Normally I only like to post a couple of times each week. I usually aim for Wednesday and Saturday. Although I am going to stick to the two times this week, I have had to adjust the days I am posting.
You see, this is a special occasion.
I don't only mean the World Cup.
More importantly, this special occasion has brought together over 1800 steemians!
Of course I am talking about....
The Blocktrades World Cup contest!!!!!!
Although I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, I am having fun! That is what this is all about. This contest has given me reasons to watch some of the games. Thank you to @anomadsoul & @acidyo for putting it together!
Before I ramble too much, here are my picks:
| Score | Team | vs | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Uruguay | vs | France | 0 |
| 2 | Brazil | vs | Belgium | 1 |
| 0 | Sweden | vs | England | 3 |
| 1 | Russia | vs | Croatia | 2 |
Now that I have my losing picks out of the way, how about a mini movie review?
As an American child of the 70s, I am not a big soccer guy. In fact until very recently, like most Americans my age, the only famous soccer player I could name was the great Pele.
This got me thinking about one of my absolute favorite movies that I used to watch as a kid: Victory.
I used to rent that movie at least 3 times a year (on BETA) when I was a kid. I absolutely loved it!
Yesterday, I realized I was going to have to write another post including my soccer picks. Considering I seem to be allergic to posting anything under 600 words, I knew I had to add something to spice up my pick post. My mind immediately wandered to Victory.
Because I have fallen prey to the phenomenon of my memory believing something was better than it actually was, I decided to buy an instant download of Victory from Amazon. Then I told my 13 year old son we were going to watch one of my favorite movies from when I was his age.
I sat him down and pressed "play".
I have to admit I was nervous. On more than one occasion, my memory has failed me. Something I loved as a child turned out to be absolutely horrendous (for example Battle Beyond the Stars). However, as soon as the movie began, I was filled with confidence that my son and I were about to enjoy the next two hours of our lives.
Because I fell in love with this movie when I was 12, I honestly cannot tell you if it is a good movie or not. What I can say is that I love it as much now as I did 35 years ago (perhaps more).
When I first watched Victory I had no idea who the director was... and I didn't care. Budding action star Sylvester Stallone played the lead and it was about POWs escaping from a German prison camp during WWII. That is really all I needed to know. Throw in some sports and I was over the moon.
But yesterday I discovered that the director was actually John freaking Huston! The same Oscar winning guy who directed The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen. What? I had remembered the movie as pure nonsense, not an actual high quality film.
Here is what I remembered.
By 1981, I had already seen The Longest Yard and The Great Escape at least 20 times each. Victory was a combination of the two. For 13 year old me, that was pure heaven!
Before I go any further, let me just state that I 100% understand that the premise of the movie is completely ludicrous. A Nazi officer, played by...
Max von Sydow!!!!
discovers that a member of England's World Cup soccer team is imprisoned in a POW camp he visits. Sydow's character, who was a former player himself, decides to set up a game between the POWs and Germany.
At first glance, this is ridiculous. However, there were some historical cases of POWs playing against German soldiers.
After the game is set, the movie becomes the delightful combination of The Great Escape and The Longest Yard I mentioned earlier.
Because I hate spoilers, I won't say anything else about the movie except for the fact that all of the players on both teams were actual international soccer stars from the 1970s. The biggest of these stars was the great Pele himself. Not only does he play an important role in the movie, he also choreographed all of the soccer scenes (and there are many) that included some of the soccer stars' signature trick moves.
Without ruining anything, I can tel you that at several points, I paused the movie to discuss the topics of: honor, sacrifice, and courage with my son. In addition, there is a tear-jerker scene that reminds us that under Hitler's reign, people from Poland and Czechoslovakia were not considered worthy of being treated with the respect of a prisoner of war. This scene inspired me to discuss the fact that there are administrations today that do not feel that all people should be treated with dignity and respect.
Although I still loved watching Victory yesterday, I realize that I am biased by childhood nostalgia. I would be curious to hear from someone who watched it for the first time as an adult. Is Victory a good movie?
