Author: D. Buffa

A regular guy who feels a journalistic hunger to tell the news. I blog because its wired into my brain to write what I think in print. I offer an opinion. A solo tour here. Take regular stories and offer my spin on them. Sports, film, television, music, fatherhood, culture, food, and so on. Commentary on everything. A St. Louis native and Little Rock resident who wants to write just to keep the hands fresh and ready.

Cardinals: Kings of Endurance 

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It doesn’t matter how great a baseball team is doing. It’s never easy to watch them work for six months and 162+ games. Sweet, bitter or raw play hand in hand with fans. Day games turn into nightmares and night games turn into morning tears. Especially when the summer turns over to the fall. 

Just look at the St. Louis Cardinals, the requisite rogue in red who control the blood pressure and day to day moods of fans the city. They play with our feelings, crushing them on certain nights and enlightening them on others. 

Take Wednesday for example. The Chicago Cubs are in town and looking to sweep. After unloading on the best pitching in baseball two straight nights, they set their sights on the young fiery Carlos Martinez, El Gallo to his dearest fans. Power versus power. With Anthony Rizzo licking his chops and The Small Bears from the North looking to cut the edge to 5.5 games, could Martinez and company stop them?

A locked in Jon Lester didn’t help. A different high paid ace than the one STL faced on opening night. The Birds bent him early for a run scoring hit from Jason Heyward but couldn’t break through for seven innings. Lester doesn’t have overpowering stuff but he’s smart and tactical with his breaking pitches so the bats couldn’t figure him out. However Lester threw 105 pitches and couldn’t go further. That’s the price of the Cards taking good at bats and wearing him down. They didn’t score more than a run but they kept him from finishing. The Cubs bullpen was bound to get involved. 

They are like the friend in the wolf pack who you really don’t need in a brawl. They are unpredictable and erratic. Over the years, facing the Cubs is a matter of getting to their bullpen. Pedro Strop, owner of the glossy fist pump from Tuesday’s game, entered. He failed. Fernando Rodney, Seattle refugee and Big Papi and Dustin Hermanson facial hair wannabe, entered. He checked on Matt Carpenter at first base. Cardinals fans knew, sooner or later, he had to throw a pitch to Stephen Piscotty, a man who could do your kids advanced algebra homework and also collect hits like water bottles at a Salvation Army barbecue. 

Rodney fired and Piscotty didn’t miss it. He lined a shot to right field that eluded the center fielder and hopped off the war back towards the field. It was the 21st extra base hit for the Stanford product in just 167 at bats. If Randal Grichuk was the thrilling roller coaster ride The Boss at Six Flags, Piscotty was the Screaming Eagle, a more old school but still electric experience. The latest in a chorus line of singing Birds for a league best team that tries its best to give off an impersonation of a not so good team for stretches at a time. 

  However, as my dad said yesterday right after Piscotty’s hit about treating the Cubs and their fans to optimism, “We gave you a taste but that’s enough.” He was right. After 25 and a half innings of looking feeble and beatable, the Real Cardinals had to stand up. As a bloody mouthed famous gunslinger once cinematically said, “my hypocrisy only goes so far.” 

Upon reaching second base, Piscotty unleashed a fist bump that nearly caused him to topple over. The usually stoic rookie couldn’t resist anymore. He was “feeling it” as Ricky Bobby once said. Matt Carpenter walked on water as he crossed home plate representing the go ahead fourth run. After being five outs from a sweep, the Cards suddenly led 4-3. They had endured and broke through. Something they’ve done all season. What they’ve done since 2011. Every season. They always find a way. 

Take away three starters from their lineup and a pair of rotation arms. Take away a couple bullpen arms. As fictional Banshee county sheriff Lucas Hood would improbably pronounce after surviving a near death gun battle, the Cards “have it handled”.  Why are fans constantly surprised as September action unfolds with this team’s ability to come back and endure? 

Reinforcements are on the way. Lumbering big stick Matt Adams is almost ready to contribute. Grichuk is unable to throw but still has the tenacity to destroy poorly placed fastballs 451 feet away. Matt Holliday, owner of the angriest swing since Gary Sheffield was in his prime, is close to reading his name on a lineup card. An already strong team will only get stronger. 

