Crash! Landen’s Week 5 Top 25 College Football Poll

#1 Alabama (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 1

#2 Ohio State (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 2

#3 Oregon (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 4

#4 Stanford (3-0)  Ranking Last Week: 6

#5 Oklahoma (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 5

#6 Florida (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 10

#7 LSU (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 7

#8 Michigan (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 11

#9 Nebraska (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 10

#10 Utah (4-0) Ranking Last Week:12

#11 Wisconsin (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 14

#11 Arizona (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 11

#12 Iowa (3-1) Ranking Last Week: 14

#13 Texas (3-1) Ranking Last Week: 3

#14 Oklahoma State (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 16

#15 Boise State (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 17

#16 Auburn (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 19

#17 TCU (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 18

#18 Air Force (3-1) Ranking Last Week: 20

#19 Arkansas (3-1) Ranking Last Week: 15

#20 USC (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 21

#21 South Carolina (3-1) Ranking Last Week:8

#22 Miami (2-1) Ranking Last Week: 24

#23 Michigan State (4-0) Ranking Last Week: 23

#24 North Carolina State (4-0) Ranking Last Week: NR

#25 Florida State (3-1) Ranking Last Week: NR

Dropping Out of my Poll : West Virginia and Penn State…  I added a couple more ACC teams, but for the most part my poll has mostly the same teams as last week; just a little rearranged. The teams that impressed me the most this week: Stanford, Utah and Auburn. Teams that didn’t impress: OU, Nebraska, TCU and Boise State who (at home) beat a midlevel team that should NOT have been ranked. And I guess painting the practice field blue didn’t help the Beavers any. What a shock.

Week 4 Aftermath

There were a lot of close calls this week. Arkanas played their best game of the year until the 4th quarter against ‘Bama. I had picked them to win this game before the season started, but after seeing them actually play I doubted their ability to beat the Top Ranked team. They’ll still beat a lot of teams this year and still have an outside chance of making it to the SEC title game. Outside chance. Oklahoma continued to struggle with anyone not named Florida State. South Carolina’s Garcia once again helps the other team win late in a game.Spurrier’s been trying to kick that ball for 4 years now and Garcia continues to pull the ball away at the last second. LSU continues to win without an offense. Penn State escapes Temple. The UT/UCLA game was shocking. It might actually work to their advantage, though with OU looming. And FSU continues to confound. I watched the Wake game. FSU didn’t play well. Yet they won 31-0 and got a late TD by EJ, the backup QB. At least they won, though. I also managed to tie things back up with The Evil One.

Grand Totals coming in: 71-15… 56-8 in Top 25 games… ACC 23-7 (to The Evil One’s 24-6).  In Other games I’m 1-4.  3-2 vs the Gut…

Correct Picks in Green. Upsets are in Red…

#1 Alabama @ #10 Arkansas Crash! Picks ‘Bama

#2 Ohio State vs Eastern Michigan Crash! Picks OSU

#3 Boise State vs Oregon State Crash! Picks: BS U

#4 TCU @ SMU Crash! Picks: TCU

#5 Oregon @ Arizona State Crash! Picks:Oregon

#6 Nebraska vs South Dakota State Crash! Picks: The Huskers

#7 Texas vs UCLA Crash! Picks: Texas

#8 Oklahoma @ Cincinnati Crash! Picks: OU

#9 Florida vs Kentucky Crash! Picks: UF

#11 Wisconsin vs Austin Peay Crash! Picks: Wisconsin

#17 Auburn vs #10 South Carolina Crash! Picks: Spurrier

#13 Utah vs San Jose State Crash! Picks: Utah

#14 Arizona vs Cal Crash! Picks:’Zona

#15 LSU vs West Virginia Crash! Picks: LSU

#16 Stanford @ Notre Dame Crash! Picks: Stanford

#18 Iowa vs Ball State Crash! Picks: Iowa

#20 USC @ Wazoo State Crash! Picks: USC

#21 Michigan vs Bowling Green Crash! Picks: UM

#23 Penn State vs Temple Crash! Picks: PSU

#25 Michigan State vs Northern Colorado Crash! Picks: MSU

ACC Games

FSU! vs Wake Forest Crash! Picks: ‘Noles!

