Board 8 > The Gauntlet Crew Ranks Sports Movies: Results Topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hint for #11:

11. A sport's ONLY entry on this list (note that for purpose of this clue, I'm counting wrestling, boxing, and MMA as three separate sports, and NASCAR and Grand Prix as two separate sports.)
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1. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
2. ???
3. ???
4. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
5. Whip It (2009)
6. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
7. ???
8. The Fighter (2010)
9. Cool Runnings (1993)
10. Blades of Glory (2007)

Cool Runnings was definitely a fun movie with an underdog that's easy to root for, just not as memorable for me as some of the others on the list
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11. Invictus (122)

Karo - 4
JONA - 12
Scarlet - 14
Wickle - 15
Red - 24
Inviso - 25
Snake - 28

Karo - Nelson Mandela attempts the novel approach of combating racism with rugby. (for the curious, rugby is like american football, only with no play stoppage on downs and all the players rhythmically grope each other before each play)

They win the rugby world cup and suddenly there is no bigotry in South Africa anymore and everyone sings kumbya and lives together in harmony.

Morgan Freeman's incredible performance as Mandela is the big star of the show here, and his believability in the role helps make up for lack of such in other places in the movie.

JONA - The combination of politics, racism, morale and rugby make Invictus quite intriguing and found myself sucked in. I was kinda lost when it just focused on the game near the end because I know shit about rugby.

Scarlet - When Lucius Fox wants to unite a nation torn apart by Apartheid, he turns to the Buffalo Bills as captained by Liz Lemon’s ex-boyfriend. The result is a story caught in that sweet spot between a simple sport and a complex political battle. Slow-moving at times, but extremely watchable.

Film MVP: Nelson Mandela
Rating: 73/100

Wickle - I hate sounding like Charon here, but this is not a sports movie. More time is donated to the South African national anthem than to the sport of Rugby. I'm leaving this movie knowing... essentially that I don't know anything about the sport. Rollerball I could understand the sport and it was completely fake. Whip it I could understand their ambiguous sport and it was a dumb one. This? Nope, still don't get rugby. No indication who gets the ball, I don't know what that giant huddle is for, I don't know the scoring of whatever their TD things are, are passes and hand offs illegal, what was the "holding the ball" penalty... etc. Not a sport movie if you still don't know shit about the sport at the end of the movie. Regardless, Morgan Freeman is a fantastic actor. You know, I thought about changing my write-up since honestly getting deeper down this list... I was wrong, this is a sports movie. To me, growing up American... I know nothing about rugby, I know the rules of baseball and football, but Rugby is clearly its own thing and I obviously wasn't part of this movie's target audience.
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Red - A big problem with movies with historical ties is that they tend to lack real drama because you know how its going to play it. The problem with this movie, and I get it, Mandela was a good guy, but hes basically infallible here. There is no drama, hes going to make the right decision every time against others judgments and its going to work out. And it does, repeatedly. Hes shown to be so good you simply lose interest. On top of that, relating the importance of Rugby to the rest of South Africa is something that ends up as a bit of a chore to this film, never striking a great balance between the two. It also plays on a rather tasteless fear of airplanes being used as weapons that simply didn't exist in 1995(And said flyover in reality was planned and scheduled). This film simply didn't know how to create drama, and needing to do so in bad taste is a good example of why this really isn't all that great of a movie.

Inviso - On the one hand, I appreciate that this movie was more of a biopic about Nelson Mandela’s struggles to unify a country after a long period of segregation. It added an extra human element to his desire for a victory, far beyond that of your average national leader cheering for his team. I also liked how the race relations were handled. A lot of the times in movies about race, the white people are portrayed as bigoted assholes and black people are put-upon and unfairly treated. But this time around, as just as it is, the black people are shown to be just as capable of prejudice, and in a way, THAT makes the country as a whole feel like they’re just people, not black or white people, but people in general. All that being said, I don’t fucking understand rugby at ALL and that really hampered my enjoyment of the film’s climax.

