Online Freedom
India is the latest country asking social networks, including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, to remove offensive material. In this case, India is making the request to avoid having tensions stirred up as a result of controversial and offensive content. This will be a social issue that keeps popping up, sometimes in unexpected places.

Privacy Matters
Canada's privacy commissioner has said that consumers should always be able to opt out of tracking. There could be work in the future, either in writing a browser add-on that prevents data being tracked/forwarded or in showing the data being tracked. This may mean that companies like CarrierIQ will have to be careful of what data they track.

The Red Light (Web)District
The new .xxx domains are available. Filter writers now have a new spam detector, just like when .biz and .info came out. It's not going to make a difference; porn sites will just add the .xxx version of their web addresses along with the .com.

The Internet is for Reading
Author Margaret Atwood argues that the Internet, especially social media like Twitter, encourages reading and writing. While Twitter has a hard limit on total characters, other forms of social media (such as blogging ^.-) allows for a more unlimited span. The only way to improve reading is to read; and, the only way to improve writing is to write.  And, well, you're reading this, right?

One-off App Becomes Hit
Autodsesk's Sketchbook app for iPhone and iPad has become a huge hit. While the income is a small percentage of the company's overall business, the apps have added more customers than ever. The lesson here is that a one-off could become a great way to introduce people to your product line.

Microsoft Steps Up
The App Wars are about to heat up. Microsoft is offering developers a larger piece of the pie in revenue for apps for smartphones and tablets. If a Windows app's revenue breaks $25 000, MS is offering 80% of the revenue, ahead of Apple's 70%.

–Scott D

Big Blue Is Off to the Race(track)s
Once in a while, IBM makes an announcement that reminds people that they're still around and still in the game. In 2008, IBM researches described "racetrack" computer memory, which promised to combine the storage capacity of hard drives with the speed of flash memory. A prototype has been unveiled, with the benefit of being made by standard chip making tools. Hardware geeks may want to send resumes to Big Blue – it looks like storage limits are going to drop when the kinks are ironed out.

iSpy?
A company known as CarrierIQ has made a splash. On the surface, its product seems simple – it monitors wireless network performance in real time using feedback from cell phones. The problem is the type of data captured. A security research determined that the program tracks such details as device manufacture and model, battery life, applications on the device, location of the device, keystrokes, and HTTP header information. If that data is not recorded and never used, no issue, right? Too bad there's people like those working for Rupert Murdoch, who had no problem hacking into the phone of a dead teen.

The ethics of using and abusing new technology need further developing, and could be an area of growth as smartphones become more integrated with daily lives.

Carriers using the software include Sprint (they claim to not look at the contents of messages), AT&T, and T-Mobile (both of whom only look at data to improve service).  Companies not using CarrierIQ's software include Apple (after iOS5, so upgrade if you can), Nokia (not installed prior to shipment), and RIM.

Speaking of RIM:
A stampede that injuired dozens in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 25 was caused by the demand for the release of the Blackberry Bold 9790. As a result, the head of RIM's Indonesia office, among four others, has been charged with negligence causing injury.

Meanwhile, two RIM execs have been let go due to their behaviour on a flight. The two men were drunk and had to be subdued by the entire crew on the flight from Beijing to Toronto. The flight was redirected to Vancouver.

Not sure if this will hurt RIM any further. Definitely not helping, though the demand for the new Blackberry could have been a positive sign if it weren't for the injuries.

–Scott D

The late and long missed Theodore Geisel madse a name for himself in the realm of children's publishing – Dr. Seuss. With an amazing sense and knowledge of the English language, he wrote many books that are still remembered and read today. In 1957, he wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, showing how one person, the titular Grinch, discovered the true meaning of Christmas, the one beyond the superficial lights, presents, and food. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), the story avoided religious overtones, defining Christmas as what comes from inside.

In 1966, Geisel's production company, Cat in the Hat Productions, worked with MGM to adapt the story as a holiday special. The production team included Ted Geisel and veteran Warner Brothers animation director Chuck Jones*. The story was kept as is, with music to help fill the 25 minutes then needed for commercial television. Songs were added, with lyrics by Dr. Seuss and music by Albert Hague**. The main voice was provided by Boris Karloff***, providing a gravitas that isn't expected in a Christmas special. Not listed, but providing the male singing voice for the Grinch's theme is Thurl Ravenscroft****.

