Saturday, Dec. 29 - AutoZone Liberty Bowl

UCF vs. Mississippi State 

There may not be a better story in all of college football this year than the success of Slyvester Croom at Mississippi State. After being planted very firmly on the hot seat, Croom lead the Bulldogs to an 8-4 record with wins against Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky. As good as that story is, I can’t imagine they have what it takes to beat George O’Leary’s UCF Knights. UCF fans better enjoy watching running back Kevin Smith, the nation’s leading rusher, while they can because he won’t be running around Orlando for very much longer. What impresses me most about Smith, besides the fact that he’s averaging nearly 200 yards a game rushing, is his patience with the football. He has tremendous feet and waits for his line to open holes and cutback lanes, which they often do and he sees the field as good as any back in the nation. For my money, Kevin Smith is an exponentially better running back than Darren McFadden and deserves to be in New York this weekend as much as anyone. What I like about UCF is that as potent as they are on offense, their defense isn’t anything to shirk at either. They have a great potent cover corner in Joe Burnett, who led Conference USA in interceptions and pretty good pair of pass rushers in Bruce Miller and Leger Douzable. Pair UCF’s terrific ground game with a ball-hawking defense against a Mississippi State game with a mediocre defense and a dreadful offense and you’ve got the makings for a blow out. I’ll take the UCF in Kevin Smith’s coming out party.

Saturday, Dec. 29 - Valero Alamo Bowl 

Penn State vs. Texas A&M

Coming into the year, everyone and their brother was trumpeting Penn State as a potential Big Ten dark horse. They claimed quarterback Anthony Morelli had improved in the off-season and the Nittany Lions were ready to stake their claim as the Big Ten’s best. Not so fast, my friend.  The defense, led by corner Jeff King and linebacker Dan Connor, who led the Big Ten in tackles with 136, held up their end of the bargain, finishing second in the conference in total defense. The offense, and the “improved” Morelli struggled — again. Morelli showed the same poor judgement in the pocket, failed to get the ball into the hands of receivers Deon Butler and Derrick Williams and the team failed to beat Michigan and Ohio State again. For Texas A&M, a year of tremendous promise was upset by scandal when it was reported that Dennis Franchione was giving out inside information to boosters who paid thousands of dollars for a special newsletter. Franchione was later fired (and replaced by former Packers coach Mike Sherman) and defensive coordinator Gary Darrell will coach the Aggies in the bowl game. Offensively, Texas A&M has been one of the most disappointing teams in America. The Aggies returned a trio of the nation’s best skill players in quarterback Stephen McGee and running backs Javorski Lane and Mike Goodson. Still, A&M finished ninth in the Big 12 in total offense, a number that won’t be at all helped by going out against one of the nation’s best defensive units.  I’ll take Penn State in this one.. ugly.

Sunday, Dec. 30 - PetroSun Independence Bowl

Alabama vs. Colorado 

Two once-proud programs clash in Shreveport, La. in the Independence Bowl  and this game is a total toss-up. Both of these teams have shown flashes of re-birth this season — Alabama’s nail-biter over Arkansas and Colorado’s thriller against Oklahoma —  and have also been disappointing at times. For Dan Hawkins’ Buffs, the key to the game will be getting pressure on John Parker Wilson, who wilts like basil when the pocket collapses and getting as many people as it takes to cover receiver D.J. Hall. Nick Saban will have to make sure Wilson always knows where Colorado linebacker Jordan Dizon is lined up. The Buffs’ senior linebacker led the Big 12 with 149 tackles. Offensively, Colorado would do well to get tailback Hugh Charles 20-30 touches in this game and try to control the tempo of the game. Letting Cody Hawkins throw the ball against Simeon Castille and Rashad Johnson, who led the SEC in interceptions, could be Colorado’s downfall in this contest. Nick Saban knows that there is a lot riding on this game for Alabama. After losing all of its big games this year, including another loss to Auburn, and an embarrassing home loss to Louisiana-Monroe, a loss in their bowl game to Colorado may squelch whatever enthusiasm still remains in Tuscaloosa about Alabama football. I’ll take the Crimson Tide in this one, there is simply too much at stake for Nick Saban.

