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Reviews
I Am Durán (2019)
Epic Historical Biopic
Watched 'I am Duran' recently. Having not known much about Roberto Duran, I was blown away by his story. The film is brilliantly crafted with an intense soundtrack and amazing archive footage throughout. It also has some brilliant interviews with people such as Mike Tyson, Ricky Hatton, Sly Stallone and Robert De Niro. It even features the late general Noriega. It is much more than a generic sporting biopic, the filmmakers use Duran's story to contrast with the wider social/political situation between Panama and the USA throughout the backend of last century. It's a rich and fascinating story and the final fight scene will stay with you for a long, long time. Definitely recommend this movie!!
Night of the Fight: Hatton's Last Stand (2013)
Stunning Film about one of Britain's greatest sportsmen.
This is a sensational film, how it's rating on IMDb is so low is totally beyond me! Without spoiling anything the film follows Ricky Hatton in the build up to his comeback fight. The filmmakers get remarkable access to him and it is amazing to get such an insight into the turmoil and pressure that Hatton was going through at the time. It is impossible not to like Ricky Hatton but this film will make you miss him all the more. It is incredibly powerful and beautifully shot - some of the training scenes are awesome and the fight night scene at the end is one of the greatest scenes that I have ever seen in a documentary, incredible attention to detail, literally makes you feel like you are in the ring with him! The soundtrack to this film is insane too, goose pimples at several moments! Don't be put off my the low rating on IMDb - you will not regret watching this!!
Sleeping Giant: An Indian Football Story (2012)
Lovely film - Powerful message
I was fortunate enough to watch this film in the cinema and really loved it. The film is centred around 2 young boys from India who attend a football trial for English club, QPR, in Mumbai. The footage of India is stunning and colourful and this contrasts brilliantly when the boys arrive in London to play for QPR academy, where it's always raining and the football is tough on them. The journey of the two footballers is fascinating and the access the filmmakers have to them is superb and offers a great insight into what it is like to be involved in a high pressured football academy. Culturally it is incredibly interesting too and leads to bigger questions about why India are such a minor force in world football when they have such a vast population. I would highly recommend watching this if you get the chance - highly thought provoking film!
The Four Year Plan (2011)
Unbelievable film, great characters - fascinating insight
Have watched this film a few times now and it gets better each time. It is filmed over 4 years (doesn't take a genius to work this out) and the access behind the scenes at QPR is unreal! It is gripping the whole way through and there are so many laugh out loud moments! One of the best documentaries you will ever watch and you definitely don't need to know anything about football to love it! The soundtrack is awesome and the pace of the film is sensational. The characters grow on you as the film progresses and you will genuinely not believe some of the conversations and moments captured on film. It's a fly on the wall documentary of epic proportions...Goodfellas meets escape to victory!!