Whether you’re watching the underdog team finally beat their arch-rivals or hearing a coach deliver a rousing speech to their players, it’s hard not to get emotionally invested in what’s happening on-screen. There are countless American films about coming of age in the years between high school and college, but Breaking Away added a unique twist, centering on a teen obsessed with cycling. A group of friends get to show their mettle against a pro racing team from Italy, and a love story between the protagonist (played by Dennis Christopher) and a local college student adds more intrigue. Boxing movies often equate to box office gold, but few films before Million Dollar Baby centered its focus on a female pugilist. Hilary Swank plays a prodigal fighter who catches the eye of an aged trainer, and they reach the top ranks of the women’s boxing world. However, an in-ring injury causes a tragic turn, and the relationship between Swank and her biological and boxing families becomes the main event.
Clough has no respect for his new players‘ storied past, seeing them as little more than hooligans, and they can’t warm to him. It all leads to a spectacularly awful start to the season, with professional rivalries and personality clashes priming everything for disaster. Aided by Michael Sheen’s brilliant performance, the film lends its story an almost Shakespearean grandeur.
With a major, lucrative tournament in their near future, both brothers have different but strong reasons to crave the victory and the prize money that comes with it. „Warrior“ is a serious, well-crafted fight movie full of agonizing conflicts. Hopper Gibson has the yips, and that’s one of the worst fates that can befall a ballplayer. Seemingly for no reason, he’s lost control of his pitching, and he needs sports psychologist Dr. Mobley to help him unearth the root causes of his sudden inability to throw the way he needs to.
The true story of an Iowa boy with big dreams, American Underdog proves that even the longest of shots can pay off if someone works hard enough. The movie tells the story of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming an American football star. With 2021 coming http://nextmovietrailer.com/ to a close, audiences have started racing back into theaters thanks to Spider-Man and the other holiday releases. The Kurt Warner story is just one of many sports movies that have been released this year. While the box office is filled with superheroes, action and a lot of CGI, sports movies are often overlooked.
The songs „Catholic Boy“ and „People Who Died“, which play in the film, were written and sung by the real Jim Carroll and performed by The Jim Carroll Band. The practice sequences in Next Goal Wins are perfunctory, the moments in which the teammates rally to cheer up Thomas strained and the inspirational speeches forced. Even when the film tries to highlight the personality and traditions of the American Samoans, it sabotages the scenes by using them to mock the cluelessness of white outsiders like Thomas. The film works best when Waititi gets out of his own way and lets the characters speak for themselves instead of self-consciously extinguishing any warmth with jokes. Matt is a published journalist, sports fan and movie buff who hails from the great state of Minnesota.
Billy hustles basketball to make ends meet (and maybe someday pay off his sizable gambling debts), relying on people underestimating white players. Sidney is a skilled player, Billy’s one-time mark who eventually becomes a kind of antagonistic friend and partner. And Gloria is Billy’s girlfriend, who dreams of showing off her trivia knowledge on „Jeopardy!“ Billy’s hustles bring the three of them together, but they also keep screwing everything up. This sharply witty comedy follows its characters‘ attempts to make a little money and live as honestly as hustlers can.
- Though heavy-handed in parts, this “fable about success and failure,” as deemed by Variety, is a fun, sentimental ride.
- To qualify, the film had to be listed as „sports“ on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 7,500 votes.
- Here are some of the greatest sports movies you can catch on streaming platforms right now.
- This complex, emotionally nuanced look at the Williams family’s quest is both a moving biopic and a multifaceted look at high-stakes parenting.
- The best movies in this genre show their subjects overcoming adversity and teach us something about the role of sports in the larger culture.
Love & Basketball does a great job of showing how gender is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to personal dreams with regard to sports, but also how the reality of the situation is more complicated. Add some romance to the equation and you get a really compelling story about personal values, priorities, and following your own path. Rocky II is a pretty solid sports movie, but it just can’t live up to the first film. Rocky IV has a few tiny flaws, but for the most part it’s a really solid movie. It has some jingoistic tendencies, sure, but it’s really fun to watch and probably seemed perfectly appropriate at the time.
The director wanted Lea Thompson and Tom Cruise to go undercover to remember what high school was like. They went to separate schools, and while Cruise was spotted after just one day because someone recognized him from Taps (1981), Thompson went four days, was asked out by many guys and got caught smoking. Creed received an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and even drew awards buzz, with Stallone earning a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Written and directed by future Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler, Creed somehow honors the Rocky franchise’s legacy while forging a solid story for old and new fans alike. One of the most compelling sports documentaries you’ll ever see, Free Solo is a towering (pun intended) technical achievement and a stunning portrait of one man’s extreme determination. One of Howard’s best movies to date, Rush earned several high-profile nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Supporting Actor for Brühl at the Golden Globes.
The perfect movie to show to anyone who typically doesn’t like sports movies, Moneyball is a flat-out entertaining drama that happens to be about baseball. The film chronicles Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), and his attempts to build a competitive team for the 2002 season. Bissinger’s book of the same name, the movie follows a Texas high school football team’s run to the 1988 state championship. Starring Billy Bob Thornton and a range of up-and-coming young stars, Friday Night Lights is a great high school movie and a thrilling sports drama. In Indiana, basketball is life, and Hoosiers tells an underdog hoops story for the ages. Gene Hackman plays an embattled coach who lands in the small town of Hickory, and despite opposition from locals, goes on to lead the team toward the state title (the story was based on a team from Milan, Indiana).
Add in a poignant love triangle and a memorably awful villain, and you have plenty of high drama. „Bang the Drum Slowly“ is a funny and heartwarming paean to the friendship between two baseball players. There’s smart, skilled pitcher Henry „Author“ Wiggen and sincere but intellectually limited catcher Bruce Pearson. Only Bruce and Henry know it, but Bruce has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and doesn’t have long to live.
Not to be taken seriously, the main draw is seeing Bugs and the gang back on the big screen and the Tunes don’t disappoint, as their zany antics are a highlight. Space Jam also features a number of fun Easter eggs and references to other popular films. While the story and game may not be the most realistic, the movie is certainly entertaining enough for the whole family to enjoy. „Raging Bull“ tells the story of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose competence in the ring is gradually outweighed by his violence and self-destruction outside of it.