Sports
Sports movie reviews
Draft Day-Teen Movie Review
Should you go with your gut, or what your boss tells you to do? That’s what Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner), the Cleveland Browns general manager, faces as the NFL draft day quickly approaches. The owner wants a “big splash” someone to excite the fans, he wants the number one pick. However Sonny wants to do the right thing; he wants a guy with character and passion, he wants the right guy for the team. So on the day of the draft, Sonny must decide what to do to save not only his job, but also the Cleveland Browns. Draft Day is an exciting film as we see the ups and downs and daily stress of the NFL Draft!
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: September 2, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
Talking Points:
We don’t see a lot of action football scenes, however football fans will enjoy the excitement and thrill of the behind the scenes stress of the NFL draft day. Having said that, it is a little slow in parts, some kids may get bored.
Though Draft Day is fiction, I read that the NFL worked with the movie producers to make the film as accurate as possible.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Sonny’s girlfriend, Ali (Jennifer Garner), who’s also the team’s financial executive, is pregnant with his child. We don’t see them in a sexual encounter, only kissing.
- There are sexual references. Some of the coaches discuss the sex life of a possible draft pick, wondering how many girls he “bangs” per day.
Violent Content: Mild
- Sonny smashes a laptop into a wall.
- A player was upset with Sonny and proceeded to destroy his office.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word was said once. We also heard “d–n,” “a–,” “h—,” and “b–ch,” numerous times throughout the film.
- An angry player suggests that an intern have “intercourse with his mother.”
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
- We see characters drinking beer and hard liquor.
Will it Appeal to kids/teens? Yes
- The film will most likely appeal to pre-teens and teens.
Overall Draft Day is an entertaining and exciting sports drama. Parents need to be aware of the excessive language and some sexual references in the film. Depending on the child, this film is appropriate for kids ages 12 and up.
Grudge Match – Kids Movie Review
In the day, Henry “Razor” Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (Robert De Niro) were two of the biggest fighters in the Pitsburgh boxing world. They had it all; fame, glory and the fierce competition to fight. However in 1983, just before the championship match, Kid announced his retirement. So who really was the champ? No one knew, until 30 years later when they were lured by boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart) to fight once again and regain their fame to world. Grudge Match is a sports comedy, one that may not appeal to kids or teenagers.
Rating: 1 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets.
Release Date: April 8, 2014
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will It Appeal to Kids? No
Talking Points:
There are some messages about the negativity of holding a grudge and not moving past old regrets.
The film may seem appealing to some kids, after all Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is fighting once again, however the storyline of two old men boxing will not interest most kids.
Kevin Hart who plays Dante Slate Jr., the boxer’s promoter, is funny and a great asset to the film.
Sexual Content: Moderate
- There are numerous sexual references made throughout the film, to name a few; conversations regarding body parts, sex toys and homosexuals.
- There are jokes about BJ’s name ( a main character in the film). When Kid’s 8 year old grandson wonders about the jokes, his grandpa says he was named after “Butterscotch Jellybeans.” This joke is carried throughout the film.
- The 8 year old grandson gets into an SUV and finds his grandpa having a sexual encounter with a younger woman. We see the grandpa in his boxers, and the woman’s bare shoulders.
- During the boxing fight, we see woman wearing skimpy bikinis as they announce the various rounds.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Razor and Kid despise one another, so when they see each other during publicity events they typically get into a brawl.
- We see details of the boxing fight, the brutal hits and punches. We see the blood and bumps on their faces, they both look beat up.
- Two characters get into a car accident, one of them is injured and gets stitches on her forehead.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word is said twice. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “d–n,” and “p—y,” a lot throughout the movie.
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
- Kid owns a bar, we see him drinking hard liquor several times in the film.
- Kid uses a case of beer as a car seat for his 8 year old grandson.
- A bartender teaches Kid’s grandson to play a drinking game. However, the child doesn’t drink, but everyone else around him does.
Will It Appeal to Kids? No
Overall Grudge Match is a slow moving film that most kids will not enjoy. See Anchorman 2 or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire instead.Parents need to be aware of the sexual references and excessive profane language throughout the film.
Rush-Teen Movie Review
Michigan vs. Ohio State, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox and race car drivers James Hunt vs. Niki Lauda. Three different sports with the same goal…to beat their competitor. Set in the 1970‘s Rush is the story about Formula One rivals; Britain’s James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), a fun loving handsome guy who likes to drink and have fun with the ladies, and Austria’s Niki Lauda, an arrogant perfectionist who doesn’t care what people think about him. In this sports drama we see not only the excitement and rush of the auto races, but the lives of the drivers who will do anything to win the Formula One title.
Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 28, 2014
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Excessive
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Talking Points:
James Hunt and Niki Lauda are fierce competitors. The competition and drive to be the world champions motivated them to improve and become better racers. Having said that, through all the competition, they truly cared and respected one another. This could spark a great parent/child conversation.
Parents need to be aware of the excessive sexual content in the film. I read that director Ron Howard wanted to capture the popular culture of the time period.
Sexual Content: Excessive
- We see Hunt in many sexual encounters with several different women. Images include topless women, bare backs, explicit sex scenes in the shower, a hospital and in an airplane.
Violent Content: Moderate
- Hunt punched a reporter in the face several times.
- We saw an accident in one of the races, where the driver was trapped in a burning car, he was severely injured.
- When Lauda was in the hospital, the doctors stuck a vacuum down his throat to clean out his lungs, that was a disgusting scene.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word was said numerous times. We also heard “h–,” “b–tard,”and “a–.”
Drugs and Alcohol: Excessive
- Hunt continuously drank alcohol throughout the film, even sometimes before a race.
- We saw Hunt smoking cigarettes and marijuana.
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Overall Rush is an entertaining and interesting sports drama. As I previously mentioned, parents need to be aware of the excessive sexual content, profane language and drug and alcohol contents portrayed throughout the film.
Battle Of The Year-Kids Movie Review
”The Team, The Team, The Team,” that’s a well known phrase from The University of Michigan’s former football coach, Bo Schembechler, and it’s also the primary focus and belief of Coach Blake (Josh Holloway). Battle of the Year is a sports drama, not about the traditional sports such as football, basketball or hockey; this is about b-boying, also known as breakdancing. Though b-boying originated in the USA in 1970, teams from South Korea, France, Germany and Russia have dominated the sport. In this fictional story, we see how Coach Blake assembles a team of the best dancers in America, and takes them to compete in France, where they can hopefully win the battle and bring home the trophy.
Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 10, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Talking Points:
There are wonderful messages about working together and being a team player. The coach focused on the team’s success, not any individual’s success.
As in most sports movies, the coach had some great inspirational quotes, to name a few; “change how you think, change your life,” “act like champions, be champions.” and “success is a choice.”
The movie was a little corny in parts, however the dancing was amazing, which most kids and adults will enjoy.
Sexual Content: Mild
- When the boys first meet their female choreographer, they make suggestive comments. One guy mentions getting a massage from her, another guy wants her to rub his thighs.
Violent Content: Mild
- Two of the guys on the team get into a fight with one another.
- The guys on the team get into a fight at a bar in France when a local punches one of their teammates.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The f-word was used once,. We also heard “d–n,” “a–” “sh-t,” and “b–ch,” throughout the film.
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
- The coach had a drinking problem; sneaking his whiskey whenever possible.
- We see the team members drinking at bars.
Will It Appeal to Teens? Yes
Overall Battle Of The Year is an entertaining film that most pre-teens and teens will enjoy. Parents need to be aware of the moderate profane language throughout the film.
Touchback Review
What if? People tend to question whether they’ve made the right choices in their lives; and that was a constant concern for Scott Murphy (Brian Presley). Living in a small, blue collar farm town in Ohio, Scott thought he had it all. In high school he was athletic, popular, and very good looking ; he even had a college football scholarship already lined up. However, his life dramatically changed in the football state finals during his senior year. Scott’s leg was crushed in the last seconds of the game. Twenty years later; he’s married with 2 kids, and still limping with a leg brace, and often wondered, what if he hadn’t run that last play? Touchback is a wonderful heartfelt story about hard work, and the true meaning of life.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 8, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, along with reviews of Bully and The Lucky One!
Talking Points:
I couldn’t help but think of It’s a Wonderful Life. Scott, like George Bailey, was going through a very rough time in his life. He was continuously faced with difficult challenges; he even got to the point where he attempted suicide. Scott eventually realized how truly blessed he was with his wonderful family and friends. A lesson which was laced throughout the film: it’s not the “things,” that make you happy, it’s people in your life. Great parent/child conversation.
Scott’s football coach, Coach Hand (Kurt Russell) was a wonderful influence on the team. He encouraged his players to work hard, on and off the field. He even told the players to “Go home, and tell your parents that you love them.” The constant lessons he brought to the team will spark great parent/child conversations as well.
Scott’s wife was very optimistic and loving. When we saw flashbacks of Scott in high school, we learn that his goal was to leave their small town. She was always content with her life, as a teen, and as an adult.
As I mentioned there were some wonderful messages woven throughout the film, however one frustrating thing about the film was the poor acting, (except for Kurt Russell).
The movie was partially filmed in Grand Rapids and Coopersville, Mi, which was fun to see, since I’m from Grand Rapids.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The scenes with Scott in high school show his cute blond girlfriend climbing on his lap, and kissing him…and wanting more. She stated that she wanted to reduce his pre-game stress, and have some fun!
- We see girls wearing low cut shirts and short shorts.
- In one scene characters are shown skinny dipping. We see them from a distance taking off their clothes and jumping in the water, they’re shown from their shoulders up.
Violent Content: Moderate
- We see some rough, hard-hitting football plays.
- We see Scott trying to commit suicide by plugging the tailpipe of his truck, while hoping to get carbon monoxide poisoning.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “H–,” is said about a dozen times, and “d–n,” and “a–,” are said a few times.
Overall this is a wonderful film with inspirational messages for kids to hear. The deep subject matter may be too much for younger kids, so I recommend this for kids ages 12 and up.