Besides films that are based on Football, the other kinds of sports films that I have always loved are boxing movies like the Rocky franchise, Raging Bull, and so many more. That is why for today’s film, I chose to cover the 2007 film Resurrecting The Champ which stars Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight) and Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Slevin). All Erik Kernan Jr. (Hartnett) has ever wanted to be is a great reporter like his father. The only problem for him is that everything seems to be going in the opposite direction in his life as he’s a beat reporter and his marriage is falling apart. After his editor (Alan Alda) turns down an opportunity, he meets a homeless man that everyone calls Champ. The man claims to be boxing legend Bob Satterfield even though people claim he’s dead. So, he does a piece on the champ that gives him critical acclaim and backlash. The film also stars Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) as Joyce Kernan, Rachel Nichols (Star Trek) as Polly, Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) as Andrea Flak, Kristen Shaw (The Last Castle) as Perlmutter, Nick Sandow (Orange Is The New Black) as Marciano, David Paymer (Quiz Show) as Whitley, Dakota Goyo (Thor) as Teddy Kernan, and the film was directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender).
Spoiler Alert: There are going to be details about the movie that could spoil things for you so proceed with caution or do no read any further. I didn’t realize when I chose to watch the film on TV that it was based on a true story. There was such a boxer named Bob Satterfield, but the real name of the homeless man known as champ changed in this film and he also didn’t die (I don’t think anyways, read this article). The film was very interesting to watch because Josh Hartnett’s character really believes that he’s getting his shot, but in reality is about to be made to look like a fool. The moral of the story for future journalists is to do your research before you release an article because retractions can be the death of your career like a boxer with a glass chin. The film contained an awesome performance from Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett’s is right up there with his. Dramas are very dependent on having plenty of dramatic moments within them and this film had plenty of moments that they focused on. It went back and forth with Josh Hartnett whether it was dealing with failing marriage, having his sons approval, and the drama with the newspaper. It’s a very different kind of boxing movie than what we are used to because it’s more of a human piece than a piece about the sport. I enjoyed watching the film and that is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
I am trying to explore more and more titles from the past to watch that I have never seen that maybe had some critical acclaim. That is why I chose to watch today’s film Sling Blade which was written, directed, and stars Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa). Karl Childers is a mentally challenged individual who has spent most of his life inside of a metal institution because of the fact that he killed his mother and her lover when he was 12. When he is finally released because he was deemed well by the state, he is released into the real world where he befriends a child named Frank (Lucas Black) who lost his father. Watch as Karl tries to adjust to real world and all the challenges that it brings his way. The film also stars John Ritter (Bride Of Chucky) as Vaughn Cunningham, Robert Duvall (The Godfather) as Karl’s Dad, Dwight Yoakam (Panic Room) as Doyle Hargraves, J.T. Walsh (A Few Good Men) as Charles Bushman, Natalie Canerday (Walk The Line) as Linda Wheatley, James Hampton (The China Syndrome) as Jerry Woolridge, Brent Briscoe (The Dark Knight Rises) as Scooter, Christine Renee Ward (Tree) as Melinda, and Rick Dial (Crazy Heart) as Bill Cox.
