Never heavy-handed or sentimental, this beautifully shot film is a subtitled treat. And it’s easy to see why it was awarded the Palme d’Or for Best Film at Cannes. Michael Haneke’s art house delight might sound dull on paper – it gently, movingly and often harrowingly deals with that great cinematic taboo of old age – but wonderful performances from Trintignant and Riva as elderly musicians give it real class. AmourĮmmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Isabelle Huppert. It’s predictable feel-good family fare, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that. It comes as no surprise that as the school starts getting behind him – and Bella starts to see him in a good light – he gets to believe he might have a shot in the ring. He plans to work the underground cage-fighting circuit and makes easy money protecting himself, losing with honour and moving on to the next fight.īut things get complex when he gets a shot at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match. It’s all pretty straightforward stuff – and it continues to be a real leap of faith to see James as a fully-fledged sex symbol – but his big-hearted optimism and affable demeanour make him a snug fit for the film.Īt first, Mr Voss starts teaching night school classes in his one-man bid to save the music department and the job of its much-loved teacher Marty Streb (Winkler).īut when that doesn’t bring in the big bucks, he takes training from the hulking Niko (real life MMA bruiser Bas Rutten) to transform himself into a fighter. And with Here Comes The Boom he proves once again that his everyman persona is the perfect match for this genially entertaining crowd-pleaser. Based on his college wrestling experience he decides to try his hand at mixed martial arts.Īgainst all the odds the chunky comedy stylings of Kevin James have proved box office dynamite.

When budget cuts threaten a Boston high school’s music department, biology teacher Scott Voss (James) decides to raise the money needed – and try to impress school nurse Bella Flores (Hayek) at the same time. “I will tell you it after the last game of the season.Kevin James, Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Greg Germann, Gary Valentine. “Yes, I have in my head,” he says with a large smile. So how many ‘booms’ can the Palace fans expect this season? Does the striker have a target? “He has a very, very good left foot and he will have to find me more this season.” “It’s not hard for him,” added Mateta about the quality of the cross from the Palace left-back. “Tyrick makes good crosses and I got on the first post, like the gaffer wants and I did what the gaffer wants. I scored and I will keep doing this. The first win at home, in front of the fans. I’m proud of the team, of me and the staff and everything. “I’ve not scored many but I’m very happy and I will keep doing this. “Yeah?,” he replied when told it was his first touch after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Odsonne Edouard, before realising it was true indeed, his goal coming from an inch-perfect Tyrick Mitchell cross. I want to say thank you to the fans and I hope for a lot of ‘boom’ this season,” said the 25-year-old to the South London Press. Unfortunately, the fans could only chant ‘boom’ once more as Mateta, who made the appeal in April, ended the season on seven goals.īut he has already opened his account this season, his 71st-minute strike against Aston Villa at Selhurst Park securing a 3-1 victory, Palace’s first of the season. The ‘boom’ element comes from the chant attributed to him by the SE25 fans, the ‘Vengaboys’ Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!’ 1998 song. Jean-Philippe Mateta requested that the Crystal Palace faithful “…say ‘BOOM’” every time he kicked the corner flag – a trademark celebration from the French forward after scoring six goals in crucial games last season.

Here comes the boom football