To say that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has become a classic is an understatement. The timelessness of the original story along with Chuck Jones's deft handling of the material and utter care put into the work by the cast and crew. Having Dr. Seuss involved helped greatly, both as lyricist and producer. The animators took the illustrations from the book and brought them to life. Even the practice of animation reuse added, allowing the montage of the Grinch sneaking and stealing through Whoville to add humour and character development. The Grinch is another example of where having a staff that cares about the original helps with adapting. Another lyricist could have not had the ear that Dr. Seuss had for the language and joy of the scenes. Another narrator wouldn't have had the gravitas that Karloff provided. Unlike far too many Christmas specials, the Grinch doesn't depend on sentimentality, which helps it stand out even after forty-five years.

Next time, Cyberpunk hits the big screen

* Many many Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons.

** Who would later be seen in the role of [Shorofsky] in the film and subsequent television adaptation of Fame.

*** Noted for playing Frankenstein's monster in many movies as well as being many more horror films.

**** Also known as Tony the Tiger, voicing the mascot until his death in 2005.

Reaching back, we find that I've already covered Street Fighter, focusing on the movie featuring Raul Julia in his last role. Instead of rewriting all the background, I'll just send you to re-read it if you want and then continue.

Done? Great!

The year 2009 had a glut of action movies. Not all of them lived up to the promise of the trailers. One such movie was Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. The movie chronicles how the titular character grows from young girl to, well, street fighter. Essentially, an origins movie. Kristin Kreuk starred as the adult version of Chun Li as she struggled to find meaning after her father disappeared and her died. Her search took her to Bangkok to study under Gen, once a member of Bison's gang who now protected the downtrodden from the villain's schemes. He took Chun Li under his wing, teaching her new techniques and leading her to find a new balance and lose her anger*. In the meantime, Charlie Nash, an Interpol agent, also arrived in Bangkok to assist the local police, including Detective Maya Sunee of Gangland Homicide, in finding who was responsible for the deaths and beheadings of eight major gang leaders.** Nash had been on the trail of Bison for several years and is hoping to finally put him away. Despite having Chun Li narrate for most of the beginning, turning "show, don't tell" into "show and tell", the movie maintains a decent pace thriough the investigation by both Nash and Chun Li and has decent action sequences.

Overall, the movie worked as an action flick, something to watch in the heat of the summer in a cool, dark theatre with a large bag of popcorn and a soft drink of one's choice. So, why was there a problem?

It wasn't Street Fighter.

Oh, sure, it's there in the title: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. Kristin Kreuk played Chun Li; it's even there in the credits. And she took on Bison, Balrog, and Vega.

But, if the audience wasn't told that who the characters were, who'd notice the difference? None of the characters were in the costumes from the video game. Unlike Street Fighter – The Movie, where everyone eventually wore the trademark costumes from the game, outside of one scene in Legend of Chun Li, they could have been called anything else. The one scene? Featured Chun Li with her hair in the same style as in the video game wearing a short blue dress as she seduced Bison's henchwoman***.

I dare say that if the movie didn't have the Street Fighter character names and links (a couple of scenes, really), the movie might have been better. Expectations would have been different. Change Shadaloo to a generic Triad, Tong or even the Russian mob, change Chun Li to Suki or Mei Lin, change Bison to Biyall, and the movie still holds together. It's as if an existing script was taken and modified to slap the Street Fighter name on to draw in more people. From a marketing perspective, this makes some sense. Action movies in the summer have a lot of competition. Adding a familiar name can get attention far easier and potentially far cheaper than putting in an effort to tweak the trailers to maximize interest. Problem is, slapping a known franchise name can backfire when the movie has a fairly generic plot and characters that could be renamed without affecting the story, the case with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.

So, the takeaway here is that if one wants to put the name of a franchise on a movie, the writing has to add recognizable elements from the franchise beyond just the names. This may fall under the concept of caring for a property. Slapping a name on a product is easy; making sure that the product reflects the name takes a bit more effort. Thus is the case of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. A decent action movie with baggage that added expectations it couldn't handle.

Next time, a holiday classic. 

*Apparently, anger not only leads to hate but to distraction.
**Yeah, guess who ordered the killings.
***Yay, fanservice? The fight in the washroom was just as fanservice-y.

Fairy tales have long been a core element of Western culture, a base of storytelling that many have built from over time. Many of Disney's popular movies were based on fairy tales, somewhat cleaned up for modern sensibilities. These are stories told as bedtime stories, told around campfires, adapted as plays and movies, and expanded to tell what happened after. The tales are so common that it comes to many people's surprise when they meet someone not familiar with at least one.