This is a very interesting film and an amazing performance from Billy Bob Thornton who subsequently won an Oscar fro Best Screenplay, but did not win the Best Actor award. It was crazy to see a young Lucas Black in the film, but he deserves a nod for doing a great job playing alongside Thornton. One of the the things I liked right off the bat from the film was when a couple of girls were going in to the hospital to interview Karl. They’re talking about how he’s a murderer and there’s J.T. Walsh talking about murdering a girl to Billy Bob Thornton tricking you into thinking that J.T. is the murderer the girls are talking about. There’s no action in the film, but there is plenty of drama and great acting. John Ritter does an amazing job playing a gay man in Arkansas who battles the fact that he isn’t socially accepted. Instead of being scared of Billy Bob Thornton’s character Karl, everyone seems to open up to him instead of Dwight Yoakam’s character who is the antagonist of the film. He’s the guy that represents everything that was wrong about Karl’s childhood and what set him off then. The ending is kind of shocking, but you understand why it happened and you kind of commend him for doing it. In a way he was saving the boy from a life of agony because it was right in his mind. I absolutely loved the film and I recommend watching it. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
There are officially 93 days until Halloween is here and 63 days until we begin the latest edition of Eddie’s 31 Days of Halloween. So, I basically couldn’t wait to review another horror film so I chose to watch The Uninvited for today. Anna Ivers (Emily Browning) has been in a mental institute for quite some time after the tragic death of her mother. She is finally ready to return home to her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) and her father (David Strathairn), but when she gets home, things are a little off. Her father is now in a relationship with her mother’s former nurse Rachel (Elizabeth Banks) and she is being visited by her mother who seems to be warning her about something. So, Anna begins to suspect that there is something that Rachel isn’t telling her dad so she starts to investigate. The film also stars Maya Massar (The Cabin In The Woods) as Mom, Kevin McNulty (Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer) as Sheriff Emery, Jesse Moss (Tucker and Dale Vs Evil) as Matt, Dean Paul Gibson (Hector and the Search For Happiness) as Dr. Silberling, Heather Doerksen (The Cabin In The Woods) as Mildred, and the film was directed by The Guard Brothers.
Spoiler Alert: I am just taking the time to warn you that this paragraph may contain some spoilers so continue if you dare. At first the film is like any other typical teen horror film with some ghosts in it who haunt our main star, but for me it’s the end of the film that has my talking. There is a very cool twist at the end that I honestly did not see coming and I lied how they did that to me because I probably should have seen it coming. The whole film they are suspecting that Rachel isn’t who she says she is so they dig deeper thinking that she is some black widow type person, but the end of the film just says screw you, it’s not what you think. Elizabeth Banks does such an amazing job in the film making you believe that she is some psycho that wants complete and utter control until you find out the truth. The only thing I’ll say about the end of the film is that it has a fight club kind of ending if you catch my drift. If not, just watch it for yourself and you’ll see. David Strathairn seems ti be in a lot of films that I have reviewed lately, but that’s because he is amazing and versatile. The scenes with the visions and the ghosts can be kind of spooky at times, but not really. It’s not the best horror film I have ever seen, but it’s a decent one to check out at leas once. So, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
There are a couple of things in life that I enjoy more than anything in my movies and that is true stories and football. When you combine the both of them, then I just have to see it an that is why I chose My All American for today’s film. Freddy Steinmark (Finn Wittrock) wasn’t born with the gift of size as a football player, but that never stopped him from trying. In fact, Freddie is one of the hardest working athletes in the world and he uses that to fight for his spot on the roster of the Texas Longhorns in 1969. Although that is about to change after leading his team to the championship game, Freddie is faced with his toughest challenge yet off the field. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as Darren Royal, Sarah Bolger (The Lazarus Effect) as Linda Wheeler, Rett Terrell (Vampires Suck) as Bobby Mitchell, Juston Street (Everybody Wants Some!!) as James Street, Michael Reilly Burke (Mars Attacks) as Fred Steinmark, Robin Tunney (Empire Records) as Gloria Steinmark, Donny Boaz (The Great Debaters) as Bill Bradley, Brent Anderson (American Crime) as Coach Campbell, and the film was directed by Angelo Pizzo (Rudy).