As promised, I have received a handful or so Top 20 lists from friends and family and wanted to throw them up here for all to see.

Kayla Killian (Bottom Line girlfriend)

1. The Little Giants
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. Garden State
4. Se7en
5. A Cinderella Story
6. The Great New Wonderful
7. Almost Famous
8. Little Miss Sunshine
9. Love Actually
10. Steel Magnolias
11. Pretty Woman
12. Remember the Titans
13. Rear Window
14. In the Land of Women
15. What About Bob?
16. Men of Honor
17. Billy Madison
18. The Virgin Suicides
19. One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest
20. Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail

Kevin “K Squibbs” Donohue - (Bottom Line Brother)

1. Constantine
2. V for Vendetta
3. The Rock
4. Pirates of the Carribean (Black Pearl)
5. Caddyshack
6. Inside Man
7. Boondock Saints
8. Babe
9. Wedding Crashers
10. Apollo 13
11. Gladiator
12. Blow
13. D2: The Mighty Ducks are Back
14. Bourne Ultimatum
15. The Devil’s Rejects
16. Cool Runnings
17. Toy Story
18. The Majestic
19. Reign Over Me
20. Sixth Sense

Kelly Donohue - (Bottom Line Sister)

1. beauty and the beast
2. garden state
3. man on fire
4. the wedding singer.
5. billy madison
6. mr brooks
7. click
8. lady in the water
9. v for vendetta
10. the weatherman
12. the illusionist
13. happy gilmore
14. big daddy
15. hercules.
16. the golden compass
17. saw 4

Lauren Morrill-Ragusea - (Friend of Bottom Line) - Lauren has a nice list of movies but was called out for not having them in order. She promises to do so soon.

Brendan Sorg (Friend of Bottom Line)

1. Remember the Titans
2. Love Actually
3. Elf
4. Crash
5. Miracle
6. Cool Runnings
7. The Family Stone
8. Dreamgirls
9. Rocky IV
10. Hoosiers
11. Wedding Crashers
12. Home Alone II
13. Mighty Ducks II
14. Tommy Boy
15. Monsters Inc.
16. Toy Story
17. Christmas Vacation
18. Cars
19. Forrest Gump
20. Hairspray

Rich Davis - (Bottom Line Cousin)

1.Almost Famous
2.The Rock
3. The Last of the Mohicans
4. Red Storm
5. Hook
6. 3 Musketeers
7. Good Will Hunting
8. The Graduate
9. Platoon
10. Bitterswet Motel
11. Garden State
12. The Big Lebowski
13. The Shining
14.High Fidelity
15. Crash
16. Pulp Fiction
17. The Hunt For The Red October
18.Traffic
19.Motorcycle Diaries
20. Mallrats

Jennifer Schaefer (Friend of Bottom Line)

1. The Last King of Scotland
2. Raise the Red Lantern
3. The Pilllow Book
4. Amelie
5. Secretary
6. Best in Show
7. Little Miss Sunshine
8. Cry-Baby
9. A Clockwork Orange
10. Dog Day Afternoon
11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
12. Pulp Fiction
13. Ben Hur
14. Taxi Driver
15. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
16. Silence of the Lambs
17. Fried Green Tomatoes
18. American Psycho
19. Rebecca
20. Steel Magnolias

Patrick McDermott (Friend of Bottom Line)
1. Videodrome
2. Duel
3. The City of Lost Children
4. Primer
5. Harold and Maude
6. The Day of the Triffids
7. Wild Strawberries
8. Hard Boiled
9. Dark City
10. Mona Lisa Smile
11. Sullivan’s Travels
12. Battle Royale
13. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
14. Crash (1996)
15. They Live
16. Rabbit-Proof Fence
17. Death Wish 3
18. Rocky IV
19. Sunset Boulevard
20. Russian Ark

