Double Random Movie Review - Next Goal Wins + Ferrari

Let's kick off the year with not one, but two film reviews of recently released films. Both biopics, to do with some kind of sport (but both very different types of sport) and both being produced and distributed by companies known for their arthouse films (or specialty if you prefer). With involvement from a few familiar people who are I'm guessing taking a break from major film releases, which is fair enough. Anyway, let's get going:

Next Goal Wins

So first up is a film given to us by the director of the last two Thor films (and also plays Korg in the franchise), Taika Waititi. A film based on a documentary of the same name, it's about a football team in American Samoa who have built the reputation of being one of the weakest football teams in the world, having never scored a single goal. The task to turn them into an elite team capable of scoring a goal, is given to Dutch American football coach Thomas Rongen (played by Michael Fassbender) who, himself, has gained the reputation of being a pretty bad coach. Nevertheless, he takes on the job to avoid the risk of being fired, and soon realizes that this is no easy task. He also coaches a transgender player (and at the time, the first ever to be a football player) called Jaiyah Saelua (played by Kaimana) which makes things interesting and may also change his perspective of life. While definitely not a perfect film by any means, it is very funny and heart-warming, with Waititi's heart being in the right place. I will admit that I felt I could hear his voice through most of the characters in this film, but I had a good time with it. Football (or Soccer) is not really a sport I follow all too much anyway, but I can't say that this was a terrible. It wasn't, and it did what it set out to do, well. If only it could've gone a bit easier on the harsh sides of this true story. 7/10

Ferrari

And our second film is one that, in the UK, is distributed by Sky Cinema. Set in the summer of 1957, Enzo Ferrari (played by Adam Driver) sets about entering his racing team into the 1957 Mille Miglia. As he does this, he is still reeling from the death of his son Dino (played by Benedetto Benedettini) as well as his deteriorating marriage with his wife Laura (played by Penélope Cruz). He also struggles to acknowledge the existence of his second son, Piero (played by Giuseppe Festinese) who is looked after by his mistress Lina (played by Shailene Woodley) and his company's impending bankruptcy at the time. Among other things, too. This film, while a lot more serious than Next Goal Wins, is very sleek looking and very well acted. I will admit, it was very slowly paced to begin with. But in an ironic twist, it started to get moving once the race started. It's a little gruesome in places as well as complex, but worth a watch if you are into fast cars (but I should stress to not watch it if you have issues with too many flashing lights). 7/10

Yeah, honestly, they are both pretty good. Not perfect, but good enough to keep people invested and interested if you are into fast cars and/or football.