How to Spend $20
By David Mumpower
August 3, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
For every Atlanta Braves pitcher: The Perfect Game
If you didn’t know by now that I am a huge Atlanta Braves fan, you just haven’t been paying attention. Anyway, The Perfect Game is one of those movies that bounced around the schedule quite a bit before its eventual release. This is odd in that the book from which the movie is adapted did not come out until 2008 yet filming occurred almost simultaneously. To wit, the initial release date for this project was late summer of 2008. It received some Latin America exhibitions in the first half of 2009, but wasn’t released in North America until April of last year. Finally, there has been the delay of its home video debut until now, making this project almost exactly three years old prior to DVD availability, a rarity in this day and age.
Fortunately, timeliness of topicality is not an issue here since the perfect game in question occurred in 1957. A Mexican youth named Angel Macias pitched a team from Monterrey, Mexico to the Little League World Series championship; they were the first non-American team to win the title and to this day, Macias remains the only participant to throw a perfect game in the tournament championship. Note that there will not be a lot of suspense about the game itself. The movie’s conflict stems from the events leading up to Monterrey’s participation. Their manager was a janitor for the St. Louis Cardinals who was never given an opportunity to work in baseball in the 1950s due to his Latin heritage. At least, that was the story Cesar Faz told his friends back home. History shows that he may have overstated the situation quite a bit, a story arc played up in the movie, which I saw all the way back in 2009 (or 2008?). I honestly don’t even remember that well other than thinking that it was better than Sugar, another 2008 baseball movie about a young Latino’s struggles. The Perfect Game is much more uplifting in tone and just a very sweet real life sports story developed into a solid feature film.
For people who miss Ephram Brown’s constant sulking about his relationship with daddy: Everwood: The Complete Fourth Season
While I am not exaggerating the point about Ephram being a whiny bitch throughout the 89 episode run of Everwood, I miss this show dearly At the start of 2006, there was every indication that Everwood would be on the air for years to come. In late January of that year, news of the merger of The WB with UPN changed the conversation. With two networks worth of programming and only one schedule to fill, Everwood changed from a certain renewal to a surprising cancellation. Given the quality of programming on The CW to date, the decision is all the more infuriating. Everwood is that rare gem of programming that focuses on characters and story more than faux drama. It was a spiritual successor to Northern Exposure and I miss it dearly. I own the first three seasons and will be buying this DVD season quickly. The best news is that with Foreverwood Parts 1 and 2, the producers of the show did manage to bring closure to the primary storylines of the series. These are the relationships between Ephram and his father and the romantic connection between Ephram and Amy. I enjoy the resolutions so much that Foreverwood has stayed on my TiVo for over five years now. Everwood is warm, comfortable television I highly recommend.
For people who have always wanted Kenny Powers’ autograph: Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
Comedian Danny McBride’s career thus far is indicative of someone who has powerful friends but not enough fans. Between Land of the Lost and Your Highness, his career as a Hollywood leading man has started roughly as well as Tom Arnold’s did. Still, super producer Adam McKay and Hollywood power player Will Ferrell continue to champion McBride as a potentially great funnyman.
Eastbound & Down represents a strange programming decision for HBO. Two seasons of television reflects a whopping 13 episodes of content. That’s the type of network order we see from the BBC, not HBO. And we will not be seeing much more. The previously announced third season will be the last for this tale of a former Major League pitcher reduced to a career as a physical education teacher.
Those of you who watched season one know that the lead character, Kenny Powers, thought he was about to make his triumphant comeback with the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. When that didn’t happen, Powers went into hiding rather than face all the people he had informed of his return to glory. Fast forward to season two and we find that Powers has been playing in the Mexican League, and that is the location as well as the basis for the first six episodes. The final one sets the table for season three. Without giving away too much, Powers as a character amazes me in that the show is not that popular yet he has gained endorsements within the sports culture. Ordinarily, the studio makes all the money and handles all the publicity. Kenny Powers has broken out in a way that hasn’t helped the ratings any yet it has allowed McBride to heighten his presence among sports fans everywhere. That alone is a significant feat. And if you are on the fence about whether to watch season two, let me say the magic words that would sell me if I were undecided: Deep Roy co-stars.
For Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Last Night
Are you seriously considering leaving your spouse or maybe just cheating on them? If so, I have just the movie for you. Very attractive people named Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and a French dude you don’t know named Guillaume Canet portray a quartet of star-crossed lovers. Knightley and Worthington’s characters, Joanna and Michael, are a semi-happily married couple yet that doesn’t stop Joanna from becoming very suspicious when she notices Michael laughing it up with Laura (Mendes), a work colleague he has never mentioned to his wife before. After that, the situation degrades further when Joanna bumps into a former flame, Alex. And from there, the whole movie becomes one extended hump fest with the occasional bout with guilt thrown in for good measure. If you believe that love is nothing but sex mixed with human suffering, this is just your sort of film, you miserable bastard. If you want a movie that ends with “and they lived happily ever after”, I recommend Tangled instead.
For the person in your life who is impossible to shop for: Pure Country 2: The Gift
Despite having lived in Tennessee my entire life, I have never been a huge fan of country music. And I say this as someone who used to have snowball fights with a guy who has won over 20 Grammys in the profession. Keeping this in mind, I have a soft place in my heart for Pure Country, a movie that demonstrates no artifice whatsoever. It simply tells a nice story well, which is presumably the aspiration of most country music.
George Strait is someone with whom I had little familiarity prior to the first film and I still don’t know much of his music yet I very much enjoyed his performance in Pure Country. Surprisingly, I like the movie so much that it’s one of less than 100 features I currently own on Amazon Video, which speaks to my passion for the project. As such, I am quite excited about the sequel although I wasn’t able to catch it in theaters, something of a rarity for me. The fact that the screenplay was written by Superman himself Dean Cain is the only thing that gives me pause. He doesn’t strike me as greatly possessed of Southern sensibilities. Still, this movie costars Michael McKean, Bronson Pinchot, and Cheech Marin and the news alone would make me want to watch pretty much anything.
If you’ve ever had to tell a teacher that instead of homework, a shark ate your arm: Soul Surfer
Let me just say that the Christian book store on the corner is very excited about this release. They’ve had the billboard up for several weeks now. Apparently, this is their Avatar. Then again, in terms of popular Christian cinema, Soul Surfer is in that tier between Kirk Cameron and The Passion of the Christ. The movie has earned $43.9 million domestically, and the target audience on opening day gave it a rare A+ Cinemascore. Rotten Tomatoes critics are less enthusiastic about it, but they aren’t the target audience for this straightforward tale of a teen girl overcoming a nightmarish event to achieve her dreams. Soul Surfer isn’t going to surprise anyone with regards to its plot. A shark eats a girl’s arm yet she refuses to quit surfing. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you are not the target audience but I will say that faith-based cinema rarely has features of this quality. I think it’s well worth giving a chance as a teen girl’s answer to Rudy.
Pick of the week:
For BOP’s This Weekend, Watch This scribe Curt David: Rio
Curt has made frequent to sojourns to Brazil since I have known him and he mentioned in his column back when Rio was released that the title alone was enough to make him want to watch it. Good news, Curt! It’s out on home video this week.
Rio is one of the few $100 million movies prior to the summer in 2011. Then again, with a budget of $90 million, it had to be. The great news for Fox is that in addition to a strong domestic tally of $143 million, it did great overseas, leading to a global take of $479 million. Hello, sequel!
With regards to the storyline, Rio is about a macaw named Blu (you’ll never guess what color he is) and his journey from his home in Minnesota to the exotic destination of Rio de Janeiro. I’d describe it as the inverse weather story to Mr. Popper’s Penguins but I suspect you have already forgotten about that much less popular film by now. The good news for Blu is that he is medically ordered to hook up in order to survive. We should all get a doctor’s note for that before the next time we go clubbing. Anyway, when Blu meets Jewel, a female macaw who somehow believes the “if you don’t sex me up, I’ll die”, he begins a grand adventure that may or may not involve a dancing sequence at Carnaval. Oh, who am I kidding? It totally does. It is not, however, called the Penetrada. Sorry, Simpsons fans.
