The latest ESPN 30 for 30, “You Don’t Know Bo” is a spectacular representation of Vincent “Bo” Jackson’s athletic career.

It follows the Illinois resident’s sporting life at high school, Auburn, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Chicago. It is full of great legendary stories of Bo. The documentary portrayed him as Adrian Peterson and Ken Griffey Jr. combined.

Frank Dye, Auburn's football coach and AD, told the Auburn baseball coach Hal Baird "you'll be coaching the greatest athlete that ever lived."

"I know he's great but come on,” replied Baird. “As time went on, I came to believe that it is absolutely true,"

Hall of Fame teammates George Brett, Royals, and Howie Long, Raiders, were praising Bo for his knowledge and athleticism. He is apart of sports mythology with Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson and now Bo Jackson. He is truly a once in a generation athlete.

This might be biased because I grew up loving Bo, he even made me a White Sox fan for a short time while aspired to be him. As a child, I dreamed to be a MLB All-Star and NFL Pro Bowler like Bo. Now I know that was an unattainable dream for everyone and Bo was the greatest.

Rating: A
One of the best 30 for 30’s yet.

After starting the season 7-1, the Chicago Bears lost three of four and have lost many key players to injury. The Bears will be without Devin Hester, Brian Urlacher, Lance Louis, Earl Bennett and maybe Tim Jennings for the foreseeable future.

'The Tillman Story'

One of the saddest events in sports history is well documented in "The Tillman Story."
The 2010 film retells the story of the government's manipulation of former pro football player Pat Tillman's death. After 9/11, Tillman decided to decline an NFL contract to sign up for the Army because he felt it was the right thing to do.
He died while serving in Afghanistan, the problem was the family was not able to find out the details of his death. The government saw his death as a way to promote the war. The Tillman family fought the government, even to the point to bring it in front of Congress.
The grueling battle that ensued created a fascinating story that only ends in tragedy.
Rating: A-
The most powerful sports documentary in recent memory.

Ole 'North Dallas Forty'

Loosely based on the 70s Cowboys, "North Dallas Forty" is an over-the-top portrayal of pro football.
The forgotten 1979 film starring Nick Nolte shows the toll football takes a player's body. The athletes play hard and party even harder in the football flick.
The film shows how players would use booze and meds to drown out the pain. It is the first movie to shed light on the subject, when the public didn't know in the 70s.
The movie is much like Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," except there is less front office action and play isn't as vicious.
Rating: C+
It isn't very focused and not very well made. The movie touches any some interesting sports point, which keeps the viewers attention.

'Go Tiger!' is an Understatement

The high school football documentary "Go Tigers!" shows how people take high school sports too seriously. It documents the 1999 football season of the Massillon Washington High School Tigers.

It is crazy the lengths these people would do to win. All the captains on the team were held back so they could play football for one more year.
The film is similar to a real life "Varsity Blues" with less partying.

Football is treated as a religion in the Ohio town.The team is treated as Gods in the town even though they didn't win anything.

One of the most interesting aspects is the amount of the pressure these teenagers have. The whole has such high expectations for these kids, it's hard for anyone to live up to the hype.

Rating: B+
It has great insight into high school football fanatics.

'A Player to be Named Later' Matters

The 2005 documentary "A Player To Be Named Later" realistically shows the pressures of minor league baseball. The film follows four players through a season with the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.
The diversity of the four players enhances the view point of the documentary. Marco Scutaro, a young Venezuelan player adapting to a foreign country;  Micah Franklin, a former major leaguer coming back from playing in Japan; Brad Tyler, a 32-year-old career minor leaguer who is still trying to fulfill his major league dream and Kyle Peterson, a former top prospect recovering from injuries.

The players were not the only aspect of the film. It is impressive to watch management try to construct the rosters with players moving up to the majors and back to the minors.
The documentary was filmed in 2001 but released in 2005. Manager of the Indians, Bruce Kimm became interim Cubs in 2002, he also caught for the Cubs in 1979 and the White Sox in 1980.
Rating: B-
The movie is pretty serious and depressing at times, it is a unique view of sports. A little bit of fun would have helped this film.

I like 'The Damned United'

The 2009 film "The Damned United" is the best soccer movie ever.
The movie retells the true story of Brian Clough's 44 day tenure with the famous English soccer club Leeds United. While the film follows Clough, it depicts all the ins and outs of English 'football.'


Clough came from a small team, when he made the jump to Leeds all hell breaks loose. Martin Sheen, "Frost/Nixon," carried the film as Clough, he was perfectly cast for this role. Clough tough yet fun personality is tough to portray but Sheen did it well.
The story has its ups and downs but it is directed perfectly by Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech." At every turn Hooper keeps the viewer in mind, he explains everything so non-soccer fans don't get lost.
Rating: A-
The great cast and story makes for a great movie for everyone.

