Come on Ducks... move that puck!
You think the Hawks are tough?
Wait until we play the Soviet Union's Pee-Wee
team!
This is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, YouTube's
#1 movie review show, I'm your host, Jonathan
Paula.
Tonight in the first of our special summer
episodes, I'll be reviewing three classic
hockey films, in celebration of the National
Hockey League's annual Stanley Cup Championship
going on this week between the Chicago Blackhawks,
and my hometown Boston Bruins.
We'll begin with the movie, "Slap Shot".
Released in February of 1977, this comedy
film directed by George Roy Hill grossed almost
$30-million at the box office, and depicts
the story of a minor league hockey team that
resorts to violence and fights to help bolster
their waning popularity in a struggling mill
town.
Far too handsome to actually be a hockey player,
the timelessly talented Paul Newman leads
the cast of misfit rejects and quirky characters
- whose bygone vernacular is often offensive
and crude, but undeniably funny.
When one character rudely tells Newman he
sucks dick, the charming leading man smugly
retorts, "All I can get." - which is perhaps
why the salad-dressing salesman also stated
this is his personal favorite of his many
movies.
The R-rated story develops rather slowly over
its 123-minute runtime, and no real plot is
established until the half-way mark, but despite
the poor pacing, it's still entertaining.
Perhaps due to the film's age and style, I
was initially bored and unimpressed with the
film so many have called one of the best sports-movies
ever.
But the more I thought about it, the more
I enjoyed with the goofy humor, original characters,
and believable performances.
Featuring more fist-fights and high-sticking
than actual puck-slinging, the rowdy team
even takes their punches into the stands during
one crazy hectic moment.
The visual style, costumes, and music are
all instant throwbacks to a different era,
and watching this movie today plays out like
a sort of 1970's time-capsule.
Between all the shouting and improvised antics,
some of the dialogue can be difficult to hear
- and although amusing, it's doubtful I'll
be compelled to watch this picture again.
Capping-off the raunchy proceedings off with
a bizarre and non-traditional ending, this
is however a great guy-flick, especially for
hockey fans.
"Slap Shot", a "Juvenile antics provide fleeting
enjoyment."
Now lets bring in the rate-o-matic for my
score... a GOOD.
While I understand and appreciate why many
hockey fans hold this film in a special place
in their hearts, I for one wasn't as impressed
by it...
Paul Newman is always great to watch, but
otherwise, I have to score it a SIX.
Tonight's poll question is an obvious one:
what's your favorite sports film?
Leave your response as a comment below.
Our next hockey film tonight is "The Mighty
Ducks".
This family-friend sports comedy film by director
Stephen Herek was released in October of 1922,
and became a big hit, earning five-times its
$10-million dollar budget, spawning two sequels,
a cartoon show, and even a professional hockey
team sharing its namesake.
Emilio Estevez stars in perhaps his most iconic
role, as a showboating defense attorney forced
to coach a rag-tag group of inner city kids
at pee-wee hockey.
The story is quickly established via simplified
dialogue and an overtly formulaic flashback
prologue: all of it sharing parallels to other
sports films, especially its football counterpart,
"The Little Giants".
The eclectic gang of Minnesota children featuring
several familiar child-actors, including Danny
Tamberelli from "Pete and Pete" fame, and
Joshua Jackson - future "Dawson's Creek" and
"Fringe" star in a more prominent role.
Jackson plays match-maker to his mom, and
Estevez, in an extremely hurried romantic
sub-plot.
Their chemistry is playful and authentic:
making it easy to root for them to succeed,
especially when we're introduced to the unrealistically
evil and exaggerated opposing head coach (played
by Lane Smith), who tells his team, "It's
not worth winning if you can't win big."
Normally, announcers wouldn't exist at the
pee-wee level, but their curious inclusion
allows them to serve up plenty of exposition,
making the consequences of the games even
easier to follow.
At 100 minutes, it's a well-paced and light-hearted
film that never gets boring or uninteresting.
The score by David Newman is low-key and innocuous,
eventually making way for a musical montage
to Marky Mark's "Good Vibrations" 80's classic,
as the team causes havoc by roller blading
through a shopping mall.
