time of social media and is still popular and hilarious now. That is one of the many reason he is considered as the greatest comedian of all time. 

In my opinion, Pryor is the greatest comedian of all time and it seems his model is one that Kevin Hart has followed. It is really difficult to solely be a stand up comedian, you have to be able to adapt and explore different avenues if you have to extend you career. Pryor was before the social media age but Hart has used that to catapult his career even higher and Cook missed the boat. Hart is still extremely successful but has moved over to film exclusively and Cook is no where to be seen. Ultimately where Cook failed, Hart excelled. Cook also made a joke in very poor taste and that was a key factor in his down fall. However one of the biggest ways to judge a successful comedian is how well their skits age and all 3 of these are no doubt successful by that measure. You can go on YouTube and pull up any of their skits and still laugh your ass off. 

Gaming United Q&A

My little sister, Kelly, joins the Going Off Topic blog this week. She is a big gamer and answered a few questions that I sent her about some of her favorite games. If you have any questions you want answered send them over and she will check them out. She is going to have her own segment, "Gaming United" that she will write for every few weeks. If you haven't played these games she suggests checking them out immediately.

Q: What is more important to you in a video game a good story or good internet/multiplayer?

A: To me, a good story is a definite must have. If the story doesn’t go well or connect the dots, it’s not a good game. Or if it doesn’t have a story at all for single player games, I can’t get into it. To me, graphics don’t matter one bit if the story is good. A good game with an amazing storyline would either be The Last Of Us or Outlast. For multiplayer or internet multiplayer games, there’s usually not a whole lot of a storyline. For those kinda games, I just look to see if it’s a game I’ll be able to play a lot and not get tired of it. An example would be the Friday The 13th Game that came out a couple months back. That’s definitely my favorite online game. Although, one problem I have with some online games is team-killing. Most of them have taken that part out, but those who still have it in, aren’t as fun since some players think it’s funny to team kill 24/7. 

Q: The amount of replay ability/options a game has?

A: This question all depends on the game you’re wanting to replay. For example, if you’re wanting to replay The Last Of Us, it’s gonna end the same way every time. But, if you’re wanting to replay Until Dawn, you can make different choices throughout the game that can give you a different ending. I’ve replayed a couple of storyline games that I really enjoy, like Outlast and Until Dawn, but sometimes it not as fun playing when you know what is gonna happen in the end. 

Q: How important the characters are to a game? 

A: Characters are very important to a game in my mind. You have to have likable characters in a storyline game, otherwise it won’t be as fun. Some players can relate to the characters in a video game, which they really like. Characters are important to the story and they all need a different personality and maybe even different perspectives of what’s going on in the game. My favorite game with characters in a game is definitely Until Dawn. That game does a great job of giving you details and some background of the characters too, which some games don’t even bother to do. Another good game with great characters is TellTales The Walking Dead Series. Many players fall in love with the characters on the game and do their best to keep them safe. 

Q: What genre of game you like the most?

A: My favorite genre of games is definitely horror. I’m a huge horror fan, no matter what it is. Horror is usually the only type of genre I play, although sometimes I do find a game that’s not in the horror genre I wanna play. Outlast and Outlast 2 are my top two favorite horror games by far. The first one is set in an insane asylum, so you can imagine how frightening and terrifying that is. They both do an amazing job of keeping you interested in what’s going to happen next and both have a bunch of unexpected jumps areas throughout the game. Another favorite horror game of mine would be Until Dawn. That game is set on a family’s house on a lonely mountain, with a killer on the loose. That game has many unexpected things happen, and it even has choices that could result in life or death of a character. 

Q: Would you rather have a good storyline or good graphics?

A: To me, like I said before, a good story is one of the most important things a video game can have. Graphics to me, don’t matter at all, although they do matter to a bunch of people. I think that as long as the game is enjoyable, it can be a good game, no matter how bad the graphics may be. 

Q: Do you prefer single-player or multiplayer games?

A: This all depends on my mood honestly. I have quite a few friends online that I play a lot of games with, like Friday The 13th and GTA online, but sometimes I like to play single player games. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing online games with my friends and all, I really do but obviously there are games that are only single player that I wanna play and get to beat. 

Q: What console do you prefer?

A: I prefer PlayStation over anything, especially PlayStation 4. There’s so many games for it and such a wide variety. I don’t know if you can get a VR (virtual reality) for other consoles, but you can get it for this one. I, myself, have never played a VR game, but I’ve always wanted to after seeing videos about it on YouTube. Even though I prefer a ps4, I’ve still had an Xbox 360 that I play sometimes, but it’s rare. 

Q: Hardest game you’ve played?

A: I’ve played a couple of harder games, but probably one of the hardest is The Uncharted Series. Those games are based on strategy and difficult strategies for the most part. Half the time, I can only play that game for about an hour or so before I can’t figure out what to do and end up quitting or rage quitting cause I keep dying or something. Another hard game, that I didn’t even come close to beating was Bloodborne. That game, I could barely play for twenty minutes without rage quitting or something. 

Q: Scariest game?

A: The scariest game I’ve played would definitely be Outlast and Outlast 2. As I said before, the first game is set in an insane asylum with crazy patients roaming around. I haven’t beaten the second one just yet, but it’s still definitely one of the scariest games. The game producers for those two games really know how to make you enthralled and terrified at the same time. 

Q: Saddest game?

A: This is a harder question, cause I don’t think I’ve played a entirely sad game. Ive definitely played games with sad parts in them though. But for this, it’s a tie between the beginning and ending of The Last Of Us, the ending of The Walking Dead Season 1 and Heavy Rain. Most people wouldn’t say Heavy Rain is a sad game, but I think it is. In this game, you play Ethan, a father of a child who gets taken by a serial killer. During the game, you get clues to where the child is at, all while going through horrible tests to get there, where you are basically killing yourself to do them. 

USMNT and the Disappointment that Comes With It

James is back for a little soccer talk this week and if you missed the epic Alexi Lalas rant a few weeks back about the U.S. Men's National Team check it out right here. Check out his take on if he believes Lalas' comments were right or wrong below!

I can’t believe I am about to write this, but here it goes, Alexi Lalas is almost correct with regards to his comments about the U.S. Men’s National Team. A couple of weeks ago, Lalas tore into the national team after a very disappointing string of performances. Lalas named names and called out the leaders of the team in his rant. I find that I agree with him and even though I disagree with the “Wonder Boy” comment, which was pointed at Christian Pulisic, it was nice to finally hear someone in his position call out the squad. 

I have always been a fan of the USMNT even though they break my heart and underperform every year. For years we have been told that each team is better than the last and this is the team that will make the US relevant on the international stage. There have been success stories and wins that have generated excitement; notably under coach Jurgen Klinnsman by making it out of the "group of death" and into the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup.

There will be more opportunities for me to rant on the USMNT, but for this post lets focus on Lalas' comments. He called out Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Pulisic. I exclude Pulisic from this issue and I will tell you why later. (Maybe not in this post, but later…. I promise.) However, I agree completely with him in regards to Tim Howard. I truly enjoyed watching Howard play for Everton when he was at the top of his game. He single handedly kept the US in games they otherwise would have been blown out in. However, his time as an effective goal keeper at the national team level is over. It’s not his fault that we have failed to develop any young talent to replace him, but if you are on the field you need to be able to make the routine stops. Dempsey is more of the same. At the age of 34, he lacks the burst and stamina that made him effective. I don’t question his drive, but it simply looks like age has caught up to him. He is not particularly dominant on the ball and is not an orchestrater of the attack. If used as a substitute, I believe he can still be effective in late game situations.The person I take the most issue with is Michael Bradley, and most of it is not his fault. We are always trying to sensationalize players in hopes to draw attention to soccer in the states. We did it with Landon Donovan, who was an average player on the world stage and for the most part was unproductive during his time playing club soccer in Europe. Bradley falls into the same boat. He is not a bad midfielder, but he isn’t a good one. He doesn’t command the team and put his players in positions to be successful. The US is routinely dominated in the midfield and that can be due to scheme and positioning, but at some point the leader in the middle of the field must take control. I have no issue with him being zen and trying to keep things calm, cool, and collected. But, if you are going to do that then you need to be able to back it up on the field with efficiency. Aside from skill, the US men’s team lacks drive and passion in the midfield. We frequently get dominated in time of possession and our lack of positional awareness leaves the defense, an already struggling unit, in bad situations. 

Players claiming they don’t pay attention to the comments made by a former USMNT player and analyst is fine. It’s important to note he isn’t calling them out for plays they are making, it’s the plays they fail to make and what looks to be a lack of effort or care for their own performance that is the problem. It will be interesting to see if these comments make any sort of difference or if they fall on deaf ears. Hopefully it will jump start the team and the program as a whole.