Tag: Sports Drama

REVIEW: ‘Smashing Machine’ has some success, but is not a knockout

After several battles in supernatural and bombastic spaces over the last decade Dwayne Johnson now plays a character fighting on a much smaller scale.

In this biopic, Johnson stars as Mark Kerr, an athlete who leveraged his success in college and amateur wrestling into a fighting career. After some initial smaller wins, his abilities attracted promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships.

The film follows a portion of his career, mostly from about 1998-2001, and in the process, shows the ups and downs in his life. While he had success in combat sports, Kerr also struggled with an opioid addiction and a turbulent relationship with girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt).

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REVIEW: ‘F1’ excites with race scenes, but hits narrative speed bumps

An experienced driver with an attitude takes a rookie under their wing, and together they take on the racing world. No this isn’t about 2001’s “Driven” with Sylvester Stallone. Nor is it “Cars 3” with Lightning McQueen.

It’s “F1,” the latest vehicle to star Brad Pitt in the lead role. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, who helmed 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” “F1” centers on racer-for-hire Sonny Hayes. In his youth, an accident ruined Haye’s F1 career, forcing him to into a life of gambling and trying to find an outlet in racing elsewhere.

His nomadic life of finding tracks that will let him race comes to an end, though, when an old friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), approaches him about driving in F1 for his team. As part of the deal, Ruben also wants Hayes to train a promising young driver, Joshua (Damson Idris).

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REVIEW: ‘The Fire Inside’ stumbles due to plotting and pacing

Claressa Shields is a two-time gold medalist and currently the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Now, she rightfully gets her story told on screen.

The film opens with her as a young girl interested in the sport of boxing and finding an outlet at a small gym in her home town of Flint, Michigan. After she begins a bit of training, the gym’s coach, Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) sees her potential and starts preparing her to begin an amateur career.

The movie then picks up with an older Shields (Ryan Destiny) who has some wins under her belt and is now aiming for a bigger prize: the 2012 Olympics in London. As the movie shows, Shields has the talent to go the distance, but there are other roadblocks standing in her way to success.

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REVIEW: ‘Young Woman and the Sea’ is a winner despite a few flaws

A century before Katie Ledecky was representing the U.S. in significant swims over long distances, there was Gertrude Ederle. However, the latter’s greatest swim didn’t take place in the pool.

“Young Woman and the Sea” tells the story of how Ederle, a swimmer from Manhattan, became the first woman to cross the English Channel. The movie shows how Ederle, portrayed by Daisy Ridley, grew up to become a competitive swimmer who competed in the 1924 Olympics.

The film follows Ederle being coached up by Women’s Swimming Association founder Charlotte Epstein (Sian Clifford) and how she was driven by her sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) who also swam. It then shows her motivation to conquer the Channel and what it took to pull it off.

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REVIEW: Steaminess of ‘Challengers’ is a smokescreen for its shallowness

Luca Guadagnino’s last film about cannibalistic monsters featured a more wholesome relationship than this sports drama. Imagine that.

The director’s latest film, “Challengers,” features a trio of central characters, all of whom are tennis players. There’s the pro Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), his wife and coach Tashi (Zendaya), as well as Patrick (Josh O’Connor), who’s trying to revive his career in the sport.

The film is set in the present day, with Art struggling in recent tournaments and Tashi wanting him to compete in a smaller event where he can gain some confidence. There he’s put in competition against Patrick, a former friend and rival. The film then goes through a series of flashbacks showing how the three got to where they are in life and their intertwined relationships.

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REVIEW: ‘Boys in the Boat’ bores more than it excites

It feels kind of bad to pile on Washington after they just lost the football national championship, but the review must go on.

“The Boys in the Boat” is set in the mid 30s, right in the middle of the Great Depression. The film begins by introducing Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a student at the University of Washington who’s homeless and is having difficulty paying for his tuition. While looking for work, he finds he can make money for the semester by making the school’s rowing team.

After a grueling selection process, Rantz and seven others are picked for the JV team. Their coach, Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) puts them to work right away and soon learns they’re able to compete well with the varsity team. Because of their talent, the coach begins considering the JV squad to compete for a spot in the 1936 Olympics.

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REVIEW: ‘Iron Claw’ is mostly effective in showing family drama and trauma

Wrestling may be theatrical and scripted, but the physical and mental toll is very real, as this film shows.

“The Iron Claw” tells the story of the Von Erich family, which has produced multiple generations of professional wrestlers. The origins of wrestling in the family go back to its patriarch, Fritz (Holt McCallany), who was a professional in the 50s and 60s. In addition to his career, Fritz became the father to several sons.

Once his time in the ring was done, he decided to push wrestling on his kids, Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons). Fritz doesn’t just stop at tough physical training, though, as he also uses manipulation and pushes his sons too far, leading to tragic consequences.

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REVIEW: Deal-making in ‘Air’ has sufficient drama for a watch

The story behind how Michael Jordan chose to wear Nikes before winning six NBA titles and defeating the Monstars in “Space Jam” is revealed in “Air.”

Starring in the film is Ben Affleck, who also returned to the director’s chair for the project, teaming up with first time screenwriter Alex Convery. The film centers on talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), who works in the basketball division for Nike, operated by CEO Phil Knight (Affleck).

A smaller company at that point, Nike doesn’t appear to have the ability to go after a ton of up and coming NBA players for shoe contracts. However, Vaccaro says Nike doesn’t need to go after a whole bunch of players, and instead, the company should give it their all to sign NCAA Champion, future Chicago Bull and eventual Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

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REVIEW: Even though it takes some hits, ‘Creed III’ ends up above average

In the lede for my “Creed II” review, I asked for the main character Adonis to fight John Cena in “Creed III,” ala Rocky Vs. Thunderlips in “Rocky III.”

It didn’t happen, but the film is still alright.

Michael B. Jordan not only reprises his role as Adonis Creed for the third time in the series, but also directs. Having defended his title several times and getting higher in age, Adonis retires early in “Creed III,” after what he said was his last fight.

Following his retirement, Creed operates a boxing academy where one day he comes across a former friend, Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors). Just released from prison, Anderson was a promising fighter before his sentence and is looking to get back in the sport. Anderson doesn’t just want to box, though, he wants the title and the life Adonis was able to live while he was in a cell.

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REVIEW: ‘Hustle’ has enough highlights to be worth seeing

As a Timberwolves fan, I was happy to see Minnesota star basketball player Anthony Edwards featured in this film.

Unfortunately, he plays an antagonistic character in “Hustle,” so the audience isn’t supposed to like him. Quite the dilemma.

The main focus of “Hustle,” though, is Stanley Sugerman (Adam Sandler), a scout for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers team. At the film’s start, Sugerman appears to have a chance at moving up from a scout to an assistant coach, but the promotion is dashed when a change of ownership takes place.

Sugerman is at first upset about having to go abroad to scout players again, but his mentality changes when he comes across a street-ball player named Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez) in Spain. Sugerman knows it’s a long shot because the 76ers don’t appear entirely interested in Cruz because of his lack of association play, but Sandler’s character still brings him to the United States, convinced that the player can get drafted by a pro team.

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