Asked what The Magnificent Eleven is about, actor Robert Vaughn* boiled it down to: “Dancing footie players, nude.” This film is a little more than that, but it does put that nudie footie player thing front and center quite a bit. Continue reading “Review: The Magnificent Eleven (2012)”
Subbuteopia (2012)
Subbuteopia captures the history and passion for the game of Subbuteo (Table Soccer) and its enthusiasts, who persevered despite Hasbro’s cancelling the product.
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Reds & Blues: The Ballad of Dixie & Kenny (2010)
Reds & Blues is a football farce about 2 sets of ardent fans who live next door to each other in Merseyside. One neighbor supports Everton (Blues), while the other supports Liverpool (Reds). Continue reading “Reds & Blues: The Ballad of Dixie & Kenny (2010)”
Review: When Saturday Comes (1996)
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.
Continue reading “Review: When Saturday Comes (1996)”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 yo daughter. Continue reading “My Dad’s a Soccer Mom (2014)”
War Game (2002)
Michael Foreman is a renowned British author and illustrator of many children’s books. But the book that affected people the most was his 1989 “War Boy”, about what it was like to grow up in a small village at the start of World War I.
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*, they are recruited by newly promoted Tottenham to become the first Argentines to play in the England First Division.
Game of Life (2007)
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 boys play on a recreational soccer team that keeps losing. But the families don’t interact with each other. Continue reading “Game of Life (2007)”
Thank God for Football (2013)
A strong Christian and avid researcher, Peter Lupson published his book Thank God for Football! in 2006. A few years later, he ran into an executive of the Christian Television Association. That heaven-sent meeting resulted in a documentary of the 12 past and present EPL teams that were founded by churches. Continue reading “Thank God for Football (2013)”
Review: Strangers (2007)
After winning a short film competition at Sundance 2004, Israeli directors Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv obtained funding to develop Strangers into a feature length film. Influenced by the Dogme95 au naturel approach to filmmaking, the directors set out without a script, but with 2 actors and 1 camera.
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