With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, it’s time to get a little NFL-centric.

The Super Bowl is not just about splendid TV spots for upcoming cinema releases, there is a game to be played too. Many of us on this side of the North Atlantic rather look down our noses at American Football. Some dismiss it as rugby for softies (the “too much padding” argument), others as too stop-start (the “not as fluid as proper football” argument), others as too convoluted (the “I don’t really understand what’s happening here” argument).

For what my opinion is worth (please don’t tell me how little that is, I really am quite delicate) I think American Football is hugely entertaining and easily comprehensible, but more than that, the intricate choreography of its set-piece plays is so much better suited to cinema than either rugby or normal football.

Disagree? Tell me of a convincing and realistic portrayal of football in cinema? Mean Machine? Escape to Victory? You see?

Now of course that doesn’t make American Football a better or more compelling sport, but this is a film blog and so what it does make it is a better theme for a Six Of The Best article, in this case, Six of the Best cinematic portrayals of American Football. The film doesn’t need to be wholly or exclusively about Gridiron, but it must be a legitimate theme rather than a mere background detail. The Waterboy would be eligible, but sadly doesn’t make the list because it is deeply and enduringly terrible.

The excellent and exciting American Football-themed opening to Welcome to the Jungle (or “The Rundown” as it is otherwise known) is probably too peripheral a reference to qualify, more’s the pity. So what’s in? Here’s my list, please feel free to lambast me in the comments section for any glaring omissions, but be gentle. Remember, I’m delicate.

1. Jerry Maguire

Although Cameron Crowe’s 1996 film is not essentially about sport, but rather about a man trying to find his way to being the man he should and wants to be, American Football is threaded through. Very little on-field action is presented to us, save for the nail-biting finale when we wonder whether Rod Tidwell (a never-better Cuba Gooding Jr) will be able to pick himself up from the crunching end zone tackle that leaves him flat on his back, but the world of the NFL is there all the way through, from players getting caught in compromising situations, to the quest for a life-changing multi-year contract, to a splendid cameo from the Cowboys Troy Aikman (“I really liked your memo”).

Ultimately, Jerry Maguire is a great film because of its delicious script, note-perfect performances and deftly handled direction, not because it revolves around the world of the NFL, but revolve it does, commenting on the unpleasant side-effects of exclusive merchandising deals and the impact on the wives and children of professional athletes who continue to put their bodies in danger because they have such a small window within which to make their living. Although these matters are not the principal concern of the film (the condition of Jerry’s heart is), it is a fascinating insight to some of the collateral damage occasioned by American Football.

It seems to be famine or feast with Spielberg. Having kept himself away from director duties for a few years, he now has a rush on. Tintin and War Horse are both due out by the end of the year, with Spielberg going once again for what served him well in 1993, namely working on a big adventure spectacle movie in parallel with a more serious historical piece. As if that wasn’t enough, he is also moving forward with his Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln and has been talking a little about what everyone can expect.

Lincoln was shot on the evening of 14th April 1865 and died the following day and Spielberg intends to focus on the four months leading up to then. Although that feels like a tiny fraction of so eventful and significant a life, it was a pretty busy few months. During that approximate time-frame, he was re-elected, abolished slavery and the civil war ended. Although it is not going to be a Civil War film per se, there will be battlefield scenes, which seems inevitable given the subject matter. Spielberg wants to emphasize the massive accomplishments of the final months of Lincoln’s life, but will release the film at the tail end of 2012 in order to avoid having it fall during the US presidential elections and becoming a polarising feature of what will doubtless be another fiercely contested election.

Casting for Lincoln is almost absurdly rich, including Daniel Day Lewis (as Lincoln), Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and David Strathairn. We may have a while to wait, but this one has been fermenting with Spielberg for years and should be another richly compelling historical drama.

Source: Playlist.

The formidable list of Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Joseph Cross, David Costabile, Byron Jennings, Dakin Matthews, Boris McGiver, Gloria Reuben, Jeremy Strong, and David Warshofsky are in talks to star in Lincoln.

The new additions will star opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field, who will play Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd respectively, in Dreamworks Pictures’ Abraham Lincoln biopic.

Lincoln is based on Doris Kearns’ biography of Lincoln, Team of Rivals, and was adapted for the screen by Tony Kushner (Munich).

Steven Spielberg (E.T.) is attached to direct, with production expected to commence in Virginia later this year.

Source: THR

Here’s the new UK poster for Gerard Butler’s new movie, Law Abiding Citizen. The trailer for the movie came out recently and it looks like a great, gritty movie with a dark storyline. Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, and Leslie Bibb are also in the movie directed by F. Gary Gray. It’s out on the 27th November so not too long to wait now.

Synopsis: Law Abiding Citizen is a thriller about a brilliant sociopath who orchestrates a series of high-profile murders that grip the city of Philadelphia – all from inside his jail cell – and the prosecutor assigned to his case who realizes he is the only one who can end the reign of terror.

Click the poster to enlarge or check out the trailer here.

Source: Empire

***UPDATE*** – Here’s the other poster of release of Jamie Foxx. Click to enlarge.