Ex-Chiefs OL reviews Kingsley Suamataia’s film vs. Lions

Take a look at Geoff Schwartz’s breakdown of #Chiefs OL Kingsley Suamataia’s performance against the #Lions this weekend.

The Kansas City Chiefs are using rookie tackle Kingsley Suamataia heavily during the preseason to prepare him for his first year in the NFL. The 2024 second-round pick is set to be a starter in Andy Reid’s offense this year, and has already shown flashes of brilliance in Kansas City’s exhibition matchups.

Suamataia got a lot of playing time this weekend in the Chiefs’ matchup against the Detroit Lions, and despite the a narrow 24-23 loss for Kansas City, the young tackle’s performance warranted a second look from an expert.

Retired NFL guard Geoff Schwartz, who spent the 2013 season with the Chiefs and started games for Kansas City, posted a breakdown of Suamataia’s latest showing on Twitter, and shared his thoughts about the rookie’s development:

As Schwartz noted, Suamataia still has room for improvement, but exhibits good judgment and footwork.

Expect to see some more plays from Suamataia in the Chiefs’ final preseason game on Thursday against the Chicago Bears.

Ex-QB Chase Daniel breaks down Nix’ plays in Broncos QB battle

Ex-NFL QB Chase Daniel, breaks down the snaps Denver Broncos Bo Nix participated in on the field against the Colts as the Broncos choose between 3 QBs for a starter

The Denver Broncos are using the preseason to guide their pick for the next starting quarterback and currently three contenders, Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, are competing for the job.

Head coach Sean Payton is impressed with the trio of candidates after all of them played the first preseason tilt ending in a narrow 34-30 victory against the Indianapolis Colts and looks to the upcoming matches to inform a final decision on the Broncos QB1 spot.

Ex-NFL QB Super Bowl champion Chase Daniel, a veteran who was signed with 8 teams over a 12-year stint in the league, breaks down the snaps Bo Nix participated in on the field against the Colts.

While the rookie Nix from the University of Oregon looks to be a possible favorite against the more experienced post-draft additions Stidham and Wilson, the Broncos will send out their cast of quarterbacks against the Green Bay Packers in the next match where all three players compete to inspire confidence in head coach Sean Payton.

Deadpool & Wolverine soars because it’s so bent on deconstructing its new home

Believe it or not, Deadpool & Wolverine is really good. Here’s why.

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe slammed down the blockbuster dunk of a decade with Avengers: Endgame, the studio behind it made an incredibly regrettable error that nearly undid everything that came before. It kept going.

The finality of what absolutely should’ve been the last Avengers film instantly got zapped out with a barrage of slop content meant to boost up a streaming service (except you, first season of Loki, you’re innocent) and mostly wayward films that couldn’t help but scream to you to come back next week before the sun even set on the end credits. And whatever the heck Eternals was.

The real Marvel Cinematic Universe successes post-2019 have been the final Guardians of the Galaxy film and the Sam Raimi Doctor Strange film, one the end of a standalone trilogy from a filmmaker that just bolted for the competition and the other a gleeful subversion that caught flak from some fans for daring to actually make any of this series morally complicated.

With declining box office receipts and lukewarm reviews, MCU head honcho Kevin Feige stares down the first real studio catastrophe in its existence, its strict adherence to minimal risk finally collapsing on shotty visual effects, radioactive storytelling and boredom out the wazoo. Sure, people ate up the Spider-Man movie with all the Spider-Men, but that wasn’t even the best Spider-Man movie of this decade (hey, Miles Morales).

The grandest irony is the best thing Feige has produced this decade came from trash heap he escaped at the beginning of his career and inherited from a bunch of nauseating studio merger nonsense: the Fox-Marvel-a-verse.

Marvel Studios

Watching Deadpool & Wolverine is like hanging out with that friend from high school who you always used to get in trouble with, felt you should maybe distance from once you got older and eventually relented to welcome back into your life because, in the end, the fun is just too good to miss out.

