Trouble with the Curve

Trouble with the Curve – Dir. Robert Lorenz (2012)

Gran Torino was supposed to be Clint Eastwood's last hurrah as an actor. Something must have lured him back for Trouble with the Curve. It certainly wasn't the chance to play a radically different character than he usually portrays. Once again Eastwood slips into the role of the dusty old timer searching for that one last glory. It's a role he's played numerous times dating back to 1982's The Honkytonk Man. Then, there's the aforementioned Gran Torino, Unforgiven, Space Cowboys, Million Dollar Baby, and In the Line of Fire, which was the last time Eastwood starred in a film he didn't direct. You wouldn't be able to tell since Trouble with the Curve looks and feels just like an Eastwood picture. It does feature many of Eastwood's regular collaborators including Editors Gary Roach and Joel Cox, Production Designer James Murakami, Costume Designer Deborah Hooper, and Cinematographer Tom Stern with Eastwood's long-time producer Robert Lorenz making his directorial debut.

Eastwood is Gus Lobel, an aging talent scout for the Atlanta Braves. Eastwood gets one of his least flattering introductions in a while as he has problems peeing in the morning and tripping over his own furniture. They have to let the audience know that Gus is old, dammit. He has a disdain for the "interweb" and refers to yoga as "voodoo." Gus is coming on with a case of glaucoma and he's got a young hotshot (Matthew Lillard) bucking for his job. Gus is out to prove decades of knowledge and intuition will trump a computer any day when he hits the road to look at a high school power hitter named Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill). With his eyesight fading, Gus's friend, Pete (John Goodman), convinces Gus's estranged daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), named after Mickey Mantle, to accompany him. Mickey doesn't have the warmest feelings for her father since the old man shipped her off to boarding school after her mother died. Along the way, they pick up Johnny "The Flame" Flanagan (Justin Timberlake), an ex-pitcher whose career fizzled after he blew out his shoulder. He's hoping to make it as a scout in order to transition to the broadcast booth.

Trouble with the Curve is the anti-Moneyball with the new school proponents of technology and sabremetrics cast as obnoxious and willfully ignorant while the old-school scouts battle to uphold baseball tradition. As a baseball themed drama, the filmmakers also get the chance to trot out ham-fisted sports analogies about life handing you extra innings and such. The screenplay by newcomer Randy Brown trades in Hallmark homilies and sitcom solutions with a few inert jokes about Dr. Phil and Desperate Housewives. Gus will learn to open up and rely on others while Mickey, a type-A personality, will learn to put down her smartphone. The resolution doesn't rest on a big game, but it does take place in a stadium where every plot point is wrapped up neatly.

Eastwood, Timberlake, and Adams make for an easygoing trio. Adams, in particular, is a joy as the feisty, strong-willed female lead. Those of you who enjoy playing 'Spot the Character Actor' will be kept busy by a supporting cast that includes Robert Patrick, Bob Gunton, George Wyner, Chelcie Ross, and Ed Lauter.

Trouble with the Curve isn't a deep film, but it is the sort of sweet and safe drama that scores with Middle America and the elderly.

Rating: ** (*****)

Kill the Irishman

Kill the Irishman - Dir. Jonathan Hensleigh (2011)

"...if any of these maggots in the so-called mafia want to come after me, I'm not a hard man to find."

Cleveland is known as the home of the Indians and the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Most folks don't realize that the city was also known as a hotbed for the mafia back in the 70's. In fact, Cleveland earned the dubious nickname of "Bomb City, USA" due to the violent struggle between rival mob factions and their use of bombs as the preferred method of murder. Thirty-six explosions were set off in 1976 alone. Hip deep in the thick of things was an Irish gangster by the name of Danny Greene, who serves as the basis for Kill the Irishman, a fictionalized account of those violent events. Kill the Irishman was co-written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, who also wrote and directed The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane in the titular role. Oddly enough, the star of his newest film is Ray Stevenson, who took over as Marvel's premiere vigilante in the sequel/reboot, Punisher: War Zone.

Stevenson plays Greene as a physically imposing man with a barrel chest and a shock of strawberry blonde hair. His rise in the world of organized crime began as the head of the dockworkers' union. To consolidate power, Greene struck a deal with the Italians in exchange for goods pilfered from errant shipping containers. It was through this relationship that Greene met John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), who would become one of his staunchest allies and the only Mafioso that actually liked the Irishman. A scathing news article exposed Greene's corruption and he was banned from the union for life. He escaped jail time by agreeing to become an FBI informant. In real life, Greene was one of the highest profile informants for the feds along with Whitey Bulger, the recently arrested mob boss who served as an inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed.

Greene would eventually work as a leg breaker for notorious loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken). A sour business transaction would end their relationship and ignite a blood feud between a mafia desperate to retain control of the city against Greene's gang, which was quickly consolidating power. After surviving multiple attempts upon his life, including an explosion in his home, Greene brazenly dared the mob to come after him during a televised interview. Of course, the all good things must come to an end.

Kill the Irishman is a familiar story told in a familiar way and full of familiar faces. To put it bluntly, it's a knockoff of Scorsese films and assorted episodes of The Sopranos. Hensleigh recycles plenty of ideas from movies like Mean Streets and Goodfellas. There's a montage showing Greene's rise to power and chart-topping pop songs ironically contrasting violent scenes. The dialogue consists of clichéd tough guy lines like, "Your enemies are my enemies."

Pretty much anyone who has ever played a gangster is in Kill the Irishman. There's Walken, D'Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Steven Schirripa, Mike Starr, Tony Lo Bianco, Robert Davi, Tony Darrow, and Vinny Vella, along with Vinnie Jones (sporting an awful looking tan and an even worse Irish accent) and Bob Gunton. Linda Cardellini takes on the Lorraine Bracco role of the put upon wife who can only stand by her man for so long. Finally, Val Kilmer appears as Det. Manditski, a former childhood acquaintance of Greene's who serves as narrator. This cast of noted character actors is the film's sole saving grace and serves as fine support for a strong performance by Stevenson. The former Titus Pullo imbues the role of Danny Greene with a natural charisma, even if the character is thinly written. Greene is painted as a Robin Hood figure and a blue-collar underdog in t-shirts and jeans defiant against the elitist Italians in their tailored suits.

Hensleigh adds to the authenticity by dotting the narrative with archival news footage of the actual events.

Kill the Irishman fails to live up to the renowned gangster pics it tries so hard to emulate. It's neither original nor memorable, but is worth a look because of a game and talented cast. Hey, Christopher Walken is always fun to watch.

Rating: ** (*****)