Shadowboxer

I just saw this film in the directors cut version on Friday night. I have to say I really enjoyed it. Lee Daniels was at the screening and it was a screening for the investors so nobody was going to pull punches because they had money involved. It took a little while to get into the plot but I was totally sucked in after a while. It will supposedly be released in December and hopefully won't be cut down too much. There were some sex scenes that will probably go because some people in this country can't handle it, but nothing that I felt was gratuitous or just sex for the sake of showing some nudity. Some may also find the violence objectionable but nothing close to SinCity or any war movie ever made. I hope the film does well and the public enjoys it. Who cares what the industry has to say. They promote absolute garbage with a full wallet all the time. Check this one out and form an opinion for yourself.

The bad: Helen Mirren is miscast. Gotta see it for yourself that she is definitely not the right actress for this role, however good she might be, that is besides the point.

This movie starts out okayish, but gradually gets more stupid along the way. One of those movies I get fooled into thinking it must be worth SOMETHING based on the actors starring in it. BUT it is NOT.

This director has made really excellent movies in the past and future, but this unfortunately is a FLOP.

Okay, this isn't a review but I couldn't put this under goofs...and it's been bugging me.

In the scene where Clayton's lawyer (?) is in a hallway arguing with a woman wanting money, she says, "Define 'soon,'" and the lawyer says it's a noun. That is grammatically incorrect. "Soon," is an adverb. Phew. Glad I finally got that off my chest.

Oh, and I felt the movie was mediocre at best. Even the great Helen Mirren couldn't save it.

I saw this film last night and find myself returning to it quite a bit. This is always refreshing since so many movies fly out of your mind the moment the credits roll. I've always loved Helen Mirren since her Prime Suspect series and found her terrific as always. Cuba Gooding was the surprise. I have a new found respect for him as this role was complex and he pulled it off. I really enjoyed their relationship as lovers with a complicated history. It was refreshing and authentic. Stephen Dorff is good at playing bad and he doesn't disappoint here. Macy Gray played a similar role in Training Day and is very good. I didn't really buy Mo'nique - her performance felt contrived. The doctor, her lover was just too pretty, young and sweet and felt miscast. This movie is sooo worth seeing. It's dark, rich & leaves an impression.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with the other review but Cuba's role did erase snow dogs from my memory. He was phenomenal.

Thats about the only nice thing I can say about this film. It has a number of problems and I suspect Mr. Daniels would not like to hear any of them, the two worst:

1. All shock and no substance. Sex and violence are fine, when they are part of the story. I'm sure Lee thinks they are part of the story, but the film would have been 1000 times better if it were a bit more subtle. This is a difficult point to grasp. I wasn't offended or anything, I just think it looks like he is using this as a crutch instead of art. It comes across as trying to hard to be edgy. It basically loses its impact.

2. Boring Story. So ridiculously predictable. Its really a shame given the great acting and interesting characters. Total fizzle at the end though.

3. Doesn't live up to its potential. Well cast, great acting, beautiful cinematography, but somehow all the pieces just don't fit.