The Gift (8/10): A solid psychological thriller

¨It's all in the eyes, you see. You see what happens when you poison other people's mind with ideas?¨

The Gift sort of appeared from nowhere and has surprised critics and audiences alike for its suspenseful narrative and strong performances. This is Joel Edgerton's directorial debut and what makes it even more impressive is that he wrote the script and co-starred in the film as well, so it is quite an achievement for him. Edgerton had previously co-written some interesting scripts (The Rover and The Square), but this is the first time he went solo while deciding to direct it as well.  These mystery thrillers are probably my favorite kind of films so I was hooked from the very beginning and loved the performances. This is the film I wished Creep would've been. The performances are solid and no one seems to be over selling it. There are also several suspenseful moments and a couple of jump scares that worked extremely well. Edgerton does a fantastic job directing this movie without trying to do anything overly artistic. It is a simple mystery thriller that manages to work thanks to some clever twists and surprises along the way. The premise at first seems like one you've seen before, but each time you think you know where the film is heading it takes a couple of unexpected turns that work to the film's advantage and adds to the overall creepy atmosphere.

I don't want to give the plot away so I will be as simplistic as possible, but no matter how familiar the premise may seem at first I recommend you stick with it because the film is very rewarding.  We are introduced to a married couple who have recently moved to California from Chicago. Simon (Jason Bateman) is returning to his childhood town with his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall). They seem to be the perfect couple living a blissful life as they both are settling into their beautiful new home. While they are visiting a local store, Simon runs into a man who introduces himself as Gordo (Joel Edgerton). At first Simon doesn't recognize him, but they were both school friends and it doesn't take long for him to recall him (Gordo the weirdo as he later tells his wife). Gordo is very excited to see him and seems very friendly although it does make Simon a bit uneasy. Gordo begins sending gifts to the couple and showing up at their home uninvited which begins to make them uncomfortable (as well as the audience).  It becomes evident that Gordo is a bit of a creep, but he isn't exactly menacing either. As familiar as this stalker premise might seem, the film does evolve into something more and it does so in a very natural way. 

I'd say that The Gift is more of a psychological drama than an actual horror thriller, but it does have its jump scares scattered throughout. The mystery works because everything unfolds naturally and none of the twists seem forced. Edgerton never plays tricks on the audience and delivers a straightforward film which benefits from the three lead performances. Jason Bateman is known for his comedic work, but here he excels in this dramatic role playing a successful business man. Rebecca Hall is also great although her character isn't given much of an arc. Joel Edgerton is fantastic as this creep who makes the audience feel uncomfortable while also feeling sorry for him at times. I don't think the movie would've worked without these strong lead performances because they play a key role in making the premise evolve naturally. The Gift ended up being a memorable psychological thriller that benefited from the audience going into it without knowing much about it. It was a fantastic experience and one of the better thrillers to come out this year. In a way it feels like a throwback to some thrillers from the 90´s.

Black Mass (6/10): Dealing with the devil

“If nobody sees it, it didn't happen.”

Black Mass is Scott Cooper’s follow up to his dark thriller, Out of the Furnace. This gangster film centers on the true story of one of Boston’s most wanted criminals, Whitey Bulger, an Irish mobster who served as an informant for the FBI against the Italian Mafia for many years, during which time he used the special treatment to get away with committing several gruesome crimes of his own and rise to the top. The film is extremely slow paced and it focuses on the small details of Whitey’s crime life, but it is also a breath of fresh air for its realistic portrayal of the gritty criminal life without sensationalizing these gangsters. The violence is real and gruesome and not something worth celebrating here. It does however prove why audiences love the more fast paced fictitious portrayal of these criminal, because it can become a dull exercise at times to portray these characters as real people. The greatest strength of Black Mass is without a doubt Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Whitey because it was exciting to finally see him play a straight role once again. He’s menacing without going over the top. The prosthetics were a bit distracting, but it was worth it to get to see Depp playing this older man. Black Mass tries too hard to remain authentic to the real life events and by doing so it becomes a dull procedural at times, but Depp’s performance makes it worth recommending. 