Snake - Morgan Freeman is a perfect Nelson Mandela, first off (and who could think otherwise). This film isn’t really one of Clint Eastwood’s best directorial works, but the themes are solid; still this is a lot of inspiration for one list, watching them chronologically can definitely take a toll and feel repetitive unless really well done.
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Outlier Stats:

*Wickle - 231
***Inviso - 232
**JONA - 239
*Red - 246
*Karo - 251
*****Scarlet - 254
*Snake - 316

I guess I spoke too soon about things spreading out, as JONA remains within 8 spots of the lead, and Wickle overtakes me by a point to reclaim first place. Everyone is still RELATIVELY even except Snek, but poor Snek. He just has so many lower-tier movies left that it's bound to keep hurting him in the long run.
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The Gauntlet Crew Top Ten:

A League of Their Own
Creed
Field of Dreams
Moneyball
Remember the Titans
Rocky
Rush
The Wrestler
Warrior
Wimbledon
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Snake is dying right now.
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Been meaning to see Invictus for a while, mostly just for Freeman as Mandela (which honestly seems like the role he was born to play; I remember seeing Mandela in a history book as a kid and legitimately thinking it was Morgan Freeman)

And this topic is really inspiring me to go see Wimbledon, thanks Gauntlet Crew!
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Overtake you for the brief second that is when my fucking 37 dies...
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I honestly don't understand how Wimbledon makes top 10 >_>
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Wimbledon is the reason I started the romcom list. :3

Not really, I started it because we started doing genres and I was like "well... my favorite is technically romcoms, so guess I'll do that list"
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Guess I'll be the first to do this.
1. ???
2. ???
3. The Blind Side (2009)
4. ???
5. ???
6. ???
7. ???
8. The Fencer (2015)
9. ???
10. Chariots of Fire (1981)
11. ???
12. The Sandlot (1993)
13. Tin Cup (1996)
14. Cool Runnings (1993)
15. Invictus (2009)
16. Chalet Girl (2011)
17. Major League (1989)
18. Victory (1981)
19. North Shore (1987)
20. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
21. Friday Night Lights (2004)
22. Seabiscuit (2003)
23. Hoosiers (1986)
24. The Fighter (2010)
25. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
26. ???
27. Rollerball (1975)
28. Bull Durham (1988)
29. Girlfight (2000)
30. Caddyshack (1980)
31. Slap Shot (1977)
32. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
33. Blades of Glory (2007)
34. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
35. White Men Can't Jump (1992)
36. Whip It (2009)
37. ???
38. Any Given Sunday (1999)
39. The Endless Summer (1966)
40. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
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Only that 37 will kill my outlier, I'm fairly good with the rest but will probably end up middle somewhere. At least I shouldn't go to high outlier.
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1. ???
2. Chalet Girl
3. ???
4. Invictus
5. ???
6. The Blind Side
7. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
8. ???
9. The Fencer
10. Talladega Nights
11. ???
12. Slap Shot
13. ???
14. ???
15. Tin Cup
16. Whip It
17. ???
18. Shaolin Soccer
19. Bend It Like Beckham
20. Major League
21. ???
22. Victory
23. Caddyshack
24. Cool Runnings
25. ???
26. Hoosiers
27. Seabiscuit
28. Bull Durham
29. Rollerball
30. The Fighter
31. Friday Night Lights
32. Blades of Glory
33. The Sandlot
34. North Shore
35. Dogtown and Z-Boys
36. Girlfight
37. Chariots of Fire
38. Any Given Sunday
39. The Endless Summer
40. White Men Can't Jump
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1. ???
2. ???
3. Whip It (2009)
4. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
5. ???
6. Caddyshack (1980)
7. Girlfight (2000)
8. Rollerball (1975)
9. ???
10. Chariots of Fire (1981)
11. ???
12. Victory (1981)
13. The Sandlot (1993)
14. Bull Durham (1988)
15. Friday Night Lights (2004)
16. The Endless Summer (1966)
17. Major League (1989)
18. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
19. The Fighter (2010)
20. ???
21. White Men Can't Jump (1992)
22. ???
23. ???
24. ???
25. Slap Shot (1977)
26. The Blind Side (2009)
27. Cool Runnings (1993)
28. Invictus (2009)
29. Talladega Nights (2006)
30. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
31. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
32. Hoosiers (1986)
33. The Fencer (2015)
34. Seabiscuit (2003)
35. Any Given Sunday (1999)
36. Tin Cup (1996)
37. North Shore (1987)
38. ???
39. Blades of Glory (2007)
40. Chalet Girl (2011)
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1. Any Given Sunday
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
6. ???
7. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
8. Slap Shot
9. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
10. ???
11. ???
12. Bend It Like Beckham
13. ???
14. The Sandlot
15. Major League
16. ???
17. ???
18. White Men Can't Jump
19. Shaolin Soccer
20. Cool Runnings
21. Whip It
22. The Blind Side
23. Hoosiers
24. Rollerball
25. Invictus
26. Victory
27. Blades of Glory
28. Caddyshack
29. The Fighter
30. Chalet Girl
31. Friday Night Lights
32. Seabiscuit
33. Tin Cup
34. Bull Durham
35. North Shore
36. Girlfight
37. The Fencer
38. Chariots of Fire
39. Dogtown and Z-Boys
40. The Endless Summer
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I've always hated these list posts. Could make them so much simpler.

