Speed Driver (1980)

Director: Stelvio Massi

Writers: Artur Brauner, Massimo De Rita, Luis Maria Delgado

Composer: Stelvio Cipriani

Starring: Fabio Testi, Orazio Orlando, Senta Berger, Francisco Rabal, Manuel Zarzo, Romano Puppo, Luis Rivera

More info: IMDb

Plot: Rudi is an illegal street racer named whose reputation in the area becomes so strong that he is hired by a drug kingpin to compete professionally on the circuit.  Mix in a dame and some drug crimes and you've got yourself a conflict.

My rating: 3/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Woof!  Four writers are credited with creating this by-the-numbers script.  I don't mind that it's so predictable but there's nothing at all interesting about this picture.  It's one cliche after another but with A LOT of racing footage that is almost entirely comprised of closeups of cars where you see the car they want you to look at with very little else inside the frame.  Most of the time I couldn't tell what was going on with who.  I knew which car was Rudy's (Testi) but you don't get a chance to see the big picture.  When someone crashes or there's some kind of an accident, you don't get to see what caused it; you just see someone spinning or trying to get off the track.  The love story is typical, none of the conflicts between Rudy and everyone else (it seems like he gets pissed off at every A level and B level character) deliver any dramatic punch, and there's just too much fat between the story and the racing footage.  That's bad enough on its own but this picture clocks in a twelve minutes shy of two hours and it's not good enough to deserve that much time.  The ending wraps up insanely fast where you find out that everything worked out for Rudy and friends like a nice bow on a package that miraculously wrapped itself up saving the filmmakers from having to show the audience any evidence of the quick exposition vomit that just came out of Napoli's (Orlando) mouth.  

The print I watched was a lousy fullscreen VHS quality one.  That trailer above looks better than what I watched.  IMDb doesn't list what scope this was filmed but I imagine this is a damn sight better seeing this widescreen in a theater but then it's got too many problems that would keep even that from making this good enough to recommend. 

The Set-Up (1949)

Director:  Robert Wise

Writers:  Art Cohn, Joseph Moncure March

Composer:  Roy Webb (stock music)

Starring:  Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter, Wallace Ford, Percy Helton, Hal Baylor, Darryl Hickman, Kevin O'Morrison, James Edwards

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  I Want a Man... Not a Human Punching Bag!

Plot:  Because aging boxer Bill Thompson always lost his past fights, his corrupt manager, without telling Thompson, takes bribes from a betting gangster, to ensure Thompson's pre-arranged dive-loss in the next match.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes!

This is one of the great ones.  Robert Wise masterfully sucks you into the picture from start to finish.  This picture moves so smoothly that it's over before you know.  The flow of this flick is remarkable.  The performances all around are top notch.  Robert Ryan (as Stoker) is so sympathetic, it hurts and you really feel for Julie (Audrey Totter) in a way that's genuine.  These actors aren't playing roles, they ARE their characters.   Even the secondary and tertiary roles are solid and from a lot of familiar faces.  The first thirty-five minutes sets the picture up.  You get the big fight for the next twenty.  Then it's the aftermath for the last fifteen.  And that soft fade out.  Nice.  The Warner Bros. DVD has a commentary track with Wise & Martin Scorcese.  For as many times as I've seen this, I can't believe I haven't listened to it yet.  I should get on it.

Grudge Match (2013)

Director: Peter Segal

Writers: Tim Kelleher, Rodney Rothman

Composer: Trevor Rabin

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kevin Hart, Kim Basinger, Alan Arkin, Jon Bernthal

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A rivalry 30 years in the making.

Plot: A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout, thirty years after their last match.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

I had a little trepidation going in but I shouldn't have been.  It's a fun movie with a good share of comedy, thanks to De Niro and Hart, pleasant drama and emotional weight.  De Niro is great fun and he's full of energy...the opposite of Stallone.  At first I thought Stallone was phoning it in but then he's being true to his character, Henry.  Henry left the game thirty years earlier after fucking up his relationship with the big love of his life.  He walked away from the only two things that mattered to him and he's spent three decades in a blue collar job, living simply and accepting his lot in life.  When he finally does perk up and show some life, it's even more noticeable and effective.  I just wish he hadn't gone too dull for most of the picture.  The story works nicely and the performances are good.  I loved the funny business during the credits with Dante (Hart) and his sales pitches to celebrities.  They're hilarious.  I'd like to see a spinoff with Dante and his over the top shenanigans. Don't listen to the 30% Rotten Tomatoes score.  If you're a fan of any of these people then you'll probably dig it.

