Hardball

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Keanu Reeves stars in this story that might best be described as Bad News Bears in the projects. Conor O'Neill (Reeves) is a charming ne'er-do-well with a disturbing gambling addiction. His penchant for betting on the wrong teams leaves him owing several thousand dollars to very violent people, and he ends up coaching a children's baseball team to pay off his debt. The movie skimps a bit on process: the kids start out as terrible players and become better but we don't see how; Conor starts caring but we don't see why. As by-the-numbers movies go, though, it isn't a bad one. The young actors in the cast are talented and understated. Most of the kids' characters are only barely fleshed out by the script, but this keeps the movie from being hijacked by extra-cute mugging. Parents should be cautioned--this movie has some very violent scenes that will frighten young children, and swearing is depicted as precocious and adorable. Still, like a baseball game, it isn't a bad way to spend your time. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

Too many storylines and not enough time.......2007-02-25

"Hardball" is another of many movies about which I have to say, "I wanted to like it more than I did;" still, it's worth watching at least once. Other reviewers have covered the fact that there is a bit too much cursing in the movie at times, especially by the kids in the movie, and this is one reason why it won't get many repeated viewings or more than a three-star recommendation from me.

Beyond the cursing issue, however, lie some other problems. This movie tries too hard to follow too many formulas: 1) Man coaches underdogs to championship; 2) Man meets woman, loses woman, regains woman; 3) Man turns over a new leaf and finds redemption (of sorts); and 4) Life in the ghetto is hard (and often short). It's difficult to pull together so many divergent story lines in 1 hour and 46 minutes of film time, and "Hardball" leaves you with some blanks that you wish had been filled in.

Far too much time is spent on showing us how low Keanu Reeves' character has sunk. The viewer understands that he is down and out and desperate after the first few minutes, so more time could have been spent on the coaching or romantic storylines.

The kids on the baseball team, in spite of the fact that their cursing isn't as adorable as the filmmakers apparently thought it was, are the best thing about this movie, and the viewer can't help but root for their team to become winners. The problem is that we don't get to see how this happens. In spite of the facts that they are horrible in their first game and that Reeves doesn't seem to know the first thing about coaching baseball, they go on an improbable championship run. As I said, more time could have been better spent showing the interactions and growing relationship between Reeves and the kids.

We also don't see much of the relationship between Reeves' and Diane Lane's characters. They are antagonists at first, and their first `date' (if you could call it that) certainly doesn't bring them closer together. Yet, by the end of the film, they appear to have grown quite close. Again, the viewer just has to accept that this has happened since it is not shown.

By the end of the film, Reeves' character has a changed attitude and approach to life, and he truly cares about coaching the kids. The shooting toward the end of the film hammers home the `life in the ghetto is tough' theme and definitely stirs up the emotions of the viewer. The final outcome of the championship game is predictable and clichéd, but it couldn't have ended any other way after the shooting and it does leave the viewer feeling somewhat fulfilled (in spite of all the gaps contained in the film).

Mo' Keanu, mo problems...NOT!.......2006-12-14

Wow! Rented this one about 2 years ago, and it always stuck in my head as a great film! I loved it! I don't know why I love it so much. I guess it's because it's about baseball, and it made me cry, at the end, when Baby G lost his life.

I think I only cry during sad "sports" movies. I didn't cry when "old yeller" died. Didn't cry when Scarface died at the end. But when it comes to Sports movies, I'm a big softie.

My buddy, Bobby Asslong, who's normally right on, when it comes to modern day movies, didn't like this one! Can't understand why. Maybe it's because the main character, the Keanu Reeves' character is a big time gambler and loser, and this hits a little bit too close to home? Perhaps, he's a bit jelous of Keanu's boyish good lucks, and husky voice.

Anywho, I recommend this one. I think it's totally off the hook!

MC White said: I love it when you call me Big Poppa! Two thumbs WAY up!

Hitting Close to Home.......2006-04-28

As a Christian, I didn't like the foul language in the movie "Hardball". But sometimes, the world isn't perfect, and kids raised in the projects don't tend to talk the way kids from the suburbs talk.

For four years, I worked as the Management Information Systems Specialist for YMCA Child Welfare, a division of the Chicago YMCA which managed the cases of numerous foster children. (When I first started that job, we were managing the cases of about 950 kids, most of whom were African-American.)