Still left for me:
1, 3, 5-9, 16, 18, 21
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10. The Wrestler (117)

Snake - 2
Inviso - 6
JONA - 8
Karo - 14
Scarlet - 18
Red - 32
Wickle - 37

Snake - I’ve of course never really been a wrestling fan, but I love this film. Mickey Rourke has one of the best performances of this entire list. His struggle to find life outside of wrestling is nothing short of captivating and heartbreakingly sad; this is a human movie through and through. Authentic, and makes we want to become a wrestling fan to appreciate it even more.

Inviso - This was an EXTREMELY good movie. It felt like a realistic portrayal of an old wrestler, well past his prime, just trying to cling to the only thing in life that ever brought him joy. Watching the rest of Randy’s life turn to shit all around him, while he’s only truly alive in the ring…it’s depressing. It really is. It makes me think of the Undertaker, honestly. Huge star, phenomenon, beloved. But as the years went on, he just showed so many signs of wear and tear, and you had to wonder just how much longer he could go on. Mickey Rourke did an amazing job acting in this movie, and portraying a guy who’s not just a gloryhound, but literally the glory is the only way he’s capable of functioning. It’s just a shame that it’s such a downer movie, ‘cause it just can’t outrank some of the more upbeat movies on the list for me.

JONA - Shocker, I like a movie about wrestling. The Ram's life is really something to behold and really shows what the wrestling life can be like. Very powerful and emotional movie.

Karo - An over the hill pro wrestling star has a heart attack and cant wrestle anymore, and comes to the realization that while everyone loves his wresting character, nobody really cares about him as a person.

This angle of the movie is masterfully done and really pulls the audiences sympathy towards this big lug that the world has decided to take a shit upon.

Unfortunately, everything implodes at the very end when the film pulls a sopranos as the screen just fades to black at the climactic scene and credits roll. I'm sorry but this kind of ending is not 'artsy' or whatever, its called being a fucking pussy and not actually finishing your goddamn movie.

Scarlet - Are you familiar with 30 Rock? On that show, a character named Tracy Jordan starred in a film called “Hard to Watch”, which was complete and utter Oscar bait. This is the definition of Oscar bait. Yes, it’s a great film fundamentally, but it exists to manipulate emotions and does it in a hamfisted manner – which is the only way you can get to the Academy voters. That and shilling movies that are about movies. They love that shit.

Film MVP: Jake the Snake Roberts
Rating: 68/100
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Red - I don't think I've ever seen wrestling be this bloody. A washed up jerk has his only source of joy taken away and then tries to redeem the life he ruined because hes a jerk. And then he fails at it and decides to go kill himself by reliving his prior glory. This movie clearly beat all the recent lawsuits regarding concusions that most sports and other forms of entertainment are facing these days. The movie wants you to care about the main character here, the problem is it also wants you to know hes a jerk, so it kind of leaves you emotionally empty at the end of it with what we all know is a pretty bad message for todays world(Its ok to do something that will kill you as long as you enjoy it).

