Sport: 85

Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014) is an animated comedy mystery film and the twenty-second installment in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-video series. While out for a jog near WrestleMania, The Miz has an encounter with Kane and is later attacked by the Ghost Bear. Meanwhile, after conquering a challenging level on a WWE video game, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy win an all-expenses-paid trip to WWE City for WrestleMania. Fred, Daphne, and Velma reluctantly agree to accompany them. However, their arrival is marked by some mishaps as Fred narrowly avoids hitting a raccoon and their van ends up in a ditch. With help from wrestler John Cena and his trainer Cookie (and ...

Draft Day (2014) is an American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman, featuring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. On the morning of the 2014 NFL Draft, Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver, Jr. has a difficult choice to make. As he holds the seventh overall pick, he must strategize how to improve his team while also managing personal matters. Domestic issues arise as Ali Parker, the team’s salary cap analyst and pregnant with Weaver’s child, complicates things. Additionally, Sonny’s ...

The biographical sports film Rush (2013) delves into the intense competition between two Formula One drivers during the 1976 motor-racing season. James Hunt, a confident and bold personality, and Niki Lauda, a methodical and precise technical genius, are both exceptional behind the wheel. They first encounter each other as rivals in 1970 at a London Formula Three race where Hunt ultimately secures victory despite both cars spinning out. Lauda secures a loan from Raiffeisen Bank in Austria to join the BRM Formula One team, where he meets teammate Clay Regazzoni for the first time. At the same time, Hesketh Racing, Hunt’s racing team, also enters Formula One. ...

Turbo (2013), an animated comedy from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox, tells the story of Theo, an aspiring racer who happens to be a garden snail. In his suburban San Fernando Valley tomato patch in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Theo, aka ‘Turbo’, longs to emulate his idol Guy Gagné, a five-time Indy 500 champion. But his single-minded focus on racing sets him apart from the slow and careful snail community and constantly embarrasses his older brother Chet. One fateful day, while chasing a tomato that has fallen out of the garden and narrowly escaping a lawnmower’s blades, Theo wanders onto a busy freeway and makes a wish upon what he thinks is a ...

The American animated comedy series, Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games (2012), created by Hanna-Barbera, follows Scooby-Doo as he competes in the International Sports Games Tournament. However, things take a dark turn when a revived thousand-year-old statue causes chaos for the spirited team and could potentially ruin the entire event. Will the Olympics still go on?

The sports drama Trouble with the Curve (2012), directed by Robert Lorenz, follows aging scout Gus Lobel of the Atlanta Braves. He fears this may be his final assignment unless he can prove his worth to the organization. Known for being resistant to change in the game, especially when it comes to advanced statistics, Gus’s job is on the line as junior executive Phillip Sanderson competes for a promotion. Pete, Gus’s friend and boss, is hesitant to let him go but faces pressure from Phillip. Suspecting that Gus may be hiding health issues, Pete reaches out to Mickey, Gus’s daughter and a driven lawyer ...

Philly Kid (2012) is an American drama film directed by Jason Connery and produced by After Dark Films. Written by Adam Mervis, the movie was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana starting in May 2011. Its production team included around ten department heads associated with the Wright State University film program or Dayton, Ohio. The film received an ‘R’ rating from MPAA and hit theaters on May 11, 2012. It was also part of the After Dark Action bundle and had a simultaneous video on demand release. While it received mixed reviews, Variety noted that it provided ...

Chasing Mavericks (2012), a biographical drama, follows the journey of young Santa Cruz native Jay Moriarity. As an 8-year-old, Jay was rescued from the ocean by his neighbor and experienced surfer Frosty Hesson. This near-death experience sparked his love for surfing. Years later, at the age of 15, Jay stumbles upon Frosty preparing to surf the massive waves at Mavericks with his friends. With El Niño approaching and Mavericks reaching its peak in three months, Frosty reluctantly agrees to teach Jay how to tackle this legendary swell. However, he emphasizes the importance of mastering the fundamentals of surfing first. To achieve this, Jay must complete a grueling ...

Moneyball (2011) is an American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller. The script was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, based on a story by Stan Chervin. The inspiration for the film comes from Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, published in 2003. The book recounts the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their general ...

The American sports comedy-drama film Win Win (2011) was written and directed by Tom McCarthy. Mike Flaherty, a small-town attorney in New Providence, New Jersey, struggles to maintain his law practice while also coaching wrestling. He faces the challenge of keeping his financial problems hidden from his wife Jackie and their two young daughters, Abby and Stella. Mike sees an opportunity when he is assigned to represent Leo Poplar, a client with early dementia who has no known family. He convinces a judge to make him Leo’s guardian, resulting in a monthly stipend of $1,508. However, instead of taking care of Leo ...