Maryland vs FIU Crash! Picks: Maryland (Against The Gut)

NC State @ Georgia Tech Crash! Picks: GT

Army @ Duke Crash! Picks: Duke

UNC @ Rutgers Crash! Picks:UNC (Also Against the Gut)

Virginia vs VMI Crash! Picks: Virginia

Miami Over Pitt Crash! Picks: Miami

BC vs Va. Tech Crash! Picks: VT

In Other Games:

Georgia @ MSU Crash! Picks: UGA

Nevada @ BYU Crash! Picks: BYU

Top 25 Picks… Not bad. 18-2. In ACC games: 6-2 vs HD’s 5-3. Other Games: 1-1 ATG:2-0

Grand Totals : 96-20… 74-10 in Top 25 games… Last year I was 70-17 (91-24 overall) at this point so the percentage is up.  ACC 29-9 (Tied with  The Evil One).  In Other games I’m 2-5.  5-2 vs the Gut. The Gut is not picking well this year.

Crash! Landen’s Week 4 Picks

Grand Totals coming in: 71-15… 56-8 in Top 25 games… ACC 23-7 (to The Evil One’s 24-6).  In Other games I’m 1-4.  3-2 vs the Gut…

Keeping it simple this week… Upsets are in Red…

#1 Alabama @ #10 Arkansas Crash! Picks ‘Bama ( Arkansas was my preseason pick, but after watching them play UGA, there’s no way they’re going to beat the top ranked team… But that’s why they play ‘em I guess. We’ll see.)

#2 Ohio State vs Eastern Michigan Crash! Picks OSU

#3 Boise State vs Oregon State (WHY are they RANKED?!) Crash! Picks: BS University

#4 TCU @ SMU Crash! Picks: TCU

#5 Oregon @ Arizona State Crash! Picks:Oregon

#6 Nebraska vs South Dakota State Crash! Picks: The Huskers

#7 Texas vs UCLA Crash! Picks: Texas

#8 Oklahoma @ Cincinnati Crash! Picks: OU

#9 Florida vs Kentucky Crash! Picks: UF

#11 Wisconsin vs Austin Peay Crash! Picks: Wisconsin

#17 Auburn vs #10 South Carolina Crash! Picks: Spurrier

#13 Utah vs San Jose State Crash! Picks: Utah

#14 Arizona vs Cal Crash! Picks:’Zona

#15 LSU vs West Virginia Crash! Picks: LSU

#16 Stanford @ Notre Dame Crash! Picks: Stanford

#18 Iowa vs Ball State Crash! Picks: Iowa

#20 USC @ Wazoo State Crash! Picks: USC

#21 Michigan vs Bowling Green Crash! Picks: UM

#23 Penn State vs Temple Crash! Picks: PSU

#25 Michigan State vs Northern Colorado Crash! Picks: MSU

ACC Games

FSU! vs Wake Forest Crash! Picks: Go ‘Noles!

Maryland vs FIU Crash! Picks: Maryland (Against The Gut)

NC State @ Georgia Tech Crash! Picks: GT

Army @ Duke Crash! Picks: Duke

UNC @ Rutgers Crash! Picks:UNC (Also Against the Gut)

Virginia vs VMI Crash! Picks: Virginia

Miami Over Pitt Crash! Picks: (Already got this one…)

BC vs Va. Tech Crash! Picks: VT

In Other Games:

Georgia @ MSU Crash! Picks: UGA

Nevada @ BYU Crash! Picks: BYU

Thursday Night Fights…

Miami and Pitt should be a pretty good game. The Big East teams are harder to figure out than the ACC teams. I do think Miami will win, but I’m not sold that their progress is as far along as the experts say. They also said Jake Locker will be next year’s #1 Draft Pick. Wasn’t he something like 4 for 20 in the Huskers and the Huskees game?And yes, I spelled it that way on purpose…. But Miami and Pitt should be a pretty good little brawl, at least for a while. Miami will win, though. This game may determine whether these teams have good seasons or mediocre ones.

And TCU over SMU on Friday. SMU supposedly is holding some sort of grudge and they’re playing at home. Still won’t help ‘em. TCU BIG.

The Town (4.5 of 5)

Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town’ is maybe the best movie (new release) that I’ve seen all year and I’ve seen several really good ones. It’s not a good film, by  any means, though. It’s a GREAT film; better than Affleck’s directorial debut ‘Gone Baby, Gone’, and that one is #46 on my Top 100 Bst Films of the 2000s, so I have high regard for Mr. Affleck’s filmmaking abilities.

I don't remember this scene being in the movie...

