Way Too Early Oscar Predictions: 2022 Edition

Making Oscars predictions immediately after the big 3 festivals (Venice, Telluride, Toronto) wrap up isn't a great idea. Critics and cinephiles are so drunk on the power of cinema that they're crowning new winners on a near daily basis without taking the time to weigh the options from the entire field of prospective contenders. Is making early predictions a month later much better? Probably not but allowing the peak of the hyperbolic buzz from the festival circuit to die down definitely leads to a crop of picks that are least a bit less knee-jerky in nature. The delay also provided clarity on whether some performers including Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Margot Robbie, Brendon Glesson, Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan and Rooney Mara would be entered into the lead or supporting races (the answer for all of them save for Dano, Glesson and Mulligan was lead).

Although the list is far shorter than usual as a result of me waiting until Halloween to do this, it does need to be noted that there are a handful of potential contenders (Babylon, Avatar: The Way of Water, Spoiler Alert, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, A Man Called Otto) that haven't widely screened yet and the forecast for all of these races could significantly shift once they do. Without any further delay, here are my early Oscar predictions. 

 *Indicates my current predicted winner 

Best Picture:

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once*

The Fabelmans

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 

TAR

Top Gun: Maverick

The Whale

Women Talking

Best Director:

Damien Chazelle, Babylon

Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin 

Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans*

Best Actor:

Austin Butler, Elvis

Diego Calva, Babylon

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin*

Brendan Fraser, The Whale

Hugh Jackman, The Son

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett, TAR*

Danielle Deadwyler, Till

Margot Robbie, Babylon

Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor:

Paul Dano, The Fabelmans

Brendan Glesson, The Banshees of Inisherin

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once*

Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse

Ben Whishaw, Women Talking

Best Supporting Actress:

Jessie Buckley, Women Talking*

Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Claire Foy, Women Talking

Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Sadie Sink, The Whale

Best Original Screenplay:

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All at Once*

The Fabelmans

TAR

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 

Living

The Son

The Whale

Women Talking*

Best Animated Feature:

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio*

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Strange World

Turning Red

Wendell & Wild

Best Documentary Feature:

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Descendant

Fire of Love

The Janes

Navlany*

Best International Feature:

All Quiet on the Western Front

Close*

Decision to Leave

Klondike

Saint Omer

Elizabeth Banks Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Elizabeth Banks-whose latest project "Call Jane" releases in theaters tonight. 

Elizabeth Banks' Filmography Ranked:

32.Swept Away (F)

31.Movie 43 (D)

30.Brightburn (C-)

29.Meet Dave (C)

28.Love & Mercy (C)

27.Spider-Man 3 (C+)

26.Pitch Perfect 3 (B-)

25.Definitely, Maybe (B-)

24.The Happytime Murders (B)

23.Charlie's Angels (B)

22.People Like Us (B)

21.Our Idiot Brother (B)

20.Man on a Ledge (B)

19.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2 (B)

18.The Hunger Games (B)

17.Invincible (B)

16.The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (B)

15.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 (B)

14.Magic Mike XXL (B)

13.Pitch Perfect (B)

12.Slither (B)

11.Power Rangers (B+)

10.Pitch Perfect 2 (B+)

9.Spider-Man (B+)

8.Role Models (B+)

7.Catch Me If You Can (B+)

6.The Lego Movie (B+)

5.Zach and Miri Make a Porno (A)

4.The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (A)

3.Spider-Man 2 (A)

2.Wet Hot American Summer (A)

1.The 40-Year-Old Virgin (A+)

Top Dog: The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

The 40-Year-Old-Virgin is a movie that has everything. Veteran comedy writer Judd Apatow making his directorial debut! Steve Carrell in his 1st leading movie role! Paul Rudd before the world grew to love him! Young Seth Rogen holding his own with comedy heavyweights! A winning mix of raunchy sex comedy and sweet, heartfelt romance! Drunk Leslie Mann violently demanding French toast! The single funniest Michael McDonald joke ever told! It's simply perfection and I'm pretty confident that I'll always feel that way.     

