Day 227 - 8/15/09 - Movie #223
BEFORE: I took a day off on Friday, and we drove out to Riverhead on Long Island to check out an aquarium and the Tanger Outlet stores. It was fun, but we didn't get back home until 10 pm, and I still had some TV watching to do for work before I could get to my movie. Fortunately both Jeopardy! and Letterman were in reruns this week, and I then had a quick nap, so I could stay up and watch my last long boxing film.
THE PLOT: The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
AFTER: Like "Ali", this film does not start out in a linear fashion - we get a quick summary of Rubin Carter's story - his boxing career, false arrest and imprisonment - then when a young boy named Lesra Martin reads his biography, we see chapters of his life in greater detail. Only later, after Lesra decides to contact Rubin, do we get the feeling that their stories may intersect. Lesra is a black Brooklyn teen being raised and taught by three white people from Canada, who are home-schooling him to give him a shot at a better life - and they end up championing Rubin's cause, and investigating his arrest and conviction to try and prove his innocence. The movie makes a point of not depicting them as hippies or radicals, so I'm guessing that in reality, they were hippie radicals.
Denzel is simply amazing as Rubin Carter, going through an extreme range of emotions over the course of 30 years of imprisonment, but John Hannah, Liev Schreiber, and Deborah Unger are pretty bland as Rubin's friends. I preferred character actors David Paymer and Harris Yulin as Rubin's lawyers, and Clancy Brown as a sympathetic prison guard. Brown has played so many sheriffs and prison guards over the years ("Shawshank Redemption" is one of the most notable) that I bet he shows up on set with his own uniform...
RATING: 7 out of 10 collect calls
That's it for boxing movies, but it's also the start of a new chain. Prepare for a full-body search and a de-lousing, because I'm doing 2 weeks behind bars with more prison movies.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Cinderella Man
Day 226 - 8/14/09 - Movie #222
BEFORE: It's Thursday night/Friday morning and I can get back to some longer movies - this boxing film clocks in at 2 hrs. 25 min. - directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe as boxer Jim Braddock. "Based on a true story" - isn't "true story" sort of an oxymoron? Why don't they ever just say "Based on truth"? Because it's always a story from someone else's point of view? So it's never completely factual? I'm just sayin'...
THE PLOT: The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
AFTER: The first part of the film shows Braddock working on the docks, with a broken hand, to support his family during the Great Depression. Made in 2005, I think this film is more timely now, considering the state of the U.S. economy in the past 12 months. Just when things look bleakest, Braddock's manager gets him a fight on an undercard, as a last-minute replacement, and the implication is that he wins, because he HAS to. Paul Giamatti does an excellent job (doesn't he always?) as Braddock's manager, Joe Gould, and provides some insight into boxing strategy for the viewers. For example, he notices that Braddock's opponent leaves himself open right after a jab, and tells Braddock to get two punches in during that opening each time...
There's great fight footage, some from the boxer's P.O.V., so you really feel like you're right there in the ring with them. But it's also brutal (as it should be?) with occasional CSI-style graphics of ribs being broken. Braddock's success makes him a symbol of hope for the poor and the downtrodden - and eventually he gets a title shot against Max Baer (played by Craig Bierko), who has a rep for beating 2 boxers to death. Nobody plays a douchebag better than Bierko, and I mean that as a compliment.
Full disclosure - both Bierko and Giamatti have recorded voices for my boss's animated films, but I have not met either man. So I remain impartial and this will not affect my rating.
RATING: 8 out of 10 milk bottles.
BEFORE: It's Thursday night/Friday morning and I can get back to some longer movies - this boxing film clocks in at 2 hrs. 25 min. - directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe as boxer Jim Braddock. "Based on a true story" - isn't "true story" sort of an oxymoron? Why don't they ever just say "Based on truth"? Because it's always a story from someone else's point of view? So it's never completely factual? I'm just sayin'...
THE PLOT: The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
AFTER: The first part of the film shows Braddock working on the docks, with a broken hand, to support his family during the Great Depression. Made in 2005, I think this film is more timely now, considering the state of the U.S. economy in the past 12 months. Just when things look bleakest, Braddock's manager gets him a fight on an undercard, as a last-minute replacement, and the implication is that he wins, because he HAS to. Paul Giamatti does an excellent job (doesn't he always?) as Braddock's manager, Joe Gould, and provides some insight into boxing strategy for the viewers. For example, he notices that Braddock's opponent leaves himself open right after a jab, and tells Braddock to get two punches in during that opening each time...
