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Reviews
The Fighter (2010)
Equally Entertaining As it is Heavy Hitting
- The Fighter: A David O Russell picture and entry into the boxing genre starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo.
The Fighter is based on the true story of boxer Mickey Ward, portrayed by Wahlberg, in 1990s Lowell, Massachusetts, and chronicles his gradual success to gaining the world light welterweight title with the coaching of his drug abusing brother Dicky, Christian Bale. On his path to pride and glory, Mickey faces conflicts that urge him to separate from the grasps of his managing and controlling family and earns extra backbone from his strong-minded girlfriend, Amy Adams. Granted, it doesn't sound exciting, but Russell's result here is one of the absolute best films of 2010. The Fighter, despite its many strengths, is undoubtedly a "performance film." Much of what makes it are the actors and what they put out on the screen, and the performances in The Fighter are all around excellent.
Christian Bale simply owns and walks away with the film, playing not a character, but becoming an individual. Bale is so engrossed in being Dicky Ecklund, capturing every essence of the damaged Bostonian crack addict, down to the mannerisms and daze. The performance is heartbreaking, goofily charming, and adept, with every emotion being conveyed powerfully and fully believable making for the best supporting performance of the year. Mark Wahlberg delivers the best performance of his career in this film as sympathetic and easy to cheer on Mickey and also the best movie quote I've heard in quite some time. Plus, with all of the research and preparation he went through to pinpoint Mickey, he's worth respecting. Amy Adams is most definitely a sure lock for best supporting actress and displays a very strong, tough, and amiable output as a character who should be grating, but never is. Another potential lock for best supporting actress is the always impressive Melissa Leo that has her hand on the likability switch as Mickey's mother and manager.
The Fighter is far from the standard sports melodrama. This is a film that has a fantastic ray of energy and exuberance throughout, with a hilariously delightful sense of humor that hits quick, the quirky Ecklund family, and a soundtrack selection that is lively and completely well chosen, with The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now" being the movie's anthem. The cinematography is jumpy and filmed mostly hand-held, an enticing style that places one right into the film.
The Fighter is a film that never delves into complete somberness, but rather serves a wonderful slice of life that is very raw and downplayed. It is a superb family drama on top of an effective boxing biopic. The boxing matches are filmed with the stylistic choice of having it look like an HBO special that truly works and feel very realistic. The boxing is overshadowed by the family elements, but the fights are some of the best moments of the film, taking the viewer through all the appropriate emotions. When Mickey wins a fight, you can't help yourself: You want to stand up and cheer.
The only major problem is in two aspects: The film does feel a bit long and the climactic ending match is nearly identical to an earlier fight in the film. That's about it. The Fighter is an incredible and dramatic picture that blends witty comedy with moving thematics and deep characters and puts a very welcome original twist on a familiar formula with a down to earth attitude, exemplary family dilemmas, a very skillful screenplay, and a sheer amount of entertainment that is difficult to gain from most other films of this genre.
Machete (2010)
Mexploitation and Entertainment at Its Best
MACHETE, a Robert Rodriguez film, starring Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Savini, Cheech Marin, and Don Johnson
. Soak that in for a moment. The story for Machete, as outlandish as it is, goes something like this: He looked like just another day laborer from the hood, and the perfect scapegoat for a corrupt political assassination. But he turned out to be MACHETE, a legendary ex-Federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match. Left for dead after attempting to go against the notorious Mexican drug kingpin Torrez, Steven Seagal, Machete has escaped to Texas. But what he finds is a web of corruption and betrayal that leaves a bullet in a senator, Robert DeNiro, and Machete a wanted man. Machete sets out to clear his name and expose this conspiracy, but he does it
. The MACHETE way. What ensues is a wildly creative tale of carnage, vengeance, and a Mexican Revolution. You might have been familiar with this film since 2007, since a fake trailer for Machete was shown in the ambitious double feature event Grindhouse that is now regarded as legendary trailer
. Well, now you have your entire film version. Danny Trejo is finally getting his due here. Always the most bad-ass in his film appearances, he's never had much of a leading role, except for now. He is fantastic as Machete, and at the current age of 66, the action he does is pretty phenomenal. Machete is the type of character that always gets the one-up on the bad guys and the love of the ladies, and you can just sense that Trejo is loving every moment of it. Luckily, so are we. Machete is a film chock-full of truly schmaltzy performances from every member of the cast. The big difference here is that the schmaltz is intentional. The villains of this movie are so appropriately evil and murderous, with a samurai sword wielding Steven Seagal, in his first villainous role, simply stealing the show as Torrez. Yes, I just said that Steven Seagal stole the show over a hilarious politically incorrect politician Robert DeNiro, a sleazy rogue businessman Jeff Fahey, and a sinister Mexican shooting Don Johnson. You really want to see these foes get what they deserve. Bonus points if you spot Quentin Tarantino in a blink