Tag: USA
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How ‘Sons of Ben’ (2015) instituted an MLS team
Don’t get me wrong. The amazing story of Sons of Ben needs to be told. Its 3 founders organically grew a 2,000 member supporters group that demanded MLS grant Philadelphia a team.
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The best soccer dog movie is ‘Pups United’ (2015)
Pups United is a feel-good family film featuring soccer and dogs. I rate it a little higher than the 3 other dog-centric soccer movies I’ve seen. The soccer is pretty good, and the two bad guys (Andrew Tarr and Paul Lang) are very funny.
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‘Street Soccer: New York’ (2013) specializes in not giving up
At first, I thought Street Soccer: New York was almost too slick, like a pure marketing video for Street Soccer USA (SSUSA). SSUSA hosts the US qualifying tournament for the Homeless World Cup. But then I learned how the film came together.
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Goalkeeping tips from ‘The Goalkeepers’ Union’ (2015)
The Goalkeepers’ Union is an excellent NBCSN documentary from Roger Bennett, the mugging half of Men in Blazers. GKs are in an isolated group who understand what other GKs go through. Bennett asks 4 Premier League GKs all the questions that a mere mortal fan would like to ask:
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‘AFC Bournemouth: Together, Anything is Possible’ (2015)
Roger Bennett, the wisecracking word-swilling nipple-tugging right half of Men in Blazers, created this stirring tale of AFC Bournemouth, known as the Cherries. He turns up the drama as AFCB rises from the pit of two successive bankruptcies and near relegation to the EPL in just 7 seasons.
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‘When Saturday Comes’ (1996) surprisingly directed by a woman
Many of the best soccer movies have been directed by women. Unfortunately, When Saturday Comes does not earn that distinction. Sean Bean plays young brewery worker Jimmy Muir, who gets the chance to tryout for his home team, Sheffield United. But Jimmy sabotages himself with his own fear, drink, and lack of self-discipline, along with…
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African life and soccer in Malawi ‘Bush League’ (2010)
Documentarian Cy Kuckenbaker followed his Peace Corps buddy Jake Wilson to Malawi, where Jake had signed up for a second stint. Wilson’s assignment in Malawi is business development, which he implements by helping the villagers of Zolokere to grow vegetables and then use the proceeds to buy equipment for the town soccer team. The soccer…
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‘On Angel’s Wings’ (2014) is too much of a fairytale
On Angel’s Wings is a faith-based family film meant to provide positive African-American role models on the UPTV network. Unfortunately, Writer-Director Aaron Williams stitches together so many model caricatures, he omits telling a story that makes sense.
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Hard to stay awake through ‘My Dad’s a Soccer Mom’ (2014)
My Dad’s a Soccer Mom plays to a stereotype of loud-mouth narcissistic Black professional athletes. When Lester Speight is the star, it’s hard to tell any other story. An NFL linebacker whose contract is not renewed, he ends up playing stay-at-home Dad to his 10 year old daughter.
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Still seeking justice in the ‘Ceasefire Massacre’ (2014)
The goal of Ceasefire Massacre is to raise awareness of a 1994 mass shooting in Northern Ireland which remains unsolved, likely due to a police or government coverup. This short documentary is an ESPN 30 for 30 TV episode that aired just before the 20th anniversary of the Loughinisland Massacre. Like the ESPN film Hillsborough,…
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‘Surviving and Soccer in Sierra Leone’ (2015) – an Ebola story
Erison Turay and his mother lost 38 of their relatives to Ebola in Sierra Leone and were left with 15 family orphans to care for. He and his mother overcame their infections, but survivors cannot find jobs and their struggles to live continue on.
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‘The Opposition’ (2014) – Chile’s national stadium used for torture
I watched The Opposition last year but didn’t write about it because the film was so disturbing. This ESPN 30 for 30 TV episode documents how General Pinochet’s junta tortured and killed dissidents. They used the Chilean national stadium as a prison while the team prepared to qualify for WC 1974.
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Ossie Ardiles between England and ‘White, Blue and White’ (2014)
White, Blue and White is an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that examines the effect of the Falklands War on Argentines Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. After winning WC 1978* in Buenos Aires, they are recruited by newly promoted Tottenham to become the first Argentines to play in the England First Division. They are wildly…
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‘Game of Life’ (2007) – don’t let the soccer ball fool you
I couldn’t ignore a movie that has a soccer ball on its DVD cover. But Game of Life actually has very little to do with soccer. The story follows 5 families whose 10 year old boys play on a recreational soccer team that keeps losing. But the families don’t interact with each other.
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‘American Pharaoh’ (2014) too often feels like a home movie
American Pharaoh is Hossam Aboul-Magd’s first shot at directing and is a 60 minute documentary for PBS. Hossam is a one-man film crew, following Bradley and his wife Lindsay during their 2 year residency in Cairo. He became their friend, and perhaps that is why the film is so weak.
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In ‘Will’ (2011) a child never walks alone
Within the short list of soccer films directed by women, there is a surprising number of Americans who have directed ostensibly British films. Will is just such a case. Americans Ellen Perry (Director) and Zack Anderson (Writer) have created a family film drama around Liverpool FC.
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Arab Spring got in Bob Bradley’s way in ‘We Must Go’ (2014)
Soccer fans looking for a way to be part of WC2014, documentarians Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker followed Bob Bradley on his questionably sane task to coach the Egyptian National Team to Brazil. Arab Spring got in the way. The film captures not so much Bradley’s journey, but the journey of Egypt’s young people and…
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‘Bad Parents’ (2012) roguishly true before it goes dark
The title Bad Parents is a clue that this indie film is in the Bad Grandpa, Bad Teacher, Bad Santa genre. But it is more than that because up until the 58th minute, this indie film rings roguishly true.
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‘Kicking It’ (2008) an entertaining film that matters
Kicking It is a Ted Leonsis production that tries to influence you to do good while wrapping you up in a good story. It is “filmanthropy”, according to Leonsis, a billionaire sports team owner, philanthropist, former AOL executive, and media maven. Leonsis spotted Director Susan Koch $1 million so that she could follow players in…
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Is ‘The Beautiful Game’ (2012) the best way out of Africa?
Producer Julian Cautherly and Director Victor Buhler began working on their Africa10 film project in advance of WC 2010. Their lofty goal was to show how a passion for soccer encourages development and change in Africa. But for those in poverty, soccer is more like a winning lottery ticket out of the country to a better…
