Michael Sanderson
Rental Picks

As Good as it Gets (1997)

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr. Directed by: James L. Brooks
Running time: 138 minutes
Rated PG-13

A rich, homophobic, obsessive-compulsive upper middle-aged man (Nicholson) attempts to find love with a waitress from the restaurant he has daily lunch at (Hunt), and reluctantly forms a friendship with his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) due to certain circumstances. Nicholson is hilarious!

Rocky III (1982)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Running time: 99 minutes
Rated PG

Rocky, after winning the heavyweight championship from Apollo Creed, has 10 title defenses with tomato can fighters, then loses the title to Mr. T and is talked into a rematch by Creed, who offers to train him to get back "the eye of the tiger" and win back his title. Arguably the best of the series, the climactic fight scene is so beautiful, it could make a grown man cry.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Renee Zellwegger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bonnie Hunt
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Running time: 135 minutes
Rated R

Jerry Maguire (Cruise), a sports agent, grows a conscience when the child of one of his injured clients gives him the finger, then writes a memo that gets him fired. He starts up his own company with a receptionist at his old agency and falls in love with her and her young son. "You had me at hello," "Show me the money!," "Do you know a human head weighs eight pounds?" Need I say more?

Say Anything (1989)

Starring: John Cusack, Ione Skye, Lily Taylor, John Mahoney
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Running time: 100 minutes
Rated PG-13

This is a charming romantic comedy about an underachieving kickboxing instructor who falls hopelessly in love with a biochemistry major. One of Roger Ebert's Top 100!

Magnolia (1999)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Running time: 180 minutes
Rated R

One fine day in San Fernando Valley, a dying old man and his young wife, a male care-taker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love with a criminal, a game show host and his estranged daughter, a boy genious and an ex-boy genius all become part of several different plots that all eventually interconnect.

Sidekicks (1992)

Starring: Jonathan Brandis, Beau Bridges, Chuck Norris, Mako, Joe Piscopo
Directed by: Aaron Norris
Running time: 102 minutes
Rated PG

"Sidekicks" is an inspirational film about a day-dreaming asthmatic teen, Barry, who is bullied and ridiculed at school, but soon learns martial arts, and starts making progress; especially after he fends off the school bully. Then he is challenged to compete against the bully and his instructor in a martial arts tournament and Chuck Norris Joins Barry's team.