Ep. 2 - Ranked! Top 20 Baseball Movies!

This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] J.J.: Full disclosure, I've been trying to watch Close Encounters most of the day. I keep getting interrupted. Let me ask you this, and we're not talking about this tonight, but we brought it up with Close Encounters, and this has nothing to do with any performances or the music or anything that makes this movie great. It's more of one of those things from a perception standpoint. How old do you think Richard Dreyfuss is in this movie? What does he look like to you, like perception wise? I mean, he looks like he just left for college in American Graffiti. He looks so young, like much younger than he did in Jaws, but if I had to guess, I would say he was probably in his early 30s.

[0:52] Olaf: And that's about right. He was 30 in that movie, which means he was like 28 in Jaws, but he looks like he's 35.

[1:00] J.J.: It's that beard.

[1:01] Olaf: It's the beard. Anyway, it's just one of those sort of perception things, which I always like to somewhat do a deep dive in people's how old they were when they did things, what they look like, and all these other things. So anyway, not what we're talking about, but I wanted to, that just sort of popped into my head. I'm excited a little bit about tonight. This is going to be one of those list episodes that we're going to do. We don't do these that often, but I like it when we do because it gives us an opportunity for one of us to present the other with a list of their either favorite type of movies within a certain franchise or genre or subject matter, and it allows the other person to either agree with or just shoot bullets through the list itself. And so I'm excited to see where this one's going to go.

[1:54] Olaf: Well, I came packing.

[1:55] J.J.: I believe it. And I'll give you a hint. You don't need to shoot bullets through this list if you don't want, you can throw fastballs through it.

[2:16] Olaf: I'm pretty sure since you're leading this one, you were going to do the intro.

[2:19] J.J.: I was going to do the intro. Oh man. All right. Well, welcome to Back to the Movie Theater. You know, two guys that just love talking about movies. My name is J.J. and with me as always is my very good friend, Olaf. Olaf, how you doing tonight?

[2:35] Olaf: Hey, what's going on? Happy to be here. I'm also co-host, but you know.

[2:40] J.J.: Yeah, he is.

[2:41] Olaf: I'm not like the special guest.

[2:43] J.J.: He's not. We do this together. And tonight, I'm really excited about it because I am going to present to you what I consider to be my, this isn't anybody else's, this is my list of baseball movies.

[3:01] Olaf: Yes.

[3:02] J.J.: The ones that I enjoy, you know, the most. This is 20 films, everybody. So there is clearly films.

[3:08] Olaf: 20 films, and I assume that you've ranked them in order from least to greatest?

[3:16] J.J.: Yes, from least to greatest. And we will start with obviously least and build our way up. And obviously as we go through this, people will know there are clearly a lot of baseball movies that did not make this list, you know, but this is my like 20 films of baseball that I enjoy all the way up to ones that I insanely love and I feel like most people do as we get up to the top.

[3:40] Olaf: Well, I do not know what is on this list.

[3:45] J.J.: He does not. That's what I love about this is that I'm going to be throwing them out and we're going to see where we go with it. And again, there are going to be a lot of movies that aren't on this list that for whatever reason, I just, you know, this is my list. So here we go.

[4:00] Olaf: Batter up.

[4:01] J.J.: Oh, I love it. Here we go. Batter up. First inning. I wouldn't consider this my leadoff hitter, but number 20.

[4:08] Olaf: Number 20.

[4:09] J.J.: I've got a movie called Million Dollar Arm with Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame. And this movie came out, I want to say 2016, I think.

[4:21] Olaf: And true story.

[4:22] J.J.: Man. Are you familiar?

[4:24] Olaf: Yes, I am familiar.

[4:25] J.J.: 2014.

[4:26] Olaf: And that's number 20.

[4:27] J.J.: So is that good or bad?

[4:29] Olaf: I don't know at this point.

[4:32] J.J.: If that's where we're starting. Wow.

[4:34] Olaf: Okay.

[4:35] J.J.: A Million Dollar Arm. I don't think a lot of people, at least in circles that I know, I don't think a lot of people saw this movie. It wasn't like a huge commercial hit.

[4:44] Olaf: No, it was not.

[4:45] J.J.: It was not. And I guess I mean, I can only assume based off that reaction that you're surprised it's even in the top 20.

[4:51] Olaf: So just get ready because there might be a few down here that will make me continue to surprise and shock and awe. Million Dollar Arm to me is on this list because it was a good movie. And to me, it was one of those. This was a true story about a sports agent who is looking for the next best prospect and finds one in the Middle East, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. And he needs to find this prospect or lose his job. And so there's a lot of different things that come into play. You don't really like his character to begin with because he doesn't really necessarily care about the kids that he's trying to bring over. He's really just more concerned about saving his own job. And of course, through the course of the movie and the story, you know, you change a heart and he begins to life.

[5:47] Olaf: Yeah, of course, as most of these kind of do kind of sort of classic bad news bears, mighty ducks.

[5:55] J.J.: It is. It is. It is that. But not as not told as well, obviously, mighty, mighty ducks would be what's like on what's number 19.

[6:05] Olaf: Let's just move on 19.

[6:08] J.J.: We there's 20 movies.

[6:10] Olaf: You're right.

[6:11] J.J.: You're right. So in all fairness, there are 20 movies. I'm not going to pontificate on all of these at length because I'm like, if that if if that's what if it meant that much to you, it should be higher.

[6:22] Olaf: Oh, yeah, that's valid.

[6:24] J.J.: In all fairness, we might bulldoze through the bottom five here.

[6:27] Olaf: OK, bottom six hit me with the first five.

[6:31] J.J.: We've got OK, Million Dollar Arm, Million Dollar Arm, 19. Mr. Baseball, what I would consider a guilty what a guilty pleasure.

[6:39] Olaf: You think this too low or do you think it should even be on this list?

[6:42] J.J.: I well, again, haven't seen the rest of your list, but I feel like that should be higher.

[6:49] Olaf: Mr. Baseball, Tom Selleck.

[6:51] J.J.: I I'm aware in Japan playing baseball. He's on the list.

[6:55] Olaf: Oh, it's fantastic.

[6:57] J.J.: He's on the list. I've got people that would be happy that it's on list, but also people that would much like you would react to think it should be higher. In fact, I feel like 18 and 19 are interchangeable. But you'll probably feel that 18 should be higher. And that 18 is Mr. 3000 with the late great Bernie Mac.

[7:18] Olaf: Oh, yeah. I would have put that if all the movies that you were about to say are what I have to choose from from one to 20. So right now, Mr. 3000 should be at 20.

[7:30] J.J.: OK. And then and then Million Dollar Arm and then Mr. Baseball.

