Top Basketball Movies (14 & 13)

14. Love and Basketball (2000)
Starring: Omar Epps, Sanaa Lathan, Dennis Haysbert

Half chick flick, half basketball movie. What’s better than that? Well 13 movies I will name later, but Love and Basketball is a classic. Monica Wright was on my top females list earlier and Quincy McCall is much sweeter than the Eric Foreman I have to endure on Monday nights. Throw President David Palmer into the mix and it’s not half bad. Monica and Quincy grow up together as good friends and star bball players in high school. They finally get together and then go off to college at USC. They then inevitably break up, but then Monica comes back to play him in one-on-one for his love. The dude obviously wins, but they get back together anyway.

Favorite Character: Quincy McCall
Least Favorite: Coach Davis
Quote: “Double or nothing,” Quincy.

13. Semi-Pro (2008)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin

So there’s this guy Will Ferrell who has made a few comedy pictures in his day. Well one of them was Semi-Pro. Although it is not one of the elite Ferrell flicks, the basketball player in me laughed hysterically at most of the bball scenes. The very first basketball game is classic, with Jackie Moon taking over as the star with Coffee Black not out to the court yet. Jackie posts up, demands the ball, kicks it out and demands it again over and over again. He then continues to take eight steps on his way to a sky hook and then gets extremely mad at the ref when a travel is called. Not to worry when Coffee Black enters the game, he takes over, and after dribbling through the entire opposition multiple times, he swishes a three from the corner. While the entire team is hugging and celebrating the basket, you can see the visitors scoring a fast break layup at the other end. It just doesn’t get much better than that.

Favorite Character: Jackie Moon
Least Favorite: None
Quote: “In the annals of history people are going to be talking about three things: the discovery of fire, invention of the submarine, and the Flint, Michigan Mega Bowl,” Jackie Moon.

Top Basketball Movies (16 & 15)

16. Eddie (1996)
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Langella, Dennis Farina

Edwina 'Eddie' Franklin is a Knicks fan and after she gets called down to the court to participate in the half-time show, the crowd falls in love with her. When the coach is fired, the owner turns to Eddie to turn things around in New York. Now I'm not a big Whoopie fan, and I don't even enjoy her that much in this movie, but it is the surrounding cast that gets Eddie on the list. Langella, Farina and Richard Jenkins are all great, but it is the performances by NBA stars Rick Fox, Mark Jackson, John Sally and Malik Sealy (blow a kiss to the sky in remembrance) that put it over the top.

Favorite Character: Stacy Patton
Least Favorite: Claudine
Quote: "Yo, that's my jersey!" Walt Frazier.

15. He Got Game (1998)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson

Two in a row with Rick Fox. Ray Allen plays Jesus Shuttlesworth, the best high school basketball player in the country. He Got Game tells the story of Jesus being recruited by every school in the country and the troubles he faces while trying to get off the streets. His dad gets out of jail temporarily so that he can convince Jesus to go to a certain school. Speaking of Mr. Shuttlesworth, how terrible was Denzel's jumper?

Favorite Character: Jesus Shuttlesworth
Least Favorite: Lala Bonilla

Top Basketball Movies (18 & 17)

18. Like Mike (2002)
Starring: Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki

Ok this movie was so bootleg that they couldn’t even use the Clippers as the other team in LA, they had to be the Knights. But it makes it on here for a few reasons. The amount superstars is great, with Kidd, Iverson and the like all having lines. But nothing beats when Dirk comes up to Like Mike and asks for an autograph for his niece or sister or somebody. Like Mike asks Dirk what her name is and he stalls and goes…“Uhh…Dirk.” Classic. Also this movie was the origin of my brother’s name. When I was in a big nickname giving mode, with gems like Case the Base and Big Tom, Tim got the moniker T-time after I had watched Like Mike do the same to his boy Tracy Reynolds.

Favorite Character: Dirk Nowitzki
Least Favorite: Stan Bittleman
Quote: “Uhh…Dirk,” Dirk Nowitzki

17. Hoop Dreams (1994)
Starring: Arthur Agee, William Gates

The only documentary to make the list, Hoop Dreams tells the story of a couple of young kids in inner-city Chicago trying to become basketball superstars. William Gates and Arthur Agee both attend the private school that their idol, Isaiah Thomas, went to. Agee doesn’t make it past the first year and returns home to public school. Neither one ends up making it in basketball, but Agee does get a small part in the basketball movie, Passing Glory in 1999.

