Reviews

Another one of those baseball movies that appear on movie channels in the middle of summer, "Comrades of Summer" is an enjoyable story. Sparky Smith, the successful player-manager of the Mariners, is released and ends up getting another gig as the coach of the Russian National team. Here, he must band together athletes from other sports. Eventually, somehow, they end up playing in the states in a battle for the pride of both team and manager. It's very predictable, it doesn't feature ridiculously awesome baseball action, and it's not particularly memorable, but it's very much an entertaining baseball film. Don't watch and expect "The Natural" or anything, but watch it like you would "Angels in the Outfield."

Another unnecessary sequel from those pesky cartoonists at Disney, right? A less-than-acclaimed original in the first place, right? Sure, I can agree with those sentiments; after all, I thought them as I popped in the DVD, watching only on the recommendation of a less than reliable source. Yet all I can say is I enjoyed it.

"Kronk's New Groove" includes some of the crude humor becoming increasingly present in Disney's 21st century work, but beyond that point it is a fun little story about burly henchman-turned-chef Kronk, best remembered for his idle squirrel chit chat in the original. Here, Kronk finds himself trying to please his father, but struggling when his conscience intervenes with his efforts.

But story is not what carries this movie. It is the delightful anachronisms, the self-defacing humor, the cross-dressing, the parodies, and the PERFECT voice provided by Patrick Wharburton to Kronk that makes this so much fun. The story alone is predictable, but with edgy humor ornamenting it, the movie draws laughs (and maybe even a tear).

So before writing "Kronk" off as another waste of time and animation by the Disney brain-trust, check it out at Hollywood Video or Blockbuster. It was well worth the $3.00, in my opinion.

When Anchorman came into theaters, I avoided it like a dead sewer rat. When it came onto HBO, I pretended it didn't exist. In fact, I would not have even LOOKED at it had my remote control not stuck on the stupid channel. So I watched a few minutes. I didn't laugh. I wasn't surprised.

Then one day, surfing the premium movie channels, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the offerings. So I turned on Anchorman, about 5 minutes in. For the next hour and a half, I proceeded to laugh hysterically. Scene after scene, line after line, I found new reasons to laugh. By the end, I could hardly breathe.

Unconvinced that I had stumbled upon a a re-watchable movie, I tested and retested it over and over. And over. Result confirmed.

Anchorman tells a simple story: acclaimed (and consequently arrogant) news anchor Ron Burgundy is forced to adapt when an attractive new female member of the Channel 4 news team (Applegate) begins changing the way he and his quirky news team work. That's it. This story is predictable, prescription-esquire, boring. But Anchorman does not draw it's strength from story. It draws from the hilarious situations. It draws from randomness. It draws from brief--but memorable--cameos. It draws from those 100 or so unforgettable one-liners.

That is, if you're looking for cinema, for a fine work of craftsmanship, a eloquent script, and an Oscar nomination, go watch a FILM. If you find randomness hilarious, then watch this MOVIE.

As a baseball die-hard, this movie goes contrary to what I expect in a sports movie: authentic-looking sports action, believable characters, and an original story line. While "Angels in the Outfield" fails miserably in the first category, it succeeds beautifully in the latter two. "Angels" weaves the story of Roger and J.P., two Anaheim foster kids in love with baseball but searching for a family, with that of the woebegone Angels franchise, struggling to draw fans and win games. Pushed by his deadbeat father's promise that they would be a family only when the Angels win the pennant, Roger asks for some heavenly help, and gets it in the form of diamond-dwelling spirits bent on reversing the franchise's downward spiral. And, when short-fused manager George Knox (portrayed by Danny Glover) begins believing in what Roger sees, the team suddenly has hope for turning their season around--and Roger and J.P. find something to believe in. Glover in particular gives a nice performance, and Tony Danza, playing a washed-up pitcher, also does well, despite clearly having ZERO idea of how to pitch out of the windup!