Boxing is not a sport full of unexpected turns and twists. Similarly to so many sports, it is about mastering the craft and repeating those techniques more efficiently than the competition. Thus, in Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw, Fuqua sticks to the tried-and-tested traditional tale of a boxer who—felled by personal tragedy—rises again to save the one person in his life that matters to him. Although one can basically map out the entire journey from the preview, an edgy cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal keeps the audience on its toes and begging for more.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s stock continues to rise as he remarkably transforms himself yet again. This time around, he takes the reigns as Billy Hope, a boxing champion near the end of his career. Southpaw begins with a difficult fight for the boxing champ that goes into the late rounds. This is atypical for the champ as he is left battered and bloodied. The fight drained so much out of Billy that his wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams), encourages him to take a break. She warns him that two more years of vicious beatings will result in him being punch-drunk and unable to spend time with the most important person in his life: his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). Since he grew up in child services, Billy’s world is concrete, and he does not know
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about much outside the world of boxing. While in child services, he not only met Maureen but also the gang of friends who hang around after fights and hitch a ride on his rise to fame. Seemingly an age old tradition in the world of boxing, a newcomer wants a shot at the King. Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez) is a younger, more agile fighter who shouts at Hope after press conferences that he wants Billy in the ring. Manager Jordan Mains (Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson) does not take kindly to this as he wants Billy to get a few more wins and their cash payouts in the books. Billy of course wants the big match and resents his manager’s hesitation. However, everything changes when a physical altercation between Billy and Miguel ends in gunfire. After the scrum is cleared, Maureen has a bullet-sized hole in her stomach and Billy’s life has been forever changed. Billy’s whole world is smashed to pieces and crumbles to the ground as he spirals into suicidal behavior, and risks losing his daughter forever. Billy is willing to cross lines of violence to save his daughter and their way of life.
He is a man who has had a tough upbringing and knows little more than how to fight and love. At first thought, numerous people would suggest that fighting and loving are on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, these two elements of human existence thrive in unison in some men, especially those who have had to fight for everything they own. When Billy’s whole world is taken away from him in one instant, he does not change but instead redevelops the type of person he has always been. Billy goes to a new trainer named Tick (Forest Whitaker) and tries to rebuild himself up from the tragedy that rocked his
life. In scenes of potential redemption, such as when he is talking to Tick or Leila’s case worker (Naomie Harris), he lowers his gaze, almost like a child hoping to get the answer that he so desperately needs. However, Billy’s physicality shows he is much more than a child. Jake Gyllenhaal makes daring and confident decisions as he quietly turned into one of our most physically confident actors. It is pleasing to see that Jake Gyllenhall’s strong work as an actor is matched by an excellent turn from Whitaker as well. Director Antoine Fuqua is no stranger to testosterone pumped stories about the dangers of male aggression. Fuqua’s style is aggressive, often placing the audience in the middle of a fight, seemingly getting punched by an opponent. Southpaw is a strong movie that can make the audience feel the need to catch their breath like they have just been punched by Billy in the ring. However, I believe Fuqua cut a few corners while devolving the plot of the film. For example, there is a brief moment when Billy tells Tick, “My wife would have liked you.” That kind of emotional human interaction could have been used more throughout the latter half and especially the end of the film. Out of all the sport movies in the world, there are more boxing movies than any other sport. Why is that, you may ask, especially in an era when the actual sport of boxing is declining in popularity? It is because of the relatability in fighting for something that anyone can relate to as this theme stretches far beyond the ropes of the ring. It is not necessarily about just defeating an opponent in the ring, but about crushing those personal demons that plague us all. Southpaw enters the long line of its boxing predecessors, and puts up a surprisingly good fight.
Kathryn Dennis of Southern Charm has been dealing with a lot lately, and it sounds like she now has a new man in her life. The bad part is this guy doesn't seem like he is going to be a great influence on her. All About the Tea shared the details all about Kathryn's new man in her life that is known to be a pill pusher. Kathryn has been on again and off with again with Thomas Ravenel for a while, but it now looks like she has moved on.
