bob the moo

24 May 2012

Just a great piece of story telling

I have been burnt so many times around Oscar time of year – films thatcome out with a lot of fanfare and glory, films that seem very "worthy"but ones that ultimately don't deliver on the screen where it matters.Daniel Craig's Defiance comes to mind but there have been others.Anyway, for this reason I stayed out of the crowds for The Fighter andonly got round to watching it recently. I was very pleased to findthat, although not a classic, The Fighter is just a solidly great filmthat satisfies across the board even if it isn't the classic that somewould have you believe.The plot comes from a true story and is as much about the character asit is about the sport. While the fights produce the type of energy anddrama that we are used to with Hollywood sports movie it is therelationships that provide the bulk of the film and draw the viewerinto the story and caring about the characters. Although some libertiesare taken with facts (the final fight was in the UK, not in the US) andI'm sure the characters have been handled the same way but yet theystill really engage. The family background is made up of a strongwilled women and a bunch of big-haired, small-town daughters that looklike snakes on the head of their mother Medusa; it is very well doneand it is such a strong part of the film. The brother's battle withdrugs moves along the main sporting plot really well, complimenting andworking with it. Meanwhile of course the rise from nothing to having achance to be champion is the reason we all watch sport – everyone lovesthe underdog.The story could have been badly told or a little corny but the deliveryis strong and it helps that the cast are roundly great. Although theothers get the awards, it is Wahlberg that does some of the finestwork. He doesn't have the mannerisms, he doesn't have the biggercharacter so he understates it and allows the others to work, thusbeing the foundation for them to be effective. Bale is tremendous;watching action blockbusters where his voice is comically deep makesyou forget that he is essentially a brilliant actor. His Dicky is veryreal and very well drawn physically and mentally. Although Melissa Leoalmost blew it with those ridiculous adverts, her performance is strongenough t overcome those for the Oscar and she does well here. Hermonstrous but also well-meaning mother is great. Adams plays very muchthe level below these but she is still very good while the supportingcast all play their parts convincingly throughout.The Fighter is not a perfect film but it is a really great one. Thesporting drama is complimented by the character drama and these twoelements are all made to work thanks to strong direction, writing andof course a collection of actors who deserve every good thing saidabout them in this film. Ignore all the hype and awards though, justcome to it as a film and I'm sure you'll be impressed by just what aroundly strong piece of story-telling it all is.

glegs

24 May 2012

A very average and forgettable film.

I watched this film today, and I would not say I was disappointed, Ijust thought there were better movies I could be watching. Maybe a lesscliché filled movie that is not sticking so close to well wornterritory.Most boxing or fighting of some sort films usually pack a lot ofemotional impact, but this had none. The main character in this movie(who I cannot remember the name of even though I watched it today, nota good sign) is a completely boring character who I did not care about.People seem to think this is alright because they find Christian Bale'scharacter very interesting. I just found him a bit annoying. But ingood boxing and fighting films you go for a journey with a character;you find out their flaws and troubles and what happens to their life,and you always seem to be able to make emotional connections with theirsituation. In a movie where the main character is just there for a moreinteresting character to interact with, it is missing a vital piece.Also this movie is distractingly unintelligent. Everything in thisfilm; every relationship, dispute, emotional turmoil etc, gives you noroom to think about, like say Raging Bull or The Wrestler does. It istaken and shoved in your face and then rubbed around there unpleasantlyfor a few minutes. So overall, I do not recommend this movie. It is nothing special or newand in a few years it will be forgotten. Instead I highly recommend anintelligent, emotionally powerful, great film like Raging Bull or TheWrestler, as they succeed in all the ways this film doesn't.

20 May 2012

The Fighter

This review is from: The Fighter (Amazon Instant Video) This movie had many scenes that would make a grown man feel as intense as a four year old, some funny parts and a couple sad parts.