[7:33] Olaf: Well, again, I'm still waiting to see what other movies are ahead of Mr. Baseball. I'm looking at my list, which, again, I've got the bit of an advantage because I'm looking at this list and I'm thinking every movie that I have above Mr. Baseball deserves to be above Mr. Baseball.

[7:47] J.J.: 17. If you've got Rookie of the Year or Angels in the Outfield higher than Mr. Baseball.

[7:57] Olaf: Oh, man.

[8:00] J.J.: Number 17. Get ready. A little big league.

[8:04] Olaf: You don't remember.

[8:05] J.J.: OK. Luke Edwards takes over. He's managing the Minnesota Twins. It was in that era of like early 90s films where they felt the studios felt they needed to put a little a kid at the forefront of these major league teams, a la Angels in the Outfield, Rookie of the Year, Little Big League. It's like they all met in one cafe and decided to churn out these types of baseball films with that kid actor. In this case, it's Luke Edwards in that role of that. It's like trying to remember.

[8:30] Olaf: It's one that kind of it doesn't get as much love as Rookie of the Year or or Angels in the Outfield.

[8:44] J.J.: And they all came out around like ninety three, ninety four.

[8:48] Olaf: Yeah.

[8:49] J.J.: Came out a little big. We came out in 1994.

[8:51] Olaf: Yeah.

[8:52] J.J.: Which is the same as Angels in the Outfield.

[8:54] Olaf: What?

[8:55] J.J.: He it's a kid and he becomes the owner.

[8:58] Olaf: Yeah.

[8:59] J.J.: He's bequeathed the ownership of a professional baseball team. Yeah. It's like, here you go. Here's a baseball team, little boy. He's like, well, I know I've definitely seen it.

[9:11] Olaf: Yeah.

[9:12] J.J.: So you put this above Mr. Baseball.

[9:14] Olaf: Yes.

[9:15] J.J.: OK. Because remember, remember, I think I think we're just going to keep fighting about that. I feel like I need to defend this position just really quick. One, I'm a huge Selleck Magnum P.I. fan, clearly. And I love his some of his and I love some of his films that he was doing while he was doing the show. This one he did after Magnum P.I. ended. I think he came out in like 1990. And I just it just didn't grab me like everything else above it. It's sitting at 19. And again, it's my list.

[9:44] Olaf: This is my list.

[9:45] J.J.: And again, I. Right. I leave it to you. I'm just here to tell you when you're wrong.

[9:49] Olaf: To swing a bat at it.

[9:50] J.J.: You're here to swing a bat at it. Moving on to number 16, which will take us out of the bottom five of my 20 and could raise some eyebrows in terms of why it might be low. But I've got.

[10:04] Olaf: Yeah.

[10:05] J.J.: Because you haven't raised eyebrows already. I've got 42 at 16.

[10:09] Olaf: Really?

[10:10] J.J.: Yeah.

[10:12] Olaf: I know.

[10:13] J.J.: My.

[10:14] Olaf: Consider eyebrows.

[10:15] J.J.: Extended. I know. I know. And I clearly. Well, not clearly. Nobody knows. I love Jackie Robinson. I love baseball. It. I like that you take these movies that you have thrown down into the dump.

[10:29] Olaf: He did the bottom right of my list.

[10:33] J.J.: You say it's there and then you go, I love this character. I love this actor. It's like, I don't think you do, but this is don't think I think. And here's where I will say you're wrong.

[10:49] Olaf: Harrison Ford finally leaning into a curmudgeon.

[10:53] J.J.: I know. But it's hard to buy him is because he clearly to me is that in life now. And this movie is almost about it is over like a decade old already, which means he was looking at the first time that he really just.

[11:07] Olaf: He did.

[11:08] J.J.: Except. I know. There were just certain things about the execution of the movie that I wasn't completely embracing again. The late, great Chadwick Boseman at this time, this is rest in peace at number six. This is this is clearly pre Black Panther where he was playing these amazing he's getting these amazing opportunities to play these real real life characters. He was playing Jackie Robinson. He was playing James Brown. And so he was getting a chance to giving these amazing opportunities to do this. And I think he was perfect for the role. I just feel like they they didn't. There were certain things missing in terms of the script, how it was put together, that like there was this line at the end of the movie when one of his teammates comes up to him like in the outfit, Lucas Black.

I didn't want to get his name wrong, but that was Lucas Black comes up to him and he's like, oh, maybe one day we'll all be wearing the number 42. And I was like, well, that's because they had already done that. Clearly, every April 15th, the league, it was things that that line put it at number six. No, it was that on top of a lot of other things that.

[12:17] J.J.: It wasn't so much Harrison Ford's curmudgeonly performance. Clearly, Chadwick Boseman did a fantastic job playing Jackie Robinson. I just felt like the Jackie Robinson person could have been given a better film for his life. And not that it was a bad movie. It's on my list. But it's... there are, for me, 15 other movies that I would watch above this on any given day.

[12:42] J.J.: Which brings us to 15. Okay, so we've done the bottom five, and there's already been some crazy controversy. Some questionable choices. I feel that two of them shouldn't even be in that bottom five. 42 and Mr. Baseball? Okay. Number 15, Angels in the Outfield.

[13:03] Olaf: You're thinking it should be lower?

[13:05] J.J.: Yep.

[13:06] Olaf: I'd put that in the bottom five.

[13:08] J.J.: Why? You can move 42 up, and I'm sure number 14 will probably be able to move Mr. Baseball up. So, Angels in the Outfield, for me, again, same year that Little Big League came out. 30 years ago. So both these movies came out 30 years ago. But what Angels in the Outfield was more successful at doing, in terms of between that and Little Big League, which are when you're 13, 14, 15 years old, you're 12, 11, you're going to these movies. Angels in the Outfield managed to execute what they were trying to do better.

[13:39] J.J.: Now, granted, it's a remake of a movie of the same title, of an older movie.

[13:43] Olaf: Yeah.

[13:44] J.J.: But when you look at that cast, and I'm not just talking about Christopher Lloyd and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of the first things he did. Tony Danza, Danny Glover. But then you look at, like, Brenda Fricker, who plays the foster mom, or the one who's fostering the kids. You get Dermot Mulroney as the, like, deadbeat dad. You get Matthew McConaughey. I mean, the cast on this list, who went on to do, like, other, clearly other things.

[14:14] Olaf: So you're saying that Angels in the Outfield is responsible for launching the careers of many great actors.

[14:22] J.J.: Many stars we have grown to love and admire over the last 25 to 30 years. Adrian Brody, Neil McDonough.

[14:29] Olaf: So...

[14:33] J.J.: So Danny Glover was nothing before Angels in the Outfield.

[14:37] Olaf: No, but he definitely gives it some cachet. Same with Christopher Lloyd. It's a feel-good summer baseball movie that I feel continues to get the rewatch love even 30 years later. Now, it spawned a few sequels that I've never seen, to be honest with you. But Angels in the Outfield is... And it's still, it's 15. I keep saying it's like 14 other movies above Angels in the Outfield.