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
Quests do not need to be started by the most likely people, as long as they put all that they have into it they can still succeed. In the book Into The Beautiful North, Nayeli is inspired by the movie “The Magnificent Seven” to bring back men from the United States to liberate Tres Camarones. She wants to bring back the men and her father who had left for jobs, to defend their village from the banditos. There are many circumstance in which Nayeli has to face before she can even get to “Los Yunaites”. She will need assistance from what is most unlikely source. She will face trials that she was never prepared for. Before all of this she has to be called to save her village from outsiders. Nayeli’s perseverance after many trials and her desire
In The Big Field, author Mike Lupica explores the theme, "Success uses motivation as fuel." Lupica portrays this theme through the main character, Hutch. Throughout the entire book, Hutch, a young boy that has just recently joined a highly talented baseball team, displays moments that exemplify this main theme. Hutch and his team have a chance to play in the stadium of the Miami Marlins, a Major League Baseball team, as long as they can keep winning games and advancing through a challenging tournament; however, Hutch's favorite position on the field, shortstop, the position located between 2nd and 3rd base, has already been filled on the team. Unfortunately, Hutch gets a demotion from shortstop, to second base, the position located between 1st base and 2nd base. Although Hutch was disappointed and melancholy about the switch in position, he was even more upset about the downgrading of leadership, since the
The production of Honky is a satirical comedy, following the lives of five people and the language of racism. While it focuses on the plot of 5 characters, the storyline was well thought out and intriguing. One actor in specific, Gerard Joseph, who played Thomas, did an exceptionally well job at conveying emotion and projecting to the audience, in my opinion. The overall directing, from the actors to the soundtrack and lightning, seem to be presented with excellent detail. Overall, this production was well done.
AP English Literature and Composition MAJOR WORKS DATA SHEET Title: A Raisin In the Sun Author: Lorraine Hansberry Date of Publication: 1951 Genre: Realistic Drama Biographical Information about the Author Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago on May 19, 1930. She grew up as the youngest in her family. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a real estate broker.
Doug Swieteck, from “Okay for Now”, by Gary D. Schmidt, lived a life in anger. At the beginning of the book, he was very hateful of everything. He had spent a long time in anger and disgust, trying to find a way in life. Near the beginning of the book, Joe Pepitone gave Doug his baseball cap and jacket in person, to Doug. But, Doug’s mean older brother took the cap and his dad took his jacket. That added to Doug’s anger even more. But, luckily he turned it around in the middle and end of the book. He ended being a lot happier and was able to control his emotions better.
When Billy was a child, he was never taught how to swim. One day his dad took him to the pool to “teach” him. Billy’s father threw Billy into the pool, teaching him how “to swim by a method of sink-or-swim” (Vonnegut 55). Right before Billy fell unconscious, he sensed someone coming to rescue him, he “resented that” (Vonnegut 55). By resenting the rescue from a lifeguard, Vonnegut reveals Billy’s preference to escape rather than face his problems, therefore highlighting his weakness from a young age and foreshadowing his fatigue as a soldier during war. Although escape isn't a huge factor is Billy’s decision making throughout Slaughterhouse 5, it is always in the back of his mind as the “easy way out”. Additionally, escape develops an internal conflict between Billy and himself as he struggles to make decisions about facing his hardships or physically escaping his
...erson & by not doing everything that his parents said he was able to find out the truth which I think, in the end would have made his relationship with his parents much stronger. Billy was very restricted & confined by the expectations placed on him by his family & as well as society & because of this was not able to express himself or find his own personal happiness but through dance he was able to discover who he really is & what he loves & by pursuing it he became a much stronger person, it even enabled him to stand up to his father in showing him how much he loves dance & in doing so also stood up to society & gender stereotypes, this made Billy a much stronger person, throughout the movie it also shows how Billy is able to make a better personal relationship with his father & his brother Tony who he grows closer to as he becomes his own person through dance.
