My trip to Thailand included a number of long flights. Luckily, I was able to take in some airline-provided cinema to pass some of the time. Over the course of all my flights, I watched three films. Its a bit late, and in short form, but here you have it:
Warrior
So let me start by saying that I hate Mixed Martial Arts (more commonly known as MMA). It may be small-minded, but I find it eventually ends up being two guys trying to sit on one-another, and I don't have the attention span for that. So, with that in mind, I didn't think that I would like "Warrior", a story of two estranged brothers who both enter the same MMA tournament. Boy, was I wrong.
Luckily, the fighting really just acts as the background for the story, which is so much more. The brothers in question are played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Some of you may have heard of Hardy before. He had a role in "Black Hawk Down" and more recently in "Inception", and I look forward to seeing him in the upcoming Batman film. Edgerton is probably an unfamiliar name, but keep a look-out for him in the future. I have actually seen him before, in a fantastic movie reviewed on this space, an Australian flick called "Animal Kingdom". He was in the film for all of 14 minutes, but he still ended up with an award from the Australian equivalent of the Academy Awards. Anyway, the guys a good actor, and "Warrior" looks to be his first big stint in Hollywood. Their father, an alcoholic, Vietnam vet, ex-boxer, is played by Nick Nolte. Now, Nolte may have had some issues off screen, but don't make any mistakes, the guy is a genius on the screen. I have always rated him highly, but he was brilliant in "Warrior", his performance one of my favorite parts. There is one scene in particular that nearly brought me, someone who barely knows what crying is, to tears (that would have been awkward on the flight). I expect to see him walk the stage at this year's Oscars.
So, anyway, the movie itself. The story-line is pretty unique, but its not without its cliches (if that makes any sense....I think some cliches are unavoidable in sports flicks). You could pretty much see the ending coming, but the story did enough to maintain my interest, but it was certainly buoyed by the acting: very good performances all around, and we already know the deal with Nolte. I enjoyed the soundtrack as well, the music picked for the ending scene couldn't have been better placed.
I won't delve into the plot, I will let you see it for yourself, but see Warrior for the acting performances and definitely to see Nick Nolte at his best.
Verdict: See it. Grade: A-
If you liked this movie you might also like: Oh shit, I don't know, Rocky? Actually, I take that back.....this is MUCH better than Rocky.
Moneyball
I caught "Moneyball" on the flight from Bangkok to Tokyo. I guess sports films was the theme of this trip. I had wanted to see this film, based on the non-fiction book of the same name, when it hit theaters, but never had the chance. I had been hearing good things about it, and even as someone who doesn't warm up to sports films, looked forward to catching this one.
Well, I won't make a big deal of this one, "Moneyball" is a fantastic movie. I think Brad Pitt is an underrated actor, and he showed it here. He was a pleasure to watch as Billy Beane, the General Manager of an Oakland Athletics team that has to operate on a shoestring budget. I was happy to see him on the list of nominees for Best Actor at this year's Oscar's its a fully deserved place. Solid performances all around, one of my favorite actors, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (PSH), comes in as Art Howe, the team's manager, and he never puts a foot wrong in my mind. Even Jonah Hill, who plays as Beane's assistant, puts in a good shift. He looks too goofy to be in a string of serious films, comedies look more his style, but I liked him here.
The story behind "Moneyball" is a true one, chronicled in the aforementioned book. I was captivated by it. The actual baseball portion of the story is negligible, so I am not sure I would even count it as a true sports movie. This is more a story of economics, ingenuity, adaptability, and struggling to survive it what is really the cutthroat world of Major League Baseball. I am not a massive baseball fan, football (soccer for the yanks) is the only sport I can watch, but what I found really interesting about this film is the window it offers onto all the things that go on off the diamond, which made for real good viewing, at least for me. The director, Bennett Miller, did "Capote" (also with PSH), and the writer for the script was Steve Zallian, who has, you know, just done some minor films like "Schindler's List", "The Interpreter", and "American Gangster". No surprise that these two put together a real brilliant piece of film-making.
Verdict: See it. Grade: A
If you liked this movie you might also like: It would be cliche to suggest a baseball film like "Field of Dreams". This is much more than that. If you want more of Bennett Miller, see "Capote", another classy film.
Horrible Bosses
On the flight from Tokyo to Newark, I was looking for a laugh. I nearly cried. The only thing horrible about this film is its quality. Kevin Spacey? What the fuck are you doing man? Get back to doing actual movies, not this...this wasn't a movie, it was trash that I should have given to the stewardesses when the came around with the garbage bag. I am not going to waste any time or space on this one.
