Category: Sports

SLFS Review – THE GRAY SEASONS

The title of Robert Herrera’s compelling new documentary THE GRAY SEASONS does not refer to overcast skies nor the tones of the exceptional black and and white photography. It’s main focus is Shimmy Gray-Miller, the young woman hired to overhaul the St. Louis University Lady Billikens basketball program starting starting in 2006. The title seasons are the four following that start, through 2010.Before she arrives the record of the team is dismal, so Coach Gray-Miller begins building from the ground up by recruiting star players from high schools all across the country. The film focuses on this small group of young women as the coach,with her assistants, try to establish a new winning dynasty. With the opening of their new home facility, the Chafetz Arena, hopes are running high. Over the course of these four years staff and administration change as Gray-Miller tries to connect with her talented players. There’s lots of footage in the locker room as she spurs them on and later during the grueling early morning practice sessions. It’s jarring to see the nearly empty bleachers at the games-even the big tournaments. It seems that the men continue to fill the stands and command media attention. Perhaps that will change soon because of dedicated players and coaches like the women profiled here. By the time the four seasons wind down few of the players from 2006 remain. As Coach Gray-Miller says, ” This isn’t HOOSIERS. “.Still THE GRAY SEASONS is just as enlightening and inspiring.
THE GRAY SEASONS will screen during the 2011 Stella Artois St. Louis Filmmaker’s Showcaseat 5:00PM on Thursday, August 18th at the Tivoli Theatre.

PLAY ON Trailer And Contest

PLAY ON, a new film about the sport of Rugby has been gaining some buzz. It’s a story of greed, money, family, and the love one can have for their sport.

As if seeing the trailer isn’t enough for all you Rugby fans, the movie is sending one lucky winner and a guest to the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-finals! Go to http://www.facebook.com/playonthemovie or http://www.playonthemovie.com/ for your chance to win.

CHECK OUT THE TRAILER HERE:

ABOUT THE FILM: There’s the road less traveled. There’s the road to redemption. And somewhere in between is a one-way ticket to Kansas City for wayward Scottish rugby star Keir Kilgour.

Even at the highest level, rugby didn’t pay players until the mid-1990s; it held on to the amateur ideal longer than any other sport. And now, the greedy but talented Keir and his old-school father, rugby legend Finlay Kilgour, find themselves stranded on opposite sides of that ideal. When Keir’s drive for fame and money collides with his quest for love and respect from his critical father, things get ugly. Following an appalling act of selfishness, Keir flees his rugby background in a delusional pursuit of greater stardom in the high-profile world of professional American football.

When the bubble of his rash, big money dream bursts, Keir — demoralized, broke, but too proud to return home — stumbles upon an unlikely group of saviors, the Kansas City Wanderers. A failing second division rugby club, the Wanderers are a motley collection of weekend warriors who are amateurs in the worst sense of the word.

As the Wanderers can attest, everyone does stupid things. But, it’s not always what you do that matters. It’s what you do next.

Get up. Play on.

PLAY ON OPENS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17th.

New Poster and Trailer for THE FIGHTER

Twitter was all aflutter on Sunday evening when the new, moody trailer for THE FIGHTER showed up during a commercial break for AMC’s season finale of MAD MEN at the 20 min. mark. Pete Hammond over at Deadline.com reported:

This promotional gambit was first tried by Paramount on last season’s Mad Men finale for their major 2009 contender, Up In The Air. That’s because Mad Men is a hot TV ticket, and usually an Emmy contender in its own right, and sure to draw a large contingent of movie awards voters. In fact, one of Mad Men’s consultants has been Frank Pierson, former President of the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.

The official reason for the spot, according to a Par spokesperson, is that the audience for the show is “high end, smart, savvy – the ultimate tastemakers“ and we think the show is an ideal place to showcase a special piece on the film.”

Here’s the original.

Synopsis:

THE FIGHTER is the inspirational, true story of these two brothers who, against all the odds, come together to train for a historic title bout that will unite their fractured family, redeem their pasts and, at last, give their hard-luck town what it’s been waiting for: pride. The story unfolds on the gritty, blue-collar streets of Lowell, Mass, where Dicky was once known as “The Pride of Lowell” having gone the distance with the world champion Sugar Ray Leonard. However, after losing that fight, like the town of Lowell, Dicky’s fallen on hard times. His boxing days are behind him and his life has become shattered by drug abuse. Younger brother Micky, meanwhile, has become the family’s fighter and fading hope for a champion. But despite all of his work, Micky’s career is failing and he loses fight after punishing fight. Dicky and Micky’s tougher-than-nails mother, Alice (MELISSA LEO), manages his career and Dicky serves as his highly unreliable trainer. When Micky’s latest fight nearly kills him, it looks like it could all be over – until his iron-willed new girlfriend, Charlene (AMY ADAMS), convinces him to do the unthinkable: split with his family, pursue his own interests and train without his increasingly volatile and criminal brother. Now Micky has the chance of a lifetime as he earns a shot at the World Championship. But when his brother and dysfunctional family reenter his life, they must all reconcile their pasts and become more than just a family in name. With Micky and Dicky reunited, this becomes more than just a fight – it’s an all-out comeback for these brothers, their family, and their city. When it’s over, Micky will have become a World Champion, a Hall of Fame legend, and the new “Pride of Lowell”. THE FIGHTER is a moving and often humorous drama about fighting for the people you love.

From Paramount Pictures, THE FIGHTER will be in theaters December 2010.

Visit the film’s official site here or on Facebook here.

The Fabulous FIGHTER Trailer Starring Mark Wahlberg & Christian Bale Is Here!

Coming this December, here’s the first trailer for David O. Russell’s THE FIGHTER starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo.

Count on multiple Academy Awards nominations on this film. This “Based on a true story” is exactly the kind of film that Oscar wins are made of. ROCKY…CHARIOTS OF FIRE…anyone? I’d have no problem seeing that statue in the hands of Wahlberg, Bale or even Russell on February 27, 2011.

Synopsis:

THE FIGHTER is a drama about boxer “Irish” Micky Ward’s unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime and Ward’s eventual world championship in London.

From Paramount Pictures, THE FIGHTER will be in theaters December 2010.

Visit the film’s official site here or on Facebook here.

HOW DO YOU KNOW Trailer Hits With Witherspoon, Rudd & Nicholson

My goodness. Has it really been six years since we last saw James L. Brooks in the director’s chair with 2004’s SPANGLISH? As some of may have read, this was the project that was known as THE JAMES L. BROOKS UNTITLED for the longest time. Good to see him back with this upcoming comedy, HOW DO YOU KNOW.

A supporting part for Nicholson – something new for him and a role he took after Brooks’ first choice, Bill Murray, passed on it. The NY Times has an interesting article from March that you can read here.

Synopsis:

A romantic comedy centered on the love triangle between professional softball player Lisa Jorgenson, a corporate executive, and a major-league pitcher.

From Oscar-winning writer-director James L. Brooks (AS GOOD AS IT GETS, BROADCAST NEWS, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT) and starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, HOW DO YOU KNOW will be out for the holidays on December 17th, 2010.