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)

Yates inspired my break away to film criticism

 

Dave Stoller (Dennis Christopher) in "Breaking Away."  (Courtesy:  20th Century Fox)

Four-time Oscar-nominated British director Peter Yates has died.

Yates passed In London at the age of 82 after suffering a long illness, according to British newspaper Web site guardian.co.uk.

Serious movie lovers will remember Yates as the director who guided Steve McQueen through "Bullitt" in 1968.  Together, with McQueen doing much of his own driving according to the Guardian article, Yates and McQueen catapulted movie chase scenes to a new, dangerous, higher level.

As director, Yates was nominated twice for Academy Awards; for "The Dresser" in 1983 and for "Breaking Away" in 1979. 

I liked "Bullitt" and I appreciated "The Dresser," a compelling backstage drama starring Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay.

"Breaking Away," however, changed my life path.

In 1979, when "Breaking Away" debuted, I was prepping for a career as a movie critic.  I had a job; a good paying one, in fact, as a bartender in Dallas. 

I never intended to tend bar, really.  But I had hopped off my career path as a television news anchor a few years earlier to make the world laugh as a stand-up comedian.

Great comedy comes from suffering, the big boys said, so I toiled away as a cab driver, a waiter, a bar manager and finally a bartender.  I found out pretty quick that the world -- or at least as many people as I encountered of it -- preferred to laugh at me as a TV news person.

As a comedian?  Not so much.

So I morphed (way ahead of my time, I might point out) to Plan B:  Professional movie critic.  I won't bore you with too many details here.  Let's just say that while I was searching for a newspaper that would have me, I cut back my bartending to four nights a week.

The plan was to see three movies a week and then sit down and write reviews of them.  That's a practice I recommend to aspiring film critics to this day.

One dreary afternoon in 1979, I wandered into Dallas's Highland Park Village theater for a film I knew nothing about titled "Breaking Away."  Some might call it merely a stylish bicycle race drama with some comedy.

They would be wrong, though.  What Yates did with "Breaking Away" was deftly construct a portrait of restless blue-collar American youth of Bloomington, Ind. taking on those better off financially in a relay bicycle race that amounted to a clash of class titans.

Jackie Earle Haley, San Antonio's Oscar nominee for "Little Children" in 2006, played Moocher, one of the "cutters" (locals).  But that's not the reason "Breaking Away" and Yates' direction have left such a mark on my professional psyche.

When I went to afternoon movies in the late '70s, I seemed to always share a half (or less) empty auditorium with well-dressed businessmen (salesmen, I'm guessing) who, for whatever reason, were shucking their professional duties of the day.

They were a tough movie-watching bunch to excite.  But at the end of "Breaking Away," when the race neared the finish line, I saw grown men -- perhaps "cutters" themselves at one time -- stand up and applaud and cheer.

That, my friends, is about all you can ask of a filmmaker.

I was so inspired that I amped up my courage to make it as a film critic despite long odds.

So, thank you, Peter Yates.  Although I  never got a chance to thank you in person, I won't forget the filmmaker who inspired me to shift gears out of a comfort zone and race on to my life's calling.

Rest in peace.

(Peter Yates photo from the set of "Roommates" courtesy:  Deadline.com) 

Addiction, soccer or 'Pelada' is thy name

 

Dedicated players kick up dust and love of the game in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  (Courtesy:  "Pelada" Documentary)

Attention all current, former or future couch potatoes:

You must remember the love of playing a game instead of just watching one on TV.

I was thinking about this Tuesday afternoon, just before my wife Suellen and I spent a cheerful evening on the couch cheering on the Texas Rangers as they broke thousands of hearts in Yankee Stadium and probably millions around the globe with a crushing 10-3 win over New York in the American League Championship Series.

Before that, however, I connected to the love and lust for pick-up soccer via the documentary "Pelada."  Brilliant in its film-making naïveté, "Pelada" is about the ultimate road trip for former American college soccer stars not quite good enough to dazzle as pros, but also not nearly ready to give up the game.

Luke Boughen, a former Notre Dame center midfielder, and his girlfriend Gwendolyn Oxenham, a former soccer captain at Duke, are out front as a couple of die-hard soccer geeks traveling the world for about a year looking for pick-up soccer games. 

