TheNatural Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Erik Davis ordered me to come up with a new approach to summer movies, and he demanded that the concept be intelligent, engaging, and jam-packed with vowels and consonants. (One out of three isn't bad.) And since I'm a childish movie nerd who had a deep affection for all things nostalgic, my first idea was "Hey, let's have the writers pick their favorite 'movie summer' and write a piece about it." And since my next eleven ideas stunk, he said "Ugh, fine. Do your Favorite Summers thing. But don't forget the vowels."

Nearly all of the Cinematicaleers will be penning their own pieces, but since I like to lead by example (when I'm not leading by guilt), I figured I'd get the ball rolling first. (Special thanks to Box Office Mojo for displaying OLD release dates in very handy fashion.) Also, for the sake of this series, let's say "summer" counts as "May through August," even though May is technically spring and part of September is definitely summer.

5/4 -- The Bounty // Breakin' // Hardbodies // Sixteen Candles -- So which one of these would be the big "Iron Man" release? We got Gibson and Hopkins in a nautical remake; a whole lot of pop-lockin' looneys; a leering sex comedy that helped to kill the sub-genre of mid-'80s sex comedies; and the directorial debut of one John Hughes.

5/11 -- Firestarter // The Natural -- Robert Redford knocking the cover off a baseball and Drew Barrymore immolating George C. Scott. Now THAT's summer!

5/18 -- Finders Keepers // Making the Grade -- A pair of justifiably forgotten farces, yes, both of which I saw theatrically.

5/23 -- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- Even back in 1984 Indiana Jones demanded his very own weekend ... one that starts on a Wednesday, no less! I distinctly remember seeing this on the afternoon of opening day, and while I was waiting for Mom to come pick us up, there was a woman BERATING the box office girl. Honest! Something about the heart-tearing scene had upset her small child. And just like that, the PG-13 was born.

Though baseball season officially began last night, the season really gets underway today (and my Yanks are already in a rain delay!). So in honor of watching baseball for the next seven months, we're going to do something a little different here. Usually, these Stars in Rewind posts center on a particular actor in an old role or what have you. Today, we're celebrating an entire film. Here's where you probably expect a scene from a legendary baseball film like Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, The Natural, The Pride of the Yankees or The Benchwarmers. Oh no. Not this time. Instead, I've decided to go with a baseball flick I've seen over 30 times. One of the greatest films in the history of cinema. A classic. A gem.

The Sandlot. Oh yes. A ragtag group of neighborhood kids band together to try to save a baseball that was signed by Babe Ruth from a hidden monster behind a fence. But that's just the logline; there's so much more to love about this film -- like the friendships, the jokes, the characters and the way it brings back our own memories of what it was like to be a kid looking for some summertime trouble. Enjoy. Go Yanks!

When it comes to sports movies, it's nearly impossible to compare, say, Caddyshack and Rocky. One's a comedy about a golf tournament featuring a demented groundskeeper who talks to gophers; the other's a stirring boxing drama about the triumph of the scrappy underdog. Apples and oranges, right? Golf balls and boxing gloves -- Bill Murray vs. Sylvester Stallone. (I'm pretty sure I know who would win that fight.)

But we at Moviefone are nothing if not courageous (or stupid), so we threw caution to the wind and picked -- and then ranked -- the 25 best sports movies of all time. This was not, I assure you, an easy task. Things were said. Gauntlets were thrown. Heartfelt arguments were offered up as to why Major League is an honest-to-God classic. At one point I thought my colleague Kevin was going to go all Russell Crowe on my ass if we didn't include Cinderella Man on our list ... and don't get me started on our Raging Bull vs. Rocky showdown.

When the dust had settled, we had a list of 25 sports movies we felt were truly great. Of course, there's many a terrific movie we had to leave off -- but that's where the fun begins. Take a look and then let us know: How do you feel about our No. 1 choice? Which of our picks do you agree with, and which ones are you outraged we didn't include? So let the games begin, and remember: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes ... it rains.