’The Boys in the Boat’

A winning tale as the State of Washington University rowing team take on the best of the US before qualifying for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Desperate for work to pay for tuition fees, Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) signs up for the rowing team trials. Along with best mate Roger (Sam Strike), he makes the final eight of the juniors under the tough eye of coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton). Pressure is on the blue-collar Washington team as they compete against the wealth of California and Princeton – as well as their own seniors.

Based on an inspiring true story, director George Clooney produces a solid episodic telling as Rantz struggles with poverty (he lives out of a beat-up truck) and adversity. There’s few bells and whistles – until the final minutes with a truly thrilling race in the Berlin Olympics under the watchful eye of the German Chancellor.

Rating: 62%

Director: George Clooney (The Ides of March, The Tender Bar)

Writer: Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, The Marsh King’s Daughter) – based on the book by Daniel James Brown

Main cast: Joel Edgerton (The King, Loving), Callum Turner (The Only Living Boy in New York, Fantastic Beasts), Peter Guinness (Official Secrets, Alien 3)

’Million Dollar Baby’

Oscar winner for best film in 2005, the Clint Eastwood directed drama is a powerfully visceral narrative built around the determined performance by Hilary Swank as a wannabe successful boxer.

Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) comes from nothing but has personal ambition to succeed in the one thing she wants to do – box. Convincing experienced coach Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) to take her on takes wile – and support from gym manager Eddie (Morgan Freeman), the closest Dunn has to a friend. But relent he eventually does and so the two go on a personal journey that results in success and tragedy.

Million Dollar Baby oozes quality in all its raw, profound sincerity and unassuming naturalism. Its central triage provide stripped down naturalism and poignancy that perfectly evokes the rough and ready world in which it’s set.

Rating: 80%

Nominated for 7 Oscars in 2005 including best actor, adapted screenplay, editing, won 4 – best film, director, actress, supporting actor

Director: Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Gran Torino)

Writer: Paul Haggis (Crash, Quantum of Solace)

Main cast: Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry, Amelia), Clint Eastwood (Play Misty For Me, The Mule), Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, Now You See Me)

‘American Underdog’

An engaging telling of true events, Kurt Warner went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to fame and glory as an American Football star.

Something of a maverick quarterback, Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi) struggled to secure a regular start position with his Northern Iowa college team. But Warner was nothing if not determined. Meeting single mum Brenda (Anna Paquin) helped that focus and, through thick and thin, the couple worked through financial struggles (including time stocking shelves) and a spell playing Arena Football (a paired-down indoor version of standard American Football) to survive. But Warner eventually received a call from the St Louis Rams and coach Dick Vermeil (Dennis Quaid). The rest is history as Warner became a key member of the winning Super Bowl team of 2000 and is considered the NFL’s greatest undrafted player in history.

It’s an inspirational story. And whilst it’s telling lingers a little too much on faith with its God and Saviour message and Levi at 40 a little old to be playing 23 year-old Warner, directors Andrew Erwin and brother Jon gently allow the older-than-normal, nice-guy narrative of Kurt Warner to speak for itself. Overly sanitised for sure but nevertheless a crowd pleaser.

Rating: 61%

Director: Andrew Erwin (Woodlawn, October Baby), Jon Erwin (Woodlawn, October Baby)

Writer: Jon Erwin (Woodlawn, October Baby), David Aaron Cohen (Friday Night Lights, The Miracle Season), Jon Gunn (Jesus Revolution, I Still Believe) – based on the book by Kurt Warner and Michael Silver

Main cast: Zachary Levi (Shazam!, The Mauritanian), Anna Paquin (The Piano, The Squid & the Whale), Dennis Quaid (Far From Heaven, Vantage Point)

’80 For Brady’

One nonagenarian, two octogenarians and one septuagenarian; 7 Oscar nominations (5 wins) and 25 Golden Globe nominations (11 wins) between them. They deserved so, so much better.

Coming to American football late in life, the result of debilitating chemo treatment, Lou (Lily Tomlin) has one wish. To see the New England Patriots at the Super Bowl. For a decade, Lou and her three closest friends have made the Super Bowl at home a tradition. But with the Patriots making it all the way in 2017, a local radio competition provides the opportunity for the four best friends to travel to Miami and meet hero, NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Chaos ensues as the four descend on one of the biggest sporting events in the US with luggage full of wigs (Trish – Jane Fonda), Betty’s (Sally Field) penchant for spicy food and Maura’s (Rita Moreno) hustle.

Based loosely on a true story, the premise of four older women following their dreams is a strong one. But the material served by writers Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern is abysmal. Occasionally funny scenarios are overshadowed by a surfeit of embarrassment.

Rating: 35%

Director: Kyle Marvin (TV’s All Wrong)

Writer: Sarah Haskins (Booksmart, TV’s Carol’s Second Act), Emily Halpern (Booksmart, TV’s Carol’s Second Act)

Main cast: Lily Tomlin (Nashville, Grandma), Jane Fonda (On Golden Pond, Klute), Rita Moreno (West Side Story, TV’s Oz), Sally Field (Hello My Name is Doris, Norma Rae)

‘Harley & Katya’

History-making ice-skating pair climb their way to success but the ultimate cost is tragedy.

