Author: MJ-A
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‘Soccer City’ (2010) lacks passion for the game
Nick Fitzhugh went to South Africa during World Cup 2010 and filmed Soccer City, ostensibly about the impact of soccer on South African culture. He interviewed and followed the lives of various youth players and former National Team members.
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‘Rudo y Cursi’ (2008) a story you can’t forget
Rudo y Cursi is an artful story of hick half-brothers from banana plantations in the Cihuatlán Valley between Jalisco and Colima. An agent discovers them and signs them to opposing First Division teams in Mexico City, where they succumb to the trappings of success.
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‘Below the Earth’s Surface’ (2008) can this stadium be saved?
Below the Earth’s Surface (or Gaping Abyss) is a German TV action movie in a stadium, it is not really a soccer movie. But it has good production values and rolls along at a tense pace.
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‘Her Best Move’ (2007) tale from a soccer dad
Family friendly, Her Best Move rises above the other teen/kid soccer movies in the authenticity of the players and the story. The film accurately portrays the trade-offs and stresses on soccer prodigies as well as their families and coaches.
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‘Goal II: Living the Dream’ (2007) and continuing the franchise
Goal 2: Living the Dream continues the rags-to-riches fantasy of Santiago Munez, who migrates from the streets of Los Angeles to become a super-sub at Newcastle. In this sequel, Santi and his buddy Gavin end up at Real Madrid, with Santi on his way up and Gavin on his way down.
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Challenges of the Palestine NT in ‘Goal Dreams’ (2006)
Goal Dreams follows the Palestinian National Team in the month leading up to their all-important World Cup 2006 qualifying game against Uzbekistan. The team has many problems to overcome. They must practice in Egypt and play their game in Qatar, in an empty stadium. Six players cannot exit Gaza until 2 weeks before the game,…
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‘Chronicle of an Escape’ (2006) from an Argentine prison
Gritty and gripping, Chronicle of an Escape is a true story about innocents and leftists who “disappeared” at the hands of the Argentine juntas during 1976-1983. The filmmakers show how interrogators use torture, starvation, and humiliation to crush the human spirit.
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‘The Game of Their Lives’ (2005) in a historic USMNT win
Maybe like me, you fell asleep during The Game of Their Lives (retitled The Miracle Match on DVD) when it played on the big screen in Apr-2005. Although directed and written by the same guys who did Hoosiers, the pace is very slow in this telling of the USA victory over England at World Cup…
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‘Joyeux Noel’ (2005) the WWI Christmas Truce
Some of the movies I’ve reviewed were difficult to get hold of. Joyeux Noël was one such movie. I stayed in a hotel in Avila Beach where they had this DVD in their library! It’s a fairly well done movie, but like The Boys in Company C, it is really an anti-war movie, not a…
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‘Soccer Dog: European Cup’ (2004) so silly it’s fun
It’s kind of strange that, of the little information on the web about Soccer Dog: European Cup, most of it is incorrect. Back in 2012, the imdb description used to say that this movie was about a pornstar running a Scottish team. Other sites say this sequel to Soccer Dog: The Movie is about an…
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‘Air Bud World Pup’ (2001) dogs and funny referees
In the Disney Air Bud franchise, a dog named Buddy plays on all the sports teams at a high school. In Air Bud 3: World Pup, Buddy’s owner joins the soccer team because of the new girl from England (who is the best player).
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‘Atlético San Pancho’ (2001) cows and Coca Cola
When a red Coca Cola soccer ball falls from the sky, the school janitor takes this as a sign that he must revive the soccer tradition of his village. With the help of a former pro who has come home to run his father’s tiny store, janitor Don Pepe assembles team Atlético San Pancho. The school…
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‘Soccer Dog: The Movie’ (1999) well done in good fun
In Soccer Dog: The Movie, a 34 year old man, who grew up in a orphanage, moves to a true soccer town. Realizing he can’t participate in the fun without a son, he and his wife return to the orphanage to adopt a young teenage boy, who subsequently brings home a stray dog.
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‘The Big Green’ (1995) a timeless Disney soccer movie
The Big Green is a formulaic Disney movie about an underdog soccer team. Disney knows how to create a film that doesn’t age and that can be shown to successive generations of little kids for decades. The Big Green is the Disney equivalent of a Twinkie.
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‘Pilkarski Poker’ (1989) how to bribe Polish referees
In Pilkarski Poker (aka Soccer Poker), Laguna is a former star player who has risen to the top of the referee ranks despite his drinking. A co-op of owners bribe him to make calls that will ensure which team will win the premier league and which will be relegated. But Laguna hasn’t taken bribes before,…
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Hard to care about this ‘Coach’ (2010)
Coach is a straight-to-DVD film by first-time-feature Writer-Director Will Frears. Hugh Dancy is a slacker and soccer bum in New York City. He doesn’t need to work, but he finds romance and purpose when he takes a job coaching middle school kids to the league championship.
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‘Gracie’ (2007) – made by people who love the game
Gracie is one of the few fictional movies where the director and producer work hard to make the soccer look authentic. It’s the story of a soccer-crazed family whose first born son dies in high school, so his younger sister Gracie tries to take his place on the boys’ soccer field. In the 1970s in…
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‘Vasermil’ (2007) an Israeli downer
Writer-director Mushon Salmona conceived the idea for his first feature film Vasermil after making a documentary about the marginal lives of teenagers in his hometown of Beer-Sheva, in southern Israel. The three boys in this story all come from broken homes and have to grow up quickly, although they are ill-prepared to do so.
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‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ (2007) British Hindu issues
In Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, a South Asian community in England has a struggling semi-pro football team. They need to win the league or the stadium will be sold for redevelopment. Sadly, their star is enticed to play for their better all-white rivals. But the star player encounters racism on his new team. He returns to his…
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‘Inspector Mom’ (2005) not worth watching
Danica McKellar has grown up from being Winnie on the Wonder Years, to Inspector Mom. This TV movie led to a short-lived series about soccer mom Maddie Monroe, a former police department employee who is a pretty good sleuth on her own, ala Angela Lansbury in “Murder, She Wrote”.