[15:01] Olaf: Yeah, and a couple below it that should be higher.

[15:04] J.J.: Well, let's not look down. Let's continue to look up.

[15:08] Olaf: Oh, I can't forget those left behind.

[15:12] J.J.: Well, we're moving to 14. I could see Angels in the Outfield being number 16 on your list.

[15:20] Olaf: Okay. Well, 14 is Bad News Bears, the original Bad News Bears.

[15:25] J.J.: With Walter Matthau.

[15:26] Olaf: With Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neill and Jackie Earle Haley. It's a classic.

[15:31] J.J.: Yeah. You feel like it should be higher, and I don't... Man, what a list you have come up with. Were you just like throwing darts at titles of baseball movies? And you're like, no, that works.

[15:42] Olaf: But can you imagine what's above Bad News Bears that I feel like, I feel like... Bad News Bears... You're telling me there are 13 more movies...

[15:54] J.J.: And I could switch this next movie.

[15:56] Olaf: I love that. You're always like, well, I could switch these. Because it's a very fluid list, and I don't ever really talk about the list until...

[16:04] J.J.: It seems very fluid in your unwillingness to move anything around.

[16:09] Olaf: The irony is I actually moved a few things around before we even got on the call, before we even jumped on.

[16:14] J.J.: So, yeah. No, Bad News Bears is... I mean, I don't have to... What hurts Bad News Bears for me, and not that... I mean, again, it's a great movie, classic baseball movie story. A few strikes, pun intended, against the film is the remake, which they had no control over.

[16:36] Olaf: The studio wanted to remake it, and they remade it in 2005 with Billy Bob Thornton.

[16:40] J.J.: Richard Linklater directed it. They've remade a version of this many, many times.

[16:47] Olaf: Yes, they have, and Hardball did not make the list.

[16:50] J.J.: Really?

[16:51] Olaf: Hardball did not make the Keanu Reeves 2001 baseball movie.

[16:55] J.J.: Hardball did not make my list. No, it didn't.

[16:57] Olaf: That's surprising.

[16:58] J.J.: Really?

[16:59] Olaf: Yeah.

[17:00] J.J.: Okay. I mean, talk about Mighty Ducks on the baseball field, which is definitely inspired by Bad News Bears.

[17:10] Olaf: I really felt that that was pretty solid, and I probably would have at least replaced...

[17:16] J.J.: Little Big League.

[17:17] Olaf: Little Big League?

[17:18] J.J.: Yeah. Take that off the list so you have room to add that one. It's an honorable mention, along with The Babe with John Goodman, also an honorable mention, not on my list.

[17:29] Olaf: Wow.

[17:30] J.J.: Yeah.

[17:31] Olaf: Spoiler alert.

[17:32] J.J.: Spoiler alert. The Babe with John Goodman did not make my list.

[17:47] J.J.: Bad News Bears is a 14. They made too many sequels of this movie.

[17:51] Olaf: Yeah, that was totally the original movie's fault.

[17:54] J.J.: It doesn't take away from this film itself, but they're clearly at 13 of the movies that I prefer over Bad News Bears, and I like Bad News Bears a lot.

[18:04] Olaf: Okay.

[18:05] J.J.: 13, Rookie of the Year.

[18:08] Olaf: Okay.

[18:09] J.J.: See, I do have a fondness for Rookie of the Year. I would say of the early 90s or early to mid-90s kids' baseball movies, that's probably the better of them.

[18:24] Olaf: Absolutely.

[18:25] J.J.: Absolutely better than Angels in the Outfield. Absolutely better than Little Big League. I think if you were going to do an honorable mention of a kids' baseball movie, Little Big League would be in that.

[18:36] Olaf: That's fair.

[18:37] J.J.: It's hard to not love Rookie of the Year.

[18:40] Olaf: No, it is very hard.

[18:42] J.J.: They did such a good job with it, that actor.

[18:47] Olaf: Thomas Ian Nicholas.

[18:48] J.J.: He did such a wonderful job playing in that role.

[18:51] Olaf: Yeah, pre-American Pie.

[18:52] J.J.: Yeah.

[18:53] Olaf: Obviously.

[18:54] J.J.: But Gary Busey as the washed-up pitcher.

[18:58] Olaf: Yeah, still holding on to some sanity at that point.

[19:03] J.J.: I believe that was Point Break, and then he did this movie, and then it was What Happened to Gary Busey? But no, Daniel Stern directed the movie also, which I think is a little bit of a forgotten nugget there of trivias that he directed.

[19:20] Olaf: And, of course, was he the pitching coach or the manager?

[19:23] J.J.: Ooh.

[19:24] Olaf: I feel like he was the pitching coach, but I could be wrong.

[19:28] J.J.: Yeah, I can't remember either.

[19:30] Olaf: But I've always liked Rookie of the Year.

[19:33] J.J.: And then I – because I'd seen it when I was – I mean I came out in 93, so I was like 14, 15. And I remember, oh, this is fun, and I kind of maybe caught it one more time. But then I caught it again, which almost felt like I was watching it for the first time, when I showed it to my son a couple years ago. And it was like this is just – I forgot how fun that movie is on a watch.

[19:59] J.J.: So now we're getting into what I consider to be – not that the previous films that I've mentioned aren't good in their own way and some great in their own way.

[20:11] Olaf: Some great in their own way.

[20:13] J.J.: Okay. Yeah. I'm still thinking 42 and Mr. Baseball should be higher.

[20:19] Olaf: Should still be higher?

[20:20] J.J.: You're putting them in like your top 12?

[20:22] Olaf: No, I'm just saying at least within the top 15.

[20:27] J.J.: Oh, that's fair. Number 12, the first of the three Kevin Costner trilogy of baseball movies, not to sound redundant, but number 12.

[20:38] Olaf: Yeah, he's done a couple.

[20:39] J.J.: He did three of them, and number 12 is For Love of the Game.

[20:43] Olaf: Okay.

[20:44] J.J.: Interesting. You're going to have to give me more than that, man. That's a really – even on a rewatch, that's a – the movie still – I feel still holds up 25 years later, which is hard to believe that was 25 years ago.

[20:56] J.J.: But Sam Raimi, which up to this point he hadn't done Spider-Man. He had done obviously Evil Dead. He had done a couple of other sort of off the gift. And so for me, not that this isn't in his wheelhouse to do, but it just seemed kind of like, oh, this is an interesting choice of somebody to direct this film. You get a John C. Reilly, Kelly Preston, the late Kelly Preston. It's kind of weird to say that.

[21:23] Olaf: And then, of course, Costner doing what he does on the baseball bat.