Iron Man (1931)

Director: Tod Browning

Writers: W.R. Burnett, Francis Edward Faragoh

Starring: Lew Ayres, Robert Armstrong, Jean Harlow, John Miljan, Edward Dillon, Mike Donlin, Morrie Cohan, Mary Doran, Mildred Van Dorn, Ned Sparks

More info: IMDb

Plot: Prizefighter Mason loses his opening fight so wife Rose leaves him for Hollywood. Without her around Mason trains and starts winning. Rose comes back and wants Mason to dump his manager Regan and replace him with her secret lover Lewis.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.


Released between two of Tod Browning's greatest known films, DRACULA (1931) and FREAKS (1932), this flick tells the origin of Kid Mason (AKA Tony Stark/Iron Man) and his quest to be the boxing champ of the world (AKA fly around the world killin' bad guys and bangin' hot broads).  His manager and best friend, George (AKA Happy Hogan), does his best to keep the Kid focused on what he needs to do (AKA ridding the world of bad guys and bangin' hot broads).  Now, when the Kid falls for a bad news dame, Rose (Harlow) (AKA Pepper Potts), and marries her, his world goes to shit and he fights hard to keep his title in the climactic fight against a low ranking challenger (AKA pick any boring ass villain from the MCU that never gets enough screen time to develop).  So there you go, kids, that's Iron Man!

It's OK.  The only music in the film is sourced from radios and whatnot.  It could've benefited from a score but that was how things were in the early days of sound pictures.  The acting is just as you'd expect for the period as is just about everything else.  Robert Armstrong is good for some laughs (intentional) and he plays a big part in moving the picture along.  The ending is great, too.  Overall it was a pleasurable experience but nothing notable enough to ever need to see again.  In case my jokey sarcasm didn't come across, this has absolutely nothing to do with comic book super heroes.  The film came across my radar from the name and then the talent involved.  Now if I could only find a 1930s movie called GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY about a union boss trying to start a local on Mars I'd be tickled to pieces.

No No: A Dockumentary (2014)

Director: Jeff Radice

Composer: Adam Horovitz

Starring: Dock Ellis, Larry Demery, Ron Howard

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Just Say No No!

Plot: In the 1970s Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD and his outspoken style courted conflict and controversy, but his latter years were spent helping others recover from addiction.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Knowing nothing about Ellis or his pitching a no-hitter while hopped up on LSD, just hearing about that one thing was enough for me to give this a shot.  I like sports but I don't watch them or follow them but this is a fascinating film about an equally fascinating subject.  It's funny, shocking and very emotional.  I was a bit of a mess by the end but with happiness, not sadness.  Check this one out.  It's still on Netflix after more than two and a half years.  I know because that's how far I'm behind in writing about the shit I've seen since then.

Wrasslin' She Babes Of The 1950s Volume 0

More info: Something Weird Video

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This is the first in a series of 19 video releases from Something Weird Video that features women's professional wrestling.  The 5 matches on this disc are from the early 50s and feature such stars as Betty "The Atlanta Peach" Hawkins, Violet Vian, Clara Mortensen, Gorgeous Lenzi, Carol Cook, Ruth "Texas Cyclone" Kelly, Lily Bitter, Laraine Johnson, Cora Combs and June Beyers.

The 5 bouts last for a total of an hour and twenty minutes.  The half hour that follows is a collection of short titillating vintage films of scantily clad women wrestling of a different kind.

Unfortunately only one of the films ends with anything like that.  Those were more fun than real wrasslin' pictures not only because they're wearing less clothing but because they smile and look like they're having fun.   The real wrestling stuff is mildly entertaining.  I'm not a wrestling fan and this is the most of that kind of thing I've ever seen in total throughout my life.  I thought it would be more fun but I guess not.  It's obvious that it's staged but it's still somewhat entertaining.  A few minutes here and there would've been preferable instead of 80 minutes worth but then that's a good amount for fans.  The announcer that calls it is also reasonably entertaining but it gets old after a while.  I was curious. 

