I saw Fighting with my Family on February 23, 2019! I'm pretty sure I don't have to say it, but, I will anyway. This movie was absolutely incredible! I loved it! If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of pro-wrestling, specifically women's wrestling. My favorite promotion of all time is Shimmer Women Athletes, which is an all women's wrestling promotion. It's in this promotion where I first saw a girl named Britani Knight compete as she teamed with her mother Saraya Knight, and they were managed by somebody that some of you may know currently as The Man, but we all know her as Becky Lynch. That was my first taste of this family from Norwich, England called the Knight Dynasty. This movie focuses on one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, regardless of gender: Paige. Paige is a solid wrestler-great in the ring, loaded with charisma, excellent mic skills, and IMO, a huge reason why WWE had a women's wrestling revolution in the promotion over the last few years. I also want to add that Sweet Saraya Knight (Paige's mother) is one of the most incredible female wrestlers I've ever seen. She's one of the best heels of all time. I had the privilege of seeing her compete as Shimmer Champion during Wrestlemania 29 weekend. Watching her go on a verbal tirade to the crowd is always a pleasure to watch. What a charismatic woman, and a fantastic in ring performer as well! This is a movie that's great for pro-wrestling as a whole, and great for promoting the importance and significance of women's wrestling showing equality in the industry.
Florence Pugh gave a fantastic performance as the girl growing up in a wrestling family. Pugh is a really good actress in general, but her work here captured the personality and overall demeanor of Paige really well. Watching her grow up in the business in Norwich with her family, and her trials and tribulations rising through the ranks in developmental exhibited great emotion. I found myself tearing up, because it's definitely not easy to become a pro-wrestler. It takes years of hard work, sacrifice, and tough training to get in the industry. People that scoff at the business have always bothered me.
I think The Rock did a fantastic job producing this providing insight from his own life growing up in a wrestling family. I am thankful that he saw the Knight Family documentary and saw a great story there. Let's face it: It's a tremendous story filled with a lot of heart. Stephen Merchant's directing was well done. He really took us inside the mind of our characters through the good times and the bad times, and created a really good sports drama out of it that can be appreciated by all.
I thought Lena Headey and Nick Frost were excellent as Saraya Knight and Ricky Knight respectively. They really knew their characters well. The voice and personality for each was on point. They are very protective of the business, the promotion they run in the UK, and of course, their love for their children. They do a lot to help their kids grow as young adults, as well as potential stars in wrestling. The family drama was presented really well, and I definitely felt for everybody. I think Jack Lowden should be commended for a phenomenal performance as Zak, Paige's brother. His performance created a lot of the deeper emotional aspects. I did like how they showed Paige and Zak were both struggling with the business in different ways at the same time. It was definitely a struggle for Paige to become the star she is. Zak struggles with being rejected by WWE, but also, finds his place eventually, which is amazing to see, and something you root for. Both succeed in their own ways, and I love cheering and crying happy tears for things like that. There's a great scene before Paige goes out for her big moment where Zak contacts her, and they talk about what's to come, and Zak pushes Paige and tells her she's ready, and that shows Zak's growth. It's a family affair, and we cheer our family on. We all make a difference, and Zak stresses that to her, just like Paige did for him earlier. It's really well performed drama that really takes you into the movie and you can't help but get lost in the moment. I love when a movie can do that, and in this case, Florence and Jack really did that with their characters from frame 1 up to the fade to black moment.
The in ring segments were excellent. The wrestling scenes were well choreographed. I liked that big NXT tag team showcase match. It was exciting to watch. Florence's look was on point, and her personality was on full display. The final scene focusing on Paige's big main roster debut was really fun to watch. It will always rank as one of my favorite moments in wrestling. I want to commend Thea Trinidad/Zelina Vega on a fantastic performance as AJ Lee. She had the voice and mannerisms down so well. It makes me want to see Zelina as champion immediately. When Paige hits that Paige Turner to get the win, it's such a cool moment showing that all the sacrifice and all the suffering was worth if for that moment of success. I vividly remember her promo where she says she's proud to be an outcast, and THIS IS MY HOUSE NOW!!! Showing her newly won title to her cheering family at home immediately makes you start tearing up. As a huge fan of pro-wrestling, and specifically women's wrestling, it was a perfect ending to a well made pro-wrestling movie. It's a definite 5/5 from me, and a movie that everybody can appreciate even if they're not a wrestling fan. It's a movie about overcoming adversity, and, if you don't like that, Sweet Saraya Knight will find you in a crowd and slap the taste out of your mouth.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Alita: Battle Angel Review
I saw Alita: Battle Angel on February 16, 2019! I have been excited for this movie since I saw the first trailer 8-9 months ago, and I can honestly say that I liked it even more than I expected to. It's been a while since I wrote a formal review, and I feel this is the movie to do another one for, because it deserves it. This is why I go to movies! Based on the manga series Gunnm, this movie runs full speed ahead in such an exciting manner with incredible visuals, good characters, and an incredible plot with so much interwoven within it.
Rosa Salazar gives one of the best performances I've seen in the last few years as Alita. She's a cyborg trying to find her identity and purpose in the world. The emotion she shows through each step of the movie feels natural. Even though she's a cyborg, she feels more than most humans. She's got an incredible heart (in more ways than one). She's an absolute bad ass. She's legitimately one of the most layered, well developed, overall great female characters that we haven't seen for a while in a movie. The visuals for the character add to the emotional depth provided by Salazar to complete the picture. I just love this character.
There's great world building discussing the Sky Cities (particularly, Zalem), Iron City, and even the underworld of these cities. There's many memorable scenes. Favorites of mine include: the Collision in Kansas, the battle with Grewishka, and the motorball sequences. The chemistry with Rosa and Christoph Waltz (who takes on the role as an adoptive father) feels natural, and works well, providing both dramatic and comedic moments. Waltz is a fantastic actor. His work in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained really cemented him as one of the premiere actors in the industry, and his performance here as Dr. Dyson Ido showed a man suffering from things in his past, but, through Alita, he's able to pick up the pieces and move forward. Great work by Waltz!
I also really liked the romantic subplot with Alita and Hugo. Rosa and Keean Johnson worked well together. It reminded me a little bit of Rachel and Rick Deckard's relationship in Blade Runner in some ways. These subplots help shape Alita into an even more well rounded character, showing what her purpose is and, most importantly, who she is. Also, the motif of sacrifice for one another was on full display in their relationship, which is really what sold me on their subplot.
James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez really did well creating this world and these characters for a live action environment. Two of my favorite people behind the camera really made something special here. Cameron is known for creating some of the strongest female characters in movie history, and, along with Rodriguez, he did it again. Robert's film making style has always been impressive, and I liked seeing a lot of familiar faces from his movies and shows, such as Michelle Rodriguez and Eiza Gonzalez, who played She in Machete and Salamanca in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series respectively. This is a combination that hopefully gets to create more movies in this universe, because it's such an intriguing story.
I really liked Mahershala Ali's work as well as Vector/Nova. Ali's voice and demeanor showed a man that knows how to play either the hero or the villain. It shows versatility as an actor, and it was fully on display here. Rosa's interaction as Alita with him were well done as well. That scene with them in his office was well done, and created tension for future installments if they choose to make them (which, they definitely should). Keep your eyes open for a cameo at the end of the movie! I think this cameo will fit in well in this world (just based on performance), and work to create even more intriguing possibilities between Alita and her battle with Zalem.
This movie is a definite 5/5 for incredible characters with a phenomenal performance by Rosa Salazar as the awesome Alita, a fantastic story with many layers in the past, present, and definitely future, incredible action sequences demonstrating speed, and artistic, athletic battle strategy, a solid supporting cast that help shape Alita, and, the incredible combination of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez creating something truly special for movie audiences everywhere!
Rosa Salazar gives one of the best performances I've seen in the last few years as Alita. She's a cyborg trying to find her identity and purpose in the world. The emotion she shows through each step of the movie feels natural. Even though she's a cyborg, she feels more than most humans. She's got an incredible heart (in more ways than one). She's an absolute bad ass. She's legitimately one of the most layered, well developed, overall great female characters that we haven't seen for a while in a movie. The visuals for the character add to the emotional depth provided by Salazar to complete the picture. I just love this character.
There's great world building discussing the Sky Cities (particularly, Zalem), Iron City, and even the underworld of these cities. There's many memorable scenes. Favorites of mine include: the Collision in Kansas, the battle with Grewishka, and the motorball sequences. The chemistry with Rosa and Christoph Waltz (who takes on the role as an adoptive father) feels natural, and works well, providing both dramatic and comedic moments. Waltz is a fantastic actor. His work in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained really cemented him as one of the premiere actors in the industry, and his performance here as Dr. Dyson Ido showed a man suffering from things in his past, but, through Alita, he's able to pick up the pieces and move forward. Great work by Waltz!
I also really liked the romantic subplot with Alita and Hugo. Rosa and Keean Johnson worked well together. It reminded me a little bit of Rachel and Rick Deckard's relationship in Blade Runner in some ways. These subplots help shape Alita into an even more well rounded character, showing what her purpose is and, most importantly, who she is. Also, the motif of sacrifice for one another was on full display in their relationship, which is really what sold me on their subplot.
James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez really did well creating this world and these characters for a live action environment. Two of my favorite people behind the camera really made something special here. Cameron is known for creating some of the strongest female characters in movie history, and, along with Rodriguez, he did it again. Robert's film making style has always been impressive, and I liked seeing a lot of familiar faces from his movies and shows, such as Michelle Rodriguez and Eiza Gonzalez, who played She in Machete and Salamanca in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series respectively. This is a combination that hopefully gets to create more movies in this universe, because it's such an intriguing story.
I really liked Mahershala Ali's work as well as Vector/Nova. Ali's voice and demeanor showed a man that knows how to play either the hero or the villain. It shows versatility as an actor, and it was fully on display here. Rosa's interaction as Alita with him were well done as well. That scene with them in his office was well done, and created tension for future installments if they choose to make them (which, they definitely should). Keep your eyes open for a cameo at the end of the movie! I think this cameo will fit in well in this world (just based on performance), and work to create even more intriguing possibilities between Alita and her battle with Zalem.
This movie is a definite 5/5 for incredible characters with a phenomenal performance by Rosa Salazar as the awesome Alita, a fantastic story with many layers in the past, present, and definitely future, incredible action sequences demonstrating speed, and artistic, athletic battle strategy, a solid supporting cast that help shape Alita, and, the incredible combination of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez creating something truly special for movie audiences everywhere!
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