The Skolney Blog

*SPOILERS ABOUND* There was no way this film could possibly live up to the hype....but it did. It exceeded my hopes by kind of not being quite the film tonally as expected. This movie is TENSE. From literally the first shot (Hell, before the first shot even begins) the stakes are laid out clear. Thanos is not just imposing but scary. The whole film flows from that first 10 minutes. The scenes where the various Avengers are put into peril all work because we know that, at least this time, Marvel is not faking deaths. The best tension/action sequence is definitely the one on Titan when a half dozen of our guys are all going at Thanos at once to get the glove off. And amidst this hellacious action scene, it turns on a character moment. The whole film is sold on spectacle but digs deep cause of great character beats. And it's funny as hell too, and not at the expense of anything (one joke I would remove, because it undercuts a really nice romantic moment between 2 characters). Almo...

Somehow, despite his 10+ year career, largely with Detroit, I had never seen Justin Verlander pitch in person. Until tonight. And he was indeed dominant. Unfortunately. This was my coldest sporting event since the Blair Walsh game, a chilly evening with a brisk wind and too few other bodies in the stands to absorb the brunt. It would have been nice if the Twins had done something to make it worth it. They came close, but the early season struggles by the lineup continued. They had chances the last 3 innings, but in the 7th they squander a 1st and 3rd with none out, in the 8th they leave the bases loaded. And Byron Buxton, who has had no good fortune at all on well hit balls this year, comes a few feet from a game tying 2 run shot in the 9th. Total snake bite. Awful game from Rosario. Both Houston runs scored on misplays by him. A lot more than raindrops were falling on balls hit to left tonight. And he had 2 huge at bats late and achieved nothing. Can't make mistakes like that...