Sure, Jon Jay will play too much even though he seems to be swinging a folded up newspaper at the plate. Pete Kozma and Peter Bourjos are glorified gloves but sure can run. Tommy Pham isn’t on the missing persons list yet but simply isn’t trust worthy enough to play center field more than once a week. Jhonny Peralta has been a ghost since the end of July but is bound to break out. 

Trevor Rosenthal has 43 saves and looks like a man possessed. Kevin Siegrist is tired yet efficient. Steve Cishek and Jonathan Broxton haven’t been as bad as fan forums and Twitter make them out to be. Randy Choate will most likely make another appearance without recording an out but that’s simply a cut thread from the LOOGY Blues. 

The Jason Heyward watch won’t quit but don’t lose sleep over it. I am really impressed with the 25 year old player but every smart baseball fan knows one player doesn’t make a team win. It’s a group effort. Whether he stays or he goes(I really hope he stays), the Cards will be fine. Don’t worry about it now. There are men in suits with bow ties who deal with that and they hold the keys to something only we as a fanbase or media outlet can react to. 

Here’s something to remember and it’s simple and probable. The Cards will get beat by teams at times this month but they will also win far more games than they lose. Some losses will be ugly but a great win has the ability to erase three nasty losses. There’s no way to explain it. That’s baseball. 

Throughout it all, I will continue to preach one thing. Endure. Just wait. These regular season games are important but only until the playoffs start. Then, the records are essentially 0-0 and the real hunt begins. The 11 win hunt for the ultimate prize. The World Series trophy. 

Until then, enjoy the action. Bleed with the team but remember anything can happen. As the late great Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar constantly said, “You never know”. 

If it’s one thing you can bet on with the St. Louis  Cardinals in 2015, it’s that they will bounce back from any bad break. They are the Rocky Balboa of baseball. They take the hits and keep on coming. 

Meet Todd Gurley, the Rams new running back

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Since I am not your average college football addict, when I heard the name Todd Gurley this spring, I wasn’t completely aware right off the bat who the Rams got with the 10th pick in the 2015 draft. And since I am a George Carlin fan, I immediately thought, “Well, Todd sure is a weak name for a boy.” However, if you heard my neighbors down here in Little Rock, Arkansas, you got all the analysis a man could need. In other words, sounds effects.

“Whoooa!” “Oh mannnn!” “That guyyyyyy!” Gurley, who collected touchdowns at the University of Georgia like you collect diet cokes on a long day at work, put the Arkansas Razorbacks through the trenches during his time in college. So when my neighbor told me months ago, “your Rams got a great running back,” I couldn’t help but smile. His shoe prints were still being felt down south.

The 21 year old Gurley came into Rams camp fresh off knee surgery in the offseason, which has slowed his development this summer and will keep him out of preseason games(a good thing when you think about it). Gurley has started to practice with the team and looks as imposing as his draft card read back in April. The 6 foot 1 231 pound back drew comparisons to Marshall Faulk at the draft, and NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock liked the comparison a lot. His description of Gurley for NFL.com puts it bluntly why the Rams took this kid.

“I like the Marshawn Lynch comparison. St. Louis wants to win games the same way that Seattle and San Francisco do in the same division, that is by running the football and playing great defense and special teams. Gurley has Olympic-type speed. I love this pick for St. Louis, which already has a great defense and Gurley will help out Nick Foles.”-Mayock

Gurley doesn’t come with the wrapper untouched. He was suspended for four games for accepting 3,000 dollars to autograph memorabilia and his knee had other teams wondering if he could get that burst of speed back post ACL surgery. However, it has been nine months since Gurley’s surgery, and his limited participation in practice drills continues a normal rehab. An injury at an early age does project a healthy return.

