Hard Times/The Streetfighter (1975) - Hill debuts with Bronson gold, a boxing favorite

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

An imagination-fueling poster for Walter Hill's Hard Times that effectively sets us in a specific place and time

A fortune-hunting boxing promoter finds his new bare-knuckle sensation in an unimpressed man, who can punch so that even the heaviest adversaries see stars. But the promoter will have to borrow a big amount to get his new fighter going.

 

Hard Times is written by Bryan Gindoff (The Candy Snatchers (1973)), Bruce Henstell (The Candy Snatchers, assistant director) and debuting co-writer/director, Californian master filmmaker Walter Hill (48 Hrs. (1982)).

An enormously simple story gets presented in the most beautiful way in Hill's period boxing drama; handsome sets, beautiful image compositions (cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop (Class Reunion (1982))) and an iconic performance by Charles Bronson (Murphy's Law (1986)). Some of the nuances here lie in the fact that one senses the inherent degradation in having to fight until blood spurts in order to survive; SPOILER along with the ending's implicit point about protecting and helping those you have fought along with, even if you don't care much for them.

James Coburn (Intrepid (2000)) is strong as the promoter, a man caught between a rock and a hard place. The scene in which Bronson sets things right in Louisiana is fantastic. The film's final fight, (despite the fact that the camera doesn't linger much on the impact of the punches), is the fight of the decade. 

Hard Times is a phenomenal, inconspicuous song of a hero, a gift for men - and probably Bronson's best starring picture.

 

Related posts:

 

Walter Hill: Alien 3 (1992) or, The Monsters Go to Jail! (co-writer)

Another 48 Hrs. (1990) - More of the same from your buddies Hill, Murphy & Nolte 

48 Hrs. (1982) or, Reluctant Partners

The Getaway (1972) - McQueen/Peckinpah hit the bank with unrefined thriller (writer)

 

 

Watch 3 minutes of the film's beginning here

 

Cost: 2.7 - 3.1 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: Reportedly 26.5 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 8.54-9.81 times its cost)

[Hard Times was released 13 August (France) and runs 93 minutes. AIP producer Lawrence Gordon gave Hill the chance to direct after he had been successful with a number of action screenplays. Bronson was paid "almost 1 mil. $" for his performance. Shooting took place around September 1974 in Texas, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, and in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film's box office numbers are not easy to dig up; the-numbers.com allege that it made 5 mil. $ in North America, relatively little compared to the 26.5 mil. $ total gross listed elsewhere, and the fact that Hill in 2009 said that he still received profits from the film. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Hill returned with The Driver (1978). Bronson returned in Breakheart Pass (1975); Coburn in Skyriders (1976). Hard Times is fresh at 92 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hard Times? 

Jerry Maguire (1996) - Crowe's wildly overrated sports agent vehicle

♥

 

+ Most Overrated Movie of the Year + Most Undeserved Hit of the Year

 

Tom Cruise looks happy on this pleasant poster for Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire

Jerry is a successful sports agent, - but suddenly he attains an insight: Fewer clients, more care, - that will be his new motto. He establishes his own company, - with only one client, - and falls in love with his only employee.

 

Jerry Maguire is written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Say Anything (1989)).

It is a consistently false and unnatural Major Movie Star Vehicle, which uses ploys that are so obvious and primitive so as to make the film just about insufferable, not to speak of enormously overlong. - When Jerry Maguire seems to be over, it packs another full 45 minute act for us!

Tom Cruise (Legend (1985)) is the winning success type here, as we know him from so many other previous films, but the charm seems to wear thin here, - the charm of seeing him portray another go-getter professional type. Crowe slaps more or less superfluous music onto most angles of the film, which encapsulate the carefree 1990s that Jerry Maguire arrives from, an era that also seems far in the past due to the gender and race dynamics in it.

Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty (2000)) is the romantic interest, who has a son who is cute with perfectly gelled hair 100 % of the time he's in the film, giving one unnatural line after another. Cuba Gooding Jr. (Norbit (2007)) yells himself through large portions of the film as Maguire's only client and is fetishized shamelessly for his envious physique, half-naked very often. 

Jerry Maguire may be among the most widely overrated films of all time. It is awful.