Wickle - So, what? They left an ending off for the sake of the happy viewer to imagine everything works out between him and the stripper when in reality he dies right there? Did I just get some version of this movie that didn't have an ending, or is this really the garbage we get? The beginning was great, going in blind I was hoping for some guy who was always a face to just be forced to lose a match to some scummy heel that the wrestling community wants... instead we get over an hour of him struggling at life beyond his wrestling career. A dull hour filled with garbage hitting on a stripper, garbage attempts to bond with his daughter... and in the end... Oh wait, there was no end. They ran out of time deciding whether or not they wanted his life to actually have anything.
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Outlier Stats:

***Inviso - 236
**JONA - 241
*Karo - 255
*Wickle - 258
*****Scarlet - 262
*Red - 268
*Snake - 324

And there's the first big outlier to screw over people's plans now that we've hit the top ten. A close score moves JONA may back up into the top two spots, while Red bumps down to 6th and Wickle moves into a close battle with Scarlet for 5th place. I'm back in first though! ...With JONA the perennial non-outlier right on my tail. Crap.
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1. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
2. The Wrestler (2008)
3. ???
4. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
5. Whip It (2009)
6. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
7. ???
8. The Fighter (2010)
9. Cool Runnings (1993)
10. Blades of Glory (2007)

Really wasn't expecting that one to fall yet. Wickle's opinion on The Wrestler is probably the single opinion I disagree with most so far in this topic
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Okay surely moneyball is the winner.........right?
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Johnbobb posted...

Really wasn't expecting that one to fall yet. Wickle's opinion on The Wrestler is probably the single opinion I disagree with most so far in this topic

I actually disagree with it a little bit myself. I still hate the middling concept, but earlier this week trying to find the fact that it was based on a true story I ended up reading Mick Foley's review of the movie. It'd move up a little, but not out of my bottom 10, considering yes, Rourke's performance, even if I hated the character, was fantastic. As for the ending, it gives a good idea that he dies, but as Foley put it... it also leaves you with the hope that he does come through and finishes his life strongly.
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greengravy294 posted...

Okay surely moneyball is the winner.........right?

Moneyball is still #1-9.
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I fell asleep working on this last night.

1. Bull Durham
2. ???
3. Major League
4. ???
5. ???
6. Cool Runnings
7. The Sandlot
8. The Fencer
9. ???
10. ???
11. Seabiscuit
12. Shaolin Soccer
13. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
14. ???
15. ???
16. Caddyshack
17. Tin Cup
18. Hoosiers
19. White Men Can't Jump
20. Friday Night Lights
21. Any Given Sunday
22. Victory
23. ???
24. Invictus
25. ???
26. Girlfight
27. The Blind Side
28. The Fighter
29. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
30. Slap Shot
31. Whip It
32. The Wrestler
33. Bend It Like Beckham
34. Chariots of Fire
35. Blades of Glory
36. Rollerball
37. Chalet Girl
38. The Endless Summer
39. North Shore
40. Dogtown and Z-Boys
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9. Remember the Titans (100)

Karo - 3
Wickle - 5
JONA - 9
Inviso - 13
Snake - 20
Red - 25
Scarlet - 25

Karo - A newly desegregated school district in the south faces the challenge of dealing with the fact that back people and white people down there don’t like each other very much.

The football team's new coach treats the boys like navy seal candidates and thankfully that is all that is required to overcome centuries of racism and the team learns to trust and become friends with each other.

Its a fun little movie with a good message.

Wickle - Kind of a lovely story about racism and one of the few movies that doesn't have just a bunch of useless scenes. We have many instances of people trying to get over the boundary of racism and it all spawns from this one coach that decides that he wants to change how people view each other from the sport. I like the film because it showed that not everyone can embrace the change all too quickly, but there are those who are loyal enough to see it through to the end. And of course, it makes sense as an underdog story. Don't need to hear about how tough the opponent is to see that they're tougher, and at least the last match wasn't rigged like dumb soccer ones.

JONA - The improving morale between the students of two different colors is just intriguing and really nice to see.

