Silly censoring, that's not a swear word! Ugh. Hey y'all, I know I've been very lazy at everything in terms of blogging, but I'll give you a treat instead: two reviews! Aren't I awesome? I know I am. Anyway, these reviews are of the films "The Fighter" and "Little Fockers", one is fantastic, the other is horrible. Guess which is which. Here they are:
The Fighter review
There have been myriad films with boxers fighting to reach the top, striving to better those that have come before and were inspirations to the boxer. In some ways, The Fighter doesn't stray too far from the developed setting of the "rising star" boxer. However, it manages to stand out due to the powerful performances of the cast. It's transformed into a more serious, more compact tale of not only athletic prowess but of maternal, fraternal and romantic love. Also of note is that the film is based on true events, which is punctuated at the end of the film brilliantly.
Dicky (Bale) and Micky (Wahlberg) are two disparate brothers with one common passion: boxing. Dicky is at this point a burned-out drug addict who clings to his defeat of Sugar Ray Leonard many years back in his career. Meanwhile, Micky struggles to keep out of the mire of defeat, often treated as a simple stepping stone. Micky's trainer has always been Dicky, while the manager is his ambitious mother. Needless to say, this set-up isn't ideal for him and he therefore seeks a better alternative.
Though Wahlberg portrays Micky in a skillful manner, Bale single-handedly steals the show with his amazing take on his role. He is utterly convincing whether it be in his over-blown bravado over former glories or his jumpiness undoubtedly caused by drug abuse. It's a far cry from many of his former films and The Fighter shows just how flexible of an actor he is. That's not to say that the rest of the supporting cast is in any way disappointing. Amy Adams, who plays the love interest of Micky, is particularly memorable.
Another great aspect of the film is the different filmingstyIes of the everyday events and the several boxing matches. During the matches, you see everything as if you were seeing it full-screen on a TV monitor, with the traditional grain effect and frantic cinematography. It lends a sense of realism to the fights, bringing you oddly enough more into the events than you would with a normal filter.
The film does stagger at times when it comes to pacing, since it gets off to a slow start that feels more uneventful when compared to the later two-thirds or so. During those times, the focus often goes to the familial ties of Micky, which are in constant flux in terms of solidarity. More focus on Micky and Dicky's childhood would've been more ample, since we don't get to see as much in what's gone wrong in the past. It's necessary build-up all things considered but it tends to feel a bit heavy-handed.
The Fighter is an undoubtedly superb film, with an amazing performance by Christian Bale and a refreshing take on a Rocky-esque tale of redemption. It sometimes takes too much time in telling what it has to say, but those slow moments work together to make the glorious crescendos that appear in between. Though it seems to be so on the outside, The Fighter is much more than just another boxing movie and is one of the finest films to be released in 2010.
****
Little Fockers review
It's tragic to see this comedy trilogy come to a close in such a lazy and formulaic manner. The first film, in this reviewer's opinion, is a comedy cIassic with an exemplary look at a paranoid connection between father-in-law and son-in-law. The second film was a bit more focused on more simple jokes and slapstick, but was pushed forward by great performances from the cast and a clever, if traditional, script. So it's unbelievable how low-key Little Fockers really is. Talent is wasted, boring jokes are thrown around and the story is a complete rehash of everything that has come before.
There is an initial promise that this film now focuses on the family life of Greg and Pam Focker, who now have two kids in their home and are on the look-out for the finest preschools available to them. However, this is not the case at all. Whereas they could have worked on the strain of parental duties on a relationship and the different roles of each family member, they instead decide to crowbar *another* tale where Jack Burns, Greg's father-in-law, suspects foul play in their relationship. The children only appear as an after-thought, providing only a few subtle twists on the familiar formula. Now, supposedly, Jack is thinking about his grandchildren but he's portrayed more as a megalomaniacal tyrant with no common sense or compassion for anyone but himself. This is not acceptable, since even though he displayed overplayed worries in the former films, you could always at some point relate to him due to his caring nature towards his daughter. This time, he's just a bully.
Most of the cast do their job adequately (Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro do have a good acting chemistry), since when push comes to shove, they can still act. However, it's the script that is their downfall. The jokes are painfully predictable, and when they're not, they're just plain bad. Occasional jokes will manage to make you smile, but they're too few and far between. Meanwhile, the aforementioned plot reeks of familiarity every step of the way. It doesn't help that Jessica Alba was brought in to play the supposed temptress, and effectively makes a fool of herself as a most bewildering persona in the film, a drug rep with a drug problem. Another rather odd inclusion is Dustin Hoffman. He was until the last second supposed to be absent from the film, but he was (very obviously) pushed in at the last second. It makes his character not only seem forced, but inherently awkward.
It's a shame that the film didn't focus more on the kids, since they are likeable enough and would've offered a different look on each given character. Instead, they're shoved to the sidelines while Greg and Jack once more duel with their frustrations, for the third bloody time in their lives. This happens despite the fact that both of the former two films end in them being good friends, and Greg staying in Jack's "circle of trust", and needless to say, that's how this film ends too. Luckily, there won't be further chances to exploit the tales of the Focker family due to this being the finale. This is not only a disappointment, but an insult to the fans of the series. It's completely irrelevant, devoid of wit and borderline lazy. This is not how to make a sequel, this is how to make a tragedy.
*