In the world of cinema, sports is a subject that allows filmmakers to tell stories of adversity, growth, teamwork, and why sports are fun. In the U.S., there are iconic sports movies in games such as baseball, football, basketball, and hockey whether it is professional sports, semi-professional, or little league sports. They have stories that are appealing to audiences because they are simple yet effective stories. There are so many films relating to baseball, football, basketball, and hockey that can be made into a list but there is one sport that does not get enough attention even though it is a much bigger sports around the world than in the U.S. Futbol or as you Americans call it, soccer. Futbol is a different as it a sport that says a lot about people, community, clubs, and what it means to win as well as what is means to be part of a team.
While there have been a lot of films about the beautiful game, this list will not include films I have not seen such as Tom Hooper’s The Damned United, Bill Forsyth’s Gregory’s Girl, and Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer. I am making a list of 20 films in both fiction and documentary that I think represent the beautiful game at its absolute best. Even as it is not an easy list of films, considering that the beautiful game has not been well-represented through Hollywood though there are some gems in and out of Hollywood that has appeal to fans and non-fans of the beautiful game. Here is a list of 20 films that are worth watching about the beautiful game:
1. Escape to Victory
A remake of the 1961 Hungarian film Two Halves in Hell that is based on an infamous game between Nazi Germany and Soviet-Ukrainian POWS in 1942 known as the Death Match. John Huston’s 1981 film is a different animal as it is about a bunch of POWs from the Allies who have agreed to play an exhibition game against Nazi Germany as part of a propaganda stunt for the Nazis. Narratively, it is a basic story yet with a cast that includes Michael Caine as the team’s leader/manager, Sylvester Stallone as an American who serves as the goalie, and Max von Sydow as a Nazi leader. It seems like an appealing film for mainstream audiences, but what makes the film work are the supporting cast who get play POWs such as England’s Bobby Moore, Argentina’s Osvaldo, and Pele! Now that is a fucking team, and it must have been a joy for Caine to play with some of these legends including a certified GOAT in Pele.
2. Ladybugs
OK, as a child of the 80s. Rodney Dangerfield is an idol of mine as I always love his persona as a comedian as well as an actor. He is a better actor than people give him credit for. Yes, his schtick was becoming dated in the 1990s but this film by Sidney J. Furie is not as bad as people claim it is to be. Dangerfield is hilarious as a guy who is trying to get a promotion at his job so he can get the money to marry his longtime girlfriend. What he does is claim he is a soccer coach where he would coach his company’s girls’ team that includes the boss’ daughter as he has Jackee` helping him. Thus, hilarity ensues while he would get his girlfriend’s son Matthew dressing up as a girl in Martha so that he can be a ringer for the team. It is a comical film that include some racy language that is quite extreme for a family film. “They broke my nail! MOM, THOSE BITCHES BROKE MY NAIL!!!!!” This is one of those rare films that I saw in the theaters more than once and I am not ashamed to admit it.
3. Fever Pitch
Not to be confused with the 2005 film by the Farrelly Brothers starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore about the Boston Red Sox. In fact, that film is remake of this 1997 film by David Evans that is based on a book by Nick Hornby, who also wrote the screenplay, about a schoolteacher’s love for Arsenal set in 1988 as he also falls in love with another teacher as he becomes conflicted in trying to have both. The film stars Colin Firth as this man who also coaches his school’s team as it also plays into his troubled relationship with his father who first took him to an Arsenal game. The film also features Mark Strong as Firth’s best friend who is also a massive fan of Arsenal. It is this film that made me a fan of Arsenal and if anyone has a problem with Arsenal will have to answer to…. The Queen….
4. Bend It Like Beckham
Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 film is not just one of the finest films on the beautiful game, but it is also this light-hearted and touching film that revolves around cultural differences, identity, and not wanting to betray family values. Starring Parminder Nagra as a young Punjab-Indian woman who loves futbol as she meets up with a white Briton played Keira Knightley who is part of a local amateur futbol club as they become friends but also rivals for the affection of their Irish coach. Yet, the film also explores Nagra’s character Jess trying to not dishonor her family’s values and wishes just as her sister is hoping to get married while the film also has a lot of humor. Particularly from Juliet Stevenson as Knightley’s mother who believes that her daughter is a lesbian as her reactions bring such joy. It is a film that my parents and my sisters love as it is just one of those amazing films though the scene of Stevenson crying over what happened to George Michael when he came out is hilarious. Yet, the man who plays her husband tells her, “George Michael is still a superstar, and you still listen to Wham!”
