The Sandlot is one of those rare films where every scene builds perfectly on top of the last one, which is extremely rare in moviedom. The movie itself isn't perfect, some of the scenes fall a little flat, but each keeps building the story, and nothing feels wasted. So by the end of the film, you're totally immersed into this world they've built, and you'll buy whatever they're selling.

I first saw the film, my senior year in high school. At that time, I was already beginning to feel nostalgic about my youth, and the film placed me into that quickly fading era, when anything seemed possible. When playing ball with your friends was the greatest thing in the world. When dropping a fly ball, was about the most embarrassing, painful thing you could possibly go through. I felt much like Scott Smalls, the hero of film, slightly out of place, but desperate to be part of the group, not the most athletic kid, but a total love of the game.

The entire team is given big personalities and fun names; "Yeah-Yeah", Kenny, Bertram and Tommy and Timmy Timmons, aren't quite as well rounded, but they're each memorable in their own small way. Smalls mom, played by the great Karen Allen, is one of the best all time movie mom's. She has very little screen time, but I love how she advises her son to go out and get into some trouble, live it up. Those few summers while you're young, before the realities of the world come crashing down upon you, are a very magical time, and she wants him to experience that. Denis Leary, in one of his first straight roles, is very good as the step-dad who's trying to figure out how he fits into his new son's life.

The coming-of-age story about a boy finding himself on the ball-field, with a great group of friends, is nicely told and it all feels natural. The subplot about the giant dog, who steals all the baseballs hit over the fence, is also a lot of fun. They get a couple of great scenes out of telling the story of the dog, then when Smalls hits his first home run, which happens with his step-father's signed Babe Ruth ball, they're attempts to retrieve it.

The film-making is also done impeccably, with a personality of it's own, with a lot of great touches. But it's all done in service of the film. The narration by writer/director David M. Evans is spot-on, I couldn't imagine the film without it. This film is right at the top of my favorite coming-to-age stories. I still prefer Stand By Me, which this film obviously cribs from, but it's almost as well made as that film.

Every spring, about the time baseball is going to start, I watch a baseball movie. Usually it's Major League, the perfect cliche' comedy-sports film, but it had been a few years since I'd seen Field of Dreams.

Writer/Director Phil Alden Robinson caught lightning in a bottle with Field of Dreams. Never again did he create a film nearly as good or popular. (Although I've always had a soft spot for Sneakers.) It's one of those amazing films that is inexplicably good, the acting is solid, the story doesn't blow you away, it sneaks up on you instead, the film-making is typical Hollywood style, with nothing that particularly stand out, but the overall effect is wonderful. No matter how many times you've seen it, it leaves you with a better perspective on life. It's a beautiful film for men or women, anybody with a heart is touched by it's magic.

Kevin Costner is at his charismatic every-man best. James Earl Jones gets a chance to use that wonderful voice of his, in his best scene, he gets to talk about the beauty of baseball. I love every single shot of the baseball field in the middle of all that corn, it's Americana at it's most perfect. The story of Shoeless Joe Jackson getting another chance to play the thing he loves most is heartwarming. Each scene builds perfectly on the one before it, and when you've seen as many film's as I have, you begin to realize, just how tough that really is. At it's heart, the film is about redemption, showing those you love who you really are, and how far you'll go for them. So by the time Ray gets to "have a catch" with his estranged father, it starts to get a bit dusty in the room.