Southpaw
About the film:
Billy "The Great" Hope is an undefeated
professional boxer living in New York City with his wife Maureen and their
daughter Leila. During a match in which he defends his light heavyweight world
title, Billy sustains an eye injury and is convinced by Maureen to retire while
he's on top. After the match at a press conference, an up-and-coming boxer
Miguel "Magic" Escobar taunts Billy and tries to get Billy to fight
him. At a charity event for the orphanage where he and his wife both grew up,
Escobar is in attendance, and as Billy is leaving, Escobar threatens he'll take
Maureen and his title away from him, and while Maureen tells Billy to let it go
and go home with her, Billy's anger gets the best of him, leading to a brawl in
which Maureen is accidentally shot and killed by Miguel's brother Hector, who
flees.
Billy begins abusing alcohol and drugs while obsessively
searching for Hector. He eventually gets a tip of Hector's whereabouts but only
finds Hector's drug-addicted wife Maria, and leaves after learning Hector is a
father. After attacking a referee out of frustration after losing a fight,
Billy is suspended and left indebted, leading to his house and belongings being
repossessed. He continues to spiral out of control and nearly dies after
crashing his car while driving intoxicated, which also causes him to lose
custody of Leila, who is put under care of Child Protective Services officer
Angela Rivera. The incident drives Billy to sober up, but Leila cuts ties with
him, blaming him for their predicament.
At the behest of friends, Billy gets a job as a cleaner at a
gym owned by seasoned boxer Titus "Tick" Wills, and eventually
convinces Tick to become his trainer. Billy's former manager, Jordan Mains, who
is currently managing Miguel, arranges a fight between the two that could put
Billy back in the spotlight. Tick is reluctant to train Billy, fearful he might
be blinded by his vendetta against Miguel, but is motivated to do so when
another of his students, Hoppy, is killed by his abusive father while attempting
to defend his mother.
Seeing Billy's hard work after securing a job and keeping
it, and his ability to show responsibilities of a father, the judge removes his
visitation restrictions and congratulates him for his good work. Billy then
takes Leila to his apartment where they have breakfast together and Leila asks
if she can attend the fight. Billy, reluctant to let his daughter go to the
fight because Maureen never wanted to expose their daughter to the violence in
boxing, says he is unsure because Maureen used to make all the decisions for
him. Leila asks if they can go visit Maureen's grave, where Leila convinces
Billy to let her go to the fight to have someone by his side. Billy tells Leila
that there will be people at the fight saying some harsh things, so Leila makes
an agreement to go to the fight but stay only in the locker room with Angela,
watching the fight via closed circuit television in the locker room.
As the match begins, Miguel has the upper hand against
Billy, but, with Tick's advice, Billy has the chance to turn the tables in the
final round by using the Philly shell defense and countering more aggressively
with his left. As the round reaches its final minute, Billy pivots hard and,
although fighting from a traditional stance, delivers a powerful left uppercut
which sends the champion down to the ground. Miguel manages to get up before
the count is over and is saved by the bell. Billy is declared the winner by a
split-decision and reunites with Leila in the locker room, where she forgives
his past mistakes and they embrace.
Reviews:
"In its odd pacing, Southpaw feels like it's based on a true
story, and the fact that it's not might work against it with audiences.
Plodding through tedious setup to get to the eventual turning point for Jake
Gyllenhaal's rage-filled boxer is a slow burn -- too slow for fiction -- but
Billy Hope's inevitable redemption is worth the wait thanks to investing
performances and a potent second half."- IGN review
"In its odd pacing, Southpaw feels like it's based on a true
story, and the fact that it's not might work against it with audiences.
Plodding through tedious setup to get to the eventual turning point for Jake
Gyllenhaal's rage-filled boxer is a slow burn -- too slow for fiction -- but
Billy Hope's inevitable redemption is worth the wait thanks to investing
performances and a potent second half."- New Yorker
Youtube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSf6nDsb63E
Creed
About the film:
In 1998, Adonis "Donnie" Johnson, the son of an
extramarital lover of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, is serving time
in a Los Angeles youth facility when Creed's widow, Mary Anne, pays him a visit
and offers to take him in.
Seventeen years later, Donnie walks away from his job at a
securities firm to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Mary Anne
vehemently opposes this, remembering how her husband was killed in the ring 30
years earlier against Ivan Drago. He tries to get a slot at Los Angeles's elite
Delphi Boxing Academy—managed by Creed's legitimate son and Johnson's
half-brother, but is turned down. Undaunted, Donnie travels to Philadelphia in
hopes of getting in touch with his father's old friend and rival, former heavyweight
champion Rocky Balboa.
