When one thinks of Asian superpowers in soccer, Japan and South Korea immediately come to mind. Iran is not usually included in that group. However, Carlos Queiroz's side has proven to be one to contend with and could surprise a few people in Brazil. The team has been placed in arguably the least competitive group of all and could finally earn its way to the knockout round. Can Iran pull off the historic feat?
Latin Post.com breaks down the team's in Group E of the 2014 World Cup; which of these teams are the favorites to win futbol's biggest prize in Brazil this summer?
The World Cup is a major showpiece for some of the biggest soccer teams around the globe. However, one of the highlights of the tournament is watching how some of the relative "unknowns" fare against the bigger powers. Costa Rica enters this tournament as one of this lesser-known soccer nations and actually fits the aforementioned description of a small country taking on big powers as it will face Italy, England and Uruguay in the group stage. Can the underdog seize the spotlight from the aforementioned World Cup champion nations?
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" debuted in movie theaters this past weekend. As with most films in the comic book genre, the latest installment in the franchise featured a number of fascinating visual effects ranging from its action sequences to its major villains. Latin Post recently interviewed Argentinean visual effects compositor Pablo Holcer about the process of working on the project.
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is likely to be the poorest grossing "Spider-Man" movie to date. But the film will also be remembered for another first: the film is the first "Rotten" film on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes. Every other Spidey flick has managed to maintain 60 percent approval rating from the critics thus far. Interestingly enough, this film is not the worst of the lot from an artistic standpoint. Far from it. That honor still belongs to "Spider-Man 3." Here are a few reasons why the Sam Raimi movie is still the nadir of the beloved franchise.
Japan has grown into an Asian superpower in international soccer over the last few years. However, many have been waiting for the Samurais to take the next step and be contenders for the World Cup. Is this the year that Japan does it?
The last time a World Cup champion won back-to-back tournaments was in 1962, when a Pele-led Brazil managed the feet. That generation of players was widely considered the greatest international team of all time. However, another team has managed to enter into that conversation after being the first team to win three straight international tournaments in a row. That team is the current defending champion Spain, which enters the tournament after winning the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups and the 2010 World Cup. Can Spain make history by winning its second straight World Cup and its fourth straight major tournament?
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is enjoyable on the strength of the performances alone, but the film unfortunately fails on a number of other fronts. The story, while showing tremendous potential and some thematic cohesiveness, does not really illuminate its characters as well as it sets out to do and at the end of the day, it comes off as a retread of a plethora of other comic book movies with the Spider-Man brand attached to it.
This "Cosi Fan Tutte" had everything working for it. The singers were not only at the top of their games but managed to create complex portrayals of the iconic characters while maestro Levine conducted an exciting account of Mozart's ever-fascinating score. The season is winding down, and this is the perfect way to say goodbye to what has been a successful run of performances in 2013-14.
The first round of the NHL came to an end on Wednesday. Every tournament features a plethora of major successes but also comes with a share of disappointments. Here is a look at some of the teams and players that really disappointed in the first round of the 2013-14 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The New York Islanders have acquired the rights to sign UFA goalie Jaroslav Halak. Is this a good or bad thing for the franchise? Here are the pros and cons of the trade.
The Philadelphia Flyers did all they could to overcome the NY Rangers, but came up short in the fateful Game 7. The team had a roller coaster season and now it is time to look at the highs and lows of the 2013-14 Philadelphia Flyers.
Back in 2003, the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild went to overtime in Game 7 of their first round series. The Wild won that game in what would be goalie Patrick Roy's final game as a player. Eleven years later, Roy faced the same outcome in his first season behind the Avalanche bench. Here is a look at the highs and lows of Colorado's promising 2013-14 season.
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has come to an end and it is now time to keep stock of which players lifted their teams in the first round and are the early Conn Smythe contenders for playoff MVP. Here are the top contenders in no particular order.
Year after year, the San Jose Sharks are christened as a favorite to compete for the Stanley Cup. But year after year they disappoint and wind up knocked out of the playoffs in some embarrassing manner. The team has only made the Conference finals three times in its history but has been eliminated in rather woeful manners each time. In 2003-04, the team was bounced by a lower seeded Calgary Flames side in six games. In 2009-10, the team was swept out of the Conference finals by the Chicago Blackhawks and a year later the Vancouver Canucks took them down in five games. But the playoff embarrassment does not end there. Perhaps the team's biggest fail (before this season) took place in 2008-09 when it won the President's trophy but was eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks; Anaheim won the first two games in San Jose and took three wins in the first four games of the series.
Lucasfilm and Disney shocked the world on Tuesday by announcing the official cast for the hotly anticipated "Star Wars Episode VII." There were several rumors heating up in the days preceding the announcement, but many pinned the revelation to be made on "May the Fourth" which is a special day for Star Wars fans around the world.
African sides have never had formidable success at the World Cup and many do not believe that that trend will come to an end in Brazil this summer. There are some teams that are expected to get out of the group stage, but Cameroon in not one of them. Can the team prove doubters wrong?
The soccer world was stunned on Tuesday when Real Madrid dismantled reigning European Champions Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.
The Columbus Blue Jackets saw the best season of their career come to an end on Monday when the team was defeated 4-3 in game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team's season.
Korea Republic will look to continue building a solid World Cup resume in 2014. The Asian side had the fortune of being placed into a relatively inexperienced group and could emerge as the surprise favorite of its group. Can the team pull off the feat?
The St. Louis Blues were eliminated from the NHL playoffs on Sunday afternoon. The team had a 2-0 lead in the series against the defending Champions Chicago Blackhawks but managed to lose four straight; the team replicated the same feat a year ago when it had a 2-0 edge on the then defending champion Los Angeles Kings, but lost four straight. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team in 2013-14.
The Dallas Stars returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007-08, but their stay was a short one as they were eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks. Here is a look at the highs and lows of Dallas' season.
On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The elimination was just the second time the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round since 2006-07. Here are the highs and lows of Detroit's 2013-14 season.
The soccer world mourned on Friday at the announcement of the passing of former Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova. The former manger passed away at age 45 after losing a battle with cancer.