5. Kicking & Screaming
Not to be confused with the 1995 film by Noah Baumbach of the same name, Jesse Dylan’s 2005 sports comedy about a man who decides to coach a youth soccer team after his dad had refused to play his son for his own team. Starring Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, the film is a light-hearted comedy that is more about the relationship between father and son as Ferrell often felt he had to compete with his overly-competitive father in Duvall. What does make it work is that you have Ferrell team up with legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka in creating a team of misfits who may not be athletic but their heart and willingness to get better at the game. It also has funny moments such as Ferrell becoming addicted to cappuccino and the need to wanting to merge his father’s sporting goods business with his own small business selling vitamins.
6. Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
This 2005 documentary from HBO Sports about the U.S. women’s soccer team that would win the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup is among one of the finest documentary films about women athletes. Notably in the struggles these legendary players had to endure from being underpaid, not having a lot of support from their own country, and not being taken seriously by other countries. Yet, this is a documentary that proves how they managed to become winners and that moment at the Rose Bowl in 1999 where they won it all. Even if the aftermath of the brief rise and fall of the WUSA league is also told though that league did pave the way for the NWSL which has so far done well.
Jafar Panahi is one of the world's best filmmakers as well as one of the best filmmakers from Iran despite his own battles with its government who have tried to ban him from making films. Among the films he has made in his country that has gotten into trouble is his 2006 film about a group of young women disguising themselves as men as they want to watch a qualifying game between Iran and Bahrain at the national stadium. Of course, they get caught as guards are forced to watch over these women where one of them does escape and does get a glimpse of the game. The scene where this young woman explains what she saw with the guards also looking at her own description is among one of the best scenes in the film. Despite all the political and social turmoil, it is the sport that does bring people together as it is one of the finest films of the 21st century so far.
8. She’s the Man
An adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, Andy Fickman’s comedy is about a young woman whose school team has been disbanded as she decides to be her twin brother, who went to Europe to play some shows, who is about to attend another prep school as she disguises herself as a dude so she can play the beautiful game. She would have Channing Tatum as her roommate where she falls for him but also deals with all sorts of trouble. The film has Amanda Bynes in one of her most iconic performances as this young woman that just wants to play futbol as she would have Vinnie Jones as her coach while dealing with the affections of Laura Ramsey but also Alex Breckenridge as her brother’s vain girlfriend. It is an amazing film where Bynes is a total hoot while proving that tampons can help with nose bleeds.
9. Rudo y Cursi
From Carlos Cuaron is a film about two half-brothers from a farming family in a small Mexican town as they are both talented in futbol as they both go into separate teams and journeys as they both rise into the ranks of the professional Mexican league. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna who had worked with Cuaron previously as he co-wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien with his older brother Alfonso Cuaron. Alfonso, along with Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu produce the film as it is a comical story of sibling rivalry as well as the way futbol rivalries occur in Mexico as Bernal and Luna are great in this as well as a phenomenal supporting performance from Argentine actor/comedian Guillermo Franca as a slimy agent who also narrates the film. Another thing about the film that is worth watching is seeing Bernal doing a hilarious ranchero cover of Cheap Trick’s I Want You to Want Me.
Ken Loach’s 2009 film is about a middle-aged postal worker who is experiencing his own mid-life crisis as well as family drama in Manchester where he finds a sense of joy in the presence of his favorite player in Eric Cantona. While it is not a sports film, the presence of Cantona does add to why futbol matters to people and how it helps a man going through so much in his life find some bit of hope. Especially as Cantona is a man full of joy who understands the struggles that this postal worker is going through as it does play into the elements of magical realism. It may be a minor work from Ken Loach but only someone like Ken Loach can create films set in the real world and not be afraid to bring in elements of fantasy that is grounded in reality.
