Thursday, September 28, 2006
Invincible
I don’t usually like sports movies. Why? Because I like sports and people who make sports movies don’t seem to understand the first thing about what makes sports fun and interesting and engaging. Apparently, they think it mostly involves predictable fake looking sequences in slow motion and overly-sappy “inspirational” speeches by down on their luck coaches.
Of course, there are exceptions. I LOVED Hoosiers (yes, I’m yelling). Slap shot was pretty good. He Got Game is very underrated. The original The Longest Yard was worth watching (the Adam Sandler version should have resulted in real prison time for anyone associated with it). There’s The Natural and Bull Durham and Field of Dreams. The first Rocky is a classic, and there are a few others. But for the most part, sports movies all share at least some or all of the following flaws:
1. They focus too much on the behind the scenes and not enough on the game which usually means a horrifically sappy love story
2. They have 9 foot basketball hoops and many other things that make the sports sequences appear completely fake.
3. They can’t replicate the real drama of a real game that means something. Not sure why, when they can do it much better with the exceedingly more difficult subject of war.
4. They sometimes include Drew Barrymore
5. They are fake, fake, fake, fake to any actual sports fan. Yes I know I’m repeating myself.
Usually, the movies that overcome the sappiness factor and the fake factor are the ones that are based on real events and make some attempt to portray them accurately. Miracle did a nice job there for example. This is the thing that saves Invincible and ultimately makes it a very enjoyable movie. It is a true story and still nearly impossible to believe. But it really happened and is one of the best stories in sports. So, the movie really just had to show up and not screw it up. They did that and even a little more. Over all, I wouldn’t put it in the same breath as Hoosiers or some of the others I listed above, but it is definitely worth seeing unless you hate Marky Mark, football and good things happening to people who work hard and take some risks.
What it’s about: Marky Mark (sans “Funky Bunch”) plays Vince Papale. In the 1970s when the Philadelphia Eagles were really bad, unlike the ‘60s, ‘80s and ‘90s when they were just completely inept, they hired a new coach named Dick Vermeil who went on to great success and even more crying. Vermeil, looking to shake up the team, holds open tryouts for the Eagles. Half the city of die hard fans show up and one guy, Vince Papale, who is just a fan with no football experience other than being a season ticket holder, makes the team. And that really happened. Incredible. The movie takes a look at his tough life living poor in Philly and is as much about Philly in the ‘70s as it is about Vince or football. It is your basic feel good story
What’s to like:
1. Marky Mark. I can’t claim he’s a great actor, but I always like him. Not even sure why. I’m pretty sure I understand why my wife is also a fan, but I’m certain it’s for a different reason. Anyway, he does a great job in this movie. Very likeable.
2. Elizabeth Banks – She plays the girl. She’s been in a few things, but isn’t a star yet. She will be though. Trust me.
3. The football scenes were fairly authentic, especially for movie scenes and the CGI crowds made the whole thing seem more real
4. All the bad mustaches
5. It told an inspirational story without over doing it or going out of its way just to try to manipulate the audience. Had to be tempting, but they resisted and it worked.
6. The Story is simply great. Unless you are a football fan, you might not be able to appreciate how unlikely it is that this happened, but it did and you gotta love it.
What I could have done without: Dick Vermiel didn’t cry once. That’s a bigger upset than Vince making the Eagles. Just completely ignoring reality. Real Dick Vermiel probably wept watching this movie. I don’t know how or why they missed this.
Characters which are bit stereotyped
Absolutely nothing in this movie that you don’t expect. Nothing. I know, it’s based on a true story, but still. How about a wrinkle?
Who do you like: See above. As a side note, do you think the Funky Bunch sits around somewhere when a new Wahlberg movie comes out and just trashes him as they drink their pathetic lives into oblivion? I prefer to think they’re happy for him, but it seems unlikely.
What’s new: You’ve never seen a true story quite like this. Plus the sports shots were some of the best I’ve ever seen for football. That’s a pretty low bar, but still.
What’s the last word: Good ending. You know what it is already and you see it coming clear as day in the movie, but still good.
Who you should bring: Just about anyone. Not sure what the rating is, so not young kids maybe, but anyone else. Even though it is about football, a non-football fan will still like this movie and I think it would appeal almost equally to men and women.
Where you should watch: You don’t need the big screen for this one, so your couch will be just as good as your local multiplex
What’s the couch rating: I saw this with Tanya, but not on the couch. Still, she liked it and would have stayed awake, even if we started it late….and she’s not a football fan by any stretch.
What my gut tells me: I liked it. I didn’t even want to analyze it too much, because I didn’t want to talk myself out of liking it. It was cheesy, but good.
What it’s like: It is a bit like Miracle. It is a bit like The Rookie.
Where it rates: I would say 7.5 to 8. Certainly worth seeing.
