As it rained pretty much all day, I decided to spend some time watching a couple of movies on cable. I don't think I could have come up with two more disparate films - "The Rookie" and Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train."

"The Rookie" intrigued me a bit when it was in the theaters. I mean, how can you go wrong with a baseball flick featuring music from Steve Earle, Allison Moorer and Guy Clark? The "G" rating and Dennis Quaid scared me off, though, despite pretty good reviews. Eh. It wasn't so bad. A bit schmaltzy but that was certainly expected. Quaid did a pretty good job playing the real-life heartwarmer Jim Morris even though he looked disturbingly like Jim Palmer rather than Morris. Did anybody else see this? Was I the only one made violent by his too cute son? Ugh.

What can I say about "Mystery Train?" It's one-third my favorite film ever. What does that mean, you say? The opening chapter of the triptych, "Far From Yokohama," contains some of my absolute favorite cinematic moments. The silent chemistry between Jun and Mitsuko despite Jun's Carl Perkins toughness and Mitsuko's contagious zaniness, the sweeping crane shots of the wrong-side-of-the tracks Memphis, the crazy banter between Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Cinqué Lee (Spike's brother). It's brilliantly breathtaking. The rest of the film is damn good. However, it never holds up to the first thirty minutes.

This is America...