Field of Dreams

I love baseball and everything about it. The Chicago White Sox to the fantasy leagues, going to games to listening on the radio and watching on TV. It is and hopefully always will be my favorite sport. Naturally then, baseball movies have to be the best, right? My list starts with a classic, 1989's Field of Dreams.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a 36-year old man who owns a farm in Iowa and lives with his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan) and their young daughter, Karen (Gaby Hoffmann). One day while he's out in the expansive cornfields, Ray hears a voice tell him multiple times 'If you build it, he will come..." He doesn't know what to make of the voice and its mysterious message. What could it possibly mean? After hearing the voice repeat itself several times over several days, Ray thinks he's figured it out. Somehow, some way, Ray is supposed to build a baseball field in his cornfield. His reasoning? He thinks if he builds that field, his father's hero, Shoeless Joe Jackson, will get a chance to redeem himself for his actions with the 1919 Black Sox. He builds the field and waits...and waits but nothing happens. Then one night as he mulls over their future with Annie, a man appears out on the field. It's Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) himself. That's only the start though. There's much more to come.

Ask 100 sports fans 'What's your favorite sports movie?' and who knows? Maybe you get 100 different answers! I don't know if it is my favorite, but it's certainly in the conversation with Hoosiers, Rocky, and a whole bunch more I can rewatch over and over again. The TV description of the 1988 film from director Phil Alden Robinson (he also wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay) describes it as 'Capra-esque' -- as in Frank Capra -- and it's an incredibly apt description. It's an American story of family, baseball, hopes and dreams, and without being heavy-handed, believing in something mystical, something bigger than us that doesn't necessarily need to be explained. You just take it on faith and go for a ride.

I like The Natural, love Major League and The Sandlot, and swear by any number of other baseball flicks, but 'Field' is up there at the top. Why? Maybe more than any other baseball movie, it loves and respects the game. It appreciates the history, the unspoken connection people have with the sport, and maybe most importantly, the simple beauty of the game. In a late monologue, James Earl Jones explains the power of the game in one of the movie's most effective scenes. Far earlier as Ray meets Joe Jackson, the famous Shoeless expresses his personal love of the game in a simple, eloquent, authentic monologue. The story loves the history of the game, especially the 1910's and early 1920's. Watch it for that love and respect, the classic uniforms, those famous players, the infamous 1919 Black Sox, and so much more.

Who better to lead the way through our mystical baseball story than Crash Davis himself, Kevin Costner? Just a year off Bull Durham (another excellent baseball flick), Costner returns to the sports/baseball genre and delivers -- for me -- one of his all-time best roles. He's a 30-something farmer who knows little about farmer looking for some answers out of life. Instead, he gets a mysterious voice imploring him 'If you build it, he will come.' Costner's Ray doesn't always know where the road will take him, but he believes. Simple as that, he believes. He believes something good is down the road, and that him building a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield has a higher meaning. It has to, right? When everything seems to scream at how illogical the whole thing is, Costner sticks with his gut and keeps believing. Madigan is excellent as his ever-supportive wife, Annie, with him through thick and thin, while 6-year old Hoffmann is equally solid.

Three supporting performances help take the movie from really good into the classic stratosphere, Ray Liotta (relatively unknown at the time) as Shoeless Joe Jackson, James Earl Jones as reclusive writer Terence Mann, and Burt Lancaster (in his final role) as Doc Graham, a former baseball player who became a doctor in his Minnesota hometown. I don't want to give away too much -- for the 6 people who haven't seen this movie by now -- but these performances are pristine. They're perfect. Liotta brings some edge to Shoeless, the mysterious ex-ballplayer who was banned from baseball even though evidence indicates Jackson did nothing wrong. He's got some cards up his sleeves for sure. Jones as Mann makes it look so freaking easy. Based on J.D. Salinger, Mann has retired from public life and is looking to live a quiet, peaceful life. His chemistry with Costner is pitch perfect from scene-to-scene, dramatic and funny. And, oh yeah, Burt Lancaster, a halfway decent actor in his own right (I guess). He's on-screen for maybe 4 or 5 minutes and steals every second he's in. Three great performances.

Also look for Timothy Busfield as Mark, Annie's brother in the real estate business who's trying to convince his brother-in-law to...ya know, not be nuts, and Frank Whaley as Archie 'Moonlight' Graham, a much younger version of Lancaster's Doc Graham. Dwier Brown has a quick but brutally effective part as John Kinsella, Ray's father. As for other players from the '19 Black Sox who show up, look for some familiar faces who make the most out of their quick, but highly effective parts.

The movie itself is a road picture once things get going, the story of a journey both for Ray but also the people and individuals he meets along the way. We see how Ray's decision to build the baseball field affects one person after another, somewhat like the universe is laying out the groundwork for him -- testing him of sorts -- and seeing if he'll follow along. As for the movie itself, it is a visually subtle but very good-looking movie. Always seems to be shot at sunset with all sorts of beautiful light. If not that time of day, that field o' dreams always is bathed in sunlight without a cloud in sight. Composer James Horner (one of the all-time bests) delivers an Oscar nominated-score that is an additional character there all along the way for the story.

