Kategoria: Sports

#1903 That Championship Season (1982)

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A different kind of sports movie, That Championship Season depicts four of the former college Basketball players now in their 50s gathering together to remember state championship 25 years earlier.

As with the likes of 12 Angry Men, the action in That Championship Season – which is based on a play of the same name – takes place in one location, and concentrates on interpersonal relationship and drama. We get to be the flies on the wall witnessing long time secrets revealed, personas clashing and well built facades toppling over.

The cast is strong, with the coast portrayed by Robert Mitchum being the father figure still keeping his team together no matter what. With all of this good out of the way, That Championship Season gives a portrayal of a late 70s Pennsylvania team of middle aged men, and while realistic, this portrayal is at times not socially apt in 2024.

80s-o-meter: 70%

Total: 65%

#1900 Thrashin’ (1986)

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Now I’m puzzled. If Gleaming the Cube was a definite rad California 80s skating movie, so is Thrashin’, both totally cool for partly the same, and partly different reasons.

Like Gleaming the Cube, the movie has just about everything one would love from the era; warm Californian landscapes, beach, boys from The Valley, skating baddies, famous skaters like Tony Alva, Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero, music and a live performance from nobody else than Red Hot Chili Peppers, and a totally bitchin’ title song of the same name from Meat Loaf.

After saving this one for later on for quite some time, I’m glad to say that Thrashin’ did definitely not disappoint. Comparing the two, Gleaming the Cube might edge it out slightly, but my suggestion? Watch them both and enjoy the ride!

80s-o-meter: 100%

Total: 91%

#1879 Field of Dreams (1989)

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A sports movie for those of us who dislike sports movies, Field of Dreams is a fairytale for both adults and kids alike.

No doubt about it; the story itself is totally unbelievable. But like the lead character played by Kevin Costner we find ourselves really wanting to believe in the same silly dream. This is in no way an easy feat from the director Phil Alden Robinson to pull through and the bold gamble put into this movie could have backfired in a horrible way.

Simply put: I loved Field of Dreams, and I especially loved the way way still found it in me to believe in such magic.

80s-o-meter: 65%

Total: 90%

#1875 Spiker (1986)

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If this was 80s, Spiker had been as massive success and I was the editor of Mad Magazine, I would have mischievously named the parody a ”Stinker”. But, in this reality it’s 2024, and nobody in this world has ever heard of Spiker.

I have to give it Spiker that at least it is a bit different than your basic sports movie. But in this case it means it’s bit of a mess of elements from beach comedies, weird plots of the team travelling around the globe, trying to make it the national Olympic team and helping people behind the iron curtain. And then some stock footage of real USA volleyball team competing.

And then it suddenly ends.

80s-o-meter: 72%

Total: 28%

#1761 Tough Enough (1983)

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Whoa, Dennis Quaid was ripped back in 1983.

Pretty much unlike what I expected, Tough Enough is a boxing movie about a country singer that takes part in a Toughman amateur boxing competition to make the ends meet. This different approach and the human story behind it all is the side of Tough Enough that I enjoyed.

What I did not enjoy though was the endless staged boxing matches with random fighters that quite frankly weren’t really that interesting. The movie has all the usual shortcomings and dramatic structure than all the sports movies, which makes the movie also a bit less interesting if you know the formula. Ultimately I feel it’s Quaid who single handedly carries this movie through, transforming something quite mediocre to a passable movie experience.

80s-o-meter: 81%

Total: 61%

#1760 Rad (1986)

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With Rad we are closing in to what I would consider a 100% 80s rating: there’s BMX bikes, BMX baddies, evil businessmen, crazy futuristic gears, dance offs, radical and rebellious kids, and conservative parents and townsfolk, simply amazing pumping soundtrack – and the dreamy Lori Loughlin to top it all off.

It’s a sports movie, so there’s that certain formula everyone already knows – but then it just becomes the question of not how it will all and, but how entertaining the movie will be along the way. And Rad is admittedly pretty entertaining.

The Canadian shooting location does its very best to pass as an American small town. In all honesty I did not find Bill Allen to be the best choice for the lead role as he comes off a bit plasticky compared to many teen stars of the era – but he still manages to pull off the role as a something of a poor man’s Matthew Broderick.

80s-o-meter: 95%

Total: 87%

#1723 Homeboy (1988)

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Mickey Rourke of late 80s, early 90s was something else. I first witnessed him in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man and he totally blew the then 12-year-old me away with his absolute laidback coolness, and left Don Johnson playing the second fiddle.

