Sniper

In film, on television and in books, folks have always been fascinated with snipers, myself included. Growing up, I think I watched this movie in today's review a couple hundreds time courtesy of countless airings on TNT and AMC. Well, it's been years, but I watched it straight through for the first time in years. It's the original and still the best in a franchise that has spawned four sequels, 1993's Sniper.

With a long career under his belt, Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) is the Marine Corps' most respected sniper, piling up 70-plus confirmed kills. His last mission though was a costly one, his young spotter killed because of an early extraction following a successful kill. He doesn't have long to dwell on it though as a new mission and orders come through for him. Working with an inexperienced SWAT sharpshooter with NSC connections, Richard Miller (Billy Zane), Beckett is tasked with going deep into the Panamanian jungle with two objectives. An election is coming up and intelligence indicates a drug lord will back a general who will lead a violent coup, all of it against American interests. Beckett and Miller must take out both men, both of whom are expected to meet at a well-guarded villa in the jungle. They butt heads almost immediately, Miller in command but Beckett with the know-how. Can they make it through this suicide mission?

Oh, my, how fast the time flies. I was only 8 years old when 'Sniper' was first released in theaters, but this action flick was a cable TV staple in the late 1990s. Young, impressionable me soaked it up and watched it over and over again. It doesn't quite hold up as well 20-plus years later, but it's still an above average action flick. From director Luis Llosa, it was filmed on-location in Australia and feels familiar. If you've seen war movies, sniper flicks, you've most likely seen variations on this story. It tries to accomplish a lot, delving into the background and mindset of snipers, but is most comfortable in the moments on a jungle creep inching closer to a shot and a kill. Small scale with less than 10 speaking parts, it's the better for the focus on Beckett and Miller.

Two actors who never quite became as big a star as they could have, Berenger and Zane are excellent together. This isn't a buddy dynamic as the duo heads into the jungle. This is a rivalry, a conflict, eventually a life and death struggle as the mission develops. Berenger is at his tough, growling best as veteran sniper Thomas Beckett. He's near the end of his career but still has few rivals. He tries to get Miller through the message but the inexperienced spotter and fellow shooter isn't having it. As they travel to the jungle villa, we get to know the duo through their conversations, tough guy dialogue about their experiences, how they got here, and where they hope to end up. Again, familiar but enjoyable. Zane doesn't get lost in Berenger's shadow, holding his own. There are some surprising twists in the mission as Beckett and Miller genuinely come to blows and more as the pressure becomes too much.

This is a movie about those two roles. The targets are targets. That's it. No backgrounds, just guys who need to be killed. Some other key parts include J.T. Walsh as Beckett's commander back at base, Aden Young as the spotter in the opening mission, and Ken Radley as El Cirujano, a former CIA operative now working as an enforcer for the drug cartels. Naturally, he's got some history with our Mr. Beckett. 

For the small scale, generally low budget flick, 'Sniper' tries its best when it comes to the action and the good, old-fashioned shooting scenes. The violence is quick and startling with only some use of slow motion (thankfully), and that comes in death throws as nameless baddies take a bullet. With a 98-minute flick, there isn't a ton of action, heavy duty action at least. The first hour there's some quick shots, some fire fights but nothing crazy. That's saved for the finale as Beckett and Miller descend on the villa to take their shots amidst guards and patrols. It's a really cool, straightforward action scene that's packed to the guts with tension. The entire last half hour is the movie at its strongest, a series of twists and surprises and chases and shootouts, including one very genuine, truly surprising twist.

It's a good movie, obviously not a great one. It has its limits, but as far as non-blockbuster action movies go, it's pretty good. Who would have figured back in 1993 that it would inspire four sequels, starting in 2002 and continuing more recently with 2011's Sniper: Reloaded and 2014's Sniper Legacy? Overall, it is a fun, progressively mindless series, and it's always cool to see where it all started. Now how about another sequel with Beckett, Miller and Chad Michael Collins as Beckett's similarly skilled sniper son? Get on it, Hollywood!

Sniper (1993): ***/****

Sniper: Legacy

Released way back in 1993, Sniper was a moderate success and little more. It received generally mixed to negative reviews and earned only $18 million in theaters. So why did this movie have such a second life? It's 21 years later, and the original Sniper has spawned four sequels, all of them of the straight to DVD variety. They're not especially good but in the guilty pleasure category, they qualify as highly entertaining flicks. Today's review is the newest sequel, 2014's Sniper: Legacy.

Having survived the bloody conflict in Congo (see Sniper: Reloaded), Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) has become a very skilled sniper in the Marine Corps, building up a reputation for himself as a promising young shooter. He's stationed at a black ops base near the Turkish border when his commanding officer, Major Bidwell (Dominic Mafham), tells him that Beckett's father has been murdered by a rogue military sniper. He can't allow him to go on a mission to take out his father's killer but just the same...he can turn his head and let Brandon do what he chooses. The rogue sniper is taking military personnel out one-by-one, all related to an off the books mission 10 years before in Afghanistan. What happened exactly? Can Brandon find this sniper before he gets caught in his gun sights? The key to it all may be Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) and what he actually knows.