Skating since the age of four, the dimunitive Ekaterina ‘Katya’ Alexandrovskaya was a product of the fully-funded Russian sporting system. Expectation was high, but at 15 she found it difficult to find the right partner. Harley Windsor was the other end of the spectrum, arriving late (and by chance) to the sport and forced to self-finance – no easy matter for a working-class indigenous family from Western Sydney. But connections via the local ice-rink and Russian trainers led Harley to Moscow and Katya, four years his junior.

Pairing up and based in Sydney the two rose through the junior ranks. But it was a struggle – financially for both, emotionally for Katya, separated from family and with poor English, forced through necessity to live in the home of her Russian coaches. As they strive for excellence, Katya in particular becomes increasingly distracted and unfocussed both on and off the ice.

No spoilers but as a documentary, Harley & Katya slowly reveals the cost paid in the search for excellence. Archive material and interviews with Harley, family members and officials involved in the (voluntary) Australian Ice-Skating Committee piece together the unfolding of the pair’s history. It’s a fascinating insight. But there’s an imbalance – in part inevitable by the nature of events. Media spotlight throughout was on Harley as a young indigenous man representing Australia in a winter sport – this along with language saw Katya excluded. And so with director Selina Miles’ film. Katya and her story is notable by absence. The result is dissatisfaction with the film with so many questions left unanswered.

Rating: 57%

Director: Selina Miles (Martha: A Picture Story, TV’s The Wanderers)

’Ted Lasso’ (Season 3)

The third and final season of Ted Lasso neatly ties up loose ends (and unravels a few others) as the much loved American coach of Richmond AFC follows the inevitable path scaffolded in season two.

Plenty of subtexts maintain interest as a generally predictable plotline unfolds – with that underlying competitive streak between key personalities of Richmond and London rivals West Ham, a team now managed by former bootboy Nathan (Nick Mohammed).

Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) as owner of Richmond takes the moral high-ground against philandering former husband Rupert (Anthony Head) – and now she has to deal with the fall out from the purchase of superstar Zava (Maximillian Osinski) and the proposed international super league. Closer to home, Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley (Juno Temple) have split – with Keeley, having left Richmond to set up an independent advertising agency finds herself involved in an unexpected and steamy relationship with Jack (Jodi Balfour). But Roy is never far away when needed – even providing former nemesis Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) support when needed. But central remains manager Ted (Jason Sudeikis) as he navigates depression caused by the separation from his family that even success on the field cannot fully rectify.

Sadly, season three is a patchy affair. A squirm-inducing petulance of an episode when the Richmond/West Ham rivalry hits rock bottom is the nadir of Ted Lasso as a series. And the ill-conceived, childish Zava subplot adds little and detracts from the central relationships between players and backroom staff. And that is ultimately what Ted Lasso is about. Outfield football scenes are generally amateur – the real interest lies with the soapy melodramas of Rebecca’s quest for love, Roy’s softening of attitude, Sam Obisinya’s (Toheeb Jimoh) restaurant, the friendships and banter of the players. And after three seasons, Ted Lasso introduced plenty of likeable characters and storylines to hold interest, even if season three failed in consistency of its storylines.

Rating: 63%

’Nyad’

Obsession and determination drive Diana Nyad to achieve a life-long ambition – to be the first person to achieve the 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.

Nyad is a remarkable tale as, at the age of 60, Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) persuades best friend and former lover Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) to become her coach. A former world-class marathon swimming athlete, Nyad is determined to achieve the one that has eluded her – the ‘Mount Everest’ of swims. So begins a gutsy four-year journey of obsession, determination, disappointment and pain.

Strong performances keep Nyad afloat in what is, ultimately, a repetitive and singular narrative. Whilst understandably obsessed, Bening as a character is tedious and one dimensional in a film that offers inspiration but little respite away from the water. It’s Foster who offers a more rounded, multi-dimensional character as she argues, encourages, cajoles not only Nyad but navigator and boat owner John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) and crew over the years.

Rating: 57%

Director: Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue), Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo, The Rescue)

Writer: Julia Cox (TV’s The Last Tycoon, Recovery Road)

Main cast: Annette Bening (American Beauty, The Kids Are Alright), Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian, Taxi Driver), Rhys Ifans (Anonymous, Snowden)

’Beckham’

A fascinating four-part personal insight into an English sporting hero who temporarily fell from grace but through self determination and family support fought his way back to the top – even when dogged by disappointment.

One of the most gifted of soccer players to grace the field, David Beckham rose to prominence in the 1990s at Manchester United under legendary manager Alec Ferguson and, later, England. He was a picture book hero – a pretty boy dating (and later marrying) the glamorous Posh Spice, Victoria Adams. An early prototype of an agent-led sporting star, Beckham was one of the hottest tickets in the early days of product endorsement – much to the concern of the traditional footballing fraternity and the likes of Alex Ferguson.

