Justin Lin picks up the rights to Sundance baseball documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball

This year at the Sundance Festival, one of the bigger debuts came from a baseball documentary titled The Battered Bastards of Baseball. Directors Chapman Way and Maclain told the story about the only independent baseball team back in 1973 called the Portland Mavericks, created by Bing Russell - the father of actor Kurt Russell, who also played on the team for a short time - as a way to give hope to players who were originally rejected by the Major League teams. Surprisingly, the team accomplished quite a bit of success in its short 5 year life span despite many trials along the way. While they never won the playoffs, they did win their division multiple times.

Former Fast and Furious director Justin Lin saw the popularity of the documentary and bought the rights to adapt it into a feature length narrative film. Instead of directing the adaptation, Justin Lin decided to only act as producer through his production company Perfect Storm. It seems like Justin Lin has tapped director Todd Field (who is, ironically enough, a former player for the Portland Mavericks) to helm the adaptation.

At this point in time there is not a set release date for The Battered Bastards of Baseball. With all of the other projects Justin Lin is attached to, if things do not get rolling soon then it could be quite awhile before we see this particular project come to fruition. Personally, I sincerely hope it is sooner rather than later.

Source: First Showing

Saving Mr. Banks

The story of Mary Poppins is arguably one of the most well-known and beloved children's stories of all time. Written by P.L. Travers in 1961, Mary Poppins ultimately had become more than just a character written on paper - she became family to Mrs. Travers. As the success of her books grew, offers of buying the film rights came rushing in. Mr. Walt Disney himself was one of the many suitors looking to adapt the story of Mary Poppins. For 20 years Mr. Disney pursued Mrs. Travers in an effort to fulfill a promise he made to his daughters that he would bring their favorite book to life. For 20 years Mrs. Travers resisted, fearful that her story would be ruined by needless embellishment on the big screen. Finally Mrs. Travers gave in to an offer from Walt Disney to bring her to Walt Disney Studios and oversee the process herself to bring her story to life the way she wanted. What followed was an experience neither of them would ever forget, as Walt Disney tried to closely follow Mrs. Travers' demands, while Mrs. Travers made sure her story was told correctly - ultimately opening up to Disney just how much Mary Poppins means to her.

Saving Mr. Banks is without a doubt one of the sweetest, and best feel-good movies of the year. A lot of films like these tend to make me roll my eyes at how obviously they want the audience to go "awww!" and wipe tears from their eyes. That was nowhere near the case here. It was sweet without being overbearing, charming without being insincere. Emma Thompson was perfectly cast as P.L. Travers, and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. At times I found myself wishing Mrs. Travers would just give in and let Walt Disney adapt her story, if only for the reason being that I've seen the end result and absolutely loved Disney's interpretation. After I saw Saving Mr. Banks with my family, we looked up Mrs. Travers history to learn more about her and the creation of Mary Poppins. A lot of what we learned was really interesting. Saving Mr. Banks is not on my top 5 favorites of the year, but is most definitely on my top 10 of the year. It is a must-see film that adults and teenagers will enjoy, especially those who remember seeing Disney's take on the classic tale.

American Hustle

Irving Rosenfeld is a devious con man. For years he's been dealing in forged art and a shady loan shark business, all while keeping a legit dry cleaning business as a front. His wife, Rosalyn, knows about his under the table dealings, but has quietly put up with it since he takes care of her and her son.

For a while, things go smoothly for Irving and Rosalyn until Irving has a chance encounter with a femme fatale named Sydney Prosser. Sydney and Irving engage in a sordid affair, and Sydney eventually encourages Irving to branch out in his loan shark business. Irving does so with Sydney as his partner. Things go well from there until they catch the attention of power-hungry FBI agent Richie DeMaso. DeMaso makes a deal with Irving and Sydney: help him make four busts in a FBI con scheme of their own, and they can walk free.

Nothing is quite as it seems in David O. Russell's cautionary tale based on a true story of the Abscam scandal in 1981. Abscam saw seven U.S. congressmen convicted on charges of bribery. In this elaborate retelling of the events, every single person involved on both sides of the scam has some sort of ulterior motive which drives them, often with disastrous results. Irving wants to provide for his family, especially his adopted son. Sydney wants Irving to herself and continue to live her life as a con artist. Agent Richie greatly desires power and the fame that comes with it. On the other side of the scam, New Jersey Mayor Carmine Polito tries to find a way to create jobs for the citizens of his town. Each of these players in the con game have good intentions, however they fall into the trap of constantly making bad decisions to achieve their goals.

