Review: Avatar

Avatar

Dir. James Cameron (2009)

*****

It's been almost a week since I went to see Avatar; I think by now I've got the movie mostly digested and my thoughts ready to share. Now where, oh where do I start in attempting to review this movie that is unlike anything we've seen on a cinema screen before?

First, I should say that if you have not yet had the experience of seeing a movie in 3-D, it is definitely something worth dishing out a few extra bucks to try out. 3-D cinema has come a long way over the past few years. It's no longer gimmicky but instead is now used to make some really great visuals. I'm not so sure 3-D is really "the future" of movies; I don't think it's appropriate for about 3/4 of the movies out there, but Avatar is certainly one of the films that benefits from this technology. Right at the opening shot, you can really see the way 3-D enhances the picture. The third dimension becomes more subtle as we transition from the world of the humans to the world of the Na'vi, but maybe this is all for the better. With all the action going on, we don't want our eyes to start getting sore.

Now, 3-D or not, the visuals and the special effects used to create them are obviously the centerpiece of Avatar. I do appreciate all of the work and money invested into the visual aspect of the movie, and it's clear that there was a lot of attention to detail in creating the jungle world of Pandora. The graphics look about as realistic as they can get given today's technology, but I specifically use the word "graphics" because the movie does still look and feel like a video game. I give credit to the makers of Avatar for using special effects with purpose and rarely inserting the effects gratuitously - this was a relief considering the billions of dollars Hollywood invests into pointless effects when the money could instead be used to feed entire nations. Sadly, not even the most convincing computer graphics in the world can redeem a film that is so inherently weak.

The majority of those who have seen Avatar will hate the rating I give this movie (at the bottom of the review, you can peek), and I'm still trying to figure out if people love this movie despite the plot or because of the plot. Anyway, I will stand by all the opinions about the weaknesses of this film but am always open for discussion. Avatar's plot fails for two reasons: the story is far from engaging, and the world James Cameron creates is uninteresting.

After the impressive graphics, the next thing that stood out to me was how boring the film was. The story had tons of potential but the writing was poor. Are we supposed to care about any of the characters? I didn't find the protagonist Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) interesting at all, and while it's clear that the humans are supposed to be the villains, the Na'vi aren't quite creatures that we can identify with - at least not for the first two hours of the movie. The blue humanoids seem alien and even hostile for much of the film. If none of the characters are interesting, then why should we care about what happens to them?

The first two hours of Avatar are essentially worthless in terms of plot, and perhaps the moment the humans finally issue their ultimatum to the Na'vi might have been a better starting point for the story. The fact that Jake in his human-Na'vi hybrid avatar form must choose between allying with his own human species or with the Na'vi that he's grown to love and respect suddenly makes things interesting. At this point, there would have been potential for a great story, but instead we get a lengthy battle scene. While the war is unique and visually exciting, it is a huge step back from what we're used to - for example, The Lord of the Rings. At the same time, it's pretty ridiculous and hard to believe. Shooting down planes using bows and arrows? That's new.

A mediocre story can be forgivable in fantasy epics, and many of the great films we love have plots that aren't exactly their strong points. But in these cases, the world and the lore created in the movie are far more important than the plot which can perhaps be simplistic (Star Wars), utterly convoluted (Lord of the Rings), or poorly written (Harry Potter). The problem with Avatar is that the world of the Na'vi is equally as boring as the film's plot. There is hardly anything about the world that James Cameron creates that makes me want to purchase Avatar action figures or read fan-fiction spin-offs. With George Lucas's Star Wars world, on the other hand, I will be one of the first to admit that even at this age, a Darth Vader action figure would still be cool.

Avatar is one of the most hyped movies of the year - and rightly so - because of its visuals. I will not hesitate to say that the visuals are impressive and enhance this particular picture, but to call them beautiful might be a little bit of a stretch. Will Avatar mark the dawn of a new era in the special effects business? Arguably. A new era in the moviemaking business? I hope not.

*****

My Rating: C+

My Top 100 Movies: #90 - #81

#90

The Red Shoes

Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (1948)

When I saw this I was shocked to find out that it was made all the way back in 1948, because it was really ahead of its time. It is one of the later films in the collaboration of the highly-inventive "Archers," Powell and Pressburger, and arguably their masterpiece. The film is nothing short of insane - especially since it's about something as graceful and delicate as ballet. Highlighting the middle of this visually stunning movie is a truly ingenious and creative segment that combines ballet with filmic elements. A great character study then breaks into one of the craziest endings of all time. A must see.

*****

#89

Carrie

Dir. Brian De Palma (1976)

Staying on the topic of insane movies, we go to an adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie by one of the craziest directors out there in Brian De Palma, who is most famous for his version of Scarface. After a girl who is constantly picked on discovers that she has telekinetic powers... well, you can imagine that's not the ideal combination of circumstances. The whole movie is great, but one scene in particular is worth your hour and a half. In a scene that's been parodied time and time again, a bloodied Carrie unleashes hell at her school's prom, causing a fiery massacre. Crazy!

*****

#88

Abre Los Ojos

Dir. Alejandro Amenábar (1997)

And at #88, yet another crazy movie! If you remember Vanilla Sky from a few years back, well this is the movie Vanilla Sky was based off of, and both movies actually have Penélope Cruz playing the same role, though of course in different languages. This movie is the very definition of psychological thriller. The main character César is essentially stuck between real life and dreaming and brings up some interesting questions. Definitely one of my favorite movies from recent years (let's say post-1995), and one of the movies contributing to the rise of elite-quality Spanish-language film in the past 15 years.

*****

#87

Red River

Dir. Howard Hawks (1948)

A bad ending can completely ruin an otherwise great movie (for me, Donnie Darko was an example of this - disagree all you want). However, in the Western genre where the endings are predictable anyway (i.e. the hero wins in a shootout), a bad ending is forgivable. In this case, John Wayne - a heroic American icon - actually plays the villain, and it's understandable why Hollywood would not want him to die in a shootout; instead, the characters inexplicably decide to just become friends in the end. It's the fact that John Wayne is the bad guy that makes this movie so good though, as his complex character here and his similar role in The Searchers are two of the greatest performances of all time.

*****

#86

The Battleship Potemkin

Dir. Sergei Eisenstein (1925)

The Battleship Potemkin is one of the most influential movies of all time, and if I were weighing historical influence more in these rankings, it would be much, much higher. It is still a great movie though and is largely responsible for defining the cinematic language as we know it today. The director Eisenstein was a pioneer in "montage," which is the juxtaposition of otherwise unrelated film shots to convey a message. In this case, he uses montage to show the horrible conditions in Russia at the time, and the film climaxes in a famous depiction of the massacre at the Odessa Staircase - a scene that has been remade countless times by movies such as The Untouchables, The Godfather, and even Star Wars Episode III. Eisenstein's ultimate goal was to create a propaganda film that would incite the masses to overthrow the Tsarist regime, and if you recall from your history books, I'd say this was pretty successful.