and you miss it cameo! With these villains, and their humorous henchmen, Machete also has his own connections and compadres. Jessica Alba is, believe it or not, the main love interest to Machete and some of her deliveries are so cringe-inducing, it's squirm-worthy. Yet, she's alright! There's also Michelle Rodriguez as Luz, a rather attractive taco truck lady who may have a secret identity as a Mexican patriot who plays it just fine. But it's Padre, Machete's brother, played by Cheech Marin, whose sequences in the film are some of the very best. He's hysterical and can handle dual shotguns like nobody else. And yes, Lindsay Lohan is in this and she's not half-bad for the little things she has to do. When she's not nude, she's dressed up as a pretty nifty revolver packing nun, but she doesn't pack that much of a punch. Machete is a film that embodies all of the facets a 1970s blaxploitation film would have, but with the Hispanic culture. This is Mexploitation, with a resonant grindhouse feeling, complete with film reel scratches and fake political ads. But the violence and action in this is so extraordinary and unapologetically gruesome, with the extremity of it all not being taken seriously at all. The things they do in this film, guaranteed you haven't seen most of them ever done before. Corkscrews, high-heels, weed-whackers, and, of course, machetes, are only a very small listing of all the tools and weapons used to dispatch characters in Machete. It's over the top, absolutely ridiculous scenes that pop up every five minutes and make for a joyous film experience. There are too many be-headings, blood-splattering gunshots, and limb removals to count
. Don't even get me started on the stabbings. To add the cherry on top, Machete is shot perfectly, fluidly, and inventively. Machete is completely, for lack of a better term, over the top, has a fitting heavy and groovy soundtrack, and never holds back on the gore. The dialogue is hokey and full of Mexican puns, but it knows this. Machete loves to poke fun at itself and its ridiculous concepts, with characters questioning certain events in the movie, realizations that everything is insane, and an awesome B-movie touch that graces the opening of the end credits. Machete is Robert Rodriguez's most enjoyable and best film to date. It's so fun, so amazing, and actually provides a sort of a social political message, now with racial profiling and immigration being a controversial Americana topic. It's why Machete is such a great film for the times, and will be looked upon as one of the culturally relevant films of the last couple years
I'm as shocked as you are. Machete is the best action film of 2010 and is certainly one of the best of the year. It's fantastic entertainment that I oh so highly recommend you watch. Machete es...... Yes, excelente.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
My Favorite Movie, Ever
Yes, it's true. This is my all time favorite film. Why? Well, here's some reasons. First, I've watched this film about 30 times since i was just a little kid. second, it is one of the funniest movies of all time. Who can't laugh watching this? And third, it has Pee-Wee. This movie is about a boy and his bike. But what happens when the bike gets stolen? The boy travels all around the country to find it. That boy turns out to be Pee-Wee Herman. Okay, before anyone says anything, I don't think it deserved any Oscars or Golden Globes. Yes, scream and yell but even though this is my favorite film it sure wasn't worthy of any Oscars. The acting is pretty well done but I just think that Paul Reubens is extraordinary as Pee-Wee. I have always been impressed about how well Reubens captures the goofiness and silliness of Pee-Wee. And don't even get me started with the Tequila dance sequence. It is a classic moment to be remembered in comedy history. This is one of Tim Burton's best films he will ever make. Now give me a tequila
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Leave No One Behind
Well, well, what have we got here. Another road trip film. I guess we can just pass it. Wait, what am I saying? This is an excellent film that did not get the attention it needed. Little Miss Sunshine is about a little girl named Olive who is in the finals of a beauty competition. Problem is, they are in New Mexico and the event is held in California. I wonder where this goes? The trailers from the film really just wanted to convince you this was a straight on comedy. Wrong. This movie has its very funny parts, but this is a touching film about a family spending time together. Abigail Breslin was amazing as Olive and should have won Best supporting Actress in the Oscars. Greg Kinnear, Steve Carrell, and Alan Arkin show some of their best performances yet. And come on, who doesn't want to drive that yellow bus? One of the best dance sequences in movie history are held in this film. Long story short, this is one of the best films of 2006. Watch and enjoy.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Dogs Can Look Up
This is one of those movies that comes by only once in a while. Shaun of the Dead is a great comedy and film. Simon Pegg fits perfectly as Shaun and Ed is a legendarily funny character. One of the best comedies ever made? Probably. the best horror spoof ever made? You bet! All of the other actors fit their characters very well. But, as funny as this movie is it still has some good scares. The zombies look very good, not too overly gory or gruesome looking. There are several memorable lines that you just want to say over and over again. This brings us to the soundtrack of the movie. It has some great songs, especially "The Blue Wrath" the song at the beginning by Imonster. A Queen song also plays in a very memorable scene. If only they would release the soundtrack in America. This is a definite worthy film of buying. Well, at least rent it People! Or borrow it from a friend. This a great film with infinite laughs and a piece of comedy genius.