Sports

'Warrior' DVD Review

12/28/2011
Paul Fee

Warrior follows the story of two brothers fighting in a mixed martial arts tournament for very different but noble reasons. This is a typical underdog story but the family drama surrounding the winner of the tournament is what makes this film work. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton play the brothers who enter the tournament for two different families and their performances in and outside of the ring are perfect.

The Fighter

1/4/2011
Ellen Stodola
The cast and tremendous story make this a boxing movie to remember.

I have to admit, at first I was uncertain about The Fighter because I’d already seen an abundance of boxing movies, and I wasn’t sure if there was anything that would make this one stand out from the rest. I’m so glad I was wrong.

This movie is easily on my list of top movies of the year. While, yes, it does focus a lot on boxing and aspects that audiences may have seen before, the personal story about “Irish” Micky Ward and his family is something that is unique, heartbreaking, and powerful all at the same time.

Forever Strong

7/30/2009
Kelsey Zukowski
When a talented, but arrogant rugby player ends up in a detention center, he is allowed to play rugby for his rival team, and learns about teamwork and the person he wants to be in the process.

Forever Strong is based on the Highland rugby team, a high school located in Salt Lake City, Utah. They've won the USA national rugby championship for 18 out of the last 30 years under Coach Larry Gelwix. The film's message follows Gelwix's theory, "It's not about building a championship team, it's about building championship boys." It's your typical inspirational sports movie just with rugby as the subject and a sub-setting of a detention center.

Rick Penning, played by Sean Farris, is an arrogant, yet talented rugby player.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.00Stars

The Natural

4/30/2009
Andrew Randall
This sports drama, starring Robert Redford, is a story of baseball and redemption.

The Natural is a heartwarming drama about the American pastime, baseball, and an opportunity for redemption.

The story focuses on Roy Hobbs (played by Robert Redford), an excellent baseball player, with a heart of gold and a terrible secret. He joins the New York Knights and immediately becomes a hit with the fans. He enters a relationship with the beautiful Memo Paris (Kim Basinger) and it takes a toll on his game.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Remember the Titans

9/3/2008
John Berkowitz
True story about a racially mixed high school football team's triumph.

Remember the Titans on the surface appears as any other high school football team where winning the State Championship is the chief priority of the team and town. However, Titans delves into a much more intricate and layered texture as it provides a social commentary and football serves as more of a welding tool.

Remember the Titans chronicles the extraordinary true story of the 1971 T.C. Williams high school team's season against all odds.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Any Given Sunday

7/22/2008
John Berkowitz
A behind the scenes look at the dips in a football franchise.

Oliver Stone loves to delve into the controversial stories and expose the truth as he's always tackled complex and racy subjects. This time around he hones in on the roots of modern day professional football as he examines the behind the scenes of what goes on day in and day out in the locker room and off the field for a team.

Any Given Sunday studies the day and night activities of football playing warriors in the midst of a season.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars

Tin Cup

7/11/2008
John Berkowitz
A driving range pro tries to qualify for the U.S. Open.

I think we can all recall that 1996 was an unusual year for Kevin Costner. In my mind at least, I think 1996 marked the last great movie that Costner made. He captured Oscar gold for Dances with Wolves and gave some great performances in films like Field of Dreams. However, after Tin Cup, Costner made these long, tumultuous watching epics like Waterworld and The Postman.

Tin Cup, which is the nickname for Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner), dives right into the life of this washed up golf pro at a driving range in Texas.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

The Legend of Bagger Vance

7/2/2008
John Berkowitz
A golfer regains his faith and game through the help of a caddy.

From Caddyshack to Happy Gilmore to Tin Cup, golf movies have covered a wide spectrum of angles and have consistently been good. I think this holds true for The Legend of Bagger Vance, where Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, the best golfer in Savannah. He's living the high life as he has the rich and lovely Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron) by his side. However, this ends when he's called to Europe to fight in the war. Junuh comes back and reluctantly agrees to come back to golf against Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Gridiron Gang

6/7/2008
John Berkowitz
A team of delinquents try to enter an existing league to play football.

Usually when people pitch movies, the "brainy" folk will say their brilliant and unique idea is a merger between two prior movies. Well if you combine the teaching of youngsters to play the game, from Hardball, and make these youngsters a few levels down from the convicts in The Longest Yard, you get Gridiron Gang, starring The Rock, or as he's more formally referred to now, Dwayne Johnson.

Gridiron Gang is based on a true story. In a juvenile detention center, Sean Porter (Dwayne Johnson) is a former football player turned supervisor.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.00Stars

The Natural

2/21/2008
Wayne Raymondo
An entertaining baseball film that suffers from some timing issues.

Based on Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name, The Natural is a baseball film starring Robert Redford. Redford portrays Roy Hobbs, a gifted but aging five-tool ballplayer looking for one more shot at the bigs. The Natural documents Hobbs's struggles and good fortunes leading up to a memorable albeit, exaggerated ending.

The film begins with an aging Roy Hobbs on a train headed for New York where he will try out for the New York Knights, a fictitious National League team.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars
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