20 May 2012

Three Powerful Turns in a Biopic That Favors Family Dynamics Over Rounds in the Ring

A trio of remarkable performances propels this frenetic, punch-drunk take on a dysfunctional family saga, and the compelling 2010 drama marks a return to form for iconoclastic director David O. Russell (his last film was the failed existential comedy, 2004's I Heart Huckabees). Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson, the film tells the fact-based story of boxing half-brothers "Irish" Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, eking out a blue-collar existence in Lowell, Massachusetts. Dicky once went the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard back in 1978, but it's the mid-1980's now, and he's vainly trying to recapture that moment of notoriety. Micky, on the other hand, remains firmly in Dicky's shadow, as he tries to follow in his footsteps and become a professional fighter. Most of the plot focuses on the demons that haunt and control them. Dicky's are internal as he has deteriorated into a scarifying crack addict and criminal, while Micky's struggles come from the stranglehold his family has on his life and career. Dicky is Micky's trainer, and their hell-bent, bottle-blonde mother Alice is his manager, neither of whom are willing to admit that they aren't savvy enough to get Micky a decent shot at the welterweight title.Micky's one personal salvation comes from his no-nonsense girlfriend Charlene, a tough-talking bartender who goes toe to toe with Alice and her seven grown, detestable daughters. Naturally, this sets the stage for a battle over Micky's soul. The irony of the film is that Micky has to be a dramatically inert figure since he is really a victim of his family's volatility. Consequently, Mark Wahlberg leverages his likeable average-guy demeanor to play him in an economic manner that manages to evoke sympathy for his stoic, often passive character. This gives room for Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) to steal his scenes handily with blazing intensity as Dicky. He dropped thirty pounds to shape his wiry, bug-eyed performance, and it sears in the memory. The gifted Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Conviction) is equally fearless as the manipulative Alice, a vainglorious Lady Macbeth figure who is willing to steer her son toward failure if it means he won't abandon her. As Charlene, Amy Adams (Enchanted) surprises the most with a flurry of F-bombs that serve to protect her clear-eyed commitment to Micky, even though her character has been developed mostly on one angry note. All three deserve recognition during the awards season.If the movie has one persistent flaw, it's that most of the rest of the characters are reduced to caricatures, especially Alice's big-haired daughters who act like a dispiriting Greek chorus to the proceedings (and strangely no bratty children surrounding them). The comic moments are welcome, but sometimes the approach feels like it cheapens the story. Russell's idiosyncratic filmmaking style is evident throughout with the camera constantly shifting to match the nervous energy of the narrative. In order to stick to the facts, he and the screenwriters shift the story in the home stretch to Micky's journey toward the title and more or less, abandon the head-butting family dynamics driving most of the story. Although the film ties up the fate of the characters neatly, it begins to feel more like Rocky than Raging Bull toward the end, and a certain hollowness permeates the film's resolution, even though cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema does an excellent job staging the fights leading to the inevitable ending. However, these are forgivable lapses in judgment given the stellar work of Leo, Adams and especially Bale.

18 May 2012

I love these actors but...

I've been a fan of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale for years. But seriously, I watched 45 minutes of the movie and wondered why I should empathize with these characters. I know it is supposed to be a dramatic movie, but I've seen episodes of soap operas that work better than this. The actors are amazing so I can't help but think there was something wrong with the direction of the film. Where's the passion? The first four Rocky movies as well as Cinderella Man brought it.

davidrcastro1

18 May 2012

Best fighting movie, period.

I've always been a fan of fighting movies, especially the Rocky Series,but this has to be the best fighting movie I've ever seen. I wasimpressed by Mark Wahlberg's performance, but Christian Bale put on oneof the best performances I've seen in a long time. The Story was veryreal, and cliché free. I remember wishing I could walk back into thetheater and watch the whole thing over again. Everything about thismovie is perfect, including the fight scenes. The emotions portrayed bythe characters made me feel like if I were watching real people througha giant window, and the direction was truly amazing. I give this moviea ten out of ten because I can't give it more, but it definitelydeserves an Oscar Nomination for best picture, and for Best SupportingActor Christian Bale.

jamesdavidhead

16 May 2012

Great film

Great profile of the boxer Micky Wards life. The story alsoconcentrates hard on his brother Dicky Eklund, an exboxing/junkie/Micky's trainer. Mark Walberg is excellent as the underachieving boxer who's dominated by his brother, who has hero status inthe neighbourhood for his contentious knockdown of Sugar Ray Leonard inthe 80's, and his domineering mother/manager. Christian Bale surpassesWahlbergs performance as brother Dicky. Dicky is trying to make a comeback in boxing and train his younger brother whilst battling Crackaddiction and fighting his own demons.Some of the boxing scenes are a bit 'too Rocky' for me but this is muchmore than a boxing film. It deals with complex family relationships andit could almost be said that the main focus of the film is on Crackaddiction and how it destroys lives. The fight for the WBU title at theend is a bit overplayed but Hollywood does need a big climax. Overallthough great and believable film. Some 'based on true events' filmsdeviate too much from the truth and thus become un-believable but ithink The Fighter gets the balance just about right.

rettig02

16 May 2012

A movie for those who dont even like boxing!