Favorite Dude: Arthur Agee

That's Some Big Shark Harry

Now that's a movie. The most important thing to come out of watching Jaws was how sweet it is that I now know what "That's some bad hat Harry" comes from. Bad Hat Harry Productions, run by Brian Singer, produces House, M.D. and after the credits roll a cartoon dude says the famous quote. I never knew what it was from but always thought it was catchy. Apparently Singer liked Jaws, or just the line, or both.

In the early going I was loving the fact that the people of the town, especially the mayor, were so angry about not having the beach open. I don't know about you, but if anyone mentioned that there might be a shark in the water, I wouldn't go near that beach ever again. I would live with no money if it meant I didn't get eaten by a great white shark.

So granted this movie was made in 1975 and the special effects of the shark are horrid, I was still freaked out a good amount of the time. It's a good thing I had the lights on while watching or things could have gotten a little out of control. When Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) is out on his boat with Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and he goes down to check out underneath the small boat, I almost fell out of my comfortable recliner when the dead dude's head popped out of nowhere.

Mr. Quint (Robert Shaw) was real sweet until he got eaten by Jaws. While the three dudes were out on the boat and it started getting a little too scary for Chief Brody, he decided to call the Coast Guard for help. Quint wanted none of this and smashed the radio to pieces, while Brody was in mid call. Mr. Quint quietly said "Excuse me, Chief" and handed him the bat. Classic.

As far as Chief Brody goes, I could take him or leave. But what made this shark hunting experience great was the combination of Quint and Hooper. These two guys were extremely different, yet I loved them both. Sure they both loved sharks, but the similarities ended there. The Dreyfuss laugh was unbelievable as always.

The only thing I didn't really like about this movie was that it ended immediately after they killed the great white shark. I would've enjoyed a nice little homecoming for Hooper and Brody. With the town all happy that they can have a worry free rest of the summer and Brody reuniting with the family as he says goodbye to his new friend Hooper. But hey that's just one man's opinion.

The Correct Answer Is Cool Hand Luke

As John Cusack says in Serendipity, "The correct answer is Cool Hand Luke," as he answers the question 'what's your favorite movie?" While I can confidently say it doesn't crack my top 50, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can see how it got the number one spot for him.

One of my favorite things about a movie is if they can get the title into the dialogue in a sly and creative way. I thought they did this perfectly. After Luke bluffs everybody out of their money in a nice game of stud, Frank Drebin's boss (right) says 'he kept coming with nothin.' Paul the Newman responds with 'sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand.' This phrase begins to grow on the character throughout the movie, as he is then called Mr. Cool Hand later on and finally given the monniker of Cool Hand Luke by the end. Loved it.

I consider myself a decently big Paul the Newman guy, as I loved both Butch Cassidy and The Sting. I'd take The Sting over the other two, but I really like all three.

A great opening can do wonders for a movie and this had it. Luke getting drunk and slowly taking the tops off of parking meters without a care in the world. This was classic.

I had a tough time figuring out how long they had been at the jail/camp. It seemed like they had been there for a while, like maybe six months. Why is Luke so determined to escape when he only has a two year sentence. Yeah sure it's a terrible time, but Jesus you're almost halfway done.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate." The famous quote from this movie was first said by the captain after Luke is returned following his first attempt to escape. I thought to myself, really this is such a great line? I was pleasantly surprised at the end when Luke repeats the line to the cops as they show up to take him down after his third failed escape. Awesome quote.

Blade Walker

Wake me up when we get there...snooze alert. I kind of felt like Lil Rounds was singing during this movie (Blade Runner, #109) it was moving so slowly. As much as I bashed on Kill Bill (#137), at least I had plenty to say about it. This was just plain bad and I only have a few things to say.

No Indy

This Deckard character was no Han Solo and definitely nothing close to YOUR BOY (copyright Michael Wilbon) Indiana Jones. I didn't even enjoy this guy. Plus they gave me no back story and never let me have feelings towards him. So as he was in these epics battles I basically thought 'whatever, I kinda like these robot dudes more than Indy.'

Realization Number Zero

So the main bad guy, Roy (right), pulls this total 180 without any notification to the audience that he's having a realization. The dude and Indy are battling for a good 10 minutes and then as soon as Indy is going to fall of the roof, Roy catches him and pulls him up. Come on.

10 Years From Now

I can't wait for 2019 when there are flying cars, Terminator-esque robots and old school 80s tvs that you can talk to.

