Episodes
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Ep. 121 - The Naked Gun
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
You can throw a pillow at our face or hit us with a knock-out dart (why?!), but also listen to us when we say that The Naked Gun really is a sports movie. About 1/3rd of the film is set at the ballpark with Leslie Nielsen doing what he does best: bumbling his way through somehow solving a tough case. Nielsen plays it straight through all the gags and jokes (often double jokes) that only work if you deliver them the way that he does. Credit to George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban and Priscilla Presley for doing that so well too. This is also the rare baseball comedy that rewards repeat viewings. Just like in the ZAZ guys' Airplane, there are details you might not have picked up on the first time or the second time...or maybe even the third time.
So try to look past the presence of a certain running back and appreciate the enduring hilarity that is The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad.
Email us with your thoughts (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com) or blast off some tweets at us (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies).
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
Ep. 120 - Youngblood
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
This 1980's relic was the hockey movie we could never find on DVD or streaming, but YouTube to the rescue and we finally get to cover Youngblood.
Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze are convincing on skates and, man, are they handsome. Both play talented scorers who also have to fight their own battles on the ice. On that note, we didn't like the last 5 minutes of this movie, partly because we didn't buy almost anything about the post-game stick joust and then the punch-up. When Lowe isn't dealing with that goonery throughout his OHL experience, he's being hazed, seduced by his landlady and---just when his best buddy on the team starts to become a real friend---that friend is badly injured.
Some have said Youngblood's biggest fault is that it's loaded with cliches, but better sports movies that came after this one had similar scenes, so this was at least influential. Anyway, keep your stick on the ice, but be ready to throw hands as we dissect Peter Markle's amateur hockey flick.
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Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Ep. 119 - Over the Top
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Sometimes the title of a movie tells you everything you need to know about it, but the biggest problem with Sylvester Stallone's arm-wrestling opus isn't that it's Over The Top. Sly underplays, if anything. He's not even as bad as you might expect, nor is David Mendenhall truly deserving of the Razzie he won for playing the estranged "I love you, now I hate you" son. The editing, the direction by Menahem Golan and the screenplay (co-written by Sly) are all atrocious though. Yeah, this is just about the most laughably illogical film we've ever covered. They can't even keep Stallone's character's name straight! At least the picture is entertaining, especially when you get to rag on it with your podcast partner sitting beside you.
So the holidays are just about here and you're probably going to have to meet your family halfway, but don't drive a transport truck through anyone's house, even if it's to get your son back. Just bet on yourself to defy insurmountable odds as you listen to us verbally annihilate Over The Top.
Go ahead and follow us on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) and maybe email us too (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Ep. 118 - Undisputed
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Walter Hill's Undisputed is a gritty boxing movie in which the big fight takes place in prison. There's potential in that concept, right? Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames play the 2 main characters. Hey, that HAS to amount to something cool, doesn't it?
Well, this film could have and should have been vivid and dynamic, but instead it's a disjointed, unsatisfying, anti-Rocky. We couldn't even figure out who we were supposed to root for, mostly because one pugilist is a rapist and the other is a murderer. It doesn't help that neither of them has much of an arc, nor are most of the many (many) story threads tied up. Yet because the boxing scenes hit home and all the actors do the best they can with this shabby material, it's more that Hill's flick is empty than is actually a bad film. It's just a shame because Undisputed could have been something truly cool, even if Ving Rhames' camp would deny the whole thing ever even took place.
If you want to talk to us, we're reachable on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) or via email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Ep. 117 - The Winning Season
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Sometimes we cover obscure sports films on this channel. The Winning Season is a prime example. It barely even played in theatres 12 years ago. Since it's another in our recent run of "pleasant experience" movies, it probably deserved at least a little more attention back then. Sam Rockwell is the ne'er-do-well coach of a girls' basketball team in this dramedy that co-stars pre-stardom youngsters Emma Roberts and Rooney Mara. Even though the biggest name in the cast is Sam The Man, this film easily passes the Bechdel Test. There are many connections to boys' b-ball flicks in this though and it often follows their lead a little too closely. That's the biggest problem. The story isn't fresh or original in any way. Anyway, don't threaten to get a restraining order against your own father just because you're mad at him. Take a breath, learn to appreciate dear old drunken dad and his team of underdogs and---while you're doing that---listen to us jam about The Winning Season.
We're always curious to hear your feedback through Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) and/or email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Ep. 116 - Six Pack
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Six Pack is a racing movie starring a half-dozen kids and a popular country singer who had never really acted before. What should've been an obnoxious failure is actually a genial experience with Kenny Rogers doing pretty solid work alongside a young Diane Lane and an even-younger Anthony Michael Hall. All 7 of the main characters get in trouble with the law at one time or another, so this road movie is filled with getaways and clever escapes. Families might enjoy settling in with Daniel Petrie's unchallenging picture. So let love turn you around (turn you around) as we rev up our car on southern racetracks and try not to let this Six Pack weasel their way into our camper.
If you're so inclined to contact us, you can do it on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies) or via email (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Ep. 115 - The Freshman
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Rather than covering Six Pack this week as we had advertised, Ryan got caught monologuing about Harold Lloyd's 1925 classic The Freshman. While Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin remain legends a century after the height of their stardom, Lloyd is the sometimes-forgotten clown of the silent era. He's cheerful oblivious in this football farce, a "young" college kid who doesn't realize other students are always bullying him. Lloyd himself and the character he plays here certainly get to prove how gutsy they are. The man in the glasses takes a pounding throughout the film, usually with a smile on his face. The problem with Lloyd's star vehicle though is that it just isn't funny, which is a common complaint about the older comedies we cover. So get ready to hear about pratfalls, goofballs, footballs and romance as one man gives you his rundown on The Freshman.
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Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Ep. 114 - The Babe
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Even though George Herman Ruth is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, The Babe is not even a good movie, never mind a great one. The problems start with John Goodman, who's a terrific actor, but he's miscast in the titular role of the man-child who started as a pitcher with the Red Sox and then became an outfielder with the Yankees. It also doesn't help that this gregarious, larger-than-life baseball legend is depicted as moody, needy and a sad sack for most of this lifeless film. The biggest crime of all though is how much Arthur Hiller and his team stretched the truth (or messed up the chronology of momentous events) about Ruth's incredible real-life story. We got very pedantic about those facts and figures. So shrug off the non-stop insults about your weight because it's clear that you're a natural who just likes to hit home runs as we shuffle our way through the glum disappointment of a biopic they call The Babe.
We don't mind if you keeds tweet us. We are @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies. You can also email us at scoringatthemovies@gmail.com.
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Ep. 113 - North Dallas Forty
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
While the satire in North Dallas Forty didn't make us laugh, Ted Kotcheff's well-regarded film was ahead of its time with how it shows the brutality of football and the price players pay to do something they love.
This is also a movie about cold, hard analytics...and it beat Moneyball to the punch with that theme by more than 30 years. Despite ingratiating performances by Mac Davis and the (supposed) rebel Nick Nolte, Chris couldn't figure this movie out, although we both respected it for its honesty and for how authentic the cast is. The most memorable scene is the opening when a beat-up Nolte recalls his team's win the night before, but the sequence where the players get psyched up to go out and smash (and get smashed) in the playoff game zings too.
A shortage of giggles notwithstanding (okay, Nolte's "sorta" was pretty funny), there's plenty of meat on North Dallas Forty's bone. So learn how to play more than just the game of football as you ease your aching body into a bath with this episode in your earbuds and a mix of happy & frustrating sporting memories in your head.
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Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Ep. 112 - Blue Crush
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
It must be hard work to have this much fun surfing enormous waves in Maui, but have you tried also working as a maid at a posh hotel?
In Blue Crush, Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez and Sanoe Lake get to do both and, rumour has it, hijinks ensue! At least that's the theory. Director John Stockwell's film has tonal problems and it's also hard to figure out who he made it for. No one can deny though that the surfing is shot very well. We'll let the use of obvious stunt doubles slide, considering how dangerous those huge waves must be even for the most-experienced water-lover. If only the screenplay was more fun, a lot more intense or even a zany combination of both of those things. This is certainly no Point Break.
Anyway, get over your fears of being hurt while doing what you love as you fall for the perfect quarterback who's on vacation...and going home soon We'll be hanging 10 and presenting our critical thoughts about Blue Crush in this podcast, bruh.
If you tweet, look for us (@moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies). We're very open to getting emails too (scoringatthemovies@gmail.com).
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