Million Dollar Arm

MPAA/ Content PG (AC)

Distributor  Walt Disney Pictures [2014]

Technical  2.35:1 35mm HD

Genres  DRA SPO BIO

Runtime  124 mins.

Cntry./Lang.  USA [English/ Hindi]

Budget $25M

 

 

CAST

Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Madhur Mittal, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell, Pitobash, Darshan Jariwala, Tzi Ma & Alan Arkin

 

CREDITS 

Director: Craig Gillespie; Screenwriter: Tom McCarthy; Producers: Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray & Joe Roth; Director Of Photography: Gyula Pados; Production Designer: Barry Robison; Editor: Tatiana S. Riegel; Costume Designer: Kristen Leigh Mann; Music Composer: A.R. Rahman

 

THE SYNOPSIS

Los Angeles, 2007: Sports über-agent J.B. Bernstein (Hamm) and his partner Ash Vasudevan (Mandvi) are struggling to launch their new agency but cannot attain new clients. Depressed one night, JB flips channels on TV and comes across a talent competition and a cricket game—when he is suddenly inspired to search for talent in India! With Ash on board, they convince wealthy investor Mr. Chang (Ma) to invest in their new concept: Million Dollar Arm.

JB heads to India to recruit a pair of young men to pitch for professional baseball teams. He is aided by the benignly avuncular Vivek (Jariwala), a local guide; enthusiastic young coach Amit Rohan (Tripathy); and cranky, retired pro scout Ray Poitevint (Arkin). Travelling across India, they scout thousands of young hopefuls and narrow the contestants down to two potentials: Rinku Singh (Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Mittal)…young men who have no knowledge of baseball, but the heart to give it their all.

Back in L.A., Million Dollar Arm gains traction when famed USC pitching coach Dr. Tom House (Paxton) is hired to train the boys within a tight 3-month window. Having to take in Rinku, Dinesh & Amit (who is now their interpreter) into his home when they are booted out of their hotel, JB must learn to open his heart to the boys and see them as more than just clients. He gets some much-needed guidance from pretty resident doctor/tenant Brenda Fenwick (Bell) in both humility and romance. He’ll need it, as they face insurmountable odds at turning the two boys into professional baseball players.

 

THE CRITIQUE

Swiiiiiiing batter batter batter swiiiiiiing batter!! Sprinkled with a healthy dose of curry spice, MILLION DOLLAR ARM is a charming and gentle baseball fable based on true events. The Jerry Maguire (1996)-meets-Slumdog Millionaire (2008) hybrid is very much a Disney product (though originally set up at Sony’s Columbia Pictures) in execution & result—and that’s not a bad thing. It is safe, heartfelt and inspiring…and quite vanilla with a dash of cinnamon added!

Based on the amazing true story of sport agent J.B. Bernstein (who has represented sports icons Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith & Barry Bonds) and his creation & stewardship of a reality-TV show called Million Dollar Arm (with the help of his partners Ash Vasudevan & financier William Chang), the movie version does a good job of hewing close to many of the facts—courtesy of a straight-forward screenplay by fellow Jerseyite Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, Win Win, Up). Per the production notes, the screenwriter actually spent two weeks in India doing the research on Bernstein’s MDA endeavors. Again, due diligence in capturing the real people and a taste of Indian culture goes a long way—though true dramatic conflict suffers in the process. For more on the reel vs. real conundrum, check out the MILLION DOLLAR ARM page at the History Vs. Hollywood website.

Directed with earnest proclivity by Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock, Lars And The Real Girl, 2011’s Fright Night), it is indeed a well-oiled production. He is abetted by a solid cast led by Jon Hamm (a natural leading man), Asif Mandvi (amusing), Bill Paxton (taciturn but gentle), Lake Bell (brains & beauty) and the great Alan Arkin—playing the craggly, cranky mentor-type he can do in his sleep. Oh wait—he sleeps throughout half the picture!

The Indian cast is also on par, with nice turns by Mittal (heartfelt), Sharma (earnest), Tripathy (energetic) and Jariwala (charmingly benign). Per the production notes, Mittal and Sharma had no baseball experience—so they (just like their characters) were put through accelerated baseball training programs before production commenced. One of their first pitching coaches? The real Dinesh Patel himself.

Production values for this low/midrange, $25 million production (boxofficemojo.com) are actually top-shelf across the board. Principal photography began in India and lasted for three weeks as the crew traveled to different locations—up to and including the Mumbai metroplex and Agra—home to the Taj Mahal. Back in the USA, location shooting included Los Angeles, CA (where the majority of the movie takes place) as well as in Atlanta, GA—which stood in for most of the L.A. sequences in the 2^nd half of principal photography. Can’t beat that Georgia tax credit!

