THE DARK KNIGHT (2008): A VIEWPOINT

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

This is an extraordinary film for a fourth or so sequel. I think that the director, Christopher Nolan, has a proven skill at weaving psychologically arresting threads into his stories. In this film the musical contribution by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer reenforced this mood. A throbbing baseline of kettle drums helped at the right moments to get that sensation of throbbing of blood in veins at heightened periods of the story. This “dark” film was admirably photographed under the direction of Wally Pfister.

The script by the two Nolans, Christopher and Jonathon, was always above average but sometimes very good indeed. I refuse to give all the credit to the actors. Having brought up the subject of actors, let me state without equivacation that Heath Ledger’s “Joker” was a great piece of acting. He made this film with his interpretation of this character. He stole the show. This isn’t easy to do when you’re a villain in a film.

Parenthetically, the inspiration for the appearance of “The Joker” seems to be from a French stage production of Victor Hugo’s The Boy Who Laughs. I have a picture of the clown-like actor (in slightly grotesque make-up), and the instant I saw Ledger’s interpretation I thought of Hugo’s character. It really is a brilliant homage to a great writer. 

Be that as it may, we are left with a hero borrowed from DC Comics, Batman to consider, and a theoretically endless conflict between “cops and robbers.” It is true that Batman is not a cop, but he IS a more dedicated crimefighter than cops, typically, are portrayed to be. He doesn’t seem to be weary of fighting “bad guys,” which is a necessary social requirement, as he sees it, but he is burdened nevertheless–much after the fashion of the legendary Sisyphus–with the sense of its ultimate futility.

Besides this antagonist (Heath Ledger) and protagonist (Christian Bale) set, there are a large number of well-known, accomplished actors in this film, such as Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine and Aaron Eckhart. However, of all the actors playing in this film besides Ledger, I thought that Gary Oldman’s “Lt. James Gordon” was the strongest realization. In passing I say that young Nathan Gamble (“James Gordon, Jr.”) has progressed since his role in The Mist. Once again, I’ll give the lion’s share of credit for his improvement to Nolan. Lastly, it was nice to see Eric Roberts on the screen, playing the gangster, “Salvatore Maroni.” He made a splash in the film The Pope Of Greenwich Village (1984), which was an amusing film, starring Mickey Rourke. His sister, Julia, has been getting attention for years.

Over all, the supporting cast and extras were extensive and a film strength. The positioning and choreography were all done well, as at parties, meetings, street scenes, and so on. The film editing by Lee Smith was good. Therefore, though often dark or shadowy, the film looked good.