Blue Chips (1994)

Director: William Friedkin

Writer: Ron Shelton

Composers: Jeff Beck, Jed Leiber, Nile Rodgers

Starring: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh, Ed O'Neill, Alfre Woodard, Bob Cousy, Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway, Matt Nover, Cylk Cozart, Anthony C. Hall, Kevin Benton, Robert Wuhl, Bobby Knight, Larry Bird, Jim Beaver, Dick Vitale, Jim Caviezel, Louis Gossett Jr.

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Victory Doesn't Come Cheap

Plot: A college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Goddamn Nick Nolte's good in this.  It's a relatively simple story but it's well told, well paced and well acted.   I don't watch basketball so the game at the end of the movie is just another game so any dramatic tension was lost on me.  Nolte sells the shit out of his role so when he's in front of the press, et al at the end of the film, there's weight to his words and actions.  Good movie.  Who would've thought William Friedkin would do something like this? 

Paperback Hero (1973)

Director: Peter Pearson

Writers: Barry Pearson, Les Rose

Composer: Ron Collier

Starring: Keir Dullea, Elizabeth Ashley, John Beck, Dayle Haddon, Franz Russell, George R. Robertson, Ted Follows, Linda Sorensen

More info: IMDb

Tagline: every woman's had one... every man's been one... once...

Plot: A hockey player in a small town begins to lose his grip on reality, and starts to believe that he is a gunslinger in the Old West.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The plot synopsis from IMDb isn't that cut and dry.  Rick (Dullea) likes to pretend that a hundred years ago he'd be an Old West gunslinger and he has a standoff in the middle of the street with the cops at the end of the film like you've seen in Westerns but the movie lacks a few things.  I get that we're probably not supposed to like Rick.  I didn't at all.  He's an obnoxious cocky asshole who treats people horribly, especially his women.  There's no gradual shift from Rick in the beginning of the film to Rick at the end.  He essentially just says fuck it and becomes the gunslinger he fancies and cashes in, probably knowing that this will all lead to his death.  He doesn't care.  I didn't care either and I found it slow and boring.  Perhaps this has the makings of a good picture but the story has a long way to go to make it interesting as I see it.  Maybe I missed something but it took three attempts to finish it without falling asleep.

The Demon of the Derby (2001)

Director: Sharon Rutter

Composer: Jeff Pittson

Starring: Ann Calvello

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  The Ann Calvello Story: She's not just alive...she's kicking!

Plot: This documentary portrait follows Roller Derby's "Meanest Mama on Skates", Ann Calvello. Now in her 70s, Ann refuses to give up the limelight - she is still bashing heads on the banked track of any upstart league that will have her. And she's still acting like the bawdy bad girl of the Derby, even as she bags groceries at her part-time job at Safeway. In the two years the documentary follows her, Ann simultaneously grapples with her declining ability to skate and her determination to be the first professional athlete to have competed continuously in a sport for six decades.

My rating:7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

In the past couple of years I've been to a few roller derby games (my first) and they're lots of fun.  That's when I sought out movies and documentaries on the subject.  This was the first one I watched.  This stuff was HUGE when I was a kid in the 70s but I'd mostly forgotten about it in the time since.  Anyway, this 53 minute documentary gives you about everything you'd want in a career overview of the game's most notorious and violent players.  She comes across very full of herself and that she's still got that chip on her shoulder.  Part of that could be playing up her celebrity image but I think she's genuine in that regard.  She's rough around the edges and doesn't give a shit about much of anything.  To hear her colleagues talk about her, she's a total bitch (well, some of them think that).  Still, she led an interesting and vibrant career in the sport, full of controversy which is probably the only way she liked it.  The best part of this film, though, is the gobs of vintage footage of the games.  That was a lot of fun to watch.  I'd love to see one of them in its entirety someday.  Now I'm ready to move onto some of the movies made on the subject back in the 70s. 