Mallory Hanson (Friend of Bottom Line)

1. Good Will Hunting
2. A Beautiful Mind
3.The Bourne trilogy
4.Hotel Rwanda
5. Reign Over Me
6.The Shawshank Redemption
7. Garden State
8. The Truman Show
9. Office Space
10. The Sandlot
11. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
12. Secretary
13. Mona Lisa Smile
14. Pride and Prejudice
15. Anchorman
16. Live Free or Die Hard
17. Life
18.Cinderella featuring Brandy and Whitney Houston
19. Prime
20. Pleasantville

5. Shaun of the Dead - There isn’t anything about this movie that I love. The way it mocks both itself and other genre movies like it is clever and well-done and makes the movie an absolute joy to watch each and everytime. The scene where they are throwing Shaun’s record collection at the zombie and trying to figure out which LPs are worth throwing and which aren’t is one of my favorite scenes in any movie in the last 10 years. The writing is fantastic, the delivery of the dialogue is spot-on and well-timed and there’s even a Coldplay cameo at the end talking about ZombAid. If a friend of mine didn’t like Shaun of the Dead, I would really have to re-evaluate my friendship with them.

4. Se7en - David Fincher’s masterpiece. When it’s all said and done, Fincher’s film about a series of seven ritualistic killings will be considered one of the greatest films of the last 25 years. The performances, every single one, is poignant, gripping and chilling. The way that Fincher uses the camera, particularly to frame the killer is breathtaking and sinister. I remember Seven being the first rated R movie that I really wanted to see and when I finally did see it, it quickly became one of my favorite movies. The way subtle uses landscapes, like the oppressive grey and rain of the city to illustrate the moral decay of the film’s backdrop. Se7en also contains my favorite shot in any movie ever. There is a scene where Brad Pitt is lying on the street and John Doe is standing over him, the rain beating down and the camera pans up and all you see is the barrel of the gun and a shadowy figure… it’s just spectacular. Such a well-made, well-acted, well-written movie.

3. Garden State - Like Boondock Saints and John Mayer’s music, it seems to be in fashion to bash Zach Braff’s directorial debut but there are few movies that I’ve enjoyed as much as this film. I’ll agree that the film has had the unfortunate side effect of spawning a generation of uber-quirky girls, desperate to imitate the performance of Natalie Portman as the adorably quirky epileptic Sam. And of course, there’s that soundtrack, which overshadowed the film in its popularity. But it’s difficult for me to say a bad thing about a movie with such tremendous heart. I think when it’s all said and done, this will be a generational film in the way that Say Anything, Breakfast Club and *gasp* The Graduate were generational films.

2. Batman Begins - I never claimed to not be a dork. I remember sitting in the movie theatre in Terre Haute, Indiana in summer 2005 at midnight, my friend Zac to my right. I was trying to forget that when this movie let out, I would need to be up at 6:00 in the morning to get to work at my summer job in the shipping department of a nearby plastics plant. The movie started, the opening credits rolled and I thought “This is going to be awesome.” It should be said that this is the movie that saved the Batman franchise. Christopher Nolan’s Frank Miller-esque take on Batman and Christian Bale’s awesome performance as Bruce Wayne (with a little help from the ever-brilliant Michael Caine) made Batman relevant again and have geeks everywhere giddy with anticipation about the upcoming Dark Knight. This movie is far from perfect, Katie Holmes is dreadful, the usually-great Tom Wilkinson was kind of silly and cartoonish as mob giant Carmine Falcone but the film was dotted by great performances by Bale, Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy and Ken Wantabe. I will always be a fan of Nolan’s for helping to save a character that I’ve loved since I was little.

