Hammer's Top 10 Must See Sports Movies

Sports movies are not everyone cup of tea, but being the movie buff that I am, I like them nonetheless. From the Little League team I played on as a kid to the beer-league hockey team I play on today, sports has always been a part of my life. So here we go with my top 10 must see sports movies.

10. Jerry Maguire (1996). This movie stars Tom Cruise as a sports agent named Jerry Maguire who one day has a epiphany and is fired for expressing it to all of his fellow sports agents. His new philosophy leads him to only have 1 client, Arizona Cardinals receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who is from Arizona, broke Arizona Records, and went to Arizona State. He's a Sun Devil! He is the only client that stays with him. He also has a secretary named Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger) who stays with him to help with his business. This movie not only a great sports flick, but a great human element with the relationship of Jerry Maguire and Dorthy Boyd. Cuba Gooding Jr. earned a Academy Award for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell. I think I like this movie the most because the Arizona Cardinals actually make the playoffs at a time when they could barely win 5 games. Believe me people, we have suffered our fair share of poor pro football in Arizona. So all you fans out there whose teams have only one or two losing seasons - SHUTTY!

9. The Natural (1984) - Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a average baseball player with "natural" talent during the early 1920's. He ends up getting shot after having a affair with a woman and she bails out a window to her death. The story skips ahead 16 years, where a 35 year old rookie is called up to a fictional National League team the New York Knights. His natural baseball talent helps the Knights race for the pennant. The movie is not just about baseball. It's about, tragedy, triumph, success in America. This is probably one of the best baseball movies of all time.

8. Rudy (1993) - I know there many of you out there who loathe Notre Dame football (including myself) but I really liked this movie. This movie is based on a true story which I think makes it even better. Sean Astin plays Rudy Reuttiger who has always been told he is too small too play college football, especially for his favorite team - Notre Dame. Rudy was not the best student in high school, but he is determined to enroll at Notre Dame to play football. The movie documents the blood sweat and tears it took for Rudy to realize his dream. The movie is a great showcase of determination and perseverance beyond football and shows that you have to work to get what you want in life.

7. Vision Quest - (1985) - I know what your thinking - where did I get this one from? The film stars Mathew Modine as Louden Swain, a high school wrestler who decides he wants to do something with his life. He decides to drop 2 weight classes to wrestle the best high school wrestler in the state of Washington - 3 time state champion Brian Shute who has never been defeated. The twist is that his father rents out a room to a drifter named Carla (Linda Fiorentino) who Swain falls in love and puts his goal in Jeopardy. I guarantee that you will like this movie - check it out - plus Madonna makes a appearance in her first major motion picture.

6. Field of Dreams (1989) - Another top baseball movie for me adopted from the novel by W.P. Kinsella called Shoeless Joe. I read it - its good - check it out (yes, I do read books too). Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a rural Iowa farmer who one day hears a voice that say, "If you build it, he will come". He gets a vision to build a baseball field in his cornfield and does so spontaneously. He builds it right in the middle of his cornfield despite the financial trouble his farm in in. One year passes without incident until one day a ghost appears who turns out to be Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta). The Chicago White Sox come to play - and of course there is more to the story.

5. Seabiscuit (2003) This is the only film I like about horse racing - well its actually more that about horse racing. The film is based on the racing career of a horse named Seabiscuit, who was undersized and overlooked Thoroughbred race horse. The story also follows three men, the jockey named Red Pollard (Tobey Macguire), the owner named Charles S. Howard (Jeff Bridges), and the trainer named Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). The horse rises to fame during The Great Depression and becomes a media sensation and Championship race horse. This film is well done and is a great testament to those he lived during those troubled times.

4. Caddyshack (1980) I am a terrible golfer, but enjoy playing the game whenever I can. This is the first comedy to make the list, but is really a great golf picture I enjoy a lot. If Animal House was a sports movie, it would definitely make the list. But Caddyshack will be close enough to that movie. The film is about the caddies and members at the fictional Bushwood Country Club. The movie is packed full of stars such as Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and the great Rodney Dangerfield. The movie is basically about how this exclusive club must deal with it's caddies and the upcoming caddy tournament, a brash new member, and a destructive gopher. Check it out - its a classic.

