Sports fans rejoice! This is going to be a great month - the Super-Bowl is right around the corner (2/5), and after that we’ve got the NBA All-Star weekend (2/26).

Every fan lives the game in a different manner. There are solid fans who watch the game, get sucked into it for a few hours and then carry on with their lives; and then there are the die-hard fans, who support and cheer for their team in rain, snow or hail, yell at the players (or at their TV), and take everything personally.

Let’s try to make a distinction between the types of die-hard fans out there. Luckily, there are quite a few movies to back-up these fan theories. So let’s kick-off:

The Amorous Fan: Fever Pitch

A man who is in love with his sports team, meets a woman and falls in love with her - creating a strange love triangle that cannot successfully exist. People around him start telling him that he needs to grow up and choose the real-life love; he tries to explain that since childhood his team has always been there for him, and that’s also true love. And why does he even need to choose? Can a romantic relationship overcome the lack of attention given when the game is on?

The Obsessed Fan: Big Fan

What happens when you become obsessed with your team? When your whole life revolves around the players, and your happiness is measured by the team’s success? Paul is a genuine die-hard Giants fan, and Football is the sole comfort and passion in his mundane life. But after an encounter with his most admired player leads to a bad incident, the star gets suspended from the team. Although Paul is hurt, physically and ego-wise, he still decides that he must protect his team’s chances of winning, by any cost necessary, even at his own expense.

The Naïve Fan: Sixty Six

Bernie Rubens is a 12 year-old kid and a huge England team supporter. It’s 1966 and the World Cup tournament is upon us. In every house in Britain, every TV is tuned in to see England’s matches. Bernie is extremely excited, until he realizes something: His Bar-Mitzvah falls on the same date as the World Cup Finals, and if England qualifies – no one would come. Now Bernie faces a dilemma – should he root for his beloved team, or hope they lose so he will have a proper Bar Mitzvah celebration?

Sixty Six is a bittersweet & offbeat film about a boy’s coming of age, his passions and hopes, and his relationship with his complicated family, which has its own share of problems, neurosis and misfortunes.

The Over-Enthusiastic Fan: Celtic Pride

Mike and Jimmy are true Boston Celtics fans. It’s game six in the NBA playoffs, the Celtics are playing against Utah, and the Jazz’s trash-talking big-ego superstar is killing their team. The duo decide to sabotage Utah’s chances in Game seven by compromising their star player; but after they can’t get him drunk enough, they decide to kidnap him and hold him hostage, tied up in their apartment until the end of the game - but they discover this is easier said than done with such a character… This sports comedy was written by the future-reviver of the “buddy” genre, Judd Apatow.

The Peacemaker: Gmar Gavi’a / Strangers

Soccer has always been a universal language. It allows people from different backgrounds to bury the hatchet for a single moment in time, despite their cultural differences or disputes, and bond over a team or the love of the game.

Gmar Gavi’a (Cup Final) shows the connection between an Israeli reserve soldier, who gets kidnapped during the Lebanon war, and his Palestinian captors that hold him hostage. At the same time the 1982 World Cup is played, and despite being enemies, two foes find a mutual ground & understanding while listening to the games and supporting Italy’s team.

Another defrost of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through football can be seen in Strangers, only this time it is illustrated within a love affair during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The Psychopath: The Fan

If you just recently started watching movies over the past few years, you might accidentally characterize Bobby De Niro as the caring parent or the goofy/semi-tough in-law/gangster/pirate. But for those who knows his track-record, De Niro has some creepy roles carved onto his belt, and he has been known to portray some true psychopaths. The Fan is a fine example – when a devoted fan’s love for his favorite baseball player crosses all borders and becomes an obsession, and more gravely – becomes personal.

The Mentee: Looking for Eric

Whenever you watch how the legendary Eric Cantona played, the word ‘magician’ comes to mind. Or in his own words: “I am not a man – I am Cantona”.