I am going to be completely honest in saying that before I watched this movie, I did not know that it was directed by the guy who wrote Rudy and Hoosiers. You can definitely see the similarities between the films as far as the writing was concerned and you can also see some similarities in the style of the film too. I get why they covered his high school years because it helps build his character, but I’m wondering if that hindered the film at all because how many people really knew about Freddie Steinberg other than Longhorns fans or people old enough to remember him play. I just think they could have covered more of his college years but this was fine by me. I want to talk about his character because I’m not doubting at all that Freddie was a great guy who was one of the hardest working guys, but he just seems a little too perfect if you catch my drift. It was almost like he never did anything wrong, but that could be true for all I know. One thing that I wish that they had covered what what happened to his girlfriend Linda because they don’t talk about her at all during the title cards at the end. I know that she wasn’t the focus of the film, but she seemed to be an important part of his life. All that we know about her is that she was a consultant for the film and that her daughter Mackenzie Meehan played a nurse in the film. I thought that was a pretty cool tidbit. If you are a fan of Rudy, then you may like this film because they are similar in style and story. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
One day I was at my local Redbox facility and I saw a title of a film that caught my attention to the point that I just had to rent the film. The name of the film is called No Men Beyond This Point and it’s a mockumentary. Think about this scenario for a second and you’ll understand what the film is about. What if we lived in a world where women no longer needed men to be able to reproduce recreating the Virgin Mary effect. In effect because women are able to do this, the male race faces the possibility of extinction. That is exactly the dilemma that the world’s youngest male Andrew (Patrick Gilmore) who is 37 years old faces as he is the last of his kind to have been born. The film follows his struggle every day as his gender faces the idea of extinction. The film also stars Kristine Cofsky (When Life Was Good) as Iris, Tara Pratt (The Red Rooster) as Terra, Morgan Taylor Campbell (Pretty Little Addict) as Dahlia Granger, Rekha Sharma (Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem) as Ajala Bhatt, Enid-Raye Adams (Final Destination 2) as WGC Spokeswoman, Ken Kramer (Littleman) as Gordon Trescott, and the film was directed by Mark Sawers (Camera Shy).
To say the least, the film is a very in depth look into a world that I do not want to live in because sex is not allowed since women can reproduce on their own and men are kept in what they call sanctuaries. The film does offer some interesting insight though because if women ruled the planet, would there be need for armies? Imagine if someone was in a coma for a long time and when they woke up, you sowed them this film, they would star questioning everything. The film does a very good job with setting up various organizations like the WGC,etc. They do an amazing job offering you insight as to why men are disappearing due to the fact that Y chromosome can no longer penetrate the egg. Yeah, as you can see there was a lot that went into this film and it’s very cool. Some may take this film as feminist propaganda, but let’s remember that it was written by a man. Not that it means anything, but I don’t think it was feminist propaganda. I’m so juvenile, but one of my favorite parts in the film was a simple sign towards the end that read “Give Dicks A Chance”. I also loved how the leader of the MLO (it stands for Men’s Liberation something) sounds like a typical guy throughout the film, but at the end he doesn’t seem that crazy anymore. This was a very well written, cleverly funny film that is worth checking out in my opinion. That is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
There are some subjects in life that are very serious subjects and you never know the impact that they have on people because we are all wired differently. One of those subjects that is tough to deal with is the topic of divorce which is very commonplace today. Today’s film A.C.O.D. (Adult Children Of Divorce) deals with the subject matter, but in a different way. Carter (Adam Scott) has been dealing with life in his very own way. Carter is a child of a very ugly divorce who has constantly been in the middle. Fats forward and he is an adult who hears that his brother Trey (Clark Duke) is getting married and he wants his parents to attend even though they hate each other. Carter has to figure out how to get them together in one room, but when he does and he finds out that they’ve hooked back up as a result, his life begins to spin out of control. The film also stars Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) as Hugh, Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone) as Melissa, Amy Poehler (Sisters) as Sondra, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) as Lauren, Ken Howard (The Judge) as Gary, Valerie Tian (Juno) as Kieko, Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four) as Michelle, Jane Lynch (40 Year Old Virgin) as Dr. Judith, and the film was directed by Stu Zicherman (The Americans).
To say the least, this was a very interesting and entertaining film to watch for today. I had actually been putting this one off for a while now and due to some unforeseen circumstances decided to finally see it. I have been becoming a huge fan of Adam Scott, I can definitely appreciate his style of acting and what he brings to the table. It was cool to see him work with some of his familiar co-stars like Richard Jenkins (on Step Brothers) and Clark Duke (on Hot Tub Time Machine 2) because you can see that they possess a chemistry that is established. Jane Lynch is absolutely amazing in the film and very important to the plot. You see Carter discovers that all the years of therapy he thought he was getting was just research for a book that Lynch’s character writes. She then explains to him that she is writing a sequel to the book and that she has called it A.C.O.D. (Adult Children Of Divorce). It’s because of that and the fact that his parents have hooked up again that has thrown his life into chaos. There was just too much to write to put it above so now you have the rest of it. The film is listed as a comedy, but I call it a smart persons comedy cause it’s not a stupid comedy. That is why I enjoyed the film and loved seeing Jessica Alba (loved her look in the film) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade. It’s available on Netflix right now.
