the Meat Life: College Football Preview --- Part Deuce

What to Watch For

Warning: Entry is LONG! (That’s what she said.)

We are going all ESPN2 on you right now.  The Deuce will tell you what to watch for each week.  Think of it as the Meat Life’s viewer’s guide.  I’ll give you matchups to view every week.  That way if your fave team is playing Creampuff U, you will have something to entertain you that weekend while your team puts up half a hundred on that Southeastern State Tech University of one of those states out there somewhere west of the east Mississippi.  There will be “must-sees” and “if you have the times” matchups.  Some of the weeks later in the season are really lean on premier matches, so they’ll just have “must sees.”  I’ll revisit these matchup later in the season, seeing if they were actually the ones to watch that week.

Without further ado, here they are!

Week One

Must See:
Washington at BYU Saturday 9/4 6PM CT
LSU vs North Carolina Saturday 9/4 7PM CT
Boise State vs Virginia Tech Monday 9/6 7PM CT

Jake Locker will be back at the same place where two years ago he was called for excessive celebration as he ran in for the potential tying score.  The penalty pushed the extra point back, the kick was blocked, and Washington went on to an 0-12 record.  While Locker will try to exercise those demons, LSU’s inconsistent offense meets North Carolina’s defense that fields a potential 8 NFL prospects.  On a rare Monday night affair, Boise State will try to start their season on a high note against their marquee match of the year in Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech team.

If you have the time…:
Oregon State vs TCU Saturday 9/4 6:45PM CT
SMU at Texas Tech Sunday 9/5 2:30PM CT

Week Two

Must See:
Florida State at Oklahoma Saturday 9/11 2:30PM CT
Miami (FL) at Ohio State Saturday 9/11 2:40 CT
Penn State at Alabama Saturday 9/11 6PM CT

Perhaps Oklahoma’s toughest home test will be against the Seminoles in the new Jimbo Fisher era and Heisman hopeful QB Christian Ponder.  Miami will start their pair of tough road games as they travel to the much hyped Ohio State team.  And Alabama is put to the test at home against JoePa’s Nittany Lions.

If you have the time…:
Michigan at Notre Dame Saturday 9/11 2:30 PM CT
South Florida at Florida Saturday 9/11 TBA
Oregon at Tennessee Saturday 9/11 6PM CT

Week Three

Must See:
BYU at Florida State Saturday 9/18 2:30PM CT
Nebraska at Washington Saturday 9/18 2:30PM CT
Texas at Texas Tech Saturday 9/18 7PM CT

BYU hosted this matchup last year where they were throttled 54-28.  This year they will look for revenge against a team in Florida State that was only 3-3 at home.  Nebraska will test it’s well vaunted defense against the Locker/Sarkisian offense.  The past couple of years the Texas-Texas Tech games have been filled with back and forth action and a drama-filled ending in 2008 (that Crabtree catch…I don’t think I jumped higher than that, until OU blew out Tech the following week).

If you have the time…:
Arkansas at Georgia Saturday 9/18 11AM CT
Baylor at TCU Saturday 9/18 3:30PM CT

Week Four

Must See:
Miami (FL) at Pittsburgh Thursday 9/23 6:30PM CT
West Virginia at LSU Saturday 9/25 7PM CT
Alabama at Arkansas Saturday 9/25 TBA

Miami will continue the tough road trip against old Big East foe and much talked about Pittsburgh.  I don’t know why, but West Virginia visiting LSU just sounds entertaining.  And probably the most intriguing match that week to me will be the National Champs visiting QB Ryan Mallett and the Razorbacks.  They may have a suspect defense, but Mallett launching rockets will be something to see.

If you have the time…:
Oklahoma vs Cincinnati Saturday 9/25 TBA
UCLA at Texas Saturday 9/25 TBA

Week Five

Must See:
Oklahoma vs Texas Saturday 10/2 TBA
Florida at Alabama Saturday 10/2 TBA
Washington at USC Saturday 10/2 7PM CST

The Red River Rivalry will look to be another classic, as the last three have been decided by 10 points or less.  This meeting will match two sophomore QBs in Landry Jones and Garrett Gilbert replacing two legends Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy.  BOOMER!  SOONER!  Speaking of replacing a “legend,” Florida’s John Brantley will hop in “Saint Tebow’s” spot at QB as they rematch a team they played in the last two SEC Championship games.  And while on probation, USC still looks threatening even with Lane Kiffin at the helm as Washington looks to pull another upset.