*****

#85

No Country for Old Men

Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen (2007)

While No Country is not as "Coen-esque" as the usual Coen Brothers fare (Fargo, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski), I think this is their best movie and am ready to call it a modern classic. There are several reasons it is the best movie I have seen in the past 5 years. The most obvious one is Javier Bardem's performance as one of the greatest villains of all time in Anton Chigurh. Everything about the character and the performance is perfect: Chigurh's unpredictability and unstoppability, Bardem's timing and stoic acting, and of course the hair. The other huge reason this movie is so good is the directing. The movie is masterfully suspenseful (the convenience store scene and the hotel scene are awesome), and can be compared to Hitchcock. That is a huge compliment.

*****

#84

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Dir. Woody Allen (1985)

While Woody Allen is most famous for his unique, quirky style of comedy, I think his biggest strength is in the way he portrays romance. Accordingly, my two favorite movies of his are Annie Hall and this, which is one of his few non-comedies. The premise is great: a movie character falls in love with a woman who watches his movie all the time and steps out of the screen to meet her. He is stuck in his idealistic movie character mentality, though, and is also constantly being pressured to go back into the movie world where he supposedly belongs. Interestingly, I do feel that most "romance" movies feel really fake and thus I am not a fan of the genre - but while the premise for this movie is far from realistic, the emotions seem genuine and can make this touching for even those too proud in their masculinity to admit it.

*****

#83

Dog Day Afternoon

Dir. Sidney Lumet (1975)

The first half of Dog Day Afternoon is so good that if only the second half were better this movie would probably make my top 20. A bank robbery goes incredibly wrong and the thieves have to deal with some ridiculous situations, for example having to order pizza for their hostages. Eventually the robbers become celebrities, which leads to a really weird twist that sets up the movie's merely above-average second half, which I will not get into. Still, the first half is loads of fun and so many levels of ridiculous, and it alone is so great that it makes the whole film much more than worth watching.

*****

#82

Moulin Rouge!

Dir. Baz Luhrmann (2001)

I can see Moulin Rouge as kind of a love-it-or-hate-it movie, and obviously because it makes this list, I am one of those who love it. The music is great; I like the arrangements of some great pop hits and the way they were incorporated into the movie, and the singing, which is done by the actors themselves, is superb. As for the plot, it is a creative and seamless combination of plots from three of the greatest operas of all time in Puccini's La Bohème, Verdi's La Traviata, and Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. Top that off with the quirkiness and "bounciness" that we've come to expect from Baz Luhrmann (whose modern adaptation Romeo + Juliet is also great), and we've got a great, fun movie with great music.

*****

#81

Woodstock

Dir. Michael Wadleigh (1970)

While I like classic rock, I am not the biggest fan in the world of the genre. However, when combined with some great editing (a little piece of trivia: a young Martin Scorsese was one of the editors), all of a sudden the music becomes five times as interesting to me. Technically this is a documentary about the famous concert, but it is more significant for essentially being the birth of the "concert film." It features some immortal performances, probably the most famous of which is Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and if you're ever looking for something to do for four hours, watching the director's cut of Woodstock is one of the best things you can do with that time.

*****

For the complete Top 100 list, click here.

Movies #100 - #91 here.

TUF 10 Finale Commentary + UFC 107 Predictions

Saturday night's finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights has already been much discussed due to a controversial ending to the Hamill - Jones fight and the surprisingly boring match between Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander. Here is a recap and some of my thoughts on the televised fights:

*****

Mark Bocek vs. Joe Brammer

I was rooting for Bocek in this prelim that they aired between main event fights based solely off the fact that Brammer had his last name tattooed obnoxiously on his abdomen. Anyway, there's not much to mention other than some solid jiu-jitsu from Bocek in going straight from a slam to hooking in from the back. Bocek wins the Submission of the Night award as he eventually secures the rear naked choke while hooked on to a standing Brammer.

Bocek defeats Brammer by submission (rear naked choke, Round 1, 3:36)

*****

Darrill Schoonover vs. James McSweeney

This was another prelim that was eventually aired between two TUF contestants in Schoonover - whom you have to feel bad for as he constantly gets picked on by Rampage and is set to return to the Army after the event - and McSweeney - who was pretty much made out to be a jerk in the show. I didn't catch the whole fight but from what I saw, McSweeney was constantly beating up a very large-looking Schoonover. This surprised me, as McSweeney hardly had any cardio in his first fight on TUF, yet was able to deliver 2 1/2 solid rounds until eventually putting the fight away. I was also impressed with McSweeney's skill set beyond kickboxing - which we didn't really see on the show - as he got in some good knees and even swept Schoonover from side control. I can actually see a bit of a future in McSweeney, especially if the UFC builds him up as a heel.

McSweeney defeats Schoonover by TKO (strikes, Round 3, 3:20)

*****

Marcus "Big Baby" Jones vs. Matt Mitrione

I was pretty excited for this fight, most particularly to see fan-favorite Marcus Jones - who shed his old moniker "The Darkness" in favor of "Big Baby," which was pretty much forced upon him by his fellow TUF contestants. Jones, a jiu-jitsu specialist, was a heavy favorite going into the fight against the stamina-less but lanky Mitrione. Jones's weak standup game and chin had already been exploited by Brendan Schaub during the TUF semifinals, and it happened again here. At first, "Big Baby" was able to get a bunch easy takedowns on Mitrione, but Mitrione is impressive in being able to get back onto the feet. After a short while, it's clear that Jones is already gassing, as he is lowering his hands and raising his chin. While the first round probably goes to Jones, the advantage goes to the less tired Mitrione going into the second round, and indeed he knocks "Big Baby" out with a couple of counter punches just ten seconds in.

In all the post-fight interviews, Mitrione actually seems like a cool guy who was victimized by TUF's need to create good drama. They built him up as kind of a loser for the whole show, even giving him the nickname "Meathead," partially to hype up a possible but eventually non-existent return of Kimbo Slice. Mitrione seemed a lot more down to earth and actually really likable, giving a lot of respect to Marcus Jones and acknowledging that the show kind of gave him a bad rep that he doesn't deserve. I don't really see too much a future for either of these two fighters in the UFC, though I can definitely see them bringing both of them back - Marcus Jones back because he's a fan favorite, and Mitrione to see how he'll develop.

Mitrione defeats Jones by KO (punch, Round 2, 0:10)

*****

Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Veach

The fact that this won the Fight of the Night award is a testament to the overall quality of Saturday's fights - lots of good fights like this one, but no great ones. This wins the award because of the "comeback" victory by heavy favorite Frankie Edgar. Veach comes out strong and gets some huge takedowns, including a running slam reminiscent of Matt Hughes. By the middle of the round though, it's clear that he's starting to run out of fuel, while Edgar is still at 100%, so while Veach surprisingly wins the first round, it's clear that the longer this fight goes, the more the advantage goes to Edgar. As expected, Veach is not able to do much in the second round, and smaller Edgar is eventually able to stun him with a big punch and finish him with a perfectly-executed rear mount and choke.

