Author Archives: Jesse Schaffer

Man of Steel: I’m Glad it Didn’t Suck by Jesse Schaffer

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I actually saw “Man of Steel” back in August and meant to review it long before now. The fact that I am finally getting to it in December probably doesn’t bode well for my opinion of the film, but in all fairness it just came out on Blu-Ray a few weeks ago so there is still a shred of timely significance here. By now, you have seen the film and decided for yourself if it was worth your time, and if you haven’t then look at this review as a way to convince you to pick it up at Redbox or be a really cheap bastard and just find it online. I won’t fault you either way as long as you give it a chance.

And you should give it a chance. As the title suggests, “Man of Steel” most certainly didn’t suck (setting the bar high, I know), but it also never quite reached the heights that I hoped it would. That’s saying something too, because Superman spends a lot of time flying to and from space in this movie. More lame jokes along with the rest of my review can be found after the jump.

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Thor is Back, Hardly Dark but Mostly Fun by Jesse Schaffer

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Yep, for the first time, Kevin and I are both reviewing a certain movie. Yeah sure, it’s a little redundant, big whoop, wanna fight about it?

“Thor: The Dark World” marks the return of everyone’s favorite hammer-wielding Asgardian, and I think it’s safe to say that Thor is back in a big way in this film. Some time after the end of “The Avengers,” our title character is attempting to restore peace to the Nine Realms, while Jane Foster stumbles upon the Aether, an ancient evil that the Dark Elves used to try and control the universe a really, really long time ago. The God of Thunder becomes concerned and takes Jane to Asgard, where she sticks out like a sore thumb, punches Loki in the face and puts everyone in grave danger, forcing the estranged brothers to work together to save their home. Quite thrilling, right?

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“Breaking Bad’s” Furious Sprint to the Finish by Jesse Schaffer

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I could literally hear my heart pounding with each passing second. “Coward”, Walt snarls at his former partner, and Jesse is more than happy to retort by spitting in the face of the devil himself. A fight ensues, these two would tear each other apart if they could, but Hank and Steve separate them and force them into different cars. Now it’s time for an exchange between another pair of partners, only it couldn’t be more different; this is one of the utmost respect. Hank, who can’t help himself from grinning, pulls out his phone and calls Marie, and she is beyond relieved that he managed to do the unthinkable. Grantland’s Andy Greenwald already singled out the line that followed as being the real gut-wrencher, and it’s the one that killed me too. “I gotta go, may be awhile before I get home. I love you.”

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“The World’s End” Review by Jesse Schaffer

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In case you were wondering, any reports of Pegboard’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Not that any such reports actually existed or that we are a deserving, newsworthy site, but I just wanted to find a clever way of explaining that despite our prolonged absence, we are still technically up and running. I mean, we’ve still been up and running the whole time, we just haven’t written very… oh fuck it. Let’s review a movie.

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Broncos (Late) Training Camp Primer: Nate Irving

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There was a time when having a great middle linebacker was absolutely essential in order to build a dominant defense. In their primes, Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher captained units that more than compensated for below-average quarterback play on the other side of the ball, ensuring that the Ravens and Bears were nearly annual contenders, even reaching the Super Bowl with guys like Trent Dilfer and Rex Grossman under center. Then there was Al Wilson, who was one of the toughest players I’ve ever seen and one of my all-time favorite Broncos. He was the heart and soul of the Denver defense for about five years, and when Wilson was forced to retire that defense lost its backbone, needing another five years to recover. But the game has changed. If you can’t find a better quarterback than Grossman or Dilfer, you will most likely find yourself with a top five pick in the draft the following year. Pro offenses are tailor-made these days to capitalize on all of the great qb’s and receivers, and as a result teams have also been forced to adapt on the defensive side of the ball. The middle linebacker isn’t nearly as important as it used to be because they are simply not on the field as much any more.

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Broncos Training Camp Primer: Rahim Moore by Jesse Schaffer

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Everyone remembers the play. It’s 3rd and 3 with 42 seconds to play and Joe Flacco takes the snap out of the shotgun in an empty backfield. Robert Ayers doesn’t beat his man with a bull rush, so he spins to his left in an attempt to shed the block but instead leaves plenty of room for Flacco to step up in the pocket. Scanning the coverage, Flacco spots Jacoby Jones streaking down the field, past Tony Carter who failed to jam Jones at the sideline, and then heaves it. Rahim Moore takes a horrible angle in coverage and allows Jones to get behind him, then mistimes his jump (if you can call it that) and the bail sails over his head. You know the rest.

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The Newsroom: Season 1 Review by Jesse Schaffer

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The concept that serves as the basis for “The Newsroom” often plays out so much like a parody that I sometimes forget that I’m watching HBO and not a skit on Comedy Central. Atlantic Cable News, a broadcast team led by narcissistic anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) and quirky executive producer MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), is determined to fight the good fight by concentrating their focus on stories that are strictly newsworthy while ignoring the more glamorous headlines and avoiding any party affiliation whatsoever. Their goal is to get their facts right every time and report on what they know regardless of whether or not that puts them at odds with other networks. Obviously, this noble strategy is bound to insult the party-biased sponsors who have lent their support to ACN, which in turn puts an enormous amount of pressure on the show’s owners to straighten out McAvoy and get him back to being an entertainer rather than a judge. Oh, and he and McHale have a romantic past and spend a lot of time dancing around their true feelings with veiled insults and frantic conversations.

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Broncos Training Camp Primer: Julius Thomas by Jesse Schaffer

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Unless you are an absolute baseball fanatic, this time of the year in the wide world of sports is tough to stomach. No basketball, no hockey, and a painstakingly long wait for football season. Sure, technically it’s not that far off, but it feels like we’re all doing 30 years in Shawshank with Red and Andy Dufresne. Don’t worry if you find yourself watching hours upon hours of Nathan MacKinnon highlights on YouTube or if you are overreacting to every little bit of Broncos news you can get your hands on. Believe me, we are right there with you, but don’t despair friends: Pegboard has got you covered. For the next four weeks, Kevin and I are excited to present to you our first annual Training Camp Primer, where we will analyze eight Broncos who have a great deal on the line for the 2013 campaign.

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Quick Hits: The Nuggets Offseason in Progress by Jesse Schaffer

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The Denver Nuggets hired George Karl to be their head coach when I was 15 years old. Brought in midseason to replace the struggling Jeff Bzdelik, Karl led his new team to an astounding 32-8 record the rest of the way and got them back to the playoffs, where the Nuggets were then eliminated in the first round. At the time, all of us were ecstatic that our Nuggets even made it that far and we were convinced that brighter days were ahead. Little did we know that this was the beginning of a pattern that would become all too familiar to Denver fans: excellence and excitement in the regular season, mediocrity and frustration in the postseason.

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Game of Thrones Season 3 Awards

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Now that you’ve had some time to recover from experiencing the Red Wedding for the first time, I’d imagine you feel mostly satisfied in regards to the latest season of “Game of Thrones”.  Granted, it wasn’t perfect and there were a couple of issues I’ll discuss at length below, but overall I thought there was enough quality content to warrant splitting the third book of Martin’s series in to two separate seasons. Let’s dish out a few awards!

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