I've decided that I have to take up kayaking, after watching one fine young kayak instructor for half an hour at work tonight. There's a kayaker group that comes in and paddles around the pool after we close, and I was fortunate enough to be assigned to watching the pool instead of cleaning for part of the time. Mmm. Wet, shirtless, muscle-y manflesh. For some reason, I can't say I mind having to close every Monday and Wednesday night anymore. Sadly, I couldn't find any sexy kayak pictures to go with this post.
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30.6.08
The final Euro post
In retrospect: the good, the bad, and some nearly naked Spaniards.
Honestly, I'm still a little bit in shock. I'm going to miss the excellent football and sexy men that have been the center of my universe for the past few weeks. I'll do my best to carry on, though, with the assistance of the MLS and the Olympics. (U.S. swimming qualifiers started yesterday!) For the sake of closure, however, I am going to inflict one final Euro-centric post upon the internet. Besides, after three weeks of drama, we could all use a final review of the finest moments to sustain us as we return to the Torres-less doldrums of normal life.
Traditionally, of course, "Best of" lists are accompanied by the matching "Worst of", but yesterday's game caused disrupted the supply of cynicism to my brain and it hasn't yet been fully restored. Thus, I have nothing snarky or sarcastic to say about Euro 08 at the moment, and will confine my attempt at balanced reporting to briefly mentioning the unfortunate injuries to the likes of Alexander Frei, Fabio Cannavaro, and half the Turkish team (Villa, you don't count since your team won without you); the Italy-Spain quarterfinal in which Italy was so boring they managed to make even Spain uninteresting; Adrian Mutu's missed penalty against Italy that prevented probably the better (or at least possibly more interesting- is it conceivable that any team could have been less interesting to watch than Italy in the quarters?) side from advancing; the previous winner's failure to score more than one goal (and that against a Spanish side that clearly didn't have much invested in the game); the ceaseless stream of photos of English footballers on vacation (not that I minded their absence from the tournament, but the could have at least had the courtesy to disappear for a month or so, or perhaps they might have even - I know it's a craaazy idea - trained a bit, but instead they had to go get married and travel to the most touristy, paparazzi-filled corners of the earth. When they do terribly at the World Cup - or better yet, fail to qualify again - I will point to this moment and say "I told you so!") and of course the inconsiderate weather, which prevented the most exciting moments of the Turkey-Germany semifinal from being broadcast.
Whew. Now that all the negativity has been gotten through, I can focus on the the things I want to - the things that made up for Holland's loss to Russia in the quarters and having to put up with Michael Ballack all the way to the final. This is a highly difficult and dangerous (who knows when I might accidentally stumble across a photo of Franck Ribery in my quest for video of Holland's four goals against France), so I hope you appreciate the effort.
And here it is, the Official top uncertain number of Fabulous Things observed, discovered, and ogled during the European Championship (TM) - the crazy American college girl version.
1: Iker Casillas. I don't know what UEFA was thinking to name Xavi Hernandez best player of the tournament. Casillas was consistently fantastic in goal and fantastic to look at, giving up only two goals and saving two penalties in the shootout against Italy. Though he certainly wasn't tested as often as many of the other keepers in the tournament, he came up with some fine saves. And come on, he was the captain of the winning team. How much better can you get? (Ok, fine, being part of Spain's deadly midfield is pretty good, too.) In addition to being one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Casillas is also one of the most likely to inspire swooning and lewd fantasies. Regrettably, Iker has a strange attachment to his undershirt and hardly ever appears without it. (Apparently the best way to get him out of it is to get him drunk after winning a major trophy.)
1.5: Iker's two saves to give Spain a 4-2 PK victory over Italy. Serves you right, you non-attacking, brilliance-stifling, beautiful-game-destroying bastards.
1.Bonus: The spectacular save in regulation time during the Italy match that made sure it went to PKs. If Italy had won I would have punched someone.
2: The Dutch National Team. I don't care if they lost in their first knockout round, they scored more goals against Italy than Spain, trounced France, and were only slightly nicer to Romania. The important part, though, is that they played beautiful, entertaining football and had the grace to lose on the single occasion when they did not. I only wish that there was some way that Spain and the Netherlands could have played each other... preferably in the final. Alas, it was not to be. Perhaps in 2010? Assuming the Dutch can find a new wunderkeeper, of course.
2.a: Edwin Van der Sar, who is awesome, gets a special mention. He was one of six players whose teams did not make it to the semis picked for the Team of the Tournament. Clearly your gladiator superpower was wearing off, Edwin. You obviously did not roll in enough mud prior to your game against Russia. What other explanation can their be for your uncharacteristic generosity in front of the goal?
2.b: Wesley Sneijder, who is adorable and was the other Dutch player on the Team of the Tournament. His birthday happened to be the same day that the Netherlands played Italy, and Sneijder had a goal on the day - the first "real" goal of the match. I wish I could do something that cool for my 24th birthday.
3: Dear Russia,
I know it was not your fault that you happened to play four games against my three favorite teams in the tournament, and I will not hold it against you. Neither can I hate you for having spawned Roman Abramovich, even if he does end up turning the Rapids into Ch£l$kiUSA. I do not begrudge you your victories over Sweden (though it was time for me to get over the Swedes anyway, at least until they find some younger players) and the Netherlands, and hope you can forgive me for celebrating Spain's victories over you. Despite all of our differences, I cannot help but admire your incredible two-game ass-kicking spree. I hope to see Andrei Ashavin in England or Spain very soon, and I wish you all the best of luck in 2010. (Unless, of course, you happen to be playing the Americans, the Dutch, or the Spanish. I'm sorry, but my teams come first.) See you at the Olympics!
Something along the lines of "the victory of attacking, exciting football" probably belongs here at number four (if I didn't mention it earlier, there's no real ordering system in use here, so the numbers are to separate the various subjects and could easily be interchanged). However, in the interests of not saying something that several thousand reporters, commentators, and bloggers probably already have, I won't bother. Similarly, I will refrain from adding silly things like "Best Games" or "Best Goals" to this list because I did not see all of the games and thus missed some of the goals, and further, all you need to do to find real discussion of these categories is type "Euro 08 best goals" into Google. (I just did. Not everything that comes up is actually a list of the best goals, but Sports Illustrated has 21 pretty photos of impressive scores.)
From this point on war, I am giving up on the numbering of things altogether, as the numerical values are essentially meaningless and most of the Things left are really too brief to require their own number.
- Turkey's run of three last minute comeback victories, ended by a last minute German goal in a game in which Turkey was first to score. If it had been anyone but the Germans, I would have loved this victory. As it was, it gave me at least a grudging respect for the Deutschelanders, at least until their lackluster performance in the final.