There's great fight footage, some from the boxer's P.O.V., so you really feel like you're right there in the ring with them. But it's also brutal (as it should be?) with occasional CSI-style graphics of ribs being broken. Braddock's success makes him a symbol of hope for the poor and the downtrodden - and eventually he gets a title shot against Max Baer (played by Craig Bierko), who has a rep for beating 2 boxers to death. Nobody plays a douchebag better than Bierko, and I mean that as a compliment.
Full disclosure - both Bierko and Giamatti have recorded voices for my boss's animated films, but I have not met either man. So I remain impartial and this will not affect my rating.
RATING: 8 out of 10 milk bottles.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Sting II
Day 225 - 8/13/09 - Movie #221
BEFORE: Of course, I've seen "The Sting" - it's a classic film featuring 2 of America's most beloved actors, and generally regarded as one of the best films of the 1970's. Its sequel? Not so much...but I know that it features a boxing-themed scam, so it fits with my theme this week, and I can now cross it off my list. Also, these boxing pics have been running long, averaging about 2 1/2 hours each, and I still have to make it to work in the morning - so I need a short Thurs. film, and I can watch the longer films on the weekend.
THE PLOT: Lonnegan is planning to get back at Gondorf and Hooker for bilking him out of half a million. At the same time Gondorf and Hooker pull a con on Macalinski, an especially nasty mob boss, with the help of Veronica, a new grifter.
AFTER: Yeah, no Newman and Redford in this one - instead we get the ultimate "Hustler", Jackie Gleason as Gondorf and Mac Davis (?) as Hooker. (I can almost see a facial resemblance between Mac Davis and Paul Newman - but Davis subbing for Redford? No way...) Plus Teri Garr's along for the ride - and we get some class from Oliver Reed (subbing in for Robert Shaw as Lonnegan) and Karl Malden (where's your tribute to Malden, TCM? I need a copy of "A Streetcar Named Desire"...)
The action is moved from 1930's Chicago to New York, with a nice cameo by the Coney Island Boardwalk and the Cyclone roller-coaster. No date is given - but how many years does it take for Paul Newman's character to get fat and old like Jackie Gleason and change his name from Henry to Fargo? Lonnegan wants revenge for the con seen in the first film, which implies that not too much time has passed, but Gondorf makes a reference to spending 2 years in prison - so the timeline is muddled at best.
Except for the acting substitutions, this is a LOT like the first film, just with a boxing match standing in for a horse race. It's got the makings of a good double/triple cross, but does it deliver? Technically, yes, but it all feels sort of forced somehow. There are schemes within schemes, but that just sort of makes it hard to follow, and a little hard to swallow. There's just NO way Gondorf saw that many steps ahead...
I've got a whole list of heist/scam films, which I hope to get to in September, after a bunch of prison films. Hurm...maybe it would make more sense to watch the heist films first, before spending time in the joint. Must consider this further.
RATING: 5 out of 10 betting slips
BEFORE: Of course, I've seen "The Sting" - it's a classic film featuring 2 of America's most beloved actors, and generally regarded as one of the best films of the 1970's. Its sequel? Not so much...but I know that it features a boxing-themed scam, so it fits with my theme this week, and I can now cross it off my list. Also, these boxing pics have been running long, averaging about 2 1/2 hours each, and I still have to make it to work in the morning - so I need a short Thurs. film, and I can watch the longer films on the weekend.
THE PLOT: Lonnegan is planning to get back at Gondorf and Hooker for bilking him out of half a million. At the same time Gondorf and Hooker pull a con on Macalinski, an especially nasty mob boss, with the help of Veronica, a new grifter.
AFTER: Yeah, no Newman and Redford in this one - instead we get the ultimate "Hustler", Jackie Gleason as Gondorf and Mac Davis (?) as Hooker. (I can almost see a facial resemblance between Mac Davis and Paul Newman - but Davis subbing for Redford? No way...) Plus Teri Garr's along for the ride - and we get some class from Oliver Reed (subbing in for Robert Shaw as Lonnegan) and Karl Malden (where's your tribute to Malden, TCM? I need a copy of "A Streetcar Named Desire"...)
The action is moved from 1930's Chicago to New York, with a nice cameo by the Coney Island Boardwalk and the Cyclone roller-coaster. No date is given - but how many years does it take for Paul Newman's character to get fat and old like Jackie Gleason and change his name from Henry to Fargo? Lonnegan wants revenge for the con seen in the first film, which implies that not too much time has passed, but Gondorf makes a reference to spending 2 years in prison - so the timeline is muddled at best.
