Simply because the readers demand it, I'm offering up my review of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.  For the record, I'm a sometimes Tarantino fan.  I respected both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, but both crossed some lines that lessened my enjoyment of the movies (think: Stuck in the Middle with You).  On the other hand, I adore Kill Bill (both 'volumes'), and left the theater in pure awe after seeing Vol. 1.  So I came to Inglourious Basterds hopeful, but guarded. I saw the movie with my wife who has seen Pulp Fiction and the Bills, liking both.

Despite my well harbored reservations, it took all of 5 minutes to be convinced that Basterds was a wonderful movie.  From the incredible first "chapter" with Christopher Waltz as the unforgettable "Jew Hunter" Hans Lander, the movie is fraught with tension and brilliance.  Before I go further, let it be known that just as much as the Best Supporting Actor Oscar was unquestionably going to Heath Ledger for The Joker last year, so Waltz already has two hands on the statue this year.  His performance alone is worth the price of the movie, and Hans Lander will be long remembered as one of the best screen villains of this decade (along with Ledger Joker and Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith).

The second chapter of the movie introduces Brad Pitt's team of Basterds, US Jews assembled to beat the holy hell out of Nazis.  Pitt's performance is slightly distracting at first, but makes more sense as the movie moves along.  He's functioning as a modern day John Wayne, present more to be "the American screen star in a WW II movie" than as a pure 'actor'.  Basterds, like most Tarantino films, is a running commentary on cinema itself.  Everything he does is calculated and referential.  Pitt is a bit ridiculous, but then again, he's supposed to be.  You never forget you are watching Brad Pitt (unlike his turns in Snatch or 12 Monkeys or even Fight Club), it was distracting at first, but by the end of the movie, I was glad for it as his amazing Italian accent almost steals the show (just wait for it).

Unfortunately, there's only so much I can say about the movie without ruining it.  It is significantly less bloody than Bill, and less objectionable than Fiction and Dogs, but remember that's on a "Taraninto" scale.  It's a Tarantino film, which means it's wonderfully, viscerally violent.  To be frank, it was as emotionally satisfying to my deep seeded lust for bloody vengeance as any movie could be.  If you think it would be fun to watch Nazi's get the crap kicked out of them, then this is the movie for you.  The sense of just retribution for the crimes of the Third Reich was immensely gratifying.  Tarantino knows what moves young men and plays each note perfectly.

The movie is violent and funny.  The ending is brilliant.  Tarantino loves to build scenes to a Hitchcockian level of tension, but with him you know the bomb under the table is going off, and when it does, someone is losing a leg.

This movie is not as life altering as Kill Bill, but in many ways was just as enjoyable if not more so. It is much more accessible than Bill, but sacrifices nothing in getting there.  My wife and I both loved the movie, and I would pay to see it again in a heartbeat.

The preseason came to an (un)merciful, whimpering conclusion in Cincinnati last night, and it's finally time to assess what we've learned.

1.  Peyton Manning is ready to play.

In some sense, almost nothing else on this team matters.  We already saw last year that as long as Manning is healthy, he doesn't need an O-line or run game to win.  He was sharp all preseason, and is clearly on a mission.

2.  The offensive line will be a problem all year.

Charlie Johnson is the left tackle.  I'm still not ok with that sentence.  The line gave up 5 sacks of Manning in barely one full game of work.  Tony Ugoh could have won the starting job back, but he was terrible.  His play last night was rough to say the least, although there were problems all over the line, to be fair.  This was the biggest offseason issue for the Colts this year.  Lilja is back and apparently healthy, so that's a plus.  Still, there is some question as to whether this is a Super Bowl quality O line.

3.  Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Worried that there would be too much change in Indy?  If the preseason is any indication, there hasn't been.  The 2009 preseason looked pretty much exactly like the last 5 before it.  The Colts played one good game, one ok game, and two eye bleeders.  This is encouraging to me because it says that Caldwell didn't feel it necessary to come out and "prove" himself in the preseason.  He's comfortable enough to let the team go do what it always has done.

4.  Addai is healthy/Brown is good

The best hope for the run game is that the backs are better than we had last year.  Honestly though, it won't matter much if the line doesn't improve.  Still, expect big plays in the passing game from the pair of them.

5.  The Defense is not deep

The Colts have an excellent starting unit.  Did you notice, however, how little competition there was for starting jobs?  There is a big gap between the first and second units in Horsetown.  The Colts D looked bad in the preseason because the 11 starters (or even 9 of them) never played together.  The Colts have a few competent backups (Bullitt, perhaps Powers, Howard), but by and large this team depends on it's stars on defense.  If the first unit stays healthy, it will be very good.  If not, it will be a replay of last year.