There’s a lot to be excited for. Gurley was the second freshman in Georgia history to run for 1,000 yards and set a new record with 17 touchdowns. In a head to head clash with Clemson, Gurley ran for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2013. Watching the man work in videos, Gurley has a unique blend of speed and power. This bulldog has some bite. He can barrel through you or spin away. In 2014, he collected 62 percent of his yards after contact so his motor doesn’t stop when he is hit, it’s just getting warmed up. Instead of getting wrapped up by linebackers, Gurley will shred them like a house of cards and can cut back to the outside. He’s a multi-dimensional back who will fit right into head coach Jeff Fisher’s offense.

With Nick Foles driving the offense downfield yet needing that safety valve in a reliable back, Gurley should get plenty of action when the knee is stable and ready to roam. Together with Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham, Fisher is building a Game of Thrones type kingdom with his running backs and that is how the Rams will run for years. Gurley is a Fisher prototype.

The silver lining in Gurley’s suspension and injury is that he has plenty of football life in him. Unlike a guy like Jake Locker, Gurley didn’t lose a lot of his impact talent and tenacity in ugly college football battles. He’s still a brand new toy with some of the plastic attached. Unlike quarterbacks, running backs like Gurley don’t need to digest an entire system or adapt from shotgun to under the huddle. The transformation is apparent but not overwhelming. Gurley, when healthy, should be a force in this offense and an impact talent.

When it comes to young players in the draft, look at the tape and forget the combine. I don’t care how he did when the stadium was quiet and he was jumping, sprinting and moving without anyone around him. I want to know how he did in a packed house in Georgia with the pressure of the SEC barring down on him. That’s where the true analysis is dug up. From what I’ve seen, Gurley looks like a weapon of mass destruction. A healthy knee and discipline is all the kid needs. Todd is no “girley” man on the football field.

Under the tutelage of Fisher and company, Todd Gurley should run a long way for the St. Louis Rams.

Should fans be worried about Carlos Martinez?

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Back in March, there were people who didn’t even believe Carlos Martinez could be an effective 5th starter for the St. Louis Cardinals. Questions came in about his maturity and emotion on the mound. Some questioned his ability to go deep into games. Some just liked Marco Gonzales better. Flash forward a few months and “El Gallo” has blazed a trail through the National League. He hasn’t just looked like a legit starter but a probable ace down the road. However, lately, the soon to be 24 year old righthander has looked a bit more human. Is this rookie starter fatigue, hitters coming around to him, or just some rusty aftershocks of an unbelievable 2/3 portion of the season?

Let’s slow down and remember the kid is only 23 years old. He’s young, fiery and has enough life in his arm for two pitchers in Milwaukee. Downfall is always a suspect in a young man’s rookie season and I am talking rookie season because 2015 is the entry campaign for Martinez’s real job. A starter for the best team in baseball.

The team took precaution and rested him against The Nationals, citing a sore back even though an innings precaution was the likely idea. Coming into Friday’s start against Pittsburgh, Martinez had 154.2 innings, a season high for any stop in the young man’s career. A wall was going to be struck at some point.

After compiling earned run averages of 2.18 and 2.03 in June and July, Martinez’s ERA for August was 4.15. The trend started on July 30th when Martinez was beat up for 5 earned runs and 10 hits against Colorado. After a decent 5 inning effort against the Reds, Martinez threw a gem against Pittsburgh. Eight innings, 3 earned runs and eight strikeouts. Miami then reached him for 4 earned runs before Carlos fired consecutive quality starts against San Diego and Arizona. Friday, the Pirates got to him for four earned runs in five innings. That’s six starts with rough ones included. This followed a stretch where Martinez didn’t allow more than 3 earned runs in 13 consecutive starts. Hitters are reaching him for a .292 average since the All Star break and his ERA is 3.80 during that time.

When it comes to pitch usage differences, Martinez has leaned more on his changeup and slider in the past month over his sinker, which is a world renowned deadly pitch. Friday, his fastball had zip but everything else was flat.

So, is there reason to be worried about Martinez? Is the back an issue? Is rest an issue? Was a rhythm disrupted with the rest or is Martinez just having a rough patch?

I don’t think there’s reason to worry too much about the kid. He’s still 13-7 with a 3.07 ERA to go with a 2.5-1 strikeouts to walks ratio. His WHIP is respectable and he still has an ability to pitch well with runners on base and in scoring position. A “human” stretch may force certain scribes to revisit old themes and fans to question the durability of the young man but I still see a fiery finish to the season.