Except for the acting substitutions, this is a LOT like the first film, just with a boxing match standing in for a horse race. It's got the makings of a good double/triple cross, but does it deliver? Technically, yes, but it all feels sort of forced somehow. There are schemes within schemes, but that just sort of makes it hard to follow, and a little hard to swallow. There's just NO way Gondorf saw that many steps ahead...
I've got a whole list of heist/scam films, which I hope to get to in September, after a bunch of prison films. Hurm...maybe it would make more sense to watch the heist films first, before spending time in the joint. Must consider this further.
RATING: 5 out of 10 betting slips
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Hammer
Day 224 - 8/12/09 - Movie #220
BEFORE: Boxing Week continues - I heard good things about this film with Adam Carolla as an aging boxer. Of course, most of those good things were from Carolla himself during interviews...
THE PLOT: A once-promising amateur boxer -- who quit so he wouldn't risk his perfect record of underachievement -- decides that it's time to make his return to competitive boxing.
AFTER: Carolla's not as annoying as usual here. He plays a guy who just turned 40, gets fired from his carpenter job and dumped by his girlfriend, and is just left with his part-time job at a gym, teaching boxing exercise classes. But after a stint as a sparring partner, he's led to believe that he's got a shot at the U.S. Olympic team. The movie is filled with his sarcastic wit and snappy comebacks - example:
"This guy was the amateur champion five years ago..."
"What's he been doing the last five years?"
"He's been DOING five years..."
There's a lot more of that, and his character is lucky enough to meet a cute lawyer who finds his self-deprecating sarcasm endearing rather than depressing. It's a lot like a long standup routine - Carolla does 5 minutes on the La Brea Tar Pits that absolutely kills.
The film has a very indie feel to it, almost like a "Napoleon Dynamite", and not just because of the Latino sidekick. There's a little bit of boxing strategy included, but I wanted more. There's a bit of a twist ending, as Carolla's Jerry Ferro finds a way to win by losing - or is it the other way around? Nice guys finish last, but they DO finish - and that's important.
If only it had been narrated by Morgan Freeman...
RATING: 7 out of 10 toggle bolts
BEFORE: Boxing Week continues - I heard good things about this film with Adam Carolla as an aging boxer. Of course, most of those good things were from Carolla himself during interviews...
THE PLOT: A once-promising amateur boxer -- who quit so he wouldn't risk his perfect record of underachievement -- decides that it's time to make his return to competitive boxing.
AFTER: Carolla's not as annoying as usual here. He plays a guy who just turned 40, gets fired from his carpenter job and dumped by his girlfriend, and is just left with his part-time job at a gym, teaching boxing exercise classes. But after a stint as a sparring partner, he's led to believe that he's got a shot at the U.S. Olympic team. The movie is filled with his sarcastic wit and snappy comebacks - example:
"This guy was the amateur champion five years ago..."
"What's he been doing the last five years?"
"He's been DOING five years..."
There's a lot more of that, and his character is lucky enough to meet a cute lawyer who finds his self-deprecating sarcasm endearing rather than depressing. It's a lot like a long standup routine - Carolla does 5 minutes on the La Brea Tar Pits that absolutely kills.
The film has a very indie feel to it, almost like a "Napoleon Dynamite", and not just because of the Latino sidekick. There's a little bit of boxing strategy included, but I wanted more. There's a bit of a twist ending, as Carolla's Jerry Ferro finds a way to win by losing - or is it the other way around? Nice guys finish last, but they DO finish - and that's important.
If only it had been narrated by Morgan Freeman...
RATING: 7 out of 10 toggle bolts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Million Dollar Baby
Day 223 - 8/11/09 - Movie #219
BEFORE: Any time I can clear an Oscar-winner off my list, that's cause for celebration. Boxing Week continues with this contender, unfortunately I sort of know the ending already, but I can't fix that...
THE PLOT: A hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer.
AFTER: Now we're getting into more of the "sweet science" - how boxers train, how they "read" each other, how they get better by prolonging a fight and not going for the quick knockout... Of course, there's more going on here than just boxing. Hilary Swank's Maggie needs training and a father figure, and Clint Eastwood's Frankie needs a purpose, and has an estranged daughter - so they fit right together (but not at first). Morgan Freeman co-stars and narrates - shouldn't all movies be narrated by Morgan Freeman?