[21:27] J.J.: And that's the thing is any Kevin Costner sports movie, if you look at it just on paper without all the fancy names, some of these just don't sound very interesting.

[21:40] Olaf: You mean the movie itself?

[21:41] J.J.: Like the plot of the movie doesn't necessarily sound like it would be that interesting. And I'm not just talking about For Love of the Game. I'm just talking about Kevin Costner sports films. Tin Cup. I mean, Tin Cup. What an amazing movie that is.

[22:00] Olaf: But we're talking baseball.

[22:02] J.J.: But to your point. Overall, he is always able to take a part of a sports film or a part of sports that might not necessarily be the most interesting part of it and make it interesting enough for you to be invested and enjoy.

[22:19] Olaf: Right. Well, and it's, again, three baseball movies, which, spoiler alert, they're all on this list. But they're all three drastically different types of baseball movies.

[22:28] J.J.: Yeah. I mean, where he's playing a totally different element of the film in this one. He's an aging pitcher who's on the mound in Yankee Stadium, you know, and what could be his last game of his career. And while he's on the mound, he's recapping his sort of this last five years of his life.

[22:49] Olaf: And you're right. No, you're absolutely right. There's on paper you're going, is this going to work? And it may not have worked with anybody else.

[22:57] J.J.: Like, again, this is a different sport than baseball. But a perfect example of his ability to take something not necessarily interesting and make it a compelling movie is Draft Day. He turned the NFL draft into something really entertaining to watch.

[23:15] Olaf: I would agree with that.

[23:16] J.J.: And he has a lot to do with it. Obviously, he's driving the bus, so to speak, in that in all of these in the movies we're talking about with him. The NFL having the NFL sort of fully endorsed this film, that film helped as well. It wasn't like we're going to do this movie about the draft and we're going to have like fake NFL team or fake professional football teams like some other football movies.

[23:39] Olaf: And that's a totally different subject.

[23:41] J.J.: But I agree with you. And so for me, and again, I just rewatched For the Love of the Game probably a couple months ago. And I forgot how much I really enjoyed the movie because I'd seen it. I've seen it before. It's been quite some time. And because they're not having to deal with technology or things that of the current day, it's baseball. The game, for the most part, is the same.

[24:07] Olaf: I think I would have to give it a rewatch.

[24:10] J.J.: But I know that when I watched it, I was invested in it because it's just what he is able to do with most of his movies.

[24:20] Olaf: All right.

[24:21] J.J.: So I feel like I kind of got some sort of seal of approval from you on that one.

[24:26] Olaf: Yeah.

[24:27] J.J.: Not that that's what I'm going for. I'm not going for your approval. I'm just feeling like we were on the same page.

[24:32] Olaf: And I want to give it to you.

[24:35] J.J.: It's just hard when it comes to Kevin Costner films because he has this ability to take something that's not necessarily exciting and interesting and make it so, so sure on the strength of his abilities. Yeah, that movie works.

[24:50] Olaf: Yeah, I would agree, but if you put somebody else in it, probably wouldn't have.

[24:55] J.J.: Right, exactly. No, I think we're in complete agreement with that. So number 11, we're about to get to right before we get to the top 10, my top 10. We're at number 11 where we really start getting nasty, which is right before we get nasty here. I'm gonna give you my number one of the bottom 10 at number 11: Moneyball.

[25:14] Olaf: Wow, I kind of expected that to be in the top 10. It almost was. I tell you what, based on the bottom five, I'm not surprised you're happy that it's at 11.

[25:29] J.J.: Yeah, I'm relieved. It's not lower.

[25:34] Olaf: Right. Wow, okay, that's really surprising. I love this movie. I love it, but I love it for clearly for what it is and what it, again, true story is. Again, talking about how much he loves it that he put it lower than it deserves.

[25:49] J.J.: But you haven't even heard my top 10.

[25:56] Olaf: That's true. Who's to say that? I feel like anyway, I'm glad that I haven't heard certain titles in your bottom 10, but...

[26:02] J.J.: That's true, yeah, you should be looking at that. You should be looking at the upside of that is that there are certain films that still have the potential to be higher or right where you want them to be on your list.

[26:14] Olaf: But it's such a good film. It is fantastic. It's fit. Everybody in it is nailing it. Everybody. It made me like Jonah Hill more because I definitely gotten tired of him for a bit.

[26:28] J.J.: Yeah, but this book is, this was his first dramatic role. Yeah, I was like his first opportunity to do something separate from the Judd Apatow train of things. Superbad, obviously, and don't get me wrong, I loved a lot of his stuff when he was younger. Superbad, fantastic. Yeah, 21 and 22 Jump Street, amazing, but he did those after this movie.

[26:55] Olaf: I know he did, but I'm just saying that I thought his dramatic role in this was fantastic.

[27:02] J.J.: Yeah, I agree. It allowed him to play against anything that he'd done before because the reality of it with Brad Pitt is sometimes you're just like Tom Cruise. You're just watching Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. You're watching Tom Cruise be Tom Cruise. It's hard to...

[27:18] Olaf: Every once in a while, you don't see Brad Pitt; you see whatever character he's playing. In this particular case, he's playing Billy Bean, who's a real person, or you know, with the Oakland Athletics who decided to go analytics to build a team. There are certain, clearly like most true stories, they take some liberties with timeline, with players, whether or not these specific players are on the team, how these players were cut and picked up and traded and whatnot. But from the just sheer, but like you said, performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, that's the manager. He's like, "Why do my... why do I'm gonna play my lineup?" And their interactions, Chris Pratt.

[28:06] J.J.: Yeah, I know, isn't it? You know, in his in-between weight fluctuations of what he's doing and roles. I love Moneyball. It does get the love that it deserves over ten years later still, and yeah, it doesn't get the love from...

[28:23] Olaf: It does not make my top ten. So without further ado, number ten: The Rookie.

[28:28] J.J.: Dennis Quaid, 2002. Again, I don't know what your other nine movies are. I would probably put that... it was tough because again, and it's true, it's not hyperbole. I'm not, you know, just saying it to say it.

[28:42] Olaf: You just love it.

[28:42] J.J.: I love The Rookie. I auditioned for The Rookie back in the day.

[28:50] Olaf: Did you audition for the little boy?

[28:50] J.J.: I was going to, but I still had some five o'clock shadow. I couldn't get rid of the five o'clock. They were like, "You've got the height. We believe you could be Dennis Quaid's son. The problem is that beard is just a bit... it's just too darn loud."

[29:08] J.J.: Yeah, The Rookie is fantastic. I mean, it is pure Disney, but man, it's pure Disney in all the right ways. I mean, it's so emotional. I dare you not to get choked up watching The Rookie. Dennis Quaid is just fantastic in it. It's just so well constructed.