MILLION DOLLAR ARM exhibits a pleasant widescreen-lensing schema courtesy of veteran Hungarian cinematographer Gyula Pados (Basic Instinct 2, Evening, Predators, Metallica: Through The Never). Interestingly (and per American Cinematographer), the decision was made to shoot the Indian sequences on film via the Super 35mm format (using the ARRICAM Studio & ARRICAM Lite as well as the ARRI 235 & 435 camera packages) while the US-based sequences on HD digital via the ARRI Alexa XT & ARRI Studio XT camera packages. Metaphorically, it works—as the contrast in lensing formats mirrors the contrasts of nations/cultures/norms of India and the USA. The former lensing schema is realized by a palette of earthy browns and greens via 35mm film’s robust qualities while the latter’s delineated HD qualities showcase both the modern facets of the big city (Los Angeles) as well as the hard, business-like facets of the sports world and all that it entails.  At least that’s what I gleaned from the cinematography!

Smooth cutting by veteran editor Tatiana S. Riegel (The Million Dollar Hotel, Lars And The Real Girl, 2011’s Fright Night, Bad Words), dichotomous East/West production design by veteran Californian Barry Robison (October Sky, Hidalgo, Wedding Crashers, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), dichotomous East/West costume design by Kriston Leigh Mann (The Pacifier, Lars And The Real Girl, TV’s Parks And Recreation) and a handsome/dichotomous East/West score by veteran Indian composer A.R. Rahman (Oscar^®-winner for Slumdog Millionaire; also scored 127 Hours, Elizabeth: The Golden Age). Notice all the dichotomy MILLION DOLLAR ARM has to offer!!

THE BOTTOM LINE

With plenty of gentle charm and spirit, MILLION DOLLAR ARM is a feel-good movie that scores a base hit.  While it won’t earn the accolades reserved for the masterpiece baseball movies of yore, this one certainly merits a spot in the dugout.  It’s nice to see that a biographical movie based on real events hews closely to what really transpired—at least I won’t have to sit through the seventh-inning stretch (read: hokey TV documentary) on this one!  Heyyyy swiiiiiiing batttttttttter!!

 

 

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1647668/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Dollar_Arm

Official Site:          http://movies.disney.com/million-dollar-arm

Neighbors (2014)

MPAA/Content R (AC, AL, N, V)

Distributor Universal Pics. [2014]

Technical 2.35:1 HD

Genre COM

Runtime 96 mins.

Cntry./Lang. USA [English]

Budget $18M

 

CAST

Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Hannibal Burress, Halston Sage, Jerrod Carmichael, Craig Roberts & Lisa Kudrow

 

CREDITS

Director: Nicholas Stoller; Screenwriters: Andrew Jay Cohen & Brendan O’Brien; Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg & James Weaver; Director Of Photography: Brandon Trost; Production Designer: Julie Berghoff; Editor: Zene Baker; Costume Designer: Leesa Evans; Music Composer: Michael Andrews

 

THE SYNOPSIS

First-time parents Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) Radner have just bought a house on a quiet street and now moved in with their infant daughter, Stella. That means less partying with zany best friends Jimmy (Barinholtz) and ex-wife Paula (Gallo) and more focus on work, the baby and their new home.

One day, fraternity Delta Psi Beta moves into the house next door—led by the hunky, cunning Teddy Sanders (Efron) and his lieutenant Pete Regazolli (Franco), smart, handsome, questionable sexuality. These Deltas aspire to carry on their frat’s huge partying reputation by staging the greatest party ever. The first party is loud—so much so that Mac & Kelly go over to ask the kids to “keep it down”. This backfires when they are invited into the bacchanalia and have a blast.

However, the next party shatters the brief détente when Mac & Kelly call the cops on the Deltas. Teddy declares war on the Radners and the hazing/pranking begins. Flooding basements, genital topiary and exploding car seats are just a warm-up. After Mac & Kelly bring the matter to the flighty dean Carol Gladstone (Kudrow), they discover that the Deltas are one strike away from being expelled from the college and their charter revoked. The Radners then go on the offensive with help of Jimmy & Paula—and the final showdown involves plenty of booze, nudity and fireworks!

 

THE CRITIQUE

NEIGHBORS, an amusing but not perfect fraternity comedy, has the sad luck of following in the cinematic footsteps of the better fraternity comedies of yore: National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), Revenge Of The Nerds (1984), the cultish Fraternity Vacation (1985), PCU (1994) and the more recent Old School (2003). The newest pledge to this celluloid fraternity has more chuckles than outright laughs. It’s too bad, because after watching the trailers for this one, I was expecting to be knocked out of my seat…like I was for another recent party movie Project X (2012). That one had the laughs and the energy to pull off a party movie made for little money and featuring an unknown cast.