As I mentioned in my 'Reloaded' review, I grew up watching the original Sniper on countless airings on AMC and TNT, weekdays and weekends alike. It's not a great movie by any means, but it is an endlessly watchable flick. The sequels aren't on the same level -- even 'Reloaded' was more guilty pleasure than good -- but it's fun watching them just the same. They're all straight to DVD and made on a small-scale, especially in the budget department. The reason for checking this one out is pretty obvious but more on that in a bit. From director Don Michael Paul, 'Legacy' isn't particularly original, mostly cliched, generally pretty dumb...and a lot of fun. It's a turn your brain off 98 minutes where you can sit back and watch some fun, cliched and familiar character archetypes throw some one-liners around and a whole lot of snipers picking off their enemies via headshots. Can't ask for too much more, huh?

Oh, right, the big reason to check this out. Yeah, it's that Tom Berenger fella. The original star of Sniper (along with co-star Billy Zane, who returned in 'Reloaded'), Berenger returned for the first and second sequels but deciding not to do 'Reloaded.' Well, Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett is back! Now 65 years old, Berenger isn't the spry sniper from the original. He's rocking some cool white, even Silver Fox-esque hair and he's got a little paunch around the middle, but who cares?!? Beckett is back. Unfortunately Beckett doesn't show up until the 55-minute mark but he makes the most of his screentime. One-liners and smart-ass comments around every corner, he even gets to say the character's most famous line, "One shot. One kill." Berenger never became a huge star, but he's always been one of my favorites, and this is probably his most well-known role. Definitely cool to have him back.

Thankfully 'Legacy' seems content to avoid the pratfalls of the abandoned son and the father who abandoned him backstory. It's almost brushed aside, two tough guys -- Thomas and Brandon -- wanting to talk about it, but this ain't the movie for it! Let's shoot some bad guys! What few scenes they have together, Berenger and Collins are solid together. I especially liked their scene where they discuss some vices and how they ended up where they are. Again, nothing flashy, but solid.

With Berenger not showing up until almost the hour-mark, we've got plenty of chances to meet some other characters. And in the end, this is more of an ensemble which ends up being pretty cool. I really liked Mafham's Major Bidwell, the no-nonsense team leader with the nickname 'Bullet Face' because one of his sniper trademarks was shooting his victims in the face. Yikes! In the big name department, Dennis Haysbert plays the Colonel (no other name provided), possibly a good guy, possibly a bad guy. You'll have to watch to find out! And come on, it's a Major League reunion, Jake Taylor (Berenger) and Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert). That's cool! There's also Mercedes Mason as Sanaa, adding the necessary sexy female sniper to the recipe. 

It's all pretty mindless, dumb and entertaining fun. Things are better when Berenger is around, especially in the final 30 minutes as both Becketts, Bidwell and Sanaa team up to take out our rogue sniper (Doug Allen) and a Syrian terrorist (George Zlatarev) he's working with. There's some cool shootouts sprinkled throughout the briskly paced flick, a whole lot of snipers gunning for their targets. If you like the Sniper movies, you'll enjoy this one. I did. I'm giving it a 3-star rating knowing it's not that good. I'm getting to be a cheap date in my old age. If a movie entertains me, I'm on board and I was entertained throughout here with 'Legacy.' Now how about another sequel pairing Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, and Chad Michael Collins? Heh?!? Get to it, Hollywood.

Sniper: Legacy (2014): ***/****

The Avenging Angel

I knew the name but knew little about the history. Meet Brigham Young, a leader of the Latter Day Saints movement, a Mormon who helped found Salt Lake City. I've always been aware of the name and dug into the history a little bit when he appeared on this season of AMC's Hell on Wheels. Well, when it rains, it pours. This little-known TV western popped up on Encore Westerns recently, 1995's The Avenging Angel.

Having traveled west as a young boy with Brigham Young (Charlton Heston) and his Mormon followers, Miles Utley grows up a devout follower of the leader of the Latter Day Saints. It is a movement though riles many, building enemies wherever it goes. As he grows up, Miles becomes a member of the Danites, a secret group of bodyguards who's sole job is to protect Young from threats both inside and out. Now a grown man, Miles (Tom Berenger) is the most skilled of these hidden assassins but now even he will be tested. He kills a would-be assassin during one of Young's speeches but something isn't quite right. It doesn't all add up. Instead, Miles finds that he's the target of something bigger and far more sinister than he thought. Who's the fall guy? Unless he can prove otherwise, it's Miles who may hang.

It's been the year of the TNT made-for-TV western here at Just Hit Play with Rough Riders, Crossfire Trail, The Buffalo Soldiers and now, The Avenging Angel. I had absolutely no recollection of this somewhat earlier entry until I stumbled across it late at night on Encore Westerns a few weeks ago. Like the other TV movies, it's made on a smaller scale but is never really limited by it. Good story, interesting cast, lots of potential. I liked the filming locations, giving the story a mountainous backdrop, and the story is pretty cool as it bends the truth quite a bit for the sake of some entertainment. 'Angel' is missing that special something, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's okay but not much more.

If there's a positive, it is Tom Berenger, a very solid actor who never quite became a movie star. Recently I reviewed Rough Riders, Berenger stealing the movie in a showy part as future U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt. This is the polar opposite of that part. It's a quiet, intense, even sinister part. Without question, Berenger's Miles obeys orders, knowing he's doing what is required, no matter how difficult. And then it isn't so cut and dry. Has he been used for more sinister motives? I've always liked Berenger, and this is a solid, not so flashy tough guy part. That's not enough though so Miles is given two different love interests, Liza Rigby (Leslie Hope), the wife of an important Mormon leader, and Miranda Young (Fay Masterson), the daughter of Brigham Young. Three cheers for the unnecessary love story!

