We Are Marshall

So what's better than a sports movie? A sports movie with underdogs! As a movie lover, there are few things better than rooting for the underdog against some behemoth favorite. And wouldn't you know it? Most of the best underdogs are the real ones. Take the true story of the 1971 season for the Marshall Thundering Herd football team. A remarkable story, one that was turned into one of the most underrated sports movies around, 2006's We Are Marshall.

It's November 14, 1970 and the Marshall football team has just lost a late-season game to East Carolina. Flying back to campus in Huntington, the plane crashes just a mile short of the runway, killing all 75 people on-board including the coaching staff and most of the team. It is a tragedy that rocks the campus and college town, leaving the administration to decide if the next football season should be suspended. Following raucous, loyal support from the fans, Marshall decides to go forward with the upcoming season, hiring a little-known but energetic coach, Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey), to build the program up from nothing. With just a trio of players remaining from the team, Lengyel has his work cut out for him as one barrier and roadblock after another awaits. As Jack says though, sometimes it's more than just about winning. It's about giving it your all.

What a crazy, incredible true story. Director McG turns in a gem, an excellent sports story that hits all the right notes. It's difficult watching this in 2016 without thinking "How would a tragic incident like this play out in '16?" Like so many other sports movies tend to do, 'Marshall' actually does a good job of sticking to the truth, to the real-life people and events that developed following the plane crash. Maybe some smaller, quieter moments are tweaked and twisted, but the history and guts of the story are spot-on. That really appeals to me because McG and Co. aren't pandering to the audience for emotional responses. It's a heartfelt story about how the people, the students, the families, the football players coped with such a horrific. life-taking incident.

This is an interesting leading part for star Matthew McConaughey, featuring some of the best of his work. He plays Jack Lengyel, a coach who takes on the gargantuan task of starting a program from the ground-up with just three returning players, no coaching staff and lingering doubts about if they should do this. McConaughey brings a ton of energy to the part, and that's what Marshall needs. Quirky, funny, and very real, it is an excellent performance. He's taking on this difficult job for all the right reasons, which we see in a couple of the movie's most effective scenes. In the football scenes, he throws himself into the action with reckless abandon and it shows, adding something necessary to the proceedings. This isn't a part that will go down as one of McConaughey's best, but I certainly think it should. He's rarely been better.

Watching the new coach arrive, we see how he interacts with so many different people in so many different ways. In a movie featuring several very strong performances, Matthew Fox is a scene-stealer as Red Dawson, a coach who was supposed to be on the doomed plane but changed plans last second. Now, he's dealing with horrific amounts of survivor's guilt. His scenes with McConaughey are heart-breaking, funny, and like two brothers getting to know each other. Next up, Anthony Mackie (a favorite here) as Nate Ruffin, a star player who wasn't on the plane and now feels he must start up the team again as if it is his calling. He pushes and pushes himself through injury and the pain of losing his teammates. And last but not least, David Strathairn as Marshall President Donald Dedmon, tasked with making the decision to not suspend the football team and then back Jack in his crazy plan to get the team going again. Three excellent supporting parts.

Because this isn't a movie just about football, also look for Ian McShane as the father of one of the players who died in the accident. His son was engaged to a cheerleader, Annie (Kate Mara), who similarly struggles with what to do in the wake of the crash. January Jones and Kimberly Williams-Paisley have thankless roles as the coaches' wives.

Running 131-minutes, 'Marshall' covers a ton of ground with a lot of characters, but things never feel too rushed. We go from the crash to the aftermath to the coaching hire to building the team, practice through the first two games. The football -- from the practices to the games -- has a great energy, especially the movie's last game as Marshall looks to do the impossible. The soundtrack? A drum-heavy college marching band playing as the different plays develop, drumming in step with the on-screen action. It's a cool, stylish moment that anyone who's ever been to a college sport event with a marching band will definitely appreciate. The soundtrack itself is heavy with some classic 1970's rock, adding another welcome, nostalgic layer to the story.

A gem, one that as I read some critics' reviews, I see I may be on an island with my love of 'Marshall'! I'm a sucker for sports movies across the board, but this one is really, really good. Highly recommended.

We Are Marshall (2006): *** 1/2 /****

The Firm

So this John Grisham fella, he's a pretty decent writer I hear. A specialist in legal thrillers, Grisham has a long list of bestselling books to his name. Growing up though in the 1990s, I was at that age where neither the books nor the film adaptations really appealed to me. In 1995, 10-year old me wasn't too interested in the world of law. Go figure. The positive? 20-something me has gotten to catch up with both the books and the movies! Today's flick is 1993's The Firm.