Martinez carries loads of emotion, willpower and guile to the hill every start. He won’t let it weigh him down. He’ll pop back out on the mound for his start against The Cubs on Wednesday for the homestand finale with something to prove. Here’s something to remember. Martinez has pitched at least five innings in a start since May 9th. Expect him to respond. This is not your normal young pitcher. Martinez is foolishly talented and will be ready, on regular rest, on Wednesday. It’s not time to overthink his durability or stature.

The rest means the Cardinals are thinking of him for a playoff rotation spot and that’s the right move. As easy as it is to once again send Martinez to the bullpen for the third straight time, it’s important to remember the kid’s 2.68 ERA and .228 batting average against on the road. That shouldn’t be forgotten.

Yes, Martinez has looked rougher as of late, but that doesn’t mean September will end with a Martinez fade. He had a rough May as well(4.19 ERA) and he bounced back. Sometimes, the kid just needs to breathe and relax in remembering this is a six month season and it’s a lot different when you only pitch once every five days. 2015 is still a class in session for Martinez. Some bumps were expected but the course is still set.

Carlos Martinez will ride high again…after he is finished building the largest tower of cups in the dugout this weekend.

Max Scherzer was a gamble Cardinals didn’t need to take

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When Washington Nationls and St. Louis native Max Scherzer was testing free agency in the offseason, many in St. Louis were wondering if the hometown Cardinals should put an offer in. Why not? Max is in the prime of his career, has the arsenal of an ace and would be able to put the Birds on the Bat on his chest at last. A alum of The University of Missouri, Columbia, it’d be a homecoming for Mad Max. There was just one thing. He wasn’t needed. I wrote about it then and confirming it now.

Let’s flash forward eight months. The best ERA in baseball belongs to the Cardinals(2.73) and the most quality starts(94) sits in St. Louis as well. This happens without Adam Wainwright for all but four starts and only a half order of lethal lefty Jaime Garcia. It includes an old tough cowboy in John Lackey, a durable innings beast in Lance Lynn, and two white hot phenoms in Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez. Along the way, Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney have also helped. Where does Max fit into this equation? Where does his seven year, 210 million dollar contract fit in with the Birds?

Scherzer is making 17 million this year and 22 million from 2016-2018. After that, he is scheduled to make 42 million over the next three years(2019-21) but it is being spread out over the next seven years. The Nationals are going to be paying Scherzer for the next 13 seasons, but he isn’t scheduled to throw a pitch after 2021. Does that sound like something John Mozeliak would do?

The answer is no and the reason he didn’t step into that ring was due to the depth and success the Cardinals have established over the past few seasons. It seems like every year the Cardinals are hit with brutal injuries and just bounce back like warriors in a coliseum. That’s because they aren’t built on one insane contract. Mozeliak traded Shelby Miller and didn’t get close to the Scherzer tree because of guys like Wacha and Martinez. When you are growing perfect tomatoes, why pay outside the farm?

To be fair, Scherzer is having a solid season that needs to be appreciated. His fielding independent ERA is 2.75 and he has 219 strikeouts to just 26 walks. He has thrown three complete games and two shutouts. His record, 11-11, is just another signal of how useless the win total can be with a pitcher. He’s earning that 17 million dollars. I’m just glad he is doing it in a Nationals uniform and not a Cardinals one.

Pitching is not what the Cardinals are in need of. Prime hitting, especially in the future with aging bodies like Matt Holliday reaching the final stage of their career, is their need. The money that fans wanted to see put into an arm like Scherzer will go into a long term contract for Jason Heyward. In the end, Mo knows when it comes to what free agents to bring in and which ones to just smile and look at. A talent that has been growing out at 7th street and Spruce for a while now.

While Max Scherzer coming home to pitch for the Cardinals would have been a nice story and generated some waves across baseball, it simply wasn’t a gamble the Cardinals and Mozeliak needed to take.

Photo by Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Will Smith tackles head trauma in the NFL in “Concussion”

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“You’ve turned on the lights and given their biggest boogeyman a name.”