If you have the time…:
Penn State at Iowa Saturday 10/2 7:05PM CST
Miami (FL) at Clemson Saturday 10/2 TBA
Georgia at Colorado Saturday 10/2 3:30PM CT

Week Six

Must See:
Arkansas vs Texas A&M Saturday 10/9 TBA
Florida State at Miami (FL) Saturday 10/9 TBA
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Saturday 10/9 2:30PM CT

An old Southwest Conference match in Arkansas meeting A&M, this appears to be an offensive treat featuring Mallett and Jerrod Johnson (two of my Who to Watch For players).  The Seminoles and Hurricanes game is always entertaining, as last year was just one of those examples.  One of these teams will look to declare that their program is officially back with a victory.  The Brian Kelly era in Notre Dame will have perhaps their toughest game of the year as they host the Panthers who last year held off a ferocious fourth quarter comeback by the Irish with a final score of 27-22.

If you have the time…:
LSU at Florida Saturday 10/9 TBA
Oregon State at Arizona Saturday 10/9 TBA

Week Seven

Must See:
South Florida at West Virginia Thursday 10/14 6:30PM CT
BYU at TCU Saturday 10/16 3PM CT
Texas at Nebraska Saturday 10/16 TBA

New South Florida coach Skip Holtz will look to continue the Bulls good fortune against the Mountaineers (Bulls have owned WV three of the last four matches).  Look for BYU and TCU to be ranked and to have a closer game than the 38-7 whippin the Horned Frogs gave the Cougars in this Mountain West matchup.  And probably the biggest rematch we in Big 12 country will probably be looking to when Texas visits Lincoln, Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers were one controversial second away from taking down the Longhorns.  And during the off-season the name-calling from both camps flew wild as the conference realignment talk was hot.  One last send off to Texas before Nebraska leaves to the Big Ten?

If you have the time…:
Oklahoma State at Texas Tech Saturday 10/16 TBA
Cal at USC Saturday 10/16 2:30PM CT

Week Eight

Must See:
Notre Dame vs Navy Saturday 10/23 11AM CT
Oklahoma at Missouri Saturday 10/23 TBA
Houston at SMU Saturday 10/23 2:30PM CT

Well, the matchups start to thin out from this week on until the Thanksgiving weekend.  Brian Kelly’s Irish will try to slow Navy and coach Ken Niumatalolo’s option offense that has beaten Notre Dame two of the last three years.  The Oklahoma defense will be tested by Mizzou’s Blaine Gabbert, the Big 12 North’s most experienced QB.  And did someone say “shoot-out?”  It’ll be an old-fashioned shoot out as Houston and SMU will try to see who can score 50 first before 60 minutes is up.

Week Nine

Must See:
Missouri at Nebraska Saturday 10/30 TBA
Florida vs Georgia Saturday 10/30 2:30PM CT
Oregon at USC Saturday 10/30 7PM CT

You think Mizzou felt left out of all the Big Ten move talk when Nebraska actually is moving and the Tigers were left standing still and almost had no conference to play for?  It’ll be one last hurrah between these two for the Big 12 North title if both end up toward the top of the division by this time.  If Georgia gets back on track this season, this Outdoor Cocktail Party could be a big one.  Even with the probation USC could still win the Pac-10 title, so this game with Oregon could be for that title.

Week Ten

Must See:
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech Thursday 11/4 6:30PM CT
Oklahoma at Texas A&M Saturday 11/6 TBA
Alabama at LSU Saturday 11/6 7PM CT

Control for the Coastal Division of the ACC could be at stake as the Paul Johnson option at GT will be in full effect while QB Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies will try to Beamer-ball it up.  The Sooners toughest road test will be against A&M’s Johnson.  If the Aggies are the dark-horse in the Big 12 South, they will need to put up a fight against OU.  LSU coach Les Miles will possibly be on the hot seat by this matchup against the Crimson Tide.

Week Eleven

Must See:
Kansas at Nebraska Saturday 11/13 TBA
Cincinnati at West Virginia Saturday 11/13 TBA
Penn State at Ohio State Saturday 11/13 TBA

New Kansas coach and Nebraska legend Turner Gill will take on his old team for the first and probably only time since the Cornhuskers will be heading to Big Ten land.  The last three Cincinnati-West Virginia games have been decided by five points or less.  The two most dominate teams in the Big Ten in the last few years will get to meet to decide the conference (maybe) when the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes.

