7 Good Sports Movies You Can Stream Right Now
The first week of football always gets the juices flowing like nothing else. So for those of you looking for something to satisfy the urge between tonight and Thursday night, here are 7 of the best sports movies on streaming. Warning: Apparently HBO Max and Prime Video have nearly ALL the best titles.
1. Rocky - (HBO MAX) - 97/100 - I think that Rocky has a weird legacy. The first movie was a true drama that was a massive benchmark for independent movies. It had 10 Oscar Nominations and 3 wins, which was really unheard of at the time. The sequels, however, were blockbuster-hunting action-sports movies that lost the substance of the original. At least until we got to Creed, which felt like it was at least trying to be something more. Regardless of that, the first movie is an unimpeachably great sports drama and my personal #1 best sports movie of all time.
2. Moneyball - (Peacock, Prime Video) - 94/100 - Moneyball is the greatest baseball movie ever made. I think part of the reason why is the Sorkin script. Part of it was the perfect casting. And part of it was that they didn't try to make actors be actual athletes.
3. The Natural - (Prime Video) - 92/100 - My SECOND favorite baseball movie is The Natural. Redford is absolutely phenomenal in the role of Roy Hobbs and it is perfectly paced for his big scene. The ball hitting those lights? SHEESH. Not many movie sports moments like that.
4. He Got Game - (HBO MAX) - 90/100 - It could be argued easily that this was the best basketball movie ever made. The Spike Lee story is amazing, Denzel fucking KILLS the performance (Ray Allen was nothing to scoff at either) and it is another movie with an incredible ending scene. Shoutout to Big State.
5. Friday Night Lights - (Prime Video) - 85/100 - There are a couple of big highlights I have for this movie, which is unfairly overshadowed by the series. I think Billy Bob Thorton was fantastic as Coach Gaines. I don't love Lucas Black, but he was also not bad for this starring role. Peter Berg's directing style doesn't always work, but it fit this well. Especially the use of his now frequent collaborators, Explosions in the Sky, on the soundtrack.
6. The Goon - (Prime Video) - 78/100 - This movie is a big time guilty pleasure of mine. I fucking love Seann William Scott and think he is perfectly cast as a Hockey player. There may not have been an actor on earth that looked more like a hockey player than he did in 2011. Liev Schreiber is also great as Ross Rhea, and I love the absurdity of the story. It's not as good as a lot of "real" hockey movies like 'Miracle' or 'Slap Shot', but I love it for what it is.
7. Varsity Blues - (HBO MAX) - 63/100 - Watch it for Billy Bob.
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