Movie #47 - Rudy

"When people say dreams don't come true, tell them about Rudy."

This movie ranks high amongst many men out there. Not only is it a film about football, Notre Dame, and has Sam Wise Gamgee in it... its a film about personal triumph and perseverance.

Sean Astin plays the role of Daniel E. "Rudy" Ruettiger in this movie... a biopic family film about one man's quest to play for the Notre Dame college football team. It follows all of Ruettiger's efforts from obtaining a college education, becoming a walk-on practice squad player, to winning the respect of both his coaches and his teammates.

Not to mention, the respect of one Charles S. Dutton. Dutton serves as his mentor both on and off the field, mainly due to regret that Dutton feels inside for not pursuing the dreams that Rudy hopes for himself.

Without ruining the film for those who have yet to watch it, there are some unimpressive cameos from strong movie personnel including a young Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn (cast as Vincent), and Patrick Warburton - David Puddy on TV's Seinfeld.

If you enjoy cheesy films - then please go ahead and watch this film. It is shown regularly on Family Channel and you are bound to appreciate the set design and underrated acting of Astin in this film. Beyond that... you really don't need to watch Rudy if you can avoid it - but many guys will rank this high on their personal movie lists.

Movie #27 - Click

"What if you had a universal remote... that controlled your universe?"

A clever concept in this modern day "It's a Wonderful Life" movie. This movie combines the concept of reviewing life's important moments with the comedic twists and turns of an Adam Sandler movie. Surprisingly, the movie works and actually becomes quite tragic and dark by the end of the film.

Sandler's character (Michael Newman) purchases a universal remote from Morty, who is portrayed by the ever popular cult actor, Christopher Walken. Although only a brief side character to the film, the presence of the intense actor helps move this plot forward and keeps the audience entertained.

Throughout the film, there are some funny scenes shot with co-stars David Hasselhoff and Sean Astin and Henry Winkler is cast in yet another Sandler movie - which was somewhat predictable. What I did not enjoy seeing was the make up / bot-ox effects of the younger versions of Winkler and Julie Kavner's characters portraying Sandler's parents. I understand the intent, but whatever happened to just casting younger versions of these people instead of using plastic, horrid looking make-up versions of the real actors. This was also done in X-Men 3 in which Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan looked quite scary in their rubber faces.

Overall, what makes this movie work in the end was the fact that it tells a compelling story. I never thought I would use the word "compelling" in describing an Adam Sandler movie, but in this case I did. Although the concept has been used in many Hollywood films in the past, this movie seems to get it right without being to silly (as per most Sandler films) or too dramatic - which is also not his strong suit. It just lets you enjoy the trials and tribulations of the life of Michael Newman while allowing the audience to reflect that life is too short just to let it go idly by or speed through it with a "fast forward" button.

The life lessons are there... albeit in a Sandler film. Either way, if you want a movie that you won't sleep through, then I suggest watching Click... at the very least, watch the movie for the upside - Kate Beckinsale for you teenage boys out there or Christopher Walken for the avid movie watchers.

I guarantee you won't use your remote to fast forward through this film.

Reference: I originally published this article on Helium.com.