Inviso - I really liked this movie. The cast of characters had enough personalities to keep me entertained and caring about their success, and it kept my attention solidly throughout the duration of the film. It was a LITTLE too on-the-nose with its discussion of race relations (I know, based on a true story and all that…but still), but that only dropped it down a LITTLE bit in the overall ranking. It was still a good story about overcoming the odds, and it elicited the proper emotions a sports movie should.

Snake - A powerful film dealing with racism and equality, and I love the coach’s efforts to promote friendliness between teammates. The acting is incredible. It’s not a high favorite or anything but it’s definitely worth a watch.

Red - Most football movies never amount to more than child abuse(Or adults making bad decisions if old enough) and locker room speeches. This movie isnt any different except it injects a bit of racism in the formula. But the racism is played mostly at arms reach, mentioned, present but mostly just dismissed by everyone in favor of winning. The movie takes its formula and plays it safe, leaving a mostly unmemorable, generic football experience. Also a kid gets hurt driving because teenagers are stupid.

Scarlet - While I sat through this movie, I made sure to never forget Chronus, Prometheus, Iapetus and the rest of Uranus’ and Gaea’s brood of children. All it really did was reinforce that all stories are derivative. Also, please be aware that in the 50s and 60s, former Confederate states are racist. I’m not sure you picked that up in The Butler, The Help, Mississippi Burning, Selma, In the Heat of the Night, or anything Spike Lee has ever made, but please be aware that in the 60s, there was racism.

Film MVP: Denzel Washington
Rating: 62/100
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Outlier Stats:

***Inviso - 240
***JONA - 241
*Karo - 261
*Wickle - 262
*****Scarlet - 278
*Red - 284
*Snake - 335

One point separates me and JONA as he gets a spot-on. REALLY, JONA? Let me have this you jerkface! That's all I have to say about this updat, 'ecause no one's placement actually changed yet. Moving on.
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8. Wimbledon (95)

Karo - 5
Scarlet - 7
Wickle - 7
Inviso - 10
Red - 10
JONA - 18
Snake - 38

Karo - A cute love story between two tennis players competing at Wimbledon. One is a heavy underdog that finds success, and the other is a favorite that fails, making them sort of opposite sides of the same coin.

There's all sorts of lovable british weirdness to the movie that makes it more watchable than it would be normally.

Scarlet - I have a strange affection for this movie. Loosely based on the unlikely story of Jimmy Connors (which itself is an interesting little tale) and originally inspired by Goran Ivanisevic, Wimbledon is a light-hearted tale of a man at a crossroads in his life. Paul Bettany, a truly underrated actor, is the perfect blend of self-deprecation and genial confidence as the mood calls, and coupled with the innocent charisma of Kirsten Dunst, the two work magic together. There are a handful of romantic comedies that I find utterly delicious and enjoyable, and this is definitely one of them. Of particular note are the well-choreographed tennis matches. Each match is perfectly constructed with personality and narrative taken equally into account. Tennis becomes a ballet in each of these scenes. This sort of innovative action is what has led to amazing scenes like the brawl in RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes.

Film MVP: Richard Loncraine
Rating: 80/100

Wickle - Hey, everyone, let's play a game! First, get your copy of this movie, skip to ~38 minutes... and let's figure out everything that's on the floor! How many of you found Kirsten Dunst's dignity? ME NEITHER. For a moment I thought he was gonna lose after Roger Goodell got his hands on the tennis referees and replaced them with NFL ones. Enjoyed learning a little more about tennis, as it's a sport I actually played for some time, but more for fun than competition; never learned the tactics. As for the rest of the movie, we have a romance that honestly feels like 10+ years apart because they make her sound like a full on rookie while he's the guy retiring, which to me is like the difference between low to mid 20s and close to 40. Regardless, it was a cute romance and a funny movie, I enjoyed it.

Inviso - If you told me I’d actually ENJOY a tennis movie before this watchthrough started, I’d call you a crazy liar. Hell, this is a tennis ROM-COM and I STILL thought it was great. This movie managed to not only get me invested in the main character, but also feel the intensity of the games being played. Peter isn’t even REMOTELY cocky, and is even a bit adorkable throughout the movie, and he’s the kind of guy who you want to succeed without question. That he wins and gets the girl is just icing on the cake. That ending though…ho-ly SHIT I was on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t tell if this was one of those movies where the protagonist is an underdog and falls JUST short of the championship (but it’s okay because at least he proved himself, right?), so EACH point had my heart racing. I didn’t think I could care that much about tennis.