The 2011 fall TV season saw ABC air Once Upon a Time. As expected from the title, the series is based on fairy tales. (Why else would I start this entry off discussing them?) However, there is a twist. The evil queen, the one who poisoned Snow White for being the fairest, showed up at the wedding of Snow and Charming to give them an unwanted gift, the knowledge that the queen herself will get her own happy ever after and take away everyone else's. Meanwhile, in the now in our reality, Emma, the lead character, spent her birthday chasing after a bail jumper followed by having a cupcake at home. She made a wish, blew out her lone candle. Immediately after, there was a knock on her door; a boy, Henry, had found her. Henry claimed that Emma is his birth mother and that his home, Storybrook, needs her help. Emma, unsure of the boy's story, took him home, listening to his farfetched stories about how she is meant to save the fairy tales and restore their happy endings.

Back in the fairy tales, Snow and Charming did what they could to prevent the evil queen's happy ending. They even went into the dungeon to speak with Rumplestilskin to find out more. Snow, pregnant, was willing to pay Rumplestilskin's price to protect her unborn child, well aware of the consequences. She received a cryptic answer, enough to figure out what the queen's plan is and brought in her trusted advisors. Ultimately, it was determined that Gepetto can use the magic in an old tree to create a wardrobe that will protect one person.

Meanwhile, Emma has arrived in Storybrook. She stops to get directions from a young man who looks lost. When she and Henry return to her old Beetle, Henry explains that the young man is really Jiminy Cricket. Emma still dismissed the boy's claims and takes him to his home, the manor of the mayor. The rest… No spoilers at this time.

The writing of the pilot was strong. Pilot episodes have a difficult job; they have to introduce the show's premise, the show's characters, and tease viewers to keep watching while at the same time providing a story on its own. Backstory needed has to be brought out without going through an info dump. Once Upon a Time's pilot managed to do all that with aplomb. Henry's stories, bordering on fairy tales themselves, slowly are revealed as truth as the characters, such as Gepetto, Rumplestilskin, the Seven Dwarves, and Charming are revealed to the audience (though not to Emma). The casting is strong to match the writing. Gepetto comes across in the modern era as a lonely old man who desperately wanted a child with his wife. The queen oozes evil when needed. Little touches, such as the mayor offering Emma a glass of apple cider, add to the mystery and the charm of the show. It remains to be seen whether the rest of the show can maintain the promise, but the first episode of Once Upon a Time succeeded in adapting fairy tales into its own narrative.

Next time, experience only works if you pay attention.

George RR Martin is a prolific writer, having writen numerous novels, short stories, even teleplays. Along with writing, he has been an editor, notably on the Wild Card series of anthologies. In 1996, his latest work, A Song of Ice and Fire, was released beginning with A Game of Thrones. The epic story follows the upheavals of Westeros and its peoples as the status quo is once again upset with the death of Robert the Usuper, who had taken over the throne of Westeros after killing the previous tyrant. The books follows the politics, the maneuverings, the desires of the various pieces on the board, from pawn to queen, with chapters written from a different character's point of view. A Game of Thrones sets up the upheaval, showing how members of House Stark (led by Lord Eddard), House Baratheon (formerly led by King Robert the Usurper), House Targaryen (the family of the deposed King Aegon), and House Lannister King Robert's death. Allegiances are made and broken. Characters are promoted or killed. Script immunity is non-existant. There are children crippled, respected characters killed, and foul men who avoid karmic punishment. The plot and the characters pull the readers into the world and leave them wanting more.

In 2011, HBO takes a chance on adapting the novels. The cable channel's success rate with adaptations of late has been excellent, with True Blood, based on the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris, and Deadwood, based on the historical western town, having received critical and popular appeal. The TV series A Game of Thrones was no exception. The first season followed the events from the first book. The adaptation was relatively faithful. There were a few cuts of minor scenes, and several characters were aged up, notably the younger ones. The aging made sense, though – what was acceptable in the era portrayed in the book would result in serious criminal charges today. And, being an HBO production, a little extra sex and nudity was added, though nothing that wasn't implied in the novel.

So, was the first season a success? HBO believed so, enough to renew the series after the first episode. The minor changes mentioned above didn't detract from the story. Casting of the roles worked brilliantly from Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark to Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. The format is perfect for the story – a miniseries format with no need to expand or contract to deal with the vagaries of a 22 episode season or a two hour movie. Successful, indeed.

