Author: MJ-A
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‘Marvellous’ (2014) is as warm and fuzzy as Ted Lasso
It’s very tempting –and lazy– to rate the film Marvellous (British spelling) as marvelous (American spelling), as in extraordinary, surprising, wonderful, and amazing. The truth is that the film is very heartwarming but not quite marvelous, because it is so understated, much like Neil Baldwin, the man on which it is based.
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‘Champion’ (2025) is a grand epic worth watching for Roshann Meka
Champion (ఛాంపియన్) is an ambitious film from a first-feature director and a literal first-feature star, describing a historical tragedy that few people knew. From an idea conceived during the pandemic, it took 2 years for Writer-Director Pradeep Advaitham to pull his story and crew together. The result is an entertaining epic period piece that hangs…
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![[Review] Ultras: Passion and Death (2026)](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ultras-passion-and-death-thumbnail.jpg)
[Review] Ultras: Passion and Death (2026)
Ultras: Pasión Y Muerte is a 3-episode docuseries from HBO Max. I watched it and then forgot to review it, which indicates how little impact the series had on me.
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Getting to know Lukas Podolski in ‘Poldi’ (2026)
Lukas Podolski is to Germany as David Beckham is to England. They are both members of golden generations of their National Teams. They are both pretty good at generating personal wealth. They both have their own documentaries.
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‘Mourinho’ (2026) shows why José is a Legend
José Mourinho has been around so long, it is worthwhile to know why he is a legend. This 3-episode docuseries provides lots of player opinions, exciting game footage, and his own past and present answers to questions to establish what made him legendary.
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![[Review] ‘Emi Martinez: The Kid who Stops Time’ (2026)](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/emi-martinez-thumbnail.jpg)
[Review] ‘Emi Martinez: The Kid who Stops Time’ (2026)
I normally stay away from movies about current footballers, because such films are just 2 hour commercials. But this Emi Martinez hybrid documentary from Director Gustavo Cova is a delight and could be great family fare.
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‘Bomb Scared’ (2017) is not a soccer movie
Fe de Etarras is a Spanish comedy about Basque terrorists. Obviously, that sentence means the film will be received with some controversy.
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Enjoy Diego Luna’s comedic corruption in ‘Mexico 86’ (2026)
Mexico 86 is one of the few soccer movies where I changed my opinion about the film after reading interviews of Director Gabriel Ripstein.
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A Return to the WC by ‘Norway: The Dark Horse’ (2026)
Norway: The Dark Horse tells the inside story of how Norway qualified for WC2026, as told by those who finally did it. It is an engaging 2-episode docuseries that was released on Netflix just prior to the start of the tournament. Which meant that I didn’t have time to watch it until after the WC…
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Football Confessions of a Hatchet Man – ‘Untold UK: Vinnie Jones’ (2026)
As part of its buildup for WC 2026, Netflix has released a few shows created for Untold UK. Two of them are quite similar rags to riches stories: that of Jamie Vardy and Vinnie Jones. Had they not been footballers, they would have been factory workers or bricklayers. Both films are excellent, but Vinnie’s documentary…
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A short-term worlds-greatest phenom — ‘Ronaldinho: The One and Only’ (2026)
Ronaldinho: The One and Only, the Netflix 3-part series about the iconic Brazilian player, is entertaining enough that my hubby watched the whole thing — almost 3 hours.
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WTF went wrong – ‘The Bus: A French Football Mutiny’ (2026)
Le Bus: Les Bleus en grève gives us insider information on the truly catastrophic disaster that was France at WC 2010 in South Africa.
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Enthralling — ‘Untold UK: Jamie Vardy’ (2026)
Part of the Netflix Untold series, the Jamie Vardy story took a very long time to get to our screens. It’s been over a decade since he beat 5000:1 odds and put Leicester City FC at the top of the Premier League.
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‘Little Angels’ (2025) is a redemption story for rich male coaches
Dean Cain’s Little Angels entertains without making any big waves. It’s heart-warming family fare, covers all the usual soccer movie bases, and it includes Brandi Chastain. And uh, Lou Ferrigno. But the story is not about the girls, it’s really about the high paid college football coach.
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‘Balls Up’ (2026), Mark Wahlburg stock Down
It takes a lot of balls to make an entire comedy about condoms designed to win the World Cup. My issue is not that the film is in poor taste — the whole story is weird and just not funny.
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Notes: Best and Worst Soccer Movies in 2025
As noted last year, after the Golden Age of Streaming, Hollywood is now in a depression. And so am I. The administration of #DasFuror has weighed me down with constant stories of corruption, cutbacks, incompetence, climate change denial, and cult of personality.
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Review – ‘Luva de Pedreiro: Viral Moves’ (2024)
Humble beginnings and great success can lead to a lucrative career, flashpoint burnout, or both. This is a fascinating 3-episode docuseries about Brazilian football influencer Luva de Pedreiro (real name Iran Ferreira), who rocketed to fame, flamed out at high altitude, and then came back.
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Review: ‘Fantasy Football Ruined Our Lives’ (2025)
Ogni Maledetto Fantacalcio is an Italian farce centered around the players of an online game of fantasy football (fantacalcio). Director Alessio Maria Federici is a devotee of the game and an admirer of The Hangover trilogy, and so we get the best and the worst of both.
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Adebayo Akinfenwa’s post-playing career in ‘Beast Mode On’ (2022)
6’1″ and 229 pounds, Adebayo Akinfenwa was a beast of a striker, able to bench press twice his considerable weight. On a soccer scale, it would be like seeing Mean Joe Green or the Refrigerator (William Perry) run at you. Like, where can you hide? And yet, until this documentary, I had never heard of…
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‘Maidaan’ (2024) reveals the golden age of Indian football
The film Maidaan (मैदान), a story of India’s most successful national team coach, seemed to be cursed from the beginning.
