Basketball owes its success as a spectator sport to the fact that a miraculous shot at the end of the game can change everything in a single instant. It’s a sense of drama that few sports can duplicate. It’s a safe bet that any basketball movie will feature a miracle shot at its climax, a desperation heave that is still in the air while the game clock crosses the threshold to absolute zero. But miraculous shots aren’t just limited to films like Hoosiers and Space Jam. In honor of the Redeem Team’s inevitable march to a gold medal, here are the top five miraculous shots in movies that aren’t primarily about basketball.

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Many miles have I traveled since I first knowingly encountered the music of Isaac Hayes, so I hope you’ll forgive me if my memory is a bit hazy, but I’ve got it narrowed down to one of two moments: either it was when I received a sampler for Rhino Records’ awesome Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn’t It Blow Your Mind! series, or it was when I watched the classic “Simpsons” episode, “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish.”

Whichever of these methods served as the introduction, however, the song remained the same.

“Theme from Shaft.”

That song was a bad mother…

(Pause for appropriate response from PopDose readership)

But I’m talking ’bout “Theme from Shaft”!

(Pause for appropriate response from PopDose readership)

Of course you can dig it. It’s one of the greatest songs in motion picture soundtrack history, and it affected me so profoundly that I owned a “Shaft” t-shirt before I ever saw the movie. Damn, I loved that song…and, damn, I’m gonna miss Isaac Hayes.

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We’re one week in to the New York International Fringe Festival with one more week to go. With 202 plays and musicals of all varieties from all over the world (and with tickets costing a mere $15) there’s something for everyone at FringeNYC. Here are some of Theatre Is Easy’s favorites so far.

The Boy In the Basement: calls itself a “live action romance novel.” It’s campy and sarcastic but not over the top, the story is entertaining, and the performances are well-done. Read the full Theatre Is Easy review here. Show times are Thursday, August 21st at 11:45pm; Saturday, August 23rd at 10pm. Visit theboyinthebasement.com for more info.

Down Around Brown Town: commemorates the music of James Brown with a dancing and singing extravaganza. Read the full Theatre Is Easy review here. Show times are Saturday, August 16th at 4:45pm; Sunday, August 17th at noon. Visit fullamo-productions.info for more info.

Kansas City or Along the Way: a sweet love story in 1930s Ohio, with original folk music inspired by Woodie Guthrie. It’s extremely well-executed and the storytelling technique is honest and sincere. The addition of the music (which is quite good) gives the piece extra substance. Theatre Is Easy review will post Sunday. Show times are Sunday, August 17th at 2:30pm; Monday, August 18th at 7:45pm; Thursday, August 21st at 7:45pm; Saturday, August 23rd at 9:45pm. Visit disgracedproductions.com for more info.

Murder of the Seas: a fun, tongue-in-cheek murder mystery on a cruise ship…and it’s a one-man show. Read the Theatre Is Easy review here. Show times are Sunday, August 17th at 7pm; Friday, August 22nd at 10pm; Sunday, August 24th at noon. Visit fringenyc.org for more info.

Love is Dead: bills itself as a necromantic musical comedy. It’s a smart, and fully, albeit creepy since it’s about a mortician who has sex with female murder victims. Read the Theatre Is Easy review here. The bad news is, Love is Dead has already closed so you can’t see it this time around. But it was great and we’re hoping it gets another chance to perform…if it does, check it out!

For all FringeNYC related information including venue guides, show listings and search options, visit their website at fringenyc.org. The festival closes on August 24th so go see some great new theatre now while you still can.

Outside of a few odds and ends, the summer movie season pretty much concludes today. Throw the tarp over the pool, recondition the leaf blower, it’s done. If you’re willing to lay down cash for Death Race or Babylon A.D., you are in the grips of a cinephilia that in all likelihood requires treatment, and Godspeed to you. I sympathize: if I can beat it you can beat it, and maybe Joan Allen can join our support group, too. (Death Race, Joan? For the sake of our relationship I will believe that you mistook director Paul W.S. “Alien vs. Predator” Anderson for Paul Thomas “There Will Be Blood” Anderson and couldn’t wiggle free from your contract.)

The first of your 12 steps will be laying off the C-level action stuff in the run up to Labor Day—instead, take one Elegy and call me in the morning.

Elegy opened last week in New York and Los Angeles and is fanning across the art-house circuit. It’s based on a novella by Philip Roth, which I have not read. Back in time I read every book due for prestige moviemaking, and saw more than a few whose pages came unglued in the translation, like Angela’s Ashes (1999), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and the last crack at Roth, the Nicholas Meyer-penned The Human Stain (2003). That Meyer, best known for adding to the mythos of Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes, also wrote Elegy raised a red flag. But my fears were allayed. Elegy is one of the best films of the summer, and very possibly of the year.

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A number of months ago, Darren Robbins posted a column discussing how brazen arrogance seemed to be the most valuable asset in a playboy’s pickup arsenal. If this is true, then how come neither Beavis nor Butt-Head has ever scored?

I don’t want to sound pretentious here, but the seduction approaches of this dramaturgical diad are actually diametrically opposed. Butt-Head takes the proactive approach of the alpha male, making demands under the expectation that his (imagined) status and audacity will ensure their fulfillment. Beavis, on the other hand, creates a totally outrageous paradigm by adopting the more relaxed stance of the beta, trusting that his good nature and casual self-deprecation will win sympathy, and thus boobs. Neither has ever worked, and in a magnificent outpouring of angst at the end of the film, after they had traveled “a hundred miles” across the country in a desperate attempt to score, Beavis insists that both of them are “just gonna get old,” but that “it’s just not gonna happen.”

