Sean Astin

The Final Season
$14.94
I like sports drama and own a bunch of them. This is one of the very best.

Why? It is well-filmed, well-directed, well-acted, and it is a real story. Well, well, well. Look up "Norway Baseball" and you get the whole story. The screenplay and the film that came from it are remarkably true to that story. Sure. The story is of a school competing in the smallest school division and the competition at that level is very different from that in the largest divisions, but Norway baseball was legendary. Its head coach was a legend. Its players were picked up time and again to fill rosters in colleges with strong programs.

19 State Titles was the source of extraordinary pride. And then the school board came to a very difficult decision. Here the film plays the members as true villains and that is unfortunate because schools the size of Norway in communities the size of its little farm town do not have the resources needed in a modern high school. Merger with another nearby school with a more up-to-date physical plant and room to grow. Merger was necessary, BUT there was a strange effort made to make the last season less dramatic by gutting the baseball team. Leadership on the Board did not want the baseball team to emerge as a gathering point for continued resistance to the merger. So, the legendary head coach was released and replaced by a young rookie with very little experience. A number of key players did not come out for the team in its final playing season.

The coach ends up being a natural coach. He forges a team whose chemistry is initially difficult. The right players emerge. Virtually none of the drama is manufactured for the film. Check out the newspapers. A strong start is followed by a big slump. A timely push back is good enough to get them into the state playoffs. The team is an underdog up against far larger programs with amazing talent that manages to win the baseball way: sound defensive play, a smart line-up, good scouting, a couple of very talented kids, a bunch of less talented but solid players, and big fan support.

Background stories are equally compelling as a spoiled and angry city-kid is transformed by his coach, his grandparents and his team.....and then meets his father on the field of play, real common ground. A bus driver, a priest, a couple of sports reporters and a girl friend each provided another story that makes the BIG STORY work.

Lastly, there are no ultra-dramatic, over the top, I-Can't-Believe-It moments. These moments are common devices in sports drama. They generate big moments for big feelings. There are lots of little moments that feel very real: mock bets between a pitcher and a catcher, a heart patient/bus driver who sneaks into the championship game, the fired coach returning for the last game, an often disheartened relief pitcher who is scared to death of the opposing pitcher's fast ball but still manages to crowd the plate at a critical moment, a coach who falls in love with a state official who has endorsed the school merger, and so much more.

In the back of the informed viewer's mind is the knowledge that these moments actually took place. Yeah, there is some condensing of action. There is fictionalized dialogue. There are combined characters. But, overall the truth wills out.

This film belongs on your shelf. Watch it with young athletes and discuss it. It's amazing what they have to say. Watch it with your family just for fun.

Toy Soldiers
$9.95
I loved this movie when it came out... Sean Astin is a great actor (not SUPERB, but enjoyable)... Love him in Rudy, and love him in this movie... brings back great memories of when I was young when it came out...

There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale
$14.95
I read this with a bit of apprehension after reading several of the reviews listed, and am glad that I did. Not sure if I am reviewing the book or the author, but he put it out there, so these are my thoughts:

The title, yes a genuine glam-grabber from Tolkien, and perhaps a better title would have been from the ending line, "The road goes ever on." The book could have done with a bit more structuring in the first part, or broken up into three main sections: Life up to Peter Jackson, The experiences during LoTR, and Where the Path Leads Next... or something along those lines. The editing, yes well...it is difficult because it is an autobiography to say what should or should not be edited. There was a raw quality in the naive approach to the style that read like you were having a conversation with Astin, so that was good. Perhaps using the word "I" less in the telling of stories of other people within the biography would have gained a bit more momentum.

The honesty was there, perhaps a bit too honest at times. Mr. Astin seems to tell about putting his foot in his mouth at numerous occasions, but somewhere I get the feeling those around him keep him around because they know what he is thinking - for it is always there on his tongue. That may seem negative, but it is not - being 'real' is rare. Points for that! I didn't get the negativity about the other actors around him as mentioned in some reviews, and admittedly read several sections over to see if I missed something. As for his own admittance of being too worrisome, negative, mothering and such - well, if the account is objective to a degree (which I assume is what he attempts here), then these same qualities that he feels may have screwed things up were perhaps the exact qualities Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh sought out when they cast the role of Sam. These negative traits turned out to be strengths, hopefully he realizes that from his own introspective. At least that is what comes across in the book. It sure came across from the films. Let's face it..if nothing else, they knew he could monologue like the devil. The guy could read electronic instructions to a crowd and by the end, have them say, 'Yes! We can program our own VCR!' - this was one thing it was surprising NOT to read within the book. He makes note of other attributes, but never delves into that one.

He does refer to his bad traits in many parts of the book, and although this is not a psychiatry session, uhm... "Welcome to the world Sean, you're just as messed up as the rest of us. Unpack some of the luggage, 'cause every decade we get a whole new set." I found it good that someone put their good and their bad out there. Actors attempt to tap into raw emotions to beef up their performance, and this book was an introspective of his own life before, during and after LoTR. It reads as though the actor is sorting himself out, and attempting to gain some perspective on where to go next with his life and career. He definitely seems torn between what he has learned through the past of show-business, versus what feels right intuitively. He mentions the Hollywood machine, and seems genuinely torn between what he was raised on as the norm, and then admires and admonishes the New Zealand company for creating films with a 'screw it, we're gonna try it another way' attitude. You can tell from the book this was a definite personal struggle in that he both admired how things were getting done during LoTR, and his own conflict of "but back in Hollywood it's done (this) way." The main strength in his life, his wife Christine, is definitively a more positive aspect in his biography, alongside his family. His wife and family are mentioned here, because from the book they appear to be the metaphorical 'adult' holding the dish of candy, reminding him instead of trying all flavors, that maybe just a few would suffice...and if those don't satisfy, THEN try new flavors. Points for also admitting his family helps him sort from the 'candy dish'. Points again for just sharing so much!

Memphis Belle [VHS]
$9.98
I remember when this movie first came out, the critics panned it for having "unrealistic" scenes of crew interaction while the Memphis Belle was on its last mission. As a former aircraft commander of a bomber crew, I can tell you that the crew interaction and banter between the crew members is the most realistic part of the movie! I highly recommend this movie not only as an example of what our young men sacrificed for our country at that time, but also a terrific story - even though it is not the real story of the Belle's last mission.