Resurrecting the Champ

I was very excited to see this movie. I absolutely adore Samuel L. Jackson and when I looked at the rest of the cast, Josh Hartnett, Alan Alda, David Paymer and Peter Coyote (to name just a few), I figured this movie had to be gem. I was wrong. This movie wasn’t bad; but it certainly disappointed me. This cast deserved better than a movie with a “Made for TV” feel.

In Resurrecting the Champ we meet Erik (Josh Harnett) who is a mid-level sports writer desperately trying to break into the big leagues and distinguish himself from his sports personality father. After a boxing match, he finds a man calling himself “Champ” (Samuel L. Jackson) living in an alley near the arena. He remembers Champ when he is asked to pitch ideas to a potential employer, the Sunday Magazine editor of the newspaper for which Erik currently works. The magazine editor, who was not crazy about Erik’s previous work, finally shows some interest.

Erik spends days interviewing the homeless man, a former heavy-weight boxer named Battling Bob. In the first of the film’s many clichés, Erik finds in Champ a friend and surrogate father figure. The theme of fathers and sons runs throughout the movie. You get glimpses of the relationship between Erik and his father, Erik and his son, Champ and his father, Champ and his son (should I go on?). None of the relationships are really developed, but the director, Rod Lurie, keeps hitting you with the theme.

The magazine piece about Champ becomes a huge success and catapults Erik into the upper reaches of a career in sports journalism. Until he discovers Champ is a fraud. He’s not Battling Bob, he’s another boxer who has been impersonating Bob for years. The true nature of identity is the only really interesting question the film raised. If you spend years truly BEING another person, does your own identity fade/meld with the forged self? Unfortunately, this theme was not explored in the movie.

In the end, Erik loses the material things in life, but gains a more genuine relationship with his son (yawn) and Champ dies alone in an alley, the victim of random violence. If you didn’t see those two events coming, you weren’t paying attention.

I give Resurrecting the Champ three stars. It wasn’t a terrible, movie, but it was long and ponderous with no surprises. With this stellar cast, there should have been a much bigger punch (pun intended).

Michelle D. Kieffaber

Resurrecting The Champ

Resurrecting The Champ

     Have you ever noticed how easy it is to tell the tiniest white lie? It won’t hurt anyone, right? Well, this drama, written and directed by Rod Lurie explores the damage and possible harm in glossing over the truth. He reaches into the very place we all are supposed to feel safe and secure. Our family!

     Resurrecting The Champ is the type of picture that should appeal to movie-goers of all ages. The film begins with Battling Bob Satterfield (Samuel L. Jackson) fighting with a group of young men that went looking to have a little fun at the expense of our “Champ”. Erik Kernan (Josh Hartnett) just happens by the fracas as the hoodlums are leaving the scene. Erik, a so-so sports writer for The Denver Times, develops a friendship with the down-and-out Satterfield.

     The friendship turns into an opportunity for Kernan when he realizes that Satterfield is a former professional boxer that everyone had presumed to be dead. The story about his new-found comrade could rocket him to the top of his profession, and even more importantly capture the adoration of his young son. Throughout the film, we learn that Kernan had fabricated some specific stories that he shared with his son. No big deal, right? Well, the answer comes in a heartbreaking visit to his son’s school during career day.

     The issue at hand also deals with a relationship between a father and his son. Lurie has done a satisfactory job of character alignment within this story line. However, I believe he could have given this part of the plot a little more meat. He took time to develop several story lines about fathers and their sons, but seemed to rush the presentation of each specific example. There are several references to “father and son” relationships throughout the movie, but something just seemed to be missing for me.

     Overall, I enjoyed the movie even though I thought the beginning was a little slow and the ending left me wondering just a bit. Samuel L. Jackson was superb and perhaps even masterful in his portrayal of Champ. He carried this film almost single handedly. The other bright spot is undoubtedly Hartnett’s on-screen son (Dakota Goyo) who stole the show with a believable and adorable performance. Unfortunately, Hartnett didn’t impress, with the exception of a couple touching moments with his son. Lurie churned out a good movie, but I think he could have developed the characters and their relationships a little more, which would have made this film great.

     It earns a three on the Matt Meter. If you haven’t seen this movie, I would suggest it as a rental. If you are not a big boxing fan, not to worry, the movie revolves around the theme and doesn’t spend too much time getting involved with the actual sport. I liked this movie but wasn’t blown away by it and that’s the TRUTH.

That’s How Matt Sees It!

