David-Keith Movie Reviews

This movie is very rarely re-shown on TV and since I haven't seen the full version since the original broadcast aired in 1987, I was very disappointed to see it is no longer being produced.

Hopefully there will be enough fans out there to convince the studio to re-release it. I hope my e-mail to the studio to re-release it will help. Hopefully more reviewers will also request a re-release from the studio and they will re-release it on video and/or DVD! Until then, I will keep searching the auctions and crossing my fingers!

Enjoyable all through out. No dull moments and the very young Tom Berenger's never been sexier.

Cant wait to see the dvd version!

The Sandlot is a film about a kid named Scotty Smalls, who moves to a new town and tries to make friends before school starts.
He walks across a small suburban baseball field where eight kids his age play daily, and he turns up one day, plays terribly and ends up joining the gang anyway.

Soon, the team find themselves in trouble after 'Smalls', as he is affectionately nicknamed, hits a Babe Ruth signed baseball into the yard of an almighty dog, who as rumor has it once ate a kid in the area.

The gang tries all sorts of methods to get the ball back, and this results in an extremely funny and enjoyable film.
The Sandlot is a great watch, and you will find the whole family stuck infront of the TV for this one.

The sandlot is about a kid who is really smart, yet a bit nerdy. When he moves to a new town he see's kids playing baseball. He decides to join them, but he finds out that baseball is hard to learn how to play. In the group he tried playing baseball had eight people. All with there unique personalities, attitudes, and fellings. The next day everyone in the group kind've gave him a hard time because he couldn't catch a flyball never the less a ball. Nor could he throw a ball. Only Benny didn't make fun of him and tried to help him play better. Benny was an amazing baseball player and was certainly the best in their group. When their pitcher threw Benny a pitch he nailed it over the fence into a yard. Since that was their last ball none of them had any left. But Benny said he'd get one in his house. He got it and brung it back to the field. After one pitch to Benny it was flying over again. And Benny said that it was signed by someone named Baby ruth. It's my stepfathers. He had no clue Babe Ruth was. Then they all started yelling at him saying. Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat. Once he realized Babe Ruth's importance he knew he had to find the ball before his stepfather got back from his buissness trip. Since his mom comes in his stepdads office which holds the ball, the group went out to buy a ball and fake sign it as Babe Ruth. Once he had done that the new kid asked his mom if he could go sleepover at the treehouse at the sandlot. His mom said sure. At the sleepover one of the guys told a story of where all the balls hit over the fence go. It was about a dog there and how he became a giant. Who would eat anything. He even said that one kid tried to get a ball back and he was never seen again. He started creeping everyone out by saying on and on "Forever". After the new kid found this out he didn't believe it. The whole group told him to look outside. He saw his ball. But a second later it was snatched by a huge dog. Benny was scared to death. The next few days Benny started making devices to try and get the ball back when they all failed they went to the pool. The whole group went to the pool. They stayed at where they could stand because none of them knew how to swim. There was a hot lifeguard there. One of the kids went on the diving board. Everyone in the group was freaked out because he didn't know how to swim. After looking at the hot lifeguard once he jumped in. She took him out of the pool giving mouth to mouth recepitation. I say no more. They were kicked out of the pool. On fourth of July they had a huge scrimmage against each other which they do every year. Benny's dream was about how Babe Ruth came into his room and they talked about the Babe Ruth ball and Babe said to jump over the wall because"Legends never die". He told everyone in the group about his dream and decided to do it. He got new shoes for this occasion. He jumped straight over the fence and saw the dog eye to eye. The dog druled the ball out of his mouth. Benny sprinted toward the ball and got it. He started running back and he jumped over the fence. Once everybody thought he had done it. The dog jumped straight over the fence and they were on a goose chase going through everything. Streets, movie theater, wedding, etc. Once they circled all around back to the sandlot, Benny jumped back over the fence. The dog jumped over too. They stared deeply at each other. But then the fence collapsed on the dog. Benny and the new kid were shocked and decided to lift the fence back up. The dog was still dead though. The ball had a lot of mush on it. Benny and the new kid decided to knock on the door of there owner of the dog and house over the fence. He was baseball player and had played with Babe Ruth. He offered them a deal that he''ll give them a ball signed by all the 1927 yankees for the mushy ruth ball and that they'll have to talk baseball with every week.

