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Summary: Ryan Northcott
Review: See this movie for Ryan Northcott who plays "Stevie" he is so hot. The scene in the snow plow was great.
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Summary: Mystery is no mystery
Review: Mystery Alaska is a saturday afternoon, popcorn movie the whole family can enjoy. It had the same feel as when I used to watch Northern Exposure.Alot of quirky,funny people who's lives revolve around the simple things in life.This one being hockey.Good solid cast. Russell is easy on the eyes too!
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Summary: The Pride Of Mystery.....
Review: This review refers to the Hollywood Pictures DVD edition of "Mystery,Alaska"....The small close-knit town of Mystery, Alaska(pop.633), is obssesed with the game of Hockey. Everyone in the town is invovled. There's even a committee of the important men of the town whose sole job it is to decide who will be on the team in the all important Saturday games.There in their own little niche of the world, they go about their business, live their quirky little lives and all revolving around their hockey team.All that is about to change though... An ex-Mysterian who has moved to New York and is now a sports promoter has lined up the game of a lifetime for this little town. They will play the New York Rangers in an exhibition game right there in Mystery.Will it turn into more than an exhibition game for these everyday people? The team is good but how good are they? Can they even score against the Rangers? What will it do to their pride if the Rangers annihlate them? You'll be smiling all the way through with these outlandish characters in this funny yet poignant story, as you find out. The film has a tremendous cast. It stars Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria and Burt Reynolds.(Also look for a great cameo in the commentators booth!) It also includes Lolita Davidovich,Maury Chaykin, Mary McCormack and Colm Meany.A wonderful screenplay by David E. Kelley and Sean O'Byrne, beautiful photography by Peter Deming and expertly directed by Jay Roach all add to the enjoyment of this film. It is presented on the DVD in the theatrical widescreen aspect of 2.35.1 and is beautifully transfered.I noticed on the technical information on the product page of this DVD, it has Dolby 2.0 for the sound, but you'll be happy to find out that it is actually in the 5.1, so those with a home theatre system will get the full effect of every slap shot! There's a short featurette on the filming, and it has closed captions for hearing impaired viewers. These are real nice, I checked them out and they are nice and clear and below the film(in the black bar portion under the widescreen). The people of Mystery will melt your heart as the heat up the ice......have fun...
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Summary: The Best Movie You Never Heard Of
Review: "Mystery, Alaska" is probably the best movie you never heard of. For starters, its cast is incredible: Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria, Colm Meany and Burt Reynolds (to name a few) appear, and the acting is as good as the cast would make you hope. On top of that, the story is really very good, and the script is expertly written; the movie tells the tale of a small town (Mystery, Alaska), where the central fact of life is the game of hockey. This obsession manifests itself in an event called the Saturday Game, where the town's hockey team plays teams from neighboring towns on a frozen over pond in astonishingly cold weather. But the game, and the town that depends on it for its common bond, becomes strangely manipulated by a turn of events that proposes that Mystery's team play the New York Rangers a game of hockey on the small town pond. You don't have to be a hockey fan, or even a sports fan, to appreciate this movie. The life of this small community is magnificently portrayed, and the story promises something for everyone: drama, comedy, sports, you name it. I heard about this movie from a friend, or I never would have known it existed. After renting it, my wife and I liked it enough to go buy it, and everyone we've shown it to has loved it. I can unconditionally recommend it. Enjoy!
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Summary: It's No Mystery That This is a Great Movie!
Review: Mystery, Alaska is the story of a small Alaskan town that revolves around "The Saturday Game," in which locals compete in weekly hockey games. The players include the town sheriff, a grocer, an elementary school teacher, and nearly everyone in the town plays some part in the games, on or off the ice. Conflict arises when the town's boast that "no one can beat their team on a pond" is carried off to New York by a native Mysterian, who convinces the New York Rangers to challenge the Mystery players to a match that they will never forget. This is a thoroughly enjoyable movie for hockey lovers and even for those who know nothing about the sport (like me). It incorporates a good deal of humor amidst light-hearted drama, and is just a great story!
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Summary: Alaskins VS. ALL Star Hockey Team.
Review: I like this movie it should be PG-13 and I dought My favorite Goalie Mike Ricther wouldn't allow 4 goals on a team that spent 0 time in the minors. ... I like the Mystaers jerseys and the goalies do pretty good considering it's Hollywood hockey. But, let's face it in real life The Rangers would win 11-0.
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Summary: Hockey and Russell Crowe
Review: Good characters and storyline. Small town hockey team faces off with a pro-hockey team that comes to town as a publicity stunt.
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Summary: Hockey with Russell Crowe
Review: Hockey, Russell Crowe, and interesting characters make a good movie. Story centers on a small town with an ice hockey team as its only source of entertainment. As sort of a publicity stunt, the team eventually faces off with a pro-hockey team for a game that turns into a true hockey "game." Good action throughout.
