5 for 30: The best of ESPN's sports movies

On the surface the idea of ESPN producing a series of short documentaries (30- of them, so far) wouldn't seem like the recipe for greatness, but if you pick and choose wisely among them, some surprisingly entertaining moments can be found in its "30 for 30" series.

The movies, in fact, are much like sports itself: If all you did was watch sports all day, you wouldn't have much of a life at all, but picking out what appeals to you - which for me this time of year means Braves' and, when I can find them, Orioles' games - certainly makes life a little more sweet.

And this week on DVD, ESPN has released the second collection of "30 for 30" films, making them now available in two volumes or as individual titles. Or, if you're on a budget and a Netflix kind of person like me, I know the movies I've listed below are all available for rent individually.

So, with full regional and sports bias on display, here are my five picks for the best of the "30 for 30" movies, with the titles followed by their directors.

"The Band that Wouldn't Die": Barry Levinson
Though most of Baltimore has moved on with the success of the Baltimore Ravens, Levinson's valentine to Charm City focuses on my kind of people, those who never gave up their love of the long-gone-but-never-forgotten Colts. The Colts band members that remained behind when the team left are a colorful bunch whose mix of anger and still-burning enthusiasm is an entertaining mix.

"The Two Escobars": Jeff and Mitchell Zimbalist
The 1994 FIFA World Cup should have been a grand celebration of the game and our country, and it was, except for one black mark: The appalling death of Colombian player Andres Escobar after his own goal in a match against the host team. The Zimbalists' movie looks at his life and that of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, and the connections between the murders of both men. The best movie of the bunch.

"Without Bias": Kirk Fraser
There were certainly more important historical events that happened during my childhood, but few hit me harder than the death of Len Bias (hey, when you're 16 years old, these things do lose a bit of perspective.) Fraser's movie, before it drifts off into an unfortunate and tangential segment about legalizing drugs, re-creates that awful night with Maryland players who were there, and it's often chilling to watch.

"The Legend of Jimmy the Greek": Fritz Mitchell
The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his time on "NFL Today," is certainly great fodder for a movie, and Mitchell almost succeeds at making it work, except for one big flaw: a voice over that's clearly not from Snyder but, I guess, is supposed to represent his voice. It really takes away from the story, but if you can get past that (or even try to ignore it), this is an engaging tale of a man who lived life very large.

"The Birth of Big Air": Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze
There's nothing I love more in movies than big, beautiful dreamers, and you won't find many as gloriously goofy as BMX rider Mat Hoffman, whose singular pursuit of catching "big air" from a bike ramp, and its effects on all aspects of his life, is lovingly documented here by three of his friends and co-conspirators. Easily the most fun of the "30 for 30" movies, and really, what more can you ask for from a movie like this?

And there you have it. Please feel free to add your picks of any I may have snubbed, and since this a free-form kind of forum, any sports documentaries you love, since I'm always looking for rental ideas (in that broader category, my choice is still Aviva Kempner's "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" - perfection), and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

A fun Wednesday morning clip show

Actually, before we get into any of that, there's great news out there today for fans of "Mad Men," and given what all's been happening in the past few weeks, we certainly need some.

In the latest small step in its plan for world domination, it seems that Netflix has paid almost $1 million per episode to begin streaming the first four seasons of "Mad Men" beginning July 27. Yeah, I'll watch that. Even better, the site has also scooped up the syndication rights for the next three upcoming seasons too, taking us to the planned end of Matthew Weiner's run for the show. Bully.

And after that tidbit today, I've got a quartet of clips, starting with, if not the best, certainly the funniest one. A warning, however: everything you need to know about this clip is in its title: "Danny McBride & David Gordon Green talk monster balls." It's even more foul than that, thankfully (in fact, I wouldn't just watch this with headphones at work - it's visually raunchy too, so be careful). Actually, this is the first great movie weekend of the year. Since I'm going to see the Braves and Phillies on Sunday, I'm gonna try and squeeze in a double feature of "Hanna" and either "Arthur" or "Your Highness" on Saturday, leaving the left out one and "Soul Surfer" for next weekend. Four movies I want to see in one weekend? Nirvana. Enjoy the clip.

