Scoring at the Movies

Ep. 131 - Rocky Balboa

We've arrived at the series finale of Scoring At The Movies!

 

We're wrapping up this every-other-Thursday chat show about sports films by digging into Rocky...again. Rocky Balboa is filled with emotion, nostalgia (oh, is it nostalgic!) and many references to previous films in the franchise, not to mention a slew of quirky, Rocky-specific details. It's one of the best of the first 5 sequels as it highlights the lonely ex-boxer struggling mightily with the death of his beloved Adrian. Sylvester Stallone's return to the series after the failure of Rocky V represents some of the best work he did in the original 6. He even gets to end Balboa's improbable boxing career on a "full circle" high note. Then after our hour-plus gab about this cheesy/fun movie, we spent around 15 minutes summing up our feelings about doing this podcast for the past 5 years.

 

So race up the steps for the last time and get rid of the stuff in the basement as Ryan & Chris ring the final bell on Scoring At The Movies.

 

To contact us, use email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com) or Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies).

Ep. 130 - For Love of The Game

We're talking about baseball for the last time as Kevin Costner plays a Detroit Tigers pitcher in For Love Of The Game. The film spends about an equal amount of time between the Costner/Kelly Preston love story and him trying to achieve something monumental: throw a perfect game.

 

We thought the romance had too many tonal problems to take it seriously, although you can't say it was shoehorned in. It's essential to the way director Sam Raimi tells the flashback-heavy story. Even though we admired a lot of the action depicted on the diamond, we were pedants about A LOT of the errors. Costner's 3rd baseball flick is just a frustrating experience, although there are some moments that are as exciting as a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th.

 

So clear the mechanism as we talk to ourselves on the mound and maybe shed some tears in our penultimate episode about For Love Of The Game.

 

Our email address is scoringatthemovies@gmail.com and our Twitter accounts are @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies.

Ep.129 - Rollerball

In our 3rd-last episode, we're talking about a cynical, sci-fi movie about a made-up sport called Rollerball. Norman Jewison's dour 1975 film juggles a lot of balls and comments on many social issues (as Jewison often did in the films he directed), but he didn't draw either of us into his take on a dystopian future. James Caan mostly just mutters and sulks. He's not at his tough-guy best, although at least he and the stunt performers are convincing when they're playing this ultra-violent game. We agreed that the picture is absolutely well-made, showing a 2018 that was grounded in reality, not The Jetsons. It's just not a picture we ever care to see again. So instead of gleefully exploding trees with a hand cannon, why not be true to yourself and buck fascist authority figures, no matter who gets hurt? And while you're doing that, we'll be over here trying to figure out Rollerball.

 

Oh, and for the record, we've covered 3 poker movies on this channel, not just 1 or 2: Rounders, Casino Royale and Molly's Game.

 

Our email address is scoringatthemovies@gmail.com, while our Twitter handles are @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies.

Ep. 128 - More Than A Game

Since we're counting down to our final podcast on June 7th, this represents both our final basketball movie and our final documentary. More Than A Game shows a remarkable amount of archival footage and plenty of behind-the-scenes home videos of LeBron James and his high-school teammates, but did Kristopher Belman ask them any truly hard questions? For instance, were the other 4 guys in the Fab Five jealous about just how rich and successful their megastar friend ended up?  And what's it like to be best friends with arguably the greatest player the NBA has ever seen? We got into a long discussion about that exact point too...just who is the best ever, whether it's LeBron, Michael...or someone else. Chris didn't love the way Belman structured the doc with all the time-jumping and we both felt unsatisfied by the lack of real answers to the scandal that saw LeBron get suspended during their senior year. Still, the movie is fast-paced and very ntertaining. So get ready to root for the overdog as we spend a solid hour chatting about More Than A Game.

 

Oh, and for the record: the boys went to Buchtel High School, not "Beck-tel". Also, LeBron won 2 NBA championships with Miami, 1 with Cleveland and 1 with the Lakers, so he's won 4 NBA titles, not 5.

 

You can email us (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com) or type out some tweets (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies).

Ep. 127 - Chariots of Fire

Chariots Of Fire is one of the most-respected movies we will ever cover, what with all the critical & financial success, not to mention the Oscar for Best Picture. It's just a shame we didn't care more about this true story. All the religious talk definitely didn't help us connect with the material. Ian Charleson runs blissfully for God (except when he won't) while the Jewish character played by Ben Cross runs his heart out, even though he has to fight against quiet-but-cruel anti-Semitism. Then they and their fellow upper-crust, subdued, white Great Britainers head to Paris for the 1924 Summer Olympics to try to run faster than the (white) Americans et al. It's a pretty simple story handled well by director Hugh Hudson, who never topped himself after this film. We just wish his crowning achievement touched us more. So dash on the beach in slow motion as a famous song plays along while we enlighten you about the acclaimed Chariots Of Fire.

 

Oh, and for the record, there were only 44 nations competing in the 1924 games while more than 200 countries have been competing in recent years.

 

To make your voice heard, you can shoot us an email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com) or hit us with some tweets (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies).

Ep. 126 - Major League II

On the day the 2023 MLB season begins, we're discussing the sequel to one of our favourite baseball movies. Of course, Major League II is pretty much the same film, as the Cleveland Redacteds bicker, stink, bond, then strive to win it all, even though nobody believes in them...again. It doesn't help that David Ward's follow-up to his iconic original doesn't have much new up its sleeve and it's rated PG to appeal/pander to kids. There are also some idiotic screenwriting choices in the big game at the end. Yet this movie was raked over every coal by critics, even though it made us laugh---Bob Uecker!---and the baseball action is certainly worth your time. These guys are pretty believable athletes too, especially Charlie Sheen and David Keith. Oh, and as a bonus, Ryan did a brief review of Bang The Drum Slowly at the end of this episode because that was our original film this week.

 

So don't brawl on the field with your own teammates. Instead, think about lingerie magazines to distract you from your hang-ups as you blow it out certain body parts and enjoy us speaking better of Major League II than almost anyone else ever has.

 

You can contact us by tweeting (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) or by email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).

Ep. 125 - Redbelt

We haven't reviewed very many MMA movies and we certainly haven't talked specifically about a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu film before, but writer/director David Mamet was the right guy to focus on that in Redbelt.

 

He's a practitioner of Jiu-Jitsu, which also means he might not have always explained the sport as well as he could have. Maybe he was too close to it? While the first half is terrific, Redbelt is overstuffed with plot and has a vast & confusing conspiracy that unfolds during the inferior second half. Headlining a great cast, Chiwetel Ejiofor is wonderful as a man of honour in an honourless world. Does Mamet think that's what he is too?

 

Anyway, we spent a lot of this episode trying to figure out the uneven film that is Redbelt, but there's much to praise too. Just play our podcast, there's always a way to play our podcast.

 

To contact us, you can email (scoringatmovies@gmail.com) or hit us with some tweets (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies).

EP. 124 - Rocky V

Once Creed III is released on March 3rd, there will be 9 entries in the Rocky universe...and we will have covered 5 of them. 

 

We're obviously huge fans of Balboa & friends, but one of us was a bigger Rocky V apologist than the other one was. This is, after all, universally acknowledged as the worst in the franchise. Even Sylvester Stallone hates it.

 

His script creates major problems with the scenarios, the characters and even one character's nonsensical name. Some of those blunders were truly maddening. We also both took issue with the way Stallone and returning director John Avildsen executed the angle where the Balboas go broke...and the repercussions of that when they end up back in the old neighbourhood. 

 

Still, there are some sweet moments and touching call-backs to prior films. As always, the entire series was discussed, which it must be when the other films are referred to as often as they always are when the Italian Stallion is the topic and we're the ones doing the discussing. We didn't hear no bell, so fire up this lengthy episode to hear us share some laughs and express some exasperation about the valley in the franchise known as Rocky V.

 

If you want to contact us, our email is scoringatthemovies@gmail.com and our Twitter handles are @mvoiefiend51 and @scoringatmovies.

Ep. 123 - Logan Lucky

Not all sports movies are made the same. For instance, Logan Lucky isn't one.

 

The car racing is at a minimum in Steven Soderbergh's well-reviewed, but under-seen heist comedy. On the very bright side though, there are plenty of stars and character actors who delighted us. The movie is snappy and funny in an Ocean's Eleven kind of way, which makes sense because Steven Soderbergh directed that series too.

 

Just like the robberies in the Oceans flicks, there are some holes in Channing Tatum's master plan. The movie's geography also defies logic. So we quibbled the way we always do about issues like that, but we also acknowledged that the best move while you're watching is to just go with it. That's not hard to do when you've got Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough and Jack Quaid doing the heavy lifting alongside Tatum.

 

So don't pre-judge a southern putz who just might be smarter than everybody else and certainly don't disrespect a slow-moving, one-handed veteran. Just devour our talk about Logan Lucky while you think about what you're going to do with all the money you'll get out of this job...eventually.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts about this or any other podcast we've posted. On Twitter we're @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies, while our email is scoringatthemovies@gmail.com.

Ep. 122 - The Longest Yard (2005)

As the Eagles & Chiefs prepare for the Super Bowl and since this is Groundhog Day, we thought we'd repeat ourselves and cover a football movie all over again: The Longest Yard.

 

Okay, the 1974 version of The Longest Yard was 115 podcasts ago, while we're talking about the Adam Sandler remake today. Critics don't like this take on the Mean Machine very much, but we ranted about the way they often turn up their nose at comedies and remakes. We just think this is the funnier movie of the two, especially when Chris Rock or Kevin Nash are involved. And, hey, Burt Reynolds even has a major—and we think effective---supporting role.

 

That doesn't mean that this version is perfect though, partly because director Peter Segal doesn't balance the tone very well and he hits most of the same beats the original did. A big plus was casting actual NFL players and pro wrestlers to play the cons and the guards, which allows for the gridiron action to look more real than it might have.

 

So don't cheat at the game you love and then sulk your way through life. Instead, play as hard as you can and then risk your life just to one-up your tormenter as we say nicer things about this edition of The Longest Yard than you might have expected us to.

 

Let's hear from you via Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) or an email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).