As much as you’d worry Feige’s suffocating corporate tidiness and cheeky PG “made you look” double entendres would swallow the Deadpool formula whole into something fitting the Disney affiliation, the “Merc with a Mouth” meta meat monsoon sweeps up the MCU into its most purely enjoyable project in half a decade.

For once, you actually feel like the studio is having fun with itself and trying to find some sense of hard-earned finality like James Gunn did with his final Guardians film instead of trying to pull the franchise like a Stretch Armstrong until the latex rubber pops and the gelled corn syrup gets everywhere.

Instead of trying to retcon a major character by saying he was an alien this whole time (see Invasion, Secret), Feige seemingly closes his eyes long enough to let Ryan Reynolds and his merry band of merciless marauders poke fun at how bad the MCU has been lately and try to argue that maybe treating happy endings like scabs to be picked off isn’t the best idea to respect your widely-beloved movie series.

Marvel Studios

The third Deadpool relishes in its spritely irreverence like it always has while still having the gall to tug at your heartstrings here and there, if only because the Marvel brand has become so ubiquitous in our culture and our memories. Even the most shameless cameo from 2005 makes you wince a little to let the nostalgia make you feel old and long for the simpler, stupider days of trashy superhero movies with Evanescence needle drops, television actors masquerading as movie stars and horrible computer graphics.

Deadpool & Wolverine feels like Costco-sized wish fulfillment for all the millennial fans of the Fox Marvel movies that seemed destined for the dumpster once Disney scarfed up their parent studio, as Hugh Jackman comes back once again as a variant of his take on Wolverine and the X-Men lore plays heavily into the plot. He’s splendid, as is the way the film weaves in Emma Corin’s evil Charles Xavier twin sister and all the ragtag characters from Fox Marvel’s past we wouldn’t dare spoil for you.

Indeed, there are countless Fox Marvel cameos to make the greying nerds yelp in celebration, but they’re not just shoehorned in for pandering satisfaction. The entire movie is a half-drunk, slap-happy eulogy to a time when you didn’t get the same dad gum superhero movie series multiple times a year and on your television streaming services, one where you could run from the heroes until you started to miss them again. It’s a film practically begging its cosmic overlords to let things die and honor their flawed accomplishments by refusing their exhumation for marketing opportunities.

Marvel Studios

The film does so by ignoring its own pleas with reckless abandon, the film’s opening scene such an aggressively garish disrespect to the emotional anchor weight of the Logan ending that it somehow does blindfolded backflips into unbelievable levels of endearment. By being so willing to do something positively grotesque with one of the great superhero finales ever, you feel the unabashed love and respect for why that ending is such a wallop in ways the MCU feels allergic to finding in its own movies. Bringing Jackman back feels so craven on paper, but Deadpool & Wolverine manages to do so earnestly without letting the parody of the decision fade fully into the background. There’s method to the madness.

In Feige’s world, you either refuse to take a joke or refuse to take it seriously, creating a tonally confusing vacuum where punchlines get strewn about like Legos on the carpet and generational emotional payoffs get undone a week later by multiverse nonsense. The Deadpool formula has no time for such tepid commitment, jumping butt-naked into its darkest, gut-busting vices and winningly brash, radio-pop soundtrack choices.

While it feels a bit self-defeating for a movie so passionately begging for the MCU to learn from its mistakes of oversaturation to be juxtaposed with Feige even vaguely discussing a world where the studio resurrects Robert Downey Jr.’s very, very dead Iron Man, you still appreciate Wade Wilson’s wisecracking wisdoms. His trolling is also deathly sincere, opposed to the cloying irony that has so often plagued these recent Marvel films when they’ve tried to be funny.

Marvel Studios

Deadpool & Wolverine is a very good X-Men movie, an absolutely hysterical Deadpool movie and probably the most daring MCU movie not directed by Gunn or Raimi since the first Black Panther. It’s also the anti-MCU movie, flipping through a dusty scrapbook from under the bed that reminds us unceasing uniformity never beats a fast food meal with a last, greasy bite.

