Even in resigning he couldn't do it the right way....
On a day when most of my thoughts about politics are already
out there (Romney sucking and getting his ass kicked in that debate, Mc-Liar
being called out for his illegal and underhanded actions but immediately before
and right after his resignation, Gary Bettman made to look like the fool that
he is), I felt it was time to turn my attention to some movies that caught my
attention recently both on DVD and on TMN.
I forewarn you that if you haven’t seen any of these, please
stop reading now. Since these are all older flicks, it stands to reason that
most of you have already seen these movies but I just wanted to warn you
beforehand.
Let’s start with...
A surprise hit but it had all the elements of another boxing movie...
Starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and newcomer Dakota
Goyo, the premise of the story is basically similar to Rocky. I even remember
some of the TV trailers had reviewers calling it Robot Rocky, and they really
were not far off on that assessment. Set about 10 years in the future, an
outdated, underpowered robot (Atom) “trained” and controlled by a down on his
luck loser (Charlie Kenton played by Jackman) and his estranged 11 year old son
Max (Played by Goyo). Max has particular
attachment to the robot given the fact that Atom saved his life in the junkyard
that he and Charlie had broken in to in order to steal parts for Charlie’s
other robots.
The subplots are actually what give this movie much more
character and heart then you would expect. Charlie is not a likable guy when we
first meet him. He is solely driven by money and even uses his son to get
$50,000 (up front) out of Marvin (Max’s mother’s sisters’ rich husband) so that
he will “babysit” Max for the summer before signing away his parental rights to
them (not before making it seem as if he was going to make Max a ward of the
state of Texas). This after he finds out that Max’s mother had passed away from
cancer and has a say in what happens to his young son.
This scene (not in the movie) gives you an idea of where
the real heart of this movie lies...
Upon getting the cash, Charlie goes and spends it on a robot
boxer that he hopes will replace his previously destroyed robot and his lost
income. As well, he is now in debt to a former rival he had placed a wager
against in the opening sequence of the movie, a character that we see again later
on in the movie. There is also one other person he owes money to as we find him
preparing to receive his new robot and his son at Tallets’ Gym, owned by Bailey
Tallet (Played by Lilly). She plays the daughter of Charlie’s former trainer
from back when he used to be a boxer himself. Clearly there is a history there
between them, despite the age difference, and because of that history, she has
been much more lenient on him with regards to what he owes her.
Max is clearly in a state of sadness and hurting from the
death of his mother. He shares a love for robot boxing with his father which
gives them something in common, along with Bailey who helps Charlie by being
his robot techie. After having his newly purchased robot destroyed (mostly due
to his arrogance and not knowing how to properly use it), Charlie is again
broke and with no way to repay his debts. Frustrated, he and Max end up
breaking into a junkyard in search of spare parts to try to fix one of the two
destroyed robots Charlie owns. Max nearly dies when the edge of the cliff he
was on (unknowingly) gives way. He is saved by a mysterious arm protruding from
the earth. Charlie, finally displaying some fatherly love for his son, grabs
him off the arm overlooking a treacherous cliff.
Max becomes convinced that the sparring ‘bot he unearthed worth
much more and the two become inseparable. In an especially poignant moment, Max
and Atom bond and it becomes clear that there is more to Atom then just a
collection of gears and circuits. Right from his first fight, with Charlie
clearly against it, Max and Atom start showing Charlie that there is more that they
can be together. Atom seems to listen to Charlie’s instructions as Max uses his
controls.
After surviving his first fight, Max begs Charlie to start training
Atom in his style (after having incorporated systems from both of Charlie’s
previous robots into Atom’s operating system). The training and subsequent
victories seem to bring father and son together as Charlie starts to bond with
his son. He even begins to repay his debt to Bailey (who had had a fight with
Charlie before he and Max had left on his winning streak). His winning lands
them a shot at a World Robot Boxing League fight.
Their relationship is also vital in making this futuristic movie realistic
After a shocking victory, Max grabs the mic and openly
challenges the World Champ to a fight. Right after the fight, Charlie’s old
gambling debt comes back to haunt him as he is attacked by 3 guys led by Ricky
(the former boxing rival to whom he owed $20,000 from the beginning of the
movie). Beaten and robbed, Charlie begins to realize that the way he has been
living his life would place Max in danger in the process. Finally starting to
feel like a father seemed to scare Charlie as his first instinct was to get Max
away from him and back to his now legal guardian, his aunt Debra (played by
Hope Davis).
