Mark Ciardi Movies

Inspired by a true story, this sports drama from director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Thomas McCarthy follows the journey of an aging American sports agent (Jon Hamm) who attempts to save his failing business by traveling to India and recruiting a cricket pitcher to play in the major leagues. Fearing that the recruitment agency he owns with partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) is about to go bust, sports agent JB Bernstein (Hamm) has a flash of inspiration while watching a game of Indian cricket on television: Why search for the next pitching sensation in America, where everyone else is looking, when you can find one in India? Convinced that he's onto something big, JB travels to Mumbai with a sharp-eyed veteran scout (Alan Arkin) and announces a nationwide contest to find India's best picture. Dubbed the "Million Dollar Arm" competition, it quickly draws in 40,000 hopeful athletes in search of their big break. When 18-year-old finalists Rinku (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) come out on top, JB arranges for them to train under famed pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton) until they're ready to join the major leagues. Though at first the two talented pitchers experience a serious case of culture shock, in time they begin to adjust to American customs and their growing relationship with JB takes on a familial tone, offering the self-absorbed agent an important life lesson in the power of commitment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A housewife with little knowledge of horse-racing fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time as the story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner comes to the screen in this inspirational underdog drama based on the novel Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack and starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Penny Chenery (Lane) is a devoted mother and housewife whose ailing father is the proprietor of Meadow Stables in Virginia. When her father becomes too ill to tend to his horses, Penny agrees to take over the stables despite her inexperience. Desperate, she turns to veteran horse trainer Lucien Laurin (Malkovich) to help show her the ropes. Up to this point, horse racing has been a decidedly male-dominated sport. But with Lucien's help, Penny prepares to prove that gender has no bearing on one's ability to breed a fast race horse. As Secretariat blasts out of the gates to leave his competition in the dust, the whole world watches in amazement, and a legend is born. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

From the producers of The Rookie and Remember the Titans comes an inspirational sports drama detailing the true story of a down-on-his-luck football fan whose dreams of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of the gridiron became a once-in-a-lifetime reality when he took part in an open tryout organized by Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) was a 30-year-old substitute teacher and part-time bartender who had never even played college football. When Coach Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) made the unprecedented announcement that he would be holding open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles, Papale would go against incredible odds to live the dream and experience every fan's biggest fantasy. With a position on the Eagles secured and a new life path forged out of little more than determination and persistence, Papale takes to the field to experience the life-altering rush of running yards as a stadium full of cheering fans burst from their seats to support the hometown hero who proved it's never too late to take control of your own destiny. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Former Prada model and Road Trip co-star D.J. Qualls makes a bid for leading man status in this nerd-makeover comedy. Qualls stars as Dizzy, a dorky but delinquent high school student who's determined to get expelled from his hellish high school -- but ends up landing in jail instead. There he meets the intimidating, street-smart Luther (Eddie Griffin), himself a former geek, who takes Dizzy under his wing to teach him the art of being cool. Soon Luther and his pals have broken Dizzy of his meek, maladroit ways, and Dizzy is ready to start a new life at a new high school under a new name: Gil Harris. When Gil arrives at East Highland High -- his former inmate reputation known to all -- he quickly ingratiates himself with the cool kids and lays to waste any jocks who stand in his way. He even manages to date the school's most coveted girl, Danielle (Eliza Dushku). But when a face from his past shows up, it seems that his facade as the big man on campus may be about to crumble. The New Guy also stars Zooey Deschanel and Lyle Lovett, and features cameos from rockers Henry Rollins, Gene Simmons, and Tommy Lee. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi