Any Given Sunday

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: December 22, 1999

DVD Release Date: September 1, 2000

Plot 411: A once-great football team has had several bad years and the new owner and veteran coach butt heads on coaching methods.

Review: Coach D'Amato (Al Pacino), who has led the Miami Sharks to several championships over the years, is caught in the crosshairs of new owner Christina (Cameron Diaz), who has just inherited the team from her father. Believing that D'Amato is over-the-hill and his teaching methods are outdated, she hires a new offensive coordinator (Aaron Eckhart) to breathe some life into the team. Christina is a shrewd woman and successful finances is a top priority for her. Because of this and many losing seasons, she plans on replacing D'Amato at the season's end. When injuries strike the team, third-string quarterback Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) leads the team to several wins after some initial setbacks. He soon becomes arrogant and this causes friction between him and many of the other players. This movie gives audiences a good look at the inner workings of professional sports - the good and the bad. It comments on how the sport is promoted, scrutinizes the coaching and players, their motives and commitments, looks at the luxurious and lavish lives that the players' families are privy to and the corruption within the sport. It's a stark contrast to the typical fan's point of view and also parodies many within professional football. Also in this film are LL Cool J, James Wood, Dennis Quaid, Lauren Holly, Matthew Modine and John C. McGinley.

Watch It: For one of Diaz's few serious roles. She's actually pretty good in this one.

Skip It: If a straight football movie is what you're looking for. This is more about the people than it is about the sport.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 29, 1992

DVD Release Date: Nov 19, 2002

Plot 411: A real estate sales team is pushed to close deals or hit the pavement when a new sales directive come down.

Review: Anyone who is anyone in sales or a student of sociology should watch this film. You will definitely get a kick out of the choices the characters are contronted with, their decisions and the reprecussions of their actions. Kevin Spacey plays John Williamson, the young office manager in charge of a group of experienced real estate agents. His crew is made of veterans who have been unable to close deals in recent months and who have fallen to the bottom of the barrel. When Mitch and Murray management, represented in person by Alec Baldwin's character Blake, shows up with a new sales strategy - Fuck or Walk, ABC (Always Be Closing) and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Decision, Action) - the guys are pressured to make deals or get fired. Some, like Dave Moss (Ed Harris) and George Aaronow (Alan Arkin), take to bitching about how unfair things are and believe that they just need better leads to make deals. Sales leaders like Ricky Roma (Al Pacino) continue doing what they do best and will close the deal by any means. Shelley Levine (Jack Lemmon), who is in a slump but once led the sales team in revenue is pressured with the burden of providing for a sick daughter. The environment in which these men exist is acidic to your soul and the emotional rollercoaster they ride each month is devastating. Greed, envy and betrayal are all part of this dog-eat-dog world in which they work. Friends are friends only as long as competition doesn't make them enemies. Morals are left at the door as they ply potential customers with everything they've got. This is an interesting look at human nature and what one will do when pushed to the very limits of morality.

Watch It: For the astoundingly realistic dialogue and the great rhythm in their delivery.

Skip It: If the number of four-letter words that can be utttered in once sentence is larger than the number of years you've been alive.

Righteous Kill

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 12, 2008

DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009

Plot 411: NYPD detectives discover that one of their own is taking matters into their own hands and going after criminals vigilante style.

Review: This should've been a new classic cop drama with the likes of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino leading the way, but somehow it just wasn't. Partners for over 30 years, these two detectives know the ins and outs of the city and it's crime. But are they really being effective in cleaning up the streets? This simple question is what leads the main characters to uncover a vigilante among them. Overall, I felt that the plot didn't really have enough meat on it for these two great actors. I would've loved to watch more of the two of them. There was also a distinct contrast between them and the younger generation of cops, played by Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. These guys were actually getting on my nerves. They were whiners while the De Niro and Pacino characters were portrayed as "real" men getting the job done by any means necessary. It was like comparing the original football players from the late 1800s with their no hold's bar attitude to today's players and their product endorsements and movie deals. No comparison.

Watch It: For two iconic figures at work.

Skip It: If you're looking for an action flick about cops. It was more of a drama (ie. slower than I expected).

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