The Big capsule: The film is introduced by animation amounting to advertising by DC Comics. From about the usual height of an urban helicopter the camera zooms in toward a highrise office building. On the street oddly disguised men are about. They charge into a bank waving guns and demanding cooperation. Each wears a clown mask. Before they could make much progress, the bank manager breaks out a piece of heavy-duty hardware and marches toward the crouching clowns, shooting. For the clowns it is a tough day. They are being “picked off” by the manager and they are also, apparently as part of a secret plan to lessen the split, shooting one another. There are allusions to a weirdo who wears make-up. Folks, he’s there, wearing a mask, and coldly killing anyone who is deemed expendable. The cops do eventually show up. The ‘main man” clown is already away with the loot. This gives the filmtale an opportune moment to introduce “Harvey Dent” (Aaron Eckhart) as Gotham’s City Attorney. He is a salient outpost of justice in a suspect government. He is “Mr. Clean” and a heroic foe of crime. He is sincere about ridding Gotham of the criminal element. As such, he is a spiritual teammate of Batman. As chance would have it, he and Batman love the same woman, “Rachel Dawes” (Maggie Gyllenhaal). She works with Harvey Dent at the City Attorny’s desk. She has basically turned her back on Batman romantically, so long as he WAS Batman, rather than Bruce Wayne. The film allows moviegoers the chance to see them at the office and in court, where they try to “nail” mobster “Maroni” (Roberts). “Lt. james Gordon” (Gary Oldman) is brought into the story, and we see him trying to summons Batman. This sets the movie for a fascinating run, led by Ledger’s “Joker” who wants to bring a better class of criminal to Gotham. He is downright crazy-creepy at times. One wonders wherever parents got the idea that a clown would be perceived as anything other than some kind of monster. Nevertheless, he does bring a sort of saucy, mordant humor to bear on his attempts at “reaching out” to others. Relationships are very important in this film. An array of emotions are engendered as they interact. Due to Bales grim sense of duty as Batman, he isn’t usually an entertaining personality. Aaron Eckhart was the bright, shining knight fighting crime as City Attorney, getting the girl, Rachel, and apparently heading onward and upward. It is an interesting contrast. He gets great press, while Batman gets increasingly “dissed” as a “vigilante.” While Harvey Dent is a “golden boy,” cracking a big smile with natural ease, Batman/Bruce Wayne daily hoisted his burden of trying to protect a thankless, crime-prone population from crime. as is often the case nowadays in films, a potential global syndicate is forming under the federation of various Gotham crime lords and a Hong Kong money launderer named “Lau” (Chin Han). Since Mr. Lau has a prosperous capitalist facade to project legitimacy, his business interests also meet those of Wayne Industries. There is the potential for a partnership, which is finally vetoed by Bruce after Lucius Fox (Freeman) uncovers “irregularities.” The plot conjours popular sloguns such as “We’re all connected” and “It’s a small world after all” with these relationships. And after all, Bruce Wayne’s arms could have been around Rachel Dawes instead of those of Harvey Dent, if he’d “ditched” that “Batman thing.” Interestingly, The Nolans were able to demonstrate that basically Harvey Dent wore two masks also. When the moviegoer reflects upon the mask worn by the Joker, as well as many of his pro tempore assistants in crime, the metaphor becomes manifest. When Mr. Lau is known to wear two masks and when we notice that even good old Lt. Gordon dons a “death mask,”  it seems clear that the filmmakers are making a statement: Wherever we go on life’s stage, we are prone to wear a mask suitable to that scene; as scenes change, we assume a different mask, which we believe or hope is suitable to it. Success follows the adroit. In this film Batman and Joker are most adroit. If everything that rises must converge, then conflict at the top is assured. Yet, men such as the Joker are not usually eliminated but, as with Sisyphus’s great stone, must be eternally strifed with without a conclusion. No wonder Batman is grim. No wonder Rachel Dawes tells Bruce Wayne: “No thanks.”

HELLBOY II THE GOLDEN ARMY: A MOVIE REVIEW

Hellboy II The Golden Army

Although this film had many singular-looking creatures of a "not quite human" kind, martial events, love, and some good humor, I thought it was basically stale and apparently commercial-uber-alles. Ever since the first Star Wars, there have quite a few films that flashed a veritable zoo of living oddities successfully. I don't say that it all started at a Tatuene bar, but that scene was the modern mother of a bunch of similar strange beings gathered in films, generally to participate in mayhem.

In this film nearly all the scenes and events seemed “ripped off” in fairly raw fashion, regarbed, and pasted (or edited) into a presentably streamline flick. That’s why virtually anyone who sees this film will feel that “been there, done that” feeling. The film clearly owes a storyline of re-packaged Star Wars. It also seems to borrow from The Lord Of The Rings quest myth. Even the X-Men variety of “genetic freaks” who are somewhat isolated as a group and live in a tense, uneasy relationship with humans is introduced. From this set of films is also derived the impelling “we vs them” mentality that characterizes the conflict central to the main theme of the movie. The seed of all these films may well be traced to Tod Browning extraodinary tale, Freaks (1932). Even the 1948 Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein may be considered in this line, as Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula and the Werewolf all managed to interact with the comedians and each other.

 Furthermore, subsequent TV “sitcoms,” perhaps for reasons of budget constraints, combined the characteristics of Abbott and Costello into one being, who was a quipping, lovable “mensch” that had a tough, practical side, too. Which side was given dominance might well depend on the female co-star. It may also be argued that the male teams of the forties and fifties were transformed into married couples. In more modern times these couples need not be married.

Be that as it may, Ron Perlman’s character blends the Harrison Ford character, ”Han Solo,” with a variety of lower-middle-class, urbanites of TV fame, spouting wisecracks, street-toughness, and practicality. I believe that Perlman has been doing this sort of character more often then not. I seem to recall seeing him in Washington, D.C., during the eighties, playing “Stanley” in A Streetcar Named Desire. He subsequently played a similar role in one of the Aliens, as I recall. Hence, I think of him as being among a “big screen” group of actors that would include the likes of Vin Diesel and Bruce Willis. All of these are glorified versions of the old Aldo Ray characters, usually found in war flicks. This is the tough, cigar-smoking, plain-as-the-streets American character. Only, these are “not quite right” human specimens. Are they quietly preaching diversity here?

