Frost/Nixon (***1/2)
With renewed hope and change the first thing that came to mind after watching Frost/Nixon is the old saying ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’ It’s been over 30 years since the infamous interview which felt more like a boxing match between a aging and seasoned champion, Richard Nixon and a novice David Frost and yet it felt relevant to today’s America. You have an unpopular President at that period of time defending his record on war and improprieties in regards to his abuse of power. Sound familiar? This is a very well done film by Ron Howard. Both Frank Langella (as Nixon) and Michael Sheen (as Frost) own the scenes they are in. If you are a political nut or a student of history this becomes a must see film. A great study in journalism and politics and (at least for me) a greater appreciation for the office of the President and the amount of stress that the office shoulders. We tend to forget that our elected officials are flawed human beings first and foremost. They are neither gods nor the devil and even the most “well-intended” of individuals can be blinded by power if not held accountable for their actions.
With hundreds of films to choose from, to list ten best, is almost impossible and highly subjective. But here they are:
10. A League of Their Own (1992)
Yes Virginia, women did play organize baseball. They are even recognized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. This look at baseball’s history deals with the true story of the formation of the All American Pro Girls League. Their creation made possible because of the outbreak of World War 2 that took many male ballplayers away to fight in the war. A fine tribute to those young ladies who kept our national pastime alive and well in a time America needed it most.
9. The Rookie (2002)
Based on a true story, Jim Morris is a Texas high school teacher and baseball coach. As a way to motivate his team, Jim agrees to a professional tryout should they win the championship. Sure enough this 39 year old father of three finds himself at camp for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Despite his ability to throw a 98 mph fastball, Jim spends most of his time languishing in the minors. As fate would have it, he gets called to the majors in time to face the Texas Rangers in his hometown.
8. The Natural (1984)
Roy Hobbs is possibly the greatest fictional hitter in cinema history. As an unknown middle-aged batter, Hobbs takes a losing baseball team to the top of the league with the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree. A lot of fluff but magical just the same.
7. Major League (1989)
It’s been 34 years between division titles for the Cleveland Indians. When their team owner dies, and his former showgirl wife Rachel takes over, she hatches a plan to break the team lease by fielding the worst team of misfits money can buy. The only problem with her plan, the team is not in on it. From voodoo practicing outfielders to ex-convict pitchers, Major League is one of the funniest sports films of all-time.
6. Field of Dreams (1989)
“If you build it, he will come.” That’s the message Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears from his corn field. Ray sets out to build a baseball field. When he does, the ghostly appearances of Shoeless Joe Jackson and members of the 1919 Black Sox arrive, leaving Ray in surreal wonderment. But when the voices continue, Ray seeks out a radical and reclusive author to help him understand its true meaning. A meaning, that will help him reconnect with his dead father.
5. Bad News Bears (1976)
Morris Buttermaker is a former minor leaguer and a lazy, beer drinking bum. He agrees, for a price, to coach a bunch of misfits with no talent called the Bears. With the help of a girl pitcher and a motorcycle riding punk, Buttermaker and his band of misfits set their sights on the little league championship.
4. Bull Durham (1988)
When career minor-leaguer Crash Davis gets assigned to Class A Durham Bulls he becomes mentor to the brash and naïve Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh. But when both are romanced by team groupie Annie Savoy, that’s when the real game of teacher and student begins. Great supporting cast mixing two of our favorite pastimes, sex and baseball.
3. Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush (2007)
The Brooklyn Dodgers were America’s team long before the Dallas Cowboys coined that phrase. From the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to their 1955 David versus Goliath win against the hated uptown Yankees to their move to LA, Ghost of Flatbush is a fitting tribute to fan base and a borough that continues to live on fifty years later.
2. Pride of the Yankees (1942)
This biopic traces the life of Lou Gehrig. From childhood to his Hall Fame career we watch Gehrig’s rise and eventual fall to the deadly nerve disease that would bear his name at the age of 37. Much more than a baseball film, this story is what the human spirit is all about. You will consider yourself lucky to have experience it.
1. Eight Men Out (1988)
Eight Men Out is a based on the true story of the infamous “Black Sox” scandal of 1919. When a labor dispute between members of the White Sox and their powerful owner comes to a head, in enters mobster Arnold Rothstein who hatches a plan for the White Sox to throw the World Series. It is as relevant today as it was 90 years ago.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (***1/2)
If Forrest Gump was an ordinary man living an extraordinary life, than Benjamin Button (played brilliantly by Brad Pitt) is an extraordinary man living an ordinary life. Spanning nearly 90 years, the story of Benjamin Button (loosely based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) is a study on the human spirit and how we can find much beauty in the ordinary. Born in 1918 New Orleans, Benjamin is born an old man with wrinkles and advance arthritis. As he grows younger and ages in reverse he sees over time the people around him grow older and die. When he meets Daisy (Cate Blanchett) the love of his life, she is just a little girl and he is an old man. As time goes by their lives repeatedly intersect one another until eventually they meet in the middle of lives. This is where their love flourishes but not without consequences. As great as the acting is by the ensemble cast which includes Taraji P. Henson as Benjamin’s adoptive mother, Queenie, the true standout of this romantic drama is the technology in both the CGI and makeup. Perhaps a bit longer than it should be at 167 minutes. It is still worthy of our time just the same.
The Reader (***)
While most films that deal with the Holocaust focuses understandably on the victims, THE READER (based on the novel by Berhard Schlink) shifts views and instead its main focus is on the perpetrator. Kate Winslet in an Oscar worthy role plays Hanna Schmitz, a woman who has an affair with Michael (played by David Kross) a 15-year old boy in 1950’s Germany. Ralph Fiennes plays the adult Michael and is told from his perspective. When their not making love on the screen, their time is spent enjoying classic literature as Michael reads to Hanna every afternoon. Call it literary foreplay. Soon thereafter, Hanna disappears without notice, shattering Michael as he returns to “normal” life. A decade would go by before Michael, who is now a law student sees Hanna again under very different circumstances. Hanna, along with several other German women is put on trial for their crimes as an S.S. guard during WW2. Michael is now torn between the justice that he seeks and the knowledge of a secret that may save Hanna from certain persecution. A complex film to be sure, we the audience much like Michael is also torn between what we know of Hanna, who is quite human and fascinating and the hindsight of what we later find out about her and the guilt that follows it. It beckons the question about when does one lose or show humanity under the most inhumane situations.
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