Monthly Archives: November 2019

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

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by John Walters

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and I don’t even know what this is, but…

Starting Five

Buffalo Stampedes Cowboys*

*The judges will also accept “You Gotta Bill-eve”

The Dallas Cowboys just pulled off the rare feat of losing to two AFC East teams in the span of five days. Just a few days after falling 13-9 to the Patriots in New England, the lads with the stars on their helmets (shouldn’t that make them the “Sheriffs?”) fell to the Buffalo Bills 26-15 in Jerry World.

Dallas is now 6-6, or .500.

Buffalo is 9-3, or .750.

The Bills almost certainly won’t catch the Patriots (10-1) and so they probably won’t be a wildcard and therefore will not host a playoff game in their western New York home, but it would be nice.

The Buffalo Bills versus Dallas made for one of those rarest of match-ups yesterday, by the way: two 1980s TV shows going up against one another. Dabney Coleman against Larry Hagman, who ya got?

Pee-AT*

*The judges will not accept “Get a Leg Up”

Ole Miss trailed 21-14 in Starkville. The Rebels faced a 4th-and-24 from their own 14-yard line with 0:50 remaining. Then quarterback Matt Corral, who’d been the starter at the beginning of the season, lost his job, and then come back in the Egg Bowl to reclaim it, hit Braylon Sanders with a 57-yard strike. A beauty.

Ten whole plays later Corral found Elijah Moore for a two-yard touchdown pass but before Ole Miss could have a serious discuss about whether or not to go for two or overtime, Moore mimicked peeing like a dog in the end zone—it was National Dog Show day, after all—which cost the Rebels 15 yards.

The resulting 35-yard PAT sailed wide right. Ole Miss loses 21-20. There’s no cure for stupid.

Rule No. 1 Strikes Again


Free solo climber Brad Gobright has fallen to his death while pursuing his craft in Mexico. Gobright, 31, was actually abseiling with a partner when something popped and both men fell. Gobright fell about 1,000 feet to his death while the partner, Aidan Jacobson, crashed through shrubbery and landed on a ledge and survived.

El Portrero Chico

Abseiling is where two climbers rappel from opposite ends of the same rope, using each other’s bodies as counterweights. The pair were climbing El Portrero Chico in northern Mexico.

Gobright once held the world speed record for free solo’ing the nose of El Capitan. He was no weekend climber.

Doctor, Doctor

In Ohio, legislators introduce a bill requiring doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus or face charges of “abortion murder.” The problem is that the procedure that legislators would require to perform does not exist in medical science. Seems like kind of a big problem, no?

Five Films: 1965*

*We toyed with the idea of skipping ahead to 1966 just to see Susie B.’s head explode because she’d wonder if we had done 1965 on Thanksgiving Day and she’d somehow missed it, or if we’d simply forgotten what year we were on, but mostly because it has musicals (or, one major one) and this would absolutely infuriate her that we’d bypassed it. In the end, we just could not be this cruel. But we were tempted…


“I can’t be yours. We’re communists. Nothing belongs to anyone.”
  1. The Sound Of Music: Like West Side Story, a perfect film (and the better of the two Nazi-inspired musicals of this decade). The Austrian Alps make a terrific backdrop for the best collection of tunes ever to appear in one movie. Contrary take: a nun in the novitiate turns her back on God for wealth and a hot dude. 2. Doctor Zhivago: Do David Lean and Sir Alec Guinness have something they’d like to tell us? This is Guinness’ third appearance in a Lean epic, all as a character with a different nationality: British, Arab and Russian. Of course, it’s Omar Shariff’s film while Julie Christie is impossibly fetching. We finally watched this for the first time last winter—you have to see it in a hibernal setting—and while it’s tragic and sad, just like Russia, it’s a film that stays with you. And as long as it may be, it’s still shorter than reading a Russian novel. Worth noting: Shariff was not even nominated for Best Actor and while Christie beat out Julie Andrews for Best Actress, it was not for her work in this film but in Darling. Weird. 3. Here is where it gets sticky because we haven’t seen a lot of the supposed best films from this year, but of the remaining ones we have, here’s how we rank ’em: 3. A Charlie Brown Christmas: Could you get away with an animated child character quoting directly from the Gospel according to Luke these days or is the War on Thanksgiving already lost? 4. Thunderball: When Netflix put all the James Bond films on its service (with the exception of “You Only Live Twice”), we were down with seeing all of the Sixties movies. This one has the most sophisticated underwater gang fight ever filmed. What a climax. 5. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! : The definitive Russ Meyer film and one of our favorite movie titles. And yes, Susie B., I nearly put “How To Stuff A Wild Bikini” and “Beach Blanket Bingo” in a two-way tie here, but ultimately chose against it.

