Top Ten Sport Movies

The following are my top ten personal favorite sports movies.  These are movies in which sports is a theme or an important part of the character’s life.  Some of these are so funny, romantic, and inspiring that one does not have to love sports to appreciate them. 

“You know, I believe we have two lives.

The life we learn with and the life we live with after that.” – Iris Gaines (The Natural).

10. The Pride of the Yankees (1942).  A classic movie about the legendary life of Lou Gehrig.

9. Field of Dreams (1989).   A great movie that is more about dreams than the field, based on the novel “Shoeless Joe”. 

8. Cool Runnings (1993).   A hilarious comedy about the true story of the Bobsled team from Jamaica that performed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada.

7. Miracle (2004).  The story about the United States men’s hockey team, led by coach Herb Brooks, who defeated the heavily favored Russian team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. 

6. The Blind Side (2009).  The true story of Michael Oher, an NFL player. 

5. Seabiscuit (2003).   A story of the lengendary “underdog” race horse Seabiscuit, who lived from 1933-1947.  

4. Hoosiers (1986).  The story of a small town high school in Indiana that won the state championship in 1954, as a tribute to all the little schools. 

3. Finding Forrester (2000).    Loosely based on the life of author J.D. Salinger, this inspiring story shows that writing and sports can coexist, but in the end writing is more superior. 

2. The Rookie (2002).  The story of Major League baseball player Jim Morris. 

1. The Natural (1984).  Baseball’s (and Robert Redford’s) version of Rocky, this movie is simply astounding on many fronts.

Top Ten Medical Movies

The following are my top ten personal favorite medical movies.   These are movies that deal with characters who have serious medical diseases at some point in the film.  A few have humorous parts, but for the most part they are intense and emotional movies for those that appreciate a good cry and then can remember it is just a movie.

“When my son was born healthy, I never asked why. Why was I so lucky? What did I do to deserve this perfect child, this perfect life? But when he got sick, you can bet I asked why! I demanded to know why! Why was this happening?”–Mrs. Lowe (Awakenings)

# 10.  The Bucket List (2007).  Because of this movie, many healthy people have started their own bucket lists, without needing a terminal diagnosis to do it.   

#9. Seven Pounds (2008).  It’s amazing how one can change people’s lives by giving part of themselves. 

#8. Patch Adams (1998).   Based on a true story of an unconvential doctor who made his patients laugh. 

#7. Step Mom (1998).  This almost missed the list, because it is mistakingly portrayed as a comedy, when it really is about the unfairness of medical problems.   

#6. The Doctor (1991).  I’m sure we all wish our personal physican had learned the wisdom that can only come from being a patient.

#5. Shadowlands (1993).  The real life story of C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy is very touching. 

#4. City of Joy (1992).  It is often in the unexpected things in life that we find the joy in helping others. 

#3. Extraordinary Measures (2010).   When it’s a matter of life and death for a child, parents will go to extraordinary measures. 

#2. Lorenzo’s Oil (1992).  It’s amazing how the simplest discovery can help the quality of life of so many, if the powers that be will only listen.

# 1. Awakenings (1990).   We don’t measure a medical treatment by the length of days it provides but by the beauty of those days.