The Know-It-All Fan: Eddie

Whoopi’s big mouth gets her in trouble again, this time as a dedicated Knicks fan who has an opinion about every play her sucky team executes. When she becomes the team’s coach as part of a publicity stunt, she realizes what every devoted fan refuses to acknowledge – that coaching on the court is a tad harder than yelling advice from the stands. A humorous take on every fan’s opinion that he knows better.

The Heroic Fan: Sudden Death

Jean-Claude Van Damme wants to bond with his kids, so he decides to take them to a hockey game – the NHL Stanley Cup finals, no less. The vice president is going to attend the game; unfortunately, so are some terrorists. They rig the arena, take hostages and hand over an ultimatum that will expire at the end of the game (unless it goes into overtime and sudden death mode…)

Van Damme transforms from a spectator to a hero, as he races against the game clock that’s winding down. Sudden Death is an exciting action flick that holds you in suspense, with an unforgettable scene where JCVD takes the ice and has to join the championship game as the goalie.

The Hooligan: The Football Factory / The Firm / Green Street Hooligans

Hooliganism is mainly mentioned with British football fans (and do not dare to call it ‘soccer’). The team’s adoration is a good reason to come and hang out with their mates, sing football songs, unify around their team’s goals (literally) and form a sports comradeship; but hooliganism is also about getting pissed, fight the other teams’ fans, and vandalize an occasional facility from time to time.

In Britain the hooligan packs are well-organized and are called “firms”, and every football club that respects itself has one. Londoner director Nick Love’s Football Factory describes Chelsea fans, while his other movie The Firm depicts the life of a West Ham supporter; but the ultimate hooligan film is Green Street, which revolves around the West Ham firm and their hatred towards their nemesis – Milwall (which apparently everyone in these movies hate).

These are all good portrayals of how the inside of a rough hooligan pack works, about their honor and pride, principles, friendship & unlimited love for their team, and mainly for their firm.

Technorati Tags: Sports fans, Fever Pitch, sports team, FeverPitch, Nick Hornby, soccer, Baseball, Big Fan, Football, Sixty Six, World Cup, Celtic Pride, Boston Celtics fans, NBA playoffs, Judd Apatow, Gmar Gavi’a (Cup Final), The Fan, Bobby De Niro, La Gran Final (The Great Match), Looking for Eric, Eric Cantona, Eddie, Sudden Death, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Whoopi Goldberg, NHL Stanley Cup finals, The Football Factory, The Firm, Green Street Hooligans, Nick Love

Popularity: 1% [?]

2008 ended on a depressing note, with a global financial crisis and more terror. So I’m writing this end-of-year cinematic sum-up on a light note, focusing on the great comedies that 2008 offered us.

Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler all had huge blockbusters; Judd Apatow proved that he has the Midas touch; Seth Rogen has established himself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and both The Coen Brothers and Kevin Smith made their funniest films to date.

Here’s my take on the top ten comedies of the year, plus five less known yet equally great comedies that you might have missed:

10. Be Kind Rewind

From the Movie Genome: It’s a semi-fantastic, offbeat, touching and very funny farce about two buddies. Nothing goes right for them, but they find a way to make things better: filmmaking.

Trouble-making Jerry (Jack Black) and well-meaning Mike (Mos Def) unintentionally erase all the video-cassettes (yes, there was something like that once upon a time) in the video store. They decide the simplest way to set things right is to remake all the library’s films, including Robocop, Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy. Sounds wacky – and it better be, as it’s a Michel Gondry film.

Although Gondry’s three previous films: Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and The Science Of Sleep, were all essentially love stories, Be Kind Rewind captures another kind of romance. Both the writer-director and his characters are in love with the cinematic medium itself, and celebrate the sheer joy of watching and making films.

Watch the trailer

9. Yes Man

From the Movie Genome: A lonely and unhappy guy lives a dull life until he joins a cult that changes his life drastically. The cult’s one rule: say yes to everything (that’s what Jim Carrey’s character understood anyway…)

This is Jim Carrey’s funniest performance in a very long time, proving himself yet again as a master of facial expressions. Zooey Deschanel, the definition of cuteness, has great comic abilities. And Terence Stamp is absolutely hilarious as the inspirational yet eccentric mentor (if Robert De Niro can make comedies, why not Terence Stamp?). It’s a feel good movie with plenty of laughs.