Emilio's deadpan persona is a humorous counter
to the kids' slapstick tom foolery, making
for an amusing film, but rarely a truly laugh-out-loud
one.
The 
PG-rate sports adventure contains no surprises,
and is predictable to a fault: but its harmless
entertainment for all families and hockey
fans can enjoy again and again.
"The Mighty Ducks", "Simplistic hockey fun
for kids."
Here's the rate-o-matic with my rating...
a SEVEN.
This is your quintessential Disney sports
movie... the quirky good guys against the
underdeveloped bad guys in the most basic
and thrilling of sports scenarios, nothing
outright exciting or original here, but there
aren't many missteps either.
I thought it was GOOD.
Finally tonight, another Disney film: "Miracle".
More than doubling its $28-million dollar
budget, this biographical sports drama was
released on February 6, 2004 - and fun fact:
was the first film I ever officially reviewed,
way back on my high school movie review show.
Opening with a 3-minute credits montage that
serves as a history lesson on the cold war,
this leisurely paced 135-minute story chronicles
the unbelievable true story of the 1980 US
Olympic Mens ice hockey team, on their arduous
journey to defeat the mighty Soviet team,
undefeated for twenty years.
Kurt Russell stars as famed hockey coach Herb
Brooks, whose no-nonsense approach makes him
a tough character to relate to, but he does
a fine job in the role, sporting Minnesota
accent, and period-accurate hair and plaid
clothing.
Believing the "professional all-star" system
to be flawed, Russell recruits a band of amateur
players, defending his curious selections
by stating, "I'm not looking for the best
players...
I'm looking for the right ones."
Much like their off-screen counterparts, these
players are portrayed by amateur actors - many
starring in their first film role, primarily
chosen for their skating ability, rather than
their acting chops.
But that being said, the gentrified group
of 20-somethings do a fine job with the excellent
writing, portraying the realistic characters
with ease.
Director Gavin O'Connor uses commanding close-ups
and wide-shots to vividly tell an intimate
drama mixed with a furious sports epic.
The 70's era soundtrack features classic background
tracks from J. Geils, The Blue Oyster Cult,
and Aerosmith: perfectly setting the mood
and atmosphere for every scene.
One particularly powerful scene, has the unrelenting
and punishing coach pushing his team long
past the breaking point in an emotional montage
until one of them finally stands up to him.
The 
PG-rated drama features quick glimpses of
a cold war brewing behind the scenes... heightening
the consequences of the big US/Soviet match
up that much more.
Unfortunately though, aside from a few throwaway
lines of dialogue, very little of the Russian
team is explored: in fact, not a single one
of their players ever utters a line of dialogue...
making the constant "USA... " chant during
the films ferocious climax a bit one-sided.
That said, if you're American, it's impossible
not to feel pride during the film's final
moments, depicting the so-called, "Miracle
On Ice", perhaps the most important and memorable
event in Olympic history.
Faithfully accurate to the actual games it
meticulously recreates, even iconic sports
broadcaster Al Michaels appears as himself,
having rerecorded all of his original commentary
for the movie.
A rarity amongst sports films, in that it
meshes conflicted characters, a great story
arc, and well-shot, and brilliantly executed
play of the game itself.
This is an emotional, dramatic, and undeniably
fascinating picture that easily transcends
the usually limited genre of sports-films
- one that is equally rewarding on multiple
viewings.
"Miracle", a "Compelling and inspirational
hockey drama."
Here's my rating now... a NINE.
A film I still remember fondly nine-and-half
years after first watching it, I was able
to appreciate this picture's accomplishments
in the technical and acting categories even
more upon re-watching it early this week.
A fun, exciting, thrilling, and memorable
adventure, I have to score this an AWESOME.
Finally tonight, lets see what you're saying
about films currently playing in theaters
with some tweet critiques.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet
your review with the #JPMN hashtag to have
it featured on the show.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter or Facebook
for updates between shows, and to help decide
upcoming reviews.
Earlier this week, I posted my thoughts on
the new "Hobbit" trailer, so keep an eye on
the Movie Night Archive channel for more exclusive
trailer commentaries, and an organized library
of all our past reviews.
Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula - thank
you for watching Movie Night, I hope to see
you, right back here for the next episode.
