sportsflicks
Watching "Everybody Wants Some!!" and "Bad News Bears," Richard Linklater's Baseball Movies
Richard Linklater's latest, "Everybody Wants Some!!" is a baseball movie with almost no baseball in it. It's great, and so nothing like his other baseball effort.
"The Bronze" Is A Funny, Mean Movie About Gymnastics, And No One Saw It
There would be a narrow market for even the sappiest movie about a faded Olympics gymnast. "The Bronze" isn't that movie. It's weird, mean, dark—and pretty funny.
The Thrill Of Defeat, Or An Evening At "Eddie The Eagle"
The new film about Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, legendarily shitty ski-jumper and comic hero of the 1988 Winter Olympics, is not a hit. But it is surprisingly fun.
Re-Watching "Over The Top" Ahead Of Stallone's Oscar Moment
Sylvester Stallone is nominated for an Academy Award for his (very good!) performance in "Creed." Naturally, we went back to watch his bad 1987 arm-wrestling movie.
Re-watching "Any Given Sunday," The Sloppy, Overstated Epic The NFL Deserves
Oliver Stone, our most psychotic auteur, is absolutely the filmmaker the NFL deserves. "Any Given Sunday," his 1999 football opus, is a mess, but an enduring one.
"Two For The Money," The Forgotten McConaughey/Pacino Sports Gambling Opus
There are many movies about sports, and a decent number about gambling. "Two For The Money" has both, and also Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey. And yet...
Rod's Not Dead, Or Roddy Piper's Christian Cinema Swan Song
Roddy Piper was one of the great wrestlers of his era, and he had his moments as an actor. "The Masked Saint," his last film, isn't great. But it has its charms.
Looking Back at "Rocky V," The Movie That Nearly Knocked Out a Beloved Franchise
The Rocky franchise is still alive after nearly 40 years. The series has had its highs and lows, but it was never lower, or drearier, than "Rocky V," which recently turned 25 years old.
A Look Back At "Little Giants," The Football Kids Movie That's Now Old Enough To Drink
For a kids movie about that's also an explicit advertisement for the Football Industrial Complex, "Little Giants" is still pretty fun to watch after 21 years.
Revisiting "The Waterboy," Adam Sandler's Least Bad Football Movie
"The Waterboy," Adam Sandler's 1998 college football cinematic rage-comic, is ultra-lazy, super-dumb, cheaply sentimental, and still somehow not that bad.
"Sudden Death," When Jean-Claude Van Damme Kicked The Pittsburgh Penguins Mascot
Twenty years later, the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle set during the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals is still mostly ridiculous. It's a good thing.
Daytona and Drugs, or Rewatching 'Days Of Thunder' at 25
The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's simultaneous opening day and Super Bowl. The Tom Cruise vehicle "Days Of Thunder" is sort of about Daytona, and mostly about Hollywood excess.