“Want to see The Fighter at the AMC 34th St at 5:40?” Can you spot what’s wrong with that sentence? If you live in New York City you might realize it breaks a cardinal rule of movie going here, namely you need to specify which 34th St movie theater you mean. There are two, and unlike the dueling theaters on 42nd St, they’re completely across town from each other. To add to potential confusion, they’re both owned by AMC-Loews. I should have realized the chances of my cousin and I ending up at different theaters were 100% when I texted him the above quote on 12/29/10.
After discovering we were at different theaters, we didn’t give up. Giving up would be antithetical to the story of The Figther. It would go against every sports movie ever! And I have three movies to watch in the theater with only three days remaining in the year!
We decided to put our fate in the hands of the New York City Transit Authority and headed downtown to the Village East from opposite ends of 34th St.
Transit Tip: If there has been a recent blizzard that knocked out multiple subway lines, stick to the line you know in running well, even if it might leave you slightly further away. Wow, two lessons learned today and I hadn’t even bought my movie ticket yet!
We made it to the Village East with time to spare. Thank you New York City Transit!
If you hate boxing, but have a crush on Amy Adams, here’s your reason to see The Fighter.
The Fighter is an excellent movie and is one of my tops for the year. I’m not a boxing fan and knew next to nothing about Mickey Ward or his brother Dicky Eklund going into the movie. But director David O. Russell does a great job drawing into the story of the two brothers. I also really loved how the fight scenes were shot to look like a televised boxing match.
Mickey’s sisters look a collection of fairytale villains. Is that Gollum on the left?
The Fighter does a great job of getting you inside the head of Mickey Ward. He’s stuck in the shadow of his washed up, crackhead brother Dicky. He’s being mismanaged, but can’t bring himself to fire his manager because she’s also his mother. He also can’t bring himself to fire his crackhead trainer, because his crackhead trainer is also his crackhead brother. His life is going nowhere, and it’s not until he meets his new girlfriend Charlotte that his life gets any direction.
If someone ever produces The Linda McMahon Story, Melissa Leo needs to be cast in the title role.
People told me that Christian Bale steals the show. I think he’s great in The Fighter, but I feel like saying he steals the show takes away from the great jobs that Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. But yeah, Christain Bale is awesome as usual here.
Christian Bale’s ability to morph into another person is eerie.
Go see The Fighter. It’s a great movie. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