Eastwood looks older here than Yoda and Mr. Miyagi combined... Frankie's faith in God is put to the test late in the film, and the tearjerker ending is probably what earned it the Oscar - but this is still a film that leads with its chin, then delivers a powerful uppercut.
A great movie is sort of like a horoscope - you can sometimes see wisdom in it that you can apply to your own life. I've been part of this crazy "business we call show" for 15-odd years, and in some ways I've become as cynical and jaded as this old boxing trainer who's seen it all. How many young co-workers have come my way, full of hope and spunk (I hate spunk...) and have been forced to listen to me tell them how pointless it all is, as I do my best to discourage them from succeeding - but that's exactly what some of them have done. One co-worker went to work for Robert Redford, one directed episodes of "Daria", and another co-wrote the screenplays for "X-Men 2" and "Superman Returns". So maybe instead of being a Grump most of the time, I should be training the next world-class accountant or print traffic person...
I've got more Eastwood movies to watch, but I'm going to stick with the boxing theme for now, and do a Clint-a-thon in a couple weeks.
RATING: 8 out of 10 knockouts
BEFORE: Any time I can clear an Oscar-winner off my list, that's cause for celebration. Boxing Week continues with this contender, unfortunately I sort of know the ending already, but I can't fix that...
THE PLOT: A hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer.
AFTER: Now we're getting into more of the "sweet science" - how boxers train, how they "read" each other, how they get better by prolonging a fight and not going for the quick knockout... Of course, there's more going on here than just boxing. Hilary Swank's Maggie needs training and a father figure, and Clint Eastwood's Frankie needs a purpose, and has an estranged daughter - so they fit right together (but not at first). Morgan Freeman co-stars and narrates - shouldn't all movies be narrated by Morgan Freeman?
Eastwood looks older here than Yoda and Mr. Miyagi combined... Frankie's faith in God is put to the test late in the film, and the tearjerker ending is probably what earned it the Oscar - but this is still a film that leads with its chin, then delivers a powerful uppercut.
A great movie is sort of like a horoscope - you can sometimes see wisdom in it that you can apply to your own life. I've been part of this crazy "business we call show" for 15-odd years, and in some ways I've become as cynical and jaded as this old boxing trainer who's seen it all. How many young co-workers have come my way, full of hope and spunk (I hate spunk...) and have been forced to listen to me tell them how pointless it all is, as I do my best to discourage them from succeeding - but that's exactly what some of them have done. One co-worker went to work for Robert Redford, one directed episodes of "Daria", and another co-wrote the screenplays for "X-Men 2" and "Superman Returns". So maybe instead of being a Grump most of the time, I should be training the next world-class accountant or print traffic person...
I've got more Eastwood movies to watch, but I'm going to stick with the boxing theme for now, and do a Clint-a-thon in a couple weeks.
RATING: 8 out of 10 knockouts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ali
Day 222 - 8/10/09 - Movie #218
BEFORE: Will Smith is my link back to boxing films - it's been 3 weeks since I watched "Raging Bull", now I've got a chance to follow up - so let's kick off "Boxing Week".
THE PLOT: A biography of sports legend, Muhammad Ali, from his early days through his days in the ring.
AFTER: I went into this not knowing too much about Ali's history, his friendship with Malcolm X, his conversion to Islam, or how many times he fought Sonny Liston, for example - so I learned a lot. The boxing footage here is both brutal and beautiful, and it touches on some of the things that "Raging Bull" neglected - the logistics of arranging a title bout, the relationship between a fighter and his cornermen, etc. Will Smith "pulled a De Niro" by gaining weight (and muscle) to play Ali, but unfortunately by duplicating his speech patterns and poetry, he's sort of presenting a caricature of the man. There's great supporting work, though, from Jamie Foxx, Ron Silver, Giancarlo Esposito, Mario Van Peebles (as Malcolm X), Mykelti Williamson (as Don King!) and of course Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. According to this film, Cosell seemed to have a unique friendship with Ali, which could seem antagonistic to outside viewers at times (as many friendships do).
The movie runs a little long (2 hrs. 35 min), but there's plenty of drama to fill the time between boxing scenes. I like a movie where "Down goes Frazier!" (one of my favorite sports quotes) is actually a plot point, and the film culminates with the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Ali and George Foreman (yes, the guy who invented our Lean, Mean, Grilling Machine!)