This movie quiets any detractors that hie first effort was a fluke. Every aspect of the film is handled well. He moves the camera around in the quieter scenes a la Robert Altman and handles the Bourne-esque action scenes with equal deftness. The visuals are professional looking if nothing else. I enjoyed the soundtrack also. It had one of the more fitting end credit tracks and fits how it ends.

The cast fits the definition of ‘ensemble’, starting with Affleck himself. He’s been unfairly judged in the past as a bad actor, mainly because of offscreen perceptions. He’s done  a pretty solid job in most of the roles he’s been in, but he had to direct himself to get his best part. He’s outstanding and believable in the lead role as the unofficial leader of a band of bank robbers.

Renner is even better here than he was in the Hurt Locker (see my review as to what I thought of that one). He plays the somewhat violent best friend that is a little too volatile to succeed in crime for too long. Chris Cooper makes a brief but pivotal appearance. Affleck manages to keep all of the performances gritty and grounded, even in the case of Pete Postlethwaite who can quickly move into camp territory if the leash is let out too far.

For me, Jon Hamm practically steals the show as the FBI agent leading the investigation into the bank heists (and the other types of heists). His part is smartly written and he helps to ratchet up the tension very early on in the film.

The real outstanding performances though, come from the 2 main actresses, Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively, who both have a wider range of emotional states that they have to convey than the other actors. Lively especially is good as Krista, the somewhat self destructive young mother. She might have an outside shot at some awards.

The quieter scenes hold your attention almost as well as the violence, of which there’s a good bit of the gun fighting variety. The story is told very clearly but isn’t always predictable. You really don’t know how it’s going to end up. Probably, this is the best movie of its kind (the bank robbin’ variety). I really can’t think of a better one  that I’ve seen.

I look forward to seeing  Affleck’s next directing effort. He’s an intelligent guy and his movies where he’s been involved behind the camera (writing and directing…) reflect that. In the meantime, I’ll probably go see this one again. 4.5 of 5 whatevers.

Crash! Landen’s Week 4 College Football Poll

#1 Alabama (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 1

#2 Ohio State (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 2

#3 Texas (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 3

#4 Oregon (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 5

#5 Oklahoma (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 6

#6 Stanford (3-0)  Ranking Last Week: 9

#7 LSU (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 7

#8 South Carolina (3-0) Ranking Last Week:8

#9 Nebraska (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 10

#10 Florida (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 12

#11 Michigan (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 11

#12 Utah (3-0) Ranking Last Week:13

#13 Arizona (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 19

#14 Wisconsin (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 16

#14 Iowa (2-1) Ranking Last Week: 4

#15 Arkansas (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 14

#16 Oklahoma State (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 18

#17 Boise State (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 22

#18 TCU (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 23

#19 Auburn (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 17

#20 Air Force (2-1) Ranking Last Week: NR

#21 USC (3-0) Ranking Last Week: 21

#22 West Virginia (3-0) Ranking Last Week:NR

#23 Michigan State (3-0) Ranking Last Week: NR

#24 Miami (1-1) Ranking Last Week: NR

#25 Penn State (2-1) Ranking Last Week: NR

Week 3 Picks Aftermath

Again, I indicate the ones I got right in Green. Picks that are incorrect are in RED.

#1 Alabama @ Duke Crash Picks: ‘Bama BIG. (Actual Point Differential:49)

#2 Ohio State vs Ohio Crash Picks: OSU BIG. (Actual Point Differential:37)

#3 BSU @ Wyoming Crash Picks: BSU BIG. (Actual Point Differential:45)

#4 TCU vs Baylor Crash Picks: TCU BIG. (Actual Point Differential:35)

#5 Oregon vs Portland State Crash Picks:  Oregon BIG (Actual Point Differential:69)

#6 Texas @ Texas Tech Crash Picks: Texas… Thoroughly, but not BIG. (Actual Point Differential:10)

#7Oklahoma vs Air Force Crash Picks: OU, but close. REALLY close. (Actual Point Differential:3)

#8 Nebraska @ Washington Crash Picks:The CornPelinis.  (Actual Point Differential:35 This was over early, though)

#9 Iowa @ ‘Zona Crash Picks: Iowa, but close. Low scoring game. (Actual Score: Arizona 34 Iowa 27)

#10 Florida @ Tennesse Crash Picks: Tennesse in a BIG upset. Urban’s head explodes. (Actual Score: UF 31 UT17 Urban’s head still intact)

#11 Wisconsin vs Arizona State Crash Picks: Wisconsin, but close. (Actual Point Differential:1)

#12 Arkansas @ Georgia Crash Picks:Arkansa timidly. Georgia is an enigma. (Against the Gut.) (Actual Point Differential:7 Was Tied late.)