The Sandlot is a film about a kid named Scotty Smalls, who moves to a new town and tries to make friends before school starts.
He walks across a small suburban baseball field where eight kids his age play daily, and he turns up one day, plays terribly and ends up joining the gang anyway.

Soon, the team find themselves in trouble after 'Smalls', as he is affectionately nicknamed, hits a Babe Ruth signed baseball into the yard of an almighty dog, who as rumor has it once ate a kid in the area.

The gang tries all sorts of methods to get the ball back, and this results in an extremely funny and enjoyable film.
The Sandlot is a great watch, and you will find the whole family stuck infront of the TV for this one.

The sandlot is about a kid who is really smart, yet a bit nerdy. When he moves to a new town he see's kids playing baseball. He decides to join them, but he finds out that baseball is hard to learn how to play. In the group he tried playing baseball had eight people. All with there unique personalities, attitudes, and fellings. The next day everyone in the group kind've gave him a hard time because he couldn't catch a flyball never the less a ball. Nor could he throw a ball. Only Benny didn't make fun of him and tried to help him play better. Benny was an amazing baseball player and was certainly the best in their group. When their pitcher threw Benny a pitch he nailed it over the fence into a yard. Since that was their last ball none of them had any left. But Benny said he'd get one in his house. He got it and brung it back to the field. After one pitch to Benny it was flying over again. And Benny said that it was signed by someone named Baby ruth. It's my stepfathers. He had no clue Babe Ruth was. Then they all started yelling at him saying. Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat. Once he realized Babe Ruth's importance he knew he had to find the ball before his stepfather got back from his buissness trip. Since his mom comes in his stepdads office which holds the ball, the group went out to buy a ball and fake sign it as Babe Ruth. Once he had done that the new kid asked his mom if he could go sleepover at the treehouse at the sandlot. His mom said sure. At the sleepover one of the guys told a story of where all the balls hit over the fence go. It was about a dog there and how he became a giant. Who would eat anything. He even said that one kid tried to get a ball back and he was never seen again. He started creeping everyone out by saying on and on "Forever". After the new kid found this out he didn't believe it. The whole group told him to look outside. He saw his ball. But a second later it was snatched by a huge dog. Benny was scared to death. The next few days Benny started making devices to try and get the ball back when they all failed they went to the pool. The whole group went to the pool. They stayed at where they could stand because none of them knew how to swim. There was a hot lifeguard there. One of the kids went on the diving board. Everyone in the group was freaked out because he didn't know how to swim. After looking at the hot lifeguard once he jumped in. She took him out of the pool giving mouth to mouth recepitation. I say no more. They were kicked out of the pool. On fourth of July they had a huge scrimmage against each other which they do every year. Benny's dream was about how Babe Ruth came into his room and they talked about the Babe Ruth ball and Babe said to jump over the wall because"Legends never die". He told everyone in the group about his dream and decided to do it. He got new shoes for this occasion. He jumped straight over the fence and saw the dog eye to eye. The dog druled the ball out of his mouth. Benny sprinted toward the ball and got it. He started running back and he jumped over the fence. Once everybody thought he had done it. The dog jumped straight over the fence and they were on a goose chase going through everything. Streets, movie theater, wedding, etc. Once they circled all around back to the sandlot, Benny jumped back over the fence. The dog jumped over too. They stared deeply at each other. But then the fence collapsed on the dog. Benny and the new kid were shocked and decided to lift the fence back up. The dog was still dead though. The ball had a lot of mush on it. Benny and the new kid decided to knock on the door of there owner of the dog and house over the fence. He was baseball player and had played with Babe Ruth. He offered them a deal that he''ll give them a ball signed by all the 1927 yankees for the mushy ruth ball and that they'll have to talk baseball with every week.

Indeed, seeing something this good really forces you to recognize that most movies (and TV shows) are, when you come right down to it, pretty damned bad. TNC, on the other hand, is pretty damned good: the characters and their relationships are well and subtly-developed, and there are no facile, all-encompassing 'solutions' to the conflicts therein. All six characters are real, wholly believable people, with no fatuous moralizing on the part of the writer, implicit or otherwise, to be seen. They're occasionally screamingly funny, but never at the expense of character--everything flows naturally out of who they are. At the end of the third film I felt a distinct sense of melancholy that I had to leave these people--and that's about the highest praise I can give.