 

Related posts:

Cameron Crowe: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

We Bought a Zoo (2011) - Crowe's terrific family film 

Elizabethtown (2005) - A cute piece of Crowe's world; just roll with it! 

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - Heckerling's popular high school portrayal debut (writer; based on his book)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 273.5 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 5.47 times its cost)

[Jerry Maguire premiered 6 December (New York) and runs 139 minutes. The script was inspired by sports agent Leigh Steinberg and a 28-page memo written by Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg. Cruise was paid 20 mil. $ and 15% of the film's profits for his performance; Gooding Jr. was paid 600k $. Shooting took place from March - July 1996 in New York, Arizona, including in Phoenix and in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 17 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 10 weekends in the top 5, one of them again back at #1, grossing 153.9 mil. $ (56.3 % of the total gross). The foreign market gross numbers have not been made public. It was the 9th highest-grossing film worldwide of the year. The film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning one, for Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr.). It lost Best Actor (Cruise) to Geoffrey Rush in Shine, Editing to The English Patient, Picture also to The English Patient and Original Screenplay to Fargo. It was also nominated for a European Film award, won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, 3 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. The film was also a big hit as a home video release, selling 3 mil. copies in North America in its first day of release alone. Crowe returned with Almost Famous (2000). Cruise returned in Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Jerry Maguire is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Jerry Maguire?

Any Given Sunday (1999) - Stone's bloated sports epic is mostly for football fans

♥♥

 

+ Best Actor's Breakthrough of the Year: Jamie Foxx

 

Al Pacino's screaming, massive face among the faces of his co-stars in a background of dark-toned American football imagery makes up this poster for Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday

The Miami Sharks' football team are under scrutiny during a dramatic season: The passionate coach, the owner, the city rulers, the quarterback star, the injuries, the fights ...

 

Any Given Sunday is written by John Logan (Hugo (2011)) and great New-Yorker co-writer/director Oliver Stone (Seizure (1974)), with Daniel Pyne (The Hard Way (1991)) contributing story elements.

It is a an enormously turgid, macho football movie with more shower scenes than many other sports pictures put together, - but it might also be an accurate portrayal of NFL football. It gets near to parodying itself as a sports epic, where the sprawling, character-focused, plot-less structure gives an eclectic experience of the football culture, where a game can feel like a life or death event, more important than anything else in the world.

The film has big, mannered performances (Al Pacino (Bobby Deerfield (1977)) goes berserk); a sexy and well-acting new star (Jamie Foxx (The Great White Hype (1996))); and Stone's cinematic grip on techniques and pizazz, which lifts Any Given Sunday a knee cap over strict banality. 

 

Related posts:

 

Oliver Stone: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2016 in films - according to Film Excess 

Snowden (2016) - Stone's inflammatory political thriller is a powerful must-see

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps/Wall Street 2/Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (2010) - Stone's sequel is an entertaining spectacle 

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Born on the Fourth of July (1989) or, Beautiful Struggle 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 55 mil. $

Box office: 100.2 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.82 times its cost)

[Any Given Sunday premiered 16 December (California) and runs 162 minutes with a director's cut running 156 minutes. Stone went through several writers and books in the course of developing and refining the script. Cameron Diaz (Knight and Day (2010)) was paid 500k $ for her performance in the film. Shooting took place from January - April 1999 in Texas, including Dallas, and in Miami, Florida. The film opened #1 to a 13.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained in the top 5 for another 2 weekends (#5-#4) and grossed 75.5 mil. $ ( 75.3 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Stone returned with Commandante (2003, documentary), America Undercover (2003-04, documentary) and theatrically with Alexander (2004). Pacino returned in Chinese Coffee (2000); Foxx in Bait (2000); and Diaz in Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2000). Any Given Sunday is rotten at 52 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Any Given Sunday? 

Molly's Game (2017) - Chastain is luminous in Sorkin's great true-crime debut

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Star Jessica Chastain in an extreme close-up in B/W and shades looks cool AF on the poster for Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game

 

Molly Bloom's career as an Olympic skier collapses with an accident, and a few years later she gets arrested by a small army of FBI agents, now as the leader the country's highest stakes illegal poker game.

Molly's Game is written and directed by debuting great New-Yorker filmmaker Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men (1992, writer)), adapting the same-titled 2014 memoir by the real-life Molly Bloom.