- C.Ronaldo's exclusion from the Team of the Tournament. Haha. Maybe you ought to take this lesson to heart and think long and hard about the potential decrease in ego-stroking that might result from leaving your world class compatriots at ManU before you sign anything with Real Madrid. (Although having discovered the fine specimens that are Casillas and Snijder I would have a hard time willing Madrid to lose. Maybe it's time for both Ronaldo and I to switch allegiances...)
- The sexy German team of the semifinals that almost made me forget that Michael Ballack was their captain.
- The overabundance of beautiful, beautiful men. All right, so there could have been much more shirtlessness, but, though certain teams (*cough*Spain*cough*) seemed to have received more than their fair share of sexiness, almost every team had a least a few players worth watching even when the football wasn't great. (Update: Ah ha! I knew there had to be at least one photo of a shirtless Spanish player who is not Ramos or Puyol. Cesc, darling, thank you. If only those other fellows had had the decency to get out of the way...)
- The vast expansion in my football knowledge and player recognition that has occurred over the past three weeks. I am ashamed of how many names, faces, and historical events I was unfamiliar with before this tournament. Ah well. Give it a year or two more and no one will ever guess that I began life as an ignorant American.
- Spain winning the European Championship. Well, all right, duh. But since there was such an eminently satisfying conclusion to Euro 08, I couldn't end this post with anything less joyful. Especially since someone on the Spanish team must have been listening to my complaints about the negligence regarding shirt removal. Warning: the following video should only be viewed by those who enjoy seeing sexy Spanish men in their underwear.
Photos and video via UEFA and Kickette.
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Honestly, I'm still a little bit in shock. I'm going to miss the excellent football and sexy men that have been the center of my universe for the past few weeks. I'll do my best to carry on, though, with the assistance of the MLS and the Olympics. (U.S. swimming qualifiers started yesterday!) For the sake of closure, however, I am going to inflict one final Euro-centric post upon the internet. Besides, after three weeks of drama, we could all use a final review of the finest moments to sustain us as we return to the Torres-less doldrums of normal life.
Traditionally, of course, "Best of" lists are accompanied by the matching "Worst of", but yesterday's game caused disrupted the supply of cynicism to my brain and it hasn't yet been fully restored. Thus, I have nothing snarky or sarcastic to say about Euro 08 at the moment, and will confine my attempt at balanced reporting to briefly mentioning the unfortunate injuries to the likes of Alexander Frei, Fabio Cannavaro, and half the Turkish team (Villa, you don't count since your team won without you); the Italy-Spain quarterfinal in which Italy was so boring they managed to make even Spain uninteresting; Adrian Mutu's missed penalty against Italy that prevented probably the better (or at least possibly more interesting- is it conceivable that any team could have been less interesting to watch than Italy in the quarters?) side from advancing; the previous winner's failure to score more than one goal (and that against a Spanish side that clearly didn't have much invested in the game); the ceaseless stream of photos of English footballers on vacation (not that I minded their absence from the tournament, but the could have at least had the courtesy to disappear for a month or so, or perhaps they might have even - I know it's a craaazy idea - trained a bit, but instead they had to go get married and travel to the most touristy, paparazzi-filled corners of the earth. When they do terribly at the World Cup - or better yet, fail to qualify again - I will point to this moment and say "I told you so!") and of course the inconsiderate weather, which prevented the most exciting moments of the Turkey-Germany semifinal from being broadcast.
Whew. Now that all the negativity has been gotten through, I can focus on the the things I want to - the things that made up for Holland's loss to Russia in the quarters and having to put up with Michael Ballack all the way to the final. This is a highly difficult and dangerous (who knows when I might accidentally stumble across a photo of Franck Ribery in my quest for video of Holland's four goals against France), so I hope you appreciate the effort.
And here it is, the Official top uncertain number of Fabulous Things observed, discovered, and ogled during the European Championship (TM) - the crazy American college girl version.
1: Iker Casillas. I don't know what UEFA was thinking to name Xavi Hernandez best player of the tournament. Casillas was consistently fantastic in goal and fantastic to look at, giving up only two goals and saving two penalties in the shootout against Italy. Though he certainly wasn't tested as often as many of the other keepers in the tournament, he came up with some fine saves. And come on, he was the captain of the winning team. How much better can you get? (Ok, fine, being part of Spain's deadly midfield is pretty good, too.) In addition to being one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Casillas is also one of the most likely to inspire swooning and lewd fantasies. Regrettably, Iker has a strange attachment to his undershirt and hardly ever appears without it. (Apparently the best way to get him out of it is to get him drunk after winning a major trophy.)1.5: Iker's two saves to give Spain a 4-2 PK victory over Italy. Serves you right, you non-attacking, brilliance-stifling, beautiful-game-destroying bastards.
1.Bonus: The spectacular save in regulation time during the Italy match that made sure it went to PKs. If Italy had won I would have punched someone.
2: The Dutch National Team. I don't care if they lost in their first knockout round, they scored more goals against Italy than Spain, trounced France, and were only slightly nicer to Romania. The important part, though, is that they played beautiful, entertaining football and had the grace to lose on the single occasion when they did not. I only wish that there was some way that Spain and the Netherlands could have played each other... preferably in the final. Alas, it was not to be. Perhaps in 2010? Assuming the Dutch can find a new wunderkeeper, of course.
2.a: Edwin Van der Sar, who is awesome, gets a special mention. He was one of six players whose teams did not make it to the semis picked for the Team of the Tournament. Clearly your gladiator superpower was wearing off, Edwin. You obviously did not roll in enough mud prior to your game against Russia. What other explanation can their be for your uncharacteristic generosity in front of the goal?2.b: Wesley Sneijder, who is adorable and was the other Dutch player on the Team of the Tournament. His birthday happened to be the same day that the Netherlands played Italy, and Sneijder had a goal on the day - the first "real" goal of the match. I wish I could do something that cool for my 24th birthday.
3: Dear Russia,
I know it was not your fault that you happened to play four games against my three favorite teams in the tournament, and I will not hold it against you. Neither can I hate you for having spawned Roman Abramovich, even if he does end up turning the Rapids into Ch£l$kiUSA. I do not begrudge you your victories over Sweden (though it was time for me to get over the Swedes anyway, at least until they find some younger players) and the Netherlands, and hope you can forgive me for celebrating Spain's victories over you. Despite all of our differences, I cannot help but admire your incredible two-game ass-kicking spree. I hope to see Andrei Ashavin in England or Spain very soon, and I wish you all the best of luck in 2010. (Unless, of course, you happen to be playing the Americans, the Dutch, or the Spanish. I'm sorry, but my teams come first.) See you at the Olympics!
