It’s tough to relieve a season of brutal frustrations in .9 seconds.

Somehow, after senior forward Tyler Griffey hit a buzzer-beating layup to defeat No. 1 Indiana 74-72, it happened for the Illini men’s basketball team.

Griffey, who was in the midst of an 0-for-20 slump from 3 and had become somewhat of a punch line as of late, rode atop shoulders on Thursday in Champaign.

Seniors Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson, questioned by many for their toughness, buried their faces in their jerseys to hide cheerful tears.

First-year head coach John Groce, who had become an expert on disappointing press conferences over the Illini’s recent dismal stretch, they’d lost six of their last seven games, led the crowd of overjoyed Illini fans in a huddle after they poured from the bleachers onto the court once Griffey’s layup fell through the net.

A season may have turned around in .9 seconds. Not an easy thing to do.

“We ran an out of bounds play — one of our standard ones that we’ve been running since the beginning of the year,” Griffey said. “I didn’t expect … (Cody) Zeller and (Christian) Watford both right in front of me, and I kind of went through them. They both stayed there.”

Illinois was down as much as 14 in the second half Thursday, but Groce’s team fought back with a 12-2 run to close the game, something the Illini have failed at again and again over the last month.

In the end, it was Richardson who came away with a steal with less than eight seconds remaining.

National Defensive Player of the Year candidate Victor Oladipo chased him down the court and swatted the ball out of bounds on Richardson’s layup attempt with less than a second remaining in the game. Then came the inbound. Griffey snuck behind Indiana big men Zeller and Watford, Paul found him on a pass from the baseline, and the rest is history.

But the Illini never would have been in a position to win if it wasn’t for Paul and Richardson, who accounted for 10 of the Illini’s last 12 points.

Assembly Hall realized what could be possible once Richardson hit back-to-back 3’s to draw the Illini within two with 2:04 remaining and then hitting the tying jumper with just over a minute left in regulation.

Oladipo briefly quieted the crowd with a contested layup as the clock ticked down to :50, but the Illini put the ball in the hands of Paul, who carried them through the early part of the season.

After driving the lane and nearly completing a 3-point play, Paul headed to the free-throw line and banked-in the first attempt, rocking the Hall to its core.

“Prayer,” Groce said after the game.

“It left my hand, and I was like, ‘Good Lord,” Paul said. “But it went in and I was like, ‘All right, let me calm down.’ D.J. just told me, ‘You’ve been here before.’ It got me back. If you noticed, I had a lot of fun this game.”

Paul drained the second attempt to  tie the game. The Illini’s final defensive stand ended with the ball in Richardson’s hands, flying down the court with seconds remaining.

Illinois stayed with Indiana through much of the first half until it looked like the wheels had finally fallen off against the nation’s top-ranked team. The Illini had blown strong early first-half efforts just in losses to Wisconsin and Michigan, and Thursday was no different. Indiana headed into the half with a 41-29 lead on the heels of a 22-10 run.

But this time, the Illini stayed even keel.

Despite its best efforts to prod at the lead in the early going of the second half, Illinois never drew the game closer than six until Richardson’s first 3 that started the run with 2:52 remaining in the game.

In the end, it was Illinois’ seniors – Griffey, Richardson and Paul, the faces of the class of 2009 – that gave it its third win over a top-ranked team in the program’s history.

The last time the Illini accomplished the feat was against Wake Forest on Dec. 1, 2004, and Michigan State on Jan. 11, 1979, before then.

“We were basically telling each other, ‘We’re not done yet, we’ve been through a tough stretch,’” Paul said. “The fact that we all contributed, the seniors that came in at the same time, I think it says a lot about our character.”

Paul and Griffey were both in a rut entering Thursday’s game. After much discussion among the two and Richardson about not going down with a fight, Paul texted Griffey on Wednesday with two words: “Make shots.”

Griffey arguably made the biggest shot of his life on Thursday, and now everything’s in play again. Because of those .9 seconds.

Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, was named a suspect Wednesday in the double-homicide murder of Dept. of Public Safety officer Keith Lawrence, 27, and his fiancee Monica Quan, 28.

Law enforcement officials have not apprehended Dorner and do not know his whereabouts. Dorner is considered armed and dangerous.