8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

From the Movie Genome: It’s a witty romantic comedy about a twenty-something guy who gets dumped by his girlfriend, goes on vacation in Hawaii, and falls in love with one of the hotel’s employees.

Nicholas Stoller’s flick is a romantic disaster comedy produced by the same team that made such hits as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, headed by writer, director, and producer Judd Apatow.

The star of the movie is Jason Segal, who also wrote the sharply comic screenplay. He is solid in his first major starring role. Stoller, making his feature-film directorial debut, gets the most out of his diverse cast and beautiful setting. It’s outrageously funny yet touchingly sweet.

Watch the trailer

7. Pineapple Express

From the Movie Genome: It’s a suspenseful, offbeat and exciting action-comedy about two stoner buddies who are on the run after witnessing a crime.

It’s nearly impossible to think of another film that so seamlessly blends pitch-perfect stoner babble with high-octane action sequences.

There are only so many ways to play a stoner, but James Franco puts his own endearing, lovable spin on the type, portraying Saul as a kind-hearted, well-intentioned yet hardcore dope smoker. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow have proven themselves a nearly unstoppable juggernaut; here’s hoping they bring Franco along on the ride more often.

Watch the trailer

6. Step Brothers

From the Movie Genome: It’s a silly comedy of gross-out and irreverent humor, about two very immature 40-year-old step siblings, who despite their initial antagonism – and ensuing chaos and mayhem – end up becoming buddies.

Adam McKay co-wrote and directed Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, two of Ferrell’s most popular and consummately hilarious films. McKay teamed up again not only with Ferrell but also with Ferrell’s co-star in Talladega Nights, John C. Reilly (who has steadily proven himself to be one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors). Though Step Brothers may be the simplest of the three movies on which the duo have collaborated, it’s arguably their best.

Watch the trailer

5. You Don’t Mess With The Zohan

From the Movie Genome: An exciting comedy with plenty of gross-out humor, about an ex-secret agent who starts over and moves to New York in order to follow his dream - and work in a beauty saloon.

Comedy superstar Adam Sandler is back – in a Ben Stiller-like character, embarrassingly funny as always. He’s the Zohan, the finest counterterrorist agent the Israeli army has. That is, until he fakes his own death and travels to Manhattan to live out his dream… as a hairdresser. It’s a razor-sharp action-packed comedy from Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel who co-wrote. No fines here, but in the movies’ spirit, you’ll be sure to laugh your ass off.

Watch the trailer

4. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

From the Movie Genome: It’s a feel good, offbeat, funny and sexy romantic comedy about filmmaking and two working-class friends who just might be in love with one another.

After the success of Knocked Up, Seth Rogen pairs up with another comely comedienne in Zack & Miri Make a Porno. In this Kevin Smith comedy, two desperate friends (Rogen and  Elizabeth Banks) decide to earn a little extra money by creating their own adult film, but they also discover that they may be more than just pals.

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3. Burn After Reading

From the Movie Genome: It’s a satirical, clever and exciting dark-humored farce about the obsessive quest of two rather stupid misfit partners, who bring disorder into the world of espionage.

This movie also stands as the third entry, after Blood Simple and Fargo, in what could be an unofficial Tragedy of Human Idiocy trilogy, where characters make the most outlandishly moronic moves with devastating consequences simply by adhering to true human behavior.

The movie is a collection of brilliant caricature studies interwoven with veracious, if  Coenesque, social interactions, as epitomized by the pathos of the Frances McDormand character’s race for cosmetic surgery.

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2. In Bruges

From the Movie Genome: A witty, clever, dark comedy about a hitman haunted by his past. And even worse, he is in Bruges…

Playwright Martin McDonagh makes an impressive feature film debut as the writer and director of this tragicomedy as rich, dark, and complex as Belgian chocolate.

McDonagh’s absurdist black humor asserts itself in hilarious dialogue and dreamlike visuals that shift seamlessly from sweet to grotesque, Colin Farrell uses the great script to give his best acting performance so far.

