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Sonofdel (6265 KP) rated Always Managing: My Autobiography in Books
Oct 20, 2020
a very interesting read
I was unsure as to whether to but this because although i love football biographies i did not know that much about Harry Redknapp other than his son was Jamie (who played for Liverpool as well as others). I am glad i decided to give it a try. Here is a man who has seen it all from his childhood onwards football has always and probably always will be a part of his life. Its not all funny anecdotes (although there are plenty of these), there is a lot more serious issues which he opens up about including various court cases and even losing one of his closest friends in a car accident that could easily have ended his own life. A thorough and very frank life story of the man i still think is the best manager never to manage England (he would have worked wonders) :)
Donna C (199 KP) rated Athletico Mince in Podcasts
Jan 8, 2019
Bob Mortimer - say no more!!
This podcast frequently has me in tears of laughter, what people must think when I’m sitting in traffic!!
It started off as mostly football based banter but quickly developed into total silliness.
Bob’s made up stories involving ‘Gangs of the English Premier League” are hilarious.
It can get a bit close to the knuckle at times, not recommended for kids (apart from “big kids”).
It started off as mostly football based banter but quickly developed into total silliness.
Bob’s made up stories involving ‘Gangs of the English Premier League” are hilarious.
It can get a bit close to the knuckle at times, not recommended for kids (apart from “big kids”).
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Catching Jordan in Books
Jun 18, 2018
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
Catching Jordan is the first book in the series Hundred Oaks. Before reading this book I read Breathe, Annie, Breathe which is book #5 in the series. (Here is my review for the book).
I love this book. I love the writing style. I love that it's about football. I love the relationships. I love that it's genuine.
The story has twists that keep you guessing on where the story is going to go next. I love that Jordan is the QB of a high school football team, which is not normal but could absolutely be reality. It shows that girls can have a leadership role in a sport typically deemed for guys. I enjoy sports and having a book about football and a love story made it that much more enjoyable.
The chemistry in Catching Jordan is phenomenal. There is a connection between the characters that is deeply felt. The connection is between the team, the friends, the families. It's all well-written with charisma floating off the pages that you'll see these people come alive. You will feel that you have been friends with Jordan, Ty and Henry for years.
Catching Jordan is not simply a love story. It's so so so much more; It's about going for your dreams, overcoming obstacles and never giving up believing they will happen. You will undoubtedly finish this book with a smile on your face
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves sports stories and love who love having a female role model.
Catching Jordan is the first book in the series Hundred Oaks. Before reading this book I read Breathe, Annie, Breathe which is book #5 in the series. (Here is my review for the book).
I love this book. I love the writing style. I love that it's about football. I love the relationships. I love that it's genuine.
The story has twists that keep you guessing on where the story is going to go next. I love that Jordan is the QB of a high school football team, which is not normal but could absolutely be reality. It shows that girls can have a leadership role in a sport typically deemed for guys. I enjoy sports and having a book about football and a love story made it that much more enjoyable.
The chemistry in Catching Jordan is phenomenal. There is a connection between the characters that is deeply felt. The connection is between the team, the friends, the families. It's all well-written with charisma floating off the pages that you'll see these people come alive. You will feel that you have been friends with Jordan, Ty and Henry for years.
Catching Jordan is not simply a love story. It's so so so much more; It's about going for your dreams, overcoming obstacles and never giving up believing they will happen. You will undoubtedly finish this book with a smile on your face
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves sports stories and love who love having a female role model.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Leatherheads (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The movie opens with John Krasinski’s character, “Carter Rutherford”, playing college-level football for Princeton at a bleacher-groaning, over-packed game chock full of screaming patrons and die-hard fans. The kid is a golden-child, a war hero, and the nation’s most promising young athlete in the good old year of 1925. Carter is dynamic, attractive, and exactly what the country needs at a time of World War I. It is little wonder his face plasters billboards across town, that his name is uttered with awe and adoration. In truth, how could you not? The kid had, after all, single-handedly forced a contingent of German soldiers to surrender without even shooting one bullet.
Cut to George Clooney’s character, the aging “Dodge Connelly”, playing pro-football in mire-like conditions; his audience a tangle of bored fans and uninspired locals. It is a far cry from the opulent circumstance of college-level football. Men, bedraggled and sweating under the promise of returning to work at the mines and fields if their football dreams go under, play with reckless abandon and forgotten morals in hopes of winning that next game. Yet, as fate will go, the Bulldogs lose their sponsorship and the team goes under, forcing men to return to their day-jobs and leaving Dodge without a future. The man has no marketable skills, no trade. He is a football player and is determined to see his team back in the game.
