Redbelt may not be, though it’s still pretty good, David Mamet’s best, but it is for the most part an interesting sample of his work in that it showcases some of his most finely honed traits and, more importantly, it is proof that the true mark of a gifted filmmaker is the ability to elevate any genre he chooses to use as raw material (his Spartan is another good example, as is Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire); in this case what we have is a deconstructed martial arts film, complete with a Big Tournament at the end – but the events leading up to it, and how the tournament itself unfolds, are handled with Mamet’s characteristic ear for realistic dialogue, attention to detail, and patience; the necessary patience to allow the plot to develop as a natural and organic succession of characters’ choices and their corresponding consequences, as opposed to, well, a plot. As a result we are spared such clichéd sights as the Training Montage, for instance, or the Romantic Interest. The hero is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), whose mantra is “There is no situation that you cannot turn to your advantage.” In keeping with this, Mamet weaves a script where there are no wasted movements; as in a Rube Goldberg machine, every disparate element – idealistic sensei, shallow Hollywood star, troubled police officer, traumatized female lawyer, long-suffering wife, crooked club owners, shady businessmen, etc., etc., etc. – is interconnected with the others and all serve the story just like all roads lead to Rome. Even something so apparently random as some dude performing sleight of hand in bar in exchange for drinks will eventually fall into place and fit in with rest as neatly as a key going into a lock. Only the ending seems like it was taken straight out of a much inferior movie (think something like a Kickboxer or a Never Back Down), and represents somewhat of an anomaly among Mamet’s filmography which, mostly for better but sometimes for worse, is nothing if not consistent – consider 1988’s Things Change, whose deus ex machina not only had a better set-up but was much easier to swallow because the movie was, after all, a comedy. But here the fanciful climax feels tacked on, especially after the effort made by both the filmmaker and his expert cast to invest the story with a palpable sense of realism. To go out of his way like this, Mamet clearly cared a great deal about the main character – and so will most people who watch the movie, though not necessarily, at least in my case, at the expense of inner logic.
In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.
Movie Star Rating : 6.8 Read More
Haley is a naturally gifted athlete but, with her social behavior, the teen seems intent on squandering her abilities. After a final brush with the law, a judge sentences her to an elite gymnastics academy run by a legendary, hard-nosed coach. Once there, Haley's rebellious attitude wins her both friends and enemies.
Movie Star Rating : 6.8 Read More
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-rolling gamblers.
Movie Star Rating : 6.1 Read More
An inspiring biopic about the legendary skier Elena Vyalbe. Born in a small town in the north of Russia, she had the courage and dedication to overcome a slew of obstacles on her way to becoming the very best in her sport. The film captures a historic skiing event at the 1997 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, where Elena Vyalbe made skiing history by winning five out of five gold medals, which to this day remains a record achievement.
Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.
Movie Star Rating : 7.6 Read More
The Ducks are offered scholarships at Eden Hall Academy but struggle with their new coach's methods and come under pressure from the board to retain their scholarships before their big game against the Varsity team.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
Having gained great popularity as a TV series and toys, Crush Gear Turbo here becomes a movie for the first time. The very first Gear even made in the world is stolen. The gear, named Kaiservern, beats the prize winners of the Australia convention one after another. Kouya and Manganji, which won a prize in the Asia Convention, become targets too. When the unidentied gear fighter who handles Kaiservern appears in front of Kouya and Manganji, the two boys decide to fight together to win victory over their enemy.
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
A young, idealistic director arrives in a village to make a picture set during the Great Bengal Famine. It’s a film that he hopes will reveal the problems and privations still current in rural India.
Movie Star Rating : 6.9 Read More
Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling Hollywood star and notorious ladies man, flouted convention all his life, but never more brazenly than in his last years when, swimming in vodka and unwilling to face his mortality, he undertook a liaison with an aspiring actress, Beverly Aadland. The two had a high-flying affair that spanned the globe and was enabled by the girl's fame-obsessed mother, Florence. It all came crashing to an end in October 1959, when events forced the relationship into the open, sparking an avalanche of publicity castigating Beverly and her mother - which only fed Florence's need to stay in the spotlight.
Movie Star Rating : 5.6 Read More
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