Edgar defeats Veach by submission (rear naked choke, Round 2, 2:22)

*****

Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander

Wow, what a disappointing fight. Everyone basically expected a first round knockout, as both of these guys are known to be big hitters with no other real weapons. Houston Alexander is especially known for quick highlight-reel finishes, whether he is doing the finishing or the one being finished. Instead, both fighters really don't want to engage, and when they do, most of the time it's just a single punch or kick. The judges scores are particularly interesting and give some insight to the way these things are scored. I'm surprised the scoring hasn't been a huge topic of discussion, as I thought that Houston had won the fight, 29-28.

The first round was basically Houston Alexander circling around Kimbo a la Kalib Starnes, while Kimbo slowly stalked Houston and was equally hesitant to act. Houston was able to get in several leg kicks while Kimbo lands nearly nothing. Still, at least one judge gave the round to Kimbo, and I bet it's because of the very vague "octagon control" criterion, which gives Kimbo credit for staying in the center of the octagon instead of nervously running in circles. The second round had a little more action, and after Kimbo Slice makes a big throw, we are actually able to see the ground game - or lack thereof - of these two "warriors." By the end of the round, which easily goes to Kimbo, both fighters are pretty much out of energy.

Now the third round was close, and I could have seen it going either way. I gave it to Houston for kicking Kimbo's arthritic leg until it gave out. The only big thing Kimbo was able to do in the round was toss Alexander down and get into half-guard, but he wasn't really able to do anything, and I think the fact that it was probably this that gave Kimbo the round just shows how much American judges overemphasize takedowns in their scoring. I believe that scoring should be more based off of damage, with takedowns just being a useful tool in getting to an advantageous position to deal damage.

Eventually, Kimbo wins this disappointing "fight," but the fact that he won does nothing to legitimize him as a mixed martial artist. I'm not sure if there's anyone else left in the UFC that could make for a reasonable fight with Kimbo. You can be certain though that we'll be seeing him back on a main card sometime in the future just because he's Kimbo Slice.

Slice defeats Alexander by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

*****

Matt "The Hammer" Hamill vs. Jon "Bones" Jones

This fight was bound to be a heartbreaker as the UFC pitted two very likable guys in Matt Hamill and Jon Jones in the event's headliner. Jones is one of the top light heavyweight prospects in the UFC, and was unsurprisingly effective in giving the solid Matt Hamill a smackdown far worse than he's ever gotten before after using one of his trademark takedowns and getting into full mount. Jones eventually lost after two illegal elbows finished a beat-up Hamill and opened up a cut on his nose, leaving pools of blood in his eye sockets to make things even worse. Firstly, as Joe Rogan points out, the fact that the "12-to-6" elbow is illegal is already ridiculous in the first place. Secondly, while referee Steve Mazzagatti makes the right call in giving Jones a DQ loss due to the illegal blows, it was clear that the fight should have already been stopped far before that point, as Jones landed over 75 hits from mount on the head of Hamill, who could hardly do anything to defend himself. Interestingly, Dana White himself tweeted during a previous fight in the card that Mazzagatti is a horrible ref and he doesn't understand why the Nevada State Athletic Commission still uses him for these fights.

Anyway, Jones "wins" the fight but instead has a DQ loss on his record, which he handles very positively. He says he's glad he doesn't have to worry about maintaining a perfect record anymore. Perhaps from here, he will follow in the footsteps of Fedor Emelianenko and just start beasting everyone now that he has his one "loss." As for Hamill, you have to feel bad for him too, as it's tough to see such a likable guy get beaten up so badly. And there have been talks about a rematch, which should definitely not happen unless you really want Matt Hamill to have to get major reconstructive facial surgery.

Hamill defeats Jones by disqualification (illegal elbows, Round 1, 4:14)

*****

Roy "Big Country" Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

for The Ultimate Fighter title

I bet the whole world was rooting for the cool guy Brendan Schaub to pull the upset victory over the cocky Roy Nelson in the finals of TUF. I myself had a feeling that Schaub would be much improved between the end of the filming of the show in July and now. Nelson, on the other hand, is a veteran, and one can kind of assume that his game hasn't changed much. Indeed, Nelson's general strategy throughout TUF was simple enough: get the takedown and work towards side control, then use his enormous belly to pin them down into a crucifix and rain down weak but impossible-to-defend punches to the opponent's head until the referee stops the fight. Accordingly, I expected Schaub to win the fight as long as he could get out from underneath that big belly.

The beginning of the fight brought me a sigh of relief, as Schaub was indeed able to escape the belly of doom - which did not surprise me as Schaub trained for a long time specifically for this fight. However, the surprise ending came when Roy Nelson winded up and knocked out Schaub with a huge right to become the winner of TUF 10.

Actually, Roy Nelson did the same exact thing in that punch that Kimbo Slice did when he got knocked out by Seth Petruzelli by really telegraphing it with the huge windup. In Kimbo's case, Petruzelli read the technique and was able to land a big counterpunch, knocking Kimbo out cold. In this fight, Schaub looked like he had things under control when he timed a jab nicely to keep Nelson out of range. However, this jab missed, leaving the left side of Schaub's head wide open to eat Nelson's right fist. What Schaub should have done is countered with the right as Petruzelli did, which I think would have been the better option as landing that may have actually finished the fight in his favor, and even in the case of a miss, his left hand is still available to defend against Nelson's right.

In the post-fight interviews, Roy Nelson just confirms that he is the same guy that the footage of him in TUF made him out to be - a kind of cocky guy who tries to be funny but fails. I think he can actually make an impact in the heavyweight division, but I am confused as to why he was on TUF in the first place, as he should have been able to enter the UFC directly. I think this fight ended in the best possible way a Roy Nelson victory could end, and really helps his case when it comes to trying to become an exciting fighter. He should be marketable in the UFC for a while as a skilled fighter with a kind of villain role. Brendan Schaub, meanwhile, got schooled in this fight but is quickly developing and has the potential to work his way up in the heavyweight division.

Nelson defeats Schaub by KO (punch, Round 1, 3:25)

*****

Next Saturday, December 12 is UFC 107, which has one of the best cards in a while.

The main event is a lightweight title fight between champion B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez. I think B.J. should get the win pretty easily here, as he trumps Sanchez in just about every skill and seems to have improved his cardio. Sanchez, meanwhile, is just an all-around fighter who doesn't really have any weapons to defeat Penn, and the only realistic way I see that he can win this is just to survive until Penn wears down.

Prediction: B.J. Penn defeats Diego Sanchez by submission (rear naked choke, Round 3)

Also on the card are jiu-jitsu specialist Frank Mir against the athletic Cheick Kongo, who are both coming off of losses against top-level heavyweights. Cheick Kongo has always had a weak ground game and never has really improved it, while Frank Mir's striking has been improving. If Mir gets the fight to the ground, it's all over. On the feet Kongo has a slight advantage, but look for Mir to score the takedown or trap Kongo into his guard and get a victory by submission or TKO from mount.