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Composer: Bill Conti

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Jimmy Gambina, Bill Baldwin, Al Silvani, George Memmoli, Jodi Letizia, Stan Shaw, Frank Stallone, Lloyd Kaufman, Frank Stallone Jr., Joe Frazier, Michael Dorn

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You have a ringside seat for the bloodiest bicentennial in history!

Plot: Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the heavy-weight champion, Apollo Creed, in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Man, I haven't seen this flick in probably 35 years and it's just a great as it ever was but then I couldn't remember much about it.  It's a shockingly simple story, something a lot of film makers and Hollywood have forgotten how to make.  If it were made today, there'd be a lot more crap going on to make it out to be something bigger than it needs to be like having the local mobster Rocky works for getting more involved in Rocky's affairs so he's battling on two fronts.  There's a lot to like but it's Stallone's script and performance that makes this as special as anything else.  Rocky is one of the most instantly likable characters out there.  He's so down to Earth and you always know what he's feeling.  You couldn't ask for a better underdog to root for.  His monologue to Adrian the night before the fight (a scene that Stallone had to fight to keep in, by the way) gets to the heart of the character and the movie.  And in that one moment he sets up the emotional one-two punch the ending delivers.  Hell, I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.  It's a wonderful piece of film making from every angle and it's not surprising that it made Stallone into one of the biggest movies stars of the 20th Century.  I've only ever seen the first two films and ROCKY BALBOA (2006) (which is as good as the first one).  A couple of years ago I picked up the MGM Blu-ray box set, The Undisputed Collection, that has all 6 films.  I was shocked to see that, while there are a good deal of extras, there's no commentary track which makes me wonder if either ever did one for a previous release.  I'm looking forward to making my way through this series, for better or worse.  At least I know it ends on a high note.  I can't wait another 35 years to see this one again. 

Leatherheads (2008)

Director: George Clooney

Writers: Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly

Composer: Randy Newman

Starring: George Clooney, John Krasinski, Stephen Root, Renee Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the beginning, the rules were simple. There weren't any.

Plot:  In 1925, an enterprising pro football player convinces America's too-good-to-be-true college football hero to play for his team and keep the league from going under.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yeah.

I really dig Clooney a lot when he does comedy and he's made for this kind of picture.  It's a really fun ride and I was really impressed by the look and feel the filmmakers achieved of time and place.  It's great.  It's the kind of great that I'd like to step into the screen and hang out with these cats back in the twenties.  Randy Newman's score goes a long way in cementing that vibe.  It's bouncy fun.  The cast is great.  They picked some great, interesting, period-looking mugs to be in this picture.  The laughs are fun and it was clear that Clooney was going for that 1930s screwball comedy feel. The only problem with that is that the best of those pictures were snappy, tight and flew by with lightning speed.  LEATHERHEADS doesn't share that quality.  It would be a bigger blast of a ride if it were tighter.  At almost two hours, though, they do pack a lot in so it'd be really tough to cut bits out as the atmosphere is super rich and welcoming.  It's still a fun picture.  The Universal DVD has a nice anamoprhic widescreen print and there are lots of fun extras, too.  You get 8 minutes of deleted scenes, a 6 minute making of featurette, a 9 minute featurette on recreating 1920s football games, 4 minutes on Clooney's pranks, 6 minutes on the visual effects and a commentary track with Clooney and producer Grant Heslov.

Driven (2001)

Director: Renny Harlin

Writers: Jan Skrentny, Neal Tabachnick, Sylvester Stallone

Composer: BT

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Kip Pardue, Stacy Edwards, Til Schweiger, Gina Gershon, Estella Warren, Cristian de la Fuente, Brent Briscoe, Robert Sean Leonard, Verona Pooth, Jasmin Wagner, Chip Ganassi

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Get ready for the race of your life.

