Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is The Underdog
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It seems a lot of movies about underdogs are family friendly movies...I guess because the whole perseverance thing. Anyway here are some underdog movies from my childhood.
Haven't seen this in ages, but I remembered it being funny. My school used to play us movies after exams, and I'm pretty sure this was one of those.
The Mighty Ducks (1992-1996)
Love the Mighty Ducks series growing up. The kids were cute and it seemed to be so much fun to be a part of a team.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Hmm...I'm not sure I saw all of them. I think it was only 1,2 and 4. I definitely did not see the last one with Jaden Smith which just sounds like the dumbest thing naming it Karate Kid when it's Kung Fu.
The Mighty Ducks (1992-1996)
Love the Mighty Ducks series growing up. The kids were cute and it seemed to be so much fun to be a part of a team.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Hmm...I'm not sure I saw all of them. I think it was only 1,2 and 4. I definitely did not see the last one with Jaden Smith which just sounds like the dumbest thing naming it Karate Kid when it's Kung Fu.
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I'm still kicking myself for not picking The Mighty Ducks. I loved those movies, especially the 2nd one. That's the one I always rewatch.
ReplyDeleteCool Runnings!!! I should have mentioned that one as well, damn, I completely forgot about it - such a great pick though! Haven't seen the others.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of these but Cool Runnings is one I really want to see since I love John Candy. I have heard good things about The Mighty Ducks so I have to see this also. For some reason I never was interested in seeing The Karate Kid
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of the Karate Kid movies except the Jaden Smith one; one of these days I will try and watch it. I loved The Mighty Ducks when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteGreat picks with Cool Runnings and The Karate Kid. Sadly, I haven't seen The Mighty Ducks. Need to fix that one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of these but I want to watch the Karate Kid series.
ReplyDeleteGreat choices, I haven't seen Karate Kid in years and now I want to.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I've seen that many underdog movies...I haven't seen any of these. Underdog usually means sports and sport movies aren't my thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true that most of the underdog movies are family friendly, hadn't thought of that, I guess it's because they try and make the lead character-the underdog as relatable as possible. Saying that I'm shocked that no one including me didn't pick Rocky. Not only the character but the whole story behind getting the movie made is such a classic underdog story. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I liked Cool Runnings but only watched it once, same goes for Karate Kid of which I've only bothered with the first two. But I own Mighty Ducks, my nephew was crazy for it and probably watched it once a week when he was little. I didn't care much for the sequels but the first is a fun film.
Aside from most underdog stories being family friendly a ton of them are sports related which I found was a recurring theme across the picks this week. I think only one person didn't have at least one as do I plus two that have an element of competition involved.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)-Young Olive (Abigail Breslin) has a dream shared by her grandfather (Alan Arkin). She wants to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine contest but that requires a road trip with her dysfunctional family, inventor dad Richard (Greg Kinnear), willfully mute brother Dwayne (Paul Dano), suicidal Uncle Frank (Steve Carell) and flustered mom Sheryl (Toni Collette). At first it looks doubtful but then they all pile into the van and go on a bumpy road to give Olive her chance despite the odds. Just quirky enough to be charming without wearing out its welcome thanks to a great cast all doing terrific work. Arkin won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Miracle (2004)-The true story of Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) the hockey coach who took the rough material that was the US hockey team and whipped them into Olympic gold medal winning shape. Wonderfully detailed with athletes rather than actors as the team mates, though they perform their lines well, and a powerfully convincing lead performance from Russell, one of his best. Despite the known outcome the film is quite involving and the end exciting.
October Sky (1999)-Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is just another backwoods teen in a slowly dying coal town in the 50’s until he witnesses Sputnik flying by one night. Filled with the wonder of space and encouraged by his young teacher Miss Riley (Laura Dern) he convinces his friends O’Dell & Roy Lee to work with him to try and build rockets. Enlisting the school outcast and brain Quentin they plunge in against many obstacles, including the stubborn resistance of Homer’s good but pigheaded father (Chris Cooper). Meeting with some success they determine to enter the national science competition in pursuit of college scholarships. A great film with tremendous performances full of determination to succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds and all around American can-doism with one of the most beautifully evocative and fitting scores ever.