Trouble with the Curve

Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman a good lineup for a baseball film, so I thought. Turns out this movie wasn't very much about baseball. Instead, it was about the grumpy old typecast Clint Eastwood father figure, trying to reconcile with his ambitious therapy ridden thirty -something daughter. Baseball was sprinkled around the periphery, giving the characters something to do and talk about. Unfortunately, the movie was slow and predictable. The directors and writers never really decided if this was a movie about a father daughter relationship, a romance, or baseball. The acting on the whole was dismal... Poor Clint, it really is time for him to give Up acting. I have a lot of respect for him, I loved him as Dirty Harry and as the ultimate gunslinger in the old spaghetti Westerns, but recently he has just played the old-timer with failing health, trying to hold on to old traditions and misplaced nostalgia. I still watch his movies, though, hoping he'll pull out a 45 Magnum and tell a bad guy to "make my day!" However, he didn't come anywhere close to that kind of glory in this movie. It seemed like he was still talking to the empty chair at the Republican convention – he meandered through the movie and when he tried to show some real feelings or emotion, it was painful to watch. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake were not much better – I think they're both decent actors, but two 30-year-old adults throwing baseball trivia questions back and forth is not my idea of romance. Do people really do that? It was just not believable, especially since most of the questions they asked each other were obscure baseball facts that happened way before they were even born. John Goodman was the one bright spot in the movie. I hope someday, he is rewarded with a good leading role in a film. Well, I've bashed this movie enough. Oh, one last thing, I do think if this movie script had been combined with "Money Ball" and they focused on the traditional scouting methods versus the computer and analysis of the modern era, they would have come up with a great baseball movie. On the whole however, it was a "nice" movie and pleasant to watch. If you're tired of over-the-top action films, stupid sophomoric comedies, overly dramatic love stories, then this movie might be for you!

Parker

I was in the mood for a decent action movie, and movies about clever thieves are always interesting to me. I was leery 10 min. into the film, and sadly, I was very disappointed two hours later after watching the entire thing. Jason Statham has made a few good movies in the past – he's a great action star. But, unfortunately the script and story just did not make muster on this one. His attempt at a Texan accent was laughable. He strode to the movie lifeless and uninspired.  J-Lo offered a little bit of "eye candy" but it was not enough to overlook her dismal acting skills. She really should stick to commercials and music. Nick Nolte was barely understandable. He played Jason's father, and murmured and grumbled through the dialogue. He needs to retire. The bad guys were stupid, almost comical. The story and character development never really occurred, we were supposed to empathize with Jason somehow – he's supposedly a thief with a code. That was explained with only a few feeble lines of dialogue and never really was solidified. And another thing, I do like action movies with some semblance of reality – Jason was shot three times and stabbed two times and never missed a beat – "come on man!" If I wanted Superman, I would've rented that. Not recommended!