Rejiggered

Ever notice how being famous, no matter the median through which you achieved "status", makes people think they suddenly have a license to stand on a soap box as if their opinion means a damn? Sad thing is that there are so many followers out there who actually listen that it perpetuates the cycle. For me, what a person says or stands for personally can negatively affect my perception of the person, even on the professional level (I can tell you right now that I'll never look at a Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson movie the same way again). Well Bernard Hopkins, probably one of the best fighters of his time and my personal favorite son of Philadelphia, is dangerously close to approaching that point.

My boy recently had a radio show throw-down with my other boy, Howard Eskin. The topic: Bernard's opinion of Donovan McNabb, his place in the quarterback hierarchy, and his "lack of heart". It was obvious during the verbal spat that both Eskin and Hopkins respect each other, and that much of the emotion and trash talking was in good nature, but it became pretty clear that Bernard really didn't have any proof or logic behind his arguments and was simply spewing biased rhetoric (he is a big T.O. supporter after all). The only real evidence he had to point to was the puking that happened during the Superbowl and again against Tampa Bay.

Just for a second, let's ignore the fact that one was during a game where Donovan was running all day at a hot and humid Tampa field with pickle juice in his stomach, and that the other was during the biggest game on the biggest stage of football. Let's ignore the fact that legends like Bill Russell, Dale Earnhardt, and Pete Sampras all had a history of vomiting in their illustrious careers. Let's also ignore that many experts have said it could simply be related to abnormal adrenaline levels. The problem is that "heart" is too often confused with confidence. Bernard Hopkins can enter a boxing fight with all the confidence in the world, stick to his masterful gameplan and execute it to perfection, all the while knowing he is the best fighter. That, to me, isn't heart. In fact, showing heart is the exact opposite: it's when someone knows the odds are against them, that the moment is epic and that all the pressure is on, and that in spite of the fear of failure and nervousness you feel YOU GO OUT AND FIGHT ANYWAY. Anyone can have confidence or say they are fearless, and that's admirable. But somewhere along the line, being nervous or afraid to lose was looked at as a character weakness, when it's not. If you face that moment, if you don't walk off the court early just because your team is losing, if you puke and throw that touchdown pass anyway, if you are getting your head kicked in but refuse to give up, if you fight the whole fight from beginning to end so you're left with no excuses. . . . that is what showing heart really is. I love B-Hop and he's still my favorite fighter, but to say McNabb, with his winning playoff record, has no heart because of indigestion is just wrong. Step off the soapbox, please.

Now that I got that out of my system, it's time to look back at the week that was in a segment we like to call "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".

"The Good" - Last Wednesday was the first day in two weeks that Jay and I were able to get to Ross Commons to shoot stick. We showed up with a small crowd already playing, including one or two guys we hadn't seen in awhile. Just a half hour into the night everyone left to go see some Will Farrell movie that's coming out (gee, where do I sign up for that), so we had the table to ourselves. Staying on the table, playing at our own pace, not having to deal with retards . . . I wasn't complaining, but at the same time I was thirsty for blood. Two weeks ago, I had played so bad and was so out of it that I had to force myself let a couple guys off the hook. Just then, the clouds opened and light shone down on the table, and a voice boomed "Let there be Freshmen!" Wouldn't you know it, the same foursome of freshmen I had let out of my grasp, the same group that had huddled together near the table and watched like outclassed vultures from afar a few times earlier this year, walked up the stairs with cues in hand and asked to play us.

Jay and I gave a smirk and a nod, and we started playing teams against their top two boys. Three games in and we're playing well, and had it not been for a tough game where I had to make circus shots to keep us in it until I had an unlucky scratch on the 8-ball, we'd be sporting a goose-egg in the loss column. With my back turned to Jay sinking a winning shot in the third, I hear the magic words "So, you guys wanna put some money on the next game, maybe $5 a game?" Now I have my policy (I refuse to play for money), so I immediately shot them down. And wouldn't you know it, they started playing a little better the very next game and we realized THESE LITTLE FUCKERS JUST TRIED TO HUSTLE US!!!! The thought of it still makes me piss my pants with laughter. Despite their efforts to mask what little game they had, we crushed all four of them for the rest of the night. By the time they left, they had eked out only one win against us, and on top of displaying our skills throughout, I got my first run in weeks at the perfect time which absolutely broke their spirits.

Mounting the heads of Freshmen on my wall after they try to hustle me in pool, now that's good.

