The Battered Bastards of Baseball

When I first started watching this film, I thought it was a mocumentary, like Spinal Tap and the passel of movies by Christopher Guest. But as the film progressed, I wasn't quite so sure. As it turns out, this is the true tale of a rogue individual who decided to invest in an independent baseball team in Portland, Oregon after the AAA Beavers left town. He's Kurt Russell's father which lead me to believe it was a put-on. He invited anyone to try out for the team and created a quirky/fun team that the city fell in love with and set minor league records for attendance. And the rest is history. I don't watch many documentaries, but this one is a lot of fun.
5 stars out of 5

"Bandslam"

Although this is a fairly predictable movie, it's very well done. The acting is excellent and the dialogue is consistently good. What can you say about a movie that has a line like, "This is like a Nuremberg rally sponsored by MTV." It's a story about a misfit who starts at a new high school and ends up putting a band together to enter a state-wide music competition. There were a couple of subtle plot twists that kept things interesting. If you're into intelligent teen movies that are aren't full of foul language and kids getting high, you 'll enjoy this one.
4 out of 5 stars