Tag: Wrestling

UNSTOPPABLE – Review

A scene from UNSTOPPABLE. Courtesy of Amazon MGM

Generally, sports films aren’t for me but UNSTOPPABLE is an exception, because this remarkable true story is more that an inspiring sport film but also a true story of human character, strength and determination, and even love and family. It is more than it seems at first. The true story of champion wrestler Anthony Robles, born with only one leg but with an unstoppable drive to succeed in the sport he loves, is inspiring but so is the personal story that goes with it. Robles faced a lot of challenges from the start but had one stroke of really good luck of having a supportive, loving parent in his teenaged mother. Actually, UNSTOPPABLE is not really about sports (although it does have impressive wrestling scenes), but about human courage and drive, and well, heart.

Anthony Robles faces challenges beyond just having been born with one leg, and dealing with the obstacles that creates for his athletic dreams. Anthony and his mother, and all his younger siblings form a loving Latino family but they barely scrapping by financially and things are made more precarious and complex by his mother’s unreliable, bossy husband.

The film tells two emotionally powerful true stories, the sports one and the family one, in parallel, creating a uniquely uplifting and universal human story, both inspiring in its refusal to quit and its capacity for love. UNSTOPPABLE sports an impressive cast, with Jharrel Jerome as Robles, supported by Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena, and even the real Anthony Robles in wrestling scenes that blend him and the young actor playing him, in an startlingly effective FX.

The film shows Anthony Robles as more than a remarkable athlete but a person of remarkable inner strength, character, and kindness, while still being a fearsome fighter on the wrestling mat. It is inspiring but all done without a false note or sentimentality.

Jharrel Jerome plays Anthony Robles who we meet as a high schooler, a star wrestler with dreams of college, and the oldest child in a large Hispanic family that is barely scraping by financially. Jennifer Lopez plays his mother Judy, the rock holding the family together. Judy had Anthony when she was only 16 and mother and son are exceptionally close, and in many ways, Anthony is her rock as well as the source of her hopes. Bobby Cannavale plays Judy’s husband Rick, Antony’s stepdad and the father of his younger siblings. While Rick can be fun and entertaining, he can also be demanding and critical, particularly towards Anthony. The younger kids all look up to Anthony, and depend on him and their mother, while their loud-mouthed dad bosses everyone around. Worse, Rick likes to drink, is unreliable and has trouble holding a job, putting even more on Judy. Things don’t get better as the story unfolds.

Anthony dreams of becoming a NCAA champ but he is turned down by his first choice college, University of Iowa, which is widely considered to have the best wrestling program in the country. The coach quickly dismisses Anthony from consideration, feeling he is too big a gamble for a program already on top. His other top-pick colleges also pass him over. Although Drexel offers him a scholarship, he decides to go to Arizona State University, so he can stay home and help his mom. When he later goes to the mat against a top-seeded wrestler from University of Iowa, it’s time for some pay back.

The two threads of Anthony’s life are told in tandem, sometimes seems to mirror each other, but it is like two stories, with Anthony often the only connection. While UNSTOPPABLE has the usual basic outlines of any fact-based sports story, the personal one that is told long side it gives it an extra depth, and human connection.

The excellent wrestling scenes deserve special mention, as the FX are impressive, even if you are not a wrestling fan (which I am not). The real Anthony Robles appears in the wrestling scenes, where the film uses camera work, special effects and editing to merge him with the young actor Jharrel Jerome. The effect is seamless and fascinating. Watching Robles turn the tables on opponents by wrestling on his own terms is quite something, and you get a real sense of why some opponents complained that having one less leg to grab was actually to Robles advantage, as wily, flexible Robles slips away from their grasp. The scenes are quite thrilling, and satisfying, to watch, after Robles faces such dismissive treatment by some coaches or opponents.

The cast is superb in both these story lines, as is the storytelling from Oscar-winning film editor-turned-director William Goldenberg. As Anthony, Jharrel Jerome is in nearly every scene, and worked hard to build up his upper body muscle mass, master Anthony’s Arizona accent, his smooth movements on the crutches Anthony used all his life and, importantly, his wrestling moves, so fans of the sport would feel they were watching the real thing. Jennifer Lopez is excellent as his mother Judy, a complex character who is more than just a support for her son, but someone with her own issues. While Bobby Cannavale could easily made Rick a one-note villain, he makes him a more complicated character, haunted in his own way but with misplaced anger taken out on the family.

