Enthusiasms - What to look forward to 3-29-24
Welcome to Enthusiasms. Your reminder to always be looking forward to something. Pulltab Sports Editor-In-Chief, John King, points you in the right direction.
THE NEW ROADHOUSE IS HOW MOVIES USED TO BE. . .AWESOME.
When you heard Jake Gyllenhall was starring in a remake of the ‘80s classic Road House, you probably dismissed it as the cinema equivalent of an ironic mustache. Not so fast. The new Road House (streaming on Prime) is an unapologetic delight. Gyllenhall is shredded like Brad Pitt in Fight Club as an ex-MMA wanderer who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Connor McGregor plays his nemesis and is an absolute menace in the movie. McGregor is a true silver back on the silver screen, reaching Bond villain levels of fun in a star turn here. The fight scenes are unbelievable.
The music is so good you’ll be Googling “Road House 2024 Soundtrack”—sadly here doesn’t appear to be anything official. Even Post Malone makes an appearance. If you grew up watching and loving movies like Lethal Weapon, Cannonball Run, and Tango & Cash—the new Road House will take you right back. Sure, there are a couple of forced jokes in the middle of epic fight scenes, but I have to correct people when they say the new Road House is cheesy or over the top. When in fact, it’s more accurate to say the new Road House is similar to movies like Stallone’s Over the Top, and therefore it’s completely awesome. If you enjoy butter in the middle popcorn entertainment like the Fast and the Furious franchise, you’re going to love yourself some Road House remake. It’s delicious.
The “do you have insurance / how far is the hospital” bit in the trailer linked below is an accurate portrayal for how fun this movie is. The new Road House is a roaring good time.
THE POSSIBLE IOWA VS. LSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REMATCH COULD MEASURE ON THE RICHTER SCALE.
While they both still need to win games on Saturday, a potential rematch between Caitlyn Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers on Monday night is looming. If this happens, it’s going to break ratings records because not since Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan have we had a rivalry quite so compelling. Race, politics, geography, it’s all going to play out on Monday night and people are going to be riled up. No matter the outcome, you may want to avoid logging into X for about 48 hours after this game.
People will want to simplify, positioning Clark as pure, a character out of Hoosiers. She “plays the right way,” dropping 3’s when she isn’t making heart symbols to friends and family. They’ll put Reese in the black hat as the flashy, loudmouth villain, who lacks class.
Truth is, it’s not that simple. Caitlyn Clark is a gangster too! Don’t tell your grandma in Iowa, but Clark will even scream the F-Word. It’s true, I’ve seen it! This game means a ton to Clark’s legacy. To warrant the Taylor Swift levels of fame she’s experiencing, she’ll need to find a way to avenge her loss to Reese’s Tigers from a year ago. Even if her Iowa team isn’t as strong as the Tigers, no one is going to care because Monday night is a winner-take-all heavyweight fight.
I hope the rematch happens, because I can’t wait to see what happens. Oh, and don’t sleep on Minnesota’s own Paige Bueckers on University of Connecticut. Because while Clark and Reese are in the octagon duking it out, Paige “Buckets” is going to slide right on by on her way to cutting down the nets. You heard it here first, Caitlyn and Angel punch each other out and Buckets wins it!
I GUESS WE’RE ONLY WATCHING ASIAN SHOWS NOW. INCLUDING TOKYO VICE ON MAX, IF YOU’RE LUCKY.
I didn’t know there was such a thing as Japanese gangsters. I didn’t know these gangsters called the Yakuza are identified by their body covering tattoos. Well, Max knew both these things and they currently feature prominently in the second season of Tokyo Vice. The show stars Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort in a fish out of water role playing an American reporter for a Japanese newspaper. His relentless reporting gets him all tangled up with the Japanese mob and underworld. If you like series like Narcos or recently Griselda, you’ll love Tokyo Vice. It’s smart, well written and superbly acted, and importantly it will expose you to the underworld and a part of the world most of us don’t know a ton about. With Shōgun also crushing on Rotten Tomatoes, it looks like our remote controls are going to be spending quite a bit of time in Japan for the foreseeable future.
WIN OR AND GO HOME.
An underrated treat for sports fans is the NCAA college hockey playoffs. ESPN carries them in full, and the regionals are taking place this weekend. Of particular interest to Minnesotans should be the fact that the U of M is the only D1 Minnesota based team to make the tournament. And unlike last year’s squad, which was littered with star players currently lighting up the NHL: Brock Faber, Logan Cooley, Matthew Knies, Jackson Lacombe, to name a few. This year’s roster looks more like, well, the guys who were left behind.
Making matters more interesting, Saint Paul is hosting the Frozen Four this year. Which means when the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers square off with Boston University on Saturday night—a victory for Minnesota earns them a trip to Saint Paul for the Frozen Four. In a world of “Win or go home” playoff scenarios, the Gophers are presented with a rare “Win AND go home” game. If you’re a sports fan that likes a good story, check out what Coach Motzko has done with this year’s Gophers from the calming goaltender Justen Close, to 5th year Seniors Jaxon Nelson and Bryce Brodzinski, and world class triggerman, “Top” Jimmy Snuggerud. If this Gopher team is the one that finally gets over the hump, it’ll be quite the story. Good news, you can find out on Saturday night!
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