It's baseball time again, and here are are three movies to get you in the mood for the long season, courtesy of Joseph Jones of the Strongsville branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. Eight Men Out — Based on a true story, this film looks back at the 1919 baseball season. No free agency or big money endorsements left players at the mercy of team owners. Gamblers looking to take advantage talked several players on the heavily favored Chicago White Sox  to throw that year's World Series. It took the following season before the news became public in one of the biggest sports scandals ever…

How badly do you want a cherished old film or cult classic to enjoy at home? How about buying it in the form of a burned DVD-R? I'll be honest, I detest DVD-Rs for collecting movies and don't even consider them real discs. However, some of the movie companies feel the market is right for just such a product and are offering part of their film library exclusively this way. Warner Bros. is leading the charge with its own Warner Archive Collections. Movies are offered as single discs or as part of larger packages. One of my favorite silly monster movies, "The Green Slime," is available for $24.…

"Despicable Me" was a pleasant surprise for me. Its plot reminds me of Mad magazine's "Spy Vs. Spy" where two evil spies try to one-up each other with tricks and gadgetry. Here, two criminal masterminds, our "hero" Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and Vector (voiced by Jason Segal) face off with each other. Tipping the scale in this battle of super villains are three orphan girls. That's not to mention the delightful Minions, little bugged-eyed yellow monsters that are a real riot and steal every scene they're in. The laughs are plentiful here. The animation is top notch. I found "Despicable Me…

My favorite detective TV show, Ellery Queen Mysteries, has finally found life on DVD. I'm thrilled to see this grand 1975 series once again that featured the late great Jim Hutton as the titled hero. Why Ellery Queen Mysteries only lasted one season is a true mystery to me. It was a fun romp that predated mystery classics such as Murder, She Wrote and more recently Monk (see more on this show below) that were real ratings winners. It must have just been ahead of the curve. I was heartbroken when it was prematurely canceled and I haven't seen it since. Hutton is brilliant in the role of Ellery…