Fortunately for Anthony, his high school coach Bobby Williams is more of a father figure. Michael Pena is a steady rock as the high school coach, who stays involved even after his young friend goes on to college. Don Cheadle, as always, is excellent as Arizona State wrestling coach Shawn Charles, coming across at first as a hard-nosed, even unfeeling, but gradually softening as he learns the depths of this young wrestler’s inner (and outer) strengths. Michael Pena is steady rock as Anthony’s high school coach who still has his young friend’s back as he goes on to college.

Unable to get a wrestling scholarship, Anthony also takes a job on top of everything else, as a cleaner at the airport, where he wins over everyone on the crew with is positive nature and work ethic.

What Anthony is doing as he pursues his wrestling dreams and what he copes with at home are both enormous challenges – and to have to juggle them at the same time, and successfully, is more than you would think anyone could do. Yet that show of strength and character is exactly why this is such a great true story. If you feel in need for a little break and uplift from depressing news, this well-made, true-story drama can be just the tonic.

UNSTOPPABLE debuts streaming on Prime Video on Thursday, Jan 16.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

THE HAMMER (HAMILL) – SLIFF Review

Inspirational sports films are a dime a dozen, with a notable few that stand out, such as MYSTERY ALASKA, but rarely does one rise to the surface as an exceptionally memorable experience for viewers. For the most part, there’s a standard formula by which these films follow, neither good nor bad, but it’s a formula that works so it rarely changes. This is an important concept to keep in mind while watching THE HAMMER.

Directed by Oren Kaplan, THE HAMMER (also known as HAMILL) follows this formula closely, handing in an accomplished but familiar inspirational sports story of a young man rising to become the best, in this case as a wrestler. There’s nothing shameful in this, as the goal of such a film is to inspire audiences after all. The difference in this case, is in the subject matter and a particular creative choice which I found subtle but extraordinarily pleasing in the way the story is told.

Russell Harvard (THERE WILL BE BLOOD) plays Matt Hamill, hearing impaired from birth, he struggles to find his place growing up as the only deaf child in a small rural town. Despite his mother’s desire for him to learn sign language and attend a special school, Matt’s grandfather Stanley resists, pushing Matt to rely on himself, be strong and not fall into the trap of feeling bad for himself. From this “tough love” approach, Matt eventually rises to his own potential and becomes one of the best college wrestlers.

As with many films of this nature, the obvious payoff at the end of the film is not the most rewarding. THE HAMMER is all about the journey, the ups and downs of Hamill’s life, which is dominated by downs. Harvard captures the intricacies of a young man struggling to become a success without the traditional tools given to a deaf child, such as sign language. This become one more obstacle that Matt must overcome, at first learning to read lips as not to rely on others, but eventually learns the value of letting others help after meeting a fellow deaf student named Kristi, played by Shoshannah Stern (Television’s JERICHO and WEEDS). Stern herself is deaf, but her performance is greater than just her situational authenticity.

Raymond J. Barry (LITTLE CHILDREN, Television’s JUSTIFIED) delivers a sturdy performance as Matt’s grandfather Stanley. He provides the rough, no frills essentials that I think of when I imagine this “cold and hard exterior, soft and gooey interior” type of character. Michael Anthony Spady plays Matt’s college roommate and best friend Jay, but the film truly revolves around Matt, his grandfather and Kristi, both of whom help Matt grow in their own ways.

Kaplan taps the heart string; he develops the relationships and emphasizes the difficult times, all elements that fit perfectly within the mold of an inspirational film. The one thing that stands out for me above all else, aside from the choice to cast deaf actors including Russell Harvard and Shoshannah Stern, is the way Kaplan handled key moments in Hamill’s personal growth, moments of significance that shape his character. These most crucial experiences are conveyed in silence, not a mechanical silence, but a living, organic silence that illustrates the world in which matt lives. The result is an increased sense of being in the moment and a heightening of the dramatic impact for the viewer.

THE HAMMER also employs subtitles in a creative way, illustrating Matt’s struggle with reading lips. These little touches are what allow THE HAMMER to stand out from the crowd as an above average inspirational film, despite what might often feel a bit like a Hallmark movie, but also happens to be based on a true story. Matt Hamill is a real person, which is ultimately the most inspirational aspect of such films. At the end of THE HAMMER, the audience is treated to the genre standard of meeting the real life character, but the film wouldn’t be complete without this opportunity.

Showtimes
Saturday, November 12th at 4:15pm – Tivoli Theatre

WARRIOR – The Review

WARRIOR is the iconic “Rocky” film of the MMA generation, brutal, beautiful and emotionally extraordinary. For the scarce handful of those unfamiliar with the rapidly rising new sport, MMA is mixed martial arts, the next level of skilled combat athletics, combining any and all forms of hand-to-hand fighting styles. Yes, the film contains violence. How else do you tell a story so crucially centered on what will ultimately replace boxing, without depicting it as realistically as possible? The violence of the competition is exhilarating, but serves as a welcome and climactic payoff for the brutally honest, often gut-wrenching human drama that unfolds as the soul of the film.