The rest of the cast is....well, interesting. Heston makes more of an extended cameo as the respected Mormon leader, Brigham Young. This is Hollywood legend Charlton Heston, glaring and growling through his part. Still, it is a Hollywood legend, providing some legitimacy just by being there. The same for James Coburn in a fun part as an aging Mormon trailsman, Porter Rockwell, who hasn't met his match, even training Miles for everything his job as a Danite will throw at him. Also look for Kevin Tighe, Jeffrey Jones, Tom Bower and Daniel Quinn as assorted Mormon leaders, some more important than others. It was also cool to see Andrew Prine in a cool one-scene appearance as a newspaper publisher who isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers through his stories. 

I guess the worst thing you can say about this flick is its predictability. Once we've met everyone involved -- in other words, the suspects -- I thought it was pretty easy to piece it all together. When the twists come revealing who's behind this big, bad, evil plot, it doesn't really come along as a twist. That's the movie in a nutshell. Not surprising and could have been better. I'll give Berenger credit though. As another reviewer pointed out, he's got a knack for finding little known stories of American history, like here and in 1999's generally forgotten One Man's Hero. That one's good and Rough Riders was really good. This one's not that memorable.

The Avenging Angel (1995): **/****

Rough Riders

Okay, history nerd alert. Who's your favorite United States president? Mine's easy to peg; Theodore Roosevelt, a President who did a little bit of everything. Beyond his two-term presidency though, what is he most known for? His involvement in the Spanish American War, told quite well in a 1997 TV miniseries, Rough Riders.

It's 1898 and the American government is in a bit of a spot. News of Spanish atrocities and cruel leadership in Cuba are making international news to the point American intervention seems like a sure thing. Who's at the forefront of that movement? Assistant secretary of the Navy Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (Tom Berenger). He's been given approval to assemble a volunteer regiment of cavalry that will be sent to Cuba with American forces to stop the Spanish. Who is he looking to volunteer? Cowboys, mountain men, trailsmen, and anyone who can handle themselves when the bullets start to fly. He gets that and more as the volunteers assemble in Texas for training. What awaits the regiment of rough-hewn volunteers? Only the fighting in Cuba will tell.

Over the last month or so, this becomes the third TNT TV movie I've reviewed with 2001's Crossfire Trail and 1997's Buffalo Soldiers. I wish TNT still made historically-based movies like this! This 1997 miniseries is probably the network's biggest venture, a movie with impressive scale, a deep cast and a 187-minute running time. It comes from director John Milius (who also wrote the script with Hugh Wilson), a good, underrated tough guy director to helm a good tough guy flick like this. 'Riders' doesn't rewrite the historical epic/action genre, just content to tell a historical story that is known if not widely known. Elmer Bernstein turns in a fine throwback(ish) musical score, the cast looks to be having a lot of fun, and seeing a story that sticks pretty close to the historical truth? How can you lose?

The historical truth is pretty daunting for a filmmaker to take on. 'Riders' does a good job portraying not just Roosevelt and his famous cavalry volunteers, but many involved in the war from a variety of perspectives. We see the government, including President William McKinley (Brian Keith, a Milius favorite) and his secretary of state (R. Lee Ermey). We see the journalists/writers from William Randolph Hearst (George Hamilton) to Stephen Crane (Adam Storke), Frederick Remington (Nick Chinlund) to Edward Marshall (Williamt Katt). From the military perspective, we see Gary Busey and Dale Dye (a Marine Corps veteran) in power positions trying to lead the Cuban expedition. 'Riders' more than justice to the times, tackling a lot but doing a good job across the board in setting the stage for our historical story. It could have been easy for it to all slip away, but Milius helms it all nicely.

This is an ensemble cast -- a pretty strong one at that -- but I thought Tom Berenger stood out from the rest as future President Teddy Roosevelt. You read about Roosevelt, and it sounds like a caricature but no. This was one fiery, lively, opinionated, fun-loving man with some wide-ranging interests. Berenger brings him to life from his unique speech patterns to his very physical movements and non-stop energy. He makes Roosevelt more though, a human being, not just a caricature. We see Teddy with his wife (Illeana Douglas) who he misses to an extreme level, how he bonds with his men around a campfire during training, how he's emotionally distraught at seeing his men killed in battle, the exhaustion that sets in after a costly battle. Big and boisterous but never overdone, Berenger does an excellent, scene-stealing job as Roosevelt. I also learned something from the film, finding out Roosevelt wasn't always the commander of the Rough Riders. He became the commander but no spoilers.

Okay, a movie about the Rough Riders so let's talk about Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Milius uses a familiar, well-worn and effective formula here; the unit picture. Assemble a group of men from different backgrounds, put them together, let them train and bond and then throw them into battle. There's a lot of characters so there's not always a ton of development but who stands out from the rest? Brad Johnson plays Nash, an outlaw (with partner Buck Taylor) who joins the outfit to escape a posse. Sam Elliott brings his tough guy swagger to play Capt. Bucky O'Neill, an Arizona lawman turned drill sergeant. And also, Chris Noth plays Craig Wadsworth, an upper class New Yorker looking to prove himself in battle. It's a very solid cast, and that's just the start. The rest of the group isn't necessarily big names, but there's familiar faces playing some cool characters.

