Cinematic Underdogs

On the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we chat about Gran Turismo, Neill Blomkamp's rousing, kinetic, feel-good hit racing flick released at the tail end of the summer box office rush in 2023. Much more than a video game IP-grab, Gran Turismo is an unbelievable true story about a young SIM-racer, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who is chosen to compete at an academy and become a real-life racer.

Much like Yann's transition from simulation gaming to actual racing, Blomkamp showcases his versatility, adapting a screenplay that is packed with heartwarming albeit cliche sports tropes and mainstream beats. Glossy and tidily packaged, the film uses platitudes to achieve an high-octane pacing that hits a lot of beloved sports movie beats.

All the actors are on their A-game. David Harbour plays a has-been racer turned mechanic who begrudgingly plays a mentor with a tough outer shell that slowly melts away. Orlando Bloom plays Danny Moore, an entrepreneurial maverick who concepts a madcap marketing ploy to turn SIM-racing GT gamers into professional racers. Geri Halliwell (yes, of the Spice Girls) plays a supportive mother who cooks lentils. Djimon Hounsou plays a blue-collar ex-soccer playing father who worries about Jann's future and chides his son for excessively gaming.

Mixing tragedy with inspirational zeal, and commenting on the symbiotic nature of digital/virtual SIM-racing and physical/analog race car driving, Gran Turismo has enough heart and subtext to satisfy one's emotional and intellectual needs. It's narrative is filled with spoon-fed exposition to maximize mass-appeal and some of the story beats are predictable and manipulatively rearranged, but overall it does the trick, creating a film that entertains and motivates in equal measure.

Enjoy our episode as Mikey from Screen Nerds Pod joins us to celebrate and champion this underdog of a movie (which is now streaming on Netflix!).

We made it! Our 100th episode is here, and we couldn’t be more stoked to share it with everyone. First and foremost, a huge shoutout to everyone who’s listened and appeared on our podcast over the last 99 episodes. We feel blessed to have met so many awesome people, enjoyed many fun recordings of memorable conversations, and received a ton of positive feedback along the way!

We had an absolute blast recording our first Sports Movie Draft with an all-star cast of previous guests, which included Justin Khoo from Cows in the Field, Justin Peterson from The Average Joe’s Movie Club Cast, Matt Belenky (film critic + frequent podcaster + producer), Don Shanahan of Cinephile Hissy Fit & Every Movie Has a Lesson, Michael Burgett of Screen Nerds Podcast, and of course, your two cuddly, charming, adorable underdogs, Jordan and Paul.

In total, we drafted from eight categories:

1. Best Sports Biopic (About an individual athlete - not a team)
2. Best Heel/Villian In a Sports Movie
3. Best Locker Room Speech In a Sports Movie
4. Best Fictional Sports Announcer(s) in a Movie
5. Best Soundtrack/Score In a Sports Movie
6. Best Nickname or Character Name in a Sports Movie
7. Best Futuristic Race, Game Show, or Sport Invented in a Movie
8. Best Romance in a Sports Movie

Everyone's picks were amazing. Our conversation was even better! Now it is YOUR TURN TO VOTE!

So what are you waiting for? Listen to our 100th podcast episode, check out our draft board, and vote below (if you're on Spotify) for the draftee whose picks you dig the most!

Oh, and thanks for listening! Cheers to the next 100! Woof, woof!

The 100 Foot Wave is truly must-watch TV for anyone who appreciated big wave surfing. Following Garrett McNamara and his lifelong quest to catch the world’s biggest wave, the 1st season tracked his dual romantic elopements—both to his wife, Nicole, and to Nazaré, a small Portuguese port town where he stumbles upon an undiscovered swell of mythic proportions.

Season 2 picks up in the decline of Garrett’s dominance, chronicling his transition to family life and his maturation into a mentor figure. It also tracks the monstrous swell created by Hurricane Epsilon, the ramifications of COVID-19 on surfing, and the emerging big-wave parvenu, an endearing cast of relatable characters: Andrew "Cotty" Cotton, Justine Dupont, Antonio Laureano, Michelle Bouillons, Kai Lenny, CJ Macias, Lucas “Chumbo," and more. This niche community of big wave surfers is inspiring and likable, conquering extraordinary feats on the surf board with stupefying temerity and tenacity.