1. High Fidelity - Those of you who know me well should have seen this coming when High Fidelity hadn’t appeared in my list so far. This adaptation of Nick Hornby’s incredible novel of the same name (which would appear very high up on the list of my favorite books) and the result is solid gold. Cusack is great, Jack Black is hilarious but not Nacho Libre, Todd Louiso is spot-on as the sheepish Dick and Tim Robbins plays the hilariously new age Ian/Ray. My only question about the film is Frears’ decision to cast the Danish Iben Hjejle as the romantic lead but hey — she’s better than Reese Witherspoon. The film’s got tons of music and film references — “What would you say if I told you I hadn’t seen Evil Dead 2?” “I’d say you’re a cinematic idiot and I feel sorry for you.” — and a Bruce Springsteen cameo. Quick, tell me how many films have a Bruce Springsteen cameo. Not many. This is a deal-breaker movie for me. If someone said to me, uttered anything closely resembling these words, “I don’t like High Fidelity,” I would quickly insult their mother and make my getaway post haste.

Friday, Dec. 28 - Texas Bowl

TCU vs. Houston 

All things being equal, Houston didn’t have a bad year, finishing 8-4 with losses to East Carolina, Alabama, Oregon and Tulsa. Still, playing under interim coach Chris Thurmond, after head coach Art Briles left for Baylor, you have to wonder how smooth the transition will be for the Cougars. Offensively, this Houston team is pretty talented. They have tailback Anthony Aldrige, a Conference USA all-teamer who finished the year with 1,500 yards rushing and wide receiver Donnie Avery who led the conference in receptions and receiving yards. The offense’s ability and effectiveness against a TCU defense who finished fifth in the Mountain West in pass defense could hinge largely on the play of freshman quarterback Case Keenum averaging just 160 yards a game through the air. Houston’s bread and butter all year has been Aldridge and a consistent run game. The offensive strategy may have to change if TCU’s front five stuff the ran as they have all year, leading the way in the Mountain West allowing just 95 yards a game on the ground. I don’t think the All-MWC first team defensive end Chase Ortiz and this Horned Frog defense will give Aldridge a chance to get going. I’ll take TCU beating Houston at Reliant Stadium in Houston in a close one.

Friday, Dec. 28 - Emerald Bowl 

Oregon State vs. Maryland 

For Oregon State, the strategy to beating Maryland in the Emerald Bowl is pretty simple: GET YVENSON BERNARD ON THE FIELD. The second-leading rusher in Oregon State football history, everything the Beavers do offensively centers around Yvenson Bernard. Bernard’s health is certainly a question going into the bowl game. After injuring his right knee against Washington State in the middle of November, Bernard had his right knee scoped and missed the Beavers’ double overtime win against archrival Oregon in Eugene. With Bernard in the lineup, Oregon State becomes an exponentially better team. Going up against a Maryland rush defense that is giving up more than 136 yards a game on the ground, Bernard’s health will be huge for Oregon State. To be successful, Oregon State will have to put a helmet on Terrapin linebacker Erin Henderson. A First-Team All-ACC selection, Henderson is a game changer; leading the ACC in both tackles and fumble recoveries. Terps coach Ralph Friedgen will rely heavily on his defense to make plays, create turnovers and even put some points on the board since his offense has struggled to find their rhythm all year. I’ll take Oregon State in this one, betting that Yvenson Bernard will be healthy enough to go.

