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Summary: honor and dignity
Review: If you're looking for the Austin Powers type, you're in the wrong place. But if you want to meet a community of real people living in far Alaska, don't hesitate. In a thrilling challenge to the famous New York Rangers, the local hockey team will try to make its dream come true and win the game, fighting for dignity and success. Every character is worth the shot Mayor Colm Meaney, Judge Burt Reynolds, Sheriff Russell Crowe, journalist Hank Azaria. You liked Field of dreams ? You'll love Mystery Alaska.
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Summary: The best pickup game since "Slap Shot"
Review: The small town Mystery, Alaska has one bondage when the "Saturday Pick-Up" hockey team keep in check their pride and dignity. In a town where most everyone moves by blade, the community supports their Saturday game. The team is scouted out by a New York agency that settles on that Mystery can take on the New York Rangers for fun. The game is on the pond with realism and the ice has makeshift stands and boards made of lumber to go by the NHL regulations. This was one flick that I never did say "that couldn't happen" because it was close to reality. The storyline touches the heart when you see how a small community can support a team that is also key government (mayor, judge, sheriff). This is worth getting and it is the best storyline for a hockey movie.
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Summary: Mighty Ducks for Adults
Review: Saw this picture the other night, and I must say that I enjoyed it. The characters are likeable, and each grows in their little way by the end credits. Russell Crowe provides an enjoyable performance as the town sheriff/hockey team captain who is bitter that he has been removed from the town's hockey team in order to make room for the next generation of hockey stars. The film centers around the small town hockey team taking on the NY Rangers, and the conflict that this causes throughout the town of Mystery, Alaska. The end surprised me, and might just surprise you as well. Certainly a film to view, it's one of the better "feel-good" movies that I've seen.
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Summary: Mystery, Alaska is the place to be!
Review: This charming film didn't get the positive praise it deserved. It was absolutely wonderful. The small Alaskan town of "Mystery" has a quirky "Northern Exposure" feel to it, and a wonderful ensemble cast add a lot of fun and games. The "Saturday" hockey game leads off this fairy-tale story of David vs. Goliath, as their hometown boys go against the NHL'S New York Rangers. Former "townie" Hank Azaria starts this whole thing by writing a spotlight on the "Saturday Game" for Sports Illustrated and well.. Mystery is never the same after that. Russell Crowe turns in a great performance as "slightly older" town Sherif John Biebe, who is the heart and soul of the much younger hockey team. There are many wonderful smaller performances by faces you'll certainly know and love. It's a wonderfully sweet, charming and funny (with classic one liners from MANY of the young players) movie that only HAPPENS to be about hockey. There is so much more to it. You don't have to know a thing about hockey to appreciate this fun and lighthearted movie. It's right up there with my all-time favs. Definatley worth a look!
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Summary: An ice hockey love story?!
Review: In the small town of Mystery, ice hockey players are heroes. Thin, non-sportive males are sent away, presumably with some homosexual insults thrown at them: Quite typical for some of the more squalid little towns out there. The story focuses on the oh-so-tough players on the frozen village pond, and their oh-so-heroic fight against some US league team. If you're into Burt "I can't act" Reynolds and brutal sports action, you might like this film. If not, then you'd better not touch this film with a ten-foot pole: Boring story, mostly lousy acting (Russell Crowe being an exception). And a rather painfully stupid romance angle that must have been edited into the script during, probably, very many amateurish script re-writes.
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Summary: Genuinely fun movie
Review: I rented this DVD having never even heard of the movie.But after having watched it, Mystery, Alaska has become one of my favorite movies. This enjoyable tale about a town full of eccentric, hockey-obsessed people, moves along at a nice, steady pace. Unlike many movies these days, Mystery, Alaska doesn't rush through important plot points. When a former neighbor returns home bringing the New York Rangers to play against Mystery's legendary hockey team, the town sheriff, recently bumped from the team for a younger player who's got "jump", agrees to coach. The members of the team are fleshed out well by an ensemble cast of virtual unknowns, with the exception of Russell Crowe. The ending is exciting, and surprisingly unpredictable. For me, the actor that stole the show was Ryan Northcott, a barely credited character, who plays the pivotal role of the high school skating whiz who takes Russell Crowe's place on the team. He has a couple of the most amusing, and embarassing, scenes in the movie, and handles them with humor and grace. Overall, Mystery, Alaska was a funny, enjoyable movie that I recommend to everyone. You don't have to be a hockey fan to love Mystery, Alaska.