When you have started watching a series like Jurassic Park, you might as well go all the way down the line and finish exactly what you started. That is why I chose to finish the series by watching Jurassic Park III for today’s film. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is over the events that transpired during the first Jurassic Park film and is continuing to do what he loves to do which is study the dinosaurs. After a couples child goes missing on the second island (from The Lost World Film), they trick Dr. Grant and his assistant Billy (Alessandro Nivola) into going there. The only problem with all of this is the couple were not aware that Dr. Grant never was on this island and so they are put into a situation that he is all too familiar with. The film also stars William H. Macy (Fargo) as Paul Kirby, Téa Leoni (Fun With Dick And Jane) as Amanda Kirby, Trevor Morgan (The Sixth Sense) as Eric Kirby, Michael Jeter (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas) as Udesky, John Diehl (A Time To Kill) as Cooper, Bruce A. Young (Basic Instinct) as Nash, Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) as Ellie, and the film was directed by Joe Johnston (Jumanji).
On the scale of what is the best film of the series, I would have to say that this isn’t one of them, but that doesn’t mean that I thought the film was bad. It’s actually not that bad of a movie, but it’s not the best in the whole series. In fact, if I were to rank this one with the other three in the series (that includes Jurassic World), this one would be last. As soon as Jurassic World 2 is done filming in 2017 and in theaters, I will then rank them as part of my Top 5. One thing that bothered me about the movie was Téa Leoni, I don’t know why, but her character annoyed me a lot. I was hoping the whole time that she was going to be eaten by a raptor. I know what you’re thinking and I know it sounds evil, but she attracted a really scary dinosaur by the name of Spinosaurus that kills a T-Rex in the film. The other thing I hated about the film was the last Raptor sequence the film had. These Raptors have been relentless in the previous two films, but because of a helicopter sound, they run away with their eggs. That to me was just too dumb and not cool. After two films with cool raptor sequences, I expect a lot more in the third film. Besides the usual dinosaurs, we are treated to a cool Pterodactyl chance sequence that made the film worth watching after all. As I said before, it’s not the best film in the series, but if you are a completest like myself then check it out on Netflix right now. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
There are some stories in life that you hear about and you just can’t imagine that these stories could be true. That is how powerful these kinds of stories can be and they can be real game changers. That was certainly the case with today’s film Spotlight which highlights the child molestation scandal in the City of Boston. Spotlight was an investigative team that worked at the Boston Globe that took on stories that they felt the public needed to know about. In the year 2000 or 2001, a new man in charge at the Globe by the name of Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) came in and suggested a story to his Spotlight team that involved the catholic church covering up the child molestation cases in Boston. The film follows the team as they expose the truth as they became the voice of the voiceless. The film stars Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Walter Robinson, Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) as Mike Rezendes, Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) as Sacha Pfeiffer, John Slattery (Iron Man 2) as Ben Bradlee, Jr., Stanley Tucci (The Terminal) as Mitchell Garabedian, Billy Crudup (Watchmen) as Eric Macleish, Neal Huff (Big Daddy) as Phil Saviano, Jamey Sheridan (The Ice Station) as Jim Sullivan, and the film was directed by Tom McCarthy (The Cobbler).
If you’re expecting a film with a lot of action, then this isn’t the film for you because there’s a lot of investigative research involved in the film. The other side to it is that you see the struggle these guys went through to try and unlock the story. You see all of the red tape and you see all the people involved that just bury the story. You end up learning what they could do and what they had to do to try and get viable sources. The film is just absolutely shocking and you can see why the Catholic church took such a hit after this case was exposed by the Globe. One of the biggest elements of these types of films is the acting and the story. Those are the key essentials for these types of films to survive and be great. I am here to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the acting especially from Mark Ruffalo who after a while just stole the show. Rachel McAdams also did a phenomenal job in the film which leads to my next statement. I am not surprised that Rachel and Mark were nominated for Oscars because they were amazing. The story as you can tell from what I wrote was also amazing and it had to be. It’s a story driven film as I said before. If you love films that are based on true stories then you should check this one out. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
Haven’t you ever wondered if there was life in other planets or galaxies? What if I was to tell you that 1000 plus years into the future that Earth has mastered the art of deep space travel and that we have interacted with several different species. Your mind would be blown and that is the case for the film Titan A.E.. For Cale (Matt Damon) life is a little different because his father had been working on a project called Project Titan. When a certain alien race known as the Drej caught wind of this, they destroyed the planet Earth. Fast forward fifteen years into the future, Cale is working on a scavenger ship when he is told that he may hold the key to finding Project Titan which could potentially save the human race from the evil Drej. So, he takes on the mission which will prove to be far from easy. The film also stars Bill Pullman (Independence Day) as Captain Joseph Korso, Drew Barrymore (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) as Akima, John Leguizamo (Ice Age) as Gune, Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as Preed, Janeane Garofalo (Mystery Men) as Stith, Tone Loc (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) as Tek, Ron Pearlman (Hellboy) as Professor Sam Tucker, and the film was directed by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, and Art Vitello.
