Houston Astros:
Home of Minute Maid park and the former Astrodome, the Houston Astros have been one of the best stories in sports this year using their young nucleous of players to make a 16 game improvement from last year and finishe 86-76 enough to lock down a spot in the wild card game which they emerged from victorious against the Yankees. But enough about the team let's look at the best Houston set film...
Boyhood (2014)
Boyhood is a 2014 American independent coming-of-age drama film, written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Shot intermittently from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans, Jr. (Coltrane) from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas with divorced parents (Arquette and Hawke).
I was tempted to go with Reality Bites or maybe even The Sugarland Express but The Golden Globe award winner for Best Drama Film in 2014 and the Oscar winner Boyhood was hard to look past, sure it's filmed all over Texas but a huge segment is in Houston which is why Boyhood is the best Houston set film.
Kansas City Royals:
Last year everyone, safe for St. Louis Cardinals fans were behind the Royals wanting them to win the World Series unfortunately they cam up just short and lost to the Cardinals in a 7th and deciding game. Everyone loves an underdog but the Royals ran away with their division this year en route to the American League's best record. But what is the best Kansas City set film?
The Lookout (2007)
The Lookout is a 2007 crime film written and directed by Scott Frank, screenwriter of Out of Sight and Get Shorty, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, and Isla Fisher. Chris (Gordon-Levitt), a star athlete, has the world at his feet. Then a devastating car accident leaves him with brain damage and his bright future dimmed. He takes a job as a bank janitor and must write everything down in a small notepad in order to remember. Some former schoolmates lure Chris into their inner circle and rope him into helping them carry out a heist at the bank.
The obvious answer here was The Wizard of Oz and it's "we're not in Kansas anymore" line but Oz is not in Kansas so I couldn't justify it. I also could've went with another JGL film "Looper" but The Lookout is just a bit better. And I'm not the only one who thinks so given it's 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Texas Rangers:
When their ace, Yu Darvish went down early it looked like Texas was not going to be a contender this year, Houston had a big lead at the trade deadline so the Rangers made moves that were designed for 2016 and beyond, such as trading for Phillies ace Cole Hamels. Little did they realize Houston would slow up the second half and the Rangers ended up running away with the American League West until the last week of the season when they were slowed down by the surging LA Angels who were themselves trying to sneak into a playoff spot but on the last day of the season they clinched it. Now Texas plays in Arlington which is in the Dallas area so the best movie is...
The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998)
In a small Texas town, a mysterious black substance emanating from the remains of a prehistoric human engulfs a young boy and his rescuers. Later, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are in Dallas to disarm a bomb set to detonate inside a federal facility. Unfortunately the bomb explodes -- leaving four inside dead. Mulder and Scully then receive a tip that the disaster was a government effort to cover-up an alien virus linked to the boy's death.
This was surprisingly tough since not to many movies take place in the Dallas area we had to go with the first X-Files movie which takes place in North Texas, Antarctica and Washington, DC but the mystery that makes this X-Files movie so great is in a cave near Dallas also the movie is pretty fantastic, way better than the second X-Files movie... Seriously don't watch it.
Toronto Blue Jays:
The Blue Jays were a team under .500 when the trade deadline came near and although they upgraded on the off-season adding stars Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin. It was the deadline when they made over their roster adding 2 more superstars in David Price and Troy Tulowitzki as well as complementary pieces in Ben Revere, Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins. Toronto will try to hold off elimination tonight against Texas but if they do lose we'll always have this movie...
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
As bass guitarist for a garage-rock band, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) has never had trouble getting a girlfriend; usually, the problem is getting rid of them. But when Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) skates into his heart, he finds she has the most troublesome baggage of all: an army of ex-boyfriends who will stop at nothing to eliminate him from her list of suitors.
I love love love this movie. It's probably one of my top five films all time so when picking a movie set in Toronto, it was a no brainer. It had to be Scott taking on the legion of evil exes of his current girlfriend, Ramona, with help from his bandmates in Sex Bomb-omb and ex girlfriend Knives Chau. It's funny, it's action packed, it's very self-aware of it's eccentricities and is very comic and video game driven... Yeah!!!
