IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1.4K
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On his release from prison for the brutal beating of a black man, Donnie, a young white boxer, is coached by his victim's father, George for an upcoming fight against a talented and vengeful... Read allOn his release from prison for the brutal beating of a black man, Donnie, a young white boxer, is coached by his victim's father, George for an upcoming fight against a talented and vengeful opponent, Ossie.On his release from prison for the brutal beating of a black man, Donnie, a young white boxer, is coached by his victim's father, George for an upcoming fight against a talented and vengeful opponent, Ossie.
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- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 4 wins & 9 nominations total
Tonya Williams
- Ruth Carvery
- (as Tonya Lee Williams)
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I was thinking first when i started this movie that it was some crappy low budget flick but it turned out to be one of my favorites it tells the story of how a man with a rough youth can go from a cold hearted scum bag to someone completely reformed and empathetic it is a touching movie and it moves along at a very good pace building up to the climax where the too men step into the ring i would like to see more titles like this and i will definitely be looking to purchase this some time, and the fact that it was filmed in my hometown is kind of cool too it really helps to relate to the movie, all in all i would give this movie a ten out of ten.. it is one of those that you want to see over and over again
I haven't had much good to say about films shot in Canada recently, but this is the exception. I hope race relations in Nova Scotia aren't this bad, but the film made me believe each of the characters were real. They all had a depth to them, and as others have mentioned, were all acted very well. It's true that some of this territory has been covered before, but I think it's safe to say nobody saw this particular ending coming quite the way it happened. My last comment is about the boxing scene, which I felt was unique in conveying the impacts of some of the blows. Other recent boxing movies have not had the same effect, for me. I look forward to more films of this calibre.
This was an average sort of movie. It didn't leave any lasting impressions despite an interesting premise and gritty storyline. Poor Boy's Game is a movie built around a boxing match, but its most powerful scenes involve the ongoing human drama. I still found this a bit all over the place, the characters underdeveloped and their motivation vague.
The story is ultimately about forgiveness and redemption following Donnie (Rossif Sutherland) who has just been released from prison after serving 10 a ten year sentence for beating a man so badly he suffered permanent mental disability. Upon his release he goes back to his old crew of familiar (Canadian faces) hard drinking racist A--holes for the most part and then through guilt I suppose agrees to enter into a boxing grudge match that he knows will end either in his loss or death.
The plot gets strange then as Danny Glover agrees to help train Donnie even though he is the man responsible for beating his son. This all culminates into some kind of racial war; churches burn, people are killed in revenge killings and then the big showdown takes place in the ring. The boxing isn't great here either, kinda cheesy as is the ending where both boxers have to work together in the ring.
There is a big Canadian cast attached to this, lots of actors I recognized from assorted TV shows and then Danny Glover. Weird. It has also been filmed and takes place in Halifax but had a feel of one of those movies filmed in Canada but meant to take place in America. 12/1/15
The story is ultimately about forgiveness and redemption following Donnie (Rossif Sutherland) who has just been released from prison after serving 10 a ten year sentence for beating a man so badly he suffered permanent mental disability. Upon his release he goes back to his old crew of familiar (Canadian faces) hard drinking racist A--holes for the most part and then through guilt I suppose agrees to enter into a boxing grudge match that he knows will end either in his loss or death.
The plot gets strange then as Danny Glover agrees to help train Donnie even though he is the man responsible for beating his son. This all culminates into some kind of racial war; churches burn, people are killed in revenge killings and then the big showdown takes place in the ring. The boxing isn't great here either, kinda cheesy as is the ending where both boxers have to work together in the ring.
There is a big Canadian cast attached to this, lots of actors I recognized from assorted TV shows and then Danny Glover. Weird. It has also been filmed and takes place in Halifax but had a feel of one of those movies filmed in Canada but meant to take place in America. 12/1/15
I liked this movie. I think it's fairly good, but my main complaint is that it feels like a very "safe" drama, in that normally when the end credits roll in a normal drama, you have a very strong emotion that sticks with you for hours or even days on end. You definitely do not get that from this movie.
I picked this movie up for $2.50 and I was pleasantly surprised at it. The acting was fairly good, the plot was nice, and it carried some strong topics throughout that I think might be easy to relate to if you have background knowledge of the city of Halifax; however, I don't, and maybe that's why this movie didn't feel as powerful to me.
To my point on a "safe" drama, my complaint is this: the tension is there, but its delivered very softly. Most of the film draws on the animosity between the various characters; there's about four main characters, and all of them have strong feelings towards each other. But its strange; you learn the backgrounds and expect strong bonds, but they're not given directly with that strong power. It's like the film is saying "we told you their relations, just take our word for it, we don't have to show it". The other thing is the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but after sitting through the entire film I felt it was trying to deliver a message, but I simply could not understand what it was. They were trying to deliver the moral without dialogue, but I think it just couldn't be done.
Overall, I'd say check it out. Maybe it's a film where the message you create; who knows? 8/10.
I picked this movie up for $2.50 and I was pleasantly surprised at it. The acting was fairly good, the plot was nice, and it carried some strong topics throughout that I think might be easy to relate to if you have background knowledge of the city of Halifax; however, I don't, and maybe that's why this movie didn't feel as powerful to me.
To my point on a "safe" drama, my complaint is this: the tension is there, but its delivered very softly. Most of the film draws on the animosity between the various characters; there's about four main characters, and all of them have strong feelings towards each other. But its strange; you learn the backgrounds and expect strong bonds, but they're not given directly with that strong power. It's like the film is saying "we told you their relations, just take our word for it, we don't have to show it". The other thing is the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but after sitting through the entire film I felt it was trying to deliver a message, but I simply could not understand what it was. They were trying to deliver the moral without dialogue, but I think it just couldn't be done.
Overall, I'd say check it out. Maybe it's a film where the message you create; who knows? 8/10.
When i starting watching this movie i expected very little so i didn't have my hopes. I was so wrong!!! This movie is really good. It tackles a lot of issues has a really good storyline and is very touching.
It's the sort of film that you watch and think anything is possible and you really should judge people. If you haven't seen this movie you really should. I'm not going to say it's the best movie in the world but is it worth watching YES!!
The plot is really good and the acting is also really good. From the time the movie started i was hooked. I wanted to know what had happened and how it was going to end. I can't compare it to any other movie because it's like no other movie i've seen. The start has a touch of American History X i guess you could say.
I give this movie 8 out of 10
Worth watching!!
It's the sort of film that you watch and think anything is possible and you really should judge people. If you haven't seen this movie you really should. I'm not going to say it's the best movie in the world but is it worth watching YES!!
The plot is really good and the acting is also really good. From the time the movie started i was hooked. I wanted to know what had happened and how it was going to end. I can't compare it to any other movie because it's like no other movie i've seen. The start has a touch of American History X i guess you could say.
I give this movie 8 out of 10
Worth watching!!
Did you know
- TriviaDonnie (Rossif Sutherland) and George (Danny Glover) both fall onto their beds and begin to cry, only to be comforted by their love interests at different parts of the film. Both behave this way after an encounter with Charlie (K.C. Collins).
- Quotes
Ossie Paris: Boxing ain't no game. So you play football, you play tennis. You don't play boxing.
- How long is Poor Boy's Game?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $6,279
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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