The Fighter is a film based on the real life story of Mickey Ward, a boxer, and his family. I did not research the true story very well, but I certainly hope that it was closer than the true story behind Unstoppable.
For the record - the true story behind Unstoppable is a train went through a wooded area at about 45 mph, and was stopped by the company with no injuries or damage. Quite different from the movie which featured a "missile... the size of the Chrysler building!"
For The Fighter, I have to give props to Christian Bale. He delivered a magnificent performance, and changed my opinion of him as an actor. I hadn't seen him in much except for Batman and Terminator:Salvation, and basically wrote him off as average, especially after Terminator. But he proves me wrong here. And now that this role is over, I recommend that he eat a few cheeseburgers.
The story follows Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) as he is managed by his mother and brother Dickie (Bale), the latter of which is addicted to crack. Mickey is put up in a fight, and his opponent backs out. On advice from his mother and brother (so that they can get paid), Mickey ends up fighting a boxer much heavier than him, and loses pretty quickly. He receives an offer to be paid to train year round in Las Vegas, but his family convinces him not to go. Pushed by his girlfriend, Amy Adams, Mickey decides to go to Las Vegas, but his brother throws a last ditch effort and decides to pay Mickey himself to have him stay.
Unfortunately, Dickie's plan is to have his girlfriend pretend to be a prostitute, so that he can pretend to be a cop and rob the men she picks up. During one of their robberies, the cops show up, and then the theater's fire alarm goes off and the movie ends. At least in the version we saw.
Fast forward to a week later (redbox this time), and we learn that Dickie is arrested, and finally comes clean from his crack addiction. Mickey gets back into boxing, and works to rebuild his family. I won't ruin the movie for you there.
Overall, I give The Figher a 9. Great performances by all the actors and actresses, including two Oscar wins - One for Bale, and one for Melissa Leo, the mother of Dickie and Mickey. I think it's an excellent film, and recommend it highly.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
TRON: Legacy (2010)
Oh Jeff Bridges, why did you let them do that to your face?
I had never seen the original TRON film. I know that it has cult status among sci-fi fans, and the people who mention it often love it greatly.
TRON: Legacy was an enjoyable film, however I spend most of the film distracted by some of the visuals:
1. CLU's face - Jeff Bridges was digitally de-aged for the CLU character, and you can tell. The mouth just doesn't move correctly, and in a movie with all other characters portrayed by normal folks, it's a jarring difference.
2. Olivia Wilde's haircut - Every time they showed her in a close up, I wanted to snicker. The slanted line haircut in the front was just so comical I couldn't take her character seriously.
3. The Program's helmets - Most likely this was due to the lighting, but I had difficulty telling the helmet of the Main Bad Lieutenant character from the helmet of the regular soldiers. At one point I thought that the Main Bad Lieutenant had been randomly killed in a scene, just for him to show up later and I had to put two and two together to see it was just Random Soldier A who had gotten killed five minutes ago.
Overall, I enjoyed the film's story. Despite being a 2010 movie, the story felt dated, however. I'm sure that some of the details were held over from the 1980s film. The computer world represented just looked and felt like a 1980s computer world. I was expecting more references to new computing things, such as internet, viruses, etc.
Score - 8/10.
If you enjoy lighter mood sci-fi, go for it. It's entertaining, the CGI environments and equipment are well done and visually appealing. Just don't make eye contact with Jeff Bridges the younger.
I had never seen the original TRON film. I know that it has cult status among sci-fi fans, and the people who mention it often love it greatly.
TRON: Legacy was an enjoyable film, however I spend most of the film distracted by some of the visuals:
1. CLU's face - Jeff Bridges was digitally de-aged for the CLU character, and you can tell. The mouth just doesn't move correctly, and in a movie with all other characters portrayed by normal folks, it's a jarring difference.
2. Olivia Wilde's haircut - Every time they showed her in a close up, I wanted to snicker. The slanted line haircut in the front was just so comical I couldn't take her character seriously.
3. The Program's helmets - Most likely this was due to the lighting, but I had difficulty telling the helmet of the Main Bad Lieutenant character from the helmet of the regular soldiers. At one point I thought that the Main Bad Lieutenant had been randomly killed in a scene, just for him to show up later and I had to put two and two together to see it was just Random Soldier A who had gotten killed five minutes ago.
Overall, I enjoyed the film's story. Despite being a 2010 movie, the story felt dated, however. I'm sure that some of the details were held over from the 1980s film. The computer world represented just looked and felt like a 1980s computer world. I was expecting more references to new computing things, such as internet, viruses, etc.
Score - 8/10.
If you enjoy lighter mood sci-fi, go for it. It's entertaining, the CGI environments and equipment are well done and visually appealing. Just don't make eye contact with Jeff Bridges the younger.
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