Roman Holiday (1953) (Greatest Movie of All-Time Podcast) - Currently on Prime
- Listen to the podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Overcast, Pocketcasts, and RadioPublic
VICK, Parts 1 and 2 - Currently on ESPN+
- This doc gave me a lot of different perspective on someone I despised when he first broke into the league. To be clear, I hated Michael Vick because of how he torched the Packers over a few different seasons early in his career, and I certainly was rather passive about the dog-fighting scandal that eventually took him down. However, there are two very lasting legacies of the man that I do have to give respect and admiration for. One, he not only repented, but he tried to make substantive change following his conviction. Too often from apologies (let alone public apologies), we don't get any remorseful or redemptive action to go with it. Now, I can't sit on my high-horse and claim that I have always tried to improve after I have made apologies, but it's the effort that counts. Michael Vick has certainly done both of those here. Second, his impact on the game of football toward one where we have greater athletic quarterbacks cannot be understated. What was once the model of only college teams or running quarterbacks, has now become the staple of the NFL. It's no coincidence that the best four quarterbacks (Wilson, Mahomes, Watson, Jackson) in the league are mobile and black, and Vick had a direct effect on that.
Chuck and Tito - Currently on ESPN+
- I am not an MMA or UFC fan. I have never watched a fight. However, I was intrigued by the story given that I knew of Chuck Liddell from popular culture where he had occasional cameos. This its ultimately a great tale of triumph and tragedy that follows Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, the two biggest stars of UFC's early years, through their careers. Ortiz brought a showmanship and Liddell brought a brutal winning style, and each has a respective claim on being UFC's best ambassador. However, neither has seemingly aged gracefully, and their recent sub-par fight is evidence of that. It is a great story of two former athletes despite your feelings on their sport.
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) - TCM
- I create a special watch list for both my Best Picture and AFI watching projects, but this is another entry for the Best Picture winner of 1936. Starring William Powell, Luise Rainer, and Mirna Loy, this movie depicts the biography of one of the 20th Century's greatest early star-makers. It is over-stuffed and the musical performances are very dated (why do all of these 20s and 30s movies need a scene in black-face?) and some of the acting is well over-done, but William Powell shines in a good story of a ruthless promoter who lived his life they only way he knew how: big.
My Weekly Shows:
Billions (Ep. 5.6) - Showtime
This was a week of showdowns. Chuck vs. the DA, Chuck vs. Axe, Chuck vs. Wendy, Taylor vs. Oscar, and then a finishing flourish of Axe vs. Tanner (or so we're led to believe). Is this leading us finally toward that Axe/Wendy tension that we've been waiting on since the beginning? We have half a season to go yet, and no marquee answers other than both Chuck and Wendy both moving on from each other (and rather quickly I might add).
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Patriot Act - with Hassan Minaj - Netflix
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