Dorner was identified as a suspect at a news conference Wednesday evening, where Irvine Police Chief Dave Maggard declined to state a motive but noted police had uncovered a “multi-page manifesto” written by Dorner that suggested possible motivations for the slayings. Though police did not release any writings from the manifesto, excerpts posted by KTLA include references by Dorner to Monica Quan’s father, Randy Quan, as well as other LAPD officials. The LAPD fired Dorner after he made false statements against his field training officer several years ago, according to public records; it is believed that Randy Quan, along with the other officials named in the manifesto, sat on the review board that oversaw Dorner’s case, according to the Orange County Register.

The LAPD’s elite Metropolitan Division were sent to protect the others mentioned in Donner’s manifesto, according to City News Service. Dorner, who is six feet tall and approximately 270 pounds, was last seen in La Palma, Calif.

Lawrence and Monica Quan were found dead late Sunday night in his car in the parking garage of their apartment building in Irvine, Calif.

An autopsy completed on both victims determined the cause of death came from multiple gunshot wounds, according to KTLA. Police found no signs of attempted robbery. A joint burial is being planned for Lawrence and Monica Quan.

Both Lawrence and Quan attended and played basketball at Concordia University in Irvine. Quan had been an assistant basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton for the past two years, and Lawrence recently joined DPS in August 2012.

“Kids, I just remembered some more hilarious and outrageous hijinks with Aunt Lilly/Robin and Uncle Marshall/Barney! Guess you’ll have to wait another year to hear about how I met your mom.”

Ted Mosby, you’re awful at telling stories. Don’t get me wrong, your memory is impeccable, but this is getting ridiculous. If someone asked me where I went to eat lunch today, I wouldn’t tell him/her about the last 29 restaurants I ate at before answering the question. Kids, really, just walk away from your father and ask mom how it happened if you’re curious.

Many of you who keep up with the beloved sitcom, “How I Met Your Mother,” are probably aware that the series got picked up for another season several weeks ago. If you fans are keeping track, that’s nine seasons of “HIMYM.” Sure it’s a great show, but I’m basing that judgment off of the series as a whole and not its most recent seasons. The actors are just as loveable as they’ve always been, but the quality of the stories has plummeted recently.

With the exception of the midseason finale, the biggest success this season came last week with the return of Robin’s Canadian super-star alter ego, Robin Sparkles. It worked because they appealed to long-time viewers by bringing back a recurring plot from seasons past. For me, that says a lot about the current state of the show.

Sure, we all love the occasional moments of nostalgia for our favorite long running TV series, but when your fresh storylines are consistently weak, maybe it’s time to call it quits. That’s what many fans, including myself, were saying back in the fall before season 9 was even announced.

To be fair, “The Office” announced their final season during a time when many considered the show unwatchable. Thankfully, “The Office” has proven this year that it still has momentum and solid stories to tell, and hopefully “HIMYM” will do the same in its final season.

But the difference between these series is that “HIMYM” draws in its fans in a similar fashion to “Lost” that’s almost manipulative. Most “Lost” fans weren’t going to stop watching until the big questions were answered about the island (many things are still not clear), and the same goes for long-time “HIMYM” viewers who just want to learn the answer to the question that the very title triggers.

I believe this is a sign that the series is now setting itself up to reveal the mother at the end of this season and spend next year telling the story of the couple’s relationship. But when I bring this up, I usually hear, “No way, the show’s called ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ not ‘How I Married Your Mother!” By that logic, “New Girl” should have ended after the first season since Zooey Deschanel is now beyond acquainted with her roommates.

The “HIMYM” staff would be killing this show if they waited until the end of the series to reveal the mystery woman. It would mean more bogus storylines for the gang and pointless relationships for Ted that would just act as filler material until the finale.

I can’t get angry with anyone for agreeing to one more season, but I just hope they handle the storyline appropriately. We fans have all been patient and it’s about time we learned who she is. I love this show and just ask for a final season fans can look forward to. If Ted Mosby waits any longer, I want to see him transform into Bob Saget.

According to Will Muschamp, coaching is not “add water, instant player.”

But with the prospect haul he pulled in on National Signing Day, Muschamp may not need much more than water.

Florida received 20 letters of intent on Wednesday, filling out a 27-member class ranked No. 4 nationally by Rivals. The Gators’ 2012 class ranked third, a nine-spot jump from Muschamp’s first recruiting class at UF.