So what is baseball best suited for? As 'Field' shows, it is a sport often shared between father and son, the crux of the story here itself. This is a sport with the subtle, charming ability to bring people together. That sentiment leads to one of the all-time great endings ever with a ridiculously strong final 20 minutes. It's one memorable moment after another, one great line after another, all of it leading to one of the more iconic closing shots ever if you ask me. Is it heaven? No, maybe not, but it's a perfect sports movie and just a great movie all-around. Must watch for sports fans and non-sports fans alike!

Field of Dreams (1988): ****/****

Patriot Games

At the time, I'm sure it sounded like a good idea...to Alec Baldwin at least.  After starring as Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, Baldwin was all ready to come back for a second go-around in 1992's Patriot Games.  For whatever reason, Baldwin decided to do the play he'd signed up for, and the role went to Han Solo/Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford.  Looking back 18 years later, it seems like an easy decision to pick which actor made the right choice.  Ford went on to star in Clear and Present Danger and is still a huge star while Baldwin has really only recently recovered with a bit of a rebirth thanks to 30 Rock and a list of supporting performances in quality movies.

As for Ford in Patriot Games, he's the one that has become synonymous with the part of Jack Ryan.  Yes, I'm remembering Ben Affleck took over the part in Sum of All Fears.  Where Ryan was a key character in 'Red October,' he wasn't the most important part, but with Patriot Games we get more of a look at the character as opposed to the action.  The making of special feature has interviews with several members of the movie, all who bristle to one extent or another when asked if 'PG' is an action movie.   It does have its fair share of action, but a character study with some action thrown in is more applicable.  I love Red October and Present Danger is a near-classic so Patriot Games had its work cut out and lived up to the expectations.

While vacationing in London, former CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ford) stumbles into an assassination attempt on a member of the Royal family.  In the blink of an eye, he reacts, killing two assassins and capturing a third, Sean Miller (Sean Bean).  The royal family is saved, and Ryan even testifies in court about the attempt and his involvement in stopping the murder.  Ryan and his wife Cathy (Anne Archer) and daughter Sally (Thora Birch) return home thinking everything is behind them. Not so fast, because Miller escapes during transit and rejoins the fanatical members of this IRA splinter group.  Headed by Kevin O'Connell (Patrick Bergin), the group still has their sites set on the Royal family, and for Miller especially, he wants revenge on Ryan because one of the men he killed was Sean's younger brother.  But after an attempt is made on his family's lives, Ryan goes on the offensive.

With two of the most successful franchises under his belt -- Star Wars and Indiana Jones -- Ford was about as bankable a star as existed in 1992.  Sometimes I think he's judged more as a star than an actor, but the man can act plain and simple.  Playing a character like Jack Ryan, he gets a chance to show off those chops in a story that doesn't rely on fantasy settings and 1930s-esque cliffhangers.  Ford's Ryan is a family man always looking out for his wife and daugther who teaches classes at the Naval Academy in Annapolis who's left his CIA past (as a desk jockey) behind him.  His confrontation with IRA rep Richard Harris is so sublimely perfect (watch it HERE) in showing though that he is not a man to be trifled with.  Ford handles the action nicely -- doing most of his own stunts -- but balances it out with some very emotional scenes with his family.  Archer and Birch round out the family, and the trio have a definite chemistry together that would continue into Clear and Present Danger.

British actor Sean Bean is at his best when he's playing a villain, and this is him at his absolute best.  He's beyond creepy in his devotion to the cause and seeking revenge for his brother's death (which he had a hand in causing but blames others, go figure).  His Miller drifts in and out of the story, and whether intentional or not, it works well because he's a presence lurking and waiting to attack.  Bergin and Polly Walker are the more even-keeled but still deadly members of the splinter group.  The rest of the cast isn't given a ton to do, but the names alone make this appealing.   Harris makes the most of a small part as does Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, and  James Fox. Would it have been nice to see more of these great actors?  Sure, but the focus of the story is Ryan vs. Miller and other backstories would have been unnecessary in this really tight, wel-told story.

Patriot Games does have some great action, including a tension-filled chase through Annapolis and on a nearby freeway, that is highlighted by the end as the IRA splinter group descends on a darkened Ryan household after the power's been pulled.  This isn't enough though with the action really ramping up after they leave the house.  Great ending with a fitting end for several characters.  The coolest part though puts a new spin on the action scene.  Ryan and some fellow CIA associates watch an SAS attack on a terrorist camp in North Africa via satellite imagery.  So instead of hearing the gunshots and seeing explosions, we see these eerie colors and shapes being thrown around, one analyst matter of factly stating 'That's a kill.'  It's an incredible sequence and surprisingly moving as Ryan sees the affect his investigation has had.  He was always looking to protect his family, but seeing it via satellite thousands of miles away, it's a haunting experience.

Coming from a Tom Clancy novel, you know you're getting a high quality, very professional movie.  Director Phillip Noyce films on location in London with some dreary looking English locations adding some mood, and then films in Annapolis itself which always translates well to the screen.  It's a beautiful campus, and it would be hard to mess up those locations.  Composer James Horner's score is not his strongest, but the soundtrack is at its best in its Irish themes.  I didn't love the movie, but I did really enjoy it.  Not quite as good as Red October but right on par with Clear and Present Danger, and that's not a bad thing.

Patriot Games <----trailer (1992): ***/****