Prediction: Frank Mir defeats Cheick Kongo by submission (armbar, Round 2)

Next up is the elite welterweight wrestler Jon Fitch, who instead of getting a rematch with Thiago Alves, gets wrestler Mike Pierce. Jon Fitch, although he is a top-level fighter, always delivers boring fights, and I feel that the only reason he is on the main card here is because Thiago Alves - a fellow elite welterweight and much more exciting fighter - was going to be his original opponent. Instead, the UFC is not doing much to try to make the fight exciting by putting him up against another wrestler. Expect a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 decision for Fitch and a very boring fight.

Prediction: Jon Fitch defeats Mike Pierce by unanimous decision

You can pencil in Fight of the Night when my two favorite lightweights Kenny Florian and Clay Guida (who are the fighters to most recently lose to the headliners Penn and Sanchez) go head to head. Florian is always improving and I believe had an honest shot at B.J. Penn but used a really horrible strategy. Instead, he will probably not get another chance at the title for a long time because the lightweight division is so deep. Clay Guida fights with a lot of heart and has a chin made of steel, and his fights are always exciting. I'm hoping to see this fight go the distance, as Clay has a tendency to get beaten up at first and then make incredible comebacks - but I can also see KenFlo cutting Clay up bad enough to force a stoppage or getting a tapout from rear naked choke.

Prediction: Kenny Florian defeats Clay Guida by unanimous decision

The final fight on the main card features the veteran power-hitter Paul Buentello against the extremely tall Stefan Struve, who is only 21 years old but has somehow already amassed an 18-3 record. This fight for me is hard to call, but I give Buentello the edge standing up and Struve and his deadly triangle chokes (7 of his 18 victories have come via triangle choke!) the advantage on the ground. I'm predicting that the fight will go to the ground, but Buentello will play it smart and be able to avoid the triangle choke and pound out Struve to get the early win - just like Denis Stojnic was almost able to do to Struve before Struve made an amazing comeback.

Prediction: Paul Buentello defeats Stefan Struve by TKO (strikes, Round 1)

President Obama National Address, 12/1/09

Tonight President Obama made what he deemed to be his first address intended for the whole nation, and although I am somewhat far from being an Obama supporter I was extremely impressed with what he had to say, which is why I felt that a recap of his speech and some of my reactions was worthy of a blog post.

The speech was on the ongoing war in Afghanistan and appropriately was given at West Point, in front of a whole lot of cadets who have fought in Iraq or Afghanistan or who may later go to the front lines.

The full transcript of the address can be found here, or you can find the 35-minute video somewhere on YouTube. Here's my recap:

*****

Obama starts off by justifying our presence in Afghanistan, claiming that it was not we who picked the fight, and that the entire world was united in the fight against terrorism until the Iraq war began creating rifts between the US and its allies.

"It's important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place. We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people... Just days after 9/11, Congress authorized the use of force against al Qaeda and those who harbored them -- an authorization that continues to this day. The vote in the Senate was 98 to nothing. The vote in the House was 420 to 1. For the first time in its history, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invoked Article 5 -- the commitment that says an attack on one member nation is an attack on all. And the United Nations Security Council endorsed the use of all necessary steps to respond to the 9/11 attacks. America, our allies and the world were acting as one to destroy al Qaeda's terrorist network and to protect our common security."

Obama then announces the withdrawal from Iraq of combat brigades by the end of summer and of all troops by 2011. However, he notes that meanwhile the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, claiming that amidst the reemergence of the Taliban and the harboring of terrorists in the Afghan caves and in parts of Pakistan "the status quo is not sustainable." Thus, Obama announces that the US will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in early 2010 until July 2011. He sets a specific number of troops and a set time period for financial reasons, saying that especially in our current financial state, we need to budget our resources. Towards the end of the speech, he estimates the cost for the war this year to be $30 billion, contrasting it with the $1 trillion already invested to date in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The bulk of Obama's central argument in the middle of the speech is organized in a nice bullet-point fashion that makes his objectives, justifications, and plans easy to follow:

• Main goal - Defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan to prevent them from threatening America and its allies.
• Objectives
1. Deny Al Qaeda a safe haven.
2. Deny Al Qaeda the ability to overthrow the government.
3. Strengthen Afghanistan's security forces and government.
• Plans to achieve objectives
1. Military strategy to fight the Taliban
• Troop surge to target Taliban insurgency and secure cities
• Train Afghan troops as quickly as possible so that US troops can transfer responsibility to them by July 2011.
2. Civilian strategy to strengthen government and security
• "The days of providing a blank check are over... We'll support Afghan ministries, governors, and local leaders that combat corruption and deliver for the people. We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable."
• "We have no interest in occupying your country... we will seek a partnership with Afghanistan grounded in mutual respect -- to isolate those who destroy; to strengthen those who build; to hasten the day when our troops will leave; and to forge a lasting friendship in which America is your partner, and never your patron."
  
3. Partnership with Pakistan
• "We're in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that country. But this same cancer has also taken root in the border region of Pakistan. That's why we need a strategy that works on both sides of the border... The Pakistani army has waged an offensive in Swat and South Waziristan. And there is no doubt that the United States and Pakistan share a common enemy."
• Commit to partnership with Pakistan during and after the war.
• Response to common concerns
1. Concern: Afghanistan is just another Vietnam.
• Response: Unlike Vietnam, we have 43 nations backing us, we're against a smaller number of enemies, and our enemy is still a direct threat to us.
2. Concern: We have no need for a troop buildup.
• Response: The status quo is unacceptable and may actually prolong the war and cost more because we need to be training the Afghan government and forces as soon as possible so that we can hand things over to them.
3. Concern: We shouldn't be setting a time frame.
• Response: We need the time frame to give a sense of urgency in ending this war. Additionally, this will help us budget our resources to avoid overspending.

The remainder of the speech is mostly the obligatory dose of inspirational speech that is appropriate for the end of such a serious address. My favorite quotation from the last segment:

"It's easy to forget that when this war began, we were united -- bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack, and by the determination to defend our homeland and the values we hold dear. I refuse to accept the notion that we cannot summon that unity again."

*****

An interesting response to the address is John McCain's, who claims that setting a timetable will merely cause the Taliban to go underground until the troop withdrawal. This may certainly be true, but I think if this turns out to be the case, we'd find out early on and be able to train the Afghan forces in the meantime anyway. The withdrawal within 18 months may still be reasonable.

Michael Moore also had an interesting though less respectable response, going so far as to label Obama the "New War President" and even drawing analogies between Obama and Bush on the main page of his website. In an open letter he wrote yesterday that is worth skimming through, Moore begs Obama not to order the troop surge. This letter of course does not make me view Michael Moore any more positively or negatively than I did before, though I am in a way refreshed to see that Moore is not so much a hardcore partisan (i.e. Democrat) as much as just a crazy guy with strong views and an ability to make people believe anything. I can't wait to hear what he has to say tomorrow!

As I've stated earlier, I am overall very impressed with Obama's speech and plan tonight. The address is already drawing fire from both the Democrats and Republicans, but largely that is just partisan politics at play. I have great respect at this time for President Obama for putting the partisan politics aside and standing ground with what he thinks is best for the country.

WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo Commentary

Sadly, this WEC event got popped right in between two UFC events and on a weekday. I missed the event but caught a replay of the main event, which was a featherweight title fight between the challenger Jose Aldo and the champion (and one of the top-ranked pound for pound fighters in the world) Mike Brown. As I expected, it was a great fight, which eventually ended in a TKO victory for Aldo in the 2nd round, and this (along with looking at his previous fights) leads me to believe that Aldo has what it takes to be compared to the likes of Silva, Fedor, GSP, Penn, etc. and be called one of MMA's top pound for pound fighters.

It was not exactly a horrible fight for Mike Brown, but Aldo basically outclassed him the whole way through. I've seen Aldo's four televised WEC fights and it's the same things that get him the win each time:

• Physical fitness: Aldo is really fast even for a featherweight and packs a lot of power in his strikes. You can really hear the impact of his kicks, and just from the look of his punching technique you can sense the power in them.
• Distance control: Lyoto Machida is famous for his ability to stay out of range of his opponent's strikes and sneak in for just enough time to land his own. Aldo does this too, but in a more controlled fashion, as Machida just seems to run back, while Aldo seems a lot more controlled about it. I honestly think Aldo's got one up on Machida in this one.
• Control and timing: Aldo's timing is impeccable! He seems to have this ability to time his knees right when his opponent is moving in, and accordingly, many of his opponents have eaten a huge hit to the face. Aldo's other strikes are also well controlled in their aim, distance, and timing, which I think is similar to Anderson Silva's style.
• Ability to adjust: I've found that fighters tend to overcommit to their attacks, which sometimes open up some vulnerabilities. But Aldo, on the other hand, seems to always be able to find the best offensive and defensive approach at all times, because his movements don't seem overcommitted. He has the ability to transition one of his movements into another one if he realizes that his original idea wasn't going to work, and because of that, he doesn't waste energy or open up too many weaknesses.
• Calmness: Aldo looks just about as chill as Fedor during his fights, and seems to spend the majority of the time in his fights inching slowly toward his opponent. His focus must be really intense, and especially now that he's the champion, this can be intimidating for his future opponents.
• Staying on the feet: Out of all of Aldo's WEC main card fights, this one with Mike Brown was the only one in which Aldo was even remotely close to being taken down. Those well-timed knees must already discourage his opponents from shooting, but in this case, Aldo demonstrated impeccable takedown defense, and indeed although they got clinched on a few occasions, Mike Brown - a great wrestler - wasn't even able to get all that close to taking Aldo down. And to top that off, Aldo is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so he knows what to do in case he does indeed end up on his back.

I think Aldo has to be tested on the ground before people start to hail him as one of MMA's top fighters, but who knows if anyone will ever be able to take him down. I also have no idea as to how strong his chin is, though by digging through his older fight videos maybe I can find something. I'm already on the bandwagon though regardless and am definitely excited for his next fight, especially if a UFC-WEC merger happens early next year as rumored. I think he's already proven himself by thoroughly outclassing one of MMA's best - which is different from, say, Brian Bowles beating Miguel Torres, which I thought was fairly even before Bowles KO'd Torres. And I'm not sure who the WEC will put against him next, but if it's someone like Urijah Faber, it should be another straightforward victory for Aldo.

Summary: Jose Aldo is THE BOMB.

UFC 106 is coming up quickly on Saturday, and it is definitely one of the best cards in a while, so I am excited, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to see the fights anytime before school resumes following Thanksgiving break.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto + UFC 105 Commentary

Last night was huge in fighting sports as we finally got to see the much-anticipated Pacquiao-Cotto fight, with the free UFC 105 competing against it. Pacquiao vs. Cotto was electric and UFC 105 was less so, though for a free card it was certainly no disappointment. I was able to catch the last 1 1/2 undercard bouts of the boxing event (which were boring) before watching the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, then watched the UFC event (which I taped) later that night. Interestingly enough, apparently it was the undercard of UFC 105 which delivered the better fights than the main card. They eventually aired two of these undercard fights during the televised coverage, and they delivered. Anyway, here is my commentary on the Pacquiao-Cotto fight and all the televised UFC 105 fights.

*****

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto

The big question coming into the fight was which would trump the other: Cotto's power or Pacquiao's speed. Well it turns out that not only did Pacquiao's speed seem to play a key role in this huge win, but also that Pacquiao did have the power to match up to a true welterweight.

Cotto was impressive in the first round and was actually speedier than I expected. Starting from the third, though, when Cotto got knocked down for the first time, the fight was pretty much a sealed deal. Pacquiao's ability to accurately connect from odd angles and his strategy during the fight were what I thought to be the biggest keys to his win. Cotto was mainly using his left hand, so most of his shots that were connecting weren't too powerful. Pacquiao spent a portion of each round just absorbing shots from Cotto with his gloves and body. Whenever Pacquiao found an opening, though, he exploded with a flurry, and this strategy is evident if you look at the statistics of the fight: Pacquiao landed almost twice as many strikes as Cotto, more than twice as many power shots, and was significantly more accurate.

In the end, Manny Pacquiao stops Cotto in the final round, though he was already significantly ahead in the scorecards. In my personal scorecard, I gave Cotto the 1st round 9-10, Manny the 4th round 10-8, and all of the other rounds to Manny 10-9. I give Cotto the extra point in the 3rd despite the knockdown because I thought he kept the round close. Cotto is a champion in his own right for fighting through the 11th and into the 12th round, as he was starting to get punished big time starting in the middle rounds. He definitely loses no respect for losing to someone who many now consider to be one of boxing's all time greats.

Pacquiao defeats Cotto by TKO (Round 12, 0:55)

*****

Andre Winner vs. Rolando Delgado

I am quite impressed with Andre Winner, who is making his UFC debut on the undercard of UFC 105 after finishing as runner-up in last year's Ultimate Fighter competition - although I'm not sure if they intended to challenge him by putting him against Rolando "Popsicle Stick" Delgado, who had a lowly record of 6-4-1. Though Delgado seemed to be holding his own for a while, his shots didn't really seem to be doing any damage, but with the physique that he has I am not surprised. Andre Winner's solid boxing, composure, and power came out victorious in the end after he connected with a huge overhand right that knocks the Popsicle Stick out cold.

Winner defeats Delgado by KO (Round 1, 3:22)

*****

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman

This short undercard fight eventually made it onto the TV broadcast as a replay. There is not much to say, as both fighters seemed to just be just flailing wildly at each other. Eventually it is Gustafsson who lands one of his shots on Hamman, knocking him down and making his mouthpiece go flying. After jumping in and landing some big blows, the fight is much more than in the books.

