144. Payback: Director's Cut
145. Major League
Payback: Director's Cut is a 1999 crime thriller starring Mel Gibson.
This particular version is director Brian Helgeland's original take on the movie. After several test screenings, this version was deemed too dark and bleak for the general public. Paramount demanded changes to make the movie more accessible and brought in a new director to shoot the new scenes in the script. This ultimately resulted in an extremely different movie. In 2006, Paramount decided to let Helgeland reassemble his version and release this new cut on dvd.
I saw the original version during its theatrical run. However, extracurricular activities at the theater left me not paying much attention to it. At some point during this challenge, I'm going to have to revisit it so I can compare and contrast the two versions.
At any rate, this version was pretty damn good. The story is engaging and the action comes along at a decent clip. The cast is solid with Gibson turning in a good performance. Support comes from Maria Bello, David Paymer, Lucy Liu and the highly underrated Gregg Henry. Henry just exudes sleaze here as Val Resnick, Gibson's nemesis.
Overall, the director's cut of Payback is worth checking out.
Major League is the 1989 comedy about the lovable losers inhabiting the Cleveland Indians.
The owner of the Indians has just passed away, leaving the team in the hands of his wife, a former Vegas showgirl. The only thing she hates more than the team is the city itself. So, she hatches a plan to throw together the worst possible team so she can relocate them to sunny Florida. She assembles a team of nobodies, has-beens and folks that have no business being on a baseball diamond. How will they react when they learn of her plans?
When I was younger, I thought this movie was hilarious. How well did it hold up after all these years? As a comedy, not very well, honestly. The jokes are there but they don't have the same punch they used to. For a comedy, this turned out to be a pretty good baseball movie. The action on the field is done well and the clubhouse scenes are solid too. The story is typical sports stuff with the underdog facing a tremendous battle. What makes this one work as well as it does is the cast. Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Wesley Snipes are our three leads and all turn in good performances and are believable as ballplayers. Really solid support comes from Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Chelcie Ross and Dennis Haysbert as the voodoo king, Cerrano. Also, Bob Uecker shines as Harry Doyle, the voice of the Tribe.
Overall, Major League is a good flick. Sports fans will definitely enjoy it where folks looking for a comedy might find a few good laughs. I recommend it.
2 comments:
See, I LOVE the theatrical cut of "Payback," so I'm interested in the director's cut, but I don't see how the changes could improve it. It was pretty dark anyway, I thought. I'll have to check the director's cut out sometime.
According to the list of changes I read, it seems like the changes were pretty dramatic.
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