Top 5 Favorite Movies

When it comes to movies I have seen A LOT. So please understand the difficulty of trying to dissect my top 5 favorite movies from all of the films I've seen is near impossible, but just for shits and giggles this is what my top 5 favorite movies are.

5. Forrest Gump:

This movie is one that Ive seen dozens of times. I find myself able to cope with really hard life problems whilst watching  Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks takes on this role with such greatness I cant even  begin to explain.


                             

4. Training Day:

All I have to say is Denzel, Denzel, Denzel. The guy outdoes himself, even when I thought it'd be impossible.  Denzel Washington plays a crooked narcotics detective in Urban Los Angeles. I dont want to spoil details of the movie because everything about it is golden.

3. The Departed


The Departed is one of my favorite gangster movies and a captivating story about undercover and double agents. Set in Boston, this Martin Scorsese film is a story of police corruption and Irish gangs that run the city. The amazing cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin.

2. Scent of a Woman

This is a gritty drama about a former colonel (Al Pacino) who is now blind. He's impossible to get along with. Charlie is at school and is looking forward to going to university; to help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to look after Frank over thanksgiving. Frank's niece says this will be easy money, little did Charlie know that Frank has a completely different agenda in mind.

1. Santoori (The Music Man)

Before you laugh and think this is ridiculous after all these box office hits I put a foreign film. Out of all the movies I've ever seen this one was the most complete, and made me think about Irans's government, and people growing up in Iran, and what its like. Trust me, watch this movies even if you need subtitles!!

Zereshk Polo (Persian dish)

This is a cultural Persian dish called Zereshk Polo. The literal definition of zereshk polo is barberry-rice, and coincidentally thats exactly what it consists of. On the side you have barbecued tomatoes, sometimes you can even put a barbecued peppers to spice it up. Last, but certainly not least the fire grilled chicken filet thats made to perfection.


The ingredients to make it are as follows:


4 cups (32 oz) basmati or long-grain rice
1/4 cup salt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup (8 oz) dried barberries (also known as Zereshk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp powdered saffron


Directions for cooking are as follows:


-Rinse rice 3 times, then soak in warm water with 1/4 cup salt for 5 hours. Drain.
-In a large (8 qt) pot, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add rice and cook 8 to 10 minutes until slightly soft. Drain in a colander.
-Rinse barberries (if using) 3 times. Melt butter in a small pot; add barberries and sauté 1 minute. Add sugar; sauté 1 minute more. Dilute saffron in 1/2 cup hot water and stir into barberries.

-In the large pot used to cook the rice, heat 3 Tbsp oil. Add rice, using a large spoon and fluffing rice. Pour barberry mixture over the rice.
-Cover pot and cook over low heat about 30 minutes. For a crisp, golden layer on bottom of rice (called ta-dig), cook another 15 minutes.
-Using a large serving spoon, place rice in a large flat serving dish, gently mixing the barberries with the rice.



As for the chicken, everyone has their own preferences towards how they like their chicken cooked.

LBJ

I'd like to introduce my all time favorite basketball player, LeBron James. First off I would like to acknowledge the fact that he is so cool he can have 2 letters in his first name be capitalized and no questions are asked. Second he has been a basketball protege pretty much since he was old enough to hold a basketball. The spotlight has been on him since day 1 as a little boy in Akron, Ohio. Not to mention he is one one the select few if not the only player to be drafted as a number one pick out of high school.

Here is a career highlight video displaying the obstacles he surpassed to obtain my respect for him as my favorite player:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrdbyO7BB9o