Something along the lines of "the victory of attacking, exciting football" probably belongs here at number four (if I didn't mention it earlier, there's no real ordering system in use here, so the numbers are to separate the various subjects and could easily be interchanged). However, in the interests of not saying something that several thousand reporters, commentators, and bloggers probably already have, I won't bother. Similarly, I will refrain from adding silly things like "Best Games" or "Best Goals" to this list because I did not see all of the games and thus missed some of the goals, and further, all you need to do to find real discussion of these categories is type "Euro 08 best goals" into Google. (I just did. Not everything that comes up is actually a list of the best goals, but Sports Illustrated has 21 pretty photos of impressive scores.)
From this point on war, I am giving up on the numbering of things altogether, as the numerical values are essentially meaningless and most of the Things left are really too brief to require their own number.
- Turkey's run of three last minute comeback victories, ended by a last minute German goal in a game in which Turkey was first to score. If it had been anyone but the Germans, I would have loved this victory. As it was, it gave me at least a grudging respect for the Deutschelanders, at least until their lackluster performance in the final.
- C.Ronaldo's exclusion from the Team of the Tournament. Haha. Maybe you ought to take this lesson to heart and think long and hard about the potential decrease in ego-stroking that might result from leaving your world class compatriots at ManU before you sign anything with Real Madrid. (Although having discovered the fine specimens that are Casillas and Snijder I would have a hard time willing Madrid to lose. Maybe it's time for both Ronaldo and I to switch allegiances...)
- The sexy German team of the semifinals that almost made me forget that Michael Ballack was their captain.
- The overabundance of beautiful, beautiful men. All right, so there could have been much more shirtlessness, but, though certain teams (*cough*Spain*cough*) seemed to have received more than their fair share of sexiness, almost every team had a least a few players worth watching even when the football wasn't great. (Update: Ah ha! I knew there had to be at least one photo of a shirtless Spanish player who is not Ramos or Puyol. Cesc, darling, thank you. If only those other fellows had had the decency to get out of the way...)- The vast expansion in my football knowledge and player recognition that has occurred over the past three weeks. I am ashamed of how many names, faces, and historical events I was unfamiliar with before this tournament. Ah well. Give it a year or two more and no one will ever guess that I began life as an ignorant American.
- Spain winning the European Championship. Well, all right, duh. But since there was such an eminently satisfying conclusion to Euro 08, I couldn't end this post with anything less joyful. Especially since someone on the Spanish team must have been listening to my complaints about the negligence regarding shirt removal. Warning: the following video should only be viewed by those who enjoy seeing sexy Spanish men in their underwear.
Photos and video via UEFA and Kickette.
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29.6.08
Best ad ever created?
I don't know about you, but I adore the excellent soccer ad that Nike ran during the Champions League. Understand, now, that I am hardly an ad aficionado. I am a person who watches the Super Bowl despite the ads, not because of them. And though, as a NCAA runner, Nike gives me free shoes, I am not particularly a Nike fan. But I am really, truly crazy about the "Take It To The Next Level" video. They had clips playing during the Euro, but it's simply not as cool unless you get the whole thing. I was actually feeling a bit bummed that I would only get the short version - possibly the only time I've ever been upset about having less commercial - but then today, in my post-Euro boredom, I discovered that Nike has posted an even longer version (the 'Director's Cut') online. Hup Nike Hup!
Bonus: I also learned today that the video is directed by Guy Ritchie, who is also responsible for two of my favorite movies ever. What a brilliant man.
(Also: the Nike Soccer page is really just all around awesomeness. Decent coverage of the US national teams and the Euro with nice pics to go with - check out this great one of Torres - interspersed with fun video from the TITTNL campaign.)
Disclaimer: Despite all appearances, I am not affiliated with Nike, am not being paid to promote it, etc etc. Really. The ad is just that cool.
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¡Los campeones del mundo!
Or of Europe, at least. Was I the only one who thought it was funny that they were playing Queen after the trophy presentation?
Anyway, a mildly interesting final from Spain and Germany. A goal from Fernando Torres in the 33rd minute was all Spain needed to secure what was, as we've been reminded over and over in the build up to this game, their first victory in a major tournament in several eons. Mostly, though, this game could be summed up as having given almost everyone exactly what they deserved. Fernando Torres got a goal, Michael Ballack got headbutted in the eye and bled profusely, and the side that played better in this game and throughout the tournament came away with a victory.
One notable exception to the theory of just desserts was the awarding of yellow cards. Casillas and Ballack may or may not have deserved the cautions they got, but Torres almost certainly should not have been carded - his challenge for a header in the 74th minute didn't look at all out of the ordinary - and David Silva most definitely would have earned a card had the ref chosen to award him one following the headbutt Silva gave Lukas Podolski.By the time the final whistle blew, both sides looked rather weary. Germany's defending, never pretty to begin with, only seemed to get sloppier. There were far too many unnecessary, ugly fouls from both sides, yet not even Germany, whose skill with set pieces was widely remarked upon before the game, managed to score from any of the resulting free kicks. Honestly, the only reason the Germans were not beaten by a much wider margin was that Spain's attack was for the most part equally messy. Though they passed quite prettily to each other, when it came to the point they didn't have that extra fraction of energy and focus needed to score. Really a shame, considering how dominant the Spanish looked in the other two-thirds of the field.
In the end, though I would have hoped for a higher scoring game, Spain did play some pretty football, attractive men got sweaty and angry (though none of them were kind enough to take off their shirts save Sergio Ramos, who was wearing a flag for a little while instead), and the team that I wanted to win did.
Highlights, low lights, and bizarrities (in vaguely chronological order):
- Jens Lehmann's flying leap to prevent an own goal by Mertesacker. This was easily his best save of the night. If the Spanish had ever aimed for any part of the goal other than the posts and the keeper, Lehmann might have been in a lot of trouble. He let the ball get away from him on several stops, allowing Spain to get a chance for a second or third shot. However, after Torres scored, he did manage to get to every long ball he went out for.
- Torres's early header that bounced off the left post. In my opinion, a better episode than the one that resulted in the winning goal. But, as seems to be the trend for this tournament, Torres did everything beautifully except actually managing to score.
- The repeated shots of Iker Casillas's midsection. Yes, he's quite attractive but, um, why?
- Ballack's bleeding face, the result of running into Marco Senna's head as they fought for a header. I was disappointed when I learned that he would not be sitting out for this match, but somehow he became almost hot (I can't believe I'm using that word to describe Michael Ballack) with blood all over his face.- Sergio Ramos, who is supposed to be a defender (though you'd never know by watching him most of the time) nearly scored with a header after a free kick from Xavi Hernandez. All right, Lehmann didn't do so badly here, either.
