Agent Palmer

I have a reverence for WarGames. It is one of my favorite movies of all time, and while I hold it in a sort of sacred category among movies, that does not mean that the direct-to-video sequel WarGames 2: The Dead Code is unbearable to me as it evidently has been to others.

I enjoy the film for what it is: a sequel for another time with a respectful honoring of the original. Is it the greatest film? No. Is it an decent popcorn film? Perhaps for some, but for me it is enjoyable; no more and no less.

Bull Durham is one of my favorite sports movies. The dialog is almost as punchy as some of the characters, and it really does grasp the spirit of minor league baseball. There exist three types of players in the minors: talent working towards the majors, veterans just hanging on, and solid baseball guys that just enjoy playing the game but don’t have much hope of getting called up any higher. This game, though it focuses on the first two, really…

There was a time, not that long ago, where aiming an animated movie at an older audience was quite the gamble. This time also overlaps with the period where Disney was still the king of animation for feature length cartoons and everyone else was lucky to even be mentioned…

Not everything is destined to be a hit or even lucky enough to get “cult classic” status. Ralph Bakshi, who I’ve written a lot about, has made a career of smaller independent cartoons targeted at older audiences that all have gained cult status.