'Baseball' Love

The epic 20 hour series "Baseball" by Ken Burns is a must-see documentary for die hard baseball fans.
It chronicles the story of baseball through 10 innings. The episodes are full of great forgotten baseball stories, such as Ty Cobb's feet first slides with the intention of kicking the player in the nuts or Tim Raines' head first slides so he wouldn't break his cocaine capsules in his back pocket.
Burn's has the best interviewees. He not only has players, coaches and journalists, he has fans from all walks of life.
The series is very long and boring at times, it is best to watch over a long period of time. It took nearly two months to watch the series.
The first inning is mostly introductory and discusses roots of baseball, which are unknown. If you're not interested in that part, go ahead and skip the inning, it is the worst episode by far. The tenth inning is the best.
Rating: B+
It is a lot of time to dedicate to a history series, but it is suppose to be a time capsule for the sport. It is very well done and detailed, baseball fans will enjoy it.

Chasing the 'Endless Summer'

If you seek adventure and travel to the unknown, you will love 1966's "The Endless Summer."
The documentary shows director Bruce Brown following two surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, chasing the warm climate around the world to create an 'Endless Summer.'  The epic quest includes trips to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii.

The film stands out more now because the world was much bigger back then. During their travels they encountered so many interesting cultures that never saw a surf board. They were surfing in places that were never surfed before. It's almost like they introduced surfing to the world and it's all on film.
The corny 60s narrator gets annoying but it is also part of the movie's charm.
Rating: A-
One of the best 60s documentary, it truly is a great portrayal of an era.

It's Just a Game

The 2009 documentary "More Than a Game" is a great reputation of LeBron James' need for a family.
The film follows James' high school national championship run at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School in 2003. The story shows that the journey to a championship is hard even if you have James, the best player in the nation. However, the struggle wasn't as hard as depicted, the team went 27-0.
The only times James was interesting in the documentary was when they discussed his off-the-court controversies.
One of the best aspects of the movie is the relationship between coach Dru Joyce and point guard Dru Joyce Jr. The father/son up and down relationship keeps the audience's attention.
Rating: C+
It's not that interesting, it is a long hour and a half movie. It could have been better as an one hour TV special.

The Rocket

The "Rocket" Richard biopic, "The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard," focuses too much on Richard's off-the-ice endeavors and the movie suffers.

The film follows the life of one of the best hockey players ever, but it portrays the Montreal Canadian as a bitter, frail man who kind of hates NHL hockey. The movie wasn't that bad just Richard wasn't an appealing character. It is good era picture that shows how rough hockey was played in the 50s.

Richard was constantly fighting through injuries and discrimination. His injuries get old quick, he is battling injuries the whole movie. It's just like watching your favorite players who are injury prone, it's frustrating. The discrimination factor was interesting, not many people talk about the NHL's distain for French-Canadians.
The film only shows three of his Richard's eight Stanley Cup victories, which was a huge mistake.
Rating: CThere isn't enough glory in this legend.

What's 'Fightville'

The MMA doc “Fightville” has some fight but doesn’t tip the scales.

The motion picture about underground MMA is an intriguing portrayal of the semi-pro fighter lifestyle. It depicts the difficulties of amateur MMA. Promoters have to make money by promoting unknown fighters. Fighters have to make time to fight while holding a day time job.

The film starts off slow but gains momentum as one of the featured fighters, Dustin Poirier, makes his climb up the MMA ladder and makes it into the UFC. It shows how MMA teaches fighters discipline and changes their lives. It illustrates how hard it is to make it as lower class fighter, the pay is bad and the training is hard.

One major problem was the lack of training sequences, when they did show them training it was attention-grabbing to see the culture in the gym. If a fighter didn’t show up prepared or missed practices, the coaches and team would beat the crap out of him in practice. It wasn’t to be mean, it was to show the fighter that he needs to there all the time if he wants to go pro.

Rating: C+The movie didn’t really get going until about the one hour mark. The slow pace didn’t help the portrayal of the hectic, grueling lifestyle.

Joe Willie Namath: What a Guy

The latest HBO Sports presentation "Namath" shows the greatness of "Broadway Joe" to younger generations. Namath doesn't have the best stats and wasn't the greatest NFL quarterback, but he is a cultural icon.

The New York Jet legend was a good passer despite doing it his way, which led to mistakes. During a time with only 14 regular season games and loose secondary rules, Namath passed for an astounding 4,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 1967. Namath isn’t known for his regular season play, his greatest feat was predicting a win against the 17-point favorite Baltimore Colts.

However, the film isn't focused on his playing career. It discusses his impact on society and his injuries that led to alcohol abuse.

Namath's massive contract, hippie look and bachelor lifestyle in New York made him a prominent figure in cultural. Much like Tim Tebow, he had a lot of haters and lovers but Namath wasn‘t a bible thumper. He used to party late before games, hang out with gangsters and wear a Fu Manchu.

“I like my women blonde and my Johnnie Walker Red,” said Namath.

Rating: A
“Namath’ has really good content and great interviews, most sports fans will enjoy it.

"Beyond the Mat" is Hands Down the Best Wrestling Documentary

The 1999 pro wrestling documentary produced by Ron Howard “Beyond the Mat” establishes itself as the perfect snapshot of the sport.

The timing couldn't have been better right as the WWF is becoming a publicly traded company and at the peak of the industry's popularity.

It follows professional wrestlers Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Terry “Fucking” Funk and Mick Foley, and promoters Vince McMahon and Roland Alexander.

The film shows all the ridiculous characters that surround wrestling. Director and narrator Barry W. Blaustein opens the documentary by expressing his embarrassing love for wrestling. It sets a great tone for the movie, it shows the fans and participants loyalty for the sport.

At one point the wrestling great Funk is coughing up blood and seemingly dying after an ECW match. The next shot he's chugging a Coors Light, that's what wrestling is all about.

The Jake "The Snake" Roberts story is a more depressing then "The Wrestler." During the shoot the filmmakers lost Roberts later to find out that he was smoking crack.

Rating: B+This is perfect portrait of the weird and dangerous world of professional wrestling. The subject matter isn't appealing for everyone.

Everyone Should Seriously see “Inside Job”

The winner of the 2011 Oscar for Best Documentary, “Inside Job” shows how we trust our money with people who don’t care about us.

The film explores the 2008 economic crisis that caused the world to lose trillions of dollars. Director Charles Ferguson, who is know for the documentary “No End in Sight,” made a flick about a boring and complicated topic that is a scandalous and educational film.

It is a little repetitive, but it needs to be so the movie can cover all the points of the film without losing the viewer.

This enraging documentary gives such a powerful depiction of the 2008 meltdown and how the people responsible will not be charged for defrauding the country. It is one of the most influential documentaries of this era.

Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe said the movie is “scarier than anything Wes Craven and John Carpenter have ever made.”

Also Matt Damon was good as the narrator. Rating: AThis is truly a great documentary, hopefully people react to it.
P.S. It’s everyone’s fault.

“Y Tu Mamá También” Leaves Audiences Unsatisfied

The critically acclaimed Y Tu Mamá También from 2001 is a hit-or-miss for most viewers due to its conclusion.

It follows two young best friends Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna), who have a summer to waste after their girlfriends leave for Italy. It starts at a perfect time in the two boys lives, on the brink of being adults at the crossroads of their lives.

They meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the wife of Tenoch's cousin, at a wedding and in an attempt to astound the older woman, they tell her of a secluded, heavenly beach called la Boca del Cielo ("Heaven's Mouth").
However, Julio and Tenoch were embellishing their knowledge of the beach and actually knew very little about it. The duos lack of knowledge and directions to the beach helped the trip become more interesting.
Luisa eventually accepts their invitation to the beach. So the three set off for it, although they have little idea where they‘re going. The majority of the movie is about their journey through poor, rural Mexico on their way to the beach.

The director Alfonso Cuarón, who also directed “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and Children of Men,” made the drive through rural Mexico visually pleasing through great camera angles and stunning locations.
 7.8 stars out of 10 from IMDB and received 91 percent critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a good film but a different ending would have helped it greatly.



During the trip, the deep voiced male narrator of the story became a prominent aspect of the film. He was an unusual addition to the storytelling, he would say seemingly useless information, but as the movie continued he actually gave character and landscape to areas in the film.

A lot was going in this movie with music, narration and the action on the screen, which was confusing at the beginning. When it eventually settled in, it flowed seamlessly.

Julio and Tenoch combine for all the comedy in the film. Julio and Tenoch’s lust for Luisa is responsible for the romance. While all the drama is brought on by Luisa. She made the movie depressing at some points with her crushing stories and reactions.

The sexually driven film hits on all human emotions, such as pleasure, grief, joy and anger. The rollercoaster of emotions continues throughout the film. It is good and bad because it seemed like a soap opera sometimes, but it kept the viewer interested.

Diego Luna, who plays Tenoch, is in “The Terminal” and “Milk.,” but Maribel Verdú (Luisa) and Gael García Bernal (Julio) are not in any notable American films.

This film is recommended for people from the ages 17-35 and movie buffs, besides those people it is not very accessible to the average movie-goer.

“Y Tu Mamá También” got

"Chopper" a must-see Psycho Flick

The jaw-dropping Australian movie “Chopper” released in 2000 has quickly become a cult classic in America due to the interesting storytelling and weird relationships.

