Warrior

Oooh and Aaahs rang out across the theater during almost every fight seen. The audience cheered and applauded during all the high points of the movie, and had I turned around I'm sure there would have been some grown men fighting to hold back the tears. The movie hits on all the right points and is an impressive piece of work.

The first thing you need to do as soon as you walk into the theater is suspend possibility over some of the events that take place. Suspend the fact that two nobodies could just walk into a 16-man tournament with a grand prize of 5 million dollars. While one brother enters as an internet sensation which doesn't usually work out, the other is a late minute addition because a trainer put in a good word. Once you ignore that people can just enter hugely marketed tournaments rather than finding other more proven fighters you'll be able to enjoy the movie a little more.

The movie opens on Tommy played by Tom Hardy showing up at his father's door after a 14 year absence. His brother Brendan played by Joel Edgerton lives by Philadelphia and is now a teacher raising a family with his high school sweetheart. All three men have not said a word to each other for years, in a backstory that slowly reveals itself during the course of the movie. They do not force the details to come out but rather they reveal themselves naturally, which is a credit to the writing staff. Some information though must be inferred as a family, with what one can assume is a dark past, would probably not vocalize their problems in a casual confrontation. It adds to a realism behind the family dynamic and allows the mind to wander on just what this father, played by Nick Nolte, did to his family that led to all this. Also leading to the realism is the striking similarities between Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, I'd be lying if I said I didn't confuse the two actors during the first half of the story, they really do look like brothers.

The first half of the movie is full of family dynamic minced in with a sliver of MMA fighting, just enough to keep your interest until the second half which is full of MMA fighting mixed in with the loose ends of the story. The choreography and camera work reels you into the cage. Despite knowing how the movie ends up, having seen movies like this before and the trailers that actually tell you, you find yourself bobbing and weaving gripped to the edge of your seat for the outcome of the fight. That is not to say the fighting was the only good part of the movie, quite the contrary the story is gripping and filled with dark realism that will attract the audience to the story and force them to care about the outcome.

Gavin O'Connor not only directs the film but is also the movie's producer and writer. With a lot at stake he does not disappoint. His past work in Miracle and to a lesser extent Pride and Glory no doubt helped him craft his story properly with a mixture of sports and family ties that are motifs in his other movies as well. He spends a lot of his time and effort around his characters giving equal time and sympathy to each brother. From the director's chair he is able to get the most out of all of his male leads and his supporting cast.

Hardy is a beast in the movie and looks like he is always ready to pounce or go postal on anyone who would dare enter a ring with him. His persona reminds me of Goldberg for all my wrestling fans out there. He is impossible not to like inside the ring, outside he keeps everything bottled up and it impressed me that Hardy could capture the persona of man like this. He churns out a nuanced performance filled with gaffes and ticks that may look out of place, but that is an accurate portrayal of a man afraid to reveal himself. While Hardy is a dark and brooding figure, he plays the perfect counterbalance to Edgerton's family focused Brendan. Brendan is more methodical and thoughtful character, and it is easier to understand his wants and needs. While you'll root for Tommy because he is a bad ass, you'll want to support Brendan because he's a good guy and deserves something to go his way. Past his prime, the physics teacher relies on skill and technique while Hardy is all power and fury. It is a credit to O'Connor and the male leads that they are able to capture the two men's personality and personify them in their fighting styles. Both characters are well developed and provide powerful performances that help to create an emotional connection.

Nolte's character is desperately seeking the forgiveness from his two sons for his past sins. Nolte is fantastic as a recovering alcoholic looking for a second chance, a perfect casting choice he no doubt is able to pull demons from his own past to inspire a man so desperate for redemption but unable to find it. Providing some level headedness to the family cohesion is Brendan's trainer played by Frank Gillo and Brendan's wife played by the beautiful Jenifer Morrison. While not nearly as flashy it shows where his support and levelheadedness comes from along with putting a face to what he fights for.

It is not just the story that keeps you interested in all the fights; it is the fights themselves as well. They are brilliantly choreographed and cut. The camera angles dart all over the place; this is really a credit to the editors who put the shots together. The shots are used perfectly to capture the emotion of the fight with plenty of close ups to feel like you are inside the cage. The stakes seemed raised and the emotional toll is high.

The hard work and consideration are impressive during both halves of the movie. The dreary scenes in Philadelphia compel you to care about the stakes laid out for the second half. The story and emotion of the fighter shines through the ring with every part of them on the line. It may or may not be an artistic tour de force but it is impossible not to care about these characters and that is something that has not been seen in the theaters for some time. A-

The Help

Based in the racially charged Deep South during the sixties The Help takes a look at the perspective of the hired help and what they were forced to grin and take during Jim Crow. The heart of the story is in the right place. Everything else seems to be scattered from the emotion to the narrator. This fluctuation may work for a book but in the movie the story seems to be all over the place.

The story itself is very convincing and connects itself to the audience. There didn't seem to be any over dramatization for the sake of getting a reaction. Although it seemed there was plenty of room for just such an action as one can't help but feel nervous for the main characters as they attempt to do what they feel to be the right thing. Instead the story is told true to what life could have been during this tumultuous time. The story seemed so natural that I believed it to be a true story.