The film centers on Whitey’s relationship with a Boston FBI agent named John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) who struck a deal with him during the course of several years. Whitey was asked to snitch on the Italian mafia which would lead to more arrests for Connolly while Whitey was allowed to get away with his criminal undertakings. It was a win-win situation for both of them. The story then closely follows how Whitey went about doing his business with his entrusted men, Kevin (Jesse Plemons) and Steve (Rory Cochrane), performing gruesome executions while the police looked the other way. Meanwhile, Whitey’s brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) was rising to the top of the Massachusetts Senate, but he doesn’t play a major role in the story. Other characters who are simply introduced but not given much to do are Whitey’s partner: Lindsey (Dakota Johnson), Connolly’s right hand man in the agency: John Morris (David Harbour), and Connolly’s wife: Marianne (Julianne Nicholson). The film uses these characters to explore some of the family dynamics and when it does it works to its advantage, but the film feels like it is missing some cohesiveness between each separate individual. Take for instance a scene where Whitey is sharing a meal with Lindsey and their son while he is explaining to him how to get away with hitting a boy in school who is bullying him. The scene works perfectly to give us a sense of how Whitey thinks and acts, but it doesn’t do anything for the film narratively and it feels like a separate scene all together. There are several moments like this that seem to be presented only as facts, but these facts don’t add up to much and it drags out the premise making us lose interest in the story.   

There are some great scenes where Depp is allowed to shine, but other than that the film does miss a lot of its targets. The talented cast is mostly wasted with Benedict Cumberbatch, Juno Temple, and Kevin Bacon given very little to do. Depp and Edgerton stand out since the primary focus of the film is on their relationship, but the side plots don’t work. While the film tries to focus on other characters it never feels connected to the main relationship that is so central to the story. Johnny Depp might garner some attention for his performance, but the film will quickly be forgotten come award time. 

Exodus: Gods and Kings (5/10): A disappointing Biblical adaptation from the talented Ridley Scott

“Follow me and you will be free. Stay and you will perish.”

Ridley Scott is always a director to look forward to when it comes to films. I know he has had his series of misses as of late, but with films like Alien and Blade Runner under his belt, you know his next film could become a classic. Alien is one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time and I even enjoyed Scott’s recent prequel, Prometheus, more than most audiences did. Exodus isn’t the first time Scott has tried to make an epic film because it is similar in scope to what he did with Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood. Unfortunately, Exodus is the weakest of the four in my opinion. Scott has also experimented with different genres and last year’s The Counselor was proof of that. He’s even made some smaller films which I really enjoyed such as Matchstick Men which I was a huge fan of. I appreciate these smaller scale films more than when he tries to make these grandiose and epic ones. My major issue with this film revolves around the pacing because it felt so long and dull for most parts. It was as if Scott was aiming to direct an ambitious epic film and was trying to make it so grand that he got lost with the production and visuals of it and left out the actual narrative. There are several things I’d like to get out of the way before I actually review this film. First of all, if you are expecting a faithful adaptation to the Biblical story then Exodus isn’t a movie for you because Scott and the screenwriters took several liberties of their own (especially in the way Moses interacted with God and the Pharaoh). This is the second big budget film based on the Old Testament to come out last year, after Aronofsky directed Noah, which both took liberties from the original source material but in my opinion at least Aronofsky did something fresh and unique with the material, while Scott never manages to do so. Second, I don’t understand why we complaint so much about the casting of white actors and forget about the fact that the characters are all speaking in English. What is the point of casting all Egyptian and Hebrew actors and have them speak in English? At least Scott went all in and just cast famous actors without considering anything else.

It took me a while to get over the silliness of the opening sequences. On the one hand, Scott made a huge effort of recreating the Egyptian empire with huge production sets, but on the other the familiar faces of the actors kind of took me out of the film. Having John Turturro playing the Pharaoh and Sigourney Weaver his wife was difficult to visualize. I think Joel Edgerton is a great actor, but he wasn’t the right man for the role of Ramses. Christian Bale delivers as Moses and Ben Mendelssohn has the most campy scenes in the film but I think they helped to break the tedious tone of the film. Aaron Paul and Ben Kingsley are inexplicably underused. Despite the nice visuals (I don’t think they were groundbreaking), the story was poorly written and that is perhaps why some of these incredible actors didn’t have much to work with. There are some moments in the film where Moses is given some humanity, but whatever depth they tried to give the characters got lost in the visuals and the narrative. We know the story and have seen it played out several times in films before, so that is perhaps why I found some of the engaging scenes rather tedious because Scott doesn’t really do anything unique with the material. By the time the plagues take place we really don’t care for the characters and aren’t emotionally invested in them either. Yes, the scenes look great but there is nothing more there. I also expected a lot more from the parting of the Red Sea, but it simply was a forgettable scene. The only moment I felt some sort of emotion toward this dull film was with the dedication to his brother Tony during the end credits, but the film didn’t actually do anything for me. I was more emotionally engaged with the animated film The Prince of Egypt than I was with this. Skip the movie, read Exodus instead. 

My Review: The Rover (6/10)

"The only thing that means anything right now is that I'm here and he's not."

David Michod followed up his critically acclaimed Australian film, Animal Kingdom, with this post-Apocalyptic western starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. It is a very slow paced film with very little dialogue and several monotonous scenes involving close ups of characters staring into the desertlike wasteland. As I was watching The Rover, I couldn't help but recall the stunning cinematography and the atmosphere of The Road. This film has many similarities with it considering it also deals with a post apocalyptic world where humanity seems lost. The few social encounters that take place between the characters show us how indifferent these people are towards each other in this bleak and harsh world portrayed by Michod. There is no mention as to what happened other than that there was a collapse ten years ago. That collapse hasn't affected the landscape as much as it has affected people's inner lives. There seems to be a lack of purpose in every character's life and there is no room for laughter or hope. It's not the world that has gotten darker, but the people who are simply trying to survive in it. We've seen this sort of bleak world portrayed in many other films before, and the monotony can turn many audiences off. The young girls who are drawn to this film for Robert Pattinson will be disappointed considering the dirt filled desert has taken its toll on him and the rest of the characters. No one looks good in The Rover, there is no reason to, they are all simply trying to survive and move on in this desolate land. The tone and mood of the film is very dark and harsh which will also turn many people off. This isn't a film for everyone, but the drama does manage to keep you in suspense.

Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson are the sole reason why I was able to stick with this depressive and lonely world painted by Michod (with the assistance of Joel Edgerton who wrote the story in which the film is based on). Pearce gives a solid performance as this tough loner who will stop at nothing to find the men who have stolen his car, even if it means getting killed in the process. Along the way he encounters Rey (Robert Pattinson), who is the brother of one of the criminals who have stolen his car. Apparently Rey was left for dead after a shootout that took place right before the criminals decided to escape in the wrong vehicle. The two continue the search together. Once Pearce and Pattinson are on screen together the film picks up and breaks the monotony from the opening minutes. Pattinson is the stand out here playing this dimwitted character who doesn't seem to have a chance of surviving in this world on his own. He sells his southern accent very well and even delivers some much needed comedic relief once in a while. He is almost unrecognizable in this film and I believe it is probably his best performance to date. The violence in this film is also shocking at times as it hits you pretty hard and doesn't romanticize it at all as some Hollywood films tend to do. The gunshots are loud and quick and probably say much more about The Rover than any of the characters do. I wasn't a fan of the score of this film which was a bit repetitive and wasn't necessary in my opinion considering the tone was rather monotonous on its own. Despite its slow pacing, The Rover managed to sustain the tension up to the very end.

My Review: The Great Gatsby (7/10)

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness."

If there was ever a film that could benefit from director Baz Luhrmann's excesses in art direction and visuals then The Great Gatsby is that film. They weren't called the "Roaring 20's" for nothing and boy does Baz really go all the way with the visual spectacle during the first 40 minutes of the film. Many people think Baz's films are a bit pretentious, but I disagree because he is just an ambitious director who knows how important art direction can be in a film. I was one of the few who enjoyed Baz's epic film, Australia, but he is better known for his Academy Award nominated film Moulin Rouge. In The Great Gatsby he takes F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel and adapts the familiar story to his highly artistic vision. Fans of the novel might not enjoy the liberties that Baz takes in his adaptation, but since I had never read the story before I had a fun time watching this visually splendid film. The novel has been adapted many times on film before, but this is the first time I got to know about The Great Gatsby and perhaps I was more enamored by the tragic love story because I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't enjoy the 40 minute build up as much as I did getting to see the narration play out once Gatsby appears on film. The performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan were way above the rest of the cast. I wasn't a big fan of Tobey Maguire here, but he wasn't bad either. The best thing about The Great Gatsby, beside the fabulous characters and narrative that Fitzgerald created, is the artistic direction and costume design that transports us to the Roaring 20's. Some critics believe that the spectacle replaces the heart of the story here, but I actually thought there was a lot of heart to it. 

Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) narrates the events that took place during the summer of 1922 shortly after he had moved to New York City from the Midwest. It was a time of wealth so he decided to abandon his dreams of becoming a writer in order to work in Wall Street and chase the American dream. He moves into a small house right across the lake from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan) who is married to one of the richest men in the south, Tom Buchanon (Joel Edgerton). The talk of the city however has to do with the presence of Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a new millionaire who throws gigantic parties for everyone. No one happens to know much about him, but Nick's house is right next door to his mansion. Nick befriends Gatsby and thinks very highly of him for the class of person he is; very different from anyone he's met. Gatsby asks Nick to invite his cousin Daisy for tea and soon Nick discovers something interesting about Gatsby's past and his relationship with Daisy. 

I know that novels are usually way better than films so I really want to read Fitzgerald's classic novel now because I was captivated by the story here. It is tragic, but has a lot of heart and I felt that Baz did get to show that in his film despite all the visual spectacles. Leonardo DiCaprio is always really captivating on film and here once again he proves his unique talents as the Great Gatsby. DiCaprio played Romeo in Baz's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet several years ago, but he has really matured now as an actor. Baz incorporated modern music to the 20's era and that may come as a shock to some viewers (seeing everyone dance swing to modern hip hop) but I thought the effect worked well in this movie. Baz really captured the spirit of the era and I think he is a bit underrated as a director. I don't know if I would've enjoyed this film as much if I had read the novel before, but as someone coming into this film without any prior knowledge of Gatsby I was blown away by the story and the characters.

Rating: 7,6/10

My Review: Zero Dark Thirty (9/10)

¨I’m going to smoke everyone involved in the op and then I’m going to kill Osama bin Laden.¨

The passion, determination, and single-minded pursuit of a female CIA operative to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden was the film that the Academy Award winning writer and director decided to pursue after their success in The Hurt Locker. Zero Dark Thirty is so intense and suspenseful that you just want Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal to continue working together forever. They make other modern war films look really bad when held up to the standards of their recent work together. Bigelow has developed such a craft and expertise as a filmmaker that during some moments of the film (especially the final 25 minute raid) you feel like you are watching a documentary of actual footage of the manhunt instead of a fictional film. She is as passionate about her work as her lead character is obsessed with hunting down this man. We can’t argue that Bigelow benefits from Boal’s extraordinary script, which manages to reduce a decade long hunt into 150 minutes of detailed procedural work without taking political sides or focusing on revenge nonsense. It just takes such a realist approach that you never feel manipulated by Bigelow which would have been easy to do considering the subject matter. This is in my opinion the best film dealing with pos 9-11 events thanks to Bigelow’s ability to remain emotionally detached and focus on her craft. Under the weight of the heavy subject matter, she somehow manages to make this film more about a character study than an actual manhunt. There is really one main character in this film as the rest of characters come and go, and without delving into her past and focusing on the decade long pursuit of bin Laden the story centers around her, and it is a very interesting psychological study of what motivates her. Jessica Chastain is just so fascinating in this film, that she single handedly carries this movie and gives the best performance of her career.

The film opens in black with several voiceovers of calls from the World Trade center during the 9-11 attacks. It is a very emotional opening scene as we later are introduced to the main character, Maya (Jessica Chastain), who has been sent to Pakistan by the CIA to hunt down bin Laden. The first place we see her is in an interrogation room where her partner Dan (Jason Clarke) is torturing a terrorist prisoner in order to find information of the whereabouts of bin Laden. Maya isn’t amused by the torture that is going on and doesn’t participate, but she is willing to accept any means necessary in order to unlock the truth and hunt down the man she’s obsessed with finding. Of all the prisoners they have interrogated there seems to be one man that is mentioned by everyone: Abu Ahmed.  Maya is convinced that this man is bin Laden’s personal courier and that if she can locate him then she will locate his leader. Her boss, Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler) isn’t convinced about this theory, but Maya is determined to pursue this lead. The entire film is a very detailed procedural drama of how Maya follows one lead after another (with several false and disappointing leads along the way) until she is able to locate the whereabouts of bin Laden. Her next mission is to convince the authorities that bin Laden is actually hidden in that complex without having definite proof, but her certainty ends up convincing the leaders to send the US Navy SEALS team led by Patrick (Joel Edgerton) to attack the compound and kill bin Laden.