For the first year or more, our offices were located in a long two-story cinderblock building just a block south of the ABLA housing projects, where "Hardball" was filmed. I didn't drive to work, I took the Roosevelt Road bus, and then walked the rest of the way. So I had plenty of chances, five days a week, to observe the kids who lived in the ABLA projects. And I have to say that I think that the movie portrayed them pretty accurately. If anything, it may have portrayed them a little bit too sympathetically.

Of course, I may be slightly biased on account of my experiences. One time, when walking to the bus stop after getting off work, I passed by a large group of ABLA kids, who were playing in the water from an open fire hydrant. (No, it's not legal for them to do so.) Naively, I thought they'd leave me alone. Instead, they surrounded me and started throwing buckets of water at me. Innocent fun, if I had been wearing a swimsuit at the time. Not so innocent, since I was dressed in my work clothes, and I had my bookbag of papers with me, and I was on my way to my second job at the time. (I had to call my boss at that job and tell her I wouldn't be able to make it to work that night.)

And then there was the time several little kids decided to start throwing rocks at me as I walked home from work one day. I wanted to remind them that rocks can do serious harm to people. (Just ask St. Stephen, the New Testament Christian who was stoned to death.) Fortunately, their aim was lousy, and none of their rocks hit me.

I'm a white man, and I think that it's pretty rare for kids in that neighborhood to see white guys, particularly white guys who are walking through their neighborhoods rather than driving. That may have made me seem like an attractive target.

CHA projects in Chicago are not typically good places to raise kids. When kids are surrounded by adults and teenagers who are involved in gang activities and other forms of antisocial behavior, it tends to rub off on them as well.

Hardball is by no means a great movie, but it seems to me that it's a pretty accurate depiction of what life in the projects is like for children.

The profanity used is the reality of the inner city children..........2005-11-21

I chose to watch this movie for a class in college. Many people have dissaproved of this movie because of all the swearing. Needless to say, the words used by the boys on the baseball team are the exact words that the children raised in the inner city use. The movie is very realistic. I would recommend this movie...it is not a good idea for a younger child to watch it because the conditions in the neighborhood are very bad. The movie is sad but real!!!

THE OLD BALL GAME.......2005-03-19

In a recent MSN review of "Constantine," the critic says Keanu Reeves is one of the worst actors out there. In HARDBALL, Reeves tends to prove this critic wrong. Granted, Reeves will probably never see an Oscar on his mantelpiece, but he has shown considerable growth over the years. (See: THE GIFT, THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE for example). In this one, he takes a character who we immediately dislike and turns him into a guy we can root for. The main problem is it is hard to feel sorry for a guy whose life is crap because he can't seem to stop gambling; he doesn't have a job, it appears and he expects everyone to feel sorry for him. Sorry, dude....can't go there with you. His assignment to coach the ragtag bunch of lower class kids at first seems too contrived to be convincing, but as the movie goes along and Reeves becomes a heroic figure to these tragic children, we can see and feel more for both Reeves and the kids. HARDBALL is also smart enough not to become a "sports" movie per se; it has some charming moments such as the pitcher who needs the rap song to throw a dangerously fast curve ball. But in crucial moments, it doesn't drag out the game inning by inning, and the final two games are anti-cliche in the direction they take. The film has a surprising tragic twist at the end and it will work your tear ducts, but the movie ends on an upbeat note, and avoids the standard cliches involved.
Diane Lane has a supporting role, but it's not fleshed out enough to have an impact; John Hawkes as Ticky is good, as is Mike McGlone as the smooth Jimmy Fleming. The kids are all competent, and do what they are supposed to do. Reeves handles the funeral scene quite eloquently.
All in all, HARDBALL does what it set out to do and for that reason, is an entertaining movie.

Average customer rating:

Better than you might think.