- Senna's slide across the pitch as he missed Guiza's pass entirely. That should have been a second goal for Spain, but despite (or perhaps because of) his efforts all over the rest of the field, Senna just couldn't get to it. The commentator was kind, ascribing the miss to the bounce of the ball, but really, he should have done better. It made for a highly entertaining replay, though.- Ramos, again finding himself immediately in front of the opposing goal, managed to deflect a sharp shot from Silva away from the goal. Lehmann, though, looked like he might have actually stopped this one, too. (Oops, I think this happened before the header from Ramos. Oh well).
- The celebrations of the Spanish team and fans after the final whistle had blown. I was kind of hoping they would drop Aragones, who is the part of the Spanish team I like least, but even though they didn't it was all quite entertaining. The players seemed incapable of keeping their hands off each other. Again, I would have liked a few more of them to have gotten excited enough for shirts to come off, but I'll settle for ten minutes of man-love if I have to. (I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the Germans, though, who no doubt would much rather have been off drowning their sorrows in the vast beer reserves Austria had set by for the tournament. Instead, they were forced to stand around watching the victors celebrate while they waited to be awarded their runner-up medals.)- Finally, the grin on Iker Casillas's face as he went up to accept the trophy for Spain. I would leap in front of a thousand speeding soccer balls to be that happy.
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Wish I worked there...
They've got college students lifeguarding the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. I don't think I've ever wished I lived in Nebraska before, but I'm a bit disappointed not to be in Omaha for this. Even if it is on a volunteer basis only and there are all those silly rules about taking pictures and talking to the athletes. A week spent staring a Michael Phelps and all those other sexy swimmer bodies would definitely be worth it.
Side note: FYI, no one does mouth-to-mouth anymore, at least not professional lifeguards. It's unhygienic. They have breathing masks and even hand pumps to do the job instead. (My condolences to anyone still harboring fantasies of being resuscitated by the sexy guard at the local pool. Sorry, folks, it's never going to happen.)
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28.6.08
Miscellaneous soccer notes
Oh. My God. At work today, I had the incredible pleasure of observing just what C.Ronaldo might look like without the skeeviness, overinflated ego, and excess hair gel. Really, truly distracting. Why do all the hotties show up on the busiest days when I'm too busy yelling at kids to do any really good gawking? They never come on the horrible slow days when I think I'm going to die of boredom. Anyway, the guy showed up with wife/girlfriend and kids in tow, but still, that probably qualifies as the best part of my day, if not my week (at least the part when I was at work).Also, interesting article from Fox Soccer about tomorrow's match. The main point is that (according to this writer's analysis) Spain has historically not actually been an underachiever, but rather has generally been overrated due to the quality of their domestic clubs. What isn't taken into account in creating expectations for the national team is the number of foreign players in La Liga. I don't know enough about the history of football in Europe to comment on the validity of the theory in this particular case, but it does seem to be at least plausible. This might be something England fans to think about as well...
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27.6.08
Running late, as usual
I attempted a bit of running commentary on the Germany-Turkey Euro semi two days ago, but didn't post it due to an inability to get cable TV and Internet access simultaneously. I meant to post it before, but a combination of procrastination and far too much time at work have prevented that from happening until now. It was kind of fun, but I don't actually recommend it as reading if you want to know what actually happened in the match. - I'm not that good at it and spelling in German is definitely not one of my strengths. Plus, I get all pretentious and announcer-sounding in places. Yikes. But if you're really that brave...
7’ Just turned on the Germany-Turkey game – no score so far.
12’ Turkey so far seems to have the majority of the possession – they've forced Germany to play mainly in their own half and have been pretty aggressive on the attack.
13’ Germany has possession, but give it back to turkey after a few passes near midfield.
13’ Another strong shot from Kazim-Kazim ricochets off the top bar– why isn't this man playing for England?! Oh, right, he's much too good to play for England...
14’ Two corners for Turkey in a row, but nothing comes of either.
16’ Germany is passing it around in the back half – they finally get it forward and Turkey takes it away from them.
17’ Free kick for Germany, taken by Klose, saved by the Turkish keeper.
17’ Germany gets a hold of it from Turkey up front, a bit of passing it around.
18’ Michael Ballack misses a header, Germany takes a corner and the Turkish keeper punches it away.
20’ Germany looks as though they may finally be starting to play football… Turkey still looks the better team, but it looks a little more equal now.
22’ Goal Turkey! It was only a matter of time, really. It came back off the bar on the first shot (from Kazim-Kazim? I couldn't tell), but Boral hit it in past Lehmann on the second go.
25’ Schweistiger slides across the turf, his shorts riding all the way up. Mmm, soccer legs…
26’ And Schweisteiger scores! Podoski gets a cross in front of a couple of defenders, and Schweisteiger knocks it in. That’s the first real chance Germany has had, and they've scored! Maybe now we have a real game…
29’ Germany free kick. It comes almost straight back out for a throw in.
29’ Turkey takes it all the way back down, only for Lehmann to grab the header with ease.
30’ German corner is knocked away from the goal. There’s a bit of a struggle in front of the goal, then Turkey takes it back up the field.
31’ Turkey gets a free kick from well out, and Lehmann is forced to punch it over.
32’ Two more Turkey corners come to nothing. Someone makes a weak shot, Lehmann grabs it and off goes Germany. They’re replaying Schweisteger's goal.
34’ Podoski gets it alone up front and kicks it over.
37’ Kazim-Kazim is on the turf – free kick for Turkey.
38’ Boral takes the kick – took them long enough to set it up – he kicks it directly to Lehmann, who hits it away a bit awkwardly. He was lucky none of the Turkish players got a head on it.
40’ Someone German (Rolfes, I guess) is bleeding – The ref looks almost happy about it. Someone Turkish is gushing blood from the back of his head. I hope he’s all right – Turkey can’t afford to lose anyone else.
42’ Yet another great shot by Turkey goes just over.
43’ Great tackle by Turkey stops a promising German attack..
44’ It looks like Frings is getting ready to go on. And Rolfes is back on the field, for a few minutes at least.
Halftime – It’s been a great first half. Contrary to all expectations, Turkey is the team making Germany look slow and inexperienced. Really, they’re unlucky to be tied. Germany has not been playing great football, though they got a bit better after Turkey’s goal. Schwiesteiger has had a few impressive moments, and Podoski wasn't too bad toward the end, but Michael Ballack has been essentially invisible and Lehmann is lucky to have had so many shots going over and wide. Turkey, on the other hand, has been exceptional all the way around, especially considering what a makeshift team they have. Kazim-Kazim has come very close to scoring multiple times, and I’ll be surprised if he doesn't net a least one by the end of the game.