There were a great amount of talented actors cast in this film such as James Gandolfini, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Duplass, Frank Grillo, and Chris Platt, but they had very few scenes and the entire film centered on Jessica Chastain. She deserves an Oscar for her performance here, and Mark Boal deserves one for Best Screenplay. The entire film is a character study on Maya as her entire life revolves around catching this man. We see it in her eyes from the very opening scene to the very end where instead of experiencing joy for the success she had, all we can see is a sigh of relief. What comes next for Maya? She doesn’t even know as she was so focused and determined on one thing only. I love Bigelow’s style and how she downsizes the entire war and centers everything on one central character. Just like she did in The Hurt Locker where the focus is on Renner’s character and how the adrenaline of war has become an addiction for him; now the focus is on Chastain who is very driven and obsessed with accomplishing her goal. There is not anything else on her mind; it’s as if she lives for one specific purpose. In the end you don’t know if you should cheer for her or feel sorry that her work is done. In a way I felt Bigelow’s approach to the events that led to bin Laden’s death to be very powerful; and it has raised a lot of discussions about torture, but that is exactly what a great film should do: bring up conversations and make us question things at times. After a decade long manhunt, was it really a triumph to kill bin Laden? Was it worth a celebration? Does the end justify the means? Without taking sides Bigelow makes us think about these issues and that is what good movies do for the viewers.    

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My Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green (4/10)

¨Please don't ask about my leaves.¨

I’m generally a fan of Disney family movies and don’t mind when they get overly sentimental or extremely sweet as long as the characters have depth and the story rings authentic. The problem I had with The Odd Life of Timothy Green wasn’t that it was too emotional or sweet, but rather that the story never felt authentic. I know the story is fictional, but even so I never believed the father and son relationship, and the movie really never connected with me. Like the title suggests it felt too odd and weird. I enjoyed Peter Hedges previous movie (Dan in Real Life). He is mostly known of course for writing the screenplay for What`s Eating Gilbert Grape. Hedges definitely has a lot of talent, but this film just failed to connect with me. In my opinion it is one of his weakest efforts. He adapted the screenplay from Ahmet Zappa`s story. I really wouldn’t watch this film again even though I liked the actors. I loved Joel Edgerton in Warrior and Jennifer Garner is a well liked actress. CJ Adams did a very good job in the title role as Timothy, but as much as I liked these actors I never enjoyed the story. Everything seemed so disconnected from reality and I couldn’t find any character with depth. It was like if they were in a rush to tell the story and they never stopped to focus on the relationships that were being built.

The film begins by introducing us to a young couple from Stanleyville (the pencil capital of the world) who is trying to adopt a kid. Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim Green (Joel Edgerton) are being interviewed in order to see if they are qualified and thus they begin to narrate the story about the boy who changed their lives: Timothy. The entire film is told in flashback style while the couple is in the interview. They story begins with them in the doctor`s office where they are given the bad news that they will never be able to have children. That night they arrive home devastated by the news, but Jim decides to dream for one last night about their child. They begin to name several qualities that child would have and they write them down. After coming up with several qualities they put them inside a box and bury it in their backyard garden. That night a strong storm hits their home and they wake up to a strange sound in the house. They discover a young boy named Timothy (CJ Adams) who has leaves growing out of his ankles. Timothy calls them mom and dad, and that is when Jim and Cindy discover that their dream child has grown out of their garden. Timothy teaches them several lessons about life and parenting. He also falls in love with a young girl named Joni (Odeya Rush) who helps him to adopt to the new life. A few surprises happen along the way as Timothy meets the rest of the family and town members. He inspires and changes the lives of Jim and Cindy forever.

As much as I wanted to like this family friendly movie I couldn’t. The film lacked authenticity or at least a sense of minimal believability in a fairytale. I liked CJ Adams performance, but his character wasn’t really well developed either. He was a little too odd and I never felt the connection between him and his parents. This is yet another movie that seems to tell us that children are wiser than their parents, but I will make an exception here because we were dealing with a miraculous kid. There is not much more I can say about this film, you either love it or hate it. With me it failed to make any connection whatsoever, but it is a sweet family friendly film. I didn’t find it to be very emotional although it does try to be a tearjerker. It never reached that emotional level or touching moment that I was hoping for.