Donnie tracks down Rocky at Rocky's Italian restaurant,
Adrian's, named in honor of his deceased wife, and asks Rocky to become his
trainer. Rocky is reluctant to get back into boxing, having already made a
one-off comeback at a very advanced age despite having suffered brain trauma
during his career as a fighter. However, he eventually agrees. Donnie asks him
about the "secret third fight" between him and Apollo just after
Apollo helped Rocky regain the heavyweight title, and Rocky reveals that Apollo
won. Donnie trains at the Front Street Gym, with several of Rocky's longtime
friends as cornermen, and also finds a love interest in Bianca, an up-and-coming
singer and songwriter.
Donnie, now known as "Hollywood Donnie", defeats a
local fighter, and word gets out that he is Creed's illegitimate son. Rocky
gets a call from the handlers of world light heavyweight champion
"Pretty" Ricky Conlan, who is due to be forced into retirement by an
impending prison term. He offers to make Donnie his final challenger—provided
that he change his name to Adonis Creed. Donnie balks at first, wanting to
forge his own legacy. However, he eventually agrees.
While helping Donnie train, Rocky learns he has
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He is unwilling to undergo chemotherapy, remembering
that it was not enough to save Adrian when she had ovarian cancer. His
diagnosis and the fact that his best friend and brother-in-law Paulie
Pennino—Adrian's brother—has now died in addition to Adrian, Apollo, and his
old trainer Mickey Goldmill further force him to confront his own mortality.
Seeing Rocky shaken, Donnie urges him to seek treatment.
Donnie fights Conlan at Goodison Park in Conlan's hometown
of Liverpool, and many parallels emerge between the bout that ensues and Apollo
and Rocky's first fight 40 years earlier. First, before going into the ring,
Donnie receives a present from Mary Anne — new American flag trunks similar to
the ones Apollo and later Rocky wore. Additionally, to the surprise of nearly
everyone, Donnie goes the distance after giving Conlan all he can handle and
survives being knocked down to knock Conlan down for the first time in his
career. Conlan wins on a split decision (just as Apollo retained his title by
split decision against Rocky), but Donnie has won the respect of Conlan and the
crowd. As Max Kellerman puts it while calling the fight for HBO, "Conlan
won the fight, but Creed won the night." Conlan tells Donnie that he is
the future of the light heavyweight division.
The film ends with Donnie and a frail but improving Rocky
climbing the "Rocky Steps" at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum
of Art.
Reviews:
"Anyone who goes to Creed looking for the movie to deliver something new and different from what they have seen before is going to be sorely disappointed. Creed is a mirror of Rocky's story and we have all been watching that unfold on the big screen for decades. Coogler's film does nothing to break the mold. Rather, it shows that the mold exists for a reason. Jordan delivers a knockout performance, and Stallone does as well. In the end, we can all only hope that we'll get to see Adonis on screen for just as long as we've seen Rocky."- IGN review
"Following the failure of the underrated Rocky Balboa, the
Rocky series was on the canvas, the count nearing ten. Creed not only gets it -
and Sly Stallone - back on its feet, but completely reinvigorates it."- Empire Magazine review
Youtube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv554B7YHk4
Never back down
Never back down
About the film:
Jake Tyler has recently moved from Iowa to Orlando, Florida with his mother, Margret, and younger brother, Charlie, to support Charlie's shot at a professional tennis career. Jake was a star athlete on the football team at home, but in this new city, he is an outsider with a reputation for being a quick tempered brawler after an internet video of him starting a fight at one of his football games after a frustrated player from the opposing team taunted Jake about his father, who died in a drunk driving accident, circulates around his new school.Making an attempt to fit in, at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja Miller, Jake goes to a party where he is unwillingly pulled into a fight with the fighting MMA champion at the school, Ryan McCarthy. Originally, Jake does not wish to fight until Ryan taunts him about his father who died while driving drunk with Jake in the car. Jake is brutally defeated in the fight, causing Jake to feel depressed. But a classmate, Max Cooperman, who later becomes one of his best friends, introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Martial Arts. He sees a star in Jake and asks that he meet with Jean Roqua. It is immediately apparent to Jake that MMA is not street fighting, but rather an art form he wants to master. Roqua agrees to take Jake as a pupil, but under the condition that Jake refrains from fighting outside of the gym which Jake agrees to, despite knowing he wishes to confront Ryan anyway. Baja attempts to apologize to Jake, but he does not sympathize with her and refuses to forgive her. Baja then confronts Ryan about the fight with Jake and proceeds to end their relationship when Ryan shows no remorse for the beating he gave him or his sadistic tendencies. Ryan begins to create a scene before the entire school but Jake tries to step in to defend Baja. After Ryan insults him again and leaves, Jake attends training with Roqua. Still angry about the incident, he is unable to calm down and train effectively. Roqua asks Jake to leave so that he could "cool off".
