"Oh, I haven't been on a college campus in years. Everything seems so different."
"Really? Perhaps if you laid on your back with your ankels behind your ears that would ring a few bells."
- Lois and Stewie in Story on Page 1
 

JD's NBA Playoffs Recap

Yes, I realize that no one else besides me watches the NBA anymore. But as the last remaining NBA fan, I feel it's my duty to keep you guys up to date on the playoffs.

Miami vs New Jersey

Anyone else remember all the hype about how VC and Richard Jefferson's return would push the Miami in the 1st round? Bullshit. The Nets had no, ZERO, chance of contending with Miami. First problem - who in the hell on Jersey can guard Shaq (even if he is only 70%)? Jason Collins?!? Second, even when they do double team “Batman”, Dwayne “Robin” Wade (32 pts in Game 1) and Damon “Alfred” Jones (30 pts, 7 3’s in Gm1) are killing them. FYI – Damon Jones (who?) led the NBA in 3pt FGs. Hell, Jersey can’t even guard Alonzo Mourning’s rotting corpse! He scored 21 last night. Miami shouldn’t lose a single game in the series.
This is poetic justice for Vince. He admittedly dogs it in Toronto, demands a trade, gets it and then leads his new team to the playoffs. Congratulations! You get Shaq in Round 1. I hate Vince.

Detroit vs Philly

Sorry JC, but this one isn’t worth discussing. Iverson, who’s having a career year, has no help. There’s a reason why last night’s game aired on NBA TV.

Bulls vs Wiz

It’s fun to have the Bulls and the United Center back in the playoffs. It takes me back to 1998. The future is bright for the Bulls. They’re winning without their two best big men, Deng AND Tyson Chandler. Heinrich and Ben Gordon are studs. Yes, I said “Heinrich”. The Bulls are a fun team to watch, second only to Phoenix. As much as like this Bulls team, I’m secretly cheering for the Wiz to win because the comedic potential of watching Brandon Haywood guard Shaq in Round 2 is off the scale.

Celtics vs Pacers

Good series so far. Boston should win this series easily but Indy is feisty and one can never count out Reggie Miller. 13 years later, it’s still entertaining to watch Reggie jump into defenders and kick out his leg to get foul calls. But Detroit will beat the winner like a red-headed stepchild, so the series has little significance.

Suns vs Grizzlies

Phoenix is clearly the most fun to watch. 120 points everytime they step on the court. Uptempo, fast paced, the way basketball was intended to be played. The only thing that worries me about them is they’re just as likely to give up 110 points. Defense wins championships. You can’t outscore everybody. Or can you?

Mavs vs Rockets

If you need one reason to watch this year's playoffs, it's Tracy McGrady. His performance in the 1st two games was a close to Jordan as any player since he retired in 98 (his stint with the Wizards never happened). I never believed T-Mac was capable of it because he may be the most self-absorbed player in the NBA (ok, behind Kobe). But he has stepped up his game this year. He still scoring but I love how he's making his teammates better (Yao's 30+ points were a direct result of T-Mac's passing), he's hustling (chasing down looses balls/diving on the floor) and he's become a defensive stopper (he is really bothering Dirk and Dirk's 5 inches taller). Oh and he had an awesome dunk on Shawn Bradley in Game 2! It was so bad that Bradley ducked out of the way. He's 7'6 for Gods sake!

Spurs vs Nuggets

As a Duncan fan, I was worried about this series from Day 1. Timmy is only playing at 75% on a bum ankle. Denver has only lost 4 games since the All-Star break. And Tony Parker is arriving at games with Eva Longoria (how can he possibly concentrate on a game with her on his arm!? I know I couldnt). Unless Tony Parker steps up in this series, it could be a sweep…. for the #7 seed. They played like shit in Game 1 but they'll be ok. There defense is too good. BTW - Nazr Muhammed played a monster game in Game 1 for Spurs, with 15 boards.

Sonics vs Kings

Who cares.

Golden Hen to Lay More Eggs

Why?
From Yahoo! News:

"Fret not, Force faithful, there is a new hope.

Jedi master George turned up over the weekend at Celebration III, a mega-gathering of 30,000 Star Wars geeks in Indianapolis, where he announced plans to move his space opera to the small screen.

For his first appearance at a Star Wars convention in 17 years, Lucas made a big splash. During a Q&A session, he announced that he is going to produce a 3-D animated action series expanding on the Cartoon Network's Emmy-winning Clone Wars. Then he dropped a bigger bomb, confirming a live-action Star Wars spinoff series is in the works.

Does that mean we'll get to see Darth Vader duking it out with the Donald on the next Apprentice?

Not quite.

According to Lucas, both shows will take place during the period between the end of Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars (aka Episode IV--A New Hope), when the Emperor became all-powerful and started hunting the Jedi down."

Anticlimatic? Countless episodes of the Emporer mowing down Jedi while Yoda hangs out alone in a swamp? Why not start an original story long after Return of the Jedi. I'll bet Lucas ends up making another trilogy (as per his original plan) before he retires the franchise. For a TV series he should've looked to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic = best original Star Wars story in years.

Agreed

As much as I hate to say it, Duke should run the table easily in the ACC next year. Maryland might surprise them again, and BC returns most of its team which had a strong start last year. Maybe Ga Tech will rise fromthe ashes of a disappointing year?

Also, I don't know if you guys have heard, but I'm moving back to North Carolina. Coach Williams offered me a full ride for grad school and I'll be starting at shooting guard for the Heels next year. Denard, I gave him your name for the power forward position since coach Williams accidently "misplaced" Byron Sanders on a recent trip to Mexico.

jc

Odds on Duke losses in 05-06

Unfortunately for the rest of the ACC, both Redick and SheWill have decided to return for their senior seasons. I personally think this means maybe 1 league loss (at Maryland?) and dominance on par with the '99 team. Hopefully this team will also choke, but next year's ACC is going to suck from a parity standpoint.

Cullen Film Review: House of Flying Daggers

Boring!

still waiting....

still need one more manager to start Fantasy Baseball; this means you Canas!

jc

Dammit

Sigh....

jc

Bye Bye Marvin

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2043604

Have fun next year. And we'll make sure to call Cullen and Denard after every loss (and there'll be plenty of them).

From Championship to NIT?!

Felton and May are going, and both are expected to sign with agents. Add to that McCants and maybe Marvin Williams, and you're looking at a VERY down year in Chapel Hill (and in the ACC in general).

If It's in the Game...

Big news from EA Sports about Madden 06 and NCAA Football 06. I admit that I was very worried that EA would become complacent after signing exclusive licensing deals with the NCAA and the NFL a few months ago. In other words, if you want a football game with the actual teams/schools/players, EA is your only choice. With its competition eliminated, what incentive does EA have to make significant improvements to its top games? Well, I was wrong (for now).

NCAA Football sounds like its going to be awesome. Check this article out. Apparently, the newest addition to 06 is “Race for the Heisman” mode. You start out as high school prospect who’s trying to impress college scouts. Based on your performance in the assigned drills and what position you choose to play at, schools will offer you scholarships or if you sucked, you can walk on. Basically, you play as the prospect in the game not as the coach. You get do all the things any other college athlete does - bitch about playing time, leave early to enter the draft. (No word on whether you can accept payments from boosters.) You have 4 years to get the Heisman, collect trophies and get on as many SI covers as you can. (No word on whether you can collect groupies too.) But word is, your girlfriend gets hotter as you become more famous.

While Madden 06 doesn’t appear to have very many cool new features (the ability to look off receivers doesn’t inspire me to rush to spend $50), the biggest improvement is supposedly the graphics. EA isn’t revealing much besides a few screenshots (see below), but they look amazing. There will be a 90 second ad for the new Madden during the 1st hour of Saturday’s NFL Draft.

JD

"Ron Mexico is in the house. Did everyone take their Valtrex?" 

"I got something for Donovan and it ain't Campbell's Soup." 

'99 Duke

The Blue Devils of 1998-99 are the only college team to have 4 lottery picks drafted in the same year. Brand, Avery, Maggette, and Langdon (yup...Langdon) were all selected in the lottery. The 1995-96 Tar Heels actually had 5 NBA players (obviously not all lottery): Jamison, Carter, Sh. Williams, Jeff McInnis, and everyone's favorite, Serge Zwikker (drafted by the Rockets with a second round pick). Nobody tops 1995-96 Kentucky though; they had a tremendous class: Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Marc Pope, and Walter McCarty were all drafted in the '96 draft (anybody know which one's were lottery?); later, Jeff Sheppard and Ron Mercer...i think Padgett was on that team too. Regardless, that is 6 or 7 guys on one squad that were NBA caliber. That's just sick.

Star Wars!!

Fandango is now selling advance tickets. I just bought some for the midnight showing in Nashville. Just wanted to let you guys know before they sell out.

Why I Love Bill Self

Self just landed Dwight Lewis, a 4th Team All-American, as a junior. He's 84th on Rivals, but will move up this summer as Parade rated him 6th in his class. Lewis is Self's 2nd recruit to commit to Kansas BEFORE setting foot on campus. This guy can flat out recruit, and once he gets his recruits in KU will be nasty. At least this helps ease the pain of Simien, Miles, Langford, and Lee going out early. I wish Prosser could recruit like this. We'd forget about Paul very quickly.

Simien has an outside chance at being a lottery pick, giving the 01-02 squad a chance at 4 lottery picks on its roster. Does anyone know which other teams have had at least 3 on a roster at one time? I'm assuming Duke did at some point (Battier, Dunleavy, and Jason Williams) or (Brand, Battier, ?) or (Laettner, G. Hill, ?). I'm sure UNC has done this at some point and MIGHT with this year's team (probably Felton, probably M. Williams, maybe McCants, maybe May). UNLV (Augmon, L. Johnson, was anyone else on this team a lottery pick?) Has Kentucky ever done this? Or Michigan? Any others?

Less Than 2 Weeks

before Family Guy comes back.

Finally, a new episode of One Tree Hill. I never got into it last year because the pilot was horrible. But after renting the DVDs it's not too bad. Sophia Bush is easy to look at (unfortunately she married Chad Michael Murray ["Why does WB keep hiring me when all I do is bring down ratings - see Dawson's Creek?" or how about "I've never played basketball in my life but my chracter is a stud on this show - Nice ups on the 8 foot goal slick"] this weekend), as are the other females on the show. And about once every 20 episodes there's a half second sighting of the actor formally know as Big Perm. When Dickhead said he was on the show and wanted to be an actor, I thought that would involve a line here or there. Guess I was wrong. He only got love for one episode on imdb as "Player #2." Career's soaring!

And why does TVGuide.com suck so bad. I can't find shit on it, and half the time it doesn't even work.

Only got a month left in Nashville. Fuckers that want to visit need to show up before I make the move to ATL. So the plan for next year is to have you fucks come hang out for the NCAA regional finals in Atlanta. I'm assuming either Wake or UNC (maybe even those Duke fags, Dickhead) will be there, even without Felton, McCants, May, M. Williams, E. Williams, and Paul. Hope I didn't leave any underclassmen out.

Speaking of the Wake/Funeral (as I refer to Paul's news conference), I heard Kyle Visser scheduled a press conference for tomorrow to announce he's coming back and will continue to suck and grow zits on his forehead next year.

Why can't WakeForestSports.com update their site in real time? "Paul plans to declare for NBA" is old news. And they've kept the photo of his only college dunk up there way too long. Take it off, forget about Paul, and focus on Justin Gray (aka - I'm going to be the entire show next year). Seriously, why doesn't this site have historical data, information on former players, or at least something other than AP and Reuters articles? How lame is that? I can read that shit on ESPN or Yahoo. For the money Wake pays College Sports Online, you think they would at least write original articles. Or at least come up with a new template other than the one the other 40 schools it represents uses. That website sucks. KUSports.com is where it's at bitches!

Later,

Jav

The Place I Call Home

I've been in Nashville for five years now and this city has had its fair share of crazy stories since I've been here. Most of them involve celebrities. Kid Rock came in town for funeral and warrant was issued for his arrest the next morning after he allegedly beat up a DJ at a local strip club. Paris Hilton shut down an entire mall so she could shop peacefully at J. Crew. Ashley Judd's lesser half, Wynona gets arrested for DUI, two nights before she hosts a CMT countdown titled "Country's 50 Greatest Drinking Songs of All-Time" (true story). And because of the Titans legal troubles, I only refer the the franchise as the Tennessee Time-Servers. But rarely are the locals very interesting...until last week.

It seemed like a simple story of a lonely housewife who had her lover murder her husband, except for one tiny fact - the lover/murder suspect had been living in the couple's closet...for a MONTH. The husband never knew until the night he was murdered. On that night, the husband was awakened by snoring coming from the closet. He opened the door only to find a hispanic man sleeping inside. The wife admitted the affair and the husband demanded that she kick the hispanic dude out. The husband then goes for walk and when he comes back Don Juan has a shotgun. Next morning, husband is found beaten to death in his bedroom.

Obviously the bigger story in Nashville isn't the murder itself, it's the fact that this dude was sleeping the closet for a month and the husband never even suspected. The lesson as always: women are sneeky and men are idiots. And if I was the husband, I'd damned if I'm the one beaten death. As a matter of fact, I'd be the only survivor in the house. Welcome Cashville!

Quickies

Sorry I was little lax last week. Work was a B-I-T-C-H. Anyway, now that I'm back, I need to comment on a few things.

* Wake's 2005-06 basketball season ended before it even started. Chris Paul "the artist formerly known as the Chosen One" is gone and Eric Williams has one foot out of the door. So that leaves the Deacs with no point guard and a shaky inside game. Needless to say, go Blue Devils! I'm kidding.

* Speaking of CP, the question now becomes: what is his legacy? My opinion: weak at best. No way his jersey should ever hang in the rafters of the Joel, no matter what he does in the NBA (he'll be very good BTW). Look at his career "accomlishments": 0 ACC regular season titles, 0 ACC tournament wins, only 1 Sweet 16 appearance. And unlike every other Wake player with a retired number, he was never named ACC Player of the Year. I can't blame him for leaving early but its too bad he couldn't do more in the time he was here.

* Want to find someone to blame for T.O.'s contract dispute? Look no further than a guy in Greensboro, NC. Owens' former agent, David Joseph is a Wake grad and current Greensboro resident. He negotiated Owens' current deal, which really isn't a good deal at all because the Eagles could (and probably would) release him in 2007 with no salary cap consequences. He's f*cked and he knows it. Don't be suprised if he holds out all season and/or the Eagles trade him. Seriously.

* NBA awards from one of the 22 NBA fans left:
MVP - Shaq; in 12 months Miami goes from 8 seed to 1 seed in the East & the Lakers go from Finals to 12 seed in the West (and LA got 3 players in the trade!); how is he not MVP?? 2nd - Iverson, while you could have guessed AI leads the NBA in scoring and steals, I bet you didnt know he's 3rd in assists.

Rookie of the Year - Ben Gordon, I admit I didnt think he'd be any good when Chicago drafted him. But I watched him last month score 25 in the 4th quarter. Unbelievable clutch player. Best proof yet that NBA teams can succeed by building around drafting college players.

Least Valuable Player - Kobe. Or should he be least valuable GM?

* The NBA needs an age limit. No better evidence than Portland. 12 role players and half of them played less than 2 years in college. Awful team with no direction. And BTW, does Jermaine O'Neal really think a limit would be racist? Does he think once the limit is in place NBA GMs will start drafting white players? Seriously, it's idiotic and O'Neal is actually pretty smart kid (relatively speaking of course).

* Cullen, I'll be in San Diego on Monday, October 10. Steelers vs. Chargers on Monday Night! I WILL find tickets dammit.

* WHERE THE F*CK IS TIM??????

Hottest. Video. Ever.

I was at a club on Friday night and the DJ played this song, while the video was on the TV monitors. It's the first time I've ever seen EVERYONE, guys and girls, direct all attention to the monitors. Watch this video and you'll understand.

JD's Weekend Entertainment Guide

I'd really love to recommend a movie at theaters that everybody needs to watch, but unfortunately the movies out right now suck (except Sin City). Exhibit A: Guess Who. Exhibit B: Fever Pitch. Exhibit C: Sahara ("Alright, alright") And there's no end in sight until Episode III in May. So instead, I'll recommend a few movies to rent this weekend.

* The Motorcycle Diaries - I'm sure you guys have all seen some hippie or someone on tv wearing a t-shirt with a photo of some Hispanic dude with a beard and wearing beret. That guy is Che Guerava. The movie is about a motorcycle trip young Che and his med school buddy took across 1950's South America. Pretty cool story about how the trip shaped Che's revolutionary views. Made me wish I had gone on one of Heaton's cross-country trips (One day Will). Only downside to this movie: subtitles.

* Miami Vice Season 1, Disc 1 - Everybody's classic 80s show. It was great to see how the show started and Crockett got mixed up with Tubbs. It's amazing that it started with a brief cameo from Jimmy Smits. Go back and watch it before the movie adaptation ruins it all for an entire generation. I'm not sure if Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx can pull it off. And I had forgotten that Crockett had a pet alligator.

* The Office - Don't be confused by the NBC version. The BBC original was f'ing brilliant. Here's all you need to know: even Jav liked it! Compare the BBC pilot vs the NBC pilot and they're identical (minus the Brit accents & euphemisms). The BBC characters are much more likeable and funnier, especially the manager David Brenner. NBC's will be off the air by June.

* Arrested Development Season 1 - This is the funniest show you're probably not watching. Despite its lowly ratings, the first season won the Emmy last year for best comedy. No show has done that since Seinfeld. Like Seinfeld, it's running dangerously close to being cancelled in its second season (more than likely since Fox has a history of cancelling shows in their prime - see Family Guy; and they kept Tru Calling?? Why?). This show also passed the Jav-test. Funniest characters (tough call): Gob, struggling magician and overall fcuk up, and Tobias, aspiring actor and self-proclaimed "never-nude" (incapable of being totally nude - instead wears daisy dukes in the shower, etc.)
Speaking of Family Guy, new episodes begin May 1.

* Closer - I just watched this a few days ago. I'm planning on watching it again because I'm still not what the movie says about relationships (besides they can be really fcuked up and women are liars). But one thing was crystal clear: Natalie Portman's ass. Fantastic. I had no idea Queen Amidala had a body like that. She plays a stripper but the director cut her nude scenes (MFer). Clive Owen did an awesome job in the movie as a sex-obsessed doctor in love with Julia Roberts.

* Alexander - This isn't available on DVD yet and I heard the movie sucks it anyway. But Rosario Dawson is naked. NAKED dammit! Her tig ol' bitties are there for all to see. I think I need to watch it in HDTV.

April Madness!  

Beisbol 2005

i can't care about baseball unles we do this...

league ID # 316586
pass = bmhs96

i put in for live online draft but we can change that if needed.

jc

The REAL Michael Vick Experience

Welcome to the NEW Michael Vick Experience. Vick is fast but apparently he can't outrun a pink puppet from the Chappelle Show, aka Herpes Simplex 2. That's right, Mike has the gift that keeps on giving. And allegedly, he shared his gift with some groupie who is now suing him for transmitting it to her. And that isn't even the funniest part! In the complaint, the alleged victim named Vick under his real name and his alias.....RON MEXICO. Side note: I'd like to announce that my fantasy football team will now be named Ron Mexico's Toros.

And while this may sound like bad news for Vick, this is probably good for him. For the last year, Mike has been dodging rumors that he's gay. The rumors were so rampant last year that he gave the quote of 2004 to clear the air about his sexual preference: "Everybody who knows me knows how I get down. "

The only thing that raises suspicions about the suit is the snail's pase at which Vick moved before giving this chick the "Experience". They met in May 2001 and didn't have sex until late 2002. 2002!!! Only Bethel moves slower (it's about time you got engaged). I cannot imagine any other professional athlete waiting over a year before having sex with a girl. Unless, of course, he really is gay.

Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices

* I apologize to anyone I may have offended Monday night. I was truly smashed ($100 bar tab) and I was also elated. Again, sorry about that.

* Has anyone else marvelled at how sorry the Lakers are? I mean to go from runners-up to lottery in one season? Good job, Kobe. Here's hoping the Jordan comparisons will finally go away forever.

* UNC Draft count: McCants out; May in (tentative...said he was coming back at the vitory rally); Williams / Felton unaccounted for...

* How ill is this? This could either be really cool or absolute shite:

D-Mick

A tradition unlike any other... 

Tidbits I Meant to Post on Friday

• Going back to two subjects I posted last week: Pat O'Brien and Doug Christie. For anyone who doubted how bad of a cokehead Pat O'Brien was, I highly recommend listening to the voicemail he left for this chick. Hilarious. Although, I also advise you to turn your speakers down if you're at work.