EDIT: I re-watched the first 10-15 minutes of this film to check something - the montage of Ali's early years is very haphazard, with some odd choices of what's included and what's left out from his childhood and young adulthood. Is this because the memory of a boxer isn't so good? We see Ali (Cassius Clay) jogging, and a graphic informs us that the year is 1964 - but then we start jumping around in time, and we see him as a young boy, what year is THAT? Look, either provide dates for all of the scenes, or none of them - but don't give us just one! Then the footage of Ali training is intercut with a Sam Cooke concert - why? What's the connection to Sam Cooke? Whose bio-pic is this, anyway? For a while I thought I was watching Jamie Foxx in "The Sam Cooke Story"... very confusing!
RATING: 7 out of 10 rounds
BEFORE: Will Smith is my link back to boxing films - it's been 3 weeks since I watched "Raging Bull", now I've got a chance to follow up - so let's kick off "Boxing Week".
THE PLOT: A biography of sports legend, Muhammad Ali, from his early days through his days in the ring.
AFTER: I went into this not knowing too much about Ali's history, his friendship with Malcolm X, his conversion to Islam, or how many times he fought Sonny Liston, for example - so I learned a lot. The boxing footage here is both brutal and beautiful, and it touches on some of the things that "Raging Bull" neglected - the logistics of arranging a title bout, the relationship between a fighter and his cornermen, etc. Will Smith "pulled a De Niro" by gaining weight (and muscle) to play Ali, but unfortunately by duplicating his speech patterns and poetry, he's sort of presenting a caricature of the man. There's great supporting work, though, from Jamie Foxx, Ron Silver, Giancarlo Esposito, Mario Van Peebles (as Malcolm X), Mykelti Williamson (as Don King!) and of course Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. According to this film, Cosell seemed to have a unique friendship with Ali, which could seem antagonistic to outside viewers at times (as many friendships do).
The movie runs a little long (2 hrs. 35 min), but there's plenty of drama to fill the time between boxing scenes. I like a movie where "Down goes Frazier!" (one of my favorite sports quotes) is actually a plot point, and the film culminates with the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Ali and George Foreman (yes, the guy who invented our Lean, Mean, Grilling Machine!)
EDIT: I re-watched the first 10-15 minutes of this film to check something - the montage of Ali's early years is very haphazard, with some odd choices of what's included and what's left out from his childhood and young adulthood. Is this because the memory of a boxer isn't so good? We see Ali (Cassius Clay) jogging, and a graphic informs us that the year is 1964 - but then we start jumping around in time, and we see him as a young boy, what year is THAT? Look, either provide dates for all of the scenes, or none of them - but don't give us just one! Then the footage of Ali training is intercut with a Sam Cooke concert - why? What's the connection to Sam Cooke? Whose bio-pic is this, anyway? For a while I thought I was watching Jamie Foxx in "The Sam Cooke Story"... very confusing!
RATING: 7 out of 10 rounds
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Hancock
Day 221 - 8/9/09 - Movie #217
BEFORE: Continuing the theme of the "dark side" of superheroism - though it will be hard to top last night's movie...
THE PLOT: A hard-living superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public encounters a public relations professional who's trying to repair his image.
AFTER: Actually, it's a great plot idea, the story of an irresponsible superhero - the closest I've seen would be the alcoholic Tony Stark issues of Iron Man comics in the early 80's - and the P.R. expert played by Jason Bateman is a good foil, with helpful ideas on how to improve Hancock's image. His suggestions include issuing a public apology for all the destruction caused while catching criminals, and actually serving time in prison, to prove that the crime rate would actually go up during his absence - so there's a similar plot point to last night's movie, when Rorschach was sent to jail and was surrounded by criminals he put there. Unfortunately, I knew a little too much about this movie's plot twist beforehand, because it was revealed in some of the reviews - I won't spoil it here.
RATING: 7 out of 10 meatballs
BEFORE: Continuing the theme of the "dark side" of superheroism - though it will be hard to top last night's movie...
THE PLOT: A hard-living superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public encounters a public relations professional who's trying to repair his image.
AFTER: Actually, it's a great plot idea, the story of an irresponsible superhero - the closest I've seen would be the alcoholic Tony Stark issues of Iron Man comics in the early 80's - and the P.R. expert played by Jason Bateman is a good foil, with helpful ideas on how to improve Hancock's image. His suggestions include issuing a public apology for all the destruction caused while catching criminals, and actually serving time in prison, to prove that the crime rate would actually go up during his absence - so there's a similar plot point to last night's movie, when Rorschach was sent to jail and was surrounded by criminals he put there. Unfortunately, I knew a little too much about this movie's plot twist beforehand, because it was revealed in some of the reviews - I won't spoil it here.
RATING: 7 out of 10 meatballs
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