Verdict: Are you serious? Grade: F
If you liked this film you might also like: Honestly, if you derived any pleasure from "Horrible Bosses", you should quit life.
Warrior
So let me start by saying that I hate Mixed Martial Arts (more commonly known as MMA). It may be small-minded, but I find it eventually ends up being two guys trying to sit on one-another, and I don't have the attention span for that. So, with that in mind, I didn't think that I would like "Warrior", a story of two estranged brothers who both enter the same MMA tournament. Boy, was I wrong.
Luckily, the fighting really just acts as the background for the story, which is so much more. The brothers in question are played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Some of you may have heard of Hardy before. He had a role in "Black Hawk Down" and more recently in "Inception", and I look forward to seeing him in the upcoming Batman film. Edgerton is probably an unfamiliar name, but keep a look-out for him in the future. I have actually seen him before, in a fantastic movie reviewed on this space, an Australian flick called "Animal Kingdom". He was in the film for all of 14 minutes, but he still ended up with an award from the Australian equivalent of the Academy Awards. Anyway, the guys a good actor, and "Warrior" looks to be his first big stint in Hollywood. Their father, an alcoholic, Vietnam vet, ex-boxer, is played by Nick Nolte. Now, Nolte may have had some issues off screen, but don't make any mistakes, the guy is a genius on the screen. I have always rated him highly, but he was brilliant in "Warrior", his performance one of my favorite parts. There is one scene in particular that nearly brought me, someone who barely knows what crying is, to tears (that would have been awkward on the flight). I expect to see him walk the stage at this year's Oscars.
So, anyway, the movie itself. The story-line is pretty unique, but its not without its cliches (if that makes any sense....I think some cliches are unavoidable in sports flicks). You could pretty much see the ending coming, but the story did enough to maintain my interest, but it was certainly buoyed by the acting: very good performances all around, and we already know the deal with Nolte. I enjoyed the soundtrack as well, the music picked for the ending scene couldn't have been better placed.
I won't delve into the plot, I will let you see it for yourself, but see Warrior for the acting performances and definitely to see Nick Nolte at his best.
Verdict: See it. Grade: A-
If you liked this movie you might also like: Oh shit, I don't know, Rocky? Actually, I take that back.....this is MUCH better than Rocky.
Moneyball
I caught "Moneyball" on the flight from Bangkok to Tokyo. I guess sports films was the theme of this trip. I had wanted to see this film, based on the non-fiction book of the same name, when it hit theaters, but never had the chance. I had been hearing good things about it, and even as someone who doesn't warm up to sports films, looked forward to catching this one.
Well, I won't make a big deal of this one, "Moneyball" is a fantastic movie. I think Brad Pitt is an underrated actor, and he showed it here. He was a pleasure to watch as Billy Beane, the General Manager of an Oakland Athletics team that has to operate on a shoestring budget. I was happy to see him on the list of nominees for Best Actor at this year's Oscar's its a fully deserved place. Solid performances all around, one of my favorite actors, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (PSH), comes in as Art Howe, the team's manager, and he never puts a foot wrong in my mind. Even Jonah Hill, who plays as Beane's assistant, puts in a good shift. He looks too goofy to be in a string of serious films, comedies look more his style, but I liked him here.
The story behind "Moneyball" is a true one, chronicled in the aforementioned book. I was captivated by it. The actual baseball portion of the story is negligible, so I am not sure I would even count it as a true sports movie. This is more a story of economics, ingenuity, adaptability, and struggling to survive it what is really the cutthroat world of Major League Baseball. I am not a massive baseball fan, football (soccer for the yanks) is the only sport I can watch, but what I found really interesting about this film is the window it offers onto all the things that go on off the diamond, which made for real good viewing, at least for me. The director, Bennett Miller, did "Capote" (also with PSH), and the writer for the script was Steve Zallian, who has, you know, just done some minor films like "Schindler's List", "The Interpreter", and "American Gangster". No surprise that these two put together a real brilliant piece of film-making.
Verdict: See it. Grade: A
If you liked this movie you might also like: It would be cliche to suggest a baseball film like "Field of Dreams". This is much more than that. If you want more of Bennett Miller, see "Capote", another classy film.
Horrible Bosses
On the flight from Tokyo to Newark, I was looking for a laugh. I nearly cried. The only thing horrible about this film is its quality. Kevin Spacey? What the fuck are you doing man? Get back to doing actual movies, not this...this wasn't a movie, it was trash that I should have given to the stewardesses when the came around with the garbage bag. I am not going to waste any time or space on this one.
Verdict: Are you serious? Grade: F
If you liked this film you might also like: Honestly, if you derived any pleasure from "Horrible Bosses", you should quit life.
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