Never Back Down: Review of Bleed For This

TIFF EXCLUSIVE 

Bleed For This 

Director: Ben Younger 

By Alex Watson

The story of Vinny Paz's comeback is one that is pretty damn incredible and although this picture will likely be closely compared with pictures such as David O Russell's The Fighter, Bleed For This is a movie that just about stands up. Although there is an element of miscasting, overall we have a talented core cast to bring this story to life. Miles Teller has gotten a bad rap in the last couple of years but as Paz, he shows that his talent in Whiplash was no fluke. 

Vinny Paz (Miles Teller) is a junior middleweight boxer who has recently claimed his second world title. While out celebrating his involved in a serious car accident which leaves him with a severely damaged neck. Refusing to under fusion treatment and intent on defending his title, Paz leaves his life hanging in the balance. With the encouragement of his alcoholic coach Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) Vinny begins a monumental comeback. 

Starting with Paz's tremendous beating at the hands of Roger Mayweather, Bleed For This has a high energy from the first frame. Mother Louise (Katey Sagal) cowers in the next room clutching a rosary due to her desire not see her son take a beating. Paz is a fighter that few will touch anymore and his trainer Lou Duva (Ted Levine) openly disowns him on live TV. Vinny is a man who doesn't know the meaning of the word stop and although he has a tendency to shoot his mouth off, his tenacity is what draws us to him. Desperate to make the weight for the Mayweather fight, the opening scene sees him covered in Saran Wrap on an exercise bike desperate to make weight. Kevin Rooney is a drunken, pot-bellied man on the downswing after being fired by Mike Tyson and him and Vinny are the only two who can possibly work together. The first bold step Rooney implements is making him go up two weight classes to fight at his natural weight at Junior Middleweight as fighting a Light Welterweight has proven too risky for his health. 

Younger smartly pulls the rug under us when we feel most secure and after witnessing Vinny soundly beating feared middleweight Gilbert Dele, his life-altering car accident is truly horrific. Driving to Foxwood's resort with a friend, another vehicle drives into the same lane. Vinny can only cry in horror as the collision occurs. His refusal to give in both is both nerve-racking and gutsy and witnessing the painful installation of his spinal Halo makes us squirm. Every little bump on the head or move he makes could lead to his spinal cord being severed. People's attitude towards him changes and many seem to talk to him as if he were no longer living. When his spine heals, no fighter will touch him as they don't want to be the man who could possibly put him in a wheelchair.  Younger saves the worst for last when Vinny has his Halo removed without anesthetic. Each screw removed is like torture to our eyes. 

While for the most part Bleed For This is a movie that has its own merits, the depiction of Paz and family never quite rings true. His father Angelo (Ciaran Hinds) is reduced to doing nothing other than talking loudly with a heavy Rhode Island accent. Sister Doreen (Amanda Clayton) is given little more to do than go on foul mouth tirades at her fiancee who loves making elephant statues. Living at home with the clan, they seem to be the stereotypical loud Italian family who frequently eats dinner together. This element gives a hollow ring to what is otherwise is a fast paced and energetic piece. Vinny's comeback fight against Roberto 'Hands of Stone' Duran (coincidentally who had his own biopic piece this year) is a suspenseful affair. Known for his fast and powerful hands, sending Vinny against him sounds like a death sentence. His own personal fight to get there makes him a champion before he even steps in the ring. 

After several career missteps including his involvement in the awful Fantastic Four reboot, Miles Teller is starting to claw his way back. As Vinny Paz is a terrific presence and is very much the muscle that movie needs. It is the portrayal of Paz's stubbornness during his time healing that really makes the difference, we feel the pain and suffering but also we sense his fighting spirit will not die out quickly. Aaron Eckhart provides fine support for Teller and as Kevin Rooney, he shows a man who is also attempting fight his way back to the top. A world renowned trainer turned drunk down and out, Eckhart gives the backbone and encouragement the film sorely needs. Sadly wonderful Irish actor Ciaran Hinds is stranded in a miscast role as loud father Angelo. 

Bleed For This is a movie that while lacking the punching power of movies like Raging Bull is still a movie that is both exciting and gutsy. Vinny Paz's comeback was exceptional and Ben Younger at the very least has made us see how his pain was worth the journey back. 

The Law of 4: Review of Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four

Director: Josh Trank

By Alex Watson

Carrying high hopes, Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot falls way short of the mark. From the beginning this film feels clumsily put together and never quite gets to grips with itself. Although this a darker and more ambitious departure from , the characters that Marvel fans have grown to love just do not feel like themselves. A sequel is due after this, but it will have to pull a great magic trick to get the fans to come back again.
Reed Richards (Miles Teller) is a young scientist attempt to perfect human teleporting to another dimension. Along with colleagues Sue Storm (Kate Mara), her brother Johnny (Michael B Jordan) and his old friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), they attempt transporting themselves. When the trip ends in disaster, the group finds themselves with new powers and abilities. Soon they face a threat in the form of their old colleague Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) whose trip to the same planet has altered his life forever.

In some ways, this installment of Fantastic Four is a welcome departure from Tim Story's old kid friendly and cartoonish films of old. At the same time there is a distinct lack of immediate action on display which quickly drains the thrill level. The tinkering of the storyline to make our characters students in a scholarship program doesn't benefit the story. Majority of the screen time is taken up with the planning and executing of inter-dimensional travel. Sounds great for science enthusiasts, but Josh Trank struggles to make this translate into entertaining viewing. Where is the needed whopping of bad guys that the film so urgently needs to inject? Even Tim Story had that base covered!

