sportsflicks
Rewatching "Draft Day," The Only Place The Browns Enjoy A Hollywood Ending
Kevin Costner's NFL front office opus "Draft Day" is alternately weird, discordant, and improbable—but then again, the real-life Cleveland Browns finally getting their shit together would be the same.
'The Jesse Ventura Story,' the Perfect Election Movie for Our Times
The Jesse Ventura Story should not be the first place to turn to if you're looking to learn the story of Minnesota's 38th Governor. After some 17 years between viewings, it is even crazier than I remembered.
Revisiting 'For Love of the Game,' Which Is as Dull as Baseball But Has More Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner made a lot of sports movies, and some are good. 'For Love of the Game' gets baseball's glacial pace and self-seriousness right, but not much else.
Cuckolding, Roster Construction, October: Watching 'Major League' in 2016
When 'Major League' was released in 1989, Cleveland was only halfway through an epic championship drought. Surprisingly, the movie still feels fresh.
There's A Good Movie To Be Made About College Football, But "The Program" Wasn't It
In 1993, "The Program" set out to address the corruption and compromises of college sports. It didn't do a very good job then, and looks even worse now.
Revisiting "Paper Lion," the Greatest Movie Ever Made About NFL Preseason
In 1963, George Plimpton went to training camp with the Detroit Lions and wrote a book about it. In 1967, with Alan Alda subbed for Plimpton, it became a movie.
Rewatching "Personal Best," an Almost-Great Olympic Decathlon Romance
In "Personal Best," the legendary writer Robert Towne set out to make an honest lesbian romance and a movie about training for the Olympics. He sort of succeeded.
Twenty Years Later, "Happy Gilmore" Is Still Shooting Right Around Par
Twenty years ago, Adam Sandler was not yet a star, let alone an emblem of fame-burnout. In "Happy Gilmore," he did his thing, squared off with Bob Barker, and won.
Rewatching The Lost Stallone/Pelé Nazi Soccer Epic "Victory" 35 Years Later
Stallone defeated communism in "Rocky IV," but the film in which he teamed up with Pelé and Michael Caine to beat the Nazis at soccer is forgotten. Let's fix that.
Rewatching "Thunderstruck," Kevin Durant's Bricked Attempt At A Supernatural "Space Jam"
In 2012, before he was an MVP but when he was already a superstar, Kevin Durant teamed with (um) Jim Belushi in a body-swap basketball comedy. It's not great, but also: what?
Revisiting "Big Wednesday," a Movie About Vietnam, Surfing, and Gary Busey
John Milius wrote "Apocalypse Now," directed "Red Dawn," and was the inspiration for "The Big Lebowski"'s Walter Sobchak. His deeply personal surfing-and-war movie is appropriately weird.
Revisiting "Celtic Pride," Judd Apatow's Extremely '90s NBA Playoffs/Kidnapping Comedy
Twenty years ago, a pre-genius Judd Apatow wrote a dark comedy in which superfans Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd kidnap Utah Jazz star Damon Wayans. It has...aged.