Bottom Feeder: Swept Away (2002)

Somebody should've stepped in and prevented Madonna and then-husband Guy Ritchie from making Swept Away. Not only is Ritchie asleep at the wheel as a director (the lack of urgency or energy in this film is alarming) and Madonna unbelievably awful in the lead role, but its central love story is built on a foundation of abuse and predatory behavior-which adds a nice layer of moral decay to this overwhelmingly inept "romantic" dramedy.  

Most Underrated: Zach and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Kevin Smith's last great comedy* occupies a similar space as The 40-Year-Old Virgin as it combines silly, vulgar sex comedy with a shockingly sweet romantic undercurrent. The biggest difference between the two is that Seth Rogen and Banks have a nuanced, deeply felt chemistry that makes their transition from longtime friends to love interest effortlessly convincing. I'd also be remiss if I didn't give Craig Robinson's scene-stealing supporting performance as Rogen's best friend/co-worker and Tyler Labine's all-time great single scene performance as a drunk, oblivious Pittsburgh Steelers fan who accidentally walks onto the set of the titular porno shoot their proper due. 

*I haven't seen Clerks III yet 

Most Overrated: Love & Mercy (2016)

While it's an undeniably unique take on the music biopic that is driven by thoughtful, sensitive performances from both John Cusack and Paul Dano as Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, some sluggish pacing and flat direction from Bill Pohlad prevent Love & Mercy from hitting the raw emotional targets its aiming for.    

A Completely Fine Movie That I Feel Deserves Some Nice Things Said About It: Charlie's Angels (2019)

The 2019 reboot of Charlie's Angels is a pretty entertaining, completely competent action movie. The titular Angels (Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Ballinska) have a good rapport that only gets stronger as their characters get to know each other better as the movie progresses, the fight scenes are well-choreographed and Banks' direction is energetic enough to match the lighthearted tone of the material. 

Best Pre-Superhero Savant James Gunn Movie: Slither (2006)

Well before James Gunn became the 1st filmmaker to make great movies for both major superhero brands, he was Lloyd Kaufman's understudy at the iconic grindhouse studio Troma and a screenwriter-for-hire that bounced around the major studio circuit in the early 2000's- with notable credits that include Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake and both live action Scooby-Doo movies. After Dawn of the Dead became a huge hit for Universal in 2004, the studio gave him his 1st opportunity to direct with Slither. By combining elements of the body horror, zombie and alien invasion genres with his now-signature irreverent sense of humor, Gunn made Slither a uniquely fun B-movie smorgasbord that is equally funny, gross and thrilling.      

2022 NFL Power Rankings: Week 8

 ()=previous ranking 

1.(1) Philadelphia Eagles (6-0) Week 8 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

2.(2) Buffalo Bills (5-1) Week 8 opponent: Green Bay Packers 

3.(3) Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) Week 8 opponent: Bye 

4.(4) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) Week 8 opponent: Arizona Cardinals 

5.(5) New York Giants (6-1) Week 8 opponent: Seattle Seahawks 

6.(6) Dallas Cowboys (5-2) Week 8 opponent: Chicago Bears

7.(7) New York Jets (5-2) Week 8 opponent: New England Patriots 

8.(8) Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) Week 8 opponent: Cleveland Browns 

9.(10) Baltimore Ravens (4-3) Week 8 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

10.(12) Tennessee Titans (4-2) Week 8 opponent: Houston Texans

11.(9) San Francisco 49ers (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Los Angeles Rams 

12.(20) Seattle Seahawks (4-3) Week 8 opponent: New York Giants 

13.(15) Miami Dolphins (4-3) Week 8 opponent: Detroit Lions

14.(18) Los Angeles Rams (3-3) Week 8 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

15.(13) Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) Week 8 opponent: Bye 

16.(11) New England Patriots (3-4) Week 8 opponent: New York Jets

17.(16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

18.(14) Green Bay Packers (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Buffalo Bills

19.(17) Indianapolis Colts (3-3-1) Week 8 opponent: Washington Commanders

20.(23) Arizona Cardinals (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Minnesota Vikings 

21.(19) Atlanta Falcons (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Carolina Panthers 

22.(29) Washington Commanders (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Indianapolis Colts 

23.(21) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Denver Broncos

24.(27) Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) Week 8 opponent: New Orleans Saints 