Music 101

It Won’t Be Wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8VbXjRVevE

We’ve become infatuated with the songs we’ve discovered from watching “Echo In The Canyon” on Netflix the other night. The Byrds released their massive breakthrough album Turn! Turn! Turn! on December 6, 1965, and this was the album’s second song after the legendary title track. The song’s producer was Terry Melcher, who occupied the house that Charles Manson would later target for an August, 1969, murder spree because it was Melcher who would blow off Manson’s attempt to be taken seriously as a musician. That handsome dude in the middle of this video playing the maracas who looks more as if he should be playing tight end for the Dallas Cowboys is Gene Clark, who would write many of the band’s hits and also have an affair with Michelle Phillips—one of her suitors that hubby John would grow tired of having to deal with. And yes, on the far right that’s David Crosby. The dude with the cool specs is Roger McGuinn, who was always the cornerstone of the band.

Above, the soundtrack version featuring Jakob Dylan and Fiona Apple.

Remote Patrol

Saturday

Ohio State at Michigan

Noon Fox

This one should be fun from Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes were recently elevated by the Sel Com to No. 1 in the nation. The Wolverines have won their last four games by a combined score of 166-45. It’s gonna be closer than you think in the Big House.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 5 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Joel Embiid finished 0-11 from the field on Monday evening and finished with 0 points, unlike another former seven-footer from a Philadelphia NBA franchise, who once put up 100.

Starting Five

SFA?!? STFU!

At Cameron Indoor Stadium, Stephen F. Austin comes in and becomes the first non-conference school to beat Duke on their home court since 2000. And wow, the manner in which they did it. Watch:

“Nathan Bain, this is your life!”

Love it.

I wish the camera had just panned to the student section as soon as this layup fell. Maybe it did. We weren’t watching. Now I know how otherwise disinterested fans feel when Notre Dame loses a football game.

Duke becomes the third No. 1 hoops team to fall this month.

“O” and 1

Remember when Clemson, fresh off a 59-7 beatdown of Boston College and having been ranked in the Top 4 in both the AP and Coaches’ Polls the week before, somehow fell to 5th in the first week of the CFB Playoff Rankings?

Well, it happened again last night as LSU, No. 1 the past two weeks and having destroyed “Our Kansas”, as Herbie put it last night, 56-20, fell to No. 2 behind THE Ohio State University.

As Jesse Palmer put it so plainly and succinctly, nobody wants to be No. 2 (or No. 3) because that most likely means you’ll be playing Clemson in the semi.

So how close will that game up in Ann Arbor be this Saturday?

Saving Paris

You’re probably not gonna catch a Marvel film here any time soon

In a heel-turn move that only Amazon-putting-up-a-brick-and-mortar-bookstore can appreciate, Netflix signed a long-term lease at one of New York City’s most beloved movie houses, The Paris (on 58th Street, just across from the Plaza Hotel) so that it would not close. The Paris opened in 1948.

The move also allows Netflix to screen its own Oscar-hopeful films first (they must be released on the big screen for a certain period of time to gain Oscar eligibility) without having to work with an outside distributor before putting them onto the streaming site.

Great. Now will someone buy The Oak Bar (inside the Plaza Hotel, where Cary Grant was having a drink just before the bad guys kidnapped him in North By Northwest...I’m NOT Richard Thornhill) and reopen that? Pretty please.

Sun and Moons

We remember when “blowing sunshine up your ass” had an entirely different meaning…

Five Films: 1964

  1. My Fair Lady: The story of Pygmalion set to music with an enchanting Audrey Hepburn (wasn’t she always?) in a role that Julie Andrews originated on Broadway. See it again if you haven’t in years and notice the subtle digs at the working-class lot in “With A Little Bit O’ Luck” 2. The Train: Burt Lancaster stars in this black-and-white World War II drama that we only saw for the first time last year and loved. There’s a famous scene in the middle of the film in which Lancaster did his own stunt and it’s pretty impressive. One of, if not THE, greatest athletes to ever be a veritable Hollywood star (who didn’t come in as a known athlete first). 3. Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Slim Pickens in the blackest comedy ever made to that point. “Gentlemen, you can’t fight here: This is the war room!” 4. Mary Poppins: Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews and the boundless imagination of animators. It won’t be Andrews’ best role as a governess, but it was the one for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. In her acceptance speech she thanked the producers of My Fair Lady for snubbing her, which gave her the opportunity to do this film. Audrey H., by the way, was not even nominated in that category. Hollywood had the knives out. 5. Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Olivia de Havilland in an incredible southern Gothic tale of intrigue and forfeited romance and murder. Another film we only saw in the past year but were wowed by.

Okay, so yeah, we left some Susie B-worthy films off the list and will acknowledge them here: Goldfinger, The Night Of The Iguana, A Hard Day’s Night, all came quite close. We’ve never seen The Umbrellas of Chambourg nor, Kurt, have we watched Mutiny On The Bounty in its entirety (we do love that Marlon Brando scrapped the director midway through the film over creative differences and finished it as the director himself, which is Peak Irony as far as we’re concerned).

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 2 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Starting Five

Blackbird

Last year’s hot NFL team, the Los Angeles Rams, hosted this year’s hot NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens, in the L.A. Coliseum last night. It wasn’t close. The Baltimore Birds slammed the Rams 45-6 and viewers left sure of two things: 1. Lamar Jackson was the steal of the 2018 NFL draft (the 32nd and final pick of the first round) and 2. nobody wants to hear Booger McFarland compare the Ravens to The Wire ever again.

Jackson, who was the fifth quarterback chosen in the 2018 draft, has thus far been undeniably the best. Last night he threw five touchdown passes and while he’s not the most prolific passer in the league this season by a long shot, he is third in passer rating and he’s also the only quarterback in the top 10 in the NFL in rushing.

Mark Ingram, who scored twice last night, is one of three Heisman Trophy winners on the Raven roster

The Ravens are 9-2. Right now it’s between Lamar and Christian McCaffrey (another deserving Heisman Trophy winner who, unlike Lamar, was overlooked for the award) for NFL MVP this season. McCaffrey leads the league in rushing yardage.

McCaffrey’s middle name is Jackson, by the way. Jackson’s middle name is not McCaffrey.

Seoul Mates*

*The judges will also accept “Crazy Rich and Poor Asians”

The movie you should see right now? Parasite, a film out of South Korea written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. See, there’s a poor family (above), the Kims, and a wealthy family, the Parks. When the Kim son lands a job as a tutor for the Park’s daughter, he soon figures out a way to land his three other family members jobs at the Park home (art therapy teacher, driver, housekeeper) without the Parks ever realizing they are all members of the same family.

So far, so funny. Then the story takes a turn for the hearse.

To say more would be wrong. You’ll really enjoy this film, but you’ll have to read the subtitles. This will most likely win the Best Foreign Film Oscar in a few months. It’s downright entertaining and suspenseful and while it may have a lesson or two to provide about class structure, you’re too busy being entertained to feel as if anyone’s preaching.

The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Fiend

If you’re wondering what Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is doing here, it’s quite simple. First, he’s attempting to normalize the footsie being played between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin although it’s quite curious since right up until the moment Trump began entreating the Russians to look into Hillary’s e-mails in 2016 the Russkies were America’s sworn Cold War adversary.

Second, what he’s also doing is demonstrating that the Democrats and “libtards” are a far greater threat to the America he loves than Russia is. Which is how much of the Trump GOP actually feels.

Sure, it’s queer to listen to the same people who would’ve bashed Obama 24-7 for doing anything even close to what Trump has been alleged of doing both in regards to cozying up to Russia and to attempting to extort Ukraine suddenly say, “I’m rooting for the Russians.” But that is where we are.

