Tag Archives: sports

Skateboard: The Movie (1978)

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Now in Limited Release in New York, and California; debuting November 10th in MN, November 15th at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, OH, November 26th at the The Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, TX, and December 9th/10th at the Cleveland Cinematheque in Cleveland, OH. Check Local Theater Listings.

I guess if you fancy yourself a completist, or have to watch every sports movie ever made, “Skateboard: The Movie” is a fascinating relic of a pretty great bygone era. It’s not at all a good movie per se, but I liked director George Gage’s movie for the way it works as a time capsule for the late seventies. It was a precursor to a lot of interesting concepts, including turning skateboarding in to a bonafide tournament sport, the way the media would inevitably drift over to skateboarding, as well as the whole attitude of the decade. The entirety of “Skateboard: The Movie” is punctuated by a lot of moog/synthesizer music, as well as a ton of pretty good pop rock music that lends it a real energy. 

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Bring it On: Cheer or Die (2022)

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There’s a horror sequel to “Bring it On.” Repeat: There is a horror sequel (part seven!) to “Bring it On.” The cheerleading sports teen comedy that birthed a series of cheerleading sports teen comedies actually has a sequel that is a full on horror movie. That’s kind of like a sequel to “Mission Impossible” that’s a full on slasher film or something. It’s kind of amazing. It’s too bad “Cheer or Die” just isn’t.

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Creed III (2023) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

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The first the question was can Rocky return. Then the question became can Rocky help usher in a whole new franchise based around his first big nemesis. The new question became: can the movie spin off series go on without Rocky? Rocky has only really played a supporting role in the “Creed” movies but without his connection to the “Rocky” movie universe, could “Creed” thrive? The answer is a resounding and emphatic yes.

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30 for 30: “The American Gladiators” Documentary is a Surprising Look Inside One of the Biggest Series of the 1990’s

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If you grew up in the 1990’s as I did, the mere mention of two words: “American Gladiators,” is bound to evoke a lot of smiles and rabid discussion. For those of us that spent our younger years in the decade of the 90’s, “American Gladiators” was a pop culture phenomenon. After the immense success of professional wrestling, many people sought out to build on that by introducing their own form of sports entertainment. The closest we ever got was “American Gladiators.”

For those unaware, the series was a sports entertainment series revolving around a group of normal contestants. They’d have to go up against a group of muscular, athletic and vicious male and female athletes, all of whom had one mission to keep the competitors from winning.

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White Men Can’t Jump (2023)

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After the horrendous “House Party” remake, it’s pretty clear that director Calmatic is a nineties kid who loves the decade. The problem is that like “House Party,” his modern remake of “White Men Can’t Jump” can’t quite catch the lightning in a bottle energy and flavor that the originals held. He packs his soundtrack with nineties hip hop, nineties references, and even revives nineties-esque fashion for his characters. But when it comes down to it, “House Party” and “White Men…” had a real spontaneous energy about them that Calmatic can’t grasp, yet.

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Air (2023)

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Director Ben Affleck’s latest is a movie that is about as niche as you could ever dream up. It’s a movie with appeal, sure, but appeal to only a certain subset of audience members. For those hoping for a strong character based drama with conflict, and twists, and laughs, “Air” is unabashedly void of any of the aforementioned. In its place is an unofficial ode to corporations that lures us in with the gratuitous eighties nostalgia. Hey, remember Dire Straits? Remember Hulk Hogan? Oh man, wasn’t “A Team” a good show? Remember Nike? The shoe–not the heinous sweatshop labor accusations.

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Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (1998)

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There are still people out there that complain that wrestling is “completely fake”; I am always compelled to argue that wrestling is in fact not fake. In many ways the performers that wrestle give up their body and health to entertain. In Bret Hart’s case, it he gave up his livelihood, his self respect, and his family. “Wrestling with Shadows” is still a pretty sad and shockingly mesmerizing tale of one of the biggest athletes of the 1990’s and the incident that shook his world and nearly tore him apart.

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