Field of Dreams

So, once again while being a bump on the couch preparing to meet my maker it was a case of give me the remote, a crate of Kleenex, my drugs and a pot of tea, Mr. Yink can do his business on my copy of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 for all I care and it doesn't matter if you're banging at the door to tell me the place is burning down ....I ain't gittin' up! This might explain why I've ended up watching FIELD OF DREAMS damn near a dozen times in the last week.....enjoying it every single time. It's a film I have already seen at least a dozen times over the years and oddly enough I've never read the book. I've read, again-at least a dozen, other book by W.P. Kinsella, I've met the man and as far as I know once almost had the chance to go fishing with him but I've never read SHOELESS JOE, something I must rectify someday soon. Anyway, those of you who know me or read my blog on a regular basis know my love of baseball, hence, baseball movies touch a soft spot in my heart and as they go FIELD OF DREAMS ranks right up there with the very best of them. For the one or two people on the planet who've never seen this film I won't go into the story though even you know what it's about. It's about middle age and unfullfilled expectations, once again, baseball is just the back drop. Once again, Kevin Costner is in top form but the true show stopper here is James Earl Jones as the retired and jaded writer Terence Mann. For all of the work Jone shas done I don't think you will find anything better than what he brings to the plate here. Ray Liotta is surprisingly reserved as Joe Jackson but a real treat is Burt Lancaster as the elder Moonlight Graham in what would be his final big screen role. There is just so much going on in this film. The subplot involving Mann is based on Kinsella's real life adventures with J.D. Salinger, the stories of the old time ball players are true and the pathos of midlife dreams even more so. Again, for those one or two of you on the planet yet to see it...you owe yourself to do so and in closing it is worth noting that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were extras in the Fenway Park scenes!