But unlike the past two years, National Signing Day 2013 was mostly uneventful for Florida. Only two commits waited until Wednesday to pick UF, and the Gators have seven newcomers already enrolled.

“It’s a very committed class,” Muschamp said. “A lot of these guys were guys that have been committed to us a long time and never took other visits. There wasn’t a lot of flash in their recruiting process, and that’s the kind of guys you want.”

In addition to nabbing some of the nation’s highest-ranked prospects, Florida succeeded in addressing needs at linebacker, wide receiver and defensive tackle. The Gators signed at least three players with four-star rankings or better at each position.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone is one of two five-star prospects to sign with UF.

“Those guys want to come in and understand that there’s going to be competition at Florida,” Muschamp said. “I always tell them, ‘We’re going to promise you an opportunity. I’m not going to promise you anything past that.’”

The Gators added five wide receivers, a group headlined by four-star prospects Demarcus Robinson and Ahmad Fulwood. Florida’s top five returning wide receivers combined for 44 receptions and four touchdown catches last season.

“We’ve improved our depth, and I think we’ve improved our talent,” Muschamp said. “(There are) some guys that can come in and compete.”

One position the Gators failed to bolster was quarterback. Following Jacoby Brissett’s transfer to NC State, returning starter Jeff Driskel is the lone Florida signal-caller with game experience.

UF inked three-star quarterback Max Staver but came up short in its pursuit of three-star JUCO transfer Tanner McEvoy, who committed to Wisconsin on Monday. Junior Tyler Murphy will likely serve as UF’s backup quarterback in 2013.

“I don’t have a very high comfort level, obviously,” Muschamp said of the Gators’ depth at quarterback. “Those guys haven’t played a lot, but they’re going to get opportunities this spring to continue to develop within what we do.”

Notre Dame built on its landmark 2012 season Wednesday as it received the National Letters of Intent for 24 recruits making up its 2013 recruiting class. The group includes nine members of the elite ESPN150 and is ranked as the No. 4 class in the country by ESPN, trailing only Florida, Ohio State and Alabama.

Irish recruiting expert Mike Frank lauded the Notre Dame coaching staff for its efforts in landing its best class in recent memory.

“My overall opinion is I think it’s a very, very good class. I think they filled their needs at almost every position with maybe a few exceptions,” said Frank, who runs the ESPN-affiliated Irish Sports Daily. “I love the talent in this class. They did a great job getting some talented guys, some guys who can come in and help right away, which is important. There are some guys who can match talent with the very best teams in the country. You’re starting to land the kind of players that Alabama can get, and when you do that you’re really raising the talent level in the program.”

Headlining the class is linebacker Jaylon Smith, who will come to campus as the most-hyped player Notre Dame has attracted since former linebacker Manti Te’o. A local prospect, Smith hails from Fort Wayne, Ind., and is the No. 7 player in the country according to ESPN’s evaluation team. The widely acclaimed five-star player checks in at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds with the speed and size to contribute at either of Notre Dame’s outside linebacker positions.

“Certainly Jaylon Smith is a once-in-a-decade, once-in-a-generation type player,” Frank said. “He’s just a guy who can do a lot of things for a guy his size. It’s just very, very rare to have that combination of size and speed. He also has really good instincts.”
Frank said Smith has the potential to contribute as a leader in a similar vein as Te’o.

“I think he’ll have a similar impact to what [former Notre Dame linebacker] Manti Te’o did. When you talk about him as a person, he’s just a truly great kid,” Frank said. “He’s got his head screwed on straight, he’s extremely well-liked and he cares about his community. When you talk about talent, people find this hard to believe but I think Jaylon has more talent than Manti Te’o ever had. He’s easily just as big as Manti but he’s quicker and faster.”

Smith is not the only blue-chip prospect to join the Irish defensive unit next fall. Notre Dame received a late signing from No. 10 overall prospect Eddie Vanderdoes, the nation’s top defensive tackle. Vanderdoes projects to be able to play any position on the defensive line in Notre Dame’s 3-4 defense. Frank said Vanderdoes, who was once committed to USC but warmed up to the Irish after the 12-0 regular season in 2012, is a prospect of top caliber.

“Jaylon Smith is a great player, but to me Eddie Vanderdoes is just the crown jewel of this class,” Frank said. “I know a guy from out where Eddie is from in California who has been covering recruiting out there and he said Eddie is the best guy he’s seen at his position in 10 or 15 years. … I’m really thrilled, to be honest.”

