FIFA Mobile Football
Games
7.5
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App
Playing soccer has never been more exciting than in the new FIFA Mobile! Build and manage your team,...
Mr Unbelievable
8.0
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Book
A look at the life of Chris Kamara from the man himself. This contains everything there is to know,...
autobiography stoke city bradford portsmouth sky sports soccer saturday
The Social Side of Tourism: The Interface Between Tourism, Society, and the Environment: Answers to Global Questions from the International Competence Network of Tourism Research and Education (ICNT)
Michael Luck, Jan Velvin and Bernd Eisenstein
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The International Competence Network of Tourism Research and Education (ICNT) covers various areas...
The Complete European Football Championships 1958-2000
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This book is a complete match-by-match statistical record of the European Football Championship from...
Gangster High (2006)
Movie
A group of friends form a soccer team and call themselves "Tigers". The group gets into a fight...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Playing for Keeps (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
cleats. As a former international soccer star, George (Butler) is down on
his luck. He has no job, and he’s living in Virginia, attempting to
reconnect with his estranged son.
The story opens with some backstory about George’s past before quickly
tumbling into his present situation. George’s ex-wife (Jessica Biel) is
getting remarried, and his son Lewis (Noah Lomax) is having a hard time
learning to trust his real father after being separated for so long.
The plot quickly unfolds into a predictable “chick-flick” scenario, where
the main character is floundering and wants to get back what he once had.
His path to redemption comes in the form of coaching his son’s youth
soccer team, while fending off hordes of attractive soccer *moms* who want
to place hands on the well-sculpted Coach Dryer!
This film is incredibly formulaic, and it’s predictable every step of the
way. That said, Butler, Biel, and the rest of t*he cast* do an exceptional
job given what they had to work with. I even have to give some props to
the young actor, Noah Lomax, for giving a noteworthy performance as the
son.
While there were some great chuckles and all-out laughs mixed with a few
touching moments, it’s hard to look past the poor production values of this
film. Many of the scenes were filmed in a free-hand format. The shaking is
not just noticeable, but rampant throughout the film. It’s very
distracting, and downright shoddy film-making.
The directing wasn’t bad, in general, but I think a more seasoned director
would have at least chosen better angles. Case-in-point: many of the
scenes involving the red Ferrari were obviously lit with bright, white
lights reflecting off the surface of the car, giving us a view of grips and
other personnel behind the camera.
Dennis Quaid starts the film with a great role, and delivers a fantastic
performance. Unfortunately, after the jail scene, he’s oddly absent until
the end of the film. His absence was so awkward that it distracted me from
the people who were on the screen. I even asked myself: where did Dennis
Quaid’s character go?
Uma Thurman, playing Quaid’s character’s wife, and Catherine-Zeta Jones,
playing a soccer mom, did a marvelous job (again, despite not having much
to work with).
The Hollywood stars saved this film from rating lower, due to their vast
acting experience and talent, but I can’t recommend the movie as a whole.
Even their performances weren’t enough to keep Playing For Keeps in the
same ballpark as a well-produced film. It’s shoddy movie-making at best.
I recommend you wait to watch this one at home and save your movie theater
budget for another flick, *but if you are into chick-flicks, Playing for
Keeps will not disappoint.*
Cats Do Eat Spagetti: Living with Our Rescue Cats
Book
When English artist Paul Wright and his wife moved to a new home beside Italy's Lake Como, their...