This episode, covering the 2nd season of HBO’s Emmy-winning docuseries The 100 Foot Wave has sat in the vault for quite some time. We were hoping to record the 1st season and release it first, however, fate keeps interrupting those plans, so the time has come to finally let this ride free (before the box office talk that kicks off the episode feels too outdated).

Thus, without further ado, the time has arrived for us to let this totally rad conversation hang ten. Join Michael Burgett of Screen Nerds Podcast and I (Paul Keelan) as we work backwards from the sophomore season, waxing awestruck about our amazing watching this gem of a show. And don’t fret: our episode on the sublime inaugural season will emerge when the oceans calm and the swell is ready.

On this episode, we invite Mikey from Screen Nerds Podcast (an avid Tennessee Titans superfan since their arrival in Nashville) to discuss the return of Untold with "The Muder of Air McNair." Part crime-doc and part sports-recap, this episode felt vexingly conspiratorial and disjointed. We break down why we feel it is one of the weaker entries in the docu-series and wonder if it's an anomaly or a harbinger of things to come.

We also chat about the never-ending slate of 2024 streaming content, from Netflix's Receivers to HBO Max's return of Hard Knocks with the Chicago Bears. There is certainly no shortage of content available to whet our appetites for another dramatic season of America's most beloved sport, the NFL.

Enjoy!

On this special bonus episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we have the always sincere, insightful, & poignant Don Shanahan (https://www.everymoviehasalesson.com/ — Twitter: @casablancadon) on the podcast. If you are looking at the running time, your eyes are not lying: we dauntlessly enter Joe Rogan territory, enthusiastically chatting for nearly 3 hours. Don’t let this be intimidating though: you won‘t want to miss a single second of this ever engaging conversation that touches upon how auteurism, film criticism, American politics / socioeconomics, the shifting nature of popular mores, & the rise of technology is changing the landscape of sports / sports movies. Ultimately, our focal point is the 2011 film “Moneyball”, but this podcast episode far transcends the goings on of baseball diamonds / stats sheets—swinging at huge societal & existential questions.

To those of you who are inclined to jump around in search of certain topics, we’ve provided a cursory chronological breakdown of the episode below so that you can fast forward to segments that sound most appealing.

Enjoy!

0:00 Introduction / The Often Unrecognized Art of Film Criticism

We talk about film critics we idolize, the immense intellectual demands & productivity of the profession, & our own habits / regimens in regards to watching films.

23:30 Tree of Life Debate: Pretentious or Earnest Masterpiece / What If Terrence Malick Made a Sports Movie?

We discuss Don’s “Hot Take” on Terrence Malick’s polarizing “Tree of Life” as he posits that highbrow cinema, like overpriced whiskey, can be gratuitous overkill & repulsively off-putting.

34:45 Creatively Versatile vs. Redundant Auteurs

We deliberate and enumerate those auteurs who repeat themselves with each film, those who have a handful of narratives they recycle, those who reinvent themselves with every feature film.

45:45 Don’s Top-5 Sports Movies: Rudy, Field of Dreams, Rocky, Slap-shot, The Sandlot

While discussing Don’s top five sports movies of all time, we repeatedly dive into the greater context of cinema and auteurism: debating the ethical pitfalls of inaccurate biopics, the gradual conflation of documentary & fiction filmmaking, the redemptive quality of directors who return to their aesthetic roots vs. those we believe still need to, the sad state in which cancel culture infantilizes our individual prerogative to engage with art with intellectual autonomy, & the most carnivalesque barfing scene ever (hint: chewing tobacco is involved).

1:28:15 The Powerful Life Lessons, Nostalgic Allure, and Socioeconomics of Sports/Sports Films

We discuss the rise of a mercenary ethos in pro sports, the decline of blue collar sensibilities, & how the capitalistic narrative of sports in real life has affected sports movies.

1:39:15 The Negative Consequence of Politics Pervading Sports

We discuss sports as a cathartic release valve that traditionally brought people together, & how the heated intrusion of politics into the national pastime is detrimental to our collective psychological health & civic sense of togetherness. We also discuss the need for social programs that employee ex-athletes & serve underprivileged youth.

1:47:00 Moneyball

From here on out, we discuss the relevancy of “Moneyball’s” themes within the greater framework of American society and the MLB. Do the mathematical strategies / concepts behind “Moneyball” work? Is Billy Beane a hero or anti-hero? Was he successful or a failure? Should we rely on statistics instead of human intelligence / intuition? How do we adapt as data upends human skill, rendering us obsolete? Tune in to find out!