Citizen Kane

When Matt asked me to participate in a movie blog, I was flattered. I’m crazy about movies and was thrilled someone would actually be interested in reading my thoughts on the subject. The first movie Matt reviewed, The Holiday, was one I hadn’t watched (I’m not big on chick flicks) so I couldn’t participate in that review. I asked Matt if he would like me to review my favorite movie, Citizen Kane, and he agreed it would be a good place for me to start. Not only is Citizen Kane my favorite movie, but it is widely regarded as one of the best, if not THE best, movies of all time.

So with that kind of critical adoration, you might be asking what new information I can add to the mix. In truth, nothing I have to say about this movie is earth-shatteringly new. I’m sure any insight I provide could be found by professional critics with more skills and status than I. I only hope I can persuade someone who hasn’t watched Citizen Kane to pick it up and experience it for the first time.

The movie begins with an eccentric old man muttering his last word, “Rosebud.” Normally, this would not be news, but Charles Foster Kane is a celebrity. We are a bit jaded by the concept of celebrity since everyone is capable of achieving their 15 minutes of fame (thanks, Andy Warhol) via reality TV. But it’s important to remember the movie takes place in a time without cell phones, the internet or cable TV. A man had to be really important to be a nationally known figure; Kane qualifies.

Reporters begin following the threads of Kane’s life to determine what Rosebud means. Kane is a man who lived a glamorous, albeit scandalous life, so the journey is complex. The viewer is shown the important eras/events of Kane’s life. He was sent away from home as a child, was raised by his banker, thrown out of a variety of schools, built a newspaper empire and was twice married. If you are anything like me, you will begin to have a love/hate relationship with Kane. When he’s good, he’s very impressive; when he’s bad, he can be crushingly cruel. Most importantly, all the characters in Citizen Kane are so richly drawn that they make you FEEL something. It might be pity or disgust, laughter or tears, but you feel. When is the last time a movie touched you this way?

In the end, everyone abandons Kane and he dies alone. The reporters never discover the mystery of Rosebud, but the viewer learns it was a connection to his lost childhood. The loss of which changed him so profoundly he was unable to allow himself to truly love and be loved in return. The thing he most craved was the thing he never had.

To me, this theme is timeless. It doesn’t matter that the film is made in 1941. The loss of a fulfilling childhood will always leave scars. Until all parents learn to love and embrace their children, damaged souls will walk amongst us.

I give this movie a solid five stars. The writing is crisp and satisfying, the acting is impeccable, and it is shot and directed to perfection (I could write a whole review on the direction alone). If you are feeling adventurous, and are willing to watch a classic (some folks hate black and white movies), please consider Citizen Kane. I can’t imagine you would be disappointed in the experience.

Michelle D. Kieffaber

The Holiday

     In this romantic comedy, directed and written by Nancy Meyers, two young women (Amanda & Iris) decide to switch homes for the holidays. Each woman is suffering from a recent relationship gone south and are looking for a temporary respite from their daily lives. Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) make the switch and begin their journey in the other’s world.

     Amanda tries to decide if fate has brought her together with Iris’ brother, Graham (Jude Law), or if it was just a chance meeting with another playboy who continues to receive calls from other women named Sophia and Olivia. The relationship is somewhat strange yet simply predictable. On the flip side, Iris wonders into L.A. and begins a friendship with Miles (Jack Black). Their relationship seems awkward and somewhat dysfunctional from the beginning. They haphazardly bounce through the motions of being friends and then finally “something” more. Oh yes, yet again, it was painfully obvious that it was a match made for a Hollywood film.

     Overall, I found the movie to be a little too predictable and cutesy. There was no mystery to what was going to happen next. I felt The Holiday tended to drag on a bit as some scenes could have been shortened or even deleted. The only redeeming quality about this film is that Jude Law seemed to play his part very well. In addition, when Amanda decides to visit Graham’s house unannounced the movie takes a uniquely pleasant twist. This was about the only time I felt like the characters actually meshed together and a great story was ready to unfold. Unfortunately, Meyers left that particular gift wrapped during this Holiday excursion.

     I believe I would give this about 2 ½ stars (out of 5). The story line was weak and the plot ever so guessable. The underlying message here could have been greatly developed; however, it was covered up with so-so acting and very little “real” comedy. I only laughed two times during this movie…once when the gardener shook his head no when Amanda ask her boyfriend if he cheated on her and the other time when a child said that Amanda looked like her Barbie doll. The film needed a lot more substance and a little less of everything else.

That’s how Matt sees it!

The Holiday

We will be reviewing the movie The Holiday as our very first selection.  Thanks to all, on my facebook page, who made suggestions.  Expect the first review shortly.  If you have already seen the movie, feel free to leave your comments.