Another key issue is the characterization and despite having all copious of Marvel stories at their disposal, none of the four characters has the spark to ignite some interest. The new Reed Richards is a little too bland for this films taste and despite some awkward quirks he just doesn't register. The new Thing visually is impressive but he lacks the comedic feel that Michael Chiklis was able to bring last time around. A thumping and large presence throughout, this version makes his impact felt but lacks the memorable quality to stick around in our minds after. Dr Doom lacks any sense of danger of real menace. Trank makes him seem more like pissed off class nerd going on a revenge mission.

The last act of Fantastic Four ensures that events descend into a dull and almost comical mess. Watching a face-off as Doom makes his inevitable reappearance could have been the save this installment badly needed. Instead we are limited to rather lifeless battle, complete with the obligatory booms and pows inter-cut with some laughable dialogue such as "There is no Victor...Only Doom!" This origin story ironically suffers from a lack of story altogether and despite ending with a hopeful feel, we can only wish this had stretched across the previous two hours.

A talented cast isn't able to improve things to the required level and the talented Miles Teller is wasted in a one note role. Teller is never able to fully convince us that Reed is the man to save the universe from danger. This is disappointing as he is one of Hollywood's most engaging new actors. Kate Mara and Michael B Jordan try their hardest breath life into the brother/sister Storm duo but the material just isn't there for them to make their mark. Jamie Bell is one of the movie's stronger notes and he brings across a more believable Ben Grimm. His hurt and betrayed reaction to his new form is a moment of rare emotion in a Marvel film.

Josh Trank after his great work on his cult movie, Chronicle is brought down to earth with a harsh bump here. His Fantastic Four is a misguided effort that is effected by too many details and not enough action. I hope he is able to pick things up for the sequel otherwise "It's clobbering time!"  

The Stage is Set: Review of Whiplash

Whiplash

Director: Damien Chazelle

By Alex Watson

We have all had that one teacher who is just tyrannical and control the class with a rod of of iron. It forever seems that they feel that the harder they shout, the further fear will push us onwards. The effect always varies and sometimes you can push that one person to breaking point. Director Damien Chazelle this week explores one teacher and pupil relationship where a mentor will stop at nothing, no matter how hard to achieve glory. Prepare for some tense viewing in Whiplash.

Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is an aspiring young jazz drummer at Schaffer Conservatory of Music in New York City who yearns for greatness. When his talent is noticed by notorious band conductor Terrence Fletcher (JK Simmons), he offers him a seat in his band. Upon arriving, he quickly realizes that his mentor is one so obsessed with glory that he freely and harshly abuses his students to get desired results! While aware of that his entire future can be cut in an instant, Andrew strives to be the best he can be- but this could all come at great cost!

Whiplash is an intense but ultimately a stunning and dominant piece from Damien Chazelle that completely restructures the music film genre. The opening scene gives a key indicator for what is to come in the relationship between Fletcher and Neyman, as the teacher finds him hammering away late one night. Within seconds he has launched into a verbal tirade and leaves the room. Fletcher is a man who can instantly command attention, clad in his tight black t-shirt and armed with a variety of mean and inventive insults "If you deliberately sabotage my band, I will fuck you like a pig." he proves to be the movies knife-edge!

The scenes in the class room prove to be the real psychological tension of the movie as Fletcher's frightening persona rears its ugly head. The musicians in the band are there to play to complete perfection, even the slightest off key note results in their teacher snatching the air then viciously humiliating them in front of the entire class! From this point onwards, the man proves to be a powerful but destructive force in Andrew's life and although he is pushing him towards his goal, he is also driving him to the limits of control. As Terrence denotes “There are no two words more harmful than ‘good job,’" and although the fear he provides keeps them focused, it is more harmful than he realizes.

As a character, Andrew doesn't always have our complete sympathy because although he goes from a shy young man struggling to ask out pretty cinema clerk Nicole (Melissa Benoist) to practically spilling out his inner ego on stage. Coming from a family of low achievers, including his quiet teacher father (Paul Reiser), his dedication to becoming perfect is one that is troubling throughout. Fletcher's presence haunts the movie even when he is off stage and fearing for his band future, Andrew continually plays hard until his skin bleeds to 'Earn the Part'. The movie's tempo is set very high by Chazelle all the way through Whiplash and we can sense that a conventional happy ending may not in store for either character.

But the end result we are given provides one of this year's most memorable climax's as the two men showdown on music most fitting battleground- the stage! What begins as a seemingly harsh act of betrayal turns into a moment that no one is likely to forget and provides an exhausting but utterly thrilling feel. Terrence is fond of telling Andrew the story of jazz legend Charlie 'Bird' Parker having an cymbal thrown at his head by Joe Jones, without giving too much away I will simply say the legend will come full circle.

JK Simmons makes for a monstrous yet absolutely magnetic presence in Chazelle's film and finally makes the transition from reliable character actor to potential prize contender. A powerful yet horrific force, Simmons blindingly turns in what could prove to be a career defining performance! At long last audiences are witness to what this man can do when pushed into the spotlight, Fletcher is a man so volatile that even Jonah Jameson from Spiderman would recoil in his presence! Up and coming star Miles Teller is equally superb as the fame hungry Andrew. His role is one that is not only physically demanding but also emotionally draining. On both counts, Teller soars highly and shows us a new talent is around the corner- his casting in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot could prove smart business.

Whiplash is a film unlike any other that you will see this year and through the electrics turns from Simmons and Teller along with the hyper real direction from Chazelle, you are given a picture that will have you attention from the first drum note played! Also it will make you think of the ultimate price of fame and whether it is worth maybe losing yourself?