What’s up. It’s that time again. Time to see the next round of matchups for the Sports Movies bracket. Today we will be looking at the matchups of seeds 9-12 vs 56-53.
We also have our first set of results in. The 1. seed Ford V Ferrari took 65% of the votes to eliminate The Air Up There and will go on to face the winner of 32 vs 33.
The 2nd seed Raging Bull, which some people think should’ve been the top seed (sorry folks, I just followed RT) barely got past the 63rd seed The Mighty Ducks, by a margin of 54.2% to 45.8%.
Our 3 seed, The Wrestler was the biggest winner in this round, taking home 68% of the votes to eliminate Blue Chips. Although, no spoilers but there are currently two matchups in Day Two with bigger margins of victory than this.
Finally, our first upset and I am incredibly upset about it. The 61st seed The Waterboy took 55.6% of the votes to eliminate our 4th seed, Creed. Will The Waterboy be the Cinderella of these brackets?
Enough of that. Onto today’s matchups.
9. Bull Durham vs 56. Kingpin
Bull Durham is a 1988 baseball/romance film directed by Ron Shelton (White Men Can’t Jump, Tin Cup) that stars Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. It tells the story of Crash Davis, a veteran catcher, who gets assigned to the minor league team, the Durham Bulls, to mentor young up-and-coming pitcher Nuke Laloosh. Although things get rocky when they have eyes for the same woman.
Kingpin is a 1996 comedy directed by The Farrelly Brothers (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber) and stars Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Bill Murray. The story follows a bowler/swindler, Roy Munson, who swindles the wrong person and is left not being able to bowl anymore. He discovers an Amish bowling prodigy and decides to teach him and settle an old score.
Bull Durham sports an average RT score of 89.5%, whereas Kingpin boasts an average RT score of 59.5%. One of these films is a baseball movie directed by a guy who specialises in sports movies. The other a bowling movie directed by two brothers who specialise in dumb comedy movies. The two movies couldn’t be much further apart if they tried.
10. I, Tonya vs 55. For Love Of The Game
I, Tonya is a 2017 biopic based on the life of former figure skater, Tonya Harding. It is directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella, The Finest Hours) and stars Margot Robbie and Sebastian Stan. The film specifically follows Harding’s rise to stardom in the sport and the roadblocks she faced once her ex-husband started to get involved.
For Love Of The Game is a 1999 baseball drama directed by horror legend Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead franchise) and stars Kevin Costner, the late Kelly Preston, and John C. Reilly. It follows Billy Chapel, a baseball legend who is nearing the end of his career and must make a decision between the game he loves and the woman he loves.
I, Tonya sports an average RT score of 89%, whereas For Love Of The Game has an average RT score of 60.5%. The former is an Academy darling, having being nominated for multiple Academy Awards, with Alison Janney winning the Best Supporting Actress award. The latter is one of the films in which we have seen plenty already; destined to a lower seed because of a low critic’s score (46%), whereas the audience score (75%) is much higher. I could see this one going either way.
11. Love & Basketball vs 54. Draft Day
Love & Basketball is a 2000 film about, well, love and basketball. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, The Secret Life Of Bees) and stars Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. The film follows two people, Quincy and Monica, who have known each other since childhood. They fall in love and out of love, but one love stays constant; the love of basketball.
Draft Day is a 2014 film directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Kindergarten Cop) and stars Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Denis Leary. It follows Sonny Weaver, the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns on NFL draft day and the decisions he must make for the benefit of his team, himself and the young men whose futures are in his hands.
Love & Basketball sports an average RT score of 89%, whereas Draft Day has an average RT score of 62.5%. There could be serious upset potential here as, while the former has both a higher critic and audience score, it is still somewhat of a “niche” being a very strong romance film. That being said, even if I think Draft Day could pull off the upset, I don’t think it’s a “good” movie and is a little bit of a wasted opportunity considering they had the full NFL licence at their disposal.
12. Rush vs 53. Any Given Sunday
Rush is a 2013 biopic directed by Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) and stars Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl and Olivia Wilde. Set during the 1976 F1 season, it tells the story of the real life rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Any Given Sunday is a 1999 football drama directed by Oliver Stone (Platoon, Natural Born Killers) that has an all-star cast featuring the likes of Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Dennis Quaid and James Woods. It follows the happenings of the Miami Sharks in the fictional AFFA league, a once proud team who have fallen on tough times.
Rush features an average RT score of 88.5%, whereas Any Given Sunday features an average RT score of 62.5%. The former was loved by critics and audiences alike, whereas the latter falls into the same aforementioned group of films that audiences dig and critics do not. For me personally, this is the toughest poll yet. Rush is fantastic and probably the “better” movie, but Any Given Sunday, despite being more flawed, might be more enjoyable.
That’s it for the matchups today. If you don’t know by now, follow the Sportcodex account on Twitter to follow along and make sure you vote for your favourites. Before I go, remember this one thing; 1960’s Psycho is the first U.S. film to ever show a toilet being flushed.
Until tomorrow, PEACE!