Joining Smith and Vanderdoes in the front seven next fall are a quartet of physical prospects. ESPN150 outside linebacker Doug Randolph, inside linebacker Michael Deeb, defensive end Jacob Matuska and ESPN150 defensive end Isaac Rochell will all suit up for defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s vaunted unit next season.

After spending the 2012 season with a number of converted players from other positions in the secondary due to recruiting defections and injuries, the Notre Dame staff will be happy to welcome a stellar group of four natural defensive backs to campus in the fall. Highly sought-after safety and former USC commit Max Redfield from Mission Viejo, Calif., is the centerpiece of a group that includes a trio of cornerbacks — Cole Luke, Devin Butler and Rashad Kinlaw.

“You’re welcoming just a bunch of good players in the secondary. I think Max Redfield is a tremendous player,” Frank said. “He allows you to do a lot of things defensively. Notre Dame likes to play with a single safety playing up high in some situations and he allows you to do that. In order to do that you need a guy who can run and run well, and also be physical back there. He can do that. He’s a big safety prospect. They can do things with coverage and confuse opposing quarterbacks.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the immediate impact from the 2013 class could come from the running back position. A pair of ESPN150 running backs from Florida will compete to line up in the Irish backfield next season to replace departed backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood.

Frank said both players have the talent to contribute right away.

“I love the two running backs in this class. Greg Bryant’s got as much or more talent than any back they’ve signed in quite some time,” he said. “I’ll say the same for Tarean Folston, he’s got a tremendous amount of talent and potential. He just needs to get a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger, but once he does, he’s a guy who can hit the home run and get some big plays. That’s something Notre Dame has been missing for a while from the running back position for a long time.”

Bryant or Folston may one day line up behind the latest dual-threat quarterback to hit Notre Dame’s campus. Four-star quarterback Malik Zaire brings electricity to the signal-caller spot and, Frank said, possesses some similarities to junior quarterback Everett Golson.

“I think he’s quicker than Everett and maybe a little bit faster in terms of top-end speed. Where Malik is really going to shine is I think he’s a great projected leader. People really gravitate to him, his mentality is one where he can become a great leader for this team.”

Rounding out the offensive class are great numbers at the receiver, tight end and offensive line positions. Though Notre Dame did not ink a five-star prospect at these spots, they will welcome great depth in signing five offensive linemen, four receivers and two tight ends to the 2013 roster.

A pair of famous names will line up at wideout, as among the Irish signees are Corey Robinson and Torii Hunter Jr., sons of Hall of Fame basketball center David Robinson and current Detroit Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter, respectively.

Frank said he is particularly impressed with the group of linemen signed to compete under coach Harry Hiestand in the trenches.

“I think they got five guys who can really pan out and become great players for Notre Dame,” Frank said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if all five end up starting at some point down the road.”

Now that the curtain has fallen on the 2013 recruiting season, Frank said the class of 24 recruits showed Notre Dame’s continued momentum to the top of college football.

“It’s great to see Notre Dame competing with Alabama for some of the top guys and top classes in the country. I think the next step for Brian Kelly and his staff is to capitalize on the 2012 season in recruiting, into the 2014 stretch. They need to get a few more of the five-star guys, guys like Max Redfield, Greg Bryant, Jaylon Smith, those are the difference-makers. Those are the people who make the key plays in the game that decide the outcome of the game. What’s really the difference is if you get a couple more guys who are five-star type players … you have a chance to hang with anybody.”

The United States Postal Service will no longer deliver mail on Saturdays to cut costs by $2 million annually. The Postal Service will continue to deliver packages six days a week.

“[The USPS] simply doesn’t have the cash to run a six-day mail delivery schedule,” said Tad Kelley, a spokesman for western Pennsylvania district for The United States Postal Service.

The scheduled cutback, which does not change the total volume of mail delivery, will go into effect in August.

Mail will still be delivered to P.O. Box addresses, and offices that are currently open on Saturdays will remain open after the new plan is implemented.

Kelley also said the decision has been made after five years of dialogue and surveys around the nation that showed that Americans do not use the Postal Service as they did in the past.

Mail delivery has seen a 25 percent drop since 2006 compared to an increase of 14 percent in package delivery, Kelley said.

The five-day delivery schedule will not affect the background operations of the postal service because they will continue to run mail transportation and processing at their centers, Kelley said.