After all the silly handwringing about Martin Scorsese correctly saying that the MCU films aren’t classical cinema, how delightful to finally get one of these movies that’s so comfortable in its identity as theme park fun that it gets much closer to a cinematic standard than any of its boring peers.

This isn’t Lawrence of Arabia, but it’s sure better than Ant-Man: Quantumania. Even Deadpool knows when it’s time to shut up and let someone else do the talking.

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Ranking the Beverly Hills Cop movies, including the latest installment starring Eddie Murphy

Let’s rank the Beverly Hills Cop movies, including the latest installment on Netflix.

The Beverly Hills Cop films make up one of the most successful comedy franchises in box office history, thanks in large part to Eddie Murphy’s bona fide movie star performances as Detroit cop Axel Foley.

After 30 years since the widely panned third installment, Murphy returned as Foley in this month’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix.

With Murphy returning to one of his defining roles after three decades, it’s worth looking back at the series and ranking how these seismic comedy films stack up against each other.

With four installments, there aren’t many to rank. However, it’s still fascinating to look back on the varying levels of success Murphy and company found with these buddy cop movies.

4. Beverly Hills Cop III 

Series co-star Bronson Pinchot noted in 2009 that Murphy seemed “very low-spirited, low-energy” on the film’s set, as the film came during a downward slope in Murphy’s illustrious career. In fact, Murphy has recently been critical of the unsuccessful third installment in the series, and it’s not hard to understand why. John Landis stepping in and infusing more of his patented shtick felt like such an aggressive departure from Tony Scott’s more gritty second installment, and setting almost the entirety of the film at a Disney World knockoff still doesn’t make a ton of sense when the previous two installments had grounded themselves in Murphy’s gleeful subversion of 1980s Beverly Hills’ yuppie utopia.

Even if he was somber on the set, Murphy does his best to lift the sagging plot with his charm. Even so, Foley running around Wonderworld just doesn’t hit the same as him driving around the streets of Beverly Hills. If the film has a couple of virtues, it’s a fascinating curio of its time, and Judge Reinhold thrives with the added attention on Billy Rosewood. Even if the film isn’t very good, you can’t ever say this one is boring.

3. Beverly Hills Cop II 

Making a comedy sequel is tough, as you’re constantly trying to play the same beats that made people love what came before all while trying to justify why viewers can’t just stay home and watch the original. Beverly Hills Cop II feels like a movie pushing against itself; it’s all at once trying to recapture lightning in a bottle all while giving an in-demand Tony Scott the space he needs to make, well, a Tony Scott movie. The results are more satisfying than not, as Murphy’s never-ending ability to make you laugh and Scott’s steady hand at the wheel more than compensate for repeated story beats. The film’s third act takes an uptick for the better and really delivers the unique blend of thrills and snark that made the original such a classic. Once you really get going with the story, this is a dutiful sequel with a good bit to like.

2. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F 

The long-gestating fourth installment in the series is a pretty big win, finding a nice blend between the breezy tone of the first installment and the kind of emotional heft that typically accompanies a legacy sequel. Adding in excellent actors like Taylour Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kevin Bacon and Luis Guzmán never hurts, nor does Murphy slipping right back into his Detroit Lions garb and Foley charisma with complete and total ease. While the film parallels the original in pretty recognizable ways (like most legacy sequels do), there’s more than enough separation to help the wiser elements of aged characters settle. The fourth film is a rousing success compared to what came before it, even if you can tell that this is absolutely a movie designed for streaming. The star isn’t, however, and it’s really special that we got Murphy in his absolute silver screen star mode as Foley again.

1. Beverly Hills Cop 

You can’t compete with the original. It’s the film that launched Murphy into absolute superstardom and the best collision of what makes this franchise work. Between the bananas in the tailpipe to all of Foley’s devastatingly funny alter egos, the original film stands tall for being one of the great comedies of the 1980s and a gripping cop drama on top of that. We’re always going to compare any future films in this series to the first, as it should be.

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Eddie Murphy confirmed that Shrek 5 and a Donkey spinoff movie are on the way

It’s time to head back to the swamp and peel some onions.