#13 South Carolina vs Furman Crash Picks: Spurrier BIG. (Actual Point Differential:19 SC was flat.)

#14 Utah @ New Mexico Crash Picks: UTAH BIG (Actual Point Differential:42)

#15 LSU vs Mississippi State Crash Picks: LSU BIG. (Actual Point Differential:22)

#16 Auburn vs Clemson Crash Picks: Auburn BIG. (Actual Point Differential:3 in OT. And Clemson looked like the better. more physical team.)

#18 USC @ Minnesota Crash Picks: USC BIG. (Actual Point Differential:11)

#19 Stanford vs Wake Forest Crash Picks: Stanford BIG. (Actual Point Differential:44 and could’ve MUCH worse)

#20 Michigan vs Massachusetts Crash Picks: Michigan BIG. REALLY BIG. (Actual Point Differential:5 Michigan was flat.)

#21 West Virginia vs Maryland Crash Picks: Maryland  (Actual Score WV 31 UM 17 and it was never close. Never trust the Friedge…)

#22 Penn State vs Kent State Crash Picks: JoePa BIG. (Actual Point Differential:24)

#23 Houston @ UCLA Crash Picks: Houston BIG, but only if Keenum plays. (Actual Score UH 13 UCLA 31 Keenum was knocked out of the game again. Wouldn’t have won anyway.)

#25 Oregon State vs Louisville Crash Picks: OSU (Actual Point Differential:7)

ACC

FSU vs BYU Crash Picks: The ‘Noles BIG. (Actual Point Differential:24)

NC State vs Cincinnati Crash Picks: ‘NC State (Already got this one 30-19)

Georgia Tech vs North Carolina Crash Picks: North Carolina. Against The Gut. (GT30 NC 24 The Gut was right. NC had their chances.)

Virginia Tech vs East carolina Crash Picks: VT (Barely.) (Actual Point Differential:22 But VT was trailing throughout. They pulled away at the end.)

Other Notable Games:

Cal Over Nevada ( Actual Score:Nevada 52 Cal 31 Blew that one I guess.)

Kansas @ Southern Miss Crash Picks: Southern Miss (Actual Point Differential:15 And not a surprise.)

Vanderbilt @ Ole Miss Crash Picks: Ole Miss FREAKING HUGE  (Actual Score Vandy 28 Ole Miss 14)

Notre Dame @ MSU Crash Picks: Notre Dame in a nailbiter. (Actual Score MSU34 ND31 MSU wins in OT with a fake FG. It WAS a nailbiter.)

So this week I was  19-4 in Top 25 games. I did poorly in the ACC going 6-2 The Evil One went 8-0. WTH? I’m behind… Crap! Anyway, in other notable games I was 1-3. Stupid Notre Dame Defense. Burned me 2 weeks in a row now. Fool me once, shame on you…. Overall:23-8 and 1-1 vs the Gut, but I think the Gut was trying to steer me clear of a few others, too…

Grand Totals for the year:71-15… 56-8 in Top 25 games… ACC 23-7 to The Evil One’s 24-6 … Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!

In Other games I’m 1-4. Wow. And 3-2 vs the Gut… MUST do better next week. Must catch the Evil One…

Crash! Landen’s BIG Week 3 Picks

GET OVER IT… I hope that’s what Jimbo tells the Noles this week… All you can do really. Move on to BYU. BYU was definitely looking ahead to this game last week when they themelves got a pretty thorough spanking by Air Force…. AIR FORCE! Sure, they have a good team, but one that BYU should’ve won. I do think the ‘Noles will look better this week. They HAVE to…

On to business! The record thus far: 48-7… 37-4 in Top 25 games… In the ACC : 17-5 vs the Evil One’s 16-6…  In  Other Games:0-1 (Curse you Notre Dame defense!)… Oh. And 2-1 Against The Gut. Maybe I’ll beat it this year, too.  Upset Picks by moi are highlighted in Red.

The Tide may be even better this week... Uh oh.

#1 Alabama @ Duke Crash Picks: ‘Bama BIG.

#2 Ohio State vs Ohio Crash Picks: OSU BIG.

The farce continues...

#3 BSU @ Wyoming Crash Picks: BSU BIG.

#4 TCU vs Baylor Crash Picks: TCU BIG.