Watch the trailer

1. Tropic Thunder

From the Movie Genome: A critically-acclaimed, clever, offbeat and exciting action comedy with an all-star cast: about showbiz, filmmaking, actors’ lives and their egos.

Ben Stiller has set Tropic Thunder firmly within the realm of sophisticated Hollywood satire. Steve Coogan plays a desperate director named Damien Cockburn who is trying to make a Vietnam War movie. Cockburn’s stars include Stiller as an action hero who’s starting to make bad career choices, Jack Black as an insecure low-brow comedy star going through heroin withdrawal, and Robert Downey Jr. as an Australian Oscar winner so lost in his “craft” he underwent a procedure to become black for his role.

Simply put, this raucous satire knows big-budget filmmaking, the delusional narcissism of actors, and even the good points of those actors - perhaps why they’re celebrated - like the back of its hand.

Watch the trailer

And five more you should definitely check out:

5. The Grand

From the Movie Genome: An ensemble cast mockumentary about gambling, contests and competitions and very eccentric people.

In the tradition of such improv-driven comedies as Best In Show and A Mighty Wind, director Zak Penn (Incident At Loch Ness) casts an affectionate eye on the world of professional poker in his highly entertaining mockumentary. Penn assembles an impressive ensemble of actors (Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Farina, Chris Parnell and Werner Herzog) to tell the story of six competitors in a $10 million winner-take-all Las Vegas poker tournament.

Watch the trailer

4. Happy-Go-Lucky

From the Movie Genome: It’s a feel good, humorous and sincere story, about friendship, teachers and students, and thirty-something life in urban London, focusing on one specific optimistic woman.

Yes, a feel-good comedy from director Mike Leigh! It chronicles the daily comings and goings of 30-year-old Poppy, whose positive, easy-going outlook epitomizes the title. It’s a fascinating character study and Sally Hawkins is excellent as Poppy, striking just the right chord of cheerful without being shrill or obnoxious. It also offers a refreshingly upbeat and realistic look at a 30-something urban woman’s life. The movie is whip-smart and full of surprises - just when you are certain the story is going in a certain direction, Leigh gently nudges you down a different path. And you are glad.

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3. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

From the Movie Genome: It’s a clever and offbeat romantic comedy, about a small time journalist who rises to the top, and gets to work for a big magazine in New York, and through his eyes we get an inside look into showbiz and celebrity culture.

Names may have been changed to protect the innocent - and the not-so innocent - but this comedy adapts Toby Young’s biting memoir about his struggles as a Vanity Fair employee. Brilliant Brit Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) stars as Young’s alter ego, while Jeff Bridges is a Graydon Carter-esque magazine editor.

Watch the trailer

2. The Hammer

From the Movie Genome: A touching, witty sports comedy, about a middle-aged ex-athlete (boxer) who makes an unexpected comeback and falls in love along the way.

Adam Carolla plays Jerry Ferro, a man who has reached his 40th birthday but still has plenty of fight in him. After getting fired from his construction job, Jerry decides to get back in the game and return to his original love: boxing. This comeback comedy also stars Heather Juergensen. The first movie written by Adam Carolla is funny, witty, surprisingly romantic and touching.

Watch the trailer

1. Kabluey

From the Movie Genome: A clever, touching and offbeat tragicomedy, about a goofy, down-on-his-luck hero, who reluctantly watches over two mischievous children (belonging to his sister) and works in a petty, depressing job.

Scott Prendergast makes his feature-film debut as an actor, director, and writer with this quirky black comedy.

Kabluey is a charming, offbeat look at wartime life in America, seen from a unique perspective. Movies presented as tragicomedies are usually tragic with a few laughs in them, if any. This one is actually hilarious and yet so sad at the same time.

Watch the trailer

May 2009 be a feel-good year, full of optimism, joy and good movies.

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Technorati Tags: Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey, Yes Man, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Tropic Thunder, Will Ferrell, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, Jack Black, Ben Kind Rewind, Movie Genome, In Bruges, Burn After Reading, Coen Brothers, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Comedy, Movies

Popularity: 31% [?]