Of course, there are exceptions. I LOVED Hoosiers (yes, I’m yelling). Slap shot was pretty good. He Got Game is very underrated. The original The Longest Yard was worth watching (the Adam Sandler version should have resulted in real prison time for anyone associated with it). There’s The Natural and Bull Durham and Field of Dreams. The first Rocky is a classic, and there are a few others. But for the most part, sports movies all share at least some or all of the following flaws:
1. They focus too much on the behind the scenes and not enough on the game which usually means a horrifically sappy love story
2. They have 9 foot basketball hoops and many other things that make the sports sequences appear completely fake.
3. They can’t replicate the real drama of a real game that means something. Not sure why, when they can do it much better with the exceedingly more difficult subject of war.
4. They sometimes include Drew Barrymore
5. They are fake, fake, fake, fake to any actual sports fan. Yes I know I’m repeating myself.
Usually, the movies that overcome the sappiness factor and the fake factor are the ones that are based on real events and make some attempt to portray them accurately. Miracle did a nice job there for example. This is the thing that saves Invincible and ultimately makes it a very enjoyable movie. It is a true story and still nearly impossible to believe. But it really happened and is one of the best stories in sports. So, the movie really just had to show up and not screw it up. They did that and even a little more. Over all, I wouldn’t put it in the same breath as Hoosiers or some of the others I listed above, but it is definitely worth seeing unless you hate Marky Mark, football and good things happening to people who work hard and take some risks.
What it’s about: Marky Mark (sans “Funky Bunch”) plays Vince Papale. In the 1970s when the Philadelphia Eagles were really bad, unlike the ‘60s, ‘80s and ‘90s when they were just completely inept, they hired a new coach named Dick Vermeil who went on to great success and even more crying. Vermeil, looking to shake up the team, holds open tryouts for the Eagles. Half the city of die hard fans show up and one guy, Vince Papale, who is just a fan with no football experience other than being a season ticket holder, makes the team. And that really happened. Incredible. The movie takes a look at his tough life living poor in Philly and is as much about Philly in the ‘70s as it is about Vince or football. It is your basic feel good story
What’s to like:
1. Marky Mark. I can’t claim he’s a great actor, but I always like him. Not even sure why. I’m pretty sure I understand why my wife is also a fan, but I’m certain it’s for a different reason. Anyway, he does a great job in this movie. Very likeable.
2. Elizabeth Banks – She plays the girl. She’s been in a few things, but isn’t a star yet. She will be though. Trust me.
3. The football scenes were fairly authentic, especially for movie scenes and the CGI crowds made the whole thing seem more real
4. All the bad mustaches
5. It told an inspirational story without over doing it or going out of its way just to try to manipulate the audience. Had to be tempting, but they resisted and it worked.
6. The Story is simply great. Unless you are a football fan, you might not be able to appreciate how unlikely it is that this happened, but it did and you gotta love it.
What I could have done without: Dick Vermiel didn’t cry once. That’s a bigger upset than Vince making the Eagles. Just completely ignoring reality. Real Dick Vermiel probably wept watching this movie. I don’t know how or why they missed this.
Characters which are bit stereotyped
Absolutely nothing in this movie that you don’t expect. Nothing. I know, it’s based on a true story, but still. How about a wrinkle?
Who do you like: See above. As a side note, do you think the Funky Bunch sits around somewhere when a new Wahlberg movie comes out and just trashes him as they drink their pathetic lives into oblivion? I prefer to think they’re happy for him, but it seems unlikely.
What’s new: You’ve never seen a true story quite like this. Plus the sports shots were some of the best I’ve ever seen for football. That’s a pretty low bar, but still.
What’s the last word: Good ending. You know what it is already and you see it coming clear as day in the movie, but still good.
Who you should bring: Just about anyone. Not sure what the rating is, so not young kids maybe, but anyone else. Even though it is about football, a non-football fan will still like this movie and I think it would appeal almost equally to men and women.
Where you should watch: You don’t need the big screen for this one, so your couch will be just as good as your local multiplex
What’s the couch rating: I saw this with Tanya, but not on the couch. Still, she liked it and would have stayed awake, even if we started it late….and she’s not a football fan by any stretch.
What my gut tells me: I liked it. I didn’t even want to analyze it too much, because I didn’t want to talk myself out of liking it. It was cheesy, but good.
What it’s like: It is a bit like Miracle. It is a bit like The Rookie.
Where it rates: I would say 7.5 to 8. Certainly worth seeing.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
He Should Have Armed Himself
A few weeks ago, my friends and I got together for “Cut to the Chase” night at my place. We each brought DVDs of our favorite movie chase scene and watched about 3 and a half hours worth of just the chases. It was a blast.
So, following up on that, I’m going to plan a movie night for best shoot out or gun battle scene and I need your help.
If you read this, leave a comment letting me know what your favorite is so we can make our list and that way it will be here for anyone else who might like to do the same thing.
If you don’t read this, then never mind.
Thanks.
So, following up on that, I’m going to plan a movie night for best shoot out or gun battle scene and I need your help.
If you read this, leave a comment letting me know what your favorite is so we can make our list and that way it will be here for anyone else who might like to do the same thing.
If you don’t read this, then never mind.
Thanks.
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