Author: MJ-A
-
‘Studs’ (2006) a revived Irish comedy with theatrical roots
Studs is an Irish soccer comedy with a good performance from Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter’s Professor MadEye Moody). Gleeson plays a mysterious manager whose seeming identity inspires a ragtag Sunday team to a Cup final. But the downer ending left me very ambivalent.
-
‘Garrincha, Lonely Star’ (2003) wasn’t all that lonely
Manuel Francisco dos Santos, commonly known as Mané Garrincha, was second only to Pelé as one of Brazil’s greatest players. Garrincha – Estrela Solitária is a docudrama that shows his dribbling flair on the field and his sexual exploits.
-
‘A Shot at Glory’ (2000) largely misses
A Shot at Glory starts off with a bit of fun — the ashes of a long time fan are poured onto the Kilnockie stadium turf so that he can “be with the lads”. It’s during practice, and as the team distractedly stands in respect, they juggle the ball from one to another down the…
-
In ‘Fever Pitch’ (1997) long-suffering Arsenal fan enjoys 1989
Funny how British soccer movies analyze the game’s joyless effect on its fans, in minute detail. I watched 3 of them in 2 days and realized that deep-down, the Brits hate soccer! Or at least, British screenwriters do.
-
‘Those Glory Glory Days’ (1983) Tottenham Spurs a first love
A sports nut since childhood, Julie Welch was the first female soccer sports writer on Fleet Street. She was asked to write a screenplay for a British television series that would capture the passions of first love.
-
Why do so many like the Stallone movie ‘Victory’ (1981) ?
It’s sad that many think Victory is the iconic American soccer movie, because this movie is pretty ordinary and has aged poorly. Victory is a World War Two POW movie that pays heavy homage to The Great Escape; the POWs escape while playing against the Nazis.
-
Well done but little soccer in ‘The Boys in Company C’ (1978)
The Boys in Company C was one of the first films to portray the senselessness of the Vietnam War. It’s a war movie and not a soccer movie by any means. But, to borrow a phrase from Susan Jeffords, this film asks if a soccer game is a “thing worth dying for”.
-
Stories collide in flamboyant ‘Kickoff’ (2010)
Kickoff is about the first game of the season for a man who puts together a 5-man gay team for a Sunday league. He wants his players to act manly like footballers, but instead this flamboyant, very buff crew is far out in left field.
-
‘La Copa de los Sueños’ (2007) a low-budget futbol film
La Copa de los Sueños, or The Cup of Dreams, or Soccer Dreams is a low-budget soccer film. Shot in Tijuana, the orphans in a children’s home enter a tournament in order to win enough money to pay for the house mom’s brain tumor surgery.
-
Yes, it exists — ‘World Cup Car Soccer’ (2006)
World Cup Car Soccer is a car soccer movie. This is not like Herbie, though. This DVD is JDM Option International Volume 26 and includes a “world championship” of two Japanese teams of 5 cars each playing car soccer (aka Jidousha soccer). I could only watch about 10 minutes of the 75 minute recording, as…
-
‘The Other Half’ (2006) one long joke
The Other Half is a long drawn-out joke. An England fan plans a honeymoon in Portugal so that he can sneak off to England’s three Euro 2004 games. The complication is that his American wife doesn’t even know he’s a soccer fan, and her father has paid for the honeymoon.
-
Understanding the ‘Lesbians of Buenos Aires’ (2004)
Lesbianas de Buenos Aires is not really a soccer movie. Neither is it a movie that Howard Sterns would salivate over. It is a documentary of interviews of several unrelated 30ish lesbians.
-
‘Big Brother Trouble’ (2000) good soccer but not entertaining
Big Brother Trouble is a terribly boring kids movie from Hemisphere Entertainment. An 11 year old boy is infatuated with his new 16 year old neighbor, but he becomes outraged that she is attracted to his big brother, a star soccer player.
-
A young footballing Gary Oldman in ‘The Firm’ (1989)
The Firm was an episode of a BBC TV series in 1989. A young 30ish Gary Oldman stars as Bexie — a middle class father, real estate agent, weekend soccer player, and the boss of a hooligan gang.
-
‘Pele O’Rey’ (1962) a collection of Pelé goals
O Rei Pelé, or Pelé the King, is a good resource, showing Pelé’s life and many goals. As I didn’t become a soccer fan until 1999, I had never seen Pele play except for in the movie Victory.
-
‘Heleno’ (2011) an art film mostly off the pitch
Information about Brazilian great Heleno De Freitas is scanty when compared to Garrincha or Pelé. He was born in 1920 and predated Brazil’s success on the world stage. Heleno won no trophies for his club Botafogo, he played in no World Cups, and so there is no film of his play.
-
‘Peloteros’ (2006) a family-unfriendly macho mess
While the DVD title is Street Soccer, Peloteros means ball players, or in this context, footballers. The movie is a coming of age summer tale of six boys in a poor Peruvian neighborhood who enter a tournament to compete against older and semi-pro players.
-
‘Sixty Six’ (2006) a miserable tale of Bar Mitzvah woe
Sixty Six is director Paul Weiland’s autobiographical tale of woe about how his Bar Mitzvah was ruined by the nearby England vs Germany WC 1966 Final. In his own words, “It is a very cruel movie”, and he believes it is humorous. But after the boy pins all his self-worth on having a party to…
-
‘Sexy Soccer’ (2004) is soft core
Billed as an “erotic comedy”, Sexy Soccer is a Hong Kong soft core pornfilm (original title = Sing gum zhook kao). I was surprised that it was rentable on Netflix, but I guess the erotica is about as revealing as the usual fare on HBO.
-
‘The Football Factory’ (2004) makes war without weapons
I almost never watch war movies or dramas, but watching the 2004 British movie The Football Factory was like watching a war movie without weapons.
