Leatherheads (2008)
Simple, straight-forward movie about pro football in the mid-1920's that eventually gets turned into the NFL, (National Football League in America for those outside of the U.S.). The players wore leather helmets, hence the title, and basically had few rules as compared to now. As the movie portrays it, College Football is huge while the pros are looked down upon as sub-par. Clooney is Dodge Connelly, the pro hero of a Minnesota team that decides he wants the nation's star College hero Carter Rutherford, (John Krasinski) who draws in crowds by the thousands, to play on his team. He finagles his way into Rutherford and his manager's life and by-hook-or-crook, gets him for his team. This is a fun, sentimental rom-com, with Renée Zellweger looking smoking and doing a great job as a tough reporter trying to get her big break while falling for one of our heroes. Jonathan Pryce is also fine as Krasinski's agent. Humor-filled and light-hearted.
In the Heat of the Night (1967) (re-watch)
Super film about Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) as a detective from Philadelphia who makes a stopover in a small Georgia town where a murder has just occurred. Because he's black and this is the 60's, he's immediately arrested. He is brought before the bigoted Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger), who at first treats him coldly, then learns he's a detective and has the charges dropped. One thing after another happens, as a justifiably angered Poitier is ordered by his chief to help Steiger deal with the case. They clash for the rest of the picture, chewing up the screen in super performances. Steiger won Best Actor for his portrayal of the angry Chief who soon learns to respect Poitier. It blows my mind, that although Steiger deserved his Oscar, that Poitier wasn't even nominated. The 60's were a bit schizo like this. Poitier won for
Lilies of the Field earlier in the decade, but he gives a much stronger performance here. Steiger is awesome here but probably deserved his Oscar for
The Pawnbroker a few years earlier. Anyway, this is a great murder-mystery-social-commentary-drama that works on all levels. A classic in my book.
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Includes a bit part for Trejo, plus, I recognized Jean-Baptiste and Bledel wasn't terrible in a bad-girl-with-bangs role.
