The Fighter (2010) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: R
Directed by: David O'Russell

The Fighter, directed by David O'Russell, tells the story of Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg), an aspiring welterweight boxer and his half-brother, Dicky Ekland (Christian Bale), a retired welterweight boxer and crack-addict, who is now Mickey's trainer. 

Although all the performances were amazing, Christian Bale stands out as Dicky, losing a large amount of weight from his previous role as Batman, as well as bringing his trademark intensity by studying the real Dickys' Boston accent and mannerisms. Mark Wahlberg is also good, and successfully pulls off a performance of a person who is able to throw strong punches. As for the minor roles, I feel as though the more important ones like Amy Adams' character did not have enough character development for me to care for her, and she felt underdeveloped overall. Besides boxing, the center of this movie is family, as Mickey's family holds back his potential for greatness. 

As for the actual boxing, it was amazing. The commentary during the fights is the same as the ones from the real fights, and the sound design puts you right into the action, with thundering punches and grunting boxers. The soundtrack fits perfectly into the fights, showing how Mickey Ward is not a mainstream boxer, but a renegade that is able to come back from being a "stepping stone".

Overall, The Fighter is a great movie that is able to bring strong performances and emotion, especially from Christian Bale (who won an oscar for his role). On top of the strong performances, the centers of the movie, being family and boxing, were portrayed wonderfully and is said to be an accurate representation of the real Mickey Wards life. Watch this movie.

4.5/5

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Review

By Brandon Fu

Rated: R

Directed by: Jean-MarcVallee

Dallas Buyers Club tells the story of Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey) , a trailer-dwelling electrician and sex addict, who tests positive for HIV. After this HIV diagnosis, he sets out to smuggle in medicine for AIDS sufferers who were not fortunate to get medicine from the hospital. He teams up with fellow AIDS sufferer Rayon (Jared Leto) to get clients and build up a "buyers club", a special number of people who pay a membership to get medication for their illness.

This movie tackles big subjects such as homosexuality and AIDS, as during the time in which the movie takes place, people with no knowledge of the disease blamed the cause to be homosexuality, rather than a disease that spreads through the use of drugs and sex. When the idea of being gay frightens Ron, he is also ostracized from his friend group. He initially rejects to the idea of homosexuality, but he learns to embrace and accept it.

The acting in this movie is just perfect. Matthew McConaughey turns in an oscar-winning performance,  turning away from his rom-com and courtroom dramas and delivering great movies like this one, Mud, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Jared Leto also turns in an oscar-winning performance, as his cross-dressing character definitely stands out as one of the years' best performances. Both oscars for this movie were well deserved. The only thing this movie suffers from is the performance of Jennifer Garner, as her story and character is severely underdeveloped and bland.

Overall, Dallas Buyers Club is an incredible movie with character performances that stand out as the best of the 2013. Although it suffers from some underdeveloped characters, this movie is a must see for any movie lover.

4.5/5

Moon (2009) Review

by Brandon Fu
Rated: R
Directed by: Duncan Jones

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Moon tells the story of a worker named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) on the moon who supplies clean energy to the earth in the form of Helium-3. This movie is essentially a single person performance, aside from a robot voiced by Kevin Spacey. Although this movie did poorly in the box office, it is definitely worth watching.

Due to the performance by Sam Rockwell, you can really feel a sense of loneliness on the moon. This is by far his best performance, and it shows. Also, I swear that the robot that Kevin Spacey plays doesn't go bad. I swear. This isn't 2001: A Space Odyssey. This movie is the same lane as Blade Runner and is one of the best sic-fi movies of all time with an awesome evil corporation. A corporation similar to the Tyrell Corporation and Weyland-Yutani Corporation from Blade Runner and Alien respectively. Aside from the great performance, this movie does contain problems, especially in the pacing. In the middle, the movie slows down abruptly, and is noticeable immediately.

Sam Rockwell is by far the most underrated actor in Hollywood. With this movie, Seven Psychopaths, and Green Mile, his acting prowess shows. Although he has been in movies for more than twenty years, he hasn't seem to have gotten any traction as an actor. This movie is definitely his best performance, and both the movie and the actor are equally underrated. Aside from the pacing problems, this movie is great and definitely hits the rest of its marks.