Along with declining mail delivery, the U.S. Postal Service has been struggling financially due to increasing costs for mandatory expenses to cover future medical costs for the organization’s retirees.

The Postal Service is the only government agency that is required to cover these medical expenses that constituted $11.1 billion of losses in 2012.

Kelly also said the changes in the delivery schedule would affect 35,000 positions nationwide. The Postal Service cut about 200,000 positions in the last decade and provides assistance for outgoing employees to make a transition, Kelly said.

It’s not you, it’s the city. Or so says the recent study declaring Boston to be the best city in the country for single men.

Certain urban environments are more likely to foster new relationships than others according to the study conducted by Nerdwallet, a personal finance and credit card comparison website.

The site found Boston’s offering of affordable dates, multiple places to meet people and a higher percentage of single women the ideal situation for the single man.

The Hub came in first ahead of Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Denver, Fort Worth, Texas, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Indianapolis, in that order. The study did not name the worst cities for single men.

The study was conducted by looking at the number of unmarried men per 100 unmarried women, the number of bars and gyms per 1,000 residents, the cost of a date and the unemployment rate of the city. The number of unmarried men per 100 unmarried women was weighted twice as much as the other measures.

Boston’s first-place ranking resulted from unmarried women outranking unmarried men, a variety of date options and a relatively low unemployment rate, at 7.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A handful of men said they were not surprised by the study’s findings, attesting to dating successes in Beantown.

Jacob Liman, 34, a resident of Somerville, said he has lived in the Boston area for more than ten years and met his current girlfriend here.

“I guess that sounds pretty accurate,” he said of the study. “I met my girlfriend here and when we first started dating, we had a lot of fun going out to different places in the city.”

Harry Klien, 29, a resident of Brighton said that he was happy with his dating life here in the city.

“I’ve dated a couple girls since I’ve lived here,” he said. “And yeah, I guess it was pretty easy to meet people. The bar scene really helps with that.”

Sixty-two-year-old Jeff Bullock, a resident of Boston, said he was was amused by the study.

“I have been divorced for several years so I’m not really sure how much this applies to me,” he said. “But hey, you know maybe that means there is still hope for me!”

Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore praised recent efforts of Harvard students involved in environment and divestment campaigns during a speech focused on the health hazards of global warming which he gave in Memorial Church on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of students and community members lined the Yard in hopes of securing a spot in Memorial Church to hear the man introduced as “in truth, the elected president by America.”

Eric S. Chivian, director of the Center for Health and Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, turned the stage over to Gore, whose talk was entitled “Healthy Planet, Healthy People.” The talk was sponsored by CHGE as part of the recently launched Paul R. Epstein Memorial Lecture Series.

During his talk, Gore lauded Harvard’s progress in becoming a more sustainable institution.

“One of my previous visits here with President Faust was to witness the launching of the Harvard Office of Sustainability,” said Gore. “And now some time has passed and we see extremely impressive results, not least of which is the incredible activism and engagement by students who have contributed to the progress the University has been able to make.”

Gore stated that consequences of global warming are compelling and devastating, but said that he believes in humanity’s ability to effect positive change.

“The dangers we face are almost unimaginably dire,” Gore said. “My hope is based on the history of our experience as a species.”

Gore said that the warming climate has destructive effects on human health. He noted examples of climate change that have influenced insect behavior and, therefore, the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus.

According to Gore, recent health dangers were anticipated by Epstein, a leader in the field of climate change at the Harvard School of Public Health.

“Everything that I’ve read to you about these recent findings was anticipated by Paul Epstein,” said Gore. “He wrote seminal papers 12 years ago. He saw the pattern very carefully and he was right. We all have a great debt to him.”

Gore voiced his disappointment in the current political system and the lack of discourse related to climate change in the recent presidential election.

However, he expressed hope in President Barack Obama’s ability to combat the rising temperature trends.

“I am optimistic today also because in his inspiring inaugural address, President Obama made the climate crisis the very first challenge he discussed and spent more words on it than any other. I was thrilled by that.”

The idea of the night was change. Gore continually stressed the urgency of the current situation, appealing to the audience with analogies.

“We’re using the atmosphere as an open sewer and it’s functionally insane,” Gore quipped.