[29:32] Olaf: Yeah, the execution of the film, the relationship that Brian Cox is in a lot of it, but you like the relationship he has with Dennis Quaid, that sort of a strain he and his wife. So again, liberties they took there too in terms of telling the story and sure, the overall never giving up on your dream, you're never too old, you know, to pursue this. They hit a home run big and it definitely, just like a couple of your other films here, deserve a higher place on...

[30:07] J.J.: They can't all be number one, man.

[30:07] Olaf: They can't all be number one.

[30:09] J.J.: They can't all be number five or number nine, which number nine for me is early 90s, 1992, I believe. I feel like it came out of nowhere and it struck a chord, and it's still striking that chord: A League of Their Own.

[30:27] Olaf: Whoa.

[30:28] J.J.: Okay, see, this is gonna be... this is why I'm enjoying this because I'm looking at the eight above it and I'm thinking you're gonna make this reaction going, "This should be higher. This should be higher." They're not... they can't all be number one.

[30:41] Olaf: They can't all be in the top five. This is how good this... this ship's a test. I'm sorry, A League of Their Own.

[30:47] J.J.: This is too hot... incredible. I agree, but this is a testament to A League of Their Own is that there are... it is a fantastic, it is incredible. Penny Marshall, I'm just telling you right now, I can almost guarantee that you've got certain movies still to come because I haven't heard them yet, and at least one of those is not as good as A League of Their Own.

[31:12] Olaf: I think like I could agree with somebody that would put Bull Durham in the top ten. I get that. I agree with it. It's funny, it's entertaining, but A League of Their Own is a superior film to Bull Durham.

[31:29] J.J.: And yeah, I don't even know where you've got it placed because I know you've got it on your list.

[31:33] Olaf: It would be crazy, and I already mentioned that the trifecta of Kevin Costner baseball movies are on this list, so it is on this list, and we haven't gotten to it yet.

[31:41] J.J.: Yeah, but there's not enough that can be said about A League of Their Own.

[31:48] Olaf: Well, apparently in your eyes there...

[31:50] J.J.: Well, there is. Look, I mean, I saw this in the theater. You were basically like, "You're lucky you even made my top ten."

[31:57] Olaf: I really thought about putting you down with Never a Big League, never because you both have league in the title, and I just...

[32:10] J.J.: Tom Hanks, I'm so sorry. Everyone in that is so good. There is not a weak character in it, even the rest of the team.

[32:22] Olaf: Oh, yeah, that you don't get to know as well as key players do such a solid job. Like this ensemble is amazing.

[32:31] J.J.: Oh, yeah, John Lovitz isn't incredible. John Lovitz makes such an impression, and he's in it for what, minutes?

[32:40] Olaf: Five, yeah, minutes maybe, and it is like...

[32:44] J.J.: You can think about the entire movie and you still don't forget John Lovitz.

[32:50] Olaf: No, in fact, he is so good in it. I would say probably, I mean, behind Tom Hanks, has the most quotable dialogue in that movie.

[32:58] J.J.: It's like Hanks and Lovitz and then maybe some Gary Marshall get like these lines of the film that are just quoted for years and years and years.

[33:05] Olaf: Yeah. Oh, he's so fun. He's so good in it. I hate it when they get attached to me, sir. You're well, I'm gonna go home, give the wife a good old pickle-tickle.

[33:20] J.J.: No, I thought one of the great things I love about the movie and his course, Tom Hanks prior to this movie, there was like a window there of years where Tom Hanks was kind of in this rut of late 80s, early 90s. It was like a four-year period where he was churning out some stuff. Some of it was good: Turner and Hooch, The Burbs, others not so much.

[33:40] Olaf: See, I agree. The Burbs is a completely unsung...

[33:47] J.J.: Yeah, it's underrated. It is so underrated. It flopped at the box office and that stigma still follows it. Like a lot of people still haven't seen it, and if they haven't, they think, "Oh, that was that movie. That was really bad," 35 years later.

[34:06] Olaf: Yeah, and it's so good.

[34:13] J.J.: Yeah, but we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about baseball movies and the atrocity that is happening right now with A League of Their Own barely making it onto your top ten.

[34:20] Olaf: You know what they did though? They made the roster. They are in the ninth spot, and some hitters in the ninth spot can do some damage. A League of Their Own is in the starting lineup. They're not coming off the bench. They're not in the bullpen. They are on the field.

[34:38] J.J.: Okay, what was better than A League of Their Own? What was number...

[34:43] Olaf: Pride of the Yankees.

[34:47] J.J.: Hey, this is my list. Gary Cooper, Lou Gehrig. I could put Pride of the Yankees on the list anywhere within the top 15. Like if you had had it down in 12, 13, or I would be like, "Yeah, okay, sure, totally get that." Like I feel like it has to be within the first 15 just out of respect.

[35:08] Olaf: I get that, but what disrespect to put it ahead of A League of Their Own?

[35:14] J.J.: There's a lot of people that definitely would agree with you. There's a lot of people that would definitely agree with you.

[35:20] Olaf: What was number 10 again? That was another one?

[35:24] J.J.: No, The Rookie.

[35:28] Olaf: Yeah, I would have put both of those above Pride of the Yankees.

[35:28] J.J.: Thank you.

[35:34] Olaf: It's hard not to, and again, having seen that movie when I was younger and then subsequently in my teen years and early 20s. Does it hold up? I think it still does.

[35:40] J.J.: Maybe not.

[35:41] Olaf: I clearly doesn't hold up as much as A League of Their Own because A League of Their Own is only 32-ish years old, where Pride of the Yankees is significantly older.

[35:46] J.J.: A League of Their Own is timeless.

[35:47] Olaf: It is. I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying for me...

[35:55] J.J.: I'm just saying for me, Pride of the Yankees...

[35:58] Olaf: Disagree. But if you'd like, we can quickly move past Pride of the Yankees and get to number seven.

[36:04] J.J.: You at this point are you spreading scared of what's to come?

[36:16] Olaf: I'm not really scared. It's more of a storm cloud that's approaching. Like what else is coming? Number seven: The Natural.

[36:29] J.J.: Okay, seeing you're trying to wrestle with the idea that that is an okay seven spot. Again, I don't know what the other movies are, but would I put it at number five?

[36:42] Olaf: Okay.

[36:52] J.J.: I'll watch it at least once a year. Redford? Classic Redford. This was like...

[36:57] Olaf: Oh, he's incredible.

[36:59] J.J.: Probably a little too old to be playing this role, but it doesn't matter. He gets a pass because of the charm and the panache that he brings to this role.

[37:09] Olaf: Well, I don't think the age was a problem because they really made him look younger and then I think they aged him up a little bit on the time jump.

[37:17] J.J.: I don't think... I think it's just... I'd like to believe that and there's a part of me that I don't think even you believe what you just said. And I say that just because...