6.  Special teams will always be a problem in Indianapolis

We've talked about this at length, but the Colts don't value special teams play.  They don't invest picks and players on special teams (and they shouldn't).  People love to kill the coaching, but the Colts simply aren't deep enough to provide the kind of top level athletes that make for a great special teams unit.  I expect the Colts to be about what they've always been on ST...weak.  And you know what?  It won't matter.  Still, McAfee has been encouraging at times, so there's always some hope for improvement there.

7.  Jim Sorgi is bullet-proof

As impressive as Curtis Painter was this preseason, he couldn't unseat Jim Sorgi, who though he played just a half of football, did enough to hang onto the #2 QB job.  Sorgi managed to lead a TD drive (and a missed FG drive) in just a half.  Painter never got going last night.  Sorgi is better right now, and will be the #2.  Let's pray it doesn't matter.

8.  The TEs are in for a big year

Manning threw heavily to his TEs this preseason, and for all the talk about Collie and Garcon, it was the big guys that made most of the plays.  Jacob Tamme led the club with 11 catches, followed by 9 for Dallas Clark.  Petrowski, Robinson and Santi had 8 more between them.  In comparison, The Colts top four WRs only had 19 catches all preseason.  Especially with line troubles, expect the Colts to go two TEs a lot, and for Manning to throw a lot of short routes to releasing TEs out of the backfield to deal with the pressure.

All in all, I'm pleased with how things went this preseason. The Colts looked like the same disheveled mess they always do, though not nearly as awful as they did last August.  No one new got hurt (other than Hayden who seems to be ok).  AV is back, though Bob Sanders is not.  As we all know from 2006, Bob can miss the whole year if he wants.  Just so long as he shows up in January, he's worth it.  Bullitt is a capable backup (one of the few we have).

2009 will come down to the same thing that 2007 and 2008 came down to:  Injuries.  If the defense stays healthy, it will be good. If it doesn't, it won't.  Sometimes, things really aren't complicated.

Manning will be Manning.  Freeney will be Freeney.  Keep the other guys on the field, and this team will win its 12-14 games.  In the end, the O-line will be the issue to watch all season.

It'll tell us how far this team can go.

Ok, crew.  Tonight's live blog will be a little different than the others.  I'm trying to find a format that will work during the season and be more 're-readable' than the free for all chat.

Tonight, only Demond and I will be permanently 'green lit'.  I'll post other comments as they come.  I'm looking for a more streamlined, easy to follow chat. Don't be offended if your comment doesn't get posted.  I'm looking for fewer  "Wow!s" or "Oh crap!s".  It's preseason, and it's time to experiment, so cut me some slack.

The blog will cover the first half only tonight.  The second half of the last preseason game is always loaded with the guys who are about to get cut anyway.

It's been a big topic around here recently, so I figured I'd lump several articles about Anthony Gonzalez in to one front page post.  First comes an entry from Kuharksy's mailbag.  A reader asked if the Colts have the slowest WRs around.  The answer from Scouts Inc's Matt Williamson?  No!

"I wouldn't say it is a weakness though at all. Collie is probably the slowest of the bunch and yes, I would say that Garcon is the fastest, but he is more of a build-up guy than Wayne and Gonzo, who go 0 to 60 quite abruptly. Don't sleep on Gonzo's flat out speed. He can really run. As can Wayne of course. I wouldn't say that any of these guys has the blow-past-you-speed that Marvin Harrison did in his prime though. Still, not a weakness."

"Also, Dallas Clark is as much WR as he is TE and is amongst the fastest TEs in the league."

Either way, Gonzalez should be on the field for 50 snaps a game, which is why Manning felt a sense of urgency with him in the spring and summer. "Most people throw the route tree when they work out -- one hitch, one slant, one out, one hook," says Manning. "You hit 'em all and you say, 'Good workout.' The way I think is, you master one route at a time -- one route a day -- and you throw the living stew out of it. I think I feel good about every route with Gonzalez now."

What's so hard about running a 15-yard comeback? Consider this: Because defenses are so diverse, a third-down pass play could bring two blitzers or it could bring bump coverage. Colts receivers must know how those schemes will affect the time Manning has to throw; they must have a clock in their heads plus the peripheral vision to know when to shorten a 15-yard route to 12.

Making those adjustments second nature will determine whether the Colts' receivers succeed. "Those sessions helped a lot," Gonzalez says. "Peyton's such a perfectionist. At the end of my rookie camp I got the sense that I was not good enough. So I asked Peyton what he wanted out of me. I remember this vividly. He said, 'I need to know every single play that you're exactly where I need you to be.' "

Interesting stuff and a cool quote.  I think it puts what King wrote Monday in perspective.  He's not paying close attention to the Colts right now, but knows that AG is on the spot. He sees one dropped pass, but probably didn't see the interference penalty AG helped obtain earlier in the game.  He looks at the stats, sees 4 catches for a handful of yards, and concludes it isn't going well with Manning.  I think that's a huge overreach based on too little data, but knowing that he was sitting on this story angle, I can see why he jumped it.