Plot: A young hot shot driver is in the middle of a championship season and is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion is called in to give him guidance.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Here's a by-the-numbers sports movie that does what most sports movies do.  It's filled with cliches but doesn't do anything with them to let you think it's OK to include them.  Cliches exist for a reason and I'm OK with that but they don't have to feel so tired and over used as they do in this film.  It's not a horrible picture but two hours of it makes you feel the burn.  The street racing with the Formula 1 cars was utterly unbelievable and not in a good way.  The quarters on the track was silly, too.  Besides seeing Stallone and Reynolds, is there any reason to watch this?  Not a one.  Throws some pocket change on the street where you live and drive over it to get your kicks.  The Warner Bros. DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen image and extras with a commentary with Harlin, a 15 minute making of doc, a 10 minute featurette on the effects, 52 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary from Stallone (!!!), the theatrical trailer (anamorphic widescreen) and a trailer for the video game.

42 (2013)

Director: Brian Helgeland

Writer: Brian Helgeland

Composer: Mark Isham

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, Hamish Linklater, T.R. Knight, John C. McGinley, Toby Huss, Max Gail

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In a game divided by color, he made us see greatness.

Plot:  The story of Jackie Robinson from his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1945 to his historic 1947 rookie season when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Nah.

Good flick.  Being a sports movie and a bio pic it's already got two strikes against it since both types of films are nearly always loaded with cliches that are hard to shake.  Surprisingly, director/writer Helgeland treads them lightly and crafted a fine film that doesn't use those cliches as a crutch.  I'm not into sports so I knew nothing about Jackie Robinson except that he was the first black Major League Baseball player.  The performances are good and earnest and the pacing is nice and leisurely.  Some may find it slow and I can see how someone would find this a typical throwaway sports biography but it's got a lot of emotion in the right places and a little bit of humor that doesn't draw attention to itself.  It's a nice little picture that's pleasantly gives you a glimpse into what all went into this historic figure and moment in time.

The Color of Money (1986)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writers: Walter Tevis, Richard Price

Composer: Robbie Robertson

Starring:  Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro, Bill Cobbs, Iggy Pop, Forest Whitaker, Bruce A. Young

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Hustler isn't what he used to be, but he has the next best thing. A kid who is.

Plot: Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protege the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I haven't seen this since the 80s and I'd forgotten every single thing about it.  It's about as long as it's been since I saw THE HUSTLER (1961), the film who's sequel this is.  How about that big ass hair on Tom Cruise?  He's an annoying fuck in this and it's probably how most of his haters see him as in real life.  But then most of his career (until lately it seems) was built on cocky and sure-as-fuck characters.  In this picture it works and you can clearly see how Vincent (Cruise) unknowingly pushes Eddie (Newman) in the direction he goes.  Paul Newman is fantastic.  From the first few moments of the picture which leads up to Eddie meeting becoming aware and meeting Vincent, it's a great introduction to these two characters, particularly Eddie.  What a classy actor.  It's not surprising that Newman won the Oscar in '87 for Best Actor for this role.  I'm not keen on Robertson's score.  The film felt like it could've been better suited to something classier like some cool 60s jazz.  I don't know who's responsible (either someone involved with the film or the transfer to DVD) but the music on the DVD is loud as fuck.  I frequently had to adjust the volume when the dialogue stopped and the music took over.  It was most annoying.  The story is great and I like the little turns it takes, particularly with Eddie.  The ending is great and it's one hell of a tease.  And how about that final tournament montage.  NICE!  The Touchstone DVD presents the film in non-anamorphic widescreen and devoid of even a single extra. 

Bobby Deerfield (1977)

Director: Sydney Pollack

Writers: Alvin Sargent, Erich Maria Remarque

Composer: Dave Grusin

Starring: Al Pacino, Marthe Keller, Anny Duperey, Walter McGin, Van Doude, Gerard Hernandez, Stphan Meldegg, Norm Nielsen, Romolo Valli, Jaime Sanchez, Bernie Pollack

More info: IMDb 

Tagline: He had to meet her - to find himself!

Plot: A racing car champion falls in love with a freewheeling lady who makes his life difficult but she has a secret that explains her behavior. 

My rating:  4/10

Will I watch it again?  NO.

