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
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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
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
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
30-for-30: Fantastic Lies
Release: Sunday, March 13, 2016 [Netflix] Directed by: Marina Zenovich Marina Zenovich's Fantastic Lies establishes one simple truth that cannot be disputed no matter what your feelings are towards Duke University and the air of superiority it cultivates. The scandal that rocked the Durham-based university in March of 2006 and the manner in which it was handled … Continue reading 30-for-30: Fantastic Lies
Bleed for This
Release: Friday, November 18, 2016 [Theater] Written by: Ben Younger; Angelo Pizzo; Pippa Bianco Directed by: Ben Younger Bleed for This is an intense title for an underwhelming boxing movie. Its hyperbolic nature suggests a scream-o/punk-rock band's new single when really it's meant to describe the mentality of one Vinny Pazienza, a boxer from Providence, Rhode Island who returned to the ring after … Continue reading Bleed for This
Before the Flood
Release: Friday, October 21, 2016 (limited) [YouTube] Written by: Mark Monroe Directed by: Fisher Stevens Oscar-winning documentarian Fisher Stevens won't change the world with his ambitious but overly familiar and ultimately underwhelming examination of man's impact on the global environment, but his efforts aren't completely in vain. Before the Flood uses the immense popularity of bonafide Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio … Continue reading Before the Flood
30-for-30: Four Days in October
Release: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 [Netflix] Directed by: Gary Waksman In October of 2004 the Boston Red Sox became the first team in major league baseball to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series at the championship level. In that famous set they sent their BFF's the New York Yankees packing, eking out two desperate wins at … Continue reading 30-for-30: Four Days in October
