Larry Ratliff

DVD emporiums pitch a 'Perfect Game'

 

Angel (Jake T. Austin), left, and Enrique (Jansen Panettiere) have the summer of their lives in "The Perfect Game."   (Courtesy:  Lionsgate)

So, what's your favorite baseball movie?

"The Natural" of 1984 is a good choice.  Or "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942), or "The Rookie" (2002) or maybe "Field of Dreams" (1989).

Good choices all.  'Scuse me if I toss in a wild card.  A late replacement, if you will.

If you have a child in Little League, or if you played Little League, or if you just like to attend Little League games, or you just like baseball movies or you just enjoy well done movies in general, it's time to run, not walk to your local DVD source to rent "The Perfect Game."

Clifton Collins Jr. ("Star Trek" remake), Cheech Marin ("Machete"), Louis Gossett Jr. ("Momentum") and perhaps San Antonio's Bruce McGill ("Fair Game," "W.") are the names you're likely to recognize.  This cast, however, is largely made up of young actors portraying the dirt poor Monterrey, Mexico Little League team destined for glory north of the U.S. border in 1957.

Based on a true story, "The Perfect Game" towers over films like "The Sandlot" in my humble opinion because the events are real.  Also, director William Dear ("Angels in the Outfield") doesn't resort to cheap tricks (unnatural foul language) in the name of entertainment value.

From this aisle seat, "The Perfect Game" is a must-see for baseball fans and lovers of exciting, heartfelt movies alike.

In fact, I'll race you to the video store.  I plan to get a copy today so my wife Suellen can see why I love this based-on-truth saga so much.

Actually, "The Perfect Game" isn't the only good choice hitting DVD shelves today.

"Soul Surfer," also based on a true story, washes over the heart with high emotion.

"Soul Surfer" chronicles the saga of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton. 

Hamilton is portrayed in the film by AnnaSophia Robb ("Race to Witch Mountain").

The determined teen doesn't let a little thing like losing an arm deter her from chasing her dream of shooting the curl on Hawaii's biggest waves. 

Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt are very good as the girl's parents.  And country singer Carrie Underwood has some rich moments as the wounded teen's emotional mentor.

Looking for something for young kids?  Just keep sliding down the New Releases shelf until you get to "Rio."

Animated, colorful and full of life, "Rio" pulls out all the fun stops. 

It spins a yarn about an unlikely match between a pampered blue Macaw that can't fly and his dangerous liaison with the only surviving female of his breed.

Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs") and Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network") provide the lead voices.

Listen closely, though, and you might just recognize the vocal stylings of comedians George Lopez and Jamie Foxx, as well as will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

("Soul Surfer" poster courtesy:  Sony/"Rio" poster courtesy:  20th Century Fox)

Little blue group, 'Aliens' in B.O. draw

 

"The Smurfs" have something B.O.-related to smile about today.   (Courtesy:  Sony)

Holy Smurf!  The little blue guys tied the cowboys and little green men at the box office over the weekend.

I'm sure that says something about pre-opening hype, 3-D flicks, the audacity of co-mingling close encounters with high-tech space aliens and gunslingers of the Old West, the national debt ceiling and my personal addiction to anything frozen resembling ice cream, but let's leave it at this:

Good for the little blue guys.

An article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site is calling the tie between Sony's kiddie pic "The Smurfs" and Universal's "Cowboys & Aliens" "one of the biggest box office upsets in recent memory."

Each vastly different movie claimed an estimated $36.2 million over the weekend.  One will no doubt emerge as the winner when Hollywood bean counters get out their magnifying glasses later today.

The "Smurfs," those animated blue dudes from 80s TV cartoons, can celebrate no matter what, however.

"Heading into the weekend, 'Cowboys' held a wide lead over the competition in tracking, with Universal predicting a debut close to $45 million. The disappointing launch means the film—directed by Jon Favreau and costing $163 million to produce after rebates—will need especially strong legs," the Hollywood Reporter article sez.

"The Smurfs," which cost a reported $110 million, turned out to be an overachiever, outgrossing its estimates by just north of $10 million.

"'Cowboys,' starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, played older, likely explaining why the film underperformed," adds the Hollywood Reporter article.

"Of those turning out for Cowboys, 75 percent were over the age of 25—and 39 percent over the age of 50," adds the report.

(Daniel Craig photo from "Cowboys vs. Aliens" courtesy:  Universal Pictures.)