Female Movie Characters: 10-1

10. Lucy Whitmore- Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates












9. Jules Harbor- Amy Smart in Varsity Blues

















8. Padme Amidala- Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith

















7. Emily Friehl- Amanda Peet in A Lot Like Love

















6. Becky Jackson- Julia Stiles in A Guy Thing












5. Rosalee Futch- Kate Bosworth in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton

















4. Claire Cleary- Rachel McAdams in Wedding Crashers












3. Nancy Hayes- Sara Foster in The Big Bounce

















2. Rachel Jansen- Mila Kunis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

















1. Andie Anderson- Kate Hudson in How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days

Female Movie Characters: 20-11

20. Julianne Potter- Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding

















19. Cassandra Wong- Tia Carrere in Wayne's World

















18. Polly Prince- Jennifer Aniston in Along Came Polly












17. Kate Veatch- Christine Taylor in Dodgeball

















16. Isabel Fuentes- Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In

















15. Elizabeth Swann- Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean

















14. Theresa Jones- Zoe Saldana in Guess Who

















13. Cher Horowitz- Alicia Silverstone in Clueless

















12. Sara Thomas- Kate Beckinsale in Serendipity


















11. Sara Melas- Eva Mendes in Hitch

Female Movie Characters: 30-21

Since I don't think there are enough good female characters to round out a top ten, here is my top 30 female movie characters that I would want to have sparks with.

30. Kate Reynolds- Tea Leoni in The Family Man



















29. Ashley Carlson- Sarah Roemer in Disturbia













28. Yvaine- Claire Danes in Stardust













27. Babe Bennett- Winona Ryder in Mr. Deeds













26. Daphne Reynolds- Amanda Bynes in What a Girl Wants



















25. Annabelle Bransford- Jodie Foster in Maverick



















24. Maya- Liv Tyler in Jersey Girl













23. Rachel Wright- Famke Janssen in I Spy













22. Monica Wright- Sanaa Lathan in Love and Basketball



















21. Carley Bobby- Leslie Bibb in Talladega Nights

Combining Lists

I don't know how I could live with myself if I didn't take all of these top ten lists I've been compiling and put them to good use. Let's see who ended up as the consensus top character based on the lists I used. Also I will be figuring out who the top actor from the lists. Normal scoring was used, with 10 points for a number one, 9 for second and so on. You needed to make two lists to be considered. Oh and Ty's list was thrown out.

Top Characters

15. Chester Lee- Rodney Dangerfield in Ladybugs (5 points)

14. Jack Kelly- Christian Bale in Newsies (6 points)

11. Frank Slade (left)- Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (8 points)

11. R.P. McMurphy- Jack Nicholson in Cuckoo's Nest (8 points)

11. Ron Burgundy- Will Ferrell in Anchorman (8 points)

10. Doc Holliday- Val Kilmer in Tombstone (9 points)

8. Tyler Durden (left)- Brad Pitt in Fight Club (10 points)

8. Buddy the Elf- Will Ferrell in Elf (10 points)

6. The Joker- Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (11 points)

6. Will Hunting (left)- Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (11 points)

5. Jack Sparrow- Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean (15 points)

4. Bob Wiley- Bill Murray in What About Bob? (16 points)

2. Roy O'Bannon- Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon (19 points)

2. Bartholomew Hunt- Chris Farley in Almost Heroes (19 points)

1. Verbal Kint (left)- Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects (25 points)



Top Actors

15. Val Kilmer- 9 points (2 selections)

15. Dustin Hoffman- 9 points (2 selections)

11. Brad Pitt- 10 points (2 selections)

11. Humphrey Bogart (left)- 10 points (2 selections)

11. Jack Nicholson- 10 points(3 selections)

11. Christian Bale- 10 points (3 selections)

10. Matt Damon- 11 points (2 selections)

9. Marlon Brando- 13 points (2 selections)

8. Bill Murray (left)- 16 points (2 selections)

6. Morgan Freeman- 18 points (2 selections)

6. Will Ferrell- 18 points (4 selections)

5. Chris Farley- 19 points (2 selections)

4. Heath Ledger- 20 points (3 selections)

3. Johnny Depp- 22 points (3 selections)

2. Kevin Spacey- 25 points (3 selections)

1. Owen Wilson (left)- 37 points (4 selections)





I haven't seen a smokeshow this bad since Mr.Piglover Jordan was talkin' smack back in '06. O-Dog brought home the 'chip and did it in style. Give it up for Mr. Owen K. Wilson III.