Treyroo

What's the biggest secret you ever kept? Sneaking out past curfew, smoking pot behind the garage? What if this secret wasn't yours to tell? Do you think that would make it easier or harder to keep?

Jamal Wallace (played by Rob Brown) is a basketball player in the Bronx. When we enter the story, he's recently taken academic assessment tests and, in contrast to his work in class, has scored high enough to gain the attention of the school board. On top of this, it is mentioned that Jamal (Brown) is an exceptional basketball player. One night, after a successful game, he is sharing a meal with friends at a restaurant. They discuss, among other things, a neighborhood resident who is something of an urban legend, referred to simply as "the window" because he never leaves his apartment. A common tradition among the group is for one member to dare another. One of the men dares Jamal to break into "the window's" apartment and return with something from inside. Jamal enters the apartment and sees a letter opener shaped like a knife but, much to his surprise, "the window" catches him, yelling loudly and inspiring Jamal to flee. Until his mother makes him aware of the fact, he never realized that he left his backpack in the apartment. That's set aside, briefly, when he meets with an admissions officer from an expensive private school, as a result of his test scores. When his mother says they couldn't possibly afford the tuition, the school official says that if Jamal were to continue playing basketball with the same skill for his new school, that tuition will not be an issue. In the time since, Jamal's backpack was unceremoniously dropped from "the window's" apartment and the notebooks inside, all containing creative writing of Jamal's, now with editorial comments written with a red pen. Jamal approaches the apartment, this time using the front door, and asks "the window" if he would read more of his writing.

I truly love this movie. Brown as Jamal Wallace is a character you cannot help but like, despite his momentary foray into delinquency. "The Window" who is later identified as a renowned author who became a recluse decades before we're introduced to him. "The Window", played by Sean Connery, is a very sympathetic character and, as he takes on the role of mentor to Brown's character, the audience is given the opportunity to see it change both of their lives for the better. Until recently, I hadn't watched this film for some time. Since watching it again, I have no idea why it took me this long. You should see this movie as soon as you can.

Have you ever been seriously ill? Once you're told that you'll recover, you probably found it boring, more than anything else. What if you weren't going to get better? What would you do?

Jack Kevorkian (played by Al Pacino) was a pathologist but, by the time we join the story he has left his career behind. His friends and colleagues say he's retired but Kevorkian (Pacino) states that retirement means you are no longer preoccupied with your chosen profession and that he is simply unemployed. Being unemployed, he has a great deal of free time and is intrigued by a local news story. A man who is paralyzed from the neck down wishes to end his life while the hospital caring for him is fighting to prevent it. Kevorkian had written several articles on euthanasia for foreign periodicals by that time and was now determined to make practical use of his theories. The hospital learned of his intentions, stopped him, and the patient died of starvation. Nevertheless, our protagonist continued his search for a patient. Assisting him in this quest, the doctor had longtime friend and colleague, Neal Nicol (played by John Goodman) and his loving sister, Margo (played by Brenda Vaccaro). In time, he is approached by a married couple, a woman suffering from Alzheimer's and her husband. This presents Kevorkian with an ethical dilemma, as Alzheimer's is not a fatal disease. Once Margo (Vaccaro) puts the matter in perspective, they begin devising a plan. While searching for a location, Kevorkian approached a member of the Hemlock Society by the name of Janet Good. Good (played by Susan Sarandon) offers the use of her home but later reneges. In spite of that, the plan is carried out and Kevorkian becomes national news.

If you ask most people about the Right to Die movement, they'd probably tell you that reasonable people could disagree on the matter. Personally, I don't understand that, as I am an advocate of personal choice. Likewise, I believe this movie is incredible and cannot comprehend anyone thinking otherwise. Pacino has partnered with HBO on another project Phil Spector, about the renowned music producer. Maybe it's the fact that, deep down, Kevorkian is a sympathetic figure and Spector is not but, the latter film fell flat, at least for me. The story of You Don't Know Jack and supporting cast are incredible and Pacino himself won an Emmy for his performance, as he should've. I'm not sure how you'd find it, but you should absolutely see this film if you can.

What's the difference between winning and victory? Is it semantics, like religious and spiritual? Maybe there isn't one. On the other hand, some would say there's all the difference in the world.

Steve Prefontaine (played by Billy Crudup), was a distance runner in Eugene, Oregon with scholarship offers from Yale, Brown, Villanova, Princeton and Nebraska. The one school he wishes to attend, however, has remained silent. Two distance runners from the school and its assistant coach make a personal visit to his home but Prefontaine (Crudup) is not impressed. In the less-than-three week period between that visit and the date when he must sign his letter of intent, Bill Bowerman, head coach of the University of Oregon track team, sends a genuine plea to young Prefontaine asking him to attend. On his first day, he shows an amazing inability to notice the obvious by asking a female student, Mary Marckx (played by Monica Potter) to direct him to an area that is clearly visible ahead of him. He enters the building and sees a long line of fellow team members who recount tall tales of Bowerman's exploits in the military. He is summoned from another room and, on the floor in front of him, he finds his head coach. Bowerman (played and earlier voiced by Donald Sutherland) is making outlines of his runners' feet on tracing paper for the purposes of making shoes specifically for them, explaining that taking an ounce off a runner's shoe amounts to pounds they won't have to carry during a race. The freshman athlete sarcastically compliments him and that is the end of their first interaction. The next day, during a simple workout, Steve gives one hundred percent, finishes ahead of his teammates, and, according to Bowerman, with a pulse rate north of one hundred and ninety. So begins the struggle that would define their relationship: a coach's desire to instruct and an athlete's desire to put forth his best effort, regardless of the consequences.

Much has been made of the fact that Without Limits and Prefontaine, a Disney film covering the same subject matter from a different perspective, were released within months of each other. The general consensus seems to be that, while Prefontaine is more accurate, Without Limits is the better film. As I have not seen the former from beginning to end, all I can tell you is that Without Limits is a masterpiece. Sutherland is mesmerizing as Bill Bowerman and Crudup, in the first role I ever saw him play, is just as entertaining, if not more so. The conflict between them rings true and while you understand the position of the coach, you root for the runner who seeks to leave the field knowing he's done his best. I have seen this film many times and, if you haven't even seen it once, you should. Now.