The lizard days of cinematic summer

 

Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) catches the eye of the hawk.   (Courtesy:  Paramount Pictures)

As of Friday (July 15), there's a new sheriff in DVD Town.

His name is "Rango."

Johnny Depp, who has swashed more than a few buckles as the out-front guy in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, is out front as the title character, Rango the family pet chameleon who -- after a highway accident -- stumbles into a critter-infested Wild West town dubbed Dirt.

I was quick to point out when "Rango" hit the big screen back in March that this animated marvel from director Gore Verbinski aims this critter Western not only at adults, but at adults with such diverse movie-viewing experience as "Chinatown" and "The Terror of Tiny Town."

It's daring and fun, though, and filled with wave after wave of Western saga cliches.  What a refreshing, welcome hoot that's finally take up residence on DVD shelves.

Click here to read my full "Rango" review.

In other small-screen debuts this week, Matthew McConaughey keeps his shirt on (for the most part) and gets back to real acting in the offbeat crime/courtroom drama "The Lincoln Lawyer."  (Click here for my review.)

Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne get to chew the scenery more than a little in the sci-fi/horror thriller "Insidious" (Click here for my review.) and ...

Russell Brand embarrasses himself and his acting ability trying to channel Dudley Moore's brilliant (1981) performance in the "Arthur" do-over.

The listless remake is, from this aisle seat, a major dud.

The cinematic flops of 0h-11 ... so far

 
Russell Brand bottoms out in a top hat as "Arthur."  (Courtesy:  Warner Bros.)

Sometimes you just know.

When I learned last year that actor-comedian Russell Brand was putting his own brand on "Arthur," the happy drunk classic comedy of 1981that drew a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the late Dudley Moore, something just didn't feel right.

Call it karma or just a pretty lousy remake or whatever you like, but the new "Arthur" didn't fare well with mainstream movie-goers or many film critics.

It makes perfect sense to me, then, that "Arthur" figures prominently in the Movie Report Card's "10 Biggest Flops of 2011 (So Far)," which is posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site. 

And Ward, I'm a little worried about "The Beaver." 

(Click here to check out the 10 most unlikely.) 

For the most part, this year's early candidates for bottom-feeders of 2011 deserve to be on the list.

I don't agree with all of them, though.  "Mars Needs Moms," for instance.

Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture animated tale of a boy transported to outer-space as a stowaway on an alien ship that kidnapped his Mom, is fascinating and perhaps a little too sophisticated for many who flock (or don't) to animated films.

Remember, though.  The year is still relatively young.  I'm sure there will be plenty more cinematic dregs to sort through before the year ends.

This just in: raunch; Just out: cuddly

 

Monkey, left to right, Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms in "The Hangover Part II."

(Courtesy: Warner Bros.)

If it seemed a little extra crowded at your neighborhood multiplex over the long Memorial Day Weekend, that's because this was the highest-grossing Memorial Day weekend of all time, according to Brandon Gray over at the cinematic bean counter Web site Box Office Mojo.

The key word appears to be "grossing."  "The Hangover Part II," which expanded the bottom-feeding, raunchy comic exploits of "The Wolf Pack," howled to the tune of $105.8 million over the four-day holiday weekend.

Toss in what Gray calls its "raucous Thursday start," and the sequel tallied $137.4 million.

Cuddly, it appears, is on the wane, at least when it comes to the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise.  "Kung Fu 2," featuring Jack Black's voice in an animated panda fighting body, fell well short of the leader at $62.2 million. 

"Playing on approximately 6,700 screens at 3,615 locations, 'The Hangover Part II' delivered the top-grossing weekend ever ($86 million Friday-to-Sunday) for a live-action comedy, and it ranked second to 'The Matrix Reloaded" among R-rated movies.

"For 2011, it had the third-biggest weekend so far, edged out by 'Fast Five' and 'On Stranger Tides', but it likely would have been first if it hadn't burnt off some demand with its Thursday opening, which was also its top day ($31.6 million). It also did more than two and a half times the business of 'Sex and the City 2' on Memorial Day weekend last year," the Box Office Mojo article states.

("Kung Fu Panda" photo courtesy:  DreamWorks Animation)

Mama Nature bears down on 'Kung Fu Panda 2'

 
"Lord, I know we all have to go sometime.  And I've had a fairly decent run, except for the bottom falling out of the film critic profession and all.  But please don't let me die at a 'Kung Fu Panda 2' screening.

"Oh God, not a s-s-s-s-sequel!"

These were the frantic thoughts running through my mind last night at the AMC Theater at Northpark on a night when Mother Nature unleashed her own, real adventure-thriller.