Next time, could this be something recent?

Seeing a void left by Mattel, Hasbro introduced a line of toys as the boys' counterpoint to Barbie. G.I. Joe was a military-themed line of dolls, designed to let boys have adventures with them. However, reaction to US involvement in Vietnam resulted in reduced sales of a doll in army fatigues. An attempt to revive Joe as an adventurer with kung-fu grip in the 70s didn't pan out as well as expected, and the toy went back to the drawing board. In 1982, though, Hasbro saw the success that Kenner had with its Star Wars line of action figures and relaunched G.I. Joe as its own line, turning the doll into a secret organization fighting the likes of Cobra, a terrorist organization out to rule the world. The action figures were coupled with an animated series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

In 2009, G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra came out during a summer filled with reboots, remakes, and adaptations. The movie did not fare well critically. Or well at all. The movie showed the fight between the G.I. Joe organization, now a multinational special operations team made up of the best of the best of member nations' military forces, and Cobra, an unknown group headed by weapons magnate James McCullen (played by Christopher Eccleston). The movie started decently enough, giving some background to McCullen and his ancestor who was caught selling weapons to both the English and the french in the 1640s. It then went on to show the current generation of McCullen making a speech to NATO about his new weapon, nanomites – miniature robots that can be programmed to eat just about anything. (Also known as nanites.) The opening action sequence introducing Duke (played by Channing Tatum), Ripcord (played by Marlon Wayans) and the audience to G.I. Joe racheted up the tension, showing Cobra's capabilities and weapon technology far outclassing the US Army's. Only the timely intervention of Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) managed to protect one of the four nanamite warheads, Duke, and Ripcord.

The movie broke down the moment the nanamites were weaponized. Naturally, to weaponize tiny, nanoscopic robots, one takes them to a particle accelerator lab to be spun. (I guess making the nanamites dizzy gets them upset.) The bounds of the suspension of disbelief shattered. The scene may have looked good on screen, but the average person could have thought of something more credible, like reprogramming them or introducing a computer virus. After all, nanamites are robots. Even switching the Good/Evil switch to the Evil setting would have been acceptable. The action sequence following, the chase where the above mentioned Joes go after the Baroness (Sienna Miller), Storm Shadow (Byung-Hun Lee), two disposable Cobra super-soldiers, and the nanamite missiles, carried on the problem. The CGI was noticeable. Sure, the accelerator suits (which, for a super-heroic-style movie weren't too farfetched) required CGI, since no human can run at highway speeds. Scarlett on a motorcycle and most of the traffic also appeared to be CGI animation, adding a disconnect.

From then on, the movie fell into a series of background flashbacks and action sequences that felt… borrowed. The big raid on the Empire'sCobra's Death Star underwater Arctic base by the RebelsJoes in their X-WingsSHARC attack subs felt familiar somehow. Worse, the ending left room, a lot of room, for a sequel.

What happened? At some point, scriptwriters started forgetting what they wrote earlier. The Eiffel Tower, McCullen's first target to show off the power of Cobra, was supposed to be evacuated according to the info Breaker received during the chase. Yet, when the heroes get there, there's nary an official there despite the throngs of tourists still there. Likewise, in Eccleston's first scene, McCullen specifically mentions that the nanamites can be programmed to eat anything, including metal. So why the spinning? Did the writers forget that the nanamites are programmable?

Not everything was a loss. Some of the action sequences and the training montage were well done. Bits of decent in a movie that discovered gravity on a slippery slope. Christopher Eccleston, like Raul Julia, seemed to know what sort of movie he was in and let loose his inner ham. (Mind, the villains seemed to get the better lines in this type of movie.) The Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow subplot held its own; Snake Eyes, for a character with no lines, had a strong presence on-screen. And, surprisingly, the presence of a Wayans brother didn't cause problems.

Still, the movie is, at best, forgettable. The plot was thin, and for a movie that seemed to be trying to set up a series, couldn't hold its own past the opening scenes.

Next time, adaptation is coming…

In 1934, Alex Raymond created a comic strip to compete with Buck Rogers in the newspapers. The strip, called Flash Gordon featured the titular hero, an athlete, caught up with reporter Dale Arden in an airplane crash caused by a sudden meteor showers, who is kidnapped by Dr. Hans Zarkov to travel by rocket ship to find the source of the meteor assault on Earth. The trio discovers that the meteors were sent by Ming the Merciless, rule of Mongo. Throughout the publication of the comic strip, Flash and his companions meet the peoples of Mongo and unite them to rebel against Ming to free the world from his cruel domination.

