Field Of Dreams

People will watch, James.

It's the least I could do to review this film to try to honor the man himself and once again we come across a movie that involves sports but is much more than that. To be honest I thought I reviewed this film years back but I'm sure glad to review it now. It's certainly an original story about a Iowa farmer who for reasons unknown to him builds a baseball field in his crops, but a fair bit more happens and just isn't a quest to build said field including meeting a renowned and famous author, and recruiting a former baseball player turned doctor. The one thing I really got to praise about this movie is that it really doesn't drag it's feet, it one hour and forty-five minutes and doesn't waste a second. If it was a really lame movie a ¼ if not a ⅓ of the movie would be them slow burning the unknown voice and trying to deduce what it could mean but no 4 minutes in, "If you build it, he will come." and there's no drama about potential insanity and desperately trying to convince his family it's real if anything it's almost hilariously easygoing with this whole voice thing. My gratitude for that is everlasting! It's funny how lowstakes the plot is but it grabs you so effortlessly and holds your attention to end credits. Whether it's the combination of the simple yet homely feel of the directing and cinematography, the score which adds so much atmosphere and gravitas to each moment, or just the acting itself it's a damn fine movie on it's own merits. Kevin Costner as Ray does a good job playing off the absurdity of the concept without making it seem stupid, he's just as dedicated here as any other role he's done. James Earl Jones as fictional author Terence Mann is a joy to watch, I mean he always is but he shined very bright here showing wisdom, warmth, and humor that I feel is a close approximation to the legend himself and made me laugh to beat the band while also getting goosebumps to shoot down my arms. Amy Madigan as Annie while a secondary character is far from a background character injecting a fiery persona, a good bit of humor, and a lemon twist of 60s hippie-dom that's just further proof why I'm a weak willed man in the presence of ginger haired girls. Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe Jackson who doesn't really have a lot of lines conveys a great deal, encapsulated in his first scene where his face and body movement can say so much. I actually like how the movie doesn't even pretend to know why all this is happening, even the baseball players acknowledge they died but have no friggin' clue how they step out of a cornfield to play a game, it's a fairly fun and fancy free kind of movie. Some could argue it's sentimental to the point of saccharin overload but if you're invested I don't think you'll care. Even my non-sports inclinating ass gets the almost love letter monologue from James about how the sport of baseball has always been a constant and is still just as popular as ever, speaking from a household in my youth where my grandparents were Texas Rangers fans and my mom was a New York Yankees fan you can bet your bottom dollar I get the fans of this ball game. I mean, if people didn't love it we wouldn't have filmmakers with so much passion making movies like this or The Sandlot or League Of Their Own. There's something there and it's something people like. Easy recommendation from me even to non-sports fans, solid 3 stars, 7.5/10! And I know there was a certain animated special that came out while I was away so we'll check that out next time!

JFK

It's been nearly 60 years man, and we're still raising hell about it.