We might be headed back to the swamp to see Shrek, Donkey and Fiona sooner than expected.

Eddie Murphy shared with Collider this week that he’s already begun voice work on a fifth Shrek movie and that the new sequel might come out next year.

Murphy, who voices Donkey in the franchise, also confirmed that a Donkey-centric spinoff is in the works at DreamWorks Animation for some time down the road.

“We started doing Shrek 4 or [Shrek] 5 months ago,” Murphy told Collider. “I did this, I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up. Shrek is coming out, and Donkey’s gonna have his own movie. We’re gonna do Donkey as well. So we’re gonna do a Shrek, and we’re doing a Donkey [movie].”

Murphy added that he thought the new Shrek film was coming out in 2025, although there is no release date yet set for the fifth installment.

The fifth Shrek film was announced last year, but this is our first official confirmation that work has started on the project and that there may already be a release date.

No director or screenwriters have been announced, and original voice actors Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas have yet to be announced as returning to the cast. However, Murphy’s involvement hints to theirs.

The Shrek franchise hasn’t released a formal sequel since 2010’s Shrek Forever After, but two Puss in Boots spinoffs have been released since then.

New film to show creation of Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII ring

A new film will show the creation of the Kansas City #Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII ring | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs will unveil a film on Thursday, June 20, taking fans behind the scenes of the design and manufacturing of the club’s fourth Super Bowl ring and offering exclusive interviews with players, coaches and ownership.

The documentary-style production, titled “Forging Greatness: Making the Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII Ring,” will debut at the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France.

Jostens, which sponsors the film, is the official championship ring manufacturer of the Chiefs and has produced all four Super Bowl championship rings in franchise history (IV, LIV, LVII and LVIII).

Jostens will invite Chiefs Kingdom to share the excitement of the Super Bowl LVIII victory through the official Fan Collection, with pieces inspired by the team’s new championship ring. The Fan Collection will go live at www.jostens.com/chiefs immediately after the official unveiling to the team.

You can watch the film on the Chiefs YouTube Channel at 7 p.m. CT Thursday.

WATCH: Professional highlights of Wisconsin basketball signee Andrija Vukovic

WATCH: Professional highlights of Wisconsin basketball signee Andrija Vukovic

Wisconsin basketball rounded out its 2024-25 roster with the signing of Serbian forward Andrija Vukovic on Monday.

The 6’11” big man is technically part of Wisconsin’s class of 2024 and will enter the 2024-25 season with four years of collegiate eligibility.

Related: Wisconsin basketball 2024-25 starting lineup, rotation and bench with Andrija Vukovic signing

The 20-year-old forward most recently played professionally for KK Vršac of the Basketball League of Serbia, averaging 13 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists on 66% shooting.

The numbers may be underwhelming, but he was a college-aged player playing amongst professionals. His film is a better reflection of the immense potential he brings to Greg Gard’s program.

Vukovic figures to immediately step in as a depth option behind Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter at center. He will be part of a larger front court rotation on the 2024-25 roster that also includes transfer Xavier Amos, veteran Carter Gilmore, Chris Hodges and others.

For a first look at what to expect from the international signee, Ryan Harings recently posted a montage of his game action on X:

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

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Watch: Barry Sanders movie trailer asks the question we all want the answer to

Watch: The Barry Sanders movie trailer lays out the question of why he retired in his prime at age 31

Prime Sports Video released the trailer for the upcoming documentary film about Lions legend Barry Sanders.

“We’ll never see something like Barry Sanders again,” the trailer begins, and then we’re instantly reminded of just how true that statement is.

“Bye Bye Barry” will tell the intriguing story of Sanders’ incredible career as a Detroit Lions running back and icon, in the words of those who played with him and against him, and those who covered him in his prime.

It will also feature Sanders himself discussing what everyone wants to really know: Why did he walk away at 31?

From the press release:

Twenty-four years after the shocking decision to walk away from the sport, NFL Films joined the 55-year-old Sanders and his four sons on a trip back to England to explore his career, revisit his upbringing, and tackle one of the greatest mysteries in sports history: Why did he retire when he did?

