Film Review – All Square

From marketing efforts to screenplay nods, there’s a lot in “All Square” that’s meant to evoke the vibe of the 1976 classic, “The Bad News Bears.” Screenwriter Timothy Brady isn’t shy about his fandom, working to update the concept for a modern age, merging the innocence of Little League and the corruption of the adults in charge of raising the players. Despite some similarities, Brady generally pushes to do his own thing with the material, going darker with guardian motivations, while the kids are mostly pawns in a dangerous game of sports betting. “All Square” doesn’t succeed on the humor front, it’s a bit too oppressive to trigger laughs, but Brady offers a character study that’s textured, giving viewers a feel for life lived beneath a hardened exterior.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com