“Chopper” is the extreme story about Mark “Chopper” Read’s criminal life in and out of jail based off of his best-selling autobiography, “From the Inside.”

IMDB categorizes “Chopper” as a biographical crime drama but it is more of a fictionalized biopic with dark humor. One second Chopper’s actions are mortifying and the next second they are funny. It is one those few movies that successfully combine horrific violence and comedy.

The violence is similar to “Natural Born Killers” with Woody Harrelson and the humor is similar to Guy Ritchie’s “Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch” movies.

In his first leading role Eric Bana knocks it out of the park as Read. Without Bana’s performance the movie would have suffered, he perfectly walks the line between a man with boyish charm and a schizophrenic murderer.

Bana’s supporting cast gives just as good of a performance as he did. Chopper Read’s relationships between his trashy girlfriend, his peculiar dad and his junkie best friend are the best parts in the movie.

In his directorial debut Andrew Dominik did a great job making a witty gritty story translate well to the screen. Before viewing remember that he deliberately made the film look grainy to give it a realistic appearance. Dominik also directed “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” which was pretty good but it lagged at the end and didn’t have enough action.

This movie is given a 70 percent by all critics on Rotten Tomatoes but the top critics give it an 85 percent rating and the audience rating is 89 percent rating.

This particular movie is not recommended for kids, adults over 40 or most women because it has shockingly bloody scenes and humor that people from another generation might think is demented.

Rating: B+
It would have been an A- if it didn’t get a little repetitive by the end.

"The Secret in Their Eyes" is a Captivating Throwback

The 2010 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film, "The Secret in Their Eyes" has all the right components for a great mystery.
The 2009 movie follows Benjamin Esposito, a retired Argentinian detective, retracing his steps back to a 25-year-old murder case.

Set in 1999 Buenos Aires, this mystery keeps the audience intrigued from start to finish through revealing flashbacks to 1974.  The film is only shown though Esposito’s point-of-view, which helps make the murder investigation and other characters more interesting.

Esposito and his department chief, Irene Menedez-Hastings have a bit of a romance but it doesn’t take away from the mystery. Esposito’s loyal alcoholic assistant, Pablo Sandoval brings an essential bit of comedy to this grim tale.

Rating: B+
With a bit of romance and a bit of comedy this dramatic mystery is one of the best international films in recent memory. It's a bit confusing but that is what you should expect from a mystery. The subtitles can also be a little distracting.

What is "A Scanner Darkly" all About

The crime film "A Scanner Darkly" from 2006 is a really weird but cool movie that blows minds.

Director Richard Linklater, who's known for "Dazed and Confused," "Before Sunset" and "School of Rock," creates a unique, futuristic world through an animation process called rotoscoping. It takes live-action film and animators trace over the film to make a precise cartoon copy. The intriguing combination of style and story make this film standout.

Reeves breaks into the group by dating Winona Ryder, "Edward Scissorhandd," and participating in a bit of Substance D consumption.  The rest of the junkies are brilliantly played by "A" list actors Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man" and Woody Harrelson, "Natural Born Killers."

Rating: B
This movie is innovative and thought-provoking but the content isn't appealing to everyone. It is intended for sci-fi and drug crime fans.It is based on the science fiction novel by Phillip K. Dick, who wrote the short story that inspired "The Minority Report." This film follows Keanu Reeves, from "The Matrix," as an undercover cop trying infiltrate a group of junkies to cut off the distribution of the brain-damaging drug called Substance D.

"The King's Speech" hits the mark

The film based on a true story, “The King’s Speech” gracefully blends smart humor and lowbrow humor, which makes it one of the more entertaining historical dramas and 2011 Best Picture nominees.

It follows the stuttering, King George VI’s public speaking troubles and rise to power from 1925-1939.

George VI’s problem is so bad it is uncomfortable to watch, especially since he is royalty. Colin Firth played the role of the powerful, insecure king perfectly. He captures King George’s peculiar speech flawlessly.

Geoffrey Rush from “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” plays the king’s charming and demanding speech therapist. All the scenes with Rush and Firth were great, the two played off each other very well.

Helena Bonham Carter from “Big Fish,” beautifully recreates the great historical figure as the king’s wife otherwise known as “The Queen Mother.” Guy Pearce from “Memento,” plays a good jerk as usual in the role of the king’s brother. Michael Gambon from “Harry Potter,” is good in a small role as the king’s father.

Director Tom Hopper did a fantastic job regenerating the early twentieth century. Hopper also directed the 2009 soccer movie “The Damned United,” which got good reviews from ESPN.

Rating: A-It demonstrates many emotions effectively like anger, sadness, happiness, joy, surprise and fear. But it’s a little slow and the parts without Rush and Firth together aren’t as good. However it gives a very realistic portrayal of the life of someone with a stutter.