11. The Two Escobars
One of several films in this list from the 30 for 30 documentary series, Jeff and Michael Zimbalist’s film about the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and the rise of Colombian futbol in the 1990s that included its captain in Andres Escobar (no relation). It is one of the best films of the series as it explores the rise of these two different men and their impact on the country but also the fall with the end of Pablo’s reign and the 1994 FIFA World Cup game against the U.S. where Andres scored an unfortunate own goal for the U.S. as he would be killed more than a week later. It is one of the documentary films that highlight a team that had a lot of promises only to fall with a drug lord who wanted to do good things for his country.
12. Maradona ‘86
One of 7 documentary short films from the 30 for 30 series as part of the Soccer Stories series in celebration of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this documentary short about Argentina’s Diego Armando Maradona and his performance at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. A performance that is considered legendary including the quarter-final game against England where he would score 2 legendary goals. One of which remains a source of controversy because of a handball he committed yet it counted as the English to this day are still angry about it. That would be followed by what many call the Goal of the Century as Maradona was untouchable that year.
13. Ceasefire Massacre
The 2nd short from the 30 for 30 documentary series in Soccer Stories is about one of the most violent events to happen during a watch party at a small pub in Northern Ireland. All because a bunch of people wanted to watch Ireland vs. Italy during the 1994 FIFA World Cup where a Protestant terror group ambushed the pub where six people were killed. Directed by Alex Gibney and Trevor Birney, the documentary short film explores the Northern Ireland conflict and how this incident marked as a turning point in the conflict.
14. The Myth of Garrincha
Also, from the 30 for 30 series in Soccer Stories is a documentary short on Mane Garrincha who had been part of the 1958 and 1962 Brazilian national team that won the World Cup twice in those years. The short film explores a man who had a unique style of play due to his legs as they were bent when he was children. The film also played into his aftermath of his career where he struggled with alcoholism and finances leading to his death in 1983 where the people did give him a proper funeral.
15. The Opposition
Another entry from the 30 for 30 series is this short documentary by Ezra Edelman and Jeffrey Plunkett about one of the most discomforting World Cup qualifying games in 1973 between the Soviet Union and Chile in the latter’s national stadium in Santiago which was being used as a prison and killing field during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The Soviet Union’s refusal to play the two qualifiers led to the country being disqualified as it is a sobering documentary about one of the darkest periods in world history.
16. White, Blue and White
Another documentary from the 30 for 30 series is a short film about two men from the 1978 Argentina national team in Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa who helped the country win their first World Cup that year as they would later join the Tottenham Hotspurs in England where they would become major stars for that team and help the club win the 1981 FA Cup. Yet, all of that changed in 1982 where Ardiles leaves the club to return to the Argentine national team during one of the most horrific conflicts of the 20th Century in the Falkland Islands War between Britain and Argentina. It is a somber short of two men who are torn apart by their love for two countries and the war that tore everything apart.
17. Barbosa: The Man Who Made All of Brazil Cry
Until the events of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, what happened in the 1950 World Cup that was also hosted by Brazil who made it to the finals against Uruguay was a tragic event. It was the day where everyone thought the host country would win but a goal from Uruguay changed everything and Brazil’s goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa became the scapegoat as he was considered a national hero before the World Cup. This documentary short from 30 for 30 is about Barbosa and the aftermath of the 1950 World Cup where he was unfortunately seen as a pariah as it is one of the best documentary shorts from the 30 for 30 series.
18. Hillsborough
A feature-length documentary from the 30 for 30 series by Daniel Gordon is about one of the most horrific events in the history of the sport on April 15, 1989, during a FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham at Hillsborough stadium where 97 people were killed due to a crowd crush with 766 injured from the event. The two-hour documentary explore incidents years before the event and what could have been prevented as well as the troubling aftermath that included falsified police reports and such leading to a trial and an investigation as the film was originally released in 2014 just twenty-five years after the event as it would later be expanded and updated two years later to include the inquiry and its verdict. Of all the films of the 30 for 30 series, this one is the best of them all.