Red - I actually really like the perspective given from this film, really putting you into the mind of a tennis pro at the end of his career having his last shot at success. While the love story is a bit forced and at times more than a little awkward, the actual competition and the road towards the end make up for it. Its an underdog story, as many of these movies are, but its kind of a unique perspective that many of these films are missing. The relationship is just a bit too forced and way too plot critical for the movies own good.
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JONA - The weakest part of the movie is the romance but I really liked the tennis segments, especially the parts that went into Peter's psyche.

Snake - Another cheesy rom-com, that wastes the talents of Kirsten Dunst with a plug-in plot involving a sport I couldn’t care less about.
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Outlier Stats:

***Inviso - 242
***JONA - 251
*Wickle - 263
*Karo - 264
*****Scarlet - 279
*Red - 286
*Snake - 365

Aside from JONA, most of us came without just a few points of a spot-on, but no one actually hit that spot-on. JONA's low ranking bumps him away and gives me some breathing room in the race for first place. And then...Snek. Bad Snek. Bad. Bad Bad Snek.
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I'm really surprised that Snake didn't appreciate the phenomenally unique presentations of tennis.
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Just need my 25 or whatever number it is to fall next. It's only fair, ahaha~
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Must be Creed.
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I had Wimbledon as high as 5th. Would have Singlehandedly bumped it up a couple slots

Damn, that would have made Snake livid.
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7. Creed (93)

Scarlet - 5
Wickie - 6
JONA - 7
Red - 15
Inviso - 16
Karo - 21
Snake - 23

Scarlet - The story of Rocky is a timeless one, and as someone who grew up with this series, I’ve learned to love what my parents love about the Balboa legacy. There’s always a villain grounded in reality, in this case, a Conor McGregor-alike running his mouth in order to keep the machine whirring. There’s always a rededication to the craft after a loss. There’s always a personal life that gets in the way. But most importantly to the story of the Rocky films is the love and respect that Apollo Creed and Rocky had for one another. It’s a very unique relationship told over decades, and even without Apollo at his side, even with everyone else dead and buried, Rocky remains true to his greatest rival and friend. Stallone is so often chided as a terrible actor, but who better than Stallone for Rocky? Who else could be that Spirit of Philadelphia?

Film MVP: Sylvester Stallone
Rating: 83/100

Wickie - When I first turned this on, I was a bit saddened by the fact that we're watching the first Rocky movie on this list, and then post retirement, skipping essentially everything prior. So for those of us who hate boxing with a passion and never watched the Rocky movies miss a lot. But that's the idiocy of our original host. But in all honesty, we have a continuation of the character of Rocky meeting the son of his greatest rival, and training him to hold true to that legacy. With better cinemography and a story just as good as the original... we once again see victory not on the field, but in the mind of our hero. I also love the fact that they added Eye of the Tiger in there just to go, "this is a Rocky movie."

JONA - This movie shouldn't be on this list because I think all the other Rocky movies should be watched before this, since the movie has some good callbacks to each movie. Donnie's rise in his boxing career, along with having help from Rocky, is just great to watch. It's cool to see the son of a famous boxer also go for a boxing career and not end up on a reality TV series meant for people with shitty lives trying to improve themselves. That would be fucking stupid.
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Red - This film attempts to be Rocky without really being Rocky. The problem is that Rocky was essentially a nobody, while Adonis is the son of a champion. He is someone you expect to win, hes not an underdog. Rocky was an underdog story, this movie tries to be an underdog story with someone that isn't an underdog. And for whatever reason Rocky has now given up on life despite that being pretty far out of character. This movie is just kind of a sequel no one asked for, making some strange decisions and trying way too hard to be Rocky, ending included.