The story follows two brothers, Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brandon (Joel Edgerton), both of whom have histories as trained fighters. Tommy was an undefeated high school wrestling marvel who wound up a Marine himself, trained by their father Paddy (Nick Nolte), a Marine veteran with a violent, drunken past. Brandon also caught the wrestling bug, but followed through to become a mediocre UFC success as a professional fighter, before retiring and becoming a high school physics teacher, married with two girls. Both Tommy and Brandon, as we discover entirely separate of each other, have one thing in common, a deep-seeded and passionate anger toward their estranged father Paddy, now sober, now desperately struggles for nothing more than to somehow reconnect with his boys. This right here, more than anything else in the film, this relationship and how it plays out, is what sets WARRIOR apart from similar films.

Writer and director Gavin O’Connor has created his best work of cinema since 2004’s MIRACLE, and I believe surpasses the beloved and inspiring hockey film. The film as a whole is powerful and magnetic, grabbing hold of the viewer’s very spirit and never letting go. The way in which O’Connor isolates the two brothers’ stories builds suspense and empathy for both characters equally, creating not one, but two heroes for us to encourage and follow. Tommy and Brandon need no external antagonist, as they serve that role for themselves, fighting inner demons, both past and present. O’Connor takes the camera in close, maintaining an intimate relationship between the characters and the viewer. This intimacy is especially strong during the moments when Paddy attempts to make amends with his boys, showcasing the incredible trinity of masterful performances from these three actors.

Nick Nolte (AFFLICTION, OFF THE BLACK), no stranger to the bottle himself, is brilliant on screen, selling his character with such a flawless certainty that translated into moments when I literally forgot I was watching a movie, and not a real human being experiencing such tragically exhausting personal conflict. Equally mesmerizing was Tom Hardy (BRONSON, INCEPTION) as Tommy, filled with a quiet rage that seethes from his very aura. Hardy is a hulking, brooding menace, confined within his own self-pity, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his emotions in a mushroom cloud of pent-up anger toward his father. Opposite of Tommy, is Joel Edgerton (THE SQUARE, ANIMAL KINGDOM) as Brandon, an externally calm and peaceful family man, hiding the traumatic influence his father has had on his life.

WARRIOR is compelling, drawing as much on the viewer’s capacity to summon compassion for a fictional character as it draws on the adrenaline glands to heighten the thrill of the experience, succeeding at both. While the fights themselves are clearly not accurate to the reality of how the majority of MMA fights play out, the fight choreography itself is stellar. Hardy and Edgerton have clearly done their homework, convincing me to never piss either one of them off in real life. What WARRIOR does is to reduce the vastly diverse world of MMA down into a carefully constructed collage of the key elements of the fighting arts, showcasing the essence of MMA as a fine chef would rely on reduction to create a quality red wine sauce. What we see in WARRIOR are the most flavorful bits of MMA, reduced down to a perfectly executed dish. With that said, you would rarely ever see the shear quantity of perfectly executed moves on display in a single event as are seen in the film, but that’s what we expect to see. O’Connor delivers!

Rounding out the film are substantially effective performances from the supporting cast, including a stand out role for Jennifer Morrison (HOUSE M.D.) as Brandon’s wife and Kevin Dunn (TRANSFORMERS) in a small but welcome, humorous role as the high school principal. Making a cameo appearance is the Olympic-turned-professional wrestler Kurt Angle as Koba, the massive and intimidating Russian fighter that all other fighters fear. The director himself even supplies his own extended cameo as J.J. Riley, the wealthy Wall Street tycoon that bank rolls the Sparta MMA competition that Tommy and Brandon both endeavor to champion.

With a film done so well, I would be remiss if I were not completely honest and point out the one flaw in WARRIOR, being a montage constructed of multiple training shots floating simultaneously across the screen, intended as a creative juxtaposition of Tommy and Brandon’s paths merging. The result became the only moment I ever found myself pulled from the story, but is minor enough to be overlooked.

Where ROCKY fails to deliver any realism in the fights, WARRIOR succeeds. Where CINDERELLA MAN set the bar for emotional attachment of the audience to the hero has been raised, triumphantly. What THE FIGHTER managed to achieve as a lasting impression on the viewer has been overshadowed by WARRIOR, which I believe is one of the best films of 2011 and most certainly should reward both the seasoned Nick Nolte and the relatively new and rising star Tom Hardy with Oscar nominations, perhaps sadly leaving Edgerton ever so slightly under-appreciated for his equally stunning performance.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars