Wack Weekend Movie Binge: Ballers, Gangsters, Brit 'n' Grind

Universal Pictures

Despite what you've heard, L.A. is not 75 and sunny errry day. Just errry other. This weekend was gray and cold, I was away from my family for the holiday, I lost two baseball parlay bets, and a talented producer on Daily 10 named Sharoni, who loves 90210 more than I do, left our show to follow other dreams, which really bummed me out. And none of you people saw Grindhouse. That sucks.

We'll get to that travesty in a moment.

But first, as we do each and every Monday in the Lyons Den, we recap all the movies I caught while cooped up in the crib over the weekend. The positive side to crummy weather is having an excuse to cut yourself off from the world and watch some movies:

20th Century Fox

1. White Men Can't Jump
Director Ron Shelton's hoops classic is one of my all-time favorite films. I was  Woody Harrelson growing up, minus the tie-dyed hat and Rosie Perez. The dialogue is honest, the comedy hits as well as the drama, it's a buddy film, a basketball film and a great way to start off a weekend of movies. And also, "Your mother's an astronaut."

2. Bully
Director Larry Clark will always hold a special place in my movie heart for his NYC classic Kids. It launched the careers of Rosario Dawson and Chloë Sevigny and truly captured an era in New York that might have otherwise been forgotten. His followup, Bully, is strong, but didn't speak to me in the same way. Nick Stahl is solid, and Bijou Phillips is smoking hot, in a weird sometimes-I-love-her, sometimes-I-hate-her sort of way, but it wasn't an interesting enough cast for the film to come away with anything special. I wish Clark would work more often, because the game needs more characters behind the lens.

3. The Godfather: Part II
I caught, like, 25 minutes of this before hitting the town Friday night. It doesn't get any better. Yeah, The Sopranos final season dropped this weekend, and it was incredible, but this is different. This is the blueprint. The scene where Michael's sister begs for Fredo's life is what movies are all about.

4. Billy Madison
As the man said, "If peeing your pants means you're cool, then I'm Miles Davis." Unlike Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Will Smith, to name a few, Adam Sandler doesn’t have the range to do darker, more complex and dramatic work as well as his classic comedy. This stuff's funny, but what makes it special is its heart. Every character is fleshed out and featured in a scene to win. I hope Sandler sticks to what he does best, and I'm looking forward to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

5. Inside Man
Some people hated on the Spike Lee bank robbery pic, but I kinda liked it. Sure, it's got some holes if you really want to break it down, but I can watch Denzel, Christopher Plummer, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jodie Foster do just about anything. Clive Owen is stoic as the head of the heist, and I just love the way Spike tells stories. This one is a pure popcorn flick, and it did for Spike what The Departed did for Marty. It reminded people that he was relevant, that his films could make money and that Hollywood's biggest and brightest stars want to work with him. Give it a chance.

These movies brightened an otherwise dreary weekend, and I'd love to hear what you guys vegged out to this weekend, so hit me up!

Beyond that, a few personal highlights:

I beat my homey Zack in tennis, tore up the town Friday night with the Daily 10 crew, Jason Kennedy and some lovely, lovely ladies. I met the Transporter himself, Jason Statham, and hit the Lakers game with my boy AK on Sunday, where we had some cool sightings. Like? Like Terrence Howard, producer Joel Silver, Jack, Brian Greenberg, and a bugged-out Britney Spears sitting in the nosebleeds. Gotta love L.A.

Now, besides some cool movies and winning money on the Lakers losing, the reason why the weekend was ultimately wack is because Grindhouse didn't show and prove at the box office this weekend.

The Weinstein Company

Please don't let this discourage you from indulging in one of the great moviegoing experiences of all time. One day after work or school this week, round up a group of friends, get crazy and go for it. You won't be sorry.

A lot of factors contributed to the film only grossing around 12 million bucks. Women audiences were not interested, and I don't think opening a movie like this on Easter weekend, when people are with their families, was the best idea. And while the film has famous people up and down the cast, none of them really drive people to the box office. All that said, like 300, I thought the "movie" itself would be the star, and people would hear all the hype and want to find out for themselves what the fuss is about.

If this thing doesn't turn the corner and get some love, it could hurt the future of filmmaking as a whole. People won't bet on Q.T. and Robert when they should be supporting these unique voices. Let's not let that happen, for cinema's sake, right? Now, log off the computer, shut it down and GO SEE GRINDHOUSE! Thank you.