[37:33] Olaf: Well, I mean, he could have just... But Hollywood is notoriously bad for just like, hey, we're going to put a bunch of 30-year-olds in high school and they're going to sing songs and it's going to be great.

[37:43] J.J.: Sure.

[37:44] Olaf: So when we have to believe that at the beginning of The Natural that he's 23, it's a bit of a leap because then it only jumps like...

[37:52] J.J.: I mean, it's a little bit of a stretch, but he still looks good for playing a younger version of himself. And then coming back after the time jump, I kind of believed it. I mean, so I don't know. The age thing never bothered me. I enjoyed that movie very much.

[38:12] Olaf: Yeah. And I'm kind of surprised that it's number seven. I don't know. I'm still wrestling with some of your other choices on this list. So The Natural, yeah. I mean, it probably works at seven, but I'm still waiting to hear what the other ones are.

[38:28] J.J.: So number six to me might get some heat, but I really enjoy this movie.

[38:36] Olaf: You really enjoy all of them so much to put them at lower rankings.

[38:40] J.J.: I feel like you would have number one, 1A, 1B, 1C, everything would be one with a letter after it, which is fine.

[38:47] Olaf: No, I don't. I wouldn't do that.

[38:49] J.J.: Number six with an asterisk.

[38:52] Olaf: Hold on. Why is there an asterisk?

[38:53] J.J.: Because there's an asterisk in the title of the movie. 61. The Home Run Chase, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane play the two. Billy Crystal directs. I believe it got the HBO love. It didn't get a theatrical release.

[39:11] Olaf: Yeah, which then...

[39:12] J.J.: Oh, are you telling me that it shouldn't be on this list because of that?

[39:17] Olaf: That's tricky.

[39:18] J.J.: It's tricky because you think it's right where it needs to be or you don't think it should be on this list at all.

[39:22] Olaf: I'm not sure it should be on the list because it wasn't an actual film.

[39:27] J.J.: It was a film. No, no, no. It was not a documentary.

[39:30] Olaf: It was a TV movie.

[39:30] J.J.: It was a feature film that was on HBO ahead of its time, mind you, because if it were on HBO now, it would be on this list because it would be streaming on Macs.

[39:40] Olaf: Okay, let's...

[39:42] J.J.: Hold on.

[39:43] Olaf: Okay, we'll allow it. Is that the only thing that's preventing or do you have issues with the fact that it's at six or the movie itself? Or are you just like, this was a movie that got HBO and not the theater?

[39:54] J.J.: No, I have a couple issues with it. And by the way, IMDb classifies it as a TV movie.

[40:01] Olaf: I'm not disagreeing. It was on HBO. It did not get a theatrical release.

[40:05] J.J.: Well, anyway, I don't want to knock the performances and I certainly don't want to knock Billy Crystal because, A, Billy Crystal is amazing.

[40:16] Olaf: And if anybody's going to do this...

[40:18] J.J.: And if there's anyone that I'd want to listen to baseball, I'd want to hear it from Billy Crystal because the man has such a passion for it.

[40:28] Olaf: And for Yankees baseball, being from New York, yeah.

[40:32] J.J.: But listening to him talk about what baseball means to him, just watch City Slickers. He is so wonderful.

[40:42] Olaf: But I couldn't put it in sixth place. I don't even think I could put it in the top 10.

[40:47] J.J.: That's fair. And I say that because I understand that this is my list. This is in terms of how these movies, how they've affected me.

[40:57] Olaf: I could see it wouldn't be in a lot of people's top 10.

[41:00] J.J.: No, I think it should be in the... We'll be fair and give it in the...

[41:04] Olaf: Top 15?

[41:05] J.J.: Yeah, the 11 to 15 range. And you would have to put Moneyball in the top 10.

[41:12] Olaf: There's a lot moving around in here. Goodness gracious. It's hard to keep track of this.

[41:16] J.J.: Should be writing it down.

[41:17] Olaf: Wow. I can't believe 61 is number six.

[41:22] J.J.: Which brings us to the top five, my top five baseball movies. I'm going to repeat that. They're my top five baseball movies, starting with number five.

[41:27] Olaf: I feel like a lot of people would have this one higher, but I'm putting Eight Men Out in my five spot, which doesn't get a lot of love now, which is unfortunate because it's a fantastic film about the White Sox gambling, throwing games.

[41:48] J.J.: It's really not bad.

[41:49] Olaf: It's great. And the cast, if you look at that cast, like we were talking about earlier with Angels on the Outfield. If we're going to talk about cast, you look at that one.

[41:58] J.J.: To me, I feel like it's in other people's slightly higher. Just from a purist baseball film, but the subject matter, the performances, there's no shine to it because of what it is. And you already know going in, you're like, this isn't going to end well for anybody involved here.

[42:20] Olaf: I thought they did an amazing job of portraying the time, the scandal of, for those of you who may not know Eight Men Out, it's about 1919, Chicago White Sox, also known as the Black Sox, throwing World Series games and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

[42:39] J.J.: That's how he got tossed from the game for life. D.B. Sweeney plays Shoeless Joe.

[42:46] Olaf: Oh yeah. I just, nah, I couldn't put it in my top five.

[42:51] J.J.: Okay. Hey, again.

[42:52] Olaf: But you have four films left and I haven't heard some titles and I'm just like...

[42:59] J.J.: So I'm curious because you haven't heard, there's four, obviously right, there's four films left. You haven't heard titles. So I'm wondering, oh my goodness, I wouldn't put these in my top four. There's things I'm hearing from you silently. Or where does he have this one? Because I would probably have, it would be in my top four, but maybe not in this position that it ends up in.

[43:17] Olaf: Well, I'm also wondering, does he even have this one at all?

[43:20] J.J.: Well, I feel like with four movies left, if I...

[43:23] Olaf: Like, does this one get an honorable mention over Little Big League and Mr. 3000?

[43:32] J.J.: When I make these lists, I always look at the bottom and I go, man, I should probably rethink at least the bottom five because a lot of times when I get to my top, I don't ever question my top four or five.

[43:44] Olaf: So in the cleanup spot, in the number four, in the cleanup spot, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, it's Major League.

[43:54] J.J.: I am so worried about the top three now.

[44:02] Olaf: I love it. I love it. I love it. Oh my goodness.

[44:06] J.J.: I mean, thank God it made the top five.

[44:10] Olaf: Was there any doubt? Of course there was in your mind.

[44:12] J.J.: If you're doubting everything about this list.

[44:14] Olaf: The way things have been going? Yes, I had lots of doubts.

[44:17] J.J.: By the time I got to seven...

[44:19] Olaf: I was like, is he even going to mention Major League?

[44:21] J.J.: By the time I got to seven, all doubt would have been... I mean, at this point, if you hadn't said Major League yet, I'm surprised I didn't hear Major League, Back to the Minors.

