But well get to that one in a sec.
Its hard to find a genre more cliche-festoonedthan the boxing film.
He was a brawler who could take a beating with a sick smile on his bloody mug.
Credit: Dale Robinette
Doctors werent sure hed be able to ever walk again.
Paz promised that not only would he walk, hed fight again.
If all of this sounds a little too hokey, well, it kind of is.
And the films parade of badgoombahwigs and hit-and-miss New England accents doesnt help.
These are two men written off as washed-up who need each other.
The fighting scenes bookending both sides of the middle-act tragedy are fine.
The irony of a fighter known as The Pazmanian Devil wearing a halo is hard to miss.
IsBleed for Thisa great movie?
Side note, Pazienza has a comeback fight against Duran after his injury.
Small world, boxing.
Its pure movie magic…and I cant wait to see it again.
Itisthat, but its also so much more.
Its unapologetically romantic, thrillingly alive, and brilliantly inventive.
If you give into it, youll feel like youre floating on air.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling prove that their chemistry in 2011sCrazy, Stupid, Lovewas no one-off fluke.
For my money, theyre the best on-screen couple in the movies in years.
They are both struggling to achieve their dreams in contemporary Los Angeles, and theyre both failing.
It manages to be nostalgically traditional without being corny.
The film opens with a bravura sequence on an L.A. freeway as cars are stuck in traffic.
Its a hell of a way to open a movie, but it announces what audiences are in for.
And the final sequence is easily the best 10 minutes Ive spent in a theater this year.