Who else to look for? Joining Noth as the upper-class NYC gentlemen are Holt McCallany, Mark Moses, Titus Welliver and James Parks. As for the less-gentlemanly among the Rough Riders, watch for Geoffrey Lewis, Francesco Quinn, Eric Allan Kramer, Bob Primeaux, and in an excellent supporting part, Marshall R. Teague as a young Black Jack Pershing, commander of a regiment of Buffalo Soldiers fighting alongside the Rough Riders.     

Nothing too fancy here, just a good, entertaining movie with a throwback kind of feel. The first 90 minutes sets up the background, assembling the regiment and introducing the characters, and then throwing them into training. By the end of the first half, we're thrust into the fighting in Cuba. The centerpiece of the second half of 'Riders' is not surprisingly the attack on San Juan Hill, the battle that made the Rough Riders an instantly recognizable name and regiment. There are some slow moments building up to the battle, but the actual assault on the heavily fortified hill is a gem of an extended sequence. An excellent flick on all accounts. History buffs will especially enjoy it so it gets an easy recommendation from this guy.

Rough Riders (1997): ***/****

The Big Chill

It's one of those things. Good movie (some would say great to classic), impressive cast, a loyal following and positively reviewed almost across the board. Then.....then, you watch it, and it just isn't very good. All in the eye of the beholder, huh? Maybe I missed something, maybe I just didn't think it was very good, but here's 1983's The Big Chill.

A group of friends who attended the University of Michigan in the late 1960s have drifted apart over the years, some starting families, others pursuing careers, some doing both. They're about to be brought back together under far from ideal conditions. One of the friends, Alex, has committed suicide, the rest of the group all returning to Alex's hometown in Michigan for the funeral and service. For some, they see friends they haven't seen or talked to in years, but the relationships are still there, the bonds, the friendships, rivalries, all coming back in a flash. Staying together in one house over the weekend, the group of friends starts to see that everything isn't so rosy. Sex, drugs, music and some good old-fashioned bonding among longtime friends. Let the craziness and kookiness commence.

This was the first time I saw director Lawrence Kasdan's film that's earned a reputation over the years as one of the seminal movies of the 1980s. This is a story about a generation that grew up with Vietnam, hippies, Watergate, the drug culture, one of the most turbulent times in American history. Now in the early 1980s, they're all grown-up, their past craziness just that, a thing of the past. They have jobs, careers, family (for the most part). It is a story ripe with potential, one house serving as the setting for almost the entire movie. The soundtrack is pretty epic featuring everyone from The Rolling Stones to Marvin Gaye, The Temptations to Procol Harum and a whole lot in between. Style, interesting premise, lots of talent in the cast....and, yeah, I didn't really like it much at all.

For starters, let's talk about the very talented cast. There's Kevin Kline and Glenn Close as a married couple with a checkered past that has been left in the past, Tom Berenger as the big celebrity, the TV star with a hugely successful Magnum P.I.-esque show, JoBeth Williams his married crush who's having some marital struggles, Jeff Goldblum as a goofy journalist, William Hurt as the drug-addled Vietnam vet who struggles with...well, everything, Mary Kay Place as the single 30-something who has her biological clock ticking loudly, and then Meg Tilly as Alex's girlfriend who he'd been seeing for about three months. Some impressive names, but my goodness, I just didn't like these characters. We're thrown into the story without much in the way of introduction or background so I struggled immediately to keep up with what was going on. Yes, we learn some things with each passing dialogue scene (and there's plenty), but the early struggles proved to be the movie's doom.

Watching this movie in 2014, it's easy to see the influence 'Chill' has had on countless films and television shows in the 30 years since its release. Any movie about old friends reuniting has to at least tip its cap to this 1983 film in one way or another. As for my next statement, I say this as someone who grew up in a generation that complains about just about everything. But really, has there ever been a movie with so many whiny individuals? Is life just so awful? As they reunite, catch up after years apart, this group of friends proceeds to bitch and moan about how tough life is, how life didn't turn out how they thought it would, how things didn't develop as they thought they would. Boo-freaking-hoo. The entire second half of the movie plays like one big sob story. It helps to have some initial sympathy for these characters, but it's just never there. Wait, life is tough?!? Who knew? Get over yourself.

What was original in 1983 plays like cliched now. So through no fault of its own, 'Chill' was working against it immediately. At one point, the crew dances together as they clean up and do the dishes after dinner. Woo-hoo! Bonding! If it was meant to show them bonding again, we get it, but it feels forced and goofy. The story up until this point is based in some sort of reality, but the last 30 minutes or so derails with some just odd decisions. We're talking painfully awkward decisions that I just don't see a lot of real-life friends making. By the end though, I was beyond worrying too much. I went in with modest expectations but came away very, very disappointed. Maybe in five or six years when I'm in my mid-30s, I'll appreciate it more. For now, I just don't get the appeal.

The Big Chill (1983): * 1/2 /****

Major League II

I love 1989's Major League. It's one of my all-time favorite sports movies, a great story of a bunch of screwball underdogs working together to overcome an owner trying to move the franchise. A baseball movie that's very funny with a ton of great characters and one-liners. Naturally, a sequel came along some five years later, 1994's Major League II, and it's nowhere near as good. On the other hand....it's still a baseball movie, a funny one, most of the characters are back, and though it is bad, I still love it.

Having won the division the year before, the screwball Cleveland Indians are back and ready to take another run at the World Series. The Indians came up short in the playoffs the previous season -- swept at the hands of the Chicago White Sox -- but retired third baseman turned owner Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) has brought back the core of the team, including fireballing pitcher Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), veteran catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), fleet-footed outfield Willie Mays Hayes (Omar Epps) and slugging outfielder Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert). Dorn even signed a slugging, free agent catcher, Jack Parkman (David Keith), to bolster the lineup. Everyone and everything seems posed for a great season and hopefully a big postseason run, but have the Indians become complacent? Manager Lou Brown (James Gammon) certainly has his work cut out for him with this bunch.