Watch out, NFL, because Will Smith and producer Ridley Scott are coming after head trauma in football with their latest film, Concussion.

Just in time for the kickoff of the regular season in the National Football League comes a movie about Bennet Omalu(Smith), a doctor who located the disease troubling football players. A condition called CTE(chronic traumatic encephelopathy), where the repeated hits to the head caused the brain to be “choked”.

The film co-stars Albert Brooks and Alec Baldwin as men who warn Smith’s Omalu about the door he is walking through. A door that started with Junior Seau taking his own life by shooting himself in the chest instead of the head, a maneuver that allowed doctors like Omalu to use his brain for research. No run knows if Seau did it on purpose or not, but it was the beginning. CTE was found in Seau’s brain.

The film arrives on Christmas and features Smith in a serious role that will command Oscar attention. He features an accent and is the face of a timely film that will get people talking, whether it’s in an NFL owners meeting, a family’s kitchen table or schools across the country. Writer/director Peter Landesman knows exactly what he is doing. Putting a well known face in front of a controversial movie about one man who decided to taek something further than anyone else and challenge the most popular sport in the world.

I’ll be there to watch it. Will you? The trailer is below.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi162572313

Michael Fassbender makes Assassin’s Creed interesting

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When it comes to adapting a massively popular video game, filmmakers and actors have their work cut out for them. It’s a dangerous walk. The last thing professional make believe players want to do is offend the 24/7 video game binge addict who drinks more Mountain Dew’s and Red bulls than humanly possible and calls a Big Gulp cup his spouse. I am NOT a video game addict or player. So when I see the first look at the December 16th, 2016 film Assassin’s Creed and see Michael Fassbender in armor sporting a menacing look, I am intrigued.

michael fassbender assassin's creed

The game could be about whatever you desire, but Fassbender instantly hooks me. Respected, talented and always watchable performers do that for a film-addict. We see, decide if this is for us and then wait for something else. This film is still a year away, but that doesn’t mean a picture can’t speak 365 words.

What’s it about? The film introduces a new character into the game’s world, Callum Lynch, a rogue assassin who finds out his ancestors provided him with quite substantial powers and he uses those to fight the evil Templar organization in the modern sophisticated world. Sound interesting? Well, that’s all you got to run on right now. Just keep staring at that picture. Pretty cool right?

The film co-stars the beautifully talented French actress Marion Cotillard, and is directed by Justin Kurzel(Snowtown, Macbeth), a name you may not recognize but has been given a decent two headed cast to push this adaptation forward.

The recent failure of Agent 47 rings doubt across the waters that spell success or not for Assassin’s Creed. As I say with any movie, it depends on the script and the care put into the production. If it’s there, there’s always a chance.

What do you think of this first look? Good, bad, or forget about it?

What else is new at the moment?

*More coffee is always a good thing, but espresso is best.

*Politicians aren’t robots in suits because they get caught having sexy time with wrong people too often.

*The St. Louis Cardinals are very good.

*The N.L. Central will have three playoff teams so suck it league colleagues.

*Just because a person goes on a murderous rampage doesn’t mean he or she is insane….they could just be evil. It happens.

*Staying fit is a well known plan. It’s just not easy to follow through with. You are either a shape or in shape.

Goodnight,

Buffa

The Horror Auteur: Rest in peace Wes Craven

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“Horror films don’t create fear. They release it.”-Wes Craven

When I was a kid, I was convinced Freddy Krueger was going to get me in my dreams. Or at the very least, he was standing in my doorway waiting for me to hit the snooze button. I told my dad all the time. “Look at the door, dad, can you see him?” My loving father did what every other father on this earth did. He reassured me that there was nothing there. Right, dad. Thanks to Wes Craven, true horror like Freddy and other horror film gems kept me awake many nights.

Craven passed away on August 30th at the age of 76 after a battle with brain cancer. The master of horror films like Nightmare on Elm Street, The People Under The Stairs, Shocker, The Hills Have Eyes and Scream went quietly, at peace with his life and accomplishments.