"The Bad" - Immediately following the Freshmen thumping, we drove back to the house. Of course since it was late at night I expected the parking to be at a premium. Well as we're going up and down the blocks, its obvious that there are a bunch of spots around, but people are such idiots that they are taking up more that one spot. I swear, at least 6 times we saw a space from far away, drove up optimistic, only to find that some idiot in an SUV decided he needed six feet of space on both sides of his ride. It doesn't take me long to get frustrated. Finally, I find a spot down near 46th Street.

Or maybe not. In the middle of the spot were two trashcans, an attempt by someone to "hold" the spot for when they returned. At this point I start ranting and raving in a way that would make Dennis Leary cringe. Most people who aren't familiar with this dick tactic would say to just move the roadblocks and park, forgetting that by doing so you risk finding a brick through your windshield in the morning. It's the ultimate act of urban terrorism, making you too afraid of the possible consequences to exercise your right to park. After finally parking about three blocks further than I would have like to, I made the decision to get what little revenge I could: I walked right past that spot and took one of those fucking trashcans. Fuck that guy. You don't want me to park in your spot? Fine. But at least I can make sure to send you on a Lowe's trip to spend $20 to replace your trashcan you fucking asshole.

Committing an act of burglary to seek parking revenge, that's bad.

"The Ugly" - Saturday the house decided to let loose a little, have some people over, and unwind. And what better tools could a college student use to unwind than Natty Ice, Vodka and a little 151. Everyone in the house with the exception of Jay was there, plus Fred, Polish Dave and John's friend Kirk stopped by. Between the funnel, the circle of death, and pong, there was a good amount of laughter going around.

However, there were two major problems that ended the night early without fulfilling all its potential. First, half the people who came over barely drank at all. Fred came on a mission to not relive his past embarrassment and slowly sipped on two beers the entire night, and unfortunately for entertainment purposes, he achieved success. The lamers sat in the living room most of the night and just watched TV. The other problem was that everyone else who drank sprinted too fast out of the gate and collapsed before the finish line. Here's a tip to all you kids out there: pace yourselves.

One major positive though was that I remembered to bring my camera downstairs and captured some of the car wreck that ensued. Either way, it was a fun night. Who says you have to drink to have a good time?Now that was ugly.

And The Nominees Are . . .

So about two months ago, me and my roommates were downstairs, basking in the warm glow of our big screen TV. "Walk the Line" was the movie of choice that night, one that I think very highly of, and I mentioned how it's probably one of the few "love" story movies I actually like because of the acting, story and great music. Fellow movie-enthusiast and housemate Phil agreed, and the conversation eventually landed on a topic that I've contemplated many times over the years: what movies would grace our individual Top Ten All-time Movie List?

Ah, a superb discussion for the ages. Fortunately for Phil and I, we both possess the capacity to take a topic way to far (after all, I am the same individual who took an entire day and listened to countless viewpoints in creating a "Ten Hottest Women" list at the tail end of freshmen year) and go overboard with attention to detail, so I set a deadline for the beginning of November and the ultimate search began.

I'm going to beat some people to the "how you could have _______ on your list and not _______?" and the "you must be autistic" statements with my own little disclaimer. This list is MY list, with movies that I absolutely love and would take the time out of my day to watch. It's also a list that I purposely tried to keep varied in order to reflect most of my movie interests, which is why the list is not overly heavy with one genre. For example, while I'm a fan of the first two Godfathers and also of "Goodfellas", stacking a small list with so many gangster movies would just be overkill. For that reason, some movies that might be on par with others on the list did not make the final cut simply because they were not the best representation, for me, of that type of movie.

So with all the legalities out of the way, I give you my Top Ten Movies of All-Time list, in no particular order.

Patton - Though not his only appearance on my list, George C. Scott probably had his best performance ever as the real life dynamo General Patton in this classic 1970 World War II movie. The action is better than that of most current movies for the simple fact that all battle scenes have real life action, making for some of the most spectacular war scenes in cinema. The idea of the complete warrior, the beauty of battle, the honor of man, all themes prominent on my list, are perfectly shown in this film. Great acting, great themes, great action . . . I can't ask for anything more from a movie.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and 2 - A Tarantino flick just had to make its way onto my list, and between "Pulp" and "Kill" I have to choose the latter (and yes, as far as I'm concerned, you count both the volumes as one movie). The theme of the warrior is again present, but this movie is more than just a superb action flick with some of the best swordplay fights I've seen. The attention to detail by Q and the ever present homages to great directors of the past (my boy Sergio Leone most notably; watch a Leone movie before this one and revel at the similarities) make this one kick ass movie. The revealing story of Pai Mei is always a crowd favorite, but the self-induced guilty torture of Budd is probably one of the better, yet lesser appreciated, aspects of this film.

