Game 6

Game 6_720p(480P)

Game 6 is harks back images of Birdman another of Michael Keaton's gems. The movie belongs to him and he has done complete justice to his part. The movie touches upon topics of superstition, faith, and hope.The story takes place in New York in 1986. It takes allegories from the famous world series between Mets & Boston Red Sox game, that took place the same year. Game 6 is based on a story by acclaimed author Don DeLillo (who adapted the screenplay), Nick (Keaton) is a playwright who has a new drama opening the same night as the big playoff between Red Sox & Mets. Nick life squirms with demons that he has created for himself. He has a mistress, a dissatisfied wife a daughter who wishes he could pay more attention and last but not the least a constant doubt of success and win in his career. He is warned by his friends about how badly a review from Schwimmer could effect his career. Nick is in a way, scared of the review that the harsh 'phantom' critic, Schwimmer, (Downey) may give for his life's work. Although Downey has little screen time, he is effective as the most dreaded Broadway critic. The face-off between Downey & Keaton is electric and sort of funny at the time time. My favorite line in the movie – Toyota Moseby - Life is good! And these lines hold true for any critic. Have a heart! Truth is tough to hear but it can definitely be told in a gentler way. Paisley Porter: I didn't understand until today how much pain and anxiety you've been causing everybody with your reviews. Steven, it's completely unfair. Steven Schwimmer: It's unfair? Paisley Porter: Yes. Steven Schwimmer: The truth is always unfair. Paisley Porter: Well, it doesn't have to be. Steven Schwimmer: Why do you think I live this way? Why do you think I'm, I'm taking electricity from the lamp-post (gesturing outdoors) and hiding out? Why? Paisley Porter: Because you choose to. Steven Schwimmer: No. Because people who write the truth are the outcasts of society. I can't live openly. I can't live in a nice door-man building, with my name on the mailbox, because they'd, they'd come after me in packs! Paisley Porter: Not if you wrote the truth gently. Steven Schwimmer: But the truth is never gentle!

For the first half hour I hated this. I thought it was a total dud, an esoteric Woody-Allen-ish stream of consciousness designed for hip NYC urbanites who exist in a world of $10-a-cup coffeehouses. I almost shut it off, but I stuck with it because it was a rainy day and the only other thing on TV was "Nacho Libre". I think it was the powerful scene with Harris Yulin (a great, underrated actor whose face appeared on practically every TV series in the 70s) portraying an over-the-hill stage actor with a 'parasite' in his brain. That scene snapped me to attention, and suddenly the entire movie began to fall into place. At about the same time, the plot shifts gears from neurotic Woody Allen to a suddenly darker, menacing and suspenseful tone. The story, the themes, the words & acting slowly gain momentum, paralleling the tense final innings of the World Series Game 6 which is shown concurrently with the action on screen. Indeed, I realized that this film is much like a baseball game with it's slow & usually uneventful start, slowly changing to a tense, passionate, heart-stopping experience as we go into extra innings. It reminded me a lot of the excellent Oliver Stone film "Talk Radio" with its minimal setting yet its power to bring our blood to a feverish high. By the time it was over, I realized that this innocuous little flick really packs a punch, in story, theme and technique. Imagine my astonishment when I learned that this film was done on a budget of 500k. To put that in perspective, consider that the average film has a budget of at least 10x that ("Crash" which won best picture in the same year 2005 had a budget of $6.5 million). But then I realized that the low budget was the reason why this movie was so effective. The budgetary limitations led the director & crew to use creative techniques which are what make this such a great film by any standards. You might miss it upon 1st viewing, but there are some subtle, surreal moments that give the film its unique style. For example, there's a scene in a bar where two characters are talking, and in the background keep an eye out for a NYC hazard team cleaning up an asbestos leak in slow motion. In the commentary, the director mentions that this was done simply because they couldn't afford to rent a bar set in downtown, so they had to shoot elsewhere & superimpose a plate glass window in post production. The slow motion background was an afterthought but a brilliant one which emphasizes the theme of asynchronicity & disconnection we see throughout. There are many such examples, but I'll leave them to you to discover. This film was an extremely satisfying experience for me. If you like films that are artistic, entertaining & challenging at the same time, you should definitely check this out. Similar movies are "Talk Radio", "Buffalo 66", "Adaptation", and the Japanese film "Shiki Jitsu", all worth watching.

