Categories
Documentary

Review – Robbie Lyle’s ‘Football Fans: Under Their Skin’ (2020)

Presented by Robbie Lyle, Football Fans: Under Their Skin gathers together leaders of supporters groups and prominent fans who are all men of color. Some share their childhood experiences in the stands as victims of racism. It is painful to see how those experiences affected them and their parents. And decades on, not only does racism continue in the stadium, but it now thrives online.

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Comedy Drama Strong Sexuality

‘Go Now’ (1995) is a tearful slide into multiple sclerosis

I came upon this old BBC TV movie by chance on Amazon Prime. By the description, it didn’t seem like a soccer movie, but it turns out that the first 30 minutes deliver trope after trope of non-league football from the touchline in 1990s Bristol, England.

Categories
Documentary

Fulwell73 hits home with ‘Super Greed’ (2022)

Super Greed: The Fight for Football is the first faithful cinematic telling of the 48-hour debacle known as the European Super League (ESL). It will not be the last.

Looking back to Apr-2021, you might recall the Super League with blurry pandemic memories. But because this documentary is from Fulwell73 and Sky Sports, whose business is to cater to football fans, it is hard-hitting and helps us relive the anguish of those few days. It really is like rubbing an enormous pimple on the foreheads of 12 billionaires, and it is so satisfying when the zits pop.

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Cultural Kids

‘Africa United’ (2010) is a modern fairytale

Africa United starts off with Dudu, a young AIDS orphan in Rwanda, lecturing even younger boys on the use of condoms to protect against the disease. He then blows up the condom and turns it into a homemade soccer ball.

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Cultural Documentary

North Korean pride and ‘The Game of Their Lives’ (2002)

Only one week ago, the world watched the Argentina vs France final of WC 2022. For me, the tremendous corruption and the controversies of the World Cup in Qatar overshadowed the football that was meant to be the showcase. But if I could put aside the politics, there were cracking upsets, come from behind wins, and underdog heroics. 

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Documentary

‘Welcome to Wrexham’ (2022) – not your normal sports documentary

There was so much hype about the Welcome To Wrexham docuseries, I put off watching it until I needed the DVR space for  the WC 2022 games. (It’s not like Ryan Reynolds is going to read this review.) But if you’re wondering what to watch in the deluge of streaming sports docuseries, Wrexham is unique because it is like a love child between Sunderland Til I Die and Ted Lasso.

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Documentary

‘FIFA Uncovered’ (2022) the World Cup of Fraud

If you did not have the energy to read the 2014 Garcia Report, the Netflix docuseries FIFA Uncovered is an excellent way to get all the facts in a very visual mode. Director Daniel Gordon interviews journalists, authors, and media experts as well as key principals formerly inside FIFA, and the Qataris who bought the World Cup.

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Documentary

‘The Figo Affair’ (2022) launched Florentino Perez

Hell hath no fury like fans scorned. Over 20 years ago, Barcelona supporters boiled over when Luis Figo betrayed their team and transferred to Real Madrid. With the flair of a thriller, The Figo Affair weaves together the few days over which the deal went down.

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Documentary

[Review] ‘Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me’ (2020)

Long ago, in a league far away, John Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand. At a time when England’s FA was beginning to crack down on racism in the sport, John Terry became the first footballer to go on trial for directing racial slurs at an opponent during a game. The charges were not brought forward by Anton Ferdinand, but by a QPR fan.

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Documentary

‘All or Nothing: Arsenal’ (2022) is All Arteta

Like its predecessor All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspurs, which focused on José Mourinho, the Arsenal series focuses on the equally good-looking manager Mikel Arteta during the 2021-2022 season. I’m not sure why anyone other than an Arsenal fan would want to watch this series.

Categories
Documentary

How should ‘Rooney’ (2022) be remembered?

There are several things to like about the Wayne Rooney documentary. First of all, it’s only 1 hour and 43 minutes. While that’s 13 minutes longer than it should have been, it’s better than having to watch Wayne, Coleen and the kids play bored games in a long drawn-out series that searches for instagram moments.

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Documentary

‘Maradona in Mexico’ (2019) is his saving grace

Amongst many other themes, the Netflix series Maradona in Mexico is about coaching and the power of belief. British Director Angus Macqueen follows Diego Maradona, the players and the staff of Dorados de Sinoloa, a second division club that hopes to be promoted to LigaMX in its 2018-2019 season.

Categories
Comedy

Where have you gone, ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 (2021)?

The Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso has had such a cultural impact, it calls for a separate review for its second season. Season One arrived as an antidote to a toxic presidency and a worldwide pandemic. Coach Ted Lasso was quoted from the pulpit of my local Presbyterian church, in whose congregation almost no one follows soccer.

Categories
Comedy

‘Rovers’ (2016) warm as toast before Ted Lasso

Rovers is a thoroughly enjoyable comic series that only ran one season for 6 episodes. Director and star Craig Cash has a history of comedic series and successes, and it’s a shame that this show didn’t run longer.

Categories
Kids

‘Strike’ (2019) a kids movie with football, mining, and sabotage

Strike is the story of Mungo, a footballing mole with a goal to win the Wild Cup for England. Mungo is torn, because like many footballing greats from the olden days, he has to work in the mines and uphold the proud tradition of his forefathers and everyone else at the Diggington gold mine.