The Iron Hammer is a new documentary about Chinese icon Lang Ping, the first person in volleyball history to have won gold at the Olympics, both as a player and as a coach.
Directed by by Joan Chen; the film follows Ping’s journey in China, to a career coaching abroad, then returning back to China to transform a struggling national team into champions.
My story with volleyball starts and ends with mandatory physical education in high school. ‘Good at it,’ I most certainly wasn’t. What I am, interested in is Ping’s life story; how she came to be the best, likely against some notable odds.
Olympic Dreams (2020), Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas, IFC Films
Olympic Dreams is the story of the bond that grows between a young cross-country skier (after her competition ends) and a volunteer doctor.
Directed by Jeremy Teicher; Olympic Dreams stars Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas…
I’m mostly curious about Kroll’s performance and precisely why his character seemed so taken aback by ‘the lunge’.
There’s also the ‘comedy running’ at 0:42 seconds into this trailer that made me giggle. Especially since Kroll is acting and he chose that level of tired running. Maybe I’m just too familiar with his comic personality. Or, that’s how truly exhausted non-athlete runners look – and I just don’t know.
Waves (2019), Alexa Demie, Kelvin Harrison Jr., A24
Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie and Lucas Hedges, Waves is a coming-of-age, raw, emotional and sometimes funny drama/romance centred around the teenage children of a couple in modern-day America.
I liked the way Waves opened; the colours, camera angles and music, all of which worked to remind us of the seemingly carefree youthful abandon of late adolescence. As hectic, bright and beautiful as those moments were, it’s not too long before you realise that everything isn’t quite right. Tensions become apparent and it’s clear something is going to change – and not in a good way.
Tyler (Harrison Jr.) is a promising and troubled high school athlete unable to truly open up to his parents, so he suffers behind closed doors. His younger sister Emily (Taylor Russell), who seems to fade into the background much of the time, doesn’t have the focus of her parents, especially her father; at least not the way her brother does. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s Tyler’s troubles that end up tragically and irrevocably altering the lives of more than just his immediate family.
Waves (2019), Taylor Russell, Sterling K. Brown, A24
Considering the themes of familial tragedy and some very modern/American issues, it’s no shock to anyone that I shed a few tears as Waves played. Particularly because of the very real and raw way writer/director Trey Edward Shults’s film captures the emotional turmoil suffered by his characters. Some of it is so heartbreaking that I have to liken certain moments to having to watch an inevitable car crash while being completely unable to help.
Waves is the kind of movie you watch for the film making artistry, great acting and the ways it beautifully and realistically captures some of the most delightful and heartbreaking events in the lives of teenagers and parents in modern America. You will laugh and smile, be very concerned but also often moved by the generosity of spirit displayed before you.
‘Long’ is another word to describe this movie. It’s not quite the bladder-busting 3.5-hour length of The Irishman (2019). However, by the halfway point in Shults’s well-captured and highly affecting movie, you’ll think, ‘Yeah, I think it’s wrapping up now.’ Except it doesn’t wrap up because that’s when act two – or more fittingly, ‘the second wave’ begins. And so sit back down you must, because you’re going to need what it has to tell you, especially after the tragedy of ‘the first wave’.
Starring Teresa Palmer, Brooke Satchwell and Sam Neill, Ride Like A Girl is the true story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
Directed by Rachel Griffiths; additional key cast includes Sullivan Stapleton, Magda Szubanski and Sophia Forrest.
After reading the above synopsis, I honestly thought that this movie was set in the sixties – and not just because of the look and feel of this trailer.
I’m simultaneously surprised and not, after learning that 2015 is the year of Payne’s great win. I’ll be watching this one for all the reasons that made it possible for Payne to win.
Henry Nixon, Aaron Glenane, Veronica Thomas, Mick Molloy, Amy Christian, Genevieve Morris, Jacob Warner, Zara Zoe and Shane Bourne also star.
The Way Back (2020), Ben Affleck, Warner Bros. Pictures
From director and co-writer Gavin O’Connor, The Way Back is a new drama starring Ben Affleck as Jack Cunningham, a former High School basketball phenom, who’s now struggling with alcoholism.
After being offered a coaching job where the team finally starts to win, Jack may finally have to start confronting his demons.
Additional key cast includes Janina Gavankar, Hayes MacArthur, Rachael Carpani and Da’Vinchi.
This trailer feels a tad too long, but it does look like a good movie with a great Affleck performance. Generally, I tend to enjoy stories of unexpected lucky breaks. As such, I’m hopeful.
T.K. Carter, Al Madrigal, Lukas Gage, Caleb Thomas, Christine Horn, Chris Bruno, Marlene Forte and Melvin Gregg also star.
The Movie My Life 