The final film in a thematic trilogy about troubled geniuses from Asif Kapadia, this documentary film on the famed Argentine futbol player during his time playing for S.C.C. Napoli in Italy’s Serie A league from 1984 to 1991. Kapadia’s usage of archival footage, voice-over work, news reports, and such allows audiences to see one of the greatest players ever who would find a home in Naples as well as make their team one of the most beloved teams in Europe. Even as he endures a troubling cocaine addiction, extramarital affairs, and other things that would add to his legend as well as tidbits on his international career including his legendary performance at the 1986 FIFA World Cup where he gave Argentina their 2nd World Cup victory.
While it may be inferior to the 2014 documentary film of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, Taika Waititi’s dramatic re-telling about Dutch-American coach Thomas Regan who takes on the impossible task to coach the American-Samoa national team and make them contenders. Starring Michael Fassbender as Regan, the film is a touching comedy-drama that explores a man still dealing with personal tragedy while trying to take a team of misfits into a team that can do well in World Cup qualification games. It is a minor film by Waititi, but it is still a compelling film that plays into Waititi’s exploration of life being a comedy and tragedy.
Films to Avoid
For every film that is about the beautiful game that can range from being great to even something that is considered mediocre. There are films on the beautiful game that should be avoided. In how they portray the beautiful game as well as how they depict certain personalities. 1995’s The Big Green from Walt Disney Studios starring Olivia d’Abo, Steve Guttenberg, and Jay O. Sanders is just this awful film about British schoolteacher who goes to Texas as part of an exchange program by getting a bunch of disinterested misfits to play the game as it just poorly executed. It is meant to be a family comedy, but it is not funny at all as it is also generic in its approach to sport as it features Patrick Renna of The Sandlot as the goalie who is meant to be the comic relief, but it is so awful.
Another film that should be avoided is a bio-pic on Pele in Pele: Birth of a Legend from Jeff and Michael Zimbalist as those two filmmakers should have stuck to documentary films. This is a movie that is as generic as it can get while it is also filled with a lot of inaccuracies on Brazil’s failure at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and on Pele’s life. When you have Vincent D’Onofrio as the team’s head coach, Colm Meany as the Swedish head coach along with great Brazilian actors like Seu Jorge and Rodrigo Santoro and do not give them anything to work with. The film was fucked. It is a boring and formulaic bio-pic but my father’s opinion of it was damning who cited everything about that movie that was wrong.
For all the bad movies that have been around, including awful sports films. There is nothing as bad as 2014’s United Passions by Frederic Auburtin starring Gerard Depardieu, Sam Neill, Tim Roth, Fisher Stevens, Thomas Krestchmann, and many others all funded and produced by FIFA about the creation of FIFA and the World Cup. It is astounding in how fucked up that film is in terms of skirting around certain issues as well as what it wanted FIFA to be seen as. You have parts of the film of kids playing the beautiful game intercut with all these dramatic moments of FIFA officials trying to modernize the game and all of that. It is truly one of the worst films ever made as there is this shot of Depardieu as Jules Rimet holding the old trophy that he is about to award to Brazil as he climbs the stairs of the stadium to see that Uruguay has one. It is the stupidest thing ever captured on film with the most awful music ever. An absolute fucking piece of shit.
Well, that is all for anyone interested in the beautiful game to see what films that are out there to see. It may not be as big as other sports in the U.S. but there is a reason people love futbol around the world as Americans do embrace it slowly. Especially as the World Cup gives American the chance to explore different cultures from around the world and be a part of something that is just universal. Sports do bring people together and futbol is one of those sports that gets people to sing and root for something that is beautiful.
If there was ever the story of someone monumental that people want to see on the big screen, it would have to be an audacious project. A film about the Beatles would fit that description but one film covering the lives of John, Paul, George, and Ringo would impossibly considering that the story of the Beatles do not play into the conventions of what is expected in a bio-pic. News about a bio-pic on the Beatles have been told over many years but in February of last year. British director Sam Mendes announced plans to direct and produce not one but four films about the Beatles with each film told from the perspective of one of the Beatles. It is an idea that could work in which audiences can see period of the Beatles be shown by one of them and another period from another Beatle.