In one of the more
touching scenes of the film, Charlie tries to explain to Max why it’s best to
have him live with his aunt by saying, “You
deserve better then me…. It’s better this way”. Before he leaves with her Max
tells Charlie that all he ever wanted was for him to fight for him.
Charlie drives all the way back to Texas from New York just
to see Bailey and after an emotional exchange and a passionate kiss, he leaves
but not before another touching exchange between Charlie and Bailey where she
asks him “you drove 1200 miles for a kiss?” eliciting a response from Charlie
of 2 words: “Worth it” as a tear falls down her cheek.
In another Rocky parallel, the Champ (Zeus) gives Atom (The “nobody
from nowhere”) a shot at the title. Charlie ends up going and getting Max back
from Debra (with her permission) to fight the “Ivan Drago” of Robot boxing.
Rocky, er, I mean Atom is a massive under dog and early on in the fight, he is
getting pounded. Then the movie seems to take from several Rocky movies.
We all remember Drago's reaction here....he, along with the whole world, was shocked
First, Atom comes up with a surprise upper cut while being
pounded on which stuns the champ, just like in Rocky IV how Rocky shockingly
does the same to Drago as we hear the announcer screaming out “He’s cut!!! He’s
CUT!! As you watch that scene (if you
have seen Rocky IV) you will see the similarities. Then, in the final round, as
Atom is again being pounded on, Zeus seems to run out of power, just like in
Rocky III how Rocky made Clubber Lang punch himself tired by taunting him to
try to knock him out before finally coming out strong and knocking Clubber out
himself. Finally, just like the end of Rocky, Atom loses a fight that was much
closer than it should have been, embarrassing his opponents camp in the process
leaving things wide open for a sequel (which is in the works).
Looks like a cool scene but it's actually a flaw in the movie....
mirror mode should have meant Atom used his Left, not his right...Yes, I nitpick
For all the Rocky comparisons, its more than just an updated
knockoff. The subplots, while not
explained in great detail, give the viewer enough of a back story that you
start to care about the characters, a real problem in a lot of movies being
made right now.
From all accounts, the sequel will go on a slightly
different tangent as it will focus more on Atom’s creation and the Robot
underworld. The 3 main characters will be returning so at the very least,
unlike some sequels, it will have the same base to start from for part 2.
Regardless, Real Steel was a success at the theaters and a
massive success in DVD sales because it resonated with both kids and adults.
Out of 5 Stars, I would give it a 4. There were some inconsistencies in the
final fight scene that need to be explained better and possibly in the 2nd
movie they will be.
Good cast, good story, well executed....HORRIBLE title
Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris and
Edward Burns, I remember seeing the trailers for this movie and writing it off
as just stupid. So, as it is now on rotation on TMN, I figured what the heck. I
will see what it’s really about. Well,
it is about a whole hell of a lot more than just a potential suicidal jumper.
Bad Cops, a funeral, a jail break, Stolen (or not stolen) Diamonds, a heist, a
redemption story for 2 other cops and a distraction later you have a decent
thriller that was doomed from the start because of a stupid movie studio giving
this movie an idiotic and uninspired title. Jumper would have been a better title,
or On the Edge or Over the Edge or even Living on the Edge. The title really
took away the potential this movie had.
A cop ends up behind bars for stealing a $40
million diamond, breaks out of prison at his father’s funeral and a month later
is “suicidal” at a hotel on the ledge. Except that nothing is as it seems. Worthington’s
character (Nick Cassidy) ends up having Dirty cops hunting him down, a corrupt “Donald
Trump-like” figure played by Ed Harris he accuses of framing him and a broken
police negotiator (played by Banks) intertwining and seemingly having their own
agendas. Even his former partner, played by Anthony Mackie (who was also in
Real Steel as Finn) are playing things in completely different ways then you
would think.