Dreadful.  OK, maybe not that bad but it's incredibly slow and you're pretty much watching two character. Bobby (Pacino) softly broods and broods.  This is Pacino at his blandest.  The first time he smiles in this is at the one hour and forty-five minute mark.  It's then the 'happy' romance starts but then you've got twenty minutes before the picture is over which is nice but it only lasts a few minutes before something happens that ends it. Then there's Lillian (Keller) who is incredibly annoying and manipulative.  And Bobby takes it.  Most men (or women) would've dropped her not long after meeting her.  She's not a nice person and very cryptic.  I honestly can't see why Pacino or Pollack accepted this project except for the money and a working vacation to France for a month or so.  Woof.  It really is as exciting as the poster suggests.  I liked the last twenty minutes but the rest of it is one tough act to take.  The Warner Bros. DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen print but the only extras you get is a behind the scenes sneak peek at 88 MINUTES (10 minutes) and trailers for the DVD of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), COMANCHE MOON, DAMAGES season 1 and Hot Action Movies.  Oh, boy.

The Longest Yard (1974)

Director: Robert Aldrich

Writers: Tracy Keenan Wynn, Albert S. Ruddy

Composer: Frank De Vol

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Jim Nicholson, Bernadette Peters, Pervis Atkins, Tony Cacciotti, Anitra Ford, Michael Fox, Joe Kapp, Richard Kiel

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It's Survival of the Fiercest and Funniest

Plot: A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

Probably about every 8 or so years I'll forget how great this flick is and slap it in for a reminder.  Probably this is my favorite sports film.  Reynolds oozes with charisma.  He's so damn likable it's not even funny.  Eddie Albert is an amazing actor, too.  This guy can go from charming as a peach to ruthless mother fucker on the turn of a dime.  Hell, the whole damn cast (and what a cast!!!) is outstanding.  Director Aldrich (just look at this guy's credits) did an outstanding job.  You can almost feel the heat on the chain gang.  The game in the last act looks like a legit game and they had cameras there to shoot it.  It's expertly edited and there is enough humor scattered about to keep things moving along and from being considered a comedy.  It's a sports prison drama with some laughs along the way.  This is a great film no matter how you slice it.

The Paramount DVD has a great looking anamorphic widescreen image with a few extras including a commentary from Burt Reynolds and writer/producer Albert Ruddy, two 11-minute featurettes with some of the cast et al on making the film, an "exclusive look" at the 2005 OK remake, the original theatrical trailer (anamorphic widescreen) and 7 minutes of previews (fullscreen and non-anamorphic wide) for guy-related shows and movies.  I can do without the horseshit that doesn't pertain to the '74 film but then I don't have to watch it. 

The Bronze (2015)

Director: Bryan Buckley

Writers: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch

Composer: ???

Starring: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Haley Lu Richardson, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Shaw, Cecily Strong, Dale Raoul

More info: IMDB

Plot: In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's living in her father's basement in her small hometown—washed up, largely forgotten, and embittered. Stuck in her past glory, Hope is forced to reassess her life when a promising young gymnast who idolizes her threatens her local celebrity status. Will she mentor the adoring, hopeful protégé, take her down, or both?

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again? YES!!!

I caught this at the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last Thursday night and I about lost my shit from laughing so hard.  The opening scene (no spoilers) sets the outrageous tone for the film and it is stupendously raunchy and funny as hell.  If that first scene doesn't make you laugh out loud then you should probably just walk away.  Hope (Melissa Rauch) is such a shit to EVERYONE that it's no surprise that the only friend in the world she has is her father, Stan (Gary Cole) and even his patience is wearing thin but you know he'll always be there for her regardless.  The cast is outstanding.  Really.  Haley Lu Richardson (as Hope's protege, Maggie) is so adorably likable that there's no reason to think she won't go anywhere in this industry but up.  She's delightful and the perfect opposite of Hope.  Thomas Middleditch fits his role of Ben, the co-owner of the gymnastics studio and burgeoning love interest of Hope (if that's even possible but it is).  And Sebastian Stan is hilarious as the good-looking former two time Olympic winner who has a history with Hope and is on track to steal Maggie away from her and get him into the spotlight.  There are too many actors to name that do a splendid job but these five are the ones we follow throughout the picture. 

