tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post4500037951795584315..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Technical KnockoutSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-77089812531033717712013-01-12T00:43:41.912-06:002013-01-12T00:43:41.912-06:00Agreed on NASCAR. As a co-worker once put it, NASC...Agreed on NASCAR. As a co-worker once put it, NASCAR can be summed up as, "Look at me! I can drive in a circle faster than you can!"<br /><br />Of those above, I probably wouldn't include <i>Slap Shot</i> and might not on <i>Invictus</i>. I'll argue for <i>A League of Their Own</i> if only because it's a sports movie from a feminist perspective, and I think that's worth something.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-6995378424572282602013-01-11T23:13:49.068-06:002013-01-11T23:13:49.068-06:00I haven't seen Brian's Song. I have seen ...I haven't seen Brian's Song. I have seen The Blind Side. I liked it, but I doubt it's going to be a movie anyone will be talking about 10 years after it was released.<br /><br />Completely agree on Field of Dreams and Pride of the Yankees (which is saying something coming from a lifelong Red Sox fan). I liked A League of Their Own, but I'm not sure I'd put it on the list.<br /><br />Hoosiers was good, but I don't know if I'd add it to the list.<br /><br />I haven't seen Slap Shot. Off the top of my head, the only ice hockey film I've seen is Miracle and the only field hockey film is Chak De India. I liked both, but wouldn't add them to the list.<br /><br />Completely agree on Murderball. I consider Invictus like The Blind Side.<br /><br />Agree on Lagaan.<br /><br />I haven't seen The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. For a fantastic TV movie (back when they were still doing those and taking pride in them) I'd select The Jericho Mile. <br /><br />And my niece's husband, who spends weekends watching guys drive in circles for hours at a time, doesn't consider golf a sport because "nothing happens", but does consider stock car racing a sport...where nothing happens until someone crashes. It's telling that when ESPN shows highlights of the races it's all the big crashes, then a millisecond of the winner crossing the line, then a scene where the winner does donuts with his car, like he's in the 8th grade.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-3790600482263896402013-01-11T22:26:35.744-06:002013-01-11T22:26:35.744-06:00I'd argue against some of those films, as the ...I'd argue against some of those films, as the sport is hardly central. Sure, <i>The Big Lebowski</i> features a lot of bowling, but it's hardly a bowling movie, if you follow that logic. Going only with the "we all agree these are sports" list above, boxing is four out of 15, and I'd probably argue against both tennis entries (we see very little tennis in either one). Regardless, lots of boxing. And there are sports movies that I think could/should be added.<br /><br />American football: <i>Brian's Song</i>, possibly <i>The Blind Side</i> (I haven't seen it)<br />Baseball: <i>Field of Dreams, Pride of the Yankees, A League of Their Own</i><br />Basketball: <i>Hoosiers</i><br />Hockey: <i>Slap Shot</i><br />Rugby: <i>Invictus, Murderball</i><br />Cricket: <i>Lagaan</i><br />Track and Field: <i>The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner</i><br /><br />And I agree on <i>Caddyshack</i> without question.<br />SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-90939014044354658762013-01-11T13:01:25.787-06:002013-01-11T13:01:25.787-06:00I haven't read your review because I haven'...I haven't read your review because I haven't seen the film yet, but your opening paragraph on the lack of sports-related movies on the list made me very curious. I first looked in the 2003 and 2012 books and neither had a genre section for sports. I then took a pass through the list and this is what I saw:<br /><br />Boxing - Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, Rocky, and Fat City. You might toss in Fight Club, which has bareknuckle boxing in it.<br /><br />Baseball - Bull Durham and The Natural<br /><br />Basketball - Hoop Dreams<br /><br />Football (either American or Soccer) - none, except a sequence in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. If they had included Harold Lloyd's film The Freshman that would have been a good one for this sport.<br /><br />Hockey (either ice or field) - none<br /><br />Olympics - Chariots of Fire, Tokyo Olympiad, Olympia<br /><br />Track and Field (key subplot) - Gallipoli<br /><br />Cycling - Breaking Away<br /><br />Auto Racing - Senna<br /><br />Tennis (key subplots anyway) - The Royal Tenenbaums and Strangers on a Train<br /><br />Golf - none, except for some scenes that take place on golf courses. We need to add Caddyshack to the list.<br /><br />And getting into areas that some people consider sports:<br /><br />Dancing - Strictly Ballroom and Saturday Night Fever<br /><br />Pool - The Hustler<br /><br />Bowling - The Big Lebowski<br /><br />Pro Wrestling - The Wrestler<br /><br />Surfing - Surfwise<br /><br />Bullfighting (key subplot) - Talk to Her<br /><br />Dog Fighting - Amores Perros<br /><br />Armed Combat - Gladiator and Spartacus (key subplot)<br /><br />Sheep Herding - Babe<br /><br />Cock Fighting - No Fear, No Die<br /><br />Chariot Racing - Ben-Hur (key subplot)<br /><br />There may be others among the films I haven't seen. I had no idea Fat City was about boxing, for instance. By the way, I excluded films with martial arts competitions like Enter the Dragon figuring they would go under the genre Martial Arts as opposed to Sports.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.com