Film Vault Tuesday

I suppose everyone knew this was coming… Yesterday was Baseball’s Opening Day and today is of course Film Vault Tuesday. It’s also been a long time since I’ve written anything sports related… So how could I NOT make this week’s movie “Field of Dreams”!?

Seriously, aren’t I like obligated to do that? This post kind of writes itself. But before I get into the movie I have a story:

- It’s a Baseball story… Sorry Moe Greene, but this story needs to be told… When Moe was growing up his mother was VERY vocal during his baseball games. VERY vocal… She was one of “those” Mothers.

Every time he stepped up to the plate she would yell and scream encouragement- she had lots of cute and embarrassing nicknames too; “C’mon Dimples you can do it! Knock it out of the park Blue Eyes!”

Even though she was only 5’3” and maybe 90 pounds wearing boots- her voice could cut through all the background noise and EVERYONE could hear her…

I’m 90% sure that he was such an awful hitter because he was so embarrassed of his mother. And he should have been. She wasn’t afraid to yell and scream at his coaches either… So what if he was the worst hitter in the whole league who went TWO years without getting a hit!? Her baby deserved to play more!

Every Little League coach, parent, umpire, and player knew who Moe and his mother were. They also knew Moe’s nickname “Dimples.”

It got so bad that even the League PA Announcer would get on the Microphone every time he saw Moe getting ready to come to the plat: “Now batting… Moe ‘Dimples’ Greene…” You could hear chuckles all across the park.

And as embarrassing as all that sounds… It’s not even the most embarrassing Moe Greene’s Mother baseball story… not even close!

When Moe was in a Tee Ball his Mother was just as over-the-top with her encouragement… It didn’t matter that he was only 8 years old and hitting a ball off the Tee- to her this was just as big and important as a Major League Baseball game.

And what does every Major League player have when he goes to plate? They have their own personal music, that’s right! And if Cal Ripken gets his own music, than Moe’s mom saw no reason why Moe shouldn’t have his own as well… So she would carry one of those big portable boom boxes to every game!

Every time he would get a chance to hit she would hit the play button and the entire park would be treated to the sounds of John Forgery’s “Centerfield.” Over, and Over, and Over, and Over again…

You can play it here if you'd like to get the full effect.

FILM VAULT TUESDAY

Title: Filed of Dremas (1989)

Cast: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Burt Lancaster

Why: This movie will always be in my Top 10... People seem forget that when this movie was made, Kevin Costner was the guy. Remember when people used to argue Tom Hanks or Kevin Costner? Okay, well Tom kicked Kevin’s ass- but just the fact that people used to argue about that should say something… This was before we found out that Costner had just been playing himself all this time- and that he was couldn’t pull off a decent accent if his life depended on it… But whatever, he was at his peak in this movie.

He made me believe that God lived in his corn and that he could bring people back to life by making a baseball field- to me that’s talent.

And let’s not forget the amazing performances by Ray Liotta and James Earl Jones… Even if you’re not a baseball fan this movie has to be considered one of the best movies of the 80’s.

Remote Stopper Scene:

Every time I see it on TV or pop in the DVD, I’m in for the whole movie- but I guess if my house was on fire or something and I really had to leave- the one scene I would have to see, is the scene when “Shoeless” Joe Jackson first comes back to life and walks onto the field… He talks about how much he’s missed baseball and no matter how many times I’ve seen it happen- I get sucked in every time.

Goosebump/Tear Factor:

Wow… Every time “The Voice” shows up I get the goosebumps… I also get them in every baseball scene… every time the score kicks in, and probably another 10 random moments that I can’t even remember right now.

I only tear up once, and that’s at the end when he plays catch with his father… and I’ll have to be honest here, I do a little more than just tear up- I become a slobbery mess. Every time. It’s the best ending to a movie, period… That’s it- that’s the list.

Overall Rating:

It’s too corny and sentimental to be a 10... Also, Costner’s wife in the movie (played by Amy Madigan) always annoys the crap out of me. Her actions just never seem to make any sense- she doesn’t have a problem with him building a baseball field, but she flips out when he says he’s taking a tip to Boston… She sees the Ghosts come to life and play baseball, and she has dreams with signs in them- yet she still needs to be convinced to keep the farm… Not to mention it doesn’t make sense that she even somehow landed Costner- I mean, we’re talking about the PEAK of Costner, for whatever reason Women at the time considered him a sex symbol- and let’s just say that Amy Madigan is no sex symbol… But those are the only 2 real issues I have with the movie- I give it a 9.