Danny McBride & David Gordon Green Talk Monster Balls from Danny McBride

Next up comes a TV spot for J.J. Abrams' "Super 8," set to drop June 10. Few movies in recent memory have managed to change my opinion so much with its preview clips. I've gone from not much interested at all to wanting to see this, mostly because of the kids making movies angle, so here's hoping it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy.



HBO has been on more than a bit of a roll lately. I haven't watched "Mildred Pierce" yet, but simply because I'm saving all five episodes to watch all at once. I did, however, watch that Douglass McGrath documentary about Jerry Weintraub that aired Monday night, "His Way," and that was a minor delight. And better than all that, "Game of Thrones," with at least the pilot directed by the great Thomas McCarthy, is finally set to begin April 17 (on a Sunday, naturally.) If, like me, you really can't wait that long, however, you can watch the first 14 minutes or so below. You're welcome.



And finally today, definitely saving the silliest for last, I sincerely hope that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stan Lee know just how funny this is, because it really does look like the height of cheese. Below is the full trailer for their "The Governator," coming to some kind of TV in 2012, apparently. "Enjoy," and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

Chomet's "The Illusionist" casts enchanting spell

An animated movie being screened by the Macon Film Guild? A rare occurrence indeed, but "The Illusionist" is a charming choice, an old-fashioned animated tale that gets much of its magic from its innocence.

The somewhat surprising Best Animated Picture Oscar nominee this year is from French director Sylvain Chomet, as was a previous Guild selection, "The Triplets of Belleville." And like that flick, "The Illusionist" features no discernible dialogue, yet has a whole lot to say.

The simple story, from a screenplay co-written by Chomet and the late French director and comedian Jacques Tati, centers on one key question: Is magic real? As the movie opens, we meet the magician Tatischeff, who is struggling as much with his ornery rabbit as he is the fact that he's becoming a relic in a world drawn to much more modern and flashy forms of entertainment.

With his run in Paris ending, Tatischeff accepts a drunken invitation from a wedding guest to bring his act to Scotland, and there he meets Alice, a young girl who becomes captivated by his magic tricks, including the gift of some much-needed shoes. Tati has said he originally wrote the story in the 1950s as a tribute to his estranged eldest daughter, and the relationship of Tatischeff and Alice indeed unfolds like that of a father and his child.

Though there's nothing at all unseemly about the relationship (it's in fact entirely innocent), it's still what makes "The Illusionist" not really a movie intended for kids. As Alice grows up and the allure of Tatischeff's tricks starts to fade, she slowly discovers the joys of the world around her (including, of course, boys) and the two of them start to grow apart. It becomes a poignant tale about loss and regret, but never loses the charm that makes it so enjoyable.

Everything about "The Illusionist" is old-fashioned, from the hand-drawn, gloriously 2-D animation that makes the European cities the duo visits a beautiful tableau to the jokes that pack a sly punch without ever clobbering you over the head.

And though the story is in the end a bit slight, Chomet wisely wraps things up in 80 minutes or so, while "The Illusionist" still has its own magic. All in all, his movie is well worth a trip to the Douglass Theatre this weekend for this latest offering from the Macon Film Guild. In full disclosure, however, you won't see me there, because this Sunday I'm off to Turner Field to watch Cliff Lee and the Phillies battle the Braves in this baseball season in which my Orioles are somehow 4-0. Now there's a magic act. Peace out.

John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe? Bring it

If you were to hang a day on only bit of news, as I'm doing today because I'm soon off to watch the Braves probably lose to the Marlins with my old friend D-Eye, at least it's as cool as this.

Rumors had been swirling for a long time that James McTeigue was eyeing a project called "The Raven," a tale of Poe tracking a serial killer, inspired by his own stories, during the last days of his own life.

Being obsessed as I am with all things about Charm City, that was nothing but good news, and it's just getting better as filming is set to start this fall. Since he broke the news on his twitter feed, atrocious spelling and all, I'll let John Cusack himself do the honors:

officiali- will play edgar allen poe in fall-a-film called the raven, send any poe- gold - my way as i begin this journey into the abyss

I'm going to assume the man knows how to spell official and was actually just typing too fast, but either way, this should be sensational. I almost always like Cusack, but I can't think of the last movie he was in that I even bothered to go see, much less enjoyed (a quick check at the IMDB reveals it's "High Fidelity" - almost 10 years ago! - since I somehow managed to avoid both "Hot Tub Time Machine" and "2012").

