Movie Review: MLS Greatest Goals: 1996-2003

"MLS-The Greatest Goals 1996-2003 featers awesome goals scored with diving headers, bicycle kicks and simply incredible moves by Major League Soccer's best players as they fight through the defenders to score. Watch the goals from different angles. Ultra slow motion replays show you exactly how these great players score the great goals when the game is on the line."

2004 Payne Media Inc. Runs Approx. 60min

What was good?
Seeing some of the goals from multiple angles is a great touch, as is the slow motion on others to see how the play develops. Not to mention some really great goals. Year-by-year breakdown of goals is a nice touch.

What was bad?
Unless you watch the year-by-year setting, you don't always know who the goal scorer was, or what team they even played for. Most of the time its obvious, but in a few cases it wasn't so. There is very little set-up for the goals as well, it would have been nice to have a little context for the goals to understand why some of them were so important. Some of the goals in slow motion, don't really need to be. Unfortunately you don't get to see multiple angles for all of the goals. The music sounds like something out of an 80's educational video, techno loops are rarely good ideas in my experience. Some of the goals repeat themselves a couple of times. Would have been nice to have a team-by-team breakdown of goals as well.

Overall?
Considering its a greatest goals DVD and not a history of the MLS DVD, I was probably expecting to much. Its really not that bad, I made it all the way through it, on normal and year-by-year settings. It is also one of very few MLS DVDs out there that I know of, so besides the Goal of the Week highlights at Climbing the Ladder, there is little to compare it to.

Rating 5/10

Retailed for $19.99 @ Tower Records

Movie Review: The World at Their Feet

"This film takes a look back at the American team that brought women's soccer to the cover of Time Magazine. From the World Cup's visit to China in 1990 to the record setting Final in 1999."

2000 Bombo Sports and Entertainment.
Runs Approx. 60 min.

What was good?
A good job was done getting former players and celebrities to give interviews for the documentary and most of them were very informative. There was a decent amount of archive footage that was shown, which made reliving the events a lot easier. And for someone who knew little about the USWNT before 1999 it was very informative.

What was bad?
The film was too short, considering it covers over ten years of history and moves too fast in my opinion. The actual 1991 World Cup isn't covered as much as I would have liked, and neither are any of the others. More game footage and expanded commentary from all of the US games would have helped flesh it out. And with little in the way of special features, all you can do is watch the short film over and over.

Overall?
Not a bad US centered soccer documentary. Despite its condensed nature I still came away feeling better informed about the USWNT and entertained in the process as I remembered watching the final in 1999 and the emotions that went with it.

Rating
7/10

Retailed for $14.99 @ Tower Records