Jessica Chastain (The Color of Time (2012)) is out of this world in the complex, riveting part as the extremely driven and intelligent Bloom, SPOILER who eventually finds herself in over her head in pursuit of a goal that begins to fade in the horizon. She is radiant here as the tough survivor. Idris Elba (Thor (2011)) is good as the sexy attorney who takes her case despite its legally dubious elements.

Sorkin relates the story with dense dialog and a high pace. Molly's Game is grand in width, comparable to a down-played style-wise recent film in the Martin Scorsese tradition, though with a female protagonist, which Sorkin's great script and Chastain's flawless performance never makes a sensational point in and of itself.

There is fun (Chris O'Dowd! (The Program (2015))), dramatically satisfying moments, - Kevin Costner (Dragonfly (2002)) is good as Bloom's psychologist father, - excellent lighting, editing and more. Molly's Game is a splendid piece of work that is more than it may appear.

Related posts:

Aaron Sorkin: The day after the day after ... the 2018 Oscars

Oscars 2018: Predictions and Film Excess' favorites

Moneyball (2011) - Miller makes compelling baseball movie history (co-writer) 

The Social Network (2010) - Fincher's a-hole biopic leaves me cold (and more anti-Facebook than ever) (writer)

A Few Good Men (1992) or, You Can't Handle the Truth! (writer)

 Watch a trailer for the film here 

 

Cost: 30 mil.$

Box office: 59.2 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.97 times its cost)

[Molly's Game premiered 8 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 141 minutes. Bloom approached Sorkin with her book on her own, as he was her favorite writer. Shooting took place in Ontario, including Toronto, and in New York from November 2016 - January 2017. The film opened #19 to a 1.1 mil. $ first weekend in 271 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #7 and in 1,708 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 28.7 mil. $ (48.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 5.8 mil. $ (9.8 %) and France with 4.3 mil. $ (7.3 %). The film was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, lost to James Ivory for Call Me By Your Name. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and several other honors. Sorkin returned with The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020, VOD). Chastain returned in Woman Walks Ahead (2017); Elba in The Mountain Between Us (2017); Costner in The Highwaymen (2019). Molly's Game is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Molly's Game?

The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) - Redford and A-listers in major period drama slip

♥♥

Two men golf in the dead of night on this mystery-invoking poster for Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance

When a golf player keels over from a heart attack on the green as an old man, he recalls past memories pertaining to the incredible caddy/golf player Bagger Vance and a tournament in Savannah, Georgia.

The Legend of Bagger Vance is written by Jeremy Leven (Don Juan DeMarco (1994)), based on the same-titled 1995 novel by Steven Pressfield (Last of the Amazons (2002)), and directed by Californian master filmmaker Robert Redford (Ordinary People (1980)).
With the handsome production values, - which is to be expected from a film of the enormous budget lavished on this sports drama, - and elegant photography (by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (Der Gehilfe (1978, TV movie))), the film lures us onto its pathway. But only for a while, because The Legend of Bagger Vance has the distinct odor of being Oscar bait all around it, coupled with its distinct lack of recognizable reality.
Matt Damon (The Zero Theorem (2013))'s protagonist is a worn-down alcoholic, but that largely remains a postulate; Will Smith's (Men in Black (1997)) mystical Bagger Vance character, (presumably conjured up with inspiration from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita legend, which has a guiding, godly Bhagavan character), is a kind of golf oracle, who supplies wisdom that I simply couldn't receive with a straight face. It seems beyond anachronistic that Vance in the shape of Smith who with his recognizable self-confident swagger waltzes happily and black through the whole film, which is set in the American South around 1930/1931, without encountering a single racist moment whatsoever. Neither he nor Charlize Theron's (The Road (2009)) love interest character for Damon become really human-like at any point in the film.
The Legend of Bagger Vance must be intended as a kind of parable, but it is set in such an elaborately recreated concrete context which it then goes on to fully ignore. It is historically unsatisfying, feels phony - and then it is frankly also enormously dull.

Related posts:

Robert Redford: Pete's Dragon (2016) - Lowery plays Disney remake safe (co-star) 
All Is Lost (2013) - Chandor's Redford-lost-at-sea is compelling filmmaking (star)
Lions for Lambs (2007) - Streep and Cruise's star powers save Redford's boring political drama (co-producer/director/co-star)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) or, Epic Shit Hits the Fan (co-actor)
The Sting (1973) or, Partners in Hoax (co-star)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) or, Friendly Outlaws (co-star)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 80 mil. $
Box office: 39.4 mil. $
= Mega-flop (returned 0.49 times its cost)
[The Legend of Bagger Vance premiered 29 October (USA) and runs 126 minutes. Redford and Morgan Freeman were initially meant to play the bearing roles, before it was decided to go with a pair of younger stars. Smith was paid 10 mil. $ for his performance; Damon 7 mil. $, while Theron and Redford's salaries are unknown. Shooting took place in Georgia and South Carolina from September - December 1999. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Charlie's Angels and holdover hit Meet the Parents to an 11.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 30.9 mil. $ (78.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 1.2 mil. $ (3 %) and Australia with 304k $ (0.8 %). Many foreign markets are regrettably missing from the film's Box Office Mojo gross sheet. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this one. Critics have describes and criticized Smith's Bagger Vance character in the film as an instance of the 'Magical Negro' stereotype. Redford returned with Lions for Lambs (2007). Damon returned in Finding Forrester (2000)); Smith in Ali (2001); and Theron in Sweet November (2001). The Legend of Bagger Vance is rotten at 43 % with a 5.23/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Legend of Bagger Vance?

Foxcatcher (2014) - Fine performances in Miller's strange true-crime sports drama

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Pennsylvania Movie of the Year + Best True-Crime Movie of the Year

Its three great, striking-looking stars in matching tracksuits against a dramatic painting of a hunting eagle sets a stark tone on this poster for Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher

Olympic gold-winning wrestler Mark Schultz is approached by a weird, eccentric multi-millionaire named John du Pont, who wants to create the national wrestling team around Schultz at his Pennsylvania mansion.

Foxcatcher is written by E. Max Frye (Amos & Andrew (1993)) and Dan Futterman (In Treatment (2010, TV-series)), based on a true story, and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker Bennett Miller (Capote (2005)).
Miller succeeds in creating a really strange atmosphere, which also remains tense, and at times feels grotesque. We are kept intrigued by this highly curious story by his direction and fine performances from the three male leads and Sienna Miller (21 Bridges (2019)). Steve Carell (Evan Almighty (2007)) has a very odd first major dramatic role in du Pont.
In the end it is somewhat unsatisfying that Foxcatcher, - which is the mysterious name given to du Pont's wrestling team, - doesn't illuminate more of du Pont and Schultz: Where they both victims of abuse as children? Does du Pont violate Schultz? Perhaps out of a lack of certain real-life proof these questions remain unanswered, leaving Foxcatcher a fascinatingly strange film but also one with a frustrating degree of benightedness to it.

Related posts:

Bennett Miller: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Moneyball (2011) - Miller makes compelling baseball movie history 
Capote (2005) - The writing of one of the 20th century's finest non-fiction crime novels comes to life 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 24 mil. $
Box office: 19.2 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.8 times its cost)
[Foxcatcher premiered 19 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 134 minutes. Miller acquired the rights to the story in 2010 and began development with Gary Oldman as the first choice to play du Pont. Shooting took place in Virginia and Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, from October 2012 - January 2013. Subsequent to the events shown in the film, du Pont spent almost 15 years in prison before dying there at age 72 in 2010. The real Mark Schultz supported the making of the film, was then incensed by it, and then retracted his critique, calling it instead "a miracle." The film opened #24 to a 270k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 759 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 12 mil. $ (62.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 2.5 mil. $ (13 % ) and France with 1 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actor (Carell) to Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo (Apartment 12 (2000))) to J.K. Simmons in Whiplash, Director to Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman, Original Screenplay also to Birdman and Makeup and Hairstyling to The Grand Budapest Hotel. It won the directing award at Cannes, was nominated for 3 Golden Globes and 2 BAFTAs, won an AFI award and an Independent Spirit award and many other honors. Miller is still just scheduled to return with A Christmas Carrol for troubled Annapurna Pictures. Carell returned in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014); Channing Tatum (The Hateful Eight (2015)) in 22 Jump Street (2014); Ruffalo in The Normal Heart (2014, TV movie) and theatrically in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Foxcatcher is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7.89/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Foxcatcher?