The MAX POWER System

Thumbs and stars have been overdone, so here on Arabian Monkey we use a scale using bananas (what did you expect?)  Here’s a breakdown of the rating system:

• 0 bananas- This is a classification only allotted for the worst possible movies.  Do not under any circumstances waste your time or money on any movies with this rating.
• 1 banana- Poor.  This movie isn’t worth watching unless it’s 1 a.m. and you can’t sleep…and even then, sleeping pills may be a better option (then again this movie may bring about the same effects).
• 2 bananas- This movie has it’s spots, but nothing spectacular.  Average.
• 3 bananas- Take some time out of your day and grab a bucket of popcorn.  This is a quality flick for you and some friends to enjoy.
• 4 bananas- A must-see movie.  Drop what you’re doing and clear your schedule, you have a movie to watch.

Some movies just can’t be defined on this scale, so you’ll find at times that I’ll give a movie a half banana when it fits in between two parts of the scale.

 

 

New in Theatres: “Resurrecting The Champ ” Runtime: 1h51m Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama

            There is something about a boxing movie that pulls at our heart strings.  Maybe it’s the idea of rising to the top, or maybe it’s the idea of the toughest men on earth seeming human like us.  First there was Raging Bull, then there was Rocky, and now there is Resurrecting the Champ, a movie that looks past the boxer and into the soul of a man. 

            Resurrecting the Champ is a story about a sportswriter, Erik (Josh Hartnett), who has dreams of being a great journalist, but lacks the talent to do so.  When leaving a boxing match one day in he comes across some kids beating up an old man, through what can only be described as luck he discovers the man is in fact Battlin’ Bob Satterfield (Samuel L. Jackson), a boxer who was once a top contender for the heavyweight champion of the world.  Armed with the story of a lifetime Erik burns ties with his editor (Alan Alda), and makes a jump to the front page of the news magazine The Denver Times.  To explain anything more about this movie would be a crime, all I will say is the movie takes a dramatic turn.  By the end of this film conflicts of what it means to be a good father, how far a man will go to preserve a legacy, and what true friends will really do for each other.

            If you don’t believe that Samuel L. Jackson is a brilliant actor, go see this movie, you’ll know by the end of it.  Jackson gives the performance of a lifetime as Bob Satterfield.  After a career filled with dozens of movies you forget that it’s Jackson on the screen, a true credit to his acting.  Hartnett, the lead of the movie, doesn’t do anything noteworthy but he also doesn’t do anything to muck this movie up.  Alan Alda gives a great performance as a sports page editor.  Not only does he give a believable performance, but he brings a realistic look to a newsroom.  A few other faces look familiar in this movie such as Terri Hatcher who shows up as a Showtime executive covering boxing matches in Las Vegas.

            The movie itself is creative in so many ways.  This movie jumps back and forth between several storylines: a sportswriter trying to make it to the top, a boxer down and out of his luck, and a father trying to be the best father he can be.  Some key actors didn’t do a good enough part to make this one of the greatest movies of all time, but it sure is worth some time to sit down and watch.  Check it out and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 3 ½ bananas

 

On the Rack: “Blades of Glory" Runtime: 1h33m Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy

            Will Ferrell’s onslaught of sports comedies continued with the DVD release of Blades of Glory last week.  Which leads me to this question: Are we growing tired of Will Ferrell yet?  Certainly we’ve all come to realize that he’s played the same role in most of his movies.  Nothing changes, whether he’s Frank the tank, Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby, or in this latest movie Chazz Michael Michaels, each one is an arrogant, loud mouthed, asshole.  Ferrell sure has taken a single character quite a long way, and it’s starting to wear thin but I can’t help but laugh when I see Ferrell waltz around half naked arrogantly saying to Jon Heder, “drink it up sissy boy, this is what a real man looks like.” Aside from Ferrell’s character this movie does have a plot.  Blades of Glory is the story of two rival figure skaters the eccentric Chazz Michael Michaels (as played by Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), who are banned from figure skating after an incident at the 2002 Olympics.  Years later a crazed stalker points out that while the skaters are banned from singles competition they can still compete in the Olympics for pair skating.  In a bizarre twist the two decide the only way to win back the gold is to team up.  Problems arise as both Michaels and MacElroy try to overcome there differences on the ice, and when the two finally do appear to make progress another American duo, the Van Waldenburgs (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) try to ruin there chances at any cost, even if that means using there sister (MacElroy’s girlfriend).