25.(30) Chicago Bears (3-4) Week 8 opponent: Dallas Cowboys 

26.(22) New Orleans Saints (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders 

27.(24) Cleveland Browns (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals 

28.(26) Denver Broncos (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars 

29.(28) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles 

30.(25) Detroit Lions (1-5) Week 8 opponent: Miami Dolphins

31.(32) Carolina Panthers (2-5) Week 8 opponent: Atlanta Falcons 

32.(31) Houston Texans (1-4-1) Week 8 opponent: Tennessee Titans 

Week 7 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2022 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Joe Burrow (Bengals) 

Burrow has definitely shaken off all of his early season rust. The Bengals signalcaller somehow managed to be even better in Week 7 than he was in Week 6, as he lit up the Falcons for a ridiculous 481 YDS and 3 TD's while adding 20 YDS and another TD on the ground. Burrow will look to keep rolling against a Browns defense that has struggled to contain the pass all season long but is coming off a strong showing against the Ravens.

Honorable Mentions: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars), Justin Herbert (Chargers)

LVP: Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

The return of Gus Edwards from IR brought on a sudden shift to a run-dominant game script from Greg Roman and that led to Jackson having a very unremarkable showing (120 YDS, 59 YDS Rushing, 0 TD's or turnovers) on a day where he attempted just 15 passes. After an MVP-caliber start to the year, Jackson has put up average-to-below-average numbers in 3 straight games and is at risk of falling out of the top-tier QB1 hierarchy if this troubling trend continues for another couple weeks.

Dishonorable Mentions: Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Derek Carr (Raiders)

Running Back

MVP: Josh Jacobs (Raiders)

Jacobs picked up right where he left off before the Raiders Week 6 bye by exploding for 143 YDS and 3 TD's on 20 carries versus a porous Texans defense. He'll look to keep his stunning high-end RB1 caliber play going on Sunday against a Saints team that gave up some big runs to Eno Benjamin and Kyler Murray last week. 

Honorable Mentions: Austin Ekeler (Chargers), Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Aaron Jones (Packers)

LVP: James Robinson (Jaguars)

Doug Pederson ruined the days of quite a few fantasy mangers when he suddenly switched the Jaguars backfield from a timeshare to the Travis Etienne show on Sunday against the Giants. Not only was Robinson barely on the field, he ended up getting zero touches and just a lone target in the passing game. Fortunately for Robinson's fantasy owners, his usage/workload arrow is already going back up as he got traded to the RB-needy Jets last night. While he's definitely not a terrific starting option for a Week 8 matchup with Patriots team that should be eager to atone for their embarrassing loss to the Bears on Monday Night Football, he should get enough run alongside Michael Carter in a run-heavy offense to at least be a passable FLEX play.

Dishonorable Mentions: Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers), Damien Harris (Patriots), AJ Dillon (Packers)

Wide Receiver 

MVP: Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)

Although he did get outshined by slot receiver Tyler Boyd, Chase was still a major beneficiary of Burrow's passing eruption against the Falcons-registering 8 catches for 130 YDS and 2 TD's. The Burrow to Chase connection is alive and well after a quiet-ish start to the year and the Browns are going to have to bring their A-game to slow it down on Monday night. 

Honorable Mentions: JuJu Smith-Schuster (Chiefs), Mike Williams (Chargers), Tyler Boyd (Bengals)

LVP: Drake London (Falcons) 

A double-digit deficit that lasted from midway through the 1st quarter until the final whistle apparently still wasn't a deep hole enough hole to inspire Arthur Smith to call more passing plays. On an even weirder note, top wideout London-who had received over 35% of the team's passing targets coming into this game-only got 1 look from Marcus Mariota all day. The good news is that he did catch it for a 9 YD gain. As talented as London has proven to be as a rookie, Smith has no faith in Mariota's passing ability and the comically run-heavy system he's using makes London nothing more than a bye week replacement moving forward. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Courtland Sutton (Broncos), Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts), Rashod Bateman (Ravens)

Tight End

MVP: George Kittle (49ers) 

There wasn't a lot to smile about for the 49ers in real life after the Chiefs dismantled them for the final 3 quarters of play in their own building, but seeing Kittle put together his best game of the season so far was a nice silver lining. The oft injured yet electric star tight end lead the 49ers in YDS (98), finished 2nd in receptions behind Brandon Aiyuk (6) and scored a TD before sitting down for the final 8 or so minutes of play after the game got completely out of hand. Kittle has the tough task of going against a Rams defense in Week 8 that has yet to allow a TE to score a TD or gain more than 45 YDS against them this season. 

Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Pat Friermuth (Steelers), David Njoku (Browns)

LVP: Mark Andrews (Ravens)

The aforementioned low volume passing attack, constant double coverage from the Browns defense and the potential effects of a knee injury that held him out of practice for 2 days last week rendered Andrews useless against the Browns as he failed to catch either of his 2 targets. He was however able to pick up 4 YDS on 1 carry that prevented him from finishing the day with a dreaded donut. Fantasy owners and the Ravens offense will be hoping for Andrews to make much more of an impact in Thursday night's critical showdown with the Buccaneers. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Kyle Pitts (Falcons), Hunter Henry (Patriots), Robert Tonyan (Packers)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Cowboys

A date with the suddenly reeling Lions offense was just the pick me up the Cowboys defense after a so-so showing against the Eagles in Week 6. Dan Quinn's troops made life miserable for Jared Goff and co., finishing the day with 5 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 INT's in a 24-6 victory for the 'Boys. Look for the Cowboys to return to the top 3 this week when they face off against a Bears offense that has struggled with pass protection and turnovers in nearly every game this season. 

Honorable Mentions: Titans, Ravens, Dolphins

LVP: Buccaneers 

Tom Brady and the offense aren't the only underperformers in Tampa Bay right now. Just a week after they failed to score an offensive TD against the Rams and a mere 4 days after they traded offensive cornerstone Christian McCaffery, the P.J. Walker-led Panthers scored 21 points against their vaunted defense while getting 0 takeaways and only 1 sack in what was arguably the most shocking lopsided loss in a week that had a few of them. Although they haven't been playing to their usual level over the past few weeks, starting the Bucs D on a short week against the Ravens seems like a bad idea.    

Dishonorable Mentions: 49ers, Bengals, Broncos

Movie Review: Black Adam

World class salesman Dwayne Johnson has trotted out one hell of a pitch to the world on the virtues of his long gestating superhero vehicle Black Adam. Every interview, social media post and talk show appearance has featured some variation of one or both these statements. 1: THE HIERARCHY OF THE DC UNIVERSE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE!!!! 2: THE FUTURE OF THE DC UNIVERSE IS NOW!!!! If Black Adam is really the beginning of a new era for the DCEU, then that shit will be in a heap of trouble that they haven't seen since they released Josstice League.

Another point Johnson has hammered home through his various media outreach channels is that Black Adam is a passion project that he's been developing for 15 years to make sure they got it right. At no point during Black Adam did it feel like I was consuming a carefully curated labor of love. In fact, it was the exact opposite. I don't think there has been a single superhero movie in recent memory that has felt more like the product of endless corporate boardroom meetings than this. Since they put zero time or effort to creating something with its own spirit or even just a shred of reverence for its characters, Black Adam just sprints through cliches at warp speed like it's a fucking Olympic sport to try and cover up its complete lack of personality or meaningful worldbuilding.  

Conflict that's rendered basically non-existent through a combination of an indestructible protagonist and villains that aren't really all that bad or imposing in the first place? Check. Constant, interchangeable action sequences that feature CGI creations smashing into each other in the air at high speeds? Yep. Every single bit of the minimal character development that's present here getting jammed into a few flashbacks and/or the occasional expositional monologue? You sure are changing superhero movies forever with these revolutionary ideas Dwayne!!!!

