Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts

18 May 2015

DVD Review - Foxcatcher

No comments:



Genre:
Drama, Sports |
Distributor:
Entertainment One |
DVD Release Date:
18th May 2015 (UK) |
Rating: 15 |
Director:
Bennett Miller |
Cast:
Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller
| Buy: [DVD]


I'm aware that it's just the timing of the new home media releases, but I've had a run of true story Oscar bait titles recently. The two I've previously reviewed, Unbroken and The Theory of Everything, both shared the problem of feeling like they were more interested in being Academy catered affairs than being stand alone proper takes on what actually happened. I've always found the approach to making Academy pandering prestige pics to be just as shallow and calculated as the way something like Transformers is tailor-made to appeal to young teenage boys. I explain this to qualify my trepidation in reviewing Foxcatcher, which even without the reviewing streak I've been on, seemed like it belonged with the other two in being a true story with tons of awards buzz about it. I'm happy to say I was wrong. Foxcatcher is easily my favourite of the three films and definitely deserved better, if only to recognise the great performances held within.

Foxcatcher is based on a real story of obsession and murder, directed by Bennett Miller. Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestling gold medal winner. He, along with his fellow gold medallist brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) are in training for the next big global competition. Mark is soon recruited by eccentric millionaire John Du Pont (Steve Carell) to have access to Du Pont's state-of-the-art gym and equipment in return for joining Du Pont's Team Foxcatcher. If you don't know the actual story, I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say this is one bleak film. It's a dark and twisted little story that leaves you with more questions than when you started. The film certainly holds up its end of the bargain by making itself just as vague as to the actual motives behind what eventually transpired, but it certainly offers up some compelling theories.

Channing Tatum is really impressive as Mark. His character is not one to verbally express how he's feeling, so Tatum cranks up the physical storytelling. For one, Mark has a bit of a Neanderthal thing about him, with a furrowed brow and a stuck out chin. It's even down to the way he walks, kind of round-shouldered, like a Silverback gorilla. It's an intense performance and Tatum does really well. With this and Magic Mike can we stop calling the guy a bad actor now? He definitely isn't. Steve Carell's performance beneath a ridiculous prosthetic nose is a great one. Carell's roles normally require massively broad strokes and lots of yelling, but Du Pont is like an alien wearing a human suit. Everything from the way he shuffles around to the way he unconvincingly gives motivational speeches is straight from the uncanny. The performance does go comedic occasionally and it adds great depth to the character. At one point, Du Pont tells Mark that now they're friends, Mark doesn't have to call him “sir” any more. He then goes on to tell Mark, straight-faced and unironically, that his friends call him “Eagle” or “Golden Eagle”. Written down it looks like a joke from Step Brothers, but in practice, it's clear that Du Pont's got himself a bad case of arrested development, stuck in childish ways because he never had a proper childhood to grow out of .Overall, it's a great performance by Carell, I just wish the prosthetics had been toned down slightly. He looks more like a character in a comedy sketch than the real guy. Mark Ruffalo gives an incredibly naturalistic performance as Schultz Snr. Both Tatum and Carell are quite theatrical in their roles whearas Ruffalo plays an everyman dad and plays it straight down the line. He's a foil to the bigger acting and it works perfectly.

I didn't really enjoy Foxcatcher, but that's the point. It was never going to be a pizza and beer Friday night Netflix choice. It's a cold and bleak film that intentionally doesn't offer any easy answers when it comes to explaining what went down and why. It kept me glued to my seat. I was really taken in by the main three and no matter how uncomfortable I felt as things built up, I knew I had to finish it. Highly recommended, but not for date night.

★★★★
Ben Browne

19 August 2010

Teaser Trailer For Live Action Version of Ashita No Joe

No comments:














source NIPPONCINEMA
When your going to bring a classic story as in classic Manga/Anime to the big screen its good to pick a classic sometime and Fumhiko Sori has done that with Tetsuya Chiba & Asao Takamori’s classic boxing manga Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow’s Joe).
With the poser of the internet I have been able to watch some of the classic anime's online as I am a massive fan of old school retro Japanese animation. Dont get me wrong I do love current anime but there just an essence piece of magic connected with classic animation that you just cant put words to but you know you love it.
The story focuses on the story of Joe Yabuki a troubled young man and he meets Dampei Tange who teaches Joe the art of boxing. During a stint in prison Joe meets a boxing prodigy Toru Rikiishi whom a respectful but fierce rivalary develops and their battles inspire other inmates to take up boxing resulting in various battles  of whom are all of different skill levels and weakness.
The movie stars Tomohisa Yamashita (joe), Teruyuki Kagawa (Dampei) and Yûsuke Iseya (Toru) with Toho releasing the movie in Japan and the movie set to be released in Japan in Febraury 2011.
Check the teaser trailer after the break...

Grand Prix Get's it Main Theatrical Trailer

No comments:

sourceFilmsmash
South Korean sports drama GRAND PRIX(dir.Yun-Ho Yang)gets its main theatrical trailer before its release in Korea next month. The movie is based on the once sucessful female horse racer Ju-Hee who is in a depressive state after an horrific arm injury which resulted in the death of her horse. She decides to escape to jeju island in a chance to over come her depression and she meets a fellow jockey Woo-suk who is a record champion at the Japan cup and with his encouragement she fights her way back to the championship.
The movie stars Kim Tae Hee, Yang Dong Geun, Park Geun Hyeong, and Ko Doo Sim.
The trailer is after the break...








22 July 2010

Teaser Trailer For Yun-Ho Yang's GRAND PRIX

No comments:





















source Filmsmash (inc image)
Dont actually know much about the movie by yang yun ho apart from GRAND PRIX is a sporting drama with a few bits of cmedy thrown in and highlist the triumphs and sportmanship of a female horseracer.Ju-Hee a once sucessful horse owner hasn't been on the field after the loss of her horse as well as career threatening arm injury and to combat her depression she takes a break on jeju island. Whilst on the island she meets another jockey Woo-Suk and championship regular of Japan Cup and through woo-suk's encouragement she retrains herself to get on the saddle again and return to the Grand Prix Championship.
The movie stars Kim Tae Hee, Yang Dong Geun, Park Geun Hyeong and Ko Doo with the movie aiming for a September release in South Korea, trailer after the break...