The Fighter stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.  It is based of the real-life story of professional fighter Micky Ward.

This movie was very well-acted.  Christian Bale, Amy Adams. and Melissa Leo are outstanding.  The plot is a little ho hum, but it didn’t lose my interest.  It of course has to fall into an enormous vat of cliches since it is a sports movie and I guess there is just no getting around that.  The acting was very strong.  Christian Bale’s body transformations are unreal.  From the Machinist to Batman to this.  His dedication to a role always comes through.  What the movie lacks in originality, although I can’t recall crack addiction being subject matter in an underdog boxing story, is made up for by the emotion of the actors.

“What about my brother?  He’s taught me everything I know.  I can’t do it without him.”

7/10

Rocky is written by and stars Sylvester Stallone.  It won the Academy Award for the best picture of 1976.  It is the underdog story of a struggling Italian boxer and his chance at the big time.

Not really sure what all the hype was about.  I didn’t really like this movie, but I didn’t hate it either.  The storyline is cliche and boring, but the characters are interesting.  The Italian Stallion is a piece a meat with a heart.  That character is somewhat played out, but it isn’t sappy to the point of being silly.  The setting is created well.  It made you feel the grit and chill of a Philadelphia winter.  The story was just so bad and the fight scene was laughably overdone.  One thing that stuck out for me on the positive side of things was the soundtrack.  It really helped the emotions come through.  The pace of the movie was very unexpected.  It crept from start to credits so slowly.  It was not the upbeat montage-ridden sports movie we are all so used to.  It was surprisingly good at times and horribly cliche at others.  Overall, I would rank this as a middle of the road movie.

“Took you ten years to get to my house. Huh, what’s the matter? You don’t like my house? Does my house stink? That’s right, it stinks!”

5/10

Rounders is a 1998 film about poker directed by John Dahl.

I liked the movie quite a bit.  I may be totally biased being a poker player.   As always, Matt Damon and Ed Norton were really good. So many times when there is poker involved in a movie it is absolutely laughable.  Case in point: Casino Royale.  In Rounders, the scenes and discussions regarding poker are believable.  The plot is a little weak though.  The loan shark just wants both of them dead.  You would think he would actually want his money.  Overall, I liked the movie.  The realness of the dialogue and action of the poker scenes really carried the film for me.

“I can leave now, even with Grama and KGB… and halfway to paying Petrovsky back. That’s the safe play. I told Worm you can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. But you can’t win much either.”

Every gambler’s mantra right there.

8/10

The Blind Side (2009)

The Blind Side is based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. It’s the  story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless kid living on the street is taken in by the Touhys, a well off family.  Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy and Tim McGraw is Sean Tuohy.

While the movie is about a football player, it’s not a football movie. It’s a story about family and personal courage. The acting, story and pace of this movie all click to make a very good movie.

“Who would’ve thought we’d have a black son before we met a Democrat?”

08/10—–The fact that is a true story really makes it worth seeing.