Gustafsson defeats Hamman by KO (Round 1, 0:41)

*****

Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley

The Ultimate Fighter's Season 9 lightweight champion Ross Pearson looked rock solid in his UFC debut against veteran Aaron Riley. The story of the fight is knees. Riley kept on falling into Pearson's muay thai clinch and consequently got punished by multiple knees to the body and face. Other aspects of Pearson's standup game were evidently solid too, but in the end the knees put it away. In the second round, Pearson connected with a flying knee that cuts Riley's nose wide open, leading to a doctor stoppage.

Pearson defeats Riley by TKO (doctor stoppage, Round 2, 4:34)

*****

James Wilks vs. Matt Brown

Now James Wilks makes his UFC debut after winning the welterweight competition of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9, and doesn't impress as much as Ross Pearson does. The first round is uneventful, as Wilks presses Brown up against the cage, apparently looking for a takedown. Brown is content with just defending himself and letting Wilks use his energy up. In the second round, the action heightens when Brown lands a perfectly timed flying knee to the face of Wilks, who is unsurprisingly going for a shoot. The round ends after some more cage-pressing, with Brown starting a triangle choke attempt.

In the third round, the fighters end up (surprise!) against the cage. Brown seems to be on the verge of having a kimura set up, but instead it is Wilks who gets the kimura set up on Brown. Brown's shoulder really looks in danger of being dislocated, but Brown is eventually able to roll out of the submission. Wilks is able to start twisting Brown's shoulder again, but each time he is unable to keep Brown from rolling out. Finally, Brown is able to roll conveniently into a full mount where he is able to finish Wilks off with uncontested punches.

Brown defeats Wilks by TKO (punches, Round 3, 2:26)

*****

Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang

This "Fight of the Night" made me sad, though I suppose I may be biased, because this fight must have been awesome for all the Michael Bisping fans out there. The first round was all Kang, who seemed to be calmly composed, and was able to drop Bisping with a punch and do some damage on the ground. Props go to Bisping in that round though, as he was able to scramble out of some pretty bad positions and minimize damage well.

The story changes in the second round, when Bisping is able to wrestle Kang to the ground and land some huge hits. This seems to really daze Kang, who also seems to be running out of gas. From then on, the fight wasn't even close, as Bisping takes Kang down at will with some really spectacular throws. At this point, Kang can hardly defend himself, and the fight lasts longer than I think it should have as Kang is taking a really hard beating and clearly is doing nothing more than just taking the shots uncontested.

Bisping defeats Kang by TKO (punches, Round 2, 4:24)

*****

Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy

I have little to say about this fight, which ended in a well-deserved decision victory for Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy. Swick looked incredibly lean and anyone who hasn't seen his previous fights may have trouble believing that he used to fight as a middleweight. This fight was basically a standup battle with its own share of clinching against the cage - of which we had no shortage during this event - though in these clinches Hardy was able to land some really good elbows. In the end, Hardy just outclassed Swick for the entirety of the fight, which I scored 30-27 for Hardy.

Hardy defeats Swick by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

*****

Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera

Randy Couture's strategy for the fight made it incredibly boring, but it was also the perfect plan for someone like him to beat someone like Brandon Vera. Basically, Couture's strategy seems to be to eliminate Vera's advantage in the standup (from his range and strong kicks) by staying in the clinch and playing his own game. Vera is also a great wrestler, but Couture sees wrestling as his best shot for winning.

The first round is incredibly uneventful, with Couture pressing Vera up against the cage for basically the entirety of the round, but I give the round to Couture for control. Second round is largely the same story, but Vera is able to land a good number of strikes, and so I give the round to him. The final round was the closest to being considered exciting, and it seems to be widely debated as to who won the round - many writers gave the round, and thus the fight to Vera. Couture opens with a great flurry and goes straight back to the clinch. Now Couture is doing some good dirty boxing, which along with the flurry I think gave him the round. After the referee splits up the two fighters yet again, Vera lands two hard kicks that take the wind out of Randy. Close to the end of the fight, Vera gets a takedown and mounts, but doesn't have enough time to do any real damage.

Many seem to give Vera the round for this late series of attacks, but I don't think it matches up to Couture's performance at the beginning and through the rest of the round. Attacks later in the round also naturally have more influence on how people score the round, but you have to consider everything that happened and not just who's on top in the end - especially in close fights like this. So anyway, I personally gave this fight to Couture, 29-28, in agreement with all the judges. It is kind of a disappointment, as Couture didn't really need the win to validate himself and didn't really prove anything with it, and Vera failed at both establishing himself as a top light heavyweight contender and addressing his status as a rather boring fighter.

Couture defeats Vera by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

*****

I am glad I saw the Pacquiao fight because it was great in comparison to UFC 105 - though you should never expect too much from a free UFC event. Who's next for Manny Pacquiao will be a hot subject for a while - and I along with the rest of the world hope it will be Floyd Mayweather. But one of the problems with boxing is that fighters - perhaps Mayweather - want to leave their record untarnished. This is different from the UFC, where top fighters are constantly against other top fighters, and can always redeem themselves after a loss by working their way back up the ladder. In boxing, this "ladder" doesn't really exist, as there are so few superstars and so many promotions.

As for the world of MMA, it has been an huge month, and the excitement will continue. After a solid Strikeforce event last week and a mediocre but free UFC event last night, the action will continue with two events in the upcoming week! First up on Wednesday, 11/18 is WEC 44, which mostly has un-noteworthy fights but ends with one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world Mike Brown as he tries to defend his 145 lb championship belt for the fourth time against the hard-hitter Jose Aldo, who has really been on a roll. This is the first real heavy hitter we'll see Mike Brown against since he came into the WEC and should be a really great fight, and after we saw Miguel Torres get handed by Brian Bowles not too long ago, who knows what can happen?

Then we can start off our Thanksgiving break with the absolutely stacked UFC 106, which was originally set to be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin before Lesnar had to pull out after falling ill with mono. Instead, the event is headlined with another great matchup - a rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin (who replaced an injured Mark Coleman in the lineup) after Ortiz's close and controversial split decision victory 3 1/2 years ago in UFC 59. The card also has what will be an electric battle between the quick and heavy hitters Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson, as well as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's debut in the UFC against Luiz Cane. Completing the main card is a bout between Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah, as he looks to bounce back from a recent quick TKO loss in UFC 101, and the always exciting Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni, as he reenters the UFC after nearly 4 years of fighting for other organizations - and a match between one of my favorite fighters in judo specialist Karo Parisyan and Dustin Hazelett.

