Starring: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie Director: Robert Rossen One of Paul Newman’s most loved films, The Hustler is about Fast Eddie, a pool shark who trawls the bars and pool halls to make a buck hustling games. When he falls in with a mentor who tries to teach him how to be a… Continue reading Classic Movie Of The Week: The Hustler (1961)
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Noami Watts, Elizabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Michael Rapaport Director: Philippe Falardeau Back in 1975 in New Jersey, a liquor salesman with a modest fighting career was pitted against the great Muhammed Ali. But he was a man with his own inner demons to fight... Sound familiar? It's the story of Chuck Wepner,… Continue reading Preview: The Bleeder (AKA Chuck) (2016)
Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley Director: Peter Yates Four teens have graduated from high school in Indiana, and are mooching around their university town, where everyone is either a student or associated with the university, or a cutter, that is, the working class offspring of quarry workers. Whilst none of… Continue reading Classic Movie Of The Week: Breaking Away (1979)
As you guys know, I sometimes write for We Make Movies On Weekends, which is a wonderful site for film lovers. This is my latest review for them.
“…the biggest lie I was ever told: It is not that simple. And it is a lie they tell you over and over again…All of it. It is how they get you to give up, they say “It’s not that simple”.”
It’s a line that Miles Teller as Vinny Pazienza, says towards the end of this film. It’s a beautiful sentiment, and he should know. Pazienza is a real person, a man whose boxing career was ostensibly ended when his neck was broken during a car accident. Whilst he was told that he would never walk again, Vinny refused to admit this possibility, and not only walked but went on to become a World Champion Boxer.
Boxing movies seem to me to fall into two camps, either the lovable underdogs like Rocky, who have to prove themselves, or the cautionary biographic like Raging Bull, where the real man is shown…
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Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci Director: Martin Scorsese The true story of Jake La Motta, a boxer whose personal life derailed his professional one. His life goes from contender to washed up has been. A truly violent figure, whose weight balloons and who isn't afraid to turn on anyone in a jealous… Continue reading 105 Must See Films: Raging Bull (1980)
Starring: William Gates, Arthur Agee Director: Steve James In this documentary, two young Chicago teens are followed as they chase their dreams to become professional college basketball players, showing their struggle, the drive from their families and their different attitudes to life. The pressure on the two kids is huge, and could change their and… Continue reading 105 Must Watch Films: Hoop Dreams (1994)
Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin Director: Peter Landesman Peter Landesman has not made a lot of films before, and here it shows. What could have been an important and heartbreaking film feels clunky and oddly paced. Smith plays Dr Omalu, a Nigerian pathologist who discovers through post-mortem examination that there are very serious side effects… Continue reading Concussion (2015)
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