Saturday, Dec. 29 - Meineke Car Car Bowl

UConn vs. Wake Forest 

Better than anybody else in America, UConn has found ways to win all year round. Still, I would think this is a game of disappointment for both squads in this game. UConn was playing for a Big East title before being beaten at Cincinnati on Nov. 10 and then blown out by West Virginia on Nov. 24. Coming off a Cinderella season, an ACC Title and a trip to the Orange Bowl, Jim Grobe’s team has struggled offensively and battled injuries to key starters for most of the season. This game will ultimately comes down to which of these defenses can make plays. UConn’s defense, which finished second in the Big East in scoring this season, has found ways to create turnovers and score points all year long — largely out of necessity. UConn’s offense, led by Tyler Lorenzen, who finished third to last among Big East quarterbacks in yards passing a game and tailback Andre Dixon, who had more than 20 yards less rushing yards on the season than USF quarterback Matt Grothe. For Wake Forest, who found out today they will be keeping coach Jim Grobe, who had entertained the notion of becoming Arkansas’ next head coach, offensive consistency have been tough to come by this season. The Demon Deacons ranked in the lower half of ACC teams in total offense and have been unspectacular on defense; finishing ninth in the conference. If Wake Forest is to win this game, that offense will have to find some playmakers and quick. I’ll take UConn in this low-scoring affair.

After reports that Tommy Tuberville, Tommy Bowden and Jim Grobe were both going to take the Arkansas job at various points this offseason, both of them have decided to stay with their schools when today Jim Grobe reportedly turned down the Razorback head coaching job to stay at Wake Forest.

I think it’s time for Razorback fans to step up and take some responsibility for what this program has become. After the way Houston Nutt was treated in the wake of the Mitch Mustain fiasco, coaches are hesitant to take a job where they will be subjected to that level of scrutiny, held to absurdly high expectations and have their phone records FOIA’d by an overzealous fan base. What coach wants that for themselves or his family? I’m not sure who they think they’re going to be able to get know after three coaches have entertained the notion before turning it down.

Been a while since I threw up a news post.. here goes..

I like…

USAToday’s Pop Candy blog has a cool story about the pen pal relationship between John Waters and a young Fred Armisen, now a cast member on SNL.

Arctic Monkeys have released some new tracks under a fake name.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley tears into the BCS.

Spin has a cool interview with Mike Doughty.

Anthony Bourdain is returning to work the sauté station at Les Halles in New York for a night. Working the grill station? Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin. Might not be a bad time to think about booking a table at Les Halles in the near future.

The new Chronicles of Narnia trailer:

To view the trailer in HD, head on over to Yahoo! Movies.

I don’t like…

BCS Coordinator and SEC Comish Mike Silve says increased parity in college football won’t change the BCS.

The Sabres have ended their 29-year relationship with the Rochester Americans.

I know it’s kind of an odd grouping but I want to save the top 5 for tomorrow. Something else that’s going on over here, I’ve gotten top 20 lists from some friends and family and may be getting a trio of lists from the Totally Rad Show guys  www.totallyradshow.com) and I will be putting those up with my list on Friday. If you want to submit a list, just e-mail it to me at  pdonohue at link.freedom.com and I will get those up on Friday.

9. Knocked Up - Yes, I read Katherine Heigl’s comments about this film in the recent issue of Vanity Fair and I find the timing of her criticism of the picture (one that has has surely upped her asking price for future roles) to be particularly interesting. Not that her description of the film as “sexist” and that the women in the film were portrayed as “shrews” is without total merit, it’d be impossible for her to argue that Knocked Up and it’s success had nothing to do with her being on the cover of the magazine in the first place. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. I genuinely enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. I didn’t always agree with all the choices Apatow made in the film (the decision to shoot the famous birth scene in graphic detail was something that I thought was foolish) but what I love most about this picture, and about Apatow’s work as a whole, is it’s honesty. The dynamic between Rogen and his friends and the dynamic between Rogen and Heigl is something that you buy from the word “go.” A movie that I have seen 15 times and will likely see another 15. Nothing is better than when Paul Rudd calls Seth Rogen Babe Ruth’s gay brother, Gaybe Ruth..

8. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation - Not just a seasonal favorite, this is one of my favorite movies ever made by humans. I can’t bear to watch the movie when it’s not Christmas time because it makes me yearn for the the day after Thanksgiving when my soul says it’s ok to put up the Christmas tree and lights. This film has joined the pantheon of Christmas classics (It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story) and for good reason. I’ve seen this movie 30 times and yet I find new, subtle jokes everytime that make me laugh. I was watching the movie last night and I cracked up when Clark’s christmas lights don’t turn on and his dad tells him to check each bulb and then tells him,”if you need any help, call me, I’ll be upstairs.. asleep.” Unfortunately, Chevy Chase hasn’t been in anything nearly as good since.

