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Welcome back to the reviews of the 118th Olympiad, I'm Jon Costas. Later tonight in primetime
you'll see Robert Redford go for gold in the men's downhill. We'll also check in on the
inspiring story of the Jamaican bobsled team. And during our late-night coverage, more competition
from men's figure skating. But first, this is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, arriving a few days late this week because I was distracted
by 18 consecutive hours of Olympic coverage. I'm your host Jonathan Paula. Tonight, in
honor of the twenty-second Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, we'll take a look at three
of the only films that focus on winter sports. Beginning with "Downhill Racer".
Released in November of 1969... this sports drama, based on the novel "The Downhill Racers"
by Oakley Hall barely broke even with its $1.8 million dollar budget. A young, and seemingly
ageless Robert Redford stars as a hot shot American who has a talent and ambition for
downhill skiing, later getting recruited by coach Gene Hackman to compete for the US delegation
in the upcoming Winter Olympics. Although the two Hollywood legends share a number of
scenes together, they're never provided an opportunity to showcase their A-game, and
honestly, Hackman seems entirely wasted in the one-note role. When Redford is criticized
for clashing with his fellow competitors due to his aggressive ski-style, another racer
is quick to point out, "Well, it's not exactly a team sport, is it?". The contemporary-sounding
music by Kenyon Hopkins drives some tension during several scenes, but drops out to complete
silence for most of the skiing portions, allowing only the sound of crunching snow and speeding
athletes to populate the soundtrack. Released under the short-lived "M" rating (which later
evolved into today's PG-equivalent), this picture's pacing and sensibilities are very
much stuck in the 1960's. The 101-minute film is a slow-moving experience with little dialogue
to propel the overly simplistic plot. Visually speaking however, there's some brilliant cinematography
at work here, including an inventive first-person POV shot of a downhill run... decades before
cheap, and versatile cameras like the GoPro would make such imagery almost commonplace.
These alpine portions are faithfully recreated, and truly exciting to watch unfold, even if
Redford's eventual success is all but a predictable conclusion. Select sequences are also edited
with a brisk and original style, but these are sadly few and far between. The laid back
approach from director Michael Ritchie allows the viewer to inhabit some of Redford's fears,
excitement and anxiety atop the slopes prior to each run, but generally does a poor job
of explaining the stakes. As it doesn't offer any compelling reason to watch, I can't really
recommend this picture, but since there's so few Winter Olympic themed-movies... for
fans of the sport, this is one of your scant options. Outside of Redford fans, or alpine
enthusiasts, this is bland, uninspired, and predictable sports film with little re-watch
value. "Downhill Racer", "Aged well, but not interesting."
Here's my final score... a FOUR. While I was never outright bored, I never really cared
about anything here either. The racing portions were exciting, but overall it was just MEH...
for tonight's poll question, what's your favorite sports film? Leave your response as a comment
below. Progressing from games at Grenoble to Calgary, let's now review "Cool Runnings".
Released by Walt Disney Pictures in October of 1993, this feel-good sports picture earned
over ten times its $15-million dollar budget. Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the 98-picture
is an extremely predictable, light-hearted affair that's very loosely based on the true
story of Jamaica's improbable bobsledding debut in the 1988 Winter Olympics. The heavily
fictionalized version of events follows a group of ambitious track runners, played by
Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, and Malik Yoba - who encourage a washed-out former American
bobsledder to coach them in the decidedly non-Caribbean based sport, after they failed
to qualify for the summer Olympics. The four men goof around, are often annoying, and exhibit
little acting talent, but they're likeable enough as the ultimate underdogs. The late
John Candy is their boisterous coach with a troubled past, defending his team to a review
board by sarcastically remarking, "I didn't realize that four black guys in a bobsled
could make you blush." The warmth and credibility he brings to every role elevates all those
around him, and tragic proof that we lost a wonderful actor far too early. The PG-rated
film offers nothing new, and rarely anything truly exciting: but it's harmless entertainment
everyone will be rooting for; so much so in fact, the picture's legacy has greatly helped
visibility for the sport, including a recent funding campaign for Jamacia's 2014 bobsledding
contingent. In true Disney fashion, the climax of the narrative sees the crowds of Calgary
partaking in the traditional "slow-clap" of approval for our protagonists. Unlike the
sledder's colorful personalities and sled-design, the presentation of this films lacks any style
or originality... the editing, pacing, and cinematography are all very basic and average.