Of course, that isn’t the only bit of chaos. There has to be a girl; there is always a girl involved in stories like these. Enter Renée Zellweger’s character, the vivacious and equally tenacious “Lexie Littleton” – a news reporter for the Tribune. Lexie is on a mission to expose Carter Rutherford and get to the bottom of his infamous war story. It comes to no surprise that when Lexie and Dodge meet in a hotel lobby awaiting the arrival of Carter Rutherford and his manager, “CC Frazier” (played by Jonathan Pryce), that sparks immediately fly between them. Dodge has a proposal for CC and Carter: have Carter take a leave of absence from Princeton to play pro-football for the Bulldogs, thus saving pro-football and paying Carter for his efforts. Naturally, CC wants a cut from the profits and finds a way to do so to accommodate his own needs. Dodge, without any other alternative, agrees.
Meanwhile, Lexie is working her magic on Carter to try and weasel the true story out of him as best she can. Try as she might she cannot ignore Dodge, no matter how acid her tongue wags in his direction. In the end, Lexie gets her story yet realizes she must decide between exposing the truth or letting America bask in the glory of its self-proclaimed war-hero.
In review, there is a true chemistry between all of the main characters and both Zellweger and Clooney do a good job of conveying the vehement (and callous) emotion between Lexie and Dodge. However, no matter how funny the banter becomes between these three main characters or how well the scene plugs along, in the end the movie comes off as a passable but by no means memorable. Betimes it seems to stretch on and on and more then once I found myself looking at my clock. In truth, the movie didn’t need to be nearly two hours long. It felt two hours long which is never a good thing, especially when we’re talking about theatre seats.
That said, I thought the movie was a cute and enjoyable comedy. It won’t crack your funny bone but it will certainly tickle it more then once. All in all I give it 3.5 out of 5. It succeeded in making me laugh and did keep me entertained. Above all, I’m sure many will find it enjoyable to some extent.
Cut to George Clooney’s character, the aging “Dodge Connelly”, playing pro-football in mire-like conditions; his audience a tangle of bored fans and uninspired locals. It is a far cry from the opulent circumstance of college-level football. Men, bedraggled and sweating under the promise of returning to work at the mines and fields if their football dreams go under, play with reckless abandon and forgotten morals in hopes of winning that next game. Yet, as fate will go, the Bulldogs lose their sponsorship and the team goes under, forcing men to return to their day-jobs and leaving Dodge without a future. The man has no marketable skills, no trade. He is a football player and is determined to see his team back in the game.
Of course, that isn’t the only bit of chaos. There has to be a girl; there is always a girl involved in stories like these. Enter Renée Zellweger’s character, the vivacious and equally tenacious “Lexie Littleton” – a news reporter for the Tribune. Lexie is on a mission to expose Carter Rutherford and get to the bottom of his infamous war story. It comes to no surprise that when Lexie and Dodge meet in a hotel lobby awaiting the arrival of Carter Rutherford and his manager, “CC Frazier” (played by Jonathan Pryce), that sparks immediately fly between them. Dodge has a proposal for CC and Carter: have Carter take a leave of absence from Princeton to play pro-football for the Bulldogs, thus saving pro-football and paying Carter for his efforts. Naturally, CC wants a cut from the profits and finds a way to do so to accommodate his own needs. Dodge, without any other alternative, agrees.
Meanwhile, Lexie is working her magic on Carter to try and weasel the true story out of him as best she can. Try as she might she cannot ignore Dodge, no matter how acid her tongue wags in his direction. In the end, Lexie gets her story yet realizes she must decide between exposing the truth or letting America bask in the glory of its self-proclaimed war-hero.
In review, there is a true chemistry between all of the main characters and both Zellweger and Clooney do a good job of conveying the vehement (and callous) emotion between Lexie and Dodge. However, no matter how funny the banter becomes between these three main characters or how well the scene plugs along, in the end the movie comes off as a passable but by no means memorable. Betimes it seems to stretch on and on and more then once I found myself looking at my clock. In truth, the movie didn’t need to be nearly two hours long. It felt two hours long which is never a good thing, especially when we’re talking about theatre seats.
That said, I thought the movie was a cute and enjoyable comedy. It won’t crack your funny bone but it will certainly tickle it more then once. All in all I give it 3.5 out of 5. It succeeded in making me laugh and did keep me entertained. Above all, I’m sure many will find it enjoyable to some extent.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Early Man (2018) in Movies
Feb 19, 2018 (Updated Feb 21, 2018)
I love claymation/stop motion, and I'm definitely a Wallace and Gromit fan, so I was excited to see this. The animation was good, and the plot was entertaining. Though, I'm not sure exactly how this will go over with US audiences, because there were a lot of jokes that wouldn't have seemed funny if one wasn't familiar with football/Premier League. Tom Hiddleston's French accent was completely hilarious, and one of the best parts, next to Hobnob.
Heather (4 KP) rated Love Lifted Me (Songbird, #3) in Books
May 31, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. For me, the story started off a little slow but by the 5th or so chapter I was hooked and couldn't put it down without reading large chunks of it at a time. The football team added a great aspect to the overall story and I loved how the story ended, even if it meant the Blue Umbrella was put up for sale. So glad I won this book as a first reads winner!
