Total Pageviews

Showing posts with label airplane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airplane. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2010

R.I.P. Corey Haim

If you grew up in the 80's then you have been kicked in the head the last year with 80's Iconic deaths. Corey Haim is a big one, not much of a surprise, but still big. The pretty one of the legendary "Two Corey's" probably should have died in 1991 when his career did. He would not have been regarded the same way River Phoenix, but still he gave us enough good times that I think he would have been known as a great "could have been" instead of the joke that he became. Five years when you are a kid seems like twenty years, and we got a good five out of Haim from 1984 to 1989. Here are my favorites from the non bitter Corey. 6) Secret Admirer- to be fair this a C. Thomas Howell movie, but Haim is great as his theiveing kid brother. 5) License To Drive- At the peak of their "Corey" Powers, this was my most anticipated Corey movie ever. It's not as easy to watch now, but still a lot of fun. The movie is a time capsule and it proved that Billy Ocean had no ceiling when it came to movie soundtracks. 4) Silver Bullet- Really underrated horror film from the 80's. Great cast, good story, and Haim as a wheelchair bound firework weilding Werewolf hunter. It's got Busey in it so you know it's good. 3) Lucas- "Throw it to Lucas!" Great coming of age drama about a nerd who rightfully gets made fun of for being different. This is easily Haim's best acting role of his career. Great before they were stars cast with Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, and Jeremy Piven. Sheen is so cool in this that he doesn't even fall for the slow clap at the end, he just bangs a locker. 2) The Lost Boys- Good Vampire film that could have been great if Richard Donner would have directed instead of Schumacher. It still really holds up today and is probaley Haim's best all around film. I still can't forgive the Rob Lowe poster and this film says "Michael" about as much as Lebowski says "Fuck". Besides that a solid film. 1) Dream A Little Dream- talk about guilty pleasure, this movie works on me the same way Saved By The Bell does. It's not Haim's best film, but if you throw all these DVD's in front of me and I can only pick one, it's definatly the Dream. Great cast, stupid dancing, Salenger's twins, Adler, McNamera, Robards, Body Switching!!!! I'm gonna bust! This film is so good it killed the Corey's forever. In later years Feldman became a bitter former child actor, while Haim became just a sad Casio playing has-been. I really felt sorry for the guy and what a sad, but expected, ending.
R.I.P. Peter Graves
Another big part of my childhood gone with the death of the great Captain Oveur from the groundbreaking Airplane movie's. Yes I also love the Sequel, Graves is also great as Price in Billy Wilder's classic Stalag 17.

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Best Basketball Films

The NBA playoffs are upon us and I thought this would be a good time to express the Best and Worst of Basketball in film.


Best High School Basketball Film: Hoosiers

No shock here, Hoosiers has been a
Basketball film staple since it's release
in 1986. This film had such a impact on the sports world that in 9th grade my Junior High School Basketball coach watched Hoosiers a dozen times and tried to coach just like Norman Dale.(Gene Hackman) We won 2 games that year, and he was gone the next year.





Best College Basketball Film: Blue Chips

Nick Nolte pulls off the best Bobby Knight impersonation ever! This film even has Bobby Knight in it and you want more Pete Bell. It's a very entertaing film about the corruption of College Basketball and has great performances all around, with the exception of Penny Hardaway and Rickey Roe. William Freidkin directs a great Ron Shelton script. I have been waiting since 1994 for Nolte and Shaq's next film collaboration, come on guys!













Best Street Ball Film: White Men Can't Jump

Ron Shelton hits again with this gem from 1992.
Wesley and Woody shine on and off the court as the best screen duo since Riggs and Murtaugh. Ron Shelton is a sports director and every film he requires that his stars know how to play the sport the film is about. According to IMDB the basketball instructors on the film said that Wesley and Woody reached the skill level to play Division 3 college ball, and it shows. No other film has got the trash talking or the race division in basketball down as good as this film did.











Best Basketball Player in Film History: WOLF!

This is a tricky one. Michael J. Fox's Scott Howard in human form is the best player on a team with a horrible coach and a player called Chubby. Scott Howard sucks, but when he wolfs out he becomes Lebron James and single handily murders the competition while Chubs eats on the court. Nobody in the history of basketball, not even Jimmy Chitwood, could beat Scott Howard's WOLF!


Worst Player: Hoops McCann
Hi Hoops! This guy can't even throw paper in a wastebasket.












Best Performance by a Pro Basketball Player In A Film:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem is pure gold in one of the best comedies ever made. Look at Dan Marino in Ace Ventura:Pet Detective and then watch Kareem in Airplane! The guy should have won a Oscar in comparison. The pissed off look on his face along with the "The hell I don't!" speech with Joey gets me every time.

Shaquille O'Neil's Neon Bedaux in Blue Chips is a distant second to Kareem. Penny Hardaway's Butch McCrae from the same film is the WORSE performance by a Pro Basketball player in film history.

The Best Basketball Film: Hoop Dreams

In 1994 Steve James made one of the best documentaries ever made. The Film is about Basketball prodigies Arthur Agee and William Gates growing up with the pros and cons of having a talent for the game. It also focuses on the inner city, drugs, family, and everyone trying to sink their teeth into these boys who may make millions one day in the NBA. Great film and a must see, even if you don't like sports.

The Worst Basketball Film: Game Day

Oh this one is a doozy from 1999. It's Richard Lewis doing his best Rick Pitino impression while being a womanizing drunk. Movies like Coach Carter and Glory Road are bad films that follow a formula and are a dime a dozen. This movie is over the top with the acting, writing, and the scenario. The film takes place on the day of the championship game of the NCAA tournament, and Richard Lewis is the coach of the underdog team. What makes this film is the end, it is so mind boggling that you have to watch it 20 more times just to make sure it is real.