This is the right way to go and with the announcement of the four actors to play the Beatles in Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. The potential for something astronomical is happening yet this is only the beginning as the film is set for an April 2028 release. Still, there is a long way to go in not just writing the script on all four films but also the approach into the narrative of the Beatles on where to start and where to end. There is also no announcement about who else will be in the film. There are a lot of things audiences want to see in these films about the Beatles as I have produced a list of 10 things I want to see in these four films about the Beatles.
1. Balanced Perspectives of the Period from the Beatles
If one were to make a film about the Beatles told from the perspective of one member of the Beatles. Each film must share a similar running time but also coverage of how they saw things from a certain period of the band’s career. The idea of how Ringo saw things when he was officially part of the band, and the early days of Beatlemania would have him deal with sudden fame and such could be an example. In John’s story, it could be the third film in how he coped with the death of the band’s manager Brian Epstein, his failing marriage to Cynthia Powell, and how he met Yoko is another idea. There are many ways the story of the Beatles could be told as there is a period of 13 years from their formation to their dissolution that could split into four parts. The thing that needs to work is that each film must have a strong narrative to see how all four of these men saw things.
2. Not Playing into Traditional and Cliched Bio-Pic Narratives
Music bio-pics have become big hits in the box office although not everyone is happy about it as some claim that these films are Wikipedia pages on films that tells a basic element of the story but not the whole story. With the Beatles, a traditional narrative does not work because there is so much ground to cover not just the music, they were making but also the cultural impact they had on the world. Jake Kasdan’s 2007 spoof film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story made fun of those conventional narrative takes to the point that recent films such as Bohemian Rhapsody on Queen, Baz Luhrmann’s film about Elvis Presley, and the recent film on Bob Marley in Bob Marley: One Love play too heavily in these traditional narratives where an artist rises, falls, alienates certain people, make a comeback, and then die.
With the Beatles, it does not work in that way as films such as Todd Haynes’ anti bio-pic on Bob Dylan in I’m Not There and Oren Moverman’s film on Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy strayed from those narratives. With the Beatles, they do not fit into those conventions and condensing certain things about parts of the band’s story would be upsetting to fans of the Beatles. Since it is also likely to not be a conventional bio-pic, this would allow Mendes and his crew to present the film in different ways in terms of its photography and film formats.
3. The Presentation of the Music
Music rights have been a particular issue in why certain films about artists could not be made though some have attempted to make films without the music of that artist as the 2020 film Stardust about David Bowie’s first trip to America in 1971 was poorly-received as one of its faults was that the filmmakers were refused permission to use his music by Bowie’s estate including Bowie’s son Duncan Jones. Mendes is fortunate that he is working with Apple Corp Ltd. CEO Jeff Jones in the film as he will get to use the music of the Beatles. Yet, Mendes does need to avoid making the four films into a musical jukebox as every fan knows the hits but there are also album tracks and deep cuts that the fans would want to hear.
Another thing that Mendes wants to avoid is what Baz Luhrmann did with his Elvis movie had other artists interpret the Beatles as the result of what Luhrmann did polarized audiences as some of those songs were used with modern equipment including Autotune that must have angered fans of Presley. While it is likely that Giles Martin would be involved in the music as he had been remastering and remixing the original recordings with the MAL software. The music of the Beatles must be presented with great respect in a way that a new generation can be introduced to this great music.
4. A Strong Supporting Cast in the Roles of the Fifth Beatles
A film about the Beatles would need to have people to play certain parts as the story of the Beatles is incomplete without the involvement of those who played major roles in their ascent. Notably the role of the Fifth Beatle as there are several individuals who are all important in what they did for the band. Obviously, the films must include Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Beatles producer George Martin as they were instrumental into their ascent in different parts of the Beatles’ inner circle. Then there are people like longtime assistants in Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, publicist Derek Taylor, fan club president Freda Kelly, publisher Dick James, and Billy Preston. It is one thing to play one of the Beatles but for anyone to play these individuals would be a major coup as there is a dream ensemble that can be made for this. My choice for George Martin would be Benedict Cumberbatch and Maisie Williams as Freda Kelly.