I watched this movie against my will and was pleasantly surprised. I amnot a big boxing fan and I truly expected to be bored. I wasn't. Themovie is based on a true story and is about a young boxer, "Irish"Micky Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), and how he got his acceptanceinto the boxing community. His older half-brother, Dicky Eklund (playedby Christian Bale) was a retired boxer who had slipped into a life ofdrugs. Dicky was training Micky and he had taught him everything heknew, but the drugs made him unreliable. Micky's mom, Alice Ward(played by Melissa Leo) was his manager and Micky was losing most ofhis fights. Dicky gets incarcerated and gets clean. While Dicky is injail, Micky gets a new manager and trainer and he starts winningfights. The main theme of the movie is to never give up. Another isfamily is important; and finally – drugs are bad. When Dicky getsreleased he is shunned by the new training team but Micky insists onwanting his brother back on the team. With them all working together,Micky can focus and he goes on to win the title. I am a fan of bothChristian Bale and Mark Wahlberg. At first I was appalled atChristian's acting, but in the credits the "real" Dicky is shown and heproves that Christian was actually pretty "spot on." Christian's gauntdrug-user look was fascinating to me because I had never seen him thatthin. Mark on the other hand obviously had a lot of training for themovie as his physique was remarkable (no pun intended). It's a "rags toriches" story, much like "Rocky". The angles of the fighting shots; aswell as them being shot in slow motion, really grab the viewer. Icommend the actors for taking actual hits because they really lookedlike they hurt. Micky had a lot of things going against him; finances,lack of direction, and losing his "hero" to drugs. Micky never gave up;not on himself, or on his brother. He went on to win, but was stillhumble, a good sport, and thankful for what he got.

Fields201

15 May 2012

MFields Review The Fighter

I was a little late seeing this one, but I really wanted to catch inthe theater. Something told me that this is one that I should see atthe theater and boy was I right. I enjoyed the heck out of this film,which begs the question, has there ever been a bad boxing movie? I'msure there is, but most of the ones I've seen were decent to great.The Fighter follows Marky Mark playing Mickey, and his crackhead,former boxer brother Dickey (played wonderfully by Christian Bale) inthe poor side of town with a family investing in Marky Mickey tocompete in these boxing matches. The mother especially (playedwonderfully by Melissa Leo), as she acts like Marky Mickey's manager.Dickey, being that he was a former boxer and took down Sugar RayLeonard, is Marky Mickey's trainer. The problem is that Dickey smokestoo much crack, and is often late showing up for training. Not onlythat, but he's destructive, and often finds himself getting intotrouble with the police, and because of this people don't take kindlyto Dickey and are trying to sway Marky Mickey away from him.Along the way, Marky Mickey meets a beautiful bartender named Charlene(Amy Adams, delivering a great performance and made herself into a veryinteresting character)and after a brawl with Marky Mickey's family, shesupports Marky Mickey's choice into breaking away from that family,especially after a boxing match gone bad, and it really becomes astruggle. This becomes the center of the movie as Marky Mickey tries tocope with the struggles with his family, his relationship, and hisdetermination to make it to the top.This is a wonderful movie. It's well written, well acted, well told,well directed, and just an all around great movie. It's one of thosemovies where I sat enjoying it from beginning to the end. Some movies Ijust sit there and wonder if this movie is going to get better. I nevergot that. It was great right from the beginning. There were a lot ofscenes where I felt like I was watching real people. I felt like I metthese people before, especially the mother. I've seen mothers like thatbefore. Then there's Christian Bale, who like Heath Ledger, I got lostinto his performance and even forgot that this guy played Batman!The only gripe about this movie is the ending. For some reason I justwasn't satisfied enough with the outcome. It felt like it came out ofnowhere. I don't know if that happened in real life or not, but it felta tad abrupt. Also I wanted to see more of the ending than just textstelling us about where they are now. I would be satisfied with one moreepilogue scene just to see what happened after the big fight.The Fighter is a movie not to be missed. I highly recommend seeing thismovie. However, even though David O. Russell is responsible for thiswonderful movie, it doesn't give him a free pass. He can still screw uphis upcoming project, Uncharted. I just hope he doesn't.

moltten

14 May 2012

Oscar Time for Bale!

