The Fighter

[Stefen]

lol. It's pretty good. Spoilers, I guess. I avoided reviewing it because I had a huge beef with it. As a huge boxing fan, I knew that Mickey Wards whole career was pretty much personified by his trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti. As I was watching the film, I was loving it because I knew it was leading up to these epic matchups. But it wasn't. Instead the movie ends right before he even faces Gatti then just gives a card that says he faced him. wtf? That's like making a movie out of a random night of my xixax posting, but ending it right before I get drunk. It's still good tho. P punched it in the face when he said Marky Mark only plays roles that he's made to play, but after reading an interview with him where he said the only reason he did The Happening is because he got to play a teacher, I can see why he sticks to his strengths, because that's all he is, strength and muscles. He's the classic abrasive, could fly off the handle at any second, can't spell his own name, but respects women and family type dude you find on the East Coast. But it works because that's pretty much Marky Mark. Bale nails it, but that's a given because he's pretty great even if he is a grade A jergoff. I didn't even know Melissa Leo was in it until the end credits. She took white trash method acting to a whole other level. Seriously, her double wide was floating in the air. It's aight. It's not ground breaking or anything and it's got enough edginess to not be a complete by the numbers underdog story, but it's okay. Nothing at all really stands out from it. I guess if you had to pick something, it would be Bale. But as someone who hangs around boxing message boards from time to time, all was not well with Dickey (Bale's character). It ends the film acting like he got sober, found peace and was living happily ever after but the dude is ALWAYS getting arrested for drugs, violence, armed robbery, etc. So if you know the real story, it's not really a feel good story at all.

A couple things.

Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?

Also you know I love NatPo, but this weekend at the cinema was pretty much NatPo overload. We had Black Swan, but then also trailers for THREE movies she's in -- Thor, Royal Highness and some looks stupid as shit romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher. Did NatPo sell out?

EDIT: UGh.

[polkablues]

Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?

School of Rock had 'em, too.

[Pas]

Ugh, Arturo is my favorite boxer ever (used to live about  2-3 miles from where he grew up) and I was really saving the surprise to see what the guy who played him would look like. Fuck me.

It annoys me to death when these movies make awful people look like angels and I guess it happens 99% of the time. The worst ever was Hurricane with Denzel. That shit was not only annoying, it was fucking irresponsible. That real Rubin Carter dude was a real dangerous criminal that attacked old black ladies with knives and what not. And not even that good a boxer. The movie turned it all the way around.

Anyway, the Fighter still looks awesome, I love Bale and I can't wait to see it.

[Stefen]

Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.

[classical gas]

Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?

School of Rock had 'em, too.

I'm not sure why they would need to sell out because didn't they make plenty off that song they wrote with puff daddy on the godzilla soundtrack?

[Stefen]

That was just Jimmy Page wasn't it? He sold out when he kept dying his hair in the 80's. Get old, nerd.

[Pas]

Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.

That's a fight straight out of Rocky. Gatti was the man, and he died like a man (choking on his own vomit/suicide/murdered by his wife)

[md]

Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.

true grit haha

to me walhberg epitomizes boston hard asses and the wtf face

[RegularKarate]

I enjoyed this okay.  I don't know that I'd ever see it again, but it was entertaining.

Gonna bullet-point this one: (some mild spoilers)

- It's no Rocky.  Movies that want to be the first Rocky need to stop wanting to be that because they can't.  I'll never get as excited for a movie boxing fight than I do with Rocky (and most of the sequels even).

- It's too Scorcese at times.  There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it.  I get mad at Scorcese when he does that now days and he started that shit.

- People say that D O'R is one of the only directors that can get a decent performance out of Marky Mark, but I don't think he really did it this time.  Sure, he starts out fine, but once it gets into the heavier emotional material, he loses it and starts sounding like he's Dirk Diggler again (whiny, high-pitched, crackling sad-voice worked in Boogie, but it doesn't here).

- Somehow this family cranks out two handsome boys and nothing but the ugliest girls in the world.

- I kind of like trashier Amy Adams.  I want her to fight my mom.

Oh, and Stefen, I think you missed the end.  Bale's character is clearly back on drugs.

[I Love a Magician]

There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it.

1

[Pozer]

^ lol. but dammit whyd that make me look just higher at the spoiler in the last line of Regular's post? sheeeit.   

[ElPandaRoyal]

^It happened to me too. Fuck!

[Stefen]

RegularTroll.

[RegularKarate]

There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it.

1

Okay, but 1 is too many.
There's got to be at least one other montage that's similar though... maybe no Stones, but similar.
Benjamin Button dies at the end.

[Gamblour.]

This was some boring shit. The best part was how over the top all of the sisters were. The boxing scenes looked good, but really this felt very uninspired. And RK's right, Russell is basically just doing Departed boxing movie.