My Top 100 Movies: #100 - #91

#100

Across the Universe

Dir. Julie Taymor (2007)

Across the Universe, a musical based on songs by The Beatles, slips into this list if not only for its creativity and originality. The plot is nothing marvelous, but what makes the movie special is that it packs 33 Beatles songs into a 133 minute movie. Because the plot is secondary to the music, this movie is a must for any Beatles fan, but still accessible to those unfamiliar with their music. The re-imaginations of the Beatles songs are musically great and original, and range from perplexing to truly brilliant visually. My favorite numbers: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Strawberry Fields Forever"

*****

#99

The Grapes of Wrath

Dir. John Ford (1940)

The screenshot on the left says it all. This classic from the great John Ford incorporates the visual grandeur of his famous westerns with the starkness of John Steinbeck's literary masterpiece. The film follows the Joad family as they head west upon losing their home, struggling to find a place unaffected by the Great Depression. Especially for its time, this film was as dark as it could get, though the ending is notable for replacing the depressing tone of the book's conclusion with a more hopeful. This positive tone in the ending was actually required by a U.S. movie production code at the time, but I think it works great in this case (it did not in many other movies).

*****

#98

Duck Soup

Dir. Leo McCarey (1933)

Admittedly, it took a while before I was able to follow the Marx Brothers' lightning-fast humor. Groucho is shooting one-liner after one-liner, but that is exactly one of the things that makes this movie so full of substance even though it is just over an hour long. Among the many great scenes is the famous "mirror scene," where Harpo, dressed as Groucho, mimics Groucho's movements exactly, pretending to be a Groucho's reflection in a mirror when in fact Groucho is just staring through a doorway. Add scenes like this to the context of a political farce, and you've got what many consider the Marx Brothers' finest film.

*****

#97

The Phantom of the Opera

Dir. Rupert Julian (1925)

I've already written about this silent classic in my "Horror Movies to Watch" series, and it makes the cut in my list of top 100 movies of any genre. This silent film masterpiece foreshadows much of what is to come in the horror genre, with the famous Dracula, Frankenstein, and King Kong. While these three movies are historically significant and a huge part of our culture, none of them are quite as good as the original Phantom, which has since been bastardized by Andrew Lloyd Webber into a horrible musical (albeit with great music). Already love old movies and looking to get into silents? This may be a good one to start off with.

*****

#96

Adam's Rib

Dir. George Cukor (1949)

In general I'm not too much a fan of the old screwball comedy genre, but this is an exception. Chemistry between characters is also something I don't care for too much, but again, this is an exception. The plot is rather simple - a husband is prosecuting a case with possible sexist undertones and his wife is the defending attorney. Needless to say, their arguments in court, which get increasingly crazy, translate to their interactions at home. In the end - well, I won't say who wins in the end - but until I saw this I never knew that two characters annoying the heck out of each other could be so likable.

*****

#95

Children of Men

Dir. Alfonso Cuarón (2006)

This movie has settled in enough for me to consider it one of the greats of all time. Alfonso Cuarón, already established as one of the prime directors of the great Mexican film movement today (and also director of the third Harry Potter movie!), creates an intriguing image of the future, which is neither paradise nor high-tech. Instead, society is a dirty dystopia where no children have been born for eighteen years. In addition to being visually stunning, Children of Men is filled with a unique type of action that I personally like better than, say, the Michael Bay type, and is infused with a dark atmosphere throughout that leads to a much-discussed ending that I think is great.

*****

#94

Natural Born Killers

Dir. Oliver Stone (1994)

There are way too many adjectives that can describe this controversial modern classic. Crazy, trippy, funny, creepy, ____? Anyway, it is tragic that this movie has inspired a series of copycat crimes because it is not a message to be taken seriously at all, especially judging from the tone of the film. In the movie, the characters Mickey and Mallory go on a killing spree and somehow go on to become glorified nationwide celebrities for it. Again, it's sad that this has led people to do some horrible things because this movie is loads of fun.

*****

#93

The Right Stuff

Dir. Philip Kaufman (1983)

Name a movie that has to do with NASA. Bet you named Apollo 13, right? Although that movie is good in its own regard, nothing compares to the epic-ness, intrigue, and excitement of the film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. The story revolves around the pilot Chuck Yeager (who was the first man to break the sound barrier) and the test pilots who eventually were selected for NASA's Mercury missions, culminating in the mission that launched an American (John Glenn) into space for the first time. There are not many three-hour movies that can keep you captivated for its entirety, but this is one of them.

*****

#92

Shane

Dir. George Stevens (1953)

The blueprint for this movie has since become a formula for making a western of any sort - a man with a gun walks into town. But Shane is set apart from other westerns in my opinion because it creates such a lovable hero in Shane and beautifully develops his relationship with the little boy Joey. Otherwise, this movie is filled with much of what you'd expect from a western - tons of tension between men with guns holstered at their sides, leading to the obligatory shootout. If you're unfamiliar with the western genre, there are many great ones out there, but this is one of the most accessible and lovable.

*****

#91

The Birth of a Nation

Dir. D.W. Griffith (1915)

It is such a shame that one of the greatest directors of all time - and probably the most influential one in terms of the development of film narrative and technique - did not realize how extremely racist this film was. In his recreation of the Civil War and Reconstruction, leading to the birth of the Ku Klux Klan, D.W. Griffith was glorifying a popular historical view of the time, and it wasn't until afterwards that he realized it was racist, leading him to make the film Intolerance, which shows the evil of intolerance (e.g. racism) throughout the ages. This film, regarded as the first feature length film, introduces many revolutionary filmic techniques, and if you can handle the racist undertones, it is surprisingly easy to digest for a three-hour long silent movie.

*****

For the complete Top 100 list, click here.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers Commentary

On Saturday night was the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers mixed martial arts event, which was on CBS and marks the first MMA event on network TV since the fall of the EliteXC promotion. I was away this weekend, so I taped the event and just watched it today. Overall, it was a great main card, with all of the four main card fights featuring fighters that are generally reasonably highly ranked within their weight classes. In the end, three of the four fights are what I'd classify as good, while the other one was what I (and seemingly the crowd at the event) thought was a major disappointment.

*****

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum

I'm really impressed with Fabricio Werdum in getting this win. In the first round it looked like he was going to get dominated, as he was clearly outplayed by a calm, scientific Silva. Werdum got rocked by some huge elbows and Silva was able to land really powerful punches on the grounded Werdum. Late in the round, Silva seemed to be getting a little tired - though he wasn't panting, he was letting his guard down, allowing Werdum to land a few solid strikes that foreshadowed the rest of the fight.

The second round started off with Silva knocking down Werdum with a big straight punch. However, instead of waiting for Werdum to have to stand up, Silva unwisely goes down to land a couple punches. This may have been the turning point of the fight, as Werdum landed a big knee and punch as the two were standing up. Most of the round involved a lot of pummeling from the Greco-Roman clinch that amounted to nothing, but finally Werdum was able to get Silva onto the ground. I'd have to say that for a hulk, Silva has impressive ground defense, being able to avoid damage from half-guard and having the mobility to escape once Werdum escaped into side control.