Selma Blair’s “Liz” is a fiery freak when she wants to be, usually she’s playing a character not too far removed from Audrey Meadows’ “Alice Kramden.” She’s not deadpan in her approach to the role, but still exhibits the same “war of the sexes” dynamics that Meadows and many others have flashed in a similar situation. Hence, there is something beyond “comfort level” in seeing these familiar types interacting in familiar ways.

Luke Goss’s character struck gold briefly in this film, both in the role of a “Returned Prince” and as an oddly outre warrior. Somehow he managed to be the creepiest, scariest of all the characters, and the special effects people did “yeoman duty” in their creations. All the others were a combination of odd, ugly, and sometimes big–but not scary. There were little “Tooth Fairies” who recalled such things as schools of piranha or army ants. There was a towering floral beast. And there was “Wink” (Steele) the beast, who looked to be about the size of Mighty Joe Young with some lower tusks similar to a warthog’s and a metalic fist that could be shot forth like a mace on a yoyo string. The oddest of all was “Abe Sapien” (Jones), who clearly was inspired by The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), but who has been “homo-sapienized” with a comely blue exterior accentuated by nifty slashes of marine camouflage. He’s leaner and smoother than the “creature” and has the sort of “heart” that the Tinman longed for in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Also, he has mannerisms similar to D2R2 and even to the Star Trek android, Data. Naturally, this glorified fish falls in love with a princess. Have we seen and read this before?

This is not to say that the acting is bad in the flick, but that the viewer tends to be distracted by the freak show.

Goss and his stunt man (presumed)  were very effective at projecting a formidable warrior in Prince Nuada. He looks a little like Johnny Winters in the face-head-hair departments. He has a twin, “Princess Nuala” (Anna Walton), he is obviously not an identical twin, yet still is so closely related to her brother that they are like twin empaths, each feeling what the other feels. Still, they do not think alike, which leads to his undoing. In a sense these two are a parallel to Hellboy and Liz, as they, too, have a battle of the sexes conflict throughout the film.

The film opens with an unfortunately extended preamble involving the appearance of a strange “life-form” on Earth, which is taken into a sort of protective custody by the federal government of the U.S., and reared–more or less–by military and scientists. At one point at the special institute for paranormal research where the adult Hellboy and Liz are employed as “agents,” one sees in very large letters the number “51.” Certainly, this was no accident and meant to be suggestive. At any rate the unearthly boy is seen by viewers as a boy relating to his “father” in a normal sort of way. The father was a kindly, wise model for the boy, reading him a story which tended to blend into the film story being viewed by moviegoers. The wholesome background did not produce an adult whose home culture was clearly evident. Nurturing could not overcome his genetic uniqueness, apparently.

Incidentally, his mythic position in the film was that of the “fallen angel.” He’s red of complection, and the religio-mythic implication is that he is of the Lucifer-Satan branch of Creation. His woman, “Liz” (Blair), constantly wears a cross on a band or necklace around her neck. It is eerie to see her thusly, when she goes fiery. A few may recall the many martyrs who suffered a “burning at the stake.” Furthermore, to see her with this Christian symbol about her neck on the one hand and to see her as the lover of the Satan figure in this flick on the other might well lead one to infer a mocking denigration of the Messiah, His mother, and His parentage rarely seen outside the Talmud. That Liz is a mother figure is clear, as the film expends some time on her concern about being pregnant (Abe told her he sensed it), about her being pregnant certainly, and at the end about the knowledge that there would be twins. As Liz and Hellboy are far more akin to Jewish couples on TV and in movies, as well as “real life,” one wonders why she wasn’t sporting a “Star of David.” It would be at least consistent. Some may object that “crosses” in this context have no religious meaning, being mere decorations. I don’t believe that any such item is introduced in films without premeditation. Premeditation is a prerequisite to guilt.

Story outline: A strange foundling is discovered on Earth by U.S. authorities and reared in a protected and observed home environment. He appears to be a normal boy except for his red skin and horns (we don’t see his feet). He does have a tail. He seems to be bright and rather good. His “father” reads from a book, dealing with heroic events. This story blends into another parallel story being told. This is the historical strifing and warfare betweeb trolls et al and humans. There is much slaughter. Finally, the trolls’ leader, “King Balor” (Doltice), finally submits to a peaceful relationship with humans, so to halt the horrors of war. King Balor has twins, Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala. Nuada could not accept his father’s “appeasement” of the humans and storms away, vowing to return one day to lead his people once again against the humans and to rule the world. As a precaution against this happening, King Balor divides his crown into three parts, taking care to distribute them about. Whoever bore the whole crown would command an invincible army of “Golden Warriors,” which had been mechanically contived by an ingenious servant. Meanwhile, Hellboy grows up and accepts a job with a paranormal research organization, where he meets Liz, Abe and other genetic anomalies. (Abe is first encountered at the institute lulling about inside an aquarium tank.) The film spins some wheels about now, allowing interested viewers to learn more about what makes freaks “tick.” Then, with a camera cut, we see the return of Prince Nuada. First he is seen doing his “martial arts thing.” Then he summons “Wink” and off they go to claim the throne, even if it means killing his father to do it. His sister begs him not to “choose the dark side” by implication. She avails not. Nuada wants war. Meanwhile, Hellboy & company go trolling, entering eventually into a “troll quarter” where they do some troll-bashing. Both Prince and Princess are also there. Abe gets a glance of Nuala’s belt clasp, notes its royal swirls of gold, and stalks her down. They both are “sensing” one another with considerable daring. Before long their hearts draw near. From this point forward the dueling destinies of Hellboy & company and Prince Nuada & company strife for the golden crown whole and command of the invincible Golden Army. (They appear to be self-repairing.) There is also introduced earlier at the institute a German “gas bag” who is initially treated by Hellboy with contempt (“Don’t like German!”). However, the German’s spiritual ways prove to be useful in a number of tough situations. Finally, grudgingly, the “devil” gives the German his due, as being rather resourceful. The “bag of gas” also offers some comic potential to del Toro’s team. After some tough fighting with some formidable and monstrous foe, Hellboy and Nuada “get it on.” Hellboy gets “bitten” by Nuada’s spear. Taken near death to Ireland, the Hellboy is saved by the Angel of Death. (Go figure!) Now it is time for the final tussle–round two! Sudden death! Command of the Golden Army and the world are at stake. It looks bad for Hellboy. Then, Princess Nuala stabs herself in the chest! Guess whose twin feels her pain? And is Abe upset! Many a tear would fall if it wasn’t so far fetched. There is an epilogue. Liz and Hellboy give the viewer a touch of the domestic scene to come.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.

WANTED: A MOVIE REVIEW

WANTED (2008)

Relentless violence? Naw! There were moments of sheer ennui.

James McAvoy was well able to fit himself into this rather all-to-common male character of recent vintage. A number of quasi-munchkin actors of contemporary America have also executed this enervated, laid-back, “little man” sort of personality, often disguising a quite different personality within.

Morgan Freeman is a dignified “stone-faced” presence, adding little beyond his name and well-known voice.

Ms. Angelina Jolie is a striking presence–strikingly skinny. Her tough lass somehow seems too wispy to get physical–for real. All the tattoos in America can’t make a person tough; it only makes them bizarre. Nevertheless, she (or a body double stuntgal) send feet a-flying with characteristic martial-arts movements. She does have that face which can be mesmerizing.

The rest of the cast, excluding Thomas Kretschmann and Terence Stamp, were sort of “types,” even having names that suggest as much. The two mentioned helped the film–in so much as it could be improved.

The real stars in this film were the stunt men and women who displayed considerable skill and flare. They were called upon fairly often. There were spectacular vehicular displays. I’m sure that visual special effects were also sometimes employed. The supervisor of special effects was Dominic Tuohy. Some of the stunt men and women were: Rudolf Vrba & Brian Peters (McAvoy); Alicia Skirball, Debbie Evans, & Eunice Huthart ( Jolie); Maurice Lee (Freeman); Cort Hessler, Daniel Maldonado & Carl Paoli (stunt drivers); and Aaron Crippen (precision driving stunts). There were more talented stunt men and women in this film, but these may be stand-ins for a really notable exhibition of their craft.