Did you like 1989's Major League? No? What the hell is wrong with you? I'm guessing you hate America and/or baseball. Maybe both. If you answered 'yes,' then you're going to enjoy this movie too. Director David S. Ward returns from the original to direct this sequel which will appease and entertain a lot of fans because....well....it's the same movie. Yeah, yeah, some things are tweaked, but it's basically the exact movie. This season the Indians start off as front-runners, hit an epically rough streak, and then have to turn things around to get back into the playoffs. It should feel familiar -- even a little phoned-in at times -- and while it isn't on the same level as its predecessor, it is funny, entertaining and a solid if unspectacular sports movie.

A big reason it's worth putting up with some of the stupid laughs is because the characters are back. Amidst all the laughs and baseball goofiness of the original, the characters were likable (sometimes in spite of themselves). The success of the previous season has gone to the Indians' heads though, starting with Wild Thing who's now trying to clean up his image with the help of girlfriend-agent Flannery (Alison Doody). Oh, and he's lost some heat off his fastball. Veteran catcher Jake Taylor finds himself on the bench as a coach when the Indians decide to bring up a young talented catcher to backup Parkman. Replacing Wesley Snipes, Epps is solid as Willie Mays Hayes, base-stealing outfielder who's turned himself into a power hitter....and B-movie action star. Haysbert's Cerrano has forsaken his voodoo ways, turning to Buddhism and losing his ability to hit in the process. As cantankerous manager Lou Brown, Gammon is hilarious -- not surprising -- as he progressively loses his mind with his underachieving players. Playing owner-third baseman Dorn, Bernsen makes the most of a smaller supporting part.

What would a Major League sequel be without the triumphant return of Milwaukee Brewers radio man Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle, the Indians radio play-by-play guy who lives and dies with how the team does. His brutally honest banter is beyond perfect, usually questioning what the hell is going on out on the field. He has some great scenes with virtually silent partner, Monty (Skip Griparis). There aren't as many ridiculously funny, memorable lines as the original, but that's a relative complaint. How could you not love 'And the Indians have a base runner.....I think I'll wet my pants" or "He'll need a rocket up his ass to catch that one." It's his perfectly subtle, underplayed deliveries that work, and seeing him drink on-air more and more as the Indians go under is beyond perfect.

How about some additions to the team though? David Keith is the ideal egotistical star player as Parkman, the star free agent catcher. He's interested in himself and his stats, and he isn't going to be long for the Indians. Eric Bruskotter is a scene-stealer as Rube Baker, the young minor league catcher trying to make it with the big league team. He has a problem though....he can't throw back to the pitcher. Baker also just loves the game, and it rubs off on his teammates. Takaaki Ishibashi plays Kamikaze Tanaka, a Japanese outfielder trying to get his teammates, especially peaceful Cerrano, to embrace "their marbles." Think about it, you'll get it. Also with his fair share of memorable scenes is Randy Quaid as Johnny, a superfan who goes up and down with each game the Indians played. Rene Russo makes a quick, blink and you'll miss it appearance as Lynn, Jake's wife, while Margaret Whitton plays Rachel Phelps, the Indians former owner who reappears at the worst possible time.

Does it all work? No, especially Wild Thing trying to reinvent himself as a clean-cut salesman. His scenes with Flannery and former fling, Nikki (Michelle Burke), drag down the story to a snail's pace, especially because Nikki works with underprivileged kids. Yeah, a message! And with a 105-minute movie and so many characters, things feel rushed at times. Characters get brushed aside too often for long stretches, and there's never really a doubt where the story's heading. That said, it's a bad good movie. You know it's bad, but it's enjoyable from beginning to end.

Major League II (1994): ***/****

Major League

Just as a sports fan, I can appreciate there's something more special about certain sports than others. I love watching basketball, football, soccer and volleyball, but baseball will always be my favorite one to watch. That opinion not surprisingly makes the jump to sports movies where baseball movies rule supreme, especially 1989's Major League.

It's been 40-plus years (in 1989 at least) since the Cleveland Indians last won an American League pennant when a new owner, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), takes over the franchise. She's got a plan though for the struggling franchise. A clause in the city contract allows the franchise to move if attendance is at a league-low, and Rachel wants to move the Indians to sunny Miami. With hopes of driving fans away from the stadium, she assembles a team of past their prime vets, unrecognizable rookies, and in general, a team of misfits. Among the group is creaky-kneed veteran catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), ex-con with a live arm Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), and speedster on the bases Willie Mays Hays (Wesley Snipes). The team starts off badly enough, but then they figure out Rachel's plan. Can they turn it around in time?

Ignoring the two sequels (entertaining but admittedly mediocre), Major League is hard to beat as far as sports -- and more specifically  baseball -- movies go. It's truly funny with countless memorable bits and running gags, but the drama also feels real. From director David S. Ward, 'Major' used Milwaukee's County Stadium as a replacement home for the Indians. The actual MLB stadium gives an authentic feel to the developing season, especially late in the movie during the climactic one-game playoff with thousands of extras packing the stadium. It's also the little things, the running bits about different fans from the never-say-die fans in the bleachers (Too high! being a classic, watch HERE), the foul-mouthed, doubting Japanese grounds-crew, and then the average fan on the street, bonding together around their team. As a baseball fan in real life, it feels authentic.