One of those little films that walked quietly into theaters in 1993 and left just as quietly with little fanfare(which is probably why Fox was hesitant on releasing a DVD) not ONLY happens to be one of the greatest SLEEPERS of all-time, it's also one of the greatest SPORTS films of all-time, ranking with "Field of Dreams", "Bull Durham", "Major League", "The Natural", and "The Longest Yard", to name a few.

This movie is good, so sweetly and innocently GOOD, that you don't care if the obnoxious happens or that a main plot-point happens to be the kids retrieving a prize/signed baseball(by Babe Ruth of all players) from the jaws of a dog-beast-monster-thing.

No, if there was something that James Earl Jones was right about in FIELD OF DREAMS(and he's in here too as a modern-day Boo Radley), it was that baseball brings us back to the times when we were young and apathetic to the world around us. The same applies here.

This film will make you forget about your problems and redirect your focus on your youth and the times you had fun with your best friends.

No matter if those times were spent on a surburban street where the foul poles were really parallel phone poles on either sides of the street or you sat on the porch watching us while drinking lemonade and listening to Ray Charles, those are the good times we remember...

Take a look for yourself...

The DVD has a beautiful 2:35.1 widescreen transfer(it was originally shot in 70mm Panavision) but is lacking in extras. Still, a good cheap DVD with a great film...that's all we ask for sometimes.

-- Matt

Scotty Smalls, his mother (Karen Allen), and his step dad (Dennis Leary) just moved into the neighborhood and Scotty is having problems acclimating himself to his social surroundings. An intelligent boy (an egghead), he lacks certain abilities most boys have, like knowing how to catch and throw a ball, any basic baseball rules, or who's the Great Bambino. The movie does an excellent job in providing just enough depth into these characters to provide a sense of the family dynamic given that Allen and Leary have limited screen time.

In attempting to join a neighborhood pick up game, Scotty's lack of rudimentary baseball skills is made painfully apparent, to which all the boys except Bennie, the best player of the bunch, let their derisive comments fly. Bennie, feeling a bit sorry for the new kid, gives Scotty a couple of tips and a little extra help in a well hit fly ball that gives Scotty a measure of confidence and helps bring him into the gang.

Once Scotty's accepted into the group the movie delves into a plot involving a priceless baseball and a local dog with a mythical reputation. What I really liked was how all the boys came together to help a friend in need, and it was an automatic response. If someone in the circle needs help, the group rallies around, regardless, as they would have done the same for any other member. While a seemingly natural trait in children (atleast in this movie), it seems to be one that becomes lost as we grow older, as seen in Scotty's step dad and his reluctance to play catch with Scotty because he has too much work and doesn't have the time.

What's so great about this movie is while it's set in the 50's, the story appeals to most anyone. Whether or not we all had that one great summer or just fond remembrances of childhood friends and activities in general, the movie serves to help recall days when things were simple, and summers were made up of endless possibilities. While watching this movie, I thought about friends I had when I was a kid, phrases we used, nicknames, activities, etc.

No real extras on this disc, but a great presentation of a wonderful movie. My favorite part involved one of the boys called Squints, a smaller boy with great, big glasses, and scene with curvaceous, older, female lifeguard at the local pool.

One of those little films that walked quietly into theaters in 1993 and left just as quietly with little fanfare(which is probably why Fox was hesitant on releasing a DVD) not ONLY happens to be one of the greatest SLEEPERS of all-time, it's also one of the greatest SPORTS films of all-time, ranking with "Field of Dreams", "Bull Durham", "Major League", "The Natural", and "The Longest Yard", to name a few.

This movie is good, so sweetly and innocently GOOD, that you don't care if the obnoxious happens or that a main plot-point happens to be the kids retrieving a prize/signed baseball(by Babe Ruth of all players) from the jaws of a dog-beast-monster-thing.

No, if there was something that James Earl Jones was right about in FIELD OF DREAMS(and he's in here too as a modern-day Boo Radley), it was that baseball brings us back to the times when we were young and apathetic to the world around us. The same applies here.

This film will make you forget about your problems and redirect your focus on your youth and the times you had fun with your best friends.

No matter if those times were spent on a surburban street where the foul poles were really parallel phone poles on either sides of the street or you sat on the porch watching us while drinking lemonade and listening to Ray Charles, those are the good times we remember...

Take a look for yourself...

