Category Archives: sports

“The Boys in the Boat” Directed by Clooney

based on a book, sports, true stories, , , , , , , , , , , ,

My daughter read Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat because her swim coach recommended it. She talked incessantly about how good it was, describing it as an underdog story.

Bruce Herbelin-Earle stars as Shorty Hunt, Callum Turner as Joe Rantz, and Wil Coban as Jim McMillan. Photo credit: Laurie Sparham © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

George Clooney directs the film based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel.
The story is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression. The situation thrusts them into the spotlight and takes on elite rivals from around the world.

Chris Diamantopoulos stars as Royal Brougham, James Wolk as Coach Bolles, and Joel Edgerton as Al Ulbrickson. Photo credit: Laurie Sparham © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The impressive cast includes Joel Edgerton, Chris Diamantopoulos, Callum Turner, Jack Mulhern, Sam Strike, Luke Slattery, Thomas Elms, Tom Varey, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Wil Coban, James Wolk, Hadley Robinson, and Courtney Henggeler.

“Challengers” Featurettes, Trailers, Posters, Clips and Images

drama, romance, sports, ,

Justin Kuritzkes wrote the screenplay, and Luca Guadagnino directed Challengers. The film stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy, coach, and force of nature. She makes no apologies for her game on and off the court.

The studio is calling this the first trailer. However, scroll down, and you’ll see the MGM trailer, which is milder than the trailer here. Josh O’Connor can play such a good scumbag.

Zendaya as Tashi in CHALLENGERS, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Married to a champion on a losing streak, played by Mike Faist of West Side Story, Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn.

He must face off against the washed-up Patrick, played by O’Connor of The Crown, his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.

As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win?

Guadagnino is a visionary filmmaker best known for Call Me By Your Name. Some other films he’s directed:

Bones And All

The Staggering Girl

Suspiria

Protagonists

I Am Love

“Air” Trailer, Clips, Images and Posters

biography, drama, sports, ,
Film clip show how fast the movie moves the story.
Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro and Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser in AIR Photo: ANA CARBALLOS © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC
Ben Affleck as Phil Knight in AIR Photo: COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

“80 For Brady” Trailer, Images and Poster

comedy, drama, sports, true stories, , , ,

Kyle Marvin directs 80 for Brady, based on the true story of four best friends living life to the fullest when they take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play.

Tom Brady is on the set of 80 For Brady from Paramount Pictures.

The impressive cast includes Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Field with 7-time Super Bowl Champion and producer Tom Brady.

“National Champions” Takes Competition off the Field

drama, sports, ,

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, National Champions begins three days before the college football national championship game.

Stephan James as LeMarcus James, J. K. Simmons as Coach James Lazor, and David Koechner as Richard Everly in NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Photo credit: Scott Garfield/Courtesy of STX Films

The star quarterback LeMarcus James, played by Stephan James, and teammate Emmett Sunday, played by Alexander Ludwig, ignites a player’s strike declaring they won’t compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated.

J. K. Simmons as Coach James Lazor and Kristin Chenoweth as Bailey Lazor in NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Photo credit: Scott Garfield/Courtesy of STX Films

With billions of dollars on the line, the stakes could not be higher as their head coach, played by J. K. Simmons.

Andrew Bachelor as Taylor Jackson and Tim Blake Nelson as Rodger Cummings in NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Photo credit: Scott Garfield/Courtesy of STX Films

Various stakeholders, played by Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant and Uzo Aduba, race to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.

“Boogie” Amazing Journey of Professional Basketball Player

drama, legend, sports, true stories, , , , , , , ,

Written and directed by writer, producer and restauranteur Eddie Huang, Boogie is his directorial debut.

The coming-of-age story of Alfred “Boogie” Chin, played by Taylor Takahashi, a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA.

While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must navigate a new girlfriend, played by Taylour Paige, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.

The rest of the cast includes Pamelyn Chee, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Mike Moh, Dave East, Perry Yung, Alexa Mareka, and Pop Smoke.

watch the way back about redeeming your past mistakes

Redemption Wins in “The Way Back” Poster and Clips

drama, sports, ,
watch the way back, starring ben affleck

Co-written and directed by Gavin O’Connor, The Way Back follows Jack Cunningham, played by Ben Affleck, who had everything going for him back in high school. 

A basketball phenom, he could have punched his ticket to college or even the pros, but he walked away from the game, forfeiting his future. 

Jack’s glory days are long gone but not forgotten. Years later, he gets to take back his life when he offers to coach the struggling basketball team at his alma mater. 

Jack reluctantly accepts, surprising no one more than himself, and as the boys come together as a team and win, he may get his last shot at redemption.

Brad Ingelsby co-wrote the screenplay with O’Connor. The cast also includes Janina Gavankar and Michaela Watkins.

The clip is Affleck promoting the movie at a Clippers game. Also included are soundbites about the film. 

“Bennett’s War” Poster, Clips & Trailer

drama, sports, , ,

Written and directed by Alex Ranarivelo, Bennett’s War follows Marshall Bennett, played by Michael Roark. He is a young soldier with the Army Motorcycle Unit who survives an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in combat overseas and medically discharged with a broken back and leg. He dispatched back to the U.S.

He arrives and finds out his dad, Cal Bennett, played by Trace Adkins, is behind on the family farm’s mortgage. The family may lose the farm.

Despite his physical condition, Marshall pledges to help his family as a motocross racer. Allison Paige plays Sophie Bennett, Marshall’s concerned wife, and Ali Afshar plays Cyrus, Marshall’s mentor. Trace Adkins is predominately known for being CMA Award-winning music singer, and he starred in Deepwater Horizon with Mark Walhberg.

The “Race” clip is awesome to watch because you get to see some honest dirt bike racing.

The next clip, “I Think I’ll Race” is worth watching because the scene between these two actors is tight and paced well.

“Heavy Wave” Trailer and Poster

action, adventure, biography, documentary, historical, sports, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Directed by Michael Oblowitz, Heavy Wave arrives at the movie theaters as a Fathom Event, so audiences have limited time to see this movie. The movie explores why surfing is so dangerous and why people like the Fletchers tackle the heavy waves worldwide.

I viewed the movie and interviewed Nathan Fletcher and Oblowitz, though I barely spoke with the director. I am mesmerized by the sheer extreme sport of surfing. I flooded Fletcher with questions about surfing.

The documentary follows the lives of several surfers. It’s a culture, a way of life that few get to adventure. Some pass away while living their dream of surfing the big one. I spoke with Fletcher about the spiritual aspect of surfing because it’s mentioned in the movie a lot. “You go to the water, and you see the sun, magnificent ocean, you’re right there. Then you get to see the fish and the birds and all the beauty…, obviously swells come from across the world, these magnificent pulses of energy, and you go out there, and you ride them. So, if that’s not spiritual…, or somehow connected to the water, and then you’re waiting for a wave, all of a sudden, your mind is somewhere else. And you’re totally in the moment because you’re totally concentrating on what’s happening right there.”

Watch the trailer and see how dangerous and unbelievably surreal surfing the heavy waves can be.