When Creed came along and revitalised the Rocky franchise, I was more than happy to sing its praises. That was three years ago. Now comes the sequel Creed II, which I’m sorry to say lacks punch (pun fully intended). Creed II starts with the central character, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) fighting for the light…
In 1987 Pat Cash won Wimbledon, but he didn’t win the Australian male athlete of the year award. Instead, that accolade went to Wayne Gardner. That was the year Gardner became the first Australian to win the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship. The documentary Wayne charts his story from humble roots in Wollongong to the top…
What a lot of fun I had watching The Longest Minute. It had a terrific script, was filled with an array of great characters, had a brilliantly human storyline, and moved as fast as a winger with a try scoring intercept. And it all revolves around the 2015 NRL Grand Final and a Townsville family…
Superbly written by Jane e Thompson, Fierce is a beautiful nuanced play that highlights gender disparity in sports. I was riveted throughout. Suzie Flack is better than other female AFL footballers. She doesn’t want to play in the women’s league. Rather, she’s intent on competing against men. And she gets her chance to do so,…
Who would have thought that one of the biggest – and tawdriest – sports scandals of the 20th Century could play out as Greek tragedy? But Australian director Craig Gillespie (The Finest Hours) manages that – and a lot more – with I, Tonya. This ingeniously devised film delves into the life of Tonya Harding,…
The 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Final is widely regarded as one of the great tennis matches in sporting history. It was an epic five-set encounter between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Ice-cool Swedish champion Borg, the world number one, was attempting to win a record fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. Brash American upstart McEnroe, known as the “super…
Sally Robbins and Steven Bradbury featured in two of the most notorious moments in Australian Olympic history. Robbins is known as “Lay Down Sally” because she gave up and lay back in her boat 250 metres from the finishing line during the women’s eights’ final at the Athens Summer Games in 2004. She was reviled for…
In 1973, former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs played women’s champion Billie Jean King in a spectacular tennis match – dubbed the Battle of the Sexes – at the Houston Astrodome. Riggs was also a serial tennis hustler, gambling addict and sexist braggart. It proved a landmark that ultimately had repercussions for the status of women’s tennis and…
All For One is a slick documentary about the first Australian professional cycling team to compete in the Tour de France. The film follows the first five years of GreenEDGE cycling team. United by their renegade spirit, these riders take on the international circuit. In particular, it focuses on three members of the team – Melbourne-born…