Nicky is a successful playwright in New York City. He's got a new play about to open, a marriage that's shaky, and a theatre critic who is gunning for him. This all takes place at the time of the World Series in which Boston is playing New York. Nicky is a life-long fan of the ill-fated Red Sox. This is a kind of quirky indie-type film. It has some James Toback flavor to it, and not just because of Robert Downey Jr. What I enjoyed most about this film is Michael Keaton's performance. As noted above, he took the role for a hundred bucks a day, which does not surprise me. It's a plum role, and he's obviously enjoying every minute of it. This is really a film about his character. Robert Downey looks about as bored as I've ever seen him on screen, which is saying a lot, but his character is --like most of the supporting roles -- under-developed, and not much to get excited about. The only decent supporting role in this one is the Elliot Litvak character, and to some extent Nicky's father. So if you're up for a few laughs (we're talking mild humor here) with a thin plot, and good acting at the top, this is a worthwhile experience.

I don't like the idea of calling every movie I don't like a "bad movie." I rate films on how they appeal to me, on the chemistry that I have with the movie. For me, this movie was like hearing about a person who had everything in common with you, but when you meet them, NOTHING. Zippo. No chemistry at all. This film takes place in NYC and centers around the 1986 World Series between the Mets and BoSox, a writer, Nick (MICHAEL KEATON), plagued by a bad review and living in fear of another one by the notoriously harsh (and oddball) reviewer, Steven Schwimmer (ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.). Rather than attend opening night of his play, Nick goes to a bar to watch the series on TV. As other people have provided far more detailed summaries, I won't repeat those efforts. I lived in New York in 1986, was a die-hard Mets fan, and seeing parts of the series again was maybe the best part of the film for me. In 1986, I was in a local bar, two minutes from the stadium, watching the real game 6 of the series. So, I'm a writer, I love New York, I saw every play of that series as it actually happened -- but the film did absolutely nothing for me. Little bits and pieces were of passing interest, but they faded. I didn't relate to Michael Keaton's character, or really understand him, at all. Therefore, I didn't care what happened to him. Maybe I let Ebert & Roeper's "TWO THUMBS WAY UP" sway me into thinking I'd at least like this film, but alas, I don't always come close to agreeing with them. I should learn my lesson! Some will love this film and I suspect others will have a similar reaction to mine. My recommendation is to see this film and decide for yourself. If I were the umpire, I'd call this movie out on strikes. But that's just me.

