Tag: R6
-
Review: ‘Como no te voy a Querer’ (2008)
This teen melodrama about a working class family in Mexico City is both hard to watch and hard to stop watching. The story is a well-crafted, methodical train wreck of the bad decisions people make to derail their own lives.
-
‘The Nation Holds Its Breath’ (2016) in Ireland’s first World Cup
In 1990, a young Irishman’s anticipation of his child’s birth coincides with the breathless anticipation of his nation as it competes in the World Cup for the first time.
-
Is biopic ‘For the Glory’ (2012) more fiction than fact?
I have mixed feelings about the faith-based film For the Glory. Realtors Chris and Katherine Craddock wrote this screenplay about their fellow church member Kurt Kuykendall. His faith helped him overcome a privileged but difficult upbringing.
-
A buddy trip through Ireland and its ‘Celtic Soul’ (2016)
Jay Baruchel and Eoin O’Callaghan drive across Ireland in search of Jay’s Irish roots and their shared Celtic Soul. It’s a self-described collection of lovely moments tied together within the larger context of what it means to be an immigrant, to be Irish, and to be a fan of Celtic FC.
-
Remembering the Zambian NT in ‘Eighteam’ (2014)
As much as I like parts of the film Eighteam, much of it circumnavigates the tragic plane crash that killed almost the entire Zambian National Team on April 27, 1993, off the coast of Gabon.
-
‘No Ball Games’ (2012) is darkly funny, twisted humor
No Ball Games is a 7-minute short film that might turn off a typical soccer movie fan. I found humor in it but my hubby did not. It reflects the director’s sense of humor, entrancing the viewer with a boy whose ball goes over a wall into a secret garden.
-
‘Golden Shoes’ (2015) a Cinderfella with cleats
Many of the customer reviews of the film Golden Shoes are brutal, but IMHO this is a fairly good kids soccer movie. It is a Cinderella story, and most of the acting holds your attention.
-
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.
-
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.
-
‘Coach Zoran’ (2014) – his only friend is a goat
Watching the BBC documentary Coach Zoran and his African Tigers is like watching a train wreck, where the runaway locomotive is the Serbian coach of the new South Sudan national team.
-
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…
-
How to win with ‘Total Football: the Movie’ (2009)
There are things to like about Total Football: the Movie, and largely those occur in the last 30 minutes of the film. What the team does to win made me enjoy this Australian film.
-
Sexy, funny Chilean ‘Lady Futbol’ (2005)
Lady Fútbol is a 2005 comedic episode of Infieles, a Chilevisión adult TV series about infidelity. A young wife in a sewing factory is ignored by her husband, who is more interested in football.
-
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,…
-
‘United Passions’ (2014) – a Blattering biopic
Surprise, surprise. The FIFA Movie — otherwise known as F2014, Film 2014, A Men’s Dream, and finally, United Passions — is not bad. Yes, the movie is a conceit, and yes, FIFA shamelessly portrays English football bureaucrats as racist, sexist, and classist “English Bastards”.
-
‘Next Goal Wins’ (2014) – the original documentary
With Next Goal Wins, the film and its back story are equally interesting. American Samoa is the last place team in FIFA world rankings but is trying to qualify for WC 2014. The American Samoan team has not won a game since 1983 and has been outscored 229-2. In WC 2002 qualifying, they gave up a record 31…
-
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…
-
‘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.
-
‘Believe’ (2013) is best for adults
Director David Scheinmann extends Believe beyond the well-worn story of motley kids trying to win a tournament. The film pivots on the parallel story of Coach Matt Busby redeeming his survivor’s guilt.
-
‘This is Not a Ball’ (2014) shows the process of artist Vik Muniz
The documentary This is Not a Ball was made in anticipation of the 2014 World Cup, but it is not really a soccer movie and instead captures the creative process of the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz.