The film begins with a study of a doomed office worker–doomed to lower management slots. It is Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy). Even his peers seem to take advantage of him. And why not? He’s such a dreeb! Even the moviegoer feels like marching to the front of the theatre and taking away his Krispy Kreme donut (if he had one). His supervisor at the office, who does have a taste for donuts (possibly a sign of the ruling instinct), insults and berates Wesley for his slow work and the quality of his work. He grins and bears it. This is Janice (Lorna Scott) who is a hefty, red-haired menace. She’s well played by Ms. Scott in a memorable minor role. Furthermore, Wesley’s best friend, Barry (Chris Pratt), is cavorting ardently with Wesley’s wife, Cathy (Kristin Hager), more or less under the nose of Wesley. He wearily tolerates this, each day interacting with Barry at the office as “best friends” and office peers. The moviegoer sees Wesley and Cathy in bed on a couple of occasions and must wonder if they have a platonic relationship. Best friends? Kristin Hager is a pretty cute gal. Has Wesley died and gone to bed? His nerves are pretty edgy on occasions–within the context of a somnabulant loser. There is a film cut to a rather cool, detached sort of man, walking to an office. It doesn’t take long for “hellsapoppin” fun-n-games characteristic of films of this order. Fantastic doings are presented as credible events. We go from the “blah” lifestyle of Wesley Gibson to something akin to superheroes of comic books brought to the big screen. After the cool gent concludes his “work,” he finds himself at the “X” spot, lured their to be assassinated. So, what’s the connection? At a drug/convenience store Wesley is seeking some items, when suddenly, “Fox” (Angelina Jolie) grabs him. She’s intimidating, commanding and “packing”–big time. The moviegoer spots the man who had assassinated the cool gent. Is he after Wesley? This assassin and Jolie’s Fox “get it on” and nearly blow away the store in the process. They escape to a vehicle where a chase commences in which the firefight continues. Eventually, they escape, after an exciting demolition derby through the city. Wesley wakes up at the secret pad, encounters Morgan Freeman’s “Sloan,” who is rather “laced” and cool, also. This alows Wesley to be “clued” into the identity of his old man. Near the outset of this flick the moviegoer was apprised by means of a Gibson narration that Wesley’s father had “split” a week after he was born. Now, Sloan informs him that his father was a top assassin who was killed the prior day. Further, he is informed that his father possessed unusual genetic gifts and that Wesley had inherited those same gifts. His father had also accumulated some loot ($3.4 million) which would be transferred to Wesley’s bank account. What a difference a little “bread” makes in the drab Mr. Gibson! He’s game. Fox plays the tutor. First lesson: what its like to be beaten, knifed and broken. Are these people crazy? They have a Lourdesesque bath where his wounds are soothed and healed. He goes there more than once. Soon, he itching to kill the assassin who got his f”ather,” but Fox doesn’t think he’s ready. Better gets some practice by murdering a few less formidable targets,suggests Sloan. Are these people crazy? Oh! Did I mention that they call themselves the “Fraternity of Assassins?” Well, some such. They are a secret society of “villain pruners,” making the world a better place by causing the untimely demise of the most virulent criminals. This is the “moral bandaid” applied to the storyline. Wesley buys into the story. The film becomes a “hunter-prey” chase, and there are twists as well as “flip-flops” as the story “cuts through the chase” to the denouement. Not without interest! So, when the dust clears, Wesley is a killer–but a changed killer. Yep! Going back to the old “9-to-5,” but he will be a different Wesley. He’s now “kick-ass.”

I thought this movie was misanthropic, sadistic, shallow, and unimproving.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.

LEATHERHEADS: A MOVIE REVIEW

LEATHERHEADS (2008)

This film was photographically speaking a winner. After that it goes a bit downhill.

Directed by George Clooney, the film seems to be an affectionate look at film stories told several decades back. Perhaps for that reason, it had more appeal for me than it oughta. There were “snappy” lines well rendered and with appropriate facial expressions–sometimes muggings. The timing of the human interactions was another plus, as well as the composition of many scenes. Therefore, one may say that George Clooney has progressed directorially. He credits the Cohen brothers, for whom he labored as an actor, and they have remarkable abilities, especially getting the most from actors. Of course they also learned from earlier filmmakers, so there is no diminishment of Clooney in so noting. If you’re going to do it, then may as well glean from the best of the past.

Neither George Clooney nor his co-star, Renee Zellweger, are “spring chickens,” but the character Clooney plays is at least forty-two years old. That allows Clooney to fit comfortably into the role. He fit like a glove, in point of fact. He brought an interesting blend of Burt Lancaster and George Segal to the character, whether intentionally or not. As director, Clooney could also be assured of suitable camera angles, as well as editing. It’s called: Protecing Your Ass (“PYA”). This is a very important principle in boxing, football and directing/acting.