Spoiler Alert: Before you continue to read on, please be advised that this paragraph may contain spoilers. Proceed with caution. I love these kinds of animated films because it reminds me a lot of Heavy Metal and many others like it. While it could be predictable at times, Titan A.E. was actually a very fun film to watch with a very good story. That was my favorite part of the whole film was the fact that I loved the story. Imagine that the key to saving the human race is in a ring that some kid has been carrying for a while and had no idea his father put it on his finger. The only reason why I said that the film could be predictable at times was because you could tell right from the start that Cale and Akima were going to be a thing in the film. You knew that they were going to be double crossed at some point in the film and that happened twice. Like I said, that didn’t deter me from continuing on. The key to great acting in an animated film is making sure that they convey the proper emotions and you do it right. I would like to think that all of them did a great job throughout the film especially comedian Jim Breuer who plays a cook in the film (I didn’t know he did). I did love the enemy alien race who are made of energy. The one thing that kind of caught my attention about them was the fact that they are treated like they are the enemy, but I believe someone int he film mentioned something vital. They mentioned that they destroyed Earth because they were afraid that the humans were creating something dangerous. That doesn’t make what they did OK, but fear is the mind killer. If you’re a fan of science fiction based action adventure animated films, then I would definitely suggest checking this one out. I am going to give the film an A- for final grade.
Hollywood has always been looking for new and inventive ways to scare the living crap out of you and we the public always attend. We like getting scared so it should comes as no surprise that I chose to watch the new horror film Lights Out for today’s film. For a boy named Martin (Gabriel Bateman), things in his life are anything, but normal. You see Martin lost his dad to a strange death, his mother (Maria Bello) is taking to herself (or someone…), and anytime he turns the lights off, he sees a really scary woman who wants to kill him. He’s having a hard time finding anyone to believe him until his older half sister Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) sees the same things that he does. They then find out that this ghost may be connected to their mother so they’ll have to try anything to save her and themselves before it’s too late. The film also stars Alexander DiPersia (I Am Legend) as Bret, Billy Burke (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) as Paul, 
Spoiler Alert: I just wanted to take the time to issue a spoiler alert because some information may be discussed that could potentially spoil the film. So, read on if you dare or stop if you do not seek to know. I wanted to start this off by saying that I was very impressed with the film because they were honestly trying to scare the crap out of you the whole time. It was a really creepy and clever story that will surely make someone somewhere not want to turn off the lights. I love how in the story, Diana has a personal connection to them through their mother and that it has to do with her not being well. Diana is able to take over and manifest herself into the real world because someone is week and that is when she takes over. I loved the story of the film, but was it truly scary? I think I am so used to this films and so desensitized as this point in my life that nothing truly scares me, but the film is spooky. I just wanted to take the time now to say that Teresa Palmer looks super hot in this film as a metal chick. I am a huge fan of hers and what she can do on screen. There hasn’t been a film that I have seen with her that I haven’t been impressed with. Maria Bello was fantastic once again playing a mentally unstable sick woman like she did in Prisoners, Gabriel Bateman did a great job as the star of the film, and Alexander DiPersia provided us some comedic relief. One thing is for sure, when I saw James Wan’s name attached to this as a producer, I was like of course cause it felt like a James Wan film (if that makes any sense to you). Nevertheless, go check this out and I am going to give the film a grade somewhere between an B+/A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 