Sam and Elizabeth had some good chemistry in this flick
Nothing is at it seems in this cop thriller (which, for some
reason is listed on TMN’s guide as a horror movie…WTF?!?!) which has some
decent performances from pretty much everyone involved. I really think, like so
many other movies that have been coming out lately, Hollywood has lost the
touch on how to market anything other than big budget movies. Even with some of
those, they sometimes make mistakes (John Carter? Cowboys and Aliens?). In this case, they just didn’t have a clue as
it could have had a decent theater haul had it been marketed properly. Instead,
it barely broke even. With a budget of $42 million and an overall take of $46
million, this movie should have made a lot more money than it did. It’s a good
plot, good actors and a great setting. I would give this movie a 3.5 rating out
of 5 Stars. This movie is yet another example of Hollywood not knowing what
they had when they brought this movie to market.
A second example of this is the next and final movie I will
review.
A little more depth to this movie then you would have thought
This movie set off alarm bells all over the country as it
came out just after Derek Boogard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak were found dead
in separate events last summer. It is
clearly a hockey movie but what most people don’t now is that it was loosely
based on the life of a real life Minor League Hockey enforcer Doug Smith and
his book, Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League
Hockey. For people who just saw the TV spots, they
didn’t see what the real story was and that’s a shame. This movie is more than
just about the hockey violence. If anything, the game action is used to show to
what extent Glatt would go to protect his teammates.
Written by Jay
Baruchel (who plays Doug’s foul mouthed best friend Pat), this movie is about a
regular American guy named Doug Glatt (Played by Sean William Scott). He is a
lovable dimwitted security guard/hockey fan with fists of steel, who gets into
a fight at game and is asked to play on the local low level, semi-pro team. He
can’t skate worth a lick but just through his presence alone he is able to help
the team start to turn things around.
The coach works
with him tirelessly to the point where he can at least somewhat stand out on
the ice. As he improves, so does the team (with the new found pride they feel
and security having someone watching their back). The coach is so impressed with the confidence
instilled by Glatt’s presence, he suggests to his brother that he give Doug a
shot with his Pro team in Canada. So off goes Doug to go play in Halifax on a
team in desperate need of some protection.
Canadian Jay Baruchel wrote the script and Sean did
a good job in his portrayal of Doug Glatt
Their best player, Xavier Laflamme (played by
Marc-Andre Grondin) had been concussed by the most prominent enforcer in the
league the year before (Ross Rhea played to the tee by Live Schreiber) and had
never been the same since. Glatt is brought in essentially to play the “Dave
Semenko” role to Laflamme’s Gretzky. Glatt finds time to fall for Eva (played
by Allison Pill). Doug’s lack of skill is overshadowed by his kindness and
heart as he is welcomed by all on the team except for Laflamme who resents him
for almost everything he stands for. Liev Schrieber’s character is another
central figure in the movie as he is close to retiring and the movie plays up
the potential of “Boss” Rhea passing the baton (as it were) to Doug.
Laflamme, on the right, slowly starts to see what a guy
like Glatt can do for him and his career
The 2 men even have
a heart to heart conversation after Doug is suspended which gives you an idea
of the way hockey players actually have a sense of camaraderie even among
players that are billed to be enemies. This movie really gives you a sense of
why hockey players are different from other athletes. They are willing to
sacrifice a whole hell of a lot more than any other athlete and regularly put
their lives on the line to “play a game”.
In the climatic fight sequence, Rhea and Glatt have at it and the
baton is officially passed on to Doug
The movie itself
only made about $6 million in theaters but like many small budget movies, the
point of this movie wasn’t to make money but to tell a story about what it is
like for minor league enforcers coming up through the system. The side stories
of how his parents disapprove and his love interest being a total puck bunny
are not really well explained but they are still enough that it gives us a
slight amount of insight into just how playing this role can be both a help and
a hindrance to the daily life of a professional enforcer.
Out of 5, I would
give this movie a 3+. It’s not an Oscar-worthy picture by any stretch but it is
worth a look see for both heart-felt and comedic scenes alike.
Even George Laraque, long time NHL Enforcer
had a cameo in the movie
Hope that I was
able to help you pick out a decent movie to watch at home this weekend. Next
up, I will review Argo in the coming days. Here’s a hint- Ben Affleck should
win an Oscar for this one.
Until Next Time…
