Release: Friday, March 6, 2020 →Theater Written by: Brad Ingelsby Directed by: Gavin O'Connor Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) had a future in basketball beyond high school. Probably beyond college. Once the pride of Bishop Hayes High in the 1990s, he led his team to more victories and championships in his four years than the many iterations managed in … Continue reading The Way Back
Sports
Top That! My Ten Favorite Films of 2019
It's Oscar weekend, so I figured now is as good a time as any to announce my ten favorite movies of 2019. There's not a whole lot of science that goes into my process; it's mostly gut feeling that determines what goes into this list and how I'm arranging it. The emotional response is the … Continue reading Top That! My Ten Favorite Films of 2019
Just a Quick Thought: Remembering Kobe Bryant
Sunday, January 26, 2020 has proven to be an extraordinarily difficult and surreal day for hoops and sports fans in general. I'd like to pause my movie reviewing for a second to remember basketball player Kobe Bean Bryant, who passed away a day after Lebron James, currently of the Los Angeles Lakers, passed him for … Continue reading Just a Quick Thought: Remembering Kobe Bryant
Month in Review: October ’19
(Flicks a cockroach off keyboard) God! Leave me alone, Wounds!!!! October was certainly bloody and gutsy. I made a conscientious effort to increase the posting frequency while keeping the reviews tailored to the genres of horror/psychological thriller/gross-out (is that a genre? It feels like it should be a genre.) It was a risky approach, because … Continue reading Month in Review: October ’19
30 for 30: Rodman: For Better or Worse
Release: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 (ESPN) →ESPN Directed by: Todd Kapostasy Love him, hate him or indifferent to him you can't really get away with saying you don't know who Dennis Rodman is. Few American athletes have received the attention that the former so-called "Bad Boy" has. How much of that has been self-inflicted and … Continue reading 30 for 30: Rodman: For Better or Worse
Top That: Seven Most Dramatic Scenes from the 2019 NBA Finals
If you were to tell me back in October that the Golden State Warriors would not be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy for the third straight year and the fourth in five seasons, I would have called a Flagrant Two on you for excessive foolishness. If you do the math, taking it all again this … Continue reading Top That: Seven Most Dramatic Scenes from the 2019 NBA Finals
30 for 30: Seau
Release: Friday, September 21, 2018 (ESPN) →ESPN Directed by: Kirby Bradley When ESPN Films announced they would be making a documentary about Junior Seau, the megastar linebacker who played for over a decade for the San Diego Chargers and who tragically took his own life in 2012, I figured pretty much right then and there … Continue reading 30 for 30: Seau
30 for 30: The Last Days of Knight
Release: Thursday, April 12, 2018 →ESPN Directed by: Robert Abbott In the eyes of many Bob Knight is an obvious candidate for the Mt. Rushmore of collegiate hoops coaching greats. He has numbers on his side and generations of fans ensure he won't be forgotten. But whereas words like legacy are most often used to glamorize and … Continue reading 30 for 30: The Last Days of Knight
The Dawn Wall
Release: Friday, September 14, 2018 (limited) →Netflix Directed by: Josh Lowell; Peter Mortimer Generally speaking, if you want climbing films done right, you turn to the Lowell brothers. In 1997 Josh and Brett Lowell co-founded Big UP Productions, and over the last two decades have documented some of the most stunning climbing achievements across the globe, even … Continue reading The Dawn Wall
Free Solo
Release: Friday, September 28, 2018 →Theater Directed by: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi; Jimmy Chin Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber who occupies a very obscure niche within the rock climbing community. As a free soloist responsible for some of the world's most death-defying ascents sans a rope and any protective gear, he is most alive when climbing … Continue reading Free Solo