Poor Renee! She was so dependent upon the kindnesses of Clooney. He’s got a mean streak, I’m thinking. She has to play the role of a thirty year old–give or take a few. NO WAY JOSE! Using heavy make-up and from a distance, Renee looked good. However, from some of the closer camera shots, she appeared to be a bit mishapened, suggesting a “botox” treatment that went a bit awry. She’s a terrific actress and a phenomenon of internal forces from which to draw to empower her characters. However, for an actress time is a cruel taskmaster. Nevertheless, often the camera was a medium shot and the photography had a way of making her plenty appealing for a newspaper “jump-out.” Her hair is a becoming blonde. She adorns her lips with a very appealing shade of red. If this sounds equivocal, it’s because that is what was provoked in seeing her on the screen.

John Krasinski executed his role of the college football hero, Carter “Bullet” Rutherford, at an Ivy League school very well. His character is basically simple and forthright, after the fashion of a boy who loves football. Even so, he’s been around, as he fought in World War I in France, prior to entering Princeton University (as I recall). Not only that, he was proclaimed a hero for capturing a couple of dozen Germans singlehandedly. Naturally, he’s pretty popular with the fans–a true All-American boy. Parenthetically, in the scenes which showed Krasinski running with the football, he seemed fairly credible. He may have had a “body double,” however.

The remaining cast provided reasonably good support, so that the whole flick seemed well done. Renee’s immediate supervisor at her newspaper was a classic of newsroom types as portrayed in movies.

The storyline: Aging professional football player “Jimmy ‘Dodge’ Connelly” (Clooney) is trying to survive in prosperous 1925 America. His profession hasn’t “taken off.” In fact teams were folding constantly, it seemed. His team, the Duluth Bulldogs, had at least an owner with a few bucks. However, the owner had looked at it from a business angle–advertisement. The sparse attendance spelled “failed ad campaign.” He was getting disgruntled. At the outset of this film the point was made that football was very popular in America–at the college level. It quickly follwed by making the point that pro ball was hardly more than big boys playing sandlot football. What to do? “Dodge” Connelly decided to have a talk with “Bullet” Rutherford, or rather with his lawyer, “C.C. Frazier” (Jonathon Pryce), who acted as a sort of agent. Meanwhile, a camera cut puts the people into the newpaper wherein “Lexie Littleton” (Renee Zellweger) worked as a tough, well-respected, quick-quipping reporter. The newshound boss and his female “old reliable” are to interview a man who says he served in the same unit as Rutherford, and that Rutherford was no hero. He’s a fraud! Lexie is given the assignment of proving the story true or false and getting the “goods” on “Bullet” by pretending to be a sports reporter, covering him. The threesome meet and sparks begin to “fly.” Lexie and “Dodge” are both suspicious of each other and attracted to each other. Complicating matters for Lexie, she finds the “big lug” attractive, too. He’s young, tall, dark and handsome. And he’s sincere. She feels she could trust “Bullet.” It’s just too bad he can’t trust her. “Dodge” inks the “Bullet” to a pro ball contract with his Duluth Bulldogs. Ticket sells increase. Meanwhile, “Lexie” has finally gotten onto the war history of Carter Rutherford by locating others who served with him. Further muckraking efforts leads to a pretty strong case against “Bullet.” The tough reporter with a heart of gold feels a bit of remorse as she hands her report over to the newshound boss. Bummer! Still, she had to do what she had to do. She’s a pro. She stands by her report. This whole business threatens to derail “Dodge’s” plans just at the moment when it seemed that pro football had arrived. “Bullet” is relieved to get it all out. He didn’t feel like a war hero and never asked to be called one. There are to-and-fros, team-jumping, romantic squabbling, and The Big Pro Game–for all the marbles. “Dodge” vs “Bullet” in a mudder. Can the artful Dodge work football magic? Or will “Bullet’s” speed kill the Duluth Bulldogs? Lexie has jumped off the fence, pulling for her “Dodge.” What will the new Commissioner of Professional Football, “Pete Harkin” (Peter Gerety), do about “illegal tricks” in the Championship game? Will “Dodge” sweep “Lexie” up and ride into the sunset? Vice versa? Could these two possibly eat wedding cake? These and more questions may drive the curious reader to take a view of this pleasant film.

Incidentally, Randy Newman provided original music.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.