Butt-Head epitomizes the arrogance envisioned by Darren, that severe narcissism bordering on the delusional. Of course, as is summarized brilliantly in Beavis’ final speech, neither of them is ever going to score, or else one of the major driving forces of the show would be destroyed. But how would things work out for Butt-Head if he existed within the real world? Would his supreme arrogance trump his braces, and lisp, and slouching posture? My own experience has taught me that absolutely nothing matters more than self-confidence. But self-confidence can’t be feigned - when it is, it becomes that which Butt-Head dispays - bravado. The difference between the two can sometimes boil down to a simple question: do you truly believe your own bullshit?

The Film: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

The Song: “Two Cool Guys”

The Artist: Isaac Hayes

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On A&E’s new dramatic series, The Cleaner, Benjamin Bratt is doing some of his finest acting since leaving Law & Order. After walking off the beat of NBC’s venerable cops and lawyers show, Bratt has tried to find substantive parts to sink his teeth into. The results have been mixed, at best.

So I approached The Cleaner with some trepidation. It appears that the years of searching for the right role have paid off, landing Bratt back on television. On the show, Bratt portrays William Banks, a recovering addict who, upon finally getting clean, took a vow with God to help other people kick their habits by using whatever tactics are necessary. Using a secretive team of rehab operatives, Banks and company literally yank people off the streets, go undercover, and get involved with high-speed car chases to help people get clean (at the request of at wits end loved ones). If that sounds a little preposterous, you should know that the series is based on the experiences of Warren Boyd, a drug counselor who not only beat his own demons, but used tactics similar to those shown in The Cleaner to help friends and complete strangers. Boyd serves as an executive producer on the show.

The Cleaner has the general feel of any procedural show: tracking down the dealers or addicts, doing surveillance, and then going in for the kill (or in this case, injecting the addict with some kind of tranquilizer, rendering them unconscious and carrying that person off in a van). This aspect of the show feels pretty familiar, and were it not for the charm and appeal of the actors in Banks’ team (Grace Park, Esteban Powell and Kevin Michael Richardson), it might not be worth watching each week. However, the other aspect of the show, Banks’s family life, if far more interesting and is what gives the show its soul.

Banks is married with two good kids. His wife, Melissa, is a strong, smart working mother who binds the family together. Their two children, Ben (Brett Delano) and Lula (Liliana Mumy) are smart, eager to please, and coming into their own as individuals. This means plenty of questions about William’s past and rebellion because of it. (more…)

Aloha from China! I am so close to being excited about covering the 2008 Summer Olympics for Popdose. Close but not quite there yet because (1) I have trouble showing excitement when people expect it from me, like at birthdays or during intercourse, and (2) Jeff Giles informed me yesterday that Pressing Needs won’t be paying for my travel expenses because (1) “air fare costs a lot more than the bandwidth needed to post your precious neo-soul MP3s,” and (2) “you can’t fly first-class to a country halfway around the world without telling me first and then ask for a reimbursement since (1) that’s completely unprofessional and inconsiderate, and (2) you didn’t even ask me to go with you, you arrogant son of a bitch!” Sorry, Jeff, but (1) I knew you’d bring my mother into this, and (2) I had already promised Aimiee she could go.

For those who don’t know, Aimiee is my girlfriend, who wishes I’d show more excitement during lovemaking, on my birthday, and at executions. I’ve told her I’d be more excited if I could actually see the lethal injection, not just hear about it outside the prison gates once the deed is done, but I don’t think she believes me. She was angry when I drove to Florida in January with my lawyer/friend Dave-o for Wesley Snipes’s tax trial and didn’t invite her, but has she ever watched one of Wesley’s direct-to-video action films with me? No! But I haven’t watched any of them either, so I regret taking the argument down that dead end. But I did want to do something special for my sweetie, and I figured a trip to the Olympics would be a nice way of saying “I love you, and I thank you for putting up with all my nonsense, even the stuff you’ll never find out about unless you pry it from my cold, dead mouth.”

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New shows! Cheap tickets! Genres and subjects galore! The New York International Fringe Festival might just be the best entertainment you’ll find in New York this summer. And Theatre is Easy, c/o Popdose, is here to guide you through it. Does it get any simpler than that?

Fringe ‘08 brings 202 shows from all over the world here to New York for a fun-filled theatre extravaganza August 8-24 at venues all over lower Manhattan. Now in its 12th year, FringeNYC has been an extremely effective way for new plays and musicals to get showcased; occasionally something really tremendous makes its way into the festival. The biggest FringeNYC success story so far is 1999’s premiere of the snarky musical Urinetown, which went on to a Broadway run and national tours. Many other Fringe shows have gone on to off-Broadway runs and a thriving life after the festival as well. FringeNYC receives over 1,000 show submissions each year, and since only a handful of those shows are chosen to participate, you know you’re seeing the best of the best. With shows from all over the world, the diversity is vast — there’s truly something for everyone.

Finding the brightest gems out of 202 shows can be a daunting task, but luckily there are a few resources to steer you in the right direction. Check out the official FringeNYC website, fringenyc.org, for a comprehensive list of what’s playing; you can use their handy “Slice-O-Matic” feature for specific searches, e.g. date, venue, neighborhood, director, etc. Or head on down to FringeCentral, where you can get information live and in person; this year it resides at 201 Mulberry St., between Spring and Kenmare. You can also buy tickets at FringeCentral — and did I mention tickets for all Fringe shows are only $15?

And how could I forget your most exciting FringeNYC resource, Theatre Is Easy? Stop by theatreiseasy.com throughout the duration of the festival and check out all sorts of reviews and useful information. We’ll keep you up to date on what we love and how the festival is going, along with what shows are getting good buzz and which ones are sold out. Come back next Saturday, August 16, for a Fringe ‘08 update.

Happy Fringe-ing!