46’ Here we go with the second half. Frings is on – for Rolfe, I assume.
47’ Germany already looks more dangerous in the first few minutes of this half than they did for most of the first half.
50’ A bit of miscommunication on the part of the Germans, a good tackle from Turkey – but the Turkish quickly lose it again and the German are on attack.
51’ Lahm goes down in the penalty box, and the official is wagging his finger at someone, but play continues. From the replay you can definitely see that it should have been a penalty.
52’ Yellow card for Semh for an ugly tackle on Frings. Really, boys, you can do better than that.
54’ Just when you thought Turkey was going to run away with the game, Germany has really stepped it up this half.
55’ Fierce shot over the top by Hitzsperger.
57’ Another strong German attack, another tackle by Turkey – this time on Ballack – and German is given a somewhat questionable free kick. Luckily, the Turkish deal with it pretty handily.
Where has my game gone?! There’s a power outage in Switzerland, apparently… We’re getting yet another review of the first half and that foul on Lahm in the meantime. I’m not really sure there’s anything new to say about any of it. It was already pretty obvious that the ref missed a blatant foul, and I think this is almost exactly (or maybe even exactly) the same description of Turkey’s goal that we got in the first half. And now we’re back!
66’ German cross goes too high and meets no one on the other side, the Turkish get a throw-in and manage to get it down to the other end, only to pass it back.
67’ Turkey still has possession. They get it deep into the German half, manage a cross directly in front of the goal, but again there is no one on the other end.
68’ Schweistegier briefly looks as though he might make a run of it, but Turkey steals it back.
69’ Corner for Turkey. It’s pushed out, brought back in, then booted down the field, only for Turkey to reclaim it. There’s a bit of a struggle for possession at midfield.
70’ Turkey seems to have won out. For a moment it looked like they were going to get stuck in their own half, but it gets down to Kazim-Kazim, who is yanked down by his shirt near the edge of the penalty box. The officials don’t see it, though, and Germany gets the free kick.
71’ Another Turkish cross in front of the goal with no one there to finish. Kazim-Kazim appears to have been either the crosser or the intended finisher. His face keeps appearing on the screen. Can’t say I mind.
73’ Is that Hitzsperger again? Anyway, his shot goes just wide. He’s asking the official for a corner kick, but not getting it.
Oh dear god, the game’s gone again. There was a lightning strike apparently, the first outage, but who knows what this is. Possibly the same thing?
Ach, Klose has scored for the Germans! There is still no video, though…
They've just showed the stats for the game so far. The shot count is about 17 to 6 in Turkey’s favor. The Turkish have simply not been able to finish.
There’s the video of Klose's goal a nice clean header into an open goal. The keeper had come way out but didn't get there in time.
And Turkey’s scored again! Senturk just knocked it in on a cross from Sabri. Turkey has been unbelievable on the comeback in this tournament. Five minutes or so left.
89’ Senturk shoots it wide from well out.
90’ Lahm scores for Germany! Beautiful run up and finish. The Turkish really looked out of it on that one.
And Germany’s won it! I was really hoping for Turkey to pull off a miracle on this one, but you really have to give it to the Germans. They may have had a poor first half, but they really managed to pull it together at the end. What a game, for both teams. Either of them could have won it, I think, and just to have been that close was a great accomplishment for Turkey. I have to say, I didn't mind the German victory nearly as much since Captain Caveman was out of the picture for basically the entire game. My hatred of Ballack is quite irrational, I'm aware. Other than his Neanderthal looks and Chelsea jersey, there is nothing especially objectionable about him. Nonetheless, I most strenuously object to him, and I'm not excited to see him in the final. I just wish there was some chance he'd spend the whole game on the bench.
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7’ Just turned on the Germany-Turkey game – no score so far.
12’ Turkey so far seems to have the majority of the possession – they've forced Germany to play mainly in their own half and have been pretty aggressive on the attack.
13’ Germany has possession, but give it back to turkey after a few passes near midfield.
13’ Another strong shot from Kazim-Kazim ricochets off the top bar– why isn't this man playing for England?! Oh, right, he's much too good to play for England...
14’ Two corners for Turkey in a row, but nothing comes of either.
16’ Germany is passing it around in the back half – they finally get it forward and Turkey takes it away from them.
17’ Free kick for Germany, taken by Klose, saved by the Turkish keeper.
17’ Germany gets a hold of it from Turkey up front, a bit of passing it around.
18’ Michael Ballack misses a header, Germany takes a corner and the Turkish keeper punches it away.
20’ Germany looks as though they may finally be starting to play football… Turkey still looks the better team, but it looks a little more equal now.
22’ Goal Turkey! It was only a matter of time, really. It came back off the bar on the first shot (from Kazim-Kazim? I couldn't tell), but Boral hit it in past Lehmann on the second go.
25’ Schweistiger slides across the turf, his shorts riding all the way up. Mmm, soccer legs…
26’ And Schweisteiger scores! Podoski gets a cross in front of a couple of defenders, and Schweisteiger knocks it in. That’s the first real chance Germany has had, and they've scored! Maybe now we have a real game…
29’ Germany free kick. It comes almost straight back out for a throw in.
29’ Turkey takes it all the way back down, only for Lehmann to grab the header with ease.
30’ German corner is knocked away from the goal. There’s a bit of a struggle in front of the goal, then Turkey takes it back up the field.
31’ Turkey gets a free kick from well out, and Lehmann is forced to punch it over.
32’ Two more Turkey corners come to nothing. Someone makes a weak shot, Lehmann grabs it and off goes Germany. They’re replaying Schweisteger's goal.
34’ Podoski gets it alone up front and kicks it over.
37’ Kazim-Kazim is on the turf – free kick for Turkey.
38’ Boral takes the kick – took them long enough to set it up – he kicks it directly to Lehmann, who hits it away a bit awkwardly. He was lucky none of the Turkish players got a head on it.
40’ Someone German (Rolfes, I guess) is bleeding – The ref looks almost happy about it. Someone Turkish is gushing blood from the back of his head. I hope he’s all right – Turkey can’t afford to lose anyone else.
42’ Yet another great shot by Turkey goes just over.
43’ Great tackle by Turkey stops a promising German attack..
44’ It looks like Frings is getting ready to go on. And Rolfes is back on the field, for a few minutes at least.