The misfit underdog is nothing new to the sports genre, but the assembled group of misfit characters help make this movie a classic (even making the sequels tolerable in their own awful uniqueness). Some 23 years later, fans typically talk about Sheen's Vaughn or Snipes' Hayes, but Berenger is the star here. His creaky veteran has in baseball purgatory, wasting away in Mexico and hoping for a chance to get back to the majors. While the other characters may be more memorable, Berenger's Jake ends up being the heart of the movie, delivering a career-best performance. Sheen and Snipes are scene-stealers as the youngsters and breakout stars on the Indians. Sheen did his own pitching and looks like a baseball player while Snipes' infectious attitude makes it impossible not to like the character who's cocky and confident without being obnoxious.

Not so fast though, there's more, starting with James Gammon as gravelly-voiced, no-nonsense, old school baseball manager Lou Brown. A long-time minor league manager, he brings his gruff manner of coaching to the Indians, not wanting to put up with any primadonnas or attitudes. Among the other players are Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen), the third baseman more interested in his post-baseball career than showing effort now, Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert in a scene-stealing part), the Cuban exile outfielder who can crush fastballs but not offspeed pitches and turns to his voodoo roots, and Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross), the junkball, rag arm pitcher who uses every trick in the book to keep batters off balance. Also worth mentioning is Charles Cyphers as Charlie Donovan, the Indians GM forced to keep his mouth shut as the team crumbles.

Now as good as all of these characters are, most people think of one thing when 'Major League' comes up, and that's long-time Milwaukee Brewers radio man Bob Uecker as Indians radio play-by-play Harry Doyle. A review dedicated solely to Doyle's on-air one liners would be one of the easiest reviews ever written. He drinks Jack Daniels while on-air and lacks even the slightest censor as he describes the action ("Indians manage one hit....one hit? One goddamn hit?"). Doyle's unique spin always keeps the radio listeners involved, famously describing a pitch seven to eight feet off the plate as 'Jjjjjjust a bit outside.' His on-air banter is perfect, his asides to his silent color man even funnier. A part that makes a good sports movie a great sports movie.

This isn't a perfect sports movie though, Berenger's love story subplot with ex-wife Rene Russo grinding the movie to a halt. Far too much time is spent on their backstory, distracting from the baseball action. As a baseball movie though, it is about as perfect as it gets. It gets the baseball right though with plenty of laughs, in-game action, and a great finale as the Indians battle to get into the playoffs. One of the best sports movies around.

Major League <---trailer (1989): *** 1/2 /****

The Dogs of War

With almost 20 books to his name, author Frederick Forsyth has carved out quite a little niche for himself in the world of thrillers and espionage. His characters are killers, mercenaries, hard-edged cops, all the dirty jobs that no one wants to talk about but know exist nonetheless.  His realistic, detail-oriented stories translate well to film, including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, and also 1980's The Dogs of War, based off a 1974 Forsyth novel.

The book is a quality example of Forsyth's style as an author.  His talent isn't coming under fire here, anything but. His stories of killers, hired guns, and mercenaries are flashy or Hollywood.  They're based in the darkness of those people's lives, the constant fear and battle with death. 'Dogs' as a novel is more a day-to-day description of how to mount a mercenary operation than a shoot 'em up, action-packed story. If anything, it gets somewhat tedious in its ridiculous amount of detail and description. Reading it, you can't help but wonder how a movie version would translate, all the while wondering, how would they make this work? Easier said than done, but the movie is certainly enjoyable, if flawed.

A mercenary who has fought all over the world, James Shannon (Christopher Walken) returns home to New York City after doing a job in Central America. He is approached to do a recon job in a tiny west African country, Zangaro, just a quick job where he sees what the country's military forces have to offer. Shannon agrees, taking the long trip to the poverty-stricken, desolate country ruled by a blood-thirsty dictator. During his visit, he is arrested and beaten within an inch of his life, only to be rescued by a British journalist, North (Colin Blakely). Returning home, he delivers his report and is offered another job by the mysterious Endean (Hugh Milais). For a large sum of money, Shannon must lead a mercenary outfit into Zangaro and topple the government. Looking for revenge, he agrees, starting from the ground up, recruiting a small team of mercenaries to help in the effort.

If the story sounds somewhat familiar, it should. With a few tweaks here and there, 2010's The Expendables borrowed heavily from the basic storyline.  That movie was more fun overall, but The Dogs of War is the better movie. Forsyth doesn't portray his mercenary warriors as anything but what they are, hired killers, working for whoever will pay them, ideals and principles long since thrown out.  This is a story interested in the details, the things many movies would brush to the side. Where do you get guns? Where do you acquire uniforms? How do you sneak into a country? It may not sound too exciting, but there's an interesting angle of the mercenary movie -- the background -- that you just don't see that often.  'Dogs' isn't as good as Dark of the Sun or The Wild Geese, but it certainly belongs in the conversation.

Intending this in the most positive sense, I think Christopher Walken is one of the weirdest, oddest, and ultimately, coolest actors to ever star in a movie.  Watching him, you can't pull your eyes off of him. He's quirky, eccentric, different and rarely goes where you think he will with a character.  Reading the book, Walken was nothing like what I imagined the Shannon character to be like.  But the joke was on me because above all else, this movie works because of Walken.  He carries this movie. Jamie Shannon is a veteran mercenary with countless battles, firefights and wars behind him. He's alone in the world (JoBeth Williams is his ex-wife) and doesn't particularly like what he does, but he's good at it, and the pay is good. A great main character, and a sympathetic one.