7. Three Kings - One could argue that it was David O’Russell’s 1999 film about four U.S. soldiers who set out to steal a huge cache of gold stolen from Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War that saved George Clooney’s career in film. The only David O’Russell film that I can tolerate, Three Kings uses some of the most innovative cinematography I’ve ever seen in an action film and was the first time a director had actually went inside the body to show the audience the path of a bullet. For me, it was the first time that it really dawned on me that Mark Whalberg could really act. The casting of Ice Cube and Spike Jonze turned out to be brilliant moves and I really feel as if kids 20 years from now will still be watching and enjoying Three Kings.

6. Mallrats - Back when Jason Lee was making good career choices (before he took roles in the Underdog movie and this atrocious, borderline offensive live action/CGI Alvin and the Chipmunks debaccle), he was a pro skateboarder with little to no experience other than a bit role in Alison Anders’ Mi Vida Loca. All of that changed after Mallrats. For me, watching this film for the first time in 8th grade with my friend Lars Johanson and brother really signified an epiphany that has shaped my movie-watching life thereafter. Watching and loving Mallrats, a movie that I have probably seen more than any other, it dawned on me that there was a world of movies out there that weren’t Independence Day and Titantic, that didn’t have big holiday openings. There was a world of movies that I’d never heard of, a world I was all too anxious to explore. If you’re wondering why Cameron Crowe cast Lee in Almost Famous (a movie I despise) or why NBC picked him as Earl, watch Mallrats. Lee is magnetic, charismatic and downright hilarious as Brodie Bruce opposite the wooden Jeremy London. The film made me a fan of Kevin Smith’s, a fan of Jason Lee and a fan of movies I’ve never heard of.

Wednesday, Dec. 26 - Motor City Bowl

Purdue vs. Central Michigan

This game is a pretty easy one to pick given what happened Sept. 15 in West Lafayette when the Boilermakers hung 24 points on the defending MAC champion Chippewas in the first quarter on way en route to a 45-22 win. Still, looking at the stats from that game, Purdue still gave up 364 yards through the air to Dan LeFevour but limited the Central Michigan ground game to just 101 yards rushing. While on paper this is the same Purdue team, psychologically this could be a program in crisis. After losing the Old Oaken Bucket at the last second at Purdue, many Purdue fans have grown frustrated with starting QB Curtis Painter, play-calling and Joe Tiller’s subpar record in big games in recent years. Compound that with the late night arrest and dismissal of starting wide receiver Selwyn Lymon from the team after a second arrest this season and you have a team poised for an upset. If Central Michigan can run the ball more effectively and force turnovers (as they did in that early season loss, forcing four fumbles), Central Michigan could win this game. Given the margin of victory in their last match-up, I just can’t take the Chippewas in good conscious. I’ll take Purdue but by a much closer margin. As an IU grad, I won’t be at all disappointed if I’m wrong on this one.

Thursday, Dec. 27 - Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Texas vs. Arizona State

For the past three or so years, the Holiday Bowl has been one of my favorites and it’s because it has had match-ups like the one it has this year. Dennis Erickson, Rudy Carpenter and the upstart Arizona State Sun Devils face off against the somewhat underachieving Texas Longhorns in this year’s Holiday Bowl. Texas came into this year poised to be one of the Big 12’s best and a contender for a National Championship, with Colt McCoy coming back for his second year in Austin. What followed was a series of missteps and near follies against Central Florida and TCU and the season was downhill from there, including losses to rivals Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Looking at Erickson’s Sun Devils, I am really unmoved by their schedule, particularly their inability to beat Oregon, with a healthy Dennis Dixon and USC, who blew out the Sun Devils at home on Thanksgiving. To win the game, Texas must control the line of scrimmage and get the ball in the hands of tailback Jamaal Charles, which will be easier said than done given that ASU is giving up a paltry 100 yards a game on the ground. For ASU, Rudy Carpenter will look to exploit a Texas secondary that has struggled against the pass all year, finishing second to last in the Big 12 in pass defense. I look for them to do just that, I’m taking Arizona State.