Describing Rio almost misses the point in that it’s a brightly colored animated movie that doubles as kiddy-crack. If you are a parent and somehow avoided having to see this in theaters, the bill just came due. If you are not a parent and you are not Curt David, Rio is a judgment call…but you should still try the doctor’s sex note tactic immediately.
New releases for the week of August 2, 2011:
DVD:
10 Movie Family Adventure Pack Volume 1 (Set)
10 Movie Family Pack (Set)
10 Movie Kids Pack Volume 3 (Set)
10 Movie Mega Pack Volume 3 (Set)
10 Movie Western Pack Volume 1
10 Movie Western Pack Volume 2 (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Charlton Heston (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Classic Holiday Volume 2 (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Classic Holiday Volume 1 (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Denzel Washington (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Epic Adventures (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Nicholas Sparks (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Sci-Fi (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Steven Seagal Action (Set)
4 Film Favorites: Vampires (Set)
4 Film Favorties: Raw Feed Horror (Set)
6 Movie Pack: Adventure Robinson Crusoe (Set)
6 Movie Pack: Disaster (Set)
6 Movie Pack: Sharks Piranhas & Monsters (Set)
8 Movie Pack Midnight Horror Collection Volume 1 (Set)
8 Movie Pack Midnight Horror Collection Volume 2 (Set)
A.T.L. After Dark
Accused at 17
Animated Classics Collection (Set)
Asylum Seekers
Awesome Dinosaurs: Tales of Scales
Awesome Snakes: Tales of Tails
Back to the Secret Garden
Baka & Test: Season 1 (DVD +)
Baka & Test: Season 1 (DVD +)
Bellydance Superstars: Bombay Bellywood Live
Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: The Return of Heatblast
Best In Heat Triple Feature: Flesh For The Beast / (Set)
Best of Storybook Classics (Set)
Better Off Dead
Black Sheep/Tommy Boy (Double Feature)
Bob Harper: Beginner's Weight Loss
Bob Harper: Totally Ripped Core
The Boston Strangler: The Untold Story (Rental)
Braveheart / Gladiator (Double Feature)
Cartoon Collectors Series (Set)
Casshern: The Complete Series (DVD +)
Chuggington: It's Training Time (Magazine Subscription + )
Chuggington: It's Training Time
The Coffin
Cold Weather
The Colony: Season 2
Coming to America / Trading Places (Double Feature)
Con Artist
Conan The Barbarian
Conan The Destroyer
Copycat
Cougar Hunting (Widescreen)
Crazy for Cars Collection 2 (Set)
Curious George: A Day at the Library (Widescreen)
Daiakuji: The Complete Collection (Set)
Dance off the Inches: Belly Dance
Dancehall Gladiator
Dear Lemon Lima
Defiance / Enemy at the Gates (Double Feature)
Doctor At Large
Doctor At Sea
Doctor In Clover
Doctor In Distress
Doctor In Love
Doctor In The House
Doctor In Trouble
Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season
Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
Ed Sullivan Presents: Rock N Roll Revolution
Elvis: The Great Performances Gift Set (Set)
Everwood: Complete Seasons 1-4 (Set)
Everwood: The Complete Fourth Season
Evidence of A Haunting
Exit 33
Exporting Raymond
Exporting Raymond
Facez of Death 2000 Collection (Set)
Facez of Death 2000 Part 1
Facez of Death 2000 Part 2
Facez of Death 2000 Part 3
Facez of Death 2000 Part 4
Facez of Death 2000 Part 5
Facez of Death 2000 Part 6
Facez of Death 2000 Part 7
A Fistful Of Dollars
For A Few Dollars More
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 5
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 5
Garrow's Law: Series 2
The Girls Next Door: Season 4
The Girls Next Door: Season 5
The Girls Next Door: Season One
The Girls Next Door: Season Three
The Girls Next Door: Season Two
The Godfather / The Godfather Part II (Double Feature)
Going Postal
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Special Edition)
Happy: The Littlest Bunny / Maxwell Saves The Day (Double Feature)
Heart: Live
Heart: Live
I Almost Got Away With It
I Wanna Be: Bulldozer Driver
I Wanna Be: Train Engineer
Impact 911
Innocent
Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost
Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook
Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook
Joe Maddison's War
John Pinette: Still Hungry
Julie Darling
Kendra: The Complete First Season
Last Night
The Least of These
The Little Cars 7: Revved Up and Ready To Go
Loopdiver: Journey of a Dance
The Magnificent Seven
Maid Sama Collection 2
Manchester Fiesta 5th Anniversary: Part 1
Manchester Fiesta 5th Anniversary: Part 2
Marvel Knights: Iron Man & Spider Woman (Double Feature)
Masters of Terror
Maverick
Melancholy of Haruhi: Chan Suzumiya Part 2
Minnesota Magic: Remembering the Minnesota Twins..
Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series (Collector's Edition)
Mucho Culo
The Music Never Stopped (Widescreen)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: MST3K vs. Gamera XXI
The Name Of The Rose
Nicki Minaj: Roman's Revenge
Outside the Law
Outside the Law
The Perfect Game
The Perfect Game (Widescreen)
Pie In The Sky: Series 5
Pinocchio / Heidi (Double Feature)
The Pit & The Pendulum (Digital Copy +)
The Prisoner (Widescreen)
Pure Country 2: The Gift
Quarantine 2: Terminal
Return Of The Magnificent Seven
Revolutionary Girl Utena: Black Rose Sage Set 2 (Set)
Rio (Back-To-Back)
Rio (DVD +)
Rio (Rental)
Rio (Side-By-Side)
Rio
Rio (Rental)
Robin Hood / Three Musketeers (Double Feature)
Sands Of The Kalahari
Sands Of The Kalahari
Sci-Fi Collector's Set Volume 7
Scott Cole: Yoga Tai Chi
Sesame Street: Learning Letters with Elmo
Sheryl Crow: Live
Sheryl Crow: Live
Shooter / The Italian Job (Double Feature)
Shutter Island / Primal Feal (Double Feature)
Sleepers
Soul Surfer (DVD +)
Soul Surfer
Spot: Spot Goes To School
Spy Kids (Digital Copy +)
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams (Digital Copy +)
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (Digital Copy +)
Stake Land
Stake Land
Stake Land (Special Edition)
Storm Chasers: Season 3
Streetwalkin'
Strigoi: The Undead
The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet
To Walk With Lions
Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue
Tsubasa: Season 2
Tsubasa: Season 2
UFC 130
United States of Tara: The Third Season
Veggie Tales: Lunch & Lessons in a Box (Set)
Vs. The Dead (Widescreen)
Wayne's World 1 & 2: The Complete Epic (Double Feature)
Who Killed Chea Vichea?
Wild Wild West
WWII Mega Pack (Set)
YellowBrickRoad
Zen: Vendetta Cabal Ratking
Zen: Vendetta Cabal Ratking
Blu-ray:
Baka & Test: Season 1 DVD +
Baka & Test: Season 1 DVD +
Better Off Dead
Black Sheep/Tommy Boy Double Feature
Braveheart / Gladiator Double Feature
Casshern: The Complete Series DVD +
Coming to America / Trading Places Double Feature
Conan The Barbarian
Conan The Destroyer
Copycat
Defiance / Enemy at the Gates Double Feature
Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season
Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
Exporting Raymond
A Fistful Of Dollars
For A Few Dollars More
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 5
The Godfather / The Godfather Part II Double Feature
Heart: Live
Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook
The Magnificent Seven
Marvel Knights: Iron Man & Spider Woman Double Feature
Maverick
The Name Of The Rose
Outside the Law
The Perfect Game
Return Of The Magnificent Seven
Rio DVD +
Sands Of The Kalahari
Sheryl Crow: Live
Shooter / The Italian Job Double Feature
Shutter Island / Primal Feal Double Feature
Sleepers
Soul Surfer DVD +
Spy Kids Digital Copy +
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams Digital Copy +
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Digital Copy +
Stake Land
Tsubasa: Season 2
Wayne's World 1 & 2: The Complete Epic Double Feature
Wild Wild West
Zen: Vendetta Cabal Ratking