This movie is a monster. It is truly incredible. The performances areoutstanding to the utmost degree, especially Christian Bale. From the very first scenes I was awestruck at his characterization ofthe loyal yet troubled brother... truly remarkable. Wahlberg is good inhis part, but it is Bale that just blows the doors off this movie. And the supporting cast does not stray far behind. Melissa Leo as themother also does an outstanding job. This is an amazing movie. The typethat does not come along often enough. In my opinion, Bale should get an Oscar for this role. If thisperformance is not worthy of an Oscar, then nothing is. Thumbs way up!

Deepak D

13 May 2012

Just amazing

It was simply superb movie directed as it has to be. Christian Bale isat his best as he performed in the past. His body speaks the characterand he spoke for the role. This movie deserves 2010's Oscar Best movieaward and stands atop on all other movies. Mark Wahlberg has givenimmaculate performance as 'The Fighter'. Screenplay of the movie waswell done, no part of the movie was left unjustified and the movieflows based on the story that happened. The title as says 'The Fighter'remains as the lead role is going to be a fighter, in the same lines itis how the fighter succeeded in the end because of his trainer/brother.Christian Bale deserves Best Supporting Actor award for 2010 at Oscarsthis year.

joakim-tarnstrom

13 May 2012

Dysfunctional movie

This movie is not about a dysfunctional family, it's a movie about adysfunctional movie. During the film I got more and more disconnectedfrom it. There were too large discrepancies in the acting performancesto really make it swing for me. Wahlbergs lack of emotional range,which is zilch, contrasting with Bales range which is all over theplace made the characters seem to live in different universes. With thetwo main characters acting against a very cartoonish backdrop in theshape of a supposed to be white trash family the movie fails to engage.I mean, what's the deal with the sisters? They look like they weredressed up for a hen party. No credibility at all. With such a baselinethere are no saving graces for this movie. Discussing footage,storyline etc is irrelevant with these flaws in mind. Maybe there was agood story in there, maybe the footage was fine, we will never know. I

tboybmx

12 May 2012

Walhberg A Surprise for me

Never heard of these real life fighters in the movie...Oh how I nowwant to!! This movie is a surprise HIT for me... I loved Walhberg inthis movie. He was great and his brother and girlfriend was good too.This movie felt real... I mean I lived in Chelsea MA for 5 years andit's funny how these people reminded me of lots of people I knew. Hisfamily had me laughing the way they acted.This movie is definitely a must see! I'm kinda glad I didn't know thehistory of these fighters because then I would have known the end. Thismovie is a pleasant surprise. I like Walhberg but didn't consider him agreat actor. While his acting is not Oscar material it is definitelymuch better than lots of others.

Som K

12 May 2012

More drama than boxing!!!!!

It a good character study film. More of a intense drama than boxing.Whalberg is getting really good in these roles. Hope he continuous thisform.The screenplay does a really good job in making the story come alive.Also the acting of Bale is beyond doubt impressive as always. Thesupporting roles were good especially of the mother.However would have been great if it had a little more boxing action.Also had a somewhat abrupt ending if i may say so.But none the less a very good movie, especially if you are a Bale fan.My rating 4/5

sddavis63

10 May 2012

The Story Of Mickey Ward

As any movie of this type has to do, it finally draws you into theprotagonist's situation and gets you rooting for him. In this case theprotagonist is real-life boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) who has toovercome big odds - not the least of which is an extremelydysfunctional family headed up by his controlling mother Alice (MelissaLeo) and his drug addict brother Dicky (Christian Bale) who used to bea boxer and who's claim to fame was knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard (ordid Sugar Ray slip?) and who now wants to live his dream through hisbrother. I appreciated the fact that Sugar Ray appeared as himself in acouple of brief scenes. By the time Mickey gets his title shot you arerooting for him, and you do admire his strength in overcoming thechallenges he's faced. The actual title shot, mind you, struck me as abit anti- climactic to be honest. It was pretty quickly portrayed andfrankly the whole thing ultimately left me a bit empty, although I wassatisfied to see Mickey become the champ.For three-quarters of the movie, though, the focus is really on thedysfunctional family relationship, and the challenge presented to thatrelationship by the sudden appearance of Charlene (Amy Adams) - a localbartender and college dropout who hooks up with Mickey and pushes himto escape his family's controlling influence. This was a goodperformance from Adams. I found her the most interesting of the cast,because she was playing a character very different from the usual cuteand sweet roles I've seen her in, and so she demonstrated a versatilityI hadn't seen from her before. Wahlberg and Bale were all right, but Ididn't find anything especially noteworthy about their performances.In the end, the biggest weakness of this movie was that it reallyfailed to draw me in until the title fight (and to an extent the fightthat led up to the title fight.) I was bored frankly by the family, whostruck me as a sort of Massachussetts version of "white trash" and whoweren't really all that interesting. I can't imagine growing up withthose sisters. Mickey deserves credit just for not punching any of themout. This really didn't do a great deal for me. It offers about half anhour that really intensely interested me, which fizzled out in a trulytoo abrupt ending and focused mostly on an unappealing family.

