The Movie of the Week? "Here Comes the Boom"!!

Top 10 Movie of the Year Contender.

No, I am not joking.


It is still just February, so we'll see...

The Story:

A Biology teacher (Kevin James) who really doesn't care anymore suddenly decides to help the music teacher (Henry Winkler) save his job due to school budget cuts.  If he can raise $38,000 by the end of the school year, the principal agrees that the teacher can stay.  It's an uphill battle to make the money until he comes across Mixed Martial Arts and realizes he can make money, even if he loses.  So about 30 fights of getting his butt whipped, and it should be a done deal.

What could possibly go wrong?



Okay, so back to the opening, yes, we all quite enjoyed this film last night.  It was well written, the actors did a great job, and along the way, as in many Happy Madison Productions, there is an underlying heart and message in the film that is hidden from the marketing.


This is Mr. Holland's Opus...in a cage match!

And if you've never seen Mr. Holland's Opus, shame on you!

So you have a music teacher, the first to always get cuts when budgets go out the window, who works hard to inspire his students.  The biology teacher used to be that way, but lost his mojo over the years as the system just grinds the teachers down.

They recharge each other, and soon you have a teacher that cares for his friend, for his students, for his job, and for a whole lot of things that were passing him by.

Yes, you see the ending coming about 3 miles away, but it doesn't matter.  That's the way the movie had to end.

And it works, perfectly.

Kevin James should be commended for the training he accomplished for the film.  He worked his butt off (literally and figuratively) and looked great.  The way the film looks, it appears he is getting pounded all film long.  Impressive.


We had a great time, and would be happy to revisit this film in the future.


Final Grade: A-

Worth Adding to the "We Own It" Vault: Yes Indeed!

Sit Down and Hear Some "Beatles Stories"

It's a story about some famous people who met some even more famous people...

The Beatles!


The Story:

The Beatles.  Perhaps you've heard of them.  Greatest Rock & Roll Band of all time, both opinion and fact. ;)
Well this is their story.  As told by people who met the Beatles and want to recount those stories.  The man behind the project is Seth Swirsky, himself a huge Beatles fan. Of course, he's also a songwriter, so it helps to be an "insider" to talk to famous people.  If you or I were to walk up to these people with a camera, we'd most likely be punched or have the police called.  The stories range from Pre-Beatlemania to post Beatle break-up.  And really, almost all of the stories are very quick, maybe a minute, sometimes 2 minutes.  So it's really...bam bam bam... and the next thing you know, 90 minutes has gone by, and it's time to roll the credits.

So is it worth it?

The bigger the Beatle-maniac, the more you'll enjoy it.

You don't hear from the lads themselves, but you get to hear people reminisce about their interactions with them.  From casual, quick meetings to in-depth recording sessions or meals, this one has it all.

My favorite of all the stories?  I would give the nod to Henry Winkler for his tale of meeting Sir Paul.  Pretty funny, and pretty cool.

It was bittersweet to see an interview with Davey Jones also.  But you'll see how influenced he was by the group, and how he was there when it all began.


It's light, breezy, and a lot of fun.  It's really cool to hear some of the behind the scenes from Rock History.

Naturally, the only thing missing was a chance to have Seth chat with Paul or Ringo, but alas...


Final Grade: B-
Would I Add It To the DVD Library: Probably Not.  I'm the only Beatle fan in the house.  Sacrilege, know...

Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.