The Help follows the action of two women attempting to share the story of their town with the rest of the country. Emma Stone plays Skeeter a fledgling writer living in a well to do Mississippi town. She is looking to make the move from small town journalist to novelist and to do that she needs to find a subject to speak to that people around her seem to be missing out on. After noticing the way her friends and family treat the hired help, she believes she has found her subject. No one is willing to talk to Skeeter about what really goes on in these white homes fearing the repercussions until she finally convinces Ailbileen Clark played by Viola Davis to speak about her life. While the story is about the black workers and the voiceovers are done by Viola Davis, Emma Stone’s character seems to be the one pushing the plot along. Only Hollywood could take a movie about the plight of Black workers in Jackson, Mississippi during the sixties and have it star a white woman.

The book features three different perspectives both the point of view of Skeeter and Ailbileen along with Ailbileen's friend Minny. In the movie Minny, played by Octavia Spencer takes a back seat and provides more comic relief than perspective. The movie is at its best when the focus of the movie turns to Davis and Spencer. As you can expect Davis, a Tony and Oscar nominated actress, brings in a powerful performance. All her emotions dazzle through the eyes of this performer and it is her character that can raise you up or bring you down. Spencer does not convey her fears as well as Davis, and while she obviously fears for her livelihood at time she does much better with sass.

Their white counterparts do a fine job. It is easy to see why Emma Stone is in so many movies, she is charismatic, talented, and cute. She does a great job in the movie but is probably given too much to do, including a romance that has no bearing on the story, and in fact takes away from the idea that this movie is about strong independent women. Her romance is the only male prominently featured in the movie; all others are pushed out of the scene or are only there at the whims of their wives to showcase the women of the time. No better example than queen bee and president of the Junior League Hilly Holbrook, played by Opie's daughter Bryce Dallas Howard. Hilly holds the most power in her group of women and has ostracized those who would get in her way. Howard really gets herself into the character, pushing those around her to maintain the status quo of the town all while wearing a perfect smile. Howard does a great job bringing to life a deplorable character.

With such strong talent in front of the camera most of its waywardness can be attributed to the relatively new director Tate Taylor. Taylor is a close friend of the novel's author Kathryn Stockett and may have been convinced to keep too much of the story. While not necessarily a bad thing to stay so true to a beloved book, there is no need to keep everything, and someone with such little experience or sway may not know how to correctly pace a movie.

The movie itself though is fine, it doesn't get bogged down or overzealous, though it is often fairly overt on what the characters are thinking and how you should feel. The movie concerns itself with making sure fans of the book can cherish the story and share it with those who have yet to read it, and in that respect the movie accomplishes its goals. If you allow yourself to be taken into their world you will surely feel better for it. C

Cowboy and Aliens

Walking into this movie you know what you are going to be getting, and if you don't it may be time to stop reading this blog. Jon Favreau promised his audience both cowboys and aliens and by god that is what you get, just not much else.

Favreau could have taken this movie in a couple different directions, he chose to take the mixing of two genres that have been lampooned in more recent history and decided to make it a serious action movie. Then there was the decision of which genre to focus on, and as the title denotes he gives the Western top billing over Sci-Fi and follows the traditional Western format. We get almost all the archetypes of the Western from the mysterious stranger who rolls into town to face offs against thieves and injuns. The only difference being the alien abductions, but even these aliens are using lassos and looking for gold.

Favreau has experience working with comic books and knows what he needs to tell a good story. I never read the comics but in Cowboys and Aliens he provides very little depth to the story and focuses on hitting all the right beats. Much like Westerns of the past there is very little downtime for our characters, as soon as one problem is faced the next obstacle presents itself in the very next shot. It felt almost overwhelming trying to squeeze everything in. And while there were plenty of beautiful landscapes to film as they rode across the Arizona territory we learn very little about our characters as there is no time to explain let alone time for exposition of Harrison Ford's character.

There are a lot of cooks in this kitchen with big names like Spielberg, Grazer and Howard just three of the 16 producers on staff and a story written by eight different people. Yet they still follow the same formula of Western story telling. The aliens more or less just seem to be a replacement for Indians just harder to kill and cooler looking. The genre rules don't really seem to meld together until the aliens start appearing more often on screen.

Our movie opens on Daniel Craig, our mysterious outsider, we know little about him and he probably knows less about himself. From the outset we learn he has little to say and can handle himself in a fight as you would expect from any cowboy sporting a white shirt. I couldn't decide if Daniel Craig wasn't talking because he was going for a Steve McQueen cool of letting his actions do the talking or if he felt he didn't readily master the Western accent. Whatever the reason, it adds to the mysterious persona of our hero who does a fine job displaying gritty toughness.

Second billing goes to Harrison Ford who has been trying out the tough guy with the heart of gold act for a little while. Here he plays the hardened army officer turned cattle herder who seems to control the town with an iron fist as he is the only source of income. He is fine in a fairly underdeveloped role always with a little scowl on his face; I saw this character in his last few movies and am still left feeling he could be doing more. He never shows his charisma till the end of the movie playing this type of character and you can't help but feel you are missing out.

Our other actors do their job just find, and are in fact quite good performing their one note. The actors of note are Olivia Wilde who seems to be the babe of choice in movies coming out and Clancy Brown who does a great job in a small role as the preacher. Less impressive is the child actor and Adam Beach reprising his only role as Indian guide, but I suppose it’s not a bad job to have being Hollywood's go to Native American. Sam Rockwell does fine, but unfortunately doesn't have a whole lot to do with other bigger names above him on the marquee.

The premise had all the potential in the world with a cool idea and a lot of great talent behind the project. With such a blunt title and coming from a graphic novel you expect something cool and fun to watch. Instead the creative team took a hard-line on the rules and execution. Everyone took themselves far too seriously and it showed, mostly on our lead actors’ faces. C+