And boy do they find them.  They bribe their way into a prison and a game behind bars in Bolivia, share a court with Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem a day after a terrorist attack and are summoned to report to Iranian authorities after someone snitches on Gwendolyn for joining a game with males in Tehran.

Filmmakers Ryan White and Rebekah Fergusson document the adventure that might just slowly capture your heart, as it did mine.  That surprised me because I'm not a soccer fan.  I am, however, a fan of intriguing movies and any human experience that enlightens and broadens the mind.

If you want to catch "Pelada," though.  You have to act fast.  It screens Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Santikos Bijou Cinema Bistro in San Antonio and repeats at noon Friday through Sunday.  Click here to find out when the "Pelada" road show might roll into your town.

Full disclosure:  The fact that I have recently gotten off the couch to re-embrace my long-lost love for tennis ("Feets, knees, elbow, shoulder don't quit on me now!") may have something to do with it. 

And there's this.  My step-daughter Lisa and son-in-law Johnny developed a passion for Ultimate Frisbee in college. That's what I call the challenging sport the players simply refer to as Ultimate.

It's also the sport (which became a siren's call to both and continued to beckon years after college) that got Lisa all the way to Prague in the Czech Republic to compete in the Ultimate world championship tournament over the summer.

That, my friends, is what I call getting off the couch. 

 

Send me in, Coach De Niro

Robert De Niro in "Everybody's Fine." 

(Courtesy:  Miramax Films)

If published reports are correct, near-legendary actor Robert De Niro is huddling up to portray Vince Lombardi, the legendary late Green Bay Packers coach, in an upcoming ESPN Films biopic to be titled "Lombardi."

It's a project with impressive pedigree.

In addition to the names De Niro and Lombardi already attached, according to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Risky Business blog, the script is coming from "Forrest Gump" scribe Eric Roth.

“There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi, and we’re thrilled to have Robert De Niro on our team,” said NFL vp programming Charles Coplin in the Risky Business post.

According to the Web post, the film's focus will be on the years Lombardi rebuilt the Packers into an NFL powerhouse.  That would be between 1959 and 1967.

It's still early in the game, but the plan now is to release the film in late Jan. 2012, between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Oopsy, Oscar-nom Bullock also up for a Razzie

Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper in "All About Steve."  (Courtesy:  20th Century Fox)

I've written before about how two well-made, entertaining movies out of three amounted to a very good comeback year, of sorts, for Austin-area resident Sandra Bullock.

As for 2010?

So-so so far, even though the personable actress drew her first Academy Award nomination for "The Blind Side" early Tuesday morning as she slept, according to what Bullock later told Matt Lauer during a "Today Show" telephone hook-up.

So what can possibly be negative?

A day earlier, according to an article posted on the People Web site and other sources, Bullock also got her name tossed into the hat by the Golden Raspberry Foundation for her offbeat, manic performance in "All About Steve," heretofore to be known as "that Sandra Bullock movie that just won't go away." 

In case you're unfamiliar with The Razzies, that means Ms. Bullock, while being considered for best actress by Oscar, is also under scrutiny as worst actress by the Razzie folks. 

The awful news is that if she does win in both races, Bullock will be the first actor (male or female) in history to pull off what Stephen M. Silverman in People calls "the double-barreled win" in the same year.

The good news?  Bullock has some mighty stiff competition for worst actress.  In addition to Megan Fox's dual nominations for "Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen" and "Jennifer's Body," she's up, no down against  Beyoncé ("Obsessed"), Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana:  The Movie") and Sarah Jessica Parker ("Did You Hear About the Morgans?").

Good luck/bad luck, Sandra. 

Sandra Bullock is back, baby!

After a two year layoff, Sandra Bullock came back  strong in 2009.  (Courtesy:  Warner Bros.)

When she's not on a movie set, Sandra Bullock resides just outside Austin.

The sometimes Texan got some very good news just before the turn of the new year.  Quigley Publishing Co. announced that Bullock, who appeared in three films in 2009, roared back to stardom as the year's top Hollywood star.

According to a Reuters story posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, the honor is based on votes from hundreds of movie house executives.

"Bullock beat out such stars as George Clooney and Denzel Washington, on the strength of her roles in "The Proposal" and "The Blind Side," according to the story.

"All About Steve" was a comic clunker, of course.  But her two rousing successes pushed Bullock to the top of the list.