One of the cooler aspects of the book was Forsyth's assembling of this multi-national team of mercenaries Shannon works with in hopefully leading the coup d'etat.  The movie drops the ball in that respect. Tom Berenger plays Drew, Shannon's best friend and right hand man, a mercenary who loves fighting, getting some sick enjoyment out of it. Also joining the team are Paul Freeman as Derek and Jean-Francois Stevenin as Michel. Eddie Tagoe plays Jinga, leader of the exiled African fighters working as Shannon's attack force. Other than Berenger's Drew, we're given no character development or any kind of personal background on either man. They're more cardboard cutouts of characters, ideas of what and who they should be. The team is still cool because they are the steely-eyed, cold-blooded mercenary, but so much more could have been done with the team as the book proved.

Interested in the little things, the background details, the movie (directed by John Irvin) saves up all its action for the finale, a nighttime assault on the Zangaro dictator's heavily guarded compound. Irvin spends a long scene showing Shannon's team (along with 24 exiled African fighters) moving into position, moving through the empty streets of Clarence, the capitol city.  It builds the tension to a boiling point so when the action does start, it is like a release of anxiety.  The attack is loud and chaotic, but still a little short.  It doesn't feel rushed, but like so much more concerning the movie, I felt like more could have been done.  The finale does deliver a solid twist, one that stays true to the Forsyth novel, neither a downer nor a happy ending. Just an ending.

Still, I can't help but feel disappointed after watching the movie.  The book is a hefty if very readable 400 pages, and the movie does an admirable job trying to stick to the novel. Too much gets left out though, like an actual reason for why the government needs to be toppled. It is hinted at, but never explained, left to be unexplained by those who haven't read the book.  The ending is a particularly dour note, a sudden ending and a moving one, but not as moving as it could have been. Other than Shannon, you don't feel much for the other characters. That's the main problem. 'Dogs' keeps you at a distance from the start.

The Dogs of War <---trailer (1980): ** 1/2 /**** 

Faster

Making his rise to stardom as a wrestler, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) has diverted on his career a bit over the last couple of years.  Instead of tough, hard-hitting characters, Johnson went down the route of making more family friendly movies, and good for him for being brave enough to do that -- while also making bajillions of dollars. Still, it's always good to see a big star go back to his roots, and he's done that with the recently released Faster.  Don't be thrown off by the struggles the movie has had at the box office, this is a bare bones, exciting, fast-paced action movie that won't disappoint.   

My first thought when I saw the trailer for this movie a couple months back was that it felt like a throwback to the 1970s when car chases, anti-heroes, and equally bad cops dominated movies.  Well, I wasn't too far off.  It doesn't feel like a throwback, this movie IS a throwback to the good old days of 1970s cop/anti-hero/road movies like The Vanishing Point, Death Race 2000, Two-Lane Blacktop and many more I'm forgetting.  Oh, also add in some pretty strong violence and you've got the 2010 version.  Nothing groundbreaking here, and there were some things that threw me off, but never enough to distract from a very enjoyable, highly entertaining action flick.

Released from jail after a 10-year sentence, a prisoner known only as Driver (Johnson) knows exactly where he's going.  He walks into an office and promptly shoots a telemarketer in the forehead, only to get back into his classic Chevelle and drive off.  Two police officers, Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and Lt. Cicero (Carla Gugino), are called in to investigate and figure out what's going on. The Driver isn't done yet though, and some more bodies start to pile up.  Someone wants him dead though, hiring a young English hitman, Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), to knock him off. Cop and Cicero continue to follow the clues, but Killer is hot on the trail too.  Who can get to Driver first, or will he get them instead?

Story-wise, 'Faster' is about as simplistic as you're going to find.  Dude needs to kill five people, cops want to stop him, killer wants to kill him.  Handled correctly though, you're going to find a quality finished product.  It reminded me a lot of 1978's The Driver, a story similar in characters and tone, even addressing the stars by their occupation (driver, cop, killer).  And as I mentioned, Faster could have been released in the 1970s and no one would have batted an eye.  There are no pretensions about delivering a message here, just a man looking for revenge (his reasoning is revealed, and you definitely side with the Driver here), wielding a bad-ass six-shooter Magnum and driving a classic early 1970s SS Chevelle.

I've always liked Dwayne Johnson, and he shows with his part here he's got some legitimate talent.  Granted, he says about 50 words the whole movie, but that's a minor thing.  The man is a beast and looks like he could kill an elephant by flexing his arms a couple times.  It is definitely good to see him return to his action roots, and hopefully he sticks with them.  Driver is an anti-hero, but not one without any redeeming qualities.  You're rooting for him, and as the bodies mount, he begins to question what he's doing and what purpose it serves.  That's my kind of anti-hero, one struggling from within about what if he's doing is right.  The ending and how it resolves everything (one somewhat obvious twist aside) is a little predictable, but not a movie killer.  Kudos to the Rock, and welcome back to action.