The movie debuts on Nov. 21 on Prime Video.

Packers film room: Malik Heath proves he belongs on 53 against Patriots

Diving into the tape to show why Packers rookie WR Malik Heath has earned a spot on the 53-man roster.

From the practice field to the preseason, Malik Heath continues to make the most of his opportunities. The undrafted wide receiver out of Ole Miss has done nothing but make plays as a member of the Green Bay Packers and could be on his way to securing a spot on the 53-man roster.

It started with consistent flashes against Green Bay’s corners in practice. Then, it carried over into the first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals when Heath caught three passes for 36 yards and added a highlight reel block for good measure.

Now, after putting together another solid performance against the New England Patriots in Week 2 of the preseason, Heath is feeling more confident as his momentum builds.

“I get open for sure,” Heath said with a huge smile after the New England game. “They can’t cover me.”

Heath wasn’t entirely wrong, as the Patriots secondary had a tough time containing him on his way to a team-high 75 receiving yards on five receptions on Saturday. However, a box score fails to tell the whole story of what Green Bay’s rookie UDFA at receiver did on the field.

So, we are reviewing Heath’s catches against New England in this week’s film room.

Let’s dive in.

The first catch from Heath was on a short in-breaker from the slot. We see him make a vertical push up the field to force the corner into a backpedal before cutting inside and looking for the ball. After Heath makes the catch, however, he continues to finish the play. Using good awareness, Heath senses the corner closing in and changes direction to elude the tackle and pick up more yards. You love to see this type of competitive toughness and athleticism from a receiver to stay on his feet and fight for additional yards after the catch.

On this rep, Heath is at the top of the video running a corner route against cover 3 coverage. He starts the route by stemming inside to potentially indicate that he might be running another in-breaker. However, once he gets to 10 yards, we see him use a shoulder fake before planting his right foot to make an explosive break toward the sideline. Meanwhile, the Patriots’ corner is in poor position to react, as he’s already given up too much leverage. Heath then makes a leaping grab through contact and shows good concentration to get both feet down in bounds. Overall, everything from the detailed route to the contested catch was fantastic by Heath.

The slant route is one of the most common routes in football for its ability to generate quick-hitting completions. In Heath’s version, we again see how his build-up speed can back off certain coverages, allowing him to take advantage underneath. The depth and timing of this route are perfect.

One of the more exciting plays from this game was this catch over the middle by Heath. At the bottom of the video, he starts by shrugging off minimal contact from the corner and runs a dig. Once he makes his break at the top of the route, there is a slight soft spot in New England’s zone coverage behind the linebacker. This ball probably shouldn’t have been thrown, but Heath shows good toughness to go up and high point the catch knowing contact is imminent. He then bounces right up without a helmet after the 25-yard pickup.

Heath’s last catch was on another slant that unfortunately resulted in the game-ending injury to Patriots corner Isaiah Bolden. Out of respect for him, I am not going to show the play.

Conclusion

It’s hard to project what Heath could bring to Green Bay’s offense this season, considering he’s mostly played against backups. However, he’s done more than some of the team’s recent draft picks who have faced the same level of competition.

I think Heath offers solid route running, good ball skills, and physicality as a blocker. He may not have a ton of production during his rookie year and will likely spend the bulk of his time on special teams, but he’s more than deserving of a spot on the 53.

Chiefs UDFA Spotlight: NC State LB Isaiah Moore

Our #Chiefs UDFA Spotlight Series continues with a linebacker who thrives when attacking downhill.

A tight end and linebacker at Lloyd C. Bird High School in Chesterfield, Virginia, Moore was one of the top-ranked linebacker prospects coming out of the state of Virginia in 2017. He was a team captain as a senior, posting a dominant 106 total tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, three interceptions and five blocked kicks.

The performance earned him offers from half a dozen schools including Old Dominion, Army, Navy, UTSA and Coastal Carolina. He ultimately chose to commit to NC State and head to Raleigh, North Carolina.