The NEIGHBORS screenplay was written by newbie scribes Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien—besties who (as they state in the production notes) have broken through the barrier of their 20s and are now in their early 30s and married, and missing the college life they had. Guys, you mean just had. You’re in your early 30s—which is like the new 20s!! Especially in this new day and age where the Millennials have barely left their homes at 30!

Hell, I’m in my early 40s—which, by the way, is now the new 30s—and I’m all giggity giggity giggity about being single again, with no kids of my own to worry about!! I’m just as sexed up as any frat boy—but with the pragmatic knowledge of how things work with women (dudes…a hint: they’re always right). Yup, a charming, handsome, witty, articulate, cultured, educated, acerbic, groovy film critic who’s available… (ladies…a hint: youssef@moonstarfilmreviews.com).  Yowsah!

But I digress…

What I find interesting about this screenplay is how the main character—envisioned for and played by Seth Rogen (only in his early 30s)—tries to divide the generational gap between the Radners and the Deltas. What, by 10 years?! Hah! What does that make me to the frat kids…Old Man Time? See where I’m going with this? In the aforementioned Animal House, the generational gap between the Authorities (the Dean, the police, the parents) and those Deltas (Baby Boomers in their early 20s) was distinct and absolute. Today, with things being the way they are, can you really tell the difference between 20-somethings and 30-somethings…aside from the fact that those in the latter probably shower more frequently?

Still, at least Cohen & O’Brien did get plenty of the norms & mores of fraternity life correct. Not that I am an expert—having never had the desire to be ass-whipped by some over-jocked monkey with a paddle—but having friends that did, I was able to attend plenty of frat parties. And let’s just say, for a non-drinking/non-smoking/non-druggy college boy, I had plenty of fun with my clothes on and off. But that’s for the epic biopic that I’ll make someday…

NEIGHBORS was helmed with genre precision by Judd Apatow collaborator/screenwriter (2005’s Fun With Dick And Jane, Yes Man, The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted)-turned-director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek)—a filmmaker known in the business as a stalwart improvisational director. And it shows—as the interaction between the actors (either protag or antag) feels naturalistic. Combined with the comfort that Stoller knows where the camera should go and how sequences should be edited—it is evident that this guy knows how to do his job.

Speaking of the actors, the aforementioned star Seth Rogen does a serviceable job playing the loveable schlub—basically the same he plays in most of his movies…though he was better in the superior This Is The End (2013). I was thinking, however, how different this movie might have turned out if someone more age-appropriate would play the role of husband & father…say Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller. Aussie actress Rose Byrne’s Kelly could have been a reactive shrill—however, in a smart move by the screenwriters & director—proves she’s a tough cookie with the mouth of a sailor and the temperament of a trucker. It was a pleasant surprise to see this lovely and talented actress slumming with the boys!

Another surprise is Zac Efron, as the calculating/cunning/hunky frat leader. Formerly a teen pin-up star, Efron has matured (surviving through his own crucible of drugs & alcohol) into a budding fine actor. His comedic timing is great and he works well with Dave (younger brother of James) Franco and McLovin’ himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse—who is endowed with a monster, Dirk Diggler-ish (fake) penis after years of playing wimpy characters with an annoying voice. Co-stars Barinholtz & Gallo round out the casting with amusing to & fro between their characters.

Production values for this $18 million production (boxofficemojo.com) are slick enough to pass muster (what’d they spend the cash on…black lights and trainers for Zac Efron?). The entire movie was shot in Los Angeles and utilized two real houses —nice work by production designer Julie Berghoff (Saw, Dead Silence, The Conjuring), by the way.

NEIGHBORS was lensed in HD-widescreen (via the ARRI Alexa Plus 4:3 camera system) by veteran cinematographer Brendan Trost (Crank: High Voltage, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, The Lords Of Salem, This Is The End)—who does a good job of creating dissimilar visual landscapes in the Radner home (comfortable hues) and the frat house (freaky party lighting schema). He is abetted by slick editing courtesy of regular Seth Rogen cutter Zene Baker (Observe And Report, 50/50, This Is The End).

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Far from being the ultimate frat house/party movie, NEIGHBORS, still manages to entertain despite a simplistic script and some underdeveloped characterizations. While the movie is funny, I was expecting a more robust level of humor based on the trailer that exalted such promise. Still, Seth Rogen makes me laugh—as do air bag gags and topiary genitals.

 

 

 

IMDB:                   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2004420/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighbors_(2014_film)

Official Site:          http://www.neighbors-movie.com