The Skolney Blog

2002: Barbershop was a big hit. It spawned a couple sequels, a spinoff movie, and I guess a TV series. I'm kind of surprised it didn't lead to more. I mean, this is a setting that really works for an ensemble comedy. And you don't even have to worry about a changing cast, cause the cast WOULD change over the years. I liked the sequels, and I think the spinoff. But the first movie is the best. It's the funniest one, and the ensemble is at its best. This movie kind of sent Ice Cube's acting career off on a different trajectory, but he is well suited to be kind of the genial straight man as all sorts of shenanigans happen around him. Cedric The Entertainer lives up to his name as the cranky old man barber. Eve, man, she hadn't been in a movie before this but she was at the peak of her....everything here. Yeah I liked Eve. I kind of miss these PG13 comedies. I guess only network sitcoms can get clean laughs anymore.  Never heard of City By Th...

In theaters: BEAST Idris Elba's family trip to Africa takes a bad turn when they encounter a bloodthirsty lion. It's a pretty lean, mean thriller, and well made. The CGI lion is very convincing. Elba is a strong lead of course. THE INVITATION Nathalie Emmanuel thinks she's discovered some extended family, but oh would you look at that they're vampires. This movie has nothing new to offer the genre (and is PG13 for some reason) and despite the joys of getting to look at Emmanuel in every scene is quite dull. But you do get a pretty good finale.  BARBARIAN Two guests at an Air BnB find out they picked just about the worst house ever to stay at in this horror movie, which at times is quite effective at turning the screws and making you nervous. The structure is weird and halts the momentum of a pretty excellent opening third, but it recovers, and offers up some grotesquely memorable sequences.  PEARL A prequel movie to X, starring Mia Goth as the younger version of the cra...

Twins 4 White Sox 0 My last Twins game of the year was played in a largely deserted ballpark, between 2 teams playing out the string. Cleveland ran away with the AL Central, so the idea that this final home series would matter is long gone. Too bad, cause this was a solid game. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the Twins were a decent team. Bailey Ober was the star. 7 1/3 innings, 2 hits, 10 strikeouts....all of them swinging. Easily one of the best outings by a Twins SP all year. Jax and Duran (whose Target Field intro is quite cool) finished it up. The Twins scattered 10 hits off of that dipshit Lance Lynn, and 4 runs, capped by a 2 run homer by Matt Wallner that was hit incredibly high. The Twins went 4-1-1 in games I attended this year, so at least that worked out. And as always, it was kind of sad walking out of Target Field for the last time til spring.

Thursday: [Browns 29, Steelers 17] The Browns are 1 blown onside kick from being 3-0, but are also a 58 yard field goal from being 1-2. Pittsburgh has to go to the rookie Pickett if they want to salvage their own season.  Sunday: [Ravens 37, Patriots 26] Basically aside from the 4th quarter against Miami, the Ravens have been as good as anybody this year. Mac Jones got hurt, so the Patriots season is already in trouble.  [Panthers 22, Saints 14] The Saints very much stink this year. The Vikings need to take care of business in London.  [Bears 23, Texans 20] Somehow the Bears have managed to be 2-1 despite not playing a single good game.  [Colts 20, Chiefs 17] The stunner of the week. The Chiefs looked very good for 2 weeks. The Colts looked awful, and got shut out last week. So naturally the Colts win, with some help from a series of crucial Chiefs mistakes.  [Eagles 24, Commanders 8] The Eagles might just be that good. I'm already deeply regretting ...

VIKINGS 28 LIONS 24 Said it all week. This game was about how the Vikings would bounce back after their MNF debacle in Philly. Turns out they also needed to bounce back after their own performance put them in a separate pair of double digit holes on Sunday. But they answered the challenge. They played a messy, inconsistent, sometimes downright putrid game, but finished with one of the most rousing rallies they have had in years, and pulled out a massive win. The hopes they would come out crisp were dashed quickly. Our defense stunk early and gave up a pair of TD drives that looked all too familiar with the lack of pressure and the wide open receivers. Our offense couldn't get going. Well, the ground game started strong but it was repeatedly abandoned quickly. At 14-0 it was already looking bleak, but the Vikings offense rebounded with a very good 2nd quarter. A pair of TD drives, one ending with Thielen's 50th career TD and the other with Cook's 1st TD run of 2022. They eve...

Gophers 34 Michigan State 7 Okay, I'm the idiot. I thought the Gophers would lose this game. It seemed like the perfect setup to have the dominant 3-0 Gophers face a seemingly tough road test against a recently ranked Big Ten team and immediately trip up. Instead they made it 4 for 4 in blowout wins, in a game that wasn't even as close as 34-7. 2019 Tanner Morgan is back. He was great in this game, both making great throws and some a few key runs. The run game was brutally efficient again, racking up well over 200 yards. The defense didn't surrender the shutout until the final minute. They got a couple turnovers. The Spartans were never close to making this a game. The Gophers still have Penn State and Purdue and even Nebraska as games you could see them at least being challenged in, but after today there seems to be a very real chance that they could go into the final 2 weeks undefeated. And then, as usual, the season comes down to whether or not you can beat Iowa (home) o...

Eagles 24 Vikings 7 Well, at least it wasn't 38-7. Those great vibes from week 1 lasted approximately 8 days. They were snuffed out in convincing fashion on Monday night during a grotesque, lopsided loss to the Eagles. No silver linings here. This was a complete ass kicking. Philly dominated us on both sides of the ball, and amongst other indignities caused Kirk Cousins to have his worst game in almost 2 calendar years, much to the delight of the KCDS crowd. All the scoring happened in the first half, when Jalen Hurts was allowed to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. First a game opening TD drive, then a dagger deep shot over our burned safeties. It was 14-0 and we had run 3 plays. You just can't get in a quick hole like that on the road. The Vikings did briefly appear ready to make things a game when they finally got the offense going a little bit. Sparked by a jet sweep carry by Jalen Reagor, the offense showed life. Kirk found a few open receivers, the last Irv Smith ...