Did this movie play in theaters? Movie release date – 2007. I absolutely enjoyed it. John Cusack plays a widower who decides to adopt a child. Cusack’s character also writes science fiction. The child he adopts believes he came from Mars.

What’s Good?Splendid story. It’s funny, dramatic, charming, disturbing. I could watch John Cusack every day. He’s delightful and this movie seems like a natural fit. And, there’s something about the cinematography. Brilliant colors pop on screen. Anjelica Huston’s scene is chilling and later heartwarming. And Joan Cusack always makes me smile.

What’s Bad? Amanda Peet is underused.She needs more to do, although I know she’s a minor character.

What’s Missing? The flip could be stronger. The twist is good, but it could be beefed up.

4 of 5 stars

Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. I don’t care if I ever get back…

Nebraska’s fascination with the boys of summer most likely began after Alexander Cartwright’s modernized game gained favor and swept the frontier in the mid-1800s. Omaha’s first organized club assembled in 1867.

In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings stopped in Omaha, pounding the locals, 65 – 1. The Omaha catcher vanished during the 7th inning stretch. His teammates couldn’t find a replacement.

A decade later, the Northwestern League came together, including Davenport, Rockford, Omaha and Dubuque. This lineup formed the first minor league not located on the East Coast.

Around the turn of the century, baseball promoter Guy Green coordinated the formation of the Nebraska Indians baseball team, scouting players from the schools at both Genoa and Santee, as well as the Omaha and Winnebago reservations.

The team fireballed its way across the Cornhusker state, playing local town teams and creating a Wild West ambiance for zealous crowds. This team overcame its initial flash-in-the-pan persona, becoming a top exhibition team.

Nebraska has fielded its share of Hall of Famers, too. Add these names to the scorecard:  Grover Cleveland Alexander, who was born in Elba; Tilden’s favorite son, Richie Ashburn; Omaha native Wade Boggs; “Wahoo Sam” Crawford from – you guessed it – Wahoo;  Bob Gibson, Omaha native;  manager Billy Southworth was born in Harvard; and Arthur “Dazzy” Vance grew up in Hastings.

Currently, Nebraska natives Alex Gordon and Joba Chamberlain make headlines for KC and NY Yankees, respectively.

My dad and I share an appreciation for the game. When I was a kid, we’d travel to Hastings and watch the local American Legion team. Nothing better on a summer evening than watching baseball, eating a cherry Sno-cone and battling a few mosquitoes. (My husband would disagree. He doesn’t understand the allure of the game.)

But the stories about baseball that intrigue me come from my dad when he was a kid. He talks about the town teams from Wausa and Crofton, games against farm team players, some-day major leaguers, where the love of the game reverberated as loudly as the crack of the wooden bat.

These were the games that brought communities together. These were the games that provided entertainment and seemed to connect everyone. Something bigger was at stake during these simpler times, and baseball was the vehicle that united them all.

I remember Wausa’s ballpark on summer Sunday evenings, or sometimes during the week (Wednesdays, maybe?), watching the locals swing and sometimes miss or send a grand slam over the outfield fence.

Even a generation later, a baseball game was a social event, where neighbors and friends congregated to cheer on the neighbors and friends on the field.

When the last batter was called out, we walked back to my grandparents’ house, the glow of field lights filtering above cottonwood trees, slowly fading into darkness.

Baseball is a tradition that’s as American – and Nebraskan – as hot dogs and apple pie.

Last July, I decided, heck, I’m on vacation. I’m going to watch one movie a day. Thanks, Netflix queue. Well, I’m going to try it again this summer.

First up, Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. This movie came out in 2004. Not sure how I missed it at the theater.

What’s good about it? It has a bit of quirkiness to it that kept me interested. One of the things I like is how Peter hears all these voices  while playing tennis. It’s a litany of good and bad and shapes how well he does or doesn’t play. The film also has a few interesting camera tricks – slow motion and such – that add a bit of uniqueness.  The character of Lizzie is flirtacious but a bit predictible. Some great tennis shots (although I imagine they were computer generated). Not a bad story, either. Washed-up player meets girl who inspires him. Also like the comet that’s woven into the story. It’s like there’s a higher force bringing people together. Plus, the last line of the movie is very true: (paraphrasing) Thought life would be over without tennis, but Imade a better life.

What’s missing? An unpredictible twist.

What’s bad? Even though it’s not a bad story, it’s predictible. Ending is totally predictible. Sometimes, even a “feel good” movie doesn’t need an I-knew-this-would-happen ending.

Grade: B.

Superman and Batman battled hardened criminals. “Keen Detective Mysteries” illustrated gripping thrillers. And “The Funny Pages” provoked fits of laughter.

These comic books, now considered part of the Golden Age era, entertained readers during the 1930s and 1940s. By the time my dad turned nine, he liked reading the daily and Sunday newspaper comics. My grandparents believed investing a dime in a comic book was worthwhile.

Dad didn’t want to miss an issue of new comics delivered to Creutz Drug Store in Wausa. Owner Fred Creutz mentioned the store would reserve the comics by writing dad’s name on the new books.  Employees Tryg Hagen and Cecil Coop were responsible for inscribing dad’s name on the covers in the upper left hand corner.

As years passed, dad’s interests in reading material changed, so Grandma Larson packed away the 1,000+ comics. When the family moved across town in 1940, boxes of comics were stored in the barn.

For 35 years, the comics remained hidden in the darkness.

After grandpa passed away in 1973, grandma hired a local handyman to clean out the barn. The worker found the comics , along with old magazines. He asked grandma about them and she sold the boxes for a measly sum. About two years later, he sold the comics for between $50 and $100 dollars at a Sioux City flea market to Joe Triarichi, a comics dealer from Cleveland.

For the next 20 years, Triarichi sold the books that are now known as “the Larson comics,” the third largest comic collection that form one of the most collectible and recognizable pedigree sets in the world.

Through the years, a Connecticut collector named Jon Berk purchased several Larson comics. Berk tried to locate dad, but couldn’t find him.

Then, comic book karma intervened.

In 1993, a fellow collector approached Berk with “All Star Comics I,” claiming it was a Larson. But the book didn’t have the telltale “Lamont” or “Larson” written on it. Luckily, dad had filled out a coupon for a contest but didn’t cut it out. Address: Wausa, Nebraska.

Berk called information, eventually reaching a non-relative, who directed Berk to my 96-year-young grandma, who directed him to dad.

In June 1993, dad received a phone call from Berk proclaiming, “I finally found Lamont Larson.”

Dad’s reply: “I didn’t realize I was lost.”

Dad doesn’t view himself as a collector. His love of reading action/adventure kept him entertained and expanded his love of reading.

In 2005, mom and dad, sister Laurie, daughter Courtney and I attended San Diego ComiCon and met a wonderful group of comic enthusiasts and collectors who are passionate about this collection and its impact on the comic book world.

The following day, a gentleman we’d met at the convention stopped us in the hotel lobby and introduced his daughters, screaming, “This….is Lamont Larson.”

Surreal.

It reminded me of groupies converging on a celebrity, waiting to catch a glimpse, snap a blurred photo, or snag a coveted autograph.

To me, he’s dad.

But in the world of comic books, he’s a rock star.

The North Central Nebraska town of Bassett is hoping to gain enough votes to finish among the top three finalists in the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Read my story at the Norfolk Daily News.