Funnel clouds danced across the Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas sky in concert with wave on wave of wind, heavy rain and -- in some cases -- baseball-size hail.

While the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and fans scurried for cover, Mother Nature stuck mostly to fastballs, although some sliders were reported skidding along streets and back yards.  

What started out as just another night of a movie preview screening for me turned into an extended evening of start-and-stop "Kung Fu Panda 2."

I knew what it meant when the lights came up and the noise of heavy rain pounding the theater roof took over audio attention with about 20 minutes remaining in Panda Po's (Jack Black) valiant fight to save ancient China from a determined animated villain (Gary Oldman).

The 3-D glasses were about to come off and the audience was about to be told to abandon the auditorium for the lobby.

So we were and we did.  Twice.  When the all-clear was finally given, determined "Kung Fu Panda" fans (who stuck it out) and grumbling movie critics (who had no choice) returned for the semi-grand finale.

I must admit, my attention was divided as the final minutes of "Panda 2" unfolded.  I had no idea what was going on outside.

"Are any of those funnel clouds in the area touching down, ravaging miles of downtown, businesses, neighborhoods?  What about our neighborhood?  Are Suellen and Frankie (the doggie) OK?  Who's doing better on 'American Idol' tonight, Scotty or Lauren?  Why did they kick Haley off, anyway?  What if another tornado heads this way?

"Oh God, don't take me out reviewing a cartoon sequel.  How could I ever face Gene Siskel, who could write, boy, if I ever get to meet him in Heaven?"

All's well that ends well

As it turns out, I lived to review movies again.  I'm pretty sure my brother, his lady, and his two sons survived the Rangers game ordeal, even though the luck of the draw had them there when all hail broke loose.

And, Suellen and Frankie did just fine at home throughout the scary evening:

"The sirens kept going off and Big Tex (our term for the weather alert voice that blares out of neighborhood speakers) kept telling everyone to take cover," Suellen said.

Not only did they make it through the ordeal, but Suellen grabbed emergency rations and a flashlight and she and Frankie headed for shelter in our safe place, the guest bathroom.

When I got home there were blankets, pillows and Frankie's leash in the bathtub and these emergency rations on the sink:

Two bottles of water, a box of Triscuits and a small can of Del Monte cut green beans.

They never actually got into the bathtub, though.  You see, we have a leaky, dripping faucet at the moment.

Survival is one thing, but no one wants to endure waterboarding, even when tornado clouds are playing eenie-meenie-miney-mo overhead.

That would be torture.  And one might spill the beans.

("Kung Fu Panda 2" photo courtesy:  DreamWorks Animation/Funnel cloud photo courtesy:  Wendy Cage/wfaa.com.)

Fox makes sweet move, lights fuse on 'Dynamite'

 
"Vote for Pedro" lives!

The Fox Television Network revealed its fall schedule the other day.  Sometime in the near future -- that vague thing called mid-season -- Fox will roll out an animated version of "Napoleon Dynamite" to Sunday night audiences lingering after "The Simpsons."

The big news, of course, for many TV viewers is that former "American Idol" idol Simon Cowell is back with his witty scowl and his singer talent-search show.  This one's titled "The X-Factor," and will bring back Paula Abdul as Cowell's partner in semi-brilliant ditziness.

That's fine.  But I'll be hunting the Fox schedule for the "Napoleon Dynamite" debut.  

Here's something I haven't revealed before.

When a movie really locks me into its grasp due to excellent acting, genius filmmaking, a daring leap into uncharted cinematic ground that works or overall genius ...

I tear up.

It's not crying.  I would have to describe it as unbridled tears of joy; the rare moment when a movie and its audience meet in the dark and it turns into something almost spiritual.

In my Movie Memories presentation series, I refer to moments like that as "the magic of the movies."

That happened to me in August 2004.  A goofy, tiny-budgeted romantic-comedy set in an Iowa town exploded from the screen with quirky sweetness.

There was enough deadpan humor to make the late George Gobel high-five the cushioned ceiling of his coffin and the very much alive Smothers Brothers ever-so-slightly shrug their shoulders with appreciation.

  

I took my brother to see "Napoleon Dynamite" in Dallas, and the tears of appreciation flowed.  I tried to fight them off to no avail.

By the time Suellen and I gathered up Lisa (my stepdaughter) and Johnny (Lisa's husband) and settled in to share the joyful goof of a ride at an Austin theater, the flood gates opened again.  As usual, I tried to hide the water-works.