The DVD has a beautiful 2:35.1 widescreen transfer(it was originally shot in 70mm Panavision) but is lacking in extras. Still, a good cheap DVD with a great film...that's all we ask for sometimes.

-- Matt

Scotty Smalls, his mother (Karen Allen), and his step dad (Dennis Leary) just moved into the neighborhood and Scotty is having problems acclimating himself to his social surroundings. An intelligent boy (an egghead), he lacks certain abilities most boys have, like knowing how to catch and throw a ball, any basic baseball rules, or who's the Great Bambino. The movie does an excellent job in providing just enough depth into these characters to provide a sense of the family dynamic given that Allen and Leary have limited screen time.

In attempting to join a neighborhood pick up game, Scotty's lack of rudimentary baseball skills is made painfully apparent, to which all the boys except Bennie, the best player of the bunch, let their derisive comments fly. Bennie, feeling a bit sorry for the new kid, gives Scotty a couple of tips and a little extra help in a well hit fly ball that gives Scotty a measure of confidence and helps bring him into the gang.

Once Scotty's accepted into the group the movie delves into a plot involving a priceless baseball and a local dog with a mythical reputation. What I really liked was how all the boys came together to help a friend in need, and it was an automatic response. If someone in the circle needs help, the group rallies around, regardless, as they would have done the same for any other member. While a seemingly natural trait in children (atleast in this movie), it seems to be one that becomes lost as we grow older, as seen in Scotty's step dad and his reluctance to play catch with Scotty because he has too much work and doesn't have the time.

What's so great about this movie is while it's set in the 50's, the story appeals to most anyone. Whether or not we all had that one great summer or just fond remembrances of childhood friends and activities in general, the movie serves to help recall days when things were simple, and summers were made up of endless possibilities. While watching this movie, I thought about friends I had when I was a kid, phrases we used, nicknames, activities, etc.

No real extras on this disc, but a great presentation of a wonderful movie. My favorite part involved one of the boys called Squints, a smaller boy with great, big glasses, and scene with curvaceous, older, female lifeguard at the local pool.

The ship segment is my favorite segment: nice music and great graphics. My children both enjoy this segment. The boy, Ned riding his bike is very fun and reminds my son of how he enjoys riding bikes.

I know there is controversy on the Teletubbies. However, I think they are cute and harmless. Surely they don't teach anything negative, they teach hugs and fun and sharing and caring, if they teach anything at all. Mainly I use this video (and all others and TV) as a time for my kids to wind down at the end of the day or just prior to nap. A short time to just sit and turn off their brains for a few minutes.

Enjoy.

The performances are brilliant especially Kietel. I am a fan of Harvey Kietel and I love his character in this film. Filmed as a typical racist(maybe just ignorant) cop and in the end coming to a realisation that he played a part in the violence.

I too believe this to be Spike Lee's best film(I can't believe I just said that). Yes, even better than Do The Right Thing in my opinion. Check this film out, you won't be sorry.

BTW, the soundtrack isn't too bad either. A great songs by Seal and Desiree stand out.

Lowpoints: The musical score at times gets a little too overwhelming; Clockers' pace falters, but that's to be expected from a Spike Lee joint, and Clockers is the most successful venue on his resume yet.

Conclusion: A fine, powerful drama that deals with the life of a young man, born in the projects and trying to make a living from dealing crack cocaine. The acting is exceptional, particularly Harvey Keitel's, who always mesmerizes and here delivers a performance that, in terms of intensity, could only be compared to his work in Abel Ferrarra's Bad Lieutenant. The characters are spot-on, the script sizzles, and there are scnes that will make viewers choke on tears of compassion.

SEE THIS IF YOU LIKED: Do the Right Thing, Menace II Society, Baby Boy.
DON'T SEE THIS IF YOU LIKED: O, Save the Last Dance, Monkey Trouble.

This film has a dated artificial look to it. The sets LOOK LIKE SETS, and the action often feels stagy and claustrophobic, as if it were conducted on one of MGM's cumbersome sound stages (which it was).

However, "Queen Christina" is worth seeing because of the sheer pleasure that the ever effervescent Garbo generates through her skillful portrayal of the eccentric monarch. Garbo on screen never fails to captivate. She is often better than the movies she appears in.

See "Queen Christina" for the joy and artistry of Garbo's performance. You won't be disappointed.