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A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This film belongs to Tommy Lee Jones. His performance in the title role is one to remember and I'm slightly surprised he wasn't nominated for an oscar. He plays the person of Ty Cobb as being unpleasant, unpredictable, eccentric but also rather tragic. Robert Wuhl compliments him as the real life biographer, Al Stump. The setting is the early 1960s. Ty Cobb - in his 70s - agrees to be interviewed by sports writer and biographer Al Stump after the latter feels the baseball hero should be more of a household name. What follows has to be seen in order to be believed.... The acting from the leads is what maintains the film. The fact that "Cobb" is mainly a two hander, helps to keep the film as that of a drama and character study. There isn't that much of a big supporting cast. Everyone else is kept firmly in the background and it works. The writing is outstanding and both Cobb and Stump have been given plenty of depth. I was a bit disappointed when I discovered that there is hardly any baseball footage or that the film doesn't begin with Cobb's life story from the beginning. In my opinion, the film would have benefited greatly. The foul language goes rather too far on more than one occasion and soon becomes predictable. The screenplay isn't exactly depressing as such. On the contrary, there are amusing moments along the way. One example, is the scene where Stump is notified that his wife wants a divorce! Cobb has a good laugh at his expense because it reminds him of similar times. There is a particularly moving scene near the end. Cobb successfully tracks down the location of his estranged daughter and is hoping she will speak to him. Stump presents him with the news that this is not going to happen. There is no dialogue to be heard as Stump is informed by the woman in question of her decision regarding her father. The visual interaction between the two speaks volumes. Watching from his car, Cobb knows instinctively that it's not good news. "Cobb" was hardly given a theatrical release in 1994 and is pretty hard to obtain on DVD these days. The film proves that Tommy Lee Jones can easily qualify as a character actor and the above film proves that.

Tommy Lee Jones has been in so many movies and so many various roles over the course of his acting career, that I would be hard-pressed to pick out a "best role" for him. Suffice it to say, though, that none of his roles are demonstrably better than his turn as Ty Cobb here.For a basic plot summary, "Cobb" tells the story of famous old-time ballplayer Ty Cobb (Jones), who hires sportswriter Al Stump (Robert Wuhl) to write his biography in his advanced age. While trying to wade through the legends and get to the facts about Cobb's life both in and out of baseball, Stump begins to discover just how crazy of a character Cobb was (and even is in his final years!).What makes this movie such a classic for me is that though clearly made for a baseball-themed audience (if you don't like baseball, you probably won't care a ton about Cobb), the movie contains relatively few scenes of actual baseball action. It does enough to establish what Cobb was like on the field, but other than that it is much more of an "off the field" biography story.That is where Tommy Lee Jones comes in. Without his energy, this could have been a very depressing, lifeless sort of movie. However, I don't think I've ever seen Jones throw himself into a role quite like Ty Cobb. Who knows what Cobb was really like (besides Al Stump himself) in those final years/interviews, but Jones does his best based on what was known to capture the fiery essence of perhaps the greatest player to ever step on a baseball diamond.If you have no interest in the national pastime, "Cobb" might not be for you, as it is filled with many baseball themes that are integral to understanding the whole story. If you are a baseball fan who hasn't stumbled across this somewhat-rare gem, though, boy are you ever in for a treat! I would also recommend reading the Stump biography of Cobb as a whole, as that truly is one of the greatest athlete biographies of all-time.

The story of legendary baseballer Ty Cobb.A fascinating subject, poorly studied. The problem is lack of focus. Ty Cobb is at the same time portrayed as comical and massively bigoted, light and dark. You don't know whether to laugh with him or at him, or just be shocked. The plot itself is mostly just a cross-country caper, filled with mindless high jinks. In the end, you do get a good feel for Cobb's character and personal demons, but it takes so long to get to the point. A tighter, grittier script and direction were required.Tommy Lee Jones does what the director asked of him - played an alpha male whose antics were vastly over-the-top. Robert Wuhl is irritating as the sports writer / biographer.

Tommy Lee Jones may not look much like the infamous ballplayer Ty Cobb, but he sure does embody his spirit, hatred, and consistent belligerence wonderfully. To play a person of his magnitude certainly requires ambition and drive but also talent and diversity. Jones tackles the player with the hatred and evilness that many archived articles and reports have claimed he proudly wore with piercing accuracy.Today, in 2012, baseball players are often viewed as "heroes," "role models," and sometimes even people who provide us with more motivation and passion than those we know in real life. Players like Starlin Castro, Alfonso Soriano, and Jim Thome have etched themselves into the hearts of many. Cobb would've etched himself in the dark side of someone's heart. He was a racist, sexist, selfish, mean-spirited, cocky, gun-toting ignoramus who hated everyone except himself. He thought of himself as "the sport of baseball," completely shunning teamwork and thoroughly enjoyed being hated by literally everyone in the audience. He thought the fact that they showed up to the stadium to throw food and garbage on him was the highest compliment someone could pay.The film centers around not his baseball career, but how a famed sportswriter had the questionably fortunate opportunity to dig into Cobb as a real person in 1959. That man was Al Stump (Robert Wuhl), who was hired to act as a ghostwriter for Cobb's autobiography. Initially, Stump is incredibly honored and thrilled to be given such a job, being able to spend days and nights with "the best baseball player of all time." But when Stump arrives, he is immediately greeted with loud rants from a writer who walks on him and we eventually see Cobb, as he lies in bed, frail and uninspired, verbally assaulting the poor man as he tries to simply reason with him and remain civil.Cobb suggests that him and Stump drive down to Reno to have sex with random women - an act he hopes to accomplish before he dies. He insists on driving recklessly through a terrible blizzard and, as he slips and slides down the road, Cobb briefly illustrates his baseball history for Al.You'd believe the film was told entirely in flashback, but the flashback ceases only after a few minutes and we are back in the present with Al and Cobb, and that's where we remain for the remainder of the picture. It is widely known that Stump published a book shortly after spending days on end with Cobb, but that was the fabricated version he was conned into writing for the man, which the film heavily explores. Al secretly kept a real recollection of his treatment and relationship with the man, but resorted to scribbling notes on cocktail napkins, small pieces of paper, etc. He then released a book detailing the true accounts of the man years after his death - accounts that are depicted in this film.Ron Shelton's Cobb is far from a perfect biopic. It's a little choppy, somewhat dry in sequences, and may run twenty minutes too long, but the fact that it humanizes an unbelievably despicable character, is written with little tongue in cheek innuendos, and the fact that it showcases many honorable performances makes it one that proves its existence nicely.Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, and Lolita Davidovich. Directed by: Ron Shelton.