Tag: First-feature
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‘Copa 71’ (2023) preserves the history we did not know
A benefit of having Serena Williams as an executive on your movie is that your film gets a lot of attention, and in this case, a lot of movie reviews. The reviews for Copa 71 are all quite glowing, and I certainly agree this sports documentary is important for showing a piece of female football…
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Football builds community in ‘Las Leonas’ (2022)
Las Leonas is an 8v8 tournament in Rome, where 6 recreational-level womens teams give their all on a small soccer pitch. They are almost all immigrants in Italy, and are mostly from South America. These women in the 30s and 40s play football on their only day off in the week. It gives them community…
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When love of football lands you in jail – ‘The Football Aficionado’ (2022)
When a sport is global, modern parts of the world have decided that societal rules of anti-discrimination should apply to all countries. Thus, FIFA has the power to ban nations from the World Cup if their federations allow homophobic or racist chants in stadiums or preclude women from attending games. While FIFA has this power,…
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‘Greener Grass’ (2019) a lauded absurdist nightmare
I normally don’t research a film before watching it. But I did, and I found an amazing number of reviews praising the 2019 feature film Greener Grass as gloriously twisted, absurdist, surreal, demented, satirical, hilariously deadpan, weird, hysterical and a surprise hit at Sundance.
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Even the smallest dream needs ‘Hero Steps’ (2016)
Pasos de Héroe (Hero Steps) is a heartwarming story of a boy who has lost his lower leg from stepping on a land mine, but he has not lost the strength to manifest his dream of competing in a futbol tournament.
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A captivating tale of a youth tournament in ‘Kids Cup’ (‘Bortebane’ 2021)
The documentary Kids Cup (original title is Bortebane) follows 5 young footballers, ages 13-14, as they prepare for, compete, win, and lose in a huge international youth tournament known as the Norway Cup. If you’ve ever played in or taken your child to a travel tournament, as we call it in the USA, you and…
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Gumption gets Fathima on the Mic (2023)
Even without a soccer setting, Sesham Mike-il Fathima is a drama difficult to categorize. It’s not really a sports film but more about female empowerment as protagonist Fathima pursues her goal of becoming a match commentator in the IFL Indian Football League. The title translates as “Up next, Fathima on the mic (microphone)”.
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‘Aussie Chuk-gu Dream’ (2015) – Koreans aspire in the land of AUS
Even though Aussie Chuk-gu Dream is almost 10 years old, it is a unique story of 1st generation South Korean immigrants trying to succeed at sports in predominantly White Australia. But if you don’t know much about being a minority, this documentary does an excellent job of showing how a Korean community can use sport…
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Review: ‘The Ladies with Style’ – ‘Banyana ba Style’ (2022)
The Ladies with Style (Banyana ba Style) was showcased at the BrandStorytelling 2024 event in Utah, which ran in parallel to Sundance. The event honored this film from first-time Director Caroline Brouckaert, because it so effectively melded entertainment, impact, and purpose, and because it was their first selection to get distributed by a major platform…
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‘The Ultimate Goal’ (2017) — inspirational behind the scenes
English footballer Dan Metcalfe has been the soccer coach to the stars of Hollywood, choreographing the soccer action and training the actors for many films such as Will Ferrell’s Kicking and Screaming and Amanda Bynes’ She’s the Man. In The Ultimate Goal, Metcalfe advances beyond an accessory role and adds Writer Director and Producer to…
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Steve Zahn is perfect in ‘Gringa’ (2023)
First of all, spoiler alert — nothing terrible happens in Gringa. I had hesitated to watch this movie because I thought it was going to be a depressing trope about failed lives and relationships. But instead, Gringa is about second chances — the chances we give ourselves to recover, and the chances we give others…
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Briana Scurry can’t save ‘High Expectations’ (2022)
It would be a cheap joke to say that I had high expectations for the soccer movie High Expectations. Actually, I had pretty low expectations, given that I had recently seen one of Kelsey Grammer’s Christmas movies. But Kelsey is not the problem in this drama, it’s pretty much everything else — except him and…
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Have a laugh with ‘The Outcasts’ | ‘El Matareed’ (2023)
Before The Outcasts, aka El Matareed, Egypt had a pretty long history of funny football films. While much of this film is silly and over the top, I actually watched it twice and enjoyed it both times. The performances are entertaining, and the storylines are more complex than you initially think. In fact, for Egypt,…
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Review: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson – Never Give In’ (2021)
We just started subscribing to Paramount+, and I was delighted to see that one of the movies available was Sir Alex Ferguson – Never Give In. It’s a delightful documentary that shows the depths and roots of the man, and how his environment shaped his coaching career.
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‘Cass’ (2008) is a hooligan movie you should watch
I had resolved not to review another hooligan movie, but Cass is not one of those hit-and-tell stories that glorifies football supporter violence. Instead, this gripping film shows how a young Black man rises above the hatred that surrounds him. In the case of Cass Pennant, hatred comes from many sources: his skin color, which…
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‘Khartoum Offside’ (2019) intimate but confusing
Khartoum Offside is Writer-Director Marwa Zein’s first feature length film and has won a number of awards. I just don’t know enough about the film industry to understand why.
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‘King Otto’ (2021) wins your heart
What does it mean to be Greek? King Otto shows us through the initial friction between and then a melding of German and Greek cultures on a football pitch. Combining ambitious German discipline with Greek passion and spirit, the result is an improbable underdog run through the 2004 Euros. Like Morocco’s recent run through WC…
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‘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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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,…
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‘The Soccer Football Movie’ (2022) – weird and unwatchable
The Soccer Football Movie needs a big red alert that warns “Not Suitable for Small Children”. Followed by a second warning that says “Indigestible for Adults”.
