A League of Their Own, Pt. 2: Mae Swings, Evelyn Cries, Jimmy Rants

25th Anniversary Four-Part Mini Series Event

Previously in Part 1: "Dollies" who could also play ball were recruited to save America's Favorite Pastime while the men were at war. But these athletic women didn't realize that they'd still be met with such sexism despite the chance to show their gifts. The final piece of this movie's puzzle was the manager and the job was offered to Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) and that's where we pick back up. How will the Rockford Peaches handle their new arrogant alcoholic boss? 

Batter up...

Part 2 by Nathaniel R

33:40 "Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the first game of the All American Girls Baseball League"... In this case via the establishing shot (Penny Marshall makes good use of those throughout) 'ladies & gentlemen' is a small plural; the stands are mostly empty. 

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Posterized: Edgar Wright

Who knew that you could take a coffee break on the red carpet? by Nathaniel R

After the unfortunate "creative differences" on Marvel's Ant Man (2015) which Edgar Wright abandoned despite years of passionate development of the project, isn't it nice to see him bounce back so definitely with Baby Driver? That heist-comedy-wishitwasamusical-thriller opened this Wednesday to mostly stellar reviews (alas, our own Chris Feil wasn't a fan). I saw it at a packed screening on its preview night and the crowd ate it up; the movie tasted more delicious than my stale popcorn. That might seem like meager praise but please note that I have a high tolerance for stale popcorn and a low tolerance for heist films which are the single most overplayed action subgenre.

The witty director came to fame with UK comic sitcoms (my best high school girlfriend forced me to watch the first season of Spaced one visit and it was a delight). Wright then won a new round of fans on the big screen with the zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004) which launched the loosely connected fan favorite "Cornetto Trilogy". He's just 43 so there's much more filmography to come. Hooray! 

How many Wright's have you seen and which is your favorite? 
It's too early to say definitively but I think he just might have topped his own best with Baby Driver. It's a goofy stylish and mechanically precise blast. 

Netflix to Give "Sense8" One Final Hurrah

Chris here, with news for Sense8 fans. The series was unceremoniously canceled by Netflix shortly after the airing of the kinky sci-fi series's second season, and the outcry online was vocal. But here is another success story where fanbase outrage saves a beloved niche series: Netflix has announced a two-hour special finale to arrive next year. While this may not be another season like fans had hoped, it gives the Wachowski sisters some space to tie up a few loose ends and maybe another showstopping bit of naughtiness.

This makes for an interesting development for Netflix as well as they begin to start giving the axe to their less popular (or expensive, like Sense8 proved to be) programming. The streaming service is moving faster on dumping newbies like Girlboss and The Get Down, but this does show a certain care for their departing shows that have fan support. There are plenty of examples of shows that end strong from a set end date, so Netflix is also providing the Wachowski's an opportunity to end strong rather than fizzle out. Like HBO's Looking this past season, Sense8 is about to become one lean and unique entry for the television history books.

"Ratatouille" is 10. What would you have Remy cook for you?

Pixar's genius "anyone can cook" classic Ratatouille turned 10 years old today. It's aging well and one thing it very much has going for it is that it's unlikely to ever have a sequel. That's a very good thing in so many ways today since too many great films are ruined by the need to "follow them up" or provide backstories by way of prequels. 

In its honor two questions for you:

1. Everyone loves the title scene where Anton the critic remembers his childhood but what's your second favorite scene?

2. What perfectly cooked dish would send you back to a bliss-inducing memory?

Susan Hayward's Final Oscar Appearance

SUSAN HAYWARD CENTENNIAL

by Nathaniel R

We're doing our Susan Hayward party all out of chronology and will end with an early role. It's our way of saying that the big movie stars never really die but live on in their films. But for the penultimate stop in this Hayward fest, let's take a lot at the 1973 Oscars. She made her last public appearance on April 2nd, 1974 when she presented Best Actress with Charlton Heston at the Oscars. They were contemporaries at the peak of their stardom in the 1950s (and both won leading Oscars in the late 1950s) but Heston's career was still going strong at this point while Hayward had only intermittently working... 

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