Reviews of soccer movies and football films
SoccerMovieMom Rating = 8 out of 10 – very good
When watching The Damned United, besides Sheen’s performance, I wondered why is this soccer movie so good? Well, it turns out that this BBC film has quite a pedigree behind it: Director Peter Hooper made The King’s Speech. And screenwriter Peter Morgan wrote The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, and Frost/Nixon. Hooper, Morgan, and Sheen all excell at brilliant strong character dramas.
Continue reading “Review: The Damned United (2009)”
She’s the Man is a clever adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a story of mistaken identity and cross-dressing, played on a high school soccer field. Amanda Bynes sparkles as Viola, a girl masquerading as her brother Sebastian in order to play on the boys team (under coach Vinnie Jones).
Continue reading “Review: She’s the Man (2006)”
The HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the US Womens Soccer Team faithfully captures the build up and heartbreak that is US Womens National Team Soccer (USWNT). Continue reading “Review: Dare to Dream (2005)”
First conceived in 2000, the trilogy Goal! was dropped and then restarted after WC 2002. This first Goal movie was made by 3 Brits in Hollywood who love soccer, and therefore, they try to portray the game realistically and honestly.
Continue reading “Review: Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)”
A few years after making Bossa Nova, Bruno Barreto directed this Brazilian comedy, O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta, which is another, even better, soccer date movie.
Continue reading “Review: Romeo and Juliet get Married (2005)”
After watching a slew of soccer movies, I reopened my Shaolin Soccer DVD. I liked it 10 years ago, but now I recognize how inventive the movie is. A group of penniless former Shaolin monks rekindle their love of kung fu by applying it to soccer.
Continue reading “Review: Shaolin Soccer (2001)”
The History of Soccer is a terrific compilation of facts and videos. I originally got the first disk from Netflix, and then I lucked out and found the whole 7-disk set at my library. Continue reading “History of Soccer (2001)”
Burt Reynolds’ The Longest Yard is one of my favorite movies, and Mean Machine is almost as good. This British soccer version, starring former EPL player Vinnie Jones, stays pretty close to the original story.
Continue reading “Review: Mean Machine (2001)”