Yesterday I had a thought: What happens when the “real Americans” (who watch Fox) are outnumbered by the unreal Americans? Well, that day is coming and you see, the Fox’ies are trying to prep America for it. How? By manipulating elections, by loading the federal courts with federal judges, by attempting to keep the Senate a red majority and, lastly, by gas lighting Americans into thinking that the Constitution no longer matters as much as what the President believes; that he is a king and that his rule is inviolate.

That’s what all of this is about: holding onto white power in a nation that is increasingly, week by week, not white. Nothing more than that.

Wilder Wilding

Nobody pays too much attention to traditional boxing any more, not even to heavyweight fights. On Saturday night, however, Deontay Wilder did Burgess Meredith’s Rocky quote proud: “He’ll knock you into tomorrow, Rock!”

On Saturday night the 6’7″ Tuscaloosa native KO’d Luis Ortiz in the final seconds of the 7th round with a punch that literally knocked all the sweat beads into the fourth row. It was like watching one of those magical bird migration patterns in slo-mo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcX5dAOzkqg

In 2015 Wilder, 34, became the first American heavyweight boxing champion after a nine year interregnum for the Yanks at that weight class. He is 42-0-1 in his career with with 41 of those wins by knockout. Twenty of those 41 knockouts have taken place in the first round.

The only person Wilder beat but failed to knock out was Tyson Fury, which is too perfect a name when you consider the last great American heavyweight previous to Wilder. Here’s what the announcer said at the end of Saturday’s fight, moments after the knockout: “There is a reason why he’s the baddest man on the planet!”

Indeed.

Five Films: 1963

  1. The Great Escape: Another great World War II manly man film starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson, among others. A simply unforgettable WW2 flick. 2. Tom Jones: A deserving Best Picture starring Albert Finney that is a rollicking adventure with great good fun and a charming and bawdy leading man. It doesn’t get the same attention as a lot of “classics,” but no one ever saw this film without enjoying themselves 3. The Birds: In a year that also featured Bye, Bye Birdie, this film with Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor gets the aviary nod. 4. The Pink Panther: The film that started it all. Peter Sellers was supposed to be more of a supporting player with David Niven’s jewel thief the star, but as he began stealing every scene director Blake Edwards was shrewd enough to recognize what audiences would respond to. If you’re too young to have seen the Pink Panther series, make it a point to see them (“The Return of…” is our favorite). 5. From Russia With Love: Some people consider this James Bond film, the second, to be the best of the Sean Connery era. There’s a sound argument to be made for this and, no, none of it takes place in Russia.

Remote Patrol

Echo In The Canyon

Netflix

We caught this very good and entertaining documentary last night. It’s all about the Laurel Canyon music scene of the mid-1960s that brought The Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and the Buffalo Springfield into the foreground. Jakob Dylan, whose pop had a thing or two to do with it all starting out, developed this project and conducts all the interviews.

Dylan, give him this, is a terrific host. Notice how quiet he is as his subjects talk, allowing them to fill the blank spaces, which creates a far better interview. Being the son of one of the all-time rock gods, he’s not nervous or anxious in the presence of Roger McGuinn, Michelle Phillips, Brian Wilson, Steven Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne or even Tom Petty, whose contribution to this project will bring a smile to your face.

This was a labor of love and what Dylan has done here is laid down a historical document that, while not approaching Ken Burns-doc status, will be viewed for a long time after all of these legends are part of the dirt. A hilarious moment that we rolled back twice to re-watch: as different subjects opine as to why David Crosby was booted from The Byrds, we shift to Dylan interviewing Crosby with the gorgeous Santa Monica mountains in the background. “That’s not the reason I was kicked out of the Byrds,” says Crosby, who then turns directly to the camera and says, “The reason I was kicked out of The Byrds was because I was an asshole.”

How can you not love a man like that?

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 4 Comments

by John Walters

Starting Five

Richard Spencer

Casualty Of War

Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer is the latest casualty in the never-ending battle between Donald Trump and Integrity. Last week Trump pardoned Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who had been convicted of bringing discredit to the armed forces and acquitted of a separate murder charge (you can never mind for a moment the idea of charging special-ops military types with murder).