It can't be said enough how raunchy and wrong (in the right way) Hope is.  Her personality is black but in that way that allows you to laugh and cringe at the same time.  When you break the story down to its basic elements, there's nothing all that new about it.  But it's how director Buckley handles it, the VERY funny script by Melissa and her husband Winston and the aforementioned talent in front of the camera that breathes severely entertaining life into a tired and reliable trope found in most sports movies.  There's a scene were two gymnasts get it on but in the way your wildest dreams would suggest considering their profession.  It's a close second to TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (2004) for being the funniest sex scene ever filmed.  WOW!  Tears, man, tears from laughing so hard.  The funny runs from start to finish and I do mean finish.  Listen to the lyrics Melissa sings in the closing credits song.  In the Q&A after the film (in the video above), they explain that Winston wrote the lyrics on the drive to the recording studio as they had just been informed that Melissa was invited to sing on the track.  It works beautifully and it's a great way to end one truly funny, FUNNY movie.  The worst part of seeing it this early is having to wait to buy it so I can see it again but more importantly turn my friends onto it and look like a rock star for doing it. 

North Dallas Forty (1979)

Director: Ted Kotcheff

Writers: Peter Gent, Frank Yablans, Ted Kotcheff, Nancy Dowd, Rich Eustis

Composer: John Scott

Starring: Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak, Steve Forrest, G.D. Spradlin, Dabney Coleman, Savannah Smith Boucher

More info: IMDb

Tagline: "Wait till you see the weird part."

Plot: A semi-fictional account of life as a professional Football (American-style) player. Loosely based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Be warned, this is not the comedy the trailer promises.  There are some light moments but you're probably not going to laugh. It's more of a sports drama than anything else.  The actors are likable and the film feels like it's going to be fun from the first few minutes.  The thing is I kept waiting for the story to start developing and moving in some sort of direction.  Take out the romance between Charlotte (Haddon) and Phillip (Nolte) and not much happens except for some behind the scenes NFL team hijinks at parties and the like.  Then, FINALLY, in the last 15 minutes, of the almost two hour picture, something happens.  Phillip is in a meeting with the team's owner, manager and so on.  This is where the awesome Dabney Coleman shows up for more than a couple of seconds and gets to stretch his acting legs.  There's a very heated discussion that takes place and this one scene says more than everything that came before it.  It's a fantastic scene and one I would gladly watch again.  The acting from everyone involved is fantastic.  But for the film, it's too late.  There wasn't much substance for the first hour and forty five minutes to justify the final fifteen.  Don't get me wrong, that last scene is a powerhouse of acting and writing and it's worth watching the film just to get to it but you'll probably feel like you ate a mediocre dinner with desert only to get the steak after everything else had been digested.  It's a great steak, though.  The Paramount DVD has no extras and the print of the film is non-anamorphic widescreen.

A League of Their Own (1992)

Director: Penny Marshall

Writers: Kim Wilson, Kelly Candaele, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

Composer: Hans Zimmer

Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Ann Cusack, Anne Ramsey, Freddie Simpson, Renee Coleman, David Strathairn, Gary Marshall, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman, Rea Leoni, Harry Shearer, David L. Lander

More info: IMDb

Tagline: To achieve the incredible you have to attempt the impossible.

Plot: Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I haven't seen this in probably 20 years and it's better than I remembered.  Penny Marshall knocked this one out of the park.  Not only does it have great drama, performances, writing, scoring, but it's hilarious and the ending is touching as hell.  I can't recall having ever seen Madonna act well in a movie but she's great in this one.  Hell, just about the entire cast is fantastic.  For as much as I LOVE Jon Lovitz, I wish he would have toned down his schtick in this picture.  The pacing is great, especially for a film that's over two hours long.  Oh, and the editing is well done, particularly during the montages.  I really dig this picture.  I'm not one to want to watch a sports movie but pictures like this can just keep coming my way.  The two-disc Columbia Special Edition DVD has both the widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film and comes with a commentary track with the director and some of the cast, 15 deleted scenes with an optional intro from Marshall (and a play all feature), a 52 minute making of feature, Madonna's music video for "This Used to Be My Playground", and sports-themed trailers for BRIAN'S SONG (fullscreen), A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN and THE NATURAL (both non-anamorphic widescreen).