I got more points in this round... I hope I get morein the semis
well your picks are quiet interesting.
but Brazil winning Belgium....
this world cup is filled with drama from day 1... i wish you all the best sir
I got the score right of the Belgium vs Brazil match... but I think picking the winner is more important lol.
Yea... Better luck next time
Stallone, Caine, and Pelé!
How can it not be awesome?!
can't wait to watch the quarter finals
Caught this while on vacation in Mexico back in April. I'm 29 and a movie lover - the movie wasn't bad - but also not great.... A little formulaic at times. You can definately see where stuff like remember the Titans got their inspiration from. But hey I've only seen it once..... At 3 am while wasted on Cesars and suffering from mild heat stroke / dehydration..... What do I know 😂😂
You knew what the movie was! That alone is a huge accomplishment.
Definitely formulaic. My son predicted the end 5 minutes in. Still fun though.
Lol it stands out in my mind because it was the only Stallone movie I hadn't seen ...... I mean aside from The Party At Kitty And Studs...... Agreed - fun enough for a watch especially if sports movies are your thing.
Is that the name of his soft core porn one? I haven't seen it either.
I read that Stallone insisted that his character score the winning goal of the game. It took weeks to convince him that it woul;d be silly/impossible;le for a goalie to score.
"Victory" was also my teenage favourite film, as I remember there was everything in it drama, friendship, sport and human relations. It really left immense impact on my memory.
Just mentioning Pele, when I was even younger like 6 and had not much idea of football players, me and my friends together with my aunt were passing by local small cinema and saw the film that was going to start shortly. Of course as children we just wanted to go to cinema, therefore we insisted to that movie. But once it started we realised that was a documentary about a football player and the film was called "My name is Pele". I did not understand much but it makes me laugh when i remember how it was that we landed in cinema to watch a documentary about the star who I really learnt about later.
That is a great story! Things were much simpler then. You pass by a theater and go in. No buying tickets in advance and reading every review.
I have not seen that movie, thanks for your recommendation, it looks interesting, lucky
Haven't seen Victory, now I'm curious. I think your picks are spot on except that Brazil will get their asses kicked by Belgium.
LOL. Yeah I think that one pretty much proved I have no idea.
Nice picks mate.
But my picks were exact opposite, well almost opposite.
Let's see whether you or me wins.
I think you may go 4 for 4 and I will go - for 4 LOL.
It was called ‘escape to victory’ in the UK. And yes, it is an awesome movie. What’s not to like. I also love the way you used it to discuss serious issues with your son. Great idea.
I read that it had multiple titles.
And Thanks. You have to take every opportunity to teach when you are a parent.
I read that Pelé learned to play football with a coconut when he was a child. Not sure if this is true, but I'm sure that watching this movie will be worth!
thanks for the recommendation ;)
I love your ways in educating your son with just by watching a movie. Not all parents can do that. It's like a 'double parental guidance'
Thanks! You have to take every opportunity you can.
You: son, This was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid
Your son: it's crap!
hahahahahaha
That absolutely happened with a terrible movie called Battle Beyond the Stars.
LOL. I haven't seen that. By the way I have seen Victory only once, and I discovered it just a few years ago, it was fun.
I've never even heard of the movie. I looked it up and it got 67% on Rotten Tomatoes so it must not be that bad lol.
My favorite soccer movie was always Green Street Hooligans. It was given a 48% by the critics, but got an 87% audience score. So clearly its one of those some people love it some people hate it movies.
I completely forgot about Green Street Hooligans. It is awesome! And it has Frodo in it!
I appreciate that you use the proper formatting technique by using italics for movie titles. I need to get on your level lol.
Yeah movies are always better when you've watched and loved it when you were younger. Also, it's nice that you're spending time with your son, I'm sure he enjoyed watching it with you =)
I've not seen it before. So, I can't base my judgement on your review alone just yet.
I will try and download it to see what the movie is all about, I love watching old movies, it has been helping me to understand how life was before I was born... Lol
Ivs not seen
waiting for finals
They are always be Hero and we want to look others always like them..
Great predictions i am sure that you will have edge on this fifa.
I loved the movie as a child. Michael Caine has always been one of my favorite actors.
perfecta informacion