Friday, Dec. 28 - Champs Sports Bowl

Michigan State vs. Boston College

The Big Ten’s top scoring offense against the ACC’s top scoring offense. It should be no surprise to anyone that Boston College has one of the most explosive and efficient offenses in America, led by first round lock Matt Ryan at quarterback but Mark Dantoni’s Spartans have been flying under the radar and can put points on the board as well. This game is sure to be fought and won in the trenches for Michigan State. If they can control the line of scrimmage and get the ball to Javon Ringer early and often, they have a chance against the Eagles who, just last week were competing for the ACC title and a trip to a BCS bowl. Still, BC would be wise not to overlook the Spartan passing attack, junior quarterback Brian Hoyer has been finding wideout Devin Thomas in the end zone all year long (Thomas led the Big Ten in receiving yards and finished second in receptions). BC is going to score points on offense as they’ve done all year but the ability of the Michigan State offense to match them score-for-score will be huge if they intend to stay in this game. Dantoni’s Spartans are a much better team than their 7-5 record would indicate but I’ll take Boston College.

Before I continue the countdown, I think it’s important to firmly establish what my criteria was for making this list. My number one rule (contrary to what my girlfriend may believe) is that there is no pretension allowed on this list. What follows in the list, as you’ll see, is a no-frills list of my favorite movies ever. Pure and simple. You won’t find Terrence Malick or Antonioni on this list. Ditto for The Bicycle Thief and Lawrence of Arabia. If I didn’t genuinely enjoy a film, it’s not going to be on the list regardless of how cool its inclusion would  make me look. Second, I have to have watched each of these movies at least twice (with the exception of one movie, which I will explain later). Let’s get on with the show.

14. Match Point -  I remember the first time I saw this movie back during the Industry Outsider days and having seen Woody Allen’s 2005 film a couple times since that initial screening, my enjoyment of the picture has never diminished. I love the look of this film, the way it’s shot, it’s perfectly timed use of Pre-World War I arias and most of all the ending. The ending of Match Point is as suspenseful and as gut-wrenching as any film I’ve ever seen. Many critics of the film claims that this film is a simple re-telling of Crimes and Misdemeanors but I think this film succeeds in all the areas where Crimes and Misdemeanors fell short for me. Jonathan Rhys Meyer’s character, unlike Martin Landau’s character in Crimes, is a sympathetic character. Growing up a working class Irish kid turned tennis pro now finds himself in way over his head mingling with the English upper class. It’s because you feel for this character and want to see him succeed that the end of the film is so gripping. If you haven’t seen Match Point, give it a go. If you don’t understand the beginning, wait ’till the end.

13. Ratatouille -  Brad Bird’s spectacular follow-up to The Incredibles is the notable exception to my second rule. I haven’t even made it through this movie. After watching the first hour of film on a flight back to Indiana, I raved to my girlfriend about the film’s lush animation and realism and the storytelling and how good it was. She scoffed at the notion that I had watched the flick without her and I vowed, for the sake of my relationship, that I wouldn’t finish the film and would wait to watch it with her. That being sad, Ratatouille is one of the most amazing, beautiful movies I’ve ever seen and after the complete viewing, will probably snake its way into the top 5 but for now Remy sits at 13.

