Classic: Cinderella Man (2005)

Inspired by the true life story of James Braddock aka The Cinderella Man, this movie is extra-ordinary to say the least. The human emotions, the struggles during the Great Depression, the subsequent rags to riches story and some of the most brutal boxing fights shown on the cinema screen make this Ron Howard movie a once-in-a-lifetime experience

Russell Crowe teams up with Ron Howard for another classic after 'A Beautiful Mind'. That both these movies are inspired by true life heroes, is more than a mere coincidence. He is top class to say the least. His talents need no further explanation. Another milestone for the Australian superstar

There are solid support roles for Renee Zellweger as the wife of James, Paul Giamatti as the manager/ringside coach of James and Paddy Considine as James' friend at the dock

Some of the dialogs induce goose-bumps particularly, the dialog that Mae tells James before the final bout. For more such dialogs check this out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352248/quotes

The fights are all real, particularly the Lasky fight and the final Baer fight. Such intensity and such detailing that they suck you into them. The final bout gives you the same feeling as watching a Federer-Nadal grand-slam final.

More than the fights, it's the human interest element that makes this movie a classic, be it the relationship between the father and his 3 young kids or the lovely mature husband-wife relationship or the entire community looking up to the Bulldog of Bergen / The Pride of New Jersey for hope and courage during the Great Depression.

VERDICT: Must watch for any movie buff and more so for sports movie buffs.   

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

This is the 2007 remake of the 1957 film of the same name starring 2 Academy Award winners Christian Bale and Russell Crowe as Dan Evans and Ben Wade respectively.

Ben Wade is the ruthless leader of a band of outlaws. He is captured in Bisbee by the railroad guards after an ambush by Wade and gang.

Evans is a miserable rancher with one good leg and a family to support, comprising 2 sons. He wants to prove his worth to his sons and prove that he is a courageous dad. The elder son William in particular is very spunky, brave and doesn't respect his dad due to his physicality.

Evans volunteers to put Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison at the Contention station. Wade's loyal band are always in pursuit, trying to free Wade. The other railroad and Pinkerton agents are eliminated or back-out one after the other. In the end, it is Evans who singlehandedly braves Wade's gang and takes him to the train.

What happens to Evans, his reputation with his son and whether Wade gets into the train is the finale.

The film is beautifully shot. The western style is perfectly depicted. Burly Russell Crowe works his charm while Bale as the sincere Evans fits in well too. Logan Lerman as William is another showstealer along with Ben Foster as Charlie, Wade's fierce loyalist. The climatic gun stunts as Evans singlehandedly takes on the enemy, are typically cinematic.

VERDICT: Beautifully shot with 2 stars adding to the charismatic value of the film. As a whole the film is watchable once. 

American Gangster (2007)

This is a biographical account of dreaded gangster Frank Lucas and how Richie Roberts nabs him with his persistent efforts. Frank is notorious for smuggling into the US, high quality drugs through the US Army planes from Vietnam. He sells them at a lesser price than the competition and calls his brand "Blue Magic". He doesn't like competition and literally monopolizes the market. He has to bribe a lot of cops to stay in business.

Richie has a troubled family life as he is totally into his work. He doesn't take money and is honest to a fault. He sleeps around with many women but when it comes to work he is perfect. He also passes his bar exams. With his team of handpicked men, he finally gets to Frank Lucas and his horde of brothers & cousins, and succeeds in putting him and all the corrupt cops behind bars.

Frank's sentence is reduced to 15 yrs from the initial 70 yrs for his co-operation in the investigation.

Review

• Gripping fare with 2 heavy weight superstars playing their roles with ease. Denzel Washington's aggression is fiery while Russell Crowe is the cop who is trying to bring him down. He looks bulky though. There are many more characters in the form of the other cops, Frank's brothers and cousins, his beautiful wife, his mother etc. All have played their parts. 
• The process of bringing in the drugs from Vietnam and the way Richie goes about his investigation is detailed. 

VERDICT

An engaging true-life story with lot of detailing. Worth a watch 

Classic Revisited: A Beautiful Mind (2001)

The film chronicles the life and times of John Nash, a Nobel laureate in Economics. He is a brilliant mathematician but has troubles with the mind. He has schizophrenia and suffers from delusions - 3 in particular, an imaginary room mate Charles Herman and his niece Marcee and one William Parcher assumed to be working for the US Army in finding a nuke device.  

He is helped by his wife in overcoming all the trauma of medications and hospital treatment. He learns to ignore the delusions beyond a point of time. But, his journey to the Nobel prize takes him through the physical, metaphysical and delusional limits of human possibility. A fascinating true life story

Review

• Russell Crowe delivers one of the most complex roles with myriad emotions, with an ease of the pro that he is. Shame that he missed the Oscar for this. 
• Jenifer Connelly deservingly won the Oscar for her role of the supporting wife who goes through emotional hell. 
• Paul Bettany as Charles, a delusion is so emotive. It is a pity that he is unreal. The actors who come as Sol, Bender and Hanson also have small yet solid roles. 
• James Horner's musical pieces are mesmerizing and give goose bumps. The title track in particular. Another deserving Oscar.
• The prosthetic makeup as the lead pair and other characters age, is very authentic. 
• The screenplay is so gripping that it draws you in from the start. When John gets his delusions and starts messing it up, it is pretty sad and chaotic. That moment when we realize that the 3 characters are delusions, is scary

VERDICT

A psychological classic. All the elements of film making work magic.