Countdown of My Favourite Sports Movies: #'s 10, 9 & 8

More than a month ago, I suggested that I would do a top 10 countdown of my favourite sports movies. Keeping in mind there are a few sports "Classics" that I have not seen, here is the first three in the countdown:

10. Any Given Sunday. Why is it that some of the best sports movies are about Football? Any Given Sunday tells the story of a fictional football team. An aging quarterback is hurt in a game and is replaced by the second string quaterback who is also hurt. This sets the stage for the third string quaterback (Jamie Foxx) who fills in more than adequately. The story follows many different members of the team (Al Pacino as the head coach, Cameron Diaz as an owner, James Woods as the team doctor, etc.). Directed by Oliver Stone this football movie is definitely worth a watch if you have the time.

9. Chariots of Fire. It's not often that a sports movie will win Best Picture at the Oscars (the only one I was sure of was Rocky - and I haven't even seen it), so I thought Chariots of Fire should be on the list. Set in 1924, the movie tells the story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British Sprinters who ran in the Paris Olympics that same year. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it is a movie that should be seen. This movie has probably the best opening of any movies I've ever seen (and the music lives on forever in my head - especially when we ran through Willow's beach in Victoria as a group on a cloudy Sunday morning).

8. Rudy. Admittedly I have only seen this once, but include it on my list because it is a classic and it has a good message (work hard and your dreams can come true). Starring Sean Astin (funny, I've been compared to two of his characters...) and Charles S. Dutton, this is a great movie to watch if you're in need of some sports inspiration. In it, Rudy (Astin) is always told he is too small to play football. He never stops trying and tries to make the Notre Dame football team as a walk-on. Like Chariots of Fire, this is also based upon a true story (you may notice a trend...)

Check back next week when I'll go through #'s 7, 6 and 5.

Movie Review: Click

I watched more than one movie this weekend and thought I should write about Click as well. For those of you who are familiar with the majority of Adam Sandler movies (Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison), this movie is not quite the same: it will actually make you think and feel. I had heard good things about Click before I saw it, and I was not dissapointed when I got to see it.

The movie begins by introducing us to Michael Newman (Sandler) who is a very talented, yet very busy, young architect. He is juggling his family with his job which is constantly dangling the figurative carrot in front of him in order to get him to work more. The conflict between work and family is a theme that is seen throughout the movie and is probably the main focus of the movie.

One evening while looking for a universal remote control to help make his life easier, he is given a special remote control to his universe. He quickly discovers the power it weilds: muting or fast forwarding through conversations, pausing life and changing what people look like (only to himself apparently). At first the device seems like a blessing, until it starts to get a mind of it's own.

What starts as a funny film (with it's usually fart jokes) turns into something more meaningful. Don't be fooled by lead actor, this is definitely a movie that has some meaning to it.

The acting in this movie is excellent from the likes of Sandler, Kate Beckingsale and Henry Winkler. Also featured in the movie are David Hasselhoff, Christopher Walken and Sean Astin (of Goonies fame!).

I give this movie a 4/5 due to some slips in quality every now and then, but would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a meaningful movie.