Tag Archives: Sport

Him – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A fascinating film full of a brooding presence that builds throughout, leading to an ending that feels less satisfying the more I ponder on it.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains sequences that include flashing lights.

Jets blasts over a goal post.

Setting the Scene

If there was ever a time to get me interested in a sports horror film, it is this week, as we are currently sitting in between the AFL and the NRL grand finales, and my teams are in both. It gives you a little buzz around the sporting world and prepares you to dive into some of the more questionable sides of the industry.

So, to set the scene, Cam’s (Tyriq Withers) whole life has revolved around football, conspicuously not the NFL, but I digress. All his life has been focused on making it to the top, and just when he is about to make his debut, someone cracks him in the back of the head. The doctor is sure that if he gets another crack on the head, it could stop him playing for good. But when Cam’s manager, Tom (Tim Heidecker), calls with an offer to train with his idol, Isaiah (Marlon Wayans), the current quarterback of the San Antonio Saviors, it is an opportunity he can’t turn down, even when all the red flags start popping up.   

Continue reading →

The Boys in the Boat – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A perfectly okay film that refuses to integrate any of the themes it proports to be exploring.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The boys lined up with their oars.

The Boys in the Boat Review –

Today, we look at an interesting biographical film because, at its core, it is more interesting for what it does not do than what it is that we see in the final product. This creates a film that, by all metrics, is perfectly okay from a technical perspective, but the moment you integrate any of the narrative, you find it to have the solidity of balsa wood.  

So to set the scene, it is 1936 in Washington state, at the height of the Great Depression. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) has spent most of his life sleeping rough but still managed to get into the University of Washington. But when financing becomes tight, he decides to take up an opportunity with the University rowing team because it comes with a room and a small financial compensation. The Washington University rowing team has not won a race in a long time, and coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) is starting to feel the pressure from above to place or get replaced. But could this new batch of rowers be the best crew he ever taught? And in an Olympic year, no less?

Continue reading →

Ted Lasso: So Long, Farewell and Season 3 – TV Review

Posted on by
5

TL;DR – Builds upon everything that made the series great by focussing on the character development of every kind  

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Ted sits alone in the stands

Ted Lasso Review –

If there has been one consistent feature over the last few years of that evert the 2020s has been so far, it has been the joy that has come from Ted Lasso. I know this show is stylised, so it could almost be magical realism like The West Wing. But I don’t care. Every moment, every kick of a football, had me on the edge of my chair, and this final season of the show that maybe/probably/we’ll see was no exception. With today’s review, we will first look at the final episode aptly titled So Long, Farewell, and then we will look at the season as a whole.   

So to set the scene, at the end of Season 2, the Richmond Greyhounds fount back from relegation to make it back into the Premier League. This is a triumph for the coaching staff Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). As well as team owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham). As the season went on, there were struggles as “The Wonder Kid” Nathan “Nate” Shelley (Nick Mohammed) and his West Ham United team destroyed the team leading to a massive slump. However, as we come into this final episode, things are looking up, but in Mom City, Ted reveals to Rebecca that it is his time to drop a bombshell, and we open this final episode with Rebecca having breakfast in her house and Ted coming out to join her. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

Ted Lasso: Mom City – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A beautiful penultimate episode, full of touching moments and set up towards the end.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

The match ball.

Ted Lasso Review –

If there has been one show that has constantly broken my heart while being ultimately uplifting, it has been Ted Lasso. After a triumphant First and Second season, the Third and probably/possibly/maybe final season has still been hitting it out of the park. But as we draw to the penultimate episode, there is a fear not of what has come but of whether it could stick the landing after everything that has happened so far.   

So to set the scene, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and the team are on a 15-match winning streak, so his morning walk through the neighbourhood had a certain bounce in his step. That is until he comes to a bus stop and suddenly discovers his mum (Becky Ann Baker) sitting there. She comes with her stories which is a blast to everyone else, but also memories of the past for Ted. While the team gets ready for their big match against Manchester United, there is a feeling of excitement, but for Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), there is a collapse of confidence on the eve of his most significant match. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.         

Continue reading →

How Ted Lasso Perfected the Nothing/Everything Episode with Sunflowers – Article

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – This article explores how a show can have an episode focused on nothing, yet still be everything.  

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this show.  

Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

How Ted Lasso Perfected the Nothing/Everything Episode with Sunflowers –

One of the significant shifts in the Television landscape was the move from more episodic episodes to more serialised outings. It started taking steam in the 1990s with shows like Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. But this would explode in the streaming era, with nearly every show you watch having some serialised component. Whether the show works with the serialised content does not matter. With the insertion of boilerplate narrative arcs becoming more of the norm, looking at you Wednesday. In this world, can you have a stand-alone, nothing episode anymore?

There was a time when shows like Seinfeld built themselves around being the show about nothing, where there was no character growth. However, today if you have an episode, let alone a series, where nothing happens, you will get a chorus of comments claiming condensation over there being filler. I have seen a claim championed time after time, whether the show was filler. But can you still have an engaging episode of TV that does not move the plot along in the current landscape? Well, you must trust your audience to come along with you if you want to attempt something like this. Trust which is something that is earned, not given.

Continue reading →

Explore It – A Trip to the Footy to Watch the Brisbane Broncos take on the Parramatta Eels.

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – Today I explore the chaos and excitement of a live game of footy

A Trip to the Footy to Watch the Brisbane Broncos take on the Parramatta Eels. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.

Article –

One of the things I have really gotten into over the last couple of years has been NRL football, one of the three big football codes in Australia (for those playing at home this is Rugby League, not Rugby Union, or Australian Rules Football). My local team here is the Brisbane Broncos, who were also my grandfather’s team, so that felt like a good place to start. While I have been enjoying the games on TV I have not had the money to go to a live game, well that all changed last night as I made the trip to Suncorp Stadium thanks to a kind free ticket from a friend.

Continue reading →

Movie Review – The Australian Dream

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – The Australian Dream is a film that I think every Australian should watch because it holds up a mirror to Australian society and we need to be ready for what it shows.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The Australian Dream. Image Credit: Madman.

Review –

I thought when I sat down to see The Australian Dream that I was ready for what I was going to see. I was a fool. This might be the most important film I have seen all year because it shines the light on an episode that many in Australia feel more than content to sweep under the rug because to do otherwise would mean confronting our history, our way of life, and our commitment to all Australians.

At its core The Australian Dream tells the story of Adam Goodes former Australian of the Year and one of the best Australian Rules Footballers (AFL) to have ever played the game. It is the story of his life, the highs and the lows. However, it is something more than that, it is using the biography to focus in on a problem Australia has had for the last two-hundred odd years and that is how it has dealt with its Indigenous people and well there is a reason that Indigenous Australians call Australia Day, Invasion Day.

Continue reading →

Movie Review – We Are Legends (入鐵籠)

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A charming story with interesting characters, let down a bit by some technical issues.     

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

We Are Legends (入鐵籠). Image Credit: Bravos Pictures.

Review –

Over the last couple of years, I have discovered that I really enjoy a good sports film. There are the great highs, and deep lows, as great talent is on display. Today we are looking for a film out of Hong Kong about the world of MMA and the struggle to be the best, based on the life of Dixin Xiong.

So to set the scene, we open with Bunny (Yiu-Sing Lam) as he rushed from work to an underground fight ring. He is asked by his friend to throw the match, but that is not something he can do. Upsetting a bookie, Bunny has to lie low so he goes back home, where he left on not great terms. As he walks in his brother Jack (Edward Ma) is give a press conference as he is about to fight Jason Chan (Jason Li) whose arm Jack broke last time they fought. There is a lot of tension because even though their adoptive father Eric (Eric Kot) and his sister Simo (Qiu Yuen) are happy to see Bunny, Jason is not.

Continue reading →

Movie Review – Battle of the Sexes

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – When it actually gets to the Battle it is a thrilling film, you just have to get through a lot of setup beforehand, a lot of setup, too much setup.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Battle of the Sexes. Image Credit: Fox Searchlight.

Review –

This is a really odd film, some aspects of it work amazingly, yet other parts fall flat, so it is both fascinating, yet also hard to recommend. Whatever the case, it was interesting to read up on this real-life event, this is because I was not born when it happened, and until this film came out I didn’t even know it existed. So today we are going to look at what did work and what didn’t of this both frustrating and yet also fascinating film.

Continue reading →

Movie Review – Mercenary (Mercenaire)

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – A powerful story of exploitation, honour, family and what it means to be free and does it come with a price

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Mercenary (Mercenaire). Image Credit: Ad Vitam.

Review – Recently I was able to go along to the Pasifika Film Festival here in Brisbane put on by Event Cinemas, the NRL, Screen NSW and West Sydney University. It was a really interesting insight into Pacific culture and stories, the universal medium of expression. There was a selection of fascinating films from right across the Pacific and I was able to so see the amazing Mercenary of which we will be talking about today.

Continue reading →