Hans Zimmer's calypso-themed score provides for an appropriate backdrop to the proceedings,
as does Jimmy Cliff's reggae-cover of "I Can See Clearly Now", which closes out the picture.
A fun and cute movie all families can enjoy at least as often as the games themselves,
"Cool Runnings" is a "Formulaic, charming and uplifting story." Here are some of your
reviews on this picture.
Our scores for "Cool Runnings", a double SEVEN. You enjoyed the fun characters and occasional
laughs, rating this a COOL. A enjoyable hour-and-a-half, and a picture that is surprisingly still very
relevant today, I too thought it was, appropriately, a COOL movie. A reminder now to subscribe
to the Movie Night Archive channel for an organized library of all our past reviews,
and my exclusive trailer commentaries. Last week I featured Seth MacFarlane's upcoming
"A Million Ways To Die In The West". Our last winter-sports movie tonight is "Blades Of
Glory."
This Well Speck and Josh Gordon sports comedy film almost tripled its $53 million dollar
budget following its March 30th release in 2007. Will Ferrel and Jon Heder star as talented
figure skaters who resort to the unorthodox solution of pairing with each other in order
to compete on the national level again, following a lifetime ban from the sport. The curious
pairing of Ferrell and Heder as disgraced skaters works surprisingly well, the former's
trademark, abrasive and improvised humor works well against the latter's more subtle annoyed
straight-man style. The supporting cast includes a bevy of familiar faces, including the then-married
couple of Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as scheming and ruthless skating competitors, the gorgeously
cute Jenna Fischer as the nervous potential girlfriend, William Ficthner in a quick role
as an uncaring millionaire father, Nick Swardson as a creepy stalker, and Craig T. Nelson as
who else... the coach. Real-life former skater and renowned color-commentator Scott Hamilton
appears as himself alongside Jim Lampley, both of whom add a great deal of credibility
to the absurd events, and deliver some great jokes themselves, providing exposition early
by describing Ferrel as the "Only skater to win four national championships and an adult
film award." The 93-minute film is quickly paced, and its parallel narratives keep either
from getting too boring. There's even a few quick visual effects shots, namely when our
unathletic protagonists perform computer-assisted triple-axels. The PG-13 rated movies makes
some inventive use of pop music throughout, like when Heder questions the meaning of the
Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps"... but the original score from Theodore Shapiro is largely inconsequential.
When I saw this film in theaters the week of its release, I recall laughing quite frequently,
and really enjoying the humor and style of this picture... but sadly, it has not aged
well. Only seven years later, the jokes feel stale, forced, and far more immature than
necessary. Playing out like an unfunny SNL sketch that doesn't quite know when to end.
There are moments, gags, and gimmicks that definitely work well however, like when Arnett
is chasing Ferrel through the streets and stores of Montreal, while still clumsily wearing
their skates. For fans of Ferrel's zany and aggressive delivery, or figuring skating,
this is an average comedy worth watching at least once. "Blades Of Glory", is "Witty and
amusing, but familiar." Here are your reviews now from the YouTube comments.
Audience vote is a SEVEN, and I rated "Blades Of Glory" a SIX. While many were quick to
point out some of its faults, you also praised the humor, calling this a COOL movie. Far
less enjoyable than I remember it - this is a crude, but decent comedy. I thought it was
GOOD. Now for a look at films currently playing in theaters, here are some of your Tweet Critiques.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag. Next week
we'll be reviewing three brand new features, "The Monuments Men", featuring an all-star
cast led by George Clooney, "The LEGO Movie", which is already getting rave reviews, and
the "Robocop" reboot, which is released nationwide this week. Once you've seen these films, share
your opinions by voting in the polls below, or by leaving a comment review. If you'd like
to watch more Movie Night reviews, check out the "related videos" on the right, or click
SUBSCRIBE to be notified of all new content, and be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook,
or Google+ for updates between episodes. Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula, thank you
for watching and listening. Until next time, have a good Movie Night!