I blame Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith. I hated Knocked Up and Zack and Miri Make a Porno was the last straw. I’m tired of movies and shows about beautiful girls and dorky, nerdy, adorable, funny… but not conventionally attractive guys. (Sorry Seth Rogen.) Where are the beautiful guys and the girls who are loveable beyond – or even despite – their looks?

I’d like to take a minute to celebrate the select movies and shows that turn this paradigm on its head. I’m not arguing about whether Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie is more beautiful. In these movies, the women are definitely not conventional beauties – and they get the guy anyway. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)

10. Shallow Hal (2001)

Hal (Jack Black) dates only beautiful women until he’s hypnotized to see only inner beauty. And so he falls for Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), an obese woman who seems to him a vision of loveliness. Jack Black isn’t a typical beauty himself, but the movie gets points for the message about women’s inner beauty.

9. 40 Carats (1973)

40-year-old Ann Stanley (Liv Ullman), vacationing in Greece, meets and spends the night with 22-year-old Peter Latham (Edward Albert). When she returns to New York, she is stunned to learn that he is her daughter’s boyfriend… But Peter wants the older woman! Turning the usual age relations upside down, this is a May-December romance you can really root for.

8. Shrek (2001)

When Lord Farquaad banishes a horde of fairytale creatures to the swamp, Shrek the ogre’s quiet is disturbed. Farquaad agrees to take back the order if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded castle. And so Shrek discovers that Fiona is a beautiful girl by day but an ogress by night. A kiss from her true love, Shrek, restores her true form… an ogress! While Shrek is just as green and tubby as Fiona, this innovative fairytale does turn the typical love and beauty ending on its head - and won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature too.

7. Mrs Brown (1997)

The aged Queen Victoria (Judy Dench) is deeply depressed after the death of her husband. Mr. Brown (Billy Connolly), a vigorous Scottish Highlander, gains the Queen’s favor as her household servant - and gradually restores her to life with admiration and affection. But this cross-class relationship creates a scandal that threatens Queen Victoria’s reign.

6. Ugly Betty (2006 ongoing)

Based on a Colombian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea,” this ABC show features smart, sweet Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) from Queens who doesn’t fit in with her skinny, pretty coworkers at Mode, the fashion magazine where she works. Yet she wins the respect - and admiration - of many in the cutthroat fashion world.

5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Renee Zellwegger reportedly gained 20 pounds for her role as a single woman who smokes, drinks, and tends to blurt whatever comes to mind. Yet her goofy charm and good heart win Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant)’s brief attention and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth)’s love.

4. Cactus Flower (1969)

To avoid marrying his flighty younger girlfriend, Jill (Goldie Hawn), bachelor-dentist Julian (Walter Matthau) asks his dowdy receptionist, Stephanie (Ingrid Bergman), to pretend to be his wife. Stephanie surprises everyone by coming out of her shell - and capturing Julian’s heart. Adapted from a hit Broadway play, this comedy earned Goldie Hawn a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

3. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is an aging music exec with a taste for younger women. When he suffers a heart attack at the house of his girlfriend’s mother, Erica (Diane Keaton), the older woman catches his eye. But Harry’s young doctor (Keanu Reeves) is also attracted to Erica…

2. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

In Porpoise Spit, Australia, ugly duckling Muriel (Toni Collette) sits at home listening to Abba music and dreaming of her wedding day. Only she’s never had a date. So she steals her mother’s credit card, heads for the big city - and ends up in a marriage of convenience to a hot Olympic hopeful swimmer. She wins his admiration but in the end, Muriel returns to the people she truly cares about.

1. Funny Girl (1968)

Barbra Streisand made a big-screen career of playing offbeat-looking women who win men and success – but not necessarily a happy ending. This one won her an Oscar for Best Actress. The story of homely Fannie Brice, from her beginnings in poor Jewish New York to her rise as a comedienne with the Ziegfeld Follies and marriage to handsome gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).

It seems like almost always, women in media have to be beautiful while men can be smart or charming instead. If you have more ideas on the reverse, please add below!

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