Week Twelve

Must See:
Virginia Tech at Miami (FL) Saturday 11/20 TBA
Pittsburgh at South Florida Saturday 11/20 TBA
USC at Oregon State Saturday 11/20 7PM CT

Miami was supposed to be dominant team in the division out of the two when both defected from the Big East, but Virginia Tech has been the team owning the conference (2 conference crowns and another appearance in the conference championship game).  The ACC Coastal Division is up for grabs with a possible deciding game.  The Big East race could be tight by the time Pittsburgh makes the trip to South Florida.  Although the Bulls have had solid seasons the past 4-5 years, they seem to break down the second half of the season (2-3 in the last 5 games the last two years).  USC returns to the Beavertown, a place where the Trojans have had trouble with and lost the last couple times they have been there.  In a wide-open Pac-10 this year, this could be Oregon State’s opportunity to take control.

Week Thirteen

Must See:
Texas A&M at Texas Thursday 11/25 7PM CT
West Virginia at Pittsburgh Friday 11/26 TBA
Colorado at Nebraska Friday 11/26 2:30PM CT
LSU at Arkansas Saturday 11/27 TBA
Michigan at Ohio State Saturday 11/27 TBA
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State Saturday 11/27 TBA
Florida at Florida State Saturday 11/27 TBA
BYU at Utah Saturday 11/27 2:30PM CT
Notre Dame at USC Saturday 11/27 7PM CT

Thanksgiving weekend always features the rivalry spotlight.  Texas A&M and Texas will try to have a sequel to the shootout they had last season.  The Backyard Brawl recently has had Pitt as the underdog, but the Mountaineers could be the underdog in this matchup.  The two teams leaving the Big 12 meet for perhaps the final time as Colorado visits Nebraska.  SEC Western Division championship on the line or at least second place?  LSU will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to decide.  The Michigan-Ohio State game should be entertaining, but I’m still not convinced that Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez will be around after this year.  The Bedlam Game will always be entertaining.  The last time Oklahoma was in Stillwater, former OU QB Sam Bradford showed his acrobatics on the way to the Heisman Trophy.  Will Florida State be able to make it a game against Florida now that Tim Tebow is gone?  Will this be the last year of the Holy War, as BYU watches it’s in-state rival Utah leave for the Pac-10?  And finally will Kelly bring the Irish to the promise-land and do something that Notre Dame hasn’t done in almost a decade and beat USC?

Week Fourteen

Must See:
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati Saturday 12/4 TBA
Oregon at Oregon State Saturday 12/4 TBA
SEC Championship Game Saturday 12/4 TBA
Big 12 Championship Game Saturday 12/4 TBA

How good was that Pitt-Cincy game last year?  Pitt had a 31-10 lead at half and the Bearcats made a monumental comeback culminating in a missed extra point by the Panthers with 1:36 left and Cincinnati scoring with :33 seconds left.  The Civil War last year was basically a de facto Pac-10 Championship game and the way the Pac-10 is this season that could be the case again.  The SEC championship game could feature two new competitors this year…or it could be Florida and Alabama again for the third time in a row.  And could this be the last Big 12 Championship ever?  Will it be a rematch of Texas and Nebraska?  Could it be the last ever (at least for a long while) Oklahoma-Nebraska game?  Or can teams like Texas A&M and Missouri make it to the Cowboys Stadium jumbotron?

Week Fifteen

Must See:
Army vs Navy Saturday 12/11 1:30PM CT

One of the oldest and most tradition-filled rivalries in all of sports, the Army-Navy game was moved to its own weekend (making it the only college game on that weekend, kind of cool).  Since my dad was in the Army for 22 years I grew up watching this game.  Army has been on a slide the last decade against Navy, but Army coach Rich Ellerson have the Black Knights on the right track.  Go Army!

In two weeks, I’ll conclude my college football preview with Part Thrice – the Meat Five Predictions for 2010.  That doesn’t mean I won’t have any entries in the meantime.  So look out in the next few days!

themeatlife.blogspot.com

More Hot Links

Another dose of Hot Links!  Here's what I've been spending my time reading instead of doing actual work! (Okay maybe between actual work.)


Tech Stuff

-Got a question?  Ask Facebook Questions

-In August the new Amazon Kindle will be $139

-Apparently Verizon data users consume more than AT&T/iPhone users

-Blackberry to come out with new "Blackpad" to compete with iPad.

-And now jailbreaking is legit...just don't expect Apple to honor your warranty.