What he left for film fans was a reminder of what true horror was all about. Forget all the modern wannabe auteurs of gruesome cinematic fare. Craven laid the blueprint on how to not only scare someone, but deposit a fear in their minds as they left the theater.

The worst thing you could do was watch a Craven film during a thunderstorm. You came out of the theater and had to check every way and path in the parking lot before you got in your car. Once inside, you checked the entire backseat. He made you drag that excitement from the theater into real life. Renegade creators can do that and it’s not easy. Most films can be enjoyed but easily detached from the brain once the lights come up and the outside world is reintroduced.

I remember watching Craven films with my dad and instead of asking him 70 questions on the way home, I asked a single easy one. “Is any of that real, dad?” He always had a good answer but man Craven made me think twice.

Craven’s first film was released in 1972 and it was called The Last House on the Left. He wrote and directed it a film about a pair of teenage girls who try to score drugs at a concert and get kidnapped and terrorized by a gang of psychos. In 1977, he directed The Hills Have Eyes but it wasn’t until 1984 that he introduced Krueger, the tortured badly burned man with knives for fingers who attacked young teens in their dreams. Earlier this year, Craven was still writing short films about Freddy’s carnage. Throughout an epic career, Freddy was his baby and rightly so. How can you escape a boogeyman who gets you in your dreams? Brilliant.

That kind of horror will live forever. It will scare your kids and their kids. Long after Robert England(the actor who brought Freddy Krueger to life) is gone, he will freak people out. That’s Craven’s legacy. Long lasting terror.

Rest in peace, Wes. Your mark on film will be felt for decades.

Ray Stevenson talks “Big Game” when it comes to movies

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When you hear the name Ray Stevenson, your mind may wander and think, “I know that guy, he’s the one in the..what is it?”It’s time to get familiar with the man’s work. Ray Stevenson is a face of film and an actor to look up, dig into and appreciate. He likes what he does. “I’m a lifer. I’m going to do this for as long as I can because I absolutely love it.” You don’t hear many actors speak with the ambition that Ray does.

Stevenson Big game 2Working for 22 years in Hollywood and making 46 different projects separated through TV and film, the 51 year old tall dark yet vulnerable screen presence has done it all. He’s fought alongside Clive Owen’s King Arthur, dished his take on Frank Castle’s Punisher, locked horns with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in G.I. Joe:Retaliation, and matched minds with Showtime’s Dexter and played Marcus in this year’s Insurgent.

Stevenson’s latest film, the adventurous Big Game, where he co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson, was a particularly special experience and I had a chance to speak with Ray about the shoot, Jackson and what the film’s experience brought him.

On Sam L. Jackson-“It was fantastic. He’s one of the most interesting and creative wonderful actors to work with. He’s one of the best working actors on this planet. I had the opportunity to meet him in London and tell him how blown away I was by his work in Django(Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino). He’s that good. The difference in his roles is amazing. Special human being.

Does Sam have some fun or is he serious? Not on this movie. If there was something happening on set, he’ll make you get it together. He’ll loves what he is doing. His film sense is amazing. Working with him face to face is an experience. He is a giving actor and it was great seeing him work with the young actor Onni Tommila as well. 

On the differences between big budget films and smaller budget films like Big Game-It has to work like a well oiled machine. It will run away if it is not prepped to the highest degree. The pre-shoots and storyboards are important and if not done right, the entire production can be rough. It comes down to the people involved making it a convenient shoot and just rolling with it.

On shooting in the great outdoors and its effect on the story-We shot in a wonderful place called Bevaria, in Germany. It’s got an old schoolStevenson Big game 3 feel about it and also epic scope about it. At the heart of the film is a story about a child’s rite of passage. A very inventive way to shoot and lovely location.

Stevenson’s biggest legion of fans in America know him as Titus Pullo in HBO’s short lived yet brilliant series, Rome. Playing the playful yet ferocious warrior giant ally to Kevin McKidd’s Vorenus, Stevenson forged a cornerstone character. The effect the character had on Stevenson is apparent and is still something he literally carries around with him. “I still wear the 13th legion ring around, the one that Pullo wore in the show. It brought me my recognition in the states and connected me to so many fans across the country. It’s something that should have went on and on, for at least seven seasons. However, there was a change in HBO’s programming management and it was cut short. While we dropped the ball in not keeping it going, it is a treasured experience I will always hold dear.”  