What makes the mind-numbingly monotonous execution of this film kind of comical is that the character of Black Adam is being sold as this morally ambiguous antihero that poses a significant threat to life on Earth. What passes off as the main plotline involves a superhero police force known as the Justice Society (Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone-whose main purpose is to yell at and get their asses kicked by Black Adam) being tasked by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to arrest Black Adam after he's unknowingly freed from a prison by a teacher (Sarah Shahi) who is seeking an ancient artifact  

Despite being constantly billed as the most dangerous being on Earth and all of the sanctimonious speeches about peace he's given by the Justice Society head Hawkman, Black Adam never feels like even a remotely conflicted or evil character. Sure, he has no problem killing people, but everybody he kills is either trying to kill or enslave others or is on the payroll of said evil people. That's hardly the definition of an anti-hero. Nobody goes around saying that John Wick or James Bond are anti-heroes on account of their willingness to commit murder. Maybe this heroic portrayal of Black Adam is simply an example of the thinktank that Johnson hired to write this movie removing the shades of gray from the character that exist on the pages of the comic, but based on what is present in this film, painting him as this rebellious, uncontrollable force when he's essentially just a cousin of Superman who kills anybody who threatens him or the people he cares about with violent force is really silly.

As stunningly mediocre as Black Adam, there are a few things that are able to cut through its blah-inducing nature and provide a little bit of a spark to an otherwise middling affair. Most of the VFX and sound design are quite good, cinematographer Lawrence Sher (Joker, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) lenses/lights the film in a darkly striking fashion that is reminiscent of 300 and Brosnan brings a sense of wisdom and grace to the prophetic Doctor Fate that make his character significantly more compelling than the rest of the squares that occupy this world. Long after I've forgotten what has occurred in Black Adam-which won't be any later than next week, I'll remember how these brave souls dared to do their jobs pretty well in the face of overwhelming complacency.

Wherever the DCU ends up heading from here under the very questionable leadership of David Zaslav and whoever he tasks to run DC Films now that Walter Hermada has officially resigned, I'll be hoping that Black Adam isn't being used as a blueprint. This film is nothing more than a plain vanity project from a star who continues to suffocate his own abundant charisma by taking on bland roles in average movies and treating Johnson's influence in Hollywood and commitment to this character as some form of guiding light to shape the future of this massive IP supplier would be another brutal setback for the studio. DC's recent approach of just letting individuals make the superhero movie they want to make without having to worry about its place in a shared universe has yielded mostly positive results for them (particularly in the cases of The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey and Aquaman) and tabling that approach for a string of sterile, cross-pollinated movies would be the kiss of death for a brand that has finally started to get its shit together over the past 4 years.  

Grade: C

Colin Farrell Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Colin Farrell-whose latest project "The Banshees of Inisherin" opens in NYC/LA theaters tomorrow. 

Colin Farrell's Filmography Ranked:

21.Daredevil (D+)

20.Roman J. Israel, Esq. (C-)

19.The Beguiled (C-)

18.Phone Booth (C)

17.Pride and Glory (C)

16.Ava (B-)

15.Minority Report (B-)

14.S.W.A.T. (B-)

13.The Recruit (B-)

12.Total Recall (B-)

11.Fright Night (B-)

10.Widows (B)

9.The Gentlemen (B)

8.The Lobster (B)

7.Crazy Heart (B)

6.The Killing of a Sacred Deer (B+)

5.Miami Vice (B+)

4.Seven Psychopaths (A-)

3.In Bruges (A-)

2.Horrible Bosses (A)

1.The Batman (A+)

Top Dog: The Batman (2022)

After he's done burning bridges with creatives and firing 75% of the tenured staff, new Warner Brothers CEO/world class clueless corporate dipshit David Zaslav should be thankful that the previous regime hired Matt Reeves to handle the current wave of Batman movies. With The Batman, Reeves commits to a version of the character and the world surrounding him that we've never seen in live action before. The darkness, danger and deep-seeded rot that overruns Gotham is felt in every frame and since The Batman is set at the start of Bruce Wayne's 2nd year donning the Bat Suit, the combination of the people of Gotham largely viewed him as just another faceless menace terrorizing their city and Wayne questioning whether or not his efforts to fight crime in the city are making a difference creates a mysterious, vulnerable aura around a character that has previously been only seen as a larger-than-life symbol of strength and justice. Having a Batman film that deals with the early days of Batman was long overdue and Reeves couldn't have possibly put together a better drawn out or executed vision than this.   