Graduating from Harvard Law School, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) has the world at his fingertips. Job offers from countless impressive, prestigious law firms are flowing in, and Mitch is able to make the decision on his own. He accepts an offer from Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a small, tax/accounting firm in Memphis. Their offer blows the others out of the water, and everything about the firm seems too good to be true. The family-like atmosphere appeals to Mitch so with his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), he moves to Memphis with his new house, new Mercedes and new job. He fully commits himself, a talented lawyer pushing himself to his absolute limit and testing his marriage with Abby because he's so committed to making this job work. His goals are pure, but maybe the job isn't? Mitch begins to suspect there's far more going on behind closed doors than he's being told. What secrets is the firm holding?

I'm a book nerd too on top of my movie nerdiness. If there's a book available of a forthcoming flick, I'll typically try and read the book first, and this Grisham novel/adaptation combo was no different. One of the author's most famous books, The Firm was an excellent read. Well-written, good story, cool/interesting characters. The film adaptation from director Sydney Pollack has all those ingredients and for the most part, works pretty well. It was filmed on-location in Memphis with the city serving an excellent backdrop to the story. The characters are fascinating, and the cast is impressive in its depth and talent. I don't usually criticize soundtracks, but I thought this Memphis blues (with a lot of piano) infused score was a big flop overall as well, to the point the score becomes a distraction because it didn't fit with the tone and rhythm.

Now onto one of my movie theories. Ah, screw it, theories in general! I call it the Christmas Eve theory. Do you want to know what your presents are or is the mystery and the build-up and the anticipation the best part? The mystery here works in a big way -- we're talking epic SENSE OF DOOM -- and the payoff does too. No Spoilers here though, sorry. It's the execution after the reveal that didn't work as well for me. The screenplay takes some giant liberties with Grisham's novel, making changes that severely alter characters, the entire story, the motivations and the payoff in the end. It's a long movie to begin with at 154 minutes, but I found myself drifting in the second half. There's some really intense, life and death chase scenes that are exhilarating to watch but things get disjointed in a big way. The ensemble gets lost in the shuffle, and the scene with the payoff feels almost laughable. Talk about a disappointment in the finale.

With all that said, the movie is still worth watching. Starting with Cruise, the cast is pretty impeccable. In quite a string of successful movies, Cruise is an excellent lead. Reading the book, he wasn't what I thought Mitch would look like, but the casting works. Cruise brings the right amount of confidence and smarts and then intense terror to the character. This isn't a flawless character -- thankfully -- but an interesting one. Of the supporting performances, I thought Gene Hackman was the best. Go figure, Gene Hackman being good at acting! He plays Avery Tolar, a partner at Bendini and Mitch's mentor who's supposed to take the young lawyer under his wing as he preps for the BAR exam. Their scenes as they meet and get to know each other feature some of the movie's strongest scenes. It's two actors going toe to toe, one holding the firm's secret, one trying to carve a niche out for himself.

Who else to look out for? LOTS of folks. Start with Hal Holbrook and Jerry Hardin as two heads of the firm who recruit Mitch to join Bendini. Wilford Brimley and his impressive mustache are quite imposing (and unintentionally funny at one line) as DeVasher, the firm's head of security. Helping Mitch figure out exactly what's going on are Gary Busey as a private detective and Holly Hunter as his sexy Southern secretary. Pushing Mitch to make a life-altering decision are some government officials -- cough FBI cough -- in the form of Ed Harris (with a shaved head and angry demeanor) and Steven Hill (taking a break from Law and Order). And also, look for David Straithairn as Mitch's brother, Ray, who has a secret that could cripple them all. Last but not least, also look for Paul Sorvino, Tobin Bell, Dean Norris, Margo Martindale, and Joe Viterelli in some other key supporting parts I don't want to give too much away about.

I wanted to like this movie more than I did. All the potential is certainly there from the cast to the novel to the directing (Pollack is a favorite of mine). It just never quite lives up to that potential. The first half is better than the second half, but the ending disappoints, limping to the finish. I sound like that guy, but the book is better than the movie. Oh, and Tom Cruise runs for his life around Memphis a lot so there's that.

The Firm (1993): ** 1/2 /****

Godzilla (2014)

Ah, Godzilla, a name that has resonated with movie fans for almost 60 years now dating all the way back to the Japanese monster's debut in 1954 with the original Gojira. Everyone's favorite King of the Monsters has starred in over 20 movies and is one of the most iconic movie characters to ever grace the screen. I was more than curious when I found out the Godzilla franchise was getting a reboot and downright psyched when I saw the trailers for the new film. What's the verdict for 2014's reboot Godzilla? Read on and find out.

It's 1999 near the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant by Tokyo and plant supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is tracking a weird anomaly that his supervisors aren't nearly as worried about. In a violent, destructive explosion, the plant is destroyed, Joe's wife killed in the accident. The incident is identified as an earthquake, but Joe suspects something else. Some 15 years later, Joe's son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is now an explosive ordinance disposal technician with a wife and son...who's still dealing with his Dad. Joe has been arrested near the quarantined Janjira plant, Ford flying to Japan to bail him out. There's more though. Looking for answers, father and son head back into the quarantined plant looking for answers only to get caught again. What waits inside? More than they were counting on including a creature unlike any the world has ever seen before. It is a creature that threatens to tear the world apart, leaving waste and destruction wherever it goes. There's more though, another creature that's the stuff of myth and legend. It could save us or kill us.

If a studio wants to do a reboot, do it right and with a franchise that needs and/or deserves one. The Godzilla franchise certainly deserves one. This is the 30th Godzilla movie and first for American audiences since the awful 1998 version which was too goofy and campy for its own good. For starters, the 2014 reboot gets points for taking things seriously. The trailers were exceptionally good, setting the tone for what was to come. Director Gareth Edwards (who directed the somewhat similar Monsters) has done an admirable job with a story that tries to tackle a whole lot. That plot description was difficult to write because, well, you can write it without actually mentioning that Godzilla fella. Still, it reboots the franchise while creating its own identity, especially Godzilla's backstory, one of the best things to come out of the script in a very cool, unique twist. The original has Godzilla forged out of nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s, but that ain't the case here. No spoilers here though. Go see the movie!

Here's somewhat of a warning. Don't go into this movie expecting two hours of Godzilla fighting and tearing apart cities. Nope, instead Edwards goes for the more subtle, even artsy attack similar to what Steven Spielberg did with his 1975 classic Jaws where the shark wasn't shown in full until the final act. It's not so extreme here thankfully! That said, Godzilla isn't front and center for long stretches of a 123-minute movie. What's there is excellent, by far the strongest parts of the movie. We see the King of the Monsters out of focus, in shadows and hidden away, building up the mystery and the tension so when we actually see him....yeah, it's epic and awesome and perfect, exactly what you're looking for. On other levels, the look of the creature is perfect and back to basics. It's the immense reptilian character with the long tail and razor-sharp back plates that looks like a gigantic sea creature/dinosaur. Oh, and that Godzilla yell (Listen HERE). Yes, it's there and it's great.

Semi-SPOILERS ahead. Semi-SPOILERS. So where does the story go? Godzilla treads that fine line between King of the Monsters who destroys the world and King of Monsters who's the lesser of two evils and somewhat unintentionally becomes a protector of Earth and mankind. Who does he go up against? Two creatures dubbed MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) who have been separated and trying to reunite. Yes, this movie isn't just about Godzilla. It starts off in Japan and heads across the Pacific to San Francisco and into the Nevada desert and Las Vegas and then back again. The fights between the MUTOs and Godzilla are epic, the movie's strongest points and what most people/fans/audiences want to see when they go see a Godzilla movie. The action sequences are remarkable, CGI that doesn't look like CGI as these monsters do battle. They're everything that the Transformers often missed out on, even last year's Pacific Rim. It's CGI, but it doesn't get bogged down. These are just COOOOOOOOOOOL sequences. END OF SPOILERS

Oh yeah, those pesky people in the movie. No huge names here, and that's a positive. There's good and bad among the human cast. I liked Cranston a lot, bringing the right of drama without overdoing it, especially his scenes with his wife (Juliette Binoche). Johnson becomes the more prototypical action hero, the E.O.D. technician seemingly everywhere as Godzilla and Co. traverse the globe. His Ford is given a worrying wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and cute kid. As for the military personnel, look for the always reliable David Straithairn as the Admiral in charge of the operation while Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins are the two scientists who may know more than they're letting on. Nothing crazy good or crazy bad, just necessary parts. Cranston stands out for the positive, and Johnson holds his own without calling too much attention to himself.

What the trailers seemed to hint at and Edwards came through on was the "smart" aspect of the movie. This isn't a dumb, shoot 'em up action movie with prehistoric monsters tearing apart the world. The build-up is a little slow for the first hour, but it does a heck of a job building the tension to almost unbearable levels. When we do see Godzilla and his prehistoric rivals, it's almost like a release/relief to finally see them. It's a great-looking, stylistic, even artsy visual look for 'Godzilla.' Some sequences especially stood out for me, including our first real look at Godzilla as we get landfall in Hawaii, tsunamis, explosions, airports blowing up, and all sorts of shenanigans going on. It's big and sweeping like you'd hope to see. The coolest sequence though is a HALO jump into an on-fire, apocalyptic San Francisco, SEAL teams and specialists dropping into the city in a last ditch effort to save thousands of lives. Set to music from 2001: A Space Odyssey (listen HERE), this is a remarkable sequence, beautifully haunting and proof that action can have an art quality to it.

Well, here I sit. I didn't love the movie, but I did like it a lot. I'll be curious to see where this rebooted franchise heads in coming years -- should sequels be in the works. For now, this is an excellent attempt to reboot one of the most iconic, infamous characters/creatures in film history. An easy flick to recommend, and a hopefully excellent start to the summer blockbuster season. Also check out THIS excellent teaser trailer.

Godzilla (2014): ***/****

The Bourne Legacy

With three movies over a five year span, the Bourne trilogy starring Matt Damon was a spy series with its own personal style, a James Bond for a new, younger movie-going audience. There was an odd perfection in those movies and all their frenetic, generally crazy pacing. But following the last movie in the trilogy, 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, Damon said he wanted out. Never one to give up on a successful series, Hollywood did...well....um....uh...they basically remade The Bourne Identity. Anyways, here's 2012's The Bourne Legacy.

Working with a top secret program funded out of the C.I.A. called 'Outcome,' secret agent and killer Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) tests off the charts compared to the agency's other agents. A product of some medical advancements, Aaron is smarter, quicker and stronger. His superiors (Stacy Keach and Edward Norton among others) though are in some serious trouble, their operations possibly coming into the limelight because of Jason Bourne's "treacherous" actions. Rather than face serious legal repercussions if their own actions are revealed, they torch Outcome, killing everyone involved. Aaron is among the targets but escapes. Now he's looking for some answers, starting with another survivor of the burn, Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz).

I'm not sure where to start with this quasi-Bourne movie. I went in with some expectations if not especially high ones. The Damon trilogy is the rare trilogy that I thought improved with each passing movie. 'Identity' is pretty damn good on its own so that's saying something. Once Damon wanted out though, the series/franchise has to take a twist. I can't help but wonder how director Tony Gilroy's film would have done without the 'Bourne' moniker floating over its head. Knowledge of the first three movies will certainly help, but it's not essential going into this 2012 sequel. Sorry to say though I came away highly disappointed with this newest venture. Building off the Bourne name and success, sure, there's potential, but it ends up being one big, boring, repetitive mess.

Clocking in at a very long 135 minutes, 'Legacy' is 16 minutes longer than any of the previous three movies.....and that IS NOT a good thing. This is a story that needed tightening up. The first hour is sluggish even as we bounce all over the world in a convoluted circle of information, worried looks, and menacing stares. I suppose somewhere in there was an explanation for the story, but I missed it. Long story short? Treadstone, Blackbriar and now Outcome all top each other, one agency becoming more efficient and effective than its predecessor. On the whole, the issue is simple. This is a movie that drifts far too much. The three Damon ventures are frenetically paced to the point where you feel like running home after seeing them. Not here. I was bored, legitimately bored, and counting down the minutes until it was over.

So there's the issue. It seems that Gilroy (who also co-wrote the script) wanted to use the Bourne moniker to get people in the door but from there on in was going to distance itself from those previous films. Unfortunately, the story is basically a rehash of The Bourne Identity. Everything...everything feels like we've seen this before right down to the government war rooms, action scenes, and never-ending chases. In the process somewhere, there must have been an ending too, but it didn't make the final cut. Impressive action scene ends, Cross is semi-happy and cue Moby's Extreme Ways. Oh, oops, my bad. I guess the movie is over. There is no resolution, and not even a huge jumping off point for a sequel. The movie just ends. That's all.

Continuing to springboard off his success from The Hurt Locker, Renner is a very solid lead as Aaron Cross. First off and most important, he doesn't try to be Jason Bourne. He's his own man/character. Aaron's background seems wasted though. There's a layer in there about how he came to be an agent and why he's so driven now that is highly interesting, but nothing much comes of it. Either way, Renner is the best thing going for her. Weisz is a fine actress, but she's nearly unbearable here; shrill, loud and in full-on damsel in distress mode. Norton is the biggest waste here, given NOTHING to do, as Outcome's director while Keach has to look mean and growl. Previous Bourne actors Scott Glenn, Joan Allen, Albert Finney and David Straithairn are around for brief, blink and you'll miss parts. Louis Ozawa Changchien is very cool as Larx 3, an assassin without the glitches of previous agents while Oscar Isaac is memorable as paranoid Outcome Agent No. 3 who a curious Aaron meets early on.

The action for the most part is disappointingly and surprisingly kept in the background, much of it saved for the finale, a foot-turned-motorcycle chase in the crowded streets of Manila. While the stunts are impressive, they still have that rehashed feel to them. That's the movie. There are some very cool moments -- Aaron manipulating a tracker in a unique way via an animal, Aaron's explanation of his past -- but they never amount to anything. Very sorry to give this a low rating if for nothing else than the original three movies set the bar so high. Renner is a good choice to take the reins, but that's about it here.

The Bourne Legacy <---trailer (2012): **/****

Memphis Belle

My favorite book, Joseph Heller's Catch 22, is a fictional account of American bombers in World War II flying over Italy, trying to survive the lunacy and craziness of war. It is an intensely funny story in its dark humor. At its base though, the story of the pilots and crews of the bombers and fighters is an incredibly heroic story, like it is documented in 1990's Memphis Belle.

It's May 1943 and World War II is very much still up for grabs. On a daily basis, hundreds of Allied planes fly over Europe -- especially France and Germany -- bombing key targets, but the daytime raids have produced heavy casualties. Among the crews of the Eighth Air Force is the Memphis Belle, a B-17 bomber commanded by Capt. Dearborn (Matthew Modine) with co-pilot Luke Sinclair (Tate Donovan), navigator Phil Lowenthal (D.B. Sweeney) and bombardier Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane). The Belle has made it through 24 missions virtually unscathed and now sits one mission away from being rotated home. Army public relations (including smarmy John Lithgow) has caught wind of the remarkable story and plans to make national heroes out of the crew. The 25th mission awaits though, a heavily guarded factory deep in Germany in the city of Bremen. Can the Belle's luck hold out once more?

The reviews from critics and fans are fairly positive, but not quite as positive as I thought they'd be. I loved this movie. It is cliched at times and relies on some well-worn story points, but the cliches have to come from somewhere, right? Like so many of the best war movies, director Michael Caton-Jones doesn't glorify war and all its brutality. Instead, he glorifies the men who fought the war. What they did regardless of personal beliefs and convictions was heroic, putting their lives on the line. Add in the element of being so close to going home, and that heroism and fear is ratcheted up. Even in the mission, there are moments where Modine's Captain could basically save them all, but they continue on with the objective. They fight through their worries, concerns and fears, working together to accomplish something bigger than them.

I was somewhat surprised that the movie focuses exclusively on that last mission, the 25th, because I was expecting more of a tour of duty story. Glad I was wrong though because having the story take place over 24 hours is a stroke of genius. The tension, the impending doom, the possibility of failure keep 'Belle' moving at a lightning pace. Much of the last 2/3 of the movie is set entirely in the Belle, giving a claustrophobic, closed in feel. You feel like you're flying over Germany with the crew, almost willing the plane and crew to make it. Not surprisingly, the mission doesn't go off without a hitch. The tension is unbearable as the mission continues, right up until the ending. Is it ever really in doubt? Not really, but Caton-Jones does a great job of at least keeping you guessing. Credit to him for keeping the viewers on their toes. 

The ensemble cast here assembled is interesting because in 1990, these were a lot of rising stars. The catch? None of them ever became truly huge stars. The story at 106 minutes manages to give each member of the crew some much-needed characterization. It's not in-depth by any means, but we at least get a sense of who these men are. Modine, Donovan, Sweeney and Zane are nicely cast as the officers of the Belle. No one truly stands out because they're all just solid. That's a positive if it didn't come out that way. The crew includes Eric Stoltz (radioman), Sean Astin (ball turret), Harry Connick Jr. (tail gunner), Reed Diamond (nose gunner), and Courtney Gains and Neil Giuntoli as the waist gunners. Stoltz as the intellectual and Connick Jr. (even getting a chance to sing) stand out from the group. Also worth mentioning is David Strathairn as the group commander, making the most of a small part.

As far as war movies go, 'Belle' has a handful of truly powerful, moving sequences that make it memorable, rising above so many others. Connick Jr. sings Danny Boy quietly the night before the final mission to a silent hangar packed with people (watch it HERE). Riding out to the plane, the crew softly sings Amazing Grace to themselves. It could have been too artsy or pretentious, but it works. Arguing with Lithgow's PR officer, Strathairn reads letters he's received from the families of his pilots and crew members killed in action. The mission itself has too many moments like that, the feeling like you've been punched in your throat. It's the type of moments that make a good movie a great one.  You can watch the entire movie HERE at Youtube.