-If I ever wanted to buy my own domain, I would probably need to change my blog name.  Take a look at themeatlife.com ...not bad.  Maybe I'll start a poll on what my new blog name should be?  I don't even know what I would change it to.  I need to start thinking of some other names if I want to get my own dot com.  The only reason I'm thinking about this is because my wife is starting her own hair bow business online.  I'll give you the link once it's up.


Sports

-Since I neglected to mention Florida State's Christian Ponder in my discussion of college football players to watch (as pointed out by my brother), here is the site that FSU is pushing for his Heisman campaign (courtesy of Old Hat Creative, my brother's previous employer).  If the whole football quarterbacking thing doesn't work, the dude already has his MBA!

-Sports Illustrated has a list of the 25 Most Hated Teams of All-Time.  Yes there is a Pistons team on there, a Yankees team on there, and yes a few teams from Miami.  Bet you can't guess who one of those teams is!

-The Pac-10 is going to change it's name to the Pac-12 next season when they welcome Utah and Colorado to the conference.  They even changed their logo.


Entertain me!

-One of the founders of MTV says the music video is still relevant...among other things.

-More on Inception, this time the real science behind dreams.


And a bonus link for you Tulsans, the Golden Driller is on Time's list for Top 50 American Roadside Attractions.  Nice!


Okay, next entry we'll have Part Deuce of the Meat Life College Football Preview!


themeatlife.blogspot.com

the Meat Life: College Football Preview --- Part One

Who to Watch For

It’s that time of the year again folks!  College football is almost here and I am excited.  This will be the third year I’ll be doing a preview before the season begins.  Each year it’s been bigger and bigger.  For those of you reading my preview for the first time, be aware I AM NOT an expert.  I’m just a very enthusiast fan how likes to keep up with football.

This preview will consist of three parts.  This first part we’ll take a look at who to watch for…meaning who you need to keep up with.  Some of the players I’ll profile on here will be on Heisman watch.  Others will just be players who are fun to watch. 

Here are ten players who are ready to dominate.  It’s not quite the time to start handing them post-season awards since there is a lot of football left to be played, but they will definitely be in the hunt for them.  Eyes will already be on defending Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, the junior running back from Alabama, so I did not include him on this list.  The link on their name are the stat lines from last year (if applicable) courtesy of cfbstats.com.  In no particular order:

LaMichael James, RB, Sophomore, Oregon

With QB Jeremiah Masoli kicked off the team, it may mean more carries.  And that’s saying something in an already run-heavy spread option offensive scheme that saw James gain 1546 years rushing his freshman year.

Dion Lewis, RB, Sophomore, Pittsburgh

Probably the best rusher in the country (outgained Heisman Ingram by about 140 yards last season), Coach Dave Wannstedt will rely heavily on Lewis as they break in a new QB.  Dynamic runner with a great combination of speed and power, Lewis will be a treat to watch.

Ryan Broyles, WR, Junior, Oklahoma

The most consistent performer on an under-performing offense last year, Broyles will continue to lead this receiving corp.  Shifty and deadly fast, Broyles is also an accomplished kick-returner.  Even with defenses keyed on him last year and missing the better part of three games, Broyles still managed 15 TD grabs.

Jared Crick, DT, Junior, Nebraska

The post-Suh era begins for this defense, as Suh’s right hand man takes the reigns as the anchor of this Bo Pelini defense.  Look for Crick to disrupt the interior line of opponents, although now he will have to do it fighting more double-teams.  Crick and Nebraska will look to leave the Big 12 on a high note.

Ryan Mallett, QB, Junior, Arkansas

Probably the best pro prospect at QB this year, Mallett is looking to build on his 3624 yard/30 TD passing from a season ago.  Big arm in the Bobby Petrino offense, Mallett will also try to lead his team through the difficult SEC West that includes the defending national champion Alabama.

Rahim Moore, FS, Junior, UCLA

On a lackluster year for UCLA, Moore led his team in pass breakups (7) and led the country in interceptions (10).  In the seemingly wide-open Pac 10 this year, Moore looks to do much of the same as UCLA will try to take advantage of the recent USC sanctions.

Terrelle Pryor, QB, Junior, Ohio State

There has always been hype around Pryor, and this season is no exception.  Pryor will try to build off of his stellar Rose Bowl performance, but he will need to be more consistent passing (5-13 performance against Wisconsin won’t cut it).

