What Are The Odds..."Dark Horse"

Dark Horse (2015)

Rated PG

Written & Directed by Louise Osmond

The Story:

In the Welsh village of Cefn Fforest, the townsfolk band together and pledge £10 a week to dream the impossible dream of raising a horse to run in competition.

This is their story.

And it's a heartwarming story to be sure.

Add up the cliches, the underdog story, and you've got the formula right here.

A bunch of poor townfolk, many unemployed dare to join the sport of the aristocracy and enter a world they could only dream of.

Nobody had a clue what they were doing.

Not the owners.

Not the horse.

But with a good trainer, could the impossible happen?

Well, they rarely make movies like that unless it does.

So sit back and get ready to laugh a little, maybe cry a little and enjoy the love and camaraderie of some of the most enjoyable cast of characters you'll see all year.

Final Grade: B+

Always A Bridesmaid... "Four Falls of Buffalo"

The Four Falls of Buffalo (2015)

Directed by Ken Rodgers

The Story:

In 1991, the Buffalo Bills played in Super Bowl 25. They would play again in the next 3 Super Bowls, the only team to ever make it to 4 straight Super Bowls.

However, they also have lived in infamy for failing to win any of them.

This is their story of how things didn't go so well for them, and yet, they may very well be the greatest team to never win the big game.

Another fine entry in the ESPN 30 for 30 series, but that is becoming a redundant statement.

This time, the focus is on the 1991-1994 version of the Buffalo Bills.  Perhaps some of these names ring a bell:

Marv Levy
Jim Kelly
Thurman Thomas
Bruce Smith
Andre Reed
Don Beebe
Steve Tasker
Scott Norwood
Frank Reich

They're all here, and they all reflect on what it took to get them to 4 straight Super Bowls.
This team was good.
Really good.

I wasn't even that big of a fan of the team back in the day, and I was amazed by how many names and faces I instantly recognized. It was an amazing group that looked like it could beat anyone on paper.

But in the NFL, on any given Sunday, well, that's why they play the game.

All of that said, if you like the NFL, you'll love this documentary.

Even if you don't (cue the thumbs up from my wife) you'll still be captivated by what this team went through and how the team and the fans responded to the situation.

For those that lived through those times, the Bills became the butt of the joke, but 25 years later, what they did was an amazing accomplishment.

When teams can't even get back to repeat Super Bowls (win or lose) and some can't even make it to the playoffs the following season, the Bills are one of the greatest underdog stories of all times.

The biggest problem, the American public (and Buffalo players and fans especially) never got the Hollywood happy ending of seeing the underdog win.

Time heals all wounds and a lot of time has passed and hopefully the wounds in Buffalo are mostly healed.

The interviews with Scott Norwood are especially painful. He still takes that first loss so hard, bearing it all on his shoulders alone, and you can't help but feel for him.

The wonderful thing though, is his teammates and city don't blame him. As they say in the interviews, the game never should have been decided by that kick. There were plenty of other plays that failed that cost Buffalo that win.

The following year, Harry Connick Jr.'s band was the culprit behind Thurman Thomas' missing helmet which when you watch the replays may very well have cost them that entire game.

So many things to relive and to get a new appreciation for in this one.

Highly recommended and well worth your time.

Streaming on Netflix as of this writing, and still airing on ESPN, check your local listings.

Final Grade: A

A Great Movie Made With "Spare Parts"

Spare Parts (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring George Lopez, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Lee Curtis, Carlos PenaVega, Jose Julian, David Del Rio, Oscar Javier Gutierrez II

Directed by Sean McNamara

The Story:

Four Hispanic high school students (PenaVega, Julia, Del Rio, Gutierrez) come together by different circumstances to form a robotics club under the mentorship of new teacher, former engineer Dr. Fredi Cameron (Lopez). Cameron is using teaching as a stopgap while he tries to get back into engineering and doesn't really care to be part of the robotics team at first. But with a trip to the underwater robotics championship on the line, the team is going to attempt to pull off a miracle.

Can they do it?

Should I mention that this is based on a true story?  Well, it is.

Think of this as an underdog sports movie, but now replace the sports with science.

Underdog nerds!

: )

Now, while Lopez, Tomei and Curtis receive top billing, it's the boys that carry the movie, and they do a remarkable job.

It's when the team arrives at the competition that things take an interesting turn.

They decide to take their high school team out of competition with the other high schools because they'd rather come in last taking on the college teams than coming in last against other high schools.

It's an insanely brilliant plan, but a funny thing happens on the way to failing.

I would prefer you watch for yourself, I think you'll like it.

As for me, it's one of a very small handful of movies in the running for best of the year honors.

Final Grade; B+

Get On Up, It's Bobsled Time! "Cool Runnings"

Cool Runnings (1993)

Rated PG

Starring John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle Lewis, Malik Yoba,

Directed by Jon Turteltaub

The Story:

Based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team.  When 3 promising sprinters (Leon, Lewis and Yoba) are involved in a botched Olympic trial, their dreams of competing in track are dashed.  When Derice learns that a former Olympian (Candy) and friend of his father lives on the island, he decides that they should try their hand at the Winter Olympics in the bobsled event.

The results will amuse and inspire you.

Over twenty years removed from this movie playing in theaters, and closing in on 30 years since the Jamaicans first captured the minds and hearts of the world, Cool Runnings is just as inspiring today as it was upon release.

This is truly an underdog story of a team that had no shot, and some would say they had no business even being there.

Yet, they nearly pulled off the 2nd greatest miracle on ice and captivated a world while they did it.

It should come as no surprise that Disney produced this film.  That is what they do best, family entertainment.

However, when real-life continues to give us these feel good stories, I'm glad that studios make them, and I'm happy to line up to keep seeing them.

Easily the greatest movie about bobsledding ever made.

:)

It is a bittersweet farewell to John Candy as the last good movie that he starred in. 

Recommended, especially if it's been 20 years since you've seen it, or never taken the plunge.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Own it. Love it. Watch it. Still makes me laugh and gives me goosebumps. :)