Anyway, Gallagher’s case became a cause celebre on Fox News, which then made it a cause for Trump to take up, and Gallagher received a presidential pardon (take yet another bow, bin Laden). Gallagher was one of three military service members Trump pardoned, against the strongest wishes of the Pentagon, which expressed concern that “such a move could damage the integrity of the military judicial system, the ability of military commanders to ensure good order and discipline, and the confidence of US allies and partners who host US troops.”

Gallagher and wife

Trump didn’t care, saying he would never permit the Navy to revoke Gallagher’s membership in the SEALs. Which will probably stoke, at the very least, some friendly ire going forward.

Spencer attempted a diplomatic move, asking the White House to be allowed to publicly proceed with a review of Gallagher while privately assuring it that they’d let Gallagher remain. In other words, let’s put on a dog-and-pony show so it looks as if we’ve still got integrity, but you’ll get our way in the end, Donald. When Secretary of Defense Mark Esper learned of Spencer’s covert maneuver, he asked for his resignation for going “outside the chain of command.”

Another win for Fox and Fiends.

That’s Hall, Folks

Do not, under any circumstances, show us your scar

Strongman Eddie Hall was lifting weights, because that’s what strongmen do, when in his words, as he recently told The Mirror…

I piled a load of heavy weights on a leg-press machine and then heard a loud thud. It had come crashing down and the weights had landed on my penis. I nearly bled to death,’

‘It was bad. The worst ever. I didn’t cry for help though. I just lifted them off, drove myself to hospital and got stitched up. I was back training soon enough.’

There’s a lot we find hard to swallow about this tale, but do we really want to ask more incisive questions? I don’t think so.

OK, Bloomberg

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire from New York who doesn’t have to cater to the whims of Fox News because he already owns his own cable news outlet, has officially entered the presidential race as a Democratic candidate.

This is great news in 2016. If Bloomberg had entered as a Republican. Now? We’re not so sure.

“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America,” Bloomberg, 77, wrote on his website. “We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions.”

He would be the oldest president to serve if elected, though he’s still a year younger than Bernie.

Native America First

This was a clever skit from this weekend’s SNL that sort of let up at the last moment and didn’t go for the kill. Still, perhaps it opened a few eyes.

Also, there was a joke from “Weekend Update” that was too good to ignore. The setup, from Colin Jost, was that Nazi paraphernalia belonging to Adolf Hitler and Evan Braun was put up for auction. The problem, noted Jost, was that “it looked as if everyone was bidding at once.”

It isn’t often that you write a joke and know, beyond a doubt, that it would be impossible to be improved upon. This was one of those moments.

Five Films: 1962

  1. Lawrence Of Arabia: Peter O’Toole in a career-highlight performance, with Omar Shariff and the stunning landscapes of Jordan and Morocco. Nominated for 10 Oscars, it won seven including Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean. A true epic. 2. The Longest Day: Dramatic re-telling of D-Day with the greatest cast of manly man actors ever assembled: John Wayne, Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Eddie Albert, Richard Burton and Robert Ryan, just to name a few. Also told from the German perspective, which makes it that much more fascinating. 3. The Music Man: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and some of the more charming songs ever put on film. That little boy? Yep, it’s Ron Howard. 4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne in one of the tighter Westerns, from a story aspect, ever made. 5. The Manchurian Candidate: A Cold War superpower and enemy of this nation hatches a plot to install a hand-picked puppet as president of the United States. Ha! Like that could ever happen.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Also…

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden_/status/1197404486953848834?s=20

Starting Five

My Fiona

The impeachment inquiry has not been short on heroic figures the past week—Marie Yovanovitch, Lt. Col. Vindman and Bill Taylor, to name just a few—but yesterday Dr. Fiona Hill, a British coal miner’s daughter, took the oath and proceeded to be the best possible witness anyone could unearth. In an impeachment inquiry, her character and testimony were simply unimpeachable.

By this stage you’d have to be an idiot to not believe that President Trump was prompting a “quid pro quo” situation from newly elected President Zelensky. And you’d have to be hopelessly naive to not understand that this entire scheme was cooked up by Russian security, the very country that stood the most to gain by it.

Look: either Ukraine does not get the $400 million in aid and thus makes Russia’s fight against it that much easier, or it does for bending the knee to Trump, which possibly helps swing the 2020 election for Trump which is an even bigger win for Putin. It’s a very shrewd plan, comrade.