[44:33] Olaf: Which Major League 2 and Back to the Minors are atrocious films.

[44:38] J.J.: Wow. Way to give Scott...

[44:40] Olaf: And I love Scott Bakula, but Major League 2.

[44:44] J.J.: I was so excited when Major League 2 was about to come out.

[44:47] Olaf: And then I wasn't because they gave it a PG rating.

[44:50] J.J.: And I went, wait a second.

[44:52] Olaf: And not to say that what makes Major League so great is that it's R and all these others, but there are so many moments in this movie in Major League that are so great, whether it's because of content or not, but they were just...

[45:07] J.J.: They didn't care.

[45:07] Olaf: They were given this, like, we're going to make this film and we're just going to swing for the fences.

[45:12] J.J.: And they did.

[45:13] Olaf: They hit a grand slam.

[45:15] J.J.: They had a home run. So when 2 came out, and not that I'm going to belabor 2, they went in the total opposite direction.

[45:21] Olaf: And it was garbage compared to what came before.

[45:24] J.J.: But no, Major League, there's so much to say about how amazing this movie is from quoting it, from the performances, all of them.

[45:34] Olaf: You talk about ensemble like League of Their Own. The ensemble of Major League is why this movie is so great because it's not one singular performance that makes this movie great.

[45:44] J.J.: No, everybody's great. The movie is great.

[45:47] Olaf: Yeah.

[45:47] J.J.: I love Major League. I never get tired of it.

[45:51] Olaf: And yeah, it definitely deserves to be top five.

[45:55] J.J.: I would probably... Based on my last three, you'd probably put it above...

[45:59] Olaf: Well, I know you'd put it above one of them.

[46:01] J.J.: Yeah. I don't think Bull Durham, which I know you're going to mention here at some point...

[46:05] Olaf: God help me.

[46:06] J.J.: It's not number one.

[46:10] Olaf: I've already said I could justify it being in the top 10, but it would be like number 10.

[46:17] J.J.: Well, let's move on to number three then, which is Bull Durham.

[46:21] Olaf: Bull Durham is my number three.

[46:23] J.J.: Yeah, no.

[46:24] Olaf: So going back to your Kevin Costner theory or opinion, I agree.

[46:30] J.J.: I mean, we're talking about minor league baseball now. We're not even talking about a Major League Baseball story.

[46:37] Olaf: And we're really not even talking about baseball in and of itself.

[46:40] J.J.: And that's what I kind of love about the Kevin Costner trilogy of baseball movies is that baseball is sort of like just an additional character to the story itself.

[46:50] Olaf: Yeah, it really is just like a background character.

[46:54] J.J.: But it's just as important.

[46:55] Olaf: Which is another reason why I would put it lower.

[46:58] J.J.: But it's just as important. It's not like they happen to be playing baseball.

[47:03] Olaf: It is part of the fabric of the movie.

[47:07] J.J.: Susan Sarandon's character, her life is this minor league team.

[47:11] Olaf: So there is some importance to it.

[47:14] J.J.: And it is one of those movies, like you said, on paper and maybe with another actor, it might not have worked.

[47:22] Olaf: But with him, Tim Robbins, I don't even know.

[47:28] J.J.: Because Randy Johnson wasn't in the league yet.

[47:30] Olaf: But I don't know. Prior to that, I had seen a guy that tall on a pitcher's mound in life or in a movie.

[47:37] J.J.: And until Randy Johnson came into the league.

[47:40] Olaf: But the whole dynamic between Robbins and Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, that dynamic, the other supporting players, which didn't get a lot of love either.

[47:51] J.J.: You don't really know them. They could be considered throwaway characters.

[47:54] Olaf: The moment on the mound when they're all trying to figure out what's going on.

[47:58] J.J.: There's just a lot of different moments in that movie that for its time, and even now, I don't know, still work.

[48:06] Olaf: And it's still one of those movies that I'd be like, yeah, I'll definitely watch Bull Durham again, for sure.

[48:12] J.J.: Yeah, definitely not in the top five.

[48:16] Olaf: But you've got it at number three.

[48:21] J.J.: Here we are, the last two standing. This is where I love this.

[48:25] Olaf: Because I feel like you have a firm grasp on what one of them will be, obviously, based on what I've talked about.

[48:33] J.J.: Oh, if I would be floored.

[48:36] Olaf: Well, I don't know. At this point, based on your list.

[48:39] J.J.: No, I still would be floored if one of these is not in it.

[48:42] Olaf: I'll be curious. Because if we get to it and I don't list whatever movie you're thinking, I'll be curious as to what it is you think I should put on here.

[48:51] J.J.: Okay, so we're at the last two. Just go ahead, hit me with two and one together.

[48:58] Olaf: And we'll debate whether...

[49:00] J.J.: Yeah, because I'm pretty sure they probably need to be switched based on the large amount of titles that need to be switched on this list.

[49:09] Olaf: But...

[49:10] J.J.: Before I hit you with 2 and 1, these two for me were hard. At this point, it's kind of like both of these movies are so great and hit me on two totally different levels. Is it 1 and 1A? But I got Sandlot as my number 2 and Field of Dreams as my number 1.

[49:30] Olaf: Okay. I can't really argue that one. I wasn't sure. Is this what you were thinking or did you think I was going to leave Sandlot off the list or something insane?

[49:42] J.J.: Well, I was starting to wonder if Field of Dreams was going to happen and then I was like, he probably has it at number 1. And then I was starting to think, would I have it at number 1? Well, now that I've let you know what they are, I at least want to talk a little bit about both of them.

[49:59] Olaf: Sure. Absolutely. But I would say Field of Dreams is probably everybody's number 1. I can't think of too many baseball films out there that could really throw its weight around and say, I'm better than Field of Dreams.

[50:18] J.J.: I think Sandlot has an argument for different reasons.

[50:21] Olaf: Sure. But I could probably argue that League of Their Own is better than Sandlot. Now that might be controversial and I could be raising some eyebrows, but I'm just speaking from really more of a baseball movie perspective.

[50:42] J.J.: Because Sandlot really does capture the essence of baseball and more importantly, it captures the love of baseball for a kid.

[50:52] Olaf: Yes. In that time period.

[50:54] J.J.: In that time period. And it's so good, but it's also not solely about baseball.

[51:01] Olaf: No, it's not. Neither is Field of Dreams though.

[51:03] J.J.: But League of Their Own is just a pure baseball movie with an all-star cast. Based on a true story. Based on all the true time in history. Sandlot, again...

[51:17] Olaf: Based on the list that you gave me, Sandlot, definitely in the top 5. Field of Dreams, definitely in the top 5. Major League, definitely in the top 5.