I think everyone will agree with me when I say that the Internet really loves to hate on Nicolas Cage. There is the array of memes of his bizarre facial expressions that have arisen, the videos of his weird acting moments, and the plethora of photos with his face on the bodies of cats. Probably one of the best examples is the YouTube video with which we’re probably all familiar, “Nic Cage Losing His Shit.”

If you haven’t seen it yet, by all means take a couple of minutes to check it out. Seriously, go ahead, I’ll wait…

You see what I mean?!

With all that in mind, it is easy to see why a lot of people don’t think too highly of his acting. But in my highly professional opinion, I don’t think his acting is necessarily bad. It’s just different.

First off, let’s point out that, as hard as it is to admit, Cage has been in some quality films. In “Raising Arizona,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” and “The Rock,” he plays it straight and does a fairly good job in the more dramatic or, at the very least, serious roles. Hell, the man was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Adaptation.” Even in the “National Treasure” movies, which weren’t fantastic, he did a passable job.

Of course, those aren’t the movies that have really earned him his infamy. Instead, it’s the movies contained in the video that I mentioned before (which, just to see where I’m coming from, you really should watch if you haven’t already) that people really like to remember. For God’s sake, the video has over seven million views, which is more than most of Cage’s actual movies!

Call me crazy, but when Nicolas Cage acts really, really weird in a movie, I usually don’t attribute it to bad acting. Ultimately, it comes down to one of two situations. The first is when Nicolas Cage is intentionally acting bat-shit crazy because it suits his character. In that video, half the snippets come from just two movies: “Vampire’s Kiss” and “Bad Lieutenant.” In both of these movies, he acts completely and utterly insane, jumping on desks, picking fights with random strangers, and inexplicably wailing at the top of his lungs. But here’s the thing: that’s precisely the point. In “Vampire’s Kiss,” Cage plays a psychopath who’s convinced that he’s turning into a vampire, and in “Bad Lieutenant,” he’s a crack-addicted, corrupt cop. Both of these movies are about watching a character completely and utterly break down and then terrorize everyone around him. In this task, Cage certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Then there’s “The Wicker Man,” or as some people may know it, that movie in which Nicolas Cage has bees poured on his face and starts punching a woman in a bear suit. Would I call that bad acting? Yes and no. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not good acting. It’s bizarre, jarring, and completely out of place in the rest of the movie. But here’s the thing: even without Cage’s over-the-top performance, “The Wicker Man” isn’t a good movie. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it one of the worst pieces of shit I’ve ever seen. Everything about it fails, from the awful plot to the crappy writing to the across-the-board terrible acting to its attempts at scares that amount to a level of strangeness I haven’t seen since “Troll 2.” Sure, Nicolas Cage running around in a bear suit and roundhouse kicking people in the face might make no sense within the film’s context, but it’s also the only fun part in a movie that otherwise makes me want to claw my own eyes out.

It’s a misconception to say that acting can only be defined as good or bad. There are some actors out there who are inarguably “good” in everything: Javier Bardem, Christoph Waltz, and Daniel Day-Lewis, to name a few. Then there are actors who fit into a very different category.

The best example of this, I think, is if we look at “Twilight: New Moon.” Okay, stop snickering and hear me out. The acting in that movie is terrible. Everyone gives a cold, emotionless performance that serves as one of many elements making the film unwatchable…that is, until Michael Sheen steps in as the ludicrously flamboyant head of the vampire organization. Making a face like a ventriloquist dummy undergoing a prostate exam, he delivers every line with so much strange energy and accompanies it with equally inexplicable gestures that he had me cracking up whenever he was on screen. Now, calling this good acting would be downright disrespectful to any actor who respects his art, but the fact remains that he succeeded as the only one making the film at least mildly entertaining. Thus, it might be said that this kind of acting can serve a purpose.

This is why I won’t call Cage a bad actor. “Ghost Rider 2” is so much fun because he spends the whole movie acting like a heroin addict in withdrawal who just drank four Redbulls. In “Drive Angry,” he acts like a schizophrenic terminator.

Even in “Kick-Ass,” he spends half the time acting like a pedophile on the verge of a psychotic breakdown. Degree of skill aside, his acting can at least be called  entertaining.

Cage claims to have invented his own style of acting called “Nouveau Shamanic” specifically for portraying bat-shit insanity. Some think the man’s just nuts. Ultimately, whether it is method or madness, Cage achieves something very special with his acting. If only the man did a better job at picking his projects.