Inviso - This was basically a retelling of Rocky. You have this young, upstart nobody who gets selected to fight the world champ because he has the name appeal. The champ is cocky, the upstart finds an older mentor to train him hard, the fight goes on and the upstart doesn’t get knocked out, in fact lasting the whole fight to lose, but win a moral victory. That being said, Rocky was better because Rocky was a more likable character. He FELT like a guy in over his head who stood no chance, so the underdog role suited him (it helped that a large portion of the movie focused on his personal life.) Adonis just felt too cocky to self-assured, so even when he had some minor personal difficulties, it didn’t make me emotionally connect the same way.

Karo - Apollo Creed's son is trained by Rocky, who is now a cranky old geezer (what he is actually saying is still anyone’s guess).

Creed Jr gets the chance to fight a bigshot boxer who he gives his best against but loses to by decision, just like Rocky did in the first movie.

It follows the plot of the original Rocky film far far too much, though it does have a benefit of a more likeable (and articulate) protagonist.

Snake - As a retelling of the Rocky story, it’s well made and well acted, but may feel too familiar to fans of the franchise. It is the best Rocky film in years though.
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Outlier Stats:

****JONA - 251
***Inviso - 251
*Wickle - 264
*Karo - 278
*****Scarlet - 281
*Red - 294
*Snake - 381

JONA scores a spot-on and retakes the lead as he's had more spot-ons than me to earn himself the tiebreaker for now. Snake, meanwhile, gets ANOTHER lowest ranking and is drawing very close to a 400 point outlier ranking. Hell, if not for Red, he'd be 100 points behind the next-closest ranker. Yikes.
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I get that people think it's a "retelling" of Rocky, but there's a lot of nuance to this film. And let's be honest, if having the same plot as other movies is going to be a killer, Disney should have had a list full of hated films.
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Wimbledon is great. Snake proving he is REIGNING, DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED worst user 2017.
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Inviso posted...

Adonis just felt too cocky to self-assured

I hate to point out when people don't get the point, but his name is Adonis.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Inviso posted...

Adonis just felt too cocky to self-assured

I hate to point out when people don't get the point, but his name is Adonis.

I'm not even sure what I was trying to say with that sentence as the syntax is weird. I GET the meaning behind a name like Adonis. It didn't make me connect with the character the way I did with Rocky though.
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See, that's why I like this film. He's got the genes of bad guy. He's not the good guy and he has to fight nature and nurture to learn to be an upstanding kid.
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So much I could say right now, and part of it is I'm unhappy this drops before Rocky itself. It's not that much higher than it (yeah, I'm spoiling that it's like... my 8 or 11, but at least not giving the proper spot), but... Well, my write-up for Rocky shows why it's lower.

And like sure, if follows the Rocky standard... if you're staring at the movie's casing and not even watching the fucking contents. Rocky didn't have something to prove, he was a nothing that was in the match only so Apollo could watch Moneyball. Well, maybe prove to those around him that he could actually do something. He had one goal of going the distance, he didn't know what Apollo thought of him, and he didn't know what the world thought of that match.

Adonis? Yeah, Red's right, we didn't have an underdog story feeling... because it wasn't meant to be one. He's the son of Apollo Creed and the world's treating him like he's being showboated up to where he's at and isn't actually talented at boxing. Unlike Rocky, he knew what the world thought of his match, he knew what his fighter thought of him... and he wanted to show both up. From the standpoint they gave you, he's not an underdog... He's the winner that has to prove it.
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6. Rush (92)

JONA - 1
Snake - 5
Karo - 8
Scarlet - 12
Inviso - 17
Red - 23
Wickle - 26

JONA - This is probably an odd #1 but I just love the rivalry/comradery between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Usually, when it comes to sports films it's just the viewpoint of one person or team or a standard good vs evil. Both James Hunt and Niki Lauda shine here and it's easy to get caught up in their competitiveness. It also helps that the F1 Racing they show in this movie is really intense. I also like seeing how the love interests affect the racers' career and morale and seeing the up's and down's of the racers' lives. Rush is a great name because that's what this movie gave me.