Now onto the National League teams...
Chicago Cubs:
Which professional sports team haven't won it all in over a 100 years? You're looking at them! The Chicago Cubs last took home the World Series trophy in 1908 and haven't sniffed the Championship game since 1945. Could this be the year? The Cubs pulled into the playoffs as a wild card team defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one game playoff to meet their division rivals and owners of the best record in the National League... It'll be tough but even if they falter this season they are loaded with young stars and I would bet the Cubs see the World Series in the next 5 years.
Wanted (2008)
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. After his estranged father is murdered, he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley to tap into dormant powers. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.
Speaking of movies that rank among my favourites, no list would be complete without this thrilling-crime-action-adventure-fantasy and a whole bunch of other genres. Chicago is where Wesley lives and it's also where the Fraternity makes it's headquarters. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you're missing out. If you have then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about and we can be besties for life!
Los Angeles Dodgers:
The LA Dodgers used their usual blend of throwing money at problems to bring in some high class talent, but unlike their spend happy neighbours the Yankees, the Dodgers can often time find value in other places (Justin Turner) and also have quite a bit of home grown talent on the team (Pederson, Puig, Ellis, Seager). They won the West handidly this year since it's an odd numbered year and the Giants are a non-factor. It shouldn't be hard finding a great movie set in LA so let's go with...
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) gets hired by cartoon producer R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) to investigate an adultery scandal involving Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), the sultry wife of Maroon's biggest star, Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer). But when Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), Jessica's alleged paramour and the owner of Toontown, is found murdered, the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) vows to catch and destroy Roger.
So many great comedies took place in LA (Role Models, The Muppets, Beverly Hills Cop) not to mention all the high octane action flicks (Point Break, Bad Boys) and the thrilling crime stories (Training Day, Heat) we had to go for the cartoon/animation hybrid that was unlike anything you've ever seen in the 80's and was a staple of my childhood and remains a top watch for myself to this day.
New York Mets:
The Mets, much like the Cubs, entered the season with it looking to be a bridge year since the Nationals were favoured to win the division, hell even the World Series. However, injuries, inconsistancies and bad management put the Nats in such a hole that even breakout star and likely MVP Bryce Harper couldn't get them out which opened the doors for the Mets to take the division behind their young, studly starting pitching fronted by ace Matt Harvey that pushed #5 starter and the oldest guy in the National League Bartolo Colon to the bullpen.
Men In Black III (2012)
Even though agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) have been protecting the Earth from alien scum for many years, J still does not know much about his gruff partner. However, J soon gets an unexpected chance to find out what makes K tick when an alien criminal called Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes, goes back to 1969, and kills K. With the fate of the planet at stake, J goes back in time and teams up with K's younger self (Josh Brolin) to put things right.
Wanting to keep it on Long Island for the Mets made it slim pickings as only two films come to mind, this and The Warriors which both have segments on Coney Island. Sure The Warriors are all about them trying to get back to their home turf (Coney Island) but 85% of the movie is New York City with them fighting off gangs. At least all of the time-travelling stuff takes place on the Island until they head for Florida.
St. Louis Cardinals:
St. Louis has long been the poster organization of Major League Baseball. They have a great major league product, tons of depth in the minors as well as high ceiling top prospects. The Cards always seem to make great baseball deals all around. No wonder they were the only team to win 100 games and obviously hold the best record in baseball, They limped into the playoffs though and some wondered if they could make a push but so far so good as they've matched up well against a young Cubs team.
Up In The Air (2009)
An idea from a young, new co-worker (Anna Kendrick) would put an end to the constant travel of corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), so he takes her on a tour to demonstrate the importance of face-to-face meetings with those they must fire. While mentoring his colleague, he arranges hookups with another frequent-flier (Vera Farmiga), and his developing feelings for the woman prompt him to see others in a new light.
Yet another shocker... You'd figure more movies were based out of St. Louis but I guess not. Which is why I had to pick a movie whose primary focus is on airplane travel and the people you meet. A good portion does happen in St. Louis and the credits even thank the people of St. Louis so clearly they were instrumental in getting this terrific movie, and 6 time academy award nominee made.
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