The third round was all Werdum. Silva definitely looked sluggish, and Werdum was able to perform a beautiful single leg takedown and land punches in big numbers. On the feet, Werdum was even able to use the muay thai specialist Silva's game against him and land some hard knees to the face. In the end, Werdum came out with a well-deserved victory in a fight that after the first round I thought he had little chance of winning.

Werdum defeats Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

*****

Gegard Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou

The moral of this fight is that even the most awesome judo throws won't get you anywhere if you can't be effective once taking the fight to the ground. Sokoudjou's strength in the fight seems to be his ability late in the first round and in the beginning of the second round to toss Mousasi and to reverse Mousasi's takedown attempts and establish a good top position. However, Mousasi's ground game is great and he is able to escape or roll Sokoudjou over and establish a top position of his own. And from the bottom, there's not much Sokoudjou can do.

In the beginning of the fight, Mousasi looked invincible, displaying a lot of speed and calmness. Sokoudjou looked as tense as anything and kept ducking his head when going in for strikes. I was waiting for him to get rocked by a well-timed uppercut. Indeed, Mousasi was eventually able to capitalize on this and send a flurry of punches Sokoudjou's way. Then Sokoudjou started going to his judo game, which as we know didn't turn out so well. In the end, Mousasi is able to get the TKO victory after a series of uncontested punches to a curled up Sokoudjou's head.

Mousasi defeats Sokoudjou by TKO (strikes, Round 2, 3:43)

*****

Jake Shields vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Jason Miller had the perfect game plan to defeat someone like Jake Shields and blew it. It seemed like he was convinced that he could finish the fight and not have to rely on winning individual rounds, but when you're against a good wrestler who can kill a lot of time off the clock by keeping you on your back, you can't rely on that. Anyway, Mayhem's plan was to conserve energy and explode once Shields tired out. Shields indeed seemed to start running out of gas, but Mayhem was just only attacking whenever Shields really made himself vulnerable. Most of Miller's attempts at exploding didn't last long and just ended up in a clinch, and his only shot at finishing the fight was a solid rear naked choke that came at a very bad time for him (at the very end of a round) as Shields was just able to wait the time out.

In my opinion, Miller really needed to start picking things up in round 3 (or even as early as the end of round 1) so that he could at least fall back on a decision victory, which I think he could have done. Instead, Shields is basically able to win the fight purely based on control, as in the typical Jake Shields style, his punches from the top position seem to do basically no damage to Miller.

Though Jake Shields just beat a quality opponent (well actually I think it's more Miller losing than Shields winning), I still don't think he can be considered a top fighter in either the middleweight and welterweight divisions. I think I've seen him as high as #2 on some welterweight rankings, which just puzzles me. He is an outstanding grappler and is basically able to pass guard at will. However, his striking, even by welterweight standards, is way below par and I think top fighters in both weight classes should be able to exploit this weakness. From looking at Shields's past fights, even his strikes from mount seem essentially harmless. It looks like he's not even trying to hurt his opponent - he's just trying to "score points!"

As a Mayhem Miller fan, I am truly disappointed in this fight - a fight I thought he could definitely have won, especially given his good groundwork skills. But in the end, Miller just wasted way too much time conserving energy and trying to pull a Muhammad Ali. I scored the fight 50-45 for Shields, but it seems like the judges were a bit nicer to Miller.

Shields defeats Miller by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

*****

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett "The Grim" Rogers

I think this is the most mortal I've ever seen Fedor be (even more so than his fights against Kazuyuki Fujita and Mark Hunt in Pride). Brett Rogers was using his range and sheer size early and I really thought he could seal the deal during the first round. Once he gassed out though, his chances all but disappeared. Fedor was throwing some wild punches, which are on one hand just part of his sambo style, but also in this case missing wildly in particular out of respect for Rogers's huge reach advantage.

By the end of the first round, Rogers was out of juice and was struggling to survive against someone he had been completely laying the smackdown on. And then in the second round, Fedor delivered an incredible hook that was lights out for Big Brett. This must be really disappointing for Rogers, who seemed to have a genuine chance at winning the fight on much more than a punch's chance. Instead he fell victim to Fedor's crushing punching power, and it was basically a single punch that caused his own demise. I'm sure Brett will begin to focus on his cardio, which was never really a problem for him as his previous fights were all quick finishes for him.

Meanwhile, Fedor upon winning has his usual look - one filled with an intense lack of emotion. Well it's a great thing for Strikeforce that Fedor won, otherwise it may have fallen under much like EliteXC did with the embarrassing defeat of Kimbo Slice. This leaves me wondering what's next for Fedor, as I don't think anyone in Strikeforce other than Rogers has any chance of defeating or even at least providing an entertaining fight against Fedor.

Emelianenko defeats Rogers by TKO (strikes, Round 2, 1:48)

*****

As much as I wanted to see Fedor lose (as a kind of karma thing for joining Strikeforce instead of UFC), I am more than satisfied with his fight against Rogers, and I'm glad I have the event taped so that I can save the video to re-watch, as this fight was exceptional. Particularly disappointing (once again) was the Shields vs. Miller championship fight, which was a mostly uneventful 25 minutes. I was waiting for Miller to just go crazy on Shields after his rope-a-dope tactics early on, but Shields was able to hold on to get a boring but deserved decision.

The next major Strikeforce event is Strikeforce: Evolution on December 19 and so far it doesn't have any huge names that would make me too excited to watch it. I think Strikeforce really went all out with this event to see if they can be successful on network TV, and we'll have to see what happens. In its current state, I don't think they have much left in the tank, but if they sign some more big games, perhaps they have a chance of starting some competition with the MMA behemoth promotion UFC.

Speaking of UFC, Dana White has graced us with UFC events both next Saturday and the one after that. First is UFC 105 on November 14. This event is competing with the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight, at least in the US. Actually, since UFC 105 is in Britain, they'll actually be done well before the Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas even begins, but as far as I know, the TV broadcast of the UFC event is at night. Probably because of two events competing for a similar audience, UFC 105 is free on Spike TV and doesn't feature as many big names as typical UFC events. Still, in the midst of a card that showcases British fighters, we have a fight between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy that will determine the next challenger for the welterweight title against GSP. Then, the main event is Randy Couture, who is looking to redeem himself after a tough loss against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in UFC 102, against Brandon Vera, who is facing his toughest challenge in several years.

Then on November 21 is UFC 106, which is just packed with great matchups. The main event was originally going to be a heavyweight title fight between Shane Carwin and champion Brock Lesnar that was basically guaranteed to be a thriller - until Lesnar came down ill, which means the fight will either be postponed or replaced with an interim title fight. Instead, the main event is a rematch between Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz, who won their first fight in a controversial split decision. Also, making his debut in the UFC is Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the other Nogueira's twin brother. The main card is completed with fights of some of the most exciting and some of my favorite fighters out there - Anthony Johnson, Phil Baroni, and Karo Parisyan.