Throw backs....movies you may have missed.

I waited sometime to see this movie. I was not sold on it when it came out. Sure it piqued my interest cause it was a Ron Howard movie, but for some reason it never grabbed me hard enough to go see it at the theater. See I got 3 ways to rate a movie. First- if it is a must see, you gotta get off the couch and head down to the local theater and watch it on the big screen. Second- if its pretty good, I will tuck that information away and wait until the dvd is released and go rent that jazz from Hollywood video. Uhhh if you must know, screw Blockbuster. And Netflix? well I aint into seeing that many movies, I got a life ya know? Third- if it aint worth any traveling effort, I wait till that shit trickles down to HBO or TNT or whoever wants to show that stuff on directv. I waited until Cinderella Man was in reruns on HBO until I caught it. I got to say, I would have enjoyed this movie no matter whn I saw it.

Some thoughts about the film. First the look and feel of the 1920's and 1930's is great. Howard did a great job in recreating that world. Right down to the ring ropes and the look of Madison Square Garden.

Sure sure Russell Crowe is the man. I dig his flicks cause he reminds me of throw back actors of the past. He is a big dude without be cut like Arnie or Sly. And he does great in movies with historical themes, see Master and Commander, Gladiator, and LA Confidential. But the two you have to watch in this movie are Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti. We all know how good Zellweger is. She has been on my radar for years. It wasn't Jerry Maguire that made me notice her, and this will sound funny to some, but it was 8 Seconds, Dazed and Confused, and Reality Bites. That movie with Tom Cruise that had her at hello just put her on the map. She will be one of if not the actress of our time. He role in this film was perfect. She was a bit undervalued, but you felt her role. As Mae Braddock, she makes you Feel her fears and emotions that came from living in the Great Depression. You struggled with her as a mother. Good stuff. Her acting puts you in another time. But enough of Renee, now is the time to sing the praises of one Paul Giamatti. At first I thought this cat was one of those guys destined to be a character actor for life, but since he was in Saving Private Ryan he started popping up all over the place. Then came Sideways. Freakin awesome film. Go rent that if you haven't already. A very underated file he carried was Lady in the Water. And before you discount that film, I will say never discount a Shayamalan film, please watch it first. Dude is good. He writes great films. But back to Giamatti's role in this movie. He was great as the corner man, manager of Jim Braddock in this film. He was quirky and charismatic. Hell he made me want to go place bets on feelings I may have about some horses I know. Now thats acting!

All in all this movie will move you. It's worth your time. I didn't think so at first, but after seeing it once, it changed my mind. Never doubt a Ron Howard film, okay I will give you Ransom as a throw out, but on a curve, this movie is over that bell curve.