The comic strip had been turned into three serials, each starring Buster Keaton as Flash. The serials stayed to the core of the comic strip, though minor changes were made. Flash, originally a polo player in the comic, became a wrestler. Dale, originally a brunette, was played by Jean Rogers, who had her naturally dark hair dyed blonde to take advantage of the popularity of the hair colour in film. Still, the serials had a following and were the first science fiction serials produced.

In 1980, Dino de Laurentiis produced a screen adaptation of Flash, simply called Flash Gordon. Written by Lorenzo Semple and directed by Mike Hodges, the movie brought the comic strip to its core elements, showing Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov uniting the peoples of Mongo to defeat the forces of Ming the Merciless. Flash Gordon didn't do well in its initial theatrical run. Several problems plagued the film, mostly related to executive meddling. Sam J. Jones was cast as the hero after de Laurentiis' wife saw him on a game show. At the same time, de Laurentiis himself worked out an arrangement with Bob Guccione of Penthouse to have some of his models as extras. A decision was made to use bright colours at a time when realism was the order of the day for films.

However, the movie is considered a cult classic. What saved the film from the millstone of mediocrity and being tossed into the fountain of the forgotten was director Hodges being able to cast the supporting actors. He turned to veterans of stage and screen, people who could carry the film while the rookie actor Jones learned the craft. (And, yes, you can see Jones's acting ability improve as the movie progresses.) Max von Sydow turned in an understated performance as Ming the Merciless, bringing a subtle menace to the role instead of chewing the scenery as Raul Julia and Jeremy Irons had. Topol, best known from the theatrical and cinematic versions of Fiddler on the Roof, played the indomitable Dr. Hans Zarkov, delivering lines that would be cheesy under lesser talent. Timothy Dalton, who would go on to be 007, played Prince Bain of the Treemen. Richard O'Brien, he of The Rocky Horror Picture Show fame, played Fico, one of Barin's men. And Brian Blessed, veteran of many British productions, played Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen, bringing a boisterousness that defined the Hawk Prince. ("What? GORDON'S ALIVE?!")

Coupled with the supporting cast was the soundtrack. Written and performed by Queen, the music provided a strong rock beat that mirrored and accentuated the action on screen. Scenes that would cause massive eyestrain from the eyerolls became fun, if still implausible; scenes such as the football fight in Ming's court. "Flash's Theme" reached Top-40 radio stations.

Overall, the movie should have been a disaster. Executive meddling created many hurdles for the director. The visuals of the film went in the opposite direction of other movies made at the same time. The special effects looked more like a throwback to the serials than the cutting edge pushed by Lucasfilm.  Flash Gordon should have been MST3K fodder. Yet, the little things pull the movie up. The supporting cast was far better than the movie deserved. The soundtrack itself saved the film from being forgettable. Little details, lines added for humour (Barin to Zarkov while awaiting execution: "Tell me again about this man Houdini."), background gags ("All citizens will make merry upon pain of death" on a "space blimp" during the wedding), all of this added up to get people to watch the movie again. Success? Not really, few people go out to make a cult classic (Rocky Horror notwithstanding). Failure, then? Again, no, the movie is enjoyable and the problem spots start taking on their own charm.  Flash Gordon falls into a gap between success and failure – the movie has a following, but not for what the creators had hoped. It is a cult classic.

Next time, from action figure to action movie.

Research in Motion Limited, aka RIM and the creators of the BlackBerry, has had several hard hits in the past year. The Playbook wasn't as accepted as wanted and had several shortcomings making it hard for the tablet to complete in the marketplace. RIM's stock took a hit and fell drastically in May 2011, forcing the cancellation of several projects. A global outage this month caused by a hardware failure in a BlackBerry server had RIM offering rebates. What happened to RIM?

It's starting to look (to me, at least) that RIM wasn't ready to expand into the consumer market. The demands of consumers are different from those of business and government, RIM's previous core user base. The company's signature device, the BlackBerry, was launched in 1999 as a personal digital assistant. By 2004, the BlackBerry, called "Crackberry" by users and detractors, had over one million subscribers worldwide. Many of the devices were in corporate and government offices. The various departments of the Government of Canada rely on the device. Who knows how many BlackBerries were taken to Khandahar, Afghanistan, by senior officers in the Canadian Forces? Suffice to say, RIM knows how to handle a client base consisting of large organizations.

