The Street Stops Here

 

   In one of the most motivational documentaries I have ever seen, The Street Stops Here follows St. Anthony High School in their pursuit of basketball excellence under the guidance of the greatest high school coach of all time.  Bob Hurley has been the head boys' basketball coach at the north Jersey high school since the 1970s and this documentary shows how he stresses being good people rather than just being good basketball players.  His teams work together like efficient machines because his discipline is unprecedented in high school sports.  As a model for all urban (and non-urban) coaches, Hurley is as legendary a person as you will ever see in youth athletics.   The opening scene in the gym is enough to make this movie worth watching.

THIS NETFLIX INSTANT FILM IS EXPIRING ON JULY 15th, so catch up with it now. 

To Rome With Love

   This is my 56th entry in this blog.  My first ever post was about Midnight in Paris, a film that I adored.  Woody Allen is back with his follow up love letter, To Rome With Love, a film that I liked well enough to tell diehard Woody fans to see it but not enough to recommend it to everyone.  Allen hasn't acted in one of his films since Scoop (2006), a film I have not seen.  Here he returns to the screen with a flurry of neuroticism and wit.  He is joined on screen by Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page and Roberto Benigni*.  Although not quite as well as Owen Wilson pulled off in Paris, Eisenberg channels Allen beautifully.
 
*Benigni's shower scene was the funniest moment in any film I saw all year.

Ted

 
  Even though I don't watch Seth MacFarlane's hit show Family Guy, I wanted his new movie Ted to be my introduction into his world because I was intrigued by a talking teddy bear who uses more inappropriate profanity than Louis C.K.  Ted certainly delivers the laughs.  Two scenes particularly stick out to me as funniest.
  The first is the scene where Mark Wahlberg's character is trying to guess the white-trash name of Ted's new girflriend.  In order: Mandy, Marilyn, Brittany, Tiffany, Candace, Brandi, Heather, Channing, Briana, Amber, Sabrina, Melody, Sierra, Cody, Bambi, Crystal, Samantha, Autumn, Ruby, Taylor, Tara, Tammi, Laura, Charlene, Shantell, Courtney, Misti, Jenny, Krista, Mindy, Noelle, Shelby, Trina, Reba, Cassandra, Nicki, Kelsy, Shauna, Jolene, Erlene, Claudine, Savannah, Casey, Dolly, Kendra, Karly, Chloe, Devin, Emma Lou, Becky?! I couldn't control my laughter.  Wahlberg rifles through the names so fast, I didn't have time to even catch my breath from laughing so hard.  (As it turns out, Ted's girlfriend's name is "one of those with a Lynn at the end.")
  The second scene that kills me is the riff that Wahlberg and Ted go on about nicknaming beers based on peoples' names. Watch this video to see what I'm referring to.

My friends and I have been doing this for years. 

  The best part about MacFarlane is that he takes shots at everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, social status, etc.  No one is off limits.  This comic equity allows him to get away with just about everything.
  Even though I felt it was about ten minutes too long and probably used one too many Flash Gordon references, I enjoyed Ted quite a bit.