Bottom Feeder: Daredevil (2003)

Time really hasn't been kind to Ben Affleck's inaugural superhero vehicle. Outside of a couple fun villain performances from Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan-who are the only actors here that aren't taking this movie needlessly seriously, the ineptitude of writer/director Mark Steven Johnson shines through brightly when viewed through a set of eyes that don't belong to a child (my prior viewing of the film was in theaters roughly 2 months before my 11th birthday). The plot is more a string of loosely connected scenes than a proper storyline, the dialogue-particularly in the Daredevil (Affleck) and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) scenes-is insufferably cheesy and the CGI-aided martial arts fight scenes are poorly lit, choppily edited messes that are painful to sit through.

Most Underrated: Horrible Bosses (2011)

Some inspired dark comedy writing, a trio of hilarious leads that have a terrific buddy rapport (Jason Batman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day) and over-the-top weird, committed supporting performances from A-list actors (Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Farrell) made Horrible Bosses a really wild ride that remains one of the funniest movies released in the 2010's.

Most Overrated: The Gentlemen (2020)

The Gentlemen is a fine return to the crime comedy genre that put Guy Ritchie on the map. Farrell, Charlie Hunnam and Hugh Grant chew up the scenery really well, there's a handful of really memorable, funny scenes and it holds up well on repeat viewings. However, the whole affair just reeks of somebody trying to regain the spark they once had only to discover their heart just isn't quite in it as much in the present as it was back in their younger days and if last year's much grittier/better Wrath of Man is any indication, Ritchie could be better off if he permanently retires his signature style.

Most Unconventional Triumph: Miami Vice (2006)

In terms of an actual plot, there's not much to Miami Vice. Michael Mann's noir reworking of the classic detective show sees the flashy Miami Detectives Crockett (Farrell) and Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) go undercover as international drug smugglers for a cartel sting operation that slowly gets more complicated once Crockett falls in love with the cartel's money manager (Gong Li) and the suspicious kingpin (John Ortiz) has Tubbs' girlfriend (Naomie Harris) kidnapped. Instead, Miami Vice finds success through the visceral power of feelings and images. Whether it's a longing gaze between Farrell and Li's doomed lovers or Crockett and Tubbs trying to survive a chaotic nighttime shootout with cartel henchmen, Mann creates a vast, spellbinding visual language that allows the viewer to really feel the opulent highs and violent lows that come with sincerely or pretending to live a life of crime. Some people would understandably label this as a style over substance affair, but I view it as more of a story that's told through the gut and the eye instead of the mind or the spoken word and I wish more movies could pull that off as well as Miami Vice does.

2022 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

()=previous ranking

1.(1) Philadelphia Eagles (6-0) Week 7 opponent: Bye

2.(3) Buffalo Bills (5-1) Week 7 opponent: Bye

3.(2) Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) Week 7 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

4.(5) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) Week 7 opponent: Bye 

5.(9) New York Giants (5-1) Week 7 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars 

6.(6) Dallas Cowboys (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Detroit Lions

7.(15) New York Jets (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Denver Broncos 

8.(12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

9.(4) San Francisco 49ers (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

10.(7) Baltimore Ravens (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Cleveland Browns

11.(16) New England Patriots (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Chicago Bears

12.(13) Tennessee Titans (3-2) Week 7 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

13.(14) Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Seattle Seahawks 

14.(8) Green Bay Packers (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Washington Commanders 

15.(10) Miami Dolphins (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers 

16.(11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Carolina Panthers

17.(21) Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) Week 7 opponent: Tennessee Titans 

18.(18) Los Angeles Rams (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Bye 

19.(23) Atlanta Falcons (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals 

20.(24) Seattle Seahawks (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

21.(17) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) Week 7 opponent: New York Giants

22.(22) New Orleans Saints (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

23.(19) Arizona Cardinals (2-4) Week 7 opponent: New Orleans Saints

24.(20) Cleveland Browns (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

25.(25) Detroit Lions (1-4) Week 7 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

26.(26) Denver Broncos (2-4) Week 7 opponent: New York Jets  

27.(27) Las Vegas Raiders (1-4) Week 7 opponent: Houston Texans

28.(29) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Miami Dolphins

29.(30) Washington Commanders (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Green Bay Packers

30.(28) Chicago Bears (2-4) Week 7 opponent: New England Patriots

31.(31) Houston Texans (1-3-1) Week 7 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

32.(32) Carolina Panthers (1-5) Week 7 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers