Monday Night Football Movies

It’s fall and football is back in all its (recent off-the-field-stuff aside) glory. We’ve already looked at the greatest baseball movies earlier this summer, and now it’s time for us to turn our attention to the best football movies ever made. At first blush, it might be hard to recall that many great football movies but the more I thought about it, the harder picking a top 3 became. But, here it goes:

Morgan:
3. The Waterboy (1998)
Because every list needs a class clown aka Adam Sandler movie. And because this little guy is usually almost always in my head: “Water sucks. It really, really sucks.”

2. Friday Night Lights – TV series (2006-2011)
I know, I know, it’s not a movie but I’m including it because I can. And to be completely honest, I haven’t seen that many football movies. It’s just great. FNL can make you laugh and cry in a single episode. Plus, it’s football set in Texas, which is a recipe for trouble, greatness, and, of course, southern accents. It’s also (sort of) how the blog got it’s name. If you haven’t watched it, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life.

1. Remember the Titans (2000)
This particular movie deserves this spot for many reasons. Not only is it simply an inspiring story of triumph in sports, but also in racial equality. It’s a truly emotional, heartwarming story. Also, baby Gosling is in it (swoon). So there’s that.

Jordan:
3. Little Giants (1994)
The early 90s were the height of sports movies for kids – The Mighty Ducks in ’92, The Sandlot in ’93. Then finally in 1994, we get our own football movie. Becky isn’t allowed to join her uncle’s football team because she’s a girl. So she gets her dad (90s icon Rick Moranis) to coach their new ragtag team. Classic.
Bonus: Buzzfeed’s Where Are They Now?

2. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Okay, okay, this may be bending the rules. But I would argue that football plays a major role in this Silver Linings Playbook’s plot. Robert DeNiro is a huge Eagles fan, extremely superstitious and cannot turn down a bet. His gambling problem gets so bad that Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (both amazing in this film!) have to make a bet with the bookie about their dance competition. Really fantastic movie.

1. Remember the Titans (2000)
Do I really need to explain this? So many amazing actors. Too many lines to quote all of them. (Left side! Strong side!) Historical sports films will always be my number one.

Kurtis:
3. The Replacements (2000)
Based on the 1987 NFL strike, The Replacements follows the Washington Sentinels team of scab players that cross the picket lines to play the greatest sport in America. This replacement team is made up of misfit characters; a convenience store security guard, two rappers, a sumo wrestler, and a deaf player. Basically the team is a complete joke (which is what helps make this movie so funny) and is led by former Ohio State QB Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves), the only one with true experience, and coached by Gene Hackman. The team learns how to play together and by the end of the movie become a legitimate team with a chance to win. It’s a little cliched, but it is funny and has some heart. Definitely a movie that has repeat watching value and survives as a great sports comedy.

2. Rudy (1993)
Sean Astin plays the title role in this incredible telling of the true story of Rudy Ruettiger, an undersized football player who always dreamed of playing for Notre Dame. Told his whole life that it would never happen, Rudy is determined to make his dream a reality. He didn’t have the grades, the skills, or the money to attend Notre Dame but gets into a nearby private college and gets his grades up JUST enough to move to Notre Dame as a transfer student. No where near making the team, Rudy starts working as an assistant groundkeeper to pay tuition. Everything is stacked up against him, but Rudy is too full of determination to let anything stand is his way. Rudy is full of sentimentality, yes, but stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit. One of the most inspirational films ever made.

1. Remember the Titans (2000)
Overcoming racism, football, Marvin Gaye songs, and Ryan Gosling; is there anything else you need in a sports movie with a powerful message. Remember the Titans follows newly-hired head coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) navigating a newly integrated political landscape, all while trying to coach a team of high school students with some preconceived racial notions about one another. The team, the coaches, and the city learn how to live as one and celebrate all of life’s victories with one another. Where this movie really shines is that it doesn’t make all the white players and coaches to be evil and the African-American players and coaches to be the noble saints. Instead, it focuses on both sides of a newly integrated school simply learning to be better, more compassionate people and drop all of their prejudices by the wayside. The performances, across the board, are truly inspirational and when it’s not Denzel wowing the audience in his usual way, it’s the students (Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Ethan Suplee). Remember the Titans is one of the greatest movies ever made and easily finds itself right at the top of the list of the best football ones too. It’ll be easy for you to catch as it’s probably playing on TNT right now.

What’s your favorite football movie? Comment below! #gopackgo

We’re Gonna Bloggy Like It’s 1999!

Since it’s my birthday week, I got to choose what we post about today! Personally, I think that 1999 was such a great year for movies. There are so many fantastic movies in every genre, so I asked the crew to recommend a cool movie from 1999.

What’s a movie you love from 1999? We’ll share some of your favorites on the blog later this week.

Jordan – Dogma:
To be honest, this is a last minute change. I wanted to originally write about Being John Malkovich because it’s such a weird movie, and I want someone else to like it with me. But really one of my favorite movies from 1999 is Dogma. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two angels, who have been exiled from heaven and are trying to find their way back in. If they ever return, it would overrule the word of God and destroy existence. A human named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) teams up with an angel (Alan Rickman), an apostle (Chris Rock), a Muse (Salma Hayek), and Jay & Silent Bob. It’s pretty crass and pokes a lot of fun at religion, but I think overall it’s a hilarious movie with a sweet ending.

Morgan – 10 Things I Hate About You:
So I am completely and absolutely in love with this movie. I briefly considered writing about something else, but I couldn’t not choose 10 Things. Everything about this movie is so great. First off, Heath Ledger and young Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Need I say more? Answer: no, but I will. 10 Things is also adapted from Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, which I think makes it that much better. Basically, Bianca can’t date until her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does, so Patrick (Ledger) gets paid to take her out. It’s a fun, teen love story with an awesome, classic 90s soundtrack, fantastic one-liners and one of the greatest confessions of love scenes in the history of love confessions. It’s also probably one of the most quotable movies ever. “I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?” Perfection in 97 glorious minutes.

Bryson – Magnolia:
Magnolia, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, The Master), is a film that displays a plethora of themes including that of loneliness, abuse, regret, and forgiveness. The film covers several, simultaneous storylines which leads to a chaotic yet amazingly smooth plot. Magnolia is a superb piece of directing, and as he said himself, may be one of Anderson’s best works. The remarkable screenplay this film offers is supported well by the entire cast; particularly Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore. Cruise who plays narcissistic, pick-up artist Frank Mackey was awarded a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role. Beautifully made all around, Magnolia is as ambitious as it gets and cuts deeper than it may originally suggest. P.T. Anderson knows how to make movies and this is no exception. Don’t sleep on this one, as it is both underrated and 3 hours long, because it is a true piece of art.

Kurtis – Stir of Echoes:
There’s a ton of great movies to choose from 1999, most of which you’ve probably already seen as they were so influential in changing the future of film (The Matrix, American Beauty, Fight Club, etc). So I really wanted to highlight an incredible film that I don’t think many of you have seen, and that movie is Stir Of Echoes, starring Kevin Bacon and Kathryn “Ducks Fly Together” Erbe. This one’s a mystery thriller with a really well thought out story woven through it. After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law to prove his point that hypnotism is bogus, Tom Witzky (Bacon) begins seeing visions throughout his days of a violent murder of a teenage girl. Witzky becomes obsessed with these visions and solving the crime. This puts himself and his family in danger as more details come to the surface about who might be involved in the crime. I remember this being one of the first movies that freaked me out and created a lot of suspense by keeping me on the edge of my seat. I appreciate that this is a mystery movie that holds up over time, and survives multiple viewings when you already know the end. Kevin Bacon absolutely slays his performance as a regular blue-collar worker thrust into the disturbing world of the supernatural, reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s descent into madness in The Shining. What puts this screenplay above other similar ghost stories is when it begins to shift from the sensational to the real-life tragic mystery going on in the quiet neighborhood. Stir of Echoes is easily one of my favorite movies ever, and stands out from one if the best years in movie history, even the similarly spooky The Sixth Sense.

 

[We also had a bonus post this week about the Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave]

 

Blog. Twue blog.

Because we love movies, we wanted to share some of our favorite movies on love.

Morgan – When Harry Met Sally (1989):
This is definitely one of my favorite love stories. First of all, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. I mean, come on. Crystal is just all around perfect, and Ryan is the epitome of 80s rom-com. This movie is the story of a decade long relationship between two people who think they can’t be friends, because according to Harry, “Men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.” Of course, people always want what they can’t have and eventually they end up becoming friends, and then falling in love. Not only is it a fun story with fantastic characters, it’s funny, clever and extremely quotable. “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
A rom-com classic, for sure.

                                  

Kurtis – The Wedding Singer (1998):
For this round of holiday recommendations, I’m going with an all-around great movie from Adam Sandler’s golden era. If you’re looking for a great romantic movie for Valentine’s Day, I think you can’t  beat The Wedding Singer. This movies stands out among the rest because it’s actually sweet/romantic and a really great comedy on its own.
Adam Sandler plays Robbie Hart, the wedding singer in this 80s nostalgic comedy. Robbie is left at the alter and loses his way, exchanging singing at weddings for bar mitzvahs and other family events. That is, until he meets Julia (Drew Barrymore) and starts falling for her. The problem is she’s engaged to a truly obnoxious jerk named Glenn, and Robbie realizes he needs to steal her away. You have to love Sandler and Barrymore’s chemistry that combine and make for a romantic comedy that doesn’t feel forced, and that really gets you rooting for the good guy to finish first.

                                  

Jordan – Fever Pitch (2005):
Okay, I changed my mind at the last minute. I was considering writing about Return to Me (which is so cute), so you should watch it. But I’ve decided on Fever Pitch. It has so many things that I like: (1) Jimmy Fallon, (2) the Red Sox, (3) see #1 &#2. It’s a simple, sweet movie. Drew Barrymore is dating Jimmy Fallon, the lovable goofball. Until baseball season starts and she realizes that he is OBSESSED with the Boston Red Sox. Hilarity ensues and tension rises. Please watch this, not enough people appreciate it like I do.
Fun facts:
– Jimmy Fallon met his wife Nancy Juvonen on this movie. She is Drew Barrymore’s producing partner.
– They had to re-write the ending to the movie because the Red Sox just kept winning. Their 2004 season is when they reversed the Curse. #gobosox

Bryson – Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011):
There are so many examples of great romance in the movies. I could start with The Princess Bride (one of my favorite movies of all-time) or go to the most cliché of all, The Notebook. For today I’m going with one of my new recent favorites: Crazy, Stupid, Love. The cast is fantastic: Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and for all you ladies (and men), Ryan Gosling. They all seem to flow so well together, especially Gosling & Stone, but maybe even more so, Gosling and Carell. Director Will Gluck does a great job of satisfying the tastes of both men and women which sets the stage for a perfect Valentine’s Day movie. Not to mention, a HILARIOUS last 20 minutes to this movie.

Tell us what you’re favorite romantic movie is!