Tag: R7
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Sorry JD Vance, but ‘SheBelongs’ on the pitch (2024)
A link to the free showing of the movie #SheBelongs showed up in my google alerts. I wasn’t sure it would be worth watching because the film had no IMDB or TMDB or Letterboxd entries. It had no reviews. I found press releases about the film and its organizers, Refugee Soccer, and it appeared to…
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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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Colombian fun and fandom in ‘Maximum Penalty 2’ (2024)
La Pena Máxima 2 follows the 2001 iconic Colombian comedy of futbol obsession. The first film was written by Dago Garcia, who produced this not quite a sequel and devised it with different characters. I have not seen the original, but this film shows the high production quality of Colombian films and the charm of…
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In Guinea, a small boy triumphs with ‘The Golden Ball’ (1994)
The Ballon d’Or is an annual award in the shape of a golden soccer ball that recognizes the best footballer in the world. In the village of Makono in Guinea, boys imagine that such a golden ball is magical and will bring great fortune. But when a kind doctor gives Bandian a real soccer ball…
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A struggle to play ‘Home Games’ in Kyiv (2018)
The documentary Home Games (Домашні ігри) follows a young woman in 2016 while she struggles to take care of her 6 and 7 year old siblings while pursuing a path to professional football in the Ukraine. Football has been Alina Shilova’s only escape from the poverty of her daily life, and her dream is to…
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![My New Favorite Futbolista (2022) [a review]](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/my-new-favorite-futbolista-thumbnail.png)
My New Favorite Futbolista (2022) [a review]
My New Favorite Futbolista is an 8-episode TV series that you can only watch on PeacockTV. Ahead of WC 2022, it profiles inspiring footballers and their off-field commitments where they advocate for change or support important causes.
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‘The Match’ (2020) may have missed its goal
This World War 2 drama sat in my Amazon watchlist for a very long time, as I am reluctant to watch dramas that I know can only have a sad ending. It is after all, based on a true story that was borrowed for the derivative but famous 1981 film Victory. But The Match is…
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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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What if Jerry Maguire were a Japanese ‘Old Rookie’ (2022)
I found this 10-episode Japanese TV series on Netflix, where its English title was changed from Old Rookie to the inexplicable The Old Dog, New Tricks? Perhaps Netflix added the question mark to the title to let us know that they didn’t really know what to do with the show. That’s a shame. It deserves…
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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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Netflix shows what makes Club América so popular
Club América touts itself as the winningest club in Mexico. This 5-hour Netflix series is entitled Club América vs. Club América because it compares mainly the 2020-2021 season under Manager Santiago Solari with the club’s over 100 year history. Because if you are at the top, you often compete against yourself and your history.
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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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The ‘Inside Story’ (2011) of HIV in a footballer
In 2011, trying to reach a larger audience with AIDS education, the Discovery Channel, UNAIDS, and multiple AIDS organizations sponsored the making of Inside Story. Quizzical Pictures self-describes its film as combining “urban social drama, science exploration and sports in a truly unique way.”
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Netflix’s ‘The Champion’ (2024) entertains despite small flaws
After watching a month of the Euros and the Copa America, the Netflix drama The Champion (El Campeón) was a welcome diversion. It’s football with a little introspection, a tale that on many surfaces looks shiny and realistic but in some areas is a bit flawed.
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Saving each other in ‘The Beautiful Game’ (2024)
I don’t know why The Beautfiul Game has so many reviews in big publications. Is it because actor Bill Nighy is in his prime, or is it because Director Thea Sharrock and actor Micheal Ward are gaining traction? Or is it simply because it is a Netflix film? If you are the Homeless World Cup…
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‘The Other Zoey’ (2023) is cute but is not a soccer movie
I watched this young adult/teen rom-com on Amazon. It’s a very cute story about a nerdy girl named Zoey who inadvertently causes soccer player Zach to suffer a concussion. He gets amnesia and mistakes her for the soccer playing girlfriend he recently started dating, who is also named Zoey.
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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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The Golden Goose – ‘Messi Meets America’ (2023)
When MLS announced Messi was joining Inter Miami FC, I admit I opposed the idea. Messi’s coming to MLS would be a black mark against and devalue his career. It would be the perfect encapsulation of MLS as a retirement league, I thought. Of course, Apple and MLS knew better, and it turned out that…
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‘That Peter Crouch Film’ (2023) is a branding exercise
I stopped watching documentaries about current footballers and clubs because they tend to be long infomercials selling their brands. Now I must add to that list: documentaries about former footballers who now have a podcast. It’s just more branding.
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The business side of womens football – ‘Angel City’ (2023)
Truth be told, I watched the 3-part Angel City docuseries a couple of weeks ago, but I just couldn’t get myself to write this review. The series shows a lot about Angel City FC that I hadn’t known, and I was glad to learn it. But the coverage of the startup and inaugural year of…
