Southpaw

                Hello everyone, you know me as the one, the only, the mysterious reviewer behind the keyboard, known globally as TheCinemaChick.  Am I known around the world?  Like, do people in Russia know who I am?  I’m curious now.  I know I’ve made a small name for myself in this area but like, are people in other countries interested in my blog?  I know I can check my stats to see where the blog is viewed and all but I want to know about the people who are reading it.

                So, if you’re living in a land that’s not America, let me know!  I’d love to hear where you’re from!

                I know, I have about a half dozen movies to review and that I once again and as always, really behind on things.  Last week, I saw Marvel’s “Ant Man” which was much better than it looks.  Seriously, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did.  Let’s be honest, Ant Man isn’t exactly the first person you think of when you think of Marvel.  No, you think about Iron Man or Thor or Hulk.  Or, if you’re like me, you think about Loki, but I will not go into my reasons as to why I like Loki the best again.  I feel I have gone into that more times than I need to.

                Also, remember that promise I made in the last blog to have gummy bears in my purse?  And how I threatened to use them if I saw someone on their phone?  Well…I lied.

                I used Reese’s Pieces instead.  But I still got someone!  This guy, who was probably two rows ahead of me took his phone out.  And to make matters worse, it was right after there was a sign on the screen saying not to take pictures or record anything because this was a special screening.  Are you really that stupid?  The screen JUST SAID to put it away, why you are checking it now?  You’ve been sitting there for at least ten minutes, you had plenty of time!

                Oh!  And another one of my lovely little pet peeves came into play.  People, when the movie is playing, shut your mouths!  I understand it’s a crowded theater, but some people are trying to hear what’s going on.  I’m pretty sure I missed some dialogue that was vital to the plot because the guys next to me wouldn’t shut up.  Dude, I don’t care that you have nachos nor do I care how good they are!  I was perfectly happy with my tea and Reese’s Pieces.  I mean, you are grown adults, learn the rules of the theater or stay home!

                I should not have to say this in almost every single review I write lately.

                The last thing I’m going to say before I get into the actual review is that you should not be taking your presumably ten or under child to this movie.  I don’t care what your excuse is, this movie was rated R and would not have been good for a girl that age.  It had a lot of swearing and violence and there are things no child should have to know about at that age.  Hell, even the girl in the film didn’t need to see that and I know this was all fiction!

                Enough about my anger and people at the theaters.  Let’s get into the real reason you’re taking time out of your day to read this.  Or night.  I don’t care, as long as you read until the end.  I don’t know, for all I know some of you are actually nocturnal.  If you are nocturnal, are you an owl or a wolf or…some other creature that’s awake at night?  Ah, an insomniac.  I have insomnia sometimes but that’s not the topic of discussion here.  Nope, we keep getting off topic.

                Guys, you’re in for a treat tonight.  I got to attend a special early screening of the move starring Jake Gyllenhaal.  I haven’t seen much advertising done for this film which is a surprise to me.  I actually didn’t have an interest in seeing it based on the whopping one trailer I’d seen but then I got this opportunity and I jumped on it.  So me and Butterfly had free tickets to go see the movie “Southpaw” which doesn’t come out until this Friday.  As with every movie that comes out now, there are some showing Thursday night.  Why do they do this again?  When I was a kid, which was an undetermined number of years ago, we had to wait until Friday to see a movie that was coming out.  There were not midnight showings or this weird 7 PM Thursday thing.

                And no, I won’t tell you my age.  I’m old enough to purchase alcohol.  Let’s leave it at that.

                To my surprise, “Southpaw” was much better than I had thought it would be.  I was expecting a sports movie with not a lot of substance but I was wrong.  There is an actual plot, there are really amazing characters and they grow and change as the film progresses.  To me, there is one character that stands out from the others and there is one glaring problem with the film but I will get to that in a moment so bear with me.

                Our movie is about a professional boxer named Billy Hope.  I’m not kidding.  His name is seriously Billy Hope.  It’s one of the worst names I’ve ever heard.  I’m fairly certain that there is some not so subtle symbolism thrown in there with his name.  One of those things like “When you have nothing else, you always have hope” sort of things.  I imagine I’d see this little saying on a motivational poster.  Well, Billy and his wife, Maureen, are happily in love and they have a daughter named Leila.  Maureen wants her husband to speak at a charity thing, something bad happens and she dies tragically. 

                And no, I am not spoiling this.  All the information I just gave you was in the trailer.  I will even leave the trailer at the end to prove to you that I am not lying.

                So of course, he can’t cope with his loss, more bad things happen and he finds himself falling from grace.  Billy must now work his way back to the top with the help of an older and wiser mentor.  While overall it’s a good film, the premise is completely predictable.  It’s like every movie involving sports I’ve ever seen.  The star falls from grace and must work his way back up to the top in order to redeem themselves.  Boring.  Overdone.  Typical.  Yawn.

                And yes, I was rooting for Billy the whole time.  I wanted him to get it all back, including his daughter.  But as I watched, I realized there is a secondary theme going on throughout this film.  While it is mainly focused on boxing, there is a subplot of grief.  Billy and Leila must go through all the stages in their own way in order to cope with their loss.  And for those who don’t know, the stage of grief are: Anger, Denial, Depression, Bargaining and Acceptance.  I don’t think those are in the right order but you get my point.  Billy goes through with all of them in his way while Leila deals with hers. 

                I have to warn you, the scenes with Leila are heartbreaking.  She starts off so innocent but quickly has to grow up when she loses her mother.  This kid sees things that no one, no matter what age you are, should have to see.  The young actress who played her is named Oona Laurence and she was phenomenal.  If I had a say in who should be nominated for an Oscar, this kid deserves a nod.  I’m fairly certain she’s new to the acting world since I have never seen her name before but I really hope she continues on in the acting game.  There were parts where I felt so bad for her.  This is the one character I wanted to mention first because in my eyes, she was the best.  I mean, yes the others were good but none of them managed to evoke the level of emotions she did.

                I didn’t go into “Southpaw” thinking I’d enjoy it this much.  I thought, “Well, the tickets were free so why not?”  Then I sat through it and I was impressed.  I think it’s striving for some Oscar recognition, which I can definitely see the possibilities.  Though, I would guess it could get a nod for Best Supporting Actress for Oona Laurence, possibly Best Original Score (or is that a Grammy) because it was done by the late James Horner.  I can also see Jake Gyllenhaal scoring a Best Actor nod, but not winning for his role. 

                This one will more than likely fall into my “Best of 2015” list because even though it’s not my type of film, it was incredibly well done.  I felt emotional during it and I was never bored.  The cast definitely put their hearts into and it shows. 

                “Southpaw” isn’t for everyone.  I will admit that.  But if you want something that starts off gritty, then just keeps your emotions in check until the end, I recommend it.  I would say pay full price for it.  Make it a date night movie.  Just do yourself a favor and check it out.

                I’m TheCinemaChick and I like to howl at the moon.

                All opinions are mine.  I have no ties to any theater and I am not affiliated with this movie.  I just enjoyed it.

Also, I wasn't kidding about the murder being in the trailer.