Yet in Beckham, in spite of the glamour, it’s only too apparent that Victoria and family meant everything to Beckham. To Ferguson, the lifestyle as embodied in the Spice Girl meant distraction. But success continued on the field regardless.

It’s an engrossing four parter with access to the behind-the-scenes sensitive, family man along with archival footage of Beckham as a boy supplied by his dad. It’s fascinating to see the immaculately kept bedroom of a 14 year-old juxtaposed with the now 48 year-old OCD Beckham constantly cleaning surfaces around his indoor BBQ. Manchester was Beckham’s love. The club’s support in navigating the appalling treatment dished out by English press and fans following the unfortunate on-the-field petulance and sending off in an England shirt in a World Cup quarter final against Argentina saw Beckham survive. But even today it’s apparent that he is still shocked by finding himself sold to Real Madrid in 2003, then the biggest team in the world. No individual was bigger than the team for the manager – and, concerned by constant distractions, Beckham was gone.

And so began something of a peripatetic lifestyle for David, Victoria and their kids as Madrid was followed by Los Angeles as well as Milan, Paris, Miami before, following retirement, finally settling back in the UK.

Archival material along with interviews with Beckham, Victoria, mom and dad, former playing colleagues and friends from Manchester, Madrid and LA provide an insight into a brilliant footballer player and family man – even contributions from former managers and Anna Wintour! Produced by Beckham himself, Beckham may not provide warts and all, but there’s no soft soaping either. Engrossing.

Rating: 75%

‘Ted Lasso’ (Season 2)

If it works why fix it as season two continues where the multiple Emmy-award winning first season left off as former American football coach Ted Lasso is now confronted with AFC Richmond relegated from the Premier League and into the second tier Championship.

The light, engaging dramedy continues to unfold characters in the board room, offices, dressing rooms – and those highly critical supporters in the local pub. But things are not going too well at the start of the new season – whilst undefeated in the first eight games, the team also remain winless. Eight successive draws is a league record. Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and club owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) are concerned but panic has yet to set in.

Season two shifts an element of focus away from Ted and the dressing rooms to look to former team captain Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and girlfriend Keeley (Juno Temple), an on-the-rise marketing guru – an inspired narrative decision based on the immense popularity of the two in the earlier season. No longer involved in the club, Kent is lost (coach to an Under 7s girl’s team!) but is reluctant to take the offer from Lasso to join his staff.

But Ted Lasso being Ted Lasso, there’s plenty of other intertwined narratives with psychologist Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles) bought in to provide support to the team; the arrogant Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), former star, is back having been released from his contract by Manchester City and rising star Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) is wanted by Ghanaian billionaire Edwin Akofu (Sam Richardson) for his Pan-African super club. And, of course, the glamorous Rebecca continues to look for love – and appears to find it in the most unexpected of places.

Warm hearted and generally non-confrontational, Ted Lasso does drift into dark places (Ted’s own issues of abandonment, Coach Beard’s (Brendan Hunt) strange and disturbing night out following the FA Cup semi-final) added to which is the unexpected turn by Nate (Nick Mohammed) – former kit boy and now on the coacing team feeling ignored and under-appreciated.

Expect more of the same (and even more four letter expletives from the ever splendid Roy Kent) from Ted Lasso with the series able to take time in developing characterisation of the main players in the series – including family man and administrative director Higgins (Jeremy Swift). It can get a little too saccharine sweet (the Christmas special a case in point) but that’s balanced by a few vicious turns. And talking of vicious turns – that final over the shoulder backwards glance to end the series certainly sends shock waves, setting up the third and final series.

Rating: 69%

‘The Fighter’

Character-driven narrative based on true events as boxer Micky Ward looks to make his mark in the shadow of his older boxing brother

A blue-collar story of Lowell, Massachussetts and the ‘Irish’ Ward brothers. Micky (Mark Wahlberg – The Departed, Uncharted) is an up and coming boxer but overshadowed in the ring and at home by his half-brother Dicky (Christian Bale – The Dark Knight, Ford vs Ferrari). Once a potential world champion, in spite of being his brother’s coach, Dicky is now little more than an unreliable drug addict.

A tale of family – a domineering mother who is also Micky’s manager (a superb, cigarette-smoke engulfed Melissa Leo – Frozen River, The Equalizer 2) and five bogan sisters add to the enclosed claustrophobia of the Ward home with pressure on Micky to be a success. It’s only girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams – Enchanted, Arrival) who sees him for what he is – leading to clashes and fistfights with the sisters.

It’s the intense perfomances (worthy awards for Melissa Leo and the extraordinary Christian Bale) that elevate director David O. Russell’s (Silver Linings Playbook, Amsterdam) film into something more than just a run-of-the-mill biopic.

Nominated for 7 Oscars in 2011 including best film, director, supporting actress (Amy Adams), original screenplay, won 2 for best supporting actor (Bale), supporting actress (Leo).

Rating: 68%