12. Children of Men -  It wasn’t until I saw Children of Men that I began eying the HD add-on for my XBox 360. Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliant film about the future world in which women have become infertile and the human race is dying out has a little bit of everything. Poignant social commentary (though the obvious Abu Ghraib reference made me roll eyes), nail-biting action and compelling drama (and Clive Owen’s best performance of his career) make for one of the best movies of last year. Between this movie and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which, before this year’s Order of the Phoenix was my favorite of the Potter flicks, I am fast becoming a fan of Cuaron’s work.

11. Rear Window -  My favorite Hitchock film by far, this thriller starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly hasn’t aged for me at all. Hitchock’s plays on boredom, curiosity and suspicion are masterful and well-constructed. If you want to see a better made, better-acted Disturbia, you must Netflix, rent or just flat out buy Rear Window.  Also keep a close eye out for Hitchock’s cameo in the flick.

10. The Departed - Ultra-violent, lots of cursing and the Irish mob in Boston, what more could you want out of a Scorcese film? The greatness of The Departed is that there is not a bad actor or a bad performance in the film. Jack Nicholson, Mark Whalberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin are all obviously terrific but more than that, the dayplayers, the supporting cast’s performances are all amazing. Truthfully, this was the film that deserved to win Best Picture last year for Scorcese. It’s an exponentially better film that Gangs of New York and The Aviator and the film’s pacing really makes you forget that this is a nearly three-hour movie, which would typically spell disaster for yours truly.

Saturday, Dec. 22 - New Mexico Bowl

Nevada vs. New Mexico

A pretty unspectacular match-up between two set of Wolfpacks that most of America has never seen. I’ll take the Nevada in this one. To stop Nevada, New Mexico will have to find a way to stop 1st-team All-WAC tailback Luke Lippincott, who helped lead the way in the conference’s top-ranked rush offense. New Mexico’s defense will have to do better than their 147-yard average on the ground if they intend to stop Lippincott and this prolific Nevada ground game. I don’t think they can do it so I’ll take Nevada.

Saturday, Dec. 22 - Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl

BYU vs. UCLA

This is the Cougars’ third consecutive trip to the Las Vegas and the Mountain West champions come into the game riding high. The same cannot be sad for UCLA who, after dropping their last regular season game to USC, have seen their head coach Karl Dorrell shown the door. Dorrell has not announced whether or not he intends to coach in the Bruins’ bowl game. Frankly, I don’t think it will matter. BYU is a far superior team and with zero off-the-field tumult or coaching changes, the Cougars will come into the game confident and well-prepared. Look for BYU freshman tailback Harvey Unga and sophomore quarterback Max Hall to have big games against a UCLA defense that finished in the middle of the pack in the Pac-10 in both rushing and pass defenses. Hall will have to keep a look out for UCLA defensive back Trey Brown, who finished tied for second in the Pac-10 with 5 picks. Whoever is coaching the Bruins would do well to keep sophomore Jan Jorgensen away from the quarterback at all times. Jorgensen lead the Mountain West in sacks and tackles for loss. I’ll take the Cougars big in this one, regardless of who’s on the other sideline.

Sunday, Dec. 23 - Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl

Boise State vs. East Carolina

From the beginning of the season, I was impressed with Skip Holtz’s Pirates. They went into an impossibly emotionally atmosphere in Blacksburg and narrowly lost to Virginia Tech, who would go on to win the ACC Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl. That being said, they are still playing a darn good Boise State team. My only question with Boise State will be the level to which rumors that coach Chris Petersen is headed to UCLA will distract this team. That being said, I’d expect this Boise team, that has a lot of senior leadership, won’t be distracted by anything. Boise State is a pretty well-rounded team with a scoring offense that finished second in the WAC only to Hawaii and has the top-ranked scoring defense. Holtz and ECU must figure out a way to put up points on a Bronco defense that finished first against the run and the pass in the WAC. Look for Boise tailback Ian Johnson to have at least 100 yards on the ground and it could be a very big day for Bronco signal-caller Taylor Tharp who goes against an ECU defense that is giving up nearly 300 yards a game through the air.