LOCAL Houston | The City Guide January 2017 | Page 40

... is for Football Films

F

... is for Football Films

by Sarah Gish | Photography courtesy of the Houston Texans
Kareem Jackson
I don ’ t know much about football but when I heard “ Super Bowl ” and “ Houston ” in the same sentence , I must admit that I got a little excited ! With the Super Bowl ( www . housuperbowl . com ) coming to town on February 5 , my annual round-up of favorite films from one of Houston ’ s communities had to be football-related . Herewith are fave films from four of the Houston Texans ( www . houstontexans . com ) – all classics made in 2004 or before .
2016 was a tough year for black and white relations , so defensive end CHRISTIAN COVINGTON ’ S favorite movie , “ A Time to Kill ” ( 1996 ), is a pertinent choice right now . As he said , “ First , you have to love the actors in the
movie : SAMUEL L . JACKSON , MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY , SANDRA BULLOCK , KIEFER SUTHERLAND and DONALD SUTHERLAND . Second , it deals with the struggles
against black society and white supremacy and the KKK during times when people were trying to fight against the unjust judicial system . It ’ s a movie that captures the essence of seeing what it ’ s like to go through suffering from both sides of the law , and really both sides of whether you are white or black . It allows the audience to think about how they would react in the given situations .”
Brian Peters
Two of the Texans – inside linebacker BENARDRICK MCKINNEY and cornerback KAREEM JACKSON – go for funny films . “ My favorite movie is “ Life ”
( 1999 ) because it ’ s a classic ,” said McKinney . The movie stars EDDIE MURPHY as a Harlem grifter and MARTIN LAWRENCE as a no-nonsense businessman during Prohibition – two opposing personalities out to make a buck on a bootlegging mission . Jackson goes for a Chris Tucker vehicle , “ Money Talks ” ( 1997 ), in which Tucker is a hustler and CHARLIE SHEEN is a newscaster . “ Those two guys together in that movie are just hilarious ,” said Jackson .
Unlike his fellow players , inside linebacker BRIAN PETERS went more serious and chose “ Troy ” ( 2004 ) as his favorite movie , an epic three-hour dramatic depiction of the Trojan War starring BRAD PITT and ORLANDO BLOOM . “ I always wanted to be Achilles ,” he said . And that ’ s a good thing indeed if you are a football player !
Christian Covington Bernardrick McKinney
40 LOCAL | january 17