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Summary: FANTASTIC
Review: I rented the movie and watched it twice in one week. It was just as exciting to watch the second time as it was the first. I didn't want to return it to the video store. It's definately on my list of movies to buy.
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Summary: You don' have to like sports to like this 'Mystery".
Review: Sports fan? You don't have to be to enjoy Mystery, Alaska. While it won't go down as one of the greatest sports movies ever, it offers more than might meet the eye. While the signature star might be Russell Crowe, Burt Reynolds is very, very good, as is Mary McCormick. So, should you buy Mystery, Alaska? Well, as a fan of sports movies, I still wait with great anticipation to watch the end of movies like Hoosiers, Major League, and Tin Cup. Three exceptional sports movies. 'Mystery' offers something a little different. Nice cast, reasonable storyline, interesting characters, and a not so predictable ending. If you are a fan of GOOD movies, regardless of the genre, add 'Mystery, Alaska' to your collection.
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Summary: There's Warmth In "Mystery, Alaska"
Review: It's cold in the small hamlet of Mystery, Alaska, but there's plenty of warmth in "Mystery, Alaska," the film, directed by Jay Roach, about the town and the sport that is ingrained in the collective consciousness of the community. Hockey is the game, and when a former resident, now a journalist, writes a story about Mystery's home-town team and their "Saturday Game," and it ends up as a three page spread complete with pictures in Sports Illustrated, it has far reaching effects on the populace of this small dot on the map. Soon the town is turned upside down, embroiled in an event, the proportions of which, to them, are huge. Needless to say, it involves hockey and an encounter with a high-profile professional team. Yes, there is a lot of hockey in this movie, but be advised, this film is not "about" hockey; this is a movie about people- real people- and what makes them tick. Roach has crafted a thoroughly entertaining and emotional story of want and need, dignity and desire, obsession and love, and he's captured it all through the winning performances of a stellar ensemble cast, the most prominent of which is Russell Crowe. The charismatic Crowe, finally on his way to superstardom thanks to his turn in "Gladiator" plays John Biebe, Mystery's sheriff and captain of the hockey team. His rugged good looks and persona fit the character perfectly, and he puts all of his myriad personal resources to work to put it across, and that he does. Also notable is the personable Mary McCormack as John's wife, Donna, who does a great job of fleshing out the character of this woman who made what she deems to be the right choices in her life, without regrets or apologies to herself or anyone else. It's a refreshing portrayal, and the chemistry between her and Crowe is unmistakable. Also adding to the overall texture of this film are Hank Azaria, as Charles Danner, the journalist who gets the whole thing rolling; Burt Reynolds, as Judge Walter Burns, a man forced to deal with his own personal issues, which include a son, Birdie (Scott Grimes), a member of the hockey team; Colm Meany, as Scott Pitcher, Mayor of Mystery, and Lolita Davidovich as his wife, Mary Jane; Maury Chaykin, as Bailey Pruitt, the man who seems to personify the very essence of Mystery's spirit; and Ron Eldard as "Skank," another member of the team who's good for two things-suffice to say that hockey is one of them. Mercifully, "Mystery, Alaska" never pursues the beat-the-dead-horse cliched mentality that sports "teaches one to be a team player and builds character." Instead, Roach has given us a worthwhile, memorable movie with a human touch, and because of that, in the end these are people you care about, as individuals as well as a community. The climactic game is exciting and far from predictable, beginning with the celebrity they bring in to sing the National Anthem. This may not be one of Russell Crowe's biggest or highest profile movies, but this is one he's going to be able to look back upon with pride, because it's right up there with his best. Remember, you don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy this movie; all that's required is that you have a membership in the club know as Mankind.
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Summary: The infidelity..
Review: To: "Maybe It's Just Me." No, it's not just you. I loved this movie and wished they could have rewritten that part...maybe have Stank(?)and her caught necking or something because the married couple's relationship was an important aspect of the plot. Colm was such a stuffed shirt! Maybe you and I are a little naive to think this would've been believable to the so-called sophisticated movie goer. Also, that last comment from the little kid durng the game was stupid, but the director let him redeem himself later in the game action.
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