Way more interesting than the game will be...

#5 Oregon vs Portland State Crash Picks: The Oregon cheerleaders… BIG

#6 Texas @ Texas Tech Crash Picks: Texas… Thoroughly, but not BIG.

#7Oklahoma vs Air Force Crash Picks: OU, but close. REALLY close.

Also had parts in Fargo, Constantine and the Big Lebowski...

#8 Nebraska @ Washington Crash Picks:The CornPelinis. Nebraska runs all over Washington and pulls away in the 4th.

#9 Iowa @ ‘Zona Crash Picks: Iowa, but close. Low scoring game.

#10 Florida @ Tennesse Crash Picks: Tennesse in a BIG upset. Urban’s head explodes.

#11 Wisconsin vs Arizona State Crash Picks: Wisconsin, but close.

#12 Arkansas @ Georgia Crash Picks:Arkansa timidly. Georgia is an enigma. (Against the Gut.)

#13 South Carolina vs Furman Crash Picks: Spurrier BIG. I’ve watched the Lattimore kid in 2 games now and he’s impressive. He’s about 6′/220 and while he doesn’t look that fast, he follows his blockers really well, can cut pretty good, and he runs with bad intentions. He runs like a battering ram. As long as Garcia doesn’t give the game away with turnovers and boneheaded plays of every variety as he has in the past, Lattimore will keep SC in games. I’m not a believer yet, but Lattimore’s prescence changes the Gamecocks on both sides of the ball.

#14 Utah @ New Mexico Crash Picks: UTAH! But if Ole Miss was playing I would pick them both. If these 2 are fans, then so am I, even with the thug QB.

#15 LSU vs Mississippi State Crash Picks: LSU BIG. They’ve had a week off and will be itching to erase the memory of the North Carolina win…. Wait. What?…

#16 Auburn vs Clemson Crash Picks: Auburn BIG. Because the Auburn QB’s so BIG. He’s going to sit on one of the those poor Clemson DBs. Oh, the humanity.

#18 USC @ Minnesota Crash Picks: USC BIG. Unfortunately.

#19 Stanford vs Wake Forest Crash Picks: Stanford BIG. They’ll remember last year.

This guy just radiates positive vibes to the Wolverine Nation.

#20 Michigan vs Massachusetts Crash Picks: Michigan BIG. REALLY BIG.

#21 West Virginia vs Maryland Crash Picks: Maryland (Nothing else to say. Move along)

#22 Penn State vs Kent State Crash Picks: JoePa BIG. RELEASE THE NITTANY LIONS!

#23 Houston @ UCLA Crash Picks: Houston BIG, but only if Keenum plays. I know it’s a hedge, but UCLA will win if they get to face the backup.

This guy's pretty good. But they still shouldn't be ranked.

#25 Oregon State (WHY ARE THEY RANKED?!) vs Louisville Crash Picks: OSU because they’re at home. (But…WHY ARE THEY RANKED?! REALLY?…)

There certainly are a lot of BIG games this week, especially in the good ol’ ACC. None BIGger than…

FSU vs BYU Crash Picks: The ‘Noles BIG. They take out their frustrations on the Cougars for the 2nd year in a row. It will be especially BIG for Jimbo. VERY BIG. If FSU plays poorly and/or loses this game, Coach Fisher will get booed. Trust me. Good thing they’re not going to struggle, though (BIG fake non-confident smile while I type this).

NC State vs Cincinnati Crash Picks: ‘NC State (Already got this one 30-19)

Georgia Tech vs North Carolina Crash Picks: North Carolina. Against The Gut.

Virginia Tech vs East carolina Crash Picks: VT (Barely… Beamer’s secure for life. Just like Saint Bowden at FSU… Wait… Anyway, I think he’ll have his team playing angry against ECU.)

Other Notable Games:

Cal Over Nevada (Blew that one I guess.)

Kansas @ Southern Miss Crash Picks: Southern Miss as KSU’s season continues on with rollercoaster aplomb. (Yup, got that one. Not a BIG upset, though.)

Vanderbilt @ Ole Miss Crash Picks: Ole Miss FREAKING HUGE…. See Also:#14 Utah @ Nevada

Notre Dame @ MSU Crash Picks: Notre Dame, but I do think a loss (much like FSU’s game) will DEFINE their new head coaches in a loss. I repeat: LOSS. But Notre Dame wins in a nailbiter.

