Movie Review: *****When the Game Stands Tall

This is the best movie I have seen in some time.  It has a Christian undercurrent, which I like; of course it is based on the story of a Catholic High School football team, De La Salle from Concord, CA.  I had heard the story of the team, but this movie is spectacular.  This movie starts with the record, 151 consecutive victories.  But then it goes further.  It explores adversity.  A graduating player's mother is in a coma; and he feels he has no one.  Then Coach Bob Ladouceur has a heart attack, and can't coach for a time.  One of the graduating seniors is murdered, before he can play college ball.  That is hard to understand.  However Coach talks of his funeral, and puts this into some perspective.  That his father and grandmother could be proud of raising such a good young man. 
They add to this hardship, with a loss to start the season, they streak of consecutive wins is over at 151. 
This movie is about overcoming hardship.  About bouncing back, and holding your head up.  The coach always reminded the players it wasn't about winning, but giving your best, and becoming outstanding young men and citizens.
This is a movie I recommend everyone see.  It is excellent.  It is incredible how you can get vested in football games that were played so many years ago, but there I was, rooting and cringing when things didn't go right; Well done!
The cast Coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel)
Chris Ryan (player pursuing a touchdown record, Alexander Ludwig)

Terry Edison (assistant coach, Michael Chiklis)
Coach's wife Bev Ladouceur (Laura Dern)
Ryan's father Mickey (Clancy Brown)
Coach's son Danny (Matthew Daddario)

Book Review: Mother Goose in Prose

Mother Goose in Prose by: L Frank Baum
This is L Frank Baum's first children's book, but showed the promise of what was to come.  In this book, he takes several Mother Goose nursery rhymes, and then tells the rest of the story.  There are 22 different stories. If you ever wanted to know the rest of the story with regards to Mother Goose then here it is.  I found the background story, or the beginning story very amusing, and sometimes humorous.  It makes some of those stories have a new meaning.

Movie Review: ***^The Dawn Rider (John Wayne)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10_a_Ho4kZo
The Dawn Rider, Lone Star Production, 1935.
This is an excellent show about loyalties.  John Mason (John Wayne) has been away for many years.  He arrives home just in time to witness his father's murder, by a man with a polka-dotted handkerchief, Rudd Gordon (Dennis Moore.)  He and his friend, his dad's employee, Ben McClure (Reed Howes) set out to capture the thieves and murderers.    It turns out that the murderer is the brother of McClure's girlfriend, Alice Gordon (Marion Burns.)  Also in cahoots with the bad guys is the barkeeper (Yakima Canutt.)  They give word of a gold shipment, which is a ruse to smoke out the criminals.  It works and they get most of the bad guys, but Rudd gets away.  This leads to a showdown.  McClure's loyalties are confused, as he thinks Mason is honing in on his girlfriend.  He leaves Mason to face a shoot off with Rudd, with no bullets in his gun.
The undertaker lets everyone know he is pleased with the amount of business coming his way.
This agains shows John Wayne and has plenty of adventure.  Sometimes the background dialogue comes to the foreground in an confusing manner.  There is also a scene where the horse must trip because it doesn't show anyone shooting.  It was a bit confusing. 

Movie Review: ***Two-Fisted Law

Two-Fisted Law, Columbia Classic Westerns 1932.  This old Western has John Wayne in a supporting role and Tim McCoy as the lead.  McCoy portrays Tim Clark, who loses his land to a money grubber, Bob Russell (Wheeler Oakman).  Clark decides to try his luck at prospecting, to get enough money to buy his place back.  However he first says goodbye to Betty Owen (Alice Day) who is the daughter of the ranch owner next door.  He leaves a colt with her, and the promise to come back.  John Wayne portrays a ranch hand he worked for Clark, and now is going to work for the Owens ranch. 
In the interim two years that Clark is away, Russel has bought up the loan on the Owen ranch.  Betty's father has passed away.  Russell proposes marriage to her, and she turns him down.  The not comes due in three days.  Clark returns, and says he will get the money to pay off the ranch.  In the meantime he is accused of a robbery and murder in town.  He makes his escape, and returns with money just in time to pay off the debt.  He allows himself to be arrested, and Betty pays the bond so he can be on his way; he has additional business to attend to.  It is discovered that on of Russell's men was involved in the robbery and murder. 
However Russell is still out to get Clark.  It appears he knows to much about thee goings on of Russell.  His plan seems pretty sound and the trap is set.
I enjoyed the action again.  These people must have abused their horses with some of the stunts they do.  The female lead still seems a bit contrived to me, however this was a stronger role.  Betty trained a horse, and showed her riding skills.   

Movie Review: ***The Sagebrush Trail (John Wayne)

The Sagebrush Trail, A Lone Star Picture, 1933.
John Wayne stars as John Brant, an escaped convicted murder.  He did not commit the murder, and there was a witness who could have exonerated him, but that person escaped to the West.  Brant has escaped and headed to where he feels the man may have gone, the man who actually committed the murder.
He escapes the sheriff to be picked up by a bandit, Bob Jones (Lance Chandler,) and made part of a gang of thieves.  However, in an effort to not get buried deeper by the law, he secretly gives the gang's plans to a woman, Sally Blake (Nancy Shubert) who helps run a store in town.  This can only go bad. especially when his friend discovers that he is a stool pigeon.  He sets Brant up to be ambushed by the gang, but when Blake tells him the true identity of Brant will he have a change of heart.
This movie again captures the adventure of the Western.  This movie does have it flaws and is in black and white, but it tells a good story.

Movie Review: ***The Star Packer (John Wayne)

The Star Packer, Lone Star Pictures, directed by R.N. Bradbury 1934.
John Teavers (John Wayne) is a Federal Marshall with his Native American companion Yak (Yakima Canutt)  They have come to town to put a stop to The Shadow (George Hayes) and his gang who have been stealing, killing town sheriffs and stage drivers.  This is a mystery at its finest.  The bad guys are able to shoot the sheriffs in the middle of town, with no one noticing what happens.  It really is a puzzle that takes all the Marshall's boldness, and Yak's cunning to crack.  There are many notorious bad guys in the gang at the hide out; not only that they also have a machine gun.  Anita Matlock (Verna Hillie) has come to claim her father's share of the ranch, but her uncle is not very thrilled.  Teavers has to rescue her a couple times, and with rescuing comes love.

Music Review: Greatest Hits: The Who Album (2009)

This album stands our because of the instrumental experimentation throughout.  The Who seem to push the limits with their instruments, trying new things.  Most of it works, and sometimes a song falls flat, or becomes repetitive. 

Some of the songs that work,  “Pin Ball Wizard is a classic.”  This song can be listened to over and over.  The same can be said of the theme song for CSI “Who Are You?”  This is written by Peter Townshend and vocalized by Roger Daltry. 

There are a couple other songs worth note, because the instrumental adds to the piece and it makes for some good music.  “The Kids are Alright” also has a clever lyric.  Baba O’Riley is doing something with the keyboard that is very effective, and then the vocals on top of this makes for some good music.  “Love Reign Over Me” has some neat bass playing, and then ends with about 45 seconds of drum craziness.  It is fun. 

I like most of their music, and some I don’t.  There is some of the songs that are a bit inappropriate sexually, or demonstrate a male dominant view point.  “You Better, You Bet” gives the impression the woman has no choices in a relationship.  SHe has to do what her husband wants.  This attitude can lead to domestic abuse.  “Squeeze Box" is just a bit too explicit for me, unless I am putting something into the song that is not there; but I don’t think so.