But we have plenty of idiots in this country at the moment, and most of them vote Republican.

https://twitter.com/DrakeCarrington/status/1197539474152054791?s=20

I hate to be a pessimist, but this administration has sort of drilled it into me. As easy as it is to see that Trump is guilty; as similarly easy as it is to infer that this is probably just another day at the office for this man who in this instance just happened to be caught; this will all come down to the fact that there are currently 53 Republicans in the 100-person U.S. Senate and at least 40% of them are going to need to vote to impeach.

That seems like quite a stretch. Yes, Trump’s name will be added to the short list of presidents whom the House of Representatives voted to impeach (Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton; Nixon resigned before it came to a vote) and that will be one more stain on his legacy. But he’ll probably not be ousted from office.

Meanwhile, a huge sector of America believes it’s okay to cheat out in the open, to side with Russia over fellow Americans, simply because it’s more important to be in power than to obey the Constitution. Sad.

Wholly Toledo

The foul here was actually called on T.J. Gibbs of Notre Dame, the player off the ball, and not John Mooney, the player who had it.

The Fighting Irish hoops team moved to 5-1 last night (this is the most transparently soft schedule this side of the Baylor football team) with a comeback win versus Toledo. You have to see a few of the plays here (note time and score):

Finally, the Rockets were held scoreless in overtime until this final play, which did not affect the game’s outcome, but still…

Mad Max Musk

Yesterday Tesla founder Elon Musk unveiled the perfect pickup for these dystopian times. The electric “Cybertruck” is a trapezoid on wheels and features a bullet-proof metal alloy: now if Musk could only design a hoodie made of the same material so I could go shopping at Wal-Mart.

The vehicle seats five and can haul all of your groceries from Trader Joe’s and more. It sells from anywhere between $39,900 and $69,000 and can go from 250 to 500 miles before needing a battery recharge. Or, in other words, you’ll need to drain your kidneys before it drains its battery.

Get Uppity

Exsqueeze me, Richard Jefferson? I wonder if the Fox News producer has already booked Clay Travis for a segment to discuss this. Jefferson is talking about Luka Doncic, by the way, the Eastern European player who, along with Giannis, is one of the NBA’s top two players under the age of 25.

Meanwhile, it was interesting to see Tony Kornheiser (white, Jewish) pose the following question to his old friend Michael Wilbon (black, obstinate) on Pardon The Interruption yesterday as regards the Myles Garrett allegation: “If it had been a black quarterback and he had said it, would Myles Garrett have reacted the same way?”

Wilbon: “No, because [then] it wouldn’t have been a racial slur.”

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Five Films: 1961

  1. West Side Story If you’re looking for the perfect film, this is it: romance, drama, comedy, tragedy, suspense, war (on an urban front) and racism. The New York City depicted in films from the 30s, 40s and 50s almost never showed Gotham City’s seamy underbelly, and even when it did it was about (white) crooks and gangsters. Not only is this musical update of Romeo & Juliet entertaining, with physically demanding dance sequences and unforgettable songs, but it’s also a harbinger for the racial turbulence that would envelop the coming decade. Won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. One more reason we love this: none of the male leads were, or became, big stars. The story was the star. 2. Judgment at Nuremberg A compelling courtroom drama based on the war crimes trial of the Nazis. Maximilian Schell as the German defense attorney Hans Rolfe gives one of the most powerful performances I’ve ever seen. He deservedly won a Best Actor Oscar; the black-and-white film was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning two. 3. The Hustler Classic Paul Newman as a pool hustler who wants to make it into the big time by taking on Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Methinks whoever made Rounders saw this film first. 4. Breakfast At Tiffany’s A somewhat watered-down version of Truman Capote’s novel, in which the male character is no longer gay. Mickey Rooney is somehow Chinese. Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly is the most delicate courtesan you’ll ever meet. Somewhat overrated as a film as compared to its prominence in people’s minds, but he title song, “Moon River,” Is pure perfection. If you can, watch with George Costanza. 5. The Guns Of Navarone A World War II story starring Gregory Peck that a later James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, will borrow heavily from.