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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Glory Road (2006) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Sports films have long been a popular genre in Hollywood as classics such as Pride of the Yankees, The Natural, and Raging Bull are all examples of some of the finest examples of sports films which encapsulate the very essence of the sport they portray.
In the new film Glory Road Josh Lucas stars as Don Haskins, a girls Basketball coach who is given the chance to coach a Division 1 team at Texas Western in 1966.
The small school cannot offer the coach much in the way of amenities as Don and his family are required to live in the student’s dorm. Since his dreams of playing pro ball came to a halt after a knee injury, Haskins looks at his job as a chance for him to make a name for himself.
The task will be daunting as Texas Western is a very small school that puts the majority of its athletic budget into the football program leaving next to no money for the gym, new equipment, and recruiting of players.
After a frustrating attempt to recruit players at a local invitational, Haskins sets his sites on a young African American player who while big on attitude, is also big on potential.
With scholarships to offer, Haskins and his staff travel the nation and shock the conservative school by offering scholarships to 8 African American players. In a day and age when teams had at most 1-2 African American players; many of whom did not see much playing time; this is a risky move for the coach.
Undaunted, the coach begins the process of integrating his new players with his current players all of whom are Caucasian, which leads to some tension over starting rights, abilities, and styles.
Haskins is a no nonsense coach who is very strict in regards to grades, effort in practice, and above all avoiding late nights and carousing while the season is underway. Despite this, many players decide to test the will of the coach which raises issues of commitment to the team and discipline, all of which are standard staples of sports films.
When the season starts, a funny thing happens. Not only is the coach playing his African American players in a heavy rotation, but little Texas Western is winning their games and beating some of the more noted teams in the country in the process.
As their notoriety increases so does the amount of hostility directed towards the team from racially incensed fans who do not like the make up of the team and especially hate their success.
Despite this, the team finds itself in the National Championship game against powerful Kentucky coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight), where Haskins makes history by starting and playing only his African American players which is a first in NCAA finals history.
While the marketing and trailers for the film certainly do not hesitate from telling you most of the above and underscoring that the team ends up in the finals and that the film is based on a true story, it is not about the final results, it is about the journey the team took getting there.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a master at knowing what the fans want and director James Gartner gives viewers a by the number film that delivers the goods. Yes, the film heavily uses all the sporting clichés from the ailing player, the us against the world mentality, the team of misfits, and so on all of which combines to offer little cinematic tension as it is very clear early on and from the ads where this film will end up.
Despite tipping their hand early and throughout, the filmmakers have decided not to rock the boat and have stuck with a tried and true formula that results with a winning albeit very predictable film.
Lucas does a solid job in the roll and makes the best of the material he has to work with. The game sequences are well managed and rousing which had members of my preview audience cheering.
While it offers little originality, Glory Road is a lot of fun, and despite mining every cliché in the book, is an entertaining time at the movies.
In the new film Glory Road Josh Lucas stars as Don Haskins, a girls Basketball coach who is given the chance to coach a Division 1 team at Texas Western in 1966.
The small school cannot offer the coach much in the way of amenities as Don and his family are required to live in the student’s dorm. Since his dreams of playing pro ball came to a halt after a knee injury, Haskins looks at his job as a chance for him to make a name for himself.
The task will be daunting as Texas Western is a very small school that puts the majority of its athletic budget into the football program leaving next to no money for the gym, new equipment, and recruiting of players.
After a frustrating attempt to recruit players at a local invitational, Haskins sets his sites on a young African American player who while big on attitude, is also big on potential.
With scholarships to offer, Haskins and his staff travel the nation and shock the conservative school by offering scholarships to 8 African American players. In a day and age when teams had at most 1-2 African American players; many of whom did not see much playing time; this is a risky move for the coach.
Undaunted, the coach begins the process of integrating his new players with his current players all of whom are Caucasian, which leads to some tension over starting rights, abilities, and styles.
Haskins is a no nonsense coach who is very strict in regards to grades, effort in practice, and above all avoiding late nights and carousing while the season is underway. Despite this, many players decide to test the will of the coach which raises issues of commitment to the team and discipline, all of which are standard staples of sports films.
When the season starts, a funny thing happens. Not only is the coach playing his African American players in a heavy rotation, but little Texas Western is winning their games and beating some of the more noted teams in the country in the process.