Halftime – It’s been a great first half. Contrary to all expectations, Turkey is the team making Germany look slow and inexperienced. Really, they’re unlucky to be tied. Germany has not been playing great football, though they got a bit better after Turkey’s goal. Schwiesteiger has had a few impressive moments, and Podoski wasn't too bad toward the end, but Michael Ballack has been essentially invisible and Lehmann is lucky to have had so many shots going over and wide. Turkey, on the other hand, has been exceptional all the way around, especially considering what a makeshift team they have. Kazim-Kazim has come very close to scoring multiple times, and I’ll be surprised if he doesn't net a least one by the end of the game.
46’ Here we go with the second half. Frings is on – for Rolfe, I assume.
47’ Germany already looks more dangerous in the first few minutes of this half than they did for most of the first half.
50’ A bit of miscommunication on the part of the Germans, a good tackle from Turkey – but the Turkish quickly lose it again and the German are on attack.
51’ Lahm goes down in the penalty box, and the official is wagging his finger at someone, but play continues. From the replay you can definitely see that it should have been a penalty.
52’ Yellow card for Semh for an ugly tackle on Frings. Really, boys, you can do better than that.
54’ Just when you thought Turkey was going to run away with the game, Germany has really stepped it up this half.
55’ Fierce shot over the top by Hitzsperger.
57’ Another strong German attack, another tackle by Turkey – this time on Ballack – and German is given a somewhat questionable free kick. Luckily, the Turkish deal with it pretty handily.
Where has my game gone?! There’s a power outage in Switzerland, apparently… We’re getting yet another review of the first half and that foul on Lahm in the meantime. I’m not really sure there’s anything new to say about any of it. It was already pretty obvious that the ref missed a blatant foul, and I think this is almost exactly (or maybe even exactly) the same description of Turkey’s goal that we got in the first half. And now we’re back!
66’ German cross goes too high and meets no one on the other side, the Turkish get a throw-in and manage to get it down to the other end, only to pass it back.
67’ Turkey still has possession. They get it deep into the German half, manage a cross directly in front of the goal, but again there is no one on the other end.
68’ Schweistegier briefly looks as though he might make a run of it, but Turkey steals it back.
69’ Corner for Turkey. It’s pushed out, brought back in, then booted down the field, only for Turkey to reclaim it. There’s a bit of a struggle for possession at midfield.
70’ Turkey seems to have won out. For a moment it looked like they were going to get stuck in their own half, but it gets down to Kazim-Kazim, who is yanked down by his shirt near the edge of the penalty box. The officials don’t see it, though, and Germany gets the free kick.
71’ Another Turkish cross in front of the goal with no one there to finish. Kazim-Kazim appears to have been either the crosser or the intended finisher. His face keeps appearing on the screen. Can’t say I mind.
73’ Is that Hitzsperger again? Anyway, his shot goes just wide. He’s asking the official for a corner kick, but not getting it.
Oh dear god, the game’s gone again. There was a lightning strike apparently, the first outage, but who knows what this is. Possibly the same thing?
Ach, Klose has scored for the Germans! There is still no video, though…
They've just showed the stats for the game so far. The shot count is about 17 to 6 in Turkey’s favor. The Turkish have simply not been able to finish.
There’s the video of Klose's goal a nice clean header into an open goal. The keeper had come way out but didn't get there in time.
And Turkey’s scored again! Senturk just knocked it in on a cross from Sabri. Turkey has been unbelievable on the comeback in this tournament. Five minutes or so left.
89’ Senturk shoots it wide from well out.
90’ Lahm scores for Germany! Beautiful run up and finish. The Turkish really looked out of it on that one.
And Germany’s won it! I was really hoping for Turkey to pull off a miracle on this one, but you really have to give it to the Germans. They may have had a poor first half, but they really managed to pull it together at the end. What a game, for both teams. Either of them could have won it, I think, and just to have been that close was a great accomplishment for Turkey. I have to say, I didn't mind the German victory nearly as much since Captain Caveman was out of the picture for basically the entire game. My hatred of Ballack is quite irrational, I'm aware. Other than his Neanderthal looks and Chelsea jersey, there is nothing especially objectionable about him. Nonetheless, I most strenuously object to him, and I'm not excited to see him in the final. I just wish there was some chance he'd spend the whole game on the bench.
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18.6.08
Evening jaunt
Well, I ended up not running at all yesterday, due to an inconvenient schedule and an unhappy stomach, and didn't think I would get a chance to run today, either, but fortunately my class got out an hour and a half early, so I went running in the park by my house. I've been doing this run for years and years now, since I first started running distance, and it's one of the few runs I really don't get bored of, no matter how many circles I have to run. It's only a mile and a quarter or so around, so I have to do multiple laps, but I love it nonetheless. It's changed a bit over the years, and even since I last ran there in December, which is always interesting the first couple times around, but some things about it never change. There aren't many trees, so it's not a great run to do during the day in the summer, but mornings and evenings are amazing. My run goes by fields, courts, and facilities for an incredible number of sports - tennis and basketball courts, soccer, football and baseball fields, a swimming pool, sand for volleyball, a skate park, race tracks for people and cars and horses, plus open grass for flying kites and playing ultimate and of course the nice gravel path where I run. On a nice night like tonight, there are people everywhere doing all sorts of interesting things.
It was great that tonight was so nice because I felt a lot better physically than I did the other two times. I'm not sure if this is a better time of day for me, or if my body just needed to be shook back into form, but running is comfortable again. Definitely a good sign.
Mmm. Ending the day so happily makes me feel better about all the rest of it.
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It was great that tonight was so nice because I felt a lot better physically than I did the other two times. I'm not sure if this is a better time of day for me, or if my body just needed to be shook back into form, but running is comfortable again. Definitely a good sign.
Mmm. Ending the day so happily makes me feel better about all the rest of it.
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16.6.08
Day 2
Really quick note before bed; I have a massive fatigue and dehydration-induced headache and just want to sleep. I had five hours of class and five hours of work today, and then went for a run at 3 in the afternoon. Yesterday was nice and breezy, but today it definitely felt like summer. I'm going to try running earlier tomorrow to see if it helps, but if I don't get to sleep soon I'm not going to be able to run at all. I only have to work for four hours, but I have to get up early to print off some homework. I'll be running in a different park, so I'll get a change of scenery. Honestly, though, at this point I don't need it yet. The river is still gorgeous. And if it ever gets too hot, I can always go swimming.
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15.6.08
Back on my feet
I am ashamed to confess that I have been sorely neglecting my duties as a cross country runner this summer, namely by failing to ever run. As of this moment, I have been running precisely four times, the latest only this morning. To be sure, between work, class, and the snow on the ground last week, it has been difficult for me to find the time and motivation to run, but all the same I must accept that I am not trying hard enough.
