Category Archives: Sports

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I Am Ali (2014)

ReviewI Am Ali

If you’d make a list of the most famous people in sport chances would be that Muhammad Ali would end up in the top 3. This isn’t because of the fact that he is a three time heavyweight boxing champion, but mostly because he made a big impression on people outside of the ring. Het change his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali because of his religion. He refused to fight in Vietnam, which resulted in him losing out on a lot of money and a big part of his career, because he was not allowed to fight. Still, it is not a decision he has ever regretted. Many books have been written about him and this isn’t the first movie/documentary about this famous athlete. That means this documentary has to bring something new to the table and that’s what director Clare Lewins tries to do by focussing on the man behind the boxer and the people who surrounded him. Continue reading →

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Premium Rush (2012)

Review movie

Expectations are a very important factor to your enjoyment of a specific movie. If you are looking forward to a specific film all year, chances are you will be very disappointed by it. Another thing to factor in is the environment in which you watch it and who you do that with. Personally I prefer not watching trailers or reading much about upcoming movies to keep my expectations low and really don’t mind heading to the cinema by myself.

When it comes to Premium Rush I didn’t know much, except that it was about bikers and that Joseph-Gordon Levitt was starring in it. So did I like it or was I disappointed by it? Continue reading →

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Trouble with the Curve (2012)

review, recensie, bespreking

A McDonalds hamburger. That’s the first thing I thought of after seeing Trouble with the Curve during the 7th PAC festival in which movies are previewed which will be released over here in the coming months. All of movies were announced ahead of time except this one. I was hoping I’d get a chance to already see Looper, The Master or Killing Them Softly. So a movie about baseball was not something I was expecting, but since the movie has some well-known actors like Clint Eastwood, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Justin Timberlake and actress Amy Adams I was interested to see it. Continue reading →

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Like Water (2011)

Like Water MMA documentary review

As stated in my Warrior review I’m not a fan of UFC as I think the sport is just too brutal. Although the fighters are very skilled it looks way too much like a street fight. Anderson Silva is one of those fighters. He’s from Brazil and has had an amazing career in the MMA as he is able to win his fights very quickly and seems unbeatable. At the time of filming for this documentary he had successfully defended his title 6 times. His last win was controversial as he kept running around his opponent, never engaging in the fight. The UFC president refused to personally put on the belt and told Silva’s manager to do it. With a lot of fans of the sport against him because of it and a new challenger (Chael Sonnen) he has to show why he is the best. Continue reading →

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Pulling John (2009)

Do you know the above athlete? He has been at the top of his sports for years and a lot of his competitors don’t consider themselves good until they are able to beat him. If I say you might recognise him from the Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top where he had a cameo. His name is John Brzenk and he is a professional arm wrestler and together with two other arm wrestlers he stars in this documentary about the world of arm wrestling. Continue reading →

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Warrior (2011)

Warrior review

As stated in last week’s Monday Question I’m not a big fan of sports movies. I’m also not a fan of MMA fights as I think it’s a bit too brutal compared to something like the K-1 tournament. So you might be wondering why I even bothered watching this movie. There is basically one reason: Tom Hardy. After his amazing performance in Bronson he’s been on my radar and was interested to see more of him. Is Warrior one of those sports movies I actually enjoyed? Find out after the jump. Continue reading →

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Take Off (2009)

Sports movies, it’s a genre which I’m not a really big fan of. Maybe it is because in general I don’t watch sports either, but in general they are usually movies about and underdog (or a group) who manage, by training hard, to reach a specific goal. Of course this is a generalisation that can be made for other kind of movies as well, but in this case it’s something I don’t gravitate towards.

Take Off is a Korean movie about a team of ski jumpers who have no experience in jumping and who have been brought together to give Korea a chance to host the Olympics. It’s a movie which is very loosely based on real events. The movie was a big success in Korea and was seen at the cinema by almost 8 million people. Enough reason for me to give this movie a chance despite my feelings about the genre. Continue reading →

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Life in a Day (2011)

Just imagine that you would be able to experience everything which happens to people all around the world in a single day, what would be the impression you would get? Youtube answers this question together with Ridley Scott, Kevin MacDonald and Joe Walker. Last year they asked Youtube users to send in any video which was made on the 24th of July 2010. They received an overwhelming 4500 hours of footage and managed to cut this down to a one and a half hour film. Does Life in a Day manage to paint a stunning picture of humankind or is this movie comparable to Mr.Brainwash’s Life Remote Control in Exit Through the Gift Shop? Continue reading →

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Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

At the age of 10 I really wanted to get a skateboard. I can’t remember having seen any skateboarding videos or pictures in magazines, but every time I went to the toy store I looked at it and knew I wanted to buy it. When I had finally saved enough money to be able to buy it I went to the toy store and got it. It was a wide, black board which had the head of an eagle in the middle. It had yellow wheels and I was happy to get it. As it turned out skateboarding wasn’t really my thing and I probably played with it for about a week and forgot about it. Turned out that roller skating was something I liked more and have done that for a long time (and still do occasionally). I never learned any tricks on that skateboard and the most skateboarding I’ve done was by playing Tony Hawk on the original Playstation. Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary about the evolution of skateboarding which has resulted in its current “extreme” state. This group of kids and teenagers didn’t stop practising and managed to start a revolution. Continue reading →

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Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (2001)

Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers that ever lived. Not only in the ring, but also outside it he made an impression. Of course that impression wasn’t alway positive and he sometimes was the focus of controversy. Whether it was his choice to join the Nation of Islam and changing his name or his refusal to join the army to fight in Vietnam, which resulted in not being able to fight and almost ending up in jail.
He was one of the first rappers, even before rap existed. He had wit, charm and could be ferocious and was extremely popular. In this documentary a lot of people were interviewed to talk about this boxing legend. Continue reading →