And as for McTeigue, he's made one movie I truly love with "V for Vendetta" and one I endured with "Ninja Assassin." Yes, I really did go see the latter, but it was only because one of my sicker co-workers, Sharon, really wanted to. We walked in about two minutes late and a man was already getting samurai sawed in half - one of the tamer stunts in that bloodbath. My bet, though, is that "Poe" will be a lot more like "V for Vendetta," so I can definitely say bring it on. Stay tuned ...

After that, all I have today is one clip, but if you like Bruce Springsteen (and who doesn't?), it's a great one. Courtesy of Vimeo, it's a 3-minute-or-so sneak peek of the documentary "The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town'." That title pretty much tells you exactly what you're getting here, and the movie is set to come to HBO this October (to divert for a second, I finally managed to record Spike Lee's Katrina followup, "If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise." Not exactly cheery weekend viewing, but I can't wait to see it, probably not in one sitting, since it's FOUR HOURS long.)

But back to the matter at hand, coming after the movie in November will be a 3 CD set (I think) titled "The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story," which will feature 21 previously unreleased Boss tracks from the "Darkness" recording sessions (plus, I'd have to assume, the original album too.) Epic goodness there. For now, enjoy the clip, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.

Bruce Springsteen - "The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'" Sneak Peek from Columbia Records on Vimeo.

A Cool Coens gathering in Macon, and the bizarro future of "Scrubs"

I don't think I'll ever be particularly good at social networking or understand the real use of Facebook beyond an amusing diversion, but it finally came through at least slightly last night.

Sitting at home on a Friday night watching the Braves blow out the BoSox (fairly pathetic I know, but entertaining all the same), I decided to check the facebook, blog, etc., and got this interesting post from my friend and boss Stephanie Hartley.

It seems that some group in Macon called the College Hill Corridor Commission, while being far from the most organized folks in town, are fans both of great (or at least extremely funny) movies and showing them outside, hence a rather cool happening Sunday night less than a mile from my house.

The original plan, which would have made me just say meh, was to show some version of "Shrek" this Sunday night. Well, thankfully, but with little notice, they've changed both the movie, "Raising Arizona" (huzzah!), and the venue, to Tattnall Square Park. There are few better communal movie viewing experiences than watching a very funny flick with a hopefully large group of people, so come and check it out this Sunday starting at 8 p.m.

But here today it's largely about a deliriously silly comedy that might appeal to people who might just not live within 20 minutes or so of my house, "Scrubs," which is somehow headed for a ninth season on ABC, but apparently in radically different form.

Before I launch into it, credit for all this goes to the seriously TV-obsessed Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly, who got the goods in an interview with "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence.

Now, we already know that the core stars, Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke, will be back for very limited runs at best (and worst of all, Neil Flynn's delightfully deranged janitor will not be back at all), so to fill this void, Lawrence has come up a change of venue of sorts.

When the show returns next winter, John C. McGinley and Donald Faison will be the principal stars (in no way at all a bad thing), and they will now become med-school professors rather than active doctors. Take that in for a moment.

Actually, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Since you have to start with a whole new crop of players, why not make them students and shake things much more than a bit? Anyone who tuned in for the truncated eighth season earlier this year will probably agree with me that the new crop of doctors shared only one trait: They were uniformly unfunny. So I guess they realized it's time for at least a gallon of new blood.

And besides, for classroom comedies, Lawrence at least seems to have his source material right. As he told Ausiello:

"It'll be a lot like Paper Chase as a comedy, It's going to be a different show. It'll still be life-and-death stakes, but if the show is just Scrubs again in the hospital with a different person's voiceover, it would be a disaster and people would be mad."

He said Sacred Heart wouldn't go away completely, since it will still be the show's base of operations and allow familiar faces to return from time to time, but it's still almost a complete change of course, and since "Scrubs" has defied death many times now, it's certainly not of me to doubt its creators.

And with that, I'll simply leave you with the trailer for the October flick "Zombieland," because what Saturday morning isn't at least a little bit better with a funny dose of zombies? Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.