napierslogs

09 May 2012

Enjoyable interactions with funny lines but fails to deliver anything meaningful

Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale) is "the pride of Lowell, Massachusetts",at least he still believes that. Most people just see him as a crackaddict. HBO is making a documentary about him, but "The Fighter" isabout his brother, Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and trying to become achampion boxer."The Fighter" has a slightly different feel to it than most grittyboxing movies both because of Bale's performance and because of theamount of comedy delivered with all the lines. Lowell is also the typeof town that producer Wahlberg grew up in so the characterizationswould have been accurate. But it is still exactly like every grittyboxing movie, and although I was relieved it had comedy, it was anawfully strange mix between comedy and drama. They made light ofsituations that one scene later or earlier they had taken seriously.Any emotional message that they were trying to deliver was lost.The interactions among all the characters were quite enjoyable,especially between Micky's "MTV" girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams) andhis mother and sisters, and between Dicky and his mother. Theperformances were great with a wonderful quick wit and fairlyinteresting interactions. "The Fighter" is a good film but it doesn'thave the meaning or impact that something like "Million Dollar Baby"(2004) has.Follow my blog Napierslogs' Movie Expositions athttp://napierslogs.blogspot.com

08 May 2012

Everyone Stop Rushing!

I'm addressing this "review" to Amazon.com only.Please stop letting people post reviews of a product BEFORE it gets released. I know that your users love to post their own words for everyone to see, but the point of customer reviews are for the PRODUCT and SERVICE. There isn't a single reeview for Fighter (blu ray) that is in any way useful to decide whether or not I should buy it. And yet, that is precisely what customer reviews are for. Most of these people should have just started a blog to rant about their movies. But you, Amazon.com, can change that. Please ONLY open customer discussion threads like this AFTER the product is actually released. That way these reviews will cover more than simply the film, but also PRODUCT details (like resolution, special features, little glitches, etc). Thank you.

samkay1

08 May 2012

Packs a pretty good punch

Without being spectacular, the Fighter throws enough good punches, andprovides enough compelling drama (both inside and outside the ring) tobe certainly worth a viewing. Sometimes it feels familiar, sometimes it feels fresh. What drives themovie more than anything is the way that the overall performancequality shines through. There is not one underplayed role in the movie.If there is a breakthrough of any sort in the Fighter it would beChristian Bale. One could easily argue that he delivers his bestperformance yet in the fighter. Personally I'd still give that title toAmerican Psycho, but this one is less likely to be a controversy. AmyAdams breaks some new ground as well, having gone from playing smalland frail, to putting on a few pounds, and picking cat fights.The Fighter is a collaborative effort. It doesn't quite break enoughnew ground to pass for great but, it's a good movie, and a very goodboxing movie.

martyn-mcmahon

07 May 2012

The story of struggle and triumph of Irish American boxer Micky Ward

A must see movie for any film fan, some great and some exceptionalperformances from a brilliant cast, most notable by the scene stealingChristian Bale.The film documents the life and time of Irish Micky Ward and hisstruggle with his relationships with his family in his pursuit to makeit to the top of the boxing profession.Mark Whalberg leads an amazing cast and delivers a very believableperformance in his portrayal of the gritty MIcky Ward. The hours of gymand boxing work he has obviously completed in the build up to thismovie make the fighting scenes very genuine and very believable.

07 May 2012

The Fighter on DVD

This review is from: The Fighter (DVD) I chose to order The Fighter on DVD through Amazon because of availability, great prices and the arrival time is normally quick. All were true with this order. The movie was in new condition and arrived within 5 days. I saw the movie in the theater so I already knew I loved it. I would order everything from amazon if I could.