Southpaw works despite being predictable.

-
  SOUTHPAW, stars Jake Gyllenhaal as light heavyweight boxing champion Billy Hope. Without giving anything away(the trailer does a good job at that, so don't watch) SOUTHPAW is a predictable boxing drama. The first quarter of the movie is exactly like a Rocky movie. Thankfully, the core of the movie is the second act - part family drama,part redemption tale until we get to the third act, which turns back into a predictable Rocky movie.
   Jake Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances of his career. His performance is so good that it works against the boxing cliches. Forest Whitaker is also very good as a trainer who takes a chance on Billy Hope when no one else will.
 To reiterate, the first and third acts of SOUTHPAW almost cripple the film, if not for Gyllenhaal's Oscar worthy performance, Antoine Fuqua's good direction and the solid second act. I am leaving out certain things about the movie because I try not to get into spoiler territory if I can help it.
  If you like boxing movies, then you'll probably like this, but don't expect anything original.
And if you don't, well skip it.
  I give SOUTHPAW a B.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: DADDY'S HOME 2

-
Image
   Movies like DADDY'S HOME 2 are made for two things- to entertain and to make people laugh. That is exactly what this sequel to the hit DADDY'S HOME succeeds in doing. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg return as Brad and Dusty, co-dad's to Sara's(Linda Cardellini) two children, as well as much of the original cast. To recap the first one, Brad (Ferrell) is the step-dad to Sara's(Cardellini) two children who finds himself competing with the real Dad, Dusty(Walhberg) for the title of Dad.   With DADDY's HOME 2, we get the Grandfathers added to the mix. Mel Gibson as Dusty's Dad, Kurt and John Lithgow as Brad's Dad, Don. Gibson is stunt casting while Lithgow's performance is indicative of his award-winning career. Lithgow plays a comedic role in dramatic fashion. It could be the other way around as well. One of the things had a problem with in this movie is Gibson's performance, which I found to be a lackluster performance. It as if Gibson is just
Read more

Movie Review: WINCHESTER (PG-13)

-
Image
      WINCHESTER tells the tale of Sarah Winchester (playing convincingly by Helen Mirren) and the infamous mansion she built (with help from construction people, of course) for years on end. She claims that her mansion is haunted by the ghosts of people who died from the Winchester rifle and is determined to turn her vast estate into a prison for the ghouls. Enter Doctor Eric Price (played well by Jason Clarke of  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), who is hired to do a phycological evaluation on Mrs.Winchester to prove whether or not she is of sound mind.   The film unfolds at a steady pace, clocking in at 99 minutes and long enough not to wear out it's welcome. One can easily predict how the story will play out. It's your standard, run of the mill haunted house thriller that breaks no new ground in the genre.The Spierig Brothers(Michael and Peter)manage to create a watchable and somewhat entertaining film that is good for passing the time. This film doesn't come anywhere
Read more

LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK (4-25-18)

-
Image
   Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen I appreciate those who take their time out to read my movie reviews. I am looking for feedback. I recently started a new type of review that I call Q&A Movie Reviews. Have you read the two I recently wrote? If so, do you like the style versus the traditional style movie review? What do you think about the reviews in general? Any feedback you are willing to give me will be quite helpful when writing future reviews. Feel free to post in the comment section below and share with me your thoughts.   Thank you for your time. William Wygle
Read more