100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 130: A Fighting Man

Director: Damian Lee

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 85 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Dominic Purcell, Louis Gossett Jr., Famke Janssen, James Caan, Adam Beach, Freddie Roach, Kim Coats, Michael Ironside

 

Description: An aging fighter (Dominic Purcell) is in search of redemption. He steps into the ring with a hungry young pugilist (Izaak Smith) with something to prove.

 

Review: The boxing veteran Sailor O’Connor has never been knocked out in over sixty matches he has fought. Still he’s a broken man, haunted by a tragic past. When Sailor gets one more chance in the ring, he takes the opportunity. His opponent is young and much faster. With the help of his old coach, Sailor prepares for what is probably going to be his last fight.

Boxing is a source of inspiration for Hollywood and many great movies about boxing have been made already. The heroic feel and the controversy are perfect for a movie.

The constant factor in the film is the fight between Sailor O’Conner and King Solomon. In between we see flashbacks, from both perspectives. Everything that happened before the fight. This way of storytelling works pretty good. Most questions you have as a viewer, are answered at the end of the movie. For instance the story of Diane Schuler. “A Fighting Man” isn’t just a boxing movie, but also a film filled with symbolic. The punches Sailor receives in the ring symbolize the rough life he has lived.

Visually the shaky shots and quick montage fit the character and the feel of the film. And the story isn’t told chronologically, which really works and doesn’t make it a standard boxing movie with the big fight at the end of it. The movie does have some clichés and some storylines that have loose ends.

All in all “A Fighting Man” is a pretty good film, definitely worth your time.

Rating: 3/ 5

Let Freedom Ride

I recently told you how much I love the TV show "Sons of Anarchy". My brother and I are totally hooked on it. I also got the DVD of the first season last thursday and now I thought it was time for a wallpaper. I had the Rachel McAdams wallie on for quite a while, and though she never bores me I thought it was time for something new. So here's my SOA wallpaper. And as always, feel free to use it on your own computer.

Reasons Why I Love Sons of Anarchy

OK, so "Sons of Anarchy" is not your typical girly-show. It's about a motorgang, lots of badasses and violence. But that doesn't mean I can't like it, because I do. It's my latest addiction and I'm always looking forward to the next episode like I did with "Lost" and I still do with "CSI". Here are some reasons why I love this show so much.

# 1. No one's perfect. I think we love the characters more for their flaws than their perfectness. For example Gemma. We love the fact that she takes care of her boys, but we love her even more when she kicks some ass. Or Jax, the loving father, who kills like it's a daily chore. All the character have imperfections, even sweet doctor Tara who didn't think twice when shooting that ATF creep. Even Tig, the craziest guy out there, gets some sort of sympathy.

# 2. The guys! It's nice to watch sweet, caring, clumbsy boys in "Glee", but I prefer a tough guy. Charlie Hunnam is enough eye candy for me to tune in. But we also have Theo Rossi, who playes Juice, far out the hottest guy on the show. But Ryan Hurst and Kenny Johnson aren't all that bad either. No sissy's here. All real menly men.

# 3. Katey Sagal. Isn't she just perfect in her role as Gemma. This is the role of a lifetime. A well deserved Golden Globe she won.

# 4. Even though they do a lot of bad stuff (fighting, killing, selling guns, cheating, you name it), you still root for the SONS. They have a backstory and you sympathize (almost) everyone single one of them.

# 5. The music. Starting with the fantastic theme song by "Curtis Stigers & the Forest Rangers". How cool is that? Together with "Supernatural" probably the show with the best music in it.

If you've never watched the show before, you better start now. You're missing out on a lot, because it's an awesome show. Really worth watching.