Memphis Belle <---trailer (1990): ****/****

Eight Men Out

Growing up a sports fan in Chicago, I learned to love the White Sox from an early age, going to countless games with my Dad over the years. The 2005 team that won the World Series is still one of the coolest moments of my life to this point and is something I'll never forget. But as much as I love the Sox, they will always be responsible for one of the darkest moments in baseball history, and bigger than that, professional sports. In 1919, eight players (allegedly) took money to fix the World Series, losing to Cincinnati. Their story was immortalized in 1988's Eight Men Out, one of the all-time underrated sports movies.

Tearing through the American League and winning the pennant, the Chicago White Sox, led by five-tool player Joe Jackson (D.B. Sweeney) and 29-game winner Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn), head into the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds the heavy favorites. Gamblers from Chicago to New York City see a chance for a big payday, starting by approaching Sox first baseman Chick Gandil (Michael Rooker) to see if enough players would be interested in throwing the series for a payoff. The plan sounds awful. How could professional ballplayers on one of the best teams ever assembled throw the championship? Having been mistreated and poorly paid for years by owner Charles Comiskey (Clifton James) though, Gandil finds suitors, finally settling on eight players, some more committed than others. When the best-of-nine series starts though, will the players go through with it?

As a sports fan, there is something incredibly uncomfortable about watching this movie. As a Sox fan, there is something really unpleasant watching the story unfold. The details of the Black Sox scandal plagued the franchise for years, the 2005 World Series team finally wiping some of the embarrassment away. Just as a sports fan and a baseball fan, you feel wrong watching something like this. 'Eight' neither condemns nor makes the eight players into heroes. Some like Eddie Cicotte are looking for money as his career winds down, Gandil is looking for a quick payday, and others like Jackson and third baseman Buck Weaver (John Cusack) aren't even sure they should be involved. Director John Sayles simply tells his story, and lets the viewer come to his own conclusions.

Any fan of sports, history, or doesn't live under a rock is at least somewhat familiar with this incident. Eight players were kicked out of baseball two years later for throwing at least part of the 1919 World Series although it's a personal judgment call as to whether all eight were guilty. In other words, you know how the story will end before it starts. Sayles takes on that challenge, directing a story that never failed to keep me interested. He builds a sense of doom throughout as the series develops, the fix clearly in. Cicotte's signal that he's going along with the fix -- hitting Game 1's first batter -- is a simple but surprising and even shocking moment. It is very real from here on in, and with one pitch things changed forever for baseball. The series bounces back and forth, even the Sox questioning if they should go along when their promised pay isn't provided. Give Sayles credit. He made the known content of history interesting, keeping us guessing.

With at least 30 or 40 speaking roles, a handful of performances still manage to rise to the top. Cusack especially as 3B Buck Weaver is a scene-stealer, a hard-nosed baseball player who claimed to the day he died he had nothing to do with the fix. He sees what's going on around him but is basically helpless to do anything. Sweeney plays Jackson as the immensely talented but naive Shoeless Joe, a player caught up in something bigger than he is. He knows nothing else other than baseball, and to this day fans still say he played as hard as ever in the 1919 Series. The movie's final shot focuses on Jackson, an incredibly moving closing. Strathairn as Eddie Cicotte delivers an understated but very effective performance, a pitcher who sees the finish line in sight, a man who's been mistreated by his boss, the dirt-cheap Charles Comiskey. John Mahoney plays Kid Gleason, the Sox manager who sees what's going on but is helpless to stop it.

That's far from all though, just the best of the bunch. The other players include Rooker's Gandil, Charlie Sheen as Happy Felsch, Don Harvey as shortstop Swede Risberg, Gandil's conniving partner, James ReadPerry Lang as Lefty Williams, a southpaw and second pitcher in on the fix, and as Fred McMullin, a little-used benchwarmer. Gordon Clapp, Bill Irwin and Jace Alexander play members of the Sox playing it straight come game-time. Michael Lerner plays Arnold Rothstein, big-time gambler putting the money up for the fix, with Christopher Lloyd, Kevin Tighe and Michael Mantell as other gamblers involved. Sayles and Eight Men Out author Eliot Asinof are good playing off each other as two sports writers suspicious of what's going on with the White Sox on the field.   

Good or bad, shown in a positive or negative light, there is something to be said for a baseball movie (of which there are too few). The baseball action is handled in exciting fashion without getting bogged down. The actors look like baseball players, appearing very natural on the field. The late 1910/early 1920s look of the movie doesn't hurt either, fans coming out to the stadium wearing suits. Throw away just about anything else though, and baseball and its simple beauty make up the heart of the movie. Even in the sport's darkest days, it is great to watch. Why it isn't remembered more fondly I'll never know.

Eight Men Out <---trailer (1988): ****/****

Son of the Morning Star

One of the more controversial and debated figures in American history is George Armstrong Custer, the cavalry officer who infamously led his men to massacre against the Plains Indians in 1876 at the Little Big Horn. Was he a heroic leader or an idiotic, glory-happy fool? Movie portrayals of Custer have covered that gamut, both in literal retellings of the story and also those based on Custer but with a different name. Errol Flynn played him as a noble, brave officer with no faults. Robert Shaw was more of a middle ground, a strong leader who nonetheless had flaws that led to his downfall. At the other end of the spectrum is 1991's Son of the Morning Star, a more revisionist look at the Custer legend in the form of a TV miniseries.

I've long been aware of this miniseries, both in its book form (this non-fiction epic) and here as 3-hour TV movie. Right up there with the siege of the Alamo, Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn has always fascinated me. I don't know why, but something about a last stand expresses a courage (however foolhardy) and a look at life that is hard to express.  Netflix has it available to watch on Instant watch so I was finally able to catch up to this hard-to-find movie. Like the man its based on, it is a deeply flawed telling with problems that threaten to derail the whole thing. In the end though, the positives outweigh the negatives.

In the months following the Civil War as the United States looks to expansion into the west, George Armstrong Custer (Gary Cole) is posted to a frontier fort in command of the 7th Cavalry. The Civil War hero makes the most of his posting, becoming a famed Indian fighter as his regiment battles the Sioux and Cheyenne on the plains.  In the process though of creating his reputation, Custer rubs many around him the wrong way, from his regiment's officer to politicians and generals back in Washington DC to the public at large. His fame continues to grow, and it goes to his head to a point, convincing himself that he is invincible.  But as the Indian wars escalate, a fight is on the horizon in the Black Hills in the Dakotas, and Custer and the 7th seem destined to play a major role in the conflict. Glory and possibly death awaits them on the Little Big Horn River.

My first reaction of Gary Cole playing Custer was of confusion. I'm used to him in Office Space, The Brady Bunch movies, and any number of other worthwhile comedies.  He was still a virtual unknown in 1991 and brings Custer to life. He doesn't try and make him a likable character, not in the least. His Custer is a gloryhound, a braggart, a bit of an idiot even. He is also a capable leader with drive and motivation, sure that he can handle everything put in front of him. What works is that Cole (committing to a brutally honest portrayal of Custer as in the book) goes all the way in playing this historical figure. He doesn't pull up and go for sympathy. This is Custer, the hero, the fool, the man, and through all its flaws, you get the sense of who the man really was.  He was good and bad. He wasn't just a hero or just an incompetent braggart. George Custer was all of those things.

The biggest complaint though here is one I usually have with revisionist takes on history. It tries too hard to strip away all the romance and legend, telling a historical story with all its warts and blemishes. Call it white man's guilt, but this story goes for a more politically correct angle. The Plains Indians are the noble warriors, and the cavalry troopers are the bloodthirsty, murdering white men. Too much time is spent on the narration from either side too, Rosanna Arquette as Libby Custer and Buffy Sainte-Marie as a young Indian girl who saw Custer's involvement in the Plains war. The Crazy Horse (Rodney A. Grant, Wind in his Hair from Dances With Wolves) subplot goes nowhere and is wasted. Instead of showing both sides of the story -- white vs. Indian -- the Crazy Horse part feels tacked on. Custer's officers, Major Reno (Michael Medeiros) and Capt. Benteen (David Strathairn) are bumbling, conniving, and even cowardly. The story even claims Custer had a child with an Indian woman. It's an attempt that just tries too hard to feel and be authentic, robbing the movie of what could have been classic status.

With any movie telling a story that somewhat knowledgeable viewers will be aware of (the Alamo, the Titanic, the JFK assassination), the threat is that audiences will lose interest because they know (or should know) the ending before the film starts. Director Mike Robe accomplishes that with the second part of his miniseries. The first 90 minutes are somewhat tedious, setting everything up and establishing all the characters and background. Almost nine years are covered so it has a rushed feel.  The second half deals exclusively from January 1876 to the Little Big Horn massacre, allowing the story to at least take a breath. As Custer and the Seventh Cavalry ride out to certain death (of course they don't know it at the time), Robe creates a sense of impending doom that hangs over these men. Knowing that most of these men will be massacred, it's an unsettling feeling watching them ride toward that death. It's a powerful ending, especially the portrayal of the final battle.

The romantic portrayal of Custer's Last Stand is the regiment's commander at the summit of a hill, his men all around him, firing into the mass of Indian warriors below before they're finally overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The actual battle? More chaotic, more horrific, more downright terrifying. Son's depiction of the battle is the most authentic and historically accurate version I've seen.  The massacre was more of a running firefight as the Seventh desperately tried to escape the overwhelming numbers of the immense Indian camp they intended to attack. You can watch portions of the battle at Youtube (here's Custer's death), but just in terms of illustrating how terrifying a battle is, I can't come up with more than two or three other movies that put you right there with the men in battle, right there as the bullets and arrows whiz past you. Credit to Craig Safan's epic and moving score (listen to the main theme HERE) for bringing it all together. If I can recommend anything here, stick with this movie. The pay-off is worth it.