Now I will say I am not a historian, and I ain't too keen on politics, I'm just a film critic. But I will say it is quite hard to discuss this film because it handles such a weighty subject, sure I can talk about it's merits, the direction, the cast, all that good stuff and it is a pretty solid film but boy howdy is it a minefield to traverse without getting swept away in the events of that day in 1963. So very briefly, I will state I quite liked Kennedy, I agreed with a good deal of his progressive policies that did in fact one day come true, I think the 1960s were quite possibly the worst political times in american history, with his brother Robert and Dr. King also getting shot, I would not want no part of this country during that time. And the film does such a commendable job showing that every President, could be anybody, has their detractors and haters when they were in office. It really goes to show how far someone will try to obtain the truth as we follow Jim Garrison, a district attorney in New Orleans who pushes and pushes to obtain evidence of the Kennedy assassination despite obstacles of the government and home. I personally have a fair distaste of conspiracies, but the movie does get you thinking and often too about the situation, the evidence, and the events that occured around that ill fated day in Dallas, and I am not devolving through that rabbit hole but I'm sure conspiracy theory fans love this movie and can get even more out of it than I did. The cast is excellent, I mean it throws a good share of big names here but it's the performances that strike true. Even if this was a Kevin Costner vehicle I won't hold much grievance over that because he does deliver such an incredible performance, I never thought of him as that great of an actor though I do like him, but he sure did rise just from this. Yeah he dips his toes into that Atticus Finch pool at the end but I'll be damned if I said it didn't work, it does go on par with To Kill A Mockingbird with that final court scene, and the giant monologue he gives is you know, entirely true, just as powerful, just as relevant, just as important maybe now than ever, I mean I applaud the script writer for just keeping all the strands connected let alone that phenomenal speech at the end. Never to disregard the rest of the cast, I mean holy hell they put their effort into this and made it good, from the big players like Tommy Lee Jones down to brief bits from John Candy (Man that guy was better than we deserved.) so nothing but top notch marks across the board. For my second Oliver Stone movie, I certainly can see his style in direction, editing, and cinematography quite clearly, it all works but you can quickly tell who made this. It's a loooong movie, I totally thought it was a 2 hour standard fare but it goes past 3 hours, and while the pacing is kept expertly I really was not expecting such an extensive movie. But every scene exists for a reason, it's predominantly dialogue heavy yet still keeps your interest, and like I said I am not terribly interested in politics but it still had my attention. I'm not here to fact check everything, I'm here to tell you if it's worth seeing. Yeah. I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10. Hell even if you aren't there for the whole 3 hours watch that final speech, it's up there for me like The Great Dictator's speech. That's good stuff man. We got a new movie incoming tommorrow so see you at the movies.

Let Him Go

Yeah I've sorta seen it before, but I still liked it.

I don't think any groundbreaking storytelling occured in this movie, but I'd be lying through my damn teeth if I said I didn't get very invested and very much enjoyed the movie. The basic story of loving family member trying to rescue loved one from psycho family is nothing new, you've no doubt seen something akin to it. But man, it took 12 minutes for me to get into this film and I was with it till end credits. Which I mostly attribute to the powerhouse royalty that is Diane Lane (my love and admiration for her knows no bounds), and Kevin Costner who I think has set himself up pretty good acting career wise. Okay so, basic gist. Two grandparents are trying to retrieve their grandson after witnessing both him and his mother be abused, as it sort of becomes a hell bent scenario with them travelling abroad to find the boy's whereabouts before meeting an albeit stereotypical but nevertheless serviceable brutish family led by the matriarch, and tensions rise before it kind of goes home invasion/revenge flick. Now despite a forseeable plot, the film does not do a bad job setting up the emotions, the tension, and the payoff. In fact it does a pretty good job, I could have clocked out at any moment and not lost a bit of plot but it just goes to show how well they really wanted to make this movie and it does pay off. I wasn't expecting Hitchcockian suspense and immense bloodshed (though full honesty I was shrieking for blood after seeing that boy and his momma get hit), but the elements presented are done pretty damn good. I believe Diane and Kevin as a couple, a real couple even, you know they don't always agree but their love and dedication to one another even in an extreme situation as this, is felt. They try to bring a touch of depth and give them character, and I say good show. Lesley Mannville really got this part and brought her A-game, again going for more than just a cookie cutter villain which I can appreciate fully but it really is exactly what you imagine. Best character was Peter though, that boy was grand and I really love the actor, Booboo Stevens after seeing just this performance. The film has gorgeous scenery in it, fully utilizing the nature of Montana and North Dakota to make some impressive shots. The genre though is hard to pin, it isn't really a suspense movie or a thriller, there's tension yes but nowhere near the slow burn or anticipation building of staples of those genres, you might even be led to believe it goes full shootout near the end as it becomes a war for this young boy, but again not very true. You get some blood for sure, but not neccesarily a body count. I guess the umbrella term would be a drama, and when you see the film you certainly will agree. Hell I'm probably not even the first person to make the joke of, plot twist this was a prequel to Man Of Steel the whole time! But what a wild shift that would have been, they bugger off to Kansas, change their names to Martha and Jonathan Kent, and raise the last son of Krypton when he crash lands on Earth. I would have been upset not seeing this in the theater if that occured. But anyway, enough of my geeky ramblings. 3 stars, 7.5/10, admirable work for a recognizable story.