3. Major League (1989) This is my favorite baseball movie of all time. Sorry Bull Durham fans, that movie only had a couple of funny parts and can not stand up to this film. This comedy also has a great cast including Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Dennis Haysbert, and the great Bob Uecker. The film is about the fictionalized owner and players of the Cleveland Indians. The owner dies and his ex-showgirl wife inherits the team and intends to move the team to Florida by getting out of a city lease by having low attendance. So she decides to put together the worst team she can to finish in last place. There are great one-liners in this movie and Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle pretty much steals the show.

2. Slap Shot (1977) This movie is about a fictional minor league hockey team named the Charlestown Chiefs in the fictional Federal League. The team is in financial trouble due to the mill closing in town and attendance dwindling. The main character is player coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) who is a con man that manipulates his team to his own advantage. So the team picks up the Hanson Brothers who are all 3 goons on the ice, and are like little kids off the ice. Dunlop plays the 3 brothers in one game and they start creating havoc on the ice. Of course, the fans respond and love it. The team's new style gets them to the championship game versus the Syracuse Bullldogs who have goon players such as Ogie Ogelthorpe and Tim "Dr Hook" McCracken. This movie is beloved by all North American hockey players and fans alike and many have said that this is the best hockey film ever made - well I disagree with that.

1B. Miracle (2004) This is one of the best hockey films ever made and is my number one on my Top 10 must see sports movies. This movie is about the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team lead by coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) who shocked the world by winning the Gold Medal. The movie is mainly around the "Miracle on Ice" when the severe underdog United States team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union in the medal round. Herb Brooks takes over as the coach of USA Hockey and adopts a new practice style and strategy to defeat the Soviet Union. He chooses his team of 20 that was made up of mostly college hockey players. The team goes through its ups and downs leading up to the Olympic Games. The one thing I love about this movie is they actually got actors who play hockey and can skate. No offense to other sports movies out there, but it definitely adds to the realism to the movie. By the way, the United Stated defeated Finland to win the Gold.

1A. Mystery Alaska - 1999 - This is the other best hockey film ever made. The basic premise of the movie is a fictional town called Mystery has the Saturday hockey game that is the event of the week. The team is made up of several townspeople and the Town Sheriff (Russell Crowe) is the "Captain" and the old veteran who has lost a step or two. A article appears in Sports Illustrated that describes the town and their appreciation of hockey that a former resident Charles Danner (Hank Azaria) sets up a game between this team against the New Your Rangers (barf - at least it was not the Red Wings). Anyone who has played pickup hockey or in a beer league will love this movie. There is a lot of banter between teamates that makes it fun. This movie is a little far fetched, but in the end it is a lot of fun. Definately check it out.

Sledge Reviews: Arthur (2011) Starring Russel Brand

Yes, for those of you wondering, this is a remake of the original 1981 hit movie starring Dudley Moore. Unfortunately, this one falls short - way short - of creating the same charm and wit of the original.

Sure, I admit it, I loved Dudley Moore's version of Arthur and generally find Russell Brand funny, but this was a mild stinker - the kind of stinker that you have to see with a serious buzz on to find funny at any level. Don’t get me wrong, this movie had its moments and I laughed (I think twice,) but that's not enough for me to call this movie a “comedy,” let alone recommend it to anyone (who is sober.)

Brand is normally enjoyable to watch on screen, but his delivery in this flick was uneven, poorly edited, and lacked style which would have made it much more enjoyable. The writers (yes there were 2 stiffs involved and they were both asleep at the wheel) and the director seemed to miss obvious opportunities to make the audience laugh, but instead resorted to gags I have heard or seen a dozen times before. Unfortunately, the best lines were in the trailer so they failed to make an impact during the actual showing.  

Jennifer Garner looked good at times, but her character was like watching Sybil (circa 2011). Her mood swings were wild, but not nearly as bad as her father’s character played by the freeze-dried Nick Notle who wasn’t defrosted all the way from the cryo-freezer before walking onto the set. He was more than stiff and seemed like he wanted to be somewhere else during the few scenes he was in. He was just awful.

Helen Mirren was the only person in this movie who earned their paycheck. She played Hobson with the grace and elegance we’ve come to expect from her, and without her work in this movie, I would have walked out half way through.

Greta Gerwig’s character came across as having to deliver lines once written for Arthur (and cut from the script) and she lacked any depth to stand on her own. She was boring and uninteresting. Maybe the writers forgot to watch the first version of Arthur since they seemed to miss the point of this movie.

As for the ending... I thought for a moment the writers were going to take us down a different path than the original and leave Arthur poor (which I think would have been better), but they didn’t. They let me down and took the easy way out in the final scene. They should have taken the chance to change the ending since the rest of their movie was crap. My popcorn was excellent and there were only two other people in the theatre which helped make the experience a little more tolerable, but...