Bounty Hunters 2 - Hardball
Starring: Michael Dudikoff , Lisa Howard , Tony Curtis , Steve Bacic , and L. Harvey Gold
Director: George Erschbamer
Manufacturer: Dimension
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000059XUS
Release Date: 2001-05-15

Description

A crime thriller packing unstoppable action, BOUNTY HUNTERS 2: HARDBALL is the explosive follow-up to the intensely entertaining BOUNTY HUNTERS! After Jersey Bellini (Michael Dudikoff -- RINGMASTER, BOUNTY HUNTERS) leaves his beautiful partner B.B. (Lisa Howard -- BOUNTY HUNTERS, TV's HIGHLANDER) alone to break up a dangerous jewel heist-in-progress, she decides that they've worked their last case together. But when the thieves seek their revenge with a deadly plot, the two bounty hunters realize that they can't go it alone! Also starring Steve Bacic (THE 6TH DAY, ANOTHER STAKEOUT) and the legendary Tony Curtis (SPARTACUS) -- your reward is a riveting adventure where Jersey and B.B. do what they do best: double-team the criminals in a heart-stopping bid to bring them to justice!

Customer Reviews:

Better than you might think........2001-10-01

This is actually on the par of those made for Cinemax or Showtime movies, actually better. There's a degree of comedic interplay between Dudikoff and Howard that's entertaining enough to raise the basic material. I liked it enough that I went out and bought the first Hard Bounty and found that just as good.

Average customer rating:

Hardball
Director: George Erschbamer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0006VCDZI

Average customer rating:

Too many storylines and not enough time
Mo' Keanu, mo problems...NOT!
Hitting Close to Home
The profanity used is the reality of the inner city children...
THE OLD BALL GAME

Hardball
Starring: Keanu Reeves , Diane Lane , John Hawkes , Bryan Hearne , and Julian Griffith
Director: Brian Robbins
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005UF7W
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Too many storylines and not enough time.......2007-02-25

Mo' Keanu, mo problems...NOT!.......2006-12-14

Hitting Close to Home.......2006-04-28

The profanity used is the reality of the inner city children..........2005-11-21

THE OLD BALL GAME.......2005-03-19

Hardball (2001) / The Bad News Bears (1976) (Double Feature)

Average customer rating:

Hardball (2001) / The Bad News Bears (1976) (Double Feature)
Starring: Keanu Reeves , Diane Lane , John Hawkes , Bryan Hearne , and Julian Griffith
Director: Brian Robbins , and Michael Ritchie
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000PHX5O6
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Average customer rating:

Better than you might think.

Hardball (Bounty Hunters 2)
Starring: Michael Dudikoff , Lisa Howard , Tony Curtis , Steve Bacic , and L. Harvey Gold
Director: George Erschbamer
Manufacturer: Greatest Sports Legends
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005MM6N
Release Date: 2001-06-25

Customer Reviews:

Better than you might think........2001-10-01

Charlie Rose with Bill O'Reilly; Chris Mathews; Lee Bollinger (November 8, 2001).

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Bill O'Reilly; Chris Mathews; Lee Bollinger (November 8, 2001).

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

Charlie Rose talks with Bill O'Reilly, host of The O'Reilly Factor, and author of the number-one best seller in America, No Spin Zone. Next, a discussion with the star of Hardball, Chris Mathews, on his new book, Now Let Me Tell You What I Really Think. Finally, Lee Bollinger, President-Elect of Columbia University, talks about September 11th's influence of his decision to take a position at the University.

Charlie Rose with E.J. Dionne, Dana Milbank, Norman Ornstein & Rick Berke; Chris Matthews; Carol Channing (November 4, 2002)

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Charlie Rose with E.J. Dionne, Dana Milbank, Norman Ornstein & Rick Berke; Chris Matthews; Carol Channing (November 4, 2002)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

E.J. Dionne, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and columnist for The Washington Post, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post, Norman Ornstein, resident scholar of the American Enterprise Institution and election analyst for CBS News, and Richard Berke, a Washington editor of The New York Times, share their thoughts on the impending mid-term elections. Then, Chris Mathews, host of Hardball on MSNBC, as well as the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, talks about his new book, America: Beyond Our Grandest Notions, which considers the innate cultural traits that make up the American character. Finally, an interview with actress and singer Carol Channing about her autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess.

Charlie Rose with Chris Matthews; Angela Bassett (October 27, 1999)

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Charlie Rose with Chris Matthews; Angela Bassett (October 27, 1999)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

A conversation with Chris Matthews of the NBC show Hardball about the politics of the year 2000. Matthews looks at the upcoming Presidential election and its possible candidates, among them Al Gore and Bill Bradley. Later, an interview with actress Angela Bassett. She talks about her performance in the Wes Craven film Music of the Heart, recounts her time at Yale, and reflects on her earlier work as a stage actress.

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