Along comes Apple, first with its iPod, then its iPhone, and finally the iPad. Competing with Apple is the Google-created Android on a variety of hardware platforms. These are RIM's first real competitors, with Palm and their Pilots having been left in the dust due to lack of versatile functionality (no email, no wireless). The iLine of devices and Android storm the consumer market. RIM had some inroads to the consumer market, primarily through a userbase that were familiar with the BlackBerry due to work. But, now, there's a choice.

RIM's Playbook tablet would have been enough for the corporate and government sector where there is already a BlackBerry infrastructure set up. The users needing one would already have a BlackBerry, the main item needed to provide the Playbook with wireless and email capability. In the consumer market, though, a tablet that also needs a PDA/smartphone connected is a non-starter. The cost of both would not compete with the iPad, with everything needed all included. Indicative of RIM's current issues was the announcement of a new OS, BBX. Although the OS is a good step, users were also expecting a new device that BBX would be running on. This disconnect is a major issue.

There's two ways for RIM to go. The first is to focus on corporate and government contracts. The infrastructure, particularly the BlackBerry Exchange Server, is in place at many sites, including throughout the Government of Canada. Devices can be upgraded along with the OS. Apple and Android have made little headway there. The other is to find people with vision, technical and non-tech, people who can get a feel for the consumer market and determine what the large consumer base wants before the base itself does. The second choice is harder, but may be what keeps RIM as a technological leader instead of a specialist.

Sports movies have been around for almost as long as motion pictures have been enjoyed. All kinds of sports, from American football to, well, football (soccer) to hockey to even curling (Men With Brooms). However, it appears that one sport in particular has had more than its fair share of attention.

Popularly attributed to Abner Doubleday, baseball evolved from the British game of rounders over a hundred years ago. With its slow pace, the game could be enjoyed at the ballpark, on radio, and, once it was developed, on television. Many Major League Baseball stadiums have a charm of their own, from Wrigley Field and its unpredictable winds to Yankee Stadium, the House that Ruth Built. Numerous movies – comedies, dramas, biopics, even fantasy – have revolved around the sport and its mystique. Even television series, including such stand outs as The Simpsons, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, have featured baseball episodes. A baseball game builds up its own narrative, its own drama, its own comedy as play progresses. And despite the specialization of the various positions, each position contributes to a team's success, even the designated hitter*.

In 1993, Daniel Stern directed his first feature, Rookie of the Year, a coming of age fantasy comedy featuring Henry, a twelve year old boy who is recruited by his home team, the Chicago Cubs as a publicity stunt to get people into the seats. Henry had injured himself at the end of the school year, fracturing his arm and tearing his rotator cuff. The injuries healed, leaving his tendons a little tight and able to throw a baseball 103mph (165km/h). Henry's first outing is shaky, resulting in a lead-off home run, a hit batsman, and a wild pitch leading to the final out. His second appearance starts similarly, with another hit batsman, but after a confusing pep talk from his hero and reluctant mentor, played by Gary Busey, Henry settles down to get the next batter to ground into a double play and finally gets his first strikeout.

The movie goes on to show Henry as he is separated from his friends, getting caught up in the life of a major leaguer and baseball's business end. The glint of being a baseball player loses some of its lustre, but Henry's awe at being in the majors remains. After all, he is a twevle year old living out his ultimate fantasy.

Does the movie work in the terms of adapting the game of baseball into its narrative? Yes. Notwithstanding that the entire premise is built around a kid living a fantasy many boys, girls, women, and men have had, the story is written competently and directed well by Stern. A great movie, no, but fun and worth watching on its own merits. Helping with the getting the feel is filming most of the baseball scenes at one of the iconic parks of the sport, Wrigley Field. The climactic game builds, tying together several character arcs into the tension as the Cubs work towards getting into the playoffs. Thomas Ian Nicholas is believable as Henry, with sheer awe pouring from him. The supporting cast, though not A-listers outside Gary Busey, include Dan Hedaya, John Candy, and Albert Hall, with cameos by baseball players Bobby Bonilla, Pedro Guerrero, and Barry Bonds. Most of the plays on field are believable; baseball has seen stranger. The pitch used by Henry in the last at bat has also been used by Atlanta Braves pitcher Phil Niekro. Overall, the movie succeeds at adapting baseball for its story.

Next time, Klytus, I'm bored. What reboot do you have for me today?

*But in real baseball, the pitcher takes his turn at bat.