Skip this one until it’s on DVD. Then light up a doobie, drinks two shots of whiskey while raising a toast to Dudley Moore, and then pop this below average movie into the DVD player and give it a go.

Paperaxle Reviews "Rio"

Well, I really wanted to like this film. I can't really explain why I didn't.

Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) is the last blue macaw in the world. As a baby, he was smuggled from his home in sunny Rio de Janeiro and left alone in snowy Moose Lake, Minnesota, where he is adopted by a young girl, Linda (Leslie Mann).

Fifteen years later, a biologist from Rio de Janeiro tracks down Blu and asks Linda if he can use Blu to mate with the last female blue macaw in the world, Jewel (Anne Hathaway) to repopulate the species. Linda obliges, tales Blu to Rio to meet Jewel and they are both kidnapped by a cockatoo named Nigel and delivered to some smugglers... is this review sounding just as bad to me as it is to you?

The macaws escape from the smugglers, and spend the rest of the 96 minute movie trying to get Blu back to Linda, but since Blu doesn't know how to fly, it makes things difficult. They meet up with Rafael (played by George Lopez), a toucan who tries to teach Blu how to fly. Because the movie takes place in Rio de Janeiro, of course they're going to have the plot revolve around Carnival. And I can't make this synopsis sound any better no matter how hard I try.

There are some interesting characters that Blu and Jewel meet along the way, including a bulldog named Luiz (played by Tracy Morgan), Pedro the cardinal (Will.i.am) and Nico the canary (Jamie Foxx). So the film isn't a total loss.

I guess my problem is with Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Blu. After seeing him in "The Social Network", I have an image of him as a total nerd who can't do comedy (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Even though he was in "Zombieland", he wasn't a standout to me. Blu comes off as rather stiff and uninteresting, and I would have rather seen someone who can bring more comedy to the character... maybe even Seth Rogen or Zach Galifinakis would have been a better choice.

The movie also seemed full of padding. When you think the movie is nearly over, along comes another twist that adds to the running time. How many times can Blu be kidnapped in an hour and a half? By my count, at least three.

The movie is bright and colorful, and children loved it. Me, I'm just flipping it the bird. Starts Friday, April 15th.

Sledge and Hammer's Review of: Source Code

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga. Written by Ben Ripley and directed by Duncan Jones.

Crashed Army helicopter pilot Capt. Colter Stevens finds himself inserted in the source code apparently without his knowledge. He wakes up on the Monday morning train heading for Chicago, where he’s hijacked someone else’s body and mind while sitting across from Christina, played by Michele Monaghan.

Captain Stevens has eight minutes to find the terrorist responsible for planting the bomb that will destroy the train. He fails on the first attempt and returns to his containment pod where he is debriefed until it’s time for his military handlers to send him back in. Stevens soon discovers that each reentry to the past is slightly different leading him to the realization that not everything is set in stone.

Overall, this film makes excellent use of special effects while reliving the same eight minutes multiple times from slightly different perspectives. The multi-layered plot leads the audience down a windy path of discovery as Stevens attempts to complete his mission.  The writing is crisp, with no wasted lines or useless scenes. The director even manages to toss-in a few red herrings to throw would-be sleuths off the scent. Both of us were kept guessing as to the true identify of the bomber - not an easy feat.

Capt. Stevens’ character is well written and Gyllenhaal gives him a welcomed freshness instead of portraying the soldier with the usual stiffness associated with a combat pilot. Unfortunately, Michelle Monaghan’s character was simply fluff and a rudimentary mechanism for Gyllenhaal's character to ask questions and reveal information to the audience. Monaghan seemed one dimensional and not much of an emotional tool as we think she was intended to be. On the other hand, Vera Farmiga’s character as Goodwin was handled well. She was dynamic, emotionally sympathetic to Stevens’ plight, and an important plot-driving force.  

The only complaint we had was the ending.

While it’s right on point and it totally worked, the climax did seem a little rushed and poorly handled leaving us scratching our heads a bit. The writers threw out a few science buzz words along the way hoping it would explain the physics behind the technology, but it made it even more confusing. Maybe this was done on purpose, hoping we would shell out another $10 to see the film again just to understand the science.

Discounting the week technical basis and the rushed ending, this flick is worth seeing and great ride. Well done and recommended for all science fiction fans.