While writing this, I realized one thing- my blog is increasingly only movie reviews. Part of me is like GASP! I must change this, so as to not conform to the other thousands of bloggers out there! ( Picture it in a really breathy voice) and the other is like Eh, screw it, just write the review. Much obliged, apathy. Much obliged.
I just got back from watching Real Steel, staring Hugh Jackman. I wanted to see this movie for a long time, and it was worth it. Even though this ground has been trampled to death, I just want to rehash some of the key points.
Hugh Jackman is an ass for the first third of the movie. Like, if he wasn't a boxer and I wasn't a pacifist wimp, I'd beat him up. That bad. The kind of guy who seems nice but if you spend more than 24 hours in his company, he's an ass. However, the movie does a really good job of portraying the underdog, both as robots and humans. Its clear that he's supposed to be a likeable underdog, even when he is an ass.
The kid, Dakota Goyo was superbly cast. This is one of the first movies that I said to myself " Hmm, I could see this guy as his father, and this kid as his own. "
The technical design and art were awesome. I loved the visuals. The music wasn't too bad either. Scratch that, the music was great. I found myslef listening to the music to the fight scene and it transformed that scene into something even better. ( Thank you Grooveshark)
Now, I went to see this with my best friend, who convienently went to transformers three with me. Note to self: pick something other than robot movies to watch with this guy.
He pointed out it was very similar to that movie, as in we had to sit through an hour and a half to watch robots pummel each other.
I didn't like a few things in this movie. Hugh Jackman takes so long to find love, that I nearly gave up on him. I didn't like the smug, prissy arsitocratich Witch with a captial B who owned Zeus, the hoity-toity all powerful reigning champion. She is just plain straight up mean. I did not like the anger Jackman displayed at the son for a while, and I was not happy by a montage that made up part of the closing scene. Instead of all five brutally trying bouts, it was round one, roundtwo/three/four and then five. Didn't work for me. Everyone kept drawing comparisons to Rocky, but as I have never seen the movie, I can't compare.
On a related note, last night I watched Cool Hand Luke, you know, one of those classic movies that you never get around to watch. Well, I did, and for the first part, I couldn't get what the fuss was about. About midway through, when the famous egg-eating contest is held, then the movie really started tickin'. I didn't like how long it took Luke to escape, and I didn't like the casual cruelty of the Captain at the end, when he takes him to the prison hospital, and it is almost certain he dies. I liked all the truths being spoken by Paul Newman, such as " Calling it a job don't make it right." I can see why he is such an icon. Maybe some of the reasons I didn't like it was because of the testosterone fueled extravaganza that modern movies have become. Certainly riveting though.
Overall, both movies get an A-. Real Steel was a Rocky'/Rockem' Sockem' Robots mashup, but all the same it had a poignant heart rarely found in movies these days. Cool Hand Luke needs more incubation in the mind to fully appreciate it, but I have no doubt that it will be like a fine wine- getting better with age.
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