[51:26] J.J.: Major League, definitely in the top 5. And I think League of Their Own should have been in the top 5. And that's, again, I could look at this list and revisit and go, I could put League of Their Own, wouldn't be in my top 5, but I could put it in my top 6 or 7 for sure.

[51:42] Olaf: And again, I love League of Their Own. I love League of Their Own. I love Sandlot. Sandlot to me is one...

[51:49] J.J.: Who doesn't love Sandlot?

[51:50] Olaf: Sandlot to me is one of those movies, kind of like American Graffiti, where it's a movie set 15 to 20 years after it was made. American Graffiti was made in 1972, 73, set in the early 60s, late 50s, early 60s. And you forget that.

[52:09] J.J.: Grease, same deal, made in 78. So you have Sandlot, which came out in 1993, set in the 60s. And you forget that when you're watching it, you're like, I'm in the 60s. This is like, they did such an amazing job of putting you in that world, of making you feel all of these things. Kids in the 90s that were watching this movie, it was like that generation of kids before the internet came around a little bit later, where that innocence of, I'm going to go, hey, mom, I'm going to go run down with my friends to the baseball diamond. And that innocence, that lost innocence of Americana. And it just had all... It hit all the right buttons.

[52:50] Olaf: Oh, absolutely. And the soundtrack is fantastic.

[52:53] J.J.: The characters themselves. You could pick a player off of that team and go, I can relate to this. It was the Mighty Ducks. That's why the movie is so good. It's not just that they did a great job of capturing that time period, but they did such a great job of making these kids so relatable and capturing that time for all of us as kids. We had those relationships. We had those people in our lives. And we struggled through those issues, whether it was baseball or whatever else at that age. And that's why I think so many people, especially of our generation, love that movie so much is because it really spoke to our childhood. And I think if you didn't like baseball that much after watching that movie, I think you liked it more.

[53:49] Olaf: Yeah, I would agree. I would agree with that. It's not a movie that you have to enjoy baseball. You just have to enjoy being a kid and hanging out with your friends. And baseball is that, again, that additional character that brings these kids together.

[54:16] J.J.: Again, I'm not going to gloss over my number one here. Field of Dreams has got so many beautiful, amazing moments. It's Kevin Costner, who's not even playing now. This was like the second of the trilogy. He went from playing minor league catcher in Bull Durham to just the guy whose dad played, but he wanted nothing to do with it. So I love the father-son element of it, which gets everybody, but it gets me every time. It's one of those movies. There are certain movies that make me cry every time I see it. It doesn't matter. It's almost like a Pavlovian or Pavlovian response with this movie that I know it's coming. You know it's coming.

[55:03] Olaf: Oh, that's me with Rudy.

[55:04] J.J.: Rudy, Dead Poets Society for me, Field of Dreams.

[55:08] Olaf: Oh, there's so many.

[55:10] J.J.: Field of Dreams is just, it really is amazing. And again, it's Kevin Costner doing his thing, doing his magic. And he, honestly, I think he's such a great supporting character in this movie. Like the movie itself is beautifully shot. All the characters in it are, they feel real, they feel natural. And James Earl Jones just owns every moment that he's there. And it's so good.

[55:45] Olaf: Burt Lancaster for me.

[55:47] J.J.: Burt Lancaster. I mean, honestly, I love him in anything. Just listening to him talk about anything is fantastic. I'd heard a story about Burt Lancaster. He was doing a movie with-

[56:04] Olaf: Kirk Douglas.

[56:05] J.J.: Kirk Douglas. Yeah, Tough Guys. I think it was Tough Guys. Mid 80s.

[56:08] Olaf: Yeah.

[56:08] J.J.: And they both had to autograph a picture. And Burt was using a very large marker. And then he only had a small little marker for Kirk Douglas. And Kirk Douglas says to the PA or whatever, he's like, I'm not signing this without a same size pen. And the PA goes to Burt Lancaster's trailer and knocks on it. And Burt opens the door. And all he does is he pulls out the giant marker and goes, I believe you're looking for this.

[56:47] Olaf: That intense whisper when he would deliver anything. Yeah.

[56:50] J.J.: Yeah. So fun. And somebody who could do better impressions of them would make that story so much better. But-

[56:58] Olaf: Yeah. Field of Dreams for me, and I've been to Field of Dreams twice. I've been to the- again, one of those things where people make that pilgrimage to go out there. The field is still there. And of course, now MLB has gotten involved in the last couple of years with actual games there. But I've been to Field of Dreams and I've run the bases a few times. It's amazing. It's an amazing thing. Side note, my really good friend Wes, his stepfather was a ghost player in the movie. Bob McCabe. Shout out to Bob McCabe. He was a ghost player. He passed away a few years ago, but he was a ghost player in the film. And then when the movie came out and it was such a big hit, that team, they had a ghost players team would tour around the world, around the country and around the world and play games as the ghost team that was in the movie, which I thought was really cool.

I mean, he had the jacket. I got to put the jacket on and he had a book. And it's a really cool sort of thing that came out of this movie. At the end of the day, it's about this strained relationship between a guy and his father through baseball, through Shoeless Joe Jackson.

[58:15] Olaf: No, it's incredible. It's magical. It changed the way so many of us look at cornfields. It really is a solid film and it definitely deserves to be at number one.

[58:31] J.J.: I can't argue that one, but man, the rest of your list is... There's so much reworking that needs to be done on that. A couple of them need to just get off the list in general.

[58:48] Olaf: That's why it's good to talk and workshop this because I look at this list and again, I wouldn't change my... You're lucky that no one listens to this.

[59:01] J.J.: Here's the thing. I would encourage people to tell me what their top 10, what their top 20 are, and to tell me that some of these movies have no business being on this list. Absolutely, because it's not going to affect how these movies affected me and that's the beautiful thing about it. I could debate the bottom five for sure and even the middle five. I'm pretty sure we've been able to debate all five sections of this list. There were, what, three movies where I was like, yeah, okay, maybe four.

[59:37] Olaf: And that's great.

[59:38] J.J.: The rest of it was just like, I don't know what you're talking about.

[59:41] Olaf: It's so easy to be over there with your baseball bat, just swinging, just taking shots at my list.

[59:48] J.J.: Look, does my disagreeing make this more entertaining? Absolutely.

[59:53] Olaf: Absolutely. But do I want to agree with you? Yes. And I could not, not in good faith, because some of those movies demand way more respect. And how dare you? It's just, it's not a lot of room at the top, not a lot of room at the top. So, come up with your own list.

[1:00:13] J.J.: Well, we'll definitely be doing more lists on this podcast as time goes by. So, you definitely want to tune in and check out what we do next. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a list, but man, do I love pulling my hair out for the list that JJ comes up with. They are insane.

[1:00:36] Olaf: I love it. Well, until then, we will sign off for now. And until next time, we'll do this again.

[1:00:42] J.J.: Yeah, absolutely. To be continued.