Cars 2 (2011) is an American animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. During a mission to rescue his fellow British spy Leland Turbo, Finn McMissile infiltrates an oil rig owned by criminal lemon cars. There, he witnesses the lemons, led by Professor Zündapp, loading a disguised electromagnetic pulse generator onto a shipping crate. Unfortunately, Turbo is killed and Finn must escape by faking his own death. Meanwhile, Lightning McQueen takes a break from racing to visit his friends in Radiator Springs after winning his fourth Piston Cup. However, he soon gets caught up in the World Grand Prix – created by electric ...

Directed by Gavin O’Connor, Warrior (2011) is an American sports action film that follows the story of two estranged brothers, played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. As they prepare to enter a mixed martial arts tournament, they must confront their past and mend their relationship. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, melancholy U.S. Marine Thomas ‘Tommy’ Riordan visits his father Paddy Conlon, who has recently returned to his Catholic faith after struggling with alcoholism. During Tommy’s childhood, he had ...

Directed by David O. Russell, The Fighter (2010) is a biographical sports drama depicting the story of Micky Ward, an American welterweight boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Despite being managed by his mother, Alice Ward, and trained by his older half-brother, Dicky Eklund, Micky often finds himself being used as a ‘stepping stone’ for other boxers to defeat on their way up. Unfortunately, Dicky’s former success in the ring against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978 has been overshadowed by his addiction to crack cocaine. Unaware that the documentary he is being filmed for is not about his ...

In the martial arts drama film, The Karate Kid (2010), directed by Harald Zwart, 12-year-old Dre Parker and his widowed mother Sherry move to Beijing due to her job transfer at a car factory. While there, Dre forms a connection with Meiying, a young violinist. However, their budding relationship is hindered by Cheng, a rebellious Kung Fu prodigy whose family is close to Meiying’s. Cheng constantly bullies and attacks Dre as revenge for an incident at the Forbidden City during a school trip. One day, after being viciously beaten by Cheng and his gang in an alleyway, Mr Han steps in to defend Dre. It is revealed ...

Invictus (2009), a biographical sports film directed by Clint Eastwood, features Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon as its lead actors. This is the third time Eastwood and Freeman have collaborated on a film, following their work on Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Adapted from John Carlin’s book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and ...

Leatherheads (2008), released by Universal Pictures and directed by George Clooney, is a sports comedy film set in the year 1925. Jimmy ‘Dodge’ Connelly, captain of the Duluth Bulldogs and a seasoned player, is determined to save professional football from its imminent collapse. In search of a savior, Dodge convinces Carter ‘the Bullet’ Rutherford, a decorated war hero from Princeton University, to join the struggling team. With Carter’s fame giving football a much-needed boost, things finally start looking up for the sport. However, as Chicago Tribune reporter Lexie Littleton digs into ...

The American sports drama film, Forever Strong (2008), was directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler. Rick Penning is the captain of his high school rugby team, coached by his father Richard Penning. Unfortunately, the team’s excessive drinking and drug use ultimately leads to their loss against their rivals, the Highland Rugby Team. In a moment of recklessness after the defeat, Rick gets behind the wheel while under the influence and ends up causing a serious accident involving his girlfriend Tammy. As a result, he is sent to a Juvenile Detention Center ...

Surf’s Up (2007) is a humorous animated film created by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and then distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It follows the story of Cody Maverick, a teenage northern rockhopper penguin living in Shiverpool, Antarctica with his mother Edna and older brother Glen. Since first meeting the renowned surfer emperor penguin Zeke ‘Big Z’ Topanga, Cody has been determined to become a professional surfer. So when talent scout shorebird Michael Abromowitz visits Shiverpool to find participants for the Big Z Memorial surfing competition on Pen-Gu Island, Cody eagerly joins in. On the way to the contest, Cody makes ...

Lucky You (2007), an American drama film directed by Curtis Hanson, stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. The story follows Huck Cheever, a young and skilled poker player in Las Vegas who is plagued by his strained relationship with his father, L.C. Cheever, a previous World Series of Poker Champion. Despite being a regular in the Vegas poker scene, Huck needs $10,000 to enter the World Series of Poker Main Event. After a successful night at the Bellagio ...

Directed by Phil Joanou, Gridiron Gang (2006) is an American biographical sports drama film that tells the story of Sean Porter, an employee at Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles. Frustrated by his inability to aid the troubled kids upon their release from the center – whether it be from street gangs or drug dealings – Porter devises a plan. He decides to form a football team, believing that it will instill in them the values of responsibility, maturity, and discipline. Carefully selecting individuals who he believes will benefit from this program, Porter gathers his team – the Kilpatrick ...