On the surface American Hustle looks like a slick, fun retelling of true events that in a convoluted way are reminiscent of the storyline of Ocean's 11 and it's two sequels. While that is partly a good description of American Hustle, it is also a cautionary tale of how desperate people can be when pushed to their breaking points. Seeing each of these people make such horrible decisions and face the consequences of those decisions is admittedly slightly depressing. The good thing, however, is David O. Russell does not paint their actions in a positive light and try to make excuses for them. Instead, he simply tells a story of how each of them got to that certain point of desperation. Unlike David's previous film, Silver Linings Playbook, the depressing factor actually helps the film instead of taking away from it. In Silver Linings, none of the characters seem repentant of their ways and there does not seem to be a satisfying "everything is going to be ok" kind of ending (that might have been the point for all I know, but for me it did not work). In American Hustle, each of the characters seemed genuinely wanting to change for the better. And that is what makes American Hustle worthwhile.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Last time we saw teenage demigod Percy Jackson, he was saving the world from another angry demigod who stole Zeus's lightning bolt to use as a weapon to destroy the world. In Sea of Monsters, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth are still training at Camp Half-Blood, a hidden wilderness refuge for demigods until they reach their full potential.  Things seem to be going well until a mechanical bull crashes through the force field protecting the camp and wreaks havoc among the campers. Percy and his friends subdue the bull, then find out that former friend-turned-enemy named Luke is back for revenge. It seems that Luke is still angry at his father Hermes for abandoning him, so he attempts to exact his vengeance on his father (and ultimately the world) by releasing the god Kronos from his imprisonment. Percy and his friends must summon every ounce of power and courage in them if they have any hope of stopping Luke from his plans of resurrecting Kronos.

For a movie based on a series of children's books, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was actually pretty decent. I liked the first one, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, better; however Sea of Monsters was a good installment. What interested me about the first one was the engaging story, decent action, as well as a few positive messages and certain allegories I could not help noticing throughout the film. For instance, I found it pretty funny that they made Hollywood, of all places, the entrance to hell. I wondered if that was intentional, or if they just had to choose a location so they randomly chose Hollywood. In the book the entrance is through a recording studio in Los Angeles called Dead on Arrival. Gambling is seen as a detrimental vice. Several main characters are willing to risk their lives for each other and for the greater good. There were others, but I cannot think of anymore at the moment.

Unfortunately, all of the connections I made with The Lightning Thief were lost in Sea of Monsters. It felt like it did not have the sincerity and the heart that I found in The Lightning Thief. The story was way too predictable, and a subplot involving a long-lost half brother of Percy's who happens to be a cyclops was a little unnecessary in my opinion. I still enjoyed the film overall for what it's worth, and I realize this is a kid's flick based off a popular children's series so I wasn't expecting an Oscar-winning performance. That being said, it still could have been so much more entertaining. I found myself less engaged than I was in The Lightning Thief. I do hope they continue with the series because I hate it when a series is left unfinished, but I also hope that the next installment gets back to the spirit of the first film. If all else fails, then I might suggest doing what The Chronicles of Narnia did, which was wait a few years before coming out with the next film in the franchise. Otherwise I would go ahead and reboot the series completely. If you are a fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series and/or the first film adaptation, then you will most likely enjoy Sea of Monsters. Otherwise I would probably skip it.

Elysium

Late in the 21st century, the Earth has become drastically unfit to live on for some people due to a rising crime rate and pollution, among other things. A project was started by the world's elite to build a space station that orbits Earth called Elysium. This little haven is run by a ruthless head of security named Delacourt. Delacourt uses any means necessary (including actions which some might consider illegal) to ensure Elysium is not infiltrated by the inhabitants down on Earth.

Max is a factory who just wants more than anything to get off Earth and make his way into Elysium. He even goes so far to promise a childhood friend named Frey that he'll take her up there someday. There's just one problem - Max is a career criminal. His record keeps him from earning the massive amount of cash to get his ticket into Elysium. So Max grudgingly turns from his life of crime and goes to work for a factory making robots. For awhile he seems to be doing well for himself, until one day when he gets in an accident at the factory resulting in Max taking in lethal doses of radiation. After the accident Max is told he only has five days to live. Trying to find an alternative, Max realizes that the only way to save himself is to return to his life of crime by breaking into Elysium and using their healthcare system.