(There are Spoilers) with everything seemingly coming down on his head Broadway playwright Nicky Regan, Michael Keaton,has found out that he has an added crisis to his already hectic and troubled life. New York Times play reviewer and critic Steven Schwimmer, Robert Downey Jr. Schwimmer's word can make or beak a Broadway play and he's the person that's going to review his that evening! Nicky is also saddled with a failing marriage with his now separated wife Lillian, Catherine O'Hara,due to his affair with,Lillians, gynecologist Joanna Brorne, Bebe Neuwirth. All that is driving his teenage daughter Laurel, Ari Graynor, to become so upset that she's seriously thinking of getting professional help. It just turns out that opening night for Nicky's play at the Music Box coincides with the sixth game of the 1986 World Series, October 25, with Nicky's beloved Boston Red Sox leading three games to two. With the sixth game possibly being the series clincher for Boston. If they win it would be the first World Series title for the luckless Bosox since 1918. Witty and at the same time heart wrenching movie about a person who completely lost his grip on reality and in the end has a mind-snapping experience that almost causes him to commit murder. Even though those in the theater district would gladly give him a ticker tape parade, and the key to the city, if he succeeded. The movie "Game 6" slowly works it way toward the showdown at Shea Stadium between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox that's a do or die game for the Mets. At first just a sidelight with Nicky jumping from cab to cab trying to get everything ready for his big opening night act, or play, he becomes obsessed with the ballgame. It's as if the outcome of the game would make him forget his personal troubles. Which among other headache his leading man in the play Peter Redmond,Harris Yulin, is suffering from memory loss due to a parasite embedded in his brain! That Redmond he picked up in far-off Borneo during location filming of a movie he stared in. Egged on to murder Schwimmer by fellow playwright Elliot Litvak, Griffin Dunne, who's professional and personal life he destroyed, Nicky tries to keep himself from going off the deep end and do in the nasty and abusive Broadway critic. Taking a cab to a sports bar Nicky plans to watch the Met/Red Sox World Series game. The dramatic conclusion of the 6th game just left Nicky in such a state of shock that for a while his brain didn't respond to what his eyes were seeing thinking that it was his Red Sox who won, and won the 1986 World Series not the New York Mets! The New York Mets now on a roll overcame a three run deficit in the next evening in the seventh and final game of the World Series and ended up beating the now stunned and shell-shocked Bosox 8 to 5. With nothing left to live for Nicky gets a gun and goes gunning for Schwimmer at his secret and unknown hideout by the New York docks. When he finally finds him, together with his daughter Laurel, Nicky realizes that him and Schwimmer have a lot more in common with each other then with almost any one else; their fanatical Boston Red Sox fans and both grew up in Boston just blocks away from each other and the Red Sox home court Fenwway Park! Whats more to Nicky's complete surprise Schwimmer did like his play very much and is to give it in his newspaper column one of his rare, as a Boston Red Sox World Series Championship, good reviews. Strange to say the least "Game 6" has so many interesting characters in it, including the dozen or so off-the-wall and zany taxi drivers, that you never get tired watching it. Even when it's over with Nicky now happily back driving a cab, like he did before he became a big time playwright, you just want it to keep going on and feel a bit cheated when the closing credits start rolling down, or is it up, the screen.

I don't consider myself to be a pretentious film snob; but let's face it, I don't consider myself a lot of things. I was scanning the local (State College, Pa) paper for new movies arriving the theaters this week. Well it seemed to be the typical dredge that the February/March season usually puts out: Basic Instinct 2, Slither, ATL (more like ATL=WTF) but then I saw a movie I never heard of before: Game 6. Now like I said, I do not fancy myself as being pretentious, but seeing a movie I was unfamiliar with was a tad....unsettling. Quick Robin-To the Batcave (or IMDb, in this case). I found a background for this seemingly forgotten '05 flick. I was intrigued by its premise and its unusual cast and so as they say...is where our tale begins. Game 6 is not an amazing Oscar-award winning film, but it is a decent piece of cinema to recommend. Like a slightly tarnished gem , when hit in the right light, this movie really shines. Although some moments feel a tad esoteric and ambiguous, for the most part we are give a unique, humorous, and real, slice of life. Don't miss this movie for what it isn't, see it for what is.

We were also in the theatre on the Saturday night premiere of Game 6 at the Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, I wish we had some pillows - for we found the film a big snooze fest. Michael Keaton & Robert Downey Jr. we love and they're always fascinating to watch. But try as hard as they could the convoluted story of this film overshadow their performances. We we're excited to see Keaton & this movie - but sorry the movie didn't do it for us. We attended with a group of 6 individuals and all of us ranked this movie as the most dull we saw during the festival. Well, I guess the disappointment felt by the Red Sox is felt when you finish watching this movie. You're outta here!!!

source: Game 6

3 August 2006. Even with a few flaws, this movie exudes character and feeling. The characterization and the subtle but powerful emotional undertone of this quirky but delightful drama is brilliantly charming. There is submerged magic even though Robert Downey Jr. continues to produce his usually odd performances that almost become both warmed over yet solidly consistent enjoyable. The dialogue is at times difficult to follow and a few scenes seem unconnected, disjointed but the overall like the lead character's play delivers a somewhat unexpected (expected) ending. Michael Keaton doesn't put on a different face in this movie as with Robert Downey Jr., yet their synergy in separate scenes makes the movie powerfully character-driven. The weatherman's narrative is oddly discomforting, too cute while "post-sex" scene is one of colorful flair usually never seen. Eight out of Ten Stars.