For those who loved Rourke in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Homeboy offers much of the same. Both feature Rourke playing a tough, rebellious, anti-social, anti-hero characters who living in the outskirts of law. Heck, they’re even both drawing naming inspiration for Rourke from popular brands (here being called Johnny Walker).

As for the movie, yeah – it works. Rourke plays a has-been boxer with problems of setting into the society, and befriends a small-time crook played by Christopher Walken, also past his prime who still wants to be someone no matter what it takes. Rourke manages the hard role of playing someone unsocial and unlikeable, but still manages to make his underdog character someone we’d wish to his break.

80s-o-meter: 71%

Total: 78%

#1718 Listen to Me (1989)

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Listen to Me is basically a sports movie, with physical college sports replaced with following events of an underdog debate team. And as such it’s a unique take on the sports genre, and it’s refreshing to see a sports movie that relies thought-provoking debates instead of the last second slowed down comebacks we’ve all seen way too many times over.

While the movie may not be nowhere accurate representation of real life college debate teams, it does tackle a controversial topic – pro life vs the right to abortion – which caused controversy among some parents upon the movie’s release.

It’s this controversial topic and well written dialogue that remains topical, making Listen to Me still relevant and thought-provoking to watch.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 71%

#1714 Split Decisions (1988)

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Split Decisions is a boxing movie straight out of a pen of a angsty teenager and its sense of drama feels like a high school musical sans the music.

The father, a boxing trainer, has two sons who are both boxers. He is proud of one and helps him prepare for the Olympics, but he frequently has conflicts with the other son, who is rebellious and hard to deal with. When the troublesome son is killed by a criminal organization after he refuses to lose a match, his brother seeks to avenge his death by challenging the boxer who was involved in the crime syndicate to a fight.

It’s a sports movie so you know how the story will end up, so while waiting for that the personas or their relationships in the movie should be super interesting to watch. Unfortunately all the characters are paper thin, almost caricature like without any interesting growth in them, replaced by drama that feels plain melodramatic and forced.

80s-o-meter: 82%

Total: 18%

#1674 Hotshot (1986)

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Hotshot is a football movie made in the vein of soccer almost becoming a household sport in America during the 80s, a trend that never did carry too far.

What makes the movie interesting is it featuring one Pelé, arguably one of the best football players in the history of the sport. This aspect of him not wanting to play the sport anymore, but upon a request of a young hothead American player becomes his protege and teacher is what makes Hotshot of any interest.

Other than that, Hotshot is pretty much your basic sports movie with nothing much surprising to it, coupled with way below average production values, especially for a movie made in 1986.

80s-o-meter: 75%

Total: 52%

#1641 Gleaming the Cube (1989)

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What do you get when you put 80s up and coming skating legends like Mike McGill, Mark ”Gator” Rogowski, Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, Mike Vallely, Natas Kaupas, Tony Hawk and Tommy Guerrero into the same movie with young Christian Slater on the top of his game, mix it up with a kick ass soundtrack and Californian scenery?

A totally rad 80s action adventure movie – that’s what.

Gleaming the Cube is enjoyable on most of its aspects and a movie that offers tons of aspects that make it worth revisiting time and time again.

80s-o-meter: 100%

Total: 92%

#1639 Blades (1989)

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Blades – a silly movie about a killer lawnmower loose in a golf course sounds 100% like a Troma Entertainment production.

Or does it? Compared to the zany Troma movies of the earlier 80s, Blades feels almost playing it safe and trying to cater for some big enough niche audience: the creative anarchy is missing, but on the other hand Blades is actually quite well-rounded movie with some real budget and effort put into it. Even so that the silly machine antagonist feels like a faux pas, and the movie could have fared much better if it didn’t want to be so much tongue in cheek.

While the lack of a good baddie makes Blades a disappointment, it’s still an easy to watch and enjoyable disappointment for the most parts – especially if you are a golf aficionado. It was especially the shaky golf pro lead who was written as a counterweight for typical movie male characters that made Blades feel interesting and fresh.

80s-o-meter: 91%

Total: 65%

#1623 The Baltimore Bullet (1980)

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It would seem that most of the pool hustler movies have also a strong scoundrel theme to them. So is the case also with The Baltimore Bullet.

The movie is pretty much unknown and does not hold a candle to the iconic hustler movies, but it’s a nice little exercise made better by the inclusion of a strong female protagonist, and Omar Sharif as the heinous pool shark.

A plus for the movie for actually depicting solid pool tricks, mostly performed by the actors themselves.