This morning, though, I conquered my apathy (with the help of a glorious, sunny day) and went for a thirty minute run during my lunch hour. I don't need an hour to eat my sandwich, so the arrangement worked well all around, and I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow. I am lucky in that one of my places of work is located next to the river, and thus next to the trail that runs along the river all through town. It's a great place for running and cycling, and if I get bored on the one side, there is always another direction, another bank, and the rest of the city to run in as well.
It was beautiful out today, but conveniently for my run, at eleven in the morning the temperature was was mild. Later in the summer, of course, it will be difficult to run after nine, but this morning there was a nice breeze and the air was still cool from our brief flashback to March last week. The first part of my run was on an older part of the trail, where fewer people seem to go, and I saw a garter snake on the path before I was more than a half mile out. I jumped around a bit, trying not to step on it as it slithered off the path.
After that, the trail started getting busier, which was great to see. One of the things I love most about my hometown is how active all the people are. From that point until I turned around out by the university, where the path leads out of town and into a wilderness area (or, alternately, up a mountain), I could always see at least one group of cyclers and one group of walkers or joggers.
It was a short, slow run (around three miles, I think) with a pause for stretching in the middle, but it felt great to have done it. The altitude hurt a bit at first, but my body seemed to be adjusting well as I went. I still ended up a bit out of breath, but mountain air will do that to a person. The arch of my foot is oddly sore, but luckily that is the only injury I seem to be suffering from at the moment. All in all, I must say it was quite a rewarding run, especially since I am essentially starting from scratch here. With luck, tomorrow's jaunt will be even better.
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This morning, though, I conquered my apathy (with the help of a glorious, sunny day) and went for a thirty minute run during my lunch hour. I don't need an hour to eat my sandwich, so the arrangement worked well all around, and I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow. I am lucky in that one of my places of work is located next to the river, and thus next to the trail that runs along the river all through town. It's a great place for running and cycling, and if I get bored on the one side, there is always another direction, another bank, and the rest of the city to run in as well.
It was beautiful out today, but conveniently for my run, at eleven in the morning the temperature was was mild. Later in the summer, of course, it will be difficult to run after nine, but this morning there was a nice breeze and the air was still cool from our brief flashback to March last week. The first part of my run was on an older part of the trail, where fewer people seem to go, and I saw a garter snake on the path before I was more than a half mile out. I jumped around a bit, trying not to step on it as it slithered off the path.
After that, the trail started getting busier, which was great to see. One of the things I love most about my hometown is how active all the people are. From that point until I turned around out by the university, where the path leads out of town and into a wilderness area (or, alternately, up a mountain), I could always see at least one group of cyclers and one group of walkers or joggers.
It was a short, slow run (around three miles, I think) with a pause for stretching in the middle, but it felt great to have done it. The altitude hurt a bit at first, but my body seemed to be adjusting well as I went. I still ended up a bit out of breath, but mountain air will do that to a person. The arch of my foot is oddly sore, but luckily that is the only injury I seem to be suffering from at the moment. All in all, I must say it was quite a rewarding run, especially since I am essentially starting from scratch here. With luck, tomorrow's jaunt will be even better.
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13.6.08
I Heart Holland
What's not to love about the home of tulips, windmills, Amsterdam, and possibly the most kick-ass national football team in the world today?
Maybe this just goes to demonstrate my atrocious lack of knowledge in the field of international football, but I simply never thought of the Netherlands as being anything particularly special. As a country, all they really seem to have going for them is the college student's fantasy that is Amsterdam. As a soccer team... well, to be honest, if I'd actually bothered to think about it, they are certainly not lacking in talent. Although I am proud to say that I definitely thought that anyone predicting them to finish last in their group was selling them a bit short. And after this week, I have to say Holland may be my new favorite country.
Browsing some more pre-tournament predictions, I can see at least that I was not alone in dismissing the Dutch. Despite having an amazing number of players on some of the best clubs in the world (especially for such a small country), almost no one seemed to be willing to stand up for the Netherlands. Romania was picked to be the surprise contender in the Group of Death far more often than Holland.
I'm sure many people lost a lot of money when the Oranje secured their place at the top of Group C this afternoon, and now there will be many more who will lose out should Holland fail to win the whole deal. After dominating the two World Cup finalists so convincingly, it would be impossible not to at least entertain the possibility. Yet while I'd certainly love to see a win for a team I actually like, I accept that Holland has a history of self-destruction and may not even make it beyond the quarterfinals.
No matter what happens, though, the Netherlands have earned a permanent place in the corner of my heart reserved for inspirational sports teams. I may like them now because they are winning (this fondness for victory has also imbued me with affection for Man U, an unfortunate situation I can't seem to extract myself from), but as a longtime Green Bay Packers fan I can attest that I have the fortitude to support my chosen teams through even the worst seasons.
So, with no further ado, though I speak not a word of Dutch and find my general knowledge of
the Netherlands to be miserably inadequate (a deficiency you may trust will soon be remedied), I hereby offer my endorsement of the Dutch National Football Team in their campaign for the European Championship of 2008.
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9.6.08
Musings on "Prince Caspian"
Disclaimer: The Author accepts no responsibility for any Disappointed Expectations or Spoiled Endings that may occur as a result of viewing the information that follows. You have been warned.
I can't say I really liked the first Narnia movie that well, but Prince Caspian was not bad at all. I liked it partly because Ben Barnes, who plays the prince, is sexy in armor and William Moseley actually looks his age this time round. Overall, though, I really do think it was a better movie, at least in terms of entertainment value. It's been too long since I read the books to be able to say whether either of the movies really captured the tone of C.S. Lewis's work, but my general feeling is that neither of them really do. As movies, they may be better off for it.
The absence of Aslan for much of the movie was, for me, a good thing, because digital animals always seem just a bit off to me, especially in these movies and especially the lion, maybe because he's so big. The mice didn't bother me at all, and the badger was only moderately frustrating. On the other hand, the mythological creatures - mainly centaurs and minotaurs in this movie - were fantastic. I'm not sure whether they have better geeks doing the magic stuff or I'm not as attached to a theory of what a "real" faun should look like, but I always feel like there's a distinct difference in the quality of the animation.
