What's 'Fightville'

The MMA doc “Fightville” has some fight but doesn’t tip the scales.

The motion picture about underground MMA is an intriguing portrayal of the semi-pro fighter lifestyle. It depicts the difficulties of amateur MMA. Promoters have to make money by promoting unknown fighters. Fighters have to make time to fight while holding a day time job.

The film starts off slow but gains momentum as one of the featured fighters, Dustin Poirier, makes his climb up the MMA ladder and makes it into the UFC. It shows how MMA teaches fighters discipline and changes their lives. It illustrates how hard it is to make it as lower class fighter, the pay is bad and the training is hard.

One major problem was the lack of training sequences, when they did show them training it was attention-grabbing to see the culture in the gym. If a fighter didn’t show up prepared or missed practices, the coaches and team would beat the crap out of him in practice. It wasn’t to be mean, it was to show the fighter that he needs to there all the time if he wants to go pro.

Rating: C+The movie didn’t really get going until about the one hour mark. The slow pace didn’t help the portrayal of the hectic, grueling lifestyle.

Joe Willie Namath: What a Guy

The latest HBO Sports presentation "Namath" shows the greatness of "Broadway Joe" to younger generations. Namath doesn't have the best stats and wasn't the greatest NFL quarterback, but he is a cultural icon.

The New York Jet legend was a good passer despite doing it his way, which led to mistakes. During a time with only 14 regular season games and loose secondary rules, Namath passed for an astounding 4,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 1967. Namath isn’t known for his regular season play, his greatest feat was predicting a win against the 17-point favorite Baltimore Colts.

However, the film isn't focused on his playing career. It discusses his impact on society and his injuries that led to alcohol abuse.

Namath's massive contract, hippie look and bachelor lifestyle in New York made him a prominent figure in cultural. Much like Tim Tebow, he had a lot of haters and lovers but Namath wasn‘t a bible thumper. He used to party late before games, hang out with gangsters and wear a Fu Manchu.

“I like my women blonde and my Johnnie Walker Red,” said Namath.

Rating: A
“Namath’ has really good content and great interviews, most sports fans will enjoy it.

"Beyond the Mat" is Hands Down the Best Wrestling Documentary

The 1999 pro wrestling documentary produced by Ron Howard “Beyond the Mat” establishes itself as the perfect snapshot of the sport.

The timing couldn't have been better right as the WWF is becoming a publicly traded company and at the peak of the industry's popularity.

It follows professional wrestlers Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Terry “Fucking” Funk and Mick Foley, and promoters Vince McMahon and Roland Alexander.

The film shows all the ridiculous characters that surround wrestling. Director and narrator Barry W. Blaustein opens the documentary by expressing his embarrassing love for wrestling. It sets a great tone for the movie, it shows the fans and participants loyalty for the sport.

At one point the wrestling great Funk is coughing up blood and seemingly dying after an ECW match. The next shot he's chugging a Coors Light, that's what wrestling is all about.

The Jake "The Snake" Roberts story is a more depressing then "The Wrestler." During the shoot the filmmakers lost Roberts later to find out that he was smoking crack.

Rating: B+This is perfect portrait of the weird and dangerous world of professional wrestling. The subject matter isn't appealing for everyone.

Everyone Should Seriously see “Inside Job”

The winner of the 2011 Oscar for Best Documentary, “Inside Job” shows how we trust our money with people who don’t care about us.

The film explores the 2008 economic crisis that caused the world to lose trillions of dollars. Director Charles Ferguson, who is know for the documentary “No End in Sight,” made a flick about a boring and complicated topic that is a scandalous and educational film.

It is a little repetitive, but it needs to be so the movie can cover all the points of the film without losing the viewer.

This enraging documentary gives such a powerful depiction of the 2008 meltdown and how the people responsible will not be charged for defrauding the country. It is one of the most influential documentaries of this era.

Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe said the movie is “scarier than anything Wes Craven and John Carpenter have ever made.”

Also Matt Damon was good as the narrator. Rating: AThis is truly a great documentary, hopefully people react to it.
P.S. It’s everyone’s fault.

“Y Tu Mamá También” Leaves Audiences Unsatisfied

The critically acclaimed Y Tu Mamá También from 2001 is a hit-or-miss for most viewers due to its conclusion.

It follows two young best friends Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna), who have a summer to waste after their girlfriends leave for Italy. It starts at a perfect time in the two boys lives, on the brink of being adults at the crossroads of their lives.

They meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the wife of Tenoch's cousin, at a wedding and in an attempt to astound the older woman, they tell her of a secluded, heavenly beach called la Boca del Cielo ("Heaven's Mouth").
However, Julio and Tenoch were embellishing their knowledge of the beach and actually knew very little about it. The duos lack of knowledge and directions to the beach helped the trip become more interesting.
Luisa eventually accepts their invitation to the beach. So the three set off for it, although they have little idea where they‘re going. The majority of the movie is about their journey through poor, rural Mexico on their way to the beach.

The director Alfonso Cuarón, who also directed “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and Children of Men,” made the drive through rural Mexico visually pleasing through great camera angles and stunning locations.
 7.8 stars out of 10 from IMDB and received 91 percent critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a good film but a different ending would have helped it greatly.



During the trip, the deep voiced male narrator of the story became a prominent aspect of the film. He was an unusual addition to the storytelling, he would say seemingly useless information, but as the movie continued he actually gave character and landscape to areas in the film.

A lot was going in this movie with music, narration and the action on the screen, which was confusing at the beginning. When it eventually settled in, it flowed seamlessly.

Julio and Tenoch combine for all the comedy in the film. Julio and Tenoch’s lust for Luisa is responsible for the romance. While all the drama is brought on by Luisa. She made the movie depressing at some points with her crushing stories and reactions.

The sexually driven film hits on all human emotions, such as pleasure, grief, joy and anger. The rollercoaster of emotions continues throughout the film. It is good and bad because it seemed like a soap opera sometimes, but it kept the viewer interested.

Diego Luna, who plays Tenoch, is in “The Terminal” and “Milk.,” but Maribel Verdú (Luisa) and Gael García Bernal (Julio) are not in any notable American films.

This film is recommended for people from the ages 17-35 and movie buffs, besides those people it is not very accessible to the average movie-goer.

“Y Tu Mamá También” got

"Chopper" a must-see Psycho Flick

The jaw-dropping Australian movie “Chopper” released in 2000 has quickly become a cult classic in America due to the interesting storytelling and weird relationships.

“Chopper” is the extreme story about Mark “Chopper” Read’s criminal life in and out of jail based off of his best-selling autobiography, “From the Inside.”

IMDB categorizes “Chopper” as a biographical crime drama but it is more of a fictionalized biopic with dark humor. One second Chopper’s actions are mortifying and the next second they are funny. It is one those few movies that successfully combine horrific violence and comedy.

The violence is similar to “Natural Born Killers” with Woody Harrelson and the humor is similar to Guy Ritchie’s “Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch” movies.

In his first leading role Eric Bana knocks it out of the park as Read. Without Bana’s performance the movie would have suffered, he perfectly walks the line between a man with boyish charm and a schizophrenic murderer.

Bana’s supporting cast gives just as good of a performance as he did. Chopper Read’s relationships between his trashy girlfriend, his peculiar dad and his junkie best friend are the best parts in the movie.

In his directorial debut Andrew Dominik did a great job making a witty gritty story translate well to the screen. Before viewing remember that he deliberately made the film look grainy to give it a realistic appearance. Dominik also directed “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” which was pretty good but it lagged at the end and didn’t have enough action.

This movie is given a 70 percent by all critics on Rotten Tomatoes but the top critics give it an 85 percent rating and the audience rating is 89 percent rating.

This particular movie is not recommended for kids, adults over 40 or most women because it has shockingly bloody scenes and humor that people from another generation might think is demented.

Rating: B+
It would have been an A- if it didn’t get a little repetitive by the end.

"The Secret in Their Eyes" is a Captivating Throwback

The 2010 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film, "The Secret in Their Eyes" has all the right components for a great mystery.
The 2009 movie follows Benjamin Esposito, a retired Argentinian detective, retracing his steps back to a 25-year-old murder case.

Set in 1999 Buenos Aires, this mystery keeps the audience intrigued from start to finish through revealing flashbacks to 1974.  The film is only shown though Esposito’s point-of-view, which helps make the murder investigation and other characters more interesting.

Esposito and his department chief, Irene Menedez-Hastings have a bit of a romance but it doesn’t take away from the mystery. Esposito’s loyal alcoholic assistant, Pablo Sandoval brings an essential bit of comedy to this grim tale.

Rating: B+
With a bit of romance and a bit of comedy this dramatic mystery is one of the best international films in recent memory. It's a bit confusing but that is what you should expect from a mystery. The subtitles can also be a little distracting.