If you have ever seen the first feature film by Neill Blomkamp titled District 9, then you should pretty much know what to expect from Elysium. Blomkamp does a fantastic job with Elysium of not only creating a great general sci-fi flick, but also inserting his own ideas about politics and human nature. I wasn't a big fan of District 9, so I was a little hesitant about seeing Elysium but surprisingly I greatly enjoyed it. Elysium isn't perfect though. Some of the fight scenes looked like it came straight out of a video game, and one or two scenes in particular looked like it was trying to imitate The Matrix. The more realistic action was better, though your typical R-rated graphic violence. Probably the most gruesome (yet slightly unbelievable) scene was when one character gets their face blown off by a grenade, somehow survives and then has their face reconstructed by a machine. It initially was quite jarring to see his face completely blown off.

Despite all that, I absolutely enjoyed seeing Matt Damon as Max, Jodie Foster as Delacourt, and Sharlto Copley as an evil mercenary used by Delacourt to hunt down Max. I also appreciated the fact that Elysium wasn't just a stereotypical sci-fi action flick, but actually had a deeper purpose. I would definitely recommend seeing Elysium if you're tired of seeing mindless action flicks that only care about violence, car chases and explosions. Since it is rated R, I want to caution parents before they let their kids see it. This is still a violent action movie with a lot of graphic violence and harsh language.

Lee Daniels' The Butler

For years, Cecil Gaines has quietly fought against racism and the stereotypes of African Americans in the shadows by serving as a boy on a plantation where he saw his father murdered in front of him, to ultimately serving seven Presidents as a butler in the White House later in life. His servant's heart and attitude gained him the opportunity to work for some of the most powerful men in the free world. His son Louis, on the other hand, is tired of standing by and tolerating how he is treated due to the color of his skin. Louis turns to more outspoken means of taking a stand against racism. He starts out doing rallies and sit-ins at diners as a way to protest. After being arrested multiple times for his "crimes" Louis falls in with the Black Panther movement. Cecil and his son become estranged because of their differences in opinion. It takes Cecil's wife Gloria nudging Cecil to mend the relationship years later before they overcome their issues and Louis finally begins to see just how much his father has done in his own way to fight racism while working as a butler in the White House.

Lee Daniels' The Butler is a powerful tale based on the true story of a man named Eugene Allen who stayed in the White House a few years longer than the fictional Cecil Gaines did. It is a movie that is sure to receive a bit of Oscar buzz. The Butler does take quite a few creative licenses involving Cecil Gaines and each of the Presidents he interacts with. However, what it changes for entertainment purposes does not take away from the core message of how one man stood in the face of adversity and from the shadows helped the movement to change the attitude towards racism. Forest Whitaker is perfectly cast as the fictional Cecil Gaines. Whitaker should be up for an Oscar for his portrayal of Cecil. It is not as jarring in its portrayal of harsh racism as 42 was earlier this year, but it still was effectively hard to watch at times. I would highly recommend moviegoers not miss this one.

2 Guns

DEA agent Bobby Trench has been working undercover for almost three years trying to nail a Mexican drug kingpin named Papi Greco. Time and time again it feels as if he gets close, but then Papi slips from his fingers once more. Trench's boss is getting a bit anxious to seal the deal, so he puts the pressure on Trench to work harder to bust Papi. Navy intelligence officer Marcus Stigman, on the other hand, is under pressure from his own superiors to pull off a heist of Papi's drug money, rumored to be around 3 million dollars. Neither of the two men are aware of their real motives - they each think the other is just a common criminal. What neither of them also realize is their superiors were lying about how much cash is in Papi's bank: there is really just over 43 million dollars. Trench and Stigman have to figure out the truth about why there's more money than expected while running from Papi's cartel and others who want them dead if they want to come out of the ordeal alive.

I went into 2 Guns thinking it was going to be a stereotypical R-rated action flick. What I didn't realize is it is actually an action COMEDY - and a hilarious one at that. I laughed even harder than I did watching The Heat. The camaraderie between Denzel Washington as Bobby Trench and Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Stigman was some of the best (and funniest) interaction I've seen in awhile. 2 Guns is one of the very few R-rated comedies that I feel like I can totally recommend without many reservations. The jokes do get a bit crude at times, but I still found it pretty hilarious. Wahlberg had some of the best lines throughout the film. The only thing I didn't like was the ending: it felt like it suffered from the same problems that RED 2 had, one of them being too many characters switching sides so much it was hard to keep track of who was good or bad. Despite that, 2 Guns still ended up being a great action comedy that I think most adults will enjoy (I don't recommend it for young kids as it is rated R, but for young adults 17+ I would recommend it).