But something was different in Austin.  There was a strange buzz sound riding the coattails of the dialogue.  I finally realized that many (most, in fact) in the audience were returning viewers. 

They were saying the lines right along with Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Efren Ramirez (Pedro), Tina Majorino (Deb) and the rest.  This was only about two weeks after the film opened.

The good news is that the entire cast is returning for the Fox animated series, which will probably debut sometime early next year.

 

I can wait.  It'll be sweet to vote for Pedro again, although it sounds a little over-the-top to call these characters "animated."

("Napoleon Dynamite" drawing courtesy:  Fox TV Network)

'Rio,' bravo! ... 'Scream 4'? So-so

 

Blu (center), voiced by Jesse Eisenberg flies, sort of, for the first time in "Rio." 

(Courtesy:  20th Century Fox)

The bird can't fly, but 20th Century Fox's color-splashed animated yarn about the landlubber macaw certainly can and did.

"Rio" flew past expectations to take domestic box-office honors over the weekend with a whopping $40 million in 3,826 theaters, according to published reports.

And that was just in the U.S.  Worldwide, according to a post on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, the Blu bird of 3-D paradise (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg of "The Social Network") has nested $169 million in just a dozen days.

It was a good rebound movie weekend overall.  "Scream 4," directed once again by Wes Craven, scared up $19.2 million to come in at No. 2 for the weekend.

Craven wasn't the only familiar name linked to the horror franchise who returned, though.  "Screamers" David Arquette, his estranged wife Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell hopped back on the bandwagon as well.

Disney sinks 'Yellow Submarine' remake

Well, whatever no longer floats your boat.

According to reports making waves on the World Wide Web, the Walt Disney Co. has left filmmaker Robert Zemeckis high and dry when it comes to his plans for a re-floating of "Yellow Submarine," the psychedelic Beatles animated film of 1968. 

In case you've forgotten what that one was all about, or perhaps were under the influence of, uh, buttered popcorn when you last saw it, "Yellow Submarine" featured animated Beatles bringing happiness back to the world via song after the Meanies took over.

No one is suggesting that Disney now represents The Meanies.  But there are indications that sub-par box office numbers for Zemeckis' "Mars Needs Moms" over the weekend may have had something to do with the dropped project.

"'Submarine' was already facing a few rocky reefs before this weekend. There were budget issues, and a key presentation Zemeckis was to have made before the Beatles heirs kept being pushed back," according to a post on the Hollywood Reporter Web site.

"A December date for the confab was scrapped and never rescheduled. But sources say the disastrous $6.9 million opening for the $150 million-budgeted 'Mars,' produced by Zemeckis, guaranteed that 'Submarine' would never set sail at Disney. The producer-director is now free to shop the project to another studio," the on-line report states.

Maybe this would be a good time to remind Hollywood movie studio execs that Zemeckis is also the guy who directed mega-hits "Back to the Future" (and its sequels), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Forrest Gump," "Cast Away" and "The Polar Express," which has grossed over $300,000,000 worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo).

If I were a betting man, I'd push my pile of chips onto the square that says "Yellow Submarine" will find safe harbor at another movie studio before you can sing, "We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine ..."

("Yellow Submarine" poster courtesy:  MGM/UA Home Entertainment.)

Disney 'Tangles' 'Harry' weekend B.O.

 
 
Rapunzel really let her golden, magical hair down over the weekend, forcing "Harry Potter" to part ways with box office supremacy after two weeks.

"Tangled" took a little off the top, cha-chinging $21.5 million over the weekend.  "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:  Part 1" fetched $16.7 million in the third frame.

That's not exactly Hogwart's leftovers.  "Harry Potter's" seventh and semi-final fantasy-adventure has conjured up a little magic of its own.  The three-week total is $244.2 million, easily ahead of any of the previous six "Harry Potter" adventures, according to a post on the Hollywood Reporter Web site.

"'Tangled' continued to draw about 55% of its business from 3D screens, but Disney distribution boss Chuck Viane said he was pleased with the strength both of 2D and 3D receipts," according to the Hollywood Reporter story.

"'Quality rises to the top,' Viane said. 'Meantime, we have the holidays ahead of us, and therein lies the strength of our long-term prospects.

"Despite a 56% weekend-over-weekend decline, 'Tangled' totes a $96.5 million cume since unspooling on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving," states the Hollywood Reporter post.

("Tangled" photo courtesy:  Walt Disney Pictures)