sports movie nostalgia

Disney's new film Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg based on a real guy who went to open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s is coming out today. Early buzz is that it's not too bad, similar to The Rookie and Miracle (also Disney releases).

So along that theme, I wanted to present my favorite sports movies list.

1. Raging Bull - One of my all-time favorite films, with or without the boxing.
2. Bull Durham - The best written and funniest baseball movie ever.
3. Breaking Away - Great cast and story, hey maybe Lance watched this growing up.
4. Field of Dreams - Fantastic premise and memorable writing.
5. Eight Men Out - The story of the infamous 'black sox', good companion to Field of Dreams.
6. Friday Night Lights - The ugly politics of high school football on display.
7. Major League - Second funniest baseball movie of all time, sadly too true to reality yet again.
8. White Men Can't Jump - The movie that introduced streetball to all us white kids growing up.
9. Hoop Dreams - Documentary that follows two promising high school players for four years on their heartbreaking quest to make it to the pros.
10. Million Dollar Baby - One of Clint Eastwoods' best directed films; and like all great sports movies, it's more about life in general than sports.

I know what you're thinking, where's Rocky or Hoosiers? I'm so ashamed... I've never actually sat down and watched either film.

Here's a link to the IMBD's top 50 sports movies list based on user votes so you can see where your favorites stand.

There's been a lot of buzz about the documentary Jesus Camp; how it was screened at Michael Moore's film festival after the makers tried to have it pulled from the lineup claiming they didn't want the film to be labeled too liberal, and then Moore later stating that was a shameless publicity stunt saying that the makers begged for it to be screened. Well here's the trailer for Jesus Camp, and holy crap it's scary.

You can also now see the trailer for Little Children, the latest film from the director of In The Bedroom, this one has quickly become one my biggest I-need-to-see-it movies that are coming about over the next few months (Oscar season!).

Finally, if you absolutely have to know everything about the Tom Cruise/Paramount fallout, there's a good piece that explains all involved and their likely motives.

Little Miss Sunshine review

In addition to Ricky Bobby, I was fortunate enough to have time to take in Little Miss Sunshine over the weekend. If you haven't read much about the film, let me say now that it doesn't have much to do with beauty pageants.

The title refers to the pageant that Olive, the youngest of the Hoover family, is granted entry to by way of a technicality. The family, one of the more dysfunctional and realistic ones you'll ever see on screen, puts all other crises on hold and packs up the VW Bus and leaves for California.

The opening scene where we meet all of the characters involved is almost real time and lasts close to twenty minutes; it shows the family coming together to eat dinner (something most dysfunctional families rarely do). That may sound boring but it flies right by and we learn all we need to know about each character and we crave more as the scene ends. Worthy of note, all six Hoovers are present in almost every scene, making frame composition a challenge. The rest of the movie is the family trying to stand each other in the small quarters of the bus as they race to get the pageant in time. There are many obstacles.

Standout performances include Alan Arkin as the unabashed grandfather and Steve Carell as the tormented Uncle. Like recent films such as the Squid and the Whale and the Royal Tennenbaums, Sunshine is drenched in the humor and tragedy that all families experience. This one is by far the sweeter of the three, but just as well conceived.

a sunny comedy that shines

The other two Film Narrators and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine together Sunday. I had been looking forward to the movie for a few weeks now, and my expectations were met. This is one of the best movies I've seen in months, and I am probably going to purchase it when it comes out on DVD.

An avid fan of Wes Anderson flicks, most notably The Royal Tenenbaums, I noticed some similarities right away between Sunshine and Tenenbaums. The camera angles, character development, a similar sense of humor. However, this is not an Anderson film. It was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a duo best known for their work doing... music videos.

This film focuses around six family members and you can't help but like each of them. The dad, played by Greg Kinnear, took a little while to warm up to, but by the end I was rooting for him as well. Toni Collette does an outstanding performance as the mother who tries to keep everything and everyone together. The son, played by relative newcomer Paul Dano, has some of the funniest lines, despite having taken a vow of silence-- oh, you'll see what I mean. Steve Carell plays an untraditional role, but shines as well.

In a movie where one bad thing happens after another to a poor family, I tend to get frustrated (I can't stand watching Meet the Parents because I just feel terrible for Ben Stiller the whole time). However, this movie keeps it on the lighter, perhaps sunnier side, and the misfortunes are bearable to watch. After all, they're doing it all for 7-year-old potential beauty queen Olive, and when you see her you'll be able to relate.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby review

So this weekend I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and I'll start by saying that the title is probably the weakest aspect of the film.

First off, when I heard they were making this movie I kind of groaned. I was afraid that it just wouldn’t be any good and Will Ferrell’s film comedy career would be over. Talladega Nights is written by Ferrell and director Adam McKay, the same team behind Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. I thought ‘How can it go wrong? I liked Anchorman’, but there was this voice in my head saying that I shouldn’t waste my time with it. Well the voice was wrong, but I think I know what it was trying to tell me: This movie is simply Anchorman on wheels.

In the film we have an arrogant, ignorant, close-minded goof who’s at the top of his game before it all comes crashing down due to a ground-breaking change that conflicts with his narrow view of reality (sound familiar?). In Anchorman it was the addition of a female to a 1970s high profile news crew, who’s an equal if not better reporter than the hero. This time it’s the appearance of a homosexual Frenchman trying to conquer NASCAR, who again appears to easily upstage our hero Ricky Bobby; semi-offensive confrontations ensue. Here’s a tip, if you like Ferrell doing his impression of the president AND you find the French accent even a little bit comical: go see this movie. The French driver in question is played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and he is hysterical.

The movie runs a little long but has a great supporting cast, many of whom get underused, too bad for them. Although Talladega Nights is not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as Anchorman, it’s a little bit smarter.