mumbles3k

In Battleship, they play "Thunderstruck." Does that count?

In THE DICTATOR, there's s dude who walks down the street wearing a Sox cap.

True, comedic baseball flicks are generally not known for their quality. Does that mean we should give them a free pass? Shouldn't they strive to be better? Hell, THE BIG LEBOWSKI is a comedic bowling flick, and it's one of the best movies ever made.

So, inspired by this thread, I re-watched MAJOR LEAGUE. I still think it's quite bad. The biggest problem with it is that it's not funny. The jokes are so easy and over the top that they border on cartoonish, and can be seen coming from a mile away. Likewise, all of the characters are extremely broad caricatures which are obviously designed for maximum humorous effect. As a result, they lose any sort relatability. Surely this is why they included Tom Berenger's character. He was the audience's proxy into this otherwise insane world. The problem is that everyone else's problems and goals are so outlandish that Berenger's arc ends up being basically non-existent. He didn't grow as a player, he wasn't the one to hold the team together, he basically didn't do anything. Presumably, this is why they chose to add the romantic subplot, which was half-baked at best. He sees his engaged ex, and wants to get back together with her. She says no, because he cheated on her, and she's with a better guy now. We don't see her fiancé being any more of a dick than Berenger. He's more successful, he never does her wrong. But then at the end of the movie, presumably because he's on a winning team, she goes back to Berenger. What the hell is that? So yes, I still hate MAJOR LEAGUE. Not because it's bad (which it most certainly is), but because it's stupid (there's a difference). That being said, I did notice that the Indians beat the Sox to force Game 163, so I've added it to the list. Because of the Sox element, I'm also looking forward to watching MAJOR LEAGUE II, hopefully soon.

Not a movie, but I just remembered that there's an episode of THE WIRE where they go to an Orioles game, and the opponent is the Sox. Likewise, I'm sure there's a lot of references on ER.

Due to the double header, Petricka was promoted to Birmingham to start yesterday's game for the Barons. He pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on only 3 hits, striking out 6. However, he also walked 7, and was credited with the loss. After the game, he was sent back down to the Dash. His combined stats for the year are 2-4 with a 5.59 ERA.

Petricka lost on Wednesday. He gave up 4 runs on 7 hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts in 6 innings. That bumps his ERA up a little bit to 5.63

Petricka had his best outing of the season last night. He pitched 5 innings, giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 2. That puts his record at 2-2 with an ERA of 5.50.

Because of rights issues, Fox is gonna make another FF movie one way or another. I'd much rather see a reboot that stands a chance of being good than see another sequel to that piece of crap from a few years back.

The Trib had an article today about a Minnie Minoso documentary that's in the works.

How could I forget? Moose Skowron (the character) shows up in 61*.

I watched THE RAVEN last night. It's really bad. Filled with some hilarious ham and cheese performances, though.

QUOTE (The Baconator @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 11:37 PM) Alright, I've IMDB'd it so I'll bite... give me more of a reason to watch this. Seems intriguing but like something I'll forget about and maybe watch on a Sunday afternoon in a few months. What was so good about it? Basically, the movie has this perfect crystalline structure which makes it a satire of itself. It's all about how the studios treat movies as a business instead of an art. It explicitly states the elements which are needed in order for a movie to succeed (things like sex, violence, big stars, happy endings, etc.) The movie itself has all of those things, but not in a way that you'd expect or want. For example, the sex is all done in closeups of faces, and all of the biggest stars in the movie are essentially background extras. It totally works as just an enjoyable Columbo-esque mystery/comedy. But by the end of the movie, it curls up into itself and becomes something so much more. It's a movie that works on pretty much any level you'd want it to. It can be just disposable entertainment on a Sunday afternoon. But you can also peel back the layers to find a really hard-hitting commentary on the art form underneath.

This morning I watched Robert Altman's masterpiece, THE PLAYER. Truly one of the greatest movies ever made. Satire at its finest.

Petricka is interviewed in the new episode of Pale and Hosed: http://www.paleandhosed.com/podcast/pale-a...on-3-episode-4/