When asked about a possible movie version of Rome, Stevenson was clear. “Wow, I’d love it. I’d love to go off and do a story about Pullo and Vorenus.”

On his upcoming slate, Stevenson is bringing the heat in different venues. He’s finishing a TV mini series called Saints and Strangers, about the first year of Pilgrims in America. He co-stars in the reboot of The Transporter series with the new Frank Martin, Ed Skrein(stepping in for Jason Statham), Transporter Refueled. He plays Martin’s father, a man with a shadowy past to MI-6. He plays Blackbeard on the Starz series, Black Sails this fall. When it comes to film, Stevenson is indeed a lifer. Someone who will work until it stops coming and judging by Ray’s unique set of skills, that time won’t be coming anytime soon.

While Big Game will be known as a Samuel L. Jackson experience, it will be hard to keep your eyes off the menacing Stevenson.

“No Escape” is a nonstop thrill ride

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No Escape is a classic “what would you do if this were you” thriller. There are no superheroes, robots or otherworldly characters. There are no tough guy cops or mobsters. Just a family stuck in a foreign city that is being ransacked by rebels staging a coup. Nail bitingly suspenseful and well paced, this B movie styled thriller works on three strengths.

First, the casting of Owen Wilson as the unlikely heroic dad. Here is the comedy star’s second serious role(next to Behind Enemy Lines)and it’s a slam dunk decision. When the trailers came out, people were shaking their head at the front and center part given to the Texas guy with the crooked nose, wacky sense of humor and mostly one speed resume. However, people forget what the role required. An everyman who we didn’t expect to fight and that’s where Wilson thrives. He has pocketed emotion and unsettling rage on display here. He’s going to surprise you. Don’t forget the man brought a country to tears in Marley and Me and was very fine in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. He can do more than comedy and he shows his skills here, playing a husband and father of two daughters who just needs to get them to safety.

Second, Lake Bell is equally effective as the wife and mother. This isn’t just a damsel in distress. This momma won’t be trifled with and it’s a fun experience watching Bell go from overworked and tired wife to survival mode queen bee. Bell is an experienced actress who can play many speeds. A poor woman’s Rachel McAdams with more depth. She blazes a quiet trail here as the ying to Wilson’s yang. They make a great convincing seemingly hopeless couple. It really makes the film run full bore.

Third, Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle(an experienced horror director with As Above, So Below, Quarantine, Devil) brings the violence and thrills right up to the bridge of your nose. The gunshots sound real and ring around the theater. The explosions are unsettling. The surprises in this easy to digest story raise the stakes just right and the suspense isn’t overbearing yet chilling. He doesn’t shy away from a good kill or a gruesome end for a main character. It’s all out and in your face.

Stop worrying about why the film was delayed and just enjoy the thrills. The pacing is excellent, and the slow motion shots work better here than in most films. As he displayed in the underrated Devil, Dowdle knows how to put your fingernails into your mouth, get your tendencies as a filmgoer broiling and turn up the tension. There are sequences in No Escape that just make you move right up to the edge of your seat.

Pierce Brosnan showing up as a seemingly friendly yet mysterious adventure ally adds an extra kick to the film. This is the first time I can remember the actor actually having fun with a role and showing some shades of his James Bond days. The gray beard, sharp wit, easy going charm and action mobility haven’t been dazed with age yet when it comes to the 62 year old Irishman and it helps the film run when the original tank of gas gets low.

All in all, you won’t see No Escape coming. The Weinstein Company seemed to dump it at the end of the summer season because they didn’t know how to properly market it. The shoot saw some delays and it wasn’t a smooth operation but what Dowdle, Wilson, Bell and Brosnan carved out here is an enjoyable suspenseful potboiler. If you take a chance with it, the payoff is there.

Instead of doodling with a sequel in Sinister 2 or a clumsy video game film in Agent 47, place a bet on No Escape, an action film that aims to please, thrill and keep things moving. Right before the heavy hitters step up to the plate in September, this old school thriller will settle in just right and just might floor you.

