What’s up everyone? Here we go with a brand new (title pending) episode!
Only two new releases for you this week… the awful “Getaway” and the Vin Diesel vehicle “Riddick”. Tank and I pick up the slack though by having a discussion of our favorite football movies in honor of the start of football season!
We also induct two new movies into the Vahallafame, do the box office roundup, on the radar and more!
It’s a great episode and you won’t want to miss it! As always, you can download it directly, here, or search for us on iTunes or Stitcher radio by looking for (title pending) or Tank and Fogs!
I’ll take a stab at why baseball movies are better than football movies on the whole.
1. Baseball at the core is a one-on-one battle between a pitcher and a hitter that in the end comes with inherent drama. Many baseball movies have, as their natural climax, the resolution of a pitcher/hitter confrontation. Every play in a football game is a team play, and there’s really nothing close to that element from baseball; Rudy’s climax is as close as it’s ever come in a football movie, which is probably why it works so well.
2. Baseball’s history is longer and more colorful than football’s. There’s no comparison in football to some of baseball’s seminal moments — the Black Sox Scandal, Babe Ruth, bringing down the color barrier, etc. that lends itself to movie adaptations.
3. Baseball has better books written about it, leading to better movies based on those books. Before they were movies, “The Natural”, “Moneyball”, “Shoeless Joe” (which gave rise to Field of Dreams), and “Bang The Drum Slowly” are all good books that ended up with good adaptations. What was the last good football book you’ve read?
4. There are no minor leagues in football. Guys not-quite-ready-for-primetime make for natural comedy material more so than top professionals. I suspect that may be why the best football movies tend to be about high school or college football rather than pro football. One of Fog’s movies was “The Replacements”, which is the closest situation we’ll ever get to professional minor league football, and it’s probably the best football comedy.
That’s an insanely well thought out argument K2, I couldn’t agree more. I wish I had put half as much thought into it before recording LOL.
My answer to #3 though is “Boys will be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty” by Jeff Pearlman. 😉 I don’t know how well it would go over w/non fans, but for those who follow the Star, that book was insane!
Awesome points across the board… Especially #1, I think.
Nice pcast dudes. Glad to hear Riddick and writer Twohy scored with Riddick; I dig the character too.
Nice kickoff to football with list of applicable movies. I’d definitely give honorable mention to Dallas North Forty, Blindside, Jerry Maguire, Heaven Can Wait, & Knute Rockne All-American. Also enjoyable is B-movie Necessary Roughness. Fogs, I think you’d really enjoy Invincible (maybe during C’boys by-week) 😉 .
Steele: Rudy,are you ready for this, champ?
Rudy: I’ve been ready for this my whole life!
Steele: Then you take us out on the field.
-Rudy (1993)
You know? It’s on my list. I don’t know what’s keeping me from it, S. Time? It kind of came out at a bad time for me… Once I started blogging, I really didn’t have time for movies I wasn’t writing about 😦
It’s football, though, and Wahlberg. I don’t even hate the Eagles, believe it or not. So… Yeah, I gotta hit the one!
Okay Fogsie……
If you pay $400 for his autograph, I may have to stage an intervention.
Why? Once in a lifetime opportunity, man. Never get that chance again, most likely… plus, if I’m working this hard, I got reward myself somehow. So…
Definitely leaning towards yes at this point.
Fogs, can you sit down for a minute? There’s something we’d all like to talk to you about. Just remember that we care about you…
What? What are you guys saying? That I have a PROBLEM? I don’t have a problem… YOU have a PROBLEM!!
😀
LOL. I think I’ll be ok, buddy but thank you.