5. Humor
If there is anything that the Beatles are known for throughout their career, it is the fact that they never took themselves seriously. They were always providing a sense of fun and joy in what they did. Part of the problem with some bio-pics is that there is not enough humor and everything is taken seriously. The Beatles are known for not taking themselves seriously through the films they made as well as the press conference they did when they first arrived in America. The Beatles story must have moments that can get audiences to laugh along with some jokes every now and then. Even in some of the stories about some of the people they met where there could be a funny moment where the band met Bob Dylan who introduced them to marijuana. There also could be moments in the recording studio as it plays into the sense of fun as there were a lot of those funny moments in The Beatles: Get Back.
I do have one request for the film regarding humor in which there is a moment where Sgt. Pepper is about to release where someone in the band or in their inner circle say, “I hate to be the sod that has to release the record on the same day as this”. It then cuts to people at the record shop getting the album while a young man is there sitting on a chair trying to sell his own debut album. That young bloke is… David Bowie.
6. Maintaining a Sense of Authenticity into the Small Details
One thing about bio-pics that annoy the fuck out of me is inaccuracy. Watching some of these bio-pics about certain artist has me seeing things where I am like “wait a minute, that did not happen.” Other things include the instruments the musicians play where there was a moment in Bohemian Rhapsody where the band is playing the song Another One Bites the Dust and Brian May is playing a Gibson Les Paul and I was like… “I do not remember him playing a Gibson Les Paul” and anyone who knew about Queen knew that May played a few guitar models including his Red Special but never a Gibson Les Paul. It is among these things that these four films must understand, which is why there must be a consultant for these things. Otherwise, you would have fans nitpick over every little detail over what instrument the band played and what model. People do take this shit seriously as it is something these four films must avoid as Mendes is likely to be aware of what he needs to do and what not to do.
Then there is the fact that these films will be set in the 1960s as it is not just in the models of the guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards that was used but also the recording equipment in those times. There are also some famous locations that the Beatles were famous for such as the Cavern Club which is still around although it is unlikely that they could shoot scenes in that film. There are a lot of things that Mendes and his crew need to do to recreate that sense of
7. A Fair and Balanced Portrayal of Yoko Ono and the Spouses/Girlfriends of the Beatles
Once considered to be the villain of the Beatles story in an unfair way, Yoko Ono fortunately has gained apologies from fans over the years of her involvement in John Lennon’s life and being in the Beatles recording sessions because John wanted her there. Ono is a key figure of the story of the Beatles as someone that did play a sense of discord of how the band did things back then, but she was never this disruptive figure when it came to the band making music. Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back destroyed the myth of Ono breaking up with the Beatles as the band’s break-up was more complicated than just someone’s girlfriend involved. Ono is likely to be a major character in the film the roles of the Pattie Boyd, Maureen Starkey, Linda McCartney, Cynthia Powell, and other women in the lives of the Beatles are likely to be minor, but they must be told with respect as a few of them were in the recording while Maureen Starkey should be known as the #1 fan of the Beatles. Thanks Mo!
8. Not Being Afraid to Show the Flaws of the Individual Members
Bio-pics often skirt around certain things about the individual they are exploring as they often delve into parody like Walk Hard in which Dewey Cox goes to rehab as he needs more blankets, less blankets, and more and less blankets. The Beatles themselves are flawed individuals as I am sure that Mendes has been able to talk to McCartney, Starr, Olivia Harrison, and John Lennon’s estate about the portrayal of themselves. Lennon was known for having an attitude while McCartney was often seen as bossy. While Walk Hard had a scene of Cox and his band meeting the Beatles who are portrayed in the most exaggerated and humorous ways.
That film succeeded in playing into Lennon and McCartney’s ego with Harrison wanting more songs on the album and Starr trying to get his input into the music. It could be told in a humorous way, but it should not skirt the fact that these men are human and had their bad moments. It would at least allow the audience to see these men as just four guys from Liverpool who made it big but also had a hard time with fame and their own responsibilities as men. Plus, they were not those clean-cut boys that were the object of affection for teenyboppers. These were four foul-mouthed assholes from Liverpool but that is why people love them.
