Movies for Wrestlers: The Lucas Byrd Picks
This is now our third installment of Movies for Wrestlers. These are the movies that a coach needs to have on dvd for those long bus trips or for the hotel room during weekend tournaments. You can catch the first two sets of reviews here (House Picks: The Warriors and Vision Quest) and here (Jordan Blanton Picks: Bloodsport and Rocky IV).
Today, we are reviewing the Lucas Byrd picks. In his interview with the War Room, the ILLINI star said that his favorites are the Harry Potter movies.
Lucas Byrd begins discussing his favorite movies at about 2:17 of the video
The largest brewery company in the world, Anheuser-Busch, made about the same amount of revenue in 2021 from their global sales. That's a lot of Bud Light.
Lucas Byrd said this about his favorite movie:
Q: What is Lucas Byrd's favorite movie?
A: Any of the Harry Potter movies.
...
Q: Tell me about the Harry Potter movies. Why do you like them? Is it because you used to have, or you still have, those round glasses?
A: It is definitely because I still have the round glasses. People that I know call me Harry Potter. They'll be like, "Potter!" I'm so used to hearing it that I've just stuck with it.
The Harry Potter series has a special place in my heart as well. When they were little mites, my kids started reading the books and watching the movies. My wife and I read the first book to them. We watched the movies together as a family.
It provided a strong female character, Hermione, for my daughter, and, of course, Harry Potter was a hero for my son. I used to troll my kids early in the series by saying, "I love that Snape fellow." They would look at me like I was crazy. I even made them heart-shaped "I Love Snape" badges that they refused to wear.
Of course, J.K. Rowling tricked us all by making Snape a hero in the end.
The best part of the series is that the books and movies grow up with your children. Making new friends, getting used to school, final exams, hormones, dating, cliques, the books have all of that ground covered. The first few books have some mild scares, but they are pretty short and not very sophisticated. Once you've reached The Prisoner of Azkaban (torture) and certainly The Goblet of Fire (death of a main character), though, your kids should be able to handle slightly more mature themes.
By the time you get to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you have what are basically young adult or adult books for young adult or adult readers.
If you have a bus load of kids from your wrestling club heading off to a tournament, you can get them started with the first two movies. As they grow older, you can add the later movies. Be sure to let the parents know, as a few may have a problem with the "witchcraft," as there was some controversy when the books were first published.
The video above contains all of the movie trailers for the eight Harry Potter movies. Just a few seconds in Hagrid says, "You're a wizard, Harry," and I got chills.
Needless to say, this review will give the series five out of four stars, as I am hopelessly biased. These movies are inextricably intertwined with the feelings that I have for my children.
On the other hand, I do not recommend the Fantastic Beasts movies, as the main character is as interesting as a parking ticket. His role in the movies is to be uncomfortable. Thus, he spends most of the time looking at his shoes like Hugh Grant in every Hugh Grant movie. I want to spend my money on a hero like Harry Potter, and not on some uncomfortable-in-his-own-shoes middle-management type. Moreover, the stories are not nearly as clean or well-crafted as the ground-breaking first series.
A couple of final notes: The first three Harry Potter movies are rated PG. After that, they have PG-13 ratings. I think there are cracking good stories here, and unlike most books to movies, I found the movies to be almost as enjoyable as the books. Great choices, Harry ... uh ... Lucas! I think there is a nice analogy between Harry Potter's wizardry and Lucas Byrd's magic on the mat.
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