Who was close on her heels?  Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks also ranked high.  Check out the Hollywood Reporter story to fill out the rest of the Quigley list.

That Guy reviews movies in record time

Director/co-star Clint Eastwood watches Hilary Swank put her fight-face on in "Million Dollar Baby."  (Warner Bros.)

Although it may not seem that way to anyone who reads my movie reviews (click here), it's become obvious that I've been spending way too much time on them.

A succinct movie reviewer calling himself That Guy With the Glasses wraps up his stance on a movie in a concise five seconds. 

Need proof?  Click here for That Guy's review of "Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's Best Picture Academy Award winner of 2004 starring Hilary Swank (who fought her way to Best Actress honors).

Thanks to Mike for the "That Guy" head's up.

Clooney vs. Clooney again is just loony

 George Clooney and adversary in "The Men Who Stare at Goats."  (Overture Films)

 

It's  déjà vu all over George Clooney again.

For the second time in a couple of years, the popular leading man, man-about-town, Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter ("Good Night and Good Luck"), Academy Award-winning actor ("Syriana") and pet pig lover has two major movies bumping heads in the fall movie schedule.

 

"Up in the Air" is one of two George Clooney movies  up in the air.  (Paramount Pictures)

In 2007, the dilemma involved the law firm drama "Michael Clayton" and the goofball professional football romantic-comedy "Leatherheads," which Clooney also directed.

Fast-forward to this fall and dueling Clooney star vehicles are vying for the same early November debut parking space.

According to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, "The always-crowded holiday movie season has its first controversy, with rival studios each slotting a George Clooney movie within a week of one another."

Overture's dark war-themed comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats" is set for wide release on Nov. 6, according to the Hollywood Reporter article.

Meanwhile, it seems Paramount Pictures has a limited opening planned for its Clooney-starring "Up in the Air" a week later on Nov. 13.  A dramatic comedy, "Up in the Air" ignited positive buzz at the recent Toronto Film Festival, according to the folks over at The Hollywood Reporter.

From this aisle seat, two plans of action are called for:

One of the studios needs to back off the date, of course.  Look for that to happen.

Also, maybe some of those guys staring at goats should spend a little time staring at the fall movie release calendar.

Visit 'Sin' city at the DVD/video store

 

Paulina Gaitan in "Sin Nombre." (Focus Features)

A big movie star competes with a big little-movie-that-could on the new arrival DVD shelves today.

Even though Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams are on display in "State of Play," if I could just pick one new DVD release today it would be "Sin Nombre."

As I said in my review when the directing and cinematography winner from this year's Sundance Film Festival debuted on big screens in April, "Sin Nombre," or "Without a Name," is one of the most disturbing, soul-rattling movies I've seen in some time.

It's also one of the finest.  It's in Spanish with subtitles, but Cary Joji Fukunagas' epic dramatic-thriller mesmerizes as it follows Central American immigrants on a dangerous train trip through Mexico to the U.S.

Click here to read the full review.

Actually, "State of Play" is a fine choice as well, especially if you like the names in the cast:  Crowe, Affleck, McAdams and Helen Mirren.

I like Crowe in the role of an investigative newspaper reporter for several reasons.  The guy can act, for one thing.  Call it a guilty pleasure, but I like seeing a newspaper reporter's cubicle that's almost as messy as my desk.  (A bite of yesterday's sandwich, anyone?)

Click here to read my "State of Play" review.

Also debuting at the vid store today:  "Sugar," a coming-of-age baseball player immigration drama. 

Click here for the review.

Yo, Stallone/'Rambo' plead the fifth

 

Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo hasn't forgotten how to rumble in the jungle.  (Lionsgate)

Some movie hunks just can't put the bandanna behind them.

According to an article posted on the Variety Web site, Sylvester Stallone is ready to jump back into the war weary John Rambo role for a fifth cinematic mission.

"Nu Image/Millennium Films has greenlit the franchise's fifth installment, with Sylvester Stallone starring and directing, repeating his duties from 2008's 'Rambo.'

"The upcoming project's storyline revolves around Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. Production will start in the spring," the Variety article states.

Rambo's still lagging behind Stallone's rocky "Rocky" franchise.  Stallone, now 63, has been in the cinematic ring six times as gritty Rocky Balboa.