And Go ‘Noles…

Crash! Landen’s Top 30 Films of 1987

I had so much trouble cutting this down to a Top 10, I just said the heck with it. Now it’s aTop 30. There were just too many good films released in 1987. Maybe there was just something in the water. there are some great movies that didn’t make it on my list that could’ve. Good Morning, Vietnam… Beverly Hills Cop II… The Living Daylights which was better than how Dalton was received…. Born in East L.A. Yeah, you heard me… Ridley Scott’s ‘misstep’ Someone to Watch Over Me, which is still entertaining… Throw Momma from the Train… Suspect that starred Cher (who’s on my list a couple of times along with Dennis Quaid who’s also on the list. There’s several folks making repeat appearances, actually). Wish You Were Here. Remember that one? No?… I could go on, but I won’t… I’m not even getting to some of the highly regarded movies of the era (by others) like Dirty Dancing and Fatal Attraction…

30 La Bamba (Great movie. Essai Morales didn’t get enough credit as the jealous brother).

30 Some Kind of Wonderful (A John Hughes classic. The 3 leads were great as was John Ashton as the father. And yes, it’s tied for  the last spot…)

29 The Monster Squad (One of the more fun kids movies involving monsters. Still makes me laugh.

28 The Running Man (Richard Dawson steals the show from all of the musclebound types in the flick. Almost steals it from Arnie, himself). )

27 Adventures in Babysitting (“Thor!”)

26 Prince of Darkness  (Still love the scene with Victor Wong going through the wall to escape. A fairly creepy horror flick).

25 The Witches of Eastwick

24 Hellraiser (Has a weak finale, but one of the creepier movies I ever saw. It’s a shame Pinhead became so mainstream and iconic.)

23 Harry and the Hendersons (First of 2 great Kevin Peter Hall movies on my list.)

22 Spaceballs (One of the last great Mel Brooks films…)

21 Roxanne (Outstanding take on Cyrano De Bergerac written by Martin).

19 Moonstruck (A sweet film. Not a whole lot of tension. More of a slice of life in the neighborhood flick. Nic Cage and Cher were both having a good year in film.)

No Way Out (Tying for the #19 spot. I know I’m cheating).

18 Lethal Weapon (Right up there with the top action films ever made. Was the blueprint for all inferior buddy cop films to imitate. Also responsible, I think, for the now very tired line “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit.”)

17 Three O’ Clock High (Maybe the best ‘high school’ movie I’ve ever seen. Definitely the best about a bully. Still holds up. Still makes me laugh).

16 Angel Heart (If this isn’t Mickey Rourke’s best film, it’s right up there. I saw this before I knew who Robert Deniro was, so it was even more creepy for me).

15 The Hidden (Brilliant low budget sci fi /buddy cop film).

14 The Lost Boys (First of 2 vampire flicks. As fun as a vampire movie can be).

13 Planes, Trains and Automobiles (RIP John Candy).

12 Broadcast News (A love triangle story set to the backdrop of network news journalists that kind of isn’t).

11 Near Dark (One of the better vampire flicks; kind of a vampire road flick. Bill Paxton was diabolical in this.  Pasdar  was perfect in the good hearted redneck lead and Wright is just stunning in this as the vampiric love interest.

This was definitely not a sparkly vampire movie and it was different than just about any of the genre films that had come before. Had flashes of extremely brutal violence.

10 Empire of the Sun (An often overlooked film. One of Spielberg’s best IMHO. War from a kid’s POV with the Spielbergian touches. Much different than his take on WWII through the soldier’s eyes).

9 Evil Dead II (Horror movie. Comedy. Action Film. Sequel. Remake. Bruce Campbell.)

8 Innerspace

7 Predator (When Arnie ruled the silver screen… Stan Winston at his best, too.)

6 The Untouchables

5 Full Metal Jacket  (Offbeat. Darkly humorous. Clinical. Cold. Violent. Cynical. Kubrick at his finest).

4 The Princess Bride (“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” )

3 Raising Arizona (One of the Coens’ best films and H.I. McDunnough might be Nic Cage’s Hamlet. Smarter than even the credit yt recieves).

2 RoboCop (An enormously fun sci fi satire with BIG heart. One of my favorite films.)

1 The Last Emperor (One of those rare epics that only comes along every few years.One of the best movies of the 80s.)

Any Given Thursday…

No, nothing to do with that pop artist guy… Just 3 quick picks for games before Saturday. NCState over visiting Cincinnati and Southern Miss upsets KU. Again. (Oh. And Cal beats Nevada).