Then there's the two men on his trail, the cocaine-using, chain-smoking cop two weeks away from retirement (uh-oh, heard that before), and the maniacally egocentric but very talented hit man.  First, Thornton looks, feels, and is the perfect choice for Cop.  You just know he's got a checkered past as involved as the crooks he's chasing, and he may know more than he's letting on.  Jackson-Cohen is more hit or miss with a character that could have been cut out almost completely from the story without affecting much.  It's just an unnecessary character in a story that doesn't require him to be there.  Also watch for Tom Berenger as the warden, Lost's Maggie Grace (looking great) as Lily, Killer's fiance, Moon Bloodgood as Cop's ex-wife, and Lester Speight, Courtney Gains, John Cirigliano and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the Driver's intended victims.

As the movie moved along to Clint Mansell's appropriately moody and memorable score, I couldn't help but think of Faster as a modern day western. Instead of six-shooters and horses, we've got classic cars and automatic weapons. Right down to the characters and their background is reminiscent of the western hero, the loner riding into town on his horse.  The three main characters are all deeply flawed and seem to know they're doomed but continue on the road they've chosen regardless.  You just know they're all going to meet at some point down the road, just not who's going to make it out alive.

Faster <---trailer (2010): ***/****

Inception

I really have no idea at all about where to even start reviewing Inception, released last weekend in theaters and the most recent movie from director Christopher Nolan.  If you choose to stop reading my review now, just know that it is everything that is good about movies, one that keeps you interested from start to finish, has a polish to it and a style all it's own, and in general is better than 99.9 % of most movies that ever make the theaters.  So if you're going to stop reading my most likely ranting review, know that I'm giving it a 4-star rating and enjoy the movie.

Working on a script for ten-plus years, Nolan does what very few writer/directors can do; he creates a unique world that is unlike anything you've ever seen.  It is intelligent in a way few movies are and it requires, it demands that you pay attention.  People walked into the theaters 4 or 5 minutes late, and all I could think was "Well, they're screwed." Coming up with the best way to recommend this movie, I'll say this.  Watching it, you get that feeling that you're watching what a movie should be; an experience.  The visuals, the acting, the writing, Hans Zimmer's pulsing score, it all comes together in a way few movies do.  Here comes the hard part, trying to explain the plot.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best of the best at what he does. He's a dream thief, able to steal your deepest, darkest secrets through your subconscious while you are asleep. With a specialized team and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he is able to insert himself into someone's dreams and find out everything and anything about them.  But this time, he's messed up and he is being blackmailed by an employer, an extremely powerful business man named Saito (Ken Watanabe). Instead of stealing an idea, Saito wants to implant an idea in someone's head, a rival businessman, Fischer (Cillian Murphy), so that he'll dissolve his huge empire.  Cobb isn't interested until he finds out the stakes, then he goes about assembling a team to perform this 'inception,' a more dangerous technique and harder to accomplish where all the risks are raised.

To say that is the whole plot is underselling the movie.  I could do reviews and reviews that really delve into what the movie is about and probably still miss something.  In creating this world of dreams and subconscious, Nolan has made his own sets of rules as to what can and can't happen.  Because of that, as a viewer we have no background with any of this and are forced to pay that much more attention to keep up.  Honestly though, I paid attention -- no talking, no texting, no bathroom breaks -- and feel I have a pretty good grasp of what's going on.  If you're worried about being confused, just go in with an open mind and do your best to keep up.  At a certain point, just go along for the ride and enjoy yourself.

As was the case with Nolan's previous big-budget movies (the two Batman movies and The Prestige), he's able to put an impressive cast together.  If you had told me 10 years ago watching Titanic that I'd like DiCaprio as an actor, I'd have said you were crazy.  But starring as Cobb, he continues a string of movies where he's not just tolerable, he's a strong actor who can stand on his own.  Joining him on his team are Ariadne (Ellen Page), the architect of the dream worlds they go into, Eames (Tom Hardy), the forger, Yusuf (Dileep Rao), the chemist, and Gordon-Levitt as Arthur.  Hardy especially stands out, but all of the team more than hold their own.  Watanabe and Murphy are more chess pieces to be played with, but their presence alone helps the story.  French beauty Marion Cotillard is perfectly scary in a supporting role, and then add in Tom Berenger, Pete Postlethwaite and Michael Caine with small parts, and you've got a can't miss cast.

One reason I enjoyed the TV show 'Lost' so much was that it played with your perception of time and space.  Where better to continue that trend than in your dreams where anything and everything from your own subconscious can make an impact?  That was an element that caught me by surprise here.  You can be in someone else's dream, but your own thoughts, fears, worries can fight their way into the dream-world.  DiCaprio's Cobb is a prime example of this, a tortured individual with a checkered past.  The best part of the movie though is the execution of the inception, a three-leveled dream as Cobb's team goes deeper into Fischer's "mind." Time is shorter in certain levels than others, what may only be seconds in one level is years in another.  There of course has to be limbo then, where there is no time and dreams float about with the minds they belong to.  Trippy ideas all of them, but certainly incredibly creative.

The Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips made an excellent point about Inception, stating that this is at its heart, a heist movie, that one last job.  That's the movie's strength.  All these crazy visual tricks play into it as cities fold in on each other, gravity goes out the window, and time doesn't mean as much.  It's basically the craziest, most involved heist ever with Cobb looking to pull off that one last job that will reunite him with his family.  At its heart, Inception has that small angle, a family man trying to right a wrong, and on a bigger angle, a huge, incredibly unique storyline that pulled me in from the get-go.  It's a movie that is nearly impossible to review without giving away far too much.  If you've made it this long, I'll say it again.  Just go see Inception and decide for yourself.

Inception <----trailer (2010): ****/****