After he and Max leave the gym, Jake gets into a brawl with a group of guys in a Hummer whom Jake easily disposes of while Max films. This video again circulates around the school raising Jake's social status but agitating Ryan in the process. Ryan then proceeds to challenge Jake to compete in the Beatdown, an underground fighting tournament of which Ryan is the reigning champion. After having been banished from the gym by Roqua after his fight is discovered, Jake begs for forgiveness saying his anger is quelled when he is training with Roqua. Roqua agrees to allow Jake to train at his gym again, but does not take it easy on him anymore. He then prepares to compete in the Beatdown. While training with Roqua, Jake inquires why he lives in the gym. Jake discovers that Roqua is from Brazil and he is in exile because he believes he is the reason his brother, Joseph the favorite son, was killed and his father had disowned him for. Jake apologizes to Baja for not listening when she first apologized and the two proceed to begin a relationship.
Upon hearing that Jake has decided not to compete in the Beatdown, Ryan invites Max to hang out at his house; there he begins to spar with Max before brutally assaulting him and leaving him at Jake's door. Jake and Baja take Max to the hospital where Jake decides to fight. Despite Baja's pleas against his decision, he states that doing nothing has consequences. Before he goes to the tournament, he has a brief argument with Roqua about his decision to fight. Roqua eventually assents and tells him to "control the outcome" of the fight. Jake arrives at the tournament where it is about to begin. After a mix-up where Jake and Ryan almost fight in the first round, they both proceed to make their way through each fight. Jake makes it to the semifinals in spite of an injury he received in the previous match due to a kick to the ribs. While Jake is recovering after the match, Baja sees him and tells him that she finally understands that Jake is fighting "so [he doesn't] have to fight again". After learning that Ryan was disqualified in his semifinal match, Jake forfeits, seeing no reason to continue. While he and Baja attempt to leave, Ryan confronts him and the two finally fight outside in the parking lot. Jake is still limited by his ribs, and Ryan at first gains the upper hand, applying a choke on Jake. However Jake escapes and, with the entire crowd watching, knocks out Ryan using one of the first combinations Roqua taught him.
The next day, a visibly injured Max has been released from the hospital. Jake has won the respect of his fellow students, including Ryan, and Roqua closes the gym with a ticket to Brazil, signaling his intention to reconcile with his father.
Reviews:
"Here's what I hoped for: someone to root for, someone to root against, an inspiring coach, some eye candy and, of course, training montages. I got what I wanted."-The Scorecard Review"People that actually think the trailer looks cool will probably like the movie enough and it does have some cool fights, I just couldn't get past the fact that the movie gave you no one to root for.2"- Sin Magazine
Youtube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtPB8z4MeCM
Rocky
About the film:
Rocky meets with promoter Miles Jergens, presuming Creed is seeking local sparring partners. Rocky reluctantly agrees to the match, which will pay him $150,000. After several weeks of training, using whatever he can find, including meat carcasses as punching bags, Rocky accepts an offer of assistance from former boxer Mickey "Mighty Mick" Goldmill, a respected trainer and former bantamweight fighter from the 1920s, who always criticized Rocky for wasting his potential.
At the same time, Rocky begins a relationship with Adrian, a clerk at the local pet store. He gradually gains the shy Adrian's trust, culminating in a kiss. Her alcoholic brother Paulie becomes jealous of Rocky's success, but Rocky calms him by agreeing to advertise his meatpacking business at the fight. The night before the match, Rocky becomes depressed after touring the arena. He confesses to Adrian that he does not expect to win, but is content to go the distance against Creed and prove himself to everyone.
On New Year's Day, the climactic boxing match begins, with Creed making a dramatic entrance dressed as George Washington and then Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of his overconfidence, Rocky knocks him down in the first round—the first time that Creed has ever been knocked down. Humiliated, Creed takes Rocky more seriously for the rest of the fight, though his ego never fully fades. The fight goes on for the full 15 rounds, with both fighters sustaining many injuries; Rocky suffers his first broken nose and debilitating trauma around the eye, and Creed sustains brutal blows to his ribs with substantial internal bleeding. As the match progresses, Creed's superior skill is countered by Rocky's apparently unlimited ability to absorb punches, and his dogged refusal to be knocked out. As the final round bell sounds, with both fighters locked in each other's arms, they promise to each other that there will be no rematch.
After the fight, multiple layers of drama are played out: the sportscasters and the audience go wild, Jergens announces over the loudspeaker that the match was "the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring", and Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who runs down and comes into the ring as Paulie distracts arena security. As Jergens declares Creed the winner by virtue of a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6), Adrian and Rocky embrace and profess their love to each other, not caring about the result of the fight.
Reveiws:
"It's Sly's droopy-eyed, hangdog/underdog that carries Rocky's tale of transformation. He's no oil painting, no blue-eyed hero. He's not supposed to make it -- and that makes us instantly connect with him."- Total Film
"In addition to a heart-warming script, Stallone has
created on the screen a character of enormous appeal and charm -
half-articulate but funny, gruff but good-hearted."- Hollywood Reporter
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