As their notoriety increases so does the amount of hostility directed towards the team from racially incensed fans who do not like the make up of the team and especially hate their success.
Despite this, the team finds itself in the National Championship game against powerful Kentucky coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight), where Haskins makes history by starting and playing only his African American players which is a first in NCAA finals history.
While the marketing and trailers for the film certainly do not hesitate from telling you most of the above and underscoring that the team ends up in the finals and that the film is based on a true story, it is not about the final results, it is about the journey the team took getting there.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a master at knowing what the fans want and director James Gartner gives viewers a by the number film that delivers the goods. Yes, the film heavily uses all the sporting clichés from the ailing player, the us against the world mentality, the team of misfits, and so on all of which combines to offer little cinematic tension as it is very clear early on and from the ads where this film will end up.
Despite tipping their hand early and throughout, the filmmakers have decided not to rock the boat and have stuck with a tried and true formula that results with a winning albeit very predictable film.
Lucas does a solid job in the roll and makes the best of the material he has to work with. The game sequences are well managed and rousing which had members of my preview audience cheering.
While it offers little originality, Glory Road is a lot of fun, and despite mining every cliché in the book, is an entertaining time at the movies.
TracePlay - Proudly afro-urban
Music and Entertainment
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TracePlay is the First and Only Global Service that Provides 10 Live TVs, 30 Radios and more than...
Die Drie Varkies – LAPA/Full Circle-animasiestorieboek
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An interactive storybook app for children – in Afrikaans! The well-known story of the Three...
Jonas Carpignano recommended Paisan (Paisà) (1948) in Movies (curated)
Devon (The Son Series Book 3)
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Devon~ I fell in love with Ireena Monroe, and then she fell in love with my identical twin brother....
African-American African American contemporary romance sports adult
Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated The Underground Railroad in Books
Jul 28, 2017
Powerful, epic, a real look into inhumanity
Reading this is obviously a struggle, the content of slavery is not something that can be trivialised so be warned.
While Colson Whitehead did not get into much character building, the focus on the underground railroad itself is detailed and descriptive. The protagonist Cora serves as a good barometer in understanding the level of horror that many African Americans faced hence the writer does not seem to concentrate on creating emotive backgrounds for each character.
Nevertheless, the terrifying incidents leave the reader empathising with the characters as it reflects the lack of safety and constant fear they had to face. It is a rollercoaster read, starting off slow but still horrifying, culminating in more and more terrible situations.
A 21st century tribute to the generations who have suffered.
While Colson Whitehead did not get into much character building, the focus on the underground railroad itself is detailed and descriptive. The protagonist Cora serves as a good barometer in understanding the level of horror that many African Americans faced hence the writer does not seem to concentrate on creating emotive backgrounds for each character.
Nevertheless, the terrifying incidents leave the reader empathising with the characters as it reflects the lack of safety and constant fear they had to face. It is a rollercoaster read, starting off slow but still horrifying, culminating in more and more terrible situations.
A 21st century tribute to the generations who have suffered.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Black Panther (2018) in Movies
Feb 13, 2018 (Updated Feb 14, 2018)
Top-tier Marvel superhero movie is essentially diversity wish-fulfilment, revealing the existence of a secret sci-fi African kingdom with technology from Star Wars and soundtrack from The Lion King, but disguises this supremely well with solid script, first class action, and charismatic performances.
New king (and part-time superhero) must come to the throne, cope with parental issues, deal with old enemy and malevolent would-be usurper. Contains some very interesting and subversive ideas about culture and colonialism; doesn't overdo this, of course. Chadwick Boseman radiates nobility and cool as BP, Andy Serkis has too much fun as ridiculously evil villain Klaw, nice support from Martin Freeman as token white sidekick/comic relief (nice to see a bit of diversity in the casting, guys). Marvel continue to do very little wrong.
New king (and part-time superhero) must come to the throne, cope with parental issues, deal with old enemy and malevolent would-be usurper. Contains some very interesting and subversive ideas about culture and colonialism; doesn't overdo this, of course. Chadwick Boseman radiates nobility and cool as BP, Andy Serkis has too much fun as ridiculously evil villain Klaw, nice support from Martin Freeman as token white sidekick/comic relief (nice to see a bit of diversity in the casting, guys). Marvel continue to do very little wrong.