9. No Stupid Stunt-Casting on Smaller Roles
Last year saw the release of the Brian Epstein bio-pic Midas Man starring Jacob Lloyd-Fortune as Epstein that also featured the much-reviled late night talk show host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan. The film has not been seen widely by audiences while it has also received criticism from fans of the Beatles as the idea of Leno as Ed Sullivan is just poor stunt-casting. Since this film is going to be set in the 1960s where it would feature actors playing roles like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, and many others, the Beatles met along the way. It would be annoying if there is a certain celebrity in playing a certain part though I do have an idea of having Tom Hanks play the role of Ed Sullivan is something I would not mind. Yet, it should be kept to a minimum as the idea of a popular celebrity in today’s world playing someone like Mick Jagger would be distracting.
10. PLAY IT FUCKING LOUD!
When it comes to the Beatles, the fact that these four films will be released simultaneously as part of a cinematic binge is a way to get people in the movie theaters and just lose themselves. Since the pandemic, it has been slow for people to find a reason to go to the cinema as there has not been a lot of excitement with streaming being the thing where people can watch a film and stay home. Yet, what Mendes is hoping to create is something different as there has not been a major cinematic event in years that can get people to go the movie theaters. More importantly, the fact that these four films will be about one of the greatest acts in popular music has to be more than just a cinematic event.
It must be grand in the way that Barbenheimer was in the summer of 2023 where audiences got to see 2 different films in Barbie and Oppenheimer. Yet, this feels a lot bigger as it must be seen on the biggest screen possible with the loudest sound available. This is not fucking rocket science! This is motherfucking rock n’ roll! A film in which the audience can sing-along to these old songs with people of all ages. From those who saw them back in the 1960s to the kids who were given 1 greatest hits album from the Beatles in 2000. This is a chance for audiences to experience something that few people have experienced as this might be the last thing that Paul and Ringo will offer to the world.
2023 has been a crazy year in films as there was a lot that had happened with the SAG/WAG strike definitely impacted a lot of things for film and television as films would be delayed, actors didn't take part in any promotion for the films they're in, and other things. Still, the year was chaotic as there were some major events in cinema but also burn-out as it relates to superhero films as Marvel is in need to take a step back while DC ended their cinematic universe with a whimper of sorts. Overall, I saw 13 films in 2023 in the theaters with a lot of them being great but a couple of screenings of films that weren't so good at all. Yet, there were a lot of films that I didn't get the chance to see though I hopefully will in the coming months and years to come.
Here are the 2023 films that I haven't seen yet: Past Lives, Ferrari, The Iron Claw, Bottoms, May December, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, They Cloned Tyrone, Four Daughters, Saltburn, The Boy and the Heron, Godzilla Minus One, Foe, Next Goal Wins, Hitman, Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, Shoshana, The Peasants, Wicked Little Letters, Close to You, Wonka, Dream Scenario, Irena's Vow, Memory, The Bikeriders, Janet Planet, Wildcat, All of Us Strangers, Teachers Lounge, The Holdovers, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Origin, The Royal HotelGreen Border, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Scrapper, Magic Mike's Last Dance, Polite Society, Evil Does Not Exist, Backspot, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Earth Mama, Maestro, Dumb Money, Blackberry, Flamin' Hot, Strange Way of Life, Occupied City, Grenfell, The Beast, Bad Behaviour, Strange Way of Life, The Taste of Things, How to Have Sex, Fallen Leaves, About Dry Grasses, Club Zero, Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret,The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Joy Ride, Close Your Eyes, Inside, The Crime is Mine, Afire, No Hard Feelings, The Starling Girl, Reality, The Eternal Memory, A Thousand and One, Sometimes I Think About Dying, Cat Person, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Rye Lane, Cassandro, Landscape with Invisible Hands, Mami Wata, Monster, Magazine Dreams, Creed III, La Chimera, The Killer, Eileen, You Hurt My Feelings, Fingernails, Consecration, Coup de Chance, The Palace and She Came to Me.
Here are the top films that I saw for 2023 so far...
The world of TV has been just as crazy with some new shows coming though there's an uncertainty into whether they will have 2nd seasons though sadly Willow will not have one as the strike did impact a lot of those shows as there's been some good ones and there was one that was really disappointing as here are the best TV shows I saw in 2023:
