I mentioned over in the Centerstage blog that, while I've been home this week enjoying my vacation, one of the movies that I reached for was the Yankees memory that Billy Crystal made for HBO -- a film called "61*." (The asterisk is important.)

It is an entertaining, eye-opening if relatively low budget movie looking back at what really took place before Roger Maris caught and passed the great Babe Ruth and hit 61 in 1961. It also may be the only time you'll hear the actor portraying Mickey Mantle call Ruth a "fat f---."

Regardless, I like the movie a lot.

A new topic for today --- Just for grins, what are your five favorite sports movies? All sports are eligible.

(Someone keep track of how many votes "Rocky" gets, OK?)

The same filmmaker who risked his health and organs while filming "Super Size Me," Morgan Spurlock, has another documentary in release called "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?"

Take the time to watch the trailer because it sure had me laughing by the end.
(I also e-mailed it to local theater managers in hopes that they might mention it to their powers-that-be that book films here.)

The picture's premise: With no military experience, knowledge or expertise, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock sets off to do what the CIA, FBI and countless bounty hunters have failed to do: find the world’s most wanted man. Why take on such a seemingly impossible mission? Simple: Spurlock says he wants to make the world safe for his soon-to-be-born child. But before he finds Osama bin Laden, he first needs to learn where he came from, what makes him tick, and most importantly, what exactly created bin Laden to begin with.

Click HERE to watch trailer.

I have received a number of calls from people wanting to know if the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" would be shown on a Lubbock screen.

The PG-rated documentary, released by Rocky Mountain Pictures, will open Friday afternoon at Cinemark's Movies 16 in Lubbock.

More and more movie lovers are developing their own personal DVD libraries at home.

If you could choose only five movies from your own library that you could keep, which five would you choose?

It is your choice, obviously. But I would assume that these would be the five movies that you reach for and watch most often, not necessarily the five most respected movies in your library.

But that’s your call. Which five would you miss the most?

The star has not yet been announced, but ESPN Films plans to make another movie about legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson.

The film will deal specifically with Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey and their struggle to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in the 1940s.

The untitled project will be co-produced by Robert Redford, and Redford also plans to co-star as Rickey.

Robinson’s widow, Rachel, and Branch Rickey Jr. both have given their approval to the project.

It's a darn good thing that I didn't think to bet anything in particular when I mentioned last week that Keanu Reeves' violent movie about dirty cops, called "Street Kings," would probably wind up in first place at the box office.

It appeared to be the most appealing of a weak slate of new pictures.

When will I ever learn that horror sells tickets, and even potentially bad horror still will attract diehard horror fans?

Sure enough, the suspense-less "Prom Night" inspired a revolution that blew away those "Street Kings" by almost a two-to-one margin?

Now, we've already chatted about horror in terms of which are the scariest films we've ever seen.

Today's question may be a bit more difficult. Give it some thought, and give me your take on why horror movies always sell so many tickets, at least on opening weekend.

(And as for "Prom Night," it is safe to say that the producers' decision to maintain a PG-13 rating, rather than the more typical R, sure didn't hurt it at the box office.)

That said, what is horror's universal appeal?