There are a couple of things in life that I enjoy more than anything in my movies and that is true stories and football. When you combine the both of them, then I just have to see it an that is why I chose My All American for today’s film. Freddy Steinmark (Finn Wittrock) wasn’t born with the gift of size as a football player, but that never stopped him from trying. In fact, Freddie is one of the hardest working athletes in the world and he uses that to fight for his spot on the roster of the Texas Longhorns in 1969. Although that is about to change after leading his team to the championship game, Freddie is faced with his toughest challenge yet off the field. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as Darren Royal, Sarah Bolger (The Lazarus Effect) as Linda Wheeler, Rett Terrell (Vampires Suck) as Bobby Mitchell, Juston Street (Everybody Wants Some!!) as James Street, Michael Reilly Burke (Mars Attacks) as Fred Steinmark, Robin Tunney (Empire Records) as Gloria Steinmark, Donny Boaz (The Great Debaters) as Bill Bradley, Brent Anderson (American Crime) as Coach Campbell, and the film was directed by Angelo Pizzo (Rudy).
I am going to be completely honest in saying that before I watched this movie, I did not know that it was directed by the guy who wrote Rudy and Hoosiers. You can definitely see the similarities between the films as far as the writing was concerned and you can also see some similarities in the style of the film too. I get why they covered his high school years because it helps build his character, but I’m wondering if that hindered the film at all because how many people really knew about Freddie Steinberg other than Longhorns fans or people old enough to remember him play. I just think they could have covered more of his college years but this was fine by me. I want to talk about his character because I’m not doubting at all that Freddie was a great guy who was one of the hardest working guys, but he just seems a little too perfect if you catch my drift. It was almost like he never did anything wrong, but that could be true for all I know. One thing that I wish that they had covered what what happened to his girlfriend Linda because they don’t talk about her at all during the title cards at the end. I know that she wasn’t the focus of the film, but she seemed to be an important part of his life. All that we know about her is that she was a consultant for the film and that her daughter Mackenzie Meehan played a nurse in the film. I thought that was a pretty cool tidbit. If you are a fan of Rudy, then you may like this film because they are similar in style and story. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
Considering that today is Super Tuesday and the whole political world is going to be watching what happens, I figured I would review a movie that has something to do with that world. The film that I chose for you today was written, directed, and stars Warren Beatty (Dick Tracy) in the film Bulworth. Warren Beatty plays down and out California Senator Bulworth, a man on the brink of a nervous breakdown due to the fact that his campaign is plummeting. In a desperate condition, he calls on a man to carry a hit on him so that his family can collect a life insurance policy. Everything is going as planned until the Senator has a revelation and starts speaking the truth while on his campaign. With the help of the mysterious Nina (Halle Berry), he will try everything he can to stay alive and make a difference. The film also stars Oliver Platt (X-Men: First Class) as Dennis Murphy, Sean Astin (Rudy) as Gary, Christine Baranski (Cybill) as Constance Bulworth, Graham Beckel (Brokeback Mountain) as Man With Dark Glasses, Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2) as L.D., Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) as Graham Crockett, Jack Warden (Problem Child) as Danvers, and the film features a cameo from Larry King.
One of the things I can say about this film that I enjoyed was the soundtrack because if you’re a fan of old school hip hop/gangsta rap then you’ll enjoy it too. As far as the film goes, it was an OK movie in my opinion as there really wasn’t anything outstanding about it. There are parts in this film that are just cheesy like every time Warren Beatty decided to rap, he made white people seem more cheesy than Vanilla Ice. Some of the scenes in the film felt forced at times (Club scenes) while others meshed real well (the debate and other times he gets interviewed). What I did like about the film is that I wish we had a candidate in the world that decided that enough was enough with the BS like Senator Bulworth. Sadly someone like him would be deemed too dangerous and would probably be taken out because there is too much money flying around with the special interest groups. I seriously want to know what was up with Don Cheadle’s look in the 90’s, it seems like he had just stepped off the set of Meteor Man, shaved the blonde hair, and kept his outfit for this film as he once again plays another crime lord. If you’re looking for a super political movie, then this isn’t it for you. This is more of a satire or Beatty’s attempt on social commentary when it has to do with how the country feels when it comes to politics. I couldn’t find anything else to watch so I checked this out, but the film isn’t that bad. I am going to give the film an C+ for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 