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Summary: A Lesser Known Crowe Movie That DESERVES To Be Known
Review: I ran across this wonderful little Russell Crowe movie shortly after seeing him in the great "Gladiator." I was in Blockbuster, locating movies for my own Crowe film festival and the cover caught my eye before I realized he was even in it. So back went the wonderful "The Insider" (filmed partially in my hometown) for another day. I am so glad I did because "Mystery Alaska" was such a surprising discovery that I'm constantly suggesting it to friends and family, particularly to see Crowe in a role quite unlike his more famous Bud White, Maximus, Jeffrey Wigand and John Nash. Once again, the talented Aussie reveals his wide range, and the fact that he is a true actor and not simply a movie star. This time he is not the savior of Rome, or courageous whistleblower, or multi-faceted Fifties cop, but John Biebe (Bee-be), sheriff in a tiny Alaskan town where hockey is as much a religion as college basketball is in Kentucky! For thirteen years he has been on the Mystery hockey team and played in the "Saturday game" -- made up of townsmen -- but as with many athletes, although in his thirties, he is replaced by a younger, up and rising player. On top of that blow is the return of Hank Azaria as sleazy hometown boy who got away, became a writer, and returns with a publicity stunt to bring the New York Rangers to Mystery to play the local team. (Azaria had written a Sports Illustrated article on the Mystery team, and that attracted attention). Azaria dated Crowe's wife (Mary McCormick)in high school, and Biebe's jealousy surfaces. So not only does Biebe have to accept his new role on the team, but his feelings towards his wife's old boyfriend, as well as other little incidents going on within their small town. As he's done with other characters, Crowe gives Biebe several layers so that we see a man at a crossroads in his life. In fact, it's watching scenes with Crowe that make this movie as beautiful as the scenery! The man can express more with his facial features than most so-called actors can with a page of words: whether a smile, the glow of love in his eyes, his jealousy, his hurt, the permanent loss of a good friend. In one scene, when you see the tears and how red his eyes are, then hear the emotion in his voice, you feel his pain as well. But let's face it ladies, you can't help watching one locker room scene several times to *clears throat* study Crowe's physical talents! *bg* (Okay, he has great arms. LOL) Seriously, the movie is a small charmer, from Crowe and Maury Chaykin (of "The Insider"), to the Canadian views portraying Alaska, to some rather humorous lines ("Women don't like to be referred to as fat mammals...") John Biebe has become one of my top three Russell Crowe characters, even more than Maximus and Bud. After seeing this movie, he may become one of yours too. I regret the DVD doesn't contain more special features but I can deal with it. Definitely pick this one up for your Crowe collection!
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Summary: Raunchy, Quirky, Comical, Poignant, Truthful
Review: The glistening white world of " Mystery, Alaska" presents us with a tale of a hockey town its quirky characters, and the opportunity of their local team to play the New York Rangers, presented to them by Hank Azaria's cocky sports reporter, Charles Danner, a former resident of Mystery.
Amid this pure, alabaster-looking world is a community dominated by the members of its hockey team. It's not an easy town for women to live in, and many a local lass, including the Mayor's wife, has compromised or almost compromised her virtue with the town heroes, who are full of crass fraternity hijinks and like many townsfolk, equally crass language.
Burt Reynolds gives a great performance as Judge Walter Burns, the town mentor, who taught numerous kids to skate, and who tries to keep his teenaged daughter, played by Rachel Wilson, away from the lecherous hockey players whereas Judith Ivey's Mrs. Burns seems slightly more passive about the situation, although she confronts her daughter about it at one point. Scott Grimes plays Reynolds' son who feels his future lies in hockey rather than academics.
Colm Meany hides his Irish accent well as the Mayor who is betrayed by his wife, played by Lolita Davidovitch when she sleeps with the notorious Skank Marden(Ron Eldard). The depths of betrayal don't seem to affect the couple as much as they might in real life once they come to terms with it.
Russell Crowe's mastery of the subtle, smoldering glance is not lost in his portrayal of the town Sherriff and hockey team Captain, John Biebe. Tossing his moreno-colored, chestnut- streaked mane of hair, squaring shoulders as mountainous as the Canadian scenery(which doubled for Alaska), and speaking with an accent that sounds slightly Nova Scotian, he is one of the more dignified characters in the film with one of the most solid marriages. Azaria's return to town threatens him because his wife, Donna, is Azaria's former girlfriend. Mary McCormack gives a warm-hearted, sympathetic portrayal of Donna Biebe, eventually reassuring her husband that she has no regrets about marrying him. Their reconciliation after a heated argument is poignant, coltish, and downright sexy without revealing too much flesh.
Maury Chaykin's Bailey Pruitt is the lawyer who gives his life trying to secure the hockey match when it is nearly cancelled. Michael McKean plays the wounded Price World Representative who shows us how not to behave when accidentally shot by a hockey player in a hockey town, if we want a jury to decide in our favor. Kevin Durand's Tree is the stereotypical dim-witted but kind-hearted jock. Comical moments include Megan Price's Sarah Heinz putting the disreputable Skank in his place, and Crowe's unsuccessful attempt to suppress his laughter when dealing with the case.
There are fun cameos by Little Richard and Mike Myers during the game. Perhaps the best moments of the game are when Crowe's tender family man pauses to signal "I love yous" to his wife and sons while on the ice, and flash that brilliant smile to the audience.
The outcome of the match is unsatisfyingly realistic. But when Sheriff Biebe places a puck on the grave of the man who fought to prevent the game's cancellation, a bit of foliage before the cross, pushing its way up through the relentless snow, somehow symbolises the determination of the Mystery team in the face of great odds. --A great metaphor for the citizens of Mystery within itself.
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