Then again, maybe the reason Disney has so much trouble animating a lion is that it was never done in the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies. This alternate explanation seems rather plausible, given the sizable visual debt Prince Caspian owes the creators of those films. The final battle scene in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe looked much like the battles we saw in the LOTR movies, and Prince Caspian used even more borrowed visual themes. For instance, one element that seemed particularly unoriginal in this film was the appearance of a river god to destroy the evil attackers. I don't remember how, of if, this scene was portrayed in the books, but it didn't seem as though those responsible for the movies made much effort to make its cinematic portrayal stand out from the similar scene in Fellowship of the Ring in which water horses overrun a pack of enemy soldiers. And where the panoramas and nature effects owe much to that trilogy, the blurs and slow motions of the one-on-one fight scenes remind stylistically of the Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter movies.
Perhaps it is inevitable that a movie exploiting the novel-based special-effects-laden fantasy series craze created by the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies leans on its predecessors for more than simply thematic inspiration, and similarity of source material may be partly to blame for many of the other overlaps between LOTR and the Narnia movies. One of the other things Prince Caspian (unfortunately) has in common with its fantasy epic predecessor in an emphasis on action and adventure rather than well-rounded characters and realistic dialog.
Peter and Susan, in particular, are hindered by awkward lines and cues. Neither William Moseley nor Anna Popplewell seem to be as willing to buy into to the movie's drama as Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, who play Edmund and Lucy. The older characters are further hindered by the screenwriters' attempts to make them seem "mature," with the result that Edmund and Lucy are much more convincing as characters than the stilted Peter and Susan.
Also tortuously forced is the pseudo-romance of Prince Caspian and Susan, built mostly on unsubtle camera cuts between the two and a single saucy comment on Susan's part. And then of course that awful, awful kiss. To begin with, of course, it is most certainly not in the book, though I don't think extratextuality is necessarily a mortal sin. What really dooms Disney's attempt at "creative interpretation" here is the total lack of chemistry between the two characters. Admittedly, their relationship is supposed to be more about the possibility than anything solid, but I didn't see enough actual interaction between the characters to justify even that.
On the other hand (though this is so completely unorthodox that any true C.S. Lewis fan would condemn me to hell for even thinking it), had either of their characters been female/had Prince Caspian not been a Disney movie based on a book by C.S. Lewis, I would have said there were some sparks flying between Caspian and Peter. I admit that a portion of my attachment to this idea (like my fondness for the movie) is related to the fact that I find both of them rather attractive, but I am convinced that not all of the sexual tension I was seeing was a result of an overactive imagination.
At this point, it might be wise to ask if I would have liked the movie nearly so much had I not been scouring every scene for hints of potential scandal. The answer, I think, after much introspection, is that while certainly it made for endless amusement and cause for more than one comment to coviewers afterward, the movie has merit in and of itself. It's not a great classic epic like Lord of the Rings, nor does it deal with real teenage personalities and issues like Harry Potter, but Prince Caspian is at the very least an entertaining addition to the genre. You could spend your money on many much worse movies this summer.
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I can't say I really liked the first Narnia movie that well, but Prince Caspian was not bad at all. I liked it partly because Ben Barnes, who plays the prince, is sexy in armor and William Moseley actually looks his age this time round. Overall, though, I really do think it was a better movie, at least in terms of entertainment value. It's been too long since I read the books to be able to say whether either of the movies really captured the tone of C.S. Lewis's work, but my general feeling is that neither of them really do. As movies, they may be better off for it.
The absence of Aslan for much of the movie was, for me, a good thing, because digital animals always seem just a bit off to me, especially in these movies and especially the lion, maybe because he's so big. The mice didn't bother me at all, and the badger was only moderately frustrating. On the other hand, the mythological creatures - mainly centaurs and minotaurs in this movie - were fantastic. I'm not sure whether they have better geeks doing the magic stuff or I'm not as attached to a theory of what a "real" faun should look like, but I always feel like there's a distinct difference in the quality of the animation.
Then again, maybe the reason Disney has so much trouble animating a lion is that it was never done in the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies. This alternate explanation seems rather plausible, given the sizable visual debt Prince Caspian owes the creators of those films. The final battle scene in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe looked much like the battles we saw in the LOTR movies, and Prince Caspian used even more borrowed visual themes. For instance, one element that seemed particularly unoriginal in this film was the appearance of a river god to destroy the evil attackers. I don't remember how, of if, this scene was portrayed in the books, but it didn't seem as though those responsible for the movies made much effort to make its cinematic portrayal stand out from the similar scene in Fellowship of the Ring in which water horses overrun a pack of enemy soldiers. And where the panoramas and nature effects owe much to that trilogy, the blurs and slow motions of the one-on-one fight scenes remind stylistically of the Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter movies.
Perhaps it is inevitable that a movie exploiting the novel-based special-effects-laden fantasy series craze created by the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies leans on its predecessors for more than simply thematic inspiration, and similarity of source material may be partly to blame for many of the other overlaps between LOTR and the Narnia movies. One of the other things Prince Caspian (unfortunately) has in common with its fantasy epic predecessor in an emphasis on action and adventure rather than well-rounded characters and realistic dialog.
Peter and Susan, in particular, are hindered by awkward lines and cues. Neither William Moseley nor Anna Popplewell seem to be as willing to buy into to the movie's drama as Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, who play Edmund and Lucy. The older characters are further hindered by the screenwriters' attempts to make them seem "mature," with the result that Edmund and Lucy are much more convincing as characters than the stilted Peter and Susan.
Also tortuously forced is the pseudo-romance of Prince Caspian and Susan, built mostly on unsubtle camera cuts between the two and a single saucy comment on Susan's part. And then of course that awful, awful kiss. To begin with, of course, it is most certainly not in the book, though I don't think extratextuality is necessarily a mortal sin. What really dooms Disney's attempt at "creative interpretation" here is the total lack of chemistry between the two characters. Admittedly, their relationship is supposed to be more about the possibility than anything solid, but I didn't see enough actual interaction between the characters to justify even that.
On the other hand (though this is so completely unorthodox that any true C.S. Lewis fan would condemn me to hell for even thinking it), had either of their characters been female/had Prince Caspian not been a Disney movie based on a book by C.S. Lewis, I would have said there were some sparks flying between Caspian and Peter. I admit that a portion of my attachment to this idea (like my fondness for the movie) is related to the fact that I find both of them rather attractive, but I am convinced that not all of the sexual tension I was seeing was a result of an overactive imagination.
At this point, it might be wise to ask if I would have liked the movie nearly so much had I not been scouring every scene for hints of potential scandal. The answer, I think, after much introspection, is that while certainly it made for endless amusement and cause for more than one comment to coviewers afterward, the movie has merit in and of itself. It's not a great classic epic like Lord of the Rings, nor does it deal with real teenage personalities and issues like Harry Potter, but Prince Caspian is at the very least an entertaining addition to the genre. You could spend your money on many much worse movies this summer.
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