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My Review: Warrior (10/10)

¨Break out the yellow tape, Sam. Tommy's walking away from the cage like he's leaving a crime scene.¨

Warrior is one of my favorite films of the year along with Drive and the final Harry Potter movie. This film really caught me by surprise. I`m generally not a huge fan of sports movies; don`t get me wrong, I like them, but they usually are very predictable and never end up among my favorites. However, Warrior is really a terrific movie that had me routing for both fighters at the end. What really stands out however in this movie aren`t the actual fighting scenes, but the entire family drama that goes on. Warrior makes The Fighter look like a silly movie and I really enjoyed that one, but the performances in this film (apart from Bale`s excellent performance) and the script are much better. The family in Warrior is a totally broken one, and although there are some clichés and corny moments, I really had a great time with this emotionally strong sports drama written and directed by Gavin O`Connor who also directed the 2004 sports film: Miracle. The fighting scenes are really well choreographed and the actors all look like real fighters. Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy are great as the lead characters and they really buffed out for this movie. The true surprise of Warrior however was Nick Nolte`s powerful performance as the broken father who is looking for redemption and forgiveness from his estranged sons. There are really some powerful and emotional dramatic scenes, but there are also plenty of strong fighting scenes so you will be satisfied whatever it is you are looking for. This movie deserves some Oscar buzz, it is just that good, and it really hasn`t received as much recognition as it should.

Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte) is a recovering alcoholic and former boxer who is living on his own after having pushed away his sons and wife when they were teens due to his alcohol abuse. Fourteen years later his youngest son, Tommy (Tom Hardy), who just returns as a Marine from Iraq, shows up at his doorsteps, and despite realizing his father is a changed man he still doesn`t want to have a relationship with him. He is still hurt and broken for everything that went on in his past. Paddy wasn`t a good father, but Tommy recognizes he was a great coach and wants him to train him for a Mixed Martial Art tournament called Sparta where the best fighters from the world will come to compete for the grand prize of 5 million dollars. Paddy coached Tommy during High School where he broke all the wrestling records and was never defeated. As the movie progresses more details about his past are revealed, and we also get to know why he needs the prize money. Tommy`s older brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton) is also estranged from his family. Brendan never ran off with Tommy and his mother because he was in love with a girl who later became his wife and mother of his two beautiful daughters: Tess (Jennifer Morrison). Tommy never forgave Brendan for this and hasn`t communicated with him since. Brendan is a former UFC fighter and now works as a Physics teacher. Tess made him give up fighting after he was hospitalized and nearly died. They seem to be happy with their kids, but they are having financial problems and will lose the house in three months due to some heavy debts from his youngest daughter being hospitalized for heart issues. She is very well now, but Brendan can`t pay off his debts so he decides to enter the tournament as well and begins training with his former trainer Frank (Frank Grillo).

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this family drama is that it played out perfectly. O`Connor doesn`t talk down to the audience, we begin putting the pieces together about the family`s past through natural conversation that go on between them. We realize there is more to Tommy than we actually expect at first. Behind his tough guy persona there is some good in him. Brendan is also an excellent father and a nice guy. As the movie progresses we identify with both characters and can`t help but route for both of them. The trailer lets us know that both brothers will reach the final and compete with each other so it is no spoiler that I`m telling you this. You will have a hard time choosing who you want to win the fight. The family drama plays out perfectly and there are some great scenes between Hardy, Eldridge, and Nolte. Jennifer Morrison also does a great job playing the worried and carrying wife. The performances in this film are really top notch, and the action doesn`t let you down either. Fans of MMA and UFC won`t be disappointed with the fighting scenes. This is a great film with a great story and great performances. As we begin to uncover one layer after another of this family`s past we begin to route for them and identify with their pain. Nolte`s eyes really show us how repented he is for his past sins and how much he wants to reconcile with his two sons. His performance is Oscar worthy as a supporting character. By all means go see Warrior, you won`t regret it. This is Rocky meets Bloodsport meet Brothers.

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