donsturm

After I saw this TV movie about Pete Rose, I was kind of skeptical until I watched a discussion afterwords with people who knew Pete Rose. They said, and after thinking about it I agree, this movie captures Rose's gambling problem accurately. The actors did a fine job with their roles and you could tell there was a lot of research that went into the making of this film. I'm glad he did finally admit he bet on baseball, including the Reds, and I think he should be in the Hall Of Fame for what he did as a player. Weather you like Pete Rose or not, the point of this movie, I think, was to portray his gambling addiction. I do wish they would have focused on John Dowds report more because that was the main reason Rose was kicked out of the game for life. Like him or not, this film brings out a side of Pete Rose not too many people know and it's about time some of the truth of his life was displayed. This film, for me, does that.

I just read all of the comments on this movie and some people did not like this remake. "Brian's Song" is my favorite movie of all time and when I saw the remake, I was impressed. The first part of this remake was word for word to the original but then they started to go in depth. The original 1971 version showed more of the friendship of Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, which was great, but the 2001 remake showed more of Piccolo's struggle with cancer. The title of the movie is "Brian's Song" so I thought it was great to show this aspect of his life. If you do what I did and watch both DVD's back to back, starting with the 1971 original, you will get the full story of Brian Piccolo. It doesn't matter that the Michel Legrand theme song isn't featured as much in the remake; this is the story of a man's life, not a song. If you liked the original movie as much as I did, take these comments to heart and rewatch this remake. If you have never seen the original movie, I highly recommend it. Like I said up front, 1971's "Brian's Song" is my all time favorite movie but on a scale of 1-10, I have to give this remake a 10.

I am not really a fan of Sean Penn but other then his role in "The Falcon And The Snowman", this is by far his strongest acting performance. Penn plays Sam who has a mental capacity of a seven year old. He is raising a daughter with the help of a neighbor and three friends. The friends are also mentally challenged. The problem Sam has is his daughter, played by Dakota Fanning, is growing older and is getting smarter then her father. Social Services sees this as a problem and takes her away. Penn talks to an attorney, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, to help him get his daughter back. She eventually agrees to give her services for free. In a nutshell, the plot of the movie is a fathers love for his daughter and he will do anything to stay with her. For a young actor, Fanning gives a strong performance and almost steals the show. There is some strong language, mostly by Pfeiffer, but that doesn't distract from the movie. This is a heartwarming movie and if you like a good drama, I highly recommend it. I give it a 10 on a scale of 1-10 and you will see why once you have seen the movie.