80s-o-meter: 70%

Total: 61%

#1557 Below the Belt (1980)

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A talent scout talks a waitress into entering a sherry show wrestling team. She befriends this motley crew of journeymen, travels around with them, and finally is put against her arch enemy as the so called climax of the movie.

A Rocky this isn’t, nor is it All The Marbles that at least had the star power and indisputable charisma of Peter Falk going for it. In fact, if All The Marbles was a disappointing movie, Below the Belt does it all in a little more disappointing and banal way.

The most interesting part of below the belt is its love story between two worn out wrestlers in the crossroads of their lives where one wants to go in one direction – and one to another.

The one without wrestling.

80s-o-meter: 58%

Total: 31%

#1480 Everybody’s All-American (1988)

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What happens to that perfect college football hero and his beauty pageant girlfriend couple after they marry and grow up. This is what Taylor Hackford’s Everybody’s All-American aims to give an answer to.

Based on a 1981 novel of the same name by Frank Deford, Everybody’s All-American manages to avoid almost all of the clichés usually related to sports movies. Similarly its characters avoid falling into typical caricatures and show some actual humane traits.

I wasn’t sold on the final closure of the movie, but the road to there is filled with interesting, lifelike moments that feel nothing like pasted on.

80s-o-meter: 60%

Total: 72%

#1472 Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)

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Chuck, a star of his little league baseball team realises after a visit to nuclear missile silo how the world is in a balance of terror that might go off any minute, and refuses to throw another pitch until the nuclear arsenal in the world is gone. His boycott is then picked up by a local newspaper, after which an unexpected chain of events starts to unravel as a NBA star Amazing Grace Smith joins him, followed by other front row athletes.

Amazing Grace and Chuck is a beautiful fairy tale with great array of interesting personas and events. It grasped me from the get go, and I enjoyed it all the way to the end. So, it’s highly implausible – but the movie handles all this very well, finally wrapping up beautifully with a one single thought:

”But wouldn’t it be nice”

80s-o-meter: 93%

Total: 86%

#1425 Penitentiary II (1982)

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Another collection of bad design choices, Penitentiary II is a followup to the 1979 blaxploitation movie, both directed by Jamaa Fanaka and starring Leon Isaac Kennedy.

The plot is a mess that makes only little sense as it tries so provide the main character Martel ”Too Sweet” Gordone a motivation to get to the fighting ring. Martel trains for awhile, gets into the ring with some old hack, gets defeated and thus becomes the sensation of the nation everyone roots for. He then goes on to participate in a few fights, which are often cut to a gambling midget trying to get on with some hookers.

The plot makes as much sense as having Mr.T in the movie and reducing his role to a mere trainer that gets very little screen time although he possesses ten times the magnetism compared to the weak screen presence of the Kennedy in the lead role.

80s-o-meter: 55%

Total: 2%

#1357 Bloodsport (1988)

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Bloodsport, one of the definite martial arts / sports movies of the 80s still delivers!

While Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career is patchy to say the least, it’s here that he is at his very best, presenting impressive moves and showing certain on screen charism. Donald Gibb feels at first like an odd match for Van Damme, but ends up making the movie much more memorable than a more conventional choice.

The movie is just the right amount over the edge and built to push all the right buttons for the fans of the genre; Bloodsport aims to entertain, and it does so with flying colors (and kicks).

80s-o-meter: 94%

Total: 93%

#1330 American Flyers (1985)

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American Flyers is a sports movie that tries a little something different to break the clichéd sports movie formula.

Problem is, it would’ve been a better sports movie if it didn’t so hard to come up with an excessive drama and the additional storyline that seemed only distracting and out of place to me. All of the drama between the two brothers feels really forced and is never quite explained in a satisfactory way.

As a sports movie American Flyers does well in depicting a bicycle race, making it look quite realistic and visually quite pleasing.

80s-o-meter: 81%

Total: 38%

#1219 The Natural (1984)

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Here’s a movie that presents us with a big mystery, but does very little in explaining that mystery to us.

Furthermore, the movie seems to solely concentrate on glorifying the saintlike, handsome and talented Robert Redford. While Redford is a totally cool dude in my books, the movie offers very little else than him a pedestal performing miracles, expecting for us to stand in awe in front of his greatness.

I thought I was going to see a biographical movie – usually the most interesting approach to what it comes to sports movies – but it isn’t. It isn’t much of a sports movie either; they could’ve picked anything else they wished as Roy Hobbs’ super power. Like knitting, horse riding or firefighting.

For The Natural they decided to go with the baseball.

80s-o-meter: 11%

Total: 43%