• As for Doug Christie, I'm dead serious about my threat to buy his jersey for the newly engaged Bethel if ever gets as whipped as Tim. (Is Tim still alive? Or did IBM ship him to China with the rest of the company?) If you know nothing about the Christies strange "relationship", read this article. Here's a few excerpts:

You know when Christie raises his arm, extends his pinky and index fingers and signals into the air? He's actually signalling "I love you" to his wife (Jackie), something that happens 50-60 times a game, even during crunch-time.

"With few exceptions, Doug Christie does not look at other women, avoiding dialogue or even direct contact"

"The Christies remarry every year on their anniversary, not a mere renewal of their wedding vows but an actual wedding -- replete with friends, family cake and a reception"

"She sends him a note in the locker room before every game, taken there by a team attendant. He writes a reply and sends it back. One poem to Doug said: "Roses are red...violets are blue...if you look at another woman...I will beat you" (she read it on the air during an HBO interview)

• My NCAA title game PreDickson: Illinois 82, UNC 76. Normally, I don't believe much that Jav has to say regarding college basketball. But Jav made a good point about UNC even before the ACC tourney - they haven't beaten a good team away from home all year. And I'm sorry but winning at UConn doesn't cut it. See (10)NC State 65, (2) UConn 62, Second Round. Da Heels haven't even played anything above a 5 seed in this year's tournament. Sure, it's not their fault the higher seeds couldnt win. But I still have my doubts about how good they really are. If they win tonight though, the argument is over. UNC will have beaten the best and they deserve the title. We'll find out later. Oh, and before I go, F*ck Carolina.
• Oh and one more thing, if you don't mind going to hell (with me), check out this blog. So wrong, but don't say I never warned you.

JD

How about them Heels? Volume #5

Survive and advance, bitches

The Fighting Illini think they can run with the Heels. Hopefully we'll have a rerun of last year's ACC Big Ten challenge...

CULLEN FILM REVIEW: SIN CITY

NO SPOILERS

Trailer 1: Amityville Horror: Yawn. Dammit, Michael Bay, please remake "They Live"
Trailer 2: Mindhunters: Didn't I first see this trailer 2 years ago?
Trailer 3: Skeleton Key: Yawn. I hope the ghosts eat Kate Hudson
Trailer 4: War of the Worlds: just a teaser
Trailer 5: Revenge of the Sith (fanboys up front start clapping). No part of this preview got me excited about the final chapter of this trilogy. I wish Lucas would bring Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to the big screen. The plotline to that game was fantastic. The point of these three movies: Before DarthVader became a kick ass villain, he was a whiny little bitch.

The feature:
Sin City: Based on Frank Miller's dark, violent comic books, this one must have barely dodged an NC-17 rating. The movie consists of three loosely linked vignettes. The first, "Goldie," features an unrecognizable Mickey Rourke as a former boxer who looks to avenge the death of a prostitute who was kind to him (eg, pity fucked him). This brutal, bloody revenge seeking is the best of the three parts. Both supermodel James King and Spy Kids Mom Carla "Jugino" Gugino show up and take their clothes off. Tons of good one liners: "Is that all you got, you PANSIES?"
The second part, "The Big Kill," features Clive Owen (King Arthur) and an army of gangster prostitutes (led by Rosario Dawson) who try to defend their turf from a crooked cop and the mob. This bit features scantily clad women killing people with machine guns and Asian hooker Devon Aoki is a scene stealer as a ninja prostitute. The possibilities are endless.
Benicio del Toro, Brittany "Not that Annoying in this Movie" Murphy, and Michael Clarke Duncan complete the all-star cast. Quentin Tarantino directed part of this story but I had to search IMDB to figure out which scene.
The third part, "That Yellow Bastard,"doesn't quite live up to the first two sequences. Bruce Willis is a cop who gets wrongly imprisoned after trying to protect newly blonde Jessica Alba (playing a stripper who doesn't strip). Revenge, violence, and killing ensue, but it lacks the style, humor, and punch of the other stories. Michael Madsen, Powers Boothe, and Nick "T3"Stahl show up.
Overall I give this 9/10 and it's definitely worth full price ticket. Be forewarned, the action is very over the top and it is definitely a comic book movie. It's filmed in black and white with splashes of color here and there, but this style suits the dark film. I had very high expectations for this but felt satisfied at the end. Ninja prostitutes, seriously : GOLD MINE!