Gary Cole as Custer dominates the movie, but for the most part the supporting parts more than hold their own. Arquette is just bearable as his wife, Libby. Stanley Anderson plays President Grant, Terry O'Quinn is General Terry, and Dean Stockwell is General Sheridan. Strathairn (with ridiculous blonde albino wig) and Medeiros make the most of parts that require them to be sniveling weaklings. Tim Ransom is excellent as Tom Custer, George's little brother and a two-time Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Tom O'Brien cool as veteran scout Charlie Reynolds, and Sheldon Peters Wolfchild memorable as Crow scout Bloody Knife.

This review's starting to ramble a bit so let's wrap it up. You can watch the whole miniseries at Youtube, starting with Part 1 of 19. It's not perfect, most of my complaints coming from the first half of the miniseries.  The second half is nearly perfect.  A well-made if flawed miniseries that deserves more recognition than it gets.

Son of the Morning Star (1991): ***/****

L.A. Confidential

In its heyday, the film noir genre turned out more than its fair share of classic movies in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These were tough stories often shot in black and white with a typically cynical view of the world. Tough guy actors like Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan dotted these stories which appealed to audiences then and especially now over 60 year later. But as great as some of these movies were, they were limited by the times they were made in with censorship and production codes keeping a tight rein on these stories.

No such problem in 1997 when L.A. Confidential was released in theaters with a moderate success in theaters and almost complete critical acclaim. Director Curtis Hanson revisits much of what made film noir popular with this hard-bitten, rough-edged movie. Hanson uses Los Angeles extensively in location shooting, and much like 1974's Chinatown did, produces a feeling of what the city must have felt like in the past. With no censors holding him back, the story is blunt and straightforward, full of language and violence that never seems extreme and is almost always essential to the story. This one slipped by me since its release, but am I ever glad I caught up with it.

Based on a novel by James Ellroy, L.A. Confidential has a plot that is pretty near impossible explaining here without giving away many of the key twists and turns it takes. Anyways, here's the gist of it. It's 1953 Los Angeles where the LAPD is full of corruption and scandal with three very different cops stepping into the limelight. First, there's Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), a rising star on the force looking to make a name for himself the right way, the moral way. Second, there's Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), a veteran of the force and a bit of a celebrity for his work with 'Badge of Honor,' a thinly veiled Dragnet rip-off. Don't be confused though, Vincennes is a good cop, even if he may take some shortcuts in his detective work. And last, there's Bud White (Russell Crowe), a brutish homicide detective not above planting some evidence or beating a confession out of a suspect.

Not always working together, the three officers are all involved in one way or another with a massacre at a little diner where 5 people, including a former cop, were murdered, apparently by three young black men wielding shotguns. But as the trio soon figures out, everything is not so cut and dry as it seems. It's nice to see a deeply-layered story like this that requires the viewer to pay attention to each and every scene, every line of dialogue. Even paying close attention, the story is so convoluted and full of twists and turns that it can be hard to follow. Never fear though, the last 30 minutes wraps everything up nicely with an impressive body count too.

Movies with a big ensemble cast have always appealed to me, and this is one of the best. Pearce, Spacey and Crowe all bring something different to their parts, cops who are very different but also very similar. They go about things differently, but they want the same results. Joining them in the cast is Kim Basinger who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part as Lynn Bracken, a high-price callgirl involved with Crowe's White and the case they're all working. Often more recognized for her good looks than her acting chops, Basinger delivers a strong performance as a woman who ends up as a pawn in a huge conspiracy. Rounding out the cast are James Cromwell as commissioner Dudley Smith, Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens, a paparazzi before there was TMZ, and David Strathairn as Pierce Patchett, a millionaire working with the movies, cops, drug dealer and prosititutes.

Racking up Oscar nominations in 1997 like crazy, but only winning two -- stupid Titanic -- this is one of those movies that has it all from casting to cinematography to a great understated score from Jerry Goldsmith. It's a throwback to the movies of classic Hollywood, the Golden Age of movies, albeit with a lot more language, cursing and graphic violence. LA Confidential has a professional feeling hovering around it that too often movies are lacking. Can't recommend this one enough, although the final scene does have a bit of a cop-out. Small potatoes I guess in the bigger picture.

L.A. Confidential <----trailer (1997): ****/****