Since it will save me time, here's a couple of other quick links.  Dilfer puts Brady and Manning on their own tier.  They deserve to be there.

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis

Analysis: Ultimate coach on the field … processes and executes more information at a high level than anybody who has ever played the game … never has an offense functioned around one individual more than it has Manning … unbelievable durability, second only to Brett Favre … unrivaled combination of durability and dependability.

Don Brown is ranked as the second best rookie fantasy back, but I like what the author has to say about Addai too.

2. Donald Brown, Indianapolis- The Colts used a first-round choice to solidify the running game given Joseph Addai's past injury issues. Brown is a dynamic runner with good speed to the outside who excels as a receiver in the flat (48 receptions last year). He proved remarkably durable in his final season for Connecticut, piling up an eye-popping total of 367 carries for 2,083 yards and 18 touchdowns. I still believe that Addai has the potential to push back toward 1,000 yards if he can stay healthy, but Brown will have immediate fantasy value, particularly in PPR leagues.

It's no secret that while my heart is firm entrenched in Indianapolis, I currently live overseas.  Because of that, I sometimes have to be creative about how to access Colts games.    The DirecTV Sunday ticket is cheap here in Argentina, so I'm a subscriber to that.  Unfortunately, it only gives 6 games a week, instead of the full slate.  So, for when the Horse isn't on my TV,  we've also invested in a Slingbox.  This nifty device allows you to watch your home TV (or in this case Demond's) from any computer connected to the internet.  Now, you can even watch it over an IPod Touch via an App.

Those solutions are great if you have enough time and planning, but what happens when at the last minute something goes wrong and you can't find the game on TV, or you are forced watching the Bills and Jets play in OT and are forced to miss the opening kickoff of the Colts game?

"Where can I find the game?" is perhaps the most asked question during our live game chats.  Well, now we have answer:  channelsurfing.net.  Here's is a review of the site by one of our readers, Cass:

*******

For the rest of the review, click here:

(18to88.com note:  We are passing this option along to our readers as a favor.  We make no endorsement of the site personally.  We've never tried it nor been to it.  We make no claims as to the legality of the site or what you might encounter when you get there.  All internet surfing involves a degree of risk, and you should have your guard up at all times.  We are not responsible for anything that happens to you on the site.  Please don't sue us or throw us in jail.  We are just telling you where you can find the game.  What you do with that information is on you.)

Thanks in part to Peter King's weird diatribe today and the odd assertions of a reader, it's a good time to take a look at how Anthony Gonzalez stacks up to Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison over his first two seasons.

Anthony Gonzalez:

Reggie Wayne

Marvin Harrison

So what can we learn from this?

• Gonzalez has been incredible for a WR in his first two years.  He been one of the most valuable WRs in the game.
• Gonzalez is markedly better through year two than Wayne was.  Year three was where Wayne took off.
  
• Gonzalez catches the ball more regularly than either a young Wayne or Harrison.
• Marvin Harrison was a beast and was the Colts #1 WR from the go his rookie year.  That is rare.  Still, there are some areas where Gonzo passes him, but that might be the difference between having Manning as QB and having a beat up Jim Harbaugh and Paul Justin as QB.

Normally, this would be link material, but Peter King's "10 Things I Think I Think" had an item so absurd that it has to be slammed, and hard.  Here's the item:

6. I think the most significant single play of the weekend could well have been the right-in-his-hands drop by Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez late in the first half at Detroit. The Colts are trying to give Gonzalez one of two jobs -- Marvin Harrison's right wide-receiver spot, or the slot receiver job. But Peyton Manning and offensive coordinator Tom Moore are waiting for Gonzalez to raise his game and grab one of the jobs. After the Gonzalez drop, Manning threw six more passes, none to Gonzalez, and Dallas Clark was back in the slot, his comfort zone with Manning.

Manning's going to throw to players he trusts, and with Gonzalez dropping a ball like that one -- and not making enough plays otherwise in the preseason -- he could well make Manning lean on Clark and rookie Austin Collie more inside, and Pierre Garcon outside. That really solves all your fantasy problems with the Colts, doesn't it?

Sixth round pick Curtis Painter has impressed all of us this preseason.  Many Colts fans are wondering if Jim Sorgi's job as backup to Peyton Manning might be in serious jeopardy.  Sorgi has missed all three preseason games with an injury, giving Painter plenty of time to show off his arm.  There has been plenty to like:

• He has a big arm.  He delivers the ball with authority.
• He doesn't look panicked, rushed, or lost.
• He keeps his eyes downfield even when rushed.

The Colts have a decision to make.  There are two reasons to keep a backup quarterback:

The Colts dropped to the Lions today 18-17. They are now 1-2 on the preseason

We'll see you here at One PM Indiana time.