Erika (17788 KP) rated The English Game in TV
Apr 5, 2020
So, overall, I really enjoyed this series. I was wary at first, because the Fellowes dude is the one that did Downton Abbey. I never made it past the 1st ep of that, too boring and slow.
There were two facets that attracted me, the fact it was a period piece, and the football. The show focuses on the difference of the classes and the upper class bemoaning that the sport is no longer for gentlemen. Two Scottish players are brought to play for Darwen, a team from the North. The scandal is that they're getting paid, which was against the rules at the time.
I really enjoyed watching it, and watched the last 4 episodes in a row. It couldn't have been trimmed down to a movie, or fewer episodes if the silly soap-opera romance junk was taken out. It really wasn't necessary.
To watch this, I don't think you specifically need to be into football. Maybe the soap opera stuff was in there to attract a wider audience? I don't know, but I don't think the show needed it.
There were two facets that attracted me, the fact it was a period piece, and the football. The show focuses on the difference of the classes and the upper class bemoaning that the sport is no longer for gentlemen. Two Scottish players are brought to play for Darwen, a team from the North. The scandal is that they're getting paid, which was against the rules at the time.
I really enjoyed watching it, and watched the last 4 episodes in a row. It couldn't have been trimmed down to a movie, or fewer episodes if the silly soap-opera romance junk was taken out. It really wasn't necessary.
To watch this, I don't think you specifically need to be into football. Maybe the soap opera stuff was in there to attract a wider audience? I don't know, but I don't think the show needed it.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated My All American (2015) in Movies
Aug 3, 2020
My All American is based on a true story of a college football hopeful turned standout who is faced with a life altering diagnosis that will change the lives of everyone around him forever.
Very strong performance by both Aaron Eckhart and Finn Whitrock (fun fact: this is the first movie that I ever saw that Finn starred in.)
I'm a sucker for a true story, especially when it involves sports. If you are, you should definitely put this film on your list.
Very strong performance by both Aaron Eckhart and Finn Whitrock (fun fact: this is the first movie that I ever saw that Finn starred in.)
I'm a sucker for a true story, especially when it involves sports. If you are, you should definitely put this film on your list.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Blind Side (2009) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
“The Blind Side” tells the unique story of Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock) a rich sassy southern mother who makes a snap decision to take in Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a destitute high school student who is failing his classes. As Michael struggles to overcome his past, Leigh Anne becomes increasingly aware of the world around her. Even with differing backgrounds Leigh Anne and Michael connect through the sport they both love.
Based primarily on one of the two stories within the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Micheal Lewis, “The Blind Side” is a football infused feel good story offering something for everyone. Sports fans will like the football terminology and game history. And sentimental hearts will enjoy this tale of overcoming obstacles and beating the odds.
Undeniably representing southern charm, Bullock pulls off one of her best performances ever. Similarly Aaron’s portrayal of Michael brings instant likeability and depth to the character. The other notable performances such as Leigh Anne’s extremely hip son, S.J. Touhy (Jae Head), and Michael’s one of a kind tutor Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), fill the film with equal parts of comedy and heart.
While a it is a film for the whole family, “The Blind Side” directly tackles the issues faced by people who come from different backgrounds, races, and even political parties. Funny, honest, and more willing than most to take a stand on the unspoken racial and class tensions “The Blind Side” takes an honest look at the world we live in.
A funny heartfelt southern tale about family, differences, and football “The Blind Side” is a touchdown.
Based primarily on one of the two stories within the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Micheal Lewis, “The Blind Side” is a football infused feel good story offering something for everyone. Sports fans will like the football terminology and game history. And sentimental hearts will enjoy this tale of overcoming obstacles and beating the odds.
Undeniably representing southern charm, Bullock pulls off one of her best performances ever. Similarly Aaron’s portrayal of Michael brings instant likeability and depth to the character. The other notable performances such as Leigh Anne’s extremely hip son, S.J. Touhy (Jae Head), and Michael’s one of a kind tutor Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), fill the film with equal parts of comedy and heart.
While a it is a film for the whole family, “The Blind Side” directly tackles the issues faced by people who come from different backgrounds, races, and even political parties. Funny, honest, and more willing than most to take a stand on the unspoken racial and class tensions “The Blind Side” takes an honest look at the world we live in.
A funny heartfelt southern tale about family, differences, and football “The Blind Side” is a touchdown.
Fruit Bat (42 KP) rated Against All Odds: Walter Tull the Black Lieutenant in Books
Mar 1, 2018
I thought book would be solely about the life of Water Tull but it isn't. Chapter 8 is entitled Other Black Soldiers and Regiments of the First World War while Chapter 9 lists is a list of the 559 officers and men of the 23rd (Service) Battalion, (2nd Football) Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) who where killed during the Great War. Other chapters seem to be dedicated to pre-war history, sadly I did not enjoy the book but that is not say others won't.