<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/403rookie.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When high-school baseball coach Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) was looking for a way to inspire his perennially losing team to win, he decided to issue a challenge they couldn't refuse. If they made it to the district playoffs, he would try out for a major-league baseball team. Fortunately for Morris, his team fulfilled their part of the bargain, and he went to the tryout in which his fast ball was clocked at 98 mph! It wasn't long before Jim found himself pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a 35-year-old rookie. The best part of the story is that it actually happened in 1999.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/rundown.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, stars as Beck, a bounty hunter sent to the Amazon jungle to fetch Travis (Seann William Scott), the son of his wealthy boss. With a $250,000 bounty on his head, Travis is Beck's meal ticket to his dream of opening his own restaurant.
Having recently lost her mother to cancer, Nancy decides to drop out of medical school in order to go surfing at a remote Mexican beach where her mother used to surf. Unfortunately, Nancy’s “plus one” decides she’d rather hang out with the guy she met at the hotel bar, so Nancy makes the stupid decision to go by herself. What could go wrong?
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shawshankredemption.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the short story by Stephen King, <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i>'s central character is Andy Dufrane (Tim Robbins), a banker convicted of killing his wife and her country-club lover—a crime he didn't commit. With nothing to look forward to but a life behind bars, Andy befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), the prison's virtual Wal-Mart "who can get things." Unbeknownst to Red, one of Andy's first requisitions helps him escape the confines of prison life. Over the next 19 years, Andy adapts to his surroundings and eventually puts his financial skills to work for the corrupt warden (Bob Gunton).
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/simpsons20.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When <i>The Simpsons</i> first appeared on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987 I doubt anyone would have thought it would win 25 Emmy awards, become the longest-running American sitcom, and eventually surpass <i>Gunsmoke</i> as the longest running primetime series with over 450 episodes.
The stunning tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humor, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website's unfathomable success.
Until I sat down to watch this, my favorite film of 2010 was Inceptionit's now second. Aaron Sorkin, best known for "The West Wing," adapted the script from Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires" and takes what could have been a dull topic and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Under David Fincher's direction, there's plenty of humor, drama, and heartbreak it's interesting to see how Zuckerberg's socially retarded behavior costs him his best friend but in the process he builds his dream.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/soloist.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><I>Los Angeles Times</I> newspaper columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers a brilliant but homeless street musician (Jamie Foxx) with a Julliard education. The man clearly has some psychological issues, but a unique bond of friendship develops between the two men that transforms both of their lives.
Dave (Jay Baruchel) is not your average NYU student; he's the heir to Merlin's powerful magic. Recruited by the sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicholas Cage) to help him battle the forces of darkness in modern-day Manhattan, he's forced into a crash course in the art and science of magic. Can he fulfill his destiny?
Loosely based on Fantasia's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) reunite to deliver an over-the-top thrill ride. Cage and Baruchel are awesome as master and apprentice who persevere through an overcomplicated script. The action scenes are extremely well shot and the CGI is quite good, especially when Dave coerces the mop into cleaning duty.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/spiderwick.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Seeking to escape her failed marriage, Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) moves her three children away from New York City to a country home left to her by an insane aunt. The children soon discover that the old house harbors many mysteries, and Jared (Freddie Highmore) finds his great-great uncle Spiderwick's Field Guide, which reveals the unbelievable truth about the Spiderwick Estate—a secret world of fantastical creatures hidden from normal view.
Escaping the monotony of a loveless marriage, Raymond Yale (David Roberts) becomes entangled in an affair with Carla (Claire van der Bloom). His moral limits are tested when she presents him with the proceeds of her husband's latest crime and the two hatch a plan to start a new life. What could go wrong?
The first act sets the story on the right path but Raymond's actions become more absurd and unbelievable as the film progresses. Furthermore, what does Carla see in the middle-aged man in the first place? Granted, her boyfriend is no looker but a girl with her assets could land a respectable guy closer to her own age.