The Only Number That Matters in Baseball: "42"

Big changes often come with small steps.

The Story:

This is the story of Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) and his pursuit of adding a black baseball player named Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.

How's that for a plot summary?

Simple, yet effective.

But it doesn't even begin to summarize what you'll watch on the screen.

Sure,  it's a lot of history condensed into a 2 1/2 hour movie, but it flies by and doesn't feel like that long of a movie.

The director/writer Brian Helgeland isn't very prolific, but I've enjoyed his output before (Payback and A Knight's Tale)

The performances are great.  Boseman carries the majority of the movie on his back.  Dealing with racism with quiet dignity.  All Robinson wants is a chance to play ball, and eventually even his critics come around.

Harrison Ford plays gruff in his sleep, and he does a fine job as Branch Rickey.

The tale is an interesting one, as it parallels both Rickey's insistence to put Robinson in the game, and Robinson's efforts to succeed.

Thankfully, as history tells us, he will.

It's amazing, that as much as I don't really care for baseball, I sure love baseball movies.

: )

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could see adding this to the baseball wing of the DVD library.  Good stuff.

Deja Vu Review... "Payback"

Even thieves have principles.

At least some of them.

The Story:

Our hero, Porter (Mel Gibson) is a crook, but one with principles.  He goes in on a job, and expects his fair share of the take.  Unfortunately, he's double crossed by his partner (Gregg Henry), shot and left for dead.  However, Porter doesn't die that easily, and with the help of an old flame (Maria Bello), Porter is going to take down the syndicate, some crooked cops and get back what is rightfully his.

Does it sound familiar?

Sounds an awful lot like yesterday's review,  "Parker"...

That's because both are based on the same character by the same author.

And yes, the reviews are eerily similar! : )

Mel Gibson makes a great turn as the guy who simply wants what is entitled to him.  He doesn't really care who he has to beat, shoot or kill to get it, all he wants is his fair share.

Nothing more...nothing less.

In fact, it's the paltry amount that is a running gag throughout the film, that Porter would risk his neck for so little reward is unfathomable to the bad guys that Porter is barking his way up the chain to find.

It's also here where Payback holds the edge over Parker: the supporting cast.  Whereas Parker didn't have one, Payback has David Paymer, William DeVane, Lucy Liu, Kris Kristofferson and the late, great James Coburn.

I understand many people can no longer watch or support Mel because of what he said/did a few years ago.

I am not one of those people, as everyone makes mistakes... some larger than others.  Some more in the public eye than others.

Grain of salt... and it's not my place to judge.

Except on whether or not I enjoyed the movies.

: )

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: While not one that immediately springs to mind when I want to watch a Mel Gibson movie, one I can definitely watch, and I believe I already own it.