Cardboard Boxer

Worth watching if for no other reason than its raw depiction of life "on the nickel' this is an unusual film. Its antihero, lured by a mere $50, embarks on a course of action pretty much guaranteed to lead to a falling out with the community. I've heard that the majority of homeless people are suffering from mental problems, and this aspect is played nicely by the actors here. And it is a community; this was the part of the film that surprised me most, the parallel world of the homeless, in which street sex is freely available, $5 gets you a b.j. and pussy costs $5 more. The movie is pretty much plot less, except for a rather unbelievable bolted- on ending that failed to convince me. Still, if you like grit and grime, give it a try.

Thomas Hayden Church plays Willie, a homeless man with a little missing in the head. Based on the title of the movie, the film was about Willie getting paid by some rich kids to fight other homeless people for their entertainment. The other star on the poster, Terrance Howard plays a man who was able to get himself off the streets and comes back to help those he left behind, trying to seek out these rich kids and stop them from exploiting the homeless.

The richness of the film comes from Church trying to keep his mind straight, and doing this after coming across the diary of a young burn victim writing about the experience. He finds comfort writing letter to her inside the diary.

Overall the film does a great job of making you look differently at the homeless. It get inside the mind of a man living on the streets, and it does not try to figure him out, just make him human.

However, the movie does clean up far too well, and somehow this takes away from completely getting under your skin about the situation.

It's a well driven vehicle for Church, especially with Howard riding shotgun, but it does not have the emotion needed for people to go out and see it.

A powerful and well acted movie.

Thomas Hayden Church - Who? Was exactly the impression he left on me before this movie, then I looked the movie up here and clicked on his name because his face was familiar... oh ya, The Sandman from that weak spiderman movie and wings. Not really an impressive actor -

Until This.

The average person may not make if far through the movie because it removes them from their "out of sight, out of mind" comfort zone.

When the pathetic kind of people who watch bum fights find out there's more to it than that, they will be less inclined to give it a shot, but they're beyond help anyway.

The few with the constitution to watch this movie will not be disappointed. There's a kind of poetry in that I suppose... Just like this film.

P.S. Remember - Food Banks can do MUCH more with money than you can at a supermarket, they can get produce fresh straight from farmers at waay better prices. Half the crap food donated has to be thrown out anyway, so do everyone involved a favor and donate money to food banks.

First of all.... don't be fooled by the word Boxer. I generally get thrown off by movies about boxers as I feel this gerne his been swallowed, digested and eventually ended up in the sewer through a process we all privately enjoy. Anyways, I think this film portrays the fear of every human: Loose everything, become homeless and adapt to the street life. I could not imagine, can you? Where do you go? What do you do? What does one do for entertainment? What does one do for money? This film, I think, provides a great glimpse into the life of a homeless man and reveals hardship, friendship and the ups and downs one may or may not encounter.

His love for his new found treasure, his thoughts, his emotions, his actions are captivating and intriguing. This movie will make you think, will make you appreciate, will touch your soul (I am a cold person and not easily touched or moved).

Enjoy this movie over candle light, with your better half. Men have a chance to appear empathetic and sympathetic, while still getting a bit of violence in. Win win.

Superb movie which will be greatly underestimated. Enjoy!

I attempted to watch what I thought would be a meaningless time passer movie before bed.... I ended up watching a real solid attempt at an emotional movie.. I found my self falling deeper into the pain this movie portrayed. From the first 5 minutes to the last 5 minutes I was fully committed to what this movie has to offer. A film like this really shows a person how hard some people have it and what we all take for granted.. The weak and nieve get prayed upon by the "superior" but in the end we are all human and are capable of amazing things... Most viewers will see the title and move right on by thinking it's just another .50 cent cheap thrill, that lately has seemed to over saturate the movie industry. This is not that kind of movie. Enjoy it as I did and come away feeling pretty blessed about how lucky you have it.