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/

Grandstand is expensive, but they have a lot of stuff I've never seen anywhere else, even online or at the ballpark. I'm really not a big fan of the new giftshop. It looks to me like they've marked up prices even above srp.

I saw the new Richard Linklater movie, BERNIE, starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine. It's based on a true story about a funeral director who was so well liked in his community that everyone refused to believe he killed someone, despite the fact that he confessed. It's really good. Very funny, but very dark. They do a good job of weaving actual historical accounts of people from the community into the fictionalized narrative. I highly recommend it.

It's in the "Must C" clip on mlb.com too.

I just watched Robert Rodriguez's ROADRACERS. This is the second movie he ever made, and I've been trying to track down a copy for the past 14 years. Then I was just strolling through Best Buy, and there was the Blu-ray on the new release shelf for only $8! As far as the movie is concerned, it's pretty good. Not as refined as some of his other work, but still solid. It's kind of crazy, and it sort of flies off the rails at the end. But David Arquette is good, and Salma Hayek is really hot, so there's that.

You guys are gonna make me watch MAJOR LEAGUE again just so I can articulate why I don't like it. caulfield12, I think I relate to FEVER PITCH on a fan level. Sadly, I see a lot of myself in Fallon's character. There are definitely some major gaps in my baseball movie watching. I haven't seen BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY or THE NATURAL. I also haven't seen that new Linklater documentary yet. I saw ROOKIE OF THE YEAR as a kid (I actually remember them shooting it right down the street from my house). I loved it back then, but have a feeling that it would not stand up to close scrutiny. BAD NEWS BEARS is another one that I saw as a kid, but not as an adult. I think I'd appreciate it more now. I've seen some of Michael Ritchie's other movies, and he seems to be a highly skilled satirist. I did see the Linklater version when it was released. It was enjoyable, but I felt like he was trying too hard recapture the magic of SCHOOL OF ROCK. On another coincidental note, Midwest Sports Fans just posted a list of their top ten baseball movies: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2012/04/t...es-of-all-time/

Thanks for the input, guys. Knightni, I would say yes, Frank Thomas counts. caulfield12, I did a quick search on imdb and put together my top ten list: 1. Moneyball 2. For Love of the Game 3. Sugar 4. Fever Pitch 5. 61* 6. Eight Men Out 7. A League of Their Own 8. Bull Durham 9. The Rookie 10. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg witesoxfan, I did not find MAJOR LEAGUE to be all that funny. I saw it first when I was very young (it was actually the first R-rated movie I ever saw). It left a positive impression, but when I revisited it as an adult, it did not hold up at all. Same thing happened with FIELD OF DREAMS. Now THAT movie is a piece of crap. As far as the funniest baseball movie, I'd have to go with FEVER PITCH. Steve9347 and JoeCoolMan24, I think I'm gonna stick to movies for simplicity's sake, but thanks for the heads up. I've been meaning to watch those two shows for a while, and this just gives me even more incentive. As a side note, I went over to my parents' house yesterday, and found an unopened copy of MAJOR LEAGUE II on their shelf! So I stole it. I'll let you know what I think.

Last night's Dash game was suspended in the bottom of the first, but Petricka pitched one full inning, giving up 2 walks and 2 homers for a total of 3 earned runs. That brings his ERA up to 8.36.

The original MAJOR LEAGUE was so bad, I never bothered with the sequels. I'll have to check that out. That and MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING are now at the top of my list. But I haven't seen a lot of these.

Thanks guys. I've edited the first post to include the new entries. Keep 'em coming! I've also added one of my own, THE PRiNCESS BRIDE, which features Sox memorabilia in Fred Savage's room. As far as Sox movies that never got made, the most notable one that I'm aware of is VEECK AS IN WRECK, starring Bill Murray. The film was written by a TV guy named Ted Mann, who worked on DEADWOOD, NYPD BLUE and MILLENNIUM. It was set to be directed by John McNaughton, a really good Chicago director who helmed, amongst other things, HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, NORMAL LIFE, and WILD THINGS. Alas, it was determined that foreign markets don't care about Bill Veeck. And so, it remains unproduced.

Hello, It always excites me when I'm watching a movie and I see a reference to the White Sox. I thought it might be fun to sort of compile a list of which movies feature the Sox and how. There's obvious ones, like EIGHT MEN OUT. But then there's little hidden ones too, like when they fly over Comiskey in SUPERGIRL. EDIT: I will try to keep this first post updated: Angels in the Outfield (The Angels play the Sox) Back to School (Sox Pennant on wall) The Breakfast Club (Sox helmet on desk, custodian wears Sox jersey) The Break-Up (Jon Favreau wears a Sox jersey) A Christmas Story (Father is a Sox fan) The Cutting Edge (Footage of the Cell used as ice rink) The Dictator (Man wearing a Sox cap) The Dilemma (Gene Honda plays himself) Eight Men Out (1919 Black Sox) Field of Dreams (Shoeless Joe) The Fugitive (Sox headline on newspaper) Hardball (Sox game mentioned on radio) Jerry Maguire (Frank Thomas poster on wall) The Ladies Man (Shot at the Cell) Major League (Indians beat Sox to force tiebreaker) Major League II (Jack Parkman plays for the Sox) Moneyball (various Sox stats, Jermaine Dye footage) Mr. Baseball (Frank Thomas) My Best Friend's Wedding (Cameron Diaz's dad owns the Sox, shot at the Cell) North by Northwest (Sox pennant displayed in airport) Poetic Justice (Tupac Shakur wears a Sox cap) The Princess Bride (Sox memorabilia in Fred Savage's room) The Rookie (Royce Clayton) Running Scared (Gregory Hines wears Sox cap) 61* (Moose Skowron) Space Jam (Michael Jordan plays on the Barons) Supergirl (Supergirl flys over Comiskey) Can anyone else think of some?