The Hustler - Don't be mistaken, a storyline driven by billiards is only part of the reason this movie makes my list. As I've referenced before, "The Hustler" flawlessly shows what it means to have a passion for something, and does so better than any film I've ever seen. Fast Eddie loves the game so much that it practically kills him, and the lessons he learns through absolute failure about the strength of character translate well to real life. It also helps to have the likes of Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott (his second appearance on my list) , all of whom give Oscar worthy performances. Tremendous acting and supreme character development is all you need to know.

Jaws - It's hard for me to even try and sell you on this movie since just about everyone has probably seen it a thousand times. Overexposure has probably hurt its value to the public, but the truth remains that this movie took our primordial fear of water and manipulated the shit out of it for about 3/4ths of the movie before we even see the damn shark, a fact that has always impressed me. Steven Spielberg really executed this movie perfectly, as did the three primary actors. It's hard to believe that this movie has some of my favorite dialogue in spite of the little known fact that most of the acting was done ad-lib.

Seven Samurai - Yes it's in black and white, yes it's three and a half hours long, yes it's in Japanese, and yes it's more than fifty years old (easily the oldest movie on this list). Frankly, this is a movie that probably no one but myself appreciates, but that's fine with me. The influence of this film and its director Akira Kurosawa, not just on every anime series in the universe, but also on American films, is so wide spread and obvious that it's disturbing. Introducing a primary character through a heroic act not related to the plot, assembling a team of heroes for a specific task, the merging of humor with intense and dramatic action, the budding love between the youngest hero and a local girl . . . these weren't exactly themes common back in the 1950's but I'll be damned if you don't see it in almost everything nowadays.

A Bronx Tale - If I told you that my favorite gangster movie had Robert De Niro, you probably wouldn't be surprised . . . that is until I tell you that he actually doesn't play the gangster. This film is about life lessons learned and how they can be very similar even if from two opposing perspectives. Chazz Palminteri perfectly plays the roll of the "villain" who takes under his wing a young man whose father, De Niro, is a hard working "sucker" who doesn't want his son to grow up like criminals who accept him. Even though the blue collar Dad and the fear-inspiring community Boss don't see eye to eye, both truly have the best interests of "little C" at heart. Probably a more wholesome gangster story than some fans of the genre would like, yet I find this movie to be the best of the lot. Cursing and excessive violence are absent here (despite a late appearance by Joe Pesci), but this movie makes up for it with a great story and very good acting.

Silence of the Lambs - Look, the storyline of this movie, the plot twists and suspense, are all fantastic in their own right. Don't get me wrong. But Anthony Hopkins' absolutely brilliant performance as the cunning and cold psychopath Hannibal Lecter is the main reason this movie makes my list. The term "holy shit" seems to fit well here. Best acting performance of anyone on this list, seriously.

Se7en - For the suspense junky, this movie is definitely one that fucks with your head. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the ambitious young cop and the rusty dog about to retire, chase down a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as an MO. Turns out that the killer is also one of my favorite actors of all time, Kevin Spacey. Hmm . . . Spacey, Freeman, Pitt; this movie has one hell of a lineup. For a first timer, this movie will grab you by the balls and throw you into one of the most incredibly horrific and intense stories ever. Watching it a second time allows you to appreciate the movie itself even more.

Once Upon a Time in the West - I'm an Eastwood fan who was brought up on the Western, a genre that I think gets thrown under the cultural bus more than it deserves. Sergio Leone is one of the best directors ever (he heavily influenced Tarantino and was influenced himself by Akira Kurosawa, so you can see the family tree of directing on my list), so while I initially thought that "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" was a Clint Eastwood shoe-in as my Western movie, further contemplation led me to pick this one. Another Leone movie to feature the trinity of protagonists, I actually think the acting, plot and cinematography of this movie are better than my Clint Eastwood standard. One of the more valuable aspects of this movie is the great Henry Fonda, normally typecast as the Hollywood good guy, finally showing his true acting chops and playing a despicable and cruel villain, and doing it well.

The Shawshank Redemption - This is a great movie about life. This is a great movie with great actors playing great characters. This is a great movie that keeps you wondering how the heroes could possibly escape this hell on earth until the very end. This is a great movie about how hope can save a man and keep him sane in the face of impossibility. This is a great movie. Period.