Oliver Stone’s (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July) Any Given Sunday was a movie I saw in the theaters in 1999. While I saw bits and pieces on cable television over the years, my second watch of this film wasn’t until 2019. So first, it doesn’t feel like this film is 20 years old. Second, except for a few technology pieces (mainly cell phones), it felt like this movie could have been released this year and still give the same message with a nearly identical look and feel. The movie holds the test of time; sometimes, that’s one of the best things you can say about a film. Unfortunately, that is the best thing about this movie.
Category Archives: Sports
Borg Vs. McEnroe (2018)
The 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Championship Match was among the greatest tennis matches ever. It featured the number one player in the world (Sweden’s Bjorn Borg) seeking his fifth street title in the most famous tournament in the sport against the upstart American John McEnroe, who had quickly climbed to be the number two player in the world. Young director Janus Metz captures the history of both men and their rivalry up to this point in their careers while centering on this all-important match.
Creed II (2018)
Cash Grab II…I mean, Creed II is, perhaps, the most predictable movie of the year. Before we get into the movie specifics, let’s examine it from the standpoint of whether we needed it. The answer to that is a big, fat no. But even if we don’t need a movie, it doesn’t mean it won’t be good. And even though we know how a movie will end before seeing its opening credits, it is still worth viewing. It was a well-made movie, but, in the end, I wished I had devoted my two hours to a more unique film, even if I ended up not enjoying whatever that movie was nearly as much. Creed II was exactly the movie I thought it would be…not any better…not any worse. I wasn’t surprised by a single thing that I saw. I was tentative about the original Creed in 2015, but with originality in its cast, that movie was enjoyable and worthwhile. Creed II was enjoyable but didn’t offer anything new.
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
2017 will go down as a year of very underwhelming movies. The nine films nominated for Best Picture were, by far, the poorest collection since 2009, when a decision was made that up to 10 movies could be nominated for Best Picture if they got enough votes. My Top 10 list has three of the nine movies for Best Picture (#5 The Shape of Water, #6 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, #10 Get Out). It’s hard for me to make a case for my Top 3 (Wind River, Hostiles, Life) receiving a Best Picture Nomination. While great, these movies differ from what the Academy is looking for. But Battle of the Sexes (co-directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) has everything the Academy looks for in a Best Picture nominee. It’s a period piece that looks very much like a period piece. It’s based on a true story and follows that story exceptionally closely. It has a definite protagonist and a definite antagonist. It has fantastic acting by its leads. It has a strong ensemble cast. It has a little bit of comedy, quite a bit of drama, and quite a bit of unexpected suspense. And its true story changed the course of history. It’s easily the most deserving movie that was not picked by The Academy (most say I, Tonya was the biggest snub), and it’s better and more deserving, in my opinion, than all of the selections.
Creed (2015)
The first question that a person might ask when deciding to see Ryan Coogler’s (Fruitvale Station) Creed could be, “Do I need to have seen all of the Rocky franchises to really like this movie?” The answer to that question is no, but I think you’ll definitely enjoy the movie if you are familiar with movies I through IV. There are lots of references to the relationship between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. While this movie is fine as a standalone, it, most likely, is much more fulfilling if you understand some of these references. Creed might be the surprise movie of 2015. I, for one, couldn’t believe what I saw when I first saw the preview. It certainly did not help my current belief that Hollywood is, and has been, for many years, void of original ideas. After seeing the preview, I tried to count the number of Rocky movies that shouldn’t have been made. The list was short. It included Rocky V and Balboa, but I was already willing to stick Creed with that group. While it’s not a great movie, it is a good movie. I think all of the potential Academy Award buzz with the movie is a little ridiculous (Indiewire currently has it as one of its 10 best movies of the year? Please). I will be honest that I’m a sucker for a good boxing movie. 2015 has two really good boxing movies. In addition to Creed, Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, was one of the best movies of the summer and, at the moment, is still in my Top Ten for 2015. Younger audiences and big fans of the franchise should see Creed. However, if you are looking for a darker, more meaningful movie, I would definitely recommend watching Southpaw instead.
Continue reading Creed (2015)