Why can’t Cardinals fans appreciate Lance Lynn?

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Tonight’s starter for the St. Louis Cardinals is Lance Lynn. You may have heard of him. He pitched for Ole Miss and likes to throw a heavy assortment of fastballs at various speeds. Up, down, and all around. He occasionally throws a curve because he gets bored or while he refills the propane tank for the next inning’s cheddar assault.

The thing about Lynn is that he drives fans crazy with his starts. He throws a lot of pitches early, works long counts, gets a ton of contact and occasionally gets dinged up. Does that warrant the complaining and “Lynning” tweets? Let’s dig in.

Lynn’s fielding independent earned run average is 3.17, which leads the team(if you exclude Jaime Garcia due to a lesser amount of starts). So I ask, is the discomfort with Lynn warranted or does it connect to his unorthodox manner of recording outs? He isn’t easy to watch but gets the job done with his own two hands the most.

Lynn wins. it can’t be denied. Since he picked up a baseball and starting slinging heaters for the Cards on June 2nd, 2011, Lynn has won games. His 58 games since account for a 61% win rate, and he is on pace for less than his usual 15 wins this season due to a lack of run support. Unlike his rotation colleague Michael Wacha, Lynn doesn’t get the steady diet of 5-6 runs. While Wacha got 10 runs in his Sunday victory in San Diego, Lynn got zero in his last start against the Giants on Tuesday. With a few more runs of support, Lynn would have at least 11 wins right now. Instead, tonight he vies for win #10 in Arizona.

Lynn’s strikeouts per nine innings is at its highest peak this season, sitting at 9.6. His strikeouts to walks ratio is 2.92-1, also his best in years. His ERA+ is 132, and 100 ranks as average. That is adjusted to the player’s ballpark to more accurately showed how much damage Lynn takes. He has faced 577 batters in 2015 and struck out 25% of them, which is an impressive stat.

Lynn is durable but doesn’t go deep into games. He’s only missed a couple starts this year, an occurrence that may hold him from reaching 200 innings. He has pitched 7 or more innings only 6 times in 23 starts. At 134.1 innings with roughly 8 starts to go before the end of the season, Lynn would have to dig deeper into games to reach 200. Still a durable man who has escaped major injury.

He’s a beast and doesn’t care or hinge on pitch counts. With all the close observation on Wacha and Carlos Martinez in 2015, Lynn regularly throws 100 pitches in a start. 17 out of his 23 starts, Lynn has thrown 100 pitches. Lynn has thrown 115 or more pitches in a start six times. He’s old school. He lets his emotions fly and has learned to harness his rage and also craft a fine post game media game. While the beast may not be tamed on the field, Lynn has evolved over the five seasons in the Majors as a man and pitcher.

So, why can’t the man get the love from his fans? He doesn’t have the child like adorable phenom combo of Martinez He hasn’t had the playoff sensation of Wacha. He doesn’t have the Lackey experience. Unlike Garcia, Lynn needs to work harder for his outs. Any of these sound justified? Yes and no.

Last week, I was asked about a playoff rotation and my four man set didn’t include Lynn. You know how bad I felt and how incomplete it sounded. The rest of my day was thrown off. I wrestled with the idea. I kept asking myself, how can I leave Lance “The Motorized Fastball” Lynn out of my rotation? It’s either him or Martinez and realistically speaking, Lynn will be in the playoff rotation over Martinez. You never know. There’s five weeks left.

Here’s how much I do know. Don’t underestimate Lance Lynn. Appreciate him. He doesn’t make it look easy every time out but he defines the reason why “wins” are overrated in this game. His WAR(wins above replacement) sits at 2.3, which is above average. He has the ability to get outs without his defense. His salary in from 2014 to 2015 did rise from $535,000 to $7,000,000. There are expectations with Lynn there and it’s okay to judge and be critical of his poor outings. At this point in his career, he most likely won’t change much.

Just remember this. When it comes to Lance Lynn, one can’t forget about the big picture appeal of this Indiana product. It won’t be easy for Mike Matheny to leave him out of the playoff starting rotation hustle.