The novel Suttree is centered on Cornelius “Buddy” Suttree, a college educated man who has decided to forsake his former life and live in a houseboat on the Tennessee River outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in a fairly destitute area known as McAnally Flats in 1951. He leaves his wife and child, a son, giving up the comfortable life to live as a river rat of sorts. He seems to be searching for something, unbeknownst to him or the reader. Possibly the meaning of life, but more than likely it’s a way to deal with death that seems to follow Suttree around throughout the novel. He’s not one for social norms, coming off as being an anarchist. He runs from his responsibilities, rebels against authority, and refuses to be bound by social convention. His everyday life is a hodge podge of drunken adventures, be it brawls or waking up in the morning in the local lockup hungover and confused. He associates with the
This film by virtue of its independence has shied away from the usual hype associated with American movies. The result is an original screenplay by Billy Bob Thornton that is transformed into a mesmerising tale of the south. Thornton cast actors with ability rather than their image or ‘Hollywood status’. Sling Blade challenges us to re-evaluate our principles and our definitions of right, wrong and of justice.
“Raging Bull” (1980) is not a so much a film about boxing but more of a story about a psychotically jealous, sexually insecure borderline homosexual, caged animal of a man, who encourages pain and suffering in his life as almost a form of reparation. Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece of a film drags you down into the seedy filth stenched world of former middleweight boxing champion Jake “The Bronx Bull” LaMotta. Masterfully he paints the picture of a beast whose sole drive is not boxing but an insatiable obsessive jealously over his wife and his fear of his own underling sexuality. The movie broke new ground with its brutal unadulterated no-holds-bard look at the vicious sport of boxing by bringing the camera into the ring, giving the viewer the most realistic, primal, and brutal boxing scenes ever filmed. With blood and sweat spraying, flashbulbs’ bursting at every blow Scorsese gives the common man an invitation into the square circle where only the hardest trained gladiators dare to venture.
Then again, Billy has to do this to pay the bills, to keep his house, and to allow his wife to get her favorite piece of jewelry at the store. At the end of the story, Billy has just gotten into bed in the middle of the night with his devoted wife, Johnnie Mae. The text states, “Later Billy, lying in the darkness, listened to the even sounds of his wife’s breathing... He found Johnie Mae's hand and held it. Even in her sleep, she took his hand and squeezed it gently“ (Myers 38). From this, it is obvious how strong Billy and Johnie’s love really is. At the end of the day, Billy and Johnie love each other through all the hardships they face together. This is when Billy understands that even though he continues to fight to make money, he still will always be beloved by his spouse. In summary, in the short story “Fighter” by Walter Dean Myers, Billy learned that the influence of another is not always right by following his guidance counselor and ending up struggling to keep his life together, but in the end figured out that the love of your own family is really the most important
Noah is the one of the main characters of The Notebook. He is the hero of this novel. Noah represents true love and true loyalty. In a way, The Notebook is similar to every modern day romance movie, and Noah represents the “dream man” that all the girls always imagine of having. The characters in movies are used to symbolize ideas, and in this novel, Noah represents true, faithful, committed love. Noah remains loyal to Allie even in the situation where he is unsure whether they will ever meet again or not.
One of my favorite Dark Comedy movies I enjoy is “Snatched” which premiered back in 2000. The movie has a myriad of actors ranging from Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt, and Jason Statham. The movie revolves around a priceless stolen diamond. Serendipitously, the diamond crosses paths or indirectly changes the trajectory of each character. There is a specific scene in which Jason Statham character is an up and coming Boxing promoter with only one client named Gorgeous George a street knuckle boxer. During the interim of the movie Jason Statham and his boxer Gorgeous George have a bad run in with some Gypsies over the purchase of a trailer. The Gypsy leader is played by Brad Pitt and throughout the movie, everyone has a strong disdained towards