They Were (Mostly) Unstoppable..."Red Army"

Red Army (2014)

Rated PG

Written & Directed by Gabe Polsky

The Story:

The story of the greatest sports dynasty of all time: The Soviet Union's Red Army hockey team. The only chink in their armor came in 1980 with the "Do You Believe In Miracles" moment in Lake Placid where they fell to the American Olympic team. This is their story, as told by the members of that elite group.

Polsky leaves few stones unturned as he tracked down each member of the team, some more willing to comment and weave stories than others.

The story focuses mostly on team captain Viacheslav Fetisov and his struggles to carry the team, then his desire to leave the team and the animosity it created between him and his country.

The unparalleled success the Russian hockey team enjoyed is examined thoroughly and the debate could be in spite of or because of the way they were treated as to how well they played on the ice.

They would tour the world and beat professional hockey teams soundly in exhibition games.

Then when they were finally able to play professionally, teams snapped them up, but the players were never that successful as they were back home.

Many were not treated the best on their teams to begin with, but their talents could not be harnessed as effectively as when they skated together.

Enter Scotty Bowman, then coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

He brought the Red Army team under his leadership and basically let them skate.

They began to play as they once had, and his advice was to simply keep doing what it is you do.

He sat back and let them skate their way to a Stanley Cup.

Yes, the Soviet team was that good, and so was this documentary, whether you are a hockey fan or not.

Final Grade:  B+

I Wanna Fly Like "Eddie The Eagle"

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman,

Directed by

The Story:

Eddie Edwards (Egerton) is actually a pretty good British skier, but when he fails to make the Olympic team, he checks the rules and realizes that the British downhill jumping ski requirements are very lax, and exploits that loophole to become the team.

This is the story that, alongside the Jamaican bobsled team, made the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics likely the greatest Olympics in modern history.

Or at least the one with the best "feel good" moments from watching that I can remember.

While the backstory of Eddie gets Hollywood-ized, such as the invention of a coach (Jackman) that didn't really exist, the feel-good nature of Eddie's tale comes through strongly.

The real sad take away from this film is that the British, along with most other countries, have changed the rulebooks so much, they have taken away the opportunity for anyone not entrenched in the Olympic money machine to ever replicate Eddie's journey and even get the chance to compete in the Olympics.

And that's a shame, because while America, or at least journalists reporting from the Olympics, are at least obsessed with the medal count, it's the human stories that touch most viewers.

And you don't need to dig to find how this child was raised in 13 broken homes to reach our heartstrings, it's the passion and joy from the athletes that make us gravitate towards liking them.


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. :)

Taped From New York...It's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

Television history is being made before your eyes...

It's not often that The Tonight Show gets a new host.

This is the 6th time in 60 years that someone new has taken over the desk.

The last time that I put any serious time into watching this show, Johnny Carson was the host.

When he said goodbye, I was upset that David Letterman lost the gig to Jay Leno, so I moved to CBS with Dave when Leno came onboard, and that's pretty much where I stayed for the next 22 years.

Sure, there were occasions when Jay would be on, usually because I had let an episode of ER or Law & Order run through the local news, and then The Tonight Show would start and the monologue would be half over before I realized I needed to change it.

I rarely found Jay Leno funny.

Amusing, sure.  

He's had lots of amusing bits over the years, but a great majority of those are because of the dumb people in America (Jay Walking, Headlines) moreso than anything Leno brought to the table.

Then there was the whole Conan O'Brian fiasco, and any begrudging respect I might have had for Jay over the years was washed away.

So it was with great happiness and a touch of skepticism that I welcomed the news that Jimmy Fallon was taking over The Tonight Show.

Taking it back to its roots in New York City.  Bringing a younger generational spin to the granddaddy of late night talk television.

Thanks to the Winter Olympics and a newborn, I watched The Tonight Show for seemingly the first time in a generation when Fallon came aboard.

And I laughed.

In fact, to sum up my feelings on the regime change:

I've laughed more in 2 weeks watching Jimmy Fallon than I did in 22 years with Jay Leno.

I've always been a fan of Jimmy Fallon since his days on Saturday Night Live.  His comic sensibilities and all around showmanship have been on display over the last two weeks.  

To be fair, I never watched an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  Sorry, I was hooked on Craig Ferguson.

So, not being familiar with any of his routines from that show, I'm not sure what skits/routines are old bits, but they all work for this viewer.

Whether he's dancing with Will Smith looking at the history of hip hop dance or rapping with Justin Timberlake, there's nothing Fallon is afraid to try.

Pretty cool.

I'm happy to say that I'm once again a fan of The Tonight Show.

I think Johnny Carson would be proud of what Jimmy Fallon is bringing to the show and bringing it into the 21st Century.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: If I'm up, I'll keep tuning in.  Otherwise, I'll keep checking out the video highlights on YouTube/Facebook/Twitter, etc.