Mark Herzlich, LB, Senior, Boston College

A great story here.  Herzlich was ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, then diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in May 2009.  The team and fans rallied around him as he was treated and was declared cancer free by October.  If fully recovered, he will be a force on defense and an inspiration to all affected by cancer around the country.

Jerrod Johnson, QB, Senior, Texas A&M

The Big 12’s best returning QB.  The A&M offense was running on all cylinders last season, and there is little reason to doubt this year will be the same.  Johnson (3579 yards/30 TDs in 2009) will try to lead the dark horse to win the Big 12, as many perceive this year may be their best chance in a while to overtake OU and Texas.  A&M’s defense must improve for any of this hype to be fulfilled.

Jake Locker, QB, Senior, Washington

We’ll see how far Locker has come as this will be his second season under Steve Sarkisian.  Sarkisian’s history at USC tutoring Carson Palmer and Mark Sanchez certainly point to good things for Locker, who was already proficient and well respected before his head coach’s arrival.

The second and third parts will come in the next couple of weeks.  Part II?  What to Watch For…the best matchups scheduled this year.  Something to digest during the weeks your favorite team will be playing Creampuff University.

The countdown to college football will continue on!

themeatlife.blogspot.com

Hot Links

New segment!

I know I said next entry will be the Meat Life College Football Preview, so consider this kind of like a pop quiz...only less stressful.  Hot Links! (Get it?  Meat...Links...okay I'll stop now)


We'll start with the big dog in film right now, Inception:

-Here's a great explanation of the Five "Levels" of Inception.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS so if you haven't seen the movie yet, do NOT read these.

-The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about the critics' reviews of the movie.


And in the world of music:

-Someone at CNN must have read the Meat Life.  Haha, jk.

-Time Magazine's Newsfeed complied a list of the Top Ten Worst Summer Songs.  I, a fan of countdowns, had to look at it and give my two cents.  If you don't want to click on the link I'm actually going to outline it right now (I know what's the point of having an entry with links and then basically give the link away).

Here is the list in no particular order ---
Katy Perry - "California Gurls"
LFO - "Summer Girls"
Nelly - "Hot in Herre"
Bryan Adams - "Summer of '69"
Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"
Fergie - "London Bridge"
Vitamin C - "Graduation (Friends Forever)"
The Knack - "My Sharona"
Sheryl Crow - "All I Wanna Do"
Jeremih - "Birthday Sex"

Okay here is my analysis about this list.  First, I'm not even sure if all these even came out during the summer.  Second, "Summer of '69" is an awesome song.  I don't care that Adams was only ten years old back in 1969, that's not the point.  Third, where the hell did Vitamin C go?  I guess she was a one album wonder, with that song and "Smile" being the only relevant hits of hers.  Fourth, I know that LFO song's lyrics are questionable at best, but that's what I like about pop music.  It doesn't have to make sense.  You think any of Oasis's or Bush's song lyrics made any sense?  Damn, I just compared LFO to Oasis...I should really stop there.  And my final point..."Birthday Sex?"  Really?  Is that what R&B/Pop has come to?

---Sidetrack---
Yes, I'll admit it.  I like pop music.  Not as much as I like songs with grinding rock guitars or rappers spitting their flows, but I like it nonetheless.  It's a part of the culture we live in today whether it's crap or not.  Crap being borrow or unoriginal...but how many original ideas are there REALLY in music?  Some of it is crap, but some of that crap I like to sing along to.  There is nothing more fun (or funny depending on how you look at it) than rolling down I-44 jamming out to Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance."  Anyway...
---End of Sidetrack---



Sports!

-Here is the unedited version of the Nebraska Football video telling fans to "Wear Red, Be Loud, Beat Texas."  That "Beat Texas" tag was later removed.  As a Sooner fan I say, too bad.  I would have kept it there.

-Speaking of Nebraska, here's the awesome new Dick's Sporting Goods commercial featuring none other than Ndamukong Suh.

-And touching on what I wrote about a couple weeks ago, apparently the ESPN Ombudsman thinks his network was over the line with "The Decision" broadcast.

-And look who the richest athletes are.


And finally, tech stuff:

-I guess Steve Jobs is giving iPhone 4 users free cases (for a limited time).  Should I get my wife one for our anniversary then?

-If Jobs wasn't fed up already, I wonder how he felt when a Microsoft exec called iPhone 4 "Apple's Vista."

-Happy 500 (million users) Facebook!  I remember in the fall of 2005 when a girl in one of my classes asked me "hey, can you join this thing and be my friend on it?"  Coming fresh off of the Friendster craze, I was reluctant to join one of these new-fangled social networks.  But I thought, hey it's college.  So I responded "sure, what's it called?"  "thefacebook.com.  It's going to be cool."  Little did I know in less than five years it would be the most visited site in the world.

-Oh, and for you 80s kids, check this one out.


Aight folks, see you next entry!

themeatlife.blogspot.com

Meat at the Movies: Inception Review

Summer movies.  Back in the day, I used to be at the theaters every weekend for opening night.  Harkin Cinemas in Bricktown used to be my second summer home.  These days I catch about two or three films at the actual theater, while catching up with some of the others later.  This year so far I have seen Toy Story 3 and Inception.  I’ll probably post my review for Toy Story 3 in a couple weeks.  Today I’ll cover Inception.  And don’t worry, this is a SPOILER FREE ZONE.

Two years after the successful The Dark Knight Batman sequel is released, director Christopher Nolan follows up with the highly anticipated Inception.  Fans of Nolan outside of the rebooted Batman series will recognize the skill and style of Nolan, with mind-bender and discussion-inducing films like Memento and The Prestige.  And for those who enjoyed those flix, Inception is in that sort of vein as well.

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, the leader of a team of “extractors,” thieves-for-hire who steal ideas from people’s minds when they are in a dream-state.  Cobb and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) get hired by an energy corporate head named Saito (Ken Watanabe).  This time instead of taking an idea, Saito wants Cobb to plant an idea into a competitor’s head, a process called inception (thus the name of the movie, haha).  The energy competitor, Robert Fischer, Jr. (Cillian Murphy) will get taken on a wild ride of deception while Cobb and his team try to plant the idea of splitting up Fischer’s father’s company.

But before Cobb can get started on Fischer, he recruits his team to construct and deploy this dream world.  He brings along Eames (Tom Hardy), a long-time “counterfitter” with the ability to appear as someone else in these dream constructs.   Yusuf (Dileep Rao), an underground chemist, is taken in order to put Fischer in a prolonged sleep-state.  The final recruit, Ariadne (Ellen Page) is drafted to be the “architect,” someone who can create whole levels of the dream environment.  Some of the construct is developed as a labyrinth for people who populate the dream world, or “projections,” who end up in some cases as protectors of the subject’s self-conscious.  Cobb has problems dealing with a projection of his own while the team is inside Fischer’s subconscious, his dead wife Mal (Marion Cotillard).

Still keeping up?  It seems a bit complicated, and reading all of that beforehand can be a little intimidating.

But while this runs smarter than your average summer blockbuster, I found Inception pretty easy to follow with the way Nolan spends his time explaining the background and then executing the story.  The best part of the movie is the layers of the dream worlds they operate in.  At one point some characters are in a fourth level of the dreamscape (don’t worry, not a spoiler…and if you want to know what I meant by fourth level, I mean a dream in a dream in a dream inside another dream…and yes it is crazy, in a good way).  The special effects are typical Nolan, fantastic enough to keep you engaged, but realistic enough for you to believe plausible.  CG background fit in seamlessly with the live-action.  The action was actually a plus, although nothing really groundbreaking there.  But then again the action was never really meant to be.  And while you may read from some critics that it lacks emotion, I found enough in the story that made me feel attached at least to Cobb and Fischer’s characters (I say that and I'm not even a real big fan of DiCaprio's "auto-pilot" acting style).

I have to say that Inception is my favorite movie of the year so far.  I will say this, it is definitely not your typical popcorn summer movie.  Think of The Matrix meets Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.  Yeah, don’t expect to go to the theater and turn off your mind.  This film is probably not for everyone.  Like many Nolan films, this requires multiple viewings.  I remember watching The Prestige for the first time and loving it, but appreciating it more on the second and third times I viewed it to catch the subtle things throughout the film.  I’ve only seen this movie once, but I imagine it’ll be much the same.  And who knows, after another view or two we’ll see if I’ll have to change my rating.  I will definitely own the BluRay when this one comes out.  If you are interested, see this in the theater.

the Meat Life rating: 8.5/10

In August, I’ll have the Meat Life Summer Movies Review, looking back at flix like Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2, the big hits, the disappointments, and everything in between.

Next entry I will have to focus my attention to college football.  Yes, my friends, it’s the third annual Meat Life College Football Preview!

themeatlife.blogspot.com