            You get about what you would expect out of the cast.  Ferrell and Heder work well together in this movie, there is definitely a potential there for future comedies.  Ferrell of course plays an over the top arrogant athlete, while Heder is the polar opposite: a daddy’s boy who as Ferrell puts it in the movie: is like a 15 year old girl, but not hott.  Will Arnett and Amy Poehler were quite funny as well in this one.  The two play a brother and sister figure skating team that love each other “a little too much.”  The cast also includes Jenna Fischer (The Office) and Andy Richter.

            The movie gets old after a while, and the writing is far from the best any of these actors have ever worked with but it gets by.  I wouldn’t recommend this movie for anyone who hasn’t liked Ferrell’s past work because, truth be told, you’re essentially getting a watered down version of his earlier comedies.  But on the positive side what this movie lacks on paper is made up for with a veteran comedy team.  It’s not a great movie, but it will get you through a boring night with a few laughs.

Rating: 2 ½ bananas

 

From the Vault: “Rocky” (1976) Runtime: 1h59m Rating: PG

Genre: Action/Drama

         

            Since we took a look at a boxing drama this week, I could think of no better movie from in the vault to look at other than Rocky.  Rocky is a classic, it set the bar for which all other sports movies are looked at.  That said, among all sports movies it’s definitely top 3 quality, among every movie ever made, it still ranks up there pretty high.

              The reason Rocky was so good was that it looked at more than just boxing.  To say Rocky is a movie about boxing is like saying the earth has water on it, it’s true and in fact it’s a majority of what you’re looking at but there’s so much more out there.  Rocky is filled with boxing, everything in this movie is touched by boxing, but it’s the small things that really matter.  This movie is really about a man in his thirties down and out with a million to one shot.  He’s the underdog, the man everyone wants to throw their cart behind.  He trains the hardest, he wants it the most, and he outworks his opponent. But his opponent isn’t always in the ring- sometimes his biggest opponent is life itself.

            Rocky is the story of a struggling downtown Philadelphia boxer trying to make ends meet by working at a meat market, as well as collecting cash for some locals.  Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) doesn’t appear to have a life that anyone would envy.  He lives in poverty, and his future doesn’t look any brighter.  But things look up when our lonely underdog meets a girl named Adrian (Talia Shire).  Suddenly Rocky seems to have something going for him when the shot of a lifetime falls into his lap, a chance for an exhibition with heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).  The match is meant to be a publicity stunt, since there are no more worthy contenders around, but someone forgot to tell Rocky that this was supposed to be a cakewalk.

            While the boxing matches are superb, the true key to the acting in this movie is the rookie performance of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa.  The emotion literally jumps off the screen as you watch this film, everything he does is perfect and each relationship he has in the movie is touching.  As you watch Rocky and Adrian you almost feel like you’re eavesdropping on them, the portrayal of their love is so realistic you feel like you shouldn’t be watching.  And the friendships he forms with both his trainer, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), and Adrian's brother, Paulie (Burt Young), are as real as anything that has ever been portrayed in the movie.  They’re the type of relationships every man feels he has with his best friends, and that’s what makes them so convincing in this movie.  Last, but certainly not least, is Carl Weathers' portrayal of the heavyweight champion of the world.  Not only does Weathers' create this arrogant, self-centered persona for his character with his words, but also his every movement. Everytime you see him he carries this swagger like he’s the greatest and he knows it, and everytime you see Weather’s it just makes you want to see Rocky overcome his obstacles that much more.

            As I said this movie is about so much more than boxing, it’s about so much more than I could even write here.  I’m sure many of you out there have seen it, but I’m sure many of you haven’t given the fact it’s more than 30 years old now.  My hope is a few of you will watch it for the first time, and my greater hope is that many of you who watched it when you were young do yourselves a favor and watch it again now that you’re older and you can understand the concepts of this movie.  If you can’t root for Rocky, then you’ve forgotten what the American Dream is really about.

Rating: 4 bananas

 

 

Check out our sponsored links!