4.4/5

Rush(2013) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: R
Directed by: Ron Howard



Rush tells the story of a rivalry between Formula-1 Racers Niki Lauda and James Hunt, and how each of them climbed to greatness. The each started out in Formula-3, and end up climbing the ladder of racing till they are each world champions. The Brit, James Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth, is the kind of person that lives life to the fullest, and is willing to die every time he steps into a five hundred horsepower coffin. While his polar opposite Austrian, Niki Lauda, played by Daniel Bruhl, is calm and calculated, and plays the game of racing as if it is a matter of math and science.

The acting in this movie is impeccable. If you saw the real picture of James Hunt and Niki Lauda, there would be no other actors that could pull it off. Chris Hemsworth is convincing as a playboy and to see him and Daniel Bruhl fight and butt heads is great. Aside from them, there is Olivia Wilde, who plays a relatively small role, but does stand out as Chris's leveler and was able to bring a good performance with her.  Pierfracesco Favino also plays a relatively small role as Lauda's team member, but is one of the more interesting casting choices, as he seems kind of out of place along all these young daredevils.

There were shots that showed the gears and the pistons of the engine, showing them pumping and contracting. The cinematography in general is amazing, showing the prowess of the Ron Howard and how he handles the film. But along with these shots there are some pacing problems. In the beginning, when Hunt is in Formula-3, there are big jumps and seem very evident in the beginning.

Overall, Rush is an incredible film with some pacing issues, but the cinematography and acting carries the film through, along with the soundtrack that makes the races much more intense. Ron Howard delivers again after great films like Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind.

4.5/5

Interstellar Movie Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: PG-13
Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Interstellar, the long anticipated movie by Christopher Nolan, tells the story of Cooper(played by Matthew McConaughey), an ex-engineer/pilot who leaves Earth with a team to find a habitable planet in which humankind can inhabit. This visually stunning movie is a must see for any Christopher Nolan fan. Although the hype around this movie is immense, there are still  problems.

The Good:

1. The visuals
The visuals are absolutely beautiful, showing black holes and space that have never been seen in film. This can be attributed to Nolan's desire for perfection. seeing as there is much more attention to detail then most space travel films.

2. The score
The score, which is by Hans Zimmer, is intense and makes one feel alone and gives an illusion of being in  space. The use of organs in particular gives it a very powerful feeling of eeriness and looming doom. As I was watching the movie, these sounds are barely noticeable, but when the sound cuts out and there is only music, the intensity is turned up a hundred notches. The score as a whole is reflective of Zimmers' work, showing that he is a musical genius able to make people actually notice the soundtrack.

3. The Science
The science in Interstellar is actually well explained and is somewhat understandable when scrutinized. Just another layer to add on top of the cake.

4. The Emotion/Acting
The emotions and acting are top notch. Matthew McConaughey kills it, along with the chemistry with his costars Anne Hathaway and McKenzie Foy.

The Bad:

1. The Conveniences
I won't spoil this, but towards the end of the movie there are a string of conveniences that seem very unlikely when thought about.

2. Deviation
The difference in mood between the last ten minutes and the rest of the movie is so drastic that I can;t help but mention it. All science goes out the window.

3. Plot
The plot, minus the connection between Cooper and Murph(Cooper's daughter), is just a movie making pit stops at different planets. From the beginning of the movie I could anticipate the outcome of the ending. A movie that does this feels very generic. A movie should throw curve balls to keep the audience on its toes.

In general, Interstellar is definitely worth checking out and is one of the more visually stunning movies of the year. After listing all the good and bad, the best thing to do is see this movie in theaters. Due to the stark contrast of colors and visuals, watching this movie at home is not worth it. Watch it in theaters. Do not wait for the DVD release. Watch it in theaters.

This movie is not the next 2001 A Space Odyssey, but rather it is an overall well shot, well directed movie with great visuals and great acting performances that contains small errors here and there. Interstellar is definitely worth watching.

3.5/5