algrenific

Somebody saw it already?

i did

me too, can't discuss it.

Two people saw it.

Thread opens.

0 reviews.

Any point in having a thread?

my first post was my review

Nobody knows what that means. Is that a compliment or a criticism?

A complicism, obviously.

depends on what you think of algren

He's a total cunt.

Sigh. This is a creative dud, which is a shame because I dig both stars and hoped for a satisfying pairing serving both well. The central boxing film (concerned with a pair of long retired rival fighters coming out of retirement for a final match to conclude their unresolved feud and for an enormous payday) is fine, even though it is a shame how fast the climactic bout becomes a rapid-fire montage rushing toward the 12th round. The problem is the rest of the bull. Neither the outside-the-ring sentimental drama (estranged son! lost love!) nor the grumpier-old-boxers humor is of a high quality, and at close to two hours, the film, directed without flair by studio friendly journeyman Peter Segal, is crowded and lethargic.

Kim Basinger has a dull, borderline degrading role as a former flame of both protagonists who reenters their lives the same time as the television cameras. Her snore inducing part and the inert scenes devoted to her are emblematic of the overall enterprise's inability to realize its ambition to amuse and warm hearts in equal measure. Robert De Niro plays his character as a bastard by way of a used-car salesman and may be more unsympathetic here than in Raging Bull, which is a problem because this is a comedy set for release on Christmas Day, not a hard-edged drama exploring male rage and self-destruction. Rarely has third-act redemption landed with a louder thud. And though his presence may be a casting coup on a financial level, stand-up comedian and rising film star Kevin Hart often confuses sheer volume with scene-stealing charm and wit as the promoter who plots the grudge match. I found him largely grating.

Saving the film from absolute failure are Sylvester Stallone, holding court with reserved nobility, and Alan Arkin, utilized just as he was in films as disparate as Argo and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and now no doubt able to deliver acerbic one-liners in his sleep. This is far from a career highlight for either man, but their scenes together as a salt-of-the-earth athlete and his weathered trainer are pleasant and clearly indebted to Stallone's iconic interaction with Burgess Meredith's Mickey in the Rocky franchise. The sole moment of genuine inspiration comes, alas, halfway through the credits via an outstanding double cameo which should not be spoiled.

C-

Thanks for the review. I don't know when I'm going to get to see this...but from now on I will not check this thread.

I liked it. It gets vomit-inducingly sentimental at the end, but that's my only big complaint. Well that and this should've come out no later than 15 years ago, but I can't really hold that against the film.



*** (B)

GRUDGE MATCH

I liked the trailers but wasn't eager to watch the film. Checked it out today. My first of 2014 and I was pretty entertained by it. I thought DeNiro and Stallone played well off eachother and DeNiro was especially funny. I think there should have been more a bit more Kevin Hart but I was pleased with what was in it. The final bout was well done with some good slo mo moments. The extra scenes during the credits were funny as well.

Grade - B

Definately a positive surprise. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Stallone and DeNiro are in fine form and I also liked Jon Bernthal's part. I actually laughed quite a bit and the last scene during the credits was hilarious.

Grudge Match

It took me a while, but I've now seen it. I just had to. It's not a masterpiece by any means, or even a great boxing movie, and it's not even particularly well made, but it made me feel good. Isn't that its aim? Isn't that its purpose? It started off a little too slow, and the humbleness carried through until the end (afraid of putting the pedal down on the humour lever), and it was a little uneven and badly paced, but somewhere along the way, it started building, joke after joke, heart-felt monologue after heart-felt monologue, and the result is that it put a smile on my face and made me feel good.

It's a tried-and-tested formula that Peter Segal used, and I usually roll my eyes at the sight of these template-written scripts, but when you have elements thrown in to the mix such as the modest and athletically built statue of Stallone against a cocky, self-absorbed, egotistical runt of De Niro, and with some cool shots of them going at it, I can get over anything, least of all mediocre screenwriting. It just doesn't matter to me. Now, don't get me wrong, this wasn't any Rocky Balboa, and it is patchy, but it was a light and fun movie that I was unable to be distracted from watching.

Kevin Hart was fine, and Alan Arkin was ok too, but I really enjoyed seeing Kim Basinger. I thought Robert De Niro was the funniest one in the film, actually. I loved how much Jon Bernthal looked like a relative of the De Niro family, which is obviously why they chose him.

The music is nothing special, and the training montages are nothing in comparison to any other boxing movie, but the training scenes (and the film itself) do at least represent the physicality and psychological state of its co-protagonists; slow, patchy, weighty, and momentarily fiery.

It's not Oscar material, it's a cliched story, and it's not even particularly well acted, and I had about five good laughs throughout the whole film, but it's such a sweet story, and the ending is exactly how it should be, and those five laughs were totally worth it.

I want to watch it again right now.

B+

I just watched it again. It's slow-paced and dramatically patchy, but it's adorable. I love the Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield credits scene. B+

I just watched this again and I feel exactly the same. Creatively, it's a miss. But somewhere, deep inside, is a heart and a few jokes. And I never get tired of seeing Stallone and De Niro's physical acting. I also just love to follow the grudge match through its motions; the press conference, the public showings, and then the fight, these are all just fun to watch. The story with Kid's son and grandson is unneeded, as is Sharp's old flame. I would have preferred just a mano-a-mano boxing film, which would still have included the trainers (which were arguably the best parts). The supporting characters make it more of a rounded, more accessible product, which therein lies the problem with Grudge Match. It's too broad, and could have done with being a serious boxing movie, which considering Stallone's shape, would not have been seen as a joke.

B+

I think Algren is more biased to liking any boxing movie than I am to Disney animation.

That statement is ludicrous. I'm not biased. It's just my taste. I would be biased if I was a boxer in real life or if I was the director of this movie. Just liking a boxing movie doesn't make me biased.

Bias isn't bad. I'm totally biased in every review I write.

Well, I'm not biased in any review I write.

What are biases anyway, when it comes to reviews? Reviews are always personal opinions, no matter if they come from Algren or from Roger Ebert (the difference is just in the reasoning) and, in the end, biases are nothing but a form of personal opinions.

The bias is added to a personal opinion when you are influenced other than by the film. For example, if I were the writer of a film, and I said it was great, then people would claim I am biased. They have a valid point. Being just a viewer, and not involved in any way in the production, or affected in any way by my positive or negative review, means there is no bias from me.

It is stupid to say that because one likes a certain actor, they are biased when watching films with that actor in. That's not a bias. That's just a reason why you like the film. Actors are part of the film. It's fine to like a film because a certain actor is in it. Just the same that it's fine to like films from a certain genre.