Snake - I feel like this will be underrated by a lot of people on this list, but it’s a personal favorite of mine. In spite of its racing cars premise, Rush is a film all about the human condition, but isn’t afraid to shy away from the actual danger of F1 racing. Hunt and Lauda are played to perfection, Hemsworth as Hunt is especially amazing. There’s some actual artistic license used here, but overall it serves the film well.

Karo - The story of two rival race car drivers who inhabit opposite ends of the asshole spectrum. (for those curious, this is the 'loud flatulent asshole' and the 'tight asshole with a large stick wedged far up it')

It follows their rivalry throughout the season both on and off the track as the fight for the championship, and despite the unlikability of the lead characters it never inhibits the movie, something that is very hard to do.

Scarlet - Intensity is the keyword here. The film never relents in the emotion department, and consequently every single scene feels like it matters on some level. Of course, with this sort of biopic, it’s easy to feel like you’re glossing over important moments, but ultimately the most unlikely of stars brings it all together in a real tour de force. Well-directed, well-edited, well-shot. Very solid movie.

Film MVP: Thor
Rating: 75/100

Inviso - I have mixed emotions on this one. On the one hand, the very concept of a movie with two leads who both serve as each other’s rival is interesting…but at the same time, it’s hard to really root for either one. There’s no hero or villain between Hunt and Lauda, but it’s they’re both upstanding guys either. It ends up being a movie about two assholes competing with each other for a prize I’m not happy to see either one win. I WAS Team Lauda, I suppose…but it felt like a well-directed and well-told story that didn’t leave me happy.

Red - A movie that really struggles with how to portrays its characters and deliver its message. I'm not sure if it was hampered by reality or what, but the characters go from bordering suicidal in their racing to droppping out because reasons. The dude that is more of a jerk for most of the movie ends up winning in the end. There isn't much fulfilment in that, even if it is historically accurate. While the characters themselves are distinct and interesting, the movie is tied too tight to actual history to come out with a compelling plot.

Wickle - I will never get over a specific moral boundary I have, and honestly... it detracts me from movies like these. I thought it was interesting, especially when I realized it was based off of a true story from Mario Andretti being one of the racers. Ha, I even looked up his name to make sure I spelt it right and there was Niki Lauda, he wishes James Hunt could have watched this movie. I personally wish I didn't, though for us having two racing movies I am glad we had an Indy movie and a Nascar one. And plus, we probably got the best rivalry in all these movies here. But ultimately... there were long standing complaints that made me hate parts of this movie.
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Outlier Stats:

****JONA - 256
***Inviso - 262
*Karo - 280
*Wickle - 284
*****Scarlet - 287
*Red - 311
*Snake - 382

After tying me on Creed, JONA loses his number one, but still nets fewer points than me, maintaining his top tier status in the rankings. Meanwhile, Karo moves up into third place as he, Wickle, and Scarlet are still in close contention for those third through fifth places. Meanwhile, Snake somehow manages to go only one point off on this ranking, keeping himself away from 400 points for now.
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The Top Five!

A League of Their Own
Field of Dreams
Moneyball
Rocky
Warrior
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New BOLD PREDIX:

Moneyball #1-5
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Inviso's List

1. Any Given Sunday
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
6. The Wrestler
7. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
8. Slap Shot
9. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
10. Wimbledon
11. ???
12. Bend It Like Beckham
13. Remember the Titans
14. The Sandlot
15. Major League
16. Creed
17. Rush
18. White Men Can't Jump
19. Shaolin Soccer
20. Cool Runnings
21. Whip It
22. The Blind Side
23. Hoosiers
24. Rollerball
25. Invictus
26. Victory
27. Blades of Glory
28. Caddyshack
29. The Fighter
30. Chalet Girl
31. Friday Night Lights
32. Seabiscuit
33. Tin Cup
34. Bull Durham
35. North Shore
36. Girlfight
37. The Fencer
38. Chariots of Fire
39. Dogtown and Z-Boys
40. The Endless Summer

Going almost perfect except for Any Given Sunday's early departure.
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